//------------------------------//
// Facing the Sun 
// Story: The Elements of Friendship 
// by VioletHeart77 
//------------------------------//

The castle had clearly long since been reduced to ruins, but the high walls and pillars were nonetheless magnificent.  In the center of the front room sat a great stone structure with five long arms, each holding a small polished rock.

"Those must be the Elements," Starlight gasped.

Night Glider flew around the structure, collected the rocks, and gently set them at Starlight's hooves.  "There's only five here, though."

"The book said that the sixth would be revealed by a glimmer of light in the presence of the other five," Starlight recalled.  "Stand back, everypony.  I'm going to try a spell."

She closed her eyes and concentrated intently.  Slowly, her horn lit up with her aqua aura as she tried to focus her magical energy at the point.

Suddenly, she felt a burst of heat in her face.  She opened her eyes and gasped as she watched a flaming tornado pick up the rocks.

"The Elements!"  Without a second thought, she leapt into the twister, thus disappearing along with it and the Elements.

Starlight quickly became aware that she had been transported to another part of the castle --- the throne room, by the looks of it.  The Elements sat on the ground before a pair of thrones, surrounded by a fire that grew into Sunflare Scorch.

The demon laughed sinisterly.  "Well, it looks like you've found the Elements of Friendship for me.  Well done."

Starlight calmed her nerves.  She stood up, lowered her head, and positioned herself to charge.

Sunflare Scorch cackled again.  "You're kidding! . . . You're kidding, right?"  Starlight charged.

"So be it," the demon muttered.  She lowered her own head and charged, mentally preparing herself for the tremendous mess she was about to make . . . and only stopped when Starlight disappeared.

She had teleported herself to the Elements.  "Come on, just one glimmer!" she muttered.  "Just one little glimmer!"  She poured herself into her magic harder than she ever had before.

Sunflare Scorch feared imminent defeat.  "No!"

With a flash, the end of Starlight's horn glimmered like the star on her cutie mark.  But nothing else happened.  The five Elements continued to sit on the ground like a bunch of useless rocks.

Starlight was beside herself.  "But . . . why . . . where's the sixth Element?"

Suddenly Sunflare Scorch was in front of her, and she found herself blasted backwards by a searing pulse of heat.  Groaning with pain, she sat up to see Sunflare Scorch baring her fangs.

"You fool!" she boomed.  "Thinking you could defeat me?!"  She rose up on her back legs and slammed her front hooves to the ground, shattering the stones.  Starlight watched helplessly as the pieces clattered to the ground.

"Now you will never see your princess or your precious night again!  The day will last forever!"  Her distorted cackle filled the castle.

Starlight sat frozen in shock and devastation.

"Starlight!  Starlight!"

She turned towards the doorway.  A feeling of hope filled her as she realized that her friends were coming.

Something lit up inside her.  Her friends were coming.

As the group entered, Starlight turned back to Sunflare Scorch.  "You think that you've destroyed the Elements of Friendship just like that?  Well, you're wrong!  The Elements of Friendship are right here!"

Everyone else, including Sunflare Scorch, was confused.  "What?"

Starlight turned and gestured towards her friends.  "Sugar Belle, who soothed a savage beast by walking in the horseshoes of another, is the Element of Empathy!"  As she spoke, the shards of one of the stones rose and flew across the room to surround Sugar Belle.

"Night Glider, who faced the danger of the chasm with a smile, is the Element of Fun!"  More pieces flew forward.

"Double Diamond, who lifted his friends' weary spirits and persuaded them to persevere, is the Element of Encouragement!"

"Party Favor, who refused to abandon his friends even in the face of fear, is the Element of Endurance!"

"And Sunburst, who convinced me to believe him when I least wanted to but most needed to, is the Element of Trust!"

"But you still don't have the sixth Element!" Sunflare Scorch interrupted.  "The glimmer didn't work!"

"But it did!  A different kind of glimmer!" Starlight replied.  "All my life, I thought that I could only form true friendships with ponies who were just the same as me.  But the differences in the skills and personalities possessed by these five are what allowed us to triumph in every challenge we faced on the way here!"

She looked at her friends.  "And I felt the glimmer the moment I realized how happy I was to see you, to hear you, and how much I cared about you.  The glimmer lit up inside me when I . . . I accepted you as my friends!"

A shimmering sound caused Starlight to turn and look up as a sixth stone descended from the ceiling and came to rest above her head.

"For you see, Sunflare Scorch, you have a powerful magic, but you cannot win because you lack the most powerful magic of all: the light inside of us all that creates Magic of Friendship!"

A rainbow rose from where the six were now floating and turned to strike down Sunflare Scorch.

"No!" she shrieked while trying in vain to escape.  "No!"

And as the rainbow engulfed her, there was a flash of white light.





"Starlight!  Starlight, are you okay?"

Starlight opened her eyes to see Wishful standing over her.  She sat up and hugged him.

"Hey, check these out!"

Starlight looked at her friends and saw that the Elements had transformed into gold necklaces with jeweled pendants matching the bearers' cutie marks.  The Element of Empathy was a lavender cupcake.  Fun was a white crescent moon.  Encouragement, a light blue snowflake.  Endurance, a bright pink balloon dog.  Trust, a red sun.  And Acceptance, a purple four-pointed star topping a crown inlaid with mint stones.

"You were right, Starlight!" Sugar Belle gasped.  "We really are the Elements of Friendship!"

"Indeed you are."

The light of the day outside dimmed as the sky turned purple, and a magenta star descended into the room to reveal a regal lavender alicorn.  The others bowed.

"Princess Twilight!" Starlight gasped, and she ran to embrace her teacher.

"Starlight, my faithful student, I knew you could do it."

Starlight stepped back.  "But . . . you told me it was all just an old pony's tale."

"I told you that you needed to make some friends," the princess corrected.  "I saw the signs of Sunflare Scorch's return and knew that you had the light inside to defeat her, but you couldn't unleash until you let true friendship into your heart."  She sighed.  "Now if only another will do the same."

A smoldering black crater lay in the spot where Sunflare Scorch had stood.  And in the center of the crater lay a light orange alicorn with hair of crimson and gold.

"Sunset Shimmer!"

The broken alicorn opened tear-filled aqua eyes as a look of fear overshadowed her.

Princess Twilight descended into the crater.  "It has been a thousand years since I have seen you like this.  Now is the time to put our differences behind us.  We were meant to rule together, my sister."

The Elements of Friendship gasped.  "Sister?"

"What do you say, Sunset?  Will you accept my friendship?"

Tears streamed from Princess Sunset's eyes, and she ran to Princess Twilight.  "I'm so sorry!  I've missed you so much, sister!"

Princess Twilight smiled as a tear rolled down her cheek.  "I've missed you, too."