//------------------------------// // The Day the Sun Stood Still // Story: Applejacked // by Gregory the Mighty //------------------------------// The Day the Sun Stood Still by Haze proofreader Invizibilit3 “It’s so awful!” cried Lyra. “I know. It is the worst thing of all, to see such a city fall.” The zebra looked out onto the mountains. Plumes of fires sprung from Canterlot in many places. The Castle of Princess Celestia had a large hole in it. “I don’t see how this can get any worse.” lamented Bon Bon. The two ponies and Zecora sat sullen on the last hill outside the Everfree Forest. It had been less than half an hour since the attack started, and nearly all ponies in Ponyville had been taken by the horde to Canterlot, and nearly every structure had been set on fire. The heat radiating from their former home hit them like a wall of pain and regret. After a few minutes, Bon Bon tried to speak to distract herself. “Can you see what’s going on from here?” Zecora spoke proudly, “The attack on the castle has been seen. My eyesight is very keen. I fear your princesses have met their fates, for the Stars have entered the castle gates.” Lyra and Bon Bon became sick to their stomachs. Bon Bon regretted asking in the first place. Another refugee staggered across the rolling hill to meet them. “Trixie cannot believe what is happening! Trixie cannot forgive these ‘Stars’ from stealing Trixie’s followers. Most importantly Trixie cannot forgive them for taking Trixie’s motif!” She hurled her star-speckled cape and hat to the ground in a loud pronouncement of exasperation. Zecora turned to Bon Bon. “Your patience must go far, to endure a pony with grammar so bizarre.” Bon Bon wore an alligator’s smile. “Yeah, it takes some getting used to...” Before anything else could be said, a strange roar was heard. The three equines turned around to see a strange blue box behind them. It had a light on the top and the word “Police” spelled out in white. Before they could inquire further, a pony popped his head out of the door. “Quick! Everyone into the blue box!” * * * “What is the situation on the front lines?” shouted Shining Armor. “They’re shrinking. Shrinking fast. The guards are turning. Even the ones that have ear plugs are getting bitten and converting to the other side! The only defense that works are barricaded doors, and they are falling! We have only a matter of minutes. And we still have not seen hoof or feather of Princess Luna!” “Then we are left with no choice.” Shining Armor removed his armor. “We must evacuate the princess to safety. Give the order to fall back. Take as many civilians with you as possible. We will take refuge in the mines. We can barricade the entrances, and the mountainside should prevent any hypnotic music from entering. I will rendezvous with you at 23:00.” He stepped over to his wife, whom had been standing frozen in the corner of the war room. “We must make haste.” Cadance spoke while trembling. “I can’t believe this is happening.” “Where is your Aunt? We must go to her directly.” Shining was dead serious about completing his duty. “She’s in the study.” * * Princess Celestia paced back and forth. The library rumbled with the sounds and impacts of the onslaught. She should have been thinking of her kingdom. She should have been concerned for her personal safety. Yet only one thought ran through her head at this point; Twilight Sparkle. The writing was on the wall. Her reign of millennia would soon be over, yet the only thing left unresolved in her long life was her relationship with her prized pupil. How could she have been so cruel? In hundreds of years, no one had loved and admired her like that mauve unicorn. She sifted through unopened letters from Spike, trying to find a quill. “I need to send a letter! An apology! I can’t let it end like this!” the princess panicked. The door burst open, then was immediately barricaded. Shining Armor, Cadance and two guards ran up to the Princess Celestia. “Princess! We have to go now!” shouted Shining. “No! No please! My message!” It was too late, the door shattered into a million pieces. The Stars were upon them. With a mighty zap of light, Celestia had teleported the others far away. It was too late to save herself. * * * When Shining Armor, Cadance, and the two guards appeared suddenly before her in the Everfree Castle of the Sisters, Twilight Sparkle knew the depth of what was happening. “No, you don’t mean...” Shining Armor nodded. Twilight and her ponies walked up to the north tower. Crumbling as it was, it was high enough to see Canterlot Castle. As they did a giant pillar of light could be seen on the horizon. “It’s a little early for sun up, isn’t it?” Questioned Applejack. Twilight had a large lump in her throat. She and Luna exchanged glances. “That’s no sun.” Twilight said. “W-what is it then?” asked Pinkie Pie. Twilight swallowed the lump in her throat to the best of her ability. “Remember when Princess Luna was overtaken by an evil force and became Nightmare Moon? Well the same thing just happened to Princess Celestia.” “You don’t mean?!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash. “I’ll tell you what it is. The stars did the same to thing to the Princess as they did to Luna. That is Nightmare Celestia. Nightmare Star.” * * * * * Apple Bloom stepped into the Cutie Mark Crusaders clubhouse. Sweetie Belle was signing her new CMC theme song. “What are you reading? A love letter?” Sweetie Belle was curious. It was unusual to see Apple Bloom reading and walking at the same time. “No! But you can’t read it.” “Then why can’t I read it?” pleaded Sweetie Belle. “Because it’s super private! That’s why!” Applebloom slipped the letter into her saddlebag. At that moment, Scootaloo flew into the tree fort. She flew in the sense that she ran very quickly. Her wings were still too small and weak to give her flight. “Oh, my gosh! You guys! The town in burning! Burning to the ground!” “What?!” The three fillies rushed to the observatory. When they were given the tree fort from Apple Bloom’s sister, Applejack, it didn’t have a second level, but Apple Bloom made it happen, and now they could see clear across Ponyville with ease. Seeing the town itself was impossible, due to the plumes of smoke. “This is awful! What happened to our town?!” cried Apple Bloom. They turned their attention in the direction of Canterlot. Like Ponyville, it was obscured by smoke, but they could see a giant ball of light hovering across the city. It rained fireballs down at the inhabitants. In the center of the giant ball was a familiar silhouette. “Oh, no! Princess Celestia has gone crazy and is melting the city with her heat vision!” declared Scootaloo. “She doesn’t have heat vision!” argued Sweetie Belle “She controls the sun, same thing.” Apple Bloom was more focused than her friends. “We need to go to town and help!” * * * The town was in smoldering ashes. There was barely one brick to be found atop another. “This is awful! What do we do?” said Sweetie Belle. Apple Bloom looked around. There wasn’t much to do. From the battle scars, it was clear that the Element of Harmony had been used. That meant her sister had been defeated. But there were no ponies around, not even bodies. Her sister had to either have been captured or escaped. She did see one reassuring sign. Tire tracks from the Apple Family truck leading away. At least Granny Smith and Big Mac got away. Turning to her fellow crusaders, Apple Bloom could see the horror and misery that had befallen them. She knew they had to press on and find other ponies or they’d be finished. She needed something to increase morale. “Here, put these on.” Apple Bloom reached into her saddlebag and got the 3 cutie mark crusaders capes. “These will keep you warm, and they should make you feel better.” The other two dawned their maroon capes with the Cutie Mark Crusader emblem embroidered on the corner. The gold-lined shapes draped over their flanks and seemed to protect them from their own insecurities. They even half-smiled. With all 3 capes on, they wandered through the rubble looking for their next move. “I guess we need to call the police... if there are any police left.” sighed Scootaloo. “Hey look! A police box! There must be some police in there.” commented Sweetie Belle. “It’s for calling police, silly. There must be police somewhere in Equestria. We just need to get all this debris off of it.” Apple Bloom set up a pulley system and soon had the beams cleared from the front door. Before they could open that door themselves, it flew open and two ponies trotted out. “So good to finally get that door open. Let’s see. Wanton destruction. No bodies. No scorch marks either. Tracks leading away. Definitely ponies turned into mindless followers. This can only be the work of that Stars. From the scope of this mess, I’d say all four of them!” A simple brown earth pony with wicked hair assessed the situation. The other pony, a gray pegasus, followed him and was admiring his astute observations. “Whoa! What kind of police pony are you?” demanded Scootaloo. “No, I’m not a police pony, I’m the Doctor!” “The police doctor? Shouldn’t you be helping the injured police?” continued Scootaloo. “No, he’s not a medical doctor. That just what he’s called”, said his assistant. “You parents named you ‘Doctor’. They must have had high expectations for you. I bet they had you doing homework night and day!” said Apple Bloom. The Doctor coughed into his hoof. “Yes, well, let’s leave my folks out of this. We’ve got an emergency here. We need to get you fillies to safety. All of you get into the TARDIS. The fillies obliged and stepped into what they thought would be a small box to find that it was much bigger on the inside. There was a large room with a console you could walk around 360 degrees. It had so many levers and switches on it, it would make your head spin just to look at it. “Whoa! What is this place!?” exclaimed the crusaders. “Ah, yes. This is the TARDIS. Time and Relative Dimension in Space. This is my spaceship.” “So you’re like, from outer space?” asked Sweetie Belle. “Indeed I am, but that’s not important right now. Your planet is in trouble, and if we don’t do something quick, every pony could be lost!” Scootaloo demanded answers. “So, who did this? And how can we stop them?” “Well, I’ve done some investigation, and I believe this is the work of Starswirl!” Unphased, Apple Bloom stepped up to the Doctor. “Who is this ‘Starswirl?’ Is this that same old pony Twilight was dressed as for Nightmare Night?” The Doctor began pacing in front of the console as he recalled the story. “Well, many ponies go on and on about Starswirl the Bearded and all that. Father of the amiamorphic spell, etcetera. But what they tend to gloss over, is the darker side of his story. His daughter.” “His daughter?” the crusaders questioned in unison. “Yes. Starswirl. Just Starswirl. She took ‘magic’ to even greater heights than her father--to outer space! She was such a massive talent, that legend says she got her cutie mark earlier than any other. It was just months after being born! She had so much magic that she eventually transcended her own cutie mark. The stars on her flank eventually engulfed her entire form. She became an astral being, one who could move from planet to planet with but a thought.” “How did she do that?” asked Scootaloo. “With the philosopher's stone. She discovered it deep within the royal mines of Canterlot. With it she got ultimate power. She always keeps that stone near her. Not on her, no that would be too obvious. But that stone is always somewhere nearby. It’s her ace in the hole. Get that away from her and you have a chance.” “How do you know so much about her?” asked Apple Bloom. “Well, I’ve been battling Starswirl and her evil ‘magics’ for some time. Actually, for you it hasn’t happened yet, but in reality those battles happened centuries ago...” “What? How is that possible?” said Apple Bloom. “Well the TARDIS is more than a spaceship, it’s also a time machine.” the pony proudly replied. He began messing with the control panel. “Hey, you can’t have a time machine and a space ship all at once!” pouted Scootaloo. “You see, if we all had that attitude, the spork would never have been invented!” with a flip of a switch, the room began to shake. A loud whirr could be heard echoing in every corner. When it was over, the Doctor poked his head through the door and yelled “Quick! Everyone into the blue box!” * * Three ponies and a Zebra filed into the box. They were just as puzzled with the inside as the crusaders had been. “Your box is quite audacious. I wish my closet was so spacious.” lauded the zebra. Lyra and Bon Bon followed her into the TARDIS. Lyra gasped. “Oh, wow! Look at all this! I bet this guy knows all about...” Bon Bon cut her off. “Oh, no you don’t! This is not time for your silly schemes! Equestria is in real danger now.” “Trixie is not impressed with these tacky surroundings. Trixie's wagon was much nicer!” The assistant tended to the refugees while the Doctor began fiddling with his controls again. “Hey, if this is a time machine, we can go back in time and stop Ponyville from burning!?” questioned Apple Bloom. The Doctor held his temple. “No, it doesn’t work that way. We can’t cross our own timelines. It would create a temporal collapse and would make things even worse!” “How could it possibly get any worse?!” demanded Sweetie Belle. “Imagine everything and everypony in the entire universe getting lit on fire at the same time!” The fillies gasped. Scootaloo couldn’t help but ask, “What happens to the things that were already on fire?” The Doctor lowered his head and gave a serious expression. “They get set on DOUBLE FIRE!” “No!” the crusaders gasped again. It was clear simply going back in time was not the answer. But there had to be a way... Apple Bloom paced the floor, desperately trying to think of a solution. “Mr. Doctor, what exactly causes a temporal collapse?” “Well, it’s when the flow of time is disturbed. Like a grandfather paradox. That would cause a collapse!” “But that’s not possible. My gran-pappy only had one dock--on the pond in his farm.” “No, no! It’s just an example, let’s say I go back in time and kill your grandfather...” Apple Bloom made a very sad face. “Why would you want to kill my gran-pappy? What did he ever do to you?” Scootaloo stepped up. “Is it because he didn’t have enough docks?” “It’s an example! Just an example! Look, let me phrase it that way; if you go back in time and prevent the disaster from happening, then what would have inspired you to go back in time in the first place?” Apple Bloom thought about it some more. Then she got an inspired idea. She took out the letter she had been looking at in the clubhouse. The Doctor read it. Instantly, his eyes lit up. “My word! This is perfect! You can save ponyville if you go back and do it yourself. You weren’t in Ponyville when it happened, so you won’t cross your own path!” The Doctor was elated, and began flipping switches on the console like a mad-pony. He gave the letter back to Apple Bloom. Sweetie Belle was confused. “Are you sure? That doesn’t seem right.” “No time for explanations!” With a turning and pumping of many switches, the room began to shake around them. After a minute, all went quiet. “Here we are!” The Doctor. The crusaders opened the door to find them back in Ponyville, just outside the library. It was dark, but Ponyville could clearly be seen, still standing. “It worked! Ponyville is back!” shouted Sweetie Belle, her voice squeaking. Applebloom was hesitant. “Yeah, but we couldn’t have gone far back. When is this? How do we save Ponyville? Doctor?” “I’m sorry, but my role in this is done. Good luck to you, fillies.” After closing the door, the box disappeared into thin air. * * * The fillies wandered around the streets for almost an hour. Eventually Scootaloo found an old newspaper with the date. “Oh, no! It’s still the same night! That means Ponyville will burn down sometime tonight! How do we stop it?!” Applebloom sighed. “It won’t be easy, but I have a plan. Think about it! How did all this horribleness start?” Scootaloo raised her hoof as if in class. “Ou! I know! It was that terrible song! The one that turned everpony into zombie ponies!” “That’s right, but we didn’t turn all crazy like. Why is that?” Sweetie Belle strained her brain. “Because we were in a tree?” “No, silly. Because you were singing at the time. Your singing counteracts the bad singing from those monster ponies.” “Oh, is that it?” said Sweetie Belle. “Right. So all we have to do is sing your song to stop the invaders!” “I don’t know. I don’t think I’ll be able to sing with everypony watching me. And what if the monsters see me and eat me?” Sweetie Belle shrank into her cape. She was clearly nervous. “Don’t worry. You can sing from this window in Pony Hall. It will be dark so no one will see you, and the Stars will have no idea.” Sweetie Belle scratched her head. “I guess that could work.” Scootaloo flapped her wings and gave a mighty leap. “Don’t worry! We’ll be right nearby to rescue you.” That did make Sweetie Belle feel better. * * * And so the time came. After the large fight and the ponies retreating, Starry Aria stood atop Pony Hall and was singing the spell that would turn all the pleasant ponies of Ponyville into a murderous army of the damned. Sweetie Belle sang. She sang like she had never sang before. Starry Aria was totally puzzled by her inability to ensnare a single pony with her melody. The other Stars began to snicker at her impotence. She sang for close to an hour with nothing to show for her efforts. The Stars gave up and proceeded to Canterlot with only a handful of minions. They had still lit enough fires to completely surround Ponyville in smoke. Overall, the damage to Ponyville was much less. With the coast clear, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom emerged from their hiding place. “You did it!” Sweetie Belle grinned from ear to ear. She had never felt so great in all her life. “Wow. So now what do we do? How do we stop them from taking over Canterlot and Princess Celestia?” Apple Bloom reached into her saddle bag and pulled out the letter she was reading earlier. “Hmmm. I don’t think you girls are gonna like this.” * * * With Ponyville at least half-saved, the crusaders proceeded to the Everfree Forest to find Twilight and the others. They made a brief stop at their clubhouse for more supplies. After several hours of dangerous adventures through the forest, they arrived at the Castle of the Sisters’ ruins and entered Twilight’s camp. The Wonder Bolts were there as well, even more injured than the girls. Discord was with them--depowered and tied to a chair. Shining Armor, his wife, and two guards were nearby. Princess Luna was there as well, and seemed more powerful than she was before. There was also a tall black fairy-like pony with glowing green eyes. She was arguing with Twilight. “Back off, Chrysalis! Stay away from my brother!” “I was just taking a look at him! It’s been so long, I forget what the males look like! I suspect the penis is somewhere underneath...” said the tall, dark one. “I’m standing right here!” His wife was not pleased. Princess Cadance glowered at the changeling. Chrysalis was unphased and curious as ever. “It’s okay. You don’t have to move. I can look from the other side.” With a flash of magic from Twilight’s horn, a large collar and chain appeared. They clamped around Chrysalis’ neck. “Hey!” “I need to make sure you don’t do anything stupid!” Twilight shouted. Before anything could escalate further, the fillies arrived and announced their presence. Applejack and Rarity flew to their sisters Apple Bloom and and Sweetie Belle. There was much rejoicing to their reunion. It wasn’t long before Apple Bloom revealed something significant. The fillies laid out their saddle bags. They had collected every broken piece of the Elements of Harmony that had been scattered across Ponyville when they lost to the four Stars. Apple Bloom let out a sigh of exhaustion. “... these took forever to collect. On top of that I had to stop by the clubhouse before coming here.” “Apple Bloom! This is an amazing gift. Thank you.” Twilight was elated. “I sang to stop the Stars from taking over. As long as I was singing, that pegasus couldn’t use her song to hypnotize ponies!” Sweetie Bell was very proud of herself. Her sister and the others lavished praise upon her. “That’s good. You should be proud of yourself Sweetie Belle. It took a lot of guts to do what you did.” “Thanks sis. Can we help you stop the giant Nightmare Star from destroying Equestria?” asked Sweetie Belle. “I don’t know, Sweetie Belle. You three had done your part. Leave the rest to us big ponies.” Rarity patted her sister on the head. The adults all marched off to face the Stars. “How will we defeat them if the elements are broken?” asked Rainbow Dash. Twilight grabbed Discord magically and dragged him along with them, chair and all. “Oh, I have a plan...” And so the crusaders sat wrapped in their capes around the campfire. * * The three cutie mark crusaders didn’t have to wait long for something interesting to happen. Minutes later, a cool breeze flooded the ruins and a whirring noise echoed through their halls. A familiar blue box appeared in the center of the ruins. The Doctor and his assistant stepped out, much to the girls delight. “Doctor! You’re back!” said Apple Bloom. “That didn’t take long.” added Scootaloo. “Actually, for us, we’ve been gone a while.” Apple Bloom was filled with questions. “I put the letter back in front of the clubhouse, so I would find it tonight before I came in. But there is something that bothers me. If I’m the one who left the note for myself, then how did the note get written in the first place?” “Very good little one! You would make an excellent Time Lord. There’s just one thing left to do...” The assistant took a very familiar letter out of her mailbag. “Hey! That’s my letter!” cried Apple Bloom.” “Actually, it’s an exact duplicate. I made it when you weren’t looking. We need to go back before all this to start the loop going. You were right, Apple Bloom, these time loops are only possible if there are two time travelers with two separate methods. That means we’re going to need a very magical unicorn to help us...” A blue unicorn in a hat trotted out of the TARDIS. “Trixie assumes you are speaking about Trixie.” “Indeed I am. You and I are going to take a stop during our journey to the Starswirl the Bearded Section of the Royal Magic Library. We’ll find a spell there that you can only use once, and it will set this whole time-loop in motion. That is... if you’re up to the task...” “Trixie is the most magical pony in all of Equestria! There is no challenge she will not accept!” “Cool! But stop on the way to where?” asked Scootaloo. The Doctor smiled. "How do your wings feel tonight?" * * * * Starblight spat out a gauntlet. It was the type the guards wore. “These ponies are starting to bore me. The unicorns are nice. The horns give a little pop when you bite into them.” Starlight Lament did not share Starblight’s flippancy. “Starswirl has been gone an awfully long time. “ “I’m right here, old lady.” Starswirl emerged from the wood with a strange form on her back. When she reached the center of the glen, she dropped it. At their hooves was the body of Discord. More bruises had been added to the maiming he received earlier when they took back their powers from him. Just then, Discord leapt up! “Haha! Got your nose!” It was a trick, Starswirl revealed herself to be Chrysalis. With a mighty flash, she pounced on Starlight Lament. The attack was too sudden for them to react. The pegasus, Starry Aria, was pinned down in an isntant. Applejack had Starry Aria hog tied. With the quickness of a rabbit, Fluttershy pounced on Starry Aria and lodged a large ball-gag in her mouth. “Woo-hoo!” shouted Fluttershy--but not too loudly. Starblight would not go down so easily. The earth pony was full of cosmic energy, and used it to grow as large as Sugar Cube corner. “You foolish ponies! I will eat you whole!!” Before Starblight could attack with the full force of her giant body, a whistle was heard from across the glen. “Hey ugly! You want something tasty, come over here!” Cadance shook her plot to and fro. “This look tasty to you?” It did look... tasty. The enraged Starblight ran at full force toward the princess. As she reached her, she was at the speed of a freight train. She cracked her head against an invisible wall. She stumbled for a brief moment. Starblight fell to the earth, knocked out. In her unconscious state, she shrunk down to the size of a normal pony. Shining armor dispelled his force field and emerged from the trees to meet his wife. They exchanged a knowing smirk. There were no more Stars left to aid her. Still, the domination of Starlight Lament was total. The Wonder Bolts, Luna, Twilight, they all fell at the force of her spells. Wary of their repeated attacks, she flew straight skyward. As she hovered over the field, a hurricane began for form around her. Now it was hard to stand up on the ground, let alone fly up to defeat her. At any moment lightning would be added to the storm and Starlight Lament would use it to attack. It looked like all was lost. Scootaloo flew. She flew like a lightning bolt straight into the heavens. Before Starlight knew what hit her, she had knocked the tiara from her head. Starlight Lament, Scootaloo and the Tiara all fell straight down to earth. “Wh-what was that?!” cried Rainbow Dash. But Scootaloo had already returned to the TARDIS and had disappeared. As if by fate, the philosopher's stone broke out of the tiara and collided with the earth right at Spike’s feet. Calling to him, Spike picked it up. With a mighty gulp, Spike swallowed the philosopher's stone. All ponies fell silent. They could not believe what had just happened. Rarity nearly choked trying to get the words out, “Spike! You just ate the most powerful stone in the universe!” Even more invested than Rarity, Twilight approached Spike with pleading eyes. “What was it like?” Spike was dumbfounded. There was no way he could come up with an answer to satisfy everyone expectations. “Um... it was... salty?” Starlight Lament fell to earth with a crash. With her down, Stars had officially fallen. They were totally at the mercy of the lowly mortal ponies surrounding them. The remaining Wonder Bolts dragged the tied-up Starswirl into the clearing to join her friends. She was hog-tied and her horn was subdued with a common c-clamp from a hardware store. She was muttering something under her breath along the lines of “I can’t believe I fell for the bushel of salmon again...” The four Stars were defeated, thrown together in a heap, and in the middle of the clearing. Despite this, Starswirl was no less arrogant than she was when she arrived. “You may have bested us today, but we will rise again!” Starswirl spat and cursed at her captors. Twilight Sparkle was having none of this. “No! I’ll tell you how it’s going to be. You’re going to leave earth and never return. You got your powers back and then lost even more. If you ever come back, you’ll face the wrath of all the ponies of Equestria!” Starlight Lament said nothing. She had been bested for a second time, and Earth had been the place. She grimaced and began chanting a spell that filled the entire area under the four with light. “You may have won the battle, but you will all perish at the hooves of Nightmare Star. Farwell foolish mortals!” Soon that light began shooting upward to the sky, streaming up over and over again. With a last stream of light, a howl of pain could be heard. The four Stars had left Equestria. Twilight Sparkle let down her war face. She was releived. “Thank. you. ever. pony. I don’t know how we pulled it off, but they’re gone.” Her brother gave her a shoulder to lean on. “Oh, we’re just lucky that Cadance’s love spell was able to undo the mind control they had over ponies.” Cadance was blushing. “Oh, no. The real hero is Pinkie Pie, who managed to produce that c-clamp out of nowhere!” Pinkie Pie giggled. “I keep those hidden all over Ponyville. For c-clamp emergencies.” “Hey, where’s Discord?” Luna commented. The ponies looked around. Indeed he was gone. Twilight sighed. “Let him go. We have enough to deal with today without having to babysit.” Twilight reached over and clamped the long collar and chain back around Chrysalis’ neck. “Hey, I thought we had a deal!” “Sorry, but I need to keep you in check. No telling when you’ll copy one of us and make your exit.” Chrysalis pouted. “Can I at least get the payment you promised me?” Twilight blushed. “Well... alright.” The purple unicorn stepped forward to kiss Chrysalis on the cheek, but got turned around and kissed her square on the lips. “Mmmm. Spicy. Wasn’t expecting that. “ The changeling was licking her lips. Twilight blushed even deeper and trotted off, yanking Chrysalis by the neck as she moved. Rarity, out of pity, decided to change the subject for everypony. “So... that’s four obstacles down. That just leaves, Princess-- I mean Nightmare Star.” “Yes, but how are we going to stop Nightmare Star without the Elements of Harmony?” questioned Rainbow Dash. Twilight was deep in thought. “We didn’t need Elements of Harmony to defeat Nightmare Moon. We needed to BE the Elements of Harmony and the power came to us when we needed it. That’s why the Elements failed us when we first fought Discord. “So, what’s the plan?” asked Rainbow Dash. “We march...” * * * It had all come down to this. Twilight and her five friends, the Wonder Bolts, Shining Armor, Princess Cadance, Princess Luna and the rest all marched on the West Chapel. Nightmare Star had taken off from melting this part of the city. She was now residing there. She was either waiting until she thought of another place to fire bomb, or waiting for an opponent to challenge her might. She would get the later. Incredibly, this section of Canterlot was no longer on fire. “How did all these fires get smothered?” inquired Applejack. “Oh, I called in a favor from a very flamboyant sea serpent,” replied Rarity. They approached the West Chapel. This was the very place Shining Armor and Cadance got married. Princess Celestia performed the ceremony, and everyone cheered at her majesty. Now they were coming to do battle. Before they could arrive at the chapel, a strange cool wind blew through the air. They heard a strange whirring sound. Before they knew it a large blue box had appeared before them. Out popped a brown earth pony and a gray pegasus. “Greetings Twilight, I thought you could use some more friends, considering that this will be a battle of friendship and all.” “Thank you, but you didn’t have to do that...” Twilight was overwhelmed. The Doctor wasn’t taking no for an answer. He opened the door to the blue box full swing, and a parade of ponies marched out (How did they all fit in there?) including Zecora, Trixie, Lyra, Bon Bon, the cutie mark crusaders, Rainbow Dash’s dad, Shining Armor’s former bodyguard, all of Shining Armor’s groomstallions, Cheeriliee, Feathermay, Blossomforth, the stripper from Cadance’s Bachelorette party, Filly Mitchell, Walter Hay and the other gamer ponies from Funspot, Granny Smith, Big Macintosh and about a hundred other Apple family members. “WHOA! I can’t believe you’re all here!” shouted Applejack. “That’s right, it was this little one’s idea. I think she will be invaluable today.” The Doctor put a hoof behind Apple Bloom and pushed her out in front of the crowd by the seat of her cape. Apple Bloom and Twilight Sparkle shared a knowing glance. Together, heads held high, they marched into the West Chapel. All of the seating and decorations from the chapel had been atomized to ashes. There was nothing filling this space except Nightmare Star and the pillar of light that shot upward from her form. She had gold armor, adorned with what looked like mother-of-pearl. Her face was hidden by a sharp mask of metal. It caused her voice to echo throughout the chapel. “Foals! How dare you challenge me! I am the supreme ruler of all I see, and you should cower before me!” “We’re not cowering today. We’re bringing friendship to you, if it’s the last thing we do!” declared Twilight Sparkle. “You have no chance against me. It will take more than loyalty, honesty, kindness, laughter, generosity, and magic to stop my limitless power!” Twilight and Apple Bloom stood together. The unicorn gave the filly a nod of approval. “There may only be six elements of harmony, but Equestria has an unlimited supply of friendship!” shouted Apple Bloom. With that, light shot out from Twilight's saddlebag. It formed into a necklace for Apple Bloom, herself, and every pony in the room. Lights flew to the troops in the streets and the ponies in their homes. All over Equestria, the glow of harmony flew from the ponies directly to the heart of the monstrous Nightmare Celestia. Her body was pierced by a hundred-thousand beams in an instant. A horrific scream shook the castle, breaking any glass that had not already been melted. A massive explosion blew all the ponies backward. The nightmare was over. Princess Celestia was restored. She was thin and weak, her mane was no longer multi-colored. She lie there motionless, her pink hair covering her like water. Twilight stepped forward and nudged her. No response. Twilight prodded her with her horn, blazing with a basic healing spell. No response. The purple unicorn became wide eyed with a horrible thought, but before she could panic, the princess began to stir. “I’m sorry, Twilight Sparkle. I’m so sorry.” Twilight glomped onto the princess, crying hysterically. Before long, Spike and the rest had joined in. * * “Awe, that’s so sweet!” cooed Sweetie Belle. “Ick. I can’t stand all this mushy stuff. You won’t see me in any group hugs today! Not on your life!” Scootaloo gagged at all the mush that was washing over the West Chapel. “I wouldn’t be so sure.” Applejack had finished her share of the group hug and joined the cutie mark crusaders. “You younguns had quite an ordeal today. I think you’ve grown up quite a bit. Why don’t you take off those capes of yours?” The three fillies were puzzled. How would taking their clothes off make them more grown up? They complied anyway, and threw off their capes. Low and behold, they each had their cutie marks! Apple Bloom had a strong, unwavering apple tree--in full bloom. Sweetie Belle had a heart comprised of two F clefs. She was still a ways away from understanding the symbol, but she loved it all the same. Scootaloo had a heart, adorned with floral accents on all sides. “This is the best day of our lives!” The fillies hugged each other and cried for nearly an hour. Their dreams had been fulfilled. * * * There was much confusion and much to do after the defeat of Nightmare Star. Celestia needed the best of medical attention. The city was in shambles. And what was that blue unicorn doing in the Royal Magic Library? In her absence, all the guards turned to Luna for guidance. Something about serving for her sister after this ordeal seemed wrong. With Shining Armor and the others waiting for her, she retired to the back of the castle to collect her thoughts. In that time, Twilight Sparkle and her friends came by to congratulate her on fine work; not that she’d done anything yet. Afterword Applejack remained and approached Luna alone. They shared at each other for a long time. They had a fiery romance after the Princess had saved the farmer from a fate worse than death. Then she left her. Only now she found out that she had been dating and imposter this whole time. The Princess was insulted. How could Applejack not know the real Luna? More than anything, she was jealous. She loved Applejack with all her heart, and she had been alone these months while Applejack had the joy of love. Even if that love was a lie. “Well, this has been a strange turn of events, hasn’t it Applejack? All this time I thought you have been moving on without me, starting a new life. But it turns out you’ve been dating me the whole time.” Luna looked away. “I’m sorry I couldn’t see through the disguise, Princess. I just wanted you back so bad... I just wanted to believe it.” Applejack hung her head in sorrow. “You don’t think I wanted you too? I hadn't let myself fall in love for a long time. I didn’t deserve it. But you’re a farmer, I’m a Princess. I have duties and so do you. It wouldn’t last... you and me. Goodbye, fair Applejack. I will always miss you, but our lives will be taking different paths. If there is anything I can do for you...” “There is one thing...” * * * * * Cinnamon Viper trotted through the halls, overseeing the repairs. It was rough learning to walk on her new prosthetic leg, but she showed no weakness. It wasn’t going to stop her from being the Princess’ assistant. At the highest balcony of the castle, Princess Celestia was saying goodbye to her friends. She had decided that the damage she created as Nightmare Star was too great for the ponies of Equestria to forgive her, so she was imposing a generation-long exile for herself. Needless to say, Princess Luna was not a fan of this decision. She got no such respite after she terrorized the countryside on the eve of the Summer Sun Celebration. Though the princess was absent, Twilight Sparkle and her five friends were there. Spike was there. The Princess turned to Rarity and Spike. “Oh, before I go, I have something I need to do. Rarity? Spike? Do come here.” The two stepped forward, puzzled at where this could be going. The princess cleared her throat as if to give a very important speech. “I now declare you dragon and wife!” The two leaped backward in shock. “You mean we’re married?! Just like that?!” cried Rarity. “Heh heh. Yes. I know it’s illegal. I’m being a naughty girl right now. I guess that’s just another thing my sister will have to pardon me for during my exile. You, on the other hand get to keep your marriage rights. No reason why you should suffer for my naughtiness. C. Viper will make sure you have all the necessary paperwork.” Rarity began to jump about, as giddy as a schoolfilly. “Spike! Do you know what this means?!” Spike beamed “We get to have cake?” Rarity blushed; she was about to drone on about ring shopping and various tax deductions. “Yes, Spike! We’re going to have the best cake ever!” “Oh! Oh! Oh!” jumped Pinkie Pie. “We need to throw you the biggest reception ever! After congratulating her friend, Twilight Sparkle stepped forward. “Princess, can I come with you?” Princess Celestia looked down at her student. Without a word, she waved her horn and Twilight was engulfed in a magnificent light. The purple unicorn emerged with a temporary set of glimmer wings. Twilight then exchanged a knowing glance with her friends. The two flew off into the sunset. * * * * * It had been weeks since the Stars had fallen. Luna had taken over supreme command of the country while her sister served her self-imposed exile. It had certainly been hard work! The reconstruction was coming along nicely, and the staff was getting acclimated to working all-night shifts to appease their Princess. Luna stepped into her private chambers. “It has been weeks... Applejack’s baby should be due any day now...” “Good morning, my love!” Luna’s train of thought was interrupted by her lover, Prince Fireheart. He stepped over to her and kissed her passionately. Luna broke off the kiss suddenly. “Dear, it has been a long night, do you think you could wear... the outfit?” “Um, the outfit? Today?” His ears folded in apprehension. The Princess traced circles in his chest with the tip of her delicate hoof. “I’ll make it worth your while...” Fireheart did as he was told and stepped into the closet to change. He emerged wearing a 10 gallon hat and overalls. he was carrying a prop pitchfork with his magic. He spoke through a piece of straw hanging from his mouth. “Yup. Sure did have a rough day on the farm. Was planting... um... plants. Was plowing... plows...” After a sqee of excitement, Luna jumped him.