//------------------------------// // Looming Threat // Story: History Lesson // by Pun System //------------------------------// After the visions of the fillies, the trio found themselves back in Ponyville. Before long, a pegasus chariot landed in the street, allowing Spike and adult Sunburst to disembark. Present-day Spike went and stood next to his alternate self. “Really? That’s all I’ve grown?” Twilight chuckled. “Spike, you’re a reptile. You’ll have your entire life to grow!” “But couldn’t I at least grow a little faster?” Twilight hugged her little dragon. “Oh, Spike, you’re fine just the way you are.” “So what’s supposed to happen now, Twilight?” asked Starlight. “Sunburst, who’s filling in for me at this point, is checking up on the preparations for the one thousandth Summer Sun Celebration. Pretty soon, he’ll meet Pinkie Pie, then he’ll probably go to the apple orchard, then get tackled by Rainbow Dash. After that, it’s off to meet Rarity, then we get to find out who replaces Fluttershy, and finally, he’ll get a surprise party from Pinkie Pie in the library. And that should cover all six bearers of the Elements of Harmony.” As the three followed Sunburst around town, some of Twilight’s predictions came true, and some did not. The first incorrect prediction came when Rainbow Dash landed next to Sunburst rather than tackling him. Another change to the timeline came when Sunburst went to check on the decorations in the town hall. “Decorations…” said past Spike. “Beautiful!” he said with wonder. “Indeed. The decorations seem to be coming along quite well. Hopefully, this will be quick and we'll be at the library in no time,” said Sunburst. “Not the décor. Her!” Spike said. Sunburst looked up from his checklist at the mare in front of him, and she immediately captivated his full attention. “Well, I can certainly see why you would say that!” She stood there levitating various colors of ribbon, systematically working through them one color at a time until she found one she liked. After making her selection, she looked up and noticed the two new arrivals. “Oh, goodness me! I didn’t even see you there! Allow me to introduce myself. I am Rarity. What’s your name, sir?” Sunburst untied his tongue before finally managing to state his name. “And what about you?” she asked the dragon. “Spike,” he said, his eyes still glued to Rarity. Rarity continued scanning the room, a small frown forming on her lips. “Have either of you seen a pair of dragons about?” “Dragons?” asked both Spikes simultaneously. “Sorry. Spike’s the only dragon I’ve seen today,” replied Sunburst. “Oh, here they come. Shard, Sidi, could you tie these sparkling red ribbons along that row of poles?” The two turned around to see a pair of female dragons walking their direction. Shard was slightly taller than Spike, but Sidi was closer to his height. “Yes, Miss Rarity,” said Shard. “Who are the guests?” “Oh, where are my manners? Allow me to introduce you all. Shard, Sidi, meet Sunburst and Spike. Sunburst, Spike, meet Shard and Obsidian.” “Hello, Sunburst,” said the jet-black dragon. “Hello, Obsidian.” “Spike, was it?” asked Shard. “That’s a nice name.” The cool blue dragon blinked her light pink eyes at him a few times. “And you’re Shard, huh? Well, you’re nice, too. Uh, I mean your name. Your name is nice.” Spike’s cheeks suddenly reddened while Sunburst awkwardly glanced upward at the ceiling. “Eww, gross! Shard, you’re gonna get cooties!” warned Sidi. “Darling, I don’t think there’s such thing as cooties. Isn’t that right, Sunburst?” said Rarity. “I hate to ask, but does it suddenly feel hot in here to anyone else?” asked Sunburst, shifting his gaze among the others. “Well, now that you mention it, I do feel a bit warm. Shard, would you mind?” “Of course not, Miss Rarity.” She inhaled, tilted her head back, and let out a deep breath, sending snowflakes to the top of the town hall’s interior for them to gracefully fall back down. “Wow, cool!” exclaimed Spike. “I’ve never seen anything like it!” said Sunburst. “How’d you do that?” “It’s a common misconception that all dragons breathe fire,” Shard replied. “I’m an ice dragon.” “Well, uh, that sure was great, but we still have a lot to check on around town, so I guess we’ll be seeing you girls later. Bye!” Sunburst blurted as he picked up Spike and galloped out the door. “Well that was certainly a bit peculiar,” stated Rarity. “That’s what I thought, too,” added Shard. “Of course they were weird! They’re boys!” shouted Sidi. Rarity and Shard looked at her, then at each other, and shared a knowing smile. After exiting the town hall and slamming the doors, Sunburst and Spike leaned against them, panting. They then turned to each other and simultaneously blurted, “Did you see her?” The pair sighed and slid down the door, collapsing as if they were made of rubber. “I kind of feel guilty for watching that. Like I just read a page about somepony’s love life out of their diary,” said Twilight. “It made my skin crawl,” added Starlight. “Sorry, girls. I can’t hear you over the sound of myself throwing up,” said Spike. “What’s next, Sunburst?” asked alternate Spike. “Next, we’ll check on the music. Looks like the next stop isn’t too far from here.” “I wonder who’s going to replace Fluttershy?” present Spike said aloud. “I guess we’ll just have to wait and find out,” answered Twilight. Sure enough, they didn’t have to go far from the town hall; their next stop was the schoolhouse. Sunburst opened the door to see a mulberry-coated mare conducting her class, which currently doubled as a children’s choir. “It’s Cheerilee?” cried present Spike. “Well, I suppose she’s not actually too bad a fit for the Element of Kindness. After all, she does have to put up with a herd of unruly school-age colts and fillies day in and day out, all while maintaining a cheerful and encouraging spirit.” As Twilight had been talking, she couldn’t help but notice a certain orange pegasus filly singing the song faster than her classmates. It finally got so bad that Cheerilee had to stop the choir. “Scootaloo, I’m afraid you’re taking that part a little too fast.” “But it’s so boring when we go that slow!” she complained. “I’m sorry, but that’s how the music’s written. If we don’t sing it all together, we won’t sound good for the Princess. You wouldn’t want that, would you?” “Well, I guess not.” A yellow-coated filly with a bow in her mane raised a hoof. “Yes, Apple Bloom?” “Miss Cheerilee, we got guests.” Just as she was about to turn around, Cheerilee’s face instinctively scrunched up. “We have guests, you mean.” “That’s what I said,” replied the confused filly. The rest of the class giggled at her expense. For now, the grammar lesson would have to wait. Apple Bloom was right. There were guests behind her, so Cheerilee turned to greet them. “Hello! I’m Sunburst. I’m here to check on the music for the Summer Sun Celebration.” “Welcome! I’m Cheerilee. Would you like to hear our number?” “If it’s not too long.” Spike and Sunburst listened while the choir performed their song. Spike gave a standing ovation when the piece had concluded, and then it was off to the library, where Pinkie Pie had indeed planned a surprise party for Sunburst. True to Twilight’s arrival in Ponyville, Nightmare Moon escaped that night, and it was up to Sunburst and his five new friends to go into the Everfree Forest and find the Elements of Harmony. The six passed all of Nightmare Moon’s tests, though Rainbow Dash seemed less tempted by the Shadowbolts’ offer and defended her friends more vehemently than last time. When the manticore appeared, only Cheerilee noticed the thorn in its paw. Being a teacher well-versed in literature, she immediately recounted the tale of Antrot Fleas and the lion, and removed the thorn from the manticore's paw. Inside the abandoned castle, Sunburst officially declared himself and the others to be the six Spirits of the Elements of Harmony, and the eternal night was cut short when Celestia and Luna were reunited. Discord came and went just as he had in the timeline Twilight was familiar with. The next supervillain, Queen Chrysalis, was a different matter entirely. Because Sunburst had no relationship with Princess Cadance or Shining Armor as Twilight had, almost nothing was the same. The soon-to-be Prince greeted the Bearers with a “business only” demeanor. The six friends found the Princess’s behavior a bit standoffish, but chalked it up to the stress getting to her. Sunburst knew no special rhyme, and thus had no reason to suspect the Princess or conduct investigations. The ceremony went off exactly as the Queen had planned; she was pronounced Shining Armor’s bride by Princess Celestia. The power of a true love’s kiss was enough to one-shot the unsuspecting Princess, and encase her in a green cocoon. Panic descended on the crowd as the six Bearers of the Elements slipped away. They didn’t get far, however, before the changeling swarm brought them back. Within a few hours, the changelings had located and captured Princess Luna as well. The next scene to unfold consisted of the Queen talking with Ex-Princess Celestia. ***** Chrysalis entered the room and detached Celestia’s cocoon from the ceiling. She turned her right-side up and placed her on the floor. “What do you want, Chrysalis?” “First, it has come to my attention that for almost the entire month of your captivity, you have been planning an escape and subsequent uprising against me. You have also been in contact and in league with the Order of the Blue Changelings, the remnant of the rival group which I overthrew when I claimed my crown. Apparently, they are working undercover among the members of my hive.” “Chrysalis, I have no idea what you’re—” “Give it up, Celestia!” she hissed. “Your sister squealed.” Celestia took a moment to compose herself. “My little ponies will never submit to you. You will constantly be threatened by uprisings so long as they are under your rule.” “Perhaps you are correct. But no matter.” She began circling Celestia’s cocoon. “The population looks to you for leadership. If you escape, you will no doubt bring unity and boldness to an otherwise insignificant revolt. I believe it is no longer worth the risk to keep you alive. It is only a matter of time before you manage to escape and try to rise up against me.” “If I die, then I die a martyr for Equestria. My murder will only strengthen the resolve of any revolution. There will be uprisings in the cities, there will be uprisings in the countryside, there will be—” “So I will be dealing with a number of small, leaderless uprisings instead of a widespread revolution with a powerful, recognized leader? Sounds like a fair tradeoff to me. One more thing, Ex-Princess. I want the other half of your sisterly love. Luna’s love for you was strong indeed.” “Yes, I would have assumed so. But I will not yield my own love to you so freely. You shall have to take it from me by force.” Chrysalis, now standing in front of Celestia, stopped circling her cocoon. “Funny. That’s what Luna said, too. And look what happened to her.” She levitated an object from behind her and dropped in front of Celestia. The Princess stared at it in horror and disbelief. “No. You didn’t! Chrysalis, tell me that’s not what I think it is!” “Your sister’s horn.” A sick smile crept across her face once she had said it. “No! You monster! How could you do this?” She pressed her hooves against the cocoon and sobbed. “Chrysalis, I waited a thousand years for my little sister, and I only got to spend this past one with her!” “And why was that? I’m actually interested to hear this.” “My sister became angry because our ponies slept through the nights she worked so hard to make. She finally became so angry that she tried to take all of Equestria for herself, even if it meant overthrowing me.” “Yet you still love her? You’re even weaker than I thought. And far more foolish.” “Of course I still loved her, Chrysalis! She was my sister! I believed she was not beyond forgiveness, and it turned out I was correct. But now—now she’s gone. Forever this time,” she said, descending into sorrowful cries once again. “Correct? Deluded, more likely.” Having manipulated Celestia into letting her guard down, Chrysalis tapped into her affection for Luna. “Mmmm. Your love for your sister is the strongest I have ever consumed. Maybe I should have left your sister alive after all.” “So you did kill my sister?” Chrysalis rolled her eyes. “No, I only snapped her horn off her head to keep as a trophy. Of course I killed her! What, do I need to go get her wings too? Or maybe her head?” “NO! No. Please don’t. If I saw that, I would simply die!” “I’m afraid you’re going to die anyways, Celestia,” she said, cackling villainously. “I take it from the questions you asked about my sister, that you know very little about ancient history. In a few weeks, the Crystal Empire will return, and with it a master of Dark Magic named King Sombra. You’re going to need outside help if you are to defeat him.” “You think you can bargain for your life? You think I need your help to hold him off? Why should I believe you?” “The combined forces of Equestria and the changelings would have a much greater chance of success than you alone could have.” “Come on, Celestia, I didn’t hatch yesterday! That’s got to be the most thinly veiled plot to escape that I’ve ever seen! Besides, you have even more motive to depose me since I told you what I did to Luna!” “With no alicorns left in Equestria, there will be nopony left to raise the sun and the moon,” Celestia protested. “Don't you worry about that. Draining your sister’s love for you has already given me enough power to move both the sun and the moon! When I finish consuming yours, moving the two Great Lights will be merely parlor tricks. Let this so-called King come! His crown will make a fine addition to my already plentiful collection! As has yours!” The Queen’s horn glowed with green energy, and Twilight once again declined to watch. This time, she covered her ears as well, which served to muffle the Princess’s screams. At length, the cries of agony ceased altogether, and Twilight ventured to move a hoof away from her face. The first thing she noticed was Starlight Glimmer staring somberly at the ground. Twilight walked over and draped a wing over Starlight’s back. “Do you see now why I needed to stop you from changing the past?” she gently asked. Starlight brushed Twilight’s wing aside and walked a short distance, but said nothing. After a sigh, she calmly began. “I don’t know how you found out about Sunburst in time to put him into this vision, and I don’t know how you were able to craft such an elaborate story so quickly, but I will not accept that this is my own doing.” “Starlight, I’m telling you, I’m not making any of this up, and I honestly didn’t even know who Sunburst was until you told me. I only made the potion that—” “You made the potion!” Starlight parroted, pointing an accusing hoof in Twilight’s face. “It’s your potion, your story, and your version of the truth! Except that it isn’t the truth at all!” Twilight sighed. “The potion only responds to alicorn magic, so even if I had let you brew the potion yourself, you still would have blamed me for the vision. I don’t know any other way to make the error of your ways more clear to you than letting you see the consequences of your actions firsthoof. Please, Starlight, you have to believe me.” “No. No I don’t.” Starlight produced the scroll from Spike's bag again and tore a little farther into the notch she had already made. “Wait! At least see the vision through to the end!” Starlight glanced up to meet Twilight’s eyes. “Please,” Twilight pleaded. “I’m this close, Twilight. This! Close!” She held up two hooves ever so slightly separated from each other, but she did return the scroll to Spike. “But since you're being so insistent, I’ll play along for now, if only to shut you up.” The three were then teleported by the potion to another room in the palace, where they heard Applejack’s voice above them. “What’s s’posed to happen now?” They looked up to see where the voice had come from, and saw seven green cocoons hanging from the ceiling. “If she wanted us dead, we’d be dead by now. She doesn’t have to keep feeding us, you know,” said Sunburst. “Still, this is a lot of hanging around upside down, even for me,” added Pinkie Pie. Rarity chimed in next. “What do you suppose is happening back home? Oh, I do hope Open Hearts Orphanage is doing well. It’s hard enough sometimes to operate it even when I’m there, being a non-profit and all. And we’ve been gone nearly a month and a half!” “Orphanage?” asked Twilight. “So no Carousel Boutique?” “That would explain why she took in the two dragons long-term, I guess,” present Spike commented. “I sure hope Big Macintosh and Granny Smith are gettin’ along alright on the farm without me. And I reckon Apple Bloom misses me somethin’ fierce.” “And what about the school?” asked Cheerilee. “Mrs. Cup Cake is an industrious teacher’s aide and a willing substitute, but I only make lesson plans three weeks in advance!” “Thunderlane’s probably slacking off with the weather again,” added Rainbow Dash. “Could somepony remind me exactly how he got to be Assistant Weather Manager?” Queen Chrysalis interrupted their conversation when she magically threw open the room’s double doors. She was accompanied by at least two dozen changeling drones. “What now, Chrysalis?” asked Sunburst. “That’s Queen Chrysalis to you.” “We ain’t never gonna bow to you! You ain’t our Queen, and you never will be!” Applejack declared. Chrysalis rolled her eyes. “Regardless, I have a task for you.” She removed their cocoons from the ceiling and set them on the ground. “It has come to my attention that one called King Sombra will be returning soon. We did some research, and found he will appear in the north, in the Crystal Empire. Ponyville is situated so that it would be strategic for both me and him to occupy it. He would use it as a staging ground to attack Canterlot, I would use the town as a buffer for it.” “What makes you think we’re going to help you?” blurted Rainbow Dash. “I need the inhabitants alive so my changelings can feed off their love, but Sombra has been known to be a bit more… tyrannical. According to our research, those who are marched off to his work camps often don't come back, if you get what I’m saying. It is my understanding that you still have a number of close friends there. You wouldn't want anything bad to happen to them, would you?” “I don’t understand. Where do we fit into this?” asked Cheerilee. “You will be shackled, marched to Ponyville, and issued your Elements once you arrive. One of you will stay here as insurance against any of you doing anything brash.” “But—but that isn’t how it works! All six of us need to be there or the Elements won’t work!” cried Rarity. “Then the dragon stays.” Spike and Sunburst looked at each other. “Sunburst?” Spike pressed his claws against the translucent side of his cocoon. “Please don’t leave me! I’ll do anything!” “It’s ok, Spike. Everything will be fine. Nothing bad will happen, I promise. Just do what she says.” “Sunburst, no!” At this point, the real Spike hugged Twilight’s leg, and she in turn embraced him with a wing. “What’s going to happen to me?” “Like I said, if she wanted us dead, we’d be dead already.” By the look on his face, Spike still wasn’t convinced. “I’m so, so sorry, Spike. This is the only way to save everypony in Ponyville. Queen, when our task is complete, will we be reunited?” Sunburst asked. “If you succeed, then yes. The bond you two share is strong, as of brothers. Your emotions feed off each other’s, and I in turn feed off both of you. You were very much correct when you said you would be dead if I wanted you to be. And don’t forget it, either.” She turned to her drones. “Shackle them and march them to Ponyville. Don’t give them their Elements until they arrive there this evening.” “Yes, my Queen,” replied an armored changeling, presumably an officer. As the six large cocoons were opened, Spike spoke up one more time. “Promise me you’ll come back, Sunburst.” Sunburst put his hoof on the other side of Spike’s cocoon, directly opposite his claw. “I’ll be back, Spike. I promise.” After they had their moment, a changeling pushed Sunburst into line and shackled his front hooves. He was fitted with a collar and chained in line with the others, then forced to march out of the room. He glanced back at Spike and the dragon still staring back at him, nearly in tears. “I promise, Spike!” he called back. When the doors closed, Spike sat down in his cocoon, pulled his legs in tight, and wrapped his arms around them. The Queen walked up to him and levitated his cocoon. Spike stood up with a start and a shout. “Don’t worry, little one. I’m not going to kill you. Unless, of course, your friends try to do something heroic. I have a feeling, though, that they just might." She followed up her speech with a fit of laughter that made Spike press himself as hard as he could against the opposite side of the cocoon. The intangible trio made a day’s march into an instant teleport. The alternate mane six looked exhausted from the march into the center of town, and the changeling troop didn’t look much better. “Could one of you pul-ease tell me why we didn’t take the train from Canterlot? My hooves are absolutely killing me!” complained Rarity. “Because we don’t have any trains. The engineers escaped with them before we could occupy the train yard,” a changeling replied. Rarity groaned. “Well, Rarity, at least we’re here now,” Sunburst reminded. He tried to hold her hoof, but the shackles made it difficult and awkward. She smiled weakly at him anyways. “Right. So you can quit your whining,” said the officer. “Whining? That was complaining. Do you really want to hear whining?” “NO!” her friends shouted in unison. “Actually, what we meant to say was more along the lines of, I don’t think that would be appropriate right now,” corrected Sunburst. Rarity sighed as she began “I suppose you’re right, Sunburst.” She turned to a nearby changeling. “Now, if you would, be a dear and get these abhorrent chains off my hooves.” The six were released and issued their elements. A changeling drone withdrew Loyalty from Rainbow Dash’s overly eager snatch, causing her to miss. “For use against King Sombra only,” he stressed. “Yeah. Sure. Got it.” The drone reluctantly released Loyalty to its bearer. A changeling officer addressed the ponies. “During our march, our scouts brought news to me that the Crystal Empire has returned and King Sombra is on his way with an army of armored crystal ponies. He will likely arrive sometime tomorrow. Our Queen has already been notified and will be sending reinforcements to fortify Ponyville. Since we still have your dragon friend back in Canterlot, we anticipate your absolute cooperation. You have until tomorrow to prepare a suitable defense.” His message delivered, the officer departed to seek lodging for his troops. “So, when do we start kicking changeling flank?” asked Rainbow Dash. “We don’t,” declared a defeated Sunburst. “Oh, Sunburst, don’t be silly! We’ll get them, you’ll see! We’ll send them all the way back to… to… Where are changelings from again?” “It won’t matter, Pinkie. They still have Spike.” “I know how much the little guy means to you,” Applejack said reassuringly. “Now, the only way we can be sure Spike stays outta harm’s way is to stop ol’ King What’s-His-Face. And by Celestia, that’s what we’re gonna do.” Applejack placed her hat over her heart and looked skyward at the mention of the late Princess. “Don’t worry about it, Sunburst dear. Applejack’s right. No harm will come to Spike if we cooperate with the Queen. Perhaps if we do well enough, we could even beg for our freedom in exchange for protecting Ponyville.” “I doubt that would work, Rarity,” Sunburst said. “I’d hate to think what would happen to us if we lose, let alone what they would do to Spike. Especially after what happened to the Princesses,” said Cheerilee. “The Princesses were key political figures,” said Sunburst. “They were strong leaders that a rebellion could rally behind if Chrysalis left them alive and then they escaped. Unfortunately, that makes any sort of rebellion on our part that much harder now that they’re gone. As for Spike, you heard her yourselves. She wants him alive so she can feed off me and him.” “But the Queen also lost most of her leverage against the six of us when she—you know—executed the Princesses,” added Cheerilee. “Executed?” shouted Rainbow Dash. “More like murdered!” “Please, I’d prefer we not talk about the Princesses’ or Spike’s fate,” said Sunburst. “Come on, Sunburst, what could they do to Spike? Dragon scales are legendary for being practically invincible!” stated Rainbow Dash. “I don’t know,” said Sunburst. “But if we try to fight both factions and fail, we’re all in deep trouble.” Following a pause in conversation, Sunburst made a proposition. “It’s late in the evening, and we’re all tired from the march. We need to head home to get some sleep and meet back in the town hall at 8:00 tomorrow.” The group consented and dispersed to get some much-needed sleep. Tomorrow, they would make their decision.