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Dusk2,217 words
Dawn3,333 words

Dawn

“What the hay is goin’ on?” Applejack queried with a mixed feeling. She, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy had been summoned to the palace in Canterlot. They had already started their journey there after the incident at the library, following the trail that Twilight Sparkle left behind. They could all see the heavy damage that was dealt to the room, and felt that something with different with the sister princesses.

Pinkie took a deep breath. “Twilight grew wings and a lot taller and she blew up the library and headed off in this direction and we came here as fast as we could but there was something weird going on everywhere we went!”

“If I wasn’t already the fastest flier in all of Equestria now, whatever’s going on now would give me that title.” the rainbow-maned pegasus stated.

“It’s...kind of hard to explain...everypony in town was...what’s the word...” came the quietest voice.

“They were not moving! It’d probably have been less disturbing if we hadn’t seen my sister and her friends jumping rope, and Applebloom hovering in midair!” Rarity added.

“Look at this.” called Celestia as she opened a curtain to show the view of the horizon, frozen between night and day.

Luna waited for the group to get an idea of what was going on. “This was in alicorn prophecy for several millennia, it is a period where the transition between night and day is non-existent. As such, the passage of time has halted. It is called the ‘hour of twilight.’”

“Hour of twilight? You don’t mean...” the white unicorn stepped back.

“Is Twilight responsible for this!?” Dash was feeling a mix of anger and somewhat betrayed.

“We alicorns do not exist for eternity. Much like you, we must have offspring to continue our lineage, else the world could come to an end. Your friend, Twilight Sparkle, was the result of our generation’s offspring.”

“An alicorn must learn of the world before she can come to power. As such, we put her into the world to make friends. Every generation of Equestrian royalty has gone through this.” Luna sighed. “Never has an incident like what just happened occurred throughout all of history. She was awoken prematurely, which caused her to have no control over her powers. She also did not take the news very well that her family and friends would forget about her original life upon the awakening of her powers.”

Fluttershy’s eyes started to water. “We’re...going to forget her...?”

Celestia shook her head. “No. There is another part to this, one that we did not get to inform her of. I sent her to Ponyville to make friends...”

“Yeah,” Dash started, “and we banded together to obtain the Elements of Harmony to revert Nightmare Moon back into Princess Luna!”

Luna smiled at them. “The entire Nightmare Moon scenario was staged.”

The five friends all looked shocked. “WHAT!?” was exclaimed simultaneously.

“No one was in any danger.during that event. The Elements of Harmony needed to be attuned to a new master. The most powerful force that any goddess could have is the power of friends. You can learn a lot about the world just by having friends. Celestia and I became friends before our true form was revealed, and both wielded the Elements. They are not just to save the world from monsters such as Discord, but to keep a true friend’s memories alive even after they change form. There’s a reason that Twilight’s crest is adorned on a crown, instead of the necklaces the rest of you have.”

“Her early awakening has caused her to lose her ability to control herself. She ran away before we could finish explaining everything. She’s an alicorn with unbridled power and clouded judgment. We need you five to use the Elements of Harmony to help her, else the entire world is at risk.”

“Um...Princess...How are we supposed to use the Elements if one of them is missing?” Applejack queried.

“That...I am not sure of,” Celestia bit her lip, “but I am certain that you will prevail.”

“Where are we supposed to even start looking?” queried Rainbow Dash.

“From what I can still sense, it seems that she’s in the attunement chamber for the Elements of Harmony.” Luna replied.

“What in tarnation does that even mean? I don’t get ya’lls fancy talk much.” Applejack commented.

“It means that you must go to the place where the Elements of Harmony...well...harmonized with you.” Celestia answered.

“Th...that means...” Fluttershy stammered, “...the Everfree Forest...”

“Fluttershy, dear, how are you still scared of that place?” Rarity asked, “We go in there all the time.”

“And this is for Twilight!” Rainbow Dash stated boldly.

Fluttershy lifted her head up at Dash’s last comment. This was no time for her to be scared. One of her best friends was in danger. Before the body switching incident, she had planned to tell all of her friends something important, a secret that she’d been keeping for awhile.. All of them needed to be there. This thought empowered her. “What are we waiting for then?”

“Good luck, my little ponies!” Celestia shouted. She and Luna had already started casting a spell to transport the group to the Everfree Forest. They both knew that a being with the kind of powers they had, in an unstable form, was a danger to the whole of Equestria.

“This place...everything that’s happened here...all LIES!” screamed the purple alicorn. “My family, my friends, my ENTIRE LIFE!” An orb of energy flew from her horn, and caused the entrance wall to crumble.

A familiar voice came from behind the cloud of dust “Whoa nelly, you need to calm down Twi.” The orange pony put her hat back on, after it had been knocked off by the blast.

“You...!? Why are you all here!?” Twilight’s glowing purple eyes flashed briefly.

“We came here to find you. You’re our friend.” the representation of the Element of Loyalty tried to fly closer.

“Friends? FRIENDS!? You’re not my friends! You never have been!”

“Twilight, whatever do you mean? Of course we’re your friends!” the white unicorn took a step forward, but jumped back to avoid an attack from the purple alicorn.

“CELESTIA’S LIES! You were only my so-called ‘friends’ because you were forced to!”

“Don’t be silly! That’s why once we help you, we’re having a PARTY!” the party pony put out some balloons, which were quickly popped by a flurry of purple needles.

“Help me? HELP ME!? What makes you think I need any help!? You know who’s going to need help after I’m done here!? PRINCESS CELESTIA!” Her body was starting to shimmer in her rage, lines of lavender light peeking out from cracks that have started to form on her body..

“You need to calm down, sugarcube. I swear to Celestia that we’re all still your friends.” Applejack quickly found herself thrown against a wall.

“How ironic, the supposed Element of Honesty swearing on a liar.” Twilight smirked.

“Come on, we just want to help you out! We’re your friends!” Rainbow Dash attempted to fly closer to Twilight, but found herself thrown into Applejack.

“So is your body like breaking apart at the strain of your power, or are you trying a new party trick there!? Let me see!” Pinkie Pie hopped closer, but was lifted up and tossed into the heap of friends. The cracks forming on Twilight’s body started to glow deeper.

“Don’t any of you realize that you’ve all been lied to!? They didn’t want us to be ‘friends.’ All of you were USED!”

“Celestia wouldn’t use us! She cares about all of her subjects!” Rarity tried to create a magic barrier to block Twilight’s next attack, but it was quickly shattered and she was thrown into the wall.

“The Elements of Harmony? None of you truly represent your element. Honesty? Defending a liar. Loyalty? How often have you gone against your friends to feed your own ego? Laughter? You claim to be making others smile, but you’re only thinking of yourself. Generosity? You should change your name to ‘Vanity.’”

Fear started to fill the four friends. Twilight’s words hit them hard. Even though it was clear that she had completely lost her sanity by this point, the words were painful. Applejack knew that Celestia wasn’t always honest, though she didn’t recall it ever being a serious matter. Maybe she had just overlooked it? Rainbow Dash recalled all the times she challenged her friends because she truly thought she was better. Pinkie Pie shuddered, she told everyone that she only wanted to see them smile, but was she only doing it to make her feel better about herself? Rarity took the words the hardest. How often did she use her friends to make herself look better?

“How. Dare. You!?” HOW DARE YOU!?” the yellow pegasus was already nose-to-nose with Twilight Sparkle, who was caught off guard. She had forgotten that there was one more. Fluttershy had been hiding back, but watching her friends fall angered her.

“Oh look, the Element of Kindness is ANGRY! How utterly SHOCKING!” Twilight’s voice dripped with sarcasm, “What are you going to do? Yell at me?” She takes a deep breath, and imitates the shy pony’s quiet yelling. “After I deal with you, I only have one more Element to deal with.”

“Um, Twi, not to question your power or your sanity, but aren’t YOU the sixth Element of Harmony?” Applejack’s voice was quiet, still trying to recover from slamming into the wall.

“Buh...uh...Why am I detecting all six Elements here then? I’m not resonating any sign of my element...” the alicorn was clearly puzzled. She hadn’t been using her sight to view her opponents, she was using a mental link that awoke with her transformation. She looked around the room with her physical sight. The only beings in the room were the five friends and herself. She closed her eyes, trying to focus her psychic vision. Four lifeforms lay weakly against the wall, and directly in her face...there were two. She opened her eyes again, and only saw Fluttershy.

“You think you can just IGNORE ME!?” Fluttershy yelled, “I’M TALKING TO YOU!” Twilight continued to open and close her eyes. There were only six living beings including herself in the room, and yet she was detecting seven. A purple glow shone on the yellow pegasus’s stomach, which did not go unnoticed by the alicorn.

“What is this?” She lowered her head towards Fluttershy’s stomach, completely ignoring everything that was being yelled. Twilight’s horn glowed, and then she took a step back in surprise. “You...you’re with child!?”

Fluttershy stopped her ranting upon hearing those words, her eyes widening. She glanced back, and noticed a look of terror on the faces of her friends. She looked back at Twilight. “Yes...I am...”

“Then I am truly sorry.”

“You’re...sorry?”

“That I have to end the life of a child before it can see the light of the world!” Twilight’s eyes glowed a dark purple, her horn starting to glow with a similar shade, and her wings fully outstretched.

“Fluttershy, RUN! You shouldn’t have come here like this!” Rainbow Dash tried to stand up, but she was still recovering from the damage she took.

Tears started to roll down Fluttershy’s cheek. She wasn’t all that quick to begin with, but she knew she wouldn’t, in her condition, be able to avoid a point-blank attack from a normal Twilight Sparkle, let alone what she’s become. She lowered herself to the ground, laying on the floor. She looked at her belly, and whispered “I’m sorry, baby...” Fluttershy closed her eyes as the purple light surrounded her.

The other four ponies stared at the spot that Fluttershy had been standing. None of them had ever even heard of such a heartless act. And yet, they had just watched as the goddess that was once their friend attack another of their friends, one they had just found out was pregnant.

Rarity was the first of the group to speak. “You...you are NOT Twilight Sparkle. You are a MONSTER.”

“I don’t think even Discord would do something like that!” shouted the rainbow-maned pony.

“That’s just...sick!” Applejack stood up.

Pinkie Pie had no words to say. She had never been so furious before. Without thinking, she already started to aggressively charge towards the settling dust, only to be knocked back by a purple bubble that was starting to form.

The necklaces representing the Elements of Harmony started to glow. The four of them each shot out a beam of light that entered the bubble. They all converged onto one point, outlining the body of the pegasus inside. Atop Fluttershy’s head sat a tiara, with a six-pointed purple star set on top.

“What!? How did you get that!? That’s not your element!” Twilight started to charge at Fluttershy, but was knocked back upon impacting the bubble.

Fluttershy’s eyes were flickering between pink and purple. She started to speak, a voice that was clearly not her own, but also quite familiar to the group.

“You will NOT hurt my mother!” the yellow pegasus’s necklace started to glow, and added its power to the tiara. Pure white light shot out of the tiara’s jewel, and started to envelope Twilight Sparkle.

“No! This is impossible! You can’t change me back!” She started to charge at Fluttershy again, and the light enclosed the two of them.

The rest of the group watched as the glow started to dim. They had never seen it surround two ponies before, nor did they know what the outcome of the Element’s power would be this time.

The yellow pegasus appeared as the light completely faded. Her wings were spread out, her body on the ground, her neck laying at her side. and her eyes closed. No form of Twilight Sparkle was there. The four friends ran towards Fluttershy, fearing the worst.

Two orbs, one light and one dark, appeared between the group and Fluttershy. The forms of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna flashed in before them.

“Thank you, my little ponies, for saving the world once again. We are grateful tha...” Celestia was cut off as Rainbow Dash tried to go around her.

“Thank us later, princess! Fluttershy’s in trouble!”

Celestia and Luna looked at each other, and both started laughing.

Rarity glared at the sisters. “Maybe Twilight had a point, you both seem to be a bit screwed in the head.”

“Do you really think that we wouldn’t make sure everything is alright before we stopped to congratulate you? We’re not monsters.” Luna stated.

Pinkie Pie started to cry. “But...but Fluttershy’s DEAD!”

“No, she’s not,” Celestia stated, “she’s exhausted. I think even I would be after putting out that much power, combined with childbirth.” As if on cue, Fluttershy’s left wing wiggled a bit, a tiny purple horn peeked out from under it, surrounded by purple hair with a violet and a pink highlight. Fluttershy moved her head to nuzzle the foal, and lifted her wing to show the baby Twilight Sparkle.

“What the hay!?” exclaimed Applejack.

“Twilight’s a baby!?” Rainbow Dash questioned, shocked. “And she’s Fluttershy’s baby!?”

“Happy happy birthday, to you today..” Pinkie continued to sing in the soundproof bubble that Luna encased her in.

“So...care to explain?” Rarity looked towards Celestia.

“As we told you, an alicorn is raised as a regular earth pony, unicorn, or pegasus. Twilight Sparkle’s ‘parents’...really were not all that supportive. As it turns out, they really only cared about the fame they imagined they’d get from raising the next ruler of Equestria. They were too happy to have sent her off to my school for gifted unicorns, as it meant that they wouldn’t have to deal with her. Part of her social anxiety was due to her failure to please her parents. We always wanted to fix that, so we staged the Nightmare Moon scenario. We only wanted her to be happy. She may have seemed like she was, but she was quite torn up on the inside.”

Applejack removed her hat in silent contempt. “I’m sorry that she had to go through with all of this, but why is she with Fluttershy?”

The mare of the night stepped forward. “We opted to allow the Elements of Harmony pick a new parent for her. Any of the five of you could have had it happen, but a parent does need certain things. Twilight needs the kindness most of all, and that is why the Elements chose Fluttershy.”

“While Fluttershy is her “birth” mother, we would like to extend the parenting duties to all five of you though, as we feel there’s no better friends than your family.” Celestia added.

“Well heck yeah we’ll do it!” shouted Rainbow Dash.

“Now hold your horses,” Applejack stated with a questioning expression, “didn’t you say that she’ll be forgotten by us when she transforms again?”

“That is usually true...” Celestia started to say.

“...the power of the Elements of Harmony were what allowed you to remember her when she changed this last time.” Luna continued Celestia’s comment. “Because the Elements picked out her new birth parent, we do not believe that will be an issue.”

“We will do everything in our power to make sure that none of you will forget.” Celestia added.

Rarity looked towards the princesses, a worry in her mind. “Won’t people find it suspicious that the Twilight Sparkle they know is gone, and there just happens to be a new baby in town that has the same features as her?”

“We’ve already taken care of that issue.” Celestia laughed. “There’s a reason no one realized that the Nightmare Moon issue was just a show.”

Dear Princesses Celestia and Luna,

I turned five years old today! My mommy asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday and I told her that I wanted to write a letter to you because you’re my most favorite ponies that aren’t my family! I know I’m not related to them by blood, but I have a lot of mamas. Mama Rarity is helping me with my writing. Mama Dash was helping, but she kept laughing and said I couldn’t spell and it made me sad so she got sent to help Mama Pinkie and Mama Applejack with my birthday party!

Mommy said she’s going to take me to the Summer Sun Festival in a couple months, and then I get to go on my first Nightmare Night soon after! I hope that I get to meet you both but I know you’re both busy and I’m not anypony special. Mama Rarity told me that I am special but I know there are a lot of ponies out there that need you too so I understand. At least I’ll get to see both of you!

I know that I’m not supposed to tell anypony, but when I blow out my candles today, I’m totally going to wish that I can be kind and gentle and smart like you two. I’m already studying hard so I can get into Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns.

I hope you don’t mind my letter too much, I’ve just always wanted to send something to you!

Your faithful subject,

Twilight Sparkle

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