//------------------------------// // Battle Against Tirek // Story: Sunset's Locked-On Love // by 00RaiserGundam //------------------------------// Sunset Shimmer, Twilight Sparkle, and Lockon Astros were at a loss for words. To say that they were beyond horrified at the very idea of what they just heard would have been one of the biggest understatements in the history of Equestria. "Tirek is set on possessing alicorn magic." Luna said. "When he comes for us, we cannot have what he is looking for." "I am more than willing to do my part and give up my magic." Twilight responded. "As are we." Sunset added with Lockon nodding in agreement. "You misunderstand." Luna replied. "Our magic cannot just disappear into thin air. Somepony must keep it safe." "That somepony is you, Twilight." Cadance pressed on. "Why me?" Twilight asked with her ears folded back. "We do not believe that Tirek is aware that a fourth or a fifth alicorn princess exists in Equestria, nor an alicorn prince." Celestia answered her. "If we transfer our magic to you, Tirek will not know where it has gone." "Do you understand what we are asking of you?" Cadance asked Twilight. "Yes, it's just…" Twilight hesitated. "I'm only now learning how to control my own alicorn magic. To take on even more…" "Twilight, you represent the Element of Magic." Cadance cut her off. "If there is anypony who can do this, it's you." Celestia and Luna nodded in agreement. "Taking on this task will be one of the most difficult things I will ever do," Twilight said, "but with the help of my friends…" "I'm sorry, Princess Twilight." Celestia cut her off. "But you must keep your new abilities a secret. I fear that your friends being aware of your new power could put them at great risk. Do you still think you can take on this responsibility?" "This is the role I am meant to play as a princess of Equestria." Twilight agreed. "I will not fail to do my duty." "Now hold on a minute." Sunset decided to make herself known. "I understand why she wants you to keep this a secret from your friends, but who says that you still have to do this all on your own?" "Sunset, what are you implying?" Celestia asked her other former student turned princess. "With your permission, I would like to join Twilight Sparkle in taking on this responsibility." Sunset answered her with a determined look on her face. Everypony else gasped at this, but Sunset held up a hoof to shush them before they could stop her explanation. "Please, just hear me out." She told them. "I know that Twilight represents the Element of Magic, and that nopony is more capable of doing this task than her. But at the same time, even for a pony of her magical prowess, who is to say that she won't have any difficulty controlling all of the magic that you transfer over to her? Besides, Discord is still in cahoots with Tirek. Who is to say that he won't tell Tirek about any of us? If I were to take on at least half of the magic that you would be transferring, then in the off chance that Tirek does manage to acquire it, we can easily keep half of it safe and make sure that he does not steal every last bit of it, if he expects it all to be with one pony." "Sunset, are you sure that you want to do this?" Twilight asked in slight disbelief. Sunset then walked up to Twilight to put a hoof on her shoulder. "Twilight, you were the one who taught me that friendship is magic." Sunset told her in one of the most heartfelt manners possible. "You were the one who showed me the light that guided me back onto the correct path. You were one of the main reasons that I was able to earn my redemption and my title as a princess. The least I owe you is to help you out with this responsibility." "Twilight, I told you before." Sunset pressed on. "You are like the sister I never had but always needed. I would be insane to even think about letting you do this alone. I am not asking to help you just to repay you for all that you have done for me. I want to do this because you are my friend." Twilight gave a very heartwarming smile in response before tightly embracing Sunset in a hug. "You really have come such a long way." Twilight spoke into Sunset's ear. "Thank you." Then she released the hug and Twilight turned to the three remaining princesses. "I agree with Sunset." Twilight spoke to them. "As do I." Celestia allowed before turning to her other former student. "You really have matured, Sunset Shimmer. In mind, spirit, heart, and soul. I will allow you to help Twilight with this task. But are you sure you want to take on this responsibility alongside her?" "I have never been more sure of myself about anything at any point in my life than I am right now." Sunset confirmed her decision. "Then we must begin at once." Celestia replied. Then she, Luna and Cadance formed a triangle around Twilight and Sunset before focusing every ounce of magic they could muster into their horns. Then they all opened their eyes to reveal complete whiteness before blasting all of their magic into the same point directly above Twilight and Sunset, forming a gigantic sphere of pure magic. Twilight and Sunset each then absorbed half of it into their own horns. The next thing they knew, a massive amount of power was surging through the both of them while their eyes were glowing with a white light. Sunset and Twilight then lowered down to the ground and both of them put a hoof to their heads before rushing to hug Princess Celestia with tears in their eyes. It was then that they noticed that the flanks of all of the princesses who just transferred their magic were now completely blank. Even Celestia and Luna's manes were no longer blowing in the nonexistent breeze like they always were. "It is done." Celestia sighed in exhaustion. "I hope you know what you're doing, Mom." Lockon said as he hugged his adoptive mother. "Be careful. I don't want to lose you as well." "You won't, son." Celestia assured him. "You won't. You three should probably head back to Ponyville. You're friends are probably worried about you. Remember, not a word of this to any of them." The three young alicorns nodded in agreement and then headed back to their respective homes in Ponyville. Sunset and Lockon then proceeded to their own home. "I still can't believe that Discord would betray us like that." Sunset said in slight despair. "If Fluttershy finds out about this, she will be so heartbroken." "I honestly thought he had changed." Lockon said in agreement. "I am still holding out for a ray of hope that maybe this is all part of a ruse of his to lure Tirek into a trap. But, now I do not know what to believe anymore. Let's just get some rest while the sun is still not up." "Wait." Sunset said in confusion while looking out the window to see it was still dark when the clock read 6 A.M. "That's strange. The sun should be up by now." Then she gasped. "The sun should be up by now!" Then she proceeded to do a telepathy spell to communicate with Twilight. "Twilight, are you there?" Sunset called to her in her mind. "Yeah, Sunset, I'm here." Twilight answered. "I just realized the sun should be up by now!" "Glad we are both on the same page." Sunset replied. "Let's do this together. On three… One…Two…Three." Then, they both combined their magical strengths to lower the moon and raise the sun in tandem with each other. They found little difficulty in doing both of these tasks. "You OK, Twilight?" Sunset asked via telepathy. "Yeah, I'm ok. Just a slight headache." Twilight answered her. "We should probably practice in private somewhere to gain better control, just in case." "You're probably right. Let's meet at the castle of the royal sisters as soon as possible." Sunset agreed. "I'll see you later." "See you later, then." Twilight agreed with her. "Let's go to the castle of the royal sisters." Sunset told Lockon. "Twilight will meet us there." Lockon nodded in response before they both galloped off. Just before they entered the Everfree Forest, they heard what sounded like Twilight screaming before they saw her crash landing without a scratch after flying fast enough to leave a streak with the same colors as her mane and tail just like Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust usually do, before skidding to a stop. Soon after that, the rest of the Mane Six galloped up to them. "Oh my goodness, are you alright?" Fluttershy asked with concern. "Jumpin' junebugs, Twilight." Applejack said. "When did you learn to fly that fast?" "I must have caught a particularly strong breeze…or something." Twilight lied while teleporting somewhat uncontrollably in the middle of her sentence. "Must have been 'or something', because there wasn't any breeze up there." Rainbow Dash said. "I don't know what happened." Twilight said. "But I don't really have time to figure it out right now." "Another visit to the castle of the two sisters, I presume?" Rarity asked her as she, Sunset and Lockon started to walk off. "We'd be more than happy to accompany you." She and the others all gave enthusiastic and somewhat creepy grins. "Not today." Sunset answered Rarity for Twilight. "Tirek may still be a threat. We need you all to stay here and encourage everypony to remain inside." Then she and Twilight were about to take off, but then decided against it at the last minute before walking off towards the castle with Lockon following them. As they were walking, Lockon began to feel something. "What is it, Lockon? Sunset asked her fiancé in concern. "I don't know." Lockon answered her. "One moment, I sense something strange happening with Discord and his chaos magic, and the next, I can't sense him at all. It's almost like he disappeared." "Let's worry about that later." Twilight voiced. "Right now, Sunset and I need to gain better control of these magics." Sunset and Lockon nodded in agreement. Soon they all found themselves on the top of a cliff overlooking the castle from a far off distance. "I can do this." Twilight said before concentrating magic into her horn for a teleportation spell. She was happy to have traveled down a short distance to the next ledge as she had intended. "See, perfectly controlled teleportation." Twilight said with confidence before she teleported somewhere else unintentionally. "Or not." Sunset remarked. The she began using a telepathy spell to scan Equestria for Twilight's whereabouts. Sunset found Twilight in Canterlot, by a waterfall, riding buffalo in Appleloosa, and finally getting herself wedged between two very large rocks. Sunset grabbed Lockon's hoof before teleporting them both to Twilight's location. Unfortunately this meant that they all found themselves stuck in the same place. "Perfectly controlled, huh?" Sunset asked Twilight in a sarcastic manner. Twilight just groaned angrily in response. "PRINCESS TWILIGHT!!!!" Roared a terrible voice. "PRINCESS SUNSET!!!! PRINCE LOCKON!!!!" "Tirek!" Twilight gasped. "But how did he find us?!" Sunset said with worry. "Discord better not have told him!" Lockon snorted with rage. "YOU HAVE SOMETHING THAT BELONGS TO ME!!!!" Tirek shouted. Then, the three young alicorns blasted their way out of the rock and took off into the sky flying past Tirek at Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust speeds. Then for some reason, Twilight turned around and crash landed skidding to a halt before she stared up Tirek's massive equine leg. Sunset and Lockon landed more smoothly ready to back her up, though they were quite a distance away from her. Tirek was unlike any other creature that Sunset had seen before. He had a centaur body, with the lower half being four massive and muscular horse legs, while the top part was humanoid in appearance, having a red face and arms, a pitch black torso, and a white beard and mane one his head. He also wore a nose ring. His head also had really thick horns that were so ridiculously long, you could probably make a giant slingshot out of them. "You're going to give me what I want." Tirek demanded before attempting to use his dark powers to drain Twilight of the magic. The young princess was too stunned to move, and Sunset and Lockon were to far away to help them in time. However, just before Tirek could start draining her, a loud and somewhat feral barking was heard. The next thing they all knew, a pitch black blur tackled Tirek to the ground and started trying to bite and claw at him while snarling while Tirek used the arms on his humanoid torso to keep the creature at bay. Tirek then managed to use his four equine legs to throw his attacker off and away from him and toward the direction of the royal couple. When Sunset saw what Twilight's savior was, she almost immediately recognized the creature. "Sh-Sh-Shadow?!" she gasped. The creature was indeed Shadow, as he turned his head to look at Sunset upon hearing his name. However, Shadow looked very different from the last time Sunset saw him. Instead of a teenage wolf pup who had just finished hitting puberty, Shadow was now four times what was supposed to be his normal fully grown size. His teeth, fangs, and claws had even grown longer and sharper, giving him a more ferocious looking appearance. "But, how is this even possible?!" Twilight gasped. "You should be more worried about your own safety than anything else." Tirek said to her from behind in another attempt to drain Twilight's magic. However, Twilight cast a teleportation spell and made it to the uppermost balcony of her library. As she looked through the telescope, she saw Sunset, Shadow, and Lockon were still with Tirek, but Tirek was turning his attention away from them and onto her. He sent a flame colored magic ball hurtling straight for the tree. Twilight teleported herself and Owlowiscious out of the tree just in time with a scream. Unfortunately, she could not save the Golden Oaks Library. What was once an ancient oak tree that was magically hollowed out, made into a home/library and one of the biggest memories in Twilight's life, was now a smoldering piece of stump that was still burning in some areas. Book covers, pages, and entire books all lay on the ground and fell from the sky as they either burned to a crisp, or were in the process of being burned. Sunset could not believe what she had just witnessed. Not only did one of her favorite kind of places in Equestria just get destroyed, this was also the home of one of her best friends. There was no way in Tartarus that Sunset was going to let Tirek get away with this. "Shadow," she said to her now gigantic lupine companion, "thank you for helping Twilight, but I need you to get out of here and find someplace safe to hide. Tirek is too powerful for you even as you are now, and if anything were to happen to you, I would never be able to forgive myself. Do you understand?" One look in the eyes and a nod from Shadow's head was all the answer she needed. She hugged him before he turned around and started heading back towards her house. Twilight then teleported and reappeared a short distance away from Tirek, with Sunset teleporting right next to her and Lockon taking to the sky. Both Twilight and Sunset then blasted a huge beam of magic straight at Tirek, who put up a barrier to protect himself. The beam ended up pushing him back some distance before ending in a rather large explosion. Twilight, Sunset and Lockon then flew down into the gigantic skid mark made by the beam, and they all looked at Tirek with anger evident on their faces. "Now I understand what your fellow princesses have done." Tirek said to all three of them. Twilight and Sunset then flew off into the sky, with Twilight leaving behind a purple and pink star trail and Sunset leaving behind a crimson and golden fire trail. Lockon flew off to the side to get a better vantage point from which he could target and fire. He decided to stay along the cliffs and rock bluffs to use as cover and get a few magic blast hits in on Tirek whenever it was possible Both Twilight and Sunset flew up and then arced back down towards Tirek, who fired a beam of his own from a spot between his two horns. Twilight and Sunset put up a barrier to protect themselves from the beam. Then, they both teleported directly in front of Tirek on the ground so they could get a shot at his face. Lockon then managed to do the same from behind and off to the side. Tirek then deflected all three of their magic beams and using a telekinetic levitation spell, he spun his fist round once and sent both Twilight and Sunset into the side of a mountain, with Twilight screaming the whole way. Sunset managed to put up a barrier around both herself and Twilight before they hit the side of the mountain. However, neither of them saw Tirek charging straight at them with his horns lowered. He managed to hit both of them and take them through the mountain and out the other side. Sunset and Twilight then teleported directly above him and shot a blast of magic at him, sending him hurtling straight down towards the ground. Then, both of them flew straight down towards him and fired another blast scoring a direct hit. Once they landed however, Tirek used his magic from underground to carve out the section of ground they were standing on and then toss it away while Twilight and Sunset were still on it. Luckily, Twilight and Sunset flew off just in time and back towards Tirek, who smashed his fists into the ground causing a whole bunch of huge stalagmites to pop up out of the ground. Lockon then decided to fly towards Sunset and Twilight and blast away all of the pillars that were about to hit them. All the while, all three were flying towards Tirek, charging up their horns after clearing the final pillar obstacle. Then, just as Tirek fired a flame colored blast of magic at them, the three alicorns each fired a beam of their own, causing all three to mix and merge together. The two opposing blasts hit each other dead on, causing a massive explosion of magic. Once everything cleared up, Tirek freed himself from underneath a pile of rubble. Twilight, Sunset, and Lockon all approached him, narrowing their eyes in anger at him. "It appears we are at an impasse." Tirek spoke to the three of them. "How about a trade, your highnesses?" Then, he snapped his fingers, causing seven clear bubbles to appear above and behind him. Inside each of them were Spike, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and to the surprise of the three alicorns, Discord. It was now obvious that Tirek had betrayed Discord and stolen his chaos magic as well, which then explained Lockon's inability to sense Discord and his chaos magic earlier during their walk through the forest as well as how Tirek might have found their locations. The same thing happened to the rest of the Mane Six because their flanks were all blank as well. "Their release for all the alicorn magic in Equestria." Tirek offered them. Twilight and Sunset gasped while Lockon narrowed his eyes and bared his teeth. The Mane Six and Spike were all trying to tell them not to do that while Discord just sat in his own bubble with an ashamed look on his face. "What's it going to be, your highnesses?" Tirek asked the three alicorns. "Don't do it, you guys!" Rainbow Dash shouted to them. "We aren't worth it." Fluttershy added. "Oh, but you are, Fluttershy." Discord responded to her in a sad tone. "You're the pony who taught me that friendship is magic. I had magic AND friendship. And now, I don't have either." "ENOUGH!" Tirek yelled. "I want an answer, and I want it now!" Sunset, Lockon, and Twilight all looked at the bubbles and noticed that each one holding the rest of the Mane Six had a light of a certain color passing over each bubble. Sunset and Lockon then turned to Twilight who was still looking, and then they saw a rainbow flicker through her eyes, before Twilight got a sudden look of realization on her face. Then, she looked to Lockon and Sunset, who both nodded slightly in agreement, having a good idea as to where Twilight was going with this. Lockon and Sunset then turned around to face Tirek. "We will give you our magic, in exchange for our friends." Lockon told him. Spike and the rest of the Mane Six all gasped in horror while Discord just showed it on his face. "As you wish." Tirek said in response before snapping his fingers. The bubbles holding the Mane Six and Spike all fell to the ground and popped on impact. However, Discord still remained inside his bubble. "ALL of our friends." Twilight demanded. "After the way he has betrayed you, you still call him a friend?" Tirek asked skeptically. Discord could only close his eyes in sorrow, shame, and guilt. "Release him." Sunset demanded in a very firm tone while stomping her front hoof on the ground. "If that's what you want." Tirek replied and snapped his fingers, releasing Discord from his bubble. "Thank you, you three." Discord said to them before turning to Fluttershy. "I'm sorry." "I know." Fluttershy acknowledged him with tears in her eyes. "Your turn." Tirek said to the three young alicorns before sucking all of the magic out of all of their horns including the magic that Celestia, Luna, and Cadance entrusted to Twilight and Sunset. Twilight, Sunset, and Lockon all groaned in pain and discomfort throughout the whole process. After the last bit of magic flowed from their horns and into Tirek's mouth, all three of them collapsed to the ground on their sides. Then, they opened all of their eyes revealing that their irises had lost their color and grayed out. Even their cutie marks had disappeared. Tirek then grew in size with all the magic he had just acquired while yelling in exhilaration. By this point, his gigantic size now made him tower over all of the trees in the Everfree Forest. "Twilight, Sunset, Lockon, what were you thinking?" Spike asked them as the rest of the Mane Six went up to them. "Tirek tricked me into believing that he could offer me something more valuable than friendship." Discord appealed to all of them with guilt and shame obvious in the tone of his voice. "But there is nothing worth more. I see that now. He lied when he said that this medallion was given as a sign of gratitude and loyalty. But when I say that it is a sign of our true friendship, I am telling the truth." Discord then showed them the triangular medallion, which, before he received it from Tirek, happened to have been given to Tirek by his brother Scorpan. Discord then put it around Twilight's neck. The medallion then showed a rainbow colored light passing over it before the color returned to Twilight's eyes. "You think that might be the last one we need?" Applejack asked her. "Only one way to find out." Sunset answered her. "We have to get to the chest." Twilight said before galloping off to the castle with everypony else following her, even Discord was running on foot as he could no longer fly after having his chaos magic stolen from him by Tirek. They finally got to the chest and Twilight put up the medallion to the remaining empty keyhole. And like all of the other previous objects, it too was surrounded by a magical rainbow colored aura before transforming into a key shaped like a star looking exactly like Twilight's cutie mark and then floating inside the empty keyhole. Just then, they all felt the ground shake. Outside, Tirek was walking through the forest and started blasting random areas. "Together, I think we have to do this together." Twilight directed to the Mane Six. Then they all walked up to their respective keys and were about to place their hooves on them before Twilight suddenly stopped them. "Wait." She said before turning her head around to Sunset Shimmer. "Come on, Sunset. We can't do this without you." "But Twilight," Sunset gasped, "I don't represent an Element of Harmony. Those roles only belong to the six of you." "That may be true, but it does not matter." Twilight replied. "You might not represent an Element of Harmony, Sunset, but you are still one of us in my book." Rainbow Dash continued with a smile. "And you always will be." The rest of the Mane Six all nodded and voiced their agreement. Sunset could only look back at them with tears of joy in her eyes. Then, the teal color returned to her eyes as her face changed to one of confidence and she walked right up next to Twilight in front of her key. Then, they all put a hoof on their respective keys, with Twilight and Sunset each holding a hoof on half of Twilight's key. Then, all six keys were turned at once and a bright white light started glowing at the top of the chest as it opened up. All of them gasped in amazement as a miniature rainbow flowed from the chest and into the Element of Magic embedded in the Tree of Harmony. Then, several lights of varying colors flowed from the Element of Magic to the rest of the elements that matched the color of the lights. Each of the elements inside the tree then started glowing before shining with a brilliant light. Then, several bright pillars of light shined down on the Mane Six. Sunset Shimmer was also surprised by this, because the exact same thing was happening to her. Soon, all of them were encased in individual bubbles of light which matched each of their coats. They all exited their bubbles to reveal themselves with amazing changes. All of their manes and tails had rainbow like streaks running through them. The same thing happened to the wings of Twilight, Sunset, Rainbow, and Fluttershy. They all had their cutie marks back, although some of them were slightly altered. They even had their cutie marks on all four of their hooves. Then, they all flew out of the canyon in a sphere of shining rainbow light and directly towards an area directly above where Tirek was standing. Tirek could only watch in shock and astonishment before he attempted to blast them with a flame colored beam of magic. However, when he saw that it had no effect on them whatsoever, his faced changed to one of confusion and horror. "How is this possible?!" He asked them. "You have no magic!" "That's where you are sadly mistaken, Tirek." Sunset told him as she and the Mane Six glared down at him. "We may have given you our alicorn magic," Twilight added, "but we carry within us the most powerful magic of all." "THE MAGIC OF FRIENDSHIP!!" Twilight and Sunset finished in unison before they all fired seven individually colored beams of light at Tirek before they all merged into a singular rainbow. Tirek screamed in despair as he was stripped of all the magic he had stolen and reduced to his weakened state before finally ending up inside a cage back in Tartarus where would be staying for good this time. And Cerberus would make sure of it. Then, Sunset and the Mane Six flew straight up into the air before splitting up and heading their separate ways all over Equestria, leaving behind a rainbow colored shockwave as they split up. Twilight, Sunset, and Rarity headed to Canterlot, where upon their arrival, everypony else had their magic restored and returned to them, even Shining Armor and the Canterlot Royal Guards. After everypony's magic was returned all over Equestria, Sunset and the Mane Six went back to the Tree of Harmony where Spike and Lockon were waiting for them. Lockon had his magic and his cutie mark back as well. The massive sphere of light that they were in flowed back into the chest before the lid on the top closed up. The glow faded from their bodies, but they all still had their rainbowfied manestyles. Then, a massive light began to shine from the Tree of Harmony and a rainbow shot from the center of the tree and up through the ceiling. The chest then began to float up to the rainbow and then started to follow its path. The other end of the rainbow ended up back in Ponyville. In fact, it was right where the Golden Oaks Library used to be before Tirek destroyed it. The chest then followed the rainbow all the way there before planting itself deep in the ground. Then, from out of the exact same spot in the ground, a light shined through the crack that was formed, and out from below the ground and with a massive flash of light, grew a magnificent purple castle with a golden roof that also appeared to be a part of an almost crystalline looking tree, the top of which formed into the shape of a massive six-pointed star. There was even a purple flag with a pink six-pointed star hanging above a balcony on the new castle. There was even a doorway inside the base of the tree. Sunset, Lockon, and the Mane Six were all then teleported in front of the castle before all of the rainbowfied ponies returned to their normal appearances. "Sweet Celestia." Rarity gasped. "Are you all seeing what I'm seeing?" "I see it." Sunset said in an equal amount of astonishment. "But, I am still working on believing." "But, whose is it?" Twilight asked. "I believe it is yours, Princess Twilight." Said the unmistakable voice of Princess Celestia. Twilight and the others all turned around to find her, Princess Luna, and Princess Cadance all smiling at them, with Spike standing beside Luna. Discord even appeared behind them while smiling and waving at Twilight's group. Soon they were all walking through the new castle. Twilight was at the front with Sunset and Lockon behind her. Celestia came after them followed by Luna and Cadance. Spike and the rest of the Mane six were walking behind them, except for Rainbow Dash who was flying above them, and Discord was walking at the very back of the line. "You've been wondering what you are meant to do as a princess." Celestia said to Twilight as the whole group was walking through another hall. "Do you know now?" "As princess," Twilight began, "I believe I have the power to spread the Magic of Friendship across Equestria. That is the role I am meant to have in our world, the role I choose to have." Then she teleported over to the rest of the Mane Six. "But I didn't defeat Tirek on my own." She continued while acknowledging them as they all joined in on a group hug. "It took all of us to unlock the chest, even Sunset Shimmer." Sunset just blushed and smiled with tears of joy in her eyes. "Then it is unlikely you are meant to take on this task alone." Celestia replied as she used her magic to open a huge set of stained glass double doors. Everypony gasped at the site they lay before them behind the double doors. There in a circle, surrounding a golden circle with a bluish white eight-pointed star on the floor, stood a group of crystal thrones, each with a cutie mark of one of the Mane Six depicted on the top of the backrest. There was even a blank miniature version to the right side of Twilight's throne that was meant for Spike as well. "You are now Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship." Celestia said to her. Sunset was happy for them and was just about to turn around and leave before Celestia stopped her. "And the same title and responsibility applies to you as well, Sunset Shimmer." "Huh?!" Sunset gasped in confusion before turning around. That was when she noticed that there were eight thrones total in the whole circle. Spike and the Mane Six were all sitting in their thrones. And to the left side of Twilight's throne was another fully sized throne that was empty of its intended occupant. It was then that Sunset noticed that a very familiar cutie mark was depicted at the top of the backrest; a sun with a splotch each of red and yellow circling each other in a yin and yang fashion, surrounded by flames, yellow on one side and red on the other; her cutie mark. "I get my own throne?" Sunset gasped in bewilderment and amazement. "Of course you do!" Twilight exclaimed to her in a happy tone. "It's just like Rainbow Dash told you before we all opened the chest. You may not represent an Element of Harmony, but you are still one of us and you always will be. And the Elements and Tree of Harmony must feel the exact same way about you that we all do, because the proof is right there waiting for you to take a seat." Sunset has cried tears of joy several times before now. But that was nothing compared to the emotional waterfalls that were streaming out of the corners of both of her eyes right now as she smiled. She had considered herself lucky that the human versions of the Mane Six in the world beyond the mirror were willing to give her a second chance after what she nearly tried to do to them. She was astonished that Princess Celestia had forgiven her so easily AND given her another chance to be her student again after her return to Equestria. She was dumbfounded that Moondancer had forgiven her for her rudeness the first time they met in Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns five years ago, and even stood up to Lemon Hearts on Sunset's behalf to convince Lemon Hearts to forgive Sunset just like Moondancer, Lyra Heartstrings, Minuette, and Twinkleshine forgave her. She had doubts about whether or not she deserved her wings and her title as a princess, even after she had finally truly earned them. And now, Sunset Shimmer was so emotional at the fact that even the Elements of Harmony deemed her worthy of sharing this great task and responsibility with Twilight and the rest of the Mane Six, that she could not even describe it in words. And so, with a steady stream of tears of joy flowing from both eyes, and one of the most joyful and heartwarming smiles she had ever given evident on her face, Princess Sunset Shimmer proudly walked up to her throne to the left side of Twilight and sat down with a proud smile on her face looking out to everypony else in the room. The Mane Six all exchanged smiles with her. Lockon, Celestia, Luna, and Cadance all gave her heartfelt looks of pride as well. "But what are the Princesses of Friendship without their friends?" Celestia then asked them all as they formed a cluster together. Lockon even joined in standing next to his fiancé. Twilight then noticed that Discord was hiding behind a wall with an ashamed look on his face. He shrank back further when he saw her looking at him. Twilight then frowned for a brief moment out of concern before smiling and using her magic to levitate him over to the group where he shared a group hug with all of them. Even Sunset and Lockon joined in. "Wait a minute. Where's my throne?" Discord asked in slight disappointment. "I don't think you're quite there yet." Fluttershy answered him in a kind tone. "Huhuh, yes, well I suppose not." Discord agreed with her. Soon enough everypony in Ponyville gathered around the new castle and were gaping in awe and amazement at it. Then, Twilight opened the doors for all of them and began to sing as she led them into the castle. Each one of us has something special That makes us different, that makes us rare. Sunset Shimmer then joined in with a verse of her own. Lightning Dust, Lyra, Minuette, Twinkleshine, and Lemon Hearts all gave her enthusiastic smiles as they listened to her. We have a light that shines within us That we were always meant to share. Then Lockon and the rest of the Mane Six joined in. And when we come together Combine the light that shines within There is nothing we can't do There is no battle we can't win And when we come together They'll be a star to guide the way It's inside us every day See it now! See it now! Then, a rainbow beam of magic shined from all of them and flew out of the star at the top of the castle and flew over and across the entire land of Equestria. Let the rainbow remind you That together we will always shine Let the rainbow remind you That forever this will be our time. Ponies were even warming up to Discord, who gave an embarrassed smile and a wink to Celestia as he gave her two bouquets of flowers. Sunset and Twilight then finished singing the last verse in unison before they Spike, and the rest of the Mane Six joined together to pose for a group photo. Let the rainbow remind you That together we will always shine. "Sunset!" Lightning Dust, Lyra, Minuette, Twinkleshine, and Lemon Hearts exclaimed as they galloped up to hug their friend. Sunset could only return the hug in happiness. "Girls!" Sunset exclaimed in reply. "I'm so happy you're ok." "I sure am glad to have my flight back." Lightning Dust responded. "Seriously, you have no idea how bad I felt after that freak drained me and all of the other Wonderbolt cadets." "Oh, I beg to differ, Lightning Dust." Sunset replied. "Twilight, Lockon, and I went through the exact same thing. Good thing we all have the Magic of Friendship inside us. That's what matters the most." "So," Lemon Hearts began to ask Sunset, "are you and Lockon still planning to tie the knot?" "Yes." Sunset answered her. "It's still on to take place in Canterlot on the first day of summer. And you are all invited." Then she turned to Lightning Dust. "Are you still good to be my bridesmaid and do your Sonic Lightningboom alongside Dash's Sonic Rainboom?" She asked her pegasus friend. "You know it." Lightning Dust eagerly said with a smile and a salute. "Can't wait to see you all then." Sunset smiled to all of them before turning around to head back over to join her fiancé. By the time she reached Lockon, he had just finished a conversation with Discord who walked away with a smile on his face. "Hey, what was that about?" Sunset asked him. "Discord just accepted the offer to be one of my groomsstallions that I just gave him." Lockon answered her. "That's all of my groomsstallions and all of your bridesmaids taken care of." "I just can't wait for our big day." Sunset sighed dreamily. Lockon took her face in one of his hooves to bring her closer to his face. "Me neither." He whispered into her ear in agreement before they both shared a passionate kiss. After returning home, they both found Shadow back to his normal size. It seemed that whatever made him gigantic earlier was only temporary and due to the effects of magic. One thing was certain. They were all glad that this whole Tirek ordeal was dealt with and taken care of.