Twilight found herself outside once again. The Crystal Empire guards were pushing back the Sleipnir as best as they could, but the enemy forces were too strong. The princess made her way to the center of the defensive line, and projected her voice to everypony around.
"Unicorns!" Twilight shouted. "I need you to all help me in creating a barrier surrounding the castle!" The unicorns in the area immediately followed her instruction, and fired their magic up. A great, pink barrier began enveloping the castle. It was slow to move due to the number of unicorns. The pegasi flew up into the air, ready to intercept the Sleipnir who started to fly up and over the barrier.
Twilight quickly flew inside to reach those who were retreating. "Unicorns!" She repeated once more to the crowd. Those who were still able-bodied nodded and lent their magic to the princess. Beams of light shot up from the crowd, starting from the foyer and moving in towards the dungeons below. The barrier grew faster and stronger, enveloping the entire castle. The princess smiled as she flew outside to see what was happening.
The Sleipnir shifted their attention from the ponies to the barrier itself. With the smell of magic in the air, the Sleipnir attached themselves to the barrier like flies on sticky paper, licking the barrier as if it were an ice cream cone. The princess didn't think it would work, but the barrier seemed to be enough of a distraction for her to get away from the scene.
"I'm going to have to leave the castle for a bit, okay?" She said to the guards. They all looked at her with eyes of puppy dogs.
"You're going to leave us alone!?" One of the guards asked in a high voice. Twilight could see him shaking in his hooves.
"Don't worry," Twilight responded. "You are all very capable. You are the Knights of the Crystal Empire! I will be back with reinforcements!" Without another word, Twilight teleported through the barrier and quickly flew away. I hope you will all be okay, she thought to herself as she took flight. Twilight very well knew that they stood no chance against the Sleipnir, but she had to keep their morale high. Or else...The princess shook her head to clear the negative thoughts out. Let's just keep moving...
The Sleipnir were too attracted to the amount of magic coming from the castle to notice Twlight fly past them. Oh, I hope this works! Twilight thought to herself, flying as fast as she could to the edge of the kingdom. As she zoomed by, she saw all of the destruction that had come to pass - bodies of both Sleipnir and pony everywhere, buildings ruined and scorched, and silence hanging thick in the air. A single tear fell from the princess's eye before once again shaking it off. Before long, a small house came into view on the horizon.
"Discord!"
Twilight's voice rung out as she teleported into the building. It was empty, surprisingly to her. There was absolutely nothing in the room except for an end table with a lamp placed on top of it. "Discord!" She called out again, but there was no answer. With one more sweep of the room, she spoke in a hushed tone. "I know you're in here..." Twilight slowly floated from one side of the room to the other. As she passed by the lamp, the princess quickly turned around and lifted the lampshade up, revealing a tiny Discord posing as a lightbulb.
"What are you doing here, Discord?" Twilight was not amused by Discord's antics at all.
The Draconequus gave a sheepish laugh as he snapped his fingers and disappeared with a cloud of smoke, re-appearing next to the table. Twilight saw a worried look on his face; he knew what was going on outside.
"The kingdom is under attack-" Twilight began to scold him, but Discord raised a claw.
"I know, I know!" Discord's face grew more twisted. "My kind were the mortal enemies of the Sleipnir, battles for thousands of years before they disappeared, yada yada yada...But, I'm all alone now! As great as I am, and I know you know how great I am, my magic isn't enough to take on this many!"
"You're not alone," Twilight looked Discord right in the eyes as she spoke with a reassuring tone. The twisted expression on Discord's face began to loosen up. "You have me, Fluttershy, and all of the Crystal ponies out there right now. We are much less powerful than you are, but we are out there fighting. Unless you help us, however, we will all die. Isn't there something you can do?"
Discord looked out the window. He saw smoke clouds rising from the distant buildings, and the screams of ponies could be heard. A swarm of Sleipnir clouding the sky cast a shadow upon the entire kingdom. Then, a sudden thought raced into Discord's head, which he exclaimed loudly: "Fluttershy's in danger! Oh, how could I be so selfish!?"
Twilight smiled. The Draconequus snapped his fingers again and a chair appeared underneath him, which he proceeded to sit on. A table also appeared, along with a map spread out right on top of it.
"First," Discord began, pointing at the map. "We need to cool the kingdom off a bit. Because the Sleipnir's magic is nullified in cold weather, we're going to have to speed up winter."
"How do we do that?"
"Easy." Discord pointed at the Crystal Palace on the map. "The Crystal Heart - this little gem prevents the kingdom from freezing over."
Twilight shook her head in confusion. "That might do too much damage to the kingdom! Sure, we may be able to repel the attackers, but we'll just be open to attacks from others!"
"It's the only way to keep the Crystal Empire out of the Sleipnir's hands." Discord replied. Twilight saw the seriousness in his face and reluctantly nodded.
"I can take care of the heart." Discord continued. "As for you, my queen, we have another obstacle to clear." Discord turned to look out the window. The giant ball of light in the sky - the sun - whose rays were being cast down over the land. The source of the Sleipnir's power hovered in the sky. "You will need to move the sun away from the kingdom. The effects of removing the heart may help us in the long run, but if you take away the source of their immediate power, we can better defend the empire now."
A sinking feeling in Twilight's stomach emerged after hearing the plan. "Moving the sun was Cadence's job, and she's resting after giving birth...And I had enough of a problem learning how to move the moon!"
Discord placed his claws on Twilight's shoulders. "It's the only way to stop their magic. I can create enough of a distraction for you to pull it off."
Twilght felt the weight of responsibility on her hooves after hearing the plan. If only we had better control over the sun and moon, then this wouldn't have happened... It was because they moved the sun too far north that the Sleipnir were able to come in. The lives lost...it was all because of...
"Twilight!"
Discord shook the princess. "Forget about what happened! We need you here now. I'll do what I can to make a distraction. Use that time to move the sun. I mean, I could do it myself, but you're better suited to that, aren't you?"
"How are you so ready to help us?" Twilight asked. "Just a moment ago, you were hiding in fear..."
"I'm just as scared as you right now," Discord replied. "But if Fluttershy...and the rest of you... are all gone, then who would be left to prank? I sure can't play with the Sleipnir the same way..."
"But as soon as I start using my magic, the ones in the air...the kings... will come right for me..."
Discord raised his voice. "What were you just telling me a few moments ago? You need to be ready to fight just like everypony else! Leave them to me, and just focus on moving the sun!" Without another word, Discord disappeared, leaving Twilight alone in the house.
A loud ringing noise came from outside. Twilight exited the house and perched herself on its rooftop. Many of the buildings in the Crystal Empire were turned into gingerbread houses. Chocolate rain began to fall from cotton candy clouds.
A Sleipnir descended from the swarm above, heading right for Twilight. The princess readied her magic to brace for impact. As the Sleipnir charged up its magic, a sudden pink cloud of smoke engulfed the Sleipnir, lasting for only a few seconds. As the Sleipnir shot its magic at the princess, Twilight saw a trail of chocolate fly right towards her. Twilight fired her beam at the confused Sleipnir, knocking it down and away.
Discord's chaos is actually coming in handy, for once! Twilight thought to herself as she focused on her target: the sun. "If I can just get to the top of the castle..." Twilight readied her wings and launched herself towards the castle as fast as she could.
The entire town changed its appearance before Twilight's eyes. One second it will look normal, and the other it will deform to a chaotic mess. The Sleipnir seemed to move their attention towards fixing the chaos over brutalizing the ponies, giving the princess a clearer path to her destination. Twilight looked down at the carnage below. Her stomach curled upon seeing the dead ponies juxtaposed to the bright gingerbread houses, or the cotton candy clouds. The chocolate rain bounced off of the ponies who did not make it, eventually burying them under the sweet liquid. Fearing she would get too distracted, Twilight looked up at the castle. Almost there... She muttered to herself. As soon as she reached the castle wall, Twilight shifted her movement upwards, gliding along the side. The princess beat back any feelings of exhaustion, eventually perching herself at the top of the castle.
The sight below her was anything but beautiful. Ponies and Sleipnir were scrambling everywhere, as chocolate, cotton candy, and flying pigs concentrated all throughout the town. More Sleipnir hovered between Twilight and the distant sun. She took a deep, long breath, remembering everything that she has been through up to this point. I need to place trust in Discord...and myself, she thought to herself. An image of her friends, and Princess Celestia and Luna made their way into Twilight's mind. Soon, Cadence and her newborn filly joined them. I have to protect them. I have to protect everypony. I am the Princess of Friendship!
Twilight directed her horn towards the sun and channeled her magic. The Sleipnir hovering in the air became aware of her presence, but Twilight ignored them, instead focusing on her objective. Discord will protect me. A pink beam shot out with great force from the princess's horn, piercing through the Sleipnir swarm and the clouds above. Twilight felt her magic connect to the sun, enveloping the fireball. With all of her might, Twilight tried to push the sun. She felt like she was trying to push a rock with water. The mana drained from her body, but Twilight made the best of every last ounce.
The giant Sleipnir kings looked towards Twilight and slowly floated down in her direction. Twilight could hear distant roars draw nearer, but she didn't break her concentration. She could feel the sun start to budge. Almost there!
As the giant Sleipnir neared Twilight, a swarm of flying pigs overtook them. Discord floated up to the top of the castle and stared the kings. Twilight could hear them speak angrily in their language.
"You're doing great, Twilight!" Discord yelled to the princess. The kings immediately lunged towards the Draconequus, but missed when Discord teleported at the last second.
"Too slow!" Discord shouted from the other side. He conjured up a giant cotton candy cloud and rode it around the kings. The pair used their own magic to remove the cloud from existence, but Discord created another one in its place. Discord used the clouds as a distraction as he inched closer to the Crystal Heart, which sat right in front of the castle itself.
Meanwhile, Twilight felt her grip on the sun get stronger. With the Sleipnir distracted, Twilight put all of her might into pushing. Her hooves began to buckle out from under her, and sweat dripped down her sides.
Twilight felt her hold on the Sun suddenly loosen. Shocked, Twilight opened her eyes to see what was happening. A group of Sleipnir gathered around the beam a good distance from where Twilight stood. They were licking and chomping at the magical beam, sapping some of the mana out of it. Twilight didn't want to break concentration, as she might not have enough energy or time to get started again. Before she could panic, several brightly-colored beams pierced right through the Sleipnir; a group of Unicorns on the backs of Pegasi flew up to assist the Princess. Flash Sentry was among them.
"We have your flank, Princess!" They all shouted as they soared by, moving towards their next target in the distance. With a smile, Twilight's grip on the Sun returned, and she could feel it move even more. Suddenly, she heard Discord's scream as it seemed like he was swatted away by the kings. They turned their attention towards the princess, lunging once more at her. Their roars echoed in Twilight's ears; she gave her own scream as she gave one final push. She could feel the water harden into ice as her grip on the Sun strengthen tremendously, and she felt the Sun slide away as if it were pushed down a hill.
The temperature in the Crystal Empire decreased drastically as a cold front swept across the town. A sudden chill went down Twilight's spine. As the princess opened her eyes, she saw the Sleipnir kings frozen in place. Many of the Sleipnir below stopped moving, having their mana drained from the lack of heat. The colors on their flanks dimmed, and those who were flying began to fall from the sky. The ponies took this opportunity to fight them back. Magical beams and spears flew in every direction. Many of the Sleipnir who were just recently terrorizing the kingdom now found themselves on the other end of the stick.
The kings looked at Twilight with contempt and charged at her once again, trying their best not to succumb to the effects of the cold weather. A flash of lighting emerged from the kings' eyes, heading right towards the princess. Twilight, seeing the aggression in their eyes, braced herself, but at that moment a loud shatter rang through the air. It was as if the entire palace itself cracked and fell apart. Twilight looked to the castle and saw the Crystal Heart in pieces. Discord stood over them with a grin on his face. The sky grew even darker as the air grew stiff.
The lighting fizzled away, leaving the princess safe from the attack. In disgust, the kings retreated and turned towards their army. They screamed what seemed like orders, and used their remaining strength to fly south. The Sleipnir that could move followed their kings, slithering away just as quickly as they came. The giant grey cloud of Sleipnir dissipated as snow clouds took their place. As if by perfect timing, snow began to fall across the land, mixing with the remnants of chocolate and gingerbread. The air was quiet, save for the sudden breeze. Twilight took a sigh of relief as she finally collapsed from exhaustion.
***
"Are you okay, Twilight?"
The princess woke up in a warm, fluffy bed. Fluttershy was staring at her. When Twilight opened her eyes, Fluttershy smiled. "Oh, I'm so glad you're okay," She said, dropping her head down towards the bed. The crackling of a fire filled the silence in the room. Twilight got up and hugged her friend. They embraced for what seemed like the longest time, an embrace that not even the Sleipnir Kings could break if they tried. Twilight could feel something wet drip onto her shoulder as she heard short bursts of cries come from her friend. These were tears collected over everything that had happened, right from the first meteor to land in Equestria, all those moons ago. Twilight found herself crying as well, as the two sat and sobbed, and hugged for what felt like forever.
"How is everything?" Twilight finally asked. She didn't want to know how long she was out of it, but she needed to get back to her duties to the ponies as soon as possible.
Fluttershy blew her nose in the most gentle way she could. "Discord returned the kingdom to normal, and gathered all of the....the fallen. The ponies that fled underground have been slowly coming out."
"Were there any Sleipnir taken captive?"
The yellow pegasus shook her head. "Those who remained tried to fight, but the Crystal Guards...oh, I can't think about it anymore!" Fluttershy quickly closed her eyes.
"And princess Cadence? Her filly?"
"I am okay, Twilight."
Princess Cadence trotted into the room, perching herself next to Twilight's bed. Berry Bunches followed right behind her. Seeing Fluttershy, Berry galloped over and embraced her friend."My filly is resting now. She is really tired. I'm sure everypony is." Cadence gave a small laugh.
"Well," Twilight sighed. "We made it. But, what now?"
Berry looked at Twilight. "I heard what happened! You pushed the sun away and saved the Crystal Empire!" The filly began to laugh in amazement. Twilight began to grin, but noticed that Berry's necklace glowed with every laugh.
"The Element of Laughter...it's reacting!?" Twilight's mood completely shifted as she observed this new data.
The filly stopped and looked down at the Element hanging around her neck. Yeah, I noticed it when I was out there. What does it mean?"
Twilight pondered for a moment. "Well, to my knowledge, the elements have only reacted when those who were able to use them...Can it be!?" The princess looked to Fluttershy, whose Element hung around her own neck as well, and an epiphany came to her.
"I think I know what we can do!" Twilight shouted as she jumped out of bed.
"What's going on?" Fluttershy did not catch on to the realization.
"The Elements! It seems that The Element of Laughter has found its next owner, and it's Berry! This means...that the other remaining elements can find new owners as well!"
Twilight flew up into the air as she continued. "If we can get the elements with their new owners, and bring them all together, maybe we can use them to restore peace to Equestria!"
Fluttershy nodded her head in agreement. "Oh, but Rainbow Dash's element was....eaten." She finished the sentence in a hush, not wanting to remember that dreadful day.
"Yeah..." Twilight's tone shifted upon realizing that they might not be able to get all of them together. "The only ones left are with Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom."
After a second, Twilight continued once again.
"Either way, we still need to gather the ones we can...I will go and search for the Crusaders and Spike. He did send me a letter saying they were going south...They must be in Saddle Arabia by now."
"Isn't this a little sudden?" Cadence spoke up. "What if it doesn't work? You have to fly right past the Sleipnir in Canterlot to reach the south."
Twilight returned to the ground. "Regardless, I can't leave them out there alone. I should have gone after them sooner...Oh, I have to make haste!" The princess began to turn to look for what she needs to bring with her for the journey.
Fluttershy spoke up. "I'm going with you. I'm sure Discord will be happy to come along as well."
"I wouldn't have it any other way," Twilight responded, happy to go on one more journey with her friend.
"Me too!" Berry shouted, jumping up and down. Fluttershy looked at her with a worried look.
"It could be too dangerous for you to come along!" Everypony except Berry agreed. The filly gave a mad look.
"You need all of the elements together, don't you? Well, if I'm really the new Element of Laughter, there's no good in separating me from the element, and there's no sense leaving me here. We will need to be together to confront them anyway, so why not take me with you to save a trip?"
Twilight sighed. "As right as you are, it's still too dangerous..."
"I can handle myself," Berry replied. "And besides, Discord would be with us. Both of you will be there as well!" The fire burning in her heart was too strong to put out.
After thinking over it for a little while longer, Twilight gave in. "Fine, but you need to do exactly as we say. Got it?"
"Yes!" Berry cheered in excitement over finally being able to go back out into the world.
Cadence looked at them all. "I'll be fine with everything here, don't you worry about that! I'll get Shining Armor to help out as well."
The princesses embraced. "I feel bad for leaving you here alone with your newborn and the kingdom to look after, but we'll be back soon. I promise you."