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// An Old Alliance Restored 
// Story: Terror in Equestria 5:  One Thousand Years Later 
// by StormLuna 
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Four days pass and finally Twilight and Shining Armor can see Maredrid approaching on the horizon.  Twilight starts jumping up and down shouting "Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!  We're almost there big brother!  We're almost to Maredrid!"

Shining Armor smiled and replied, "I know Twily.  I just hope you are right about LaurFa waiting for us."

Twilight said, "I know I am right!  Remember, I could see all when I was banished to the sun.   I can't wait to see her!"

Shining Armor still had his doubts but he was just letting his paranoia get the best of him.  He did not realize that not only would LaurFa be waiting for them, but she would swear complete and absolute allegiance to Twilight.

Finally they docked in Maredrid Bay and they were greeted by LaurFa's dark Alicorn general, General Dark Hooves and her changeling general, General Green Mane.  Green Mane said to them, "We have been expecting you two.  LaurFa will be very happy to see you two have arrived."

Twilight asked, "Who are you two?"

Dark Hooves replied, "I am General Dark Hooves and the changeling is General Green Mane.  We are LaurFa's top officers.  Come with us to the palace, LaurFa is waiting for the supreme leader of us all, Dark Goddess Twilight Sparkle, to arrive."

Twilight smiled and said, "You see big brother, I told you we had nothing to worry about!"

Twilight and Shining Armor followed the generals to the throne room where they were greeted by LaurFa.  LaurFa said, "Dark Goddess Twilight Sparkle, Shining Armor!  How are you two!"

Twilight replied, "I am doing well Queen LaurFa!  I am so happy to see one world leader that is still on my side!"

LaurFa asked, "How could I turn on the pony who gave me the Equine Empire and rescued me from the void?  You two must be starving.  How about we grab a bite to eat before we get to discussing matters of business?"

Twilight replied, "That would be wonderful!  We have only had berries for the past four days so a substantial meal would be wonderful!"

LaurFa said, "If I remember correctly, you love steak.  I will have my chefs prepare a meal of steak, potatoes, corn and hay for us and don't worry, we have plenty of cider to wash it down with."

Twilight got a huge grin on her face and said, "Oh you know me too well LaurFa!  That sounds delicious!"

Once they sat down to their meal Twilight began to devour her food.  She had not had a substantial meal since before her banishment to the sun.  LaurFa was shocked to see Twilight eat so much as she ate much more than her brother, who has a huge appetite.  After supper they headed to the throne room where Twilight took control of the conversation.

Twilight addressed everypony, "Well as you can all see, I have returned from the sun.  Also, plainly obvious, Celestia did not join me in coming here.  She has instead decided to join the side of the enemy."

LaurFa asked, "Do you know why she decided to join forces with Colgate?"

Twilight sighed and replied, "Well I have a feeling it is because she is still throwing a hissy fit over me having Luna banish her to the sun over the crimes she committed when Shining Armor and I were just foals."

General Dark Hooves asked, "What crimes did she commit against you two?"

Twilight replied, "Well this also involves our parents.  I was accepted into Celstia's school for gifted unicorns and passed my entrance exam.  Well I had so much power that Celestia wanted me to be her protege at the school.  The thing is, mom and dad had their reservations about me going to live at the palace with Celestia, well until she promised them economic security for life along with a spot among the Canterlot elite.  Once she did that, mom and dad basically threw us out and told Celestia to take us."

Dark Hooves said, "That is horrible.  How could a mom and dad just do that to their kids?  What about you Shining Armor?  What kind of crimes did Celestia commit against you?"

Shining Armor replied, "Well this happened right at the same time Twily passed her entrance exam.  I remember mom was packing her things when Celestia herself came over to offer mom and dad economic security.  She had heard about my powerful magic and saw that I was larger than all of the other colts my age.  She promised mom and dad economic security in exchange for both of us.  She basically bought Twilight and I from mom and dad.  We did not have much of a childhood.  Twily was basically raised by Celestia and I was pretty much raised by the academy."

This story caused Dark Hooves to tear up and he said, "You two are a true inspiration.  You have faced so much adversity and yet you still persevered.  I will follow you into battle anywhere and anytime.  You have my complete and absolute allegiance.  I will gladly put my life on the line to aid you in any quests you have."

Twilight smiled at the general and said, "Thank you Dark Hooves and I do have a quest.  My desire is to reclaim the world which at one point, before my banishment to the sun, I did control."

Dark Hooves asked, "Dark Goddess Twilight Sparkle, what caused you to lose control of the world?"

Twilight replied, "Well part of it was arrogance on the part of a pony who I put in as second in command and my own carelessness.  At the time, this pony was very loyal to me.  Once I ruled the whole world my brother and I began to travel around my world.  I traveled to various territories to make sure that my stewards were enforcing my laws and to make sure that we all stayed on the same page.  Well this commander, who is now the Supreme Commander of Equestria, decided that Equestria needed a leader who would be there in Ponyville most of the time."

LaurFa asked, "I take it you are talking about Colgate."

Twilight continued, "Yes, it is Colgate that I am talking about.  Well, before one trip I had forgot to lock one of my spell books back in the archives.  It was the book that had my spells for locking and unlocking the archives.  So, while we were gone she got in there, studied everything, even things I hadn't studied, and taught everything to those who were once my recruits.  The only things she didn't teach them were the spells to lock and unlock the archives along with her time spells."

Green Mane asked, "Time Spells?  Is she a Time Lady?"

Twilight replied, "Unfortunately, yes.  Thing is, nopony else could even understand them as she is the only Time Lady that I know.  Back when she was just a dentist, we had a local doctor who was also a Time Lord.  Ponies who can manipulate time are very rare but easy to spot."

Dark Hooves asked, "Are you talking about those ponies that have hourglass cutie marks?"

Twilight jumped up out of her chair and said, "Yes!  Do you know any of them?"

Dark Hooves replied, "I did.  He was a very dear friend of mine.  His name was Wrecking Ball.  Besides being a Time Lord, he was also a construction worker here in Maredrid."

Twilight asked, "Why are you speaking about him in the past tense?"

Dark Hooves replied, "Well he passed away last month.  Out of all the non-dark-Alicorn ponies, he was my best friend.  I remember how one time he cast a spell to create a time bubble around this building, then froze time outside of the bubble.  This allowed him and his crew to get a building up in time for a foreign dignitary from Neigh Zealand to stay in when she got here."

Twilight said, "Yeah the things Time Lords and Time Ladies do are pretty amazing.  The pony who I want to take my power back from is a Time Lady.  I sometimes worry about what she can do with time but I can't let it scare me."

LaurFa asked, "Now Colgate is an Alicorn isn't she?"

Twilight replied, "Yes, and I know how she can freeze time, create time bubbles and get those things moving extremely fast.  She could freeze time, create a time bubble and get it moving so fast she could go pick somepony up in Faustica and get back to Ponyville in a matter of five minutes passing within the bubble."

Dark Hooves said, "That seems to give our enemy quite an advantage."

Twilight replied, "Well it doesn't make her invincible."

LaurFa said, "Twilight, given his loyalty I believe that Dark Hooves should go with us when we set sail for Saddle Arabia.  Since you know a loyalty spell, you will be able to easily gain the allegiance of not just the forces in Saddle Arabia, but Neigh Zealand and even Queen Galaxia and King Cosmos over in Faustica."

Twilight replied, "I sure hope so.  Luna and Celestia are both in Ponyville so Alicorn Island will be far easier to take.  Since large armies are not easy to feed, I plan on duplicating the forces in Faustica and then taking them with us to Equestria.  I am not sure how many we will need but we can discuss that once we get there."

LaurFa asked, "Twilight, how long do you want to wait until we set sail for Ridead?"

Twilight replied, "Well I want to wait a few days.  I do want to be able to have good filling meals for a few days before another ten days out at sea."

Dark Hooves asked, "I know fresh water is impossible to find out at sea.  I am wondering if maybe we should wash out some cider bottles and fill them with water before we go?"

Twilight smiled and replied, "Dark Hooves you are a genius!  That sounds like a great plan!"

LaurFa said, "Well how about we leave five days from now?  Twilight and Shining Armor will be well rested and that will give us time to adequately stock the ship with both food and water.  I consider this meeting adjourned."

Twilight yawned and said, "Thanks LaurFa.  I am ready to hit the hay."

LaurFa replied, "Well you two remember where the VIP sleeping quarters are.  Good night."

Twilight said, "Good night LaurFa.  See you in the morning."

While Twilight headed to bed Colgate was watching all of this in her tower and realized the time had come to release Brevity Thrash from her banishment.  She headed down to Scootaloo's office and said, "Scootaloo, LaurFa is going to help Twilight in her quest."

Scootaloo asked, "Does this mean that we will be going to get Brevity Thrash?"

Colgate replied, "Yes, it does.  I want to get Rainbow Dash to help us with this though.  She will be able to get that time bubble moving extra fast."

Scootaloo asked, "When do you want to do this?"

Colgate replied, "Tomorrow morning after breakfast.  It's time for supper.  Let's go get some food."