Equestria could come crashing down when a threat from Equestria's past returns from it's prison. Could the mane six stop the world from being blinded by unholy light?
A golden mirror. An ancient threat. A blinding light. Twilight and her friends must find out how to stop this phenomenon from unleashing a horrible glare upon the kingdom. Along the way she discovers some secrets of Equestria's past, her mentor's origins, the motives of old enemies, and the first Alicorn King.
Shining Armor had got it. His happy ending. He worked hard all of his life in the Royal Guard and he finally made it, he was the captain. He had married the girl he crushed on since he was a teenager, (though he had to blow apart a Changeling army to finally get there). His sister had been elevated to ROYALTY. His family was set for life. He and Cadence were trying to have a foal. He thought he would make a good Dad, even if he didn't his wife would DEFINITELY be a good mom.......
So why? Why did he feel this uneasy?
He was alone in the Crystal Palace's throne room. He had no one to talk to. Cadence had left the Empire to visit his sister.
You're BORED Shine He thought to himself. You are bored out of your skull. Just take a walk outside. Clear your head.
The Crystal Empire's courtyard was usually very peaceful. Shining Armor liked to take a walk every so often clear his head. Keep himself calm. He liked those moments where he could just enjoy the silence.
That silence was broken in less than a minute.
"COME ON!" "What in Tartarus dude?" "No one? No one had Ponyville for the medal count?!"
Sentry.
"Sorry guys but that's where it stands. The pot remains where it is. Sudden death round is on the Wonderbolts training race next week, and the betting opens now."
Lieutenant Flash Sentry was standing in a ring of other guards. At their hooves was a bag that had to have contained over 50,000 bits.
Flash had only been in the Guard about a year. Shining armor liked him.... for the most part.
Shining had always kept things informal, allowed a certain amount of insubordination, but Sentry seemed determined to push Shining's tolerance to it's limit. Whether it was paying other guards to take his shifts for him, fraternizing with some of the female nobility that came to visit....
Or indeed running an illegal betting pool on the outcome of the Equestria Games.
But Shining Armor knew that if it ever came down to it, Flash would take an arrow for him. And really that's all that mattered.
"SENTRY!" Shining Armor barked.
Flash leaped with a start. "AH!" He turned around to face his commander. "Oh Cap! Hi, were just-"
"I shouldn't have to remind you soldier that taking part in a gambling ring is against regulations, right maggot?" Shining Armor was directly in his lieutenant's face now.
"That was in no way what we were doing, SIR!" An idea slowly dawned on Flash. "Unless, you know, you want in?"
"SENTRY" Shining Barked again. That was Flash's cue to stop. He was about to cross the line.
Shining Armor turned to face the other Guards. "I'm glad I caught you guys together. See if I caught Mr. Sentry ALONE I would have demanded that he divvy the pot up and returning it the people who bet. Since I now know that you all ALSO took part in this pool, however, I'm confiscating the pot for myself. I'd like to thank all of you for contributing. I really don't buy Princess Cadence enough nice things."
There was a general groan of discontent from the Guards.
"Dismissed! Sentry, you're with me. Help, me lug this bag to my office."
Flash hefted the bag onto his back and kept pace with his commander. When the other guards were out of earshot, Flash asked the question he asked all too often.
"Am I court marshaled?"
A familiar defeated look ran across his captain's face, "No, Flash, but honestly what am I going to do with you? The pranks around base are bad enough, but it's like you have no respect for me or the uniform."
"You know that's not true sir. I do respect you." This was true. To Flash, if you weren't worthy of respect, you weren't worth screwing with.
"Your oh so subtle backhanded insults to the Aristocracy don't go unnoticed."
"Most of them are too stupid to realize what happened and ALL of them deserve it"
"Agreed, but there is a way to these things. Do it behind their backs, like servants have done for centuries."
"Who says I don't?"
Shining Armor stopped outside his office and gave Flash an earnest look. "You're a good soldier, Flash. There's a reason I haven't busted your flank down to Sergeant yet. I just need you to-"
He was cut off. A guard was running in a panic toward Flash and Shining.
"Flash! We need to get to the-
The guard screeched to a halt in front of the Captain.
"Too late, man." Flash said, "We've been busted. All bets are off."
The Guard was out of breath. "That's not- Captain, Flash, we need you at the Town Square as soon as possible!"
"Slow down, private." Shining armor said. "What in Celestia's name is going on?"
The Soldier looked bewildered. "I don't know....."
The Mirror had risen from the ground in town square. Six feet tall, four feet wide. Taller than the average pony. The dirt it dug up around it was smoldering like hot coals. It seemed to be made of pure gold. The frame was covered in insignia. On the top was the Image of a male Alicorn raising the sun. On the side were two female Alicorns moving toward the bottom, where a group of ponies were cowering from the images above them.
It was a miracle that Shining Armor could work out that much, the light reflecting of the glass was oppressive.
Squinting in the light. Shining asked the pony who came across it some routine questions. The Mare had a grey coat, a blonde mane and...... interesting eyes.
"So Miss......" Shining Armor felt awkward not knowing which eye to focus on.
"Hooves" the Pegasus responded. "Derpy Hooves."
Shining Armor couldn't believe his ears. "So miss. How did you come across this artifact?"
"It was shining a bright light into my hotel room! Darn thing lit it up like a Hearth's Warming tree! I'll tell you this has been SOME vacation. First I'm insulted by the bellhop, crosseyed, pah, then I almost lose my Equestria Games ticket because some jerk tries steal my saddlebag, when I GET to the event I'm almost killed by a falling hunk of ice- it's been a mess. Honestly if my boss didn't force me to take my vacation days at the end of each quarter I wouldn't even BOTHER with-"
"Miss Hooves!" Shining Armor realized that if he didn't cut her off they could be here all week. "What prompted you to call for the Guard?"
"Well of course I tried to move the stupid thing MYSELF but when I touched it it was scalding hot! Thought it was going to burn my hoof right off. So I let out a scream. That called you boys over. The guards here are very efficient. I let out a little yelp and all of the sudden there's four armed stallions surrounding me! It made me feel safe. Though I think it was a bit of an exaggeration when he said 'bloodcurdling'-"
"Captain Armor!" Flash Sentry called from behind the golden mirror.
A wave of relief washed over Shining Armor. He could kiss Flash right now.
"What did you get out of her?" Flash asked his commander.
"Nothing that we didn't guess by looking at the thing." Shining sighed. "What about you?"
"Something I noticed." Flash said "Cap, where are we in relation to the mirrors lens?"
Shining Armor looked at his Lieutenant. "Behind it."
Flash Sentry pointed at the sky "And what's that right above us?"
Shining Armor squinted in the light of the sun. "Wait a minute...."
"You get it too, right?" Flash asked, "What light is the mirror reflecting? There's no source."
Shining Armor was all of a sudden very nervous. Something about this seemed familiar.
He and flash walked back towards the palace. "Contact Canterlot. Tell them what's going on. We're not going to call this an emergency situation yet, but keep watch on it. Don't let anyone touch it. See if Celestia can spare some Magic experts to help us identify this thing. Get some unicorns down here to see if a focused shroud spell can shade this thing so everypony can get some sleep tonight."
"Yes sir," Flash squinted in the light of the mirror. "No one will be able to sleep with this glare"
The word seemed to make Shining Armor stop in his tracks.
"What Did you just say?"
Flash paused, unsure of what he did wrong. "Nopony will get any rest because of the glare from the mirror?"
There was that word again. It all clicked at that moment. A campfire. A story he used to impress his girlfriend. A story he used to terrify his sister. An old mare's tale.
A look of horror came over Shining Armor's face. "Lockdown. No one comes near that mirror. No one uses magic on it. I want at least six guards around it at all times."
"Okay, what did I say?" Flash asked confused.
"Sentry, you tell my wife what's going on when she gets back, and make sure that you get my parents out of here."
"You got it chief," Flash said. "What are YOU going to do?"
"What we always do in this kind of scenario!" Shining Armor yelled as he sprinted toward the palace. "Call Twily!"
He had gotten his happily ever after. He was trying to become a father.
Days like this weren't supposed to happen
Miles away, in the Golden Oak Library in Ponyville Twilight Sparkle was reading three fillies a horror story her brother used to scare her with. It was about a golden mirror......
So as the light slowly dies And we move into a peaceful night Heed the words of the old and wise, Darkness should not cause you fright. Fear instead seeing the Mirror rise, And being blinded by his light
Twilight slowly shut the book. They wanted a scary story with Nightmare Night coming up, and they got one. The single scariest story she knew. The only thing that could make ponies afraid of broad daylight. The Legend of the Alicorn's Glare.
She put the book back on the shelf. "That's my favorite scary story!" Twilight Sparkle said cheerfully. "My brother used to read it to me when we went camping. What did you think of it girls?" Twilight turned around to discover that where there once were three frightened young fillies there was suddenly a quivering mass under a sheet.
"Nice and dark in here!" The voice of Apple Bloom erupted from the sheet.
"Not a ray of light to be found!" Scootaloo chimed in.
"I can't see a thing!" Sweetie Belle said happily.
Twilight gave a weary smile. Maybe she had gone a little overboard.
She calmly pulled the sheet off of them. "Now girls. Don't be silly. The Alicorn's Glare is just an old mare's tale."
"That's what we thought about Discord!" Scootaloo pointed out.
"And Nightmare Moon!" Sweetie Belle added.
Twilight frowned. They were right. Two old legends became two VERY REAL threats. "Old Mare's Tale" wasn't as comforting as it used to be these days.
"And besides, Twilight...." Apple Bloom said "We've seen Alicorns with powers over light... Princess Celestia raises the sun.... even you Twilight...." Apple Bloom's voice shrank. She was ashamed to even THINK what she just thought.
Twilight sat down between Scootaloo and Apple Bloom. She outstretched her wings and brought the fillies closer to her. "Girls, do you know what twilight is?"
"A princess?" guessed Apple Bloom.
"A bookworm?" said Scootaloo.
"A really good teacher?" Sweetie Belle chimed in.
Twilight let out a chuckle. "No, I meant what I'm NAMED after."
The girls pondered it for a moment, then shook their heads.
"Twilight is the last light of the day," Twilight began "it's soft and gentle. Almost calming. FAR from a blinding oppressive light. Just a safe signal that it's almost time to rest. A time to get excited for tomorrow" She turned to Apple Bloom. "And I swear that is the only light I'll ever bring the three of you."
Apple Bloom couldn't help but wrap Twilight in a hug. The other two quickly joined in.
"Aw, that was very sweet." came a soft voice from the corner.
"Wah!" Twilight yelped, jumping back a bit.
The yellow Pegasus revealed her self "Oh.... I'm sorry." Her voice shook as she spoke. "I stopped by because I thought you had something to tell me but I must have misheard you...."
"Fluttershy?" Twilight recovered from her momentary shock. "When did you get here?"
"About ten minutes ago." Fluttershy added softly. "I saw that you were reading to the girls and I didn't want to interrupt, but when you got to the part about-" Fluttershy swallowed hard "The eyes of the Alicorn King lighting people ablaze, I hid under the table."
Twilight put her face in her hoof. "Ugh. Well I did want to speak with you. Girls?"
"Yes ma'am!" The three fillies yelled in unison.
"That's all for today, I'm sure you have plenty of things to do so get to them."
"Thank you Twilight!" Apple Bloom smiled, and then turned to her friends "Alright ladies! Were off early, That means we have plenty of time to try a few things before curfew! So let's get to it!"
"CUTIE MARK CRUSADER STRING TRIO!!!" The three screamed in unison at the top of their lungs.
"Oh girls, just ask Octavia's permission before you-" Twilight tried to ask, but it was too late with a fading "Yay" the Cutie Mark Crusaders were out the door and galloping down the road.
"It's nice that they have such high spirits." Fluttershy said.
Maybe a little TOO high spirited Twilight thought to herself.
"Anyway, Twilight, you wanted to speak with me?" Fluttershy asked.
That's right. She did. The events of Cadence's visit rushed back into her mind. She couldn't contain her excitement any longer. She let out one of the largest grins she's ever let loose.
"Yes I did!" Twilight said, a small squeak in her voice. "Do you know where Spike is right now?"
"Well, I do-"
"At the train station! Dropping off my Sister-in-law!" Twilight interrupted.
"Well I knew she was visiting bu-"
"And Cadence had news, BIG news! News she made me promise not to tell ANYONE. But I'm going to burst if I don't tell someone, so you've got to keep it a secret! She hasn't even told Shining Armor yet. So you can't. Tell. Anypony. okay?" Twilight had that manic look in her eye. That wide eyed excitement she got whenever something major was about to happen.
Fluttershy shrunk at the thought of keeping a secret. The prospect terrified her. "Well, I don't know if I-"
"Cadence is going to have a FOAL!" Twilight shrieked. "I'm going to be an Aunt! I wonder what it'll be! What if it's a filly?! Oh, but what if it's a colt? I'm not sure how to properly look after a colt. What am I saying! I'm the aunt, not the mother. All I have to do is spoil the kid rotten! Boy or girl that should be easy to handle!"
"Oh, Twilight!" Fluttershy was still nervous, but delighted all the same. "That's wonderful news!"
"I know!" Twilight's voice was practically a high pitched squeal at this point. "But you can't tell anypony. You need to promise!"
It was too late. Fluttershy knew. there was no way out now. So if she was going to do this, she was going to do it right. "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."
Twilight relaxed at that. Nopony broke a Pinkie Promise if they knew what was good for them. If Pinkie Pie found out.....
At that point the door swung open and a small purple dragon entered the room.
"I'm back!" Spike said "Oh, hi Fluttershy."
Twilight got right up close to him. Any relaxation she had received from the Pinkie Promise was gone with wind. "Did Cadence make it onto the train?"
Spike rolled his eyes. "No Twilight, as you can, see she's with me right now."
Twilight barely heard the sarcastic remark, "What about the steps, was she careful on the steps?
Spike was confused by the question. "I....... didn't check myself, but I'm sure the two ARMED GUARDS did. Seriously though why don't you have those again? You're royalty too. Is it because things are so quiet in Ponyville? That's a laugh. Remember last month when T-BURRP!" At that point a gout of green flame poured out of the baby Dragon's mouth. The flame formed into a parchment scroll that landed on the floor of the library. "Hey, It's been awhile. I forgot how much I hate it when that happens," Spike muttered
"A letter from Princess Celestia?" Twilight levitated the scroll up to her and unrolled it. "I wonder what's going on."
Twilight began to read the partchment. After a few moments she lowered the paper and blankly stared at the wall.
Oh no. Twilight's mind was racing Oh, no no no no. This can't be happening. The timing is just too perfect. I was just reading the story and- Focus Sparkle. Keep it together. Just calm down.
"Uh.... Twilight?" Fluttershy asked nervously.
"Twilight you've been holding that scroll for a minute and a half now in utter silence. Just how bad is it?" Spike knew twilight too well.
Twilight put her hoof to her chest and took a deep breath. Then, as if she was physically pushing the air outward, extended her hoof toward the middle of the room while exhaling.
"Oh my....." Fluttershy knew Twilight's calming technique too well.
"That bad, huh?" Spike guessed.
Twilight turned to the two in the room. "Spike, Fluttershy. I need you to get the other four and meet me at the train station."
"Where are we going exactly?" Spike asked.
"And..... why?" Fluttershy added shakily.
"The Crystal Empire. There appears to be a strange magical artifact that's risen from the ground in the town square...." Twilight trailed off for a moment. It was like a childhood nightmare became reality. She almost couldn't bear to say the next sentence. Saying it would make it real. Saying it would mean that it would be waiting for her when she arrived. "I-- It's a golden mirror. That seems to be reflecting light that isn't there."
At that point Fluttershy tried to say something, but it came out as more of a hushed squeak.
"Get the others. Meet me at the train station in one hour. I'll explain everything when you get there." With that Twilight quickly ran upstairs.
Spike and Fluttershy gave each other a nervous look. Then turned and ran out the door.
Upstairs, Twilight was packing frantically. She needed to calm down. She had to stay focused. And above all, she had to stay in the dark as long as possible.
"Old Mare's Tale," wasn't as much of a comfort anymore.
Luna was the first to arrive at the Empire. It was difficult for her to make the trip. Everything seemed... harder when she got the news.
She new this would happen eventually. The mage told her it would. He always saw the worst of what was coming. Even the loss of his own son.
Her sister was setting the sun. Soon she would have to raise the moon. She was dreading the task for the first time in a millennium. If he caught her......
No. She was a grown mare now. He couldn't hurt her. Not anymore.
It was different this time. She wasn't alone. She had her sister. Her sister's student and her friends, and she had her subjects. They loved her. No matter what HE might say. They all loved her.
In the approaching flight over the Empire she caught the first sight of the Mirror, and she felt something that she had had no reason to feel ever since she was a foal.
"Oh my goodness, Oh my goodness," Fluttershy was frantic. She had to locate the others. She had to make sure to meet Twilight at the train station, but she only had an hour! She had a pretty good idea where to find Pinkie Pie, either at Sugarcube corner or at Vinyl's studio. Applejack would probably be at home around this time. It was getting late. And Spike made a beeline for Carousel Boutique when they left the library, so that takes care of Rarity.
But what about Rainbow Dash? Her weather jobs were over and done with by this morning, and she wouldn't be home until after 10:00. She has no favored hangout spot. She could be napping on any tree limb or any cloud right now! If she wasn't constantly moving around the sky somewhere. Where in Equestria could that pony be right now?
A swift answer came in the form of an elongated scream of "HIT THE DEEEEEEEEEEEEECK!!!!!" and a multicolored streak slamming into Fluttershy knocking her at least six feet down Ponyville's main road.
Rainbow Dash took a moment to realize what had just happened. "Oh my gosh! Fluttershy! Are you alright?"
Fluttershy had already gotten up by that point, and was brushing herself off, sore but otherwise alright. "I'm fine Rainbow Dash, I'm Just relieved I ran into you!"
Rainbow Dash shook the dirt off of herself. "Practicing my routine for the next aerial relay. We're going to take gold next year, I swear it. Anyhow, why did you need to see me?"
Fluttershy started to shake. Thinking about what just happened at the library was giving her chills.
"Well, um, you see Twilight- she got this letter." Fluttershy tried to explain.
"I take it that this wasn't exactly a social call?" Dash replied. They had been best friends since childhood. As a result Rainbow dash was the only pony in the world who could speak Fluttershy mumble.
"Something is happening at the Crystal Empire, whatever it was made Twilight.... nervous"
"Twilight freaking out?" Dash laughed, "There's a shock!"
"This seemed serious, Dashie. Something to do with the return of the Alicorn King..."
"Alicorn who what now?
"A really scary guy who can make you go blind by just looking at him... he can also set you on fire with just a glance."
"So to sum up, the world is in danger again, we're all on the edge of Armageddon, saving Equestria falls to the six of us once more, so it's time to pony up and get ready for a fight?"
Fluttershy let out a timid squeak of confirmation.
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, "Can we never catch a break? Listen. You head home and tell your animals where you're going. I'll get Pinkie Pie and the others. okay?'
"Okay. I'll go home and get ready. We just have to meet Twilight at the train station by 8 pm, okay?"
"Got it" Dash took off. She knew where Pinkie Pie was. She had told her to stop by and help her out with the preparations, though she didn't say for what exactly.
Next stop: Club PON-3.
Sweetie Belle had been telling her sister the story ever since she got to Carousel Boutique. The Crusader's had decided to skip on the adventure for today. Not on an evening this... bright. She had felt a little calmer about it now that the sun was setting.
Rarity had been hemming a commissioned outfit. She knew she shouldn't be working this late, but she had a deadline. "Honestly darling," Rarity said through the pins in her teeth "I don't know why you asked Twilight to read you such a dreadful story."
"Come on, sis!" Sweetie Belle protested, "Nightmare Night is coming up! I had to get in the right mood or else I won't be able to scare anypony!"
Rarity placed a pin in the hem "So you wanted to get yourself too frightened to move? Yes, I can see the logic behind that."
Sweetie Belle looked defensive, "I wasn't that scared."
Rarity chuckled as she inserted the last pin "You burst in this room like the Alicorn King was directly behind you. I'm fairly sure that this 'impromptu' visit was simply because my house was closer to Twilight's library than Mother and Father's was!"
Sweetie Belle blushed. "Okay," she admitted. "Maybe I was that scared. But at least it gave me a great idea for a costume! I was hoping you could design it for me."
"Oh?" Rarity was genuinely intrigued by the prospect, "And who would you be going as?"
Sweetie Belle leaped up on the counter and wrapped herself in yellow fabric, "Grr. I am Seraphim Glare, the Alicorn King!" She had taken on a deep voice (or... as deep as she could get) "Kneel before me or be smoted by my blinding light!" Sweetie Belle put all of her energy into her horn, but only a few sparks came out.
"Horrifying," Rarity said dryly."Well I'll see what I can do. I should have time to finish it before Nightmare Night."
"Thanks! I know it'll be perfect.' Sweetie Belle smiled at her sister. "What will you be going as?"
"I'm not sure yet... i was thinking-" Rarity was cut off when the door flew open.
Spike walked in obviously out of breath. "R-Rarity."
"Oh my stars!" Rarity said, obviously concerned. "Spike you look terrible! Why are you so-"
"I ran here." Spike gasped. "You've gotta meet the others at the train station! There's an emergency at the Crystal Empire. Princess Celestia needs you all there as soon as possible."
"What in Equestria is going on?" Rarity asked.
"Twilight will explain when you get there," Spike panted. "Meantime I've got to go get Applejack!"
"Not so fast!" Rarity caught the baby dragon with well timed levitation. "You're obviously exhausted and I won't have you straining yourself any further. I'll speak with Applejack. Come Sweetie Belle, I'm taking you home." Rarity walked toward the door with her sister in tow. She stopped and turned back to Spike "Before I leave however, I think Applejack will want some hint as to what this 'emergency' is."
"I'm not sure myself." Spike said. "All I heard was something about a golden mirror."
Rarity and Sweetie Belle shared a significant look.
Rainbow Dash landed near the outside door of the night club. She walked up to enter but was soon blocked by the bouncer, an over-muscled white Pegasus. "Sorry, club's been rented out for the rest of the week. No entry."
"Come on Bulk!" Rainbow pleaded, "I need to get in there, you know me!"
"This is my job, Dash." Bulk Biceps said defensively. "The place has been rented out for the week. There's only two people in there regardless! Vinyl and-"
"Pinkie Pie, right?" Rainbow guessed. "Listen, I have to talk to her, it's important. Like, 'fate of Equestria' important."
Bulk started to waver. "Alright," he stepped aside, "but if Vi throws you out, as far as she's concerned you snuck in. Got it?"
Rainbow nodded, and stepped inside.
The view was surreal. Usually Club PON-3 was packed wall to wall with ponies. The air was usually filled with thumping music and flashing lights. Now the night club was almost empty, with the exception of two ponies. The DJ Vinyl Scratch, who was sitting at her mixing board, and Pinkie Pie who was sitting in front of the largest sound system that Rainbow Dash had ever seen. There was a banner going across the ceiling that said "WELCOME BACK CHEESE SANDWICH!"
Pinkie Pie pulled a measuring tape out of her mane. "Sound check!" she yelled to Vinyl.
"You got it, boss-mare!" Vinyl flipped a switch on the mixing board.
A deafening synth shriek blared across the night club, launching Pinkie across the room, the measuring tape trailing behind her. She landed halfway to Vinyl.
Rainbow Dash couldn't hear what Vinyl said when she spoke to Pinkie, but her hearing came back to her halfway through Pinkie's response. "-ly thirty five feet!" Pinkie said checking the measuring tape. "I think we need to turn it up!"
"On it!" Vinyl yelled back.
"Hold it!" Rainbow yelled. "Just a minute! I need to talk to Pinkie Pie!"
Vinyl and Pinkie Pie caught sight of her and trotted over. "Rainbow Dash!" Pinkie seemed delighted, "I'm glad you showed up, we have a lot of work to do. First things first is decoration. Vinyl will show you what to put up where. When you're not doing deco, focus on catering, pick your favorite kind of cheese from this menu. When you're not doing deco, or catering learn how to play this accordion. Alright people we've only got six more days to get this party right! Let's go, go, go!"
"Wait a second!" Rainbow was stunned. "You rented this place for a whole week? How much did that cost you? And who's this party for anyway?"
"Oh, right! You don't know!" Pinkie realized. "Cheese Sandwich is coming back to Ponyville for a visit a week from today! So I decided to throw him a welcoming party! It's the least I could do, since I didn't celebrate his birthday last year. And don't worry about the expense, it only cost me two months salary!"
Rainbow Dash was flabbergasted. "Two month- You didn't even know Cheese on his birthday las-" she slapped her forehead with her hoof, reminding herself why she was there. "Listen, Pinkie, Twilight sent me and-"
"Of course she's invited too!" Pinkie went on, "Everypony is! But I need to pull out all the stops. After all, Cheese is the only other true party pony I've met other than me! I've got to make sure that this is like nothing he's ever seen before. I have to admit though, I'm at a loss. What should I do for my good friend's party?"
Rainbow Dash heard a fiddle saw seemingly from nowhere and she knew what was coming. "Pinkie, wait! Don't start singing! We need to-" Too late.
"What should we do for my good friend's party? What should we do for my good friend's party? What should we do for my good friend's party? Late during the evenin'?
Cake! Hay! And lots of ice cream! Cake! Hay! And lots of ice cream! Cake! Hay! And lots of ice cream! Late during the evenin'!"
She went on to the next verse as she pranced around the nightclub.
"What in Celestia's mane is she doing? And where's the music coming from?" Rainbow asked.
"C'mon Dash, you've known Pinkie long enough not to ask those questions," Vinyl laughed. "You know you've got a verse coming up right?"
"So do you."
"Yeah," Vinyl let out a grin. "But I'm looking forward to it."
Rainbow Dash knew that there was no point in interrupting the song. This was going to happen. Usually Rainbow didn't mind, but the train left at 8:00, they were pressed for time.
"What do you need Pinks for?' Vinyl asked.
"Some kind of emergency in the Crystal Empire. The princess wants us to check it out." Rainbow answered.
Vinyl shook her head. "Not a day goes by that I'm not glad I'm not in you're position. Every time Equestria's in mortal danger it's your problem. I don't think I could handle-"
Rainbow noticed Pinkie advancing on Vinyl with a microphone. "I think you're up, Vi."
"Oh-
"Feed him hard cider 'til he ain't sober! Feed him hard cider 'til he ain't sober! Feed him hard cider 'til he ain't sober! Late during the evenin'!"
Pinkie continued to the "Cake! Hay!" and Vinyl and Rainbow continued their conversation. "I don't think I could handle that kind of responsibility," Vinyl finished.
"Yeah, it can get tough." Rainbow admitted "But, hey! My friends are with me, as long as they're around-"
Vinyl caught sight of Pinkie on the ceiling catwalk, about to whip a spotlight on Dash. "Your turn."
"Oh, horse apples-
"At the end whip out the party canon! At the end whip out the party canon! At the end whip out the party canon! Late during the evenin'!"
Pinkie went back to the "Cake! Hay!" and rainbow finished her sentence. "As long as they're around, I know I can handle anything."
Vinyl was distracted. "Lovely sentiment but I think the last verse is an ensemble."
Vinyl and Rainbow took up the harmony as they finished the number.
"That's what we do for a good friend's party! That's what we do for a good friend's party! That's what we do for a good friends party! Late during the evenin'!"
Rainbow paused for a moment to make sure the song was really over, then she put her hoof on Pinkie's shoulder.
"We need to talk."
Apple Bloom had made it home safely, AJ was grateful for that.
Applejack was tucking her little sister into bed. She was obviously worried, but she tried not to let Apple Bloom see it.
"Now get some sleep, Sugarcube," Applejack said softly, "I shouldn't be away more'n a couple days, so don't you worry." Applejack wasn't sure how much she believed that, with what Rarity had just told her. AJ had heard the story from Granny Smith on a few occasions when she was a filly. It was one of the very few things that truly frightened her, and Rarity had just confirmed that it was all the truth. She was waiting downstairs.
"I still don't get why you have to get goin' so fast," Apple Bloom was worried about her sister, although she didn't fully understand what was going on. "Can't this wait 'til tomorrow?"
Applejack shook her head, "I'm sorry, Apple Bloom. It just can't. You heard Rarity, it's an emergency."
Apple Bloom looked down at the foot of her bed, "I'm scared sis." Apple Bloom looked straight into her sisters eyes, "You don't s'pose that this 'Glare' guy could really come back? I mean-" Apple Bloom was starting to tear up.
"C'mon now," Appjecack reassured her, "We don't even know that's what's going on, yet, and even if it was, that varmint would have to go through ten o' me to get to you."
Apple Bloom broke down and hugged her sister, sobbing into her shoulder.
"Shhhh." Applejack said quietly. "There there...." Apple Bloom managed to regain her composure. She let her sister go and leaned back on her pillow, looking at her sheets. "It's gettin' late. Time for all good little foals to get some sleep. Can you do that for me Apple Bloom?"
The filly sharply sniffed and then silently nodded.
"Alright then," Applejack rose up. "I'd better get myself goin' or I'll be late for the train. I'll send Big McIntosh in with some warm milk if you're thirsty."
"That'd be nice." Apple Bloom said weakly. "I love you, sis. Be careful"
"Aren't I always?" Applejack replied. She leaned over and kissed her sister on the cheek. "I love you too, Sugarcube. Now get some sleep."
Applejack left the room and headed downstairs. "Oh this tea is simply divine!" a voice downstairs exclaimed. "Granny Smith, what is your secret?"
Applejack had found Rarity and her grandmother drinking tea around the coffee table. Her older brother was in the corner chewing on a piece of straw. "Can't tell you that, Missy!" Granny Smith replied. "Apple family secret old as time."
"Powdered Apple seeds in the teabag," Applejack called from the staircase. Granny Smith shot her a look, "Rarity are we gonna leave today or-"
"Yes, yes, yes. You're absolutely right. We simply must be going,' Rarity answered. "Thank you again!"
She and Applejack started to walk to the door. "Big Mac?" Big McIntosh looked at his sister. "Apple Bloom is gonna need some warm milk."
Big Mac slowly nodded his head.
"And," Applejack continued, "You know what to do if I-"
"Eeeyup" Big Mac cut her off. He didn't want to hear the end of that sentence.
Discord was experiencing something he had little familiarity with before his reformation, boredom.
He was lying on the couch in Fluttershy's cottage. They had a dinner engagement and she was almost an hour late. There was part of him that wanted to kill some time by turning the whole place into a massive wheel of cheese, but he was better than that now. Thanks to Fluttershy he had manged to keep some self control. No longer an uncontrolled spirit of chaos. Now a jovial trickster spirit.
"What could be taking her so long?" he shifted uneasily in his chair. Ever since this afternoon he had felt strange. Almost like someone was watching him. Like someone was constantly looking over his shoulder.
Fluutershy's rabbit Angel leaped up and sat on Discord's chest.
"You've known her longer than I have," Discord said to the rabbit. "Has she ever been this late for an appointment before?"
Angel shook his head.
"What do you think may have come up?"
Angel shrugged.
"Perhaps I should go looking for her...."
Angel shook his head and pointed out the window. Fluttershy was coming up to the front door.
"Aha!" Discord sat up straight and picked up Angel by the ears. "Thank you, you've been marvelous conversation."
Discord snapped his fingers and the Draconequus was donned in a tuxedo, top hat, and monocle.
Fluttershy opened the front door. "Oh, Discord. Hello," she said pleasantly.
Discord slowly pulled a pocket watch out of his jacket and checked it before looking up at Fluttershy.
"Yes, I know I'm quite late...." Fluttershy said. "I'm afraid I've got to cancel our dinner tonight."
"Oh foo." Discord quickly dematerialized his outfit. "Well I hope that you have a good excuse for keeping me waiting all this time only to cancel, I have other things I could be doing right now."
"Yes, I know..." Fluttershy smiled, "and I do. Twilight has to report to the Crystal Empire, and Princess Celestia asked for us specifically to accompany her."
"Some sort of festival?" Discord asked. "Not another Tartarus escapee, I hope. things didn't go well last time."
"Everything turned out just fine." Fluttershy reassured him.
"Hmph. No thanks to me." Discord was still ashamed over what had happened last month.
"You made the right choice in the end," Fluttershy gave Discord a soft smile. "Anyway, we're not sure what's going on. Some sort of magic mirror has risen from the ground in the Crystal Empire," Discord's head snapped in Futtershy's direction. "It's giving off a glare that's keeping everypony up."
Discord whipped around and grabbed Fluttershy by the shoulders, "What did you just say?"
"I-" Fluttershy had never seen an expression like this on Discord's face before. "I don't understand what-"
"'Glare,' is what you said...," Discord's eyes darted around the room. "Quite the apt choice of words. I'll drop you off at the train station. Then I must take my leave."
She had never seen Discord like this. His eyes were looking every which way. His breathing was shallow. He couldn't seem to keep still.
She had never seen Discord like this, but she knew what this was.
This was panic.
Discord grabbed her hoof and, with a snap of his fingers, they left the cottage.
Twilight was pacing back an forth in front of the train, constantly looking at the clock. "Where could they be?"
"They've still got ten minutes," Spike replied. "Relax, Twilight. You've been working too hard. With fixing up the Libray, decorating the castle, and your new responsibilities, you're going to give yourself a heart attack."
"How could you expect me to relax about this!" Twilight continued to pace up and down the platform. "In the legend, Seraphim Glare was the most ruthless tyrant anyone had ever come across. He made Discord and Sombra's exploits look like a charity drive. How am I supposed to handle something like that?"
"Okay. One: We still don't know that's what's going on," Spike explained. "And Two: We beat this guy once before right? I'm sure we could beat him again."
"I'm not so sure," Twilight was about to pace a groove into the platform. "The legend is very vague on his defeat. Whatever happened caused him to flee into his mirror. We're still not sure what caused him to run. All the poem said was 'When the palace turned black'"
"I'm sure we'll figure it ou-WOAH!" Spike leaped to the side as something materialized next to him.
"I'm sorry Spike," Discord was standing on the platform next to a dazed Fluttershy. "Did I get your tail?"
"Discord?" Twilight stopped in her tracks. "What are you doing here?"
"Merely dropping off Fluttershy," Discord replied. "Celestia asked the six of you to deal with this yourself, did she?"
"Well-"
"And she awaits you at the Crystal Palace?"
"Well, yes but-"
"All I needed to know, Ta-ta!" With a snap of his fingers, Discord was gone.
There was a pause for a moment. "What was that about?"
"I'm not sure," Fluttershy replied. "But he looked awfully worried when I-"
"We're heeeeere!" came a singsong voice from the end of the platform. Rarity and Applejack walked onto the platform.
"Sorry to cut it so close, y'all," Applejack explained. "You know how far off the beaten path the farm is.."
Twilight was about to answer when she heard two sets of footsteps behind her. "Wait up!"
Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie stepped onto the platform. "What took you so long?" Twilight demanded.
"Ask Hinny of the Hills over here," Dash tilted her head to Pinkie.
"Well excuse me for trying to bring a little music into your life!" Pinkie shot back.
"That aside," Rarity stopped the argument before it could start, "I'm still unclear as to what exactly is going on. Spike made it seem so dire. Just how serious could this threat be?"
Twilight felt like she was about to panic. Before she could, she put her hoof to her chest an inhaled deeply.
Rainbow Dash's eyes widened, "That bad?"
Celestia was looking out the window of the Crystal Palace, her eyes fixated at the glow from the town square. She was going to see him again. After 1,100 years. The prospect terrified her.
She was always his favorite. Though she never took that as a compliment, nor did it ever show. His cruelty was legend, and no one was spared from it. Not even....
She quickly put the thought out of her head. That was the past. It was behind her. She needed to focus on now, and now she had to do everything she could to stop him from returning.
All of a sudden there was a flash in the room, "Celestia, what are you thinking?"
"I've made my decision, Discord," Celestia replied.
"There is no way that they're prepared for this!" Discord protested. "This isn't Sombra, or Tirek where you can use a little of the right magic to brute force the problem away. This is Seraphim. He should be no one's responsibility but ours."
"And I am taking responsibility," Celestia said calmly.
"By passing it off on your student?" Discord asked. "Oh, very noble."
Celestia forgot herself for a moment, "After last month you are the last one I would expect to lecture me on nobility."
"Last month is beside the point" Discord yelled. "If you honestly think that-"
"That's enough," came a voice from behind them. Luna was standing in the doorway. "The both of you."
Luna walked up to them, "I understand that we are all on edge, but we were warned this was coming. We should have been preparing for it. The mage had never been wrong before." . "Stubborn old goat..." Discord said indignantly.
"Agreed," Luna replied. "But that doesn't change the fact that he was right. For what it's worth, I agree with my sister. Twilight Sparkle and her friends are our best hope of survival. If anyone can save us, they can."
Discord wanted to protest, but in his heart he knew she was right. The six of them had managed the impossible before. He threw up his hands. "Very well. I still don't like this, but I concede. If you'll excuse me ladies."
"Where are you going?" Celestia demanded.
"To fetch something I might need" Discord replied slyly. "After all, it never hurts to have a backup plan."
The zebra carefully examined the blue plant cutting on her worktable.
"A snapped off twig from Harmony's tree," Zecora looked up at her visitor. "Why would chaos bring this to me?"
"I need you to powder it," Discord explained. "And put it in a very thick container. Walking up tho the blasted tree nearly killed me, and carrying that with me has been constantly sapping my energy. Can you do it or not?"
"Powdering this twig should be easy to try," Zecora stared inquisitively at Discord. "But before I do, I must know, why?"
"Call it a last resort," Discord explained. "I won't use the thing if I don't have to. And do dispense with the rhyming Zecora, it gets old after a while..."
"If you wish to waste my precious time," Zecora said indignantly, "Then you will have to put up with my rhyme."
Discord rolled his eyes as Zecora powdered the twig. "If you could make it a very fine powder, I need it to go down easily."
Zecora stopped for a moment "If I am right about what you intend to do, you do know what will become of you?"
"Yes, yes," Discord replied, "I'm well aware of the consequences."
"I do not what you to leave this hut surprised," Zecora insisted, "near harmony, chaos will be p-"
"I know," Discord cut her off. "As I said, last resort. Only if it becomes vital."
Zecora finished her work, and then poured the powder into a thick glass vial, "I suppose it is better than if you were to die,'" she said coyly, "We wouldn't want to disappoint Fluttershy."
Discord smiled as he took the vial, "Agreed."
Discord snapped his fingers and was gone from the hut.
Twilight had told Spike to stay behind. If she couldn't make it back to Ponyville, he would need to evacuate the town.
The train was about to pull to a stop at the Crystal Empire. She and her friends were given a car specifically put aside for royalty, but she was too worried to enjoy it. She had no idea what she was really up against. She couldn't think of why her mentor sent for her, of all people, to investigate this. In a way she was flattered, her mentor must have trusted her more than anyone else. But still...
The train screeched to a halt. Twilight stepped off the train to be greeted by fanfare from awaiting guards. She winced. She still wasn't used to the noise.
Apparently neither was an armored Pegasus on the platform. "Really?!" the pegasus complained. "Do you honestly think there's time for that right now?!"
It took her a moment, but twilight finally recognized him. "Flash?"
Flash Sentry gave a quick bow "Majesty."
The others exited the train. "You can stop the whole 'Majesty' thing. Just call me Twilight.'"
Flash gave Twilight a smile. "I've been ordered to take you directly to the Crystal Palace. The other Princesses are waiting for you there."
"With all due respect to my fellow Princesses," Twilight replied, "I'm countermanding that order."
There was a collective gasp from her friends behind her.
"Flash I want you to take me directly to the mirror, and," Twilight looked at her friends, trying to decide which was the most diplomatic of the five. It wasn't an easy choice. No one was qualified. "Rarity," she finally decided, "Please tell princess Celestia I will be delayed."
"Darling you're not honestly thinking of trying to destroy that mirror alone, are you?" Rarity was aghast.
"Of course not," Twilight reassured her. "But for the sake of my own sanity, I need to see this thing for myself."
"Alright," Rainbow Dash was worried about her friend. "But you better not leave us out of the action, head to the palace as soon as you've gotten a look at the thing."
"Will do," Twilight turned to Flash. "Have the carriage take my friends to the palace. Flash, can you lead me to the mirror?"
Flash outstretched his wings. "Absolutely, Princess. If you'll follow me." Flash took off, with Twilight behind him.
The pair was flying high above the Empire. "So," Twilight shouted over the roar of the wind, "How's my brother?"
"Who, Cap?" Flash called back. "Well past the point of losing his hoofing mind, why?"
"Why should he be upset?" Twilight asked. "This isn't the first time he's had to deal with a crisis situation."
"Yeah," Flash replied. "But it's the first time he's ever had to wait for one. Since that thing burst out of the ground we've all been waiting for the other horseshoe to drop. The tension has been so thick you could spread it on bread. As a result Cap's sense of humor is gone, and now that his sense of humor is gone, I can't do the things I normally do to keep myself calm around base. So I've been a little on edge myself."
Twilight couldn't help but smile at that.
"We're here!" Flash called as they approached the town square.
Twilight and Flash landed near the mirror. Two guards parted to let the pair through.
And then she saw it. The mirror was exactly as she had thought it would be. The dimensions. The color. The light it gave off even with no sun in the sky.
She studied the markings on the mirrors frame. She knew what the one on top was. That was Seraphim Glare. The Ponies on the bottom were his subjects. The two on the side though, who were they? The poem didn't mention other Alicorns, just the king. So who were these two?
Twilight noticed something odd. The light from the lens was beginning to dim.
It stopped just short of vanishing completely, simply giving a dim glow, and giving Twilight a clear view of her reflection.
Flash was puzzled, "O.... kaaaaay, It hasn't done that before now."
Twilight couldn't help but approach the mirror. It seemed to be beckoning her. She stared into her own eyes until she was no more than a yard away.
And then the mirror began to crack.
Not dramatically. A very thin crack moving from the left side of the frame to the right, distorting Twilight's reflection. After that the mirror grew bright again. No one was able to look at the lens without squinting.
Flash and Twilight were dumbfounded. "That probably wasn't a good sign," Flash reasoned.
"Yeah," Twilight said nervously. "We should probably get going."
Twilight and Flash took off for the castle.
And one second later, Twilight's reflection disappeared from the mirror.
The throne room was eerily quiet when Twilight arrived. Rainbow Dash was standing in front of the throne, seemingly prepared to throw herself in front of any threat that walked through the door. Rarity was admiring the tapestry on the walls. Pinkie and Applejack were quietly engaged in a poker game (as hyperactive as she was, Pinkie Pie had a surprisingly good poker face.) Flutteshy was looking absentmindedly out the window. On the throne was Princess Cadence, her sister in law. Standing next to Cadence was her brother, and two palace guards.
Shining Armor was the first to notice her arrival. "Twily!"
They all turned to her. Shining Armor and Rainbow Dash rushed over. "What took you?" asked her brother.
"Did you find anything out?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"Not much," Twilight responded. "But it's safe to assume that this is Seraphim Glare's mirror. But it had some markings on it I couldn't understand and-"
"You went to the mirror," Shining was shocked. "alone?"
"Yes," Twilight was insulted by the question. "I'm a grown mare now. Besides I didn't go alone, I had an escort."
"Who took you?" Shining Armor demanded.
"I was the one who ordered him to go-"
"Who took you?!" Shining demanded again.
Twilight knew that tone, Shining Armor was about to snap. "I can't remember."
"SENTRY!!" Shining Armor stormed out of the throne room seeing red.
"Oh dear," Cadence said calmly. She turned to one of her palace guards, "I know it's a frightening task, but could you stop my husband? Tell him that his wife says 'if he kills anypony today he can spend the next month on the couch.'"
"Yes milady." The guard swiftly followed his commander.
"That was lame of him," Rainbow Dash muttered.
"Oh, Rainbow Dash," Rarity replied, approaching Twilight and Rainbow, "you must remember that Shining Armor has been under considerable stress for the last few hours."
"Yeah!" Pinkie was about to fail to help the situation. "I mean any moment now a glowing terror from beyond time could just show up in the middle of the city he's sworn to defend, torching anypony that stands in his way. Moving ever forward to the castle in a death march that might mean the end of him, his family, and everything he holds dear, who wouldn't be stressed by that?"
Fluttershy, around the middle of that little interlude, had hidden behind a curtain. The others were staring at Pinkie Pie, mouths agape. "I guess, me," Pinkie reasoned, "But then again I'm a little oblivious sometimes!"
It took them a moment to recover from that. "Anyhow....." Applejack managed as she turned to Cadence, "We were hopin' you'd have some more information on this, Princess Cadence."
"I'm sorry," Cadence seemed annoyed, "But Celestia and Luna have been very tight-lipped about this. The seem to be more afraid of this 'Alicorn King' then we all are. It's almost like they have-"
"A personal vendetta against him," a voice remarked from behind them. They all turned to face the door. "We do. But it would take to long to explain in words," Luna continued.
Everypony bowed except Twilight and Cadence. "Princess Luna!" Twilight cried. "I thought that-"
"I have told my sister to rest for the night." Luna said. "She won't. But she should at least try."
Luna walked over to her sisters student. Twilight noticed that she was carrying a small satchel. "Twilight Sparkle, if you will follow me. There is something you need to see."
"We can't come with her?" Fluttershy asked nervously.
Luna shook her head. "While I have no doubt that she will need your help in the end, this is something I can only show Twilight. i ask that you please wait here."
The others looked worried, but Twilight kept herself calm. "Lead the way."
Luna led Twilight to a small tea room. They both sat down on either side of a coffee table.
"I would like you to imagine a locked room," Luna began. "A room with no shade. Not a speck of darkness to be found. you're trapped and your only company is an incessant light. A light so bright that you can do nothing to shut it out, but can't open you're eyes wide enough to see."
Twilight imagined the brightly lit room. At first it didn't seem very frightening, but then she thought about it.
All that's in the room is me and the light. The light is so bright I can't see. The door is locked. I can't get out. She suddenly found herself short of breath.
"That was Equestria," Luna continued, "under the hoof of Seraphim Glare."
Twilight perked up her ears, "You remember....?"
Luna let out a melancholic laugh. "All too well." She seemed to be lost in thought for a moment. "Seraphim Glare was the most sadistic pony ever to blemish the face of Equestria. No one was safe from his cruelty. He was also the most powerful Alicorn to ever live."
It seemed hopeless, but Twilight tried to keep her spirits up. "Hey," she said shakily, 'We beat this guy once before right? I'm sure we-"
"I won't let that happen again!" Luna snapped, but she quickly composed herself. "That method shouldn't be used again Twilight Sparkle. The ends didn't justify the means."
Twilight fell silent, growing more and more curious.
"You are a princess now," Luna said. "My equal. Neither I or my sister can give you an order anymore, but....." She took Twilight's hoof, "I am asking, as a friend. Will you please help me?"
Twilight placed her hoof on top of Luna's "Of course, Luna. Where do I begin?"
Luna gave her a soft smile. "Here."
She took out the small satchel and from it she pulled a small glass bottle filled with a deep blue liquid.
"That's the potion that Zecora gave me last summer!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Similar," Luna admitted. "But much more potent. This mixture will allow you to see everything that you need to see to understand the pain that was caused by Seraphim Glare. Even long after his demise."
Twilight knew what to do, the potion was activated by Alicorn magic. When she was ready, she focused all of her energy through the horn, onto the potion. The potion turned white.......
And the room began to spin.
When she came to, she was in a strangely familiar room. Everything in it was sterile white. The light in the room was so blinding it took her eyes a second to adjust.
There were five ponies in the room. A young unicorn with a peach fuzz beard leaning up against the wall, a pointy wide brimmed hat pulled low over his eyes. An expression of pure contempt on his face. A small young Alicorn filly, dark blue coat, couldn't have been more than five years old. She was sprawled on the floor with a bruise, no, a burn mark on her cheek. A beige-coated armored unicorn was tending to her. His faced wreathed in a weary concern. Next to him was another Alicorn, pure white, a teenage mare. Seemingly aghast at recent events that had transpired. Tears in her eyes. The figure in the middle of the gathering, however.....
The Alicorn seemed to be made of pure gold, with ornate designs seemingly engraved up and down his legs. He was giving off a bright glow, as if the sun itself were in the room with them. His mane and tale were blood red and flowed like a raging fire. His wings were feathered but, much like a dragons, had three claws on the shoulder of each wing. He was shaking one off as if he had just finished using it for something unpleasant. He was looking out of his window at a lovely moonlit starry sky, with his pure white eyes filled with a seething, burning hatred.
This was the face of the Alicorn King.
This was Seraphim Glare.
"Tell me again, daughter," he said coldly to the injured filly behind him. "What did you call this abomination?"
The blue Alicorn struggled to her feet and looked down at the ground. "I-" She began weakly. "I-"
"SPEAK UP!" Glare barked at his daughter.
The young Alicorn stifled a sob and spoke more clearly.
Twilight couldn't believe what she was hearing. It all made sense, but it simply couldn't be true.
The Alicorn filly slowly sobbing was Luna, obviously at a much younger age, the teenager taken aback at the cruelty she had witnessed was Celestia, and Seraphim Glare, a pony whose name had become synonymous with fear, was their father.
But who were the other two? The unicorn in the pointy hat seemed ready to kill someone. Literally biting his lip not to scream. Twilight felt like she had seen him before, on a tapestry or the cover of a book. The beige unicorn seemed strangely familiar, too. Not in his appearance, but the way he carried himself. Twilight almost felt that he had met this pony before. Though she couldn't think of where.
"The 'night'...," Seraphim Glare continued, his voice dripping acid. "I thank you, Luna. You have given a name to my eternal torment. A realm of darkness and dying light. It is utterly sickening."
Glare closed his pure white eyes and magic ran up and down his horn. At that moment the night seemed to burn out of the sky, leaving only a pure white dome above the castle. The sky itself was a floodlight. The brightness was oppressive.
Searphim Glare opened his eyes and then took on a much softer, almost fatherly tone. "Luna," he began, "only the evil dwell and deal in darkness. Darkness is a foul and evil thing that must be stamped out whenever it is discovered. You are my daughter, Luna, born of my light. Are you evil? Are you a creature of darkness?"
Luna stammered to find the words. "I-" she choked, "I don't-"
"Of course you're not," Glare answered for her. "You're my daughter. You couldn't be." He approached his daughter and bent down, seemingly to comfort her. "Why would you want to shield our subjects from the light I bring? Why hurt me in this way? Why hurt them?" Glare had an almost pleading tone in his voice now.
Celestia stared at her father with a mixture of hate and fear. Every inch of her shaking.
"I'm sorry, Father," Luna said desperately. "I didn't mean..."
"I know," Glare said softly, "I know you are, daughter. There is no need for tears.We will simply never speak of what happened here again." He wrapped his wings around his daughter and brought her in for a tight embrace. "I love you, Luna."
Twilight couldn't decide what disgusted her more. The fact that he could even say that after what he had just done to her, or the fact that some sick part of him meant it.
Glare released his daughter and turned to the beige unicorn. "Forward March, please make sure my daughter's cheek is attended to."
"Yes, King Seraphim." Forward March said.
Glare let out a sharp laugh. "As ever-formal as ever. We have known each other for over fifty years March. We're friends. I know I am King. There's no need for you to remind me."
At the word "friends" Forward March seemed like he was about to leap at Glare, but he caught himself and calmed down.
"Oh, and Celestia," Glare turned to his eldest daughter, "Don't forget, we have another magic lesson today."
It took Celestia a moment to respond. "I... I won't.
"Good," Glare gave a soft grin and then turned back to his younger daughter. "You're lesson's begin next month, Luna. We'll get you a mark very soon!" Glare then turned and left the room.
Twilight hadn't noticed until now, but Luna was a blank flank. She hadn't realized by this time that it was her destiny to bring the night. How could she with a father who held her back so aggressively. She was sobbing uncontrollably into her sister's wing. Twilight wanted more than anything to comfort her. She couldn't of course, she wasn't really there.
Then the unicorn in the pointy hat finally lost control. He threw his hat to the floor and paced swiftly toward the door.
"Worthless," The unicorn said through gritted teeth, "evil, SON OF A-" a burst of energy fired from his horn and burned a large black scorch in the door.
"Calm down, Star Swirl," Forward March said firmly.
Wait? Twilight thought. Star Swirl? Star Swirl the BEARDED? This guy? He barely has a beard to speak of!
"Calm down?!" Star Swirl protested. "You want me to calm down? After what I've seen that monster do to his own daughter? No, March, this isn't the time to keep calm. This is a time to get angry."
"Oh, this wasn't the first time he's struck her," there was a familiar countenance to Forward March's voice. Twilight had heard it before she was sure. "And I am angry, Star. Incensed, in fact. Never before has Seraphim's madness come so clearly into view. And the fact that he called me 'friend' still sickens me. But I know one thing. The most important thing is to keep control. The moment we lose that, we lose ourselves."
Star Swirl took a deep breath. "You're right. I'm pretty good at what I do but I can't stand up to Seraphim Glare. Not even with YOUR help. This is something we can't do alone."
"You won't be alone," Celestia's voice was breaking. Her sudden input into the conversation surprised the two unicorns.
"Celestia?" Forward asked.
"This was his last chance," Celestia was holding back tears with everything within her. Her body was quaking with hate and rage, "I've seen him burn cities to the ground for 'bringing down evil shadows,' I've seen him torture and kill our subjects for being 'creatures of darkness.' This was wrong and I said nothing. I thought-" She embraced her weeping sister more tightly, "I thought if he could just accept Luna's night. If he could just dim his light for a few hours-" Celestia was about to break down. "I was kidding myself. He has always been pure evil. And gentlemen," she turned with regal authority to her companions, "you have my full support. Whatever you need me to do."
Forward March seemed stunned by what he was hearing. Star Swirl however, let out a wide grin.
"Well then," he said as he put his hat on his head, "Where do we talk this over? My place?"
At that moment the room began to warp and shift around Twilight.
The image was that of a home. Each wall strewn with shelves filled with magical knickknacks. A few of them were scattered around the desk. Some faces from the last scene were there, and two new ones. Forward March was standing by the door, constantly checking the clock. Star Swirl was in the kitchen talking to a female unicorn. Luna was on the floor, her cheek bandaged, playing building blocks with an excitable dark grey colt.
Star Swirl walked into the main room carrying a small bottle. "Alright, Little Wings. It's been a week, time for the very last wash and then the bandage comes off."
Luna let out a whimper. "It stings."
"I know sweetie," the female unicorn said softly from the kitchen. "But it's just one more time and you never have to do it again."
Star Swirl picked Luna up and put her on the couch. He removed the bandage to reveal a small red mark on her cheek. Out of the bottle he scooped a small amount of green paste and rubbed it on the sore spot. Luna sniffed sharply and began to tear up, but she managed to keep it in. The colt seemed concerned for his new friend.
Forward March checked the clock again. "Where could that mare be? She's over half an hour late."
"She'll be here March," Star Swirl reassured Forward March, most of his attention drawn to the task of fixing up the injured filly.
"What if Seraphim found out what we're planning?" March asked.
"We'd already be dead," Star Swirl finished working on Luna. "There we go, Little Wings. It's over. That wasn't so bad was it?"
Luna was still teary, but she managed to smile and shake her head.
"I've been calling you 'Little Wings' for about a week now," Star Swirl continued. "You don't find it... annoying do you?"
Luna shook her head.
"Good," Star Swirl smiled. "Just making sure." Luna smiled and then went back to playing with the young colt.
"I'm glad you can be so calm, Star," March said in a sarcastic tone. "It's like you've completely forgotten that we had plans this afternoon."
"You mean the one about the suicide mission? Facing up to an Alicorn with the power of a god, who's been known to burn people with a glance, in the vain hope that we may bring some sense of freedom to the people he's subjugated?" Star Swirl shot back. "Yeah March, I remember that's today."
Forward March growled and looked at the clock.
"Look, I agree with you. It's getting late. If she's not here in five minutes-" just then a strange rapping at the door. Three knocks, pause, two knocks, pause, one knock. A wave of relief swept over Star Swirl and March. "Never mind."
Forward opened the door and Celestia came running in the room. "We're ready."
"You set them up?" Star Swirl asked.
Celestia nodded. "All around the throne room."
"Good," Star Swirl clapped his hooves together. "Once I activate them, they should neutralize the Incinerate Stare for a time."
"How long is 'a time'" Forward asked nervously.
"Oooh... Can't be longer than five minutes? Maybe less?"
"Oh, wonderful."
The female unicorn (who Twilight had almost forgotten about) seemed like she couldn't take listening to this anymore. "I'm coming with you," she finally said.
"What?!" Star Swirl said. "Clo, you can't-"
"I can and I am, we've always done this kind of thing together Star," She was advancing on Star Swirl now. Her voice was desperate. "I won't let you go through this fight without me-"
Star Swirl's face was soft. "Clover."
"It's a suicide mission Star! You need all the help you can get! You can't take on Seraphim Glare with only three ponies-"
"Clover."
"With my magic added to yours I could increase the power of the spell, I could give you a little more time, I could-"
Star Swirl put his hoof on Clover's shoulder. "Clover!" he said.
Clover fell silent and stared at Star Swirl.
"This isn't one of those husband/wife arguments, where the wife is just right and the husband has to accept that, despite all logic to the contrary," Star said quietly. "This is a mage giving his apprentice an order." Star Swirl looked behind his wife at the small gray colt, and lowered his voice to a whisper "and a father begging a mother to make sure that their son stays safe."
Twilight's jaw was on the floor. Star Swirl the bearded was married to Clover the Clever? They had a son? Oh, what Twilight wouldn't have given for a notepad right then.
There was a sudden pull at the back of Twilight's heart. She knew the ending to Clover's story. It wasn't a happy one.
Clover took a moment, and then embraced her husband, tears streaming down her face. "You better come back home Star, I mean it."
"Hey, I know better than to mess with that tone by now." Star laughed. He kissed his wife on the cheek. "Take care of Little Wings too, okay?"
Clover nodded. Forward March interrupted. "Yes, well that was very touching, but could we please get moving."
"Probably the best idea, let's go!" Star Swirl gave his wife one final kiss and then ran out the door into the brightness, followed swiftly by March.
Celestia turned to her sister "Luna, I-"
"Celestia, there's no time!" called March. Celestia took a moment and followed her comrades out the door.
Twilight ran out the door to follow them, but the light overtook her. When she could see again she was in the middle of the throne room.
Twilight took a moment to examine the room. She finally recognized it as the Canterlot throne room, except it had almost no decoration. No banners, no carpet. The entire room was pure white.
On the throne sat Seraphim Glare. He was looking across the room at Forward March.
"You wanted to see me, March?" Glare seemed almost bored by the day.
"Get off the throne, Seraphim," March demanded.
Glare raised one eyebrow. "And... Why would I do that?"
"Your reign is over" March said with a righteous fury. "You've tortured your subjects long enough. Your light is too bright for us, Glare, and I'm here to snuff it out."
There was a short pause. Then Glare through his head back and a cold, cruel laughter filled the throne room. A laugh that turned Twilight's blood to ice. "Ah, March," Glare finally said. "You never cease to amaze me."
Glare stepped off the throne and advanced on March. "You're dead serious aren't you?" There was a mocking amazement in Glare's voice. "You come in here, alone, with no plan to speak of, with a sudden impulse to usurp your king?" The cold laughter filled the room again. "I've had a theory about you for a long time, Forward. You say that the most important thing to you is the preservation of order. To keep control above all else. But I've seen you in battle March. You've never manged to stay in formation. You charge in like a wild stallion. And now this?" He was now standing directly in front of March. "You speak so often of preserving order, but the truth is March, your heart has always belonged to chaos."
Forward March kept eye contact with Glare. After a moment, Glare looked confused. As if something wasn't working properly.
"Hey now, who said he was alone?' came a voice from behind them. Star Swirl stepped out from behind a pillar. "And who said he had no plan?" He knocked on the pillar twice. A large blue glyph began to glow upon it, and then one on every pillar in the room. "We've got five minutes, March. Let's make it count.
Twilight believed it now. This was Star Swirl. To create a focused magic dampening array so intense it could weaken Alicorn magic, even for five minutes, was nothing short of a miracle.
"So," Glare was still smiling, but he was shaking with rage. "The mage betrays me as well.." There was a crack through the air and Glare was across the throne room, and Star Swirl was thrown into a wall. A burn mark on his neck.
Glare outstretched his wings. "The audacity...."
Forward was about to fire a bolt from his horn when another loud crack ripped through the throne room. Glare's wings were now crossed in front of him, and an unseen force had hurled March ten feet across the room. "The insolence..."
With another crack Glare was standing over March. "The sheer, galloping STUPIDITY! Do you honestly believe that, even with my magic dampened as it is, the two of you alone could hope to withstand the brilliance of my light for even a moment?"
A hacking laugh came from behind them. "That's 0 for two," said Star Swirl. "You really have to learn to pay better attention Glare."
Before Glare could retort, a burst of pure magical energy hit him broadside. He skidded on his hooves halfway across the room. "What?!"
The window had been flung open. Celestia was standing in its frame, horn glowing with a strong yellow aura. "You will never," Celestia said through gritted teeth, "hurt anyone again."
The expression on Glare's face at that moment... Twilight thought for a long time for what to call it. It wasn't fear or anger. It wasn't even surprise for the most part.
Seraphim Glare was.... heartbroken.
"My daughter...," he said with a catch in his voice. "My own daughter..."
The momentary surprise was all the mutineers needed. "NOW!" screamed Star Swirl. He and Forward March had picked themselves up and were firing all that they had through their horns to hold Glare to one spot.
"We can't hold him like this forever Celestia!" March yelled over the roar of the crackling magic. "It's now or never!"
Celestia took to the air. When she was thirty feet above her struggling father, she put everything that she was into one final shot.
Twilight covered her eyes instinctively. All she heard was a loud whoosh, and the bellowing scream of the Alicorn King.
When she opened her eyes there was a crater in the middle of the room. Sprawled around it were Star Swirl and Forward March, knocked back by the blast.
Celestia quickly landed. "Are you alright?" she asked the two unicorns.
Forward March struggled to his feet. "I'll be fine."
Star Swirl was laying on his back, staring at the ceiling. "It feels like my body has been passed through a hydra and then savagely beaten with big rocks," he said weakly, "but otherwise good."
March helped Star Swirl to his feet. "Was that it?" March asked. "Was that the end of him."
A cold laughter filled the room. "No," the king's voice seemed to be coming from all around them, "not even close."
There was another crack and Seraphim Glare was in front of the throne.
"This is truly astounding, March." Seraphim continued, his tone was almost manic. "You go through such lengths to make sure you get your way. You even poison my own daughter against me, and you have the gall to call me a tyrant." The ice cold laughter filled the room once again. "No. You're the dark one here. I have seen your destiny, Forward March. One day you will become just as hated as you think I am, and surely I cannot withstand such evil."
Glare gave forward a deep bow. "I concede the throne."
A wave of shock passed over the three. "What?!" March was stunned.
"It's quite simple," Glare said smugly. "You have bested me, for the time being. I've grown weary of this throne. It's to cramped for me. I'm going to go to a place where my light can spread." Glare stepped toward the window. "But before I leave March.... A little parting gift."
Seraphim Glare whipped around and hit Forward March with a blast of strange magic. Before the other two could react, the spell was over....
and March had a brand new pair of wings.
"That was just a fraction of my power, March." Glare stepped into the window frame. "I wonder if it will eat you up from the inside, or simply drive you mad." Glare let loose an evil grin. "Long live the king."
With a final crack Seraphim Glare was gone, and the sky began to dim to from a blinding white, to a deep blue.
There was a long silence. It was so quiet Twilight could hear everypony's heartbeat.
"He's gone...," Celestia said breathlessly.
"He'll be back," Star Swirl said frankly. "He's toying with us. For now we've won, but keep a watch. He will show up again."
Forward March was gazing at his new wings. Trying to get used to them being on his body. Twilight could sympathize.
"Why did he give you all of that power?" Celestia asked. "Why turn you into an Alicorn?"
"He thinks I can't handle it," March reasoned. "I'm determined to prove him wrong."
The door to the throne room burst open to reveal Clover ready for battle, with a look of sheer determination on her face. She was about to speak when two foals burst into the room.
"Papa!" cried Star Swirl's son.
"Celestia!" Luna galloped over and hugged her sister.
Star Swirl was nearly knocked over by his colt. He looked at his wife with horror. "You brought the kids?"
"No!" Clover protested. "I left them with Cookie! They must have snuck out!"
Star Swirl looked at his son, "Okay, Smart Cookie doesn't get to foalsit anymore."
"It was my idea, sister!" Luna stepped up to defend her friend. "We needed to come! We couldn't let you stand up to Father alone!"
"Yeah!" the gray colt took up a battle stance, horn glowing with a red aura. "Where is he! I'll pulverize him!"
Star Swirl rubbed his son's mane. "Hold on there, general," he said with a chuckle. "You're a little late."
"The battle is over, Sister," Celestia said softly. "We won!"
"For the time being..." Star Swirl added.
"For the time being," Celestia agreed. Clover and the foals looked confused. "I'll explain later. In the meantime however, I think our new king has a first decree to make." She turned to Forward March.
"Me?" March said. "But we'd be playing right into his hands! Celestia it really should be you."
Celestia shook her head slowly. "I think Seraphim Glare's light-bringer daughter is the last thing your subjects would want to see on the throne. Besides, March, I trust you with the power he's given you. I know you can keep it under control."
"I'm with her," Star Swirl added, smiling. "So come on, 'your majesty.' What's your first order of business?"
Forward March looked around him, and then solemnly sat on the throne. "I believe that Equestria needs some respite from the brightness of Glare," He said in a clear voice. He turned his eyes to Luna. "Henceforth, every day shall end in the night."
Luna looked all around her, very confused. Star Swirl nudged her. "I think that was your cue, Little Wings," he whispered.
An expression of joy washed over Luna's face. She rushed toward the open window. She stood up on the frame and created one of the most beautiful night skies Twilight had ever seen. Everyone gave her a soft smile. Star Swirl's son stood in amazement of Equestria's first night.
And on Luna's flank appeared the image of a crescent moon.
The room began to shift again. As it did, she thought she saw something shimmer next to Clover, but she quickly dismissed it as her imagination
She appeared back in Star Swirl's house.
Twilight was confused. Wasn't it over? She had seen glare get defeated.... kind of. Shouldn't she be back trying to deal with the mirror?
The mirror. That's what was missing. She hadn't seen it anywhere. She hadn't seen Seraphim Glare get locked inside. The story was only half over.
Star Swirl walked out of a back room. Obviously a few years had passed. He had earned the name "bearded" now, his mane and his famous beard were beginning to grey.
Through the front door, Luna walked in. "Hello, Star!" she said cheerfully.
"Oh," Star Swirl said with pleasant surprise. "How are you, Little Wings?" Star Swirl looked out his window at the night sky. "Excellent job as usual!"
"Thank you," Luna's chest puffed up at that. "Anyway, I'm just here to see my favorite wizard."
"Which one of us are you talking about?" Star said slyly.
Luna blushed at that, "Alright, Star, where is he?"
"Upstairs, doing his best to drive me mad," Star said. He grabbed Luna's shoulder's. "For the love of all things good, get him out of my house. He's been spending too much of his time here, and he needs to get out more."
"Otherwise I may turn into an old mare?" came a deep voice from the stairs. "Hi, Luna."
Twilight looked at Star Swirl the Bearded's son with horror. This couldn't be right. It just couldn't be. That little foal had seemed so nice.
Twilight needed to know more. The story was only half over.
"Sombra, for pity's sake," Star Swirl said, "Take this young filly out for a walk and leave your old man to his work."
Twilight once heard a crystal pony say that she would rather lose her memory entirely than remember the time under his rule. He went down in history as a tyrant. A power mad dark mage who's only love was himself. One of Equestrian history's worst monsters.
But here..... he looked perfectly nice.
He was still an imposing figure. Dark grey coat moving to a jet black mane. He was much taller and bulkier than his father was, he still had the two toned red and black horn. But he had this gentle nature about him. The worst Twilight could say about him as he was right now was that he seemed overly sure of himself, and Twilight could say that about her own brother.
"And how have you been driving you're father insane lately?" Luna asked.
Sombra shrugged, "My mere presence?"
"Ha ha ha," Star Swirl said dryly. "You've been stressed lately. Your mind has been on nothing but your work. So, your lack of a social life has been getting in the way of mine!" Star Swirl searched for something on the desk. "Oh, where in blazes- Clover!"
At the mention of his wife's name, Star Swirl's house went silent. It took a moment but finally realized what he had just done, and stopped searching.
"It's been what, a year now?" Star Swirl was on the verge of tears. "And I'm still calling her name? Stupid fool..."
"You were with her for so long," Luna said softly. "It must be hard for you to get used to the fact that she's gone."
Star Swirl shook his head. "I still can't understand why. I gave her a good life, didn't I? She had seemed so happy. So why? What made her so despondent that she would-" he trailed off, he was about to break down.
Twilight breathed a sigh of morbid relief. She didn't want it to happen, but it was going to at some point during this. By this time, it was already over. She didn't have to see it. It had already happened.
Clover the Clever had already jumped.
Sombra put his hoof on his father's shoulder. "This is why I don't want to go out yet. You shouldn't be on your own."
Star Swirl composed himself. "Nonsense, I'll have you know that I managed to keep myself organized for five years as a mage before your mother turned up."
Sombra looked around the cluttered house. "I don't believe you."
Star Swirl let out a sharp laugh, "Neither would I at this point! You, go. I have some things to work on for the king."
"Speaking of that," Luna said, "how is Forward March? He's been very short with my sister and I lately. We've been worried about him."
"You aren't alone," Sombra said.
"He's been short with people all of his life, Little Wings," Star Swirl added. "But I agree, the King's behavior has been... erratic to say the very least. He seemed to act civil around me but now I'm the only one he'll listen to. He needs other councilors. I'm not as brilliant as you'd think I am."
"Dad," Sombra said, grabbing a saddlebag from a coat rack, "No one is as brilliant as you think you are."
"That's it! The pair of you, out of my house!" Star Swirl was failing to keep a straight face. "Go take a walk before I turn the both of you into toads!"
Sombra and Luna were laughing as they walked out the door. "I'll see you later, Star." Luna said.
"Have fun, Little Wings," Star Swirl smiled back.
Twilight followed Sombra and Luna out the door.
She had been walking behind the pair for quite a while when Sombra finally decided to speak up. "Dad's right you know," he said looking up at the night sky. "There really is nothing more beautiful."
Luna blushed, "It's what I live for. I'm just happy I can make it every day."
"It's a shame most ponies sleep through it," Sombra added.
"I don't mind," Luna shrugged, "As long as I have a friend to share it with."
Sombra smiled. Than his expression turned grim. "Actually, I'm going to be heading up north for a couple of days."
"Why?" Luna asked. The two stopped walking. "Is this an assignment or-"
"No," Sombra said, "No it's not a commission. It's strictly personal." He took a deep breath, "Actually, it's about Mom."
Luna's face grew dark with concern "What do you mean?"
Sombra opened his saddlebag and pulled out a rolled up blueprint. "In the few weeks before she- before we lost her, Mom had been working on something. She said it was under contract, but she wouldn't tell us who the client was. I want to find this client and ask him. what this was, and why Mom never saw one bit from it."
"What sort of thing was it?" Luna asked, "A new spell?"
"An enchanted artifact," Sombra unfurled the blueprint. "A mirror."
Twilight's jaw dropped. On the blueprint was the image of Seraphim Glare's golden mirror.
"I've been looking at this for over three months and I still can't make head or tail out of it." Sombra said, obviously puzzled. "The word's 'what could have been' are written several times, but they don't seem to connect with anything."
"Could it be a time spell?" Luna reasoned, eying the blueprint carefully.
Twilight was examining the blueprint so closely that she forgot that she was talking to shadows. "Not like any time spell I've ever seen."
"No," Sombra continued. "Dad was working on those, and this doesn't seem like an instrument for travel. It looks like it would be used for extraction. Pulling something here from someplace else."
"Alright," Luna said. "But where from?"
"I have a few theories..." Sombra rolled up the blueprint. "But that's what I'm going to go north to find out."
"Why?" Luna asked.
"I've tracked the mirror down," Sombra explained. "It's up north in a place called the Crystal Empire. It's a city that acts as a magical relay tower. Whatever is the main focus of magic in its center, that magic will be spread throughout Equestria. I figured that if I found the Mirror, I'd find my target. I'll ask him how the blasted thing works."
Luna looked worried, "When do you leave?"
"I set out tomorrow," Sombra answered. "I may be gone for a couple of days."
Luna looked down at the ground, "We still have tonight, don't we?"
Sombra smiled. "Of course we do, and also-" He put himself in a ready position "I have something to show you. You see the Empire runs on Crystal-make magic, so I've been teaching myself a few tricks."
Sombra focused the magic through his horn onto the ground, out of the dirt rose a beautiful pink crystal. Another burst of magic from Sombra's horn and the gem was carved into a perfect rose.
Sombra put the crystal rose into Luna's mane. "Not bad, eh?"
Luna blushed hard, and then leaned her head on Sombra's shoulder. "Not bad at all."
Twilight smiled at the couple as the images began to shift.
Twilight was almost blinded by the next image. When her eyes adjusted she realized where she was, the Crystal Palace throne room. Everything was glowing, the floors, the walls, everything was glowing with an intense light from the inside. She tried to look at the throne, but she couldn't. Two unbelievably powerful light sources were forcing her to turn her head.
What she saw when she did made her scream, despite herself.
The guard was laying on the floor. Eyes unfocused, barely breathing. His mouth overly stretched and widened into a huge unnatural grin. Twilight heard a few sick giggles escape from his throat.
The door to the throne room burst open, and in charged Sombra. He was obviously haggard from the journey. Battle scarred and burned in a few places. An expression of pure determination on his face. He recoiled at the light from the throne.
"How many years did it take us to get her?" Asked a cold familiar voice from the throne. "Most of your life, a fraction of mine? You never realized it but my light guided you to this moment. And it will continue to do so long after we're done here."
"Who are you?!" Sombra yelled, shielding his face from the light. "What have you done to these ponies?!"
A cold sharp laughter filled the room. "I keep forgetting. I must dim myself to be perceived by creatures of darkness like yourself. Forgive me." The light turned down to reveal the voice's owner.
"No..." said Sombra.
"Still to bright?" asked Seraphim Glare.
Sombra stared at the Alicorn King for what seemed like an eternity. He was standing beside the golden mirror. "H-how...."
"As for what I have done to the citizens of this city," Glare continued. "I did what I had to do. I made them happy."
"Couldn't be helped, I'm afraid," said Glare. "It seems that Forward March managed to paint me as quite the tyrant. The mere presence of my light struck fear into their hearts. So I used a little magic of my own, plus some help from this." He gestured toward the golden mirror.
"Why?!" Sombra shot back. "Why bother with all this? Why not just take this place over like the tyrant you are?"
Glare whipped around and stared straight into Sombra's soul. "Understand this now, boy. I am no tyrant. Give March some time, then you'll see what a tyrant is." Glare calmed himself back to the cold demeanor he usually wore. "As for why I didn't force these good ponies to be bathed in my light, it is because of the nature of this place."
"What do you mean?" Sombra asked.
"The more miserable these crystal ponies are," Glare continued. "The darker this place becomes. The crystal turns black, and the blackness hurts me, and because of March's lies fear and hate are the only reactions I can garner."
"You haven't answered my question," Sombra continued. "What have you done to them? And what does that mirror have to do with it?"
"Ah," Glare turned to gaze into the mirror. "Beautiful isn't it? Your mother's handiwork, my design. You see, light and time are connected, they always have been. As a result I have been able to see time lines we missed. Paths we didn't take. Trails we didn't follow."
Sombra came to a realization. "What could have been..."
Glare let out a mocking laugh, "Now you're catching on! Or what could be to an extent. This mirror allows others to see what I see.See their lives through a cracked mirror. An image of themselves slightly distorted. Sometimes, like in the case of these crystal ponies, they like what they see. And sometimes,as in the case of your sweet mother,' he turned back to Sombra giving him a mad grin, "They can't take it."
"What?" Sombra asked.
The air filled with ice cold laughter. "How often did I coax the little fool to that balcony?" Glare pondered. "It must have been over a thousand times before she finally took the leap. No one else could see me, but I was there. Using my light to guide her to oblivion. It's surprising what a voice in somepony's ear can convince them to do. Once she completed the mirror, I only had one more use for her. Taking her away from the mage."
Sombra couldn't move. Twilight couldn't breathe. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. This stallion- no, this monster before her had driven a mare to take her own life. It was the most cruel act that Twilight could even fathom.
"I could have burned them both," Glare was staring lovingly into his mirror. On closer examination, Twilight realized it was showing the battle at Canterlot Castle. "So easily. They thought they had the battle won, but it would have been so simple to kill them both. However I decided that I would take from them what they took from me." The image in the mirror shifted, Celestia was standing under her father's wing, nuzzling his neck. "What they cared for most in this world. From March I am taking his precious 'control', it shouldn't be long until he loses any sense of sanity he had, and from Star," Glare turned and smiled at Sombra. "I'm taking the one thing that had ever mattered to him. His family."
Sombra was staring down at the ground. His breath heavy with fury. He didn't seem to even be hearing Glare anymore.
"This truly was your Mother's finest work," Glare turned back toward the Mirror. "If the right pony looks inside of it, the other possibility, the 'could have been', could make themselves reality. I have seen many possibilities pass through this mirror's lens, so many ways this moment could go, and you should know," Glare began to pace around Sombra. "There is a very real chancee you could defeat me today."
Sombra's head snapped up.
"Oh, yes," Glare was pacing around Sombra, like a vulture circling his meal. "You could, quite easily, put me in a position where I would have to put myself in stasis. It would, like any defeat I may suffer, only be temporary, but you could 'save' these ponies from the 'horror' of the light I bring. All you would have to do is subject them to the horror of your darkness."
"What?" Sombra asked quietly.
"As I said," Glare stopped in front of his Mirror. "When this place is filled with hate, it turns black, and that blackness hurts me. You have enough hate to send me running, but you would have to keep the ponies here in constant pain to keep me away. I wonder," he leaned in to whisper into Sombra's ear. "Are you willing to become what you have accused me of being? Are you willing to become a tyrant?"
For Sombra, that was the last straw.
"YES!!' He slammed his forehooves to the ground and it began to darken. Spears of black crystal shot up all around him. His eyes had become green orbs bleeding purple smoke. Dark Magic. "Yes!! I am willing to tear this place down around your ears if it was sure to lock you away!! For what you did to my mother, for what you did to Luna, I am willing to lose myself entirely to make sure that you never bring your light back into Equestria!!"
Glare backed up rapidly. He didn't expect Sombra to say yes. but his reaction was more of mild irritation then of shock and horror. "Blast," he growled, "I suppose it's time for me to sleep..."
"To destroy you Seraphim Glare," Sombra growled, "I would gladly become a tyrant!"
Backstepping into the mirrors lens, he phased through it. Disappearing into the glass. "So be it! Long live Sombra! Horror of the Crystal Empire! No one will remember you for who you once were boy, they will only know you as a monster."
Glare's voice faded, and Twilight was left alone with Sombra.
A stream of tears fell down his cheek. "I know that's not true," Sombra said tearfully. "She'll remember...'
All around Twilight the light was starting to go out. Slowly blackening the palace from top to bottom. It was a truly horrifying spectacle.
Twilight was on the verge of tears. Why didn't Celestia and Luna tell her this? She had always thought of Sombra as pure evil. She had always seen him as a historical villain.
She had fallen into Glare's trap.
Sombra stood silently in the throne room for a long time before another surge of dark magic ran through him. The golden mirror was enveloped in black crystal and dragged under the floor.
Next to Twilight, the palace guard began to stir. "Ugh.... Where am I?"
Sombra lifted his head up. Composing himself. "Back at the palace. Back home."
"Really..?' The guard looked around him. "Where's Glare? How did this place get so dark? Who are you?"
"My name is Sombra," he was making his voice raspier, Twilight thought. "The blackness of the Crystal was necessary to dispatch Seraphim Glare."
The Guard shrugged. "It's only temporary. I'm just glad we don't have to live under Seraphim Glare's hoof."
"No," Sombra said through gritted teeth. "Now you live under mine."
A spear of black shot out and impaled the guard in the chest, nailing him to the opposite wall.
Twilight followed Sombra to the castle balcony. The blackness from the castle began to spread throughout the Empire. Again Twilight forgot that she couldn't change the past. "Please, it's not too late! You don't have to lose yourself like this..."
Tears trickled down Sombra's cheeks as he looked up at the moon. "Luna, please remember."
The desperate tone in Sombra's voice seemed to cause the image to warp and shift once more.
Twilight was back in the Canterlot throne room. She was desperate for this nightmare to be over.
She noticed something odd about the throne room. Namely, everything was odd about the throne room. Carpet was on the ceiling. Windows behaved like curtains, and curtains opened to the outside. The floor seemed to be showing constantly moving images of happy faces. Nothing was working right.
Star Swirl burst through the door, obviously distracted. "I'm sorry, March," he said, "but I'm leaving Canterlot for a few days. My son has been missing for three months and now the Crystal Empire has gone black. We both know that can't be a good- what the hoof?" Star Swirl finally noticed the state of the throne room.
"Just decided to do a little redecorating," came a smug voice from the throne. "How do you like it, Star?"
"I don't..." Star Swirl said cautiously. "March are you alright?"
Twilight couldn't see the figure on the throne, but the silhouette didn't look quite right. It was still that of a pony, but some adjustments seemed to be added.
Then Forward March moved his hoof out of the shadows, and Twilight let out a gasp. The hoof had began to split in four different places, and coarse fur was growing up and down the leg. When Forward March stepped fully out of the shade more changes were evident. The feathers on one wing had fallen off, leaving a leathery batlike wing behind. Some of the feathers on his other wing had turned from their normal beige to a dull blue. On his back right leg, his coat had been replaced with green scales.
The whites of his eyes were now yellow, his pupils were redder than fire.
"He was wrong, Star," Forward March, despite his condition sounded calm. "He thought that the pwer he gave me would drive me mad. But look! Look at what I have done with it! The possibilities are limitless."
"March, you're not well," Star said trying to stay calm. "Stay with me. Remember what you said to me. The most important thing is to keep control."
"I know!" March giggled. "What was I thinking!"
"Snap out of it!" Star Swirl demanded, "March don't let him-"
"Stop calling me that!" the entity cut in. He was right, whatever he was now, Forward March was long gone. "I am not order. I am it's loss. I have been sent here to break the bonds of sanity." His horn split down the middle. One half grew into a ram's horn, the other into a deer antler. "I am the loss of control, the loss of sense!" All the hair fell off of his tail, leaving only a scaly red snake's tail. His whole body began to twist and reform with sickening cracks and pops. "He was right about one thing Star, this was always my destiny! My heart always bent to madness!"
The transformation came to an end, and it was a form that Twilight knew all too well.
"I am chaos incarnate. I AM DISCORD!!"
Star Swirl looked at his former friend in horror, and the image shifted once again.
Twilight was placed outside of Canterlot Castle. The world was beginning to right itself. In the middle of the courtyard, Luna sat with Celestia, obviously worn out from a battle. Next to them sat what appeared to be a collection of gems. The Elements of Harmony.
"I can't believe it...," Luna said quietly. "Will we ever escape him, sister? He managed to drive one of the most centered ponies we know to madness with just a little magic and a few choice words."
"He had this planned from the beginning," Celestia said bitterly. "Why? Why not just kill March? Or burn us all? He could have easily done it. So why take this long."
"This way," Luna reasoned tearfully, "he suffered more..."
An awkward silence from Celestia signaled agreement. After a long quiet moment, Celestia spoke up with a note of optimism in her voice. "Maybe it wasn't wholly Father's influence," Celestia said, grasping at straws. "Perhaps the title "King" is what corrupts the mind."
Luna let out a weak giggle. "I suppose that "Queen" would do the same thing then," she smiled at her sister, and gave her a little bow. "Princess Celestia."
Celestia returned the curtsy, and the smile. "Princess Luna."
Celestia wrapped her wing around her sister. The moment was quickly shattered by Star Swirl striding across the courtyard.
"Did those work?" he said, gesturing at the elements. "Good! Bring them, we're heading up north."
Luna rushed over to Star Swirl. "News about Sombra?"
"The worst kind, Little Wings," Star answered quickly. "My son has lost his mind."
The image began to shift again.
Twilight was back in the Crystal Palace throne room. Blackness all around her. On the balcony was Sombra, now clad in full armor, staring at the night sky as if he was in a trance. Through the front door came Star, Celestia, and Luna.
"You wanted an audience?" Sombra asked sleepily.
"An audience?!" Star was obviously furious. "Sombra what in Tartarus is all of this."
"Necessary." Sombra said firmly. "I have to keep these ponies in pain. I have to keep this place dark."
"Necessary?" Star repeated in shock. "How can you think to call this-"
Sombra's head snapped back towards his father. "He was here dad! He's still here. I can still hear him. He's been whispering to me for months. But I won't let him talk me into anything. He won't do to me what he did to Mom!"
Celestia began to speak, but Luna raised a hoof to cut her off. "Sombra...," she began softly. "Who is 'he'? What did he do to your mother?"
"Luna," Sombra looked desperately at her, looking for some kind of redemption. "Luna I'm sorry. Luna I am so sorry. But you of all people should know what he is! Why I have to keep this place dark!"
Luna nodded grimly. "That's what I thought."
"Glare was here?" Star asked amazed. "Why did he come here?"
"He talked Mom off the balcony," Sombra was pacing back and forth frantically. "He murdered her. She loved us both, Dad. it was him. It was always him."
"Sombra," Celestia said quietly, "Please see reason, we can-"
"Shut up!" Sombra spat. Spears of black crystal shot up around him. "You will never speak to me again lightbringer! You really are his spitting image, aren't you? Truly your father's daughter! Every day I have to watch as ponies everywhere use your daylight to live their lives, and shun Luna's night! It's sickening! Have they all forgotten? Have they all forgotten what life was like under him? What 'light' truly is?!"
"Sombra," Star said softly. "That is the line. You know Celestia, you've known her all your life. You know better then that."
A look of shame washed over Sombra's face.
"Sombra please," Luna pleaded. "If Father really is here, we can defeat him together, without losing ourselves."
Sombra shook his head. "I can't stop, Luna. As much is this is killing me, I have to keep the Empire dark. I won't let Seraphim Glare come back."
It was hard for Twilight to describe the look on Star Swirl the Bearded's face. Glare had taken his wife, his best friend, and now his son. Star had nothing left. It was official.
Glare had won. Star Swirl was defeated.
"Let's..." Star Swirl said weakly. "Let's just end this."
Sombra leaped into attack position as the Elements circled the sisters. Luna was on the verge of tears as the bolt of multicolored energy struck him.
"NO!!" Sombra screamed. "I WON'T LET HIM COME BACK!! THIS EMPIRE WILL NOT EXIST WITHOUT MY PROTECTION!!"
As the palace shattered and broke around Twilight, the image shifted once again.
Twilight arrived in a wood paneled room in Canterlot Castle. She recognized it. Not only the room, but the day.
Luna was sitting in the middle of the room, looking at the ground. Celestia walked in, brushing sleep out of her eyes.
"Mmm. Alright, Luna," Celestia said wearily. "Lower the moon so you can get some sleep."
"No," Luna muttered. "I won't. Sombra was right."
Celestia was concerned. "Sister?"
"It's like they've forgotten!" Luna shouted. "It's like they've forgotten his cruelty! Well I can't, sister! I don't have that luxury!"
"Luna, please," Celestia was growing frightened. "Lower the moon so we can begin the next day."
"No!" Luna rose up, she was now shrieking at her sister,. "I won't! Not now, not ever again! You will bring the same doom that he would! You would blind everyone with your light!! You've deceived them!"
"I've deceived no one," Celestia pleaded. "Luna please don't tread down this path. It's where he's lead everypony else. Please Luna, don't lose yourself."
"Did you really think I would just sit there!" Luna shrieked.
Twilight couldn't take it any more. "Please! Take me away from this! I've seen this before! I know what happens..."
"Did you really expect me to sit back as they bathed in your precious 'light'!!"
As if in answer to Twilight's plea, the image shifted for the last time.
Star Swirl was sitting at his desk. Working on a book that would end up becoming very important to Twilight.
He growled in frustration. "Blast it all to Tartarus!" He slammed the book and flung it across the room.
"So I see things are going well?" came a weary voice from the door.
"You look tired Celestia," Star Swirl said bitterly. "Day and night become too much for you to handle? You could of course deliver Little Wings the final insult and just leave the sun up there 24/7."
Celestia looked hurt. "That was unfair, Star."
Star Swirl looked guilty. "Perhaps. It wasn't her fault. It wasn't yours, either."
"It was Glare," Celestia agreed. "It was always Glare. I'm just glad he's finally gone."
"Oh, he's far from gone," Star Swirl said, "We may have some peace for a few Millennia, but you'll be seeing them all again. Little Wings, Mar- Discord,...... Perhaps even Sombra. And I'm sure you'll see your father again. It's only a matter of time."
Celestia shook her head. "I'll deal with that as it comes, if it comes."
Star Swirl nodded. "It will." He turned to fetch the book he threw. "Now go. You have a moon to set, I have a spell to finish. There's something I'm missing."
Celestia looked at Star, face heavy with sorrow. "Or something you've lost..."
Celestia walked out the door. Leaving Star alone with his thoughts.
He looked up at the moon. "She's going to need you, Little Wings," Star Swirl said. "She'll need somepony else too. Someone to make sure she stays who she is. Somepony to keep her on the right path. Her own Clover."
Magic raced through his horn and four stars appeared around the moon. "When your ready to talk," Star Swirl continued. "When you can see sense Little Wings, they'll help you out of there. I know your sister has six, but he will come back. And he'll bring six of his own."
Twilight was confused by that last statement. Six of what?
"Good luck," Star said, "With all of you together, maybe you can finally stop him."
Twilight appeared back in the tea room, Luna was sitting across from her, giving a soft sad smile.
"Any questions?" Luna asked.
Two guards sat near the golden mirror. "What are we doing here?" one asked.
"We're going to make sure that no one touches that thing. Especially casting magic on it."
"Why?"
"Cap's orders I-" The guard stopped mid sentence.
The light of the mirror condensed around the crack. Out of it poured a stream of light that took the form of a cloaked mare, it turned and began to cast magic on the Mirror.
"What the-?"
"Hey you can't-"
Magical aura's wrapped around the guards throats.
The spell was finished. Out stepped a tall Alicorn. Where the guards once were were now two piles of ash.
The cloaked mare bowed before the glowing figure. "Welcome, father."
He shook himself off. "I thank you for your assistance, my daughter...
Twilight slowly told her friends everything that she saw, and there was a long silence.
The reactions of her five friends were varied. Rarity's jaw was on the floor, aghast at the evil she had just heard. Around the part about Clover's suicide, Fluttershy had started softly crying, it didn't look like she was going to stop anytime soon. Pinkie Pie had her head down on the table, mane slightly deflated, her nose buried in her hooves. Applejack had put her hat to her chest and had her eyes closed, as if she just heard about the death of a good friend. Rainbow Dash, however, was stone faced. It was hard to tell her emotions on the matter.
At least it was until she kicked over the table (along with Pinkie), and barreled toward the door. "WHERE IS HE?!!"
Fluttershy and Applejack leaped up and restrained her. "Whoa there, Missy."
"Rainbow Dash, stop!" Fluttershy cried.
"Did you hear what Twilight just said?" Rainbow Dash was squirming to get out of her friends' grip. "He tortured his subjects! He killed an innocent mare! He drove his friend crazy! He hit his daughter, our princess! You can't expect me to just sit here and wait for him to show up and hurt somepony else!"
"Yes," Twilight Sparkle said firmly. "There's nothing we can do right now but wait. Anything we try to do to the mirror runs the risk of activating it. That could easily turn us into vegetables or what's worse, let him out. We have to think of a plan."
Dash slowly came to the conclusion that Twilight was right. With one final burst of anger she kicked the wall, and then she took a deep breath. "You're right. I'm sorry."
"It's alright," Twilight reassured her. "No one has ever managed to land a significant blow on Seraphim Glare without losing themselves in the process. But I won't let that happen to me, and it will be a lot easier with you girls at my side." Twilight held her hoof out. "If you're with me."
Without hesitation, Rainbow Dash threw her hoof in. "Aren't I always?"
Applejack was soon to follow. "You weren't expectin' me to sit this one out, were ya?"
Fluttershy shakily put her hoof in, "Whatever you need me to do, I'm here for you Twilight."
Rarity gracefully followed, "As am I, as far as I'm concerned this 'Glare' fellow can't be dispatched soon enough."
"You need to ask? There's no way I'd miss something as exciting as this!" Pinkie Pie completed the circle. "Bring it on!"
A mysterious pulse radiated between Twilight and her friends. Twilight smiled. That pulse gave her hope.
There seemed to be a commotion in the halls. Guards were running past the door in a frenzy. Civilians were being ushered past the door. Twilight heard her brother roar over the crowd. "All right boys, move it! Get to the front gates! This is not a drill!"
"What the hay is goin' on?" Applejack said.
"Shining Armor?" Twilight and the other five rushed to join the guards.
Shining caught site of them, and didn't stop walking. "Twily, we need you six to stay back, you guys are our last resort. We don't know what we're up against here. We don't want to waste you guys fighting something we might be able to solve ourselves."
"Because that's likely," Flash Sentry strode quickly next to his captain.
"You knew what the job meant when you enlisted, Sentry," Shining said.
"I'm not denying that," Flash responded, "Just saying this is still a boneheadedly stupid plan."
"That why you're so hesitant?" Shining grinned at his Lieutenant.
"No way," Flash grinned back. "That's why I'm right with you."
Shining let out a chuckle. "Where are the princesses?"
"Celestia and Luna are barricaded in the throne room surrounded by several of our scariest looking recruits," Flash answered. "Your wife is headed to Canterlot under royal guard- Again, I ask why?"
"After what she just told me," Shining responded as though the thought were weighing heavily on his mind, "She's staying out of danger."
"Cadence told you?" Twilight said, forgetting for a moment what was going on.
"Yeah," Shining said, with an enormous goofy smile on his face. "Can you believe it?"
"Congratulations to the both of you!" Twilight said cheerfully.
"Oh yeah!" Flash tapped his forehead with his hoof. "And your Archmage sister is standing directly next to you heading with us to the battle that very few, if any, of us will make it out of alive. Shouldn't she be getting into position right now.?"
Shining Armor regained his composure and turned to Twilight. "Twily, I need you to wait in front of the throne room. Make sure the fight doesn't come to the two sisters. We'll do our best to slow him down."
"Wait," Twilight said, fearing and knowing the answer to the question she was about to ask. "What's happening?"
"New report from the town square," Flash answered. "Two of our boys turned to ash"
Shining Armor put his hoof on the door. "He's here."
The town square was silent. It was surrounded by ponies staring in awe at the two figures that were walking toward the castle gates. A group of shaking guards were standing in front of the palace doors.
Seraphim Glare walked through the crowd with a kingly smile on his face, head held high as if this was some sort of royal parade for him. Around his neck there was a gold chain, from it dangled a small gilded mirror. The hooded figure beside him stayed silent. Her head tilted toward the ground.
They approached the guards. "Stand aside," Said Glare's hooded companion.
"Y-You aren't welcome here," a guard said feebly. "If you don't turn back I will be forced to-"
"You will do nothing," Glare said with confidence.
The guard immediately fell silent. Squinting in horror at the brightness of Seraphim Glare.
"You will sit there and you will do nothing," Glare continued. "You will do as all other creatures of darkness do, and that is cower before my light. I am here to rebuild the kingdom I once had, and nothing will stop me from doing so. If you wish to live to see my utopia, you will do as my daughter says, and stand aside."
There was a long pause. And then with great fear, and great shame on their faces, one by one the guards made way for the Alicorn King.
He was stopped at the door by two crossed lances.
"I'm sorry sir," said Flash Sentry. "It costs a bit for a castle tour."
"That's right," Shining Armor was casting a powerful barrier spell on the door. "And I'm afraid the castle is closed for the night regardless. Please come back tomorrow around ten AM."
Glare stared at the two soldiers with some amusement. "You do realize that you're both committing suicide?"
"Yep," Flash said. "But you see, we have a job to do, namely keeping you out. We will probably fail at this. But the one thing I can say for certain is that no one is going to say is that we let you."
"We're the guard," Shining chipped in. "The last thing we do is stand aside."
This inspired the other guards to take up arms. Their fear replaced with a sense of duty, over fifty lances were pointed at Seraphim Glare.
The Alicorn King gave a cold laugh at this situation. "Bravo, gentlemen! Bravo indeed. You all are true servants of the light. I enjoy seeing loyalty. It's so easy to turn. I have good news and bad news. The good news is that you shall all be living to see my utopia. The bad news is that you were right. You will fail to protect this castle." Glare turned to his companion. "Leave them alive, I may have use for them later."
"Yes, father." Wings erupted from the coat. A horn glowed under the hood. The hooded figure released a magical force so intense that it sent all the guards flying back twenty feet from the door, shattering the barrier spell, and slamming Shining Armor and Flash Sentry against the door frame.
Glare was about to walk into the castle when he paused. He turned to the crowd, and summoned a bit from the saddlebag of a spectator. He placed it upon the unconscious body of Flash. "For the tour."
As he walked into the castle, two walls of fire erupted from the ground. One around the Crystal Palace, and one around the empire itself.
Twilight and her friends saw the door open. "This is it! Get ready!"
Rainbow Dash noticed the hooded figure. "Who's she?"
"I'm not sure," Twilight said. "Just stay on your guard."
Glare and his companion stopped to examine the six. "Now, father?"
"Not yet," Glare replied. "What I have in store for them shall take some time, and I must discuss things with your sisters."
There were two loud cracks through the air, and Twilight felt two gusts of wind blow past her. The doors to the throne room exploded off their hinges, as if impacted by a wagon.
Glare and the hooded mare were now in the throne room, staring at the two princesses.
"Hold it!" Rainbow Dash yelled as she and the others started to rush in.
"Stay back, Twilight Sparkle!" Celestia yelled. "We wish to speak to our father."
Twilight held the others back, unsure of what was going to happen.
Glare stared at his daughters, a longing nostalgia in his eyes, "It's good to see you girls."
The sisters stood silent.
Glare looked out the window at the night sky. "Luna, I must ask. Where did I go wrong with you? Why would you bring about this darkness twelve hours a day?"
"The night is my pride and joy," Luna answered firmly. "It's a peaceful time of rest. Not all darkness is evil, Father."
Glare let out a sharp laugh. "Is that so? You know, Luna, in my years of exile I sill managed to see what was going on in my kingdom, and on one of your 'nights', I caught the most charming little song. How did it go...?" Glare let loose an evil grin. "Ah, I remember. Nightmare Night...."
Luna was stunned at hearing her father sing. "Stop it..."
"What a fright.."
Tears were beginning to well up in Luna's eyes. "Stop it..."
"Give us something sweet to-"
"STOP IT!!!" Luna shrieked as she leaped at her father.
Seraphim Glare batted his daughter aside like she was a fly in the air. "Luna!" Celestia screamed as she rushed over to her sister.
"The darkness is evil, Luna," Glare said, walking up to the throne as if he owned it. "There are no exceptions. As you figured out yourself it will only lead you on a path to despair."
"T-the only place I found despair," Luna said weakly, a fresh burn on her cheek, "was down the path you lead me."
Glare looked solemnly at his daughters. "That hurts me, Luna."
"Hurts you?!" Celestia was furious, rising up to her hoofs, spreading her wings out. "You deserve all the pain you could possibly receive! How many ponies lives have you destroyed?! I have lost subjects, friends, and nearly my own sister to your cruelty, and I am ashamed to share your blood!"
A tear rolled down Glare's cheek, it quickly evaporated into steam. "All I have ever wanted in this world was to keep my daughters happy." He took off his pendant and handed it to the robed mare. "Please, Light, do so."
The hooded figure cast a spell on the pendant and it expanded into the golden mirror. It landed next to the throne, and beams of light shot out from itinto the eyes of the two sisters.
"Star...?" Celestia said, seemingly in a trance. "I just came by to... visit... how's.... Clover?" She fell to the ground. A warm grin on her face.
"Sombra..." Luna said quietly. "Sombra... please.... don't lose yourself to him." Tears streamed down Luna's face.
Twilight watched in horror as she saw the two princesses fall. She looked up at Seraphim Glare with an emotion she had little experience of. Hate. "Alright, girls," Twilight growled. "Let's send this monster back to his mirror where he belongs!"
They were about to charge in when steel bars blocked the doorway to the throne room.
"Hey!" Pinkie Pie said.
"What in tarnation?!"
"What's the matter, Seraphim?" Rainbow Dash cried through the bars. "Too scared to face us?!"
"This..." Glare looked bewildered. "Was not my doing."
"I'm afraid it was mine..." A familiar voice seemed to be coming from all around them. "Sorry I'm late everypony, but I'm here to help in anyway I can. By the way, I don't think sending him back to the mirror will work this time around, Twilight Sparkle. We'll need a more permanent solution."
"Wait," Glare was looking around him for the source of the noise. "If you are on their side, why lock them out from the fight? Trust me you'll need all the help you can get. From my position, this makes no sense."
"Make sense? Ohohoho..."
There was a snap and a familiar figure appeared in front of the bars.
"What fun is there in making sense?" said Discord.
Discord and Seaphim Glare stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity.
"Forward March," Glare said after a long while. "I hardly recognized you."
"Yes, Much has changed since you took your little extended vacation," Discord said examining his lion's paw. "As I'm sure you saw. I'm also sure you saw the death of Forward March. He's not here anymore, only I'm left."
"Ah yes," Glare said smugly, "That's right, you go by 'Discord' now don't you. As I said March, your name would be far more hated than mine, one day."
"And so it was," Discord replied calmly, "That will happen when one party fades out of history, back into legend. It seems that your 'light' was bright enough to irritate ponies, but not quite bright enough to be worth remembering."
Glare was obviously angered by that, but he kept his composure. "Why are you here, March?" he said with a forced grin on his face. "I'm much stronger than the centaur, so I believe an alliance won't be necessary."
"Oh, very funny, Seraphim," Discord flexed his paw to reveal five claws, as long as steak knives, "but you know exactly why I'm here."
Glare's hooded cohort stepped toward Discord, but was blocked by a golden wing. "No, Light. I'll handle this personally."
"But father-"
"No argument," Glare said firmly, "After all, old friends should settle this kind of agreement personally."
"I couldn't agree more," Discord grinned.
Outside the gate, Twilight and the others were standing in awe at the raw power that was circling the throne room. "This is not good," said Twilight. "If those two go at it, they could bring this whole place down."
"Do you think that Discord will be alright?" Fluttershy asked.
"Are you kidding?" Dash replied. "This is Discord we're talking about. I'm just going to sit back and watch the butt whuppin'"
"I'm not so sure," Twilight added. "True, Discord is highly powerful, but he got that power from Seraphim Glare. And Glare said it was only a portion of his power, this is going to be far from a walk in the park for him."
There was a snap and a flash and all of the sudden movie theater snacks appeared in front of the three ponies. "I thank you for the vote of confidence, Twilight," Discord said dryly. "This is why Rainbow Dash gets more popcorn than you do."
"You've become much more of a good time since you lost control," Glare laughed. "I wish you had been more like this back then."
"Now, now," Discord gave a sly smile. "I do hope that means you won't be going soft on me, Seraphim."
Glare gave an evil grin. "Don't worry."
Glare lunged at Discord, but he was blocked by the appearance of a giant apple pie. "You know what I've felt your problem has always been, Glare?" said Discord. "A lack of imagination."
Glare pulled himself from the giant pie and backed into a place behind him, where the floor had become soap. He skidded into the opposite wall.
"All your going on about 'my light' this and 'my light' that," Discord nimbly dodged a bolt of magic from Glare's horn. "It's like you never learned to have any fun."
"You insolent-" Glare was cut off by when an anvil stuck him about the head.
"But if you really must be such a stick in the mud," Discord appeared in front of Glare. He grabbed Glare's horn with his eagle's talon. He winced as a sizzling noise echoed throughout the throne room. "I can handle that."
Discord began to bat at Glare's face with his lion's claws, scratching at his eyes. Glare fired a bolt of energy through is horn that hit Discord squarely in the jaw. Discord staggered back, and then took to the air. Glare was about to follow, when all of the sudden shots rang out. Several cannons which had appeared on the ceiling fired at Glare. The glow around Glare intensified and the cannonballs melted. Glare tried to take off again but was welded to the ground by the molten metal from the projectiles."
"What?!" Glare tried to wrestle his feet out of the molten lead, which was already beginning to glow orange again.
"Oh, my," Discord giggled. "It's almost as if I saw that coming!" Discord shoulder checked Glare into the opposite wall, embedding him in it and enshrouding the Alicorn King in a blanket of blue dust. "Honestly Seraphim, I expected more of a challenge than this," he said nursing a burn on his shoulder.
"ENOUGH!" the kings roar shook the throne room. He came out of the dust cloud with his face clouded in rage. The tips of his horn and hooves were glowing like gold being tempered. "Enough of these games, March! I tire of them! Any entaertainment value that this bout may have had is long over with. It is long past the time where you need to die!"
"Oh, I don't think your little 'Incinerate Stare' will do you any-" steam began to rise from Discord's skin. He doubled over in pain. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"Oh, you're right," Glare said, a mad grin plastered on his face. "I cant kill you with it..."
Fluttershy reached through the bars as Discord let out another scream. "Discord!"
"What I can do" Glare said with a cold satisfaction, "Is make you hurt, March. I can make it feel as if every inch of your body is burning. But on the other hand..."
Discord seemed to be relieved, his body still twitching after the ordeal it had been put through.
"That would lack imagination, wouldn't it Discord?" Glare seemed to begin to calm as he lifted his former friend into the air.
A magic aura seized each of discord's limbs and began to pull in different directions. Discord looked as if he would scream if something hadn't also grabbed his throat.
"So many different limbs, belonging to so many different creatures," Glare pondered. "I think it's time you returned them."
Discord let out a choking scream as the pull became more taut.
"Twilight!" Fluttershy said desperately. "We have to get in there!"
Twilight didn't answer. She couldn't answer. She simply stared at her friend in agony. Tears began to well in her eyes. If she had looked around her, she'd have seen that that her friends had the same reaction. They were all to shocked to move.
Fluttershy threw herself against the bars with all her might. "What are all of you waiting for!" Fluttershy hurled herself into the bars again. "We have to get in there!!"
Glare smiled and slackened the pull. He slammed Discord to the ground, cracking the floor. "Don't worry, March," Glare said softly. "It's to early to kill you. Never say again that I don't know how to have fun."
There was silence, and then a wheezing laugh. "I most certainly won't question your imagination ever again." Discord slowly rose. "You truly are sick, you know that, don't you?"
"Oh, good," Glare said with a sick glee. "You have enough energy to fight back. This should make things a little more interesting."
Discord shook his head. "No, Seraphim. You've won this round." He snapped his fingers and a glass vial filled with blue powder appeared in his hand.
"Is that...?" the vial was enough to break through Twilight's shock.
"I'm afraid so," Discord said quietly. He popped open the cork and poured the powder down his throat.
"What are you doing?!" Twilight screamed.
"What is it?" Fluttershy was crying now. "What did he just-?"
"Harmony extract," Discord said quietly. "As for what I'm doing, Twilight. I'm giving you a back up plan. Remember, I'll be right here when you need me."
"What?" Twilight asked.
"Harmony extract? He can mean..." Fluttershy looked at her friend and there was a catch in her heart. "No..."
The tips of his tail and toes were beginning to turn grey. "The process should be slower with such a small amount. That should give me enough time to say a few things."
Glare seemed intrigued. "Speak your piece."
"You've won round one," Discord paced around Glare, each step making a hard tap against the crystal floor. "Would you like to hear about round two?"
Glare smiled. "Oh, please. Go on."
"The six mares you are about to come in contact with," he stopped in front of the iron bars as the petrification moved up his legs and onto his hips. "Are truly remarkable. They are the sort who can achieve the impossible if they work together. They have a bond that nothing can break apart, trust me, I've tried. And you're going to underestimate them, Glare. That's what will be the end of you.
"Girls," Discord snapped his fingers just before the petrification took his arms.The iron bars in the doorway lowered "I leave him in your capable hooves."
With that, Discord was turned to stone. Arms spread wide as if to erect a wall between him and his friend.
There was a very long silence. Fulttershy was weeping softly. Twilight was stunned. Even Pinkie Pie was on the verge of tears.
The silence was broken by a cold laughter. "Trust me, March," Glare laughed. "I've been watching. I know exactly what they are capable of." He lifted Discord into the air and turned to his ward. "At least this wasn't a complete waste of time, daughter. I now have a new ornament for my throne room."
He placed the statue behind the Crystal Empire's throne. "Hail to Discord!" he said with a great pride. "Formerly Forward March! The last opponent who would ever be a challenge.
"Now," Glare sat on the throne and turned to the six friends. "I believe I have business with the six of you."
"Princess Twilight?" Glare called pompously from the throne. "Your king has called for you. Please bring your servants along."
"You're no king of mine" Rainbow Dash charged at Seraphim Glare, and buried her hoof into his jaw.
Glare didn't even move. "Patience, Lady Dash. You will have all the exorcise you can handle in a few moments."
There was a sizzling sound and Rainbow Dash recoiled in pain. "Hot!" she screamed.
"Never touch a Light source, stupid girl," Glare spat at dash. "It will be bound to be hot to the touch." With one swift wave of his wing, Glare sent Dash flying.
"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight and the others ran to their friend.
Pinkie helped Dash up. "I'm fine," she said, a burn mark on her cheek. "But how does HE know my name."
"Oh, how could I not?" Glare said. "Rainbow Dash, spirit of loyalty. It's a quality I value."
"I could see how loyal you were to your Daughters.."
Seraphim Glare began to glow brighter. "I was! I love my daughters more than anything! Never question this. March and Star turned them against me! Led them down the wrong path!"
"They saved them from you!" Twilight protested.
"Never speak, you little worm." Glare turned and growled at Twilight. "You disgust me more than anything. So much praise, so much adulation, for dying light! Your name is everything I've fought against! It's surrendering to darkness!"
"That's it!" Rainbow made another lunge for glare, but Applejack caught her.
"Hold on there!" AJ said. "That won't do any good."
"Yes. Listen to your friend," Glare said smugly. "You know she speaks the honest truth."
Twilight started forward. "How did you-" She all of the sudden felt as if a hand was gripping her mouth shut.
"I said silence" Glare seemed like he wanted to skewer Twilight, but held himself back. He turned to his companion. "Your counterpart is a talker, Light. I hope you can handle her."
"Yes, father." the hooded mare said.
Rarity stepped up. "Counterpart?"
A slow cold laugh filled the room. Glare turned to Rarity. "Destiny is a funny thing, isn't it? So binding, and yet so fragile. One tiny change in events could alter the course of so many lives. Did you ever stop to think of what might have been?"
Twilight tried to protest, but couldn't say a word. Glare stepped out of the way of the mirror, it's light dimmed, her five friends looked into it.
And then the mirror began to crack. Five more cracks moved across the mirror, distorting her friends reflections.
"Six lives altered by one event," Glare said quietly. "Truly astounding, if one little filly hadn't broken light and sound..."
Light poured out of the mirror and took the form of a scarred sky blue mare, with a multicolored mane and a bandage over her left eye.
"Another would have never found her way back to the farm..."
More light poured from the mirror, taking the shape of an orange mare in a long elegant gown, mane put up in a beehive.
"A rock never cracks, a little unicorn is left with no inspiration..."
The light took the form of another highly elegant pony, a white unicorn with an evil seduction in her eyes. She was accompanied by three servant stallions.
"Animals are never frightened, a little pegasus is left truly alone..."
Another stream of light poured out, taking the form of a yellow pegasus, mane and tail pulled into tight braids. A cruel expression on her face.
"And a rainbow never shines its way over a rock farm, a little filly never learns to laugh."
One last stream of light poured out. A pink earth pony, her eyes shooting around everywhere, blood caked on her hooves and straight mane.
Glare stood with his five new companions. "One thing, however, is constant. Whatever happened in the past, you would always come back to me. I was always your destiny." Glare tilted his head. "Perhaps you would like to compare notes?"
A gust of wind seemed to blow throughout the room. There were five flashes of light and Twilight's friends were gone, along with glare's new compatriots.
Twilight's mouth was finally released. "What have you done with them."
"I gave them some time to be alone with themselves," Glare smiled.
"What does that mean?" Twilight yelled. "Who were those ponies?!"
"Oh damn." Glare said. "I left one out didn't I? A unicorn is never startled, an egg never hatches, and to discover her raw abilities, Twilight Sparkle needs to be taken under another Alicorn's wing..."
Glare's hooded companion stepped forward and removed her cloak. Twilight was amazed at what she saw.
"Make sure she suffers, Blinding Light." Glare said to Twilight's mirror image. "I want to see her burn."
Rainbow Dash found herself confused and disoriented in an unfamiliar sky.
She looked around trying to make sense of the stars, find out where Glare had sent her. No luck. There were no stars. No moon. No sun. Only a storm.
Rainbow headed toward what she thought was the ground, but the ground never came. Only more storm.
She'd never admit it, but she was terrified. She usually took careful notice of everything when she flew. She could pick apart any minor detail going on around her. But now there was nothing to notice, only the storm.
There was no time to be scared. She had to get back to her friends. She had to save her country.
She landed on a cloud to calm herself down. She had to focus if she wanted to get back to her friends. Her mind was racing with a thousand unanswered questions. Why was the mirror cracking? Where had she been sent? Who were those five ponies who showed up from no where?
That's when a cackle ripped through the air. To Dash, it was cold, but strangely familliar. "Lame!" a voice said. "So incredibly lame!"
There was a hard slam on Rainbow's back, knocking her through the cloud. She cried out in pain.
"Rainbow Dash," the voice said mockingly, still unseen. "This is how you turned out? Such a goody horseshoes, always playing by the rules. Always helping her friends. When you didn't learn the one thing I did..."
Dash landed on a cloud, "And what was that?!"
A scarred sky blue mare landed across from her, a bandage around her left eye. "If you're not cheating," she grinned, "you're not playing the game right."
Rainbow Dash sized up her attacker. Sky blue, her height and a multicolored mane that seemed to have faded and begun to grey. She looked like... "Who are you?"
"Oh come on!" the scarred mare laughed. "You can't be that slow! Oh whatever, his majesty said I might have to do this...." she locked eyes with Rainbow, and suddenly Dash couldn't move.
A flurry of images raced through Rainbow's mind. A failed race. A lost friend. Ridicule. Something had to be done, she would never lose again. More challenges. Sabotage. Victory. Deceit. Treachery.
A saloon. A fight. A lost eye. Several more fights. Scars.
The moon rises and doesn't fall. A war fought against an empire to the north. A mirror rises.
She took the hoof of a golden king. He would guide her. She would never leave the comfort of his light.
Rainbow no more. She was now, she would always be, Spectrum Dash.
Rainbow looked at her counterpart with horror. One little mistake in that first race. That's all it took to turn her into this.
Spectrum let out a sharp laugh. "What's wrong?" she said mockingly. "Can't handle the sight of you 120% cooler?"
Rainbow was stunned. She looked at her counterpart. "You're.... me?"
"Hah! You wish," Spectrum laughed. "Look at you, you're pathetic! Your pointless dream of joining some flying crew. Your constant bragging to cover up your own failures. Honestly, losing that race was the best thing that ever happened to me. I was so close to becoming as worthless as you."
Dash jumped at Spectrum, who deftly leaped out of the way. "Shut up!"
Spectrum buried a back hoof in the nape of Rainbow's neck. "Did I strike a nerve?" She kicked rainbow aside like she was garbage. "You're a failure! A disgrace!"
Rainbow choked and caught her balance. Before she could make another move, however, Spectrum's elbow met her stomach.
"Honestly, look at yourself! What about you isn't a complete and total waste of time?" Spectrum kicked Rainbow onto a nearby cloud. She laid there on her back, motionless. "Now let me put you out of your misery..."
Rainbow Dash looked up at the endless grey sky. She's right. Rainbow thought, and she closed her eyes. This is hurting too much, just hurry up and end it...
"Just hold still..." Spectrum smiled as she flew high above Dash. "It'll all be over soon. Let me take care of you and then I'll deal with your pathetic friends..." Spectrum went into a dive...
And was met with Dash's hoof, buried in her throat.
Rainbows eyes opened wide, she didn't even care that Spectrum's hoof couldn't have been more than a centimeter away from her face. "Ohoho... Big mistake bringing them up!!"
Rainbow kicked Spectrum aside. She stood up straight and looked into her counterparts eye.
"Yeah, I brag a lot. Sure, a lot of the time it isn't justified," Rainbow said defiantly. "But make no mistake, I am awesome. I'm probably one of the single greatest ponies who ever lived. You wanna know how I know?"
"What the hoof are you-"
"Because of them!" More images flew through Rainbows head. Victory. Her best friend. A bookworm coming to her hometown, and together they talked the moon down. Pranking with Pinkie. Racing with AJ. Fluttershy cheering her head off from the stands. Rarity making her a dress. Studying with Twilight. Getting Scootaloo to come out of her shell.
Watching her best friend become a princess. Noticing how nothing changed between them because of it.
Spectrum's eye narrowed, and Rainbow knew she was seeing the same thing.
And Rainbow Dash's eyes shimmered as if passing through a rainbow.
"I know I'm awesome because I'm friends with them, and I know their awesome because neither would I!" Rainbow yelled, growing more determined by the second. "I'm not gonna let you or anypony else hurt them! Because I know they'd do the same for me! You're calling me pathetic?! Look at you! You never learned to talk to anypony! Never learned to ask Anypony for help!"
"SHUT UP!!" Spectrum screamed and she lunged at Rainbow.
Rainbow flew above her opponent. "You wanna know what else you never learned to do?" Rainbow shot down and nailed her counterpart in the back.
She flew upwards, Spectrum draped over her forehooves. She made a U-Turn and, as she had done a dozen times before, shot straight toward the ground.
Spectrum Dash turned first into golden light, then into dust. Beneath Rainbow opened a window in the storm. She went through it to find herself in the sky above the Crystal Palace.
The Sonic Rainboom was a symbol of hope to the guards below. They applauded as it spread across the sky.
No time to enjoy that, Rainbow had to get back to the throne room. She had to get back to Twilight. She had to stop Seraphim Glare. She crashed through the palace roof
Five to impact. she thought as she crashed through floor after floor of the building.
Five
Four
Three
Two.
She landed hard on the floor of the throne room, denting it.
Pinkie found herself in a dank basement, with blood caked on the walls.
She could see a few things carved into the walls, even through the dim lighting. "Lonely." "Scared." "How do I smile?!" "1 cup flour, two tsp. sugar, a pinch of salt," "Unfair." "Praise the Light, Praise him!" "I don't wanna be afraid anymore."
Pinkie walked cautiously down the blood drenched hallway. Getting more nervous with every step.
"You aren't kidding," Pinkie said. "This place is super creepy... Where am I?" I'm not even sure if I'm headed back to the throne room!"
And then she heard a faint voice. Something was singing at the far end of the hallway.
"....add it to the mix.... now just take a little something sweet not sour...."
"Hey! You're right!" Pinkie smiled. "You've got a really good ear mister Narrator!" Pinkie ran closer and closer to the voice.
She ran into a circular room. Sitting in the middle of it was a mare about her age, muted pink, blood matting up her mane. She was softly humming to herself. "Making these sweets is such a sinch, add a teaspoon of vanilla... Add a little more and you count to four and you never get-"
"Hey!" Pinkie smiled. "I know that song! I wrote it my-"
Pinkie suddenly found herself slammed against the bloody wall with a long knife at her throat. "WHO ARE YOU?! WHY ARE YOU HERE?! I DON'T WANT ANYPONY TO DISTURB ME WHEN I'M BAKING!!!"
Pinkie swallowed hard, and looked at the face of her captor. It was like she was looking in a mirror. "A really, really crazy mirror!" Pinkie swallowed hard. "Uh... Hi... I'm Pinkie Pie? What's your name?"
"Pinkie?" asked the bloodstained pony. "Pinkie... Pinkie... Pinkie... Important name.... His majesty said something about that name... Right! Right! I remember! You're the one! The one that's supposed to help! You're going to help... Thank you for helping! I need some help..."
Pinkie was relieved as the psychotic mare started pacing around the room muttering to herself. "Any help I can give!" Pinkie said nervously. "I love helping ponies! So... what do you need help with? And I still haven't caught your name?"
"My name?" The mare seemed to consider the question. "My name... Pinkamina! Right... Pinkamina! That's it. Thanks for coming. You see... I'm making cupcakes, and I need help..."
"Oh! Okay!" Pinkie smiled. "I love to make Cupcakes! What do you need help with?"
Pinkamina looked upwards and began to mutter to herself, trying to remember something it seemed. "Mixing... Baking... Cutting? No... No I don't need help with those... Why did I need help? I know I need help for something... What was it?" She turned to look at Pinkie, expecting an answer.
Pinkie got nervous once again. "Uh...," she let out a slight nervous giggle. "I'm nut sure... What exactly are you 'cutting'?"
"That's it!" Pinkamina smacked her head with the same hoof that was carrying the knife. "Ingredients! I'm missing ingredients! I've got the eggs, the flour, the sugar, just a pinch of salt..."
"It... It sounds like you have everything you need," Pinkie said cautiously. "What do you think you're..."
And then Pinkamina leaped at her with the knife.
Pinkie leaped out if the way of the blade just in time, rolling off to the side. Just before she got her footing however, Pinkamina was on her again. Slashing at her chest but missing with each stroke. The expression on Pinkamina's face was one of pure frustration.
"No... No... NO!" Pinkamina screamed. "How am I supposed to prepare the cupcakes if you. Won't. HELP?! He gave me a big responsibility1 I have to plan a coronation ball, it's going to be a big event and I am very. Very. Nervous. But It'll be okay. He told me what he wanted for party snacks! How are you supposed to be party snacks when you won't stay still?!"
Pinkamina's normally unfocused eyes were now locked straight onto Pinkie's. As the insane mare stared deeply into Pinkie's soul, a foal's rhyme, one she had never heard before. This was confusing. She was sure she had heard them all.
Pinkamina took a rock, And gave her sisters fifty knocks, And when the task was over and done, She gave her parents Fifty-one.
Then a flood of images rushed trough Pinkie Pie's mind all at once. A normal day on the Pie Family Rock Farm. Several dozen more like it. Boredom turns to resentment. Resentment turns to anger. Anger turns to madness. Madness delivers one hundred and fifty-one hard "knocks" to her family.
A trial. A verdict. A hospital. A rubber room. She hears the orderlies talk about a night that wasn't ending. She wasn't really paying attention.
Days go by. Months. Years. Then the door to her cell opens.
His Light was the most stunningly beautiful thing she had ever seen. For the first time ever, she smiles.
The king tells her about an upcoming party. He would need some special cupcakes.
The images left as soon as they came, disappearing into the ether of her mind. She sat down and stared at the wall. This wasn't fair. This wasn't right.
This wasn't funny.
"Good," Pinkamina smiled. "Now just hold still. I'll make sure I get the best parts..."
Pinkamina advanced at Pinkie Pie, about to bring the knife down...
When Pinkie started laughing.
She began to laugh so loudly that it echoed off the walls of the blood soaked room. She fell over and began to roll on the floor, unable to breathe. "Oh, Mister Narrator was right!" Pinkie wheezed. "This isn't funny! This is hilarious!"
Pinkamina stopped dead. "Wha...,' she said slowly. "What the... Why are you doing that?! Stop it! What is that?!"
"Oh boy...," Pinkie giggled, wiping a tear from her eye. "I've always been grateful for my friends, but making friends is so easy for me! I mean I thought that I could always make anypony happy! The fact that at one point in my life I was dumb enough to become you just makes me laugh! I would have been miserable! I also would have been stifled for creativity! I playground rhyme about murders I committed, and I don't get to write it? What a jip!"
"What...," Pinkamina stammered. "I don't understand what...,"
"You're a joke!" Pinkie giggled. "And a pretty funny one too! But listen, it's not too late! For you or anypony else. Keep your chin up. Give me a little smile! Try to remember all the good times that you and Maud had! I know you had them. The smiles were there before the rainboom! They were few and far between but they were there!"
A glowing crack split down Pinkamina's cheek. "I can't... Only bad..."
"There isn't much that's 'only bad'," Pinkie smiled. "And for the stuff that is, just look at the mistakes you made in the past and laugh." Pinkie tried to stare at Pinkamina but couldn't help but laugh again. Eventually she was on the floor rolling around.
Eventually Pinkamina started laughing too, it started small, but then it grew. The glowing crack in her cheek began to multiply all over her body. Light shining through each one.
The floor of the room suddenly lit up a hot pink. The image of three balloons, two blue and one yellow, became emblazoned on it. When the intese glow died down, Pinkamina was gone, and Pinkie was staring at a brand new hole in the wall.
Through the hole was the throne room. In it she saw Twilight an Seraphim Glare, both with anger in their eyes.
"You want reasons?!" Twilight shouted. "I can give you six!"
Rainbow Dash crashed through the roof. "One," she breathed.
Pinkie figured that was her cue. She leaped through the hole into the throne room.
"Two!" Pinkie said, jumping in from seemingly nowhere.
It wasn't your traditional kind of cage. It seemed like more of a long barred hallway with a dirt floor. Outside of the bars appeared to be a large room with thousands of bright stadium lights. Shy was nervous. She didn't like cages, and she hated the spotlight.
She was on the verge of panic when she heard a small squeak coming from her hooves. Excitable as she was, the noise startled her. She looked down and saw a small mouse looking back up at her with curiosity.
"Oh," Fluttershy smiled. "Hello Mr. Mousey! How are you?" She knelt down to get a closer look at the creature. Closer examination revealed that the mouse was obviously quite ill. It's fur had begun to gray prematurely. It's ribs were showing. "Oh my goodness!" Fluttershy gasped. "It looks like no one's fed you in days! No one has been keeping you warm, and you definitely need more cheese! Well we'll just take you back to my cottage-"
The mouse turned and ran down the caged hallway.
"Wait!" Fluttershy yelled out. "You shouldn't be going anywhere in your condition!"
Fluttershy chased the mouse down the hallway into the darkness. Her visibility was limited to the floor of the cage, which seemed to become wider. Her eyes fixated on the mouse...
Until a cream yellow hoof came down hard on the pitiful creature, snapping it's spine and killing it instantly.
Fluttershy's jaw was on the floor.
The lights came up revealing that the hallway had led to a large circular cage. Every single wall had compartments in it. Each compartment contained an animal. Obviously alone. Obviously hungry. Obviously suffering.
In the middle of the cage, grinding her hoof into the dead mouse, was a mare. She was cream yellow, and had a light pink mane that she hat put into a tight braid. She wore a black spiked bracelet on each hoof and she had a collar to match. The expression on her face was a sickening smug pride.
"If he's told me once, he's told me a thousand times," the mare said with a mixture of mocking exasperation and abject glee. "Show no mercy to creatures of darkness.
The mare kicked the dead mouse over to Fluttershy's hooves. Fluttershy looked in horror at the dead animal at her feet. She looked back at the evil eyed pony on the other side of the cage.
"And we're supposed to scare you?!" she said wide-eyed. "Look at you! You're so... soft! What happened to you to keep you down like this? The fact that we had the same childhood baffles me."
Fluttershy looked down at the mouse and images flew through her mind.
A fall from the clouds. Encountering animals. A crushed butterfly. A sudden rush.
Fluttershy dug at the ground with her hoof, creating a small hole.
A return home. They wouldn't bully her again. A fight. Pleasure through causing pain.
Fluttershy carefully placed the broken body of the mouse into the makeshift grave.
A long night. A fierce war. Approached by a new king. Bathing in his light. He would allow her to do what she loved to all creatures of darkness that dare oppose him.
Fluttershy covered the body with dirt and muttered a little prayer.
From there on out, she was no longer shy. From here on out her presence made them Shudder.
"Honestly," sneered Shudder. "To think there was a reality where I could have become... you... ugh."
Tears started streaming down Fluttershy's face. "Why do you have these animals here...?"
"Why do you think?" Shudder laughed. "Nocturnal bats, cave dwelling bears, night owls, every one a creature of darkness. Every one needs to be punished. And me Fluttershy...," she took a deep inhale. "I like o punish. I like to cause pain. I figured it out by accident. I could snuff out life. That was far more significant than prolonging it..."
With each word that drizzled out of Shudder's mouth, Futtershy's despair turned more into rage.
"And the best part?" Shudder smiled. "There's no way a wimp like you is going to stop me. I can take my time. I'll start with these pathetic little creatures here..."
Futtershy gritted her teeth hard.
"Then I'll move on to your friends," Shudder smiled. Enjoying the thought a little to much. "Sweet Searphim, I love my job. And thank Glare our paths diverged at some point. You're too weak for this work... All in the name of 'kindness'? Please. It's just a shield. You won't hurt anypony else because that way nopony else will hurt yo-"
And then Shudder was cut off by a pair of hooves jamming themselves into her side. She flew partway across the cage.
"A 'shield'?!" Fluttershy screamed. "You think my kindness is a shield? You know what? In a way, you're actually right!"
"What in Tarta- AH!" Shudder was cut off as Fluttershy put a hoof on the back of her neck and put most of her weight on it.
"I have dealt with ponies like you all of my life!" Fluttershy screamed. "Torturers. Tormentors. These are just other names for bullies. All you've ever earned how to do is tear ponies down! You've never done anything to help anypony else! Why? Because that would be hard! That would take care, concern, and an actual thought! You don't want that! You want people to suffer because once upon a time you suffered to! As if that was any kind of excuse! I'm not kind to shield mysef! I'm kind to shield others! Because there are just too many ponies like you!"
Shudder tried to get up but Fluttershy stamped her back down.
"There is nothing more I'd like to do right now than stomp you into the dirt!" Fluttershy said through gritted teeth.
Then she let Shudder go.
"But I'm not going to do that," Fluttershy said softly as she walked to the other side of the cage. "You're not worth my time, and I have to repair some of the damage you've done here..." She flew up to some of the caged animals and looked them over. "It's okay," she said softy. "We just need to find a way to open this cell..."
"NO!!!" Shudder flew to Fluttershy's position and punched her hard. Fluttershy didn't react. Instead Shudder's hoof began to crack like glass. Light began to shine through each crack. "What...?" Shudder said angrily. "Why isn't this working...? Why aren't you in pain?!"
"It's okay, little guys," Fluttershy said sweetly. "She doesn't have any real power over you guys. She can only hurt you if you let her."
"That's! Not! True!" Shudder kept punching, but the blows had no effect. Each hit merely sent the cracks further up her forehooves and onto her torso. "I have power over all of them! I make them hurt! I can make anypony I want hurt! That's how I know! That's how I know I'm-"
"You're losing," Fluttershy smiled. "In the last few seconds you've done everything you can to try to hurt me. You used words. Threats. Even violence all just to get a reaction out of me. Nothing has worked. No bruises, no tears, nothing. Simply put there is nothing you can do to hurt me in any way. The one thing you are is powerless. All because one mare stuck to her guns and told you 'No'."
"THAT'S! A! LIIIIIIIIIIE!!!" The cracks covered Shudder's entire body now. She began to slowly lower down to she ground, shaking. "It... it's gotta be... He told me this made me strong... He said that this was my calling... I don't... I don't understand..." She laid on the ground and put her face in her hooves, and began to start crying.
Fluttershy landed next to her counterpart and took a deep breath. "Shudder?" she asked in a soft voice. "I'm going to ask you a question. It's a question somepony asked me a long time ago. It's something somepony has needed to ask you for a long time..."
Shudder looked up as Fluttershy offered her hoof.
"Do you need any help?"
At that moment the dirt floor of the cage became emblazoned in a cream yellow with the image of three pink butterflies across it.
When the Light died down Shudder was gone, all of the animals looked much healthier and happier, and were free and roaming around the cage. A deep grass had grown on the cage's dirt floor.
Fluttershy smiled as she thought about the fight ahead. A bully. That's all Glare ever was. A bully who only knew how to hurt. That fact gave Shy more confidence than she had ever had before in her young life. Because no matter how physically powerful they may be, no bully could stop Fluttershy.
Fluttershy was invincible.
A portal opened next to her. Through it she saw Twilight staring down Seraphim Glare. Then Rainbow Dash crashed trough the roof.
"One," she said.
"Two!" said Pinkie, leaping from nowhere.
Fluttershy steeled herself and leaped trough the portal. Ready for anything.
"Oh my...," she said aloud. "Oh this is most unseemly. Where-" She was cut off when the room she was in lurched violently to the side, throwing her into a few of the dusty barrels.
"Well I never!" Rarity scoffed. "When was the last time this horrible place was dusted?! Grooming myself after this is going to be a nightmare. And what kind of room lurches from side to side anyway? Actually, that's a good question... Where in Equestria am I?"
Rarity stood still for a moment and took in her surroundings. A large room. Dusty. Full of barrels and crates. Softly swaying from side to side. "I'm on a sailing vessel!" Rarity said shocked. "What in Celestia's name am I doing here? How did I even get here? The Crystal Empire is completely landlocked? And..."
Befuddlement turned to a quiet white hot fury as she realized something else. "Am I... Am I in the cargo hold?"
Rarity turned quickly on her heels. "Well, I simply won't stand for this! I'm going to find the nearest crewman and have him take me to the captain! If he thinks he is going to get away with throwing me in the cargo hold, he's got another thing coming. Even if he's kidnapped me he can tie me to the mainsail like a proper lady in distress! I-"
Rarity trailed off as she came to meet three familiar faces.
The three creatures were bipedal, furred, each with glowing yellow eyes. Rarity recognized them immediately, these three Gnolls called themselves...
"The Diamond Dogs?" Rarity said aghast. "What in Equestria are you...?"
"How does she know our old gang name, brother?" said Spot.
"It's not our name anymore, Spot," said Fido.
"It doesn't matter," said Rover. "Come with us, Pony."
Rarity smiled. She knew how to handle these idiots. "Absolutely not!" she said, pulling every inch of the overly picky noblewoman in her out. "As a matter of fact I take several issues with my treatment here! I have been stuffed in the cargo hold of this dreadful ship without even the slightest commendations and I-"
She was cut off when Rover pointed a long sharp Cutlass at her throat.
"Let's try this again," Rover said calmly. "Come with us, Pony. You're going to meet the Captain."
The Captain sat at the helm of her ship. At first glance, she didn't look like the Captain of a vessel with this crew. She was dressed immaculately. Her clothes made it look like she was attending some sort of royal event. A long purple gown, and jewelry that would stun any passerby. The design was a bit derivative, Rarity thought, but she carried it off well.
All in all, she didn't resemble a ruffian. She was calm, beautiful, and composed. Rarity thought for a moment that she must be another captive...
But then they locked eyes.
The eyes are the windows to the soul. Her soul seemed to be filled with spiders and bad news. They were cold and unfeeling. They were the eyes of a mare who thought she never got what she deserved out of life, and what she deserved was everything. They seemed not to stare at Rarity, but into her. She was a predator sizing up her prey.
"Oh, for goodness sake...," she said. Her voice was as lovely as her appearance. "Did you boys have to bring her here now? I'm not even close to ready... Will you look how I'm dressed? Oh for heavens sake, forgive me darling, I have to go change."
The Captain went into her quarters and came out a moment later in a new outfit. A black jacket with blue trim and lining. Black leggings. A purple undershirt. Brown boots, and three gold bracelets around her right forehoof. She wore a tri-corner black hat.
When she stepped out from her quarters she brought with her a bottle of wine and two glasses. "There we are!" she smiled. "I suppose now is the time we would toast a successful landfall, but..." She looked out over the endless sea around her. "I don't think there is anything for us to make landfall on, here. I wish His Majesty would tell me where he is sending me when he puts me on these odd assignments. I don't think you could 'chart' these waters if you tried. I'm not even sure if this place is real..."
"Who are you?" Rarity asked.
"Oh come now darling," the Captain smiled.
Then there began to be flashes in Rarity's mind.
Her horn drags her off miles away. Leading to... nothing. Just a large boulder and the wasteland.
"Oh," the Captain sighed. "I learned a hard lesson that day. Honestly it was the best thing that ever happened to me..."
Too ashamed to return home. A port town. Stowing away. The wrong kind of ship.
"Nothing in this life is ever given to you," the Captain smirked. "Those who 'give' betray the natural order. Life favors those who take. So..."
Murder. Anger. Greed. Respect.
"I took."
A ship of her own. A crew that fell in line. Guiding by the stars through the endless night.
"But it wasn't until I met him that I realized. I was the only one good enough. The only one with the strength to stand up to the darkness."
Bathed in his light, she now understood her purpose. She would purge the sea of darkness. Any gold she happened to pick up along the way would simply be a bonus.
"You may be a Rarity, darling. But me," the Captain let out an evil grin. "I'm Unique."
Despite the horror of what she just saw, Rarity kept her composure. She merely took another sip of wine and began to think about her situation.
"Speechless?" Unique smiled. "As I understand it that's a first!"
"Oh, not at all," Rarity smiled. "Merely thinking... Actually, I think I finally know what this is..."
Unique paused. "What... is this, then?"
"A cracked mirror and a distorted reflection," Rarity thought aloud. "Glare is trying to show me the worst of myself... And to be fair he hit the nail squarely on the head."
"I was under the impression that he was showing you yourself perfected," Unique sneered.
"Oh, of course that's what he wants me to think...," Rarity smiled. "I heard what he did to Sombra and Luna... Made them forget who they really are and give in to their worst. Become somepony that they truly despise because they were under the impression that that was the only way that they could overcome an obstacle. To defeat evil, one must become evil."
Unique pointed a long cutlass at Rarity's throat. "Did you just call me evil?" she screamed. "You bathe in darkness every twelve hours and you think I'm the evil one?! How dare you-"
Rarity didn't even flinch. She merely put her hoof daintily on the blade of the sword and pushed it away. "Oh, please Darling. Don't overreact. It's unbecoming. Besides, I'm betting you are coming closer than your compatriots and turning me into someone I don't want to become. Mostly because you had a head start."
Unique looked puzzled.
"I can be shallow, overbearing, certainly overdramatic, and, despite my element," Rarity took another sip of her wine and took a look deep into Unique's eyes. "I can be greedy. And I think that's where you came from. You came from that sick little part of me that despises my element, and only wants me to take for myself. But here's the thing..."
Rarity put her glass down.
"That little part of me is always wrong," Rarity smiled. "I don't hate my element. In fact it's the perfect Element for me. I have too many good ideas to hoard them all for myself. Every time I give one away I gain something. It's ineffable, but it's there. It's what keeps me going. As a result, I give freely. I need to. I don't think I could survive without it. I give dresses, outfits, advice, money where I can spare it, my own tail at one point, and more important than anything else, I give my trust. I trust my friends to not fall or this charade. I trust Twilight to help me here if I need it. I trust the Princesses to not fall victim to their father again. I even, Celestia help me, trust Discord to have known what in Equestria he was doing when he petrified himself. Because of all the trust I've given people are more willing to trust me. That makes me feel fairly safe."
Light began to show through cracks on Unique's hoof.
"Look around you, Captain," Rarity said. "Who do you trust? How safe do you feel?"
The Captain began to look at her crew with terror. "Keep away," she said breathlessly. "All of you Keep away!" She held out the Cutlass, frantically pointing it at each crew member. "I mean it! I won't hesitate to-"
Unique fell backwards and then quickly rose. Rarity noticed her foreleg was bleeding. She also noticed that the glowing cracks were now running all through her body.
Rarity grabbed a Cutlass from one of the Diamond Dogs. The others drew theirs in concern. "Oh, for goodness sake!" Rarity scoffed. "Do you honestly think it's worth it for me to fight now? Honestly!"
Rarity pulled at the back of her mane and used the sword to cut a large lock of it off. She approached Unique with the lock, but the Captain stopped her with the sword. "Keep away!"
"You're bleeding, Darling," Rarity said softly, holding out the lock. "Someone needs to patch you up."
Unique lowered the sword slowly, not taking her eyes off Rarity. "W... Why?"
Rarity began to bandage the wound. "You were hurt," Rarity smiled. "Fixing you up is worth a little piece of my mane. As gorgeous as it was..."
"But..." The cracks began to move onto Unique's face. "I'm your enemy..."
"And?" Rarity smiled as she finished the makeshift bandage. "There we are."
The last look on Unique's face was one of utter confusion as she burst into blinding light. When the light dimmed the ship had changed. From the normal beige of the wood to a deep purple. And the sails (once black) were now a clean white with the image of three blue diamonds upon them. More importantly, Unique and her crew were gone
"Ah ha ha ha!" Rarity squealed. "Oh this is just perfect!... Oh, but how in Equestria am I going to get it home?"
A hole in the air seemed to open up in front of her. Through it she could see Twilight facing off with Glare. "You want a reason?!" Twilight screamed. "I can give you six!"
"I do like it when she's fierce!" Rarity smiled. "I suppose that means I'd better be going. Farewell HMS Rarity! So much potential left untapped!
"One," said Rainbow Dash crashing through the roof.
"Two!" said Pinkie Pie cheerfully, leaping from seemingly nowhere.
"Three," said Fluttershy, with a harder expression than usual.
Rarity smiled as she leaped through the portal
"Four!" she said proudly!
The pulse began to grow stronger.
And somewhere in the realm beyond, someone began to smile.
Applejack woke up in... rather pleasant surroundings.
All things considered it was a rather posh room. She was lying on, what did Rarity call it, a Chaise Lounge? All of the furniture was very high class. The floors were solid mahogany. There was a hearth with a roaring fire in it. Next to it, there was a rack carrying three gold plated fireplace pokers.
Then something caught AJ's eye... What looked like a wedding portrait.
There was an Orange mare in a wedding dress standing next to a very handsome stallion. The mare was beaming, this was obviously the happiest day of her life. The stallion was smiling, but in a different way. This obviously wasn't about love for him, this was about profit. The kind of smug satisfaction that he was wearing wasn't that of a proud husband who had just hooked the mare of his dreams...
But that wasn't the most disturbing part. The most disturbing part was that she recognized both of the ponies in the portrait.
She placed the groom almost immediately. It was that stuck up noble Rarity was crushing on a few months ago. And the bride...
Orange coat. Straw-colored mane. Emerald green eyes. The picture may have been rather flattering, but there was no denying who this was...
Applejack turned around as the large wooden doors flung open behind her.
"Oh my goodness," came a refined voice. The bride from the picture stepped in behind her. She had a distinct very high class drawl. "Oh ain't you just the livin' end! Oh honey you must be exhausted! Come sit down and I'll have somepony get the both of us a drink! Casper!"
Applejack wasn't scared of the bride herself. On the contrary, she seemed like a very nice pony. As a matter of fact she reminded AJ of a pony she used to work for in Dodge Junction, Cherry Jubilee. Very high class, but still quite... country. AJ could still sense something was wrong... while her kindness seemed genuine, her smile was forced. It was less a face and more of a mask. But again, AJ wasn't scared of the bride.
Applejack was scared of "Casper."
The Bride's manservant wasn't... equine. His coat was shiny and glossy... like it was recently polished. His eyes were completely lifeless. He wasn't wearing a tuxedo, his tuxedo was bolted on. With every step there was a loud clank followed by a huge whir as he lifted each hoof.
Casper was a doll. A clockwork doll.
The Bride couldn't help but notice Applejack gawking. "Do you like Casper?" she asked. "His majesty gave him to me for a weddin' present! Of course that was before... Anyway. Casper, two of the usual. Make our friend's... strong, will you? She looks like she needs it!"
Casper nodded and left the room with a series of whirs and clanks. "I...," Applejack stammered. "I'm awful sorry miss... I'm just mighty confused..."
"I'd imagine!" the Bride giggled. "Fighting off against the King one minute and then poof! Sittin' in my late husbands study the next! Don't you worry, now. His Highness said that that it would all be explained to you all at once. It might be a little shock but- Oh! Thank you kindly, Casper!"
Casper clanked back into the room carrying a tray with two glasses. The drink was far to fancy for AJ, but she took the glass. There was no sense in turning it down.
She was about to take a sip when something stopped her. A flash in her mind.
"I hardly ever come in here anymore," the Bride said wistfully.
The images came and went quickly. A blank sky. A crying filly missing the farm. This was her life now. She had to make the best of it. Besides, she liked it better here. Her life was perfect.
"He used to come in here when he needed to be alone...,"
A true Manehattanite. A long night. A great war. A new king. A position of authority. So everything about her world had shifted. So this new ruler was a bit... extreme. It didn't matter. She was a proper lady now. Her life was perfect.
"I'd come in sometimes to help him out," the Bride continued.
A wedding to her dream man. Her prince. Her Blue Blood. Her life was perfect.
"But he made it clear he wanted to be alone..."
Anger. Unrest. Hooves raised in anger. Hiding bruises. He lost his temper. That's all. Her life was perfect.
"Oh Blood," the Bride sighed.
An affair. The final straw. A deadly cocktail. The poison would take care of the problem nice and quietly. No matter what, nopony could ever know about this. As far as they were concerned, aside from the fact that her husband tragically passed away far too young...
Her life was perfect.
"Drink up, Darlin'" she smiled. "You'll like it. It's called a Cosmopolitan."
Applejack put the glass down, and closed her eyes. She knew what she had to do.
"You know," Applejack sighed. "I know what he was trying to do. He may have wanted to make me jealous... Or scared... Or angry... Do you know what it actually did, Miss?"
"What did it do Darlin'?" Cosmopolitan smiled.
"It made me sad," Applejack nodded. "Just made me really sad. Sad that I had to see that. Sad that you had to live it. And more than anything else... Sad about what I'm going to have to do next."
She walked over to the Hearth and picked up one of the pokers.
"What're you...?" Cosmopolitan protested.
"You need to snap out of it!" Applejack shouted. "Right...now!" She took a massive swing at the wedding portrait. It seemed to crack like it was made of glass. The prices fell off and the portrait was a much darker image. Cosmopolitan with tears streaming down her face, mixing a "drink" for her husband.
"You kept surroundin' yourself with fake happiness!" With a loud WHAM! she drove the poker into the wall. Causing the facade to crack. She soon realized that Cosmopolitan herself was cracking along with her lie. "A fake family!" WHAM! "Fake compassion!" WHAM!
Casper put his huge mechanical hoof on Applejack's shoulder. Without missing a beat, AJ swung the poker and took the doll's head clean off.
"Why are you doin' this!!" Cosmopolitan screamed desperately. "Why can't you just let me be happy!!"
"You think you're happy..." AJ scoffed. "That's the worst part. Not just that you're lyin' to everypony else." She jabbed the Poker into the floor. Cracks spread from where she slammed down. "That would be bad enough! But it's worse than that! You're lyin'-" SLAM! "to-" SLAM! "yourself!"
"NO!!!"
With one final SLAM! Cosmopolitan and the room around her shattered.
Applejack found herself falling through a white void. She had never been more angry. Not at Cosmopolitan, at Glare. He thought he could get to her... He did. And that would be his last mistake.
"One..." she could here Dash say.
"Two," said Pinkie.
"Three," said Fluttershy.
"Four," said Rarity.
Applejack had the strangest sensation of falling up when she came through the void into the Crystal Empire throne room. She righted herself in midair and landed.
"Five," she said.
From the realm beyond there was a laugh. And eight words were uttered.
"Oh, so you got here," came a familiar voice. "I'm glad. It took you long enough."
He recognized the face of his friend almost immediately. But for him to be here... he had to be in one of two places.
"Is this...?" he asked.
"The Realm Beyond?" his friend finished. "Yes and no. Apparently I acted like a complete callous fool near the end of my life and you... Well... you're lucky to have made it here after everything you pulled."
He had important information he needed to impart on his friend. "It's Glare! He.."
"I know," his friend interrupted. "I've been watching..."
"You've been watch-" He was incensed. "You told me to tell you when this happened! It's not exactly easy getting here you know and it will be much harder for me to get back! Why did you waste my time-"
"Because you're one of the very few ponies I could talk to after everything fell down... After I lost them... And lost myself," his friend smiled. "True, sometimes it felt like talking to a wall..."
"Oh, ha ha...,"
"In short, you're the only one I can trust who I was sure could hear me..." His friend turned to face him. "Tell me. Right now. Is it them? Are they the ones?"
"Well you've been 'watching'," he said dryly. "You tell me."
"I want to hear it from you."
The look in his friends eyes was one he had seen before. As much as he'd joke, as much as he'd fob off all things with thinly veiled sarcasm, he knew exactly how serious the situation was. "If it's anyone," he said. "It's them."
His friend smiled. "I believe you."
There was an awkward silence. "We should find a way to tell Twili-"
"Not yet," his friend interrupted. "Glare has put a test before them. A very important one. We're going to let the test finish, then we'll tell her. Or if she fails..." His friend trailed off, not wanting to think about what would happen after that.
He sat down and sighed. He had a question he needed to ask his friend. In his heart, he already knew the answer.
"Have you seen her?"
His friend gave him a sad smile. "Oh come on, old friend," he said softly. "You know she wouldn't be here."
Twilight looked stunned at the pony Glare referred to as "Blinding Light."
She was an Alicorn, like her. But her coat had changed to a glowing white, her mane and tail were a deep gold, much like Glare's skin. She had an intense glow all around her. Shining like a fallen star...
But none of that was the curious thing.
The Blindfold the pony wore was somewhat unusual. It was jet black, with the constant markings of flame all around it. Even though she couldn't see them, she could feel Light's eyes. Burning with a hatred that matched the flames on their shroud.
Glare's old laughter filled the room once more. "Tell me... princess," he spat. "What do you see?"
"She's...," Twilight knew the answer. "She's me..."
Twilight was bowled over by her counterpart. "Don't insult me by comparing myself to you!" Blinding Light shrieked. "You nightcrawling worm!!!"
"Calm down, Light...," Glare said softly. "In a sense she's absolutely right. She is you, Princess Twilight... but you perfected."
"W-what do you-?"
"Oh," Glare interrupted. "I think it would be much easier for me to show you, than to explain. Daughter?"
"Yes, Majesty," Light responded sharply.
"Show her the light." Glare let out another icy laugh.
A stream of magic shot from Blinding Light's horn, to Twilight Sparkle's.
And she saw everything Glare wanted her to see.
She saw Rainbow Dash lose the race and not set off the Sonic Rainboom. Thus tearing apart the lives of six fillies. Or, worse yet, not getting them started.
She saw there be no one to answer the call to stop Nightmare Moon, and she watched the world plunge into Nighttime Eternal.
She saw the Crystal Empire rise again, and with it came the Tainted King. Both bringing a darkness of their own.
She saw two who were once so close become bitter enemies. She saw a war tear Equestria apart.
She saw young Twilight Sparkle, a failed mage, look at all the books in her library for a solution. To save the world from the never ending Darkness. She saw her find the light in an old legend called "The Alicorn King's Glare."
She saw a ritual, and she saw the Alicorn King himself. Her refuge. Her savior. And she saw Twilight Sparkle see nothing from then on out. Glare's light was too glorious to behold. She became his. One of many. The Blinded. His children. Tasked to walk forever in Seraphim Glare's light, an so cursed never to see it.
And one by one, she saw those who would be her friends give up to the worst of themselves. Betrayal. Despair. Cruelty. Greed. Delusion, And finally, blindness.
Twilight thought about what she had seen for a moment. She knew what Glare wanted. Glare wanted to change her perception on the way the world was. Change how she saw her life and her friends. Change how she saw her chances of success.
In a way, it had worked.
Because before now she was never more happy to have the friends she did, and she was never more assured of her victory than this moment.
"Oh, wow...," she said. "You're what? Five thousand years old? I would have thought you'd become to old for a strategic error that massive."
A burst of magic came from Twilight larger than anything that she had attempted since the day she got her Cutie Mark. It hit Blinding Light squarely in the face. She flew off of Twilight and landed a few feet away.
A few moments later a strip of cloth fluttered to the ground.
"Interesting," Glare said, more confused than angry. "I would think after what you saw..."
"I'll tell you what I saw," Twilight smiled. "I saw proof that everything I've done up to this point was right. I saw validation in every life choice I've ever made. I saw proof that a simple friendship can change the course of history for the better. I saw proof that my friends are some of the strongest ponies I know. But here's the most important thing... I saw. I can still see. And guess what? Right now, I see right through you."
"Light," Glare sneered. "End her. I grow weary of this ceaseless prattle."
"F-father..." Blinding Light said shakily. "I... I can't. I..." She let out a whimper of pain.
Twilight looked at her counterpart with some pity. Her blindfold was gone. She was covering her eyes and wincing in pain. Cracks were coming from her eyes and moving down her cheeks. "And without my friends," Twilight said. "This is what I come to..."
"His light will guide me," Blinding Light said desperately. "His bring me to my salvation... All darkness will turn to ash upon the pyre... His light makes me see without seeing... His light..."
"You of all ponies should know," Twilight sighed. "Light can show you the way. Light can help you see. Light can also leave you blind."
"Daughter," Glare said sternly. "She is evil. A creature of darkness. Stop stalling and end her!"
Blinding Light tried to take the hooves off her eyes, but she screamed when she did and covered them again. "I- I can't... It's..."
"What's the problem Blinding Light?" Twilight asked calmly.
"Girl...," Glare was starting to lose his patience. "You will do as I ask."
"I'm going to ask again," Twilight said. "You can end me any time you want to. I won't even bother to put up a fight. So again, what's stopping you."
"i-it's," Blinding Light sobbed. "It's..."
"Say it."
"TOO BRIGHT!!" With that the cracks covered her body and she soon burst. The only traces of her being her cloak and her blindfold.
With that Twilight was left alone in the room with Seraphim Glare.
"Well," Glare said after a few moments. "That was..." He seemed to choke back the rage in an effort to keep a regal composure. "Unexpected to say the very least. I don't like it when things don't go as planned. I find it quite bothersome... Killing you self would be too quick... i prefer to take my time, you see. And I would... have too much fun too early. That's simply something I can't control. I'll admit. I'm at a loss for what to do..."
"My advice?" Twilight said through gritted teeth. "Start running."
Glare's ice cold laughter filled the throne room once again. "Oh, the Mage would be proud of his little successor," he said mockingly. "All that confidence. All that bravado. All for naught. Give me a reason girl. One good reason why I should be afraid of you."
"A reason?!" Twilight Sparkle letting rage out through every pore of her body. "You have hurt so many ponies, some of whom I call friends. You have been a tyrant to anyone who's ever had the misfortune of being under your hoof. And now, you've managed to do it. You've manage to anger the most powerful ponies in the history of Equestria. The ponies who have always overcome every obstacle put in front of them. Every single time that some maniac like you has come spitting their rhetoric they were there.
"You want a reason?" Twilight snarled. "I can give you six!"
With that Twilight heard a crashing noise from the roof above her. Eventually she saw the figure of Rainbow Dash crashing through the ceiling.
"One," Dash panted.
"Two!" said Pinkie Pie, leaping from seemingly nowhere.
"Three," said Fluttershy from behind Twilight. A look of pure determination on her fae
"Four!" said Rarity grandly, leaping to Twilight's side.
"Five!" said Applejack, seemingly falling up from the floor.
Twilight smiled. "Six," she grinned as she unfurled her wings. "This is who we are Glare. Six reasons that you should just run."
It took the moment of silence for Twilight to realize that Glare was trembling, and as much as Twilight would have liked it, it wasn't out of fear. "Well," the Alicorn King said calmly. "You have spent some time explaining who you are... Should I tell you who I am?"
And then the roof of the Crystal Palace exploded, leaving the throne room exposed to the starry night. Several chunks of the ceiling and roof hovered menacingly overhead. Glare's harsh glow was more intense than ever now.
"I am speed," Glare growled, his voice distorted. "I am heat. I am time. I am the bane to all Darkness. I am the only true King of Equestria. I am the spirit of all consuming flame. I am the death of all who would dwell in shadow. I am the only 'right' there is in this world. I am the closest thing you will find to a god. I am Seraphim Glare, the first and final light!
"Perfect," he said. "Now you've gotten him started. They've passed their little 'test.' Now what's stopping Glare from simply burning them to ashes?"
"Partly me," his friend said proudly. "Partly his own pride. He'll want to take his time with them, like he did with us. That should give us the time we need..."
"How are we going to get the message to Twilight?" he asked. "i hope you're not planning on getting her here the old fashioned way, I have a feeling she'll object."
"Well I would too!" his friend laughed. "Remember, I've been through it! It wasn't a pleasant experience. Could be worse though, It could be dealing with Sirens."
"My question remains, you need to talk to her face to face," he said firmly. "You want me to bring them here. I can do that but the problem is down there I'm currently... incapacitated. How are we going to fix that problem."
"Simple," his friend smiled. "I'm going to wake someone. In turn, they'll wake you. Without realizing it, Glare put her right where I can get her..."
The area around them changed into a meadow during a beautiful starry summer night. In the middle of the field, looking blissfully up at the sky were to ponies, a mare and a stallion. Both of whom were very familiar to him and his friend. His friend stared at the Stallion for quite a while with a far away look. He could tell his friend wanted nothing more than to go over and speak to him. Apologize. Try to save him from the path he went down...
He had to remind his friend of the hard truth.
"Remember," he said softly. "This is an illusion. And it isn't even ours. Don't fall into Glare's trap. This isn't-"
"Real," his friend said as a tear rolled down his cheek. "I know."
His friend walked up and put a firm hoof on the Mare's shoulder.
"Little Wings?" he said softly. "I'm sorry, but you need to wake up."
The sheer power of Seraphim Glare caught Twilight off guard.
The room had grown hot. As if there was a raging fire threatening to consume the room. The light coming from Glare was close to blinding. His mane and tail were flowing upwards, resembling an extreme blaze. His eyes were as bright as headlamps and they were staring straight through Twilight and her friends.
This is what they were up against.
This was the Alicorn king unleashed.
"At last," Glare seethed. His voice was distorted, like there was another, deeper voice backing it up. "You six are at a loss for words. That's fine. I don't need you to talk."
Magic caught Fluttershy around the throat and lifted her into the air. A few burns were starting to form on her neck.
"I need you to scream."
Acting quickly, Rarity ran right up to the Alicorn King and flicked his horn with the tip of her hoof. The spell was interrupted, and Fluttershy was dropped.
Glare grunted in pain and turned is gaze to Rarity.
"Bet you didn't know that could happen, did you?" Rarity said proudly. "Neither did I! Thank you Sweetie Belle!"
Glare turned his attention to Rarity, but was caught broadside with a swift tackle. He turned to see Rainbow Dash smugly blowing on her hooves. "I thought that light was supposed to be fast." she scoffed. "Apparently not fast enough to block that. I'll tell ya, Discord would've seen that coming a mile away."
Glare lunged at Dash but was met with nothing but air.
"You know, it's starting to occur to me," Dash said, lolligagging around in midair. "Maybe you weren't as super-threatening as we thought you were... Maybe your just another kook who wants to conquer Equestria for no other reason than to stroke his own overinflated ego! And I'll tell you, when you put my ego to shame, that's really-"
Rainbow Dash was cut off when Glare shoulder tackled her into a wall. "The incessant jabber," Glare growled. "Quite like March when he got himself going. I'll make sure you stay silent from now on, whelp."
He was stopped when he came face to face with an angry Fluttershy. "Touch her again," she growled. "I dare you!"
Glare's icy laughter filled the room once more. "And what...exactly," Glare laughed. "Do you think you're going to do."
Fluttershy thought about it for a moment. "Distract you!" she said sweetly.
Glare was then hit by cake and streamers that came at him with the force of a runaway stagecoach.
"Holy guacamole!" Pinkie said standing next to her "Party Cannon". "Can you believe how accurate this thing is? I mean it's a spring loaded cannon that fires party fixings! How do I manage to hit my mark every single time I fire it? Is the cannon magic, or am I just that good?!"
Glare's anger was momentarily replaced by pure bewilderment. "Wha...?"
"We've learned not to ask," Applejack smiled from next to Glare. "Ain't no point."
Glare noticed her presence too late to block the massive buck that sent him flying across the room. Applejack and the others gathered beside Twilight.
"You look tired, Seraphim," Twilight smiled. "I thought we weren't worth your time. I thought that if you unleashed your full power it would be over too quickly. It just seems to me like you've been pushed to your limits."
Glare began to right himself. "If you honestly think that these are my full limits...," Glare coughed. "Oh girls... We're going to be here for quite a while."
"No," Twilight shook her head. "We're not. Now!!"
Twilight felt her mind connect with her friends as it had only done a scarce few times before. That pulse that connected the six of them to the workings of all Equestrian magics. That spark that became apparent to her in her first bout with Nightmare Moon. The thing inside of them that saved a princess and reformed Chaos itself. The thing that had defeated so many foes in the past, and would go on to defeat countless more in the future.
The full power of the Elements of Harmony.
The Magic swirled around them in a full spectrum of color. It enveloped them in a cocoon of polychromatic vibrance. It fired in a never ending stream directly at Seraphim Glare.
Glare was ready to counter. He threw up every magical barrier Twilight had ever seen or heard of, and then some. A shield of translucent magic surrounded Searphim Glare.
And to Glare's horror, it was starting to crack.
Twilight wasn't sure if it was her propensity with the art, her Alicorn abilities, or merely her imagination, but she could see Glare's face through the haze. It shifted from angry, to confused, to frantic.
Glare was beginning to panic.
"No...," Glare muttered. "No! This is impossible!!"
"Oh, it's possible!" Twilight shouted over the roar of the beam. "I told you Glare! You're facing the six strongest ponies in Equestria! This is it, Glare! This is where this ends!"
The intensity of the beam multiplied as Twilight threw everything she was into the shot.
"No...,' Glare said shocked. "I won't let this happen! I WON'T LET THIS HAPPEN!!!"
And then it happened.
The shell broke and Glare was hit by the full force of the magic. She could hear Glare scream in agony as the beam washed over him, hitting him full force in the face and chest. Twilight couldn't see anything except whiteness for a moment. She could hear the recoil of the blast knock her friends back. She heard Glare skid across the floor.
Then she heard nothing.
When she was able to see again, she saw her friends, obviously exhausted, picking themselves up and brushing themselves off. Twilight could barely stand with all of the effort she had put into that last spell. Even with her friends help, that was the most powerful spell she had ever unleashed.
And truth be told... she wasn't entirely sure how it happened.
The Elements of Harmony were returned to the Tree of Harmony a few months ago. There was some sort of power she unlocked when she faced Tirek... But her friends changed form then. Almost as if the power was physically effecting them. That hadn't happened this time. She had stayed the same. So had her friends. Where did this come from? How did this happen?
Those questions would have to wait for when she had more time. for now there was only one important question.
She saw Glare lying motionless across from the six. Sprawled on the floor. His mane seemed to be... going out, for lack of a better term. Twilight couldn't decide if it was a good thing or a bad thing that she could still see him. But it didn't answer her question.
Is it over?
Her question was answered with a sharp thud that came when Seraphim Glare stomped his hoof upon the crystal floor.
Twilight listened in horror as the ice cold laughter filled the room again. This time it seemed manic. Almost pained.
"That...," Glare said as he rose to his hoofs, his back to the six. "Hurt. It hurt. It has been quite a long time since somepony has managed to physically hurt me. Bravo."
There was something wrong with his voice, Twilight thought. There was a certain hiss to it now. Like he couldn't form the words properly.
"Incredible," Glare laughed. "i really thought I was going to die. I, Seraphim Glare, was brought to the brink of death. Congratulations. No one has ever pushed me this far. And no one ever will again..."
Twilight felt a white hot aura grip her and raise her skyward. She looked around to see that it was also happening to her friends.
"I am about to call you what I have not called anything else I have encountered in my life," Glare said coldly. "You six... are a threat. you have earned that title because you have done what I thought impossible. You have almost killed me. Doubtless you would have succeeded..."
Then Glare turned around, and Twilight and her friends all screamed.
Half of his face had broken off. Not peeled or burned, broken. As if his skin was a hard metal casing rather that proper flesh. The hole had cracked from the left side of his face just under his eye down to his neck. And where Twilight would have expected to see blood or veins or even musculature, there was only fire. Fire coming out from the broken skin and feeding the fire that was his mane. The only thing that Twilight could make out from within the flames was a white eyeball seemingly floating in the orange haze, and a set of teeth that gave Glare a permanent sickening sneer.
"Doubtless you would have," he continued. "If long ago Flesh and Blood had not been replaced with Light and Fire."
Rainbow Dash turned to look at Twilight, obviously in agony. "Please...," she managed to groan. "Tell me we have a Plan B!"
Twilight couldn't answer. She didn't. She had nothing left. Everything that was Twilight Sparkle had gone into that last shot. There was nothing more she could do. Nothing more anyone can do.
Seraphim Glare had won.
"I am going to finish you quickly," Glare spat. "Despite my better judgement you six have worried me. So I'll make it quick. But just so I'm sure you suffer in your last moments, let me make it very clear. This is it. The end. Your failure. My victory. No one is coming to save you and no one will be coming to 'save' Equestria when you're gone. This is the moment that will go down in history when this battle is remembered. The moment where Darkness's chosen champions burned alive at the whim of the Alicorn King.
"With that terror in your hearts, I think I can finally say goodbye."
But before the final blow could be struck, something happened that surprised everyone in the room. They all suddenly became aware of an eigth presence. Somepony who had always been in the room with them, but they had no reason to acknowledge until now. She made her presence known with the pounding of her hoof upon the ground and three simple words.
"Put. Them. Down."
Twilight looked at her. She had forgotten she was here. How had she gotten up? She was under Glare's spell! Under the thrall of the Golden Mirror! How was it possible that she had broken out of it without outside influence? Nopony was that strong willed, so how had she done it. Twilight reasoned that she hadn't. Someone had to have helped her. Someone they had yet to see was helping them against Glare... Somepony somewhere wanted them to succeed. A tear came to Twilight's eye. It wasn't over yet.
Glare was surprised, but he didn't seem impressed.
"We will talk later, Daughter," he said smugly. "Papa has some business to attend to. Then we'll talk."
A bolt of powerful magic hit Glare in the side, sending him hard into the opposite wall. The hold he had on Twilight and her friends broke and she fell hard to the ground.
"Don't... ever call yourself that again!" Luna said through gritted teeth.
Glare slowly picked himself up. "As much as you would reject me...," he said quietly. "It won't change the fact that I am your father, girl."
"No you're not," Luna growled. "You never were..."
"Luna, you wound me," Glare said sadly. "I mean that. The one thing that remained constant was the fact that I always did my best for my daughters..."
"I'm gonna buck him again," Applejack said.
"AJ! Wait!" Twilight said. "Dash, you wanted Plan B? This is it! Luna can distract him while we build up energy for another shot. We hurt him bad with the last one, we can finish him off this time!"
No you can't Twilight Sparkle, came a familiar voice. Not like that, you're going to need some extra help. We can give it to you without a problem, but you're going to have to wait for Luna to... relieve some stress.
Twilight paused. "Did anypony else hear that?"
Dash looked at her blankly. "Hear what?"
Oh. only you can hear me! said the voice gleefully. I cam hear everything you think, but talk out loud if you want. They'll need to know about this too, if you six want to stop Glare...
"Who gave you permission to be in my head?!" Twilight screamed, incensed. "And how did you manage it anyway? You're-"
Dead?
"What?" Twilight snapped. "No! You're not dead just-"
Petrified, right. Let's examine the symptoms of "petrification" for a moment... I have been completely turned to stone. My lungs are solid marble now so I can't exactly use them to breathe. There is a very ornate sculpture inside of me resembling a Draconequus heart within me... very good for decorating a mantlepiece but not so much for pumping blood. And while it is perfectly acceptable for you to think with a rock, I require a far more complicated apparatus. Come on Twilight! Use that fabled logic I hear you ponies like so much!
I can't breathe, my heart has stopped, and my brain is non-functional. Discord finished. What does that mean?
"Wait...," said Twilight. "Are you saying we killed you?"
"Uh... Twi?" Applejack asked concerned. "Who're you talkin' to?"
Oh relax... Discord said dismissively. It won't take this time if Luna can just focus...
"Focus on what?!" Twilight asked desperately.
"Twilight, you're scaring me..." said Fluttershy.
"We just watched an unstoppable Alicorn get half his face blown off to show that he had no flesh, only fire," Rarity clarified. "And Twilight talking to the air is what's scaring you?"
"Yes!"
"Quiet!" Twilight demanded. "Focus on what?"
I don't know... I'm just doing what he tells me Discord said calmly.
"He?!" Twilight was more confused than ever now. "Who?!?!"
Explain later! Discord said gleefully. The connection is a bit fuzzy, and I wouldn't miss this for the world...
"Hello?" Twilight shouted as the voice left her mind. "Hello?! Uuughh..."
"Uh, Twilight?" Dash asked. "Do you want to tell us what that was about?"
"Change of plans," Twilight said through gritted teeth. "We're staying put. We're only going to intervene if Luna needs us. In the meantime we hang back. We'll only get ourselves killed."
"What?!" asked Dash. "Why?"
Twilight didn't answer. "Discord, I'm trusting you," she muttered to herself. "You'd better not let me down..."
"Discord?" Fluttershy asked.
Twilight stood silently as she watched father and daughter exchange blows.
Glare skidded backwards as a bolt of magic hit him in the chest. "Very good...," he smiled. "I thought you girls well..."
"You thought me nothing!" Luna snarled as she rushed at her father.
A swift wing from Glare made Luna fly into the nearest wall. "I want you to know Luna," Glare sighed. "I truly hate doing this. You are my own flesh and blood. It truly pains me whenever I must raise a hand in discipline. But I had to. I had to do it to keep you from turning out... From turning out like this. Maybe I did it once too often... Maybe I didn't do it often enough. All I know is that what you are now cannot be allowed to survive..."
Luna tried to stand, but fell back to the ground.
"I'm sorry Luna." A tear evaporated on Glare's cheek. "I'm sorry I failed you."
"We've gotta do something!" Rainbow Dash cried. She tried to fly off to assist Luna, but Twilight caught her tail with her teeth. It wasn't time yet. Luna was just getting started.
"Don't be...," Luna said quietly. "You didn't fail me. You were all you could be for me."
She slowly rose to her hooves.
"Every child needs a monster," she said in a voice filled with rage. "Something to terrify them into making the right descision. Some evil to show them the good. A twisted, evil, perversion of everything they hold dear to them.
"In other words... A nightmare."
Glare winced at the term.
"Something to keep them awake. Something to stray from. Something they can look at and say "if I ever resembled this I have failed.'" Luna began to fly skyward, all the while eyes locked on her father. "You were that for me. For a long time you were that nightmare. And thinking of the disgusting creature that you are kept me from losing myself to the point where I couldn't be brought back.
"There was a time where I let the fear of you turn me against the one person I could trust. I was younger then, and thank Equestria I was given time to think. Not only about my actions, but about where you fit into my life. During that time, something interesting happened. Something you led me to believe would never happen. Something you didn't want to happen.
"Look at me now, Papa. I'm all grown up.
"I've learned so many things. One of the most important, and it helps me with my work every night, is that there is no sense in being afraid of bad dreams... I'm a big girl now."
Winds began to pick up and swirl around the throne room. Luna was now silhouetted against the brilliant moon she took care of, her eyes began to glow.
"You have done nothing in your life but tear things down. The only thing that you can do is destroy. Year things down. This is my night, father. I created this! This peaceful respite is my pride and joy! My legacy! And despite the things I've done it will be what I am remembered for! All you will be remembered for is yet another tyrant that fell at the hands of the just!"
Twilight looked in awe at Luna's confidence. She was ashamed to say it, but she never really payed Luna the respect she deserved. She always saw her as a friend, but never as a princess. Her perception changed looking at her now. This was the beautiful terror of a starry night. This is what people thought of when they heard a creature howl at the moon. This is what made Luna so strong, and Nightmare Moon so horrifying.
This was the Princess of the Night.
"You are nothing but a spoiled colt who can only break toys when he is done with them! Not to be feared but scorned!" Luna screamed in what she called the "Royal Canterlot Voice." "You have nothing you can harm me with. Nothing to hold against me. I AM NOT AFRAID OF YOU ANYMORE!!!"
And then more Magic than Twilight had ever seen fired from Luna's horn directly at Seraphim Glare's face. Glare countered quickly with a bolt of his own, and thus began the struggle. The two beams pushed at eachother, neither one gaining an inch.
And it was at that moment when Twilight remembered a few choice words from a friend.
As for what I'm doing, Twilight. I'm giving you a back up plan. Remember, I'll be right here when you need me.
It all clicked then. She knew what she had to do. She fired the most powerful spell she could think of...
Behind Seraphim Glare.
The struggle came to an end and everything turned white. When Twilight could finally see again she saw that both Luna and Glare had been knocked to the ground. Glare rose almost immidiately and marched straight for his daughter.
"Impudent girl!!!" Glare shouted as he grabbed Luna by the neck. "I was the one who raised you! Let you eat from my table! And that... THAT pathetic attempt at magic was the best you had! Did you honestly think that that would do anything more than annoy me?!"
"Oh it did much more than that...," Luna coughed.
CRACKLE.
"What?!" Glare said, dropping Luna. "What in Tartarus was that sound?!"
"The beginning of the end," Luna smiled.
CRACK!!
Twilight smiled. It had worked. She wasn't sure if she could do it on her own, but it had worked. The playing field had completely changed now. It wasn't long until her friends cast their eyes behind the throne and realized what was going on.
He was waking up. Discord was stirring.
With a mighty SNAP Discord broke free of his stone prison and stretched his arms and neck. "Oh," he sighed. "No matter how many times that happens to you it never gets comfortable..."
"WHAT?!" Glare shouted.
"Oh dear!" Discord gasped. "You seem to be missing some face there. It's alright. I'll find it for you!"
Glare gritted his teeth. "Well...," he seethed. "Things do seem to be going wrong today don't they? Well it won't last. It never does. As for you March... I am going to give you thirty seconds to write your epitaph. Starting now."
Discord thought for a moment and shrugged. "We'll be right back!"
Discord snapped his fingers...
And he, Twilight, and her friends were gone from the room.
Discord nearly collapsed when he got to the empty white void that was their destination.
Fluttershy rushed to him. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Discord coughed. "I can't come here too often. Or else I'm not going to be able to get back."
"Where is 'here'?!" said Rainbow Dash looking at the void. "And why did you bring us here and leave Luna all alone?! She needs our help!!"
"Relax, Loyalty," saiid a familliar voice. "I asked him to bring you here, and I made sure Little Wings wasn't alone..."
Twilight turned around, and what she saw made her jaw drop. She said the only thing she could say in this situation.
"I... You... How... I mean... Where did you---WHAT?!"
The figure laughed.
"Oh yes, you are most definitely the second Element of Magic," said Star Swirl the Bearded
Glare was the kind of person to expect everything. Very little had caught him off guard until today. He knew his enemies, his strength, and his kingdom back to front.
Today however, it was a different story.
The six mares should have bent to their counterparts. They should not have injured him like they did. Luna shouldn't have woken up. She should not have put up that much of a fight. Discord should not have been able to break free from his prison. And most disturbing of all, he and the six mares should not be gone.
It wasn't right. It was... Unexpected.
"Where are they?" he asked through gritted teeth. "Where in Tartarus did he take them?!"
"Away for the time being," came a voice from behind him. "They'll be back soon."
"Don't be CRYPTIC with me Luna!" Glare spat. "I'm going to ask again. Where are-"
Glare turned around and stopped dead in his tracks. What he was seeing wasn't possible.
"No where you can get to them Seraphim," Celestia said softly. "He made sure of that."
Glare's eye twitched. One more surprise. "And who would he be, daughter?" Glare said calmly. "The same stallion who woke the two of you up from your little trance? I would very much like to talk to this pony. After all, as a father I should teach my daughters the dangers of strange men..."
"If all goes well, you'll get your chance," Celestia said pleasantly. "He'd like to have a few words with you too..."
"Would he?" Glare nodded. He looked at his daughter right in the eye. "Celestia, why do this? All I've ever wanted-"
"Save it!" Celestia said sharply. "I won't hear your bile anymore. All you have ever done is tear any dissension down. Any free thought outside of your narrow mind was treason. It was hell. For me and Luna. With every bit of false praise and pride you placed in me and every hostile hoof you put to Luna I grew to hate you more and more. And now we're ending it. All of us."
Glare's ice cold laughter filled the room. "And who is 'All of us?'" Glare asked. "You and your sister? Darling daughter, I may have taught the two of you everything you know, but I certainly didn't teach you everything I know... Perhaps you mean the two of you and that thing March became? That would make things a bit more difficult, but right now you are only annoying me... Let's add that ragtag group of six to the pack... That could be a problem..."
"She said...," Luna shouted as she rose back to her hooves. "Your math is off."
Twilight looked at Star Swirl with her mouth on the floor.
"Oh...," Star Swirl smiled. "Studying magic you get that look a lot. The Universe made sense about five minutes ago didn't it? Now that's merely a daydream..."
"You... How did you..." Twilight stammered. "You're dead!!" , "This is true," Star smiled.
"Am I dead?" Twilight asked in a panic.
"Not at the moment!" Star laughed. "Aha! See! As relieved as you are right now you're also a little disappointed. That would have mad sense wouldn't it? No such luck!"
"This is where you go when you die?" Dash asked. "It's kinda more... boring than I would have thought."
"No, Loyalty," Star answered sadly. "This is where you go when you die and They don't know what to do with you."
"They?" Fluttershy asked.
Star thought hard about how to answer that one. "The ones in charge," he finally said. "They saw me do a lot of good at the beginning of my life, and shut my self off from everything at the end of it. Had I done one or the other my whole life the decision would be easy... Instead I sit here. And I wait."
"Wait...," Rarity asked. "For what?"
"For you, Generosity," Star Swirl said frankly. "I've spent a thousand years waiting for all of you."
"Will you stop callin' us by our Elements?" Applejack was obviously irritated.
"I'm sorry," Star said quietly. "I'm an old man. It was hard for me to keep names straight when I was a teenager. And the Elements of Harmony are important. The Elements of Harmony are how we are going to defeat Seraphim Glare."
The six were confused.
"Um... Excuse me?" asked Fluttershy. "The Elements of Harmony were returned to the Tree of Harmony, weren't they? So... How are we going to use them?"
Star chuckled and shook his head. "You're making the same mistake she did."
"Just tell us what's going on!!" Pinkie Pie cried. "My brain can't take the cryptihihiiiiic!!!"
"She's right Star," Discord spoke up. "It's time we told them how we're going to win this thing."
Star Swirl nodded. "You're right," he said frankly. "Listen, I'm going to show you all something. It will be less confusing if you stand where I tell you."
The mage directed each of them to stand in a very specific place in a large circle. "What are you going to show us?" asked Twilight.
"A memory," Star Swirl explained. "My very last. Something that no one knew besides me, and I think Sunshine found out the basic gist of it sometime later. She only had half the solution however. She received the second half five minutes ago when I woke her out of that deep trance."
"What's the solution?" asked Dash.
"The Elements of Harmony's full power," Star smiled. "And because I screwed up, you six can't unlock it on your own."
The area around them began to warp and shift and warp.
They found themselves in the Canterlot Statuary Garden next to a sculpture that was all too familiar. Sitting on a bench next to it was Star Swirl, much older than Twilight had ever seen him. Much weaker. Much sadder.
"They're saying six months...," he said to the statue. "For me it feels like less time than that." He fell into a cough after he said that.
"Doesn't matter...," he wheezed, waving his hoof. "The world will exist without me. I think it has for quite some time. I'm not my old self anymore March. I haven't been since I lost Sombra... I can't even finish a simple spell anymore. I'm missing a line. I've worked so hard and I just can't think of it. I thought it was something I was missing, but Celestia was right. It was something I lost... Though it's hard to tell what. What I've lost could fill volumes...
"But I still haven't stopped dreaming...
"When you've studied the art as long as I have you start to have dreams. You can't tell if you're seeing the future or the past. It all comes in symbols. Lately I have been getting one symbol that I have been interpreting over and over again. I think I finally figured it out. I came to talk to you about it because... I've run out of ponies to talk to."
Discord's statue remained silent.
"Good. I'll just go on," Star continued. "I'm standing in a dark empty room... All of a sudden there is a blinding light and ice cold laughter coming from above me. A look down on the ground to shield my eyes from the brightness and I see an insignia. A six pointed star. After looking at the star it seems to... Split? I don't know if that is the right word, but it looks like an identical star is rotating behind it. It stops. The laughter turns into a scream of primal rage and then... I wake up.
"Can you figure it out? It took me quite a while but I finally got it.
"The bright light and cold laughter," Star started to explain. "Well, we can both guess who that is. And then a six pointed star Star Swirl drew a line in the dirt pointing at where Rainbow Dash was sitting. "It starts with you. You were always the most Loyal among us. Loyal to Equestria. Loyal to your friends. Even loyal to me. For some strange reason...
He drew another line pointing at Applejack that met the end of the first. "Then there was Clover. She would never let a lie pass her gaze. Couldn't get anything past that mare. I think that's what first attracted me to her, both as a Mage and a lover..."
Another line drawn from Pinkie Pie meeting the other two at the center. "Sombra was always ready with a joke. Funny, since we was such a sourfaced little foal. That's why we named him Sombra. Play on "Somber" get it?" Star let out a coughing laugh. "Well... I guess you had to have been there..."
A fourth line drawn from Rarity meeting the others. "Then there is Celestia. He gave you the throne when she had all rights to it herself. She gives even the poorest of Equestria her time and respect. She even gave me every chance I didn't deserve after I shut myself off from the world..."
A fifth line drawn from Fluttershy almost completing the shape. "You'll never find a kinder filly than Little Wings. She was so young... So innocent about the ways of the world. She believed there was good in everyone even after all the things she went through. She believed it so much that she made you believe it too..."
One final line. Drawn from Twilight completing the shape. "And magic...," Star let out a sharp laugh. "Need I go on?"
Twilight looked at Star Swirl, the present Star Swirl, right in the eyes. He gave Twilight a knowing smile.
"Celestia thinks she has the Elements of Harmony," Star said sadly. "She's wrong. The Elements were always more than the fruit of the tree. Those were just a compass. Something to point you to the real source of the magic, powerful enough on there own. but next to the real thing you may as well pull a rabbit out of a hat. You can only find the Elements of Harmony in ponies. It's the souls that best represent them that carry the true magic. No trinket can do what they did...
"And one by one," Star Swirl sighed heavily. "We all lost them. Clover began to lie to herself and think she was worthless. Sombra began to sink into a sadness no joke could pull him out of. You lost your mind, and whatever loyalty you had left in you. Luna began to see everyone who liked the light as evil. Celestia became more guarded in what she gave. And I..." Star lowered his head. "I don't think I could make a friend if I tried.
"And so, the Elements..." The Symbol on the ground began to do as he had described. A similar shape began to rotate behind it and stopped just as it fundamentally changed the overall shape. "Split. And that's where we are now. They aren't whole. They can't be. And so they're true power can't be seen. So if Glare does come back, and he will, we might simply be doomed."
"Well," Applejack said dryly. "That's comfortin'"
"Shh!" Twilight said sharply. She looked at the symbol on the floor with amazement. That was her cutie mark. And she thought she saw something. Something that the Star Swirl of long past didn't see.
"You know...," the past Star said, looking at the insignia. "It's funny. In the dream the star in front and the star behind are two different colors. The way I've drawn it here it makes it look... like..." Star sat up straighter. His eyes widened. His jaw dropped.
He finally understood.
"Not a six pointed star..." he said breathlessly. "A twelve pointed star. Six more ponies. Six more chosen. Our successors. I was right... The Elements are split. But not between us and the tree... Between us and the next six. This isn't the past I'm seeing... It's the future!"
Star Swirl rose up and started pacing around the statue that once was his friend. Seemingly filled with new life. "How could I have been so arrogant! Thinking that Harmony stopped with us! It doesn't! It can't! We're not the only chosen. Hell, we probably weren't the first. But why are some of the elements still with us? I mean if we lost all connection with our Elements as we were corrupted why don't they just move on to the new Chosen? What's pulling them apart?"
He looked at his hooves. "Because we didn't," he smiled. "We never did lose our Elements... We may have stopped listening, but we never truly stopped being who we were... No matter how hard he tried.
"You know something, March!" Star said letting out a wide grin. "I'm feeling quite myself again!
"We all need to be there. Every one of us!" Star Swirl was moving into an excited shout now. "Not just you and me and Celestia, but everyone! I've already gotten Little Wings on the path for coming back. As for you!" He marched quickly up to the Statue and tapped its stomach. A crack emerged on it briefly and slowly faded away. "That's on a slow release by the way. You've been a very naughty general and you deserve a Time Out. You can come back when you're ready to learn your lesson."
"'Time Out'" Discord muttered.
"Well you did deserve one," said the Star Swirl of the present in indignantly.
"What about Clover and Sombra?" Star said. "There both a bit... hard to reach. What to do?"
Star thought about it for a moment and then slammed his hooves to the ground. His eyes began to glow and he began to speak, seemingly in two voices. "Can you hear me?! It's important! I know it breaks many of the Universal Laws you've written, but when the time comes you have to send them back! Just for a moment! We need them! If Seraphim Glare has his way with this world, trust me he's coming for yours! Please! We need their help!"
The magic rose through the entirety of the garden both into the sky and under the ground. And then it calmed into silence.
Star Swirl was looking at the ground and smiling. "They said yes," he said softly. "But it cost me... It cost me about six months."
Star Swirl collapsed onto the statue.
"No!" Twilight cried.
"Oh. it wasn't that bad," the present Star Swirl sighed. "A bit inconvenient..."
"I thought I'd have more regrets," said the Star Swirl of the past. "But now I realize that I'm going to be the one to make it right, I have almost none. The only one that really sticks with me is that spell." He coughed hard and continued. "I know the last line... I just can't get home to write it down...
"No... I don't regret that," he said before another coughing fit. "That's my little test for the next Element of Magic. If she... I don't know... it just feels like it's going to be a she... can finish that spell, then we'll know..."
And then, after one more coughing fit. "Then we've got ourselves a ballgame."
And with that, Star Swirl the bearded died. His body laying next to the insignia of a twelve pointed star. A contented grin spread across his face.
Twilight looked at her idol. His form in the present shared the same grin. "Is... Will it be...?" she asked hopefully.
"Permanent?" Star Swirl finished. "No. And that's good. I've been waiting for so long, I don't want it to be. I have an Eternity to enjoy!"
Twilight laughed. "So what you're saying is..."
"What I'm saying is," Star put his hoof on her shoulder. "Get back there. We'll be right behind you."
Glare held both of his daughters by the throat. He was frustrated. The fight was insanely taxing, and it shouldn't have been. He was losing focus. Losing control of the situation. He hated that. He needed to end this quickly and find out who was pulling strings against him. Whoever he was would pay for this.
"Put. Them. Down."
Glare's head snapped upwards to see that Discord had returned with the six mares. "Ah, you're back!" Glare said with mock delight. "I'll be right with you..."
"I mean it Glare!" Twilight shouted. "It's over! And you're fight isn't just with the two of them! Put them down!"
"I know my fight isn't with them," Glare spat. "They were brainwashed by Creatures of Darkness, and there's no turning back now. Tell me, what reason would I have to stop this euthanasia?"
"Simple," Twilight said with a smug smile on her face. "I didn't come alone."
The doors to the throne room flung wide open, and behind them...
No. He didn't see that. That wasn't there. He wasn't standing there in that damn hat and cloak. He wasn't jingling those damn bells. He wasn't looking at him with that same expression of undeserving self satisfaction he always had.
He wasn't there.
This wasn't happening.
"Hello, Your Majesty!" said Star Swirl brightly. "I know I don't have an appointment..."
"Oh that face...," Star Swirl smiled, reacting to Glare's slack jawed, panicked expression. "I have been waiting for centuries to see that face! And it didn't disappoint."
He looked younger than he did in the Realm Beyond. His hair hadn't grayed, so his mane and beard were a deep black. As he walked up to the rest of the group he made all the suits of armor on each side salute him.
"I figure I've earned that much," he laughed.
Twilight looked at Star Swirl's younger form. "Vanity much?" she hissed in his ear.
"If you could pick the age that you travelled the land of the living in...," Star Swirl began.
"How?" Glare growled. "How did you get here?!
"Oh wow," Star Swirl rolled his eyes. "It's amazing. You managed to go and piss everyone off! Not just me, them, and anypony with a sense of good decency. No. BIG guys. Guys that matter. All I had to do was ask politely and they sent me down here to oversee your personal, customized flank kicking. This will be fun. I think... I think we're going to have fun."
"You?" Glare laughed. "You were the best they could send? Oh Star, if you think that your petty strength added to whatever resistance they could offer is enough to end me, you are quite simply mistaken."
"Oh I don't doubt it," Star smiled. "Which is why I didn't come alone."
CRASH!!
Glare whipped around him to look, with the others, in amazement, to the sight of a mare. This mare had with one quick slam of her hoof, shattered the Golden Mirror of Seraphim Glare.
"I should have done that," said Clover the Clever. "The minute I built it."
Glare's icy laughter filled the throne room once more. "Oh...," he said dryly. "Oh this is rich."
"From the realm beyond, "I have watched you destroy the lives of everypony I have loved or cared about . I've watched you use that mirror to spread the false promise of happiness, and in my own way, I enabled you to do it. I intend to right that. I won't leave this place until you're on the ground!!"
"A shame," Glare sighed. "It truly was your best work... The only work you ever did that was worth a damn. You were his ace in the hole? Your magic can barely withstand his magic, let alone mine... You're my final task. Star Swirl's apprentice. Star Swirl's bitch."
At that Twilight stepped forward ready to forcibly pull Glare's trachea out of his eye socket, but Star Swirl held her back. "Stay clam," Star said, holding back his own rage. "Clover never needed protection from anyone. Every tried I got in trouble..."
"Well," Glare sighed. "Now that we've completed this truly pathetic cast of characters, can we begin?"
"No," came a deep voice from behind him.
Glare whipped around to have a forehoof connect sharply with his jaw, forcing him to collapse to the ground.
"Now we can begin," Sombra smiled.
Everyone laughed at that. Rainbow Dash actually clapped.
"Now!" Glare laughed as he righted himself. "That's more like it! It's good to see you, boy! You might actually make this interesting! It was smart for Them to send you, wasn't it! After all, you we're the only one to defeat me for any real length of time! Tell me, how do you intend to do it this time? What evil little thought's brewed in your mind as you rotted away in whatever pit Tartarus threw you in?!"
"Oh plenty," Sombra smiled. "Tartarus for me was more sad than painful. I had to except that this was my hell now. So I steered into the skid. I gave into the anger. The fantasies I had about killing you were nothing short of visceral. Then I found out I was getting my chance, and more importantly why I was getting it. I realized I wouldn't enjoy hurting you. I've never enjoyed hurting anyone. But with everything I did, I always wanted to do it with a smile on my face. So, I'm going to take a more... lighthearted approach....
"PINKIE!!" Sombra called as he ducked. "FIRE IN THE HOLE!!!"
"You got it, boss!" Pinkie readied the Party Cannon and fired full force into Glare's face.
Sombra lept back to join his successor, and smiled. "You know," said the first Element of Laughter. "I prefer dry wit to the more 'high energy' type of humor, but I must say, Ms. Pie, I like your style!"
"Thank you, kindly!" responded the second.
The rest of the group scattered as Glare let out a low growl. "I'll make sure I take my time with you two...," he said.
"Keep your head," Star Swirl said to Twilight as he dug the tip of his hoof into the ground. "Follow my lead..."
Twilight dug her hoof in too, understanding immediately. "Understood." They both walked in opposite directions dragging their hooves across the floor.
"Discord!" Dash leaped into the arms of the former Element of Loyalty. "Forward pass!"
With a snap of his fingers, Discord was in a helmet and pads. "Yes Coach!" Discord lobbed Rainbow Dash forward like a rocket straight at Glare.
She hit him squarely in the chest, then flew around him a few dozen times taking any shot she could. With a well timed wing, Glare sent Dash flying backwards. This sent her directly into the arms of Discord, still clad in pads and helmet, who was rushing forward for a tackle.
Chaos and Light collided, and Light hit the floor. Soon after, Chais would stop just short of hitting the wall.
"Touchdown!" Dash shouted.
"Does this mean I get to slam you to the end zone?" Discord asked.
"Don't push it!" Dash said quickly.
Glare was about to turn his attention to Discord and Rainbow Dash when a buck to the neck distracted him somewhat.
"Come on, Clover!" said Applejack to her predecessor. "I know you got far more of a reason to buck him than me!"
"Mistress Applejack!" Clover said, seemingly appalled. "I'm shocked that you would think that! I was a handmaiden to Queen Platinum for over nine years! One does not 'buck' in the prescience of monarchy!"
A green aura flew from Clover's horn and caught Glare. It lifted him bodily into the air and slammed him to the ground several times.
"Levitation, on the other hand is another matter entirely," Clover said smugly.
"Have I mentioned that it's a right honor to meet you, miss?" asked AJ as he shook Clovers hand.
Glare righted himself just in time to see Star Swirl and Twilight cross paths in front of him.
"Don't mind us!" said Twilight.
"Just passing through!" said Star Swirl.
"You lit-" Glare was cut off by two white hooves connecting with his jaw one after the other.
"Rarity?" asked Celestia as she rubbed her hoof. "I'm wondering if you know a spell... Have you ever heard of Magical Text?"
A wide grin spread across Rarity's face. "Oh yes, Princess!" Rarity said happily. "I know exactly what spell you need!"
"Perfect!" With that, Celestia leaped on her father's back and covered his eyes with her wings. Glare attempted to thrash her off to no avail. Rarity in the meantime, etched something in the ground with her horn. When the text was written, Celestia forced Glare's head right in front of it and then uncovered his eyes.
I PREPARED EXPLOSIVE RUNES THIS MORNING.
The spell went off with a massive BANG! and Glare was thrown back from the explosion.
"Fabulous!" said Celestia.
"I'm so glad you agree!" said Rarity.
Glare stood up quickly and grabbed the two Elements of Generosity by the throat.
"So much violence," came a soft voice from above them. "It's just not my style."
"I know...," said a softer voice. "I've had to accept the fact that I'm more snuggly then I am tough..."
Fluttershy and Luna rocketed down from the ceiling and connected their elbows harshly with Seraphim Glare's spine.
"Absolutely barbaric," Luna scoffed.
"I agree, Your Majesty," Fluttershy smiled.
And at that moment, Seraphim Glare snapped.
With a stomp of his hoof and a roar of primal rage, there was an explosion of energy that sent the majority of the throne rooms occupants into the walls. He then lifted them up and moved them in a ring around him, as he walked to the center of the throne room.
"I have had enough of this...," Glare seethed. "Enough of all of you. Enough of your evil. Enough of your Darkness. I. Am. Done! So let me tell you how the rest of this is going to commence. I am going to take almost criminal pleasure in killing each and every one of you. When that is done, I am going to use this place as it was intended. I am going to spread my light across Equestria. No darkness will be left. No shadow will fall.
"Who did you all think you're dealing with? I am not a spoiled queen or some power hungry centaur! I am Seraphim Glare! I am the Alicorn King! I am the first and final light! I AM-"
"Finished," came a voice from behind them.
Glare turned around to see Twilight and Star Swirl slam their forehooves together. When they did the briefest flash of a symbol appeared on the floor. Glare was forced to drop the others, and try as he might he couldn't pick them up again.
"I could explain," Star Swirl said. "But you wouldn't understand. You never did."
"What are you talking about?!" Glare growled.
"You never understood that no matter how bad of a place he gets in sometimes," Pinkie spoke up. "You can't keep a good laugher down!"
"You never understood that loyalty is something you can't destroy," Dash added. "Only redirect!"
"You never understood that kindness isn't weakness," Fluttershy added. "But strength."
"You never understood that a lie can only be temporary," Applejack said. "Even the ones you make to yourself."
"You never understood that Generosity means giving trust," Rarity said. "More than anything else."
"And finally," said Twilight. "You never understood that Magic... Real Magic... Can't be achieved alone. You can't shut yourself off. You can't be blinded by the light! You need others to fully bring it out, otherwise you're never going to receive anything other than failure!"
For one final time, Glare's cold laughter filled the Crystal Palace. "Really?" he said. "I fail to see the evidence of that..."
"That's what we're here to show you," said Star Swirl. "NOW!!!"
And then it happened. All at once.
The symbol that had flashed briefly on the ground became clear as day. During the fight, Twilight and Star had etched a twelve pointed star into the floor of the throne room. It shined brightly with each pony standing on a point with glare right in the center. And then the pulse took hold. The same pulse that had allowed Twilight and her friends to defeat Lord Tirek. The same pulse that would allow them to defeat countless more foes in the future.
The magic of the Elements changed them physically. Their manes grew longer and more colorful. Their eyes brighter, their coats shinier. Looking around, Twilight noticed that it was happening not only to her friends, but to the other six Elements as well.
The magic hit Glare full force.
Crackling like lightning it surged through him. He cried out in rage and pain. He tried to fight through it. Inching closer and closer until his hoof was only a breath away from Twilight's throat, but he was pushed back. The magic kept building, higher and higher until the pressure could no longer contain itself.
Ironically, during the explosion, all Twilight could see was Glare's Silhouette.
And then... Silence.
The light died down, as did the magic. Each pony rose to take a glance at the surroundings. They saw that everypony was alright. They were not as happy to see Glare in the middle of the room. On the floor. Twitching violently.
"Everyone get behind me," Star said quietly. "Trust me, right now you don't want to stand behind him."
They all moved behind Star Swirl, and Star Swirl moved up to Glare. He sat down directly in front of the Alicorn King.
"N-no...," Glare wheezed. "I... I can't let it end like this... I can't let you win.."
"It's too late," Star Swirl said frankly.
"Is it?" Glare let out a hacking laugh. "Banish me where you wish, Mage, but rest assured, this victory of yours is only temporary..."
"No. What I said is 'It's too late,'" Star Swirl clarified. "You're dead, Seraphim..."
"Uhh... No he's not!" Dash said, confused. "He's kinda... still talking."
"No," Twilight said. "He's right." Twilight couldn't explain it, but she could see it. She could tell that Seraphim Glare had died when the Elements had hit him full force. He wasn't simply dying. He was dead. So that left one bothering question that Dash was quite right to bring up.
Seraphim Glare was dead, so how was he still talking?
"Lies...," Glare spat.
"You'll see how much of a lie it is in a minute," Star said softly. "You're Eternal, Glare. Eternals don't die like Mortals do. Your soul doesn't leave your body. Your body doesn't rot away. You're assumed, body and soul. That's how you leave this world. Depending on your actions in life, you can either simply walk out, or be dragged...."
A curious black shadow began to grow behind the corpse of Seraphim Glare. A closer look revealed that it wasn't a mere shadow. It was a pit. And some things began to rise from it.
At first they looked like arms, but a more accurate description would be claws. Claws mad of pure shadow that were rising from the pit, ready to pounce.
"You know, it's funny," Star said slowly, giving a faraway stare at the pit. "When I first heard what Tartarus had in store for you, I thought it was too cruel. Even for you. Looking at it now I realize that, as much as the thought of it makes my skin crawl, this is the way it has to end."
"What are you talking about?!" Glare growled.
"Creatures of Darkness," Star explained. "You killed so many ponies on that pretense. That they were evil. They were villains. They were scum. They were bound for the darkest pits of Tartarus. With so many ponies dead, so many thousands of lives lost.... The law of averages dictates that every once in a while... Every once in a while...
"You'd get it right."
Two of the shadow claws shot out and grabbed Glare by his back legs.
"Every street thug who never got a chance to shed blood," Star continued.
Two more shot out and grabbed his forelegs.
"Every Dark Lord who never got his chance to terrorize a populous," Star went on.
Two more shot out and grabbed Glare's wings.
"Every wife beater who never got the chance to teach her that final lesson..."
One more claw shot out and took a firm grip on Glare's mane.
"They never got their chance at evil," Star said coldly. "Because you were greedy with yours. They have spent there afterlives punished for the darkness of their heart, not the darkness of their deed. But they took it. They took it under one condition.
"That when your time came, they'd get their chance at you."
The claws began to drag Glare slowly towards the pit. Terrified, Glare scrabbled at the ground, hoping to avoid the inevitable. "W-what is this?!" he asked desperately. "WHAT IS THIS?!"
"Your hell, Glare." Star said coldly. "A world of dying light and endless darkness. Your utterly sickening eternal torment."
Several more claws jumped from the pit and began to wrench Glare towards it. Grabbing at his face, neck hooves. Burrowing into his skin. Eager for their chance at vengeance. Not caring what they tore at, or what they tore off.
"You called it 'The Night.'"
And then Seraphim Glare began to scream.
And even as the sound faded as the pit closed, Twilight got the impression that he wouldn't stop screaming for quite some time.
There were several moments of uncomfortable silence after Glare was dragged away. As happy as they were that it was over, that wasn't a pleasant sight. Twilight suspected that it would stay with them forever. Someone needed to say something. Someone needed to make a noise. Something needed to happen to break the tension.
And luckily something did.
At that moment the doors to the throne room burst wide open. In walked, injured and exhausted, Flash Sentry and Shining Armor. Lances drawn. Prepared for a fight. "Where is he?" shouted Shining. "Where's Glare?!"
"I never really thought I'd say this," Star Swirl smiled. "But Glare is gone. Seraphim Glare is, well and truly forever, gone."
The two guards lowered their weapons. Looking happy and at the same time disappointed. "Really?" asked Flash. "Well... Don't I feel useless..."
"You were, kid," Star said frankly. "But there's always next time!"
Sombra marched swiftly up to the two stallions. "You two!" he said cheerfully. "You two did the uniform proud today. 'We're the Guard! The last thing we do is stand aside!' I've got to say, I'm glad it was left in good hands. Gentlemen, you've earned my respect." He saluted the two, then wrapped them in a tight hug.
"You're..." said Shining Armor, utterly bewildered. "Under... arrest?"
"Sorry friend," Sombra smiled. "You can't arrest a dead colt. Thank Equestria for legal loopholes."
"I was gonna say that..." Flash pointed at Sombra. "You're dead." He turned and pointed at Star Swirl. "And so are you!"
"I am too!" Clover said eagerly in the background. "Not that it matters for the moment, I just thought I'd mention..."
"I'll explain later," Twilight said, unable to keep a straight face.
"Yeah," Shining Armor said weakly. "Yeah... We're gonna go lie down..."
"No!" said Star Swirl. "You can't do that! We need witnesses! There's something very important that needs doing, but first I have some things to say to some ponies... First off," he marched right up to Celestia and Luna. "You two..."
He seemed to want to look stern, but that expression melted the moment he saw the faces of the two sisters. Both of them were obviously trying to hold back tears and failing. Trying not to look at Star Swirl directly because they couldn't take it.
"You two grew up," Star Swirl said quietly. "You did that behind my back. I remember when the two of you were still little foals... You were both so full of energy... Such trouble..."
Luna let out a sharp sniff.
"Would it be presumptive to say...," Star Swirl choked. "That I'm proud of you two? I know I'm not family, but..."
"That's not true," Celestia said quietly. Luna let out another sharp sniff. The vernier was fading.
"Come on now, don't cry," Star Swirl said defensively. "It was never fair when the two of you would cry... Oh come here!"
The three locked in a tight embrace. Each unable to hold back tears. Twilight recognized that hug. It was the same hug that she gave to her father after her coronation. She couldn't help but tear up as well.
"We'll miss you," Luna sobbed.
"We wish you could stay," Celestia added.
"I don't," Star Swirl said frankly. "You two are doing fine without me. You don't need my help anymore. Like I said, you both grew up... And Little Wings?"
Luna looked up at her mentor.
"I think there's soempony else here who wants to talk to you..." Star Swirl turned around to reveal a nervous Sombra, shifting from foot to foot.
Luna walked up to him. "Are you alright?"
"I've been in hell," Sombra laughed. "So basically not so different from the last few months of my life. Luna... I..."
"You don't have to say it," Luna said softly.
"I know. I never did," Sombra sighed. "Did it ever occur to you that maybe I wanted to?" The two held each other tightly. "I love you, Luna."
"I love you, too..." Luna said softly. "But you knew that, didn't you?"
"Wow!" said Pinkie. "I did not see that one coming!"
"Really?" asked Applejack and Rarity simultaneously.
Star Swirl marched over to Discord. "And March," he said softly. "My dear friend, March..."
Discord gave Star Swirl a soft smile that turned into a wince as Star took off his hat and started beating him with it.
"Ow!" Discord yelped. "Yes! Ow! I understand! I'm sorry! Watch the bells! Ow! Dammit that hurt!"
"Good!" Star yelled. "Kindness!"
"Yes sir!" said Fluttershy.
"I'm sorry, what's your name?" Star asked.
"Fluttershy, sir!"
"Fluttershy," Star growled keeping a firm grip on Discord's ear. "I am leaving him in your capable hooves! If he gets out of line you now have my permission to beat him savagely."
"Umm..."
"Alight!" Star rolled his eyes. "Deprive him of snuggles! No snuggles for him!"
"Understood!" Fluttershy smiled.
"Now!" Star said, dropping Discord. "The main event! The Elements are still split between us. The only way to reunite them is for the old generation to pass the torch to the new one. We have to 'deem our successors worhty,' meaning we each have to say that you represent the qualities of our Element. Because their fussy like that. All these rules...
"We need to say our full name and titles though," Star Swirl clarified. "So I need to ask, do I have any? Titles I mean? Star Swirl the Great? Star Swirl the Astounding? Star Swirl the-"
"Bearded," Twilight finished awkwardly.
Star Swirl nodded slowly. "The Bearded," he repeated. "Court Wizard of Canterlot for over thirty years... A member of the first rebellion against a Monarchy our land has ever seen... Father of the Aniomorphic Spell... And the first Element of Magic... And the best you could come up with was 'The Bearded'?"
"Let it go, honey," Clover said with a hint of exasperation.
"No, I get it," Star Swirl nodded. "I see. I see how it is... I should have shaved the damn thing."
"Don't do that," Clover said sweetly. "I always thought it was sexy."
"The only reason I kept it on," Star let out a sly smirk.
Twilight felt weird. This was way too close to watching her parents flirt.
"You know," said Clover softly. "You did a very bad thing to me..."
"What?" Star Swirl asked slowly. "What did I do?"
"You weren't there...," Clover started to tear up. "I couldn't enjoy Paradise."
Star gave his wife a soft smile. "I think I've payed my dues," he held her close. "I'm intending to fix that now."
He caught sight of Sombra looking down sadly at the ground.
"That includes you, by the way!" Star called to his son.
"What?" asked Sombra. "Really? After all I've done I think I should at least spend some time in the Realm Between... I mean..."
"That's exactly why you're coming with us," Star explained. "You didn't do this because you thought you'd get yourself out of a punishment. You didn't do this out of a single minded thirst for revenge. You did this simply because Glare needed to be stopped. That's good enough for Them to forgive you. And it's more than good enough for me."
Sombra couldn't speak. He didn't know what to say.
"Now," Star started. "We need to each of us form two parallel lines. Original Elements on this side, successors on the other... Soldier boys, on one end..." They all lined up accordingly. "I think we'll move in towards the center. March, you start. And remember, our full names and titles. As painful as it's going to be..."
Discord stepped forward. "I, Discord," he said quickly. "Formerly Forward March, embodiment of all Chaos and former king of Equestria, can think of no other pony than Rainbow Dash to safeguard the Element of Loyalty. I ask only that she take better care of it than I did."
There seemed to be a soft red glow between Rainbow Dash and Discord at that moment. Twilight knew that at that point, the Element of Loyalty was once again whole.
"I...," Celestia seemed to struggle getting out the next two words. "Seraphim Celestia, Princess of Equestria and Guardian of the Sun, can think of no pony better suited to safeguard the Element of Generosity than Rarity Belle. I ask only that she spread it's spirit over my country, without hesitation or doubt in her ability."
A deep violet glow passed between the Princess and the Fashionista. Rarity looked so honored that she was about to faint.
Clover stepped forward. "I, Clover the Clever," she said, obviously proud of her own title. "Can think of no pony on this plane of existence better suited to safeguard the Element of Honesty than Applejack. I ask only that she never lie to herself about her own worth, as I did."
An orange glow passed between Clover and AJ.
Luna stepped forward. "I, Seraphim Luna," Luna said, seemingly unconcerned of her family name. "Can think of no aspect in which Fluttershy is unqualified to safeguard the Element of Kindness. I ask only that she use this strength wisely, as it is not hard to lose sight of the fact that it is strength at all."
A pink glow passed between Luna and Fluttershy.
Sombra stepped up. "I, Sombra Star," he said firmly. "Can think of nopony to spread the Element of Laughter across Equestria than Pinkamina Diane Pie. I ask only-"
He was interrupted by a loud SQUEAK! and was showered in confetti. Pinkie was an inch from his face, grinning happily with a noisemaker in her mouth.
"I ask only," he continued, desperately trying to keep a straight face. "That she never change."
With the sky blue glow passing between the two, it was finally Star Swirl's turn.
"I, Star Swirl... the Bearded," he sighed, stroking his chin. "Can say that there is nopony living or dead who can wield the Element of Magic better than Princess Twilight Sparkle. Since she has excelled at every test put before her, and will, I believe, continue to do so, anything that I would ask of her would come off as insulting or demeaning. She's the purest example of what the world needs more of. She can and she will, use it wisely."
With a soft magenta glow between her and her idol, Twilight somehow felt more complete. As if a piece of her was missing and then suddenly returned.
"And now it's done," Star Swirl said with a note of finality. "At long last, I'm no longer needed..." He looked up for a moment, as if he could here something no one else could. "I was right... They're letting me in. Me and my son... That's... That's a good bonus..."
A soft light came down from the sky. It wasn't blinding or oppressive like anything Glare could conjure up. It was soft. Gentle. The kind of light that begun either a pleasant day, or a peaceful night.
In other words, it was twilight.
"And that's our ride!" Star said happily. "Good! We should go..."
"Wait!" Twilight said quickly. "You can't leave! What if I need advice?! What if I have questions?!"
Star Swirl thought about that for a moment. "Ask them," he said frankly. "That's usually a good tactic to take in that scenario. And with the company you keep somepony is bound to know the answer. If not, congratulations! You are one step closer to learning how the world works! Call me when you've made your first ten. We'll swap notes."
"But-" Twilight protested.
"You know just about everything that I do, Twilight," Star said softly. "You'll probably grow up to be wiser than I ever was. But if it makes you feel any better..."
There was a soft jingle as Star Swirl tossed his hat over to Twilight. "Your hat..."
"I suspect I won't be needing it where I'm going," Star laughed. "I never understood what the fuss was. I wore it to keep the sun out of my eyes, and I added bells to it because some little filly thought I had a scary face!" He shot Celestia a sly look. "You don't have as scary of a face as I do, Twilight Sparkle. But the very next Element of Magic might be entering the world very soon. You may need to make that little colt laugh." He looked over at Shining Armor. "Mazeltov, by the way, Dad."
"Thank you," Shining Armor nodded. "Wait, colt? How do you know it will be a colt?!"
"Must be off!" Star smiled.
Twilight was stunned. Only able to say one thing. "Thank you..."
"For what?" Star Swirl asked. "You did most of the heavy work, we just helped out a little at the end. I should really be thanking you. You helped me balance my ledger. Both with my enemies, and my family."
Star Swirl joined his wife and son under the beam of soft light. He held them both in a tight embrace.
"From the bottom of my heart," Star smiled. "Thank you, Twilight Sparkle."
When the soft light faded from the room, so to did the family star. Once again the room fell into a stunned silence. It stayed that way until Rainbow Dash asked the question that needed to be asked.
"What happens now?" she said quietly. "What do we do next?"
"Rainbow Dash!" Pinkie gasped, taken aback. "How long have you known me!"
Pinkie marched over to the door, reached behind it, and pulled out a seemingly busy Vinyl Scratch.
"So do your dance, do your dance, do your dance quick maaaaaaaaa whoa," Vinyl said, slowly realizing the scenery around her had changed. "Trippy."
"How did she get here?!" asked Dash. "How does she always get here?!"
"RD, you know better than to ask that question," Vinyl said frankly, examining her surroundings. "Okay, Pinks, you called me, what's the emergency?"
Rainbow Dash seemed to catch on at that point. "Here's the deal, Vi," she began. "We just won the biggest fight of our lives."
"Mmm-hmm," Vinyl said, examining the premises.
"Found our true selves along the way," Fluttershy said sweetly.
"Go on,"
"Dispatched a truly unspeakable cad," Rarity added.
"Good on you..."
"Laid a few ghosts to rest," Applejack added. "Literally"
"A little creepy, but continue."
"Reconstituted the Elements of Harmony," Twilight chimed in.
"I'll pretend I understand what that means."
"And," Pinkie finished. "We sorted out the emotional baggage of the entire Monarchy!"
"It has been a banner freakin' day for you guys, hasn't it?"
"So this calls for a party," Pinkie said, now pacing around the room with Vinyl. Both of them looked like they were drawing schematics in their heads. "But not just a normal everyday party..."
"Oh no," Vinyl said frankly. "A win this big, you need a blowout..."
"A catastrophe," Pinkie clarified.
"This party needs to be nothing short of a natural disaster..."
"We need to blow the roof of the place!" Pinkie shouted. "Well... It's kind of already gone... But you get my point!"
"And the end of this night you should not remember how to spell the word roof," Vinyl nodded. "Let alone what it means..."
"Ponies waking up in trees the next morning!"
" Saddle Arabians telling us to turn down the damn noise."
"The ultimate victory bash!"
"The kind of party that says 'We are the bearers of the Elements of Harmony. Look upon our works, ye mighty and despair.'"
There was a short pause before Twilight spoke up. "Well," she asked Pinkie and Vinyl. "Can you do it?"
They both took a moment to consider before grinning madly. "Give us ten minutes," Pinkie smiled.
They delivered ahead of schedule.
With in minutes the celebration had spread from the Crystal Palace throne room throughout the entire city. Ponies were drinking more than they should. There was music blaring from a sound system in the parlor that Twilight suspected could be audible on the moon. Everypony was having a good time...
Except for Twilight.
Something had been nagging at her since Star Swirl had left. She couldn't stop thinking about it. A few minutes into the party she took a candle into the empty Palace Library. She sat there for quite some time simply staring at Star's hat.
She heard the door open behind her. "Princess?"
She looked behind her. "Hello, Flash."
"I'd give you the whole, 'you're missing a classic party' line," Flash Sentry began. "But I'm guessing you know that. Also, classic can't describe this particular party. I don't think there are words that can. Shots got involved. Your brother just spent the last half an hour explaining how nervous he was at becoming a father to a castle pillar. It would have gone on longer, but I didn't have the equipment to film it."
Twilight let out a little laugh.
"Do you want to tell me what's wrong?" Flash said. "Not sure I can make you feel better, but I can at least act like a clown until you throw me out!"
"It's nothing... It's just...," she began. "Star Swirl spent the second half of his life as a recluse. It got so bad that he didn't even know what friendship was anymore. Other ponies would simply get in his way... It wasn't all that long ago that I was like that. I thought friends were a waste of time. It was only when I came here and met the others that everything changed...
"But now I'm wondering, what if it changes again? What if something awful happens? What if my friends forget themselves and their Elements, so in the end, old and bitter, I forget mine?
"Star Swirl said that when it comes an Eternal's time to die," Twilight gulped. "Depending on their actions in life, they can either walk out, or be dragged. So now I'm sitting here wondering how I'm going to leave when my time comes."
Flash sat down and thought for a moment. "As I understand it," he began. "And details are hazy, I'll admit. It was Glare who turned the original Elements against themselves. Even then it took him decades. They had an incredibly strong bond between them. A bond that almost nothing could break. The one thing that could was Seraphim Glare. Even then, he didn't really manage to do it. Sure, it took dying for them to remember, but they did.
"Twilight, I don't know if you realize this... But you just beat Seraphim Glare. In one night, the one thing that ever did any lasting damage to the Elements is gone. You proved tonight what you keep proving time and time again. You deserve your Element. You deserve your title. And most importantly the only way that the friendships you've made end is with an evil far stronger than Glare ever was. And if that happens we've got bigger problems than you becoming a recluse.
"And when your time comes... And you walk out... You can take one last look back and smile."
Twilight shot Flash a soft smile. "That was pretty good."
"Good," Flash nodded. "Because I kinda came up with it on the fly and I'm not sure it made much sense. I can tell the others you'll be out in a minute?"
Twilight couldn't help but laugh. "Yes Flash," she nodded.
Flash smiled and left the room.
Twilight was feeling much better now. Flash was right. She was being silly. As soon as Blinding Light showed her that ridiculous possible reality she knew nothing like that could ever happen. Why would she doubt herself and her friends now? After all, this was the mare that the great Star Swirl the Bearded had said was worthy of safeguarding the Element of Magic. No villain would stand in the way of her and her friends.
So tonight she would celebrate. She would drink a little too much, laugh at a few things that weren't all that funny, dance in such a way that made her look like she had some sort of disorder, and most importantly, enjoy good company. But before she did any of that...
She blew out the candle, leaving the library dark.
After the celebration started drawing to a close, Luna found herself walking to the Town Square. To the spot where Glare's Mirror had first risen from the ground. She stared at the burned dirt for several minutes before a familiar figure came down from the sky.
"Luna?" Celestia asked quietly. "Are you alright? You left the party early, we were worried about you."
"I'm quite alright, Sister," Luna smiled. "You should head back... As should I. It's coming time for me to lower the moon, and for you to raise the sun."
"It's almost winter," Celestia shrugged. "Leave it up for another hour. Besides, after the time we had, I think we both can use a break from the light..."
"Never be ashamed of your role, sister," Luna said sternly. "You taught me that."
"I know," Celestia smiled. "Come now, Luna, something's bothering you, I can tell."
"People in Manehattan can tell!" came a voice from all around them. Discord appeared shortly afterwards. "Today I learned that no matter how much alcohol I consume it has absolutely no effect on me. After being challenged to a drinking game, I soon discovered that Shining Armor didn't know that."
"You drank the Lord of this city into a drunken stupor?" Celestia asked dryly.
"Oh, we're well past 'stupor'," Discord clarified. "I think we moved head on into 'religious experience'... Besides, we're not talking about that. We're talking about what's bothering Luna."
Discord and Celestia both turned their attention to Luna. Luna thought hard about how to express the feeling she was having. "Nightmare Night is coming up soon..."
"Oh for Pete's sake," Discord rolled his eyes. "Not that again."
"It's not what you think," Luna smiled. "Actually, I consider Nightmare Night my ultimate victory over my father. I have managed to take what he turned me in to and every year I will use it to bring joy to children. I'm happy about that. That's not the problem."
"Then what is?" Celestia asked.
Luna thought hard again. "Last year, Twilight Sparkle went as Star Swirl the Bearded," Luna sighed. "And nopony knew who he was... He's almost faded from memory. He would have if it weren't for those who studied the Arcane Arts... The only way Clover is remembered now is as part of a highly inaccurate legend... And Sombra..." Luna trailed off.
Celestia looked down at the ground.
"They deserve better," Luna said firmly. "They all deserve better than to have their names barely remembered. Their story, not just about what they did in the past, but what they did here today. There should be songs written about their heroism. There should be a sixty foot statue honoring their bravery in a place where everypony can see it. They all sacrificed so much, and if it weren't for them we would have been lost to Glare's 'light.' They deserve nothing less than the honor given to our greatest heroes."
There was a moment of silence before Discord shrugged. "Is that all?"
With a snap of his fingers something rose from the ground where Glare's mirror once stood. It took Luna a moment to realize what it was.
The monument was made from three different hues of crystal. On the top, colored white, was Star Swirl the bearded. Slightly below him, hued in a jade green, was Clover the Clever. Below her, hued in black, was Sombra. Each of them facing a different direction. Each of them with a look of pure determination on their face. Each of them ready to defend Equestria from whatever threatened it.
They all stood on a pedestal. On the pedestal was a plaque.
The Family Star Equestrian Heroes. Unbreakable Spirits
Below that were two long columns of text outlining the entire story.
Luna couldn't talk. She couldn't think. Tears began to well up in her eyes. She didn't think Discord had that kind of compassion in him anymore.
"There," Discord said frankly. "Now stop moping."
Luna wrapped Discord in a tight hug. "Thank you," she said breathlessly.
Discord hugged her back. "The songs will have to come from somepony else," he smiled softly. "I've never been too good with poetry."
As the embrace released, Discord patted Luna on the head. "Now!" he said loudly. "That crystal-make magic was fun! I want to do more of it. I think I'll fix the palace roof."
"That's very kind of you," Celestia smiled.
Discord started walking back toward the palace. "The old roof was so boring..."
"Wait!" Celestia followed quickly behind him.
"I bet can get more inventive than that..."
"Discord, I swear..."
"Something with cannon!"
"Get back here!"
Luna laughed as she heard the bickering fade off into the distance. She would join them in a moment to make sure that Discord didn't literally turn the palace upside down, but before that she had some business to attend to.
She sat down and looked at Sombra's statue.
"I think I can finally put the past behind me," Luna said quietly. "It took me a while but you helped me through it. You all did. You all did. You, Star, Clover, Celestia, Twilight Sparkle... I have no reason to be afraid anymore. It's all thanks to you. I want you to know that there are very few happy memories in my past...
"But of the few there are, almost all of them involve you."
Luna looked out on the horizon which had began to turn burnt orange. For the first time in over a millennium the sun was rising on a world without Seraphim Glare.
Wow... I am done... That... I did not expect that to happen.
As I have said many times, the reason that this account exists is because I had a story idea, namely this one. I had no idea what in hell I was doing, so I asked around and got some help. Eventually I got around to writing the prologue and the first chapter. I had no idea how the site worked, no idea about the stigma on Alicorn fics. I was just going with the flow. I started with pony creator cover art. A different title. I used asterisks instead of a horizontal rule. It was an utter mess.
But somehow, 50,000 words later, I have now done the impossible. I have finished The Alicorn King's Glare.
First of all, I want to thank each and every single person that has stuck with me through this, all of the people who jumped on after I revived the fic a couple of months ago, everyone. Thank you so much writing this has been so much fun and I have had such a good time talking to you guys about it in comments. You guys have been so nice, and I cannot thank you enough.
I'm going to take some time now to answer what I believe to be some common questions. Starting with the big one.
As much fun as I had with this, this story is over. Seraphim Glare is dead. Anything I do to bring him back will just feel forced and would cheapen the end of this story. Do not expect "The Return of Seraphim Glare" any time soon. Besides, this is my headcanon. So really, every fic I write is a sequel to this. And so is Season 5.
Prequel however... We'll talk about prequel later.
What is your favorite chapter?
Chapter 18: You Called it "The Night". Ironic death FTW
What is Your least favorite chapter?
Chapter 9: Spectrum Dash. I rushed that chapter, I'll admit.
If you could change one thing about the fic, what would it be?
I'd move the opening scene of Chapter 1 out of the library and into the Crystal Tree. I wrote the first chapter before Twilight's Kingdom aired you see, so...
My question to you guys is... How did you like it? This was the story that made LoT, so what did you think?
Please rate and comment, you guys have been amazing. Thank you!
