//------------------------------// // Chapter 15: Doing the Time Warp // Story: Substitute Harmony // by blayzekohime //------------------------------// Trixie stood at the entrance of the newly built temple, head raised confidently as she strolled in, crown gleaming in the glow of the crystals around the altar. Behind her, the others fanned out. Gilda hovered in the air to the right, Ditzy to her left, the latter slowly twirling midair as was her habit. Pinkie was practically dancing a jig with excitement on one side of her, the two other pie sisters on the other. Inkie was rather calm, while Blinkie was grinning quite widely, and insisted upon holding a stick of dynamite in her maw even if it served no real purpose in their current plan. "Trixie!" Helios's voice took on his usual delighted tone, turning fully about to face them as he casually pulled a large switch on the nearby console with his magic. "I don't mean to be rude, so don't take this as such, but... well I couldn't help but notice that you're alive, and I could have sworn my number one assistant said that you were all dead." "She's not your number one assistant anymore," Trixie smirked. "We hit her with the friendship cannon!" Pinkie called out happily between bounces. "So I gathered! Noted then, next time check for life signs." Helios smiled, taking another few casual steps forward, "So, friends! I don't suppose you've come for that training I promised you, Trixie?" "Trixie has come to train you, Your Majesty," Trixie struck one hoof against the other, somehow making a noise like knuckles cracking. "Ow’d ‘oo do ‘at?” Blinkie mumbled around her dynamite, peering over at Trixie out of the corner of her eye. "I hate to interrupt," came the somewhat weak voice of Celestia from behind Helios, "But this is the part where the villain is stalling for time." "I knew I should have gagged you," Helios rolled his eyes. Indeed, the machinery behind him crackled, the switch he had flipped having apparently already started the process of opening the time rift. The glow of the chains increased, the crystals in each slot beginning to vibrate with energy as a ring formed around the altar, connecting each one to the others. The group wasted no time with this realization. Trixie raised her forehooves the same way as she had when they faced their Undervale counterparts, as the others assumed positions behind her. Energy gathered, a bubble of force forming rapidly around them, each of the six rising into the air as they confidently stared down the alicorn before them. "Oh fine, let's get this over with," Helios had a seat on his haunches, making no effort to stop or interrupt them, "Fire away! This is the part where the villain underestimates the hero and is soundly defeated, right?" With that a blast of energy rattled the temple, a stream of rainbow colored energy streaking across the room, arching towards Helios and slamming into him. There was a burst of light from his position as the energy swirled around him in an ever tightening tornado. The wave languished, faded, and the mist returned to the six ponies once more as they settled to the floor again. And there sat Helios, completely unaffected. "Oops," Helios smirked, "I did mention that you were the villain in my last little statement, right?" "What." Trixie's expression went completely blank. "What?!" Inkie, on the other hand, was uncharacteristically emotional. "You cheated!" accused Pinkie, pointing a hoof at him, "You slimey cheatypants cheateder!" "I should have known this was too good to be true," Gilda just faceclawed with both claws at once. Helios chuckled, flexing his wings slowly, "Sorry 'friends', but the friendship wave doesn't work on someone just because you disagree with them. After all, haven't I been honest? Haven't I been generous and loyal to the ponies I'm tasked with protecting? I've been..." "I don't think you've been very kind to most ponies," Ditzy pointed out. "Okay, okay," Helios said, "I haven't spared lives every time I could, but overall, you see that's the beauty of it! The rainbow wave was designed with a threshold that has to be surpassed before it will actually work against a target, and will only actually kill a target if they are virtually without any good whatsoever. You know, it's to keep ponies from using it to solve every little problem or coming to depend too much on it. Believe me, I've been very careful to balance my more questionable deeds with good ones, even protecting ponies from myself at times. Besides, it's all about intent in the end, right? My cause is noble." "Oh that is pastel pony manure!" Gilda shrieked, clearly enraged. “It’s plot physics!” Pinkie smiled, starting to bounce again, “It’d be boring if we got him the same way, right?” "Actually that's pretty ingenious," Inkie pointed out. "I mean if you helped create something like that, would you not want to put in a caveat that would protect you from it?" "It is inappropriate for you to be congratulating him." Trixie reprimanded Inkie. "Oh stop whining," Helios finally stood up straight, spreading his wings again as he took on an uncharacteristically determined expression, "You're going to have to fight me the old fashion way: deal with it." Trixie, in particular, grinned in return, "Oh but Your Majesty, you have no idea how much more Trixie will enjoy this." She then turned to the others, lowering her voice, "The Pie sisters will fan out and distract him, the fliers will go for the gems, Trixie will free Her Majesty." Trixie held her hooves forward then, her horn aglow as a burst of electrical energy shot out towards Helios. The blast of energy appeared to do little more than break his concentration, but that was enough for her to flank to the side before suddenly teleporting out of sight. The unicorn appeared behind the altar at Celestia's tail end, swaying slightly to get her bearings before pulling the magical chain that she had been keeping from beneath her cape. It was the same chain that she had acquired on her first trip into this world from one of the cells, and that she had been studying since. "Whee let's go!" Pinkie squealed, darting off to the right. "Pinkie think fast!" Blinkie tossed a now lit stick of dynamite that was in her mouth to Pinkie before rushing herself directly at Helios. Inkie sighed, then calmly pulled her sledgehammer out of her own saddlebag, holding it firmly in her snout before darting to the left. At the same time, Gilda surged upwards with powerful movements of her wings, arching back and around to sweep herself towards the nearest crystal. Ditzy almost followed her, but then swerved into a different course as if by accident, barrel-rolling several times before heading towards another of the crystals instead. It was a good thing that they had followed Trixie's instruction to spread out. The initial blast of energy from Helios, aimed at Trixie, missed all the others as they fanned apart. The blast shook the entire temple, sending shards of the stone floor spraying backwards and leaving an imprint that went right through to the ground. As he watched cracks spread upwards through the walls around the doorway, Helios gritted his teeth at a sudden realization. This place had been rapidly built out of shabby materials and the structure itself was only barely enchanted to be more sturdy. If he used his full power to attack them, he risked collapsing the temple before the portal was open. His normal strategy of 'hit them with all you’ve got and hope they die' was not going to work; he was going to have to hold back and use strategy. Then again, he only had to keep them under control until the portal activated. The brief amount of time that Helios spent devising a strategy did not go unused, as Pinkie caught hold of Blinkie's dynamite in her muzzle. Skidding to a stop, she yanked out the cupcake cannon, retrieved from the previous battle, as if from thin air. Into the cannon went the dynamite, and the weapon was fired towards Helios. Out blasted a delicious looking cupcake... with a lit stick of dynamite poking out of the top like a candle. Blinkie laughed maniacally as she charged the alicorn, yanking what seemed like a ripcord on her own saddle bag before sliding across the tile floor beneath him. Multiple compartments opened on her saddle as it was triggered, streamers, sparklers, and several bottle rockets shooting out in all directions, though most went directly upwards into Helios. Inkie took advantage of the multiple distractions, circling around behind Helios before leaping upwards and bouncing off of one of the temple's columns. Her hooves left cracks streaming upwards through the support, Inkie not nearly so concerned at bringing it down as Helios might have been, before she lunged back towards Helios' rear, hammer aimed squarely for the weakest point she could find. Gilda surged forward, trying to grab for the pink crystal, but immediately felt a surge of energy jolting through her form, blurring her vision and sending her backwards several meters as she strained to keep herself airborne. She recovered quickly, pulling herself about. "Watch it Ditz’, they're live!" Gilda yelled. "Artillery support please?" Ditzy spun about, bumping into another one of the columns, peering at another of the crystals with each eye, "Maybe we have to get the ones that are like us!" She wobbled over to the yellow one, correctly assuming that it would represent Fluttershy's element, but had no more luck. She was able to keep hold of it, but was buzzed the entire time and wasn't able to pull it free from its socket. Trixie, meanwhile, seemed to have something particular in mind. She moved her piece of chain to wrap it against one of those binding Celestia before her horn glowed. There was a clear exchange of energy between her and the platform, but in the end there was a feedback that blasted her across the floor away from the altar, her own chain landing next to her, both of them smoking slightly. Even Helios had to admit that he was stunned by the efficiency of the team's actions, the Pie sisters in particular seeming to act with one mind. His horn glowed, a shield of energy forming in front of the dynamite that Pinkie fired. Unfortunately, blocking it wasn't all he needed to do; he had to keep it from damaging his surroundings. Encapsulated it in a force field, the dynamite exploded with a muffled boom before fizzling out. This distraction left him open for the unexpected blaze from beneath him, causing him to scream like a filly, almost as if it tickled. Of course then he backed up and took Inkie's hammer right where it hurt, causing his squeal to rise an entire octave to a much less ticklish-sounding note. The alicorn lashed out in return, a short-range wave of energy bursting out from all sides. At the same time, one hoof darted back to impact Inkie in the gut, sending her arching back to slam against another one of the crystal mounts, shaking violently from the impact and new surge of energy before falling back to the floor with a dull thud. Meanwhile Blinkie took a forehoof to her own midsection, then the same hoof to her head as Helios stumbled. She was lucky that the impacts were accidental, or would have likely had her head caved in. As it was she screeched out in pain, barely able to roll herself out of the way of further stomps. Her own saddlebag torn open, half a dozen bombs rolled across the floor as she staggered away. Ditzy squealed seeing the others hurt so, swooping down towards Blinkie first, then looking back at Gilda, remembering her shouting for artillery support. She grabbed hold of the nearest bomb, tossing it upwards towards Gilda, then spun around to continue throwing them up. Amazingly, Gilda managed to grab hold of all six that were tossed her way, jamming each against one of the crystals in turn. Sure enough, the energy surge against them was enough to light the lot, and the griffon shouted to the others, "Take cover!" Trixie grunted as she lifted herself up, then peered back and forth at what was happening before diving behind one of the columns herself. She called out another order, "We can't damage His Majesty fast enough, destroy the structure instead! Her Majesty can survive the collapse!" "Sis!" Pinkie screeched, seeing her sisters take the brunt of Helios’ ire, charging at him on her own, and trying to scoop up another of the bombs to load into her cannon. Hearing what Trixie said however, she instead turned and aimed it towards the wall of the structure, firing in that direction instead. Helios gritted his teeth, leaping off of the floor and letting out a shout of rage. His yell was quickly overshadowed by six explosions from each of the crystal chambers, with another shattering a hole in one side of the temple and causing part of it to rapidly sag towards the floor. The machine itself, more protectively enchanted than the temple's structure, was amazingly resilient against the energy from the explosives, even at close range. The columns around the machine less so. All of them shattered outwards as the roof of the structure began to collapse inward. Helios was not having any of this however, flapping his wings to move himself directly into the fire above the machine. His entire body was suddenly ablaze in dark flames as his energy shot out both upwards and outward, pushing against the roof of the temple as well as the walls on every side. Stone splintered and creaked, rocks that had been falling slowing to a hover and then shooting back upwards. The entire structure rattled as he literally shattered the building outwards, the entire ceiling and upper portion of every wall blasted out into the city, leaving the altar and the machine safely in the center. Fortunately for the team, they were all either on the floor or able to hit the floor in time to avoid being hurled outward along with the rest of the temple, but now things were a great deal more serious. Helios would not need to hold back nearly so much with no need to worry about rubble blocking off the portal that was now rapidly forming around Celestia. Trixie held tight to the chain that she still had in her grasp, then ran back to the altar, once again trying to wind it around Celestia's chains in another desperate attempt at her undisclosed plan. "Blinkie! Inkie!" Pinkie dove to her stunned sisters, trying desperately herself to drag them into a hiding place behind what was left of one of the remaining columns. Gilda roared, and in a move she would have certainly never attempted prior to recent events, she charged into Helios herself, aiming her claws to grab for his horn. She was not really certain of what to do with it once she had it, trying her best to yank and twist it out of place as if expecting to break it. This only elicited a chuckle from Helios as he waved his head and sent her tumbling back into the ground, yelping as one of her wings crumpled beneath her from the impact. "Why won't this work!" Trixie yelled out in a fit of rage herself. Gilda's efforts kept Helios from paying her efforts much notice, but so far she had no way to use that advantage. Ditzy stood up as well, pushing a small piece of rubble off of herself, then tried to get her bearings. Blinking over at Trixie and realizing that she was attempting something, she called out, "Reverse the polarity!" "What?" Trixie paused, barely catching Ditzy's suggestion and eyeing her with disbelief. "Trust me!" Ditzy called back, "I have a friend that does that a lot and it always works! Reversing the polarity will disturb the frequencies and cause a reaction that the outward edge of the space-time bubble will propagate!" "Wait what?" even Helios was given pause as Ditzy suddenly started spouting techno-babble. "Fine!" Trixie cried out, not questioning Ditzy's knowledge of any type of bubble; that cutie mark had to mean something after all. Trixie's horn glowed, magical ripples flowing through the chain in the opposite direction, causing a snap of energy that once again blasted her back away from the altar. This time however, the energy swirled through the chains, the outward edge of a previously invisible bubble becoming visible around the altar as it expanded outward, hesitated, then pulsed several more times. With a shattering noise, the chains all pulsed with energy, then released, slammed back into the mechanisms below them as Celestia screeched out at the chaffing of chains unwinding around her. The team wasted no time, and though Celestia would not appreciate their methods, they did manage to get her off of the platform. Inkie grunted, picking herself up, then slamming her hammer into the harness still holding Celestia's head, unfortunately clobbering her in the process as well but successfully knocking her free. Gilda flapped her one good wing, managing to get enough of a push to thrust her entire body into Celestia's side, getting the rest of her onto the floor. Pinkie grabbed hold of her other side, trying to drag her away from the platform, and even Blinkie managed to drag her dizzy self off of the floor to help pull. The time rift pulsed again, then expanded outwards. The reversal had delayed it and released the chains, but had not stopped the portal from opening. The mechanisms of the altar reacted as it did so, thrusting upwards, but now there was no Princess Celestia to push up and into the rift. Helios' expression became panicked, no longer worrying about his enemies, "No... NO! SELENE! I WON'T LET YOU DIE!" His expression twitched, flames shooting outwards from his body. He watched the portal shimmer below him, knowing it would only be open for a brief moment, then without further reluctance threw himself downwards. There was a crash, followed by noises that seemed to come from the other side of the portal. Nightmare Moon's voice could be heard screaming in rage as she was banished, Celestia's own mournful wail in turn. There was a flash of light, and the sounds on the other side of the time rift went silent as the crack in time closed back up on itself. What remained of the machine groaned both from strain and abuse, the enchantments shattering and what remained practically melting from the remaining energy. The heroes were blasted away from the fissure in every direction, landing hard on the shattered tile and rock beneath them. The moment of brief silence was broken by the groans of the ponies, as one at a time they staggered in an attempt to stand. Most of them were only able to manage a position where they were only barely sitting up, and Celestia did not rise at all, her eyes spinning about from that last impact of Inkie's hammer. "My apologies Princess," Inkie calmly noted before gagging at the feel of her own bruised body. "That," Gilda was the next voice to speak up, "Was even more painful than I expected... and I was expecting a lot." "That," Blinkie coughed up a bit between statements, but corrected Gilda, "was awesome!" "Trixie will never again doubt the Derp’ed One's wisdom," Trixie adjusted her hat and crown, then rose up slowly herself, unwilling to remain on the ground in her moment of victory, but in too much pain to manage a particularly hammy speech. "You know what this calls for?" Pinkie staggered up, and tried to make her most predictable of statements, "A... par... t..yyyyy..." she stumbled over again, thumping back against the ground. "Hi lady! What's your name?" Ditzy's statement brought all of their attention to a newcomer. Surely enough, Ditzy had fallen against the body of another mare that had not been present previously. Nearly as large as Celestia, she had a deep blue coat, speckled with white as if patterned after the night sky itself. On her flank was a pattern of a full moon with a starry mist behind it, not unlike the cutie mark of Princess Luna. Her mane and tail were an almost black shade of purple, waving about her as if made of pure energy, also not unlike those of the other alicorns. In fact, she appeared to be an alicorn herself, deep purple wings folded behind her and a solid ebony horn rising above her head. "I..." the confused alicorn stammered, "Where am I? I was fighting Luna... and Celestia yelled for me to take cover, but I couldn't in time and... and then Helios was suddenly there and threw me...then I was here..." "This may take some explanation, Selene," Celestia took a deep breath, her own body starting to recover. ----------------------------------- When the portal opened back up so soon after the heroes had left, Luna had initially assumed the worst. She could not have been more surprised when the vortex opened into a steady gate rather than a bright flash of teleportation and the first two refugee carts were drawn through. The first appeared to be Majesty, flanked by her world's Spike, and appearing cautious and uncertain of if she should be there. It was possible that only they were meant to come through in the first group to test if it was safe, but the second cart pulled by Lickity Split and Wind Whistler came through right behind them, appearing as if Lickity was doing most of the pulling against Whister's better judgment. Princess Luna was quick to realize what was happening, waving off the guards with a single hoof, causing them to back up a few steps while remaining on alert. Luna then approached the initial cart, waving a hoof and greeting them. “Welcome to Equestria, travelers!” Luna’s voice boomed loudly, the new arrivals suddenly stopping in the tracks in front of her, “We, Luna, Princess of the Night, greet thee!” "Oh my stars it's a trap!" Majesty tried to back up, not doing very well at reversing the course of her cart, however. "I was promised ice cream!" Lickity Split's scream of terror was unique, but it was still obviously a scream of terror as she immediately broke off from her own cart and ran headlong into the nearest royal guard while attempting to escape. "Lickity, no!" Whistler was the most level headed of them, but still obviously horror-stricken. She tried to turn her cart around, flapping her wings as she tried to speed off, but then her own harness snapped off and she ended up barrel rolling into the ground. "I'll save you, Majesty!" their baby dragon shouted, appearing to be the bravest. He actually charged and tried to punch Luna in the shin. Luna appeared to have barely felt this attack, arching one eyebrow and raising her other front hoof to hurriedly motion to the surrounding guards not to retaliate against the poor, frightened off-worlders. Spike, meanwhile, yelped and hopped backwards, holding his fist as if he had just punched a brick wall before promptly falling over. "Why were we worried these clowns would invade us again?" commented the guard that Lickity Split had run into, moving a single hoof to gently hold her in place on the ground where she fell. She appeared to stay pinned through sheer panic alone. "Civilians, please do not fear, we shall not harm you!" Luna tried to appease them, but her thundering voice only made them run around more. "Shhh," Blueblood's voice came from behind Luna, "You're only making it worse Auntie Luna." He then turned to the crowd, dropping his normal manner and speaking to the new arrivals, "Come on now, let's calm ourselves. She isn't trying to be mean, she just has a... speech... disorder... thing. It's very sad." It took them a few moments, but eventually the four off-worlders calmed themselves, looking slightly embarrassed as they moved to stand in front of their carts. Luna was silent for a moment, but shot Blueblood a black look for his statement. "Does... this mean we get ice cream after all?" Lickity was the first to speak up, trying to fix her ruffled mane as she spoke. "Um... we suppose so?" Luna spoke uncertainly. "So we're... okay to be here?" Majesty very slowly put the words together, then braced all four hooves against the ground in preparation for Luna's reply. "Thou and thy kin are most welcome in Equestria!" Luna raised a single hoof and shouted again, as if completely unable to adjust the volume even after their initial response. "Behold, for we have prepared a temporary camp in anticipation, and our guards shall safely guide you thence through the forest, in groups." "We'll try to arrange for ice cream." Blueblood waved a hoof towards one of the guards, who went wide-eyed and nodded. ---------------------------------------------------- After Majesty had gone back and informed the others that it was safe to come through, the refugees arrived in a steady stream. What had initially been meant as a front line in case the heroes failed quickly became an orderly evacuation. Small teams of guards escorted groups of a dozen ponies at a time though the safest path in the forest that Zecora had revealed to them, while Zecora herself waited at the refugee camp to help them settle in. The temporary camp had been located conveniently near both Ponyville and a nearby river, allowing a place for the aquatic equines as well. Most of the refugees had seemed very confused, not having expected a warm and orderly welcome, but there had been no time to explain things to them, and they had all been happy simply to be taken care of. After having mistakenly terrified several other groups, Luna had herself opted to stand on a nearby hill rather than personally greet them. Instead, she put Prince Blueblood in charge of greeting, and though he strained to remain stuffy, one could see a measure of emotion slipping through that for him was anything but typical. Finally the portal shimmered, and six more tired figures walked out. It was Twilight Wish and her five closest companions. They looked extremely reserved, almost as if they had not wanted to cross over into the new world. Twilight flicked a few switches on this side of the portal, and the gate closed for the time being, making sure it would still have enough energy to bring the heroes through later on. Twilight Wish’s eyes scanned the area, seeing that the gate was now in the middle of an excavated crater with forest on all sides. Her eyes fell on the unmistakable form of Luna atop the hill, and took a deep breath. “Is- is this a good idea?” even Surprise seemed reluctant, and oddly composed at the seriousness of their situation. “It is,” Twilight sighed again as she began walking towards Luna, “We have to face what we’ve done, no matter what influence it was done under.” "Twilight!" the six froze as a voice unfamiliar to them spoke up, turning to see Blueblood walking towards them. Dropping his usual, official mannerisms caused a few nearby guards to perk their ears in curiosity, "I think the other Twilight will want to see you girls; she should be recovering by now. WELL... I told the guards that tickling them was the cure, but I'm pretty sure they figured out the real cure by now." He stifled a chuckle. "Do we know you?" Firefly moved in front of the group, defensively. Applejack grabbed hold of Firefly's tail, giving her a yank back before she could leap to their defense and then looked at Blueblood, "Guess we're under arrest huh." "No fighting it, Firefly," Twilight reminded the pegasus. "At least they aren't beating us with sticks yet!" Surprise pointed out, as if she expected that to be the eventual result. "They're going to beat us with sticks?" Posey huddled in the back, laying against the ground with both hooves covering her head as she teared up. "Arrest?" Blueblood quirked an eyebrow himself, "No no no, look just wait here for a second and try not to break anything, I'm going to check in with Luna, then we'll be off to the palace." He did not need to go to Luna however, as she had approached the group when she saw them lingering instead of moving on with the other refugees. The alicorn stood next to Blueblood, observing the fragile state of the six ponies and peering at Blueblood as if wondering what he had said to them. "Thou requirest Our presence?" Luna's voice boomed, calmly for her, but still causing all six of the off-world pony's eyes to go wide. Prince Blueblood saw Twilight Wish about to speak, holding out a hoof to shush her, "Auntie Luna! No, no, we're fine. These are friends of Twilight Sparkle's, so we're going to the palace to see if she's been… fixed yet. Unless I miss my guess, Team B has had enough time to get back and... well you should probably escort them to the palace when they arrive, but I guess you already planned to do that." He rattled on just a bit, almost as if nervous. Luna blinked a few times at Blueblood, leaning slowly over to look him in the eyes. She leaned back, thinking intensely, then noted, "We granteth thee leave to do thus; we shall remain and observe." Blueblood took another step towards the off-worlders, and without so much as asking their permission, his horn glowed brightly. He and the six off-worlders were teleported away in a flash. "Should we... follow him, your Majesty?" asked a nearby unicorn guard, seeming equally unsure. Luna's answer was cut off as the portal activated a final time. Once again, the guards rallied around it, and once again there was no need. Upon the now very crowded platform stood the substitute team, along with a very groggy-looking princesses Celestia and Selene. Trixie had struck herself into a pose in anticipation of a cheering crowd on the other side, fore-hooves in the air and a huge grin on her face. When no cheer was immediate, she lowered herself to all fours and adjusted her crown, looking a bit downtrodden. The other members were behind her, Pinkie bouncing up and down in excitement, much to the chagrin of Inkie who was relying on her help to walk. Blinkie, who was apparently the worst of the group, had been placed on Gilda's back between her wings, but still seemed aware of her surroundings if nothing else. Deprived of her usual sleeping position on Gilda, Ditzy had curled up on Selene's back instead, who looked quite alarmed at being used for bedding, among the other things that had occurred. Celestia stood on the other side of the group, strong enough again to at least look like her normal, regal self. Of course, the primary reason for there being no cheer was the confusion at the addition of the new alicorn. Many of the guards were taking up positions just in case it was an enemy, and Luna looked blind and deaf to all other things as she stared at Selene. Tears slowly formed in her eyes before she lunged at Selene so fast that she may as well have teleported, suddenly grasping her in a hug. "Selene, thou art alive!" Luna's voice boomed out, as she practically wept on the shoulder of the still very confused Selene. "Sister... you are... feeling better again?" Selene was clearly just as surprised to see Luna in her right mind as Luna was to see Selene alive. The alicorn then looked about, seeming incredibly shy about the amount of eyes focused on her and sinking downward slightly. "Did Trixie mention the valiant defeat of His Majesty?" Trixie piped up. Celestia smiled brightly at the two, then paused and looked about before turning to the nearest guard, "Prince Blueblood was not waiting for us?" "No, Your Majesty," replied the nearest one, "He went to the palace with some of the refugees, we were just about to follow him." "That won't be necessary," Celestia smiled, then turned to the others, "We'll be going back there ourselves." ----------------------------------------------- Prince Blueblood appeared inside the castle in a flash of light, surrounded by the six off-world ponies, all of whom had to take a moment to get over the dizziness caused by unexpected teleportation. Blueblood himself took stock of his surroundings, noting that they were in the main hall once again, just outside of the throne room. Alerted by the noise, two guards quickly ran out of the throne room, only to skid to a halt when they recognized the Prince and gave him a respectful bow. Blueblood spoke before they could do so themselves, “Oh no need for that. Are the five ponies I left here cleansed?” He stifled a slight chuckle. “Um,” the guard seemed caught off guard by the tone and not being required to bow, “Yes, your Majesty, they are just inside the throne room.” “Sh-should we be here?” Twilight Wish asked quietly from behind Blueblood, looking nervously at her unfamiliar surroundings. “Me and Firefly have already been here!” Surprise smiled happily, happier than she was previously since they still had not been beaten with sticks. “Of course you should,” Blueblood turned his head to shoot back at them, then started to walk through the large double doors to the throne room. He did not bother using his magic, instead allowing the guards to hurriedly dart in front of him to open it. “Ahem,” one of the guards seemed a little nervous, “You should know, my Prince, that your initial suggestion was not exactly… well and they may be a little upset so do be cautious. They’re better though, ‘turns out we just had to read letters to the one and then-” He grew silent as Blueblood gave him a ‘yes I know’ gesture, leaving the guard confused. Sure enough, Twilight Sparkle and her friends, save for Pinkie Pie of course, were all waiting in the throne room. Twilight Sparkle was seated in one of the comfortable-looking couches with Spike snoozing on her back, looking as if she had been reading a book until the new arrivals came, placing it instead on the arm of the chair. Rainbow Dash and Applejack were looking impatient near the front of the throne, pacing back and forth. Fluttershy was being quiet, sitting behind the two pacing ponies but staying a great deal more still and reserved. Rarity was sitting on another comfortable chair across from Twilight, but did not stay there for long. “You!” Rarity was up in a heartbeat, pointing a hoof at Prince Blueblood after overhearing the guard speak to him, “I should have known it was your idea! What was this, revenge for the Gala?” “The Gala?” Blueblood eye-quirked, then snorted, “Faust no, I was having far more fun than you realize.” For a brief moment, Rarity looked as if she might explode all over the Prince, regardless of how royal he might be or who was watching. “Hold it Rarity,” Twilight Sparkle slowly got up from her seat at the couch, her magic moving the still sleeping Spike from her back and placing him where she had just been sitting, “There are more important things to deal with right now.” “You!” Applejack and Rainbow Dash actually spoke in unison, also noticing the group of ponies behind Blueblood. “Oh Helios,” Twilight Wish sweared habitually, as she realized who Blueblood had taken them to see. “Dun dun duuuuun!” Surprise threw her fore-hooves up, deciding the moment would benefit from a drama chord. “Whoa there,” Blueblood moved his position slightly, “Right, sorry; I probably should have come in here on my own first and warned you who was coming in with me… anyway! They are just here to tell you something!” “Right,” Twilight Wish took a deep breath, moving slowly around Blueblood as if acting as the spokesman for her team. She did not get to speak as of yet however, another flash of light from the hallway breaking her concentration. One of the two guards stayed, as if feeling the need to remain and make sure things did not degenerate into violence, the other heading out the double doors once again. “I suppose that must be them,” Twilight Wish said, sighing, “We’re ready to fully confess, and take the penalty for what we’ve-“ “Twilight Wish,” Blueblood shook his head, “I already told you before that once everything was over, I would gladly take responsibility for everything you did while under my influence. Anyway, it’s probably best that I be in my own office while Celestia is explaining things; less chance of explosions that way.” “Wait, what?” Twilight Wish’s eyes grew wide, then she waved a hoof frantically as she saw Blueblood’s horn glowing, “No wait don’t-“ But it was too late, Blueblood had flashed away back to his own quarters, leaving both groups now staring at where he had been in silence. “Okay,” Rainbow Dash was the first to break the silence, “What the hay is going on?” “Best. Surprise. Ever!” decided Surprise. “Oh he decided to leave?” Celestia’s voice was heard from the double doors, the Princess strolling into the room, “Poor thing, he’s probably nervous about seeing Selene again after all this time.” Indeed, the still confused looking alicorn Selene was directly behind Celestia, looking even more nervous as all eyes went to her first. Luna was next to her sister, smiling brightly at her presence. Behind them were the six heroes, Trixie in particular seeming still put out that no one had started cheering yet. “Princess?” Twilight Sparkle walked up to the Princess, as was her habit, despite everypony else in the room having paused to bow to her, “I… I’m not even sure what to ask.” “I’m sorry you had to go through that Twilight Sparkle,” Celestia sighed, leaning down to nose slightly against Twilight’s ear, then moved to walk towards the throne, where she slowly had a seat, “I’m sorry that any of you did, but you have to understand that to interfere too early would have disrupted the proper sequence of events and might have resulted in a… less beneficial outcome.” Now she had their attention, nopony in the room was speaking, all circled about the throne as she spoke. Celestia took a deep breath, “A thousand years ago, when our sister Luna was… taken from us, something very strange happened when she was banished. You see, Selene had joined in the fight, while Helios had stayed in our sister world to keep order. I arrived late to the battle, having had difficulty adjusting to using all the Elements at once… and found Lu—I mean Nightmare Moon had nearly killed Selene. I shouted at her to move aside, and tried to cast the banishing wave before she was killed, but she was not able to get out of the way in time.” Luna tried to retreat into a corner at this point, clearly ashamed at her involvement in the story, but Selene reached out a hoof and pulled her gently back, smiling at her forgivingly. Celestia continued, “At first, I thought I had accidentally finished off Selene, but I was surprised when I realized that the still body was that of Helios. However, Helios had not been so weakened by battle, so he survived the blast, and immediately attacked me in a fit of rage that I did not understand. I was able to subdue him, but he would not speak reasonably with me. He accused me of harming our sisters in a grab for power, and claimed to have ‘saved’ Selene from my ‘evil plan’.” “He was clearly not being himself, but also clearly not possessed, at least not by anything of which the Elements could clense him. I brought him back to the palace, where upon further examination it was discovered his mind had been damaged by some immense torment. Once I knew this, I was able to persuade him to reveal how he remembered me coming back and claiming I had accidentally killed Selene, how he was banished by his own ponies, and how he had awoken and vowed to take his revenge. Helios told me the entire story, and I was… severely tempted to try to prevent it. I realized that it was partially my fault that he was banished, and certainly my fault for not having acted more wisely against Nightmare Moon, but I also realized that changing the timeline was a dangerous thing to do. So instead, I went to Helios… and claimed that I had accidentally killed Selene.” She took a deep breath, “Not a day has gone by that I did not regret putting such things into motion when I could have attempted to prevent them, but the chaos that could ensue from actually trying to change established timelines was… too horrible to contemplate.” “I hope that you forgive me, and that you forgive Helios as well for the things that have occurred. It took over a century of magic work, much of it very painful, to recover his mind from the thousand years of torment he had been through. Once he was freed from his delusions, and realizing what he had done, he insisted that his punishment continue. Forsaking his alicorn form, he has been my faithful servant, standing by my side and keeping the realm safe under a number of guises, beginning as a lowly castle servant and progressing until he earned his present rank. I fear his present guise is designed to keep ponies at a distance, as he did not wish any to become too friendly with him only to be hurt by finding out what he was.” Celestia then turned directly to the off-worlders, making all six of them sink slightly as if expecting reprisal, but her tone was still kind, “Twilight Wish and friends. Helios has informed me that what you did, you did under his influence, and I consider his millennia of punishment more than enough to absolve you of your crimes. I know it will not be easy…” her head turned to the others, “But I ask you to forgive them as well.” “Oh,” Celestia added as an afterthought, “I also think a celebration is due, in honor of our new heroes.” “Yes!” Trixie threw her hooves up, causing everyone to stare at her now for a moment. She slowly put them back upon the floor, and added a more reserved, “Team Awesome P.A.R.T.Y Trixie and Friends thanks you, Your Majesty.” “Oh no need to thank me,” Celestia smiled, “This is your moment, there is probably a crowd gathered outside as we speak, now that news of your achievements has begun to spread.” “Have fun Trixie,” Twilight Sparkle smiled to her. “The Twilight Sparkle is not going out with us?” Trixie looked at her, arching one eyebrow. “No Trixie, you and your friends deserve more credit than we do; all we did was get rescued this time.” Twilight Sparkle smiled, “I’m proud of you Trixie, your magic really has become powerful.” For a moment, Trixie was speechless, looking dizzy with glee at her rival’s words. “Yeah go on guys, especially you G! Glad you came around.” Rainbow Dash moved up beside Twilight Sparkle, looking over at Gilda. Gilda tried not to blush, “Aw don’t get all sappy on me Dash… but thanks. I’ll try and visit more.” “I think I had probably best not go as well,” Twilight Wish spoke up too, but found herself smiling for the first time in quite a while, “Besides, we should get back to help everypony from Undervale get settled in.” With that, the teams separated once again. The off-world ponies were taken to the new settlement to take on their new duties there. Trixie and her friends marched out quite happily to meet the cheering crowd, flanked by both Celestia on one side and Luna and Selene on the other. The other ponies rested up, but for the most part quietly made their way back to Ponyville. ---------------------------------- Dear Princess Celestia, Sometimes we all do things that we regret, sometimes things that can cost us the friendships we cherish the most, making us think that maybe being a loner is the best way to avoid being unhappy. For a long time I avoided the problem in the hopes of avoiding more pain, but the more I avoided it, the more pain I felt. I’ve learned that it’s never too late to come back and try again. Making up for what you did might not be pleasant, but it’s well worth it in the long run. Maybe ponies aren’t such bad friends to have after all. Awesomely Yours, Gilda Dear Princess Celestia, Sometimes life can be really confusing and hard, but I’ve learned that just because you released a horror from its eternal imprisonment and unleashed it upon the universe, doesn’t mean you have to panic and almost crash the TARDIS into a black hole trying to get away; that will only get you kicked off at the nearest planet. And just covering it up with a blanket and hoping nopony notices won’t work either. It’s best to ‘fess up to what you did and ask your friends for help instead; together you can always find a way! Kindly Yours, Ditzy Dear Princess Celestia, Hi! Trixie says that we all have to write to you, and tell you something we learned! I learned that even the worst of meanies can become the best of friends, and all it takes is a common goal and possibly being trapped together in a dark ruin for hours on end. I also learned that if you find a giant pink button with a blinking light on it, you should press it right away! Partastically Yours, Pinkie Pie Dear Princess Celestia, Blowing up things is really fun, so it can be tempting to use ‘splodies to solve all our problems, but sometimes resorting to blowing things up with huge explosives at the first sign of trouble is not the right answer. I’ve learned to carry a wider range of bombs with me, like shaped charges, smoke bombs, and other smaller, tactical explosives. Oh, and I guess I also learned that you should try to use the lowest level of violence possible to solve your problems so there’s a smaller mess to clean up after and fewer ponies wanting revenge. Explosively Yours, Blinkie Pie Dear Princess Celestia, There are a lot of ponies in the world and many of them are loyal to their friends and believe they are doing the right thing. I learned however, that this isn't always enough. A pony can follow almost all the Elements and still end up being brutally wrong, so it's important that we carefully analyze what we are doing and look at both sides of an issue before resorting to extreme measures. Calmly Yours, Inkie Pie Dear Princess Celestia, I, the Great and Powerful Trixie, have learned a valuable lesson! I have learned that no matter how talented and mind-boggling amazing that a pony is, she still needs to have friends to depend on to help. What's more, you should not dismiss a pony because they seem to be simple or even clumsy. They sometimes bring brilliant solutions that not even the Great and Powerful Trixie could have imagined. Greatly and Powerfully Yours, Trixie