Final Lesson- Ponyland in Peril!
"Congratulations!"
"I knew you girls could do it!"
"Let's hear it for the new protectors of Ponyland!"
Surrounded by the cheers and jubilation of so many proud ponies and well-wishers, the new harmony bearers began to trot back down the runway, wands in mouth, with smiles on their bright and happy faces. The great dream of their mentor Princess Cadence had finally been realized; there were new protectors for all of Ponykind.
"This is it girls, we've finally done it!" Twilight exclaimed, levitating her wand out of her mouth. "We finally lived up to our bloodline's legacy and our families' expectations!"
"Yes, this is so wonderful!" Glory agreed, levitating her wand out of her mouth. "I don't see how anything could possibly go wrong!"
It was at that point, that a dark cloud suddenly began to form outside, sending lighting cracking across the sky, and a cold wind blowing across the landscape. The windows in the royal paradise suddely darkened, and an ominus feeling of dread filled the heart of every pony present.
"Oh no, what's happened to the light?"
"What's going on out there!"
"Aieeeeee!"
Cries of panic and terror filled the ballroom, as the guards tried to keep everyone calm. The six harmony bearers stared out the window in disbelief, dreading what might await them outside the Royal Paradise.
"Ya just haaad ta ta say something, didn't ya?" Surprise grumbled, rolling her eyes.
"Looks like you girls better get out to the courtyard!" Fireball yelled, as he directed the other colts to help keep order among the gathered ponies. "Don't worry, we'll handle things in here!"
"He's right!" Firefly exclaimed, taking her wand in her wing. "C'mon girls, we better get out there!"
As the six fillies all galloped outside, Twilight looked back over her shoulder at the alicorn standing there. An approving Cadence nodded, a proud smile on her face.
Good Luck girls, The princess thought to herself, as Twilight took off after the other ponies. Celestia knows you're going to need it.
...
As the six fillies reached the courtyard, a horrific sight met their eyes. The servant ponies to the foreign diplomats who had been waiting outside were screaming and running in terror. Waves of a dark, glittery magic showered down upon the poor souls, and they began to undergo a startling transformation.
"Ahhh, it hurts, it hurrrrtssss.... neigh! neeeiiiggghhhhh!"
"The pain, the pain! Neeeiiiggghhhhh!"
"W-what's happening to them?!?" A horrified Posey asked, as twilight and glory threw up a magic shield to protect them. "They're changing... thier faces are getting scarier..."
"I've seen those things before!" Firefly said, remembering where she had seen long-faced equines like these before. "That stuff is turning them into cave ponies!"
"Yehahahahaha! That's right, my dearies!" A cackling voice came from above, as a sinister looking chariot and obsidian alicorn flew overhead. "I'm sending you dumb brutes back to the stone age!"
"It's Hydia!" Glory exclaimed. "And she's cursed the solar chariot!"
"And that thing...that's the alicorn amulet!" Twilight shrieked, noticing how familiar the witch's steed looked. "She's cast a personification enchantment on it!"
"Those poor ponies!" Applejack exclaimed, holding her wand up. "Girls, we have to stop her, before she transforms all of Ponyland into those brutes!"
"But wait!" An unsure Posey whimpered, looking around at the other girls nervously. "What if we can't do this right? What if we fail?"
"Listen Posey, if those bratty Princesses can use the elements of Harmony, then so can we!" Firefly assured her. "Besides, we can't just sit by an' do nothing!"
"All right! Let's get that mean old witchy-witch!" Surprise exclaimed eagerly tossing her wand up in the air and catching it. "We'll show her not to pick on innocent ponies!"
"Here we go, girls!" Twilight told them, as she began to concentrate her magic. "Let's hope this works!"
As if responding to a long-dormant call, the six wands floated above the fillies's head, morphing into five necklaces with each fillies cutie mark on it, and a headpiece that snapped onto Twilight's pink tiara, turning it into a full crown. The six ponies's eyes began to glow, and thier bodies floated up into the air.
"Whoa, what is this?" Firefly though aloud. "I've never felt anything like this before."
"Hey, I can hear you in my head!" Surprise giggled. "This is so totally freaky.
"Girls, can you feel it?" Twilight thought to the others. "This is it this is the power of the friendship we share."
"Ow wow, it's so wonderful!" Posey added. "With you girls here, I'm so confident I could take on anything!"
"That witch doesn't stand a chance against us, my fellow fillies!" Glory quipped, feeling the power flowing through her. "Let's take Hydia down in style!"
"It feels so good ta be doin' this again." Applejack thought to herself, sheilding he mind from the others. "Thank you so much, Twilight...
KABOOM! A great rainbow rocketed skyward ,fired out from the glowing fillies straight towards the evil old witch. Hydia's eyes suddenly went wide, as the rainbow of friendship zoomed towards her with the gale force of a mighty hurricane.
"Ahhh! The elements of harmony!" The old witch wailed, pulling back in horror. "Do something, you stupid amulet!"
The obsidian alicorn responded, by creating it's own dark shield of energy. The two magics collided in midair, stopping each other cold, with neither seeming to give way before the other.
"Foolish ponies, you can brake though the power of the alicorn amulet!" Hydia cackled. "Ponyland is mine!"
...
Inside the castle, several ponies watched the rainbow beam hammer away at the chariots energy shield, many of them despairing at what they saw.
"It's not working!" Thundercloud wailed, terrified for the pink Pegasus out there he loved so dearly. "Why isn't it working?"
Looking down, Tornado thought for a moment. "The original Harmony Bearers were completely in tune with their elements when they first received them. They already understood their respective elements, as they were inherit parts of their personalities."
"But these girls have had to learn those traits, and they don't fully understand them yet." Fireball finished, realization dawning. "So the elements aren't at full strength for them yet!"
"They can't keep it up forever! Hydia will wear em' down!" Steamer exclaimed, the image of a frightened yellow earth pony racing through his mind. "We got to get out there and help them!"
"There's nothing we could do Steamer." Lightning sighed, trying to hide his worry for an orange mare who was out there fighting. "It would take something far more powerful than us to tip the scales in the girls favor."
Nearby, an old princess had overheard what the colts had been saying, and turned her eyes skyward. Seeing the two opposing forces battling, the last known alicorn alive knew what she had to do.
I promised myself I wouldn't interfere, that I would let them face this final challenge themselves to become stronger, but... Cadence galloped for the door, spreading her wings. Hang on girls, I'm coming!
....
"After several minutes of blasting at the shield, it seemed like the girls were beginning to tire out. The rainbow beam began to grow weaker, even as the obsidian alicorn poured more energy into the shield.
"Yes, it's over, ladies!" The old witch screamed, jumping around in the chariot in triumph. "Ponyland is mine!"
"Think again, you slimy old witch!" Mi Amore Cadenza exclaimed, firing a beam from her horn at the six girls. "You're about ready to find out that love Hurts!"
Just as they were about ready to give out, each of the girls saw an image in their minds... a vision of the ones they cared about the most. They though of how all of those ponies were counting on them... and what a horrible fate awaited those loved ones should they fail in their task.
Steamer...
Fireball...
Lightning...
Thundercloud..
Tornado...
The rainbow beam suddenly increased in intensity, shattering the shield and tearing down through the chariot.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" The old witch screamed."DAMMMNNN YOUUUUU PONIESSSSSSSS!"
KABOOM! The chariot suddenly exploded, sending Hydia flying off into the air. A magic recoil bolt shot off of the explosion, shooting backwards straight along the path of the harmony rainbow-
-and striking the white Pegasus dead center, sending her flying backwards.
"Ahhhhhhhhh!" The filly shrieked, thrown backward in a blinding flash of magical light.
"SURPRISE!" Twilight yelled, as the five other fillies collapsed to the ground. The crown piece detached from Twilight's tiara, and the six elements clattered back to the floor, becoming wands once more.
Having been missed by the rainbow, the obsidian alicorn dove straight at the six weakened harmony bearers in a rage. Now masterless, the alicorn sought only to destroy the greatest source of friendship and good it sensed nearby.
"Girls, look out!" Cadence exclaimed, diving straight at the red-eyed nightmare. Covering her body in a magical aura, the alicorn narrowed her eyes.
"Aunt Celestia, Luna... now I can follow in your footsteps." The alicorn thought to herself. "Shining armor, my love... hold on, I'm coming to you....
BOOM!
A second explosion followed, covering the entire landscape in obsidian shards and pink feathers. The alicorn amulet, which for so long had given ponykind so much trouble... was finally no more.
"AUNT CADENCE!" Twilight shrieked, as the fragments rained down around her. "NO!"
"Surprise?" Applejack asked, as the other girls ran over to the spot where she had landed. To their amazement, there lay and empty party dress...
...and a little white Pegasus foal, no older than a newborn.
"Goo goo gah gah?"