Redeemed

by Admiral Producer

Through The Fog And The Misty Part 2

“This isn’t over.” Misty countered, sniffling. “I won’t be satisfied until we defeat Opaline and get Sunny back…if that’s even possible.”

Zipp sighed deeply. “I don’t know if it is. I want nothing more than to apologize to Sunny for everything, but…I don’t know, it feels like this is a lost cause. We don’t even know how to get there.”

“Well we have to try,” suggested Misty. “I can take us to where Opaline is.”

Izzy faced her with an angry expression. “Maybe you think that way, Misty, because you haven’t forgiven yourself and you’re projecting. I know Sunny. She can be reasoned with! She simply lost her way, she’s not evil!”

“You just have to trust me, Izzy,” Misty told her. “I wasn’t able to save her then, but I can save her now. If we try to negotiate, we’ll just waste time. Just stick to the plan.”

Reluctantly, Izzy nodded, though it was clear she wasn’t happy about it in the slightest. “Fine. But you better be right about this, Misty. I hope you are.”

Sunny took a deep breath. “I still don’t forgive you guys…but I can’t bring myself to condemn you all to Opaline’s wrath. Not after what you said, Misty.”

Misty stepped forward and held out her hoof. “Come back with us, Sunny. We’ll talk to the town, get them to apologize to you. We’ll figure out a plan together.”

“Yeah,” Izzy added. “We got a lot of lost time to make up! I’m sure everypony will forgive you for what you did.”

Sunny shook her head. “I’m sorry…I’m not going back. It’s too late for me now and I can’t leave anyway.”

Izzy looked absolutely heartbroken. “Sunny…please don’t stay here. We’re in this together, remember? I need you…”

Sunny looked away in shame. “I’m sorry for causing you so much heartache, Izzy…” She faced the rest of them. “Go! Tell the ponies of Maretime Bay that I’m sorry!! Never come back here, promise me!!!”

Misty nodded reluctantly. She knew in the deepest corners of her mind that she was making a massive mistake. But she knew that it was Sunny’s choice in the end and she couldn’t change her mind. “I-I promise…”

I didn’t lie to you!!” Misty cried. “I wanted to save her!! I wanted to bring her home!! I just didn’t know what to do, honest!!”

“You haven’t been honest with us ever!!!” Zipp yelled.

Hitch’s eyes were filled with absolute rage as he glared at her. “Yeah. I guess old habits really do die hard, don’t they?!”

Misty felt her heart shatter into a million pieces at that statement. None of them trusted her anymore. And it was all her fault. She had failed to deliver on her promise of saving Sunny and now they all hated her. She felt more horrible than she had ever felt in her whole life, and she didn’t know what to say in response. She had no defense, no excuse, no explanation that would absolve her of any guilt. She was at fault and there were no more words left to be said.

“How can I convince her?!” shouted Misty with tears in her eyes. “I can’t even forgive myself and my friends hate me now! I just don’t know what to do…”

Suddenly, she felt a hoof lift her chin up and she was now staring into the eyes of the deceased alicorn. Twilight looked at her with a face of compassion and empathy, radiating wisdom beyond her years with the words that she spoke next. “Many moons ago, a student of my own taught me a valuable lesson that I will never forget; that nopony is beyond redemption.”

Misty sniffled, wiping her tears with her hooves as she processed what she had just heard from the former ruler. “Not even me…?”

“You made a mistake, Misty,” Twilight told her gently. “You were manipulated by somepony close to you. None of this was ever your fault.” Her image then began to glitch and slowly disappear as it did before when she had first appeared to the Mane 5.

Misty instantly noticed this. “No!! Please, Twilight!! Don’t leave me! I need your help…”

“I never left you, and never will. Remember, Misty. Friendship…is…magic…”

“And this just in,” Dazzle Feather explained over footage of a large-scale battle happening right in front of Opaline’s castle. “A military patrol of about 300 pegasi sent by Queen Haven is getting absolutely slaughtered by the evil alicorn and that traitorous Sunny Starscout. Body-cam footage shows guards retreating and going down in droves…”

“No…” Zipp realized, her eyes going wide in horror. This could not possibly be true. Her mother would never be so reckless with her own guards that she would send them out to die, right? But the truth was undeniable and she knew it. There was no other way to state it.

Equestria was officially at war.

Opaline was reveling in the chaos that she was creating. She sliced three fleeing pegasi in the chest in less than a millisecond and then ripped them into a million pieces of flesh using her magic. Her grin was one of pure insanity as screams of terror erupted all around her. Finally, she spotted the guard with the body cam and sliced through his neck.

The sound of choking could be heard as he slowly fell to the ground, the video glitching rapidly as a result of being severely damaged. The last thing the video showed was Opaline’s triumphant face before glitching again and cutting to static.

“The question on everypony’s minds is now,” Dazzle spoke mournfully. “In a state of complete and utter turmoil, where are the princesses when we need them?”

“I want to know what you are willing to bet on with your belief of there still being good in Sunny,” Haven stated with great emotion in her voice. “Tell me. How much do you believe in her?! How much would you be willing to bet on that?!”

Misty didn’t know what Queen Haven was getting at yet, but she knew in her heart that this was something that she believed in strongly. She had seen it firsthand during the first encounter with Sunny in the castle. The broken earth pony had seen reason back there and there was still good in her. Whether or not she would ever get a chance to tell her that, this was a fact that she knew without a shadow of a doubt.

“I’d bet my life on it.” Misty replied with no hesitation.

“Look!” a mare in the crowd exclaimed in excitement at the top of her lungs. “Everypony, the unicorns and pegasi are coming back!! The unicorns and pegasi are coming back!!!!”

Zipp instantly recognized the unicorn mare leading the other ponies as soon as she saw her. It was unmistakable. She began to tear up with happiness upon seeing her friend alive and well, as well as for what she had done. “By hoofness, you did it, Misty…”

Sure enough, leading the combined forces of unicorns and pegasi back into Maretime Bay was none other than Misty Brightdawn herself, who was sporting a determined and confident look in her eyes for the first time in her life. Her mane and tail were now dyed purple and pink, and her flank was glowing brightly with the cutie mark of a magenta butterfly.

From atop of Canterlot Studios, Misty was watching the entirety of ponykind gear up for war with a confident look on her face. She may have failed to save Sunny before, but she was going to this time. Opaline was strong, but she had never fought the full might of Equestria at once. In her own words, she was going to feel the flames, the flames of rebellion.

Standing beside her was Hitch with an expression of equal determination. He had been sheriff for a long time, and now he could finally say that he was using his position to do the right thing. He was going to avenge Sparky and take down his killer in the most brutal way possible.

As the two looked on, the old flag of Equestria was hoisted in front of them, officially signaling the call to war.

Izzy’s eyes were full of fear. “Yeah, I mean…Opaline’s probably fought…hundreds of thousands of other ponies in the other villages she’s destroyed, right? And we have to assume she’s won.”

“I don’t care how many demons she’s fought in how many hells,” Misty declared firmly, her expression reflecting sheer will and determination. “She’s never fought us. Not us united.”

---

The Kingdom of Hippogriffia stood largely unchanged by the passage of time. The realm that was said to be home to the mythical hippogriffs and the elusive seaponies still operated the way it usually did on a remote southern island off the coast of the raging ocean.

On land, these majestic beings of flight continued to inhabit and embrace their terrain, which was known as Mount Aris. It was a fairly agricultural-based nation, although some of the technology from Equestria had been stolen in recent past and integrated into the culture. Despite this, the hippogriffs had no use for it. They were largely rigid in their ways and preferred to stick to their traditional ways, a mindset that was bred into them since the very day they were founded.

The kingdom had been founded four thousand years ago when the first hippogriffs broke off from the land that would eventually become Equestria to form their own country. Led by Queen Aris, they created their culture and their own way of life. This was so monumental that the mountain from where they had first gathered together was named after her.

For over a thousand generations, the hippogriffs grew their empire and expanded their influence across the seas. As the reigns passed from Queen to Queen, Hippogriffia became a major world power. No foreign country ever dared to invade it and everycreature across the world loved Queen Eternalia, a resolute, but compassionate leader who led a revolution in domestic policy, improving the hippogriffs’ home life.

But all that changed when Queen Eternalia passed away, leaving her daughter Princess Novo the Queenship. Queen Novo was not like her mother. While she was a respected and resolute leader, she was far too focused on maintaining harmony between her subjects, and building the Harmonizing Heights for leisure activities while abandoning the kingdom’s borders.

This came to a head when the Storm Kingdom set their sights on finally capturing Hippogriffia. The leader of the invaders was a being called the Storm King, a name cursed and feared in every universe. While the Storm King was never able to conquer Hippogriffia, he had posed a visible threat to the other kingdoms, conquering them for a brief time and then moving on after mass murdering the majority of the population.

Finally, the Storm King made his move on Hippogriffia, attacking and utterly destroying the populace, forcing the hippogriffs underwater, leaving their former capital of Mount Aris abandoned. However, despite her failure to protect her kingdom, Queen Novo vowed to not let her mother’s legacy collapse, calling upon all the powers of the sea to craft a magical Pearl of Transformation that would allow the hippogriffs to live new lives underwater as seaponies.

From there, Queen Novo and the seaponies used their ambition and resourcefulness to build a new kingdom called Seaquestria, hidden away in the darkest depths of the sea, where the Storm King could never go. Following the Storm King’s defeat by the ponies, the kingdom was divided into two depending on where they wanted to go. The hippogriffs could choose to be seaponies and vice versa.

Although it was once allies with Equestria, however, that was no longer the case in present day. This was because the rise of the evil alicorn Opaline had sown so much distrust amongst the general population that creatures who were not ponies were no longer welcome and those who refused to return to their own countries would be slaughtered. This resulted in the hippogriffs and seaponies officially declaring their allegiance to the kingdom of ponies over.

It was in this state of isolationism that Hippogriffia stayed for a thousand years and many grew distrustful of ponykind. Some even considered them to be myths in turn. But all that was about to change one stormy night as a centuries-old prophecy was finally going to come true.

It all started way below the ocean’s surface in the underwater Kingdom of Seaquestria, a beautiful city made up of pink houses that glowed brightly and lit up the dark water surrounding it in a fabulous light. To all who visited it, it was known as a place of peace and sanctuary. There was no war or any form of recorded armed conflict as no potential invader could possibly know where they were.

Not much was happening on this day. While their land brethren dealt with the harsh climate above, the seaponies were leisurely swimming along, their fins flapping against the smooth current and propelling them forward. They talked with one another and integrated with various marine life that passed by them.

The seaponies lived in blissful ignorance as they went about their day to day lives, unaware of the danger they were about to get themselves involved in. On the very top of their fantastical city was a building much larger and more luminous than the others. This was the Queen’s Castle and home to the currently reigning monarch Queen Skygrace.

She sat on her throne in deep contemplation, remembering the last message from her mother Reefstream bestowed upon her before passing the title of queen to her. It was a sad night many months prior that her mother passed away and she still was not over it. She was only 18 years old and much of the populace thought her far too inexperienced to be the ruler of the two kingdoms, yet they still respected her regardless.

She was their queen and by law, she was to be obeyed.

She remembered laying by her mother’s bedside, crying and sobbing, begging her not to die like this. Reefstream told her though that death was natural and was only a chapter of the endless story that was the way of water, the cycle of life. And it was on that very night, the Sacred Message was bestowed upon her.

“Remember,” Reefstream had said on her deathbed, diagnosed with terminal cancer, “Remember…the secret message those ponies gave us a long time ago. ‘Queen Novo, daughter of Empress Eternalia, ruler of the hipppgriffs and seaponies…I’ve come asking for your help. Equestria is under attack where I am and I need the help of the hippogriffs. I need your help, your majesty.’ This was given to us by our great ancestor Queen Novo…”

“And you want me to carry this message?” Skygrace had asked, fear on every inch of her body, not just of the enormous responsibility bestowed upon her, but about the nature of the message itself.

“Yes,” Reefstream coughed out blood. “They will come…those very ponies…in a time of great sorrow. They will bring us back out into the world. Until then, we must hide. Do…not…forget…”

With that, she had passed on and the funeral had been held the following day. Skygrace remembered being inconsolable for months, yet she held onto that message and never forgot it. It was her mother’s last words. She kept the memory close to her no matter how much it hurt her to constantly relive it.

As she began to lay down and fall asleep, a seapony guard swam into the throne room faster than a rocket, seemingly with urgent news.

“Your majesty!!” the guard spoke frantically. “Our scouts are detecting an unidentified flying aircraft in the sky! It’s headed right towards us!”

Skygrace was instantly on high alert. No creature had ever found them in ages as it was presumed to any outsider that their existence was a myth. If the guard was telling the truth, then that meant that someone knew of their existence.

“Are you certain of this?!” she demanded. “What does this aircraft look like to you?! Describe to me in detail.”

“They say that it is an unusual looking craft,” explained the guard cautiously. “It is purple and white, large window for the cockpit. They’re saying that they have spotted some ponies inside. What should we do?”

Skygrace froze. She knew what this meant. It was the message that her mother had told her to keep in the back of her mind. She had been right. Although the story seemed so fake to her as a child, she could not deny its existence and it terrified her. What could these ponies want that required their help? Didn’t they know that the hippogriffs and ponies were no longer allies?

She knew that she could not refuse them, even if she wanted to. It was her duty as a ruler to answer the call and she knew her mother would have wanted her to. Despite her better judgement, she knew what she had to do.

She stood up from her throne in an instant and swam over to him. “Send out all of our military and army personnel to meet them.”

“Pardon, my grace?”

“You heard what I said.”

“But why? They carry no weapons.”

“That’s just it,” Skygrace said fearfully, “This is the prophecy my mother warned me about. It’s coming true. Send out all army personnel to greet them on the shore. Let them know that we see their cursed beacon in the sky. It’s those ponies…they’ve come for us.”

The Marestream slowly descended from the air, landing on the beach that connected Mount Aris and Seaquestria. The sky was obscured by a sea of storm clouds and rain poured down on the shores. The wind howled violently and the sea raged as waves bashed against the shoreline in a thunderous display of nature’s fury.

As the ship touched down on the wet sand, an army of about five thousand hippogriffs emerged from the sea and the distance, marching in quick formation towards the landing site. Leading them was Queen Skygrace, decked out in full battle armor. She had a solemn and serious expression on her face as she approached the vehicle.

The doors opened to reveal none other than Izzy Moonbow and Misty Brightdawn, the ponies of the prophecy, stepping out to meet the army in front of them.

Skygrace was the first to speak to the newcomers. “Greetings, ponies of Maretime Bay. Have you come to bring your war here as you foretold many years ago?!”

Izzy shook her head. “No. We instead need you to help us. We have no intention of bringing this war to your soil. Equestria is in danger and our friends too. Several thousand years ago, Misty and I told you guys about the time of great sorrow, about the rise of Opaline, and why we need your help. Your great great great great great great great great great great grandmother Queen Novo gave you all permission to fight alongside us.”

“That was then, this is now.” Skygrace’s voice reverberated across the vicinity. She might’ve only been a teenager, but the authority in her tone was clearly present and no soldier dared to step out of line unless told to do so. “Why should we trust you?”

“Your ancestors and Equestria were once allies,” Misty continued. “You fought together and you fought many victories on the field of battle. When the Storm King arrived, you guys fled underwater. You swam away from your problems instead of facing them head on, and Queen Novo vowed to never do that again. If you don’t help, Opaline will take our war back to your shores, to your children’s children. You will never be safe unless we stop her together. It’s time for you all to rise again, born again as our allies. We will help you if you help us. We will supply you with whatever you need, armies, ammunition, communication, knowledge.”

“It’s time we make our stand together!” Izzy declared. “Today is a privilege to call our own, a story that will be told for a thousand years!! Let our final stand be recorded to the histories!! And let it be shown THAT WE CHOSE TO DIE AS COMRADES IN BATTLE RATHER THAN AS SLAVES TO TYRANNY!!!!!”

The hippogriff soldiers all cheered in unison, applauding in one massive standing ovation, and Skygrace gave a small bow of respect to the two ponies before turning towards her army. “You heard them!! MOVE OUT!! I shall follow you all!!”

The hippogriffs all shouted battle cries and took to the skies, their powerful wings beating against the storm that threatened their lives. The soldiers didn’t care about death, however. Their lives were made on the field of battle. Their legacies would be one of victory and comradeship, not defeat and cowardice.

Lightning struck the ground and thunder sounded across the sky as Izzy and Misty got back into the Marestream, which took off into the sky. It was the symbol of harmony, the symbol of friendship, the triumph of light against darkness, and the beacon that signaled the fulfillment of the ages-old prophecy.

Finally, Skygrace took flight after her soldiers, but not before whispering one last prayer into the heavens as her future became one of uncertainty.

“This is for you, Mother…”

---

It was a late Tuesday afternoon when Sunny found out about her father’s passing. It was a tragedy that no pony at that age should ever go through, yet it still happened. The news cut deep into her soul and she didn’t know if she would ever be happy again. The worst part about it all was that she had no idea that it would occur.

She remembered being sent off to school and given a warm hug before heading out the door, blissfully unaware of how her life was about to be changed forever. I guess in hindsight, I should’ve warned her. Argyle hadn’t been feeling the best for the past few weeks and I could see that the more I saw him. The usual spunk he possessed had long since faded and what remained was a shell of a stallion.

We were both 12 years old at the time, two years before Sunny would get into activism. According to her, the doctors had cautioned Argyle about a potential stroke, but he didn’t listen. I don’t know if it was the sheer stubbornness he possessed or just blind hubris, but it seemed like he thought he was invincible. He thought that he would be there for her for the majority of her life to guide her. But it was not meant to be. The moment I found out about his seizure, I wasted no time in calling all emergency services in the nearby area. I had just taken over from my own father as Sheriff of Maretime Bay and was still a newbie learning the ropes. But heavens forbid if I was to let somepony die under my watch.

We rushed Argyle to the hospital and it was there that Sunny and I were given the unfortunate news. He had suffered a major stroke and would not make it. The moment I heard that, I saw something shatter within Sunny. Her entire worldview, her optimism, everything that made her who she was just…vanished. She was inconsolable and I let her cry into my hooves. I didn’t say anything to her while she cried. After all, what could I say? I didn’t know what it was like to lose someone at the time. The only thing I could do was watch as she threw herself onto Argyle’s body and begged him not to leave her. Even as he was taking his final breaths, she didn’t want to leave him. The nurse had to come in and sedate her as she was screaming, bawling…I had never seen her this distraught before. She kept fighting against them as they did so, all while the orderlies yelled at her and slapped her across the face until she was calm. I was disgusted by what they were doing to her, but I did nothing as it was not my place to intervene.

I still regret not standing up for her that day. The orderlies were being very cruel to her when all she wanted to do was say goodbye. And I just stood by and watched it all go down. Sunny was never the same after that. I didn’t know how much the passing affected her, but I would finally get my answer that night.

I had just finished up sheriff duties and I decided to visit Sunny at the lighthouse to check on her. It was a full moon and I thought that I could get her to watch the stars with me. We always loved doing that growing up. But when I opened the door, I saw the most horrific sight that I wished never saw, an image permanently etched into my mind that I would never get rid of.

Sunny was holding a kitchen knife to her throat with one hoof and a noose with another. Her face was all bloody and her body was bruised. She had hurt herself multiple times and was going in for the killing slice to the neck. I knew what she was about to do and I rushed toward her as fast as I could, tackling her and knocking both items onto the floor.

Never again would I see my best friend attempt to commit suicide.

She asked what I was doing and all I could do was scream at her, demanding why did she try and do that to herself. She told me that life wasn’t worth living without her Dad in it. He had always guided her and let her breeze through life, and without him, she felt like she was nothing. She pleaded with me to let her die, that I didn’t have to watch, and that it would be better in the long run if I didn’t have to worry about her delusions.

This was the first time I had ever heard her doubt the stories she was told and it would also be the last. I was not a trained professional by any means, but I had to try something. Sometimes, your life boils down to one insane move. If I didn’t seize the opportunity, I would certainly regret it.

I broke down and explained to her how much of an amazing friend she was to me, that I didn’t want her to go, and that she had to keep on living. I don’t know how long I spent recounting all of our playdates, but it felt like an eternity. I told her that Argyle would have wanted her to keep on living, and I made her promise to make me believe no matter what. I didn’t buy into the whole “pony unity” thing at the time until many years later, but I had to give her an incentive to keep on living her life. This, I believe, was her incentive for becoming an activist. More than anypony in the world, she wanted to convince me of what she saw in the pegasi and unicorns. She wanted to make me see the truth.

The whole time I was talking, I saw her eyeing that blasted knife. Her gaze would not leave it until I was done. In that moment, I just wanted to hold her tight and tell her everything was going to be okay. I don’t get vulnerable a lot, mainly because being a sheriff doesn’t allow for sentimentality, but I let myself feel that night and I cried with her. We had been slowly growing apart ever since 5th grade, but I genuinely felt close to her again in that moment. Our differing beliefs didn’t matter. All I wanted to do was save her life and tell her how amazing she was at being her.

I’ll never forget that night. No matter how many years pass, my mind keeps coming back to it. I don’t think I’ll ever get to tell Sunny how much of an impact she’s left on me now that she’s gone. I guess the reason why I lashed out at Misty was that I saw this rescue mission as the only way to make things up to her. It was a dream that was never realized. I never meant to neglect her when she needed me and in hindsight, I realize now that it wasn’t Misty’s fault either. It was entirely mine. She just wanted to help us and the blame is on me for not taking the time out to help comfort my best friend.

I don’t know if I’ll ever see Sunny again. This war we’re about to go into sounds like something that could kill us all. We might not survive and she most likely won’t see reason. After all, why would she? We’ve been nothing but ignorant to her insecurities for months. I’ll never forgive myself for letting her go down this path. I should’ve been there for her. What kind of friend was I?

Hitch set down his pencil, letting it fall onto the dining room table as he stared at the entry he had just written in his diary. The memory of Sunny’s near-suicide still haunted him and it was even worse now that she was gone. He had been there for her all those years ago, so why couldn’t he be there for her now? The questions raced through his mind at a million miles per minute and he didn’t have an answer to any of them.

He was alone in the Crystal Brighthouse with only a couple of lights on overhead. The rest of his friends were put preparing for war in their own unique ways. Misty and Izzy had taken off in the Marestream to Mount Aris in order to recruit the hippogriffs and apparently fulfill a prophecy, while Zipp and Pipp were with the pegasi going over battle strategy. Despite being the sheriff, he had no clue on how to contribute to the preparations. Misty had done most of the work in rallying all of the ponies to battle and at this point, he felt like he wasn’t needed.

The most he could do was reassure the citizens that the two unicorns would return from their trip abroad with a bigger army. That was all he was good for. Internally, he questioned whether he was really up for the task of fighting Opaline and getting Sunny back. After all, he let his anguish turn him into a full-on murderous psychopath. He neither trusted himself nor his feelings. Perhaps unbridled rage was what was ultimately needed in order to win, but he had already fallen victim to it once. He didn’t want to do so again.

Poor Sunny didn’t deserve any of this. Her life was a particularly tragic one and she had lost so much. Hitch thought that all their problems were solved once magic came back and they could go on to live their lives, but he was wrong. Since the moment Misty had shown up on their doorstep in Sprout’s hooves and let them know about the impending crisis, he and his friends’ lives had been one thing going wrong after another. All he wanted was to live his life in peace now that years of paranoia and distrust had ended. Instead, he had to deal with it again and to top it all off, Sparky was dead.

The loss of his favorite baby dragon cut into the very core of his being. He thought that he would be there to see Sparky grow up under his care. He did everything he could to provide for him in hopes that it would lead to a healthy and happy life for the both of them. Alas, it was not to be and he felt like crying just thinking about it.

He had lost two companions close to him in just six months and he couldn’t protect either of them. He never thought that he would see the day that Sparky died, and he never thought that he would hold a lifeless corpse in his hooves. This was his punishment and he could never undo it. He had failed to save the few best things in his life and he would never forgive himself for that.

He closed his journal and looked up to the ceiling where four flies were buzzing above the light. He had always considered himself enlightened as a sheriff, but the adventure to restore magic taught him how wrong he was. After his friends had defeated Sprout, he thought that he had everything.

However, it turned out that he in fact had nothing.

He looked at the journal cover and his eyes narrowed, his mind filling with hate as he thought of the lifeless body of Sparky lying in his room, all of the essence and magic sucked out of him like a straw. He vowed that he would destroy Opaline with his bare hooves if it came down to it. He wanted to make her suffer the same fate she had given his son.

Just then, the sound of hoofsteps caught his attention and he turned towards the ramp in front of him. Walking down towards the kitchen was none other than Pipp Petals. She was humming her song to herself and stopped in front of him. Her face was a mix of confusion and curiosity as she stared at him.

“I thought I was the only one here,” Pipp commented. “Didn’t expect to see you writing another entry in that journal again.”

“It’s all I’ve got,” Hitch replied. “Sunny told me to keep a diary years ago. This is how I keep her memory alive in case…” He trailed off, finding himself unable to finish.

The pop star princess seemed to understand what he was about to say as she nodded in understanding.

“In case we don’t get her back.”

Hitch nodded back. “It’s highly unlikely. Misty certainly means well like she always does, but if we failed to do this before, it’s doubtful that we will be able to succeed the second time around. Sunny hates us, and there’s nothing we can say to talk her out of it.”

Pipp’s expression morphing into one of deep concern was all he needed to know that she understood his fears.

“I worry about that too. Misty and Izzy still aren’t back. It makes me think that they might’ve failed. Or worse. What if the hippogriffs captured them and are holding them hostage?!” Pipp asked, her eyes going wide in horror.

“I don’t think they’re gonna do that.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“Well for one thing,” Hitch explained. “Izzy knows them. I don’t know how, but she does. Remember when we were cheering her on in that battle arena? When she had to answer that stupid riddle from Discord?” Pipp nodded. “Well, I saw at least two hippogriffs in her friend group. It’s obvious that she has a good rapport with them.”

“But they met through some multiverse dream shenanigans, I don’t know what!” Pipp argued. “It’s been more than a thousand years since Skystar’s time. How do we know that her great great, I have no idea how many greats, granddaughter is as charitable as her?”

“We don’t,” admitted Hitch gravely. “But for once, I’m operating strictly on faith, not on reason. We’ve lost everything, Pipp. Everypony we ever loved. Sunny, Sparky…what do we have left besides blind faith and hope?”

Pipp looked down on the ground in deep sadness. “When…Sunny first turned to the dark side and…Zipp was gravely injured in that crowd fight…I sat by her bedside for days, hoping and praying that she would live. I genuinely thought that I was going to lose her that night, my only sister. All I had with me was faith. When I relied on divine intervention and begged for a miracle…it brought her back from the brink of death. So I get what you’re saying.”

“I take it you never told her about how you were feeling that night. You don’t strike me as somepony who relies on faith all that much.”

“How do you tell somepony that you thought they were going to die?” Pipp inquired sadly. “Zipp likes to think herself invincible sometimes and I know that makes her feel good, so I mainly stayed quiet when she woke up from her coma, never really letting her know how worried I was for her aside from the basics. Yet that marked the first time I ever relied on faith. Turning to prayer in my most desperate hour. Sometimes, all you gotta do is believe in the power of miracles.”

“Miracles didn’t prevent Sparky from being killed…” Hitch told her mournfully. “Nor did it prevent Sunny from getting hurt and betraying us. But it’s all I have left. Painful irony isn’t it? A sheriff who’s always relied on hard facts and most importantly, the law for his entire life, now forced to rely on nothing but faith.”

“You’re not infallible, Hitch. So stop holding yourself to that standard. It will only cause you more problems in the long run.”

Hitch was about to say something when suddenly, the doors to the Brighthouse burst open and in ran Zipp Storm with a stressed look on her face. She stopped in front of the two of them breathed a sigh of relief once she saw that they were okay. Her face was sweating from the effort of running all the way from wherever she had come from.

“There you two are!” Zipp admonished them. “I’ve been looking all over for the both of you! Especially you, Pipp. What were you doing?!”

“Livestreaming upstairs,” Pipp replied. “It’s not important. It was just…another random stream to the Pippsqueaks, nothing else. Then I heard Hitch and we started talking.”

Zipp didn’t look convinced. “Uh huh. Well, I’m going to take your word for it. I wasn’t there.” She cleared her throat. “Listen Pipp, we don’t have time for your silly streams. I needed you to go over combat strategy with me out in the field and you weren’t there. The other pegasi were waiting anxiously for you for a full hour. We’re setting up war camp.”

“Sorry.”

“Don’t be too hard on her, Zipp,” Hitch said. “Honestly, I needed the advice she gave me badly. I haven’t been myself as of late and for good reason.” He stood up and walked over to her. “What are we doing now?”

“Well now we’re going to Mane Melody,” replied Zipp. “I put the cadets on break as Jazz and Rocky have something that they want to show us both. Plus, we can pass the time there until our friends get back.”

Hitch sighed, picking up his diary and holding it in his hooves. “Alright then. I suppose we could afford to chill for a little bit. We’re all a little too on edge here after all.”

Zipp nodded. “Don’t worry. The town’s fortified in all areas. There is no way Opaline and Sunny can get in except through the sky and even that is shielded with electric power lines.”

“The Marestream can still get in though, right?”

“Yeah. I let Izzy know through text that her opening is right above Mane Melody, which is why we’re going there. There’s no shield of any type in that vicinity, so they can get in easily.”

Pipp smiled. “You’ve thought of everything, sis.”

“Well, when being princess makes you a military general by default, you kinda get to learn the basics.” Zipp answered with a playful smile of her own. Then her expression turned serious. “Alright, let’s get going. We can’t be out long.”

The three ponies headed out of the Brighthouse in the direction of Mane Melody, all while the skies above raged with the sounds of thunder and flashes of lightning.

---

Meanwhile…

The Marestream flew through the stormy skies back in the direction of Maretime Bay at top speed. The engines let out an audible roar and accelerated the ship forward while thunder clapped and boomed all around it. Heavy rain poured down on the roof, soaking the areas near the hatch as it braved the harsh weather to get back.

The skies were not usually this stormy, so it was certainly seen as a dark omen for the confrontation that was about to take place. Nature had its way of foreshadowing future events to come through the weather, so it was not a stretch of the imagination to say that was happening now.

Izzy was driving the Marestream while Misty sat in the back with Queen Skygrace of the Hippogriff Kingdom and talked to her. They were flying back from Mount Aris after recruiting the hippogriff army to their aid and they were all exhausted. While the remaining army flew ahead on their own, the queen chose to ride with the ponies in order to extract more information out of them. Misty agreed, of course. After all, the situation they were in was so complicated that if they were to have any hope of winning against Opaline together, it was better to know who their allies were on a more personal level.

Although she had a general plan of attack figured out, Izzy still had no idea how she was going to explain everything to Skygrace. She knew of the hippogriffs’ existence through her multiversal friends, but she did not want to sound like an idiot in front of one of their only allies by revealing it. The multiverse and time travel were very outlandish concepts that few believed in and she wanted to be taken seriously for once in her life.

She sighed, putting the ship on autopilot and heading to the back cabin in order to speak with her friend. Her mind was at war with itself despite everything that had happened. It should have been a good thing to her that Misty had finally taken her advice and decided that reasoning was the best way to go. But what if she was wrong? Sunny had made it crystal clear that her leniency was a onetime thing and that should they ever come back for her, then she would be forced to condemn them to Opaline’s wrath.

This put her on edge as a result. She questioned whether what she was doing was truly the right decision. Misty was certainly dead set on it now, but was she? Would Sunny really forgive them after they had basically abandoned her when she needed their comfort the most? The thought would not leave her head, and she felt like she was putting all their lives at stake as a result.

She didn’t know what the point of it all was. What exactly was killing her friends going to accomplish? Sunny was her first ever friend in the world and she loved the earth pony more than any of her other friends as a result. Her loyalty was what drove her to be harsh on Misty and push her to go with the reasoning option. But the chances of the mission failing again were astronomically high and this time, they knew that not all of them were getting out alive.

As she found Misty and Skygrace, the latter turned towards her with a skeptical look in her eyes. There was no trust in those piercing green irises, only distrust and suspicion. It was clear that the last thing the hippogriff wanted was to be involved with ponies again after their troubled history and she didn’t blame her.

Izzy couldn’t look at her back as she was trembling all over from that gaze, so she kept her head low and sat besides Misty.

“Did you put the Marestream on autopilot?” Misty asked carefully. “I don’t want us to crash.”

Izzy nodded. “Yeah. I’ll get back behind the wheel soon, I promise. I just need to talk with you and queenie here. I’m sorry, what’s your name again?”

“Skygrace,” she responded with an edge to her voice. “Get it right for once now, please. I don’t see how this is so hard for you to understand.”

Izzy looked down in shame as the words cut right through her heart and stung where it hurt the most. She had always been called dumb and stupid by the unicorns around her for most of her life while growing up in Bridlewood. Most of her peers didn’t like how she treated every situation with such lightheartedness and levity and some even told her to grow up. The phrase ‘hard for you to understand’ was one that she heard so often that she practically memorized every encounter where that phrase was said.

It wasn’t her fault that she wanted to make her town a better place and brighten up everypony’s days…was it? She had no idea, but she didn’t like hearing the same words repeated to her now. It brought back bad memories that she always tried to keep hidden.

Misty noticed her downtrodden expression and hurriedly backed her up. “Your majesty-“ She cleared her throat as she corrected herself. “Um, Skygrace, we’re your friends. You don’t need to be so standoffish.”

Skygrace barked a laugh. “Friends?! Give me a break. My subjects shouldn’t even be involved with Equestria after the stunt you ponies pulled years back. I’m only helping you because my mother would’ve wanted me to.”

Izzy looked back up upon hearing that. “Is…the stunt about how Opaline convinced the other ponies to hurt you all those years ago…?”

Skygrace gave a simple nod in response.

Misty had an expression of deep concern on her face. “We know what went down. Six months ago, we found the Journal of Friendship stored in our bedroom. We know how she really rose to power…and what happened to all of you.”

“You ponies saved us from the Storm King so many moons ago,” Skygrace spoke angrily. “You built a school to indoctrinate our young into your culture. You welcomed us with open hooves…and you chased us out with hate and murder as soon as you didn’t need us anymore.” Her eyes filled with tears that she quickly blinked back. “All hippogriffs and seaponies know this story. And yet you come asking for our help in spite of everything you had done to us?!!”

“That’s not what happened!” Izzy protested. “Skygrace, we…that was years ago. And our ancestors were blindsided by fear and distrust. Opaline fed on their disdain for change and she…she made them vulnerable to her influence. But we’re not like that anymore!”

Skygrace said nothing in response, still standing in a defensive pose with an expression of pure hatred.

“Nothing can undo all the harassment you guys received…” Misty told her. “You were promised a better world, and Opaline took that from you. But we want to make it right. Times are different now and…things are changing. We’re open to welcoming you all back. I understand if you’re angry at us. But we are not our ancestors. Just as you’re not your mother…”

The violet hippogriff’s eyes softened a bit, but her voice still conveyed suspicion as she nervously took a few steps closer to them. “Can I ask you something? When your friend got kidnapped, and you needed help…how did you know that we existed? I thought we were considered nothing to you but an old ponies’ tale?”

Izzy’s heart raced as she thought of something to say in response. As she was panicking internally, she felt Misty’s comforting hoof on her shoulder. The touch was warm and it filled her with a sense of self-assurance. She could reveal the truth and not be thought of as insane. She would be believed.

She took a shaky breath. “I knew of you through Skystar. She…we met each other once in this strange chaos realm. She told me about her kingdom and where it was. We passed along that message through her mother.”

“You knew my great ancestor…” Skygrace’s voice radiated a childlike sense of amazement and wonder at the news. All that anger was gone now and was replaced by an eagerness to hear more. It was clear that she was fascinated with her family’s history and lineage. “You told her our prophecy?”

Izzy nodded, smiling. “We did. Mount Aris was the first place we went after Sunny was kidnapped. We knew that we could trust her, and to an extent, we knew that we could trust you as well.”

“But…how?” she asked in bewilderment. “You didn’t even know that I would even exist back then.”

“If you’re anything like her,” Izzy replied. “You’re loyal to your friends no matter what, no matter who or what they are. You’d never leave them behind.”

“We even got to see Mount Aris as it was back then.” Misty added. “Your kingdom is absolutely beautiful, your majesty.”

Skygrace smiled back wistfully. “It sure is. And you haven’t even seen all of it yet. The Harmonizing Heights is still a beautiful place full of boundless opportunity. We are a people of hope, not war. The Storm King may have subjugated Mount Aris once. But he could never destroy our people.”

“So you’re saying…” Izzy prodded gently.

“Yes,” Skygrace stated firmly. “I will help you fight Opaline. We will take back what was stolen from us all those years ago.”

Both Izzy and Misty whooped and cheered for joy at this news. With this, a new truce between the two races was born, and it was one that they vowed would never be broken.

---

The Dragon Lands…
Central Intelligence Cave

The cave walls slid open and a red fully-grown dragon walked inside of it, groaning audibly. He had a blue crystal in his claws that was delivering some sort of message. An hour ago, Dragon Lord Spike had asked him to decipher who was behind it as the image resolution of the speaker was so blurry that nobody could make it out.

He had accepted his task, of course, but that didn’t mean that he was happy about it by any means. In his mind, he had better things to do with his life than to waste his time deciphering messages from foreign nations. Unfortunately, his job as the official scribe meant that he had to do it whether he wanted to or not.

He walked towards the end of the cave, where a large supercomputer stood with many videos running all at once. This was the way that the dragons could keep watch over all of Equestria and gather information from them without anypony from the land knowing. Many other dragons stood behind the keyboard, all typing at once and scouring different locales.

“Hey,” the dragon called out to his peers. “I got the crystal.”

A female pink dragon turned around upon hearing his voice. “Lava! There you are. How are you doing? I realize we didn’t get to talk much this week considering our tasks.”

Lava blushed, but quickly shook his head to get rid of the feeling. “I’m…fine, Blaize. Just doing the job as always. Here’s the crystal. The speaker delivering the message looks like a pony, but none that any of the history books have shown us.” He handed her the crystal, which she took.

“Maybe they’ve evolved.” a tan dragon called Tumble off-handedly commented. Upon receiving glares from the others, he shrunk back in embarrassment. “What? It could happen. You know, how ponies from the Celestia-Era had their cutie marks on one side removed in exchange for new kidneys-“

“Okay,” Blaize interrupted, putting out her other claw in order to stop him. “We…don’t need to go into that again, history buff.”

Tumble rolled his eyes.

“I don’t get why this message is so important to Spike,” Lava told them. “I mean, so what if we haven’t gotten any contact from ponies in hundreds of moons? This could be nothing.”

“So everything!” a blue dragon with purple scales from the far right exclaimed. “Do you know what this could mean? They could be requiring our assistance for some impending disaster!”

Blaize scoffed. “You mean like the time Princess Twilight still tried to ask for our help after unleashing her racist apprentice on us? Yeah, never again, purple head.”

“Only one way to find out, I guess.” Lava said, shrugging.

Blaize plugged the crystal into the outlet and watched the message slowly load onto the screen. The video then popped up, showing the barely recognizable image of a pony speaking into a computer. “Hello, is this thing working? Hi, my name is…pp…m…asking for your help.”

The dragons all facepalmed, after which they slammed their heads face first into the table in frustration, groaning loudly.

“Seriously?!” The blue dragon raged. “For this?! We get a crystal recording and it’s glitchy?! What the heck does ‘my name is pp’ even mean?!”

“Besides the obvious.” Tumble joked with a dirty smile. He was promptly smacked upside the head by his colleague after saying that.

“It seemed to start glitching at the pony’s name,” Blaize reasoned. “I figure if we all blow our dragon fire at it, we can increase the video’s resolution.”

“You think?” Lava asked skeptically.

“How should I know? Let’s give it a go just to be sure.”

All five dragons proceeded to take a deep breath before unleashing their fire at the supercomputer monitor. The combined force began increasing the resolution as the pixels began to rearrange themselves in real time. The video cleared up and soon the pony speaking was fully visible.

“…Our magic does make us different,” the pony spoke, her voice more clear. “And that’s something we should embrace…both in ourselves and in others. Our powers let us be the best versions of ourselves…”

Lava opened his eyes and gasped upon looking at the screen. “I…I-I don’t believe it. Spike was right. That’s a…that’s a…”

“It’s a…” Tumble added, his eyes wide in shock. “It’s…”

“…a pegasus…” Blaize finished in amazement.

Blaize and Lava flew over to the tall throne of rocks at the very heart of the Dragon Lands, also known as the Isle of Scaley to outsiders. The place was still as harsh and volcanic as could be all these years later, but now supported the occasional plant life every now and then, and many of the volcanos that used to supply lava in excess were now dormant.

Since Spike had ascended to the role of Dragon Lord, the dragons had begun to adopt a more peaceful lifestyle that didn’t involve making the enemy of outsiders. He had been instrumental in taking over for Ember after she was forced to give up the Bloodstone Scepter by popular vote and guided them to a new age of wealth and prosperity. He had assured his kind that although the era of coexistence with ponies had ended, that did not mean that they had to lose all they had learned.

Lava was the first to touch down and bow to the large purple dragon sitting on the throne, Blaize following his example. Spike might’ve old and his eyebrows were starting to turn grey, but his presence still carried authority and struck fear into all who saw him. He was sleeping with his back against the rock, only stirring once he heard sounds of wings touching down.

Spike sat up, clutching the Scepter in his claws tightly. His eyes opened and he gazed upon his subordinates below. His voice sounded older and more gravelly, but they still radiated power and confidence.

“Have you processed the message?” he asked them.

Blaize nodded. “We have, Dragon Lord. We believe that the message comes from a pegasus. The recording on the crystal is still a bit hazy, so we can’t make out her features, but I definitely see wings.”

Spike stroked his chin thoughtfully. “Interesting. It appears that my predictions to Luster all those moons ago weren’t so far off after all. It could be that they need our help.”

Lava was flabbergasted at the concept. “B-but you can’t be serious! Dragons have existed without ponies for generations! We don’t need their help!”

“Crystal.”

Lava groaned and handed the crystal over, grumbling under his breath. Spike took it from him and gazed at the restored footage. As he listened, his eyes went wide and he nodded in understanding, processing every word that was spoken by this mysterious messenger.

“Well?” Blaize asked.

Spike looked up, his face reflecting immediate decisiveness. “Gather up the other dragons and tell them to meet me here at the throne. We are apparently in more danger than I initially anticipated.”

---

Mane Melody was unsettlingly quieter than it usually was at this time. While the premier mane salon of Maretime Bay would normally bursting at the seams with activity and lively chatter, the three ponies visiting it all stood or sat in silence and barely spoke to one another outside of a couple passing whispers.

The only sound filtering through the uneasy tension was the air conditioning that blew cool air throughout the room, which ensured that nopony would suffer from any possible heat stroke. Everyone was on edge for fear of Opaline coming, and there was no time for lighthearted conversation.

Jazz sat opposite one of the mirrors trying on a new lotion on her mane while Rocky stood by her side protectively. Hitch was sitting beside Pipp while reading silently to himself a newspaper that detailed the latest city to fall to Opaline’s wrath. The headlines described it as a real-life “zombie apocalypse” in reference to the undead army that the evil alicorn had taken with her. His face grew more and more worried with each sentence he read.

Zipp was pacing back and forth after having enough of standing in one place for about an hour, her hooves creating clip clop noises as she continued to wander aimlessly. Finally, she let out an audible groan and impatiently walked over to Pipp, who was reclining back and taking a small beauty nap. Upon getting a tap on the shoulder from her older sister, the pink pegasus stirred and fluttered her eyes open before giving her a glare.

“Sorry Pipp,” Zipp apologized. “But I’m like really bored! Do they have any board games in here? I’m sick of waiting.”

“Mmm…go ask Jazz or something,” Pipp told her groggily. “I wanna sleep…Maybe she’ll play with you.”

Zipp refused to do so, shaking her head. “No fun without my little sis. Come on, sleepy head. You’ve been out for far too long.” She playfully prodded her four times, only to get her hoof almost instantly smacked away by Pipp’s own.

“Go away, Zipp!!” Pipp snapped. “Please!! I want some peace, alright?!! We’ve been through a lot already!!”

Zipp was taken aback by this with her playful expression morphing into that of deep concern and worry. “Pipp…are you feeling okay? You haven’t seemed like yourself since this morning.”

Pipp blinked back tears. “I’m fine!! Just…leave me alone.”

“I know you’re not. Did something happen during that livestream you were doing earlier? What was it about anyway? You know you can tell me.”

Pipp shook her head vigorously. “I can’t. Y-you’re…you’re not interested anyway. Just go bug Hitch or something. He looks bored too.”

Zipp sighed, finally deciding to acquiesce to her sister’s wishes. “Fine. But we’re going to talk about this after we get Sunny back, mark my words.”

She walked over towards Hitch, who was engrossed in his newspaper. Upon seeing her shadow obscure his vision, he looked up.

“Hey.”

“Hey…” Zipp responded. “So…you feeling alright? Pipp sent me to talk to you. I know you’re busy, but I’m just-“

“No no, it’s alright.” Hitch replied. “I’ve actually been meaning to get this off my chest anyway. Can I…trust you with something crazy?”

Zipp shrugged. “I love crazy. What is it?”

Hitch’s expression went serious as he looked off into the distance. “I um…after Misty left for Mount Aris…I had a dream, like a…It was…almost like a premonition. It was late at night. Izzy Moonbow was right here.” He pointed to the floor in front of him. “There was this magic energy bubble all around her. And she was…calling out Misty’s name.”

Zipp’s eyes widened in surprise. “How’s this possible? She’s not even here. She left with Misty. It can’t be her that talked to you unless it was a…” She trailed off upon realizing what it might’ve been.

“I think it was a vision of the future…” Hitch answered for her gravely, his eyebrows creasing downwards as he thought of the prospects. “…or something darker.”

Before any of them could think further on the possibilities of what this could mean, there was the sound of rapid hoofsteps and a very excited Jazz came running up to them, alerting all of their attentions to her. “Sheriff Hitch!! Sheriff Hitch!! You need to see this!!”

The ponies opened the doors to Mane Melody and looked up into the sky to see none other than the Marestream slowly descending down towards the ground below them. Both Izzy and Misty stood on the edge of the ramp, waving enthusiastically to them with massive grins on their faces. Behind them was an army of about several thousand hippogriffs clad in battle armor flying in the sky.

Zipp’s mouth dropped open in shock, followed by the others doing the same. They had never seen anything like this before. Their friends had done it! They had recruited help and now had the backing of an entire foreign nation’s military. There was nothing that could stand in their way when saving the day now.

As the Marestream touched down on the ground below, Hitch and the other ponies walked over to Misty and Izzy in order to congratulate them on succeeding on their mission and finding help.

“You found them!” Hitch exclaimed.

Misty nodded, smiling. “They agreed to help us. This is their fight as well.”

“Our fight.” Izzy corrected her with a smile of her own, patting her sister on the back in solidarity with her hoof.

Zipp and Pipp walked with their friends up the ramp and into the main cockpit while Hitch stayed outside briefly to have a moment with Jazz.

“We’ll get her back, Jazz, I know it!” Hitch assured her.

“What makes you so sure?” Jazz asked him skeptically.

“Faith, Jazz!! Faith!!”

In that moment, he was no longer the broken and angry stallion he had become six months prior. He had hope once more. Pipp had been right the whole time about having faith. And he was going to use that in order to save his best friend and stop Opaline once and for all.

With that, he walked up the ramp as it closed behind him. The roar of the engines sounded and soon the Marestream was ascending to the skies once more, only this time with a renewed purpose and the aura of hope.

It turned around in a circle before speeding off into the air and into the night sky, leaving a sonic boom in its wake.

---

“Yes…POWER!!!! UNLIMITED POWER!!!!!”

With a loud yell, Opaline blasted a powerful beam of dragon fire magic at the floor below her with all the might of an angry goddess. The blast hit the ground at full speed, leaving a smoldering stain from the impact. Small puffs of smoke billowed out from it and rose up into the air, leaving the smell of burning fire behind as the flames slowly settled into tiny embers.

The evil fire alicorn smiled at her handiwork. The skin on her face was gradually peeling and melting from the effects of the spell. Her eyes had turned completely black with no pupils, but they were still filled with a sense of sadistic excitement. Trails of blood poured down from them as she proceeded to recite the ancient incantation meant to raise the mythical Umbrum from the ground.

The evil shadow creatures had been locked below Equestria for several thousands of years and it was time for them to serve a new master. The ground trembled and low guttural growls could be heard. From the place where the magic hit, a long and bony, smoky hoof emerged from it and grabbed the floorboards with all its might. Slowly but surely, the second hoof rose from the ground, followed by an equine-like face with pupiless white eyes, and then inevitably, the rest of the body.

Several more followed suit as they filled the cold air with the sounds of growling, roaring, screaming, and wailing in an unholy manner. They rose from the ground one by one, their expressions filled with a bloodthirsty desire to get revenge on the ponies who had once imprisoned them.

The Umbrum stared at the alicorn hungrily as she loomed over them. One of them lunged at her, only to be blasted into smithereens in an instant. Seeing this, the rest of them bowed down to her, not wanting to be incinerated like their comrade had just been.

“Yes…” Opaline commanded them, her evil grin becoming increasingly more unhinged by each passing second. “Go, my precious Umbrum! FEED!!!!!!!!!”

It was said that every living creature throughout the realm could sense the winds changing and braced themselves for the oncoming storm. Animals ran and hid in their habitats and across the land, ponies looked up into the sky in great fear.

Meanwhile in a hidden village within the Peaks of Peril, two Kirin were playing chess on top of a cliff when they heard a boom sound in the sky. One of them, a bluish Kirin, looked up from the chessboard and at the sky, only to see a great beam of magic off in the distance shooting straight up for the clouds.

“Great Rainshine…” the Kirin whispered.

It didn’t take long for his friend, an orange Kirin, to notice as well and look up. Upon seeing the massive beam in the sky, he turned towards her. “We must warn Rosedawn. A great evil is coming for us all.”

“Not a great evil…” the blue Kirin corrected him, his eyes filled with terror. “The great evil.”

The Umbrum scampered away from the area like a pack of wild animals chasing after their prey. They varied in size, but were all equally as ferocious as they hissed and roared. Their eyes bore neither mercy nor humanity in them. These creatures only existed to kill and nothing else, for it was their sole purpose of being. They lived only to serve, conquer, and destroy.

As they left the throne room and scattered across different directions, the sounds of triumphant roars and wails filled the air, filling anyone in any nearby area with an unmatched feeling of dread.

Opaline’s evil smile grew wider and wider until it was a full insane grin, all of the malice and malevolent intentions all manifesting into one insidious expression. Meanwhile, Sunny watched all of this go down with a mix of intense fear and deep regret.

She didn’t like this one bit. All she could do was silently curse herself for letting this happen. She couldn’t fight back against Opaline. All she could do was carry out the other alicorn’s orders against her will and live with the consequences afterwards.

…

“Opaline will be attempting to conquer Equestria now that she has all of its magic at her disposal,” Misty spoke to her friends, walking down to the main room of the Marestream where her friends were standing. “We have to stop her before she is able to take any more lives. The longer we waste, the more cities she plunders, and the more ponies she kills.”

The other ponies were standing with Skygrace in front of a large table and were studying a map of the perimeter of Opaline’s castle. Zipp had her magnifying glass out and was scanning every single corner of the drawing, trying to determine the best route of attack. Upon seeing Misty, she and the others looked up.

“That’s encouraging.” Skygrace muttered under her breath.

“Once we fly the Marestream in,” continued Misty, stopping next to Hitch. “The hippogriffs will come out from behind and help provide aerial support while we launch a ground invasion to take out the main army. If we can stop them from leaving, we’ve won half the battle.”

Hitch nodded. “I brought my makeshift costume. Those zombies are going to feel the full might of Operation: Glitterbomb!”

“Be that as it may,” Zipp chimed in. “The trouble is that with Opaline having an undead army guarding the vicinity, getting in the castle will be next to impossible.”

“We would have to rely on only one pony having insurmountable amounts of luck in order to get in and hopefully reform Sunny,” Hitch added. “I vote me-“

“I will.” Misty interrupted, knowing full well what he was about to say. He opened his mouth to protest, but she put a hoof up to stop him. “Hitch, no. You’re the backbone of this whole operation. Maretime Bay needs its sheriff. If anypony’s going to die by her hoof, it should be me. I created this whole mess to begin with. In the grand calculus of Equestria’s survival, I’m expendable. You’re not.”

“No!” Izzy cried. “Misty, you can’t! We saw how angry she was back there, you were right! If you go in there, she’ll kill you!”

Misty remained firm. “Better me than you. It was me that got you all into this. Now I’m the one that needs to make up for my mistakes. I can’t have you ponies fighting my battles for me.”

“B-but s-she’ll k-kill you-“ Izzy tried to argue with her, but deep down, she knew that her sister was right. Misty reached down and picked her chin up. She stared at the blue unicorn, tears in her eyes.

“Hey,” Misty told her, smiling sadly. She knew full well that the very thought of her going into battle alone destroyed Izzy from the inside, but the last thing she wanted was her first friend ever getting hurt in any capacity. “You know, you were the first friend I ever met. And now you’re so much more than that. The last thing I want is for you to get hurt.”

“But you’re my sister!” Izzy protested angrily, tears streaming down her face. “Sisters look out for one another! They don’t leave others behind to risk their lives!!”

“Izzy…” Hitch walked up to her, putting a hoof on her shoulder. “It’s her choice. I don’t like the idea at all either…But it’s not like we can stop her.”

Izzy shook her head vigorously, pushing him off. “YOU’RE GONNA LET HER KILL HERSELF?!! No!! This is all wrong!! You’re not going to die, Misty!! You’re not going back to that castle, do you hear me?! I’m not going to lose you again!! We stick together, friends stick together!! Family sticks together!!!! This is not a mistake, we can fix this! And we can save everyone!! NOPONY DIES!!!”

“Izzy!!” Misty snapped. “That’s enough!!” When she saw the other unicorn jump back in fear at the tone of her voice, she took a deep breath to calm herself. “Look, Izzy. I’m sorry. I have to do this, alright? If anypony can get through to her, it’s me. I promise I’ll do my best to stay alive for you. But I’ve made up my mind on this. I’m going to make everything right.”

“You don’t know that!” Izzy still was having none of it. “You don’t know whether you’re gonna live or not! I can’t let you do this, Misty, you…You changed my life…”

Misty felt tears come to her eyes too. She let them spill, knowing full well that her next encounter with their former friend was most likely to be a fatal one. She didn’t fear death, for she knew the risks involved in this mission, yet saving Sunny meant more to her than her life. She had spent the longest time being afraid of her past and that rendered her unable to take any action as she constantly second-guessed herself. But she wasn’t that same pony anymore, and she finally had the confidence to know what was right. She knew deep down in her heart that this was the only way she would have any chance of saving the scorned earth pony.

She stared at the distraught unicorn and gave her another smile. “And you changed mine. I’m very proud to have been a sister to you. A loving family’s all I ever wanted. And you ponies gave me that and more. Now it’s time that I do something for all of you in return. The night we lost Sunny has done nothing but haunt for months without end, just as it did to all of you. I won’t live with this and Sparky’s death on my conscience any longer. After all this time…I finally know what I have to do. I have to save her…no matter what happens to me in the process.”

“No…”

“Please, Izzy. This will bring her back, trust me. Let me do this. It’ll all be worth it in the end.”

“A-are you sure?”

“Yes. Trust me, Izzy. I know what I’m doing. I mean, who knows? I might not die. That’s a prospect to look forward to, right?”

Izzy reluctantly nodded, but her face indicated that she wasn’t convinced in the slightest.

Even Zipp was holding back tears of her own. “Fine. But you better come back alive, Misty! I swear to Mom you better!! Promise us so we can trust you!!!”

Misty sighed deeply. “I promise.” She knew that she would most likely not be able to keep that promise, but she wanted to reassure them nonetheless. She had come too far now to back out. If she was going into this, she was going in all the way.

“Providing that Misty survives her encounter with Sunny,” Hitch spoke up, sniffing once. “and gets her back on our side, we’ll barge into the throne room and take down Opaline together. Misty, it’s all up to you.”

Misty nodded in understanding. “I know. We’re going to win this, don’t worry about it. We’ll be celebrating this time at Mane Melody tomorrow. All of us.”

“Victory group photo’s on me.” Pipp affirmed, her determined expression making it clear that she wouldn’t be hearing anything to the contrary.

The ponies and Skygrace all looked at one another and nodded solemnly. They then proceeded to put their hooves and claw into the center of the table in circular formation, signifying their unified bond and determination.

Their cutie marks all glowed brightly, illuminating the entire room and the whole ship in a brilliant rainbow light as it traveled across the stormy skies and towards its final destination.

---

The stormy sky above was filled with the sounds of screaming and wailing as about a thousand flying demonic creatures descended down in packs like flies, all bearing their teeth in a hungry manner. Claws outstretched, they flew towards the ground and joined the packs of Umbrum and hellhounds that were running below.

In her mad pursuit of reinforcements, Opaline had summoned all the forces of the underworld to help defend her castle from the oncoming attack from Misty and her friends. She knew that her former subordinate was coming, and she was not about to let everything she had built up to that point be taken away.

From the window of her room, Sunny watched in horror as the unholy forces scampered together towards the hills. She wished she could do something, anything. But there was nothing she could do. Opaline had locked her in her room until she needed her, and she had no way of escaping.

She buried her head in her hooves, silently cursing herself for the monster that she had just unleashed.

The demons, hellhounds, and Umbrum were soon joined by more zombies and ghouls followed afterwards. They let out triumphant roars as they rampaged through the area and in the directions of the hills.

The forces of the dead had been united into one faction and there was nothing to stop them from fulfilling their mission, no opposition in sight.

Meanwhile, Misty and her friends were marching up the hill, leading a united army of earth ponies, unicorns, pegasi, and hippogriffs. It was an alliance that hadn’t been seen in so many centuries, yet here it was in plain sight. They had no reason to fight alongside each other, but they had put their differences aside in order to help save the world they held dear.

Zipp and Pipp led the forces of pegasi to the right, wearing battle armor specified for only princesses. Queen Haven was right next to them in clad in golden regalia that shone like the sun amidst the terrible darkness. At long last, the Royal Family was reunited once more and leading their people proudly. They all wore grim, but determined expressions on their faces, and they were going to show Opaline what happened when you messed with the citizens of Zephyr Heights.

To the left was the cavalry of earth ponies, who were being led by Hitch and Sprout, along with Phyllis Cloverleaf providing additional support. The headstrong sheriff had reunited with his former deputy just for this conflict and they were working together in a way they hadn’t in years. Though Hitch hadn’t fully forgiven Sprout, he understood that they had to work as a team.

In spite of the red earth pony’s clumsiness and tendencies to cause wars, he had gotten things done in the past when it mattered to him and Hitch valued that. So he was temporarily rehired, but there would be matters that would have to be worked out once the war was over.

In the middle was the crowd of unicorns being led by Izzy, Misty, and Alphabittle. They all wore a special form of tribal war paint on their faces and were shouting orders to their soldiers behind them. Misty had never been put in such a high position of authority before and the prospect still terrified her. But she was ready to get the job done regardless.

Finally, Skygrace operated the Marestream above while the other hippogriffs followed close behind. Their aerial power was useful since their magic hadn’t gotten stolen. For thousands of years, they had sworn off having ties with the ponies of Equestria, yet here they were helping them now. It was definitely a confusing time, but both unicorns had proved themselves worthy of their loyalty.

Misty glanced at Zipp, who looked back at her and raised her bow into the air in solidarity. The two of them had once disliked one another, but now they were sworn allies bound by blood. Then, she glanced at Izzy, her best friend and older sister. The purple unicorn turned towards her and offered her an encouraging smile before looking forward once more.

From the balcony of the castle, Opaline watched the ponies approach with their army and snarled. She knew they couldn’t stay away and let her take over. They valued Sunny too much. The worst part about all of this was that Misty was leading them. Misty, the pony she had raised to be her loyal servant, was now commanding an entire ground force to take her down.

This infuriated her beyond all rationale and she stamped her hooves on the ground in anger, causing it to rumble. She then stormed inside the castle and headed down towards the hallway where Sunny’s bedroom was. She unlocked the door and opened it to see Sunny laying on her bed once more, staring out the window.

Opaline smirked upon seeing her still in this depressed state. It was exactly how she wanted her to be, so that she would be ripe to believe any sort of lie thrown at her. She reveled in the fact that she could tell Sunny anything, and the poor mare couldn’t do a thing about it as she only had her left in her life and nopony else.

“It’s time, Sunny.” Opaline told her. “The moment you’ve been waiting for has arrived. Those ponies have come back for us.”

Sunny sat up, turning to look at her. “They’re here?”

Opaline nodded. “Yes. My forces will already be there to meet them, but you know what to do once Misty gets inside the castle.”

The earth pony seemed to understand, though she didn’t seem to happy about it in the slightest. “You want me to kill her…”

“Precisely right,” answered Opaline sadistically. “I raised that girl since she was born, and she turned against me. It’s only fair that she pays the ultimate price for her betrayal. You don’t have a problem with that, do you?”

Sunny trembled under her intense stare. “N-no, of c-course not. I’ll take care of it.”

“Good.”

“I warned her never to come back here…” Sunny muttered under her breath worriedly. “I knew this would happen…”

“What was that?!” Opaline demanded.

“N-nothing!” Sunny stammered, eyes widening in terror before she regained her composure. “Sorry…I’ll take Misty down for you. I’ll be sure to kill her myself.”

Opaline grinned. “‘Atta girl! Make sure her body is in good condition, will you? I wanna hang her up on my walls as a reminder of my inevitable victory.”

Misty stopped once she and her army reached the top of the hill. The castle was still a little bit of a walk, but now was the time for her to debrief her friends on the plan one final time. This was it. Once the battle began, there would be no turning back. It was either they went all in this time, or they went home, and she wasn’t about to choose the latter.

She turned around to face them and made sure they were all paying attention to her before she spoke, her words carrying authority and ringing across each of the battalions.

“I’m gonna fight my way into the castle and duel Sunny,” Misty told them firmly. “Whatever you see, stick to the plan.” They nodded and she gave them a smile of encouragement. “It’s why I brought you together.”

“We’ll be right behind you, Misty.” Zipp affirmed. “We’ll tackle the ground forces while the hippogriffs will act as our aerial support. Skygrace will lead from the Marestream.”

“Copy that,” Skygrace’s voice came in from the tiny pendant at the center of a necklace the white pegasus was wearing around her neck. “Nothing like a little air superiority.”

“Yeah, well don’t get too cocky, queenie,” Zipp challenged her. “Once magic returns, we settle this like adults in a race.”

“Oh we hippogriffs have been mastering the skies since long before you were even born, pony,” Skygrace responded a matter-of factly. “It is so on.”

“You two are friends now?” Pipp asked her.

Zipp smiled sheepishly. “Yeah, we kinda chatted on the way here, found out we had a lot more in common than we thought.”

“That explains you talking to yourself.” remarked Phyllis dryly.

Misty turned back towards the front. “Now we just wait for Opaline’s forces to come out. We charge on my mark.”

The Umbrum emerged on the other side of the barren field in one massive pack, the demons hovering right above them. Rabia came to the front of the army, eying the surrounding vicinity hungrily. It had been hundreds of moons since they had last tried to conquer the realm of ponies, and she had been waiting for this day for a long time. Since Sombra had betrayed them, they hadn’t been contacted by anyone.

That was until Opaline had secretly began conversing with them and they had built up a form of trust for years until it was finally time for them to be used. Rabia still had her doubts about the alicorn’s intentions to actually be loyal to them, but anything was better than being trapped underground, lost in their own sorrow.

She sniffed the air, seeing no signs of life around. It was like the fight was over before it had even began. The ponies that she had thought would be waiting on the other side for her had vanished into the night, and had fled.

She groaned. “Those ponies have retreated. Looks like our fight is already won.”

“Well that stinks!” Ira shouted. “Too cowardly for their own good. I wanted to blow their brains out! How long do we have to wait now?! Another thousand years?!”

“Hold on!” Rabia ordered, holding her hoof up into the air to silence her lieutenant as she began to hear the faint sounds of motion off in the distance. “We have movement at 500 meters. Hold your ground! Don’t move.”

They all stopped in their tracks, listening with their ears to see if anyone would suddenly appear out of nowhere and charge at them. They waited for about a few moments and when no one came, they began to relax and start heading back towards the castle.

That was when the ponies charged.

Out of the corner of her eye, Rabia spotted a brief flash of blue and pink and turned just in time to see an army of about a thousand ponies charge out from seemingly out of nowhere, screaming at the top of their lungs. She quickly ordered her army to disperse just as the two sides collided and began viciously fighting one another.

Before long, she was locked in combat with about ten earth ponies, all who were clawing and punching at her. She fought back and sent five of them crashing into the other side of the field before being attacked again by a squad of unicorns, who were much harder to beat.

On the ponies side, Misty charged at a couple of Umbrum, both of which brandished swords and ran towards her in response with them. She brandished a knife of her own and threw it at them, instantly killing them with a dying shriek. It wasn’t long before the demons from above flew at her in the hundreds. She sliced through as many as she could, but they were far too numerous for her to beat alone and they just kept swarming her.

She gritted her teeth and continued to slice, but a much larger demon knocked the knife out of her hooves and pounced on her. She fought in its grip, but it snarled and swiped at her face, making it impossible to see where she was aiming. It carried her into the sky, all as she screamed and held on for dear life.

That was when Izzy came sprinting in with a bow and arrow, shouting a battle cry. She loaded an arrow and shot it at the demon, knocking it out of the air and causing it to drop Misty, sending her crashing towards the ground with it. She landed on her stomach and quickly recovered, joining her sister and engaging a squad of Umbrum that were heading straight towards them.

Misty kicked one in the stomach, which infuriated it and it started punching at her. She got at its hoof, which caused it to recoil, right in time for a unicorn stallion to charge in and slice it into two halves, both of which fell to the floor in a pathetic heap, blood squirting out of its body. He kicked its remains and moved onto the next target faster than he had arrived. Misty used this opening to leap into the air and slice four demons right through the head as they ran. They crumpled to the floor, instantly, their eyes wide open in horror.

Zipp and Pipp led the pegasi against another squad, barking commands left and right, ordering them to break formation and engage them individually. They did so, splitting into groups of six. Zipp threw a sword at several charging demons, while Queen Haven knocked one out with a swift punch to the head. It was at that point that Alphabittle barged in and started trampling the Umbrum under his hooves, the unicorns behind him following suit. The shadowy creatures were buried underneath the might of the ponies and killed instantly.

Hitch was shooting at the demons with his own bow. The effort was exhausting and no matter what he tried, more would constantly fly in. He reloaded it with fresh arrows and shot a larger demon out of the sky before he was swarmed by two charging Umbrum, all which started pummeling him. He kicked two of them off before the rest began to overwhelm him. It was at that point in which Sprout shot the other four in the back from behind, causing them to start chasing him instead before they fell to the ground, lifeless.

Hitch ran towards his former deputy and together, they shot at the mass of Umbrum in front of them. They ran through the mass of shadowy creatures as they charged, slicing every which way while doing acrobatic poses in the process. The leader of the battalion didn’t know where to hit them and ran into its lieutenant, sending them both falling to the floor. Before it could get up, Sprout stomped on top of its back, killing it.

He stopped and turned the other way, zigzagging through three others as they began to chase him. The Umbrum in charge growled and attended to change course, but her attempt only resulted in her colliding with her teammates and falling to the ground. One of them managed to stand up to all fours before being sliced through the neck two times by Hitch. He watched it fall to the ground with a triumphant expression before charging in the direction of two more that were going after Posey.

Phyllis, meanwhile, was having trouble dislodging an Umbrum that was clinging to her back. She tried bucking and kicking it before it hit into her flank, causing blood to squirt out. She yelped and fell to the ground, trying desperately to shake it off. The demons nearby saw this as an opportunity and landed on top of her as well. They snarled and beat at her, all while she was helpless to close her bleeding wound.

Thinking on her hooves, she brandished a hammer from her saddlebag and started beating them with it. She knocked two of them off before moving on to the stubborn Umbrum. As it opened its mouth to bite into her again, she threw the hammer straight into its jaw. It reared back and tried to dislodge the tool, but it was too far in and it couldn’t speak. She took this opportunity to grab a wrench and start beating the vile creature with it.

The Umbrum bucked and growled, finally pulling the hammer out with its shadowy hooves. She then took out a knife and sliced through its chest, sending it crumpling towards the ground.

Rabia threw Izzy off of her and glared at the opposing army. She then quickly turned her attention to her nearby comrades and faced them. “This is a direct order. Break formation, engage all hostiles.”

The Umbrum closest to where she was nodded and ordered its fellow soldiers to split into smaller groups and attack. They did so, with a group of two charging at full speed towards Posey and Windy, who had just finished taking down a group of demons.

Windy gulped. “Uh, I don’t think I prepped for this in the Trail Trotters manual!”

Posey shook her head in exasperation. “Of course you didn’t. These are living hellspawns, not grizzly bears. Take a knife and let’s go!”

Windy obeyed, pulling out a throwing knife from her own saddlebag and charging with the yellow earth pony into battle. She jumped on top of her two attackers and hung on for dear life. Grunting, she clung onto the neck of one and wrestled it to the ground before decapitating it. The other one saw the carnage and lunged towards her. Windy screamed and covered her eyes, waiting in terror for the inevitable moment of impact.

That moment never came as it was sliced in midair by Posey, who had leapt into the air and impaled the creature right in the eyes, saving her best friend. The Umbrum roared and fell towards the ground on its back. She pulled the knife out and tossed it to Windy, who caught it with her hooves. Now holding two knives, one in her hooves and one in her mouth, she ran into the thick of the ensuing chaos, and sliced through the smaller Umbrum armors like it was no tomorrow.

She pounced on an Umbrum that was currently engaging Misty and sliced its head clean off. The head rolled onto the ground beside the horrified unicorn, the rest of the body following. Misty stood up and silently thanked the pegasus with a nod before running after a recovered Izzy, who was being overwhelmed on all sides by a squad of five demons. Her eyes were filled with fear as some circled her from above, eying her hungrily.

Misty gripped the hilt of her sword with her teeth and leapt on top of the nearest demon, punching at it repeatedly to get its attention. Once it turned, she took the weapon in her hooves and impaled it through the forehead before moving on to the other four. However, they were much smarter, rearing and flying every which way, trying to shake her off. She clung on, gripping the fur of the demon and motioning with her head for Izzy to run while she had them distracted. The other unicorn did so, trotting away as fast as she could.

The demon was ruthless in its attempts to shake her off and just as it seemed like Misty was about to slip, a barrage of a thousand missiles began raining down from above that distracted the creature. She looked up to see the Marestream firing its cannons at the squad of demons. with none other than Skygrace piloting it from the cockpit.

“Oops.” Skygrace quipped with a smirk on her face.

Another round of missiles came raining down from the sky, sending the remaining demons in the battalion falling back towards the ground. Before it hit the ground, Misty jumped off hers and onto the back of another one, where she proceeded to impale the top of its head.

“Light her up!” A demon from another squad ordered his soldiers, pointing at the Marestream above them in an accusatory manner.

The other demons roared and chased after the ship, only for many of them to be knocked back down by a barrage of missiles. A couple of them managed to leap onto the roof and cling onto it. They then began to beat at it, slowly damaging it and causing it to begin caving in. Skygrace noticed what was happening above and started descending the airship rapidly in an evasive maneuver. The demons were caught off guard and thrown off the roof, the wind sending them flying in multiple directions.

“You’re not the only one with the brawn, bitches.” she remarked, smiling to herself.

Meanwhile on the ground, Pipp was being chased by a horde of Umbrum that were right on her tail. While she was running for her life, she accidentally tripped on the severed head of a demon that had rolled to where she was and she slipped. She fell to the ground on her face and quickly sat up, only for the creatures to instantly swarm her and start to constantly bite at her, searching hungrily for a vein to suck blood out of.

She tried fighting them off with her hooves, but one of them appeared to anticipate this as it smacked at her hoof and pinned her to the floor. There was no escape. The creature had her right where it wanted her and there was nothing she could do about it.

Tears came to her eyes and she began to think that this was the end of the line for her. She screamed at the top of her lungs at as high of a pitch as she could muster as the Umbrum dove in for the kill, preparing to suck the life out of her once and for all. But right as it was about to bite into her hoof, there was a familiar loud yell from above.

Pipp looked up upon heading the sound and she gasped as Zipp dove in for the kill from seemingly out of the blue carrying two swords in her hooves. She impaled both Umbrum in the chests on opposite sides at once by utilizing a clever throwing trick. They collapsed to the ground in pools of blood as she landed, crumpling in a pathetic pile.

She then began kicking their lifeless corpses repeatedly for good measure in order to make sure they were truly dead. Once they were nothing more but indistinguishable red heaps of clouds, she removed the swords from their bodies and walked over to her sister.

“Zipp, you…you saved me!” Pipp said, her expression still one of shock.

Zipp smiled back. “Yeah, well…it was either you or some random guy in the same area. I obviously knew who to save first. Nopony attacks my sister like that.”

Pipp was about to apologize for being rude to her earlier, but before she could say it, Zipp was off again in a flash, killing the next batch of Umbrum and fighting off demons that were chasing her.

Up in the sky, Skygrace was having the time of her life, piloting the Marestream with her army flanking her. She began to aim it in the direction of the castle, pressing a couple of buttons on the control panels to prepare for missile launch.

“I’m going after the castle.” she spoke into the pendant that she was wearing around her neck. “Is that alright?”

“No,” Zipp countered through the speaker. “Misty wants the castle intact as she’s trying to get in there. If you blast it, you’ll send it falling right on top of Sunny and Opaline.”

“Isn’t the whole point to kill Opaline?” Skygrace asked, her eyes reflecting her confusion. “I’m not sure I follow.”

“Yes,” Zipp conceded cautiously. “But if you end up killing Sunny in the process…I’m not sure how much more guilt Misty can take. Do not bomb the castle, that’s an order.”

Skygrace groaned. “Fine, I won’t bomb it.”

She looked up and gazed out at the ground below through the window, searching for any possible targets. That was when her eyes landed on Rabia and her squad of Umbrum fighting a small battalion of hippogriffs and her cocky smirk returned.

“But I can take out wannabe Storm King over here.” she suggested instead, salivating at the idea.

“Oh, you mean the leader of the attack?” Zipp seemed to catch on to what she was saying. “Yes, please take her out! We need to clear a path for Misty to get into the castle, and killing her will demoralize the smoke guys. Go go!”

“Roger that.” She pulled up on the main lever and began another rapid descent towards the ongoing battle. Her eyes gleamed with unabashed excitement as she loaded a fresh box of missiles into the slot. “This is where the fun begins.”

She hovered over the cannon monitor and turned the strength of the blasts to maximum force before she pressed the red FIRE button in the middle of the controller with her claw as hard as she could. The cockpit shook and with one press, she sent the missiles hurling down towards the ground below at full speed. Each one collided with the field individually and blew up in massive explosions upon impact near Rabia and a couple nearby Umbrum, instantly knocking them off their hooves.

They let out shrill shrieks as they were blown in every single direction from the sheer force of the blasts. More missiles hit the ground and exploded, sending them barreling into another battalion and resulting in them all toppling like dominos.

Misty and Zipp watched the display go on in awe as explosions erupted everywhere and the Umbrum were being taken out with little to no effort.

“Heck yeah!!” the pegasus detective exclaimed, throwing her hooves up in the air in celebration. “You did it!! Get ‘em!!”

“Let’s take these smoky bulls by the horns!!” Skygrace cheered through the speaker, clearly having a blast as she took full advantage of the cannons. “Whooo hoooooo!!”

Zipp chuckled before turning towards Misty. “There’s your opening, Misty! Go!!!”

Misty nodded, grinning from ear to ear. “I’ll get her back, Zipp! I promise!”

“Hey,” Zipp replied, giving her an encouraging look. “I have no doubt you will.” She smiled back, showing support for the unicorn she used to consider her enemy, but now was not only her comrade in battle, but also her friend.

Misty ran through the field as explosions and chaos erupted all around her, slicing through the retreating Umbrum with her sword. She could see the castle coming up in front of her and she took a deep breath as she continued on, preparing for the inevitable confrontation that she was about to have with Sunny.

She only hoped that she could convince the earth pony to listen this time around.

---

Meanwhile in Maretime Bay, Seashell was closing up Sunny’s smoothie cart for the night, putting the sign up on the top. Business was slow to nonexistent this time around as everypony else was off fighting a war that she wished that she could be a part of. However, being only a small filly, she was not allowed to participate and instead had to stick with serving out smoothies to whoever was left in town, which wasn’t a high number of ponies by any stretch of the imagination.

As she prepared to leave and head back towards her house, her ears perked up upon hearing the faint beating of wings. She looked up and saw a strange creature silhouetted against the light of the Moon slowly descend onto the ground. It certainly wasn’t a pegasus as they couldn’t fly anymore and it didn’t even look like one either, so what could it be?

The creature touched down onto the ground with a soft thud, folding its wings. It was a purple dragon with green scales and similar-colored eyes. Seashell’s mouth dropped open in shock upon seeing this. She had never seen a dragon before in her life and she could’ve never guessed that she would actually meet one in real life.

The dragon gently walked towards her. “Greetings, little filly. I believe we haven’t met before. The name’s Spike. I’m the leader of the dragons.”

“S-Seashell…” Seashell stammered, still in awe of the sight right in front of her. “A-are you here to-“

“Help?” Spike finished with a playful smile. “You could say that, yes. I also heard that you sell some delicious smoothies. Mind if I have some? We could use them for the road.”

Seashell didn’t hear the rest of what he told her as her mind had only payed attention to the last sentence and she was now fixated on it.

“…We?”

---

The cold air came rushing back. The dark, unforgiving environment that she had spent a lifetime trying to forget had returned. Misty walked through the hallways of the castle she used to live with a nervous expression on her face. She knew what she had to do, and she had gone too far to back out now, yet she was still scared of what was to come.

Deep in her heart, she knew that reforming Sunny would be a challenge as the earth pony was oftentimes too stubborn for her own good, but she also knew that if she didn’t try, then she wouldn’t be able to live with herself. She had to be the one to pull it off, even if that meant dying to jolt the other mare back to her senses. She had accepted the inevitability of her responsibility with no problem at all as she would stop at nothing to undo what she did.

But the reality of the fact that she was going to have to fight an alicorn with half of all magic in Equestria terrified her to the very core of her being. She had no way of surviving the encounter outside of pure luck, and the swords stored in her pack. She would have to think fast to possibly have a chance of surviving and reasoning with Sunny, something she knew that she wasn’t good at.

As she continued onward, the air seemed to get chillier with every step she took. The little light that remained in the hallways flickered off and the darkness consumed the entire area. She stopped dead in her tracks as she could not see a thing, waiting patiently for the candlelights to return.

That was when she heard the voice.

“I made you promise me that you would never come back here.”

A golden flash of light illuminated the oppressive shadows and Misty looked on with dread as none other than Sunny Starscout herself stepped out of them in her alicorn form. Parts of her body were singed and scarred, yet she still carried herself with eerie efficiency.

She walked towards Misty slowly, carrying a scythe in a small magic bubble created by her horn. Her eyes reflected no empathy and she showed no signs of hesitation. She stopped once she was about six feet away from the unicorn she was about to fight, both of them staring each other down to the death.

Misty was the first to break the silence. “I came back because I’m not giving up on you. I don’t care what you say or do to me. I won’t leave you. Not this time.”

The words seemed to momentarily have an effect on Sunny as she momentarily paused, seemingly considering her options. Her eyes filled with tears and she blinked them back hurriedly. For the briefest of moments, the empathy she was known for came back and it looked like she was about to give up and call off the fight. Misty felt her heart skip a beat as she lowered the scythe by an inch.

Her hopes were dashed, however, when the ominous glare soon returned and she raised it once more. Her eyes narrowed and she took a threatening step forward. “Then you will die.”

Misty’s eyes went wide as Sunny took a step back before running towards her with the scythe in an attempt to kill her. Hurriedly, she reached into her pack and pulled out her sword, raising it just in time to block a potentially lethal strike to her head. She then countered with her own swing, forcing the alicorn to parry and deflect a strike to her hoof.

Sunny then swung at Misty’s chest, with the latter barely managing to block and deflect it. She yelled in frustration and began swinging more violently, forcing Misty to take several steps back and continuously be on the defense, blocking and deflecting, while having no time to land an actual hit. During this, she was being careful not to seriously hurt Sunny. She knew that was close to impossible, but she didn’t want to injure the mare in any way that would render her in critical condition as she wanted to reason with her.

The two of them were locked in a full duel to the death. Spotting an opening, Misty tried to force Sunny to retreat by swinging her sword at her chest, but the other pony seemed to see it coming as the hit was blocked instantly. She then ran to the side of the wall and bounced off of it with a loud yell, sword held high above her head.

As the blade came crashing down onto Sunny’s, the two remained in a gridlock until the alicorn swung again, forcing Misty to return to the ground, sliding with all four of her hooves so as to not fall. She then attempted the same trick again, only to be grabbed by a magic bubble and violently thrown against the wall, sending pieces falling in front of her.

She groaned, picking herself up and gritting her teeth. As she opened her eyes again, she saw Sunny heading right towards her once more in attempt to impale her. She blocked the strike and punched her a couple inches backwards in retaliation before regaining her bearings and blocking another strike.

Sunny growled and with after audible scream of frustration, she launched herself at Misty, punching her in the chest and sending her flying several feet backwards. Misty skidded on the ground once more, holding the sword up high once more. However, instead of a strike to the head, the scythe was instead aiming for her heart. She quickly maneuvered the sword to block it, the sheer force sending the scythe hurling out of Sunny’s grip and onto the ground.

Misty took a couple steps forwards. “I don’t want to hurt you, Sunny! Please, you have to listen to me-“

“I UNDERSTAND!!!” Sunny shrieked, grabbing the scythe again with her magic and blocking an offensive strike from Misty. “I told you before to leave and never return!! I spared your life and told you what would happen if you came back!! Why won’t you just give up on me like everypony else has?!! Why do you have to torture me like this?!!!”

“Because you don’t want any of this!!” Misty shot back, blocking another strike. “I see the conflict within you! You don’t want a world where you’re alone once more!! You just want to be loved!!”

“I made my choice!!” argued Sunny, swinging the scythe at Misty’s hooves once more, only for the strike to be blocked instantaneously. “I turned against my own friends!!! Nopony will ever forgive me, and I know that!! JUST LET ME DIE ALONE ALREADY!!!”

“I can’t do that!!”

“WHY NOT?!!!!!”

“Because you’re my friend!!”

“LIAR!!!!” Sunny shouted again, twirling the scythe in her hooves before swinging in the direction of Misty’s forehead. This time, the unicorn didn’t have time to block the strike and it cut her right near the tip of her mane.

She cried out in pain as blood began oozing out, giving Sunny enough time to pick her up once more and throw her against the wall. Blood splattered on the rock as she landed. She felt dizzy and struggled to keep herself from slipping out of consciousness.

She coughed out blood and tried to stand up, but her knees buckled and she fell once more just as Sunny picked up the scythe and swung right for her neck in a finishing move.

Outside, Zipp and Izzy were taking down hordes of Umbrum that were swarming them, their blades cutting through the shadowy beasts with little effort and leaving nothing more but bloodied heaps to show for it. The enemy armies were dwindling, but it seemed like with each pack that fell, more came to take their place.

Izzy wiped sweat off her forehead just as a demon came flying right towards her. She struck it through the heart with a scream of rage, the blade emerging out the other end. Tears filled her eyes as it slowly crumpled to the ground. It was clear that killing was taking its toll on her and she didn’t want to do it any longer.

Zipp cut down another demon and kicked its corpse off to the side just as a squad of four others came flying at her. She cursed and grabbed her bow, pulling back the trigger before shooting at each of them with expert accuracy. They fell from the sky one by one and fell to the ground right as more showed up and the cycle continued.

“We’re not getting anywhere!” Zipp shouted.

“There’s too many of them!” Izzy cried, fighting desperately and cutting down the demons that had attacked them with her blade. Her hooves were stained with blood and tears were streaming down her face. “Please…I don’t wanna do this anymore!”

“This is just the reality of war, Iz,” Zipp told her sternly. “If we wanna win, we have to take these guys down, no matter how hard it is.”

Izzy blinked her tears back and continued to cut down the enemy lines until she and Zipp were able to move further inwards, only to be stopped by another horde of Umbrum. Zipp grabbed her sword once more and held the bow in the other hoof before she impaled the leader of the battalion straight in the heart with her blood-soaked blade.

The Umbrum collapsed to the ground in a lifeless state as its comrades ran for their lives, retreating to another area, where they were promptly cut down by a knife-wielding Queen Haven and Alphabittle. He spun his knife in a circular motion before stabbing another one with it through the neck, slicing the head clean off.

Regaining her vision at the last second, Misty blocked the scythe that was headed for her neck. The scythe slowly slipped off of the blade and fell to the ground. She stood up with great effort, ignoring her pain and raising her sword once more in a motion for the duel to continue. She blinked back tears of her own as it became clear that she had to either fight dirty or die by the hooves of pony she had been trying to save.

Sunny took a step back in shock upon seeing her still alive and ready to fight. She picked up the scythe and before long, the two were at it once again, swinging and striking at each other with vicious intensity. Misty swung again and landed hit after hit, causing Sunny to lose her balance and nearly slip.

The alicorn stomped her hooves on the ground in order to stop herself from falling and conjured several magical javelins out of thin air using her magic before throwing them at Misty, who deflected each and every single one with her sword. The javelins all disappeared in a puff of smoke as if they hadn’t even been there to begin with. Misty then reached into her pack and produced a throwing knife, which she threw at Sunny’s chest.

The orange mare ducked out of the way just in time, sending it hurling off in the distance. Thinking fast, she lunged at Misty and the two collided, punching and hitting one another while struggling to maintain their footing. It was at this point where Misty slashed at Sunny’s cheek, causing the latter to cry out in pain and recoil.

Misty then slashed again and now Sunny was on the defensive, trying her best not to get her throat slit. There was no mercy left in the blue unicorn. She had realized that Sunny was too far gone, and she had to either kill or be killed. There was no way that both of them were going to get out of the castle alive.

With a scream of unbridled anger, Sunny lunged at Misty once more with her blade in hoof, but Misty stepped off to the side to avoid impact and swung to her left, blocking the scythe and flinging it out of her hooves and onto the ground. She then ran towards it and picked it up, now having two blades in her hooves.

Sunny stepped back in fear now that she was disarmed. She looked around for anything for her to use just as Misty ran in for the kill. That was when she noticed the walls of the castle. Using her magic, she carved out chunks of loose rock and threw them at Misty, who barely managed to deflect them in time and narrowly missed being hit by one.

Sensing an advantage, Sunny then waited for an opening and then lunged at Misty again, punching her and sending her falling back against the wall once more. The impact knocked the the blades out of her hooves and sent them skidding onto the floor.

Misty struggled to stand, but before she could fully do so, Sunny’s hoof was on her chest, pinning her to the ground. There was no escape. Sunny held the scythe and raised it into the air once more, preparing to slice her opponent through her skull.

The blue unicorn coughed and gagged, blood trickling from her lips. She could barely speak from the amount of pain she was feeling, but she tried anyway. “W-what would…Argyle s-say if he saw you like this…?”

Sunny froze where she was, her eyes narrowing down at Misty. “What does that mean? Why did you say that name?!”

“Your…father…” Misty choked out. “Argyle…would…be ashamed of you…”

Sunny stood there, not moving an inch, her mind a total mess as the memories she had been trying to suppress began flooding back to her in droves. Tears brimmed at the corner of her eyes and suddenly, she was taken back to that fateful day in the hospital room with Hitch when she was an innocent young preteen. It was the day that her father was on his last breaths and she had been called in to say goodbye.

That nurse in the hospital uniform…the very pony who had given her the unfortunate news and had inadvertently set her life to a path of no return. She remembered crying and being inconsolable, all while the other doctors were screaming at her and trying to haul her away.

“NO!!!!” Young Sunny shrieked through sobs, fighting desperately against the orderlies as they were trying to take her out of the room. “Don’t leave me, Daddy!!! Don’t leave me, don’t leave me, don’t leave me!! Let me go!!!!!”

“Shut up!!!” Doctor Crossheart ordered her harshly. “If you don’t stop crying, we’ll put a muzzle on you!!! We did everything we could!!!”

Sunny continued to shriek, kicking in their grasp and injuring two of them. She eventually managed to break free and run to her father’s bedside before she was violently tackled by Crossheart and gagged with a muzzle. As she continued to fight, he moved to inject a sedative drug into her left hoof in order make her fall asleep .

All the while, Hitch stood there in the doorway, doing nothing to stop the injustice that was being inflicted on his best friend. What could he do? He had no power nor authority to tell them off. All he could see was the hurt and feeling of betrayal in her eyes as she helplessly looked back at him.

“Argyle…” he whispered softly, looking away from Sunny and gazing up in sadness at the earth pony stallion’s body as the heart monitor flatlined one final time.

“WHY DID YOU SAY THAT NAME?!!” Sunny demanded upon her mind coming back to reality. Internally, she was a wreck and she was now beginning to realize with horror what she was about to do. She pressed further upon Misty’s neck, causing the mare to gag and choke once more as she tried to form a response.

“I-I-I…” Misty tried to say, but no words other than that came out. She was suffocating due to the constant pressure on her throat and was quickly losing consciousness.

“Argyle!! Why did you say that name?!” Sunny pressed further, growing angrier and angrier by the second as she wasn’t getting any answers.

“Sunny, stop!!” shouted a voice off in the distance. It was Hitch, who had broken through the enemy lines and had made it inside the castle. He was running towards them as fast as he could in order to stop the murder that was about to take place, panting as he did so. “Please, stop!!”

“WHY DID YOU SAY THAT NAME?!!!” Sunny screamed, her voice cracking with emotion.

“It’s your father’s name!!” Hitch yelled at her, running to Misty’s side. “How would he feel if he saw you were about to kill one of your own friends?!!”

Sunny looked down with horror, the full weight of her actions finally setting in. She was about to become the very thing she had sworn to destroy, and that terrified her to her core. She took a couple of steps back before throwing the scythe into the darkness, where it disappeared from sight.

She then collapsed to her knees, sitting down on the ground and sobbing into her hooves. Her wings and horn flickered off and she returned to her normal earth pony form, all of the malice that she had previously possessed gone. All that remained now was a sad and broken mare.

Hitch walked over to her after helping Misty up, the latter following close behind him. They put their hooves on her back, silently consoling her as she let all her emotions out. The poor mare was crying and whimpering to herself, so lost in her own sorrow that she didn’t even notice them there. Misty felt tears come to her own eyes and she let them fall. She could relate to the feeling of being alone, like she had nothing left.

“I’m sorry, Sunny…” Hitch apologized to her, tears streaming down his cheeks. “I should’ve been there…I should’ve put your wellbeing first…It’s my fault you’re like this. It’s my fault…”

Sunny didn’t answer, the only sort of response from her being a soft whimper and more sniffles. Hitch nodded, interpreting this as her wanting to be alone for a little bit. He and Misty walked over to the side, just out of reach and watched her closely.

They wouldn’t leave her this time.

---

The cabin shook, rocking violently. Skygrace clung onto the steering wheel for dear life as she tried to reverse course. She was all out of missiles and could not load any more of them into the cannons, which was a problem in itself. Under normal circumstances, she wouldn’t have to worry about it so much. However, a horde of about fifty demons were on her tail and were hitting the backend of the ship left and right.

She looked around, searching desperately for the ejector seat or anything that would get her to safety. She knew that she couldn’t keep the chase up forever as the amount of damage that the Marestream was taking would soon result in its downfall, which was evident in the fact that the controls were malfunctioning.

She could do nothing to shake the demons off and could only watch in horror as they punched and clawed at the windshield, slowly breaking it. There was no escape for her. There were no ways to evacuate the ship, and there wouldn’t be, as Zipp and the others had never thought to build one. The only outcome for her now was death…but she wouldn’t die a coward. That wasn’t the hippogriff way. Her mother had taught her better than to let situations like this get to her. If she was going out, she would do so in style.

She sighed and activated her pendant. “The Marestream is badly damaged, I’m going in. Sorry, Zipp.”

“Skygrace, no!!” Zipp cried through the speaker. “What’s going on?! Can’t you evacuate?!”

Skygrace shook her head. “No. Those damn insects hit the ship. The controls are acting up like crazy and there’s no ejector option. Frankly, I don’t blame you for not thinking about that. You didn’t plan for any of this. The only outcome for me now is death…” In spite of her impending fate though, she smiled. “But I’m not going alone.”

“N-n-no!!” Zipp shouted at her, the tone of her voice clearly showing great pain at the thought of her suicide bombing the aircraft. “Skygrace, you must evacuate! Please evacuate! Do you hear me?! Sky-“

Skygrace shut off the communication line just as the demons broke through the main window and began infiltrating the cockpit. They flew inside and began swarming her, trying to bite at her face. She pushed them away and yanked the main lever right off of the control panel, effectively sending the ship spiraling downwards at maximum speed.

The demons realized what was happening too late and snarled with a mix of anger and pure terror. They clung to the front of the Marestream with all the strength they could muster as it plummeted to its demise, trying desperately in vain to reach her. The main hull began to catch fire as it rocketed through the atmosphere, burning with fire upon its abrupt re-entry.

Skygrace smirked upon seeing the terrified demons and winked at them. She wasn’t afraid of death. Instead, she welcomed it with open claws and embraced the inevitable. She had given her life in battle like a true warrior. She had helped fulfill the centuries-old prophecy and contributed to a cause worthy of her family’s name. She had helped the ponies in their quest to restore magic. She had done all that she could, and had no doubt that she would be seeing her mother soon.

From the ground, Zipp saw the Marestream crash and explode into a massive burst of flames about six feet away and tears came to her eyes. She hadn’t known the hippogriff queen for long, but it still felt like she had lost someone very important in her life.

She and Izzy ran to the flaming wreckage and together, they lifted up a fallen piece of the hall to reveal the barely surviving body of Skygrace. She was coughing and her breath was weak. Cuts and bruises were all over her body.

“Skygrace! Are you okay?!” Izzy asked her worriedly. “You’re gonna be okay, you’re gonna be okay! Do you hear me?! Everything’s gonna be fine! Please…”

Zipp turned towards her, her expression filled with great sorrow. “Izzy…she’s not going to make it. That collision did her in.”

“No!”

Skygrace coughed, fluttering her eyes open. “Not this time, pony…maybe some other time…”

Zipp sniffled, blinking back fresh tears that were threatening to form in the corners of her eyes. “We can’t save you, can we?”

The young hippogriff queen smiled for what would be her last time. “You already did…you already did…” Then her eyes rolled back and her head went limp. She was gone.

The two sat there in silence amidst all the chaos as the pegasus cradled Skygrace’s lifeless body in her lap. They never thought that they would lose one of their own so quickly, and it made them think that perhaps trying to fight Opaline’s forces was a bad idea.

Meanwhile on the balcony of the castle, the air began to grow chillier and pink fire began appearing on the sides of the railing. A purple hoof stepped out of the shadows, followed by another one, and then the rest of the body. It was none other than Opaline Arcana herself, walking towards the railing with an enraged expression on her face. She wore black battle armor that adorned her body and a crown made out of thorns.

She stared at the battleground below, seething at the small victories that the ponies were having. As she watched them cut down her soldiers, her frustration only grew and fire seethed in the corner of her eyes. She had expected this to be a simple fight, where her enemies would be crushed without much effort. That was why she hadn’t intervened at first.

However, she could now see that her presence was needed. It wouldn’t be long before the fight was taken to her, and she needed to level the playing field. She wasn’t going to lose. If those useless blobs of smoke couldn’t do their jobs right, then she would do it herself.

She growled. “Do not fear their feeble attack, my faithful. NOTHING WILL STOP THE RETURN OF OPALINE ARCANA!!!!”

Her horn began to emit a purple and green aura, the same color as the forbidden dark magic that had been lost to time, and her eyes went pure black once more. She began to chant an incantation that began to peel her skin away. The aura got larger in size until she was ready to cast the spell.

That was when she sent a massive beam hurling at the ground below, knocking the remaining hundred hippogriffs out of the sky and enveloping everypony within the nearest radius in individual magic bubbles. She could hear her victims below scream as their cutie marks were ripped from them in massive amounts.

From the ground, Izzy was the first to see what was happening and her eyes went wide with fear. She yelped as she was suddenly caught in a bubble of magic and lifted into the air, her mark slowly being detached from her body. She screamed and cried, fighting against the bubble that held her. She had never felt so much pain before in her life and she just wanted it to stop.

Her cutie mark detached itself from her body and floated in the direction of the castle, towards Opaline. The bubble then disappeared, dropping her towards the ground as her colors began to fade. Zipp was next as she was suddenly lifted into the air, forcing her to drop Skygrace. The pegasus shrieked as her mark was ripped from her in an instant, the bubble dropping her right afterwards as well.

Opaline grinned evilly as the cutie marks of about over a thousand ponies floated to her and she ate them all whole, gaining their abilities and luminescence. She was gaining more and more power by the second. She had now not only acquired the outer spectra of the pony populace, but the inner spectra as well, and she had never felt more strong and powerful than she did now.

Using her newfound strength, she casted a massive torrent of magic that shot up into the sky. From her powers, new hordes of demons and Umbrum emerged, doubling the amount that had been there previously. They landed on the ground and began overrunning the army of ponies. They tried to fight back, but they weren’t strong enough and were caught off guard, resulting in many falling by their blades.

After a while, the once mighty army was reduced to nothing but a pathetic shell of what it once was, all combatants laying on the ground in a defeated mess. Izzy witnessed the devastation and fell to her knees, mourning for all of those who were either lost or critically injured. She couldn’t believe that they had just been defeated just like that, after all of the progress they had been making.

She didn’t even care about her cutie mark at this point. She was more so angry that so many lives had been taken. They didn’t deserve to die. This war wasn’t theirs from a personal sense, yet they had still chosen to fight alongside she and the others. She wished she could’ve saved them.

It was then that Opaline flew down towards the ground several feet away from her, landing on her hooves and smiling sadistically at her. She reveled in the pain that the unicorn felt, both physically and emotionally, and she was going to milk it for all it was worth.

“You know, I have to give you and your ‘sister’ credit,” she taunted her. “In all my days of conquest and violence, I’ve never seen such strong resistance to my authority. Not even Twilight Sparkle was as brave as you. So at least that’s a consolation.”

Izzy hissed at her in response, taking a defensive stance.

Opaline shook her head mockingly. “You think you’re so tough, little pony? Time to wake up.” She pointed at the sky, which was filling with the sounds of triumphant roars and growls. An army of about a million hellhounds and skeleton armies dropped to the ground from out of nowhere, all standing beside their new master eagerly and waiting for orders. The army seemed insurmountable and downright impossible to beat, but that didn’t stop Izzy.

She stared at the growing number of hellspawn creatures and stepped forward. She didn’t know what she was doing, yet she care whether she was the last one standing in battle. She stood by her friends until the very end. She would not abandon them no matter what. If she had to take on the army of the undead all by herself, plus the rejuvenated number of Umbrum, then that was what she was going to do. She didn’t care if she died in the process.

She took several more steps forward and raised her sword into the air in a clear show of defiance. She wasn’t going to let them scare her. She had been through enough as it was. Now she was going to fight until the bitter end, no matter what that entailed.

As she prepared to charge into battle all by herself, she suddenly heard an unfamiliar voice behind her that was calling her name.

“…Izzy Moonbow, you read me…?”

Izzy looked from left to right, confused. She didn’t recognize the voice, and it certainly wasn’t from anyone she knew. It sounded regal and ancient. Who could it be?

“…Izzy, we’re here. You hear me?”

She still couldn’t discern where the voice was coming from. It seemed like it was coming from behind, but she couldn’t be sure. She looked all around her again in order to be certain, but she could not see the source of the voice. For a moment, she thought that she was imagining things, and that the stress of the night was slowly driving her insane.

That was when the voice called to her again, this time much clearer sounding.

“On your left.”

She turned behind her as instructed and saw the thick cloud of dust begin to clear and out from it emerged a couple of tall alicorns. One of them was a white alicorn with an ethereal, multicolored mane and tail with a sun symbol for a cutie mark. The other was a blue alicorn with a starry mane and tail and a moon symbol for a cutie mark.

It was none other than Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, the former rulers of Equestria. After all these years, they were alive and well. They were clad in golden and silver battle armor respectively that covered their whole bodies except their faces.

Izzy breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing them and she felt her spirits rise. She wasn’t going in this alone. Whoever these ponies were, they were here to help. She wasn’t alone anymore. Suddenly, she felt a massive burden be lifted off of her shoulders.

Upon seeing her, Luna simply nodded and winked. Just then, a large purple and green dragon flew through the cloud of dust in a flash as it cleared completely, letting out a loud roar and breathing fire into the air. It was at that exact moment that Izzy began to hear the collective battlecries of about several thousand armies approaching her location.

Opaline’s pupils shrunk into tiny pinpricks as she realized what was happening. However, it was too late to do anything, and she could only watch in terror as reinforcements arrived.

The first army that emerged was one from another village of pegasi, all of them carrying knives and pitchforks as weapons, and wearing tribal armor. Landing on the ground in front of them was their leader. He had a grim expression on his face and wielded a special spear in his hooves. Suddenly, another figure landed in front of him, this one being a filly. It was Sunshine Wings, who was carrying a Wonderbolts poster in her hoof. She looked up in awe as the other armies assembled around her.

Izzy looked to her right and saw that a separate cavalry of earth ponies had arrived. They were carrying imperial purple banners, with the chief in front barking orders to her fellow soldiers.

“Intra!!” shouted the chief as loud as she could, her words carrying authority and reverberating across the assembled lines.

“INTRA!!” The other ponies repeated in unison, holding their flags high above their heads as they entered the battlefield.

“Junge!!”

“JUNGE!!”

“Move!!”

“MOVE!!”

“Parati!!”

“PARATI!!”

The armies kept coming at full force and showed no signs of stopping. A couple of airships appeared in the sky above the ground forces with the unicorn emblems on the hulls. The rest of the dragons then arrived, which was then followed by the armies of Kirin, changelings, buffalo tribes, and Breezies. Others followed suit, including the anthropomorphic Abyssinians, the zebras of Farasi, and the crystal ponies of the long-forgotten Crystal Empire, with an older Princess Flurry Heart in the lead.

Ruby Jubilee then arrived with the various bands of Bridlewoodstock, followed by Elder Flower and the other village elders. Eggman Bunny then appeared from under them, leading the adorable forces of racoonicorns and bunnisi into battle. Following that, the griffons then soared down from the skies, led by their leader King Goldengruff, who was carrying a new version of the fabled Idol of Boreas in his claws.

Pipp woke up from her unconscious state just in time to see a purple earth pony filly land in a superhero pose on the ground next to her friends. It was Seashell, and she leading the Pippsqueaks into battle in her name.

“Is that everyone?” Celestia inquired, turning towards Luna.

“What? You wanted more, sister?” Luna answered her, seemingly indignant, but backing up her statement with a mischievous grin.

About six feet away, the ground rumbled and emerging on the top of the hill was a small army of about forty yaks being led by their Prince. He stepped in front of them and raised his pitchfork into the air in a challenging manner.

“YAKS SMAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSH!!!!!!!” he bellowed, his voice echoing throughout the battlefield and catching everyone else off guard.

The world was united once again, all the armies gathered together against a common foe, shouting battle cries and brandishing their weapons. Izzy stood triumphantly in front of them, grinning smugly at a horrified Opaline. The alicorn took a step back in fear as it was at this point that she knew that she had lost. One mare had decided to stand up against destiny when all seemed lost, and the universe stood with her.

As the armies stood behind and waited for her order, Izzy took a confident step forward just as her remaining friends returned by her side.

“Guardians!!!” she shouted, picking up the sword in a powerful demonstration of leadership. She knew what she had to do, and she wasn’t afraid anymore. “Advance…”

“CHARGE!!!” Zipp screamed at the top of her lungs, raising her bow high into the air.

“PERCUTE!!!” The unnamed earth pony chief ordered with the same manner of intensity, holding her spear out in front of her.

The armies charged in unison, all bellowing powerful, individual rallying cries to their troops to motivate them. The ponies took off first, followed by the dragons, and then everyone else. The unicorn airships flew down from the sky, raining fire down on the enemy lines and destabilizing their ranks before the battle had even begun.

Opaline glared at them with a seething hatred. With the simple point of her hoof, she commanded her undead army to charge forward in retaliation. They did so, roaring and snarling as they did so. They barreled through one another in a bid to attack Izzy’s army first. They knew no restraint, no discipline. The hellhounds barked and the skeleton warriors let out guttural screams as they pushed forward. All they knew how to do was kill, and they were certainly going to do their best in order to accomplish that.

Izzy led her army into battle with her friends by her side, feeling the wind blow through her mane as she ran faster than she had ever done so in her life. She had the support of the entire world by her side, and nothing was going to take them down now.

The two opposing factions stampeded towards one another and collided. The fight was on. The buffalos and the yaks tore through the skeletons and smashed them to nothing but discarded bones, while the earth ponies and the zebras took turns wrestling hellhounds and bucking them several feet away. The unicorns and the zebras sliced through the demons one by one with their blades, while the griffons and the pegasi beat the Umbrum into submission.

A couple of changelings constantly shape shifted in order to confuse a squad of Umbrum soldiers, causing them to get dizzy and bump into one another. Then one of them leapt on a single creature’s back and started stabbing at it repeatedly with knives until it shook her off.

Up in the sky, Spike and a couple of other dragons were raining powerful dragon fire on the ground, reducing many enemy combatants to nothing but smoldering flames that soon simmered into ash. They did this repeatedly and flew around the battlefield while doing so.

Meanwhile, Zipp tossed Pipp a smaller blade while she took a bigger one and ran off, slicing any demons or hellhounds that got in her path. The battlefield was a chaotic mess once more, but the difference was that now, they actually had a chance to win.

As Pipp impaled a hellhound with her knife, she was attacked by a skeleton warrior. But before it could land one hit on her, it was promptly taken down by none other than Seashell, who ran excitedly towards her after doing so.

“Pipp! Pipp!” Seashell exclaimed. “You will not believe what I just went through! Do you remember when you guys left me back at home, and I was selling smoothies? Well, I was closing up shop and then I heard the beating of wings. A dragon named Spike was there, right? And he told me ‘We need some of your delicious smoothies for the road!’ And I was all like ‘Who’s we?’, so then he explained the whole m-“ She was cut off when her idol abruptly wrapped her in a warm embrace, holding her tight and refusing to let go.

Seashell was confused at first, but relaxed in the warmth of her touch after a while, tears of happiness streaming down her face.

Zipp landed on the ground beside them after jumping off the back of a rampaging hellhound, chuckling. “I cannot believe that just happened.”

“I can’t believe it either!” Pipp agreed, gently pushing Seashell off of her. Her eyes reflected her complete and total bewilderment. “It was a shot in the dark, I…I didn’t think they would come at all!”

“Wait,” Zipp said, holding out her hoof to stop her. Her analytical mind kicked into gear and she wanted answers. “‘You’ thought they wouldn’t come? What are you talking about, Pipp?”

Pipp looked away, ashamed.

“You know you can tell me anything. What’s going on? How did these guys show up?”

Before she could answer, she was interrupted by the beating of wings and Spike landed on the ground. He walked over to them with a blue crystal in his claws.

“We were summoned by a mysterious message,” he explained. “I had Blaize and Lava decode it at the lab. I believe the messenger’s name was Pipp. Know anypony of that name? I want to speak with her while the enemy’s distracted.”

Zipp nodded. “There’s only one pony I know of.” She then gasped as the realization hit her, turning towards her sister. “Pipp, that livestream you told me that you did for the Pippsqueaks! Is it possible that it…wasn’t for them at all? Why didn’t you tell me?”

Pipp sighed deeply. “I didn’t think you would understand…how much I was worried for you…the amount of times they told me you were gonna die. After almost losing you once, I didn’t want you to get hurt like in that crowd fight again. So I took a risk, hoping it would pay off.”

Zipp felt tears rush to her eyes at that. “You…sent out a message out to the entire world…in order to protect me? But I don’t understand. How did you-“

Pipp silenced her with a hoof. “Listen to me, please…” When the other pegasus nodded, she continued. “I didn’t think it would work, but I knew that I had to try something anyway. You were essentially risking your life again and I was helpless to do anything about it. So I geotagged that last stream to regions all across Equestria and beyond…and prayed for a miracle…”

---

Ten hours ago….

Pipp sat at her study table in the Crystal Brighthouse bedroom with her phone propped up against a barely illuminated nightlight. She was currently running a livestream on ClipTrot, but this wasn’t one of her usual streams. She had activated the geotag feature, which meant that the footage would be broadcasted to the whole world.

Her face reflected her deep concern and she stared at the feed in front of her. She was taking a leap of faith. She didn’t know whether her target audience would listen, but she had to try regardless. The most important thing on her mind was saving her sister from a fate potentially worse than death. Zipp had always been there for her when she needed help, so now she figured that it was only fair that she do something for her for once.

She blinked back tears and cleared her throat, addressing her viewers on the other side. “Hello…is this thing working? Hi…my name is Princess Pipp Petals of Zephyr Heights…and I’m asking for your help. You don’t know me, and I don’t know you. But please don’t turn the other way as you need to hear this. I’m sure that wherever you are…you all have something or someone you care about…someone you would do anything for…”

“…I have a sister. Her name is Zipp, and she’s always put herself on the line for me, oftentimes more than she should. She never gave up on me, even during the numerous times throughout my life that I was ready to give up on myself. She was always there for me and stood by my side whenever I needed her. She was always there to fight for me, get me out of any situation…”

Spike hovered above a crowd of about fifty other dragons that were watching him broadcast the speech from the crystal. They all chattered amongst themselves upon realizing that the pony wanted their help; some reactions were angry, and some were sympathetic. He knew that not everyone was as forgiving of the ponies as he was, but he took it upon himself to try convincing them anyway.

He pointed at the image of the mysterious pegasus talking into the microphone. “There’s your proof right there! Everything I told Luster Dawn all those years ago has been proven to be true! The ponies of Equestria still care about us! As dragons, it is our duty to protect our friends!”

The meeting then devolved into a full out argument between the dragons. A lot of them were still on the fence about the idea and were making their voices heard as much as the sympathizers were. As they bickered endlessly, Spike held the Bloodstone Scepter in front of him.

“SILENCE!!” he roared, his voice amplified by the Scepter’s power. The fighting was instantly quelled to a couple of passing “yeahs” and then they all went quiet, listening to what he had to say. “We may be separate from them now, but they are still our friends, our neighbors! And for some of us, even our family!”

“…She never gave up on me, so I’m asking you to not give up on us. I know things haven’t always been the best, but times have changed, and we’re sorry for all the suffering we have inflicted upon you in the past. We were supposed to know better…but that shouldn’t be a reason for you guys to abandon us entirely…”

Inside the castle of New Changeling Kingdom, King Mantis and his fellow changelings watched a television broadcast of the speech with a mix of skepticism and wonder. They were curious as to how this pony managed to reach out to them like this and ask for their help.

After about a minute, one brave female changeling stood up from the rest of the pack and pointed at the screen. “She’s right!”

“What are you saying, Ladybug?” King Mantis asked her.

“It was the ponies that taught us a new way to live all those moons ago!” Ladybug declared. “They gave us all a second chance when we didn’t deserve it! So I think it’s high time that we give them a second chance too!!”

The other changelings erupted into applause, giving her a standing ovation as she continued to rally them. King Mantis smiled to himself, this being the exact outcome that he had been secretly hoping for all along. He had never truly blamed the ponies for causing them to split, and believed in giving them another chance. This was his moment to finally make that a reality.

Wasting no time, he stood up from his throne and began flying towards the war room in order to prepare for the incoming battle.

“…I’m creating this message for you in the hopes that every time you feel overwhelmed, you can listen back and remind yourselves that anger is not the answer. Our magic does make us different, and that’s something we should embrace…both in ourselves and in others. Our powers let us be the best versions of ourselves. I mean, who would Zipp and I be if we couldn’t fly?”

The Breezies stared at the old television screen they had from the center of the Night Market, their curious gazes soon turning into knowing expressions as they looked at one another. They began to murmur amongst themselves in their fast-paced language, trying to decide on the best course of action while not being able to come to an agreement.

That was when their leader, a Breezie named Oceanbreeze, flew up to the front and launched into an impassioned speech, pointing at the screen and asking her people to remember the time that the ponies had helped them all those moons ago.

It took some time for the others to process this, but they soon began murmuring in agreement and cheering her on with a passionate intensity. They flew all throughout the market, putting war paint on their cheeks and flying out of the Wishing Tree in a single-file formation.

…”Magic can be used for evil, but it can also be used to bring us together. You’re not alone, and you never were. There are those just like you out there…just waiting to be found. And I believe that even in spite of all that has happened, we can still choose friendship…we can choose love…”

The doors to the Royal Crystal Bedroom opened up for the first time in a long while and Princess Flurry Heart stepped out of it, dressed up in her mother’s battle armor. Once she had discovered that there were still surviving pony settlements out there and requesting their help no less, she had wasted no time in answering the call, ignoring the warnings of her advisors.

The guards that were stationed just opposite of her room were shocked to see her emerge after such a long time. She gave them a simple nod of acknowledgment before heading down the hallway and towards the exit of the castle.

One of the guards ran up to her, panting as he did so. “Your highness, your highness! Where are you going?! You know we must follow you for your own protection.”

Flurry turned to look at him. “If you must, but know that we are heading into a war. Rally the crystal ponies and have them meet near the dais.”

“Where the Crystal Heart used to be?”

“Precisely.”

“But what exactly are you doing?” he inquired worriedly. “You haven’t expressed any interest in reaching out for what seems like hundreds of years.”

Flurry smiled wistfully. “I just…finally feel like forgiving my friends at long last.”

“And yes, our powers may threaten some ponies, but if we’re able to use what makes us special in unity, then I know that we can create the Equestria we always dreamed of.”

The griffons flew though the skies with their weapons in their claws, the sheer force of the wind blowing through their wings and helping to keep them airborne. King Goldengruff led them, shouting rallying battle cries as he did so. They had not left Griffonstone in a long time, and the very thought of heading off to battle was scary for a lot of them.

But he was keeping them motivated the whole time. He did not trust these ponies in the slightest, but he wasn’t the type to refuse a challenge when it was given to him and he had longed to break free of the isolationist lifestyle that had plagued them for centuries.

They soared through the stormy skies as lightning struck random areas and nearly hit them. He ordered them to break formation and to fly in smaller groups as they headed towards the far off horizon in front of them.

“…Lead with your heart,” Pipp finished, wiping tears from her eyes. “It will always show you the way.” She then shut off the stream and walked out of the bedroom, heading downstairs in order to see if her sister was back.

The phone sat on the top of the table, on and the app still running.

---

Present Day….

Zipp was completely flabbergasted at what she had just heard. Her sister had gone out of her way and took a massive risk in order to protect her. She wiped tears from her eyes as her mind went wild, trying to figure out anything to say in response. She felt awful for dismissing the stream back when Pipp had first alluded to it. The poor mare was going through a lot, and she could’ve done a lot better in supporting her feelings throughout it all.

Pipp seemed to sense what she was feeling. “I know it sounds hard to believe, but…I’ve always wanted to repay you, Zipp…for being the older sister I never deserved. And after I almost lost you to that mob…I was afraid that I’d never get that chance again. I thought you were gonna die.”

“Oh Pipp,” Zipp told her, taking a step forward in her direction. “You didn’t have to do any of this. I always knew you loved me. You didn’t have to say anything in order for me to know. I could always see it in your eyes. That’s what sisters are in the end after all…family.”

Pipp sniffled, tears streaming down her face. “But I genuinely thought I was going to lose you, and I couldn’t do anything about it! You don’t understand how horrible those two weeks were for me. I laid by your bedside every night, watching you constantly hooked up to those machines and barely breathing, thinking that the monitor would flatline at any moment and…that I would never get to say goodbye to you…”

Zipp nodded slowly in understanding. “Well you’ll never have to worry about that again.”

“What do you mean…?” Pipp asked in a shaky voice. Her whole body was trembling with all of that pent-up emotion finally being let out at last.

Zipp smiled warmly, looking at her straight in the eyes. “Because I’m here for you now, okay? And I’m not going anywhere. Those days are over. Whatever we do going forward, wherever we go…we’ll always do it together…I promise.” She sat down on the ground, reaching her hooves out wide.

That was when Pipp finally stopped trying to hold her feelings inside of her and she made a beeline for Zipp, just as she used to do when she was but a small filly before the online world would change her life forever. She leapt into her hooves and was wrapped in a tight embrace. She sobbed relentlessly into her shoulder, letting out all of the fear and pain she had been going through. Tears cascaded from her eyes and she held on to her, never wanting the moment to end.

As she hugged her sister and cried, she felt a massive burden be lifted off of her. She had always felt like an outsider, like she wasn’t valued enough by those around her. Yet it was here of all places that she realized that she did belong. She had a family, a sister that cared about her, a mother that spoiled her way too much, and a life worth living. In that moment, the weight of expectations that she had been carrying washed away in a grand flood, her mind being cleansed of the image that she had always maintained. It was okay to be vulnerable, it was okay to show emotion. She didn’t have to worry about what others thought of her as long as she had her friends and family by her side to support her.

Zipp held onto her little sister, embracing the moment wholeheartedly and letting the tears fall. She was not usually one to let herself be vulnerable either, but she didn’t care this time. Her sister meant more to her than anything or anyone in the whole world and she deserved to see the real her, not some detective on a mission, but the genuine older sibling who would do anything to protect those she loved. The fact that Pipp had done all of this for her was something she never saw coming, and it made her appreciate her even more. They hadn’t always gotten along with one another, but in the end, they were family, which meant they looked out for one another.

From the side, Spike and Seashell silently watched the exchange go down with smiles on their faces, not saying a word and letting the two have their moment. He certainly knew what it was like to family, and it made him think of Twilight, the pony who once raised him, and how proud she would be to see him step up when the time was right.

Across the battlefield, Opaline was fighting off an attack force of about five hippogriffs that were attempting to avenge the death of their queen. She blasted them back with her magic before more came upon her. They clawed at her face and tried to knock her off balance multiple times before she shredded them into nothing but pieces of multicolored skin and meat.

She flicked the remains of flesh off of her, smiling sadistically to herself. That was when she heard the sound of a loud thud on the ground. Opening her eyes, she saw a familiar alicorn mare land right in front of her. It was Flurry Heart, her old friend that she had met at the Crystal Empire so many moons ago. It was then that the unwanted memories that she had been working to forget flooded her mind once were and she shook her head to clear them.

Flurry’s expression was one of pure hatred as she stared at her, getting into a defensive stance and readying herself to pounce.

“You took everything from me.” she seethed.

Opaline smirked. “It’s been a long time since we’ve seen each other, old friend. How has life with no magic been treating you so far?”

Without answering, Flurry threw herself at Opaline with a loud scream, punching her across the field. The blow sent shockwaves throughout the vicinity that resulted in the latter being flung about ten feet away and hitting the ground hard.

She instantly recovered and got to her hooves as the other alicorn lunged at her again, conjuring a magic bubble around herself in order to keep from being hit once again. Flurry hit the bubble and was flung several feet into the air, where she managed to catch herself. She dove in once more as the bubble dissipated, hitting Opaline across the muzzle and sending her sliding back several inches.

Opaline skidded her back hooves on the ground as she slid, struggling to maintain her balance. Flurry then ran towards her with her right hoof out in a punching position, only she was unable to land a hit this time and instead barreled right into the Fire Alicorn, who caught her instantly in her grip and brought her up close to her face.

“Oh, you don’t know when to quit, do you?” Opaline asked her, shaking her head in a taunting manner. “Such a shame.”

She then reared her hood back and punched Flurry squarely in the chest, knocking the wind out of her and sending the mare falling back on the ground. Flurry coughed and gritted her teeth as she stood up once more. But right as she did so, Opaline was on her again and the two collided with one another, trading blow after blow.

Flurry then proceeded to repeatedly hit Opaline across the face, yelling with rage each time she did so. After a while, she managed to knock her back once more, only for Opaline to catch her with magic and throw her on the ground like a rag doll again as hard as she could. Flurry landed on her back, crying out in pain from the impact.

Wasting no time and ignoring her injuries, Flurry recovered and punched at the ground, tears of anger streaming down her face. She stood up and launched herself at a smug Opaline, punching her across the field with all the strength she could muster before running after her. Sensing her coming, Opaline ran after her as well and they punched at each other at the same time, sending them both falling back.

Flurry regained her bearings once more and kicked Opaline as hard as she could, sending her spinning in the air towards the direction of the castle. She slammed into the nearest window, shattering it into a thousand tiny shards of glass that flew in her face. She growled and flew after the pony she once called her friend, who was running after her on the ground and blasted her with a powerful blast of magic.

The former new Princess of Love was knocked off her hooves and sent straight towards a passing unicorn airship, where she landed with an audible thud, blood splattering on the hull, before she slipped and fell towards the battlefield below.

But just before she could hit the ground, she was caught in mid-air by Spike, who had swooped in just in time to rescue her. He flew her through a swarm of rampaging demons with as much speed as he could muster, breathing dragon fire at any who got in his way and incinerating them. Flurry fluttered her eyes open and she gasped upon seeing herself upon his back, her eyes going wide.

“Uncle Spike!” she exclaimed.

“Hang on, Flurry!” Spike instructed her firmly. She did so and he flew downwards at top speed, all the while she screamed and held on for dear life. He kicked a demon that had attached itself to his claws, sending it spiraling several feet in the air before he incinerated it with his fire.

He landed in front of an exhausted looking Princess Luna and setting her down on the ground, panting and wiping sweat from his forehead.

“Well,” Luna mused with a smug look on her face. “It appears that we aren’t the only old timers joining this party.”

“What in Tartarus are you and Celestia even doing here?” Spike asked with confusion. “I thought you two retired from Equestrian affairs long ago.”

Luna rolled her eyes. “Well, it was either this or listen to Tia moaning about the sad state of Silver Shoals cheesecake for the next several millennia. Believe me, one was bad enough. I liked it better when she was an actual Princess, not a full-time dessert critic!”

Spike chuckled. “I feel you, Luna.” He briefly glanced at Flurry, and then back at her. “Well, I’m off to slay more space insects. You and Flurry can tackle the skeleton warriors.”

He then flew back up into the sky, raining fire on all who dared to attack him. He swooped and glided through the air, his large wings beat against the strong wind current and he looked majestic as he fought them off.

On the south side of the field, Phyllis and Queen Haven had formed a temporary alliance and were currently locked in a fight with a horde of hellhounds that were trying to attack them. They stabbed and kicked at one as it pounced, sending it flying back. This didn’t last long, however, as they were corned by about four more.

Haven turned towards her. “I could really use any one of your fancy Canterlogic tech right about now! You have any?!”

Phyllis looked back at her with a look of regret. “Ooooh…well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I kinda…closed it down and sold it.”

“What?!” the pegasus monarch demanded. “But then…how are we going to fight these guys off?!” She stabbed a hellhound in the heart with a throwing knife as it lunged at her, while kicking another one with all the strength she could muster.

“Don’t ask me!” Phyllis shouted, her eyes filled with panic. “I only knew how to make items for protection, not actual war! And half of them weren’t even effective anyway! Now the factory’s become some sort of…community center or something.”

Haven facehoofed. “Dammit.” She reached into her saddlebag and pulled out a sword from one of her palace guards. She tossed it to her. “Here, take this. It’ll have to do!”

The two sliced their way through the remaining hellhounds, yelling as they did so. Haven did a somersault in the air and sliced one of them through the top of its head. She pulled out the sword as it fell to the ground in a lifeless state. Phyllis did the same, though she fell flat on her face when she landed. She got to her hooves and sliced through the last attacker, pulling the sword out and panting with exhaustion.

Her victory was short-lived as several skeleton warriors then appeared out of nowhere and charged at them at full speed, roaring and shrieking with unholy fury. They held javelins in their hooves and their robes blew back in the wind. One of them bared its teeth and lunged at them with full speed. Its face was one of no mercy and it intended to finish them off in the most brutal way possible.

Phyllis’s expression was one of alarm, but Haven didn’t seem afraid. She spun her sword in the air and sliced through the first opponent with speed that only the most trained fighters could master. It fell to the ground instantly as it was no match for the blade that had just punctured its insides. Her eyes reflected anger as she leapt into the air and did a backflip, kicking another one in the chest. The skeleton warrior fell back, screeching with pain, before it was mercifully finished by a swift stab in the same area.

Emboldened, Phyllis followed her example and leapt at the next one, slicing it right through the empty eye socket. The creature screamed as purple blood began to leak out of it, grabbing its face and holding on. She used this opportunity to kick it in the head and send it stumbling. Jumping in, Haven stabbed it in the chest, sending it collapsing to the ground in a pathetic pile of bones.

The two mothers had formed an unlikely alliance with one another and were fighting the skeletons like their lives depended on it. Haven grinned with a weird sense of enjoyment as she sliced, punched, and kicked. The skeleton felt the impact and collapsed, followed by another one. Phyllis laughed in turn, living in the moment like she never had before. She took down another one and danced on the bones that were left. She then turned and ran at a fourth skeleton warrior that was coming near. This one was smarter and charged at her back. The two blades collided in an instant and were locked in an impossible stalemate, trying to see who would disarm the other first.

She screamed with rage, trying her hardest to disarm the skeleton. It snarled with fury and pushed her back a couple of steps. Her sword began to slip and she began to fear that she had lost the fight already. However, that was when her opponent made a fatal mistake. It began to get distracted by looking at the fallen remains of its comrade. Phyllis used this opportunity to knock it back, surprising it. Before it could react, she sliced through its heart with a victorious battle cry.

The skeleton warrior shrieked and tried to jump at her face, but it only made it a couple of inches off the ground before Haven ran in and impaled it right through the top of its skull. It fell apart on a matter of seconds, slowly decomposing into nothing but individual bones. Phyllis raised her sword into the air and cheered. Haven laughed in response. The two enjoyed the moment before running ahead to slaughter more enemies.

Meanwhile, Izzy, Zipp, and Pipp were running after a couple of fleeing Umbrum that they had just finished fighting when the former locked eyes on the sight Opaline flying back in the direction of the castle after sending no more immediate threat to her power. She gasped upon seeing this, her eyes going side with terror.

She turned towards Zipp. “Opaline’s flying towards the castle! What do we do now?”

“We follow her now,” Zipp answered quickly. “We have to get into the castle before she does. That way we have a better chance of influencing Sunny. Let’s hurry while the enemy forces are distracted and we’re forgotten.”

Pipp nodded. “Right. Sunny, here we come!”

The three ponies ran in the direction of the castle as fast as they could as the battle raged on around them, hoping desperately that Sunny would be in the mood to listen to them.

---

Misty had been watching Sunny cry for what seemed like an hour. Her heart ached for the poor mare, and she wished that she could do something, anything to make her feel better. She knew what it was like to feel alone and she didn’t wish that on her in the slightest. It was a horrible feeling, and she didn’t know how she would recover from it, if at all.

She looked back at Hitch, who was still staring at the floor glumly, and took a deep breath. She had to try and reason with Sunny. Now was her chance to finally do what she should’ve done a long time ago, and save her. There was no other way. It was either that she did this now, or live with the guilt of not doing it for the rest of her life.

She took a couple of steps forward and slowly walked towards the broken earth pony, her eyes reflecting compassion and empathy. Hitch looked up and saw her do this and shook his head lightly in a cautious manner. Seeing him out of the corner of her eye, she turned around and looked back at him with an expression of assurance, silently telling him that this was the only way.

The sheriff reluctantly caved, but it was clear that he wasn’t happy with this plan in the slightest. Normally she wouldn’t have any reason to doubt him as he obviously knew Sunny longer than she did, but she had no other choice. The safety of the world depended on this moment, and she wasn’t going to chicken out this time. She had come too far to back out now, and she was going to save her whatever it took.

She reached out with a trembling hoof and gently tapped Sunny on the shoulder, getting her attention. The earth pony looked up at her, eyes glistening with fresh tears.

“Are you okay?” Misty asked her softly.

Sunny shook her head, sniffling. “I never wanted to see any of you again…why did you have to come back, Misty? I told you to leave me here to die…I told you to never come back!”

Misty flinched at the sudden yelling, but still maintained her composure. “Do you really think that promise would have stuck? That I would’ve just left you with Opaline? You know I could never do that, even if you bribed me with everything I could ever want.”

“That doesn’t matter…” Sunny replied, letting her tears stream down her face. “Now I can’t pretend. I killed all those ponies and got many more hurt…I destroyed magic and let my Dad down. I don’t deserve to live.”

“Yes you do,” Misty countered firmly, but making sure she still spoke gently to her. “I once thought the same as you. I once thought that there was no hope left for me after everything I did. After I escaped that fateful night, I vowed that I would never forgive myself for letting Sparky get hurt, for letting him get killed. But my experiences taught me that nopony is beyond redemption, that ponies can change. We can get better, and we don’t…repeat those patterns.”

Sunny still didn’t seem convinced. “Ponies can’t change, Misty. Nopony stays good in this world…I learned that the hard way. There’s nothing stopping me from being manipulated and doing the same thing again. I let my vulnerability get the better of me, and it twisted my mind…I thought Opaline would give me the one thing I’ve been longing for my whole life…”

Misty nodded in understanding. She knew what it was that Sunny wanted. It was a desire that she shared for the longest time. “A family.”

“I had all of you,” Sunny explained sadly. “But you guys weren’t family. You didn’t know how to look after me and be there in my most vulnerable moments. You didn’t understand what I was going through, and I could never ask you to…I could never ask you all to relate to and understand how I felt deep inside…so I tried masking the pain by treating everything with smiles and optimism, burying all of that self-doubt under my desire to change the world. And it worked until…” she trailed off.

Hitch walked over to her as well upon seeing that she was willing to talk. “…Until the Filly Four riled up the town that day. That was your wake-up call, wasn’t it?”

Sunny nodded solemnly. “You were right, Hitch…it wasn’t worth it. My lost causes weren’t worth all this hassle. I would’ve been happier just conforming to the status quo and not constantly making enemies out of everypony. I should’ve stopped after magic returned, I had everything I wanted by that point. But I just didn’t stop…”

“Your activism was never the problem, Sunny,” Hitch told her. “It was how you went about it. My warning to you was that the way you carried yourself…ponies could only take being preached to for so long. But it wasn’t entirely your fault either. We should’ve done a lot more to help you. All we saw was the confident mare you portrayed yourself to be, not the deep-seated insecurities you carried underneath all that. We should’ve known better, I should’ve known better…than to let all that resentment boil over.”

“Well it’s too late now,” Sunny answered bitterly. “I sealed my fate by joining Opaline and destroying the Crystals. I can never go home. Nopony will ever forgive me for what I did, and they shouldn’t. Just leave me alone, please. I don’t care what happens to me after all this as long as I can continue pretending for the rest of my life that I’m actually happy.”

“But…that isn’t what you want, is it?” Misty pressed gently.

“Who cares what I want?!” Sunny snapped, suddenly standing up in a defensive position. “It doesn’t matter what I want! Every time I follow my passions, it ends in disaster! Everywhere I go, I just make things worse for everypony around me! I’d rather live as a slave and never have to worry about hurting those I love, than be a free mare and make the lives of others miserable every day I wake up! At least…I at least know that Opaline will never let me see the aftermath of my actions.”

“We know you don’t mean that, Sunny.” came a familiar voice.

The three ponies turned to their left and saw Zipp, Izzy, and Pipp walk through the castle doorways with concerned expressions on their faces. They walked over to them slowly, their hooves making clip clop noises on the floor as they did so. Sunny saw them and tried looking away in shame.

Zipp was the first to get her attention. “Sunny…look at me.”

Sunny shook her head, sobbing. “Please Zipp, just go away!”

Zipp remained where she was. “I’m not doing that. I will not leave you like I was forced to do before. None of us are leaving your side ever again, so the sooner you look at us, the faster this will go.”

Reluctantly, Sunny obeyed after seeing there was no way out of this. She looked into the faces of her friends, who had all gathered in front of her. Her whole body was trembling from fear and her eyes were wide. She was scared to death, and Misty could see that. She knew the feeling all too well, and she didn’t blame her for feeling the way she did.

She motioned for the others to back away a couple steps in order to give her space. They did so, and Misty spoke up once more.

“We’re not leaving you, Sunny,” she said, this time with conviction. “You mean too much to us, and we’re not going without you. We know what you did, but we don’t care. Even if we’re the only ponies that accept you back, we don’t care. You’re our friend, and friends stick together.”

“I don’t deserve it…” Sunny said with a trembling voice. “Don’t tell me that you’re actually willing to accept me back after I helped slaughter so many innocent ponies…I’m not your friend anymore, I’m a cold-blooded murderer that should be locked away. I’m a monster.”

“You’re not a monster,” Izzy told her. “Yes, nothing you say or do can ever take back what you did. But…you’re here now. You’re listening. And all these ponies…they came all this way for you. Don’t you realize that? We’re here for you. We all care about you, Sunny. We’re all your friends. And we love you.”

“They…all came back for me…?” Sunny asked in surprise, refusing to believe what she was hearing. “Even after I…”

“No matter what you did after magic was destroyed,” Pipp confirmed. “They still saw the good in you. What you did for Equestria by bringing us all together outweighed any negative impact you might’ve had. When it ultimately came down to it, we all united to save you. That’s why we’re here.”

Sunny squeezed her eyes shut as more tears cascaded down her cheeks, only opening them again once she felt Hitch’s hoof on her shoulder.

“None of us can ever replace Argyle,” Hitch comforted her. “He was too good for this world and I know how much his passing affected you. But…we can be your family, all of us. We can learn how it works, and…you don’t have to hide anything from us.”

“But why…?” Sunny asked them. “Why do all this for me…? Why did you go out of your way to lead an army into battle…for me? I’ve been nothing but a burden on all of you. Why didn’t you all just give up on me when you had the chance…?”

“Because you never gave up on us,” Izzy explained, gesturing to her friends. “You gave us a chance when no one would and offered us your friendship when we didn’t even deserve it. You fought tooth and nail for us, and you went to the ends of the earth…for us. You treated us like family and welcomed us into your life the moment you had the chance. And even when all hope seemed lost, you stood in front of those three leaders and showed them a better way to live. It’s because of you that we’re here today, don’t you realize that? You changed the world and our lives just by your actions alone. You changed lives life, Sunny. And we’re so grateful for everything you’ve done.”

“You may think you haven’t made a difference in the world,” Hitch added. “But that isn’t true. You’ve made a big difference…to us.”

Misty held her hoof out in front of her. “Take my hoof, Sunny. Let me show you there’s another way, just as you once did for me.”

Sunny stared at her for a moment before she began to lift a trembling hoof towards Misty’s. She held the position for a moment, hesitating, before she gave up the gesture entirely and leapt into Misty’s hooves, burying her face in her shoulder and sobbing uncontrollably. Hitch and the others then joined in on the embrace, hugging her tight and telling her that everything was going to be okay, that she didn’t have to be afraid anymore, and that they would be there for her whenever she needed them.

As Misty held the inconsolable earth pony, it suddenly dawned on her that she had done it. She had saved Sunny at long last and redeemed herself. It felt too good to be true, yet here it was clear as day. She felt all of her remaining self-doubt wash away in that moment, the liberating feeling of victory overwhelming her entire being. She had done what so many had considered to be impossible, and she did not want the moment to ever end.

Eventually however, the moment did come to a close. Sunny let go and looked them in the eyes, her expression one of pure regret and sorrow. Even though she had been forgiven, it was obvious that she still felt immense guilt for everything she had done.

“I’m so sorry,” she apologized profusely. “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen…”

“I know,” Misty replied, smiling. “It will take a lot of time, for sure. But going by my own experiences, I don’t have any doubt that at some point, they’ll all forgive you.”

Sunny nodded slowly. “Thanks, Misty. I…really don’t know how to thank you, thank all of you for refusing to leave me.”

“That’s what friends do,” Pipp told her sincerely. “And there’s nothing broken that we can’t fix…together.”

That was when Zipp stepped in to interject. “I hate to break up the touching moment here, but…we kinda still have an Opaline to deal with?”

Misty sprang to attention upon hearing that. “Right! Are you ready to finish this once and for all with us, Sunny?” When she saw the earth pony standing there, paralyzed with fear, she instantly grew concerned. “Sunny?”

Sunny was trembling again as she took a couple steps back in fear. “S-s-she c-can’t see me with the rest of you. I can’t face her! I’m not ready! I’m not-“

“Sunny-“ Hitch began, trying to calm her down.

Before he could finish, Sunny rocketed through the ceiling in her alicorn form, leaving a massive gaping hole in her wake.

Upon hearing a sonic boom in the sky above from where they were at, Zipp facehoofed. “Oh great, she’s gone. Now what?”

“She’s been through a traumatic ordeal, Zipp,” Misty explained. “Just give her time. We’ll just…take Opaline on by ourselves and hope for the best. We shouldn’t force her to do this if she doesn’t want to. She needs to cool off.”

“Well, I’ll be sure to launch a funeral stream for us,” Pipp stated glumly. “We are so not gonna survive this.”

The five ponies rushed to the throne room with a renewed sense of purpose. Their hooves pounded on the marble floor and their manes blew back as a result of the rush of wind that flooded in. They had defied the forces of destiny, and they were going to get the job done.

Upon reaching the entrance, they opened up the double doors and peeked behind a corner where they found Opaline staring intensely at the reflection pool at the center of it, an expression of anger on her face. She was scratched and bruised all over, but her resolve had not gone away and she still looked ready to fight at any moment’s notice.

Sensing an opportunity, Misty stepped forward and gently crept her way towards the pony she once called her mother. Normally, she would’ve been frightened to death about something like this, but she wasn’t this time. She had come so far on her journey and she no longer feared Opaline. She had the backing of her friends by her side, and that was all that mattered.

“Opaline!” Misty called out to her bravely. “Face us if you dare!”

Opaline’s eyes turned pure black for a moment before morphing back to their normal colors. She turned around and faced her, smiling in that sadistic manner that she was all too familiar with. Misty felt her heart sink with dread upon seeing that cursed expression. The alicorn had been anticipating this. She knew they were coming and had been biding her time.

She stood dominantly over the unicorn, towering over her like a skyscraper in the big city. Despite this, Misty still remained firm and cleared any doubts from her mind. This was the moment. She had to end this now while she had the chance.

“Well,” Opaline mused. “Look who it is. The pony who still doesn’t have a cutie mark. How’s that life treating you, hm?”

“I have one, Opaline!” Misty revealed, showing her flank to the new enraged alicorn. “I earned my mark through true friendship! And you can’t take it from me!”

Opaline laughed maniacally. “Oh…Misty. Really?” Her horn began to emit a dark pink aura, which grew larger and larger by the second.

But just before she could grab Misty in her bubble, Zipp jumped in front of her and shielded her with her body, protecting the unicorn from the spell. The rest of her friends then came out from the corner, standing in triumphant poses. Opaline growled upon seeing this, the aura fizzling from the lack of use.

“It’s over, Opaline!” Hitch declared. “You’ve lost. Sunny is no longer yours, our forces are overwhelming yours. You have nothing left to throw at us. Surrender now and we’ll be merciful.”

Opaline put her hoof to her chin. “Hmm, I could do that. But then again…I could also do THIS!!” Her horn lit up once more and with a look of pure insanity on her face, she blasted a massive beam of magic at the ponies, who all scattered in opposite directions, running for cover.

Zipp ducked as a blast headed right towards her, covering herself with her hooves until she was sure that it had missed. It was then that Izzy charged at Opaline, only to be blasted back against the wall. She groaned, picking herself up just as another blast headed her way. She yelped and leapt out of the way, with the beam narrowly singing the side of her mane and hitting the wall instead, sending pieces of rubble tumbling down.

The battle was in full swing as each of the ponies tried their hardest to land a hit on the Fire Alicorn, but each time they were unsuccessful. With a loud yell, Misty threw herself at Opaline, but was caught in a bubble of magic and violently thrown against the wall. She shrieked as she hit the ground, wasting no time in standing up and trying again. Her whole body was aching and in pain, and she was trying her best not to pass out from the force of the impact.

Opaline then ran at her, eyes seething with murderous intent. Misty zigzagged, changing directions and forcing her to turn around and run the other way. She then leapt onto her back and began repeatedly hitting at it. Opaline laughed and bucked her off, sending her crashing onto the ground.

Izzy then returned and proceeded to throw chunks of fallen rocks at her, all of which were instantly vaporized. Opaline blasted at her, but she jumped out of the way and ran in a circle, forcing the alicorn to constantly change directions and grow dizzy. Using the distraction, Zipp reached into her pack and pulled out a sword. Wasting no time, she dove right at her with the blade in hoof.

Opaline’s eyes went wide and she stepped off to the side, resulting in Zipp barreling right into the throne and being knocked out in an instant.

Pipp gasped. “Zipp!!”

Opaline chuckled. “You see what happens when you try to stop-“ Her sentence was cut off when an enraged Hitch suddenly appeared in front of her and loaded an arrow into a bow he had gotten out. He then fired multiple shots at her with expert accuracy. Two out of the four arrows hit her in the chest, causing her to cry out in pain.

Hitch glared at her. “This is for Sparky, bitch!”

Without much effort, Opaline removed the arrows from her body and snapped them each in half. “Pathetic. Did you somehow forget, oh I don’t know…WE’RE IMMORTAL?!!” She then ran at him and slammed him against the wall, knocking the wind out of him. He groaned, doing his best to stand to his hooves, but his body failing him each time.

Pipp reached into her pack and pulled out multiple jars of potions, to which she proceeded to throw at her. Each of them shattered into a million shards of glass, leaving only the spilled contents that dripped off her face. She continued to throw jar after jar, and potion after potion, yelling as she did so. Opaline shook off the glass shards and her eyebrows narrowed in fury.

Pipp swallowed hard. “Maybe this…wasn’t such a good idea-WHOA!!” She leapt out of the way to the right just as a giant mass of alicorn dove in for the kill, causing her slam into the throne, breaking it.

Opaline shook the pieces of the throne off of her, shaking her head mockingly. “You really need to try better than that. Much better.” Her horn lit up and she caught Pipp in a magic bubble and began peeling her cutie mark off in an excruciating fashion. She cried out in pain and fought against the bubble keeping her up in the air.

Eventually, the mark was fully removed and she was dropped to the ground where, she landed on her stomach, unconscious with a thud. Misty noticed this and ran to her side, begging for her to wake up.

Opaline grinned sadistically. “You see what your actions have caused, Misty? Perhaps it would have been better if you had just stayed with me.”

Misty stared at her in anger, tears forming in her eyes. She blinked them back, holding Pipp’s comatose body in her hooves.

---

Sunny walked alone into the empty bedroom of the Crystal Brighthouse, the words of her friends and father repeating over and over in her mind, and memories that she had long since suppressed rushing back to her in droves. She was quite used to solitude, having spent most of her life living alone as a hermit in the outskirts of town, so this was nothing new to her. She also used to like getting away from all the noise that came with being the savior of the town and just keep to herself.

She had arrived back in Maretime Bay about an hour ago and expected to see other ponies, only to be greeted with deserted streets and abandoned houses. Seeing no one there that she could apologize to, she had gone back home to her home and was now wandering aimlessly throughout the empty rooms as she relived key memories from her past.

“What’s the matter, Sunny Bunny?”

“Hitch and Sprout still don’t believe me.”

“Maybe one day they will. But the important thing is that you stand up for what you believe in. Okay?”

“Well when I grow up, I’m going to show everypony that we’re friends!”

She slowly crept inside, bearing witness to belongings haphazardly thrown every which way onto the floor. She silently passed by fallen blankets and sheets, as well as Sparky’s empty crib. She could almost feel the silence in the air and it was an unfamiliar feeling. The place was normally so lively and fun, and it felt weird being the only pony in the house. But at the same time, it also felt oddly peaceful and in her opinion, it was a good environment for self-reflection.

She headed towards the window and stopped in her tracks, staring out at the night sky outside. The Moon was always a comforting presence for the ponies of Maretime Bay. Every time it cast its soft light upon the town streets, it was a reminder that they weren’t alone and that anything was possible. There were still those who loved the night and those who hated it. But they couldn’t deny that the Moon was the most beautiful sight to look at through a window.

“Being an alicorn doesn’t make you different. It makes you the same.”

“It does?”

“As an earth pony or an alicorn, you inspire all of us to be better ponies. That’s your true power.”

She felt a soft breeze come through the window and blow through her mane. Startled, she turned around to see a trail of leaves blowing in a circle through the left side window, scattering away to parts unknown once it had gone far enough. The frequency of the wind blows gradually morphed into comforting words in her head, filling her mind with happy thoughts of bedtime stories, making lanterns, and messages on a quilt.

“Can we send it?”

“I think it’s our duty.”

“Your family can be the ponies you choose. And Sunny, hoof to heart, I know you’ll find that someday.”

A shooting star flew by where she was and disappeared faster than it had arrived. As she witnessed it vanish, she could almost make out the faint voice of her father talking to her from that star, silently giving her a sign that he was always there for her. She gently closed her eyes, letting the gentle breeze soothe and nurture her.

“I wish I had a friend who could fly around or float things…Why can’t we be friends anymore?”

“That my darling, is a big question. And maybe one day, we’ll figure it out. We’ll do our part…

…hoof to heart.”

Sunny opened her eyes at that last phrase as it began to echo throughout her subconscious, repeating over and over to a degree until she couldn’t hear anything except for that. It meant something. Her father had been prepping her for a moment like this for her whole life. She couldn’t just stand by while the fate of Equestria hung in the balance. Her friends needed her…and the world needed her. They needed their beacon of hope, and she was tired of repressing who she was.

She stared out into the beautiful night sky, her expression slowly morphing from one of shock and confusion, to that of determination and conviction.

The doors to the Crystal Brighthouse swung open and out from them emerged a reborn Sunny Starscout, now wearing golden regalia on her body. Her father had once bought her that Celestia costume before he had been sent to the hospital as a last gift to her, and she was now proudly wearing it to save the world.

She confidently stepped outside in her alicorn form, her mane flowing in an ethereal manner similar to how the old rulers used to have their hair the same way. She had emerged from her hardship a new mare. She knew her purpose. She knew her destiny. She had been given a second chance when she didn’t deserve it, and no matter what, she was going to make the most of it.

Since magic returned, she had been so unsure of her place in the world. Now she knew what it was. Her alicornhood was a symbol of pride and accomplishment, and she needed to embrace that side of her instead of being afraid of it like she had been before.

“We can stay separated by fear and distrust, or we can choose friendship…we can choose love. That’s the true magic.”

“Now we never have to be apart!”

“We’re all your friends, Sunny. And we love you.”

The ground shook as she prepared to fly. She crouched down low, feeling her mind relax at last. She had always feared flying as it was something she wasn’t used to, but now she was embracing it with every fiber of her being. The sky was her domain. It was her responsibility to be the representative of all Equestria. She had a destiny that called to her, and a cause worth fighting for.

Her spirits rose and she felt genuine happiness for the first time in a long while. She was at peace, and no longer in conflict. She had the support of an entire land by her side, and they had come all this way to save her. They all cared about her. They all loved her. They were all her friends. She was not broken, and she certainly was not alone.

She slowly lifted her head, staring up at the stars above her and smiling to herself. She knew that she was going into a battle, but she wasn’t afraid anymore. There was nothing standing in her way of saving the realm once more and proving herself to the rest of Equestria that all the faith that they had put in her was worth it.

“We always promised each other that someday, we would prove that all ponies were meant to be friends.”

“A little helping hoof for the pony who inspires all of us to be better!”

“And you all like me for who I am, no matter what kind of pony I am. And I know…I can change the world with that.”

“You helped everypony believe in magic. Now it’s time to believe in your own magic, Sunny.”

“I already did, Dad.”

“We may not ever be Argyle, but we can still be there for you whenever you need us.”

As Sunny’s determination fully solidified and her cutie mark was glowing with all of the sparkle she was letting shine through, the words of her friends and family slowly came together into one command that let her know that it was time to let her true self run free.

“Fly, Sunny. It’s time.”

Without needing any further confirmation, she rocketed up into the air at full speed. She flew through the skies and through the clouds, leaving sonic booms in her wake. She laughed with unfiltered joy as she flipped and spun around in the air, catching the breeze and propelling herself through the sky. The cool air blew through her pink and rainbow mane, a relaxing presence that she let guide her along the dark canvas sky. The skies were at her mercy. She was the master of her own domain.

The town was far away from her now as she flew with confidence and with speed. She knew exactly where she needed to go now. Opaline needed to be stopped once and for all. She needed to go find her friends. They would know what to do.

As she felt the great sensation of freedom, she felt some drops of rain fall on her as she soared straight through a cloud. She licked the droplet, reveling in the thrill of finally tasting something besides dust and filthy air.

She emerged from the clouds with a renewed sense of purpose at the highest elevation possible, feeling more joy than she had ever felt in her entire life. As she gazed down at the world below, her eyes suddenly locked on the horizon and she saw the Sun slowly peeking its rays off in the distance.

With hooves outstretched, she glided in the air towards the rising Sun, letting its warm embrace consume her whole.

---

Misty held onto Pipp’s barely breathing form as she glared at Opaline, feeling a sense of rage and anger fester inside of her. She hated her for all the abuse and the harm she had caused to her friends. All she wanted was to slaughter that alicorn in cold blood for making her life a living hell, for constantly putting her down and belittling her.

Izzy ran by her side and gasped upon seeing Pipp’s unconscious form. Her eyes filled with tears and she dropped to her knees, sobbing relentlessly.

Opaline stood over them triumphantly. “It’s a shame that I’m going to have to kill you both. Especially you, Misty. You know, you did mean something to me at one point. I did care about you. Unfortunately, it appears that your defiance has cost you greatly.”

Misty spat at her, hissing and holding Pipp tight in her hooves. She refused to let go. She didn’t know what would happen, and she wasn’t about to let one of her friends get hurt again.

“Of course,” Opaline offered. “This can all be avoided. You can come back with me and we can forget that your defiance ever happened. Just give me your cutie mark and we’ll call it a deal.”

“You’re psychotic.” Misty insulted her harshly.

The Fire Alicorn smiled evilly. “Hm, that’s a three-syllable word too big for little minds. I’m giving you one last chance. If you will not be turned, then…perhaps she will.”

Izzy let out an audible gasp, clearly knowing full well what she meant. She was going to try and turn her to the dark side if she could not get her former slave back.

That was when Misty lost it. The last thing she heard before she lost all control was Izzy trying to warn her. Then, all she felt was unchecked hate-filled rage. She lunged at Opaline and caught her off guard, slamming her onto the ground with all her might.

The alicorn stood up instantly, eyes momentarily filled with terror, before she reached a hoof back in order to punch Misty, who ducked out of the way and climbed on her back. She bit and clawed at her former mother, feeling nothing but vengeance. Opaline growled and threw the unicorn off as hard as she could.

Misty caught herself on the ground before she could fall and launched herself at her again with a loud yell. She didn’t care if she lived or died by this point. All she wanted was for Opaline to die. Before she could reach her, however, she was blasted by a massive beam of magic and sent flying towards the nearest wall. She hit it with a loud thud, blood splattering as she landed.

She cursed and forced herself to stand to her hooves, feeling dizzy and like she was about to pass out. She ran up to Opaline and punched her as hard as she could. She stumbled back with a grunt, screaming with rage as she stood up once more. Hurriedly, she conjured up a magic bubble to protect herself as Misty launched herself at her once more.

She bounced off of the shield and grabbed onto it, clawing at it desperately as Opaline’s smile grew wider with each passing second. She made the bubble disappear before catching her mid-air with a second one. Misty fought and kicked, but she was no match for the strength of what held her. Before long, she was thrown back once more.

Before she could get up, Opaline ran at her with a crazed expression and picked her up once more, throwing her on the ground repeatedly. Blood splattered with each impact and she felt herself get lighter and lighter. She coughed out blood as her mind began to go fuzzy. She could see her surroundings get blurrier and blurrier. She knew that she had to stop fighting, but she couldn’t. She grabbed onto Opaline’s mane and tried pulling at it, but this only served to make the alicorn angrier.

On the other side of the room, Izzy was pleading desperately for them both to stop. Tears of anguish were streaming down her face as she watched her sister get pummeled repeatedly and she couldn’t do a thing to stop it.

Opaline turned towards her, now having gone completely insane. “How does it feel, huh?! To be a unicorn without magic. In a world WHERE YOU CANNOT SAVE ANYPONY!!!!” Without wasting a beat, she slammed Misty down on the ground hard right in front of her.

“STOP!!!!” Izzy shrieked at the top of her lungs, sobbing. She took running towards them, trying in vein to save the fellow unicorn she loved. Opaline seemed to anticipate this and threw her back with her magic, encasing her in a bubble before she could get up. Izzy stood up and pounded on the bubble with all her strength, but she could not get free.

“P-please-“ Misty choked out, her body now all covered in gashes and bruises. She had no energy left to fight and all of the rage had gone out of her. She was done fighting and she just wanted the nonstop nurture to end. Tears brimmed at the corners of her eyes and she began to cry as Opaline slammed her on the ground once more.

“DO YOU APOLOGIZE?!!” Opaline demanded angrily. “Tell me how sorry you are, Misty!! TELL ME YOUR LOYALTY IS TO ME!!!!!” When Misty didn’t answer, she was thrown against the wall once more, where she landed with a sickening crunch.

As her vision began to face to black, she saw Opaline slowly approach and reach her hoof back, preparing to deliver the final blow and end her life for good. She couldn’t do anything about it now. All she could do was watch helplessly as she was about to be murdered by the hooves of the very pony who raised her for years.

But right as Opaline slammed her hoof down with the crushing blow of an alicorn, the impact never came. Instead, it pathetically bounced off of a golden shield bubble made out of magic. Her eyes went wide upon seeing this.

Standing protectively in front of Misty’s fallen form was none other than Sunny Starscout, who sported an angry expression on her face. She had conjured a powerful shield to protect her friend from the hit just in time, and was not going to let her die.

“Not. Impressed.” she stated flatly, slowly dissipating the shield into tiny particles that disappeared into nothingness. Opaline could not believe what she was seeing. This was impossible! How did Sunny turn on her as well?! She could feel the frustration building up inside her, and she was powerless to do anything about it now.

Sunny then punched what was left of the shield before hovering slightly into the air and kicking Opaline as hard as she could, sending the alicorn crashing into the remains of her throne, landing on her stomach with a loud thud.

Recovering, Opaline angrily punched at the ground with her hooves, the thought of losing this fast infuriating her and keeping her going. She stood up, her eyes seething with an unbridled rage that was barely being contained inside of her. Sunny barely reacted to the threat, only standing there nonchalantly as her horn began to emit a bright yellow aura. She shot a blast of magic at Opaline, who barely ducked out of the way and resulted it in it hitting a wall instead.

She then launched herself at Sunny in an attempt to punch her. She struck out with her hoof, but barely missed her face as the other alicorn managed to dodge the hit and fly up into the air, sending another blow crashing down on her. Opaline was sent barreling into another wall from the sheer force of the shockwave, groaning after landing headfirst on the ground.

On the other side of the room, Zipp regained consciousness right in time to see Sunny fighting Opaline. Her eyes went wide upon seeing this as she didn’t expect her to show up. Izzy ran to her side, having been freed by Sunny, and helped her up.

The two stared at the ongoing spectacle with a mix of awe and disbelief, witnessing the evil Fire Alicorn get absolutely humiliated and thrown around like a rag doll.

“Well then,” Zipp mused. “That’s one problem solved.”

Izzy nodded, smiling warmly. “I always knew she would come back for us.”

Opaline stood up again after being thrown at another wall, dusting herself off. Upon getting to her hooves, she was greeted by the sight of Izzy, who was standing there with the biggest and most adorable grin on her face. With one swift buck to the chest, the hyperactive unicorn sent her flying towards the opposite side of the room, where she crashed down hard and was promptly tossed into the air again by a kick from Zipp.

Sunny flew towards her at top speed from out behind a corner, her hoof out in front of her in a punching motion. She punched Opaline in the direction of the ceiling, where she landed, before slowly flying up to meet her and delivering another punch. Opaline was knocked down onto the ground once more and Sunny pounced on her, pinning her where she was and refusing to let up.

She hit her across the face before her horn lit up with a golden aura. She then blasted her with a powerful beam of magic that burned her entire being. Opaline screamed in pain as she was being hit, with the blast managing to singe off one of her own ears. Before she could do anything, she was swiftly punched again by Sunny, who repeated the motion over and over.

By this point, Hitch and Pipp had also regained consciousness and ran towards where Zipp and Izzy were. They regrouped and discussed what was happening just as Opaline suddenly threw Sunny off of her, with the orange alicorn being sent crashing against the wall.

“Sunny!!” all four of them cried, running towards their friend as fast as they could and huddling by her side, begging for her to wake up. When she finally did, their faces lit up in relief.

Sunny stirred, opening her eyes. “Huh?”

“Sunny! Are you okay?” Hitch asked her in a panicked tone.

Sunny nodded. She slowly got to her hooves, wincing as the pain she was feeling suddenly spiked up to a nauseating degree. She struggled to stand and face them. “I-I’m fine! I’m fine! Let’s finish this now!”

Opaline stood up in a triumphant manner once again, laughing maniacally and grinning at the terrified ponies, who were now in no condition to fight her. She had won.

---

“Wake up, my daughter.”

Misty awoke upon hearing the familiar voice, fluttering her eyes open. She slowly got to her hooves, looking all around her for the source. She was in a blue and white void full of stars, which seemed to be alive and moving on their own. She began to tremble, not knowing where anything was and what had happened. Had she died? Was this what the aftermath looked like? What was going to happen to her now if she had truly passed on? The questions raced through her mind and terrified her to the very core.

She didn’t want to die, not now. Not when the fate of entire world was at stake and depended on her. She couldn’t. She had to get back to where she was. She had to get this done. She had to stop Opaline and save her friends from death.

That was when she spotted them out of the corner of her eye. She might’ve only been a newborn foal when they had abandoned her, but she recognized those figures instantly. It was a silver earth pony mare and a white unicorn stallion, and they were walking right towards her.

“Mom…Dad…” Misty managed to say, her eyes wide with shock. She could feel the sudden rush of tears and she let them fall. These were her parents; the very ponies that she had been dreaming about for her entire life, but never truly seen until now.

Moon Watcher smiled warmly. “My Misty Wisty. Your father and I have been awaiting this day for over a decade. It’s time for you to come join us.”

“You’ve passed on,” Star Collector clarified. “And it’s time for you to depart this plane and join us in paradise.”

“Where am I?” Misty asked. “What is this place? Is this…Heaven?”

Star shook his head. “No no no. That’s a little up North. This is actually what’s known as the Celestial Plane, the realm that exists between life and death. The great Twilight Sparkle was once here a millennia ago. This is where she received her wings.”

Misty nodded in understanding, but she was still worried. “I see. But Dad, I can’t go. Not now. My friends need me. I have to stop Opaline. Please, I just need a little more time.”

“But your body is in no condition to fight,” Moon countered, her voice reflecting her deep concern. “You’re wounded all over and have no energy left. You can’t defeat her, sweetie.”

“I have to,” Misty replied firmly. “No matter what, I have to. Just…give me the strength to stop her and save my friends. I’ve come so far already, and I’ve learned so much. I know what kind of pony I need to be. For you. For all of us. Please just let me finish this. Afterwards, you can take me.”

Star clearly seemed conflicted, even a little bit sad. “You don’t have to do anything, Misty. You’re at peace now. I’m sure your friends would understand.”

“I know they would,” insisted Misty. “But they mean more to me than anything in the world. I need to finish this and rid the world of Opaline once and for all. For my whole life, I’ve always been so unsure of myself. But now I know what my true destiny is, why I survived that night. It was to redeem myself and bring this world together once and for all. I want to pass on knowing that I did everything I could. I haven’t yet, and I need to save them.”

Moon took a careful step towards her. “Misty, you’re shouldering too much burden on yourself.”

Misty looked at her in the eyes. “I know. But Dad did the same thing for you when he sheltered you in Bridlewood for years. He put everything he had on the line for you and paid the price for true love. You both understand what it’s like to be burdened with glorious purpose.”

Star nodded solemnly. “That we do, Misty. I can’t deny that. I chose the path of exile because I didn’t want to leave your mother. You want to do the same thing, but for your friends.”

“I do.”

The two parents looked at one another and silently came to a unanimous agreement that her wish would be granted. Star faced her with deep sadness in his eyes.

“Very well,” he told her. “We will grant you all the strength of the heavens in order to do this. But it comes at a grave cost. Your actions will directly cost you the rest of your lives. You may never reincarnate into another pony after death. Are you sure you’re willing to bear this burden?”

Misty nodded without a second thought. “I am, Dad. I’m making this choice out of love for the ponies around me, just as you once did.”

“Then I am very proud of you,” Star told her sincerely, smiling at her. “I see that my bravery has not been lost on you and Izzy. Shoulder the weight of this destiny as you must. Now…RISE!!!”

---

Misty’s eyes snapped open. She gently lifted her head up, feeling all of the nerves return to her body. Her scars and bruises began to heal over until they were nonexistent. She slowly stood up to her hooves, gripping at the ground to support her as she did so. She had never felt so strong in her life, and she could sense the spirits of her parents within her. They were giving their essences to her, so that she could end this nightmare once and for all.

Her life flashed before her eyes and she stood tall and proud in the midst of the destruction, staring at a horrified Opaline. She was now truly free, unbound by any law or mortal fear. Her cutie mark was now glowing as bright as the sun, illuminating the room with its divine light. She stole a brief glance at her friends, who were still in the corner with Sunny and were currently unaware that she had just been resurrected from certain death.

“Opaline Arcana!!” Misty bellowed, her voice echoing throughout the room and reverberating across the walls. “We end this now!!”

Opaline took a couple steps back in fear upon seeing her, her pupils shrinking to tiny little pinpricks as the horrible reality slowly dawned on her. “T-this is…this is impossible! Y-you can’t be alive! I KILLED YOU WITH MY OWN HOOVES!!!!”

It was then that Izzy noticed that she had recovered and gasped, her eyes going wide. The others then took notice as well. They stared at her in utter disbelief, almost as if they were seeing a ghost in front of their very eyes.

Misty took a step forward and the ground trembled beneath her might. She glared at Opaline intensely. The alicorn had taken everything from her, and she was going to suffer the consequences for it. She had put up with all of this and hid her true self for far too long. It was time to let her sparkle fully unleash, and let the universe guide her to victory.

Snarling like a wild animal, Opaline charged up her horn and blasted Misty as hard as she could, intending to knock her back. However, she was unsuccessful this time around. The beam merely bounced off of her face and dissipated, almost as if some invisible shield was protecting her. She tried again in vain as the unicorn began approaching her, with her attempts only yielding the same results over and over.

She began to panic internally upon seeing this, wondering what was causing her to be so strong and deflect attacks so easily. She tried again with another beam. This time, Misty’s horn lit up with magic and she deflected it back with a bubble. Somehow, she had magic, even though all of it had been presumably drained from the land.

“You couldn’t break my spirit no matter how hard you tried!” Misty shouted, deflecting another blast. “And do you know why?! Because no matter what you tried pulling on me, I emerged through each challenge as a stronger pony in the end because I had my friends to support me! They made me who I am, and I’m done running from you!”

“SILENCE!!!” Opaline screamed, shooting another blast at her. “I CONTROL YOU!!!! I AM THE PONY YOU SHOULD BE BOWING TO!! I AM EVERYTHING YOU HAVE EVER KNOWN!!!!”

“You raised me on a life of lies and told me that the world was a dark and cruel place!!” Misty shot back as the beam bounced off of her. “Yet I learned that the only things dark and cruel about it are ponies like you!!”

Opaline shrieked with fury once again and blasted her once more, pouring all of her anger into the spell. Misty simply deflected it again, a translucent shield beginning to form around her as she did so. Her friends soon followed close behind her, walking triumphantly with her towards the destroyed throne.

“I used to be afraid of you!” Misty yelled bravely. “I used to think that there was no life for me out there, and that I would never be accepted! But my friends proved me wrong! They gave me the life I never had! I realized that together, we can do anything! No matter what you try, there will always be light to fight the darkness, unity to fight separation, friendship to fight loneliness, and harmony to fight chaos!!”

“NO NO NO!!!” Opaline cried desperately, blasting them over and over. The shield grew wider and wider around them, swirling with energy that she could not counteract no matter how hard she tried. She was fighting the power of the heavens, and losing. The gods had chosen their side and were casting their judgement on her, making her pay at long last for her defiance against them. “NO NO!! NOOOOOOO!!!!”

“I’m not broken!!” declared Misty, absorbing another blast that the shield at full force. Her friends instantly jumped in next to her in this moment and stood triumphantly with her. She had them by her side, and they were her true family. “And I’m not alone!!!”

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!”

The more she was hit, the stronger Misty became. Her mane began to flow in an ethereal manner as she absorbed each blast into herself. The sheer power of Equestria’s magic would normally be enough to kill any normal pony. But she was no longer tethered to the mortal world as she knew it. She was imbued with the power of her ancestors, and they were protecting her with each step she took. She could feel their voices inside of her, centuries of unicorn knowledge flowing through her mind. She had become something stronger than even she could imagine, and she was harnessing all of the power within her.

The next blast hit the shield and bounced harmlessly off of it, hitting a wall instead. Opaline bellowed with rage and took a step forwards, blasting it once more. This attempt also did nothing and bounced off the four walls of the throne room. She was becoming desperate, sweat beading down her face as she began to tire of the constant use of her magic. Nothing was working, and she was quickly becoming exhausted and frustrated.

“YOU WILL NOT TAKE THIS AWAY FROM ME, TWILIGHT SPARKLE!!!!!” Opaline bellowed, blasting the shield once again. This time, she kept the beam for longer and strained as she tried in vain to destroy it. Instead, it was simply absorbed into the shield and became a part of it.

She could feel her magic start to dwindle and realized too late what was happening. Misty was draining her magic. With each time she blasted her, the unicorn absorbed more of her powers, and she was effectively feeding her it.

“You were never a god, Opaline.” Sunny spoke, the voice of Twilight echoing from her mouth. “You were never even a true alicorn.”

“NO!!!!”

“Today,” Misty added, hearing the echoes of Luster Dawn’s voice come out of her as she stated this to her. “All the magic you stole from Equestria…shall be given back.”

Wasting no time, her horn lit up with a pink aura and she began to drain the magic from Opaline’s mouth. The alicorn screamed and shrieked as her very essence was ripped from her horn and into her former servant’s. Her entire body felt like it was burning from the inside in a pit of infernal fire. She fought and tried to pull away, but the grip was too strong and she could not break free from the hold that Misty had on her. There was no sympathy left for her in the unicorn’s eyes. She had crossed the line and now she was paying the price for her actions.

Misty held it within herself for the briefest of moments, feeling her senses be filled with all the Equestrian magic in existence. It flooded through her body and coursed through her veins, giving her strength and power beyond recognition. Memories that weren’t hers overwhelmed her mind, the events of over a thousand years of history flashing before her very eyes. She could see the past, present, and future of the whole realm. She could do anything at this moment and accomplish anything she wanted to with little to no effort. But she knew what was the right thing to do, and didn’t let anything tempt her.

With a loud scream and a simple blast, she sent a torrent of rainbow energy spiraling into the air. It tore through the ceiling and exploded across the battlefield in a massive Sonic Rainboom, returning both the magic and cutie marks to entire world. Unicorns gasped as their horns suddenly lit up with magic and pegasi looked up in surprise as their wings shimmered and they could fly once more.

Back inside, the magic shield was now stronger than ever and illuminated the room with its light. The rainbow then crashed down on Opaline, engulfing her in a tornado of pure harmonic energy. She screamed as she began to literally disintegrate into pieces. Her wings were the first to disappear, followed by her horn. It was then that her back hooves vanished. She was being erased from existence, and she could do nothing to stop it. She howled in pain as the magic burned her entire being and incinerated her slowly. She continued to scream until her face disappeared into nothingness and she was gone.

Misty and her friends were united, holding onto one another as tight as they could. Their eyes were glowing pure white and their now returned cutie marks were all glowing as brightly as the Sun, matching hers. They were finally at peace with themselves, just as she was with herself. Their sparkles shone brighter than they ever had before as they let their true selves out. The Magic of Friendship had been reborn with them. They were the new Guardians of Harmony.

It was then that Misty finally released all of the energy, followed by her friends. The shield exploded, sending them falling back to the entrance to the throne room and rendering them all unconscious.

---

The battle was raging. Now having the power of flight back, Queen Haven led the pegasi in an all out aerial assault against the demons and were largely successful in doing so, depleting their ranks and forcing many to retreat in fear of being sliced.

As she and her soldiers tore through the horde, one of them latched onto her face and began clawing at her. She cried out in alarm as she began to spiral down from the sky. She tried angling herself with her wings, but she couldn’t see where she was going. However, just when she was about to hit the ground, the demon that was assaulting her vanished into a puff of smoke.

She looked up in shock, only to see the rest of the attack force suddenly vanish as well. The other pegasi glanced at one another with confused expressions. Down below, the same thing was happening. The Umbrum forces were disintegrating in numbers, vanishing seemingly faster than they had arrived.

The ponies all started looking at each other and chatting amongst themselves in bewilderment before that puzzlement turned into outright cheers, and they threw their weapons up into the air in celebration. The skeleton warriors shrieked as they slowly began to break apart into piles of bones, leaving only their robes behind as proof that they had ever been there. The hellhounds slowly melted into puddles of volcanic lava, starting with their faces until they were completely gone.

Alphabittle looked on with relief as the enemy army slowly disappeared into nothing, setting down his knife on the ground and panting with exhaustion. Once he did so, the reality that they had won became clear and he began laughing, silently marveling at the absurdity of the whole situation he had gotten himself into.

In the midst of it all, Rabia watched her forces vanish with horror. This was it. She had lost once again. She took a couple of steps back, refusing to believe what she was witnessing. Finally, she could not deny the inevitable anymore and simply sat on the ground, patiently waiting for her death.

It took about thirty seconds, but before long, her form began to decompose and she closed her eyes, accepting her fate as she vanished into thin air.

Back in the castle, the ponies slowly regained consciousness and got up from the floor. Sunny was the first to get to her hooves and run towards her friends. She pulled them each up, asking them if they were okay. The fight had done a number on the throne room as everything was either destroyed or slowly burning to tiny embers. It looked nothing like the imposing lair that it used to be.

Of course, that was a good thing, but it still hurt Sunny a bit to see all of this destruction. She had lived here for over seven months and had grown sort of an attachment to the solitude that came with her short-lived imprisonment. She blinked back tears from her eyes upon seeing the place where Opaline once stood. The evil alicorn had once been just like her, and had been led down the wrong path. A small part of her wished that she could have reformed her and showed her friendship.

She helped Hitch to his hooves and watched as he dusted himself off. He looked around the room frantically, only relaxing once he saw no sign of Opaline.

“Are you feeling alright, Sunny?” he inquired gently.

Sunny nodded. “I will be. I was just…thinking of what could have been if we were able to save her too. She was once like me.”

“Yes she was,” Zipp answered. “But the difference was that when it came down to making a choice, she let her bloodlust consume her, whereas you didn’t. Whatever filly Twilight Sparkle used to know died when she was exiled by Starswirl. You couldn’t’ve done anything.”

“Hey,” Pipp interrupted, walking towards them. “Has anypony seen Misty? I’ve been looking for her all over and I couldn’t find her.”

Suddenly, Izzy ran in their direction from the other side of the room, carrying a bloodied and bruised blue unicorn mare with her magic. It was Misty. Her body was all charred and burnt, with smoke billowing from her flank. She stopped in front of them, setting Misty down on the ground as gently as she could. Her eyes were full of tears.

Zipp gasped upon seeing her broken form, fighting back tears of her own. She knew what this meant and it wasn’t good.

“Misty…” she whispered softly, her voice trembling with emotion. “Please don’t die…”

“She absorbed too much magic,” Sunny realized with sadness. “I-I have no idea how she managed to drain so much without getting overwhelmed, but…this might’ve done her in.”

“No!” Izzy cried, crouching down on the floor and shaking Misty desperately. “She can’t die! She can’t…I-I can’t lose her again…”

“Izzy-“ Pipp began to say, clearly understanding what she was going through as evidenced by her facial expression. “L-let her rest-“

“No!!” Izzy shot back through tears, her body shaking from the fear she had. “She won’t die! I won’t let her! We can save her, we-“ She stopped when she felt someone grasp her hoof. She looked to her left to see that Misty had woken up. Her breathing was shallow, but she was still alive.

“I-Izzy…” Misty addressed her in a fading voice. “I-it’s okay…”

“Misty!” Izzy realized, breathing a momentary sigh of relief. She checked the unicorn all over. “Are you okay? W-we can get you to the hospital if you’re not-“

“Izzy…” Misty repeated, shaking her head lightly. “Is…is magic back…?”

“Yes Misty,” Sunny answered her, crouching down as well. The others followed her example and they all gathered by their friend’s side. “Magic is back. We defeated Opaline together. You can rest now. W-we’re going to be okay.”

Misty smiled weakly, coughing. “I did it…I actually did it. After all this time, I…I did it…”

Hitch looked worriedly at her. It was if he knew what was about to happen well in advance before the others did. He squeezed his eyes shut to avoid tears coming out before opening them again. “We can’t save you…can we? This is it.”

Misty managed a small nod. She looked around her with her eyes, reluctantly settling on Izzy. “Do the duty…Izzy. You have to kill me…”

“I-I-I-I c-can’t do it!” Izzy replied fearfully, shaking her head vigorously. “P-please don’t make me, I…I already lost you once as a filly. I don’t want to…” She trailed off as tears streamed down her face.

“Y-you need to-“

“YOU PROMISED ME YOU WEREN’T GOING TO DIE!!!” Izzy shrieked, sniffling. She looked away, whimpering. “Y-you k-knew this would happen…didn’t you?”

“I did…” Misty answered, coughing as she did so. “But…I was willing to do…anything for you ponies…even putting my life…on the line…”

“We didn’t deserve it, Misty,” Izzy sobbed. “You didn’t have to do any of this for us…You could’ve just stayed in Maretime Bay and we all would’ve forgiven you anyway!”

“I did have to, Izzy…and do you know why…?”

“No…”

“You ponies…gave me a chance when…nopony would. You gave me a home…you gave me a new life…and you…were always…my true family…”

Sunny felt her heart break into a million pieces at that final sentence. She glanced at the rest of her friends, all of whom gave a unanimous nod. She then hoofed a knife over to Izzy and gave her a pleading look. The lavender unicorn looked back at her and lowered her head in resignation, silently accepting what she had to do.

Izzy then held the knife and pushed it through Misty’s heart as gently as she could, tears cascading from her face as she did so and her heart aching. Misty let out a small gasp of pain before it settled into a final breath and a peaceful smile. She was gone in mere seconds after that, but this time, she had died with her friends right beside her.

She stood over her now deceased sister, feeling awful that she had been forced to do that. She knew Misty was at peace now, but that didn’t make the loss any less devastating. She sighed, grasping her lifeless hoof in hers and wiping her tears away, before she began to recite a prayer that would allow her to pass on to the heavens.

“Forgive me, my sister,” she whispered quietly, closing her eyes. “Go now to the mother spirit. Your spirit goes with the heavens, your body stays behind, to become part of the Forest…”

The others got down on their knees and hung their heads low in mourning, silently praying for her to pass on to a better world and letting her know that she could rest. They let their emotions out and not a single face was dry. They were all crying like they never had before. Misty had been with them for such a long time, and it felt like they were losing a key member of their family after today.

While they did this, the Sun began to break through the clouds and shine through an open window, slowly rising above the horizon and symbolizing the dawn of a new era.

---

Celebrations erupted all across Equestria. The news of the ponies’ victory spread like wildfire as those who fought returned home and told their friends and family all about it. There were parties and festivals. Statues of Opaline were torn down in a matter of hours and burned in massive bonfires, with the residents of the suburban towns dancing through the nights.

Fireworks were being set off by the thousands, with loved ones commemorating the tragic loss of their loved ones on the field of battle, and honoring those that had survived the ordeal. There were music concerts and bands performing on live stages. Sunny and her friends traveled all around the land and got to bear witness to many of these parties. They were revered as saviors and given medals by local tribe leaders. All of these ponies felt content to sing praise to them, and they enjoyed each of the events, yet something didn’t feel right in spite of all of this. None of the grateful citizens knew who was the real hero that fateful night. They didn’t know who truly saved them, and Sunny didn’t have the heart to explain how much this mare had really given them. It hurt far too much and she knew that they wouldn’t understand what this mare had sacrificed, how she truly endured in order to give them the ground they pranced on.

How would they know? After all, this pony never told any of them what she did. She never got the chance to be honored as a hero and be celebrated by the masses. She would always be remembered in passing, living on only in the most obscure corners of history while her friends got all the love and attention. But did this mare mind? No, she did not. She wasn’t ever too big on being in the spotlight and preferred keeping to herself. It was the way she had always lived. She didn’t even leave much evidence of her existence for future scholars to uncover centuries later.

The only proof of her existence she ever left behind was a video recording that she had recorded on her phone before the whole battle had even occurred. It was something so rare and obscure that only her friends would ever know that it had been real, that she had been real. And they played it whenever they wanted to look back and remember the unicorn who had come into their lives and left an undeniable impact on them that would never go away.

“Everypony wants a happy ending, right?” this mare spoke in what would be her final words to her friends. “But it doesn’t always roll that way. Maybe this time. I’m hoping…if you’re playing this back…it’s in celebration. I hope…families are reunited, I hope…magic comes back, and something like a normal version of the land has been restored…if there ever was such a thing…

…Gosh, what a town, world now. If you were to tell me a year ago that we would come so far together, let alone to the extent that we would save the world from a rampaging magical goddess, I mean, I-I-I probably wouldn’t’ve been surprised, but come on, who knew? The…epic forces of harmony and chaos that have come into play. And…for better or for worse, that’s the world that future ponies many years from now are gonna have to find a way to grow up in…”

“…So I thought I’d record a little greeting in the case of an untimely death on my part,” Misty spoke through a large screen. Her friends had gathered in a large circle in the living room of the Crystal Brighthouse and were playing her message back to them on a hologram projector. “Not that…death at any time isn’t untimely, but I think you ponies get what I mean.”

Izzy nodded slowly, wiping tears from her face, only for more to follow in their wake. She moved closer and and rested her head against Sunny’s shoulder for comfort. The orange earth pony mare put her hoof around her friend and closed her eyes, showing her support and empathy in a time when she needed it most.

Hitch held Sparky’s blanket in his hooves as he sadly watched the broadcast. It was the only thing he had left to remember the baby dragon by.

“This mission to Mount Aris that Izzy and I are going to be embarking on soon, and the whole final battle afterwards, it’s…” Misty paused for a second, briefly flipping through her note cards that she had written down before continuing. “It’s got my head scratching about the survivability of it all. Then again, that’s the hero gig. Part of the journey is the end, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Zipp’s eyes shimmered with tears as she gazed at the image of the pony she now had the honor of calling a friend. They hadn’t always gotten along before in the past, but their experiences together had changed them both and made them better ponies in the process. But now, Misty was gone and she could never tell her how much she truly appreciated their bond.

Misty seemed to look at her in that moment and her heart skipped a beat. It was almost like she was still there in some way, even though this was a past recording. She gave them all a big smile and began walking in their direction. “What am I even going on about? Everything is going to work out exactly the way it’s supposed to.”

Izzy looked away for a split second upon seeing her deceased sister walk up close to her and bend down to her level, but relented upon realizing that this would be the last time she would ever see her face and stared into her eyes. She fought back tears and sniffled, her whole body shaking with emotion.

“Hoof to heart…” Misty whispered to her gently before she shut off the recording.

The funeral was short and sweet. Following a procession that consisted of all the ponies from Maretime Bay, Bridlewood, and Zephyr Heights combined, they gathered in the town square, dispersing and reassembling into a wide circle around their leader as Sunny gave a short little address that commemorated the fallen unicorn and explained to them what she had done. Of course, no one would remember that she had ever existed at all years from now, but it was the thought that counted, and they all wanted to honor the pony that had given so much for them and then vanished without ever having the chance to say goodbye.

Misty’s coffin was a large navy blue one with the emblem of a pink butterfly on the very center. It symbolized a pony who had gone from having nothing in life to saving the entire world and having everything she could’ve wanted. It was a monument dedicated to a mare who changed her own destiny, and had found redemption in the most unlikely of times. She had been a symbol of hope for them when the ponies needed her most. She had fought tooth and nail for them when they didn’t deserve it, and this special burial was all they could give her in return.

The funeral workers lifted the coffin from the platform and onto their backs, carrying it slowly towards its final resting place and dropping it within the designated hole . They proceeded to shovel dirt into the hole, covering the coffin until the proper tomb could be put in place a week later. As they did this, a crowd of everycreature in the Equine Territories gathered behind to pay their respects. The dragons were in the second row and being led by Spike, followed by the Breezies, and the hippogriffs. The rest of the creatures stood behind them in a large assembly. They all wore their respective ceremonial uniforms and hung their heads low. Not a single face was dry that day, as all present had something to grieve. This silent ceremony was something to be seen in itself, for even though Misty died, she had brought the world together and left an impact on it that would be felt for many generations to come.

Sunny stood with Izzy and Hitch at the very front of everyone, while Zipp stood with Pipp. Their eyes were closed and they were struggling to keep their emotions inside of them. They grieved and mourned for the special pony in their life they had lost. Seashell stood next to her idol and was bawling her eyes out. The pink pegasus was doing her best to console her, but even she wasn’t okay. None of them were. That day, they had lost not only a close friend of theirs, but also a member of their family, and most importantly, they lost a part of themselves. A huge part of their souls had been shattered beyond repair the day she died, and it would be one that they would never get back. Equestria had been saved, but at a grave cost that could not be understated.

To many, it was not a true victory. They had lost so much in the process, and so many lives. Misty meant the most to them, however. She may have not been with them for a long time, but she had meant so much to them, and now she was forever gone from this plane. She was at peace, and living a much better life in some other realm. She had started her life as a lowly spy meant to aid in Opaline’s plans, but had ended it as a hero to all who knew her.

She was a pony who had overcome adversity and had showed the world around her that ponies like her could change. She had brought the allied nations together and had showed them that they weren’t alone in this world. She had finished the work of her parents that started many moons ago, and had proven them right in spite of everything that had transpired. The others creatures all stood there with the ponies, tears streaming down their faces, watching on as the mare who had healed their world was buried before their very eyes, forever lost six feet underground and never to be seen again by anyone.

Standing at the back of the crowd was Sprout Cloverleaf, who watched the whole funeral with a sad expression of his own. He didn’t really know Misty, but it was because of her that he and Hitch were able to make amends and fight on the field of battle together. And he knew deep down that he would never get the chance to tell her that he was thankful.

But perhaps he could do something else…

Sunny and Hitch sat on the sand at the beach together, watching the tidal waves crash against the shoreline and recede once more. She sighed deeply, inching closer towards her friend. She could feel the warmth of his body soothe hers as she leaned on him. He felt this and reciprocated the gesture before he glanced at her.

He looked her in the eyes. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Sunny nodded, blushing slightly. “Yeah, I’m…I’m okay. Sorry if that came out of nowhere, I just…needed someone to lean against.”

Hitch chuckled. “Sure you did, Sunny. Sure you did.” His expression then went serious again as he could tell she was bothered by something. He knew it all too well. “I know you’re still grieving over Misty. It’s…not your fault that she died.”

“I just wish that there was some way for us to tell her that we won,” Sunny explained sadly. “That…we did it. Misty never got to truly experience the world. She never got to go to school, get a job, and truly live life as a free mare. She was with us until the very end…and she never gave up on me.”

“Just as we never gave up on her.” Hitch confirmed, his tone radiating wisdom. “Even when we’re angry, we can never truly stay mad at our friends forever. We all knew you weren’t evil, just hurting. And you had every right to be. But we came back for you because we love you. And…it’ll take time, but everypony else will warm up to you again too. Just give them a couple weeks.”

“But the fact that Misty came back for me is what got her killed,” countered Sunny. “And she’ll never truly know that we put everything back.”

Hitch paused for a moment, facing away from her as he collected his thoughts. Then his mouth morphed into a small smile and looked back at her again, a twinkle in his eyes. “Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that too much, Sunny.”

Sunny was confused. “What do you mean, Hitch?”

“Somewhere out there, wherever she is,” Hitch told her, pointing to the sky. “She knows. They both know. And she’s looking down on us right now…finally at peace, and living the life she’s always wanted. She’s with her parents, and having her own ceremony up there, surrounded by all the fallen ponies that she fought for. She may not be here with us physically…but she’ll always be alive…in our memories, and in our hearts.”

“How do you know…?”

“Faith.”

The Sun broke through the cloudy sky and shone down on them in them, illuminating them in its warm embrace. A soft breeze blew through their manes and a pink butterfly flew past them as they leaned on each other, watching nature do its daily work. It was as if Misty was there with them in that moment and comforting them from wherever she was above.

---

2 Months Later…

Sunny stood at the gravesite with Izzy. They were both there to pay their respects and say their goodbyes to Misty one last time before moving on with their lives and pushing forward towards the future. She felt tears brim at the corners of her eyes as she looked upon the magnificent tomb that they all had constructed for her. It was a monument that the unicorn definitely deserved for all the work she had done, but it still hurt nonetheless and she still wasn’t entirely over it.

Izzy’s expression was unreadable. She wasn’t an inconsolable mess anymore, but it was as if she didn’t know how to feel now that her initial wave of grief had passed. She was stuck in an eternal cycle of figuring out what to do with her life now that her only unicorn friend had passed on. None of them knew how to handle the loss, but it obviously hit her a lot more considering that had only recently found out that they were sisters, and family was always hurt the most by a loss.

Sunny glanced at her, deep sorrow present in her gaze. “Are you ready to leave?”

Izzy shook her head. “No…not yet. I need a little more time to process the fact that she’s gone. It just feels so…unreal.”

“Why don’t you talk to me about what’s happened as of late to take your mind off things?” Sunny suggested. “I’ll admit that my weekly visits to the psychiatrist have been keeping me a little busy. Only if you want to though.”

The unicorn thought for a moment, putting her hoof to her chin before she finally remembered what she wanted to say. “Well, I heard that Equestria is in the process of reunification. Spike’s helping to set up a centralized government and…we need a leader.”

Sunny blinked in surprise. “He obviously can’t mean me.”

Izzy nodded, obviously indicating to the contrary. “He does. But…the choice is still yours. We can delay your ascension if you don’t think you’re ready.”

“I just stopped being an evil alicorn’s second in command two months ago and they already want me to be in charge again?!” Sunny asked in disbelief. Her mind was spiraling out of control just at the thought of it. “I…didn’t think ponies would forgive me that easily.”

“Some don’t,” Izzy replied. “There was a little bit of pushback, but…the majority thinks that you’re ready and you won by popular vote. It’s like we said before, when it came down to it, they all saw the good in you. They think your experiences will make you a great leader.”

“But don’t they remember what I’ve done?”

“All they see is the heroic alicorn that turned against Opaline when it mattered and saved Equestria from her wrath. Not everycreature knows that it was Misty that truly took the initiative that night. And…I don’t have the heart to tell them. In this period of rebuilding, I think they need to have their faith in somepony else rewarded.”

Sunny let out a deep sigh. “Tell them I’ll think about it, alright? Why don’t you go tell Hitch and the others that I’ll sleep on it and let them know tomorrow. I just…wanna be normal me for one more day.”

“Got it.”

With that, the lavender unicorn was off, but not before glancing back behind her at the lavish tomb with a sad expression on her face. Sunny looked back at her and gestured with her head for her to go. Once Izzy was gone, she walked up to it and pulled out a pink flower that was hidden in her mane and held it out in front of her.

She stared at it longingly for a split second. She had given flowers when visiting before as she used to visit her Dad’s gravesite often before activism took over her life and she had no time for anything anymore. She hadn’t been to a grave in so long and it took her back to those depressing times that she didn’t want to remember.

She held the flower with a trembling hoof before gently setting it down on top of the grave using her magic. She closed her eyes for a minute, letting the tender moment linger and silently giving a last prayer to the pony who had changed her life in more ways than one. In her relatively short time with them, Misty had saved her in every way a mare could be saved, and she would be forever grateful to her. She had offered her true kindness and compassion when she needed it the most and showed her that there were in fact ponies out there who loved her.

Sunny smiled wistfully, wiping a falling tear from her right eye and feeling at peace with herself for the first time in a long while. The time of great sorrow was over. She was ready now. It was time for her to move on and embrace the future.

“Thank you, Misty…” she whispered softly into the air.

Back at the Brighthouse, Sunny set the group picture of Misty with she and the others on the nightstand to her left. It was right beside Argyle’s picture, and would serve as a forever reminder of the impact that the unicorn had on her life that she would never forget.

She then headed downstairs to greet her friends. They were watching a news broadcast by Dazzle Feather that was detailing some sort of disaster happening in Zephyr Heights. She couldn’t quite make it out yet, but she knew in the bottom of her heart that it had to be something serious.

“So, what’s going on?” Sunny asked them curiously.

Hitch turned towards her. “Apparently we have this fire-breathing bugbear that’s invading Zephyr Heights and terrorizing the populace if the news broadcast is anything to go by.”

“That’s one ginormous bugbear!” Izzy commented, pointing her hoof at the screen.

“Mom’s trying to fight it off,” Zipp added. “But it’s just too strong for any one pony to handle on their own!”

Sunny smiled confidently. “Well, you all know what that means. Equestria needs the help of its Guardians once again! Time for another adventure!”

“Adventure?!” Zipp’s face lit up with excitement. “I’m in!”

“Whoo hoo!!” Hitch exclaimed. “Let’s go, ponies!”

The five ponies all got their weapons ready and burst through the doors of the Brighthouse. They ran through the streets, passing by bystanders that upon seeing them, instantly knew that they were on a mission. It was obvious. These ponies didn’t just leave their base of operations for nothing. The world needed their help once more, and they had answered the call.

As she was running faster than she had before, Sunny turned towards Hitch in an enthusiastic manner, reciting the old playtime routine that she used to do with her figurines as a little filly. Things had truly come full circle at last.

“Earth ponies, take the lead!” she shouted. Once he nodded, she glanced at Zipp and Pipp. “Pegasi, fly beside me!” They did so and finally, she looked at Izzy, the very pony that had kickstarted her entire journey to begin with. “Unicorns, horns at the ready!”

They emerged at the very end of town and stared out into the unknown. They didn’t know what lay ahead of them or whether this bugbear would be easy to take down. But there was one thing they were sure about. As long as they had each other, they couldn’t go wrong and they had the power to do anything. They were the Guardians of Harmony, the protectors of the realm, and they had the Magic of Friendship on their side.

As they prepared to embark on their next dangerous journey, they shouted one last battle cry to the heavens, letting any foes that dared cross them know that they would be next if they tried anything sneaky. It was a unanimous call to action that represented the close-knit harmony and friendship they had with one another.

“FOR EQUESTRIA!!!!” the ponies all declared at once.

With that, our brave heroes leapt into the horizon at full speed, ready for where the next phase of their lives would take them. The Kingdom of Equestria had been reborn with the next generation, and friendship would always be magic.

Author's Note:

For Teddy

And thus, a huge chapter of my life has officially come to an end. Honestly, I just want to say thank you…to every single one of you. This finale wouldn’t’ve been possible without all of your support. You guys rescued me from the pits of writing hell and showed me support when I needed it, so my journey in a way does kind of reflect Sunny and Misty’s arcs here. It’s because of you guys that I have the courage to defend G5, both in writing and in my actions. This generation truly means a lot to me, and I hope that I was able to give you everything you wanted out of this story. I know there are some tears to be shed, but don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened. Really, I put my heart and soul into this series, I really put…myself into it. . A lot of the arcs that I had the Mane 5 and Misty go on have reflected real insecurities and fears that I’ve had in the past. And the themes of love and loss are things that I myself have experienced, how to overcome adversity, redeem yourself after making mistakes, so on and so forth. I’d like to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for truly getting to experience the journey of being a writer. It’s been a tough journey, but…I made it. I’ve proven that I can make it out there, and that’s something I will never forget. The impact that you’ve all left on me is something that cannot be understated, and though we’ve had a couple bumps in the road along the way, writing this story and finishing off a year’s worth of storytelling was truly a rewarding experience. I’d like to thank each of you for sticking with this Saga through the end, and being there to see these characters really reach the peak of their journeys.

This sounds like a goodbye. But don’t worry, it isn’t! Not by a long shot. This isn’t even the end of G5 stories from me either! What? You thought one of the most unapologetic defenders of this generation would suddenly get up and leave? Of course not, silly. This really just marks the end of an era for G5, both in relation to The Misty Saga and Make Your Mark. And to tell you all the truth, I really shine the best when crafting standalone stories. The G5 Universe was a fun experiment, but there’s a reason why it’s going to end with Izzy Moonbow: Beyond The Multiverse of Randomness outside of setting up a whole new franchise entirely. I feel like I have more creative freedom in making more standalone fics, so expect that to be the future for the time being.

Until then, I’ll be seeing you all soon. Happy Thanksgiving and here’s to more awesome stories in the future. We’ll do our part…hoof to heart. Bye!

Listen to the full soundtrack on LunarMusicVEVO: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLs0PCVjJEPHd6QQZ1vCLSyr2ku_ooXRl4&si=JmokEVRBRibY7Pl0

Comments

[Flamewarrior02]

Deleted the original by accident.

Of all the ways this could’ve ended, Misty dying was not one I saw coming

[ponydog127]

This... this was BEAUTIFUL!!!

[BronySonicFan]

Well, after that disappointing Chapter 6, I'm here to see how this would turn out and OH MY GOD, this is definitely not what I expected.

I was so sure that the one dying would be Sunny, or even Pipp... But Misty herself?! My man, you surprised me...

I'm really looking forward for what comes next!

[LordFlareon]

I'm taking my time with this. It's the last chapter and I want to take in every moment of it.

[Phetiamwantip]

It was beautiful... simply beautiful. (Sobbing)

[Admiral Producer]

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I can’t wait to read your full thoughts when you’re finished.

[LordFlareon]

A little over a year ago, when I discovered Worthless, I had no idea just what an incredible journey was in store for me. I assumed that it would most likely be a standalone story that I would enjoy once and then move on to something else afterwards.

No, it was way more than that. Not only was it almost exactly how I imagined Misty's reformation would play out, but it was one of the better written stories I've seen in a long time. I've read a lot of good stories over the years, but this one stood out to me in a way that many of the others didn't. So once I found out there were more instalments on the way, I was immediately on board and excited to see where this saga would go.

Forgiven and The Fall Of Opaline would soon follow, both of them just as amazing as the first and ending in a way that left me anxious to see what came next. Admittedly, the saga did eventually take on a much darker tone than what I can normally handle, but my interest easily overpowered any discomfort I felt. In fact, after recovering from the initial horror that I felt at the end of TFoO, I ended up going back to that story a lot more than the previous two.

Of course, getting so attached to the series by this point came with its downsides. Because the more time that passed between each story, the harder the wait was. And that was no more obvious than it was in the hiatus following TFoO. As weeks turned into months with no further updates or announcements, I started to get desperate. It eventually got to the point where I was hoping that any notification I got was some update regarding the next instalment. And when it became clear that the saga was on hold, it was extremely disheartening for me. The thought of having to wait indefinitely for the next story really hit me hard and there were some days when I would be depressed for hours because of that.

Nonetheless, Purpose would eventually at long last be released. I admit, I was paranoid that the hiatus would've diminished some of the excitement that I had for the saga before now. But you quickly proved me wrong.

And now, here we are at the grand finale. And all I can say is...

This. Was. PHENOMENAL!

From seeing Misty finally overcoming her doubts and reuniting the ponies once more, to bringing Sunny back to the light, to sacrificing herself to take down Opaline, it was exciting, terrifying and emotional in all the right places. And even though I knew it was coming, it didn't make it any easier when Misty's death came around. Seeing her pass with her friends at her side broke my heart like you wouldn't believe. But seeing all of the nations of Equestria showing up to pay their respects to her was the perfect way for her to go. Even if she wouldn't have wanted it, she deserves to be remembered for the true hero she is.

Admiral, I don't know if I could ever truly say just how grateful I am to you for this incredible experience. This saga has meant so much to me over the last year and has won me over in a way that many others haven't. And like I said earlier, it may even be more special to me than Make Your Mark is.

Honestly, like the Mane 5, it feels like a huge part of me has been taken away now. It hurts to see this saga end and it most likely will for quite a while yet. But I'm so grateful to have been a part of the experience since the beginning and it's something that I'll always treasure. I don't know what to expect from this point on, but I hope one day there'll be other stories and sagas that I'll come to appreciate as much as this one.

[Admiral Producer]

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I’m so happy that you enjoyed it this much! Really, writing this Saga has been a journey in itself for me, and I’ll never forget that fateful night on the airplane that I decided to write Worthless. When I first started this, I assumed it would simply be a one-and-done, then a trilogy, and then it became an entire six-story narrative arc! And in regards to this story, I really put everything into it. My goal was to give you guys the ending that was worth all the investment, and it looks like all the constant delays payed off because Redeemed here emerged as a story that I’m very proud of. It might just be my favorite in the entire Saga writing if not for Worthless containing that magic that slightly edges it out. From the character arcs Fo the action, this one really was a big test for me. To this point, I’ve never written a full on action scene, let alone one that never lets up for a full hour if we’re counting runtime. My biggest strength has always been character, so balancing that with the grand spectacle of a climax was a massive challenge for me. It looks like the effort worked out though, and I’m quite pleased with the result.

And yeah, I even depressed myself writing Misty’s death. There was an alternate ending I considered at one point during the writing process, where Izzy would’ve found her alive and well in the Crystal Tea Room The Dark Knight Rises style, but ultimately, I decided that going that route would cheapen her sacrifice and I stuck to the Avengers: Endgame route I was going in. It was difficult to pull off, but I’m ultimately happy that I stuck to my guns and let Misty die because it allowed for greater emotional impact as you described, and it was the perfect way for her to go. The whole “full-circle” ending does create a nice bookend to G5’s story as a whole too, so I’m glad I stuck with that.

It’s so incredibly interesting reading your thought process throughout the whole series as you went through them and I’m sorry if the hiatuses depressed you. I’m just glad that the story is out and that I can finally move on to other pastures for the time being, and it also makes me so happy that the Saga had such a profound impact on your life. I mean, this means more to you than the canon Make Your Mark show? That is the prestigious honor to end all honors in my opinion, and hearing this makes me so emotional. That is ultimately my goal, writing stories that touch the hearts and minds of its readers. And if my Saga was able to do that for you, then that proves that all the investment I put in it; the countless hours, the constant brainstorming that my brain did to the point where I couldn’t sleep…it was all worth it, because out popped this masterpiece. If anything, it inspires me to try out more epic stories like this, and it makes me confident in my writing ability.

Thank you so much for your continued support, and I can’t wait to see what you’ll think of my future stories, now that Chapters 5 and 6 have given me the spark I so desperately needed.

[Charcoal Flower]

That was really good, I enjoyed it.

[Flamewarrior02]

So looking more at this story made me realize the similarities with my own saga. Namely in the message presented through out.

Throughout this story, namely the first part, was full of characters blaming themselves for what has happened: Sparky’s death, Sunny’s deflection, etc. It’s funny because the whole point of Letting Go was accepting what had happened WITHOUT pointing hooves.

However, while it could seem like that blaming does happen here, I would say it still has that theme of acceptance. Everyone played a part in what happened. No one was blameless. All of our main characters were guilty of something. And this story was them coming to terms with that, accepting it, and moving on from there.

Again, similar to how my Zipp Saga ended.

[Silver Waves]

The forces of question arriving together against Opaline was like the heroes of marvel joining together for the battle against Thanos and his army in avengers endgame.

[Slipp]

I can tell you put your entire soul into this piece. The emotions coming from this story are unfathomable, and it really captures the redemption arc of Misty. Just like others, I cried so many balls of tears, that I could hardly read, and on multiple occasions, you mentioned that you also grew emotional writing this. Now I can say, when a writer puts his blood, sweat and tears into his own creation, that’s what makes it art. A fine piece of the journey plus the message that was at the end. I also really want to credit the amount of tension this story had. I cried when the characters cried, I cheered when the reinforcements came as soon as everyone lost hope (nice Endgame reference), and we bawled at after the final battle. This was truly a masterpiece, which is a rarity to come from the internet now these days. Misty’s death (though I predicted) was so well written too. The fact I cried at such a predictable and cliche moment, the fact that some pony was going to sacrifice their life for a redemption, further enhances my love for this story. And yes, I did say that sacrificing a main character was cliche, and there are many examples, but that doesn’t count for anything. I truly admire this fine piece of art.

[LordFlareon]

Pipp looked up upon heading the sound and she gasped as Zipp dove in for the kill from seemingly out of the blue carrying two swords in her hooves. She impaled both Umbrum in the chests on opposite sides at once by utilizing a clever throwing trick. They collapsed to the ground in pools of blood as she landed, crumpling in a pathetic pile.

Izzy then returned and proceeded to throw chunks of fallen rocks at her, all of which were instantly vaporized. Opaline blasted at her, but she jumped out of the way and ran in a circle, forcing the alicorn to constantly change directions and grow dizzy. Using the distraction, Zipp reached into her pack and pulled out a sword. Wasting no time, she dove right at her with the blade in hoof.

I know it can't be helped now, but there may be a continuity error in these moments. Can you tell what it is?

[Admiral Producer]

11898075
That’s actually not a continuity error, weirdly enough. The reason why Zipp only has one blade now is because she was disarmed offscreen during the battle (basically one of the attacking Umbrum forces got the best of her and knocked the two blades out of her hoof), which is why she lost them. A lot happened outside in the time when Sunny and Misty were having their duel to when Zipp and the others enter to comfort Sunny. Probably should have made that more clear, or even shown that moment for that matter, but I had Zipp lose those other two blades so that she could think on her hooves and be more resourceful during the throne room fight. I didn’t want her to rely on having two blades for the entirety of the fight as I knew that she could stab Opaline easily with one of them and that would’ve ended the battle too early. So I made it so she lost them at one point and had to reach into her pack for another one. Good eye though. I didn’t think anyone would actually spot that in the midst of all the other chaos going on.

[LordFlareon]

11898312
Sorry, I should've explained it better. I was referring to a different continuity error that relates to the overarching plot. Correct me if I'm wrong, but these moments suggest that Zipp can fly even though, without magic, she shouldn't be able to.

[Admiral Producer]

11898365
Zipp wasn’t flying in those moments, no. I imagined them more as her jumping out from out of nowhere, and diving straight through that Umbrum warrior and later running at full force towards Opaline, which is what I meant by “dove.” I could change the second instance to “sprinted” if that makes the intent more clear if you want.

[LordFlareon]

11898409
Ah, I getcha. Thanks for clearing that up.