Twilight took a few steps back as a pale blue bat-winged pony landed on the edge of the balcony, front legs having wrapped around her attacker mid-charge. The pony spun and slammed him into the stone, holding him down with a back hoof as she flared her wings for balance.
As she spread her wings, the light refracted through thousands of small pearly scales on the underside of her wings, coating them in dancing rainbows. Pale blue scales raced down from the base of the wing to her shoulders, dappling her cerulean coat with a darker blue. She looked up through a multi-hued forelock, thin draconic pupils hovering over rose irises. Her rainbow tail flicked around her Cutie Mark.
"Rainbow Dash?" Twilight whispered.
The mare dropped down to all fours, balancing on the back of the pony she had blocked. She folded her wings, tossing her mane behind her split-tipped ears with a grin. Short fangs gleamed in her smile. "The one and only."
"S-sorry we're late, Twilight." A second batpony landed beside Rainbow, edging her butter-yellow hooves around Rainbow's victim as her pink-scaled wings fluttered anxiously. "T-there was a lot of yelling, and we-we couldn't really get through."
Twilight turned at the familiar sound of claws on stone, seeing the last of her five friends. Applejack stood tall, her front half seemingly normal save for her eyes and ears, which mimicked those of the Pegasi. Her hind end, however, was almost fully scaled, and her broken back hooves had turned to a pair of talons, standing without the need for some cart. Beside her, Pinkie hopped around in small circles, her claws being the ones scraping obnoxiously as she pranced. Rarity ducked her head in respect beside them, one side of her face and her whole back coated in glittering silver scales. Her horn twisted in a more controlled spiral than Twilight's but it was visibly different. Her eyes and ears, along with Pinkie's, had changed as well.
"Twilight, that horrible colt didn't get to you, did he?" Rarity galloped over, fangs glinting as she pouted and fussed over the nearly unconscious pony still pinned under Rainbow.
"N-no, I'm fine, but you girls-"
"We gave up less than you did." Applejack interrupted, walking up to her and giving her a friendly shove. "Ah even gained a bit."
"Don't worry at all, Twily-wily!" Pinkie grinned, skidding over. "Claws are super-duper fun!"
"G-girls... you... you did this for me?" Tears streaked down Twilight's muzzle, and she fell onto her haunches. "Y-you... you..."
"We're not the only ones." Pinkie smiled. "So many ponies came out of that crowd after it got hostile! There's a whole wall of ponies blocking entry to the castle, and even more are grounding the hostile Pegasi! The guards are being way way way outdone!"
The sky rocked with a crack of thunder and filled with bright flames, a second roll mixing dashes and streaks of ice and night between the dancing tendrils.
"Ponies of Equestria, halt!" Princess Celestia landed with a crash on the edge of the balcony, coat glowing gold with the flames from her mane. A second mare, similar to Nightmare Moon save for her official Regalia, landed beside her, dancing with wisps of shadow.
Luna raised her voice above the crackling skies above. "Save your judgement, Celestia!"
The flames above died down, and Celestia seemed to shrink and cool back to her normal self. Luna did the same. "Continue, sister."
Celestia turned a wrathful gaze on the assembled ponies. "What in the heavens above made you decide to turn your anger on an innocent pony? You are lucky your fellow ponies stood up against you in the skies and at the gates, or my judgement would not have been so easily repelled."
Luna trotted back to Twilight, helping her to her hooves and beckoning the other five to come stand with her.
Celestia waved a hoof at the group. "Her friends sacrificed nothing to stand by her side. They are the same ponies they always were. They are no more monsters than she is, or than I am."
The crowd, shocked into silence, muttered and growled, but more and more ponies showed shocked recognition.
"I will not force you to accept her, but there will be responses to acts of violence, as there always have been." Celestia took a step back, letting the six mares take her place. With a flourish, she summoned the Elements and gently placed them around their owners' necks.
Twilight felt nothing short of amazement as Celestia placed her crown on her head.
"Behold, Twilight Sparkle, Princess of the Stars!"
And the crowd erupted in shocked and stupefied cheers.
-----
Twilight wound her way down the spiraling steps, smiling at the ponies who looked rather worse for wear. The guards had withheld any ponies who had helped protect her, but many of them had slipped away into the crowd, not wanting recognition for basic kindness.
She knew most of the remaining faces from Ponyville. The mailmare, Derpy Hooves, her little sister between her wings; Rose, going from bashful to flat-out shocked as she realized she had seen Twilight after the accident; Lyra and Bon-Bon, leaning on each others' shoulders as they rested wounded limbs.
She thanked them hurriedly, shaking hooves and smiling, and rushed past them into the main lobby of the castle. A few VIPs had been waiting for her for quite a while.
She skidded to a stop - she'd pay to fix those scrapes later - and grinned, shaking her mane into a semblance of 'place'. "Mom, dad, Shiny, Spike."
Her parents, misty-eyed, smiled and withheld sobs, Shining managing to choke out 'it's liquid pride' before breaking down. Spike ran over, wrapping her into a hug.
"You'e grown so much." She whispered, hugging him back.
He sniffled, looking up at her. "You've changed more."
"I guess so." She muttered, wrapping him in an even tighter hug. "I'm so sorry, Spike. It was never your fault."
He cried, burying his head into her neck. "I-I-I thought you were d-d-d-d-d..."
"Sh, sh." Twilight sat back on her haunches, rocking him gently. "It's okay." She looked up, locking eyes with her parents and her brother, and her friends arriving on the scene. Celestia, Luna and Cadence watched from a respectful distance away, a small book with a dragon-wing insignia floating in Celestia's magic as she glanced over to a small crowd. A few ponies had already been given their new status, marked by scales and slitted pupils. The Guards stood at attention, the Nocte Pegasi joining them as the sun began to set.
Twilight nuzzled Spike's back, small wings fluttering at her touch. "Everything is going to be just fine."
Yes, yes and more yes!
Can't wait for the sequel.
great job this was truly an unexpected ending but an awsome one! wonder who else was amongst the changed? any chance of seeing vinyl or octavia?
2343003
I may add them in the sequel. Not sure though; they wouldn't be major characters by any stretch.
2343017 thats fine just be neat to see them dragonish.
Very nicely dome!
But...am I to understand that there were those among the ponies who defended Twilight who ALSO got the dragon upgrade, becoming the Star Princess equivalent of the Night Guard?
Because that's what this sounds like.
Oh my Celestia YES! The sequel is going to be
More Dragon Ponies?! Sounds fun to me!
2343048
I posted a blog that better defines the individual qualities; each have additions depending on original race, so Twilight is still the only Alicorn.
That...was a great twist. It took me greatly by surprise and came entirely out of left field. Atta be!
2343048
Yeah I saw that too. I hope not. It would be kinda weird. Maybe an award or something like that with the symbol on the book.
2343095
They are not necessarily a guard, they are simply allowed to be transformed; as one might transform into a vampire to be with another vampire.
2343115 ah. I guess my whole thing about it was that I liked the minority that had the...words, words....uh, transformation I guess will work. That made it quite nice to read and then having all these background characters with it too kinda wears the novelty of it thin.
Really loved reading how Twi dealt with it although I woulda liked to see more of a confrontation/apology from Fluttershy. I mean she kinda called out FlutterBitch for that one and she just mentions it to the princess. We never got to see anything else come outta that situation. (Personally I really think flutters shoulda apologized I mean yeah she seemed sorry for it and you could say that the transformation is enough but still, Ya know? When someone apologizes even if they do something for ya you still want to hear those words. Ya want to hear them say it, hear the emotion behind it. Ya know what I mean?.
Kinda got on a rant but hey. Always good to get feedback right? Almost definetly helps that I'm not being a dick about it.
A sequel?!?! *insert Twilight 'Yes' meme*
I like sequels.
2343204
Your feedback is greatly appreciated, yes. The truth is - and this will be more apparent in the sequel - is that the Elements of Harmony had a much greater change than most ponies. This simply allows other ponies to be marked in such a way that, if something happens, the Elements know who will help them. It also makes Twilight's case less... less different, in a way, letting her blend in a bit more. There will not be many transformed characters, though, and the few that are will play key parts in the sequel.
2343227
Ok. I has clarity on this now. My mind saw scales and overdid the mental image. Gotcha. I still got a bone to pick with flutters but I already said my piece and I got dishes to do.
Why can't I like this again if I could I would like the sh!t out of it.
I am sorry to say that I am quite disappointed by this ending. Was it really necessary to change the rest of the mane 6 and some BG ponies into dragon ponies? Doing that kinda removed the whole "Twilight's a freak" thing you had going. I also just can't see the rest of the mane 6 going through with that transformation at the drop of a hat; it would hurt RDs chances of being a Wonderbolt, PP wouldn't be able to take being a social outcast like Twi was for a time, FS hates dragons, AJ would be able to apple bunch anymore, and Rarity wouldnt make it on the Canterlot fashion scene. Yes, I realize that this is an AU story, but even then you need to try to avoid being OOC.
while this isn't enough for me to change my like to a dislike, it does make me wish I could 'un-like' the story.
For some reason this story seemed to rush by, events didn't really strike me hard enough to leave a lasting memory. Though I am sorry I can't really put my finger on what it is, maybe it is a feeling that pacing was like, "Bam, boom, stuff" without a good rest or there was a lack of serious emotional attachment. Also, as 2343303 said, the ending does feel a bit rushed and out of character; like Rarity isn't even symmetrical, I think that would be a serious freakout moment for her. I may even hold stories to high standards and expect writing like I have seen in Past Sins and The Immortal Game (formerly Ponies Make War). Though I think it would be fun to see how you grow and evolve as a writer so I am tentatively looking forward to the sequel.
so the mane 6 as well as celestia and luna are pondragons ? dragonys ? a word that makes sense and uses half pony half dragon?
I second a few of the opinions thus far: I love this to pieces but damn, that was abrupt. It was like, poof, we're all instantly done, everything's golden, have a nice day. I second Ra1nbowCrasH: as much as turning a bunch of ponies into dracoponies is cool (and I know you were thinking in this direction because you forewarned us, and I may have even encouraged you at that point), it just takes a sledgehammer to the entire point of what's been happening here. The point has been to throw a monkey wrench in Twilight's entire world, work her her through it, and end it on a triumphant note where she gets her friends back and realizes her royal destiny in a way she didn't quite expect. Instead... I dunno, it feels so damn cheap. I love this work but this last chapter, perhaps even the chapter before, has a very distinct feeling of "I'm bored, slap an ending on, we're done". It's great that this isn't the true end but.... yeah, this was just too fast, too soon, too little, too rushed, too... well, I hate to throw in the ultimate lit stick of dynamite but... too cliche.
I knew it would either have been Spike or Dash to first show up to save Twi. I'll be waiting for the sequel eagerly.
I'm sick, and my brain isn't working well, so I can't say anything of brilliance, but I wanted to comment saying thank you for such an enjoyable read. I've loved this story from the beginning. T'was a great read.
I will admit when i first started reading this I was a bit worried because the tone seemed real dark. I like dark of course, but I am very particular about the style of dark. I mean a drunk rainbow, a lame AJ, and so on. I am glad I kept reading though because WOW! Dragon pony hybrids! Awsome!
I do worry about the ending though only because it seems implied that both Celestia and Luna (and possibly Cadence) are dragon ponies as well. I mention it because if it is true that all of Equestria's rulers are hybrids that are in turn creating even more hybrids.... ......It just seems like something that could escalate in to something bad real quick.
On a side note I wonder how long dragon pony hybrids would live for I mean are they just inheriting random features or are there other 'perks' that go along with this change...aside from the lack of magic...
well i am just happy it didnt turn into those regular shits like lol we found a cure and everythings fine
turning the rest of the mane 6 into halfbreeds too was quite surprising
and i can only guess how scared fluttershy will be turning into one of her fears
Well that was sudden.
But sequel, yay!
Not entirely sure what I think about this new rise in dragon-ponies, but I will wait to see how the sequel explores this idea.
I wouldn't mind an image of the new mane six, I'm curious as to what they now look like!
This chapter was rushed and confusing... I needed to read it a few time to understand what was going on
Wow didn't see that coming. Do you think you could have a picture a what the mane 6 now look like? Also can't wait for the sequal. This story was awsome.
2343303
The idea was that Twilight wouldn't be the only one was one that I had from the beginning. She was never going to be the only Alicorn, so she was never going to be the only half-dragon. She is still much more different from the others, but that difference is lessened.
2343399
I knew the ending was rushed, but like you couldn't put your finger on it, I couldn't figure out what to add. Trust me, if I could have made the last chapters longer, I would have.
2343524
Celestia and Luna are not.
2343785
I'll direct you to the comments above for a moment before I continue. The thing is, I'm also rather excited for the sequel myself, and I did want to get started on it soon. I knew if I waited to complete this, I'd probably go on a second hiatus.
2344003
The other Princesses are not dragon-ponies.
2344473
There are pictures in the blog.
I LOVE your style of writing!
2344816
Oops, missed that. Thanks!
I'm not sure if "shocked and stupefied cheers" is a thing. It really doesn't sound right.
2345047
If you were given an announcement by a previously angrily flaming magical pegasus, wouldn't you cheer too?
I get that it doesn't exactly make sense, but I couldn't just let them stare at her, and I couldn't suddenly drop all of their anger and shock and rejoice.
Quite a scaly ending, might I add.
Excuse my pun, but this was wonderful.
You did a great job. The ending was really touching.
A new day, a new dawn, a new beginning--and with every beginning, there is an end.
Man, I love and hate the ends...
I thought that they would revert her to a normal alicorn, considering Celestia was researching it
awesome ending! yay a sequel!
2345471
That was going to be a scene, actually; where the spell fails save for a bit more magic under Twilight's control. I couldn't really figure out where to put it in, so I may add it as a deleted scene later. (I also couldn't put it in because I planned to use parts of it in the sequel)
Were you just trying to get this story out of the way so that you could move on to the next? I know you never intended much to come of the story, but I feel like it was rushed and not very well thought out.
2345816
See the second section of comment 2344642
2345854
It's not just that it's rushed, I feel like you didn't put much heart into it.
2346209
I can agree with that, yes. I tend to make the sequel much longer and much more... *feels*-oriented.
It was cute....not good but not bad. I do look forward to the sequel.
And so the Dovahponies came to be. Oooooh story potential. Luna's got the shouts.
I looked for the sequel as a true true friend but I found a story already named that.
2349743
Not out yet, but I seem to be sharing names quite a bit lately.
2344642
Which comments above did you want me to be directed to?
2353934
Fourpony's.
Lol, ponies in this story change so fast, first they want to kill Twilight, they do not even care that she saved the world several times, and now after some words they cheer for her, why do I fell that they loyalty and support is weak and they are ready to turn on others for any given reason ?