Chapter 39, Saving our Friendship
Bright, Twilight, Ditzy and the rest of the Elements were having a nice conversation at a table at the Fall Formal, all of them marveled with Bright and Twilight's adventures. Bright decided to tell Ditzy as well, seeming she was trustful enough to him.
“Ah must say partner that ya really have an interestin' life.”, Applejack said.
“Well... yeah! it has been interesting. Very sad moments but also so much good ones, even if I’d have the chance, I wouldn’t change a thing.”
“But to think you are a prince! That’s so wonderful, darling.”
“Nah! It’s just a title. Besides... the life in a palace can be so boring sometimes. I used to have more fun as a hunter. I think the few things that make it bearable were my family, friends... but most of all, my girlfriend.”
Every one went "dawwwwn" at that comment, until Rainbow Dash had to ask:
“But... your girlfriend is a... Pony, right? A mare?”
“Yes, she is. Something wrong with that?” Bright said while looking at her with questionable eyes.
“No... Not really, but... it’s kinda strange if you ask me.”
“RAINBOW!”, Rarity screamed and looked at her with pissed off eyes. The rest did the same, Bright raised his hand to motion her that it was alright before saying:
“It’s OK, Rarity. It doesn’t bother me what she said since I have nothing to be ashamed of. After watching your world where humans are the only sentient race, I really understand if you're grossed out and all, but I must ask you to look at it from my perspective; I grew up in that world with no other humans by my side - only ponies, griffins, zebras and minotaurs. It would be obvious that I would be attracted to the pretty ones. As the old saying goes; 'If life gives you lemons, you make lemonade.”
Everyone surrounding the table nodded. It was still kind of hard to imagine a human having romantic relations with a pony, but he had a point. By looking at Twilight, it was obvious the ponies and other creatures of her world weren’t mindless animals like theirs. It was like those movies where humans fell in love with aliens or... vampires. They realized that they had no right to judge Bright.
“I’m... sorry, dude. What I said was uncalled for.”, Rainbow said with apologetic eyes.
“It’s OK, Rainbow. If I had been raised here, I would had asked the same. So we're are cool.”
Rainbow and Bright fist-bumped and smiled.
After that awkward moment, all of them proceeded to go to the dance floor. Even though he couldn’t dance, Ditzy was leading Bright on how to do it. It was fun for Bright as he then decided to dance with Twilight.
“You look so pretty, Twilight.”
“Thank... thank you, Bright.”, Twilight said without looking him to the eyes. Bright, at first, thought it was for her crush on him, but... no, it was something else.
“Something wrong, Twily?”
Twilight remained silent until she glanced at a guy with blue hair, sitting at a table all alone. Bright noticed what caught Twilight's attention and chuckled.
“It seems somepony has a new crush, huh?”
“What? No, no! I’m not... I don’t know... I just can’t believe I can like somepo... someone and let you go so quickly.”
“Why not? Believe it or not, I fell in love with Flying Hope at first sight so I know it can happen, Twilight. Don’t be afraid... go and talk to him.
But remember this; if he tries to do something that you're not comfortable with, I will take him down... and I don't mean in a kind way. It’s my duty to protect my best friend, OK?”
Twilight smiled and broke the embrace. She then ran over to Flash Sentry and invited him to dance.
After one hour of having fun and staring at Flash Sentry's behavior when he's around Twilight, it was time to see who the Fall Formal Princess was. For what Bright could make out, it was obvious that Twilight was going to win. Not only that, but Sunset Shimmer didn’t even show up. It seems her control over the school has crumbled. He was relieved. Afterwards, he left the hall to go to the school locker to get his backpack. It seemed it was time to go home... too bad he still had some unfinished business with... her. After a few minutes, Bright was back in the Hall, seeing many students were there, but... something felt wrong. He glanced at Ditzy, who was just standing idle and motionless.
“Hey, Ditzy, want another dance?”
He looked at her friend, but backed off a second later... she had green glowing eyes and was muttering incomprehensible words.
“What the... Ditzy? Are you OK?”
Bright inspected his friend... it seemed she and all the other students were in some kind of mind-control trance. He then heard an evil laugh coming out of the school. He left his backpack in the hall and accelerated outside as fast as he could and found something he really didn’t expect; First, the school entrance was destroyed.
How did I not hear that?
Second, there were more zombie students. Third, there was Twilight and her friends talking with a... Flaming she-demon? She had red skin with dragon wings and her eyes were black. Yep, definitely a she-demon. At first, he wondered who she was, but then he noticed she had Twilight’s crown on her head. Not to mention that flaming hair was unmistakable.
“Sunset...”, he muttered.
Sunset noticed Bright and turned to face him. It wasn’t like those other normal humans could do anything about her.
“Oh, Bright, I’m glad you are here. What you think? I look amazing, do I not?”
“Hmmm... define 'amazing'.”
She replied with a chuckle. "So you haven’t matured at all, huh? No matter. Once I rule Equestria and this world, we will resume your lessons we left back in Canterlot! Now please be a good little human and SUBMIT TO ME!”
Sunset hands glowed and she summoned some kind of energy ring around Bright’s head. He immediately summoned his axe and cut the ring in two.
“So I was correct; you have the Lightning Axe! And I must say, you sure know how to use it. Now I have no doubts that you are the only real threat here. I will ask you one more time; will you join me and be my king?”
“Sunset, you know very well what my answer is. Now you tell me; will you give back the crown and come back to Equestria with me? I promise no harm will come to you. I will not allow my mother or my family to hurt you.”
She sighed. “Bright, as you said, you know my answer... too bad, we would had rock together.”
Twilight and her friends were only looking at them.
“Shouldn’t we, um... help him?”, Fluttershy asked.
Twilight chuckled. “No... Sunset may have magic now, but she still doesn't stand a chance against Bright.”
“No way! He can’t be that impressive!", Rainbow said chuckling.
“Just wait and see. You're in for a great show.”
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
“OK, Sunset, the time for taking is over. Shall we get started?”
“Very well, Bright, as you wish. You two, Snips and Snails, stay out of this! He's all mine.”
The duo saluted and sat there, ready to see their mistress kick that guy’s butt.
Sunset’s hands glowed and she shot a powerful beam at Bright. He focused his power into his axe and countered the beam, making it disappear immediately.
“What!? How!?”
“Sunset, just because you have magic now doesn’t mean you're stronger than me and my enchanted weapon.”
“Nonsense!”, Sunset said as she shot more beams at him. Bright dodged and hit every single one of them with very few effort. He then jumped to hit Sunset, but she flew out of his reach.
“Grrr... Fine, if beams won't work on you, then...”
Sunset's nails suddenly extended on both her hands and proceeded to have a close combat with Bright. She swung with all her might, but she couldn't land a single hit on her target. Sunset was fast, but Bright gave away that he was faster. After Sunset missed another hit, Bright extended his hand with great speed to her chest. From the impulse, she was sent back a few meters, landing on the ground. She hissed in pain and nuzzled her chest. Bright stood up and looked at her with pity in his eyes.
“Sunset... were you really planning on conquering Equestria and challenging my mother with that power? Using zombified students... against powerful creatures and ponies?... wow! I have to say, that was a very... optimistic plan. You definitely are Equestrian. Even being so smart, you have to admit it’s a rather stupid plan. You didn't think this through at all, did you?"
Twilight, being an Equestrian, couldn’t help but feel a little insulted but now that she thought about it; it was a pretty pathetic plan... OK, it was a very stupid plan!
“Shut up! You really think this is the limits of my power? I was... hoping to not have to use it all against you... even if you don’t believe it, I don’t want to hurt you too much, but you leave me no choice!”
Bright raised an eyebrow while Sunset started to glow. She grew a pair of horns and her claws increased their length and size and her eyes turned red and green. Twilight felt a shiver run down her spine... so much thirst for power! Bright looked at her, amazed.
Wow... 5 months ago, I would had been in huge trouble... Thanks, Zahari!, he thought.
Bright, not wanting to prolong this fight, also concentrated and unleashed his lightning power. Even the little stones around him were cracking. Twilight stopped looking at Sunset and centered her attention on Bright. Her jaw fell even more.
“What... what kind of training he go through?”
“Ready?”, Sunset said as she sprinted towards Bright at high speed. She swung her now flaming claw. She was sure she would hit him this time, but... Bright dodged it and hit her in her abdomen. She hissed in pain and fell to her knees. She spat some drool and grunted in frustration. She then tried to make her move again, but Bright kicked her in the face, sending her back a few meters away. All non-zombie humans present well marveled. Snips and Snails were hiding in a nearby bush. Not even her hidden power were enough to best Bright’s own powers.
Bright started to walk towards her.
“Sunset... please. I really don’t want to keep fighting you like this. Surrender now and you still can redeem yourself. Trust me... I once thought power was everything, but my master Onyx, my mother and my friends taught me that there is a better way and, I can’t believe I’m saying this... friendship is not overrated.”
“Bright... do you... really think there is still salvation for me?”
“I don’t think, I believe it. Come on, Sunset, let’s go back home.”
Bright smiling extended his hand to her, maybe he finally broke her shell, Sunset grabbed it and smirked... or not.
Bright felt how his lightning energy started to be drained. He then noticed that Sunset was grabbing his ring in an effort to get it for herself. She didn’t know that only the wearer could ever remove it. He immediately kicked Sunset in the chest and sent her back again, but the damage was done; he felt weaker. She managed to steal a good portion of his energy.
“Agh! Absorption magic?... how could I have been so naive!?”
He then looked at Sunset who stood up and was laughing like a maniac. She now had a flaming aura around her and lightning bolts surrounding her body as well.
“AHAHAHAHAHAHA!! THIS IS AMAZING! SO MUCH POWER! I CAN’T BELIEVE THIS IS ONLY A PORTION OF WHAT YOU POSSESS! YOU KNOW WHAT!? I CHANGED MY MIND! ONCE I GET RID OF YOU, I WILL TAKE YOUR PRECIOUS AXE FOR MYSELF! I WILL BE INVINCIBLE!”
What? Nonono, I don’t want that! Bright is my friend! My only friend!, she told to herself with worried eyes.
“Shut up, Sunset! You think I can go back now? Let’s finish what we started!”
Bright looked at her with widened eyes. He's see this behavior before... a Nightmare! Sunset had a Nightmare inside her all this time?
“You... you were sleeping all this time! Why have you awaken now?”
“Oh, silly Sunset. Since the day you abandoned Equestria, I have always been awake. I just let you take control. Sure, I was weak, but all your thirsts for power and selfish deeds have made me stronger, little by little. And now that we finally have magic again, I will use it to conquer this world and then... Equestria!”
Nightmare Sunset molded the lightning into the shape of an axe. Bright was still a little weak from the absorption, but he still able to summoned his axe again and prepared for her.
Sunset once again attacked Bright, who was still making an effort dodging, but this time the fight was more even. Sunset's speed was not almost at Bright’s level of speed. He didn’t want to admit it, but... she could kill him if he wasn’t careful. Sunset kept attacking and after swinging a hit, Bright barely dodged as she used her other claw to slash across Bright’s chest. The impact sent him flying towards where Twilight and her friends were. Twilight gasped and scooped him in her arms.
“Bright! Hang in there!”
“I’m OK, Twily. Damn, I can’t believe it. I was overconfident... ahh... I have no choice; I will have to use... that. I hope I don’t kill her.”
“Wha... what do you mean, Bright?”
Bright stood up. His chest was hurting badly, but it was not lethal. It seemed Sunset was still holding back a little. He knew he had to end this here and now. He really didn’t want to do it, but... he had no choice. Still hissing in pain, he lowered his head and closed his eyes, concentrating. His whole body started to shine with cyan electricity. Sunset noticed this and shouted.
“I don’t know what you're planning, but I will not be as stupid as you! NOW, DIE!”
“Dammit! I need a few more seconds!” Bright said.
Sunset shot a powerful beam of fire and lightning at him. It seemed he was done for.
Sorry, girls! I screw it up.
At that moment, Twilight and the rest of the girls hugged him an a desperate act of protection. He cursed himself, as he was sure that he and the rest of the girls would die.”
After the impact, Bright expected to see Sweet Rose and Mr. Onyx in the after life. But, instead, he noticed that he and the girls were fine. He then noticed that they were surrounded in a magical force field. But how? Twilight had no magic, but then she realized that, even as a human, she had magic inside her and thanks to the connection with her Element, she was finally able to release it. Not only that, she shared her magic with her friends - the Elements of Harmony. Then something amazing happened. Twilight grew wings and pony ears. Her hair also became larger and formed a pony tail. The same happened with the rest of the Elements; they grew pony ears and pony tails. Only Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy grew wings, most likely because their counter parts were pegasi, but... in that case... shouldn’t Twilight and Rarity have grown a horn?... oh, well! He would not attempt to break his mind trying to figure out the answer to that. He stopped concentrating his powers. Somehow, he knew the girls have got things under control now.
“Awwww... I wanted to see what you were going to do! It would've been so amazing!”, Pinkie Pie said before turning her attention back to Sunset.
Sunset tried to attack them, but every attempt ended in her being pushed back from them. Then with the power of friendship, the six shot a powerful, prismatic beam. Sunset tried to escape, but it followed her until it impacted. The crown was literally expelled off her head and landed elsewhere on the ground. The impact raised a lot of dust, but after it was all gone, there was a huge crater in the ground. Lying in the centre of the crater was Sunset, in her human form. She was crying.
Twilight approached and said:
“You will never rule Equestria... and now, for what you have done, all the power once you had here is gone.”
Sunset sniffled and whimpered. “I... I’m sorry. I really didn’t want to hurt anypony. I wanted power but not by the blood of others. I’m so sorry.”
”I believe you. Now it’s time for you to decide; you can continue on your selfish path or... you can accept guidance and seek the magic of friendship. The choice is yours.”
“But I don’t know anything about friendship... I think I even just lost my one and only friend.”
At that moment, Bright started to come down the crater, rubbing his injured chest. Damn, it hurt like a bitch.
Sunset didn’t make eye contact with him. She didn’t have any right to. Then, without warning, Bright hugged her in a warm embrace. She tried to break the hug, but gave up a moment later.
“But... but I hurt you... I threatened to conquer Equestria! Don’t you hate me?”
Bright chuckled. “To be honest with you, I’m furious! But that's nothing compared to how glad I am to see that you're OK. I’m glad that Nightmare is finally gone and... I’m sorry, too. I didn’t want to hurt you either.”, he turned to see Twilight, “Thank you, Twilight.” She nodded with a smile.
Bright turned again to look at Sunset.
“So what you say? I don’t fully understand friendship myself, but I know it’s something that's worth the try.”
“But... who will teach me? You and Twilight will go back to Equestria and... I’m not ready to go... not yet.”
“That’s not a problem, Sunset. I think I know who will be able to teach you what true friendship is all about...”, Twilight said and looked at her friends.
Sunset smiled, but still had regretful eyes. Now that the mind control spell was gone, every student was looking at her with furious eyes. Bright noticed this too and sighed. He knew Sunset path to redemption will be a long one... but at least he could trust Twilight's friends to keep her in check.
Principal Celestia then came and gave Twilight her crown back. She gave a motivational speech, similar to what his own mother gives all the time. Yep, she definitely was Celestia’s counterpart, even though Bright was confused why nopony cared at all about having humans with wings and pony ears here. All of them returned to the Fall Formal to have a little more fun before the portal closed. He danced with Ditzy and Sweetie Belle as he promised. He was glad that no one saw him fight. He really wasn't in the mood to answer some questions. He already had enough with the piles of questions that Rainbow and Pinkie Pie asked earlier. After some good old-fashioned dances, knowing he only had a few minutes left, Bright exited the Hall to find his friend, still sad about everything that happened tonight. She was outside looking at the destroyed school entrance, wondering how was she going to repair it. She heard Bright approaching and smiled.
“Hey, Bright. What a crazy night, huh?”
“Yep! But trust me, I've had worse.”
“Is that so?", she giggled, "Is it true? You really don’t hate or despise me?”
“No, Sunset... I know very well what solitude can do to you... not to mention, a Nightmare.”
“I can’t believe I let it take over me. I feel so ashamed.”
“It could've happened to anyone.”, Bright said, remembering how even it took his mother and Aunt Luna.”
“If you say so... Bright, do you think I really can learn the magic of friendship?”
“If you put your heart and soul into it, then, yes, I think so.”
Sunset smiled and hugged Bright. “Thank you, Bright. you've saved me.”
“Nah, Twilight did. You know, with her rainbow beam and all.”
“No... she transformed me back to my true self, but... your words, after that, saved me. After all I did, you forgave me for it and told me you were glad that I was OK... I think it’s the first time I've truly seen what friendship can do... and it makes me want to learn it even more. Thank you for being my friend, Bright.”
“No prob, Sunset. I will always be your friend.”
“I say the same... so who is she?”
“What do you mean?”
“Oh, come on, Bright. You know what I mean. When I... kissed you, I knew it. I knew you were already taken. Besides, you have that spark in your eyes. So who is the lucky mare?”
Bright chuckled. “Flying Hope.”
“Hehehehe, I don’t know why am I not surprised. Even so, Twilight was one of my guesses too.”
“Yeah, my mother said that too.”
“Do you think she will ever forgive me?”
“I do, if not at that moment. But she will eventually.”
“Glad to hear that. Will you come to visit me in 2 and a half years?”
“You can bet on that, my friend.”
They both shared a nice friendly hug and Bright reunited with Twilight and her friends who also gave their farewells. Bright, Twilight and Spike then proceeded to enter the portal. In themselves, they knew this whole adventure helped them grown up a little more and they were glad for that, but... not everything was fine in Bright’s mind. While he was watching the alter-human world fading away from his sight, he felt a little sad.
“More humans... why? Why you didn’t tell me anything?”
His heart ached a lot, but that wasn’t the worst part. In his mind, only one thought was present;
“I can’t trust you anymore... mother.”
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Lookin' sharp, buddy!
KO awesome chapter, Bright has reconnect with Sunset and will probably not take to Celestia for a while.
Put the link to your editors page at the starting credits
Wowie.. What a good chapter!
Awesome chapter man.
next few chapters please
AWESOME MAN glad sunset is back to normal
Just fished season 3 of this story and all the chapters after and I'm feeling so many emotions.
Why do your stories do this to me. Anyways this story is still as amazing as it ever was. Can't wait for the next chapter!
Meh. That's my reaction to his not trusting Celestia anymore. Worse with him willing to make up with Sunset.
Aside from that, very good chapter. Nice twist on the final confrontation making is a face off between Bright and Sunset.
7301701 Thanks, I apreciate the comment, just one question, since your avatar is one of the 7, I can see it's a pegasus but the wings? are they normal pegasus wings, It seems like batpony or dragon wings to me.
7301720 Batpony
And I really want to slap Bright upside his head for letting his trust in his mom being shaken.
7301724 . . . . . . . . . sorry about that but there will be twists, you know that. for now it is a necesary event for what is about to come.