Sol Umbrae

by Dream Bolt

The Flames of Disaster

Chapter 15: The Flames of Disaster

The caravan landed in Canterlot the next day. As Trixie got down and looked about, she looked a little nervous.

“You say the princesses wish to meet Trixie?” she asked.

“Yep!” Twilight replied. “This is the big test. If you truly are the Element of Faith, you will be able to open the doorway made by Star Swirl the Bearded that leads to Mobius.”

“Trixie is unsure….” Trixie stated.

Twilight gave her a smirk. “Since when is the Great and Powerful Trixie unsure of herself?”

At this, Trixie smiled, and put her nose up in the air. “Very well!” she exclaimed. “Escort Trixie to this magical doorway! She shall open it for you! After all, she is the greatest and most powerful unicorn in all of Equestria!”

“Um, aren’t you forgetting what Twilight said earlier about humility?” Silver asked.

“Twilight Sparkle said to build others up, not for Trixie to sell herself short.” Trixie replied. “And Trixie shall try to encourage her lessers. And anyways, Trixie is being humble. Trixie only claims to be the most powerful unicorn in all of Equestria. Trixie could have said that she was the greatest magician in all of history!”

“I’m not sure about that.” Twilight stated, smirking amusedly.

“Trixie would debate the point, but Trixie is too humble to do so.” Trixie replied.

Silver and Twilight glanced at one another and shrugged.

“Well, we’d better get to that doorway fast.” Silver stated. “Who knows how long we’ve got.”

*************************************************************************************************

“I’m glad to see you back so soon!” Celestia stated as the three companions entered the palace. Trixie was doing her best to remain nonchalant, but it was obvious that she was overawed by her surroundings.

“Trixie Lulamoon. How nice to see you.” Celestia said with a smile. “And no, I’m not surprised. Not because you are as great as you claim to be, because I know that deep in your heart, you know you’re exaggerating. But I believe that one day, you truly will be the most powerful unicorn in all of Equestria. After all, faith is a powerful thing.”

Trixie simply gulped and stared.

“Star Swirl the Bearded would be proud of you.” Celestia stated. “And… well, he always had a little trouble with his ego, too. You’re more like him than you realize.”

“Th-thank you, Princess.” Trixie replied, looking utterly shocked at the Celestia’s words.

Twilight leaned over towards Trixie. “See? Don’t you like it when somepony encourages you?” she asked.

A huge grin lit up across Trixie’s face, and she simply giggled like a schoolgirl.

“Well, we have little time.” Celestia said. “Go now, and give aid to my avatar. I sense that she is in danger.”

“Her avatar?” Silver asked confusedly.

“She means Blaze.” Twilight explained.

Silver suddenly looked worried. “Then we have to go now!” he exclaimed. “I can’t let anything happen to her! Not again!”

“Your friendship with my avatar will give you great strength.” Celestia stated. “I have faith in you all.”

Suddenly, a pegasus burst in through the doors. The guards were chasing her, trying to stop her.

“At ease.” Celestia told the guards. “I’m sure that Miss Blossomforth has a good reason for coming here.”
Celestia turned kindly towards Blossomforth. “If I recall, you’re from Ponyville.” she stated. “What brings you here in such a hurry, my friend?”

“Ro… robots. Take… over… Ponyville.” Blossomforth gasped. “Eggman… turn… ponies… into… robots. Flying… fleets… armies… everywhere.”

“Eggman?!” Twilight cried. “But he’s… he’s supposed to be on Mobius! How did he get here?!”

“How is not important.” Celestia said with a firm voice. Her face had grown concerned, and quite stern. “My subjects are in danger. I must rally the army together and go to their aid. Guards! Alert the Canterlot soldiers, and see that Blossomforth receives a place to rest.” She turned towards Luna. “Sister, bring these three to the doorway. They may need your help in their journey”

“But who shall defend Canterlot?” Luna asked.

Celestia sighed, and Luna’s eyes grew wide.

“Nay, sister! Tis not that desperate!”

“If there is an army from Mobius in Ponyville that has taken control, then it is that desperate.” Celestia replied. “If this Eggman can reach Equestria, then the door has been opened for the shadow.”

“Who are you leaving in control of Canterlot?” Twilight asked.

“Yes, who indeed?” a voice echoed.

From the ceiling, a familiar figure snaked down. A figure that was a chaotic mix of various different animals.

“Are you referring to moi?”

“Discord, both I and my sister are on important business!” Celestia stated firmly. “You will not be in charge. Your only duty is to defend Canterlot.”

“You have my word that I shall defend it to the best of my abilities.” Discord replied with an exaggerated bow.

“No causing an invasion just to amuse yourself by fending it off.” Celestia said.

Discord rolled his eyes. “Fine.” he grumbled.

“No making new laws or trying to hypnotize anypony while we’re gone.”

“What about new laws of physics?”

“No!” Celestia ordered. “You will do as you are told by my prime minister. Your duty will only be to keep Canterlot safe And I want to come back to see Canterlot exactly the way I left it.”

Discord snorted. “And I thought you had a sense of humor.” he muttered.

Twilight turned towards Celestia. “Princess, you’re leaving him alone here?” she shouted in shock.

“Hey, Discord isn’t all bad, remember?” Silver stated. “He’s the reason we’re all alive in my time.”

Even Celestia looked surprised at this.

“Well, Discord,” she stated, “it appears that Silver has faith in you. Although I must admit, the idea of you acting responsibly in any future is hard to believe.”

“Why, Tia, I’m very responsible.” Discord replied. “Whenever there’s trouble, I’m usually responsible for it!” He laughed at his own joke.

“Yeah, well, I know that you have a noble side.” Silver stated. “No less chaotic, but noble.”

“Oh, please.” Discord mumbled, rolling his eyes.

“If you don’t care about anything else, do it for Fluttershy.” Silver replied.

Discord sighed. “Very well.” he conceded. “I’ll behave. At least until Tia is back.”

“Good.” Celestia stated. “Sister, bring our three guests to the doorway. I must depart.”

Discord turned towards Celestia. “But can I have just a little candy storm?”

Celestia sighed. “Clean up afterwards, and you may. But only in the royal gardens.”

*************************************************************************************************

Luna lead Twilight, Silver, and Trixie down to the lower basements of Canterlot. As they walked through, the three younger companions looked about in awe at the various magical artifacts.

“Hey, is that a power ring?” Silver asked, pointing towards a gold ring inside a crystal case.

“Indeed.” Luna replied. “But we have not the time to explain such things. We must make haste to reach my sister’s avatar.”

She walked up to a simple, unassuming-looking door built into the wall. It looked very old, but sturdy.

“It looks like a broom closet!” Trixie commented.

“Star Swirl wished it to remain hidden from unfriendly eyes.” Luna stated. “Now Trixie, you must be the one to open the door. Only you can open the pathway to Mobius. That is, if thou art indeed Star Swirl’s descendant.”

For a moment, Trixie looked unsure. “And what if Trixie fails?”

“Then you shall find nothing but a broom closet.” Luna replied matter-of-factly.

Trixie gave a gulp, but went up to the door. Her horn glowed as she slowly turned the handle.
Suddenly, a gust of fresh air blew through, blowing Trixie’s mane about. The smell of the sea wafted in.
As the door opened fully, the four companions looked out to see the rolling beaches of Solianna.

“Why does this doorway also lead to Solianna?” Silver asked.

“It was the city where we and our sister first arrived.” Luna explained. “Here is where most of our interactions between Mobius and Equestria took place.”

“Trixie did it!” Trixie cried, leaping out onto the sand and kicking her hooves happily. “Trixie is the greatest and most powerful unicorn in Equestria! She opened the door to another world! Was there ever any doubt?”

“I’m glad you’re so happy.” Twilight said, as she and Silver exchanged amused glances at Trixie’s bragging.

“We have little time.” Luna said. “We must reach this portal you spoke of which lead to the world of sister’s avatar!” She sighed. “We remember now what we disliked about this world. Too many confusing alternate universes.”

“The portal is in Tails’ laboratory!” Twilight stated.

“Then let’s go!” Silver cried.

*************************************************************************************************

As Twilight led them to the laboratory, she approached the door, carefully observing everything.

Suddenly, a surveillance camera popped out of the wall.

“Identify yourselves.” the camera stated.

Trixie shrieked. “It talks!”

“Your name and appearance are not on record, Ms. Talks.” the camera replied.

“I am Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight stated. “This is Silver the Hedgehog, Trixie Lulamoon, and Princess Luna. We need to reach those Star Rod things.”

“Twilight Sparkle identified.” the camera said. “Security clearance level 4 granted.”

“Only level 4?” Twilight mumbled as the door slid open.

Silver dashed inside as quickly as possible, with Twilight close behind him. Trixie and Luna lagged behind staring at the surrounding machinery. Even Luna was greatly impressed, and she couldn’t help but stare at some of the gadgets.

“Come on!” Silver cried. “Blaze could be in danger!”

As Twilight ran over to the Star Rods, she was suddenly stuck by the realization that she had absolutely no idea how to operate them.
Fortunately, Silver had dashed over, and was hurriedly trying to activate the portal. In less than a minute, the portal came online.

“Thank Celestia you knew how to do that!” Twilight stated. “I never learned much about Star Rods.”

“They’re kind of a way of life for us in the future.” Silver stated. “No one wants to bother going to the surface if they don’t have to.”

He dashed into the portal without another word. Twilight gestured for the others to follow as she went in behind him.
Trixie walked up to the portal, slowly and tentatively. She slowly touched it with her hoof, testing it.

“GET THYSELF MOVING!!!” Luna cried. She gave Trixie a shove, pushing her into the portal, then dove in herself.

*************************************************************************************************

As they came through, Trixie was about to complain, but even she was silenced by the sight that met them.
All about, the trees and the land was scorched and burnt. Flames still flickered all about them.

Before they could question what had caused this, a horde of creatures, made of shadows and what appeared to be black rock, leapt out at them.

“Mephiles’s minions!” Silver cried, stunning one of the beasts and hurling it into sea.

Twilight blasted off streams of magic, striking the monsters. Trixie shrieked, trying to run back to the portal, but a hulking, shadowy giant cut her off. Trixie screamed, falling onto the ground.

The beast was blasted with a bolt of magenta light, and went soaring away, as Twilight dashed up to her.

“Come on, Trixie!” she shouted, blasting another monster. “You keep saying how great and powerful you are! So let’s see it!”

Trixie gulped, then closed her eyes and blindly fired a stream of magic from her horn.

The bolt struck a monster, freezing it in a block of ice. Trixie opened her eyes, looking surprised. Her face lit up.

“Trixie is the greatest and most powerful monster fighter ever!” she cried.

“Well, we’ll need that!” Silver cried, tossing a storm of boulders at the shadowy beasts. “We’re literally fighting an army here!”

“Get behind us, all of you!” Luna cried. “We shall deal with these creatures ourself!”

Twilight, Trixie, and Silver all dove behind Luna. Silver looked uneasily at Twilight.

“Are you sure she can handle all those?” Silver asked.

“You don’t get to be ruler of the night by title alone.” Twilight replied.

As the creatures surrounded them, Luna’s eyes glowed white. She planted her hooves firmly upon the ground, as thunder and lightning began to peal through the sky. He voice rang out, louder than the thunder, so great that it felt as if it could shatter the heavens themselves.

“BE GONE!!!”

Lightning crashed all about her, striking the beasts, and her horn was alit with magic. Shadows sparkling with stars swirled about her in a maelstrom. For a moment, her eyes flashed, blue and catlike, and in the flash of the lightning, Twilight swore for a moment that her fur was black, and she was clad in dark blue armor.

The shadowy creatures mindlessly continued their assault. Now they surrounded the companions in a thick, wide circle.

“They cut us off from the portal!” Trixie cried.

“THESE WEAK CREATURES BE ONLY A MINOR PROBLEM!!!” Luna bellowed. Her horn flared with magic, and sparks like stars shimmered about it.

Suddenly, Luna struck the ground with her hooves, and the beasts were rocketed into the sky. But rather than coming back down, they continued to fall upwards, higher and higher, until there was another flash of magic, and they came rocketing down to the earth, crashing and disappearing into shadowy smoke.

Twilight stared in awe. “That was the most impressive gravity spell I have ever seen.” she breathed.

“Sister is better at those.” Luna replied nonchalantly, returning to her typical self now that the monsters were defeated. “We are better at controlling tides and such. We thought about wiping these creatures out with a tidal wave, but if there are inhabitants nearby, we would not wish to hurt them or their property.”

“We have to get to Blaze!” Silver cried. He soared into the sky, with Twilight close behind him. To Trixie’s surprise, Luna lifted her onto her back with her magic.

“Um… why are you letting Trixie ride you?” Trixie asked at they took off.

“This is a time of great peril, and we have not the time to give thee wings of thine own.” Luna replied.

Trixie merely looked surprised and shocked. She had been feeling surprised and shocked ever since she had opened that door, and was now wondering if she could ever shake the feeling.

As they soared over the town, Twilight gasped. It was in flames and ruins, and the streets were flooded. The populace was evacuated, save for four individuals.

The first was Marine, riding her ship through the flooded streets, firing all the vessels weapons at the second figure. Even from this distance, Twilight recognized it as Dusk Flicker. Upon the deck of Marine’s ship, Blaze was sprawled limply

But the fourth figure towered above them all. Taller than the buildings and the trees, a being of fire and lava.

“No.” Silver breathed. “He’s dead.”

“Silver, what’s wrong?” Twilight asked.

Silver just stared, his face looking fearful. Then it hardened with a determination so powerful and so driven that even Luna looked surprised.

“It’s always come down to this, hasn’t it?” Silver said quietly, looking at the fiery behemoth. “You and me.”

He soared higher, shouting at the beast. “You!” he shouted. “Remember me?!”

The flaming beast turned towards him, its green eye flickering in hateful recognition.

“This time, I’m going to stop you for good!” Silver cried. “This ends now…Iblis!”

*************************************************************************************************

Twilight stared in surprise. Silver was in a rage, filled with a determination as solid as iron. As the beast sent hundreds of fireballs soaring at him, Silver caught them and threw them back at it.

“Luna, what should we….” Twilight suddenly noticed that Luna was no longer by her side. Looking below, she saw Luna had dropped Trixie down on Marine’s ship. And now, she was attacking Dusk Flicker.

“YOU… SHALL… PAY… FOR… WHAT… YOU… DID… TO… ME!” Luna shouted between blows. Her hooves shook the earth as she struck at the shadowy pony, who was busy trying to evade her blows.

“What I did to you?” Dusk Flicker said mockingly, sending a bolt of magic at Luna. “You let me in. Your anger and jealousy and selfishness. You asked me for that power. You wanted to become Nightmare Moon. And deep down inside, you know the truth.”
Dusk Flicker teleported next to Luna’s ear, and whispered into it.

“You always were Nightmare Moon.”

Luna whipped about, blasting Dusk Flicker with a beam of magic that sent the dark pony soaring through the air.
“I… am… Luna.” Luna replied heavily. “I made mistakes, and I am to blame. But I never intended what came. That was you, and you alone.”

“Was it?” Dusk Flicker asked, teleporting to her hooves. “That darkness, that evil, is a part of you. I merely awakened it.”

“No.” Luna replied. “You controlled me. You deceived me. You stole my very mind and my choice.”

“But you asked for it.” Dusk Flicker replied. “You wanted it.”

“I never wanted the devastation you brought, and I never wanted to be your puppet.” Luna replied. There was a flash as she sent out a blast which collapsed the building that Dusk Flicker was atop.

The shadowy pony merely teleported away, staring smugly at Luna.

“But you still wanted to be Nightmare Moon. You still wanted to surpass your sister.”

Luna sighed. “Yes. And I regret it.”

“You see?” Dusk Flicker replied with a grin. “You have evil within you. Perhaps we aren’t as different as you believe.” She held out a hoof to Luna. “We could still rule together. Under an eternal night.”

Luna stared icily. “I am different from you.” she stated firmly. “We all have the potential to do evil. We all have selfish desires. But we can choose to deny those desires. And when we fail, we shall get back up again. Because that is what a hero does. I made a mistake, but I shall not let that mistake rule me.”

Dusk Flicker gave an irritated smirk. “Do you really think that Celestia still trusts you after that?” she scoffed. “Do you really think any of your subjects will… GAH!”

From the surrounding smoke, a bolt of magic flashed and struck Dusk Flicker in the back, sending her sprawling. She returned fire, but the figure dodged the attack.

“I have wasted too much time here.” Dusk Flicker stated. “I have what I came for. Now to let the Flames of Disaster deal with you.”

There was a flash, and a portal opened up. Dusk Flicker leapt inside, and was gone. The portal closed behind her as Luna attempted one last shot.

Luna turned about with a sigh. “Thank you, Twilight Sparkle.” she stated. “Your aid was most welcome.”

But the figure who walked out of the smoke was not Twilight.

“Miss Lulamoon?” Luna said in surprise.

Trixie snorted. “Trixie was tired of hearing that creepy pony blathering.”

“You were very brave to do that.” Luna stated.

Trixie shrugged, giving her cape a flourish. “Trixie is not afraid of creepy ponies or monsters.” she stated. “She was merely a little surprised before. But now, the Great and Powerful Trixie is ready to fight any evil beast!”

Luna turned to look up at the towering figure of Iblis, as the tiny figures of Silver and Twilight dove at it.

“Then shall you join us?” she asked.

Trixie stared at the towering behemoth and gulped. But she sighed, and straightened her hat.

“Of course Trixie shall.”

*************************************************************************************************

Silver soared about Iblis’s head, throwing all the debris he could collect at the colossal being.

“GO DOWN! GO DOWN! GO DOWN!” he screamed.

Silver landed on a rooftop, blocking the barrage of fireballs that Iblis spewed at him.
Twilight soared to his side, shooting beams of magic at the colossal burning beast.

“Is this the same Iblis that Blaze said was imprisoned inside her?” Twilight asked, levitating some water balls out of the surrounding water and hurling them to try and extinguish the behemoth.

“Yes.” Silver replied, his face fearful but set.

Luna and Trixie shot past and charged at Iblis, but Iblis swung at them. Luna dodged, but Trixie, who tried to jump atop Iblis’s hand, was knocked unconscious and fell down below. As Luna dove to grab her, Iblis swung again, striking Luna’s wing and sending her crashing to the ground, landing on Marine’s ship

Twilight dove to catch Trixie, but Iblis smashed the rooftop out from under them. Twilight spread her wings, trying to soar to clear ground, but she wasn’t used to flying with extra weight like this. She began to plummet towards the water. With a splash, she and Trixie landed in the salty depths.

Trixie immediately woke up, and began spluttering and screaming. Twilight tried to swim, But Trixie was being dragged down by her cape, which had soaked up water and become heavy. Twilight swam over to Trixie, trying to keep her head above the water, but they were both beginning to be dragged under.
Suddenly, they both found themselves caught by Luna’s magic, as Luna lifted them onto Marine’s ship.

“Our wing is injured.” Luna stated. “We are unable to fly.”

“Well then, just shoot the bugger with your pointy noggin!” Marine cried out, throwing the wheel as she turned down a city street. “We need all the firepower we can get!

Silver soared down, landing upon the deck. “He’s too powerful to take down like this.” Silver stated. “Luna, you said you create a tidal wave?

“Yes, but the town….”

“Is already wrecked!” Silver shouted in reply. “Iblis will wreak havoc on this world, and we don’t have much time to save the other ones as it is!”

Luna sighed. “It will not be easy to protect us all.” she stated.

“Leave that to me.” Silver replied.

Luna raised her horn, and it flashed with light. Suddenly, the water beneath hem began to drain away, until the street were dry.

“Where’s the wave?” Trixie asked. “How can you have a wave without water?”

“Wait for it.” Luna replied.

Iblis towered over them, raising a hand to smash the ship.
But a roar caused him to pause. He looked up to see a wave of water, taller than him, rushing towards him.

The wave crashed into Iblis, extinguishing his flame, only moments before it hit the ship.

Silver caught the ship, holding it steady against the powerful blow so that it didn’t shatter. Suddenly, it felt like they had been shot out of a cannon.

Twilight and Trixie both screamed and clung to whatever they could as the wind rushed past them. They were high in the air now, high above the building’s tops. Silver was too intently focused on guiding and holding the ship to scream, and Luna, as she sat next to Marine, shielding the ship, was whooping and hollering. Marine was screaming too, but with joy, as she clung to the ship’s wheel, her legs and tail drifting in the air behind her.

As the wave began to crash down, Silver raised his hands. Behind them, the wave split down the middle, and as they came soaring down towards the ground, the ship suddenly slowed down, and stopped in midair, as the sea crashed all around them.

“HUZZAH!” Luna cried, her horn shimmering as she held the ship up. “A BRILLIANT PLAN, SILVER THE HEDGEHOG! AND A FUN ONE, AS WELL!”

“That was a ripper!” Marine shouted, leaping up and down. “Can we do it again?”

“We have more important business right now.” Silver stated, running to Blaze’s side. His eyes were teary as he looked at her limp form.

“She’s unconscious, but her injuries aren’t that bad.” Twilight stated.

Silver turned about. “Luna!” he cried, forgetting her title for the moment. “Can you use your magic to bind Iblis back within Blaze?” As he said this, he pointed towards a fiery spirit rising out of the waves.

Luna nodded. Her horn flashed, and the flames of Iblis streamed through the air towards her, channeling through her horn before flowing into Blaze.

Blaze awoke suddenly as the process ended. “What happened?” she murmured. Then, as she saw Silver, her face lit up.
“Silver!” she cried, embracing him. “I thought… I thought I would never see you again!”

“Since when have I ever missed a fight with Iblis?” Silver laughed. He sniffed, his eyes shimmering as he tried to control his overwhelming emotions.

“Awww.” Twilight and Luna said.

Trixie rolled her eyes. “Trixie doesn’t like all this sappiness.” she muttered.

Blaze parted from Silver, suddenly looking grave. “That weird-looking pony was Mephiles.” she stated grimly. “He has the Sol Emeralds. I tried to stop him, but….”

“Hey, we’ll get them back.” Silver stated. “Don’t worry.”

“Of course you blokes shouldn’t worry!” Marine shouted. “You’ve got the intrepid Captain Marine on your side! Everything’s going to be apples. ” Marine turned towards Luna. “Now, where can I get my hair to look like yours? It’s bloomin’ lovely!”

“Marine, I need you to stay here and look after the koalas.” Blaze stated. “I have to reclaim the Sol Emeralds.”

“You can count on me, ma’am!” Marine shouted, giving a salute.

“As for the rest of you,” Blaze stated, turning towards the others, “thank you. You saved me, and likely my world as well.”

“It’s not over yet.” Twilight stated. “We have to get those Sol Emeralds.”

“Then let us pursue this Mephiles wherever he hath gone!” Luna cried.

*************************************************************************************************

Twilight led them back through the portal into Tails’ lab, and ran over to the computer.

“They used this to contact us before.” Twilight stated. “Maybe we can contact the others and get some help!”

“Are you sure that this is a wise idea?” Silver asked. “I mean, with the whole time travel thing….”

“We’re basically back in the normal stream of things.” Twilight assured him, pointing at the clock. “Judging by the date and time, we are now a few hours ahead of our original departure.”

“Trixie is confused.” Trixie stated. “What do you mean, your original departure?”

“Long story. We’ll tell you later.” Twilight stated. “Right now, we need to contact the others.”

Silver went over to the computer, but before he could touch it, Tail’s face appeared on the screen.

“Hello, Twilight.” he said. “This is a recording, so I can’t really talk to you or see you. I hope that if you activate this, you have found the help you were searching for. Because we have a situation. Eggman is invading Ponyville, and we’re going in to stop him.”

“Your support will be extremely helpful.” Tails went on. “We are in an attempt to locate and retrieve the Elements of Harmony. I do not know when you will receive this message, if you ever do at all, but I need you to report to the Iron Egg. That’s where Eggman has his portal to Equestria. He’s using the Chaos Emeralds to power it, four of them. Without them, the portal will close. Get those Emeralds and bring them to us. We are right now heading out on a mission to Equestria, and you will be able to find us there. If you need help finding the Iron Egg, talk to G.U.N., they know where it is.”

“As for Mephiles,” Tails continued, “my best bet is to collect both the Chaos Emeralds and the Elements of Harmony. We need all the help we can get. Rouge has detected Mephiles’s minions moving towards the Iron Egg, so we need to stop him from coming through. Spike will meet you at the rendezvous coordinates. Good luck.”

As the transmission flickered out, General Abraham’s image flickered into view.

“Miss Sparkle.” he stated flatly. “I assume that you got Mr. Prower’s briefing?”

“Y-yes.” Twilight replied, uncertain if this was another recording, and feeling very nervous that the general would somehow know of her role in the blood sample disappearances.

“Tails rigged the device to wire us if the message was triggered.” General Abraham went on. “We’re sending over a G.U.N. airship right now.” He turned towards the others. “Friends of yours?”

“Yes.” Twilight replied. “And we need to get to the Iron Egg.”

“I already know.” General Abraham stated. “Your assistant has been very impatient for your return.”

“Tell him we’ll be there shortly.” Twilight replied.

*************************************************************************************************

“This flying ship is certainly very impressive.” Trixie stated, looking about as they flew through the surrounding blizzards. “Trixie can’t even feel the cold. She wants one of these.”

“You’ll feel the cold soon enough.” one of the G.U.N. agents chuckled. “The Iron Egg is nearly impossible to reach for troops because of the harsh weather. Once you get off, I recommend you put on a sweater.”

Blaze gave a little chuckle. “Speaking for myself, I think I’ll be fine.”

Suddenly, a voice announced over the radio, “We are approaching the drop zone. Prep yourselves for the jump.”

“The… jump?” Trixie gulped.

“Sorry, guys.” one of the agents stated. “This terrain is too hazardous to land on. Most of you can fly, and we can loan you some parachutes if you need them.”

“We shall be fine.” Luna replied. “Trixie Lulamoon, thou shalt ride upon my back again. Princess Blaze, how shall you fare?”

“I’ll bring her down.” Silver volunteered.

“I can take care of myself.” Blaze replied, but she grinned at Silver’s offer.

“Well, you’d better be ready!” the G.U.N. agent said. “Opening doors… NOW!”

A blast of shockingly cold wind struck them all as the doors opened. Blaze leapt out first, without a second thought, closely followed by Luna and a shivering Trixie. Silver and Twilight then dove out together.

Flurries of snow blinded them. Twilight found it almost impossible to maneuver in the rattling winds, and it took all her strength just to simply guide herself safely to the ground near the drop point.

As she landed heavily and rolled into a snow bank, landing upside down, she suddenly saw a short figure dashing towards her.

“Twilight!” Spike cried out, grabbing her and hugging her. “I’m so glad you’re here! Eggman’s attacking Ponyville, and the others have been gone a really long time, and all these creepy dark creatures are inside Eggman’s base, and….”

“I know, Spike.” Twilight replied, getting to her hooves. She smiled and returned the hug. “Don’t worry. I’ve got help.”

Spike stared in surprise at Blaze and Silver, and his gaze narrowed at it settled upon Trixie.

“What’s she doing here?” he asked. “And… how did she even get here?”

“Trixie opened up a magical doorway that only Trixie could open.” Trixie replied, looking smug. “Twilight Sparkle depended on Trixie’s great and powerful magic to get her through.”

“And…?” Twilight prodded.

Trixie sighed. “And the magic of friendship. But it was still mostly Trixie.”

Spike turned towards Twilight in surprise. “Did she just talk about friendship?”

“Long story. She’s learning.” Twilight replied.

“Where beith this portal, young dragon?” Luna asked, stepping up.

Spike stared in awe, then bowed. “P-Princess Luna!” he stuttered. “It’s an honor to….”

“The portal is over there.” Blaze stated, pointing. “Kind of hard to miss.”

Everyone looked at the swirling, glowing vortex. Even still, troops were marching through it and giant airship were flying into the portal.

“We must move with haste!” Luna cried. “I shall distract the armies. The rest of you, get those Chaos Emeralds.”

“They should be in the machinery generating the portal.” Silver pointed out.

“I shall teleport us in!” Luna shouted. “Prepare yourselves!”

There was a flash of blue magic, and they were gone.

*************************************************************************************************

They began running almost as soon as they appeared within the base. Luna stood between them and the robots, blasting them with her powerful magic.

Blaze dashed over to one of the power nodes, melting the Emerald out with her fire. Trixie grabbed another with her telekinesis, ripping it out of its socket. She quickly dodged the lasers of the surrounding robot who had opened fire upon her.
Twilight grabbed the third, but Silver hovered next to the final Emerald.

“Everyone, get through!” he cried. “The portal’s collapsing! It’s gonna close when I pull this Emerald out!”

Luna whipped about, teleporting to Twilight’s side. As they all ran through the portal, Silver followed, pulling the last Emerald out as he did.
There was a flash, and the portal rippled and began to shrink behind them.

“Wow… it was that easy?” Twilight said in surprise.

“I fear not.” Luna stated quietly.

Although the portal heaved and buckled, it did not close.

“Eggman must be using his machines to hold it open.” Silver stated. “If we can close the portal, he won’t be able to open it again without the Chaos Emeralds.”

“Nay, leave it open.” Luna replied. She was staring away from the portal. “I fear we shall need to send much back through it.”
As they all turned, Twilight gasped. Spike stared in tearful shock. Even Trixie looked distraught.

“Ponyville….” Twilight murmured.

Silver gave her an understanding look. “Don’t worry.” he said. “I know what it’s like to lose my home. I won’t let that happen to you, too.”

Luna looked towards the sky, and smiled.

“The sun is rising.” she stated.

A light streamed over the land, as a brilliance filled the sky. Through the light, Twilight could see many figures coming out of the Everfree Forest. Most were ponies, but she could make out some blurs that were not pony shape.

And suddenly, the light moved, hovering above the small army, shining down as if the sun itself had come down from the sky.

“Sister is here!” Luna cried. “Canterlot has come!”

Author's Note:

Celestia's leaving Discord alone in Canterlot. This must really be a serious situation.

The final battle is about to begin. Will our heroes gloriously conquer evil, or will all Tartarus break loose and throw them into another hopeless situation?

...As if you had to ask.

Comments

[Raistlin]

Knowing Eggman, he surely has anticipated Celestia´s reaction and developed countermeasures, like an special bot resistant to her magic, or a special energy jail... or simply taken some Ponyvillians as puppets/hostages.

[HeroesDoody]

Cliffhangers make me sick...literally I'll be better next chapter...

[Fern the changeling]