//------------------------------// // Chapter 14: To Fly Again // Story: Midnight Star // by Nebula Star //------------------------------// Midnight Star By Nebula Star Chapter 14: To Fly Again *** As the light faded from Equestria, Everypony across the land found that the chaos and destruction that had come upon them without warning during the night had disappeared just as quickly. From Canterlot castle to the Everfree Forest the world had been returned to normal. And standing in the center of the restored Ponyville with the Element of Magic tiara once again resting on her head, Twilight Sparkle opened her own eyes and slowly smiled. Realizing what time it was and unable to resist, she turned eastward and her horn glowed brightly. The Moon, that had hung in the sky far too long quickly set and a soft glow on the horizon began to grow brighter and brighter. Finally the sun rose over Equestria ending the night of terror that had gripped the nation. Twilight let the bright rays of the morning sun warm her, glad to have her body back. Her work was not done however. While most of Midnight's damage had been repaired by the power of the Elements of Harmony that she had released, there were still a few things she needed to take care of. But for a moment, she let herself enjoy the warmth of the sunrise. Something caught her eye, a soft glow in the corner of her vision that wasn't from the sunrise but was very similar in color. She turned her head to see what it was, but it moved with her. So she looked with only her eyes and was stunned to find it was her mane. Somehow she had attained a flowing ethereal mane similar to Celestia's and Luna's. She twisted around looking at her tail and saw it too had changed. Both were the blue-violet star-field edged with the soft sunrise glow that her cloud form had been. She could sense a great deal of magic flowing out of her into her mane and tail she realized and focusing, she stopped the flow keeping her magic contained within her and as she did her mane and tail returned to their normal form. Twilight smiled glad she could control it. She had a hard enough time getting other ponies to treat her as a normal pony as it was. She didn't need to have an ethereal mane and tail adding to her problems. Then she heard hoof-beats drawing close behind her. “Twilight? Is it really you this time?” Applejack asked hanging back, understandingly wanting to make sure. Twilight turned to her friends and gave them all a smile They all had their Element necklaces on as well, though they didn't seem to have realized it. “Yes, it's really me this time,” she told them reassuringly. “Twilight!” Spike yelled running toward her again. This time though Twilight just laughed as he leaped at her and caught him with one wing as he wrapped his little arms around her neck hugging her. Seeing this, the rest of her friends rushed forward and joined in. All except Rainbow Dash who smiled, but hung back, not wanting to bump her injured wings and not really feeling like a group hug just then anyway. Twilight noticed and looked up from the midst of her other friends and catching Rainbow's eye, she smiled understandingly. Twilight wanted nothing more than to try to restore Rainbow's wings right then, but there were a few other matters she needed to take care of that had priority. “It's good to have you back, Twi!” Applejack said, finally stepping back and slowly the others did as well. “It's good to be back, but I'm afraid there's still a few things I need to do to repair Midnight's damage,” Twilight told them. “Sweetie Belle?” Rarity asked hopefully and Twilight nodded. “I don't want to leave her in that darkness a moment more, so stand back everypony.” All her friends quickly backed away, clearing a space and Twilight wasted no time in casting the reversal of the banishment spell Midnight had used. The spell was fairly simple compared to the initial banishment. In fact, as attuned to magic as she was now she likely could have reversed the spell even if she hadn't ever studied it before. Within moments there was a small pop, and Sweetie Belle reappeared in front of Twilight. Her hooves had barely touched the ground however when Rarity swept her up into a hug. “Oh, Sweetie Belle! I was so worried!” “Rarity!?” Sweetie Belle cried, her little voice squeaking in her distress. “It was so dark! I was scared!” “I know, but it's alright; your safe now...” Twilight watched smiling as Rarity reassured her sister and Sweetie Belle slowly recovered. Then she looked up and saw Twilight. Her eyes widened in fear and she let out a scream of terror. “No no, it's okay; it wasn't really Twilight that attacked you,” Rarity assured her, realizing what she was thinking. “But I saw her!” Sweetie Belle squeaked. “I know darling, but it wasn't really her; she was being controlled by somepony else. You know the real Twilight would never do anything to hurt you.” Twilight smiled sadly realizing it may be some time before Sweetie Belle and her friends would be comfortable around her again. “I'm sorry I wasn't able to stop her Sweetie Belle. I only just regained control of myself a few minutes ago. I brought you back as soon as I could.” She looked at Twilight seeming confused. “You were being controlled?” Twilight nodded. “But... where was I? It was so dark, and I couldn't feel anything, I couldn't even move!” “It was a banishment spell Sweetie Belle, similar to when Princess Luna was banished to the moon back when she was Nightmare Moon,” Twilight explained. “I was banished like Princess Luna!?” Sweetie Belle exclaimed, her mood changing drastically, seeming excited to have something in common with the Princess of the Night. Twilight laughed slightly and the unpredictability of the mind of a filly. “Yes you were; something to tell your friends, huh.” Thought of her friends however made her remember something else. “Apple Bloom! You turned her to stone like a Cockatrice!” “Don't worry,” Twilight assured her. “I released a great deal of power from the Elements of Harmony a few moments ago that should have restored Apple Bloom and the rest of her family to normal.” “Are you sure, Twi?” Applejack asked, clearly concerned about her family. Twilight nodded. “I wouldn't be surprised if they're on their way into town right now wanting an explanation. All of Sweet Apple Acres should have been restored to normal as well. We can go check on them though after we're done here.” “That's good to hear.” Applejack said with a nod. Twilight gave her a smile then noticed Pinkie Pie sitting a little ways off, poking at the ground with her hoof. Twilight went over to her and gently touched her shoulder, making her look up. “Hey Pinkie Pie. Let's get you back to normal,” she said smiling. “Okay...” Pinkie said with a sigh. Twilight just smiled and cast a spell to reversing the effects of Midnight's spell. For a moment Pinkie just continued looking up at her. Then... it was like an explosion; her mane and tail puffed out in an instant and a huge grin spread across her face. “Twilight! That was soooo weird! I mean, can you believe how sad I was all the time?! How can anypony be sad all the time?! But I was! I knew I had no reason to be, but I couldn't help it! It was soooo weird!” Pinkie rambled, back to her old self and making Twilight smile. “It's good to see you back to normal, Pinkie Pie,” Princess Celestia said joining them. “Oh, hey Tia! Can you believe how sad I was!” Pinkie exclaimed, surprising Twilight that she would address the Princess in such a familiar way. Celestia just smiled tough. “I know, if I had had my magic I would have changed you back when I arrived, but unfortunately I couldn't. I'm glad you're back to normal though.” “You and me both!” Celestia smiled again then turned to Twilight, concern filling her eyes. “Twilight, my sister,” she said simply. “Right... she got a little beat up in the fight, but otherwise she's fine. She's probably even better off than you actually,” Twilight reassured her biting her lower lip. “Let me just undo the banishment spell.” Celestia nodded and stepped back, giving her space. The banishment spell on Luna wasn't much different than the banishment that had been on Sweetie Belle. The only real difference was the destination. So it only took Twilight a few moments to undo and Princess Luna materialized in front of her. The lunar princess looked a little ruffled and there were a few dark splotches on her coat where she'd been injured, but otherwise she seemed alright. Realizing she was back in Equestria, Luna opened her eyes to find Twilight right in front of her. Startled, she leaped back her twin magic swords materializing in the air next to her as she took a defensive stance, glaring at Twilight. “Luna!” Celestia exclaimed, to forestall any fighting. “It's alright. She's the real Twilight.” Luna looked up at her sister's voice seeming relieved, then after glancing back and forth between Twilight and Celestia a few times she finally lowered her guard and her swords vanished. “You have a lot of explaining to do, Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight smiled and nodded. “I know, and I'll tell you everything, I promise,” she said but then looked significantly toward Rainbow Dash who was watching from a little ways off. “But right now I have a promise to keep to a friend,” she said and with that left the Princesses going over to Rainbow. Rainbow smiled weakly as Twilight reached her. “You can't heal my wings with your magic,” she said softly, seeming to know it was the bitter truth. Twilight smiled sadly but shook her head. “Not with my own magic, no,” she said softly. “But don't give up hope Rainbow; we haven't tried everything yet,” she said and reached up taping Rainbow's Element of Loyalty necklace significantly. Rainbow looked down and seemed surprised to see it there, she truly hadn't noticed its return. She looked up again, “You think the Elements could...?” She trailed off, sounding almost afraid to have hope. Twilight smiled. “I think if anything can heal your wings it will be the elements. Let's give it a try,” she said, then raised her voice. “Girls, gather around Rainbow,” she said getting the rest of their friend's attention. They all gathered around, though Rarity had to take a moment to pull herself away from Sweetie Belle, and finally all of them seemed to realize that they were wearing their Element necklaces again. “What's the plan, Twi?” Applejack asked. Twilight smiled. “I'm going to try to use the elements to heal Rainbow's wings,” she told them then smiled at her Pegasus friend. “You will fly again, Rainbow,” she promised once more. Then, using the restored artifacts this time, Twilight began to channel the power of the Elements of Harmony. She didn't know how to heal Rainbow herself, so she didn't try to cast any kind of spell with the power. Instead, she did as she had done before against Nightmare Moon and Discord and merely directed the power of the elements at their target trusting them to do what was needed. A glow surrounded all of them as the spell began growing brighter and brighter, then multicolored bands of light began to encircle Rainbow, swirling around her and growing in brightness until it became blinding. When it was over, Twilight opened her eyes and smiled. Rainbow had collapsed from the effects of the spell and was lying on the ground in the center of their circle. Then she began to stir. She stood slowly, and as she did the bandages and splints that had bound her wings fell away. A stunned look crossed her face as she looked back and opened her flawless wings. It had worked. Unable to contain herself, Rainbow launched herself with an excited shout, her restored wings driving her into the air. With a sound like thunder, she broke the sound barrier directly above Ponyville and a cascading circular rainbow spread across the sky. Twilight watched with tears in her eyes, glad the Elements had been able to heal her. She'd been fairly certain they would, but still, she was glad she'd been right. “What's going on!?” a small voice said from the Library door. The sonic Rainboom had waken Scootaloo and also managed to draw a great deal of the rest of Ponyville out of their homes. All around doors were opening as the town's residents began to realize it was once again safe to venture outside. Leaving a multicolored contrail Rainbow swooped down and scooped up Scootaloo, soaring back into the sky. “Rainbow! Your wings!” They all heard the filly exclaim, almost as excited as Rainbow herself. “That's right Scoots! I'm back in action!” Twilight smiled. 'Almost done,' she thought to herself, then glanced toward the Library as two other ponies came out the door. “Cadence! Shining!” Twilight exclaimed glad to see them and hurried over to where they were. She had wondered if they were inside as she hadn't seen them since they'd left the Castle. “Twily? You got your body back?” Shining asked hopefully, though he was limping slightly. Twilight nodded. “I'm back to normal, don't worry,” she said then gave her brother and then Cadence a hug. “But Twilight, who was that Midnight Star?” Cadence asked. “I'll explain everything later so I can tell everypony at once,” Twilight told her with a smile. “You alright though, Shining? That looked pretty painful, what she did to you.” He winced. “It's going to be a painful recovery, but I'll be alright.” “Um, Twilight?” Twilight turned at the familiar soft voice and gave Fluttershy a smile. “What is it, Fluttershy?” “Well, um, if it's not too much trouble; do you think we could try using the Elements on Discord? If that's alright.” Twilight looked toward the broken fragments of the statue that was Discord. “Well it's worth a try. Discord's taken himself apart often enough, I doubt being in pieces is really a problem for him.” “Yes, do what you can for him,” Luna said taking notice of their conversation. “Discord fought valiantly, if a little strangely, to defend both myself and Celestia from... well...” Luna trailed off not sure what to say. “Midnight Star,” Twilight supplied though she knew Luna had heard the name before. “She was in control of me at the time.” Luna regarded her seriously. “You do have a lot of explaining to do.” Twilight nodded “Fluttershy, go get Rarity, Pinkie and Applejack,” she said, then she looked up into the sky where Rainbow was still flying Scootaloo around, the filly shouting with excitement. “Hey Rainbow!” She called. “We're not done yet.” “Princess Luna!” Twilight looked down again as Sweetie Belle ran up to lunar princess. “Sweetie Belle, manners!” Rarity eclaimed following close behind. “You should bow to the princess!” She said and did just that. “I'm terribly sorry Princess Luna...” “It's quite alright, Rarity. Sweetie Belle and I are well acquainted,” Luna assured her. “You are!?” Rarity asked, forgetting her own manners in her surprise. “Yes, It is my duty and pleasure to help all our younger subjects when they have trouble with nightmares.” Luna told her then smiled down at Sweetie Belle. “But Princess Luna, guess what! I was banished just like you!” Sweetie Belle said excitedly. That caught the lunar princess by surprise and she looked down at Sweetie Belle, her eyes wide. “You were!?” “Uh, yes she was,” Twilight cut in to explain. “Midnight went after all my friends to hurt me and in the process, she banished Sweetie Belle into a plane of darkness.” Luna's eyes really widened at that. “A plane of darkness? That must have been terrifying. I was banished to the moon for a thousand years and I'd still fear being banished into a plane of darkness.” Sweetie Belle's smile faded slightly. “It was scary... but I'm alright.” “Sweetie Belle!” Scootaloo shouted excitedly. Rainbow Dash had landed with her and now the filly was running toward her friend at top speed. Then she saw who Sweetie Belle was talking to and skidded to a stop. “Pincess Luna! You're here too!?” “Yes, Scootaloo. Twilight just released me from the moon,” Luna told her, clearly familiar with the pegasus filly as well. “Sweetie Belle was just telling me that she was banished as I was. I hope that you were not harmed...” Luna led the two fillies away, gladly distracting them so the others could talk. “So what's up Twi?” Rainbow asked when they were some distance away. “We need to use the Elements of Harmony to try and restore Discord,” Twilight told her. A moment passed before she realized what she'd said and she almost laughed at how absurd it had sounded. “If that even makes sense.” “Ah, you called me down for that? Can't it wait a little?” Rainbow said with a grin. Twilight smiled understandingly. “Rainbow, think about how Fluttershy must feel. Besides Discord fought very valiantly to defend the Princesses.” “I know; I'm just kidding, Twi. Of course we should help Discord if we can,” Rainbow said still grinning. “So we're goin' to help out Discord then?” Applejack asked as she and the others approached with Fluttershy. Twilight nodded. “He's earned whatever we can do for him,” she said then gestured toward the broken pieces of Discord. “I'm not sure if this will work, but let's try anyway.” Together they formed a circle around Discord's shattered statue, and once again, Twilight guided the Elements' magic. “Oh wow! Who would of thought that me getting blasted by the Elements of Harmony would ever feel so good!” Twilight smiled hearing Discord's voice even as the light from the magic faded. Immediately Fluttershy jumped up and hugged him around the neck. “Fluttershy?” “Celestia told us what you did. You made me so proud!” Fluttershy said hugging him tightly. “You made all of us proud, Discord,” Applejack agreed. Even Twilight smiled up at him. “You did good, Discord.” “Well this is a day for the history books! The day Twilight Sparkle gave me, Discord, an honest smile!” He joked and even Twilight had to laugh. But then Discord surprised them by turning serious for once, folding his mismatched arms across his chest. “So, what happened to little miss crazy chaos?” Twilight took a deep breath. “I think that that's the last thing I still need to take care of.”