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The two shadowbeings made their way up the slope; neither actually touched the ground, as each one simply darted from shadow to shadow. These two were special as they were generals in an army, and between them, they were some of the greatest veterans that ever existed with over a million years worth of campaign experience. They had countless knowledge in battle, on both the losing and winning sides. Losing always came with a price though, such events were necessary for any commander to be competent, as losing caused you to learn, to grow, and to adept. However, lose too much and it would be viewed as a failure to adept. In their line of work, failure only leads to one thing, death.
As they reached the top of the slope, their journey ended. They had to deliver their report. Some of it was good news, the rest, not so much. That alone was reason not to hurry, however, to delay is a sign of cowardice, which brought something worse than death. The more brazen of the two shadowbeings sought to earn their master's favor by being the first to deliver the report.
“My Lor…”
A fist the size of a small mountain slammed down and squashed him like a bug, the speed of it sent shockwaves through the air. The impact caused the very ground the other one was over to crack and shake. Briefly, the thought crossed the other’s mind to run. However, there would be no point, such action would only be seen as cowardly, and subject to worse punishment from his master.
He could not help but remark on how much of a fool the other had been. ‘You fool, he never gave us permission to speak… I'm lucky, the master is in a good mood today.’
He stood there, head bowed in submission towards his master. He knew that eventually, he would be able to speak, but only after his lord deemed it appropriate. After what felt like several hours the order finally came, in the form of a dark brooding voice.
“SPEAK.”
“My lord, I bring news of our efforts, the distraction you planed worked perfectly my lord; we have acquired the first of the Occuloi. Preparations are already being made to put it to use.”
“THE CRYSTAL?”
“Unpowered my lord, their defenses were too great to crack, however, we have located another source of power. Another we can use to power the crystal, one not as well defended, one that will be easier to manipulate to your objectives.”
"YOU WILL TAKE REASONABILITY IF IT FAILS.”
He gulped at that, logically it was his only play; however, if it failed he would be fully accountable for it. “Yes, of course my lord. I'll gladly take responsibility and pay with my life if it is what you wish.”
“IS EVERYTHING ELSE READY?”
“Indeed my lord, the other items are already in play, with the knowledge and help you provided us, it was easier than expected. Everything is prepared for what is to come. We simply await your final blessing in order that your plans are fulfilled.”
His master opened a gigantic hand, one that could easily crush hills in its grasp; a spherical objected took flight from it. It was unremarkable in appearance, yet its effect would become legendary throughout the ages. With this final piece of the puzzle in place, the world would be forever changed. Well, changed back to the way it used to be.
“WHEN MY FORCES ARE READY LAUNCH THIS INTO THE SUN, BUT KNOW THIS, THIS IS THE ONLY ONE THERE WILL EVER BE, THERE ARE NO REPLACEMENTS.”
“Thank you my lord, we will not fail you.”
“DO AND YOU WILL PAY THE PRICE.”
He bowed and took flight, the sphere in his claw. What was coming needed to happen exactly by the book, not one thing could go wrong. However, he had left nothing to chance. Everything would indeed go right, as this was simply the first part of a much larger plan to restore the master to his rightful place.
“I live to serve.”
...........................
Ponyville
She was flying through the clouds, hoof and hoof with the mare of her dreams. The cyan pegasus and lavender alicorn danced in the sky, their flight paths complementing each other perfectly. Each left a trail behind them, the lavender alicorn’s trail being one of purple, made entirely from magic as she pushed herself farther with the subtlest input of magic energy. The cyan pegasus had three trails, two of gold and one of rainbow. Two golden streaks followed the edges of her wings, each one parallel with the other; her rainbow trail came from her mane and tail. It stayed between the two golden streaks. The symmetry alone was breathtaking. However, the alicorn could not have cared less about the beauty of symmetry at that moment. For her eyes were only for the pegasus.
After hours of flying the two landed on a cloud under the most perfect rainbow either had ever seen, it seemed to be radiating warmth and love to any who saw it, and being this close the two were enjoying the full splendor it offered. The alicorn had landed first, dropping down softly on the cloud, folding her wings by her side. The pegasus landed next, landing so close to the alicorn a piece of paper would not have been able to fit between them. She wrapped the alicorn tightly in her wing. A protective gesture they had both grown to enjoy.
Twilight stared longingly in the eyes of Rainbow; in all the years she had known the mare, Twilight never once felt anything but the deepest love for her. At their best and worst she was the one constant in Twilight’s life. The one thing she would always have. The Gods themselves had tried to come between that and they had failed. Theirs was a love that would last the ages. Twilight did not just believe that, she knew it, with the same certainty that she knew one plus one equals two. She knew Rainbow and she would always have each other.
Rainbow reached over and kissed her wife on the lips. “I love you, Twi.”
“I love you too, Rainbow, and I always will.”
Twilight looked around and really took in the scenery for the first time. For a moment, she wondered why she just now noticed how perfect everything was, that mystery was solved as soon as she looked back at the mare by her side. Despite everything around them, none of it compared to Rainbow.
“Everything is perfect Rainbow. Promise me it will never end.”
“Sorry, I can’t do that, Twi.”
That took Twilight back. “Why not?”
“'Cause you have to wake up now.”
“Wake up, I am awake.”
“Twi, wake up.”
“Rainbow…”
“Twi, c'mon, you've got to get up.”
Twilight found herself opening her eyes. Gone were the soft clouds, the warm sun, and the beautiful rainbow, well, one of them anyway. Fortunately, the other Rainbow was still there, softly cooing into her ear.
“Twilight, you've got to get up now.”
“Five more minutes.”
“Believe me, I would give you five more days if I could, but you have to get up now.”
“What, why?”
“The wedding is in thirty minutes.”
“WHAT?!”
The grogginess that had kept Twilight from getting up left her in a second. She shot out of bed before her body was ready for it and slammed face first on the floor.
"Ow, who put that there?!”
“The contractors who built the house, I think.” Rainbow barely managed to keep herself from laughing, however, despite her best efforts, a sarcastic remark still got through.
“Remind me to have them banished in the morning.” Twilight got up from her impromptu floor bed and started to rub her muzzle with a hoof, she was thankful that there was not any blood coming out.
“Sure Twi, whatever you say.”
Twilight walked into the bathroom, a little more carefully this time, her legs were indeed weak, and she felt tired, more so than she could remember being in a long time. Her little face-plant did not help the situation either. Grabbing both a hair brush and toothbrush with her magic, she quickly started to make herself a little more presentable.
“How long was I asleep for?”
“About seven hours.”
“Seven hours!" Twilight spit out a mouthful of toothpaste. "Why did you let me sleep for so long Rainbow? You know important today is and I…”
Rainbow cut off her sentence by walking up behind Twilight and hugging her with all the strength she could manage. Twilight nearly dropped both brushes from the unexpected display of affection.
“Twi, you're so stupid at times… What you did for Night today, it was nothing short of legendary. You rebuilt a whole town in an hour. I know for a fact that nothing like that has ever occurred before. Yet, you did it. After that, you should be able to rest for as long as you want. Night even came by and offered to delay the wedding. I told her no.”
That shocked Twilight; she knew Rainbow would have done anything to delay the wedding for as long as she could.
“I told her no because I know you, I know how much you want to see her happy and that is the reason why you did what you did today. Yeah, the side effect may have been everypony else getting their houses back, but that wasn't the reason you pushed yourself so much. This day is as much yours as anypony else’s. Night agreed, and promised to take care of any last minute details; the girl is smart Twi. Smarter than I will ever be. With her and Dayspring working on it, I can promise you they have every eventuality covered. There is nothing left for you to do, as such, I let you sleep, you needed it and everypony in Equestria would agree with me on that one. So relax, take your time, and let's enjoy the day that you alone saved from not occurring.”
Twilight felt touched by her wife’s words; although, there was one small detail she wanted to correct. One minor thing Rainbow had gotten wrong in her statement. She loosened her wife’s grip and turned around. Twilight looked into Rainbow’s eyes and corrected her on that one small mistake.
“You think I did it alone? Sorry Rainbow, but on that you could not be more wrong. It was too much for even me. The spell required me to imagine every inch of the town. I thought I could do it, but I was wrong. There is only one reason I was able, and that was you. When you stood by my side and wrapped a wing around me, the memories of all the times we have spent together came back. I completed it because of you. Everything I have accomplished in the last forty years, it was only because of you being by my side. Never forget that.”
The kiss they shared served as a final punctuation on that remark. They were the best at what they did because of each other. It would be a lesson neither of them would ever forget.
…………………………………
Twilight had to admit; when Rainbow was right she was right. The wedding looked perfect. Every detail was spot on, the food, the reception, and even the awaiting doves were exactly where they needed to be. Each section was ready to do its part precisely when it need to, and she once again was happy to see the blue theme back. Twilight did not know what to expect when she walked up to the park, however, this was not it, although, her true surprise had yet to reveal itself.
As the two made their way to the wedding, Celestia herself soon spotted them. She was currently standing in the center of the stage next to Bright Dawn. Unfortunately, Luna could not make the wedding, as one of the two had to stay in Canterlot. As soon as they got within earshot, Celestia began stomping her hooves. On that signal, the entire congregation stood up and joined her. Every pony present gave Twilight and Rainbow Dash a standing ovation for their work in saving the town, yet again.
Twilight began blushing at all the attention. It was unwanted and unneeded, but, it was precisely those qualities that made her the most deserving. True heroes did not want admiration for their deeds and Twilight was a hero by every definition of the word.
“I think they might want a speech, Twi.”
“I don’t deserve this, Rainbow.”
“Funny, I think everypony here would disagree with that.”
Twilight and Rainbow both made their way down the center. The two had assigned spots in the front row. As befitted the heroes they were, and the fact they were the bride’s parents. Twilight tried to go right to her seat; however, Rainbow would not let her.
“I know you don’t think you deserve it, but you do. Say a few words to the crowd and we can enjoy the rest of the day.”
“Only if you stay by my side.”
“You didn't even need to ask.”
With Rainbow by her side, Twilight made her way to the center platform. Both Celestia and Dawn quickly got out of their way, respectfully making room for the two ponies. As Rainbow watched her wife give her speech, she could not help but regret yet again, the fact she had to wake her up. Twilight was swaying back and forth, almost as if she could not quite stand on her own. Being that she was leaning heavily on Rainbow, that was probably true. Rainbow wrapped a wing around Twilight and squeezed her tight; she would carry Twilight’s burden for her.
“I want to thank you all for that standing ovation and say that I'm sorry for the destruction this town once again suffered. It seems as if we go through something like that almost on a monthly basis, and I cannot help but feel responsible. Rebuilding the town was the least I could do for all of you. You, Ponyville, are the true heroes. Every day you open your homes and your hearts to others. You took me in all those years ago and made me feel welcomed. You, Ponyville, welcomed an introverted filly with open hooves and taught her the meaning of friendship. Then a few years later she would learn the true meaning of love.” Rainbow began blushing at that point. “On today of all days, I'm proud of all of you. You all stood up and granted me a standing ovation when I got here. Well, I want you to join me for one more. This time it's for all of you. For your courage and dedication to do what is best for each other, for being the unsung heroes of this town. For putting up with the antics of me, my friends, and my family on a daily basis. You never had to do any of that, but, because of who you are, you could do no less.”
Twilight began stomping her hooves in applause of the town, at first none cared to join in with her, as they were not comfortable taking any of the credit that Twilight was giving them. That all changed when Celestia joined in with Twilight. Soon the entire congregation was back on their hooves, this time applauding their own actions and the admiration the princesses had for them.
As soon as she felt it was appropriate to do so, Rainbow guided Twilight to her seat. The whole experience of the last few days had taxed the alicorn. She may have put on her brave face for everypony but Rainbow knew better. The two of them had been together so long they could read one another like a book. Rainbow nodded to their other two kids, Dayspring Gleam and Aurora Flash each nodded back, proud of their parents.
As they took their seats, the applause finally started to die down, center stage; Celestia and Bright Dawn each went back to their spots. To Rainbow, Celestia actually looked like she had cried a little during that speech. Dawn looked as nervouscited as a colt on his wedding day. Which Rainbow deemed was appropriate given the circumstances. He wore a goofy grin that spoke volumes to his excitement at joining such a family, however, his back and forth fidgeting told how nervous he was to be joining the likes of Celestia, Twilight, Rainbow, and Night in the spotlight. The poor colt’s life would find itself turned upside down by today’s events. After today he would become Prince Bright Dawn, husband to Princess Shimmering Night and son-in-law to Princess Rainbow Dash and Princess Twilight Sparkle. Even with nine years of preparation for it, it was still a lot to take in.
Celestia begin addressing the crowd. “Let me be the first to say, thank you Princess Twilight Sparkle. It is the mark of a great leader that they always put their subjects before themselves. Your humbleness is matched only by the love you have for everypony here. All of Equestria, no the world, has prospered by your leadership and dedication to those you love. It has been my honor to be your teacher, mentor, and friend all these years.” The applause started up in earnest one more time. Rainbow lost track of how long it lasted, and it only ended by a gesture from Celestia. “In all this we have one more pony to thank, I also wish to thank Rainbow Dash, her loyalty and dedication to Twilight has been a shining example of what true love is capable of. Dash, the element of Loyalty chose you as its bearer for a reason, because, in the entire world, you exemplify loyalty better than anypony else." Celestia paused to catch her thoughts.
I have often wondered though, what is loyalty? Loyalty is defined as: The state of being faithful to that which you deem worthy. In this case Rainbow’s loyalty was given willing to the town she now calls home, to the friends she made, and to her wife, Twilight Sparkle. Is it little wonder that the one who best exemplifies loyalty would come to love somepony so much, or that the one they love would come to rely on them as much as Twilight relies on you? Together, you two have accomplished the impossible so many times that I have come to stop using the world. I pinkie promise to never again understate your love for each other.” The crowd laughed as Celestia crossed her heart and stuck an imaginary cupcake in her eye.
“But enough ramblings from an old mare like me. Today, we are here to celebrate the marriage of two young ponies.” She turned and looked at Bright Dawn, who suddenly grew very anxious at having the ruler of Equestria staring at him. “Don’t look so nervous Bright Dawn, I don’t bite.” Again a laugh broke throughout the crowd, because of it, nopony else heard the words she whispered into Bright’s ear. “I will do much worse if you break her heart though; remember that I sent my own sister to the moon once.”
Rainbow smiled as the colt’s face turned from nervous to downright scared for his life. Briefly, she entertained the idea that he might actually take flight and run. Rainbow dismissed that off hoof, it was way too late for him to change his mind. No colt was going to leave her daughter at the altar. If he did run, Rainbow would chase him down in a second, buck the crap out of him for trying to break Night’s heart like that and bring back whatever was left to finish this. Either way, Rainbow would have a good day.
Fortunately for Bright Dawn, his rational side won out. He decided to simply take these lessons to heart. Not just anypony could marry into such a family as he was about to. He loved Shimmering Night with all his heart, and given time, he knew he would love her family just as much. First things first, he had to get through this day. A task that grew infinity easier when, at a signal from Fluttershy, the birds started singing.
The poor stallion could only stare down the aisle at his beautiful bride. Shimmering Night walked down the aisle, dressed in a long flowing white gown, accented perfectly with cyan blue collars. A task that could only have been accomplished by a master designer, and Ponyville had one of the world's best in Rarity. For her family, she had gone all out, the dresses, suits, and decorations all had her hoof in it. Truly, it was a wedding for the ages.
Every head turned at once when Night began down the aisle. Most were full of tears; the ones who could avoid crying were wearing the biggest grins. As with everyone related to Twilight, Shimmering Night had left her mark on Ponyville, a difficult task when you are related to such ponies as Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Aurora Flash, and Dayspring Gleam. Yet, despite all of them, she never failed to win over hearts and minds in her own way. The birds stopped singing as soon as she reached the end of the aisle.
“You look gorgeous.” Bright Dawn whispered in her ear.
“You don’t look to bad yourself.”
The two stared lovingly at each other until Celestia interrupted. “Are you two ready to begin?”
Shimmering Night and Bright Dawn both nodded to her, blushing as they did.
“Today, we are gathered here to witness the union of Shimmering Night and Bright Dawn. Bright Dawn’s love for her was such that he completed the impossible; He won Rainbow Dash’s approval to marry Night by beating Rainbow in a race. Such a feat has never been achieved before and will never be again. However, it was only due to the love that Shimmering Night had for him that he won at all. Such love is the only true magic in this world. May it forever last between this pair.”
Celestia leaned down and touched her horn to Nights and Dawn’s forehead. Symbolizing her approval of their wedding. “It is my understanding the couple has written their own vows.”
Bright Dawn begin first. “I, Bright Dawn, take you, Shimmering Night, to be my wife, my constant friend, my faithful partner, and my one true love. In the presence of Celestia, your parents, and those here today, I promise to be your faithful stallion through all of life’s joys and challenges. I further promise to love you unconditionally, comfort you in hard times, encourage you to achieve all your goals, laugh with you, cry with you, always be open and honest with you, grow with you in mind and spirit, and cherish the love we share for as long as we both shall live.”
Shimmering Night went next. “Bright Dawn, I love you. You are my best friend. Today I give myself to you in marriage. I promise to encourage and inspire you, to laugh with you, and to comfort you in times of sorrow and struggle. I promise to love you in good times and in bad, when life seems easy and when it seems hard, when our love is simple, and when it is an effort. I promise to cherish you, and to always hold you in the highest regard. These words I pinkie promise to you today, and all the days of our life.”
Celestia finished the ceremony, “I now pronounce you Stallion and Mare. You may kiss the bride.”
As they turned and kissed not even Rainbow was able to hold back the tears. The entire congregation begun a thundering applause for the two. While Twilight tried to join in, she was too weak to keep it up. Rainbow noticed this and doubled her applause for the two of them, easily becoming the loudest of the whole crowd.
Twilight was so happy for her daughter. ‘Perhaps now I can finally get some grandfoals.’ She smiled her broadest smile as they began walking down the aisle to the reception area, Shimmering Night’s white, blue, and red dress flowing behind her. ‘Wait… Red?’ She prodded her wife in the ribs.
“Ow, what’s wrong, Twi?”
Twilight simply pointed at the red that was tinting everything around them. She felt a strong magical pressure coming from above, as she looked for the source, she found it in a ball of red energy streaking through the sky directly towards the sun. When it impacted the sun’s surface a few seconds later, the sunlight changed to a dark red tent. Illuminating everything it touched in shades of crimson. Twilight, Celestia, Rainbow, Night, Aurora, Day, and Dawn all looked on in horror as red light covered the entire town.
Twilight’s words from earlier that morning coming back to haunt them.
‘The red tint of the light increases their power.’