Chapter 18: The Calm Before
Shining Armor rejoined the ponies waiting to depart the Empire. They’d spent the night resting after the battle and were as refreshed as they were likely to become. Poor Applejack still looked rather haggard. According to everypony in the mines, her heroism saved not only Prince Spinner’s life, but more than a few crystal ponies. Everypony insisted she join them for a drink, and the poor mare was more than a little hung over this morning.
Grumbling all the while and waving away and sympathetic hooves, she just tugged her hat lower over her eyes. “Just get us back in one piece, wouldja? Wanna see if Ah can still get forty more winks ‘fore we head t’Canterlot.”
While Shining Armor stood with Discord and Echo, Fancy leaned in closer to Applejack. “I know a bang up hangover cure. I’ll see if I can’t throw the thing together with what they have at the Citadel.”
Offering a smile to the dapper gentlecolt, she nodded. “Be much appreciated, that’s for sure. Would uh… Everypony mind keepin’ this on the downlow from Bloom? She don’t exactly approve of ponies dippin’ into the drink.”
A round of good natured laughter greeted her request, as well as assurances that her drunken evening would be kept between all those present. The newly christened Crystal Empress arrived to see them off, looking rather striking with her mane and tail constantly flowing like her aunt’s. “Be safe everypony. I’ll be here cheering you all on.”
Shining shared a long embrace with his wife before rejoining the others. “We’ll be back before you know, Cadence. Just get the Empire back into shape, hm?”
Smiling to her husband, she waved goodbye. Once Discord had whisked the group away, her smile fell. She knew the danger they’d be facing soon was far greater than Sombra.
Rainbow Dash stood on the highest tower of the Citadel, gazing down at the courtyard below with an unusually serious expression on her face. “Bit for your thoughts?”
The pegasus’ ear flicked toward the sound of her young friend’s voice. “Hey kid. Pretty nice place ya got. I mean, aside from all the bug goop.”
Jubilant smiled a little and sat next to Dash on the tower’s edge. “You doin’ ok, Rainbow? You look kinda crappy.”
“I can’t stop thinking about all the things I did. You know, when my head was all… messed up. I did a lot of bad stuff, kid. And then Ponyville. I still can’t believe my home’s just... gone. And so many faces I’ll… I’ll never see again. This isn’t how it’s supposed to happen. We’re the heroes. Bad guys show up, me and the girls shoot em with a friendship rainbow, and boom. Party at Sugarcube Corner, maybe a new window in the castle, and we’re back to business as usual.”
Dash could hear the pain in the young alicorn’s response. “It was my fault. I should have gotten to Ponyville quicker. If I’d gone back right away… Gone to get mom and Aunt Fluttershy like I should have, I’d have been there when the dragons showed up.”
Rainbow Dash chuckled softly. “Guess we’re both a couple’a screw ups, huh?”
Jubilant rested her head on her hooves, lying down with a sigh. “Guess so.”
“So hey, uh… Who got my element? Y’know, when they rainbow’d you back?”
“Lyra. She— She’s gone too. Lead this big monster away and off a cliff. I tried to save her, but I’m… I’m not a fast flyer, y’know?”
“Well hey. When uh… When this is all done. Me and you, we can… Do some more lessons. If you wanna. Maybe get you some speed, huh?”
Jubilant smiled just a little. “That’d be nice, Dash.” Her smile faded soon. “Have you talked to your friends? Twilight said you just zipped up here and didn’t say a word to anypony.”
Dash tucked her wings in close. “What am I supposed to say, kid? I’m the element of loyalty. Or I was, I guess. Lyra had my element when she went over, huh? I betrayed everypony and everything I cared about most. That’s the opposite of who I’m supposed to be. It’s even worse than when Discord did that whatever to us. I hurt ponies, kid. I was gonna hurt Applejack, my best friend. Till you beaned me in the face with your birthday cake. Heh.”
Jubilant Surprise frowned. She wasn’t good at this. She was a doer, not a talker. “I dunno what you’re going through right now, Rainbow. I can’t. But I do know the girls are your friends, and they care about you more than anything in the world. You guys all love each other so much. Mom and Aunt Fluttershy used to tell me stories all the time about you girls. Nopony blames you for what happened. I know I don’t. I know Miss Applejack doesn’t. We’ll all be here for you when you’re ready. Okay?”
Rainbow Dash looked down at the young mare. She remembered her as the scrawny human, who turned into a scrawny pegasus. Now she was an adult alicorn. Her long legs were sleek and strong. Her body well-toned. Her wings were strong too. The kid had potential to be a great flyer if she had a little more confidence. “Thanks. I’ll come down and talk to everypony soon, alright?”
“Alright, Dash. I should go do… Y’know, Commandery stuff. Make sure Flim and Flam aren’t going to blow up my castle or something.”
“Heh. Alright, kid. I’ll talk atcha later.”
With a nod, Jubilant vaulted from the tower, opening her wings and allowing herself to drift lazily toward the ground. “How we doin’ fellas?”
The twin stallions looked up from their work. “Going much quicker thanks to Miss Sparkle here. She’s a real genius, no doubt about it.”
Twilight scoffed and waved a hoof. “Nonsense. Your design is amazing. I’d have never thought to blend magic with machinery like this. We’ll be ready within the hour, Commander.” She giggled a little at using Jubilant’s title.
The Commander in question winced. “Just Jubilant Surprise is fine, Twilight. Really, I’d be happy if nopony called me Commander. It feels wrong.”
Twilight’s smile softened. “Of course, Jubilant. Don’t worry. You might be an alicorn, and commander of an ancient and storied order of knights, but you’re still Pinkie’s silly little filly in her eyes. You’re still the shy, gentle girl we’ve all come to care for. Nopony’s going to treat you differently.”
Flim cleared his throat. “I’m sorry to interrupt ladies, but we really should get cracking on this. It’s time to bring our vision to life.”
“Right! I’ll catch up with you soon, Jubilant.” Twilight trotted over to the waiting brothers as they began the work of preparing Jubilant’s request.
The changelings were nearly finished reconstructing the outer walls of the Citadel. It looked like a blend of their hive, and a grimier Canterlot castle. If she lived through all this, making this place shine was a high priority. Hopefully the Princess had some kind of fancy super clean spell she’d loan to the task.
A loud *pop* heralded the return of her uncle, with everypony sans Cadence in tow. Jubilant raced over, looking concerned. “Where’s the Princess?”
Shining Armor lifted a hoof to calm her. “Back in the Empire. Everything went perfectly. Sombra is gone and the crystal heart from the Citadel is protecting the capital. Have you heard from Moon Dancer’s group yet?”
Jubilant shook her head with a frown. “Not yet. I was about to see if Trixie was up to following them. Scrying them at the very least.”
Her frown vanished as Echo trotted out, though the heavy bandages around her head and barrel brought it out again. “What happened to you!?”
The night pony shrugged casually. “Giant golem smushed me. No biggie.”
“N— no biggie!? You look like a mummy! Again! Come on, we’re getting you taken care of. Is anypony else hurt, or just her?”
Ignoring Echo’s protests, the others of the Crystal Empire team shook their heads. Fancy was soon off to find Rarity while Applejack set out in search of her friends. Shining Armor looked form Jubilant to Echo quietly. “I’ll go talk to Trixie about the others. You two can have some alone time.”
Both mares blushed a little, but said nothing as he left. Jubilant smiled a little to Echo. “Come on. Let me and Mercy fix you up.”
Echo huffed, but followed. “I don’t like it. You getting hurt for me.”
Jubilant shrugged. “It hurts for like five minutes, then it’s gone. You heal all slow and normal.”
“There’s nothing wrong with being normal! Hey by the way, these daggers rock. I carved that Sombra chump like a turkey.”
Jubilant flashed a grin. “Come on, hotshot. You can tell me all about it in my room.”
This suited Echo just fine.
“Excuse the intrusion, oh great and powerful one, but our intrepid commander wanted a favor.” Shining Armor grinned cheekily from the doorway to the lab Trixie had commandeered as her own.
The showmare turned sorceress rolled her eyes. “Yes, yes, poke fun at the disgraced performer. What does Jubilant want that she can’t ask me herself?”
Shining’s smile eased somewhat as he stepped into the lab. His eyes roamed about, taking in the half-finished items and bubbling potions. “Sorry. Things have been a little tense, just trying to keep the mood light.”
Lifting her gaze from the assorted herbs and liquids spread on the table in front of her, Trixie offered a wan smile of her own. “They have at that. Getting into a magical duel with your little sister wasn’t terribly high on my to-do list.”
Shining’s eyes widened. “What? You got into a fight with Twilight!?”
Now it was Trixie’s turn to look surprised. “Oh, of course, you were in the Empire. Rarity and I went to ambush Twilight when she came for our weekly study session. She’s in her right mind again down in the courtyard, working on whatever Jubilant has them doing.”
It was all he could do to stop from racing off to find his beloved little sister, but Shining Armor was a stallion accustomed to receiving and following orders. New royal standing or no. “Jubilant Surprise asked if you could check on Umbra and Moon Dancer.”
“And Tak.” She added in a little testily. “… Sorry. I’m a bit sensitive about my husband. As a matter of fact, yes, I can check on them. Give me just a moment.” She stepped away from her work table.
Shining eyed it all curiously. “What is all this?”
Trixie glanced back. “A recipe for a potion that a zebra gave Jubilant. It should make the attack on Canterlot significantly easier.”
Shining nodded and quieted down, allowing Trixie to concentrate. He was no magical prodigy like his sister, but he’d studied basic combat spells and knew how much focus they required. The amateur sorceress’ horn shone brightly before she straightened up suddenly. “Umbra? It’s Trixie. Is everything going well?”
Trixie tilted her head, listening to a half of the conversation Shining couldn’t hear. “It did? Well good! And everypony’s safe and fine? Good! Good. That’s a relief.” She was nodding now. “You will? Well according to the Commander, we’ll be ready to launch our assault on Canterlot within the next two days. I’ll pass along what you told me. Stay safe, all of you.”
She blinked as she ended her spell. “She said Whiteskull is destroyed and they freed a number of prisoners. They’re going to camp out in the outskirts of the Everfree near Canterlot and meet us there.”
“Well that’s great news! I’ll let Jubilant know. Thanks Trixie. I’ll let you get back to work.” Leaving the mare to her work Shining Armor turned from the lab. His first stop was Jubilant’s room. Knocking softly on the door he waited patiently. Echo was the one to answer, her wounds gone.
“Yeah? What is it?”
Shining heaved a sigh. “I’m never going to get a shred of respect from you again, am I?”
“Hey, all you did was get knocked on your flank. It was my daring attack that set up Sombra for your wife to take him out. Gotta work to impress me, Captain.”
Rolling his eyes, Shining tried to peer around Echo. “Is Jubilant in there?”
“She is. She’s healing up the wounds she took from me. So whaddya want?”
“Just tell her Moon Dancer and the rest are fine, and will be waiting to link up with us at the edge of the Everfree.”
“Will do! Thanks Captain. You should go take a nap or somethin’. You old timers need plenty of rest.” She slammed the door in his face, cutting off any retort.
Shining stood stock still for a minute, before breaking into a wide grin. Shaking his head he turned from the room trotting toward the courtyard. “At least she has a good mare taking care of her.”
“How’s the head?” Echo moved to Jubilant’s bedside, peeling the cloth back to view the garish gash rapidly knitting closed.
“Sore. But not as bad as a minute ago. You’re good as new at least.”
Tossing the bloodied cloths to a corner of the room, Echo lazily made her way to the washroom off the side. “We need to get real plumbing in here. Think you can magic me a hot bath?”
Jubilant rolled her eyes. “I can heat the water if you fill the tub. Conjuration is hard, and I didn’t learn any of it.”
Echo snorted softly as she looked around the antique bathroom. “Guess I’ll live without a shower. Hey! Turn into a human for me.”
The other mare tilted her head in confusion. “Why?”
Echo shrugged, smiling softly. “I want to see your face. The way I got to know you. I know you spent plenty of time as a pony, but your human self is an important part of you, y’know? And I… Well I love all of you.”
Cheeks burning at her fillyfriend’s words, Jubilant sighed. “Fine, fine. You’ll get to see me human plenty soon. I can’t fight as well as a pony.” Her horn glowed brightly as she grew from her alicorn body to the winged, horned young woman. Blowing a bright pink curl out of her face, she smiled. “Happy?”
“Mmhm.” Echo minced back into the washroom, Jubilant watching curiously. The young woman blinked at the sudden silvery flash coming from inside. The wounds she’d taken from Echo were nearly fully healed, and she sat upright in a hurry at the slim, dark skinned hand that gripped the door frame tightly.
Slowly, a short, leanly muscled human woman tottered out unsteadily on two legs. Nearly a head shorter than Jubilant, Echo the human grinned at the astounded woman in the bed. Her hair looked much like her mane— wild, uncontrollable, and a deep purple hue. Bright yellow eyes dancing with amusement gazed back at her. “Whaddya think?”
“Wuh… Buh… How?”
Echo lifted her free hand, displaying a silver charm bracelet. “I asked Cadence if I could borrow it.”
“Why?”
Echo’s smile turned coy for about three seconds before she stumbled and almost fell flat on her face. Only by furiously beating her wings did she manage not to smash her face into the floor. Jubilant seemed more than content to simply sit and watch as Echo tottered and staggered her way to the bed. Lunging quickly, the former night pony got her hands on the bedpost and heaved herself onto the mattress.
Taking a few seconds to compose herself, she looked up at Jubilant through half-lidded eyes. “I wanted to… Well… Our first time to be like this. Sort of… an homage to the old you.”
The other woman in the bed’s eyes widened as she realized what Echo was implying. “Wh— what? F— first time? now?”
Echo’s smile faded. “Why not now? When else? We’re going to be throwing ourselves against the entire military of Equestria in the next couple days. We’re strong, but c’mon Jenny. Galaxia flicked the Princesses away like they were nothing.”
“Only because she has some sort of bond or link with them since they’re her daughters. Echo, you can’t start talking like that now. We have to be strong. Not just for ourselves and each other, all of Equestria is counting on us. The whole world is. It’s not just the ponies who are involved.” Eyes burning with fierce determination, Jubilant sat up straighter. “We’re going to win, Echo. You have to believe that. We have to win. There’s no other choice.”
Echo was grinning again, shaking her head slowly. “How do you do that?”
Jubilant frowned. “Do what?”
Echo slowly crawled her way along the bed toward the other woman. “Be so amazing. So optimistic and so sure of yourself when everything else is going to Tartarus around us?”
Jubilant didn’t move away as Echo crawled over her body. “If I’m not, who will be?”
Brushing her lips across Jubilant’s neck, Echo leaned across the larger woman towards the low burning candles illuminating the room. “For the rest of tonight? Somepony else.” Gently, she blew out the candles, cloaking the room in darkness.
Jubilant felt the warm body of the mare she loved slide under the covers with her, Echo’s yellow eyes glittering brightly in the dark. And for at least a short time in the past few days, she allowed herself to forget her worries and doubts. She just enjoyed her first night with her lover.
The first of many, she hoped.
The sound of happy conversation filled the lower halls of the Citadel of Harmony. Five mares gathered together in the dilapidated common room enjoying an impromptu late night picnic. “So then th’ little whipper snapper’s got her head stuck in the knot in the tree, right?” Applejack paused in her story as her friends howled with laughter.
She chuckled mightily herself. “So her head’s stuck in this hole in one of my biggest apple trees. She’s flailin’ around, screamin’ like th’ hounds a’ Tartarus themselves were bearin’ down on her. Now Ah’d dealt with Bloom when she was a filly an’ such, but nothin’ was workin’. Then all of a sudden who comes gallopin’ up the path, but her mama. Pinkie was kickin’ up a whole dust storm, she was chargin’ our way so fast.”
Pinkie Pie blushed heavily and buried her face in her hooves at the chorus of ‘aww’s coming from her friends. “So Pinkie’s all puffed up lookin’ for whatever musta’ been attackin’ her filly. Then she sees little Surprise’s backside stickin’ outta that tree. She gave her a good hard stare before she says, ‘Gee whiz, I have all these cupcakes and nopony to help me eat them!’. Then th’ little filly quits her squirmin’, disappears in a flash, and pops right in front of her ma, hooves held out wide. ‘I’ll help you eat them, mama!’”
The laughter roared from the room again at the end of Applejack’s story. Twilight was the first to calm down of course. “It’s just so amazing. That Discord manage to do what he did. Reincarnation magic is unheard of! To take part of somepony’s soul and create a new being from it? I have to pick his brain!”
Rarity delicately wiped a tear from her cheek. “Oh but I so wish we could have been there, darling. I feel like we missed out on so much! I only cared for the little dear for a short time but she managed to make her way into my and Fancy’s hearts in mere moments.”
Now it was Pinkie’s turn to look sly. “So about Fancy Pants…”
The other girls had perked up now. “Wh— what about him?” Rarity’s cheeks were beet red.
Ponyville’s premiere party planner grinned ear to ear. “You know what about him! Are you guys gonna stay together, or what!?”
Still blushing, Rarity slowly regained her composure. “We’ve discussed it, and decided we’re going to date once all this nonsense is over with. So yes, we’re staying together. Though we’ll be taking it slow.”
Fluttershy stepped out of the kitchen bearing a tray laden with a steaming teapot and some small fruit slices. Silently, she set the tray in the center of her friends and retreated toward the kitchen again. A soft blue glow enveloped the timid mare, drawing an alarmed ‘eep’ from her as Rarity scooted her to the circle. “And what of you, Fluttershy? Do you intend to keep living in that dreadful forest?”
Her ears splayed back at being the sudden center of attention. For the past few years, the only ponies she’d really interacted with had been Pinkie and her god-niece. “O— oh um… Maybe? I don’t know if I want to go back to Ponyville after… Well after what happened.” She looked down, scuffing the floor with a hoof.
This sobered the mood a good deal as everypony’s thoughts turned to the ruin that had become of their beloved hometown. Frowning faintly, Twilight stomped a hoof. “Well I’m not giving up on Ponyville. It’s our home. We can’t just turn our backs on the town we all know and love, can we? We’ll rescue Princess Celestia, dethrone Queen Galaxia, and get our town back and better than ever!”
Applejack nodded along firmly with everything Twilight said. “Ah’m with ya, Twi. No way ahm Ah just abandonin’ Sweet Apple Acres. Mah family founded that town, and ain’t no way are we abandonin’ it.”
Now Rarity smiled, adding her own words of encouragement. “Well said, darling. Of course we’re not going to abandon Ponyville. All the mansions in Canterlot can’t equal the charm of our wonderful little town. I learned that the hard way. Canterlot and high society life has its charm, but everypony there is so concerned with getting ahead. They don’t take the time to get to know their neighbors. It’s a very cold city; I suspect it was even before Galaxia took power.”
Pinkie sat up now. “I know I’m not going anywhere! I’ve got a super-huge mansion to rebuild!”
This brought another round of laughter from the group; even Fluttershy seemed to be more confident and upbeat. She frowned suddenly though. “Has anypony seen Rainbow Dash?”
High above the keep, a cyan pegasus flew for the gaping holes in the ceiling of the cavern the Citadel of Harmony was housed in. Shafts of moonlight filtered in, illuminating her path to freedom. Back into the sky, up and away from the shame she feared she’d never be able to fly fast enough to escape.
Morning came, rousing the drowsy occupants of the citadel. Jubilant looked over at Echo’s sleeping face. The normally brash and active mare looked unusually calm and peaceful, head nestled against her chest. Brushing her lips across the still slumbering woman’s forehead, the Commander of Harmony slipped from the bed and left the room quietly. Mercy secure on her arm, she stepped into the hallway leading to the courtyard. “Morning, Heart.”
‘And a good morning to you, Commander Jubilant. Plenty of rest last night, I hope. Leading your fellows into battle is a strenuous undertaking.’
Cheeks darkening now, the woman innocently averted her gaze from her sword. “Oh yeah. Tons of sleep. Never had more.”
‘… Indeed. Might I suggest you tour the grounds? See that everything has progressed satisfactorily?
“Sure. I wanna grab a bite to eat first though.” She made her way to the common room, a little surprised to see her mother and her friends sprawled about, sleeping on the floor. Rolling her eyes at the way Pinkie’s legs kicked and twitched in her sleep, Jubilant smiled and slipped a pillow beneath her head. Gummy and her dog Izzy were curled up with the pony. The beagle cheerfully disentangling herself to trot after her master, tail wagging furiously.
With a fond scratch between the ears of her dog, she made her way into the kitchen. A bit of rummaging turned up some magically preserved apples, so she made a quick breakfast of them. Finally heading for the courtyard, she had to do a double take to make sure she was in the right place. No speck of rubble remained. Nor were there any signs of wear and tear along the now pristine walls. Pristine if one didn’t mind the green goo-like substance binding it all together. And Jubilant Surprise certainly did not.
An exhausted looking Applebloom lifted a hoof in greeting. “Mornin’, Surprise. These critters did a pretty bang up job, don’tcha think?”
Jubilant could only nod. “They sure did.” Spying their leader, she offered him a smile. “It’s looks amazing Cutter.”
The changeling harrumphed. “That mare kept forcing us to redo every tiny thing! It took us the entire day to finish!”
Applebloom just snorted. “If ya can’t do the job right the first time, y’shouldn’t be doin’ it at all.”
Smiling at the outbreak of bickering between the mare and changeling, Jubilant spread her wings to survey the citadel from the air. It was a… Unique sight. The beautifully crafted Citadel being bound together by changeling… Whatever the stuff was. Thinking about it, she decided she probably didn’t want to know where it came from. A sparkling green flash of light beneath the citadel caught her eye.
Folding her wings, she allowed herself to drop before fanning them open and catching herself in the air. She was surprised to find the cliff the Citadel sat upon had very little in the way of support beneath it. A deep chasm yawned beneath the bit of stone the Citadel rested upon. A twinkling bridge seemingly composed of solid magic wrapped around the bottom of the Citadel. Curious, Jubilant tested it with a foot. Finding it solid, she settled her weight on it.
“It’s ready.”
“It’s not ready.”
“Brother, if it were anymore ready, we’d have already activated it!”
Smiling to herself, Jubilant followed the walkway around to find the Flim Flam Brothers bickering beneath her castle. The stallions’ horns glowed brightly, giving her a good idea of where the walkway came from. “Is it ready?”
Flim shot a dirty glance his brother’s way. “The construction is sound, and with Miss Sparkle’s help we have the magical conduits up and running.”
Flam stepped in front of his fellow stallion. “But we haven’t tested it! And it’s going to need A lot more energy than the Super Cider Squeezy did to get moving.”
Jubilant’s own horn began to glow now as she illuminated the area more brightly. Thin tubing ran the length of the bottom of the Citadel, going through the rock and up into the keep itself. “Don’t worry about that, we have enough magic packed in there to get this thing moving. Where do we charge it?”
She stepped aside, allowing the brothers to lead her back up and around to the main keep. “We set up mana batteries in the basement where the old crystal heart went. If we charge them fully, it should keep you airborne for weeks! If our calculations are correct.”
Flam frowned at his brother. “Yes, but the amount of magic needed even to fill one of these halfway is immense.”
Jubilant looked around the basement at the mess of wires and tubes leading into four massive glass containers. “Well let me go get our battery.”
Flim and Flam looked at each other with raised eyebrows. Jubilant called on her trusty Find It spell, heading unerringly to Trixie’s lab. It seemed she wasn’t the only one skipping on sleep. Trixie was browbeating a group of earth ponies that were working furiously over a dozen huge cauldrons. “Oh! Commander Jubilant. What do you want?”
Laughing a little at the testiness in Trixie’s voice, the woman shrugged. “I need you to come down and charge up the engines for our castle.”
Snorting softly and giving her ‘assistants’ a warning look, she slung her staff across her back and trotted after her Commander. “How much of my magic am I committing to this? I don’t want to be left out of the battle. Especially knowing that my husband and Umbra are going to be running around in the thick of it.”
Jubilant frowned. She hadn’t thought of that. “Well just give it what you feel is safe to commit. You can stop if you start to feel drained, alright?”
The two mares descended back into the depths of the castle. Trixie ran a critical eye over the strange mechanisms filling the basement. Looking to the brothers, she arched a brow. “So I’m to what? Shoot raw magic into these big containers?”
“More or less miss, yes. Just direct the flow to the antennae on top. The mechanism will process the mana into a useable fuel.”
“Rather clever design actually.” The brothers puffed with a bit of pride at that. “Right! Time for the Great and Powerful Trixie to be great and powerful.” Clutching her staff firmly in her magical aura, she focused her energy through it before sending it to the machine. The two stallions yelped in shock as the tank went from empty to full in a matter of seconds. Without breaking her stride, the mare turned to the next, and the next, and finally the fourth, filling them all seemingly without effort.
“Am I done? Can I get back to my own work? I have a lot to do, and would like to sleep a little before we hurl ourselves at the armies of Equestria.”
Smiling brightly, Jubilant nodded, and Trixie took her leave. The two brothers looked from the tanks full of swirling pink mana to the young woman in shock. She simply shrugged. “She is the Great and Powerful Trixie.”
Jubilant was intercepted by Shining Armor on her way back to her room. “Commander! Can I have a quick word?”
She smiled. “You can have a few, Emperor.”
He snorted at that. “Emperor. Prince was bad enough. I think Shining Armor is fine.”
Arching an eyebrow, Jubilant crossed her arms. “And I told you not to call me ‘Commander’.”
The stallion laughed now. “Ha! Fair enough. No titles for either of us then.” He turned serious. “What’s the plan for the civilians in the citadel? We can’t drag them along into battle with us.”
“Jeez, I hadn’t even thought of that. Is Appleloosa still occupied?”
Shining shook his head. “No. Word from…” He sighed. “Word from Chrysalis is, Galaxia has recalled her soldiers from all across the country. She knows we’re coming, and she’s getting ready.”
This news wasn’t totally unexpected. “We’ll get anypony not wanting to fight out to Appleloosa then. I’m sure Uncle D can teleport everypony to safety. Speaking of my uncle, have you seen him?”
“No ma’am.” At her cross look, he cleared his throat. “No Jubilant, I haven’t seen him. I’d guess he’s outside watching the sunrise. It was something of a ritual of his when he’d be in resistance HQ. He never missed it.”
Nodding, she glanced to the jewel dangling from Mercy. Using her Find It to home in on her uncle, she tapped into the jewel to teleport up to him. She appeared in the sand with a flash of light, drawing not even a peep of surprise from the purple-suited pony. “Tsk, tsk. Your mother doesn’t like you doing that.”
“She doesn’t like me doing a lot of stuff I do, I’m sure.” Brushing off a bit of sand from the rock her uncle was sitting on, she lowered herself next to him.
“Ha! That’s true. Even when you were a little tyke you’d drive poor Pinkie Pie insane.” Smiling wistfully, he shook his head slowly. “You got your head stuck in so many holes…”
Huffing, Jubilant punched him in the shoulder, drawing a grin from the older pony. “Not that many holes!”
Eyebrows raised, he turned from watching the horizon to regard her. “It was a lot of holes, Jubilant Surprise. More than most fillies get their heads stuck in.”
“Hmph.” The woman pulled her knees to her chest, resting her chin on them. “I was naturally curious.”
“About how much stuff you could stick your big head into, yes.”
Now she laughed. “You spent a lot of time with mom, didn’t you?”
Shifting to look back at the coming sun, he nodded. “I did. We grew very close.” Seeing her wrinkle her nose, he laughed again. “Not like that. Get your mind out of the gutter. We’re just friends. My heart belongs to somepony else.”
Seeing the look of longing on his face as the sun began to rise, Jubilant blinked. “The Princess!? Really!?”
Rolling his eyes, Discord watched the sunrise quietly. “Yes. We became very good friends when I first came to Equestria. When she showed me that she was human too, we got a bit… Involved with one another. That is until her lunatic mother, well, you know. Went crazy. Then I went crazy. There was a lot of insanity going around back then. But for those few weeks I was absolutely head over heels in love. I haven’t forgotten either. I hope she hasn’t.”
“How could she forget a handsome fellow like you, Uncle D? Especially if you wore that god awful suit back then too.”
Snorting, he smoothed the sleeves around his forelegs a bit. “Purple is a regal color, young lady. You’d know that if you had any taste whatsoever. I certainly don’t need fashion advice from a filly who runs around in pink armor all the time.”
Huffing softly, she fell into a companionable silence. They watched the sun rise together until it became too bright to look upon anymore. “Did I ever properly thank you?”
She blinked over at him. “For what?”
“’For what?’ She says.” He looked up at her earnestly. “For caring about a crazy monster like me. Helping me with the burden of the chaos magic. You didn’t have to do that, you know? You could have just let me totter off.”
Flushing in embarrassment, she looked away. “Like I could just let you roam around causing more trouble. That’s all it was.”
“Mmhm. Even so, thank you Jubilant Surprise.”
Lifting her eyes to meet her adopted uncle’s look, she just smiled. “Well you’re Welcome Uncle D. Thank you for uh… Bringing me back to life.”
Laughing now, he stood. “Come on. You have an army to whip into shape. Need to give that big inspirational speech beforehand, huh?”
Blanching, she scrambled to her feet, following after him. “I don’t really have to give a speech, do I!?”
“Of course you have to give a speech, Jubilant! It’s… It’s required in situations like this!”
The once-more alicorn mare frowned at Twilight Sparkle. “Says who?”
“Everypony! It’s in all the books. Don’t you read anything? Just before the big battle, the leader rallies his or her troops with an inspiring speech!”
“This isn’t a storybook, Twilight.”
To Jubilant’s dismay, Rarity took her fellow unicorn’s side. “I’m afraid I have to agree with Twilight, darling. Maybe not with the literary comparison, but everypony here is here because of you and your efforts. When Discord went about seeing who was going and who was staying, the only ponies to leave were the foals. Every citizen of Ponyville you saved, and every member of Cadence’s resistance is here for you. At the very least you owe them a few words.”
Jubilant’s ears splayed back as she leaned over the balcony. In the courtyard below, ponies were racing about, making preparations under the watchful eye of Shining Armor. The former guard captain had by far the most military experience of anypony present. “I guess I could like… Give a little pep talk?”
Pinkie Pie bounded up between her unicorn friends. “Surprise! Wear your armor! It’s all shiny and official looking!”
“O— oh good idea. Thanks mom.” She turned back to the crowd, calling up her armor.
Twilight smiled a little at the grin on Pinkie’s face. “You’re never going to stop loving her calling you that, are you?”
“Hey sister. You try carrying one of those things in you for the better part of a year and you’ll love it too.”
Rarity blushed a little at the imagery, but said nothing. Twilight looked from the obviously adult Jubilant back to Pinkie. “Is it hard? Seeing her grow up so quickly?”
“No. I’ll miss the fun times we had together, but she’s still my little Surprise. Just bigger. So now she’s my big Surprise? Hmm, I need to think about this…”
Twilight shared a look with Rarity, and both mares rolled their eyes. It was nice to see that Pinkie would always be Pinkie.
A nervous Jubilant paced to the edge of the balcony, clearing her throat softly. “Uh… excuse me everypony?”
It took a moment, but word began to spread around the courtyard, and soon every set of eyes was looking up at her. Instantly regretting this move, she started to back away, only to find a wall of magenta light leaving her trapped on the balcony. Shooting the sweetly smiling Twilight Sparkle a scathing glare, she looked back to the crowd. Momentarily considering just flying from the balcony, she was sure Twilight would just drag her back and make her look like an idiot.
“I know we’re all working hard to get ready for um… For the coming fight. I just wanted to say I’m proud to see everypony from Ponyville sticking together like this. It’s going to be dangerous, but we’re Equestria’s only chance at freedom. Galaxia has dethroned our Princesses and imprisoned them in the sun and the moon. She’s ruined our country and our homes. She’s even ruined the bond we all used to share with one another.”
Many angry faces were nodding in the crowd now. “Well.. Well that’s over. We’re going to take Equestria back. For ourselves, and for our friends and family. For our Princesses. We’re not going to let some bully come into our home and push us around, right?”
A deafening chorus of ‘NO!’ rose up from the courtyard. “Everypony knows who I am. I’m Jubilant Surprise Pie. Starswirl the Bearded himself named me Commander of the Order of Harmony. A group of knights who were dedicated not to enforcing the crown, but to enforcing the will of the Equestrian people. To protecting everypony, whether earth pony farmer or unicorn aristocrat. Galaxia destroyed the order out of fear during her first reign. Now I think it’s time we showed her why she should have been afraid of us.”
Jubilant was feeling bolder as Echo flitted down overhead to land beside her. Fancy Pants and Trixie gently removed Twilight’s wall, taking their places behind her as well. “This is going to be dangerous, we all know that. But we won’t lose. We can’t lose! Once we finish preparations here, we move for Canterlot. I spent the last few days travelling, finding friends who would help us in our struggle. We won’t be alone in the coming fight. Queen Chrysalis and her changeling swarm will fight with us.”
The young mare was heartened to hear the cheering for the changelings erupt from the crowd of ponies. The look of shock on Cutter and the rest’s faces was pretty priceless too. “Emperor Steel Talon of the griffon empire has promised to lend his support. Once we engage Equestria’s forces, he and his griffons will be there to help us against the flying threats.”
More cheers met this announcement. “Queen Neela of the spiderkin has loaned us many of her strong warriors, including her sister Umbra, and brother Spinner. The former has already defeated Lord Whiteskull, and the latter freed the crystal pony slaves while Empress Cadence dealt with King Sombra. Galaxia has no allies. No friends to turn to. She doesn’t understand that this is our strength. That together, we can overcome anything! Together, we’ll take back Equestria, and return its rightful ruler to the throne!”
The cheering was absolutely thunderous at this point, and for a fleeting moment Jubilant was worried they’d bring the whole cavern caving in on their heads. It didn’t fall of course. As she stepped away from the balcony, she was surprised to find her heart hammering heavily in her chest. “H— how was that?”
Her friends all laughed aloud at her suddenly timid question. Twilight Sparkle just smiled softly. “I think that will do just fine, Commander Jubilant Surprise.”