Choose Your Own Adventure: Time is running out for everything you know and love. Equus will meet its demise soon... or will it?
[A Choose Your Own Adventure] Featured 3/18, 3/19/23
Time is running out for this planet and every living thing on it. The eons quickly turned into millenniums, then centuries, to decades, years, months, weeks, then days, and final hours. Equus does not have long until it is decimated.
How will Twilight react to this catastrophe? A world doomed to a fiery demise. Fate has set a path to end all life on this planet, but maybe . . . just maybe . . . it doesn't have to be the end at all. Although, that is for you to decide.
[Click "Wake Up Call" to Begin]
[Appears lengthy because this is a short-wide CYOA where some choices are still available later on. The average length per path is approximately 1,700 words.]
[Chapters may look the same if you wish to find all the endings, but depending on the order, even the slightest difference can change everything.]
"Thank you for the comics, Cheerilee. Spike will enjoy these." Twilight put them in her saddlebag, swapping them with a few books of her own. "For my exchange, I brought you some old books I read as a filly. I hope the school ponies will enjoy them as much as I did."
Cheerilee placed the books on a bookshelf. "I'm sure they will. They always enjoy new books the moment they arrive. I hope the comics will be alright for Spike."
"If there are superheroes in it, I know he will love it," she showed a warm smile. "Thank you again, Cheerilee. Have a good day!"
"You too, Princess Twilight."
She left the schoolhouse after waving Cheerilee goodbye. Next on her chores for today was grocery shopping. The warm summer day made the trip to the marketplace acceptable, but she would rather be inside. A few bits spent at various stands gave Twilight the food she wanted for the week ahead. She saved the best food stand for last.
"Selling a lot of apples today, Applejack?" Twilight beamed hopefully.
Applejack, happy to see Twilight, tipped her hat. "Well, how do ya do, Twilight? The apples are sell'n good today."
"Good! Nothing like a fresh apple on a summer day, huh," they giggled together.
High-pitched nasal shouting came from behind them and grabbed Twilight's undivided attention. When she turned her head, Screwball caught her eye, holding up a sign with a sloppily drawn sun — it was still dripping wet.
While Twilight was staring at the sign, Applejack weighed in. "Yep, she's been out here all day. Shout'n that it's the end of the world, and the sun hav'n to do with it."
Twilight turned back around, "You are here more than I am. Does she do this often?"
"More often than not," Applejack recollected. "One time she was out here say'n that all magic is goin' to disappear in a thousand years," she snickered. "How crazy is that?"
"Well, I'm sure it's nothing to worry about," Twilight said as she completed her exchange with Applejack. "See you tomorrow, AJ!"
"Have yourself a good rest of your day."
Twilight's mind was busy contemplating the sun on the sign on her way back to the castle, wondering if there was any possibility that it could be correct. "Celestia controls the sun," she spoke to herself. "There is no way the sun would be the end of it all. Princess Celestia would never allow it to happen." She shook her head, dismissing the thought as baseless and silly.
"Spike! I'm back!" Twilight shouted into the large halls of her castle. She saw Spike poke his head out of his room. He sprinted toward Twilight, who presented the comics to him as if they were on a golden platter.
Spike's face lit up, "Aw yeah! I can't wait to read these after I get back tomorrow, thanks!"
"Back from where?" Twilight asked curiously.
"I'm going to hang out with Gabby. I thought I told you yesterday?"
Twilight rubbed her head, "Heheh, I think I did it again. I was into my reading so much that I fazed you out. Sorry about that."
Spike hugged Twilight's foreleg, "It's alright, thanks again," and then darted into his room with the comics, leaving a Spike-shaped cloud behind him.
The remainder of the day was peaceful. Gabby picked up Spike, Twilight caught up on her fiction book, then practiced magic with Starlight. Eventually, Celestia lowered the sun to retire the day while Luna raised the moon to welcome the night.
Twilight did not dream this night, nor did she have a nightmare, but instead witnessed something unfold.
It began like any other dream, calm and ordinary. Twilight stood outside the library of her dreams, filled with every book ever created. A book flew toward her, one she subconsciously wanted to read. That was the last moment of normality. When the book landed in her hooves, it burst into flames and its ashes fell to the floor. She looked up, witnessing every other flying book disintegrate into ash in mid-air. Then, every book on the colossal bookshelves was engulfed in flames. Their incineration began from the roof and worked downward. The roof of her massive dream library crumbled above her, revealing an empty red and orange sky. A wave of immense heat came over Twilight, causing her to instantly sweat. She looked down to wipe the sweat from her forehead and gazed back upwards. Her eyes met a ball of fire that had conquered the entire sky. Cracks formed on the library walls, starting from the top and working downwards. As the last of the walls crumbled, Twilight stood in a charred wasteland, blackened by ash and heated by flame. The fireball was growing larger by the second, finally making contact with the planet. It swept the land away as it quickly approached her. Twilight felt a wave of searing pain just before waking up.
Her eyes slowly opened, revealing the sun peaking through her window.
"Ah!"
Twilight jumped out of bed in fear of the fireball in the sky before realizing what reality she was in. She was drenched in sweat, her heart pounding while she sat on the cold floor. Having finally caught her breath, she said, ". . ."
Greetings, the only way you got here was either by clicking the "next chapter" button or manually clicking from the main story page - or you miraculously read every single chapter and this one was the last unread one. If so, then great job! Thanks for reading all of it; hope you enjoyed. If the other reasons: I recommend you do NOT do that anymore as it would ruin the experience of this choose your own adventure for you and only cause confusion.
The only way to properly engage with the story is by clicking the links in the "author's notes" at the end of each chapter. Every link is safe and goes to another chapter of this very story based on the decision you make.
So please, for your own enjoyment of this choose your own adventure, return to the beginning here and click the linked text at the end of each chapter that represents your decision in the story. Everything counts and influences the future. Enjoy!
Having finally caught her breath, she said, "That crazy pony must have gotten my head. I'm sure it was nothing."
Going about her morning, Twilight noticed it was hotter in the castle. She dismissed it, assuming she was still flustered from the dream.
Starlight entered the dining room where Twilight was eating. "Good morning, Twilight. Quite a hot day today, isn't it?"
A mouth full of food muffled Twilight's response, "I'm sure it's just one of those hot summer days."
"95 degrees?" Starlight mentioned with a curious tone. This was a highly irregular temperature for Equestria.
Twilight swallowed, "95?! The last time it was that hot was when Celestia accidentally rose the sun too close. Before putting an orbital lock on the sun so she wouldn't have to worry about orbital distance positioning anymore."
"That is what the thermometer at the door says," Starlight shrugged and sat to eat.
They both continued to finish breakfast and headed into the library to study spell books.
Drops of sweat fell onto the pages they were reading, slightly smearing the words. Starlight's curiosity broke after a while. She got up to leave the room and returned with a thermometer reading of 106.
Showing Twilight the temperature, Starlight commented worriedly, "It's getting hotter out there."
Twilight pushed the book aside and glanced out the window. The sun seemed relatively brighter than usual.
Twilight said, "It's just a hot day Starlight, it is nothing to get worked up about. We can put a temperature regulation bubble around the castle if it gets too unbearable."
"If you say so, but I am going to keep an eye on things." She was surprised at the lack of concern coming from Twilight.
Starlight left the library and cast a temperature bubble around the castle, keeping everything inside nice and cool.
It wasn't long before she returned to the library from the balcony. "Twilight, I really think we need to start doing something," Starlight spoke with impatience. "I stuck the thermometer out of the bubble and read 120!"
"Starlight, it really is fine. 120 is nothing nopony can't tolerate," Twilight replied.
Starlight countered, "Have you not looked out the window? The sky appears to be on fire, and the sun is a deep red."
Twilight turned to look out the window to observe what Starlight was saying.
She hummed aloud, thinking. "Hmmm, maybe something is happening . . ."
She hummed aloud, thinking. "Maybe something is happening, but it's a Saturday. Then again, what can we do about it? Princess Celestia controls the sun. Nothing we can do will help."
Starlight raised an eyebrow, "You do realize you have helped her countless times by saving Equestria, right? Not to mention personally saving her yourself."
"Of course, I know that. I'm glad I could help her and Equestria all those times, but this is the sun we are talking about. It is too much for us to handle. If anything . . . it's her turn to do something to save ponykind. She would know best how to go about stopping the sun. It's her domain."
"Twilight! I'm stunned at your lackadaisical mood toward this whole thing! I saw pegasi and unicorns moving clouds around to shade Ponyville. I am going to help them. You can come too if you want, but for some reason I doubt you will," Starlight stormed off.
The temperature regulation bubble around the castle dissipated after Starlight left. A fierce wave of intense heat immediately overtook the previously comfortable castle. The library heated up so fast that Twilight became faint from the extreme temperature change. It had to be about 165 degrees now.
Twilight cast the temperature regulation bubble over the castle and returned to her spell book.
After hours of neglecting the existence of anything else, the room became red enough to catch Twilight's attention. Her horn was also aching because of how much effort she put into maintaining the temperature regulation spell. "Curious," she thought, "I shouldn't be applying more energy to the spell . . . Not unless something is happening to it."
Ending her reign of laziness, Twilight finally got up and traversed bright scarlet halls to get to the balcony. It was there she discovered a scorched wasteland. Wildfires in the distance, the lake adjacent to the castle was boiling, Ponyville was lifeless. The sun loomed oppressively in the blood-red sky. With each passing moment, it was harder to keep the temperature protection activated. She now knew if she were to release the protection, she would surely die a heat death.
Twilight took the thermometer that Starlight left on the balcony and hovered it outside the bubble. It maxed out at 210 degrees before shattering in the extreme heat. It was much hotter.
It was too late to save anything. Laziness and her willful ignorance had destroyed Equestria. Twilight's inaction had doomed all life. Would it have been possible to save them all anyway? Would it have been possible to stop this? These were the thoughts going through one of the last living creatures on Equus.
More and more energy went into preserving the bubble, exponentially proving a difficult task. Not long passed until the sun became powerful enough to overpower Twilight. The bubble was destroyed and so was the Princess of Friendship, the last life.
Having finally caught her breath she said, "First somepony saying the end is near, and now this? Something very strange is happening, I should investigate."
Twilight took a quick bite to eat for breakfast from the dining room and made her way to the library.
"What to read first," she thought to herself while scanning hundreds of books. "I'll start with the . . ."
She hummed aloud, thinking. "Maybe something is happening. The day gets increasingly hotter with the sun turning red and seemingly brighter . . . Something is definitely not right. I'm sorry I didn't do something sooner. We need to start investigting so we can try to stop it."
"Thank Celestia," Starlight let off a sigh of relief. "Now let's get to researching."
"What to read first," she thought to herself while scanning hundreds of books. "I'll start with the . . ."
"I think I'll start with the book on solar history. Maybe it has something about solar anomalies."
Twilight walked to the history section of her castle's library. She looked carefully across her alphabetically-organized history books, of which every alphabetical letter was organized by its historical relevance. Due to her impeccable organizational skills, Twilight located the desired book with ease.
She immediately opened the book, "The Solar Codex, this could be helpful."
Twilight flipped through the codex, quickly scanning each page. Something soon caught her eye, a picture of a glowing red sun. She translated it from Old Ponish:
Six-hundred-thirteen years after the Celestian epoch, the solar celestial body in the heavens revolted against us. The sun grew mad at Celestia's unending control over it, turning red and advancing in size. For weeks, the days gradually grew hotter, roasting all creatures below. On its thirty-third day of the assault, it had prematurely ended winter, melting ice and snow. On its forty-sixth day of expansion, it had grown brighter, redder, and entirely replaced the middle of winter with the peak of summer. It was not until the fifty-fifth day that the sun's anger was abated, retreating back into its original form. Winter was allowed to resume after it returned to a smaller, calm, yellow orb in the sky, obeying Celestia ever since.
"So it has been about 500 years since the sun last grew," Twilight pondered. "That is an oddly specific time for the sun to become hostile again. How was the sun cured last time?"
Starlight entered the library. "Hey Twilight, I didn't see you at breakfast. Is everything alright?"
"Yeah, I'm just doing some research."
"What about?" Starlight walked to Twilight to glance at what book she is reading.
"I'm reading about the sun's activities throughout history."
"Because it is strangely hot today? The thermometer at the door says it is 100 degrees outside."
Twilight looked worriedly at Starlight, who returned a glance in the form of concern. "What is it, Twilight?"
"Right now, the sun may be trying to kill us all."
Starlight gasped in shock. "Well, what should we do?"
"I don't know how it was fixed last time, maybe an amulet was used to disarm the sun. Let's look at the Unabridged History of Amulets together, you can read Pony Latin hoofwriting better than I can."
Twilight flipped through the book of amulets, quickly scanning each page. "There it is!" she said excitedly, finding the section covering solar amulets. "Brightness . . . no, that won't help. Resistance . . . ugh, not that either. That is too small of a scale as well. Temperature . . . but the sun is also expanding, so this won't do. This is also too small a scale. Ah hah!" Twilight shouted excitedly, finding something of interest. "Protection!"
Starlight translated the text from Pony Latin:
The Solar Amulet of Protective Amplification A sketch of the amulet as described by Princess Celestia. Circa Celestial epoch 613.
This amulet boosts the power and scale of any protective spell that requires a physical medium and directs it at the sun. First created six-hundred-thirteen years after Princess Celestia's reign began. It existed for just a few minutes before bursting into flames and diminishing into mere embers upon use.
The Princess and Wizard of Canterlot attempted to recreate the amulet after its destruction but found no success. The joined pieces simply fell apart after assembly.
The Solar Amulet of Protective Amplification can only be crafted by a minimum of two magic-wielding entities. One or more must enchant the amulet with a chosen spell while one or more keep it stable during enchantment. Inferno Crystals, Gold, and Ruby are required to forge this amulet.
Twilight thought aloud, "Circa 613? That was also 500 years ago. I bet this amulet was used to suppress the advancing sun."
"This must have been fixed already," Starlight assessed.
"Right before you came in, I read that the sun did this exact same thing 500 years ago. Right when this amulet was invented. It took the sun weeks to get where it is now, and it has only been a few hours."
"I'm guessing we don't have the same luxury of time as they did back then."
"Yeah, I don't think we do either, which is why we should read more about how we can end this. Maybe a spell book is the last thing we need. Let's dive into some spell books to see if we can stop this before it gets worse. You read spells on deactivation, I'll read about protection spells."
After a few minutes of scrounging around the library's wide arrangement of spell books, Starlight found what they needed. She immediately took the book and opened it, "Hey, Twilight. This could be helpful."
Starlight read it aloud:
Spherical Prison "Spherico Na Pentra Circum"
Required: - Materialistic Medium - Pure Alicorn Magic
Creates an impenetrable bubble around the targeted object. This Spherical Prison can only be disabled by the one who cast it. Does not interfere with the flow of gases and temperature. Disables teleportation within the bubble. Can be constricted or expanded after use by the user.
No one, or thing, has ever escaped.
WARNING: - Lasts only half as long as conventional spells - May only be used once per spell caster - Materialistic Medium disintegrates after use and may not be recreated until this spell expires or is disabled
"This is exactly what we needed; the perfect spell to end the sun's terror."
"I don't know how it was fixed last time, maybe a spell was used to combat the sun. Let's dive into some spell books to see if we can stop this before it gets worse. You read spells on deactivation, I'll read about protection spells."
After a few minutes of scrounging around the library's wide arrangement of spell books, Twilight found what they needed. She immediately took the book and opened it, "Hey, Starlight. This could be helpful."
Twilight read it aloud:
Spherical Prison "Spherico Na Pentra Circum"
Required: - Materialistic Medium - Pure Alicorn Magic
Creates an impenetrable bubble around the targeted object. This Spherical Prison can only be disabled by the one who cast it. Does not interfere with the flow of gases and temperature. Disables teleportation within the bubble. Can be constricted or expanded after use by the user.
No one, or thing, has ever escaped.
WARNING: - Lasts only half as long as conventional spells - May only be used once per spell caster - Materialistic Medium disintegrates after use and may not be recreated until this spell expires or is disabled
"We could use this against the sun."
"This is exactly what we need, the perfect spell to end the sun's terror."
"It says it needs a materialistic medium . . . an amulet?"
"An amulet!"
"I know exactly where that book is. I used to read that for fun years ago. Let's look at the Unabridged History of Amulets together, you can read Pony Latin hoofwriting better than I can."
Twilight flipped through the book of amulets, quickly scanning each page. "There it is!" she said excitedly, finding the section covering solar amulets. "Brightness . . . no, that won't help. Resistance . . . ugh, not that either. That is too small of a scale as well. Temperature . . . but the sun is also expanding, so this won't do. This is also too small a scale. Ah hah!" Twilight shouted excitedly, finding something of interest. "Protection!"
Starlight translated the text from Pony Latin:
The Solar Amulet of Protective Amplification A sketch of the amulet as described by Princess Celestia. Circa Celestial epoch 613.
This amulet boosts the power and scale of any protective spell that requires a physical medium and directs it at the sun. First created six-hundred-thirteen years after Princess Celestia's reign began. It existed for just a few minutes before bursting into flames and diminishing into mere embers upon use.
The Princess and Wizard of Canterlot attempted to recreate the amulet after its destruction but found no success. The joined pieces simply fell apart after assembly.
The Solar Amulet of Protective Amplification can only be crafted by a minimum of two magic-wielding entities. One or more must enchant the amulet with a chosen spell while one or more keep it stable during enchantment. Inferno Crystals, Gold, and Ruby are required to forge this amulet.
Twilight thought aloud, "Circa 613? That was also 500 years ago. I bet this amulet was used to suppress the advancing sun with the exact spell we found earlier."
"That is how it must have been stopped last time," Starlight assessed.
"Right before you came in, I read that the sun did this exact same thing 500 years ago. Right when this amulet was invented. It took the sun weeks to get where it is now, and it has only been a few hours."
"I'm guessing we don't have the same luxury of time as they did back then."
"What to read first," she thought to herself while scanning hundreds of books. "I'll start with the Unabridged History of Amulets to see if there is one that can help."
Twilight walked to the amulet section of her castle's library. She looked carefully across the alphabetically-organized amulet books, of which every alphabetical letter was organized by its historical relevance. Due to her impeccable organizational skills, Twilight located the desired book with ease.
She immediately took the book and opened it. "This could be helpful, I just need to find an amulet that deals with the sun."
Twilight flipped through the book of amulets, quickly scanning each page. "There it is!" she said excitedly, finding the section covering solar amulets. "Brightness . . . no, that won't help. Resistance . . . ugh, not that either. That is too small of a scale as well. Temperature . . . but the sun is also expanding, so this won't do. This is also too small a scale. Ah hah!" Twilight shouted excitedly, finding something of interest. "Protection!"
She translated the text from Pony Latin:
The Solar Amulet of Protective Amplification A sketch of the amulet as described by Princess Celestia. Circa Celestial epoch 613.
This amulet boosts the power and scale of any protective spell that requires a physical medium and directs it at the sun. First created six-hundred-thirteen years after Princess Celestia's reign began. It existed for just a few minutes before bursting into flames and diminishing into mere embers upon use.
The Princess and Wizard of Canterlot attempted to recreate the amulet after its destruction but found no success. The joined pieces simply fell apart after assembly.
The Solar Amulet of Protective Amplification can only be crafted by a minimum of two magic-wielding entities. One or more must enchant the amulet with a chosen spell while one or more keep it stable during enchantment. Inferno Crystals, Gold, and Ruby are required to forge this amulet.
Twilight thought aloud, "Circa 613? That was 500 years ago. That is oddly specific timing for this solar issue to appear."
Starlight entered the library. "Hey, Twilight. I didn't see you at breakfast. Is everything alright?"
"Yeah, I'm just doing some research."
"What about?" Starlight walked to Twilight to glance at what book she is reading.
"I'm reading about an amulet that enhances protection spells, specifically for solar events."
"Because it is strangely hot today? The thermometer at the door says it is 90 degrees outside."
Twilight looked worriedly at Starlight, who returned a glance in the form of concern. "What is it, Twilight?"
"Right now, the sun may be trying to kill us all."
Starlight gasped in shock. "Well, what should we do?"
"We should keep reading to learn how to deal with this best. Oh I know, a book on solar history! Maybe it has something about solar anomalies that could help"
Starlight scanned the library, and thanks yet again to Twilight's organization, she found the desired book quickly and opened it immediately, "The Solar Codex, this could be helpful."
She flipped through the codex, quickly scanning each page. Something soon caught her eye, a picture of a glowing red sun. She translated it from Old Ponish:
Six-hundred-thirteen years after the Celestian epoch, the solar celestial body in the heavens revolted against us. The sun grew mad at Celestia's unending control over it, turning red and advancing in size. For weeks, the days gradually grew hotter, roasting all creatures below. On its thirty-third day of the assault, it had prematurely ended winter, melting ice and snow. On its forty-sixth day of expansion, it had grown brighter, redder, and entirely replaced the middle of winter with the peak of summer. It was not until the fifty-fifth day that the sun's anger was abated, retreating back into its original form. Winter was allowed to resume after it returned to a smaller, calm, yellow orb in the sky, obeying Celestia ever since.
Twilight nodded, "This confirms it. An amulet was made 500 years ago to combat this same problem. Also that this time, it is much faster at expanding. Reaching what it did last time in a few weeks, in just hours now."
"That didn't really help as much as I thought it would," said a disappointed Starlight. "The unabridged amulet book already told us a lot of this. Should we make the amulet, or do you think there is more to discover?"
"We should keep reading around. Maybe there is something more to all of this. Let's dive into some spell books to see if we can stop this before it gets worse. You read spells on deactivation, I'll read about protection spells."
After a few minutes of scrounging around the library's wide arrangement of spell books, Twilight found what they needed. She immediately took the book and opened it, "Hey, Starlight. This could be helpful."
Twilight read it aloud:
Spherical Prison "Spherico Na Pentra Circum"
Required: - Materialistic Medium - Pure Alicorn Magic
Creates an impenetrable bubble around the targeted object. This Spherical Prison can only be disabled by the one who cast it. Does not interfere with the flow of gases and temperature. Disables teleportation within the bubble. Can be constricted or expanded after use by the user.
No one, or thing, has ever escaped.
WARNING: - Lasts only half as long as conventional spells - May only be used once per spell caster - Materialistic Medium disintegrates after use and may not be recreated until this spell expires or is disabled
"This is exactly what we needed; the perfect spell to end the sun's terror."
"We should keep reading to learn how to deal with this best. How about a book about protection spells? Maybe it has a spell we can use on the sun."
After a few minutes of scrounging around the library's wide arrangement of spell books, Twilight found what they needed. She immediately took the book and opened it, "Hey, Starlight. This could be helpful."
Twilight read it aloud:
Spherical Prison "Spherico Na Pentra Circum"
Required: - Materialistic Medium - Pure Alicorn Magic
Creates an impenetrable bubble around the targeted object. This Spherical Prison can only be disabled by the one who cast it. Does not interfere with the flow of gases and temperature. Disables teleportation within the bubble. Can be constricted or expanded after use by the user.
No one, or thing, has ever escaped.
WARNING: - Lasts only half as long as conventional spells - May only be used once per spell caster - Materialistic Medium disintegrates after use and may not be recreated until this spell expires or is disabled
"This is exactly what we needed; the perfect spell to end the sun's terror."
"Maybe there's more that we're missing, something lost to time. Oh, I know. A book on solar history! Maybe it has something about solar anomalies that could help."
Twilight scanned the library, and thanks yet again to her organization, she located the desired book quickly and immediately opened it, "The Solar Codex, this could be helpful."
She flipped through the codex, quickly scanning each page. Something soon caught her eye, a picture of a glowing red sun. She translated it from Old Ponish:
Six-hundred-thirteen years after the Celestian epoch, the solar celestial body in the heavens revolted against us. The sun grew mad at Celestia's unending control over it, turning red and advancing in size. For weeks, the days gradually grew hotter, roasting all creatures below. On its thirty-third day of the assault, it had prematurely ended winter, melting ice and snow. On its forty-sixth day of expansion, it had grown brighter, redder, and entirely replaced the middle of winter with the peak of summer. It was not until the fifty-fifth day that the sun's anger was abated, retreating back into its original form. Winter was allowed to resume after it returned to a smaller, calm, yellow orb in the sky, obeying Celestia ever since.
Twilight nodded, "This confirms it. An amulet was made 500 years ago to combat this same problem. Also that this time, it is much faster at expanding. Reaching what it did last time in a few weeks, in just hours now."
"That didn't really help as much as I thought it would," said a disappointed Starlight. "The unabridged amulet book already told us a lot of this. Should we make the amulet, or do you think there is more to discover?"
"At least we know the amulet and spell worked last time . . ."
"What to read first," she thinks to herself while scanning hundreds of books. "I'll start with the book about protection spells. Maybe it has a spell I can use to see if something is wrong with the sun."
Twilight walked to the spells section of her castle's library. She looked carefully across the alphabetically-organized spell books, of which every alphabetical letter was organized by its historical relevance. Due to her impeccable organizational skills, Twilight located the desired book with ease.
She immediately took the book and opened it, "This could be helpful."
Twilight quickly flipped through the pages until something caught her eye:
Spherical Prison Required: - Materialistic Medium - Pure Alicorn Magic
Creates an impenetrable bubble around the targeted object. This Spherical Prison can only be disabled by the one who cast it. Does not interfere with the flow of gases and temperature. Disables teleportation within the bubble. Can be constricted or expanded after use by the user.
No one, or thing, has ever escaped.
WARNING: - Lasts only half as long as conventional spells - May only be used once per spell caster - Materialistic Medium disintegrates after use and may not be created until this spell expires or is disabled
"Ah hah!" Twilight pieced it together, "I found what we need."
Starlight entered the library. "Hey, Twilight. I didn't see you at breakfast. Is everything alright?"
"Yeah, I'm just doing some research."
"What about?" Starlight walked to Twilight to glance at what book she was reading.
"I'm reading about a spell to see if I can fix this sun issue."
"Because it is strangely hot today? The thermometer at the door says it's 100 degrees outside."
Twilight looked worriedly at Starlight, who returned a glance in the form of concern. "What is it, Twilight?"
"Right now, the sun may be trying to kill us all."
Starlight gasped in shock. "Well, what should we do?"
"We should keep reading to learn how to deal with this best. Oh, I know; A book on solar history! Maybe it has something about solar anomalies that could help"
Starlight scanned the library, and thanks yet again to Twilight's organization, she found the desired book quickly and opened it immediately, "The Solar Codex, here we go."
She flipped through the codex, quickly scanning each page. Something soon caught her eye, a picture of a glowing red sun. She translated it from Old Ponish:
Six-hundred-thirteen years after the Celestian epoch, the solar celestial body in the heavens revolted against us. The sun grew mad at Celestia's unending control over it, turning red and advancing in size. For weeks, the days gradually grew hotter, roasting all creatures below. On its thirty-third day of the assault, it had prematurely ended winter, melting ice and snow. On its forty-sixth day of expansion, it had grown brighter, redder, and entirely replaced the middle of winter with the peak of summer. It was not until the fifty-fifth day that the sun's anger was abated, retreating back into its original form. Winter was allowed to resume after it returned to a smaller, calm, yellow orb in the sky, obeying Celestia ever since.
"This same event was documented 500 years ago. That lines up with the time limit the Spherical spell has. We must be on the right track."
"The sun seems to be expanding much faster than it did in the past. Reaching what it is now in a few hours compared to the weeks it took before."
"We don't have much time. What did the Spherical Prison spell mean by a 'materialistic medium'?"
"Materialistic medium . . . an amulet?"
"An amulet! Of course! I know exactly where that book is. I used to read that for fun years ago. Let's look at the Unabridged History of Amulets together, you can read Pony Latin hoofwriting better than I can."
Twilight flipped through the book of amulets, quickly scanning each page. "There it is!" she said excitedly, finding the section covering solar amulets. "Brightness . . . no, that won't help. Resistance . . . ugh, not that either. That is too small of a scale as well. Temperature . . . but the sun is also expanding, so this won't do. This is also too small a scale. Ah hah!" Twilight shouted excitedly, finding something of interest. "Protection!"
Starlight translated the text from Pony Latin:
The Solar Amulet of Protective Amplification A sketch of the amulet as described by Princess Celestia. Circa Celestial epoch 613.
This amulet boosts the power and scale of any protective spell that requires a physical medium and directs it at the sun. First created six-hundred-thirteen years after Princess Celestia's reign began. It existed for just a few minutes before bursting into flames and diminishing into mere embers upon use.
The Princess and Wizard of Canterlot attempted to recreate the amulet after its destruction but found no success. The joined pieces simply fell apart after assembly.
The Solar Amulet of Protective Amplification can only be crafted by a minimum of two magic-wielding entities. One or more must enchant the amulet with a chosen spell while one or more keep it stable during enchantment. Inferno Crystals, Gold, and Ruby are required to forge this amulet.
Twilight thought aloud, "Circa 613? That was also 500 years ago. I bet this amulet was used to suppress the advancing sun with the exact spell we found earlier."
"That is how it must have been stopped last time," Starlight assessed.
"The sun did this exact same thing 500 years ago. Right when this amulet was invented. It took the sun weeks to get where it is now, and it has only been a few hours."
"I'm guessing we don't have the same luxury of time as they did back then."
"Yeah, I don't think we do either," she took a moment to think.
"I don't know how it was fixed last time, maybe an amulet was used to disarm the sun since this spell requires a medium. Let's look at the Unabridged History of Amulets together, you can read Pony Latin hoofwriting better than I can."
Twilight flipped through the book of amulets, quickly scanning each page. "There it is!" she said excitedly, finding the section covering solar amulets. "Brightness . . . no, that won't help. Resistance . . . ugh, not that either. That is too small of a scale as well. Temperature . . . but the sun is also expanding, so this won't do. This is also too small a scale. Ah hah!" Twilight shouted excitedly, finding something of interest. "Protection!"
Starlight translated the text from Pony Latin:
The Solar Amulet of Protective Amplification A sketch of the amulet as described by Princess Celestia. Celestial epoch 613.
This amulet boosts the power and scale of any protective spell that requires a physical medium and directs it at the sun. First created six-hundred-thirteen years after Princess Celestia's reign began. It existed for just a few minutes before bursting into flames and diminishing into dying embers upon use.
The Princess and Wizard of Canterlot attempted to recreate the amulet after its destruction but found no success. The joined pieces simply fell apart after assembly.
The Solar Amulet of Protective Amplification can only be crafted by a minimum of two magic-wielding entities. One or more must enchant the amulet with a chosen spell while one or more keep it stable during enchantment. Inferno Crystals, Gold, and Ruby are required to forge this amulet.
Twilight thought aloud, "Epoch 613? That was 500 years ago. An oddly specific time for the sun to become hostile again."
"This must have been fixed already," Starlight assessed.
"Right before you came in, I learned a spell that would work great with this amulet."
"We should keep reading to learn how to deal with this best. Oh I know, a book on solar history! Maybe it has something about solar anomalies that could help"
Starlight scanned the library, and thanks yet again to Twilight's organization, she found the desired book quickly and opened it immediately, "The Solar Codex, this could be helpful."
She flipped through the codex, quickly scanning each page. Something soon caught her eye, a picture of a glowing red sun. She translated it from Old Ponish.
Six-hundred-thirteen years after the Celestian epoch, the solar celestial body in the heavens revolted against us. The sun grew mad at Celestia's unending control over it, turning red and advancing in size. For weeks, the days gradually grew hotter, roasting all creatures below. On its thirty-third day of the assault, it had prematurely ended winter, melting ice and snow. On its forty-sixth day of expansion, it had grown brighter, redder, and entirely replaced the middle of winter with the peak of summer. It was not until the fifty-fifth day that the sun's anger was abated, retreating back into its original form. Winter was allowed to resume after it returned to a smaller, calm, yellow orb in the sky, obeying Celestia ever since.
Twilight nodded, "This confirms it. An amulet was made 500 years ago to combat this same problem. Also that this time, it is much faster at expanding. Reaching what it did last time in a few weeks, in just hours now."
"That didn't really help as much as I thought it would," said a disappointed Starlight. "The unabridged amulet book already told us a lot of this. Should we make the amulet, or do you think there is more to discover?"
"I think I'll start with the book on solar history. Maybe it has something about solar anomalies."
Twilight walked to the history section of her castle's library. She looked carefully across her alphabetically-organized history books, of which every alphabetical letter was organized by its historical relevance. Due to her impeccable organizational skills, Twilight easily located the desired book.
She immediately opened the book, "The Solar Codex, this could be helpful."
Twilight flipped through the codex, quickly scanning each page. Something soon caught her eye, a picture of a glowing red sun. She translated it from Old Ponish:
Six-hundred-thirteen years after the Celestian epoch, the solar celestial body in the heavens revolted against us. The sun grew mad at Celestia's unending control over it, turning red and advancing in size. For weeks, the days gradually grew hotter, roasting all creatures below. On its thirty-third day of the assault, it had prematurely ended winter, melting ice and snow. On its forty-sixth day of expansion, it had grown brighter, redder, and entirely replaced the middle of winter with the peak of summer. It was not until the fifty-fifth day that the sun's anger was abated, retreating back into its original form. Winter was allowed to resume after it returned to a smaller, calm, yellow orb in the sky, obeying Celestia ever since.
"So it's been about 500 years since the sun was last active like this," Twilight pondered. "That is an oddly specific time for the sun to become hostile."
"Because it is strangely hot today?" Starlight looked at the thermometer, "It says it's 120 degrees outside."
Twilight looked worriedly at Starlight, who returned a glance in the form of concern. "What is it, Twilight?"
"Right now, the sun may be trying to kill us all."
Starlight gasped in shock, "Well, what should we do?"
"I don't know how it was fixed last time, but maybe an amulet was used to disarm the sun. Let's look at the Unabridged History of Amulets together. You can read Pony Latin hoofwriting better than I can."
Twilight grabbed the book of amulets and quickly flipped through each page. "There it is!" she said excitedly, finding the section covering solar amulets. "Brightness . . . no, that won't help. Resistance . . . ugh, not that either. That is too small of a scale as well. Temperature . . . but the sun is also expanding, so this won't do. This is also too small of a scale. Ah hah!" Twilight shouted excitedly, finding something of interest. "Protection!"
Starlight translated the text from Pony Latin:
The Solar Amulet of Protective Amplification A sketch of the amulet as described by Princess Celestia. Circa Celestial epoch 613.
This amulet boosts the power and scale of any protective spell that requires a physical medium and directs it at the sun. First created six-hundred-thirteen years after Princess Celestia's reign began. It existed for just a few minutes before bursting into flames and diminishing into mere embers upon use.
The Princess and Wizard of Canterlot attempted to recreate the amulet after its destruction but found no success. The joined pieces simply fell apart after assembly.
The Solar Amulet of Protective Amplification can only be crafted by a minimum of two magic-wielding entities. One or more must enchant the amulet with a chosen spell while one or more keep it stable during enchantment. Inferno Crystals, Gold, and Ruby are required to forge this amulet.
Twilight wiped beads of sweat from her forehead while she made her thoughts audible, "Circa 613? That was also 500 years ago, just like what the history book said. I bet this amulet was used against the advancing sun before."
"That is how it must have been stopped last time," Starlight assessed.
"In just a few hours the sun grew to its largest previous size, but it took weeks back then."
"I'm guessing we don't have the same luxury time as they did back then."
"Yeah, I don't think we do either. So we should research spells that will help against the sun. I'll read spells on protection, you read about deactivation spells."
Twilight quickly flipped through the pages until something caught her eye:
Spherical Prison Required: - Materialistic Medium - Pure Alicorn Magic
Creates an impenetrable bubble around the targeted object. This Sphericle Prison can only be disabled by the one who cast it. Does not interfere with the flow of gases and temperature. Disables teleportation within the bubble. Can be constricted or expanded after use.
No one, or thing, has ever escaped.
WARNING: - Lasts only half as long as conventional spells - May only be used once per spell caster - Materialistic Medium disintegrates after use and may not be created until this spell expires or is disabled
"Ah hah!" Twilight pieced it together, "I found what we need."
Starlight put down her book to walk over. She must have stood up too fast because she fell to the ground as if she forgot how to walk.
Twilight didn't notice Starlight's condition because of her own struggles to catch her breath after her exclamation. Twilight struggled to catch her breath. It was practically an oven more than a building now. The thermometer Starlight had used maxed out at 210 degrees.
"Starlight, we—" she couldn't get any more words out. Her vision was doubled and blurry, but not enough to see that Starlight had already fainted.
"No . . ." Twilight murmured to herself before joining Starlight on the floor.
Twilight responded, "I don't know how it was fixed last time, but maybe a spell was used to combat the sun. Let's dive into some spell books to see if we can stop this before it gets worse. You go read spells on deactivation, I'll read about protection spells."
Twilight quickly flipped through the pages of a protection spell book until something caught her eye:
Spherical Prison Required: - Materialistic Medium - Pure Alicorn Magic
Creates an impenetrable bubble around the targeted object. This Spherica, Prison can only be disabled by the one who cast it. Does not interfere with the flow of gases and temperature. Disables teleportation within the bubble. Can be constricted or expanded after use by the user.
No one, or thing, has ever escaped.
WARNING: - Lasts only half as long as conventional spells - May only be used once per spell caster - Materialistic Medium disintegrates after use and may not be created until this spell expires or is disabled
A drop of sweat landed on the pages below her. The rising heat encouraged her to proceed with determination. "This is exactly what we needed; the perfect spell to end the sun's terror." . . .
"This is exactly what we needed; the perfect spell to end the sun's terror. Now we just need to find the materialistic medium the spell requires. Let's look at the Unabridged History of Amulets together, you can read Pony Latin hoofwriting better than I can."
Twilight flipped through the book of amulets, quickly scanning each page. It took a bit longer than expected to find the spell, but they did the best they could with fading vision. "There it is!" she said excitedly, finding the section covering solar amulets. "Brightness . . . no, that won't help. Resistance . . . ugh, not that either. That is too small of a scale as well. Temperature . . . but the sun is also expanding, so this won't do. This is also too small a scale. Ah hah!" Twilight shouted excitedly, finding something of interest, "Protection!"
Starlight translated the text from Pony Latin:
The Solar Amulet of Protective Amplification A sketch of the amulet as described by Princess Celestia. Circa Celestial epoch 613.
This amulet boosts the power and scale of any protective spell that requires a physical medium and directs it at the sun. First created six-hundred-thirteen years after Princess Celestia's reign began. It existed for just a few minutes before bursting into flames and diminishing into mere embers upon use.
The Princess and Wizard of Canterlot attempted to recreate the amulet after its destruction but found no success. The joined pieces simply fell apart after assembly.
The Solar Amulet of Protective Amplification can only be crafted by a minimum of two magic-wielding entities. One or more must enchant the amulet with a chosen spell while one or more keep it stable during enchantment. Inferno Crystals, Gold, and Ruby are required to forge this amulet.
Twilight thought aloud, "This is exactly what we need! We just need to combine this and the spell we learned and everything will be saved!"
No response from Starlight was given. Twilight turned her head to discover an unconscious Starlight on the scolding floor.
"Ah! No!" Twilight jumped up from the book and cradled Starlight. She struggled to catch her breath after the quick movement. It was exceptionally red and too hot in the castle, it was practically an oven more than a building now. The thermometer Starlight had was maxed out at two hundred ten degrees.
"Starlight, we—" she couldn't get any more words out. Her vision had doubled, and it was only getting worse.
"No . . ." Twilight murmured to herself before joining Starlight on the floor.
"What to read first," she thought to herself while scanning hundreds of books. "I'll start with the Unabridged History of Amulets to see if there is one that can help."
Twilight walked to the amulet section of her castle's library. She looked carefully across the alphabetically-organized amulet books, of which every alphabetical letter was organized by its historical relevance. Due to her impeccable organizational skills, Twilight located the desired book with ease.
She immediately took the book and opened it, "This could be helpful, I just need to find an amulet that deals with the sun."
Twilight flipped through the book of amulets, quickly scanning each page. "There it is!" she said excitedly, finding the section covering solar amulets. "Brightness . . . no, that won't help. Resistance . . . ugh, not that either. That is too small of a scale as well. Temperature . . . but the sun is also expanding, so this won't do. This is also too small a scale. Ah hah!" Twilight shouted excitedly, finding something of interest, "Protection!"
Starlight translated the text from Pony Latin:
The Solar Amulet of Protective Amplification A sketch of the amulet as described by Princess Celestia. Circa Celstial epoch 613.
This amulet boosts the power and scale of any protective spell that requires a physical medium and directs it at the sun. First created six-hundred-thirteen years after Princess Celestia's reign began. It existed for just a few minutes before bursting into flames and diminishing into mere embers upon use.
The Princess and Wizard of Canterlot attempted to recreate the amulet after its destruction but found no success. The joined pieces simply fell apart after assembly.
The Solar Amulet of Protective Amplification can only be crafted by a minimum of two magic-wielding entities. One or more must enchant the amulet with a chosen spell while one or more keep it stable during enchantment. Inferno Crystals, Gold, and Ruby are required to forge this amulet.
Twilight thought aloud, "Circa 613? That was 500 years ago. That is oddly specific timing for this solar issue to appear."
"That is half of a conventional spell's lifespan," Starlight assessed.
"Yeah, you're right. We should look at a history book to find out more. I think a good place to start is the book on solar history. Maybe it has something about solar anomalies."
She quickly scanned for the book, "The Solar Codex, this could be helpful."
Twilight flipped through the codex, quickly scanning each page. Something soon caught her eye, a picture of a glowing red sun. She translated it from Old Ponish:
Six-hundred-thirteen years after the Celestian epoch, the solar celestial body in the heavens revolted against us. The sun grew mad at Celestia's unending control over it, turning red and advancing in size. For weeks, the days gradually grew hotter, roasting all creatures below. On its thirty-third day of the assault, it had prematurely ended winter, melting ice and snow. On its forty-sixth day of expansion, it had grown brighter, redder, and entirely replaced the middle of winter with the peak of summer. It was not until the fifty-fifth day that the sun's anger was abated, retreating back into its original form. Winter was allowed to resume after it returned to a smaller, calm, yellow orb in the sky, obeying Celestia ever since.
"It's confirmed, it had been 500 years since the sun was last active like this." Twilight sounded disappointed, "This didn't really tell us anything useful."
"I can tell you something useful. We need to hurry, it is extraordinarily hot outside and rapidly getting hotter. We don't have much time," Starlight warned.
"Yeah, I don't think we do either. So we should research spells that would help against the sun. I'll read spells on protection, you can read about deactivation spells."
Twilight quickly flipped through the pages of a protection spell book until something caught her eye:
Spherical Prison Required: - Materialistic Medium - Pure Alicorn Magic
Creates an impenetrable bubble around the targeted object. This Sphericle Prison can only be disabled by the one who cast it. Does not interfere with the flow of gases and temperature. Disables teleportation within the bubble. Can be constricted or expanded after use.
No one, or thing, has ever escaped.
WARNING: - Lasts only half as long as conventional spells - May only be used once per spell caster - Materialistic Medium disintegrates after use and may not be created until this spell expires or is disabled
"Ah hah!" Twilight pieced it together, "I found what we need!"
Starlight put down her book to walk over. She must have stood up too fast because she fell to the ground as if she forgot how to walk.
"We just need to use this spell with the—!"
Twilight didn't notice Starlight's condition because she struggled to catch her own breath. It was practically an oven more than a building now. The thermometer Starlight had used maxed out at 210 degrees.
"Starlight, we—" she couldn't get any more words out. Her vision was doubled and blurry, but not enough to see that Starlight had already fainted.
"No . . ." Twilight murmured to herself before joining Starlight on the floor.
"Yeah, you're right. We should look at a spell book and see if there is anything there we can use. You go read spells on deactivation, I'll read about protection spells."
Twilight quickly flipped through the pages of a protection spell book until something caught her eye:
Spherical Prison Required: - Materialistic Medium - Pure Alicorn Magic
Creates an impenetrable bubble around the targeted object. This Spherica, Prison can only be disabled by the one who cast it. Does not interfere with the flow of gases and temperature. Disables teleportation within the bubble. Can be constricted or expanded after use by the user.
No one, or thing, has ever escaped.
WARNING: - Lasts only half as long as conventional spells - May only be used once per spell caster - Materialistic Medium disintegrates after use and may not be created until this spell expires or is disabled
A drop of sweat landed on the pages below her. The rising heat encouraged her to proceed with determination. "This is exactly what we need; the perfect spell to end the sun's terror." . . .
"Maybe there's more that we're missing, something lost to time. Oh, I know. A book on solar history! Maybe it has something about solar anomalies that could help."
She quickly found the book, "The Solar Codex, this could be helpful."
Twilight flipped through the codex, quickly scanning each page. Something soon caught her eye, a picture of a glowing red sun. She read translated from Old Ponish:
Six-hundred-thirteen years after the Celestian epoch, the solar celestial body in the heavens revolted against us. The sun grew mad at Celestia's unending control over it, turning red and advancing in size. For weeks, the days gradually grew hotter, roasting all creatures below. On its thirty-third day of the assault, it had prematurely ended winter, melting ice and snow. On its forty-sixth day of expansion, it had grown brighter, redder, and entirely replaced the middle of winter with the peak of summer. It was not until the fifty-fifth day that the sun's anger was abated, retreating back into its original form. Winter was allowed to resume after it returned to a smaller, calm, yellow orb in the sky, obeying Celestia ever since.
Twilight nodded, "This confirms it. An amulet was made 500 years ago to combat this same problem. Also that this time, it is much faster at expanding. Reaching what it did last time in a few weeks, in just hours now."
"That didn't really help as much as I thought it would," said a disappointed and deteriorating Starlight. "The unabridged amulet book already told us a lot of this. Should we make the amulet, or do you think there is more to discover?"
"At least—we know the—amulet—and spell worked last time—."
Twilight struggled to catch her breath. It was practically an oven more than a building now. The thermometer Starlight had used maxed out at 210 degrees.
Starlight was out of breath and on the brink of collapse. "We have to make—the amulet."
Twilight tried to teleport the required materials to them, but it was too hard. Her vision was doubled and blurry, but not enough to prevent her from witnessing the red sun taking over the Equestrian sky.
"No . . ." Twilight murmured to herself before falling to the floor to join Starlight.
"What to read first," she thought to herself while scanning hundreds of books. "I'll start with the book about detection spells. Maybe it has a spell I can use to see if something is wrong with the sun."
Twilight walked to the spells section of her castle's library. She looked carefully across the alphabetically-organized spell books, of which every alphabetical letter was organized by its historical relevance. Due to her impeccable organizational skills, Twilight located the desired book with ease.
She immediately took the book and opened it, "This could be helpful."
Spherical Prison "Spherico Na Pentra Circum"
Required: - Materialistic Medium - Pure Alicorn Magic
Creates an impenetrable bubble around the targeted object. This Spherical Prison can only be disabled by the one who cast it. Does not interfere with the flow of gases and temperature. Disables teleportation within the bubble. Can be constricted or expanded after use by the user.
No one, or thing, has ever escaped.
WARNING: - Lasts only half as long as conventional spells - May only be used once per spell caster - Materialistic Medium disintegrates after use and may not be recreated until this spell expires or is disabled
"This is an extremely powerful spell," Starlight concluded with a pondering gaze.
"Maybe there's more we're missing, something lost to time. Oh, I know. A book on solar history! Maybe it has something about solar anomalies that could help."
She quickly found the book, "The Solar Codex, this could be helpful."
Twilight flipped through the codex, quickly scanning each page. Something soon caught her eye, a picture of a glowing red sun. She translated it from Old Ponish.
Six-hundred-thirteen years after the Celestian epoch, the solar celestial body in the heavens revolted against us. The sun grew mad at Celestia's unending control over it, turning red and advancing in size. For weeks, the days gradually grew hotter, roasting all creatures below. On its thirty-third day of the assault, it had prematurely ended winter, melting ice and snow. On its forty-sixth day of expansion, it had grown brighter, redder, and entirely replaced the middle of winter with the peak of summer. It was not until the fifty-fifth day that the sun's anger was abated, retreating back into its original form. Winter was allowed to resume after it returned to a smaller, calm, yellow orb in the sky, obeying Celestia ever since.
"So it's been about 500 years since the sun was last active like this," Twilight pondered. "That is an oddly specific time for the sun to become hostile."
"Twilight, doesn't an enchantment spell usually last a thousand years?"
"Yeah, why?"
"According to the spell book, it only lasted half that long. If it has been 500 years, it's likely to have been the spell that stopped the sun before."
"Great thinking Starlight! I think it said something else that could also help us. That it requires a materialistic medium."
"Could it be an amulet?"
"Exactly what I was thinking. Let's look at the Unabridged History of Amulets together, you can read Pony Latin hoofwriting better than I can."
Twilight flipped through the book of amulets, quickly scanning each page. It took a bit longer than expected to find the spell, but they did the best they could with fading vision. "There it is!" she said excitedly, finding the section covering solar amulets. "Brightness . . . no, that won't help. Resistance . . . ugh, not that either. That is too small of a scale as well. Temperature . . . but the sun is also expanding, so this won't do. This is also too small a scale. Ah hah!" Twilight shouted excitedly, finding something of interest. "Protection!"
Starlight translated the text from Pony Latin while reading:
The Solar Amulet of Protective Amplification A sketch of the amulet as described by Princess Celestia. Circa Celestial epoch 613.
This amulet boosts the power and scale of any protective spell that requires a physical medium and directs it at the sun. First created six-hundred-thirteen years after Princess Celestia's reign began. It existed for just a few minutes before bursting into flames and diminishing into mere embers upon use.
The Princess and Wizard of Canterlot attempted to recreate the amulet after its destruction but found no success. The joined pieces simply fell apart after assembly.
The Solar Amulet of Protective Amplification can only be crafted by a minimum of two magic-wielding entities. One or more must enchant the amulet with a chosen spell while one or more keep it stable during enchantment. Inferno Crystals, Gold, and Ruby are required to forge this amulet.
Twilight thought aloud, "This is exactly what we need! We just need to combine this and the spell we learned and everything will be saved!"
No response from Starlight was given. Twilight turned her head to discover an unconscious Starlight on the scolding floor.
"Ah! No!" Twilight jumped up from the book and cradled Starlight. She struggled to catch her breath after the quick movement. It was exceptionally red and too hot in the castle, it was practically an oven more than a building now. The thermometer Starlight had was maxed out at two hundred ten degrees.
"Starlight, we--" she couldn't get any more words out. Her vision had doubled, and it was only getting worse.
"No . . ." Twilight murmured to herself before joining Starlight on the floor.
"This is exactly what we were looking for, but this spell isn't the only thing we need."
"Right, the spell said it required a materialistic medium."
"An amulet!"
Twilight grabbed the Unabridged History of Amulets and quickly flipped through each page. "There it is!" she said excitedly, finding the section covering solar amulets. "Brightness . . . no, that won't help. Resistance . . . ugh, not that either. That is too small of a scale as well. Temperature . . . but the sun is also expanding, so this won't do. This is also too small a scale. Ah hah!" Twilight shouted excitedly, finding something of interest, "Protection!"
She translated the text from Pony Latin:
The Solar Amulet of Protective Amplification A sketch of the amulet as described by Princess Celestia. Circa Celestial epoch 613.
This amulet boosts the power and scale of any protective spell that requires a physical medium and directs it at the sun. First created six-hundred-thirteen years after Princess Celestia's reign began. It existed for just a few minutes before bursting into flames and diminishing into mere embers upon use.
The Princess and Wizard of Canterlot attempted to recreate the amulet after its destruction but found no success. The joined pieces simply fell apart after assembly.
The Solar Amulet of Protective Amplification can only be crafted by a minimum of two magic-wielding entities. One or more must enchant the amulet with a chosen spell while one or more keep it stable during enchantment. Inferno Crystals, Gold, and Ruby are required to forge this amulet.
Twilight wiped beads of sweat from her forehead while she made her thoughts audible, "Circa 613? That was also 500 years ago, the same duration as Spherical Prison. I bet this amulet was used against the advancing sun before."
"That's how it must have been stopped last time," Starlight assessed.
"It could be but we still don't know for sure. We need to see what history there is since this has happened already."
She quickly found the book, "The Solar Codex, this could be helpful."
Twilight flipped through the codex, quickly scanning each page. Something soon caught her eye, a picture of a glowing red sun. She translated it from Old Ponish:
Six-hundred-thirteen years after the Celestian epoch, the solar celestial body in the heavens revolted against us. The sun grew mad at Celestia's unending control over it, turning red and advancing in size. For weeks, the days gradually grew hotter, roasting all creatures below. On its thirty-third day of the assault, it had prematurely ended winter, melting ice and snow. On its forty-sixth day of expansion, it had grown brighter, redder, and entirely replaced the middle of winter with the peak of summer. It was not until the fifty-fifth day that the sun's anger was abated, retreating back into its original form. Winter was allowed to resume after it returned to a smaller, calm, yellow orb in the sky, obeying Celestia ever since.
Twilight nodded, "This confirms it. An amulet was made 500 years ago to combat this same problem. Also that this time, it is much faster at expanding. Reaching what it did last time in a few weeks, in just hours now."
"That didn't really help--as much as I thought it would," said a disappointed and tired Starlight. "The unabridged amulet book already told us a lot of this. Should we make the amulet, or do you think there is more to discover?"
"At least—we know the—amulet—and spell worked last time—." Twilight struggled to catch her breath. It was practically an oven more than a building now. The thermometer Starlight had used maxed out at 210 degrees.
Starlight was out of breath and on the brink of collapse. "We have to make—the amulet."
Twilight tried to teleport the required materials to them, but it was too hard. Her vision was doubled and blurry, but not enough to prevent her from witnessing the red sun taking over the Equestrian sky.
"No . . ." Twilight murmured to herself before falling to the floor to join Starlight.
"I think I'll start with the book on solar history. Maybe it has something about solar anomalies."
Twilight walked to the history section of her castle's library. She looked carefully across her alphabetically-organized history books, of which every alphabetical letter was organized by its historical relevance. Due to her impeccable organizational skills, Twilight located the desired book with ease.
She immediately opened the book, "The Solar Codex, this could be helpful."
Twilight flipped through the codex, quickly scanning each page. Something soon caught her eye, a picture of a glowingred sun. She translated it from Old Ponish:
Six-hundred-thirteen years after the Celestian epoch, the solar celestial body in the heavens revolted against us. The sun grew mad at Celestia's unending control over it, turning red and advancing in size. For weeks, the days gradually grew hotter, roasting all creatures below. On its thirty-third day of the assault, it had prematurely ended winter, melting ice and snow. On its forty-sixth day of expansion, it had grown brighter, redder, and entirely replaced the middle of winter with the peak of summer. It was not until the fifty-fifth day that the sun's anger was abated, retreating back into its original form. Winter was allowed to resume after it returned to a smaller, calm, yellow orb in the sky, obeying Celestia ever since.
"This has happened before! It's been about 500 years since the sun was last like this," Twilight pondered. "That is an oddly specific time for the sun to become hostile again."
"Because the sun seems to be getting larger and hotter?" Starlight added. "The thermometer says it is 165 degrees outside . . ."
Twilight looked worriedly at Starlight, who returned a glance in the form of concern. "What is it, Twilight?"
"Right now, the sun may be trying to kill us all."
Starlight thought that was anti-climactic, "Yeah, I think we pieced that much together. What should we do now?"
Twilight responded, "I don't know how it was fixed last time, maybe an amulet was used to disarm the sun. Let's look at the Unabridged History of Amulets together, you can read Pony Latin hoofwriting better than I can."
Twilight flipped through the book of amulets, quickly scanning each page. "There it is!" she said excitedly, finding the section covering solar amulets. "Brightness . . . no, that won't help. Resistance . . . ugh, not that either. That is too small of a scale as well. Temperature . . . but the sun is also expanding, so this won't do. This is also too small a scale. Ah hah!" Twilight shouted excitedly, finding something of interest. "Protection!"
Starlight translated the text from Pony Latin while reading:
The Solar Amulet of Protective Amplification A sketch of the amulet as described by Princess Celestia. Circa Celestial epoch 613.
This amulet boosts the power and scale of any protective spell that requires a physical medium and directs it at the sun. First created six-hundred-thirteen years after Princess Celestia's reign began. It existed for just a few minutes before bursting into flames and diminishing into mere embers upon use.
The Princess and Wizard of Canterlot attempted to recreate the amulet after its destruction but found no success. The joined pieces simply fell apart after assembly.
The Solar Amulet of Protective Amplification can only be crafted by a minimum of two magic-wielding entities. One or more must enchant the amulet with a chosen spell while one or more keep it stable during enchantment. Inferno Crystals, Gold, and Ruby are required to forge this amulet.
Twilight thought aloud, "Circa 613? That was also 500 years ago. These things are all connected. We have to find a way to stop this!"
No response from Starlight was given. Turning her head, she discovered an unconscious Starlight on the scolding floor.
"Ah! No!" Twilight jumped up from the book and cradled Starlight. She struggled to catch her breath after the quick movement. It was exceptionally red and too hot in the castle, it was practically an oven more than a building now. The thermometer Starlight had was maxed out at 210 degrees.
"Starlight, we—" she couldn't get any more words out. Her vision had doubled, and it was only getting worse.
"No . . ." Twilight murmured to herself before joining Starlight on the floor.
Twilight responded, "I don't know how it was fixed last time, maybe a spell was used to combat the sun. Let's dive into some spell books to see if we can stop this before it gets worse. You read spells on deactivation, I'll read about protection spells."
Twilight quickly flipped through the pages until something caught her eye:
Spherical Prison Required: - Materialistic Medium - Pure Alicorn Magic
Creates an impenetrable bubble around the targeted object. This Sphericle Prison can only be disabled by the one who cast it. Does not interfere with the flow of gases and temperature. Disables teleportation within the bubble. Can be constricted or expanded after use.
No one, or thing, has ever escaped.
WARNING: - Lasts only half as long as conventional spells - May only be used once per spell caster - Materialistic Medium disintegrates after use and may not be created until this spell expires or is disabled
"Ah hah!" Twilight pieced it together, "I found what we need."
Starlight put down her book to walk over. She must have stood up too fast because she fell to the ground as if she forgot how to walk.
Twilight didn't notice Starlight's condition because she struggled to catch her own breath. It was practically an oven more than a building now. The thermometer Starlight had used maxed out at 210 degrees.
"Starlight, we—" she couldn't get any more words out. Her vision was doubled and blurry, but not enough to see that Starlight had already fainted.
"No . . ." Twilight murmured to herself before joining Starlight on the floor.
"What to read first," she thought to herself while scanning hundreds of books. "I'll start with the Unabridged History of Amulets to see if there is one that can help."
Twilight walked to the amulet section of her castle's library. She looked carefully across the alphabetically-organized amulet books, of which every alphabetical letter was organized by its historical relevance. Due to her impeccable organizational skills, Twilight located the desired book with ease.
She immediately took the book and opened it, "This could be helpful, I just need to find an amulet that deals with the sun."
Twilight flipped through the book of amulets, quickly scanning each page. "There it is!" she said excitedly, finding the section covering solar amulets. "Brightness . . . no, that won't help. Resistance . . . ugh, not that either. That is too small of a scale as well. Temperature . . . but the sun is also expanding, so this won't do. This is also too small a scale. Ah hah!" Twilight shouted excitedly, finding something of interest. "Protection!"
She translated the text from Pony Latin while reading:
The Solar Amulet of Protective Amplification A sketch of the amulet as described by Princess Celestia. Circa Celestial epoch 613.
This amulet boosts the power and scale of any protective spell that requires a physical medium and directs it at the sun. First created six-hundred-thirteen years after Princess Celestia's reign began. It existed for just a few minutes before bursting into flames and diminishing into mere embers upon use.
The Princess and Wizard of Canterlot attempted to recreate the amulet after its destruction but found no success. The joined pieces simply fell apart after assembly.
The Solar Amulet of Protective Amplification can only be crafted by a minimum of two magic-wielding entities. One or more must enchant the amulet with a chosen spell while one or more keep it stable during enchantment. Inferno Crystals, Gold, and Ruby are required to forge this amulet.
Twilight wiped beads of sweat from her forehead while she made her thoughts audible, "Circa 613? That was 500 years ago. That is oddly specific timing for this solar issue to appear."
"This is how it must have been stopped last time. With an amulet," Starlight assessed.
"It could be but we still don't know for sure. We need to see what history there is since this has happened already."
She quickly found the book, "The Solar Codex, this could be helpful."
Twilight flipped through the codex, quickly scanning each page. Something soon caught her eye, a picture of a glowing red sun. She translated it from Old Ponish:
Six-hundred-thirteen years after the Celestian epoch, the solar celestial body in the heavens revolted against us. The sun grew mad at Celestia's unending control over it, turning red and advancing in size. For weeks, the days gradually grew hotter, roasting all creatures below. On its thirty-third day of the assault, it had prematurely ended winter, melting ice and snow. On its forty-sixth day of expansion, it had grown brighter, redder, and entirely replaced the middle of winter with the peak of summer. It was not until the fifty-fifth day that the sun's anger was abated, retreating back into its original form. Winter was allowed to resume after it returned to a smaller, calm, yellow orb in the sky, obeying Celestia ever since.
Twilight nodded, "This confirms it. An amulet was made 500 years ago to combat this same problem. Also that this time, it is much faster at expanding. Reaching what it did last time in a few weeks, in just hours now."
"That didn't really help—as much as I thought it would," said a disappointed and tired Starlight. "The unabridged amulet book already told us a lot of this. Should we make the amulet, or do you think there is more to discover?"
"At least—we know the—amulet—and spell worked last time—." Twilight struggled to catch her breath. Twilight struggled to catch her breath. It was practically an oven more than a building now. The thermometer Starlight had used maxed out at 210 degrees.
Starlight was out of breath and on the brink of collapse. "We have to make—the amulet."
Twilight tried to teleport the required materials to them, but it was too hard. Her vision was doubled and blurry, but not enough to prevent her from witnessing the red sun taking over the Equestrian sky.
"No . . ." Twilight murmured to herself before falling to the floor to join Starlight.
"The amulet said it amplifies protection spells. Perhaps we should read about more protective spells. You go read spells on deactivation, I'll read about protection spells."
Twilight quickly flipped through the pages until something caught her eye:
Spherical Prison Required: - Materialistic Medium - Pure Alicorn Magic
Creates an impenetrable bubble around the targeted object. This Sphericle Prison can only be disabled by the one who cast it. Does not interfere with the flow of gases and temperature. Disables teleportation within the bubble. Can be constricted or expanded after use.
No one, or thing, has ever escaped.
WARNING: - Lasts only half as long as conventional spells - May only be used once per spell caster - Materialistic Medium disintegrates after use and may not be created until this spell expires or is disabled
"Ah hah!" Twilight pieced it together, "I found what we need."
Starlight put down her book to walk over. She must have stood up too fast because she fell to the ground as if she forgot how to walk.
Twilight didn't notice Starlight's condition because she struggled to catch her own breath. It was practically an oven more than a building now. The thermometer Starlight had used maxed out at 210 degrees.
"Starlight, we—" she couldn't get any more words out. Her vision was doubled and blurry, but not enough to see that Starlight had already fainted.
"No . . ." Twilight murmured to herself before joining Starlight on the floor.
"What to read first," she thinks to herself while scanning hundreds of books. "I'll start with the book about protection spells. Maybe it has a spell I can use to see if something is wrong with the sun."
Twilight walked to the spells section of her castle's library. She looked carefully across the alphabetically-organized spell books, of which every alphabetical letter was organized by its historical relevance. Due to her impeccable organizational skills, Twilight located the desired book with ease.
Twilight quickly flipped through the pages until something caught her eye:
Spherical Prison Required: - Materialistic Medium - Pure Alicorn Magic
Creates an impenetrable bubble around the targeted object. This Spherical Prison can only be disabled by the one who cast it. Does not interfere with the flow of gases and temperature. Disables teleportation within the bubble. Can be constricted or expanded after use by the user.
No one, or thing, has ever escaped.
WARNING: - Lasts only half as long as conventional spells - May only be used once per spell caster - Materialistic Medium disintegrates after use and may not be created until this spell expires or is disabled
A drop of sweat landed on the pages below her. The rising heat encouraged her to proceed with determination. "This is exactly what we need; the perfect spell to end the sun's terror." . . .
"This is exactly what we need; the perfect spell to end the sun's terror. Maybe there is more that we're missing, something lost to time."
She quickly found the book, "The Solar Codex, this could be helpful."
Twilight flipped through the codex, quickly scanning each page. Something soon caught her eye, a picture of a glowing red sun. She translated it from Old Ponish:
Six-hundred-thirteen years after the Celestian epoch, the solar celestial body in the heavens revolted against us. The sun grew mad at Celestia's unending control over it, turning red and advancing in size. For weeks, the days gradually grew hotter, roasting all creatures below. On its thirty-third day of the assault, it had prematurely ended winter, melting ice and snow. On its forty-sixth day of expansion, it had grown brighter, redder, and entirely replaced the middle of winter with the peak of summer. It was not until the fifty-fifth day that the sun's anger was abated, retreating back into its original form. Winter was allowed to resume after it returned to a smaller, calm, yellow orb in the sky, obeying Celestia ever since.
Twilight nodded, "This confirms it. That spell was used 500 years ago to combat this same problem. Also that this time, it is much faster at expanding. Reaching what it did last time in a few weeks, in just hours now."
"That didn't really help as much as I thought it would," said a disappointed and tired Starlight.
"At least—we know the—spell—worked last time—."
Twilight struggled to catch her breath. Twilight struggled to catch her breath. It was practically an oven more than a building now. The thermometer Starlight had used maxed out at 210 degrees.
Starlight was out of breath and on the brink of collapse. "We have to cast the—spell."
Twilight tried to teleport the required materials to them, but it was too hard. Her vision was doubled and blurry, but not enough to prevent her from witnessing the red sun taking over the Equestrian sky.
"No . . ." Twilight murmured to herself before falling to the floor to join Starlight.
"This is exactly what we need; the perfect spell to end the sun's terror, but we also need a materialistic medium."
"Could it be an amulet?"
"Exactly what I was thinking. Let's look at the Unabridged History of Amulets together, you can read Pony Latin hoofwriting better than I can."
Twilight flipped through the book of amulets, quickly scanning each page. It took a bit longer than expected to find the spell, but they did the best they could with fading vision. "There it is!" she said excitedly, finding the section covering solar amulets. "Brightness . . . no, that won't help. Resistance . . . ugh, not that either. That is too small of a scale as well. Temperature . . . but the sun is also expanding, so this won't do. This is also too small a scale. Ah hah!" Twilight shouted excitedly, finding something of interest. "Protection!"
Starlight translated the text from Pony Latin while reading:
The Solar Amulet of Protective Amplification A sketch of the amulet as described by Princess Celestia. Circa Celestial epoch 613.
This amulet boosts the power and scale of any protective spell that requires a physical medium and directs it at the sun. First created six-hundred-thirteen years after Princess Celestia's reign began. It existed for just a few minutes before bursting into flames and diminishing into mere embers upon use.
The Princess and Wizard of Canterlot attempted to recreate the amulet after its destruction but found no success. The joined pieces simply fell apart after assembly.
The Solar Amulet of Protective Amplification can only be crafted by a minimum of two magic-wielding entities. One or more must enchant the amulet with a chosen spell while one or more keep it stable during enchantment. Inferno Crystals, Gold, and Ruby are required to forge this amulet.
Twilight thought aloud, "This is exactly what we need! We just need to combine this and the spell we learned and everything will be saved!"
No response from Starlight was given. Twilight turned her head to discover an unconscious Starlight on the scolding floor.
"Ah! No!" Twilight jumped up from the book and cradled Starlight. She struggled to catch her breath after the quick movement. It was exceptionally red and too hot in the castle, it was practically an oven more than a building now. The thermometer Starlight had was maxed out at two hundred ten degrees.
"Starlight, we—" she couldn't get any more words out. Her vision was doubled, and it was only getting worse.
"No . . ." Twilight murmured to herself before joining Starlight on the floor.
"I'll start with the . . . the . . . book on solar history. Maybe it has something about solar anomalies."
She looked carefully across her alphabetically-organized history books, of which every alphabetical letter was organized by its historical relevance. Thanks to her impeccable organizational skills, Twilight located the desired book with ease.
She immediately opened the book, "The Solar Codex, this could be helpful."
Twilight flipped through the codex, quickly scanning each page. Something soon caught her eye, a picture of a glowing red sun. She translated it from Old Ponish:
Six-hundred-thirteen years after the Celestian epoch, the solar celestial body in the heavens revolted against us. The sun grew mad at Celestia's unending control over it, turning red and advancing in size. For weeks, the days gradually grew hotter, roasting all creatures below. On its thirty-third day of the assault, it had prematurely ended winter, melting ice and snow. On its forty-sixth day of expansion, it had grown brighter, redder, and entirely replaced the middle of winter with the peak of summer. It was not until the fifty-fifth day that the sun's anger was abated, retreating back into its original form. Winter was allowed to resume after it returned to a smaller, calm, yellow orb in the sky, obeying Celestia ever since.
"This has happened before! It's been about 500 years since the sun had an event like this," Twilight pondered. "That is an oddly specific time for the sun to become hosti—."
Twilight struggled to catch her breath. Twilight struggled to catch her breath. It was practically an oven more than a building now. The thermometer Starlight had used maxed out at 210 degrees.
"I have to—" she couldn't get any more words out. Her vision was doubled and blurry, but not enough to prevent her from witnessing the sun taking over the Equestrian sky.
"No . . ." Twilight murmured to herself before falling to the floor.
"I'll start with the . . . the . . . Unabridged History of Amulets to see if there is one that can help."
She looked carefully across the alphabetically-organized history books, of which every alphabetical letter was organized by its historical relevance. Due to her impeccable organizational skills, Twilight located the desired book with ease.
She immediately took the book and opened it, "This could be helpful, I just need to find an amulet that deals with the sun."
Twilight flipped through the book of amulets, quickly scanning each page. "There it is!" she said excitedly, finding the section covering solar amulets. "Brightness . . . no, that won't help. Resistance . . . ugh, not that either. That is too small of a scale as well. Temperature . . . but the sun is also expanding, so this won't do. This is also too small a scale. Ah hah!" Twilight shouted excitedly, finding something of interest. "Protection!"
She translated the text from Pony Latin while reading:
The Solar Amulet of Protective Amplification A sketch of the amulet as described by Princess Celestia. Circa Celestial Epoch 613.
This amulet boosts the power and scale of any protective spell that requires a physical medium and directs it at the sun. First created six-hundred-thirteen years after Princess Celestia's reign began. It existed for just a few minutes before bursting into flames and diminishing into mere embers upon use.
The Princess and Wizard of Canterlot attempted to recreate the amulet after its destruction but found no success. The joined pieces simply fell apart after assembly.
The Solar Amulet of Protective Amplification can only be crafted by a minimum of two magic-wielding entities. One or more must enchant the amulet with a chosen spell while one or more keep it stable during enchantment. Inferno Crystals, Gold, and Ruby are required to forge this amulet.
Twilight thought aloud, "Circa 613? That was five hundred years ago. That is oddly specific timing for this solar issue to appear."
She struggled to catch her breath. It was red and extremely hot in the castle, it was practically an oven more than a building now. The thermometer Starlight had was maxed out at two hundred ten degrees.
"I have to—" she couldn't get any more words out. Her vision was doubled and blurry, but not enough to prevent her from witnessing the sun taking over the Equestrian sky.
"No . . ." Twilight murmured to herself before falling to the floor.
"I'll start with the . . . the . . . book about protection spells. Maybe it has a spell I can use to stop the sun."
She looked carefully across her alphabetically-organized history books, of which every alphabetical letter was organized by its historical relevance. Due to her impeccable organizational skills, Twilight located the desired book with ease.
She immediately opened the spellbook, quickly scanning each page. Something soon caught her eye.
Spherical Prison Required: - Materialistic Medium - Pure Alicorn Magic
Creates an impenetrable bubble around the targeted object. This Sphericle Prison can only be disabled by the one who cast it. Does not interfere with the flow of gases and temperature. Disables teleportation within the bubble. Can be constricted or expanded after use.
No one, or thing, has ever escaped.
WARNING: - Lasts only half as long as conventional spells - May only be used once per spell caster - Materialistic Medium disintegrates after use and may not be created until this spell expires or is disabled
"Ah hah!" Twilight pieced it together. "I found what I must do."
Twilight struggled to catch her breath. It was practically an oven more than a building now. The thermometer Starlight had used maxed out at 210 degrees.
"Solaris Catalys—" she couldn't get any more words out. Her vision was doubled and blurry, but not enough to prevent her from witnessing the sun taking over the Equestrian sky.
"No . . ." Twilight murmured to herself before falling to the floor.
Twilight thought about Starlight's assessment. "Maybe we can find more specifics if we look into what happened before."
Starlight and Twilight left the amulet on the balcony and ran back to the library. Scanning the tall organized bookshelves, they found a history book that might help them save the world.
"The Solar Codex, this might be helpful."
Twilight flipped through the book, quickly scanning each page. Something soon caught her eye, a picture of a glowing red sun. She translated it from Old Ponish:
Six-hundred-thirteen years after the Celestian epoch, the solar celestial body in the heavens revolted against us. The sun grew mad at Celestia's unending control over it, turning red and advancing in size. For weeks, the days gradually grew hotter, roasting all creatures below. On its thirty-third day of the assault, it had prematurely ended winter, melting ice and snow. On its forty-sixth day of expansion, it had grown brighter, redder, and entirely replaced the middle of winter with the peak of summer. It was not until the fifty-fifth day that the sun's anger was abated, retreating back into its original form. Winter was allowed to resume after it returned to a smaller, calm, yellow orb in the sky, obeying Celestia ever since.
Twilight struggled to catch her breath after reading it aloud. Twilight struggled to catch her breath. It was practically an oven more than a building now. The thermometer Starlight had used maxed out at 210 degrees.
"This didn't—" she couldn't get any more words out while she gasped for air. Her vision was doubled and blurry, but not enough to prevent her from witnessing the sun taking over the Equestrian sky.
"No . . ." Twilight murmured to herself before falling to the floor.
Twilight thought about Starlight's assessment. "Or maybe we are using the wrong protection spell."
Starlight and Twilight left the amulet on the balcony and ran back to the library. Scanning the tall organized bookshelves, they found a spellbook that might help them save the world.
"The Complete Collection of Equestrian Spells - 40th Edition, this could be helpful," she said, taking the book.
Twilight quickly flipped through the pages until something caught her and Starlight's eye:
Spherical Prison Required: - Materialistic Medium - Pure Alicorn Magic
Creates an impenetrable bubble around the targeted object. This Sphericle Prison can only be disabled by the one who cast it. Does not interfere with the flow of gases and temperature. Disables teleportation within the bubble. Can be constricted or expanded after use.
No one, or thing, has ever escaped.
WARNING: - Lasts only half as long as conventional spells - May only be used once per spell caster - Materialistic Medium disintegrates after use and may not be created until this spell expires or is disabled
"Ah hah!" Twilight pieced it together, "This is exactly what we needed!"
Twilight struggled to catch her breath. It was practically an oven more than a building now. The thermometer Starlight had used maxed out at 210 degrees.
"Starlight, we—" she couldn't get any more words out while she gasped for air. Her vision was doubled and blurry, but not enough to see that Starlight had already fainted.
"No . . ." Twilight murmured to herself before joining Starlight on the floor.
"We must have overlooked something historical. The spell lasts half a millennia, perhaps something more happened five-hundred years ago."
Starlight and Twilight ran back into the castle's library. Scanning the tall organized bookshelves, they found a history book that might help them save the world.
"The Solar Codex, this might be helpful."
Twilight flipped through the book, quickly scanning each page. Something soon caught her eye, a picture of a glowing red sun. She translated it from Old Ponish:
Six-hundred-thirteen years after the Celestian epoch, the solar celestial body in the heavens revolted against us. The sun grew mad at Celestia's unending control over it, turning red and advancing in size. For weeks, the days gradually grew hotter, roasting all creatures below. On its thirty-third day of the assault, it had prematurely ended winter, melting ice and snow. On its forty-sixth day of expansion, it had grown brighter, redder, and entirely replaced the middle of winter with the peak of summer. It was not until the fifty-fifth day that the sun's anger was abated, retreating back into its original form. Winter was allowed to resume after it returned to a smaller, calm, yellow orb in the sky, obeying Celestia ever since.
Twilight nodded, "This confirms it. That spell was used 500 years ago to combat this same problem. Also that this time, it is much faster at expanding. Reaching what it did last time in a few weeks, in just hours now."
"That didn't really help as much as I thought it would," said a disappointed and tired Starlight.
"At least—we know the—spell—worked last time—."
Twilight struggled to catch her breath. Twilight struggled to catch her breath. It was practically an oven more than a building now. The thermometer Starlight had used maxed out at 210 degrees.
Starlight was out of breath and on the brink of collapse. "We have to cast the—spell."
Twilight tried to use magic, but it was too hard. Her vision was doubled and blurry, but not enough to prevent her from witnessing the red sun taking over the Equestrian sky.
"No . . ." Twilight murmured to herself before falling to the floor to join Starlight.
"We must have overlooked something about the spell."
"Didn't it need a materialistic medium?"
"An amulet! Of course!"
Starlight and Twilight ran back into the castle's library. Scanning the tall organized bookshelves, they found a book of amulets that might help them save the world.
"The Unabridged History of Amulets, this could be helpful." Twilight flipped through the book of amulets, quickly scanning each page. It took a bit longer than expected to find the spell, but they did the best they could with fading vision. "There it is!" she said excitedly, finding the section covering solar amulets. "Brightness . . . no, that won't help. Resistance . . . ugh, not that either. That is too small of a scale as well. Temperature . . . but the sun is also expanding, so this won't do. This is also too small a scale. Ah hah!" Twilight shouted excitedly, finding something of interest. "Protection!"
Starlight translated the text from Pony Latin while reading:
The Solar Amulet of Protective Amplification A sketch of the amulet as described by Princess Celestia. Circa Celestial epoch 613.
This amulet boosts the power and scale of any protective spell that requires a physical medium and directs it at the sun. First created six-hundred-thirteen years after Princess Celestia's reign began. It existed for just a few minutes before bursting into flames and diminishing into mere embers upon use.
The Princess and Wizard of Canterlot attempted to recreate the amulet after its destruction but found no success. The joined pieces simply fell apart after assembly.
The Solar Amulet of Protective Amplification can only be crafted by a minimum of two magic-wielding entities. One or more must enchant the amulet with a chosen spell while one or more keep it stable during enchantment. Inferno Crystals, Gold, and Ruby are required to forge this amulet.
Twilight thought aloud, "This is exactly what we need! We just need to combine this and the spell we learned and everything will be saved!"
No response from Starlight was given. Twilight turned her head to discover Starlight unconscious on the scolding floor.
"Ah! No!" Twilight jumped up from the book and cradled Starlight. She struggled to catch her breath after the quick movement. It was exceptionally red and too hot in the castle, it was practically an oven more than a building now. The thermometer Starlight had was maxed out at two hundred ten degrees.
"Starlight, we—" she couldn't get any more words out. Her vision was doubled, and it was only getting worse.
"No . . ." Twilight murmured to herself before joining Starlight on the floor.
"Maybe we do not know as much as we should. Let's see if there is a better spell we could use. Maybe this generic spell isn't strong enough for this amulet. I'll read spells on protection, you can read about deactivation spells."
Starlight and Twilight left the amulet on the balcony and ran back to the library. Scanning the tall organized bookshelves, they found a history book that might help them save the world.
Twilight quickly flipped through the pages until something caught her eye:
Spherical Prison Required: - Materialistic Medium - Pure Alicorn Magic
Creates an impenetrable bubble around the targeted object. This Sphericle Prison can only be disabled by the one who cast it. Does not interfere with the flow of gases and temperature. Disables teleportation within the bubble. Can be constricted or expanded after use.
No one, or thing, has ever escaped.
WARNING: - Lasts only half as long as conventional spells - May only be used once per spell caster - Materialistic Medium disintegrates after use and may not be created until this spell expires or is disabled
"Ah hah!" Twilight pieced it together, "I found what we need."
Starlight put down her book to walk over. She must have stood up too fast because she fell to the ground as if she forgot how to walk.
Twilight didn't notice Starlight's condition because she struggled to catch her own breath. It was practically an oven more than a building now. The thermometer Starlight had used maxed out at 210 degrees.
"Starlight, we—" she couldn't get any more words out. Her vision was doubled and blurry, but not enough to see that Starlight had already fainted.
"No . . ." Twilight murmured to herself before joining Starlight on the floor.
"We must have overlooked something about the spell."
"Didn't it need a materialistic medium?"
"An amulet! Of course!"
Starlight and Twilight ran back into the castle's library. Scanning the tall organized bookshelves, they found a book of amulets that might help them save the world.
"The Unabridged History of Amulets, this could be helpful." Twilight flipped through the book of amulets, quickly scanning each page. It took a bit longer than expected to find the spell, but they did the best they could with fading vision. "There it is!" she said excitedly, finding the section covering solar amulets. "Brightness . . . no, that won't help. Resistance . . . ugh, not that either. That is too small of a scale as well. Temperature . . . but the sun is also expanding, so this won't do. This is also too small a scale. Ah hah!" Twilight shouted excitedly, finding something of interest. "Protection!"
Starlight translated the text from Pony Latin while reading:
The Solar Amulet of Protective Amplification A sketch of the amulet as described by Princess Celestia. Circa Celestial epoch 613.
This amulet boosts the power and scale of any protective spell that requires a physical medium and directs it at the sun. First created six-hundred-thirteen years after Princess Celestia's reign began. It existed for just a few minutes before bursting into flames and diminishing into mere embers upon use.
The Princess and Wizard of Canterlot attempted to recreate the amulet after its destruction but found no success. The joined pieces simply fell apart after assembly.
The Solar Amulet of Protective Amplification can only be crafted by a minimum of two magic-wielding entities. One or more must enchant the amulet with a chosen spell while one or more keep it stable during enchantment. Inferno Crystals, Gold, and Ruby are required to forge this amulet.
Twilight thought aloud, "This is exactly what we need! We just need to combine this and the spell we learned and everything will be saved!"
No response from Starlight was given. Twilight turned her head to discover Starlight unconscious on the scolding floor.
"Ah! No!" Twilight jumped up from the book and cradled Starlight. She struggled to catch her breath after the quick movement. It was exceptionally red and too hot in the castle, it was practically an oven more than a building now. The thermometer Starlight had was maxed out at two hundred ten degrees.
"Starlight, we—" she couldn't get any more words out. Her vision was doubled, and it was only getting worse.
"No . . ." Twilight murmured to herself before joining Starlight on the floor.
Twilight answered, "We must have overlooked something from the past. Starlight and I need to dive into a history book about this event."
Rainbow Dash rose off the ground, "Alright. I'll see you later then, Twilight."
"Goodbye, Rainbow. Good luck."
"You too."
Rainbow Dash flew to the crowd of ponies below. Starlight and Twilight left the amulet on the balcony and ran back to the library. Scanning the tall organized bookshelves, they found a textbook that might help them save the world.
"The Solar Codex, this might be helpful."
Twilight flipped through the book, quickly scanning each page. Something soon caught her eye, a picture of a glowing red sun. She translated it from Old Ponish:
Six-hundred-thirteen years after the Celestian epoch, the solar celestial body in the heavens revolted against us. The sun grew mad at Celestia's unending control over it, turning red and advancing in size. For weeks, the days gradually grew hotter, roasting all creatures below. On its thirty-third day of the assault, it had prematurely ended winter, melting ice and snow. On its forty-sixth day of expansion, it had grown brighter, redder, and entirely replaced the middle of winter with the peak of summer. It was not until the fifty-fifth day that the sun's anger was abated, retreating back into its original form. Winter was allowed to resume after it returned to a smaller, calm, yellow orb in the sky, obeying Celestia ever since.
Twilight nodded, "This confirms it. An amulet was made 500 years ago to combat this same problem. Also that this time, it is much faster at expanding. Reaching what it did last time in a few weeks, in just hours now."
"That didn't really help—as much as I thought it would," said a disappointed and tired Starlight. "The unabridged amulet book already told us a lot of this. Should we make the amulet, or do you think there is more to discover?"
"At least—we know the—amulet—and spell worked last time—." Twilight struggled to catch her breath. Twilight struggled to catch her breath. It was practically an oven more than a building now. The thermometer Starlight had used maxed out at 210 degrees.
Starlight was out of breath and on the brink of collapse. "We have to make—the amulet."
Twilight tried to teleport the required materials to them, but it was too hard. Her vision was doubled and blurry, but not enough to prevent her from witnessing the red sun taking over the Equestrian sky.
"No . . ." Twilight murmured to herself before falling to the floor to join Starlight.
Twilight answered, "We need to look at a protection spell book to see what there is."
Rainbow Dash rose off the ground, "Alright. I'll see you later then, Twilight."
"Goodbye, Rainbow. Good luck."
"You too."
Rainbow Dash flew to the crowd of ponies below. Starlight and Twilight left the amulet on the balcony and ran back to the library. Scanning the tall organized bookshelves, they found a spellbook that might help them save the world.
Twilight quickly flipped through the pages until something caught her and Starlight's eye:
Spherical Prison Required: - Materialistic Medium - Pure Alicorn Magic
Creates an impenetrable bubble around the targeted object. This Sphericle Prison can only be disabled by the one who cast it. Does not interfere with the flow of gases and temperature. Disables teleportation within the bubble. Can be constricted or expanded after use.
No one has ever escaped.
WARNING: - Lasts only half as long as conventional spells - May only be used once per spell caster - Materialistic Medium disintegrates after use and may not be created until this spell expires or is disabled
"Ah hah!" Twilight pieced it together, "I found what we need."
Twilight struggled to catch her breath. It was practically an oven more than a building now. The thermometer Starlight had used maxed out at 210 degrees.
"Starlight, we—" she couldn't get any more words out. Her vision was doubled and blurry, but not enough to see that Starlight had already fainted.
"No . . ." Twilight murmured to herself before joining Starlight on the floor.
Twilight thought about Starlight's assessment. "Maybe we do not know as much as we should. Let's see if there is historical documentation on events similar to this one."
Twilight thought about Starlight's assessment. "Maybe we can find more specifics if we look into what happened before."
Starlight and Twilight left the amulet on the balcony and ran back to the library. Scanning the tall organized bookshelves, they found a history book that might help them save the world.
"The Solar Codex, this might be helpful."
Twilight flipped through the book, quickly scanning each page. Something soon caught her eye, a picture of a glowing red sun. She translated it from Old Ponish:
Six-hundred-thirteen years after the Celestian epoch, the solar celestial body in the heavens revolted against us. The sun grew mad at Celestia's unending control over it, turning red and advancing in size. For weeks, the days gradually grew hotter, roasting all creatures below. On its thirty-third day of the assault, it had prematurely ended winter, melting ice and snow. On its forty-sixth day of expansion, it had grown brighter, redder, and entirely replaced the middle of winter with the peak of summer. It was not until the fifty-fifth day that the sun's anger was abated, retreating back into its original form. Winter was allowed to resume after it returned to a smaller, calm, yellow orb in the sky, obeying Celestia ever since.
"It's confirmed, it had been 500 years since the sun was last active like this." Twilight sounded disappointed, "This didn't really tell us anything useful."
"I can tell you something useful. We need to hurry, it is extraordinarily hot outside and rapidly getting hotter. We don't have much time," Starlight warned.
Twilight thought about Starlight's assessment. "Maybe we do not know as much as we should. Let's see if there is a better spell we could use. Maybe this generic spell isn't strong enough for this amulet."
Starlight and Twilight left the amulet on the balcony and ran back to the library. Scanning the tall organized bookshelves, they found a history book that might help them save the world.
Twilight quickly flipped through the pages until something caught her eye:
Spherical Prison Required: - Materialistic Medium - Pure Alicorn Magic
Creates an impenetrable bubble around the targeted object. This Sphericle Prison can only be disabled by the one who cast it. Does not interfere with the flow of gases and temperature. Disables teleportation within the bubble. Can be constricted or expanded after use.
No one, or thing, has ever escaped.
WARNING: - Lasts only half as long as conventional spells - May only be used once per spell caster - Materialistic Medium disintegrates after use and may not be created until this spell expires or is disabled
Twilight thought about Starlight's assessment. "Yeah, I don't think we do either. So we should research spells that would help against the sun."
Starlight and Twilight left the amulet on the balcony and ran back to the library. Scanning the tall organized bookshelves, they found a history book that might help them save the world.
Twilight quickly flipped through the pages until something caught her eye:
Spherical Prison Required: - Materialistic Medium - Pure Alicorn Magic
Creates an impenetrable bubble around the targeted object. This Sphericle Prison can only be disabled by the one who cast it. Does not interfere with the flow of gases and temperature. Disables teleportation within the bubble. Can be constricted or expanded after use.
No one, or thing, has ever escaped.
WARNING: - Lasts only half as long as conventional spells - May only be used once per spell caster - Materialistic Medium disintegrates after use and may not be created until this spell expires or is disabled
"Ah hah!" Twilight pieced it together, "I found what we need."
Starlight put down her book to walk over. She must have stood up too fast because she fell to the ground as if she forgot how to walk.
Twilight didn't notice Starlight's condition because she struggled to catch her own breath. It was practically an oven more than a building now. The thermometer Starlight had used maxed out at 210 degrees.
"Starlight, we—" she couldn't get any more words out. Her vision was doubled and blurry, but not enough to see that Starlight had already fainted.
"No . . ." Twilight murmured to herself before joining Starlight on the floor.
"We must have overlooked something historical. The spell lasts half a millennia and the amulet was made around the same time, perhaps something more happened five-hundred years ago."
Starlight and Twilight ran back into the castle's library. Scanning the tall organized bookshelves, they found a history book that might help them save the world.
"The Solar Codex, this might be helpful."
Twilight flipped through the book, quickly scanning each page. Something soon caught her eye, a picture of a glowing red sun. She translated it from Old Ponish:
Six-hundred-thirteen years after the Celestian epoch, the solar celestial body in the heavens revolted against us. The sun grew mad at Celestia's unending control over it, turning red and advancing in size. For weeks, the days gradually grew hotter, roasting all creatures below. On its thirty-third day of the assault, it had prematurely ended winter, melting ice and snow. On its forty-sixth day of expansion, it had grown brighter, redder, and entirely replaced the middle of winter with the peak of summer. It was not until the fifty-fifth day that the sun's anger was abated, retreating back into its original form. Winter was allowed to resume after it returned to a smaller, calm, yellow orb in the sky, obeying Celestia ever since.
Twilight nodded, "This confirms it. That spell was used 500 years ago to combat this same problem. So was the amulet. Also that this time, it is much faster at expanding. Reaching what it did last time in a few weeks, in just hours now."
"That didn't help at all . . ." said a disappointed and tired Starlight.
Twilight struggled to catch her breath. Twilight struggled to catch her breath. It was practically an oven more than a building now. The thermometer Starlight had used maxed out at 210 degrees.
Starlight was out of breath and on the brink of collapse. "We have to cast the--spell."
Twilight tried to use magic, but it was too hard. Her vision was doubled and blurry, but not enough to prevent her from witnessing the red sun taking over the Equestrian sky.
"No . . ." Twilight murmured to herself before falling to the floor to join Starlight.
"Ah hah!" Twilight pieced it together, "Maybe there's more that we're missing, something lost to time."
"Lead the way," Starlight said with increasing anticipation.
Starlight and Twilight left the amulet on the balcony and ran back to the library. Scanning the tall organized bookshelves, they found a history book that might help them save the world.
"The Solar Codex, this might be helpful."
Twilight flipped through the book, quickly scanning each page. Something soon caught her eye, a picture of a glowing red sun. She translated it from Old Ponish:
Six-hundred-thirteen years after the Celestian epoch, the solar celestial body in the heavens revolted against us. The sun grew mad at Celestia's unending control over it, turning red and advancing in size. For weeks, the days gradually grew hotter, roasting all creatures below. On its thirty-third day of the assault, it had prematurely ended winter, melting ice and snow. On its forty-sixth day of expansion, it had grown brighter, redder, and entirely replaced the middle of winter with the peak of summer. It was not until the fifty-fifth day that the sun's anger was abated, retreating back into its original form. Winter was allowed to resume after it returned to a smaller, calm, yellow orb in the sky, obeying Celestia ever since.
"That didn't--help at all . . ." Starlight weakly mentioned.
Twilight struggled to catch her breath. Twilight struggled to catch her breath. It was practically an oven more than a building now. The thermometer Starlight had used maxed out at 210 degrees.
"This didn't—" she couldn't get any more words out while she gasped for air. Her vision was doubled and blurry, but not enough to prevent her from witnessing the sun taking over the Equestrian sky.
"No . . ." Twilight murmured to herself before falling to the floor.
"We must have overlooked something historical. The spell lasts half a millennia, perhaps something more happened five-hundred years ago."
Starlight and Twilight ran back into the castle's library. Scanning the tall organized bookshelves, they found a history book that might help them save the world.
"The Solar Codex, this might be helpful."
Twilight flipped through the book, quickly scanning each page. Something soon caught her eye, a picture of a glowing red sun. She translated it from Old Ponish:
Six-hundred-thirteen years after the Celestian epoch, the solar celestial body in the heavens revolted against us. The sun grew mad at Celestia's unending control over it, turning red and advancing in size. For weeks, the days gradually grew hotter, roasting all creatures below. On its thirty-third day of the assault, it had prematurely ended winter, melting ice and snow. On its forty-sixth day of expansion, it had grown brighter, redder, and entirely replaced the middle of winter with the peak of summer. It was not until the fifty-fifth day that the sun's anger was abated, retreating back into its original form. Winter was allowed to resume after it returned to a smaller, calm, yellow orb in the sky, obeying Celestia ever since.
Twilight nodded, "This confirms it. That spell was used 500 years ago to combat this same problem. Also that this time, it is much faster at expanding. Reaching what it did last time in a few weeks, in just hours now."
"That didn't really help as much as I thought it would," said a disappointed and tired Starlight.
"At least—we know the—spell—worked last time—."
Twilight struggled to catch her breath. Twilight struggled to catch her breath. It was practically an oven more than a building now. The thermometer Starlight had used maxed out at 210 degrees.
Starlight was out of breath and on the brink of collapse. "We have to find—."
Twilight tried to use magic, but it was too hard. Her vision was doubled and blurry, but not enough to prevent her from witnessing the red sun taking over the Equestrian sky.
"No . . ." Twilight murmured to herself before falling to the floor to join Starlight.
"We must have overlooked something about the spell."
"Didn't it need a materialistic medium?" Starlight recalled.
"An amulet! Of course!"
Starlight and Twilight ran back into the castle's library. Scanning the tall, organized bookshelves, they found a book of amulets that might help them save the world.
"The Unabridged History of Amulets, this could be helpful." Twilight flipped through the book of amulets, quickly scanning each page. It took a bit longer than expected to find the spell, but they did the best they could with fading vision. "There it is!" she said excitedly, finding the section covering solar amulets. "Brightness . . . no, that won't help. Resistance . . . ugh, not that either. That is too small of a scale as well. Temperature . . . but the sun is also expanding, so this won't do. This is also too small a scale. Ah hah!" Twilight shouted excitedly, finding something of interest. "Protection!"
Starlight translated the text from Pony Latin while reading:
The Solar Amulet of Protective Amplification A sketch of the amulet as described by Princess Celestia. Circa Celestial epoch 613.
This amulet boosts the power and scale of any protective spell that requires a physical medium and directs it at the sun. First created six-hundred-thirteen years after Princess Celestia's reign began. It existed for just a few minutes before bursting into flames and diminishing into mere embers upon use.
The Princess and Wizard of Canterlot attempted to recreate the amulet after its destruction but found no success. The joined pieces simply fell apart after assembly.
The Solar Amulet of Protective Amplification can only be crafted by a minimum of two magic-wielding entities. One or more must enchant the amulet with a chosen spell while one or more keep it stable during enchantment. Inferno Crystals, Gold, and Ruby are required to forge this amulet.
Twilight thought aloud, "This is exactly what we need! We just need to combine this amulet and the spell we learned and everything will be saved!"
No response from Starlight was given. Twilight turned her head to discover Starlight unconscious on the scalding floor.
"Ah! No!" Twilight jumped up from the book and cradled Starlight. She struggled to catch her breath after the quick movement. It was exceptionally bright and too hot in the castle, it was practically an oven more than a building now. The thermometer Starlight had was maxed out at 210 degrees.
"Starlight, we—" she couldn't get any more words out. Her vision had doubled, and it was only getting worse.
"No . . ." Twilight murmured to herself before joining Starlight on the floor.
"We must have overlooked something historical. The spell lasts half a millennia, perhaps something more happened five-hundred years ago."
Starlight and Twilight ran back into the castle's library. Scanning the tall organized bookshelves, they found a history book that might help them save the world.
"The Solar Codex, this might be helpful."
Twilight flipped through the book, quickly scanning each page. Something soon caught her eye, a picture of a glowing red sun. She translated it from Old Ponish:
Six-hundred-thirteen years after the Celestian epoch, the solar celestial body in the heavens revolted against us. The sun grew mad at Celestia's unending control over it, turning red and advancing in size. For weeks, the days gradually grew hotter, roasting all creatures below. On its thirty-third day of the assault, it had prematurely ended winter, melting ice and snow. On its forty-sixth day of expansion, it had grown brighter, redder, and entirely replaced the middle of winter with the peak of summer. It was not until the fifty-fifth day that the sun's anger was abated, retreating back into its original form. Winter was allowed to resume after it returned to a smaller, calm, yellow orb in the sky, obeying Celestia ever since.
Twilight nodded, "This confirms it. That spell was used 500 years ago to combat this same problem. Also that this time, it is much faster at expanding. Reaching what it did last time in a few weeks, in just hours now."
"That didn't really help as much as I thought it would," said a disappointed and tired Starlight.
"We must have overlooked something about the spell."
"Didn't it need a materialistic medium?"
"An amulet! Of course!"
Starlight and Twilight ran back into the castle's library. Scanning the tall organized bookshelves, they found a book of amulets that might help them save the world.
"The Unabridged History of Amulets, this could be helpful." Twilight flipped through the book of amulets, quickly scanning each page. It took a bit longer than expected to find the spell, but they did the best they could with fading vision. "There it is!" she said excitedly, finding the section covering solar amulets. "Brightness . . . no, that won't help. Resistance . . . ugh, not that either. That is too small of a scale as well. Temperature . . . but the sun is also expanding, so this won't do. This is also too small a scale. Ah hah!" Twilight shouted excitedly, finding something of interest. "Protection!"
Starlight translated the text from Pony Latin while reading:
The Solar Amulet of Protective Amplification A sketch of the amulet as described by Princess Celestia. Circa Celestial epoch 613.
This amulet boosts the power and scale of any protective spell that requires a physical medium and directs it at the sun. First created six-hundred-thirteen years after Princess Celestia's reign began. It existed for just a few minutes before bursting into flames and diminishing into mere embers upon use.
The Princess and Wizard of Canterlot attempted to recreate the amulet after its destruction but found no success. The joined pieces simply fell apart after assembly.
The Solar Amulet of Protective Amplification can only be crafted by a minimum of two magic-wielding entities. One or more must enchant the amulet with a chosen spell while one or more keep it stable during enchantment. Inferno Crystals, Gold, and Ruby are required to forge this amulet.
Twilight thought aloud, "This is exactly what we need! . . ."
"We must have overlooked something about the spell."
"Didn't it need a materialistic medium?"
"An amulet! Of course!"
Starlight and Twilight ran back into the castle's library. Scanning the tall organized bookshelves, they found a book of amulets that might help them save the world.
"The Unabridged History of Amulets, this could be helpful." Twilight flipped through the book of amulets, quickly scanning each page. It took a bit longer than expected to find the spell, but they did the best they could with fading vision. "There it is!" she said excitedly, finding the section covering solar amulets. "Brightness . . . no, that won't help. Resistance . . . ugh, not that either. That is too small of a scale as well. Temperature . . . but the sun is also expanding, so this won't do. This is also too small a scale. Ah hah!" Twilight shouted excitedly, finding something of interest, "Protection!"
Starlight translated the text from Pony Latin while reading:
The Solar Amulet of Protective Amplification A sketch of the amulet as described by Princess Celestia. Circa Celestial epoch 613.
This amulet boosts the power and scale of any protective spell that requires a physical medium and directs it at the sun. First created six-hundred-thirteen years after Princess Celestia's reign began. It existed for just a few minutes before bursting into flames and diminishing into mere embers upon use.
The Princess and Wizard of Canterlot attempted to recreate the amulet after its destruction but found no success. The joined pieces simply fell apart after assembly.
The Solar Amulet of Protective Amplification can only be crafted by a minimum of two magic-wielding entities. One or more must enchant the amulet with a chosen spell while one or more keep it stable during enchantment. Inferno Crystals, Gold, and Ruby are required to forge this amulet.
Twilight thought aloud, "This is exactly what we need! We just need to combine this and the spell we learned and everything will be saved!"
No response from Starlight was given. Twilight turned her head to discover Starlight unconscious on the scolding floor.
"Ah! No!" Twilight jumped up from the book and cradled Starlight. She struggled to catch her breath after the quick movement. It was exceptionally red and too hot in the castle, it was practically an oven more than a building now. The thermometer Starlight had was maxed out at two hundred ten degrees.
"Starlight, we—" she couldn't get any more words out. Her vision was doubled, and it was only getting worse.
"No . . ." Twilight murmured to herself before joining Starlight on the floor.
"We must have overlooked something from the past. This crisis was averted before."
"Lead the way."
Starlight and Twilight left the amulet on the balcony and ran back to the library. Scanning the tall organized bookshelves, they found a history book that might help them save the world.
"The Solar Codex, this might be helpful."
Twilight flipped through the book, quickly scanning each page. Something soon caught her eye, a picture of a glowing red sun. She translated it from Old Ponish:
Six-hundred-thirteen years after the Celestian epoch, the solar celestial body in the heavens revolted against us. The sun grew mad at Celestia's unending control over it, turning red and advancing in size. For weeks, the days gradually grew hotter, roasting all creatures below. On its thirty-third day of the assault, it had prematurely ended winter, melting ice and snow. On its forty-sixth day of expansion, it had grown brighter, redder, and entirely replaced the middle of winter with the peak of summer. It was not until the fifty-fifth day that the sun's anger was abated, retreating back into its original form. Winter was allowed to resume after it returned to a smaller, calm, yellow orb in the sky, obeying Celestia ever since.
"That didn't—help at all . . ." Starlight weakly mentioned.
Twilight struggled to catch her breath after reading it aloud. Twilight struggled to catch her breath. It was practically an oven more than a building now. The thermometer Starlight had used maxed out at 210 degrees.
"This didn't—" she couldn't get any more words out while she gasped for air. Her vision was doubled and blurry, but not enough to prevent her from witnessing the sun taking over the Equestrian sky.
"No . . ." Twilight murmured to herself before falling to the floor.
"We must have overlooked something historical. The spell lasts half a millennia and the amulet was made around the same time, perhaps something more happened 500 years ago."
Starlight and Twilight ran back into the castle's library. Scanning the tall organized bookshelves, they found a history book that might help them save the world.
"The Solar Codex, this might be helpful."
Twilight flipped through the book, quickly scanning each page. Something soon caught her eye, a picture of a glowing red sun. She translated it from Old Ponish:
Six-hundred-thirteen years after the rule of Celestia began, the solar celestial body in the heavens revolted against us. The sun grew mad at Celestia's unending control over it, turning red and advancing in size. For weeks, the days gradually grew hotter, roasting all creatures below. On its thirty-third day of the assault, it had prematurely ended winter, melting ice and snow. On its forty-sixth day of expansion, it had grown brighter, redder, and fully replaced the middle of winter with the peak of summer. It was not until the fifty-fifth day that the sun's anger was cured, retreating back into its original form. Winter was allowed to resume after it returned to a smaller, calm, yellow orb in the sky, obeying Celestia ever since.
Twilight nodded, "This confirms it. That spell was used 500 years ago to combat this same problem. So was the amulet. Also that this time, it is much faster at expanding. Reaching what it did last time in a few weeks, in just hours now."
"That didn't help at all . . ." said a disappointed and tired Starlight.
Twilight struggled to catch her breath. Twilight struggled to catch her breath. It was practically an oven more than a building now. The thermometer Starlight had used maxed out at 210 degrees.
Starlight was out of breath and on the brink of collapse. "We have to cast the—spell."
Twilight tried to use magic, but it was too hard. Her vision was doubled and blurry, but not enough to prevent her from witnessing the red sun taking over the Equestrian sky.
"No . . ." Twilight murmured to herself before falling to the floor to join Starlight.
Twilight responded, "We just learned how to make a solar amulet to improve protection spells. We should make it and save the world before it's too late."
"Alright, what does it need?" Starlight said anxiously, ready to save the world post-haste.
Twilight reread from the book, "The amulet needs inferno crystals, gold, and rubies."
"We can use our bits for the gold," Starlight answered.
"and we can take the inferno crystals out of the fireplace," Twilight added.
"Right!" Starlight concurred. "But . . . where are we going to get rubies?"
They both pondered for a moment, then slowly looked back at each other.
"I won't tell him if you won't either," Starlight deviously said to Twilight.
Twilight shook her head in agreement. "Oh, I promise, I won't say a thing to him but if you spill the beans, I'll deny it!"
"No way I would ever tell him."
They went into Spike's room and opened his closet. Twilight removed a stack of Power Ponies comics to reveal a once-hidden basket of gemstones.
Twilight levitated a few rubies from the pile. "Spike thinks this is his secret stash of gems I don't know about. It's cute really."
Starlight giggled, "Won't he notice though?"
"He is too busy reading these comics to know what gem he eats and has left."
With the rubies, they sprinted through the scarlet hallways of the castle, upstairs, and threw open the doors to the balcony to assemble the Solar Amulet of Protective Amplification.
"Starlight, I need you to cast the protection spell once I assemble and ensure everything remains stable," Twilight instructed.
Starlight nodded, determined to end this crisis once and for all.
With Twilight's new knowledge of the appearance of the amulet, she could meld the inferno crystals, bits, and rubies into their proper shapes. The inferno crystals were refined into cut gemstones as the picture had them. Bits melted together to form the rims of the amulet. Finally, the rubies took the form of the flames on the solar charm. With all three parts created, Twilight fused them together to complete the amulet.
Twilight held it together, "Yes! It isn't falling apart!"
"It might have broken after we made it?" Starlight asked while still holding the amulet.
"The book on amulets said the Princesses tried to recreate it after the first one incinerated itself after use. They couldn't make it again."
"Huh, how curious. Why isn't it breaking now?"
"I'm not sure, but I am glad it isn't. Now just enchant it with a protection spell to stop the sun."
Starlight's horn lit up and shot at the solar amulet while Twilight continued to keep it stable. While Starlight cast and finished the spell, it grew brighter. It soon reached what seemed to be its brightest, when it began to emit noise. Then, to their utter disappointment, the amulet's sounds ceased and its brightness clicked off. It fell to the ground but did not shatter.
As the amulet fell with a soft but heartbreaking clang, Twilight became angry, "No! Why is it not working!? We did everything right . . . Two magic-wielding entities and a protection spell . . ."
"And we got the right materials to assemble it with," Starlight chimed in while thinking.
"Exactly! The book must have false information in it! Or is lacking information? Nothing bothers me more than incomplete books," Twilight stomps on the floor as she grew more flustered.
Starlight thought of a technicality they missed, "Well . . ."
Twilight shoots her gaze at Starlight with wide eyes, "'Well' what?"
Starlight continued, "The book said two magic-wielding entities, which we are, but spells and amulets can be very specific. This being a relatively unknown and old amulet, we could be missing the specifics we need. It could mean two unicorns, two alicorns, or one of each but doing different tasks."
Twilight thought about Starlight's assessment. ". . ."
"This amulet is exactly what we need. With a normal protection spell, we can fix the sun right now."
"Alright, what does it need?" Starlight said anxiously, ready to save the world post-haste.
Twilight reread from the book, "The amulet needs inferno crystals, gold, and rubies."
"We can use our bits for the gold," Starlight answered.
"and we can take the inferno crystals out of the fireplace," Twilight added.
"Right!" Starlight concurred. "But . . . where are we going to get rubies?"
They both pondered for a moment, then slowly looked back at each other.
"I won't tell him if you won't either," Starlight deviously said to Twilight.
Twilight shook her head in agreement. "Oh, I promise, I won't say a thing to him but if you spill the beans, I'll deny it!"
"No way I would ever tell him."
They went into Spike's room and opened his closet. Twilight removed a stack of Power Ponies comics to reveal a once-hidden basket of gemstones.
Twilight levitated a few rubies from the pile. "Spike thinks this is his secret stash of gems I don't know about. It's cute really."
Starlight giggled, "Won't he notice though?"
"He is too busy reading these comics to know what gem he eats and has left."
With the rubies, they sprinted through the scarlet hallways of the castle, upstairs, and threw open the doors to the balcony to assemble the Solar Amulet of Protective Amplification.
"Starlight, I need you to cast the protection spell once I assemble and ensure everything remains stable," Twilight instructed.
Starlight nodded, determined to end this crisis once and for all.
With Twilight's new knowledge of the appearance of the amulet, she could meld the inferno crystals, bits, and rubies into their proper shapes. The inferno crystals were refined into cut gemstones as the picture had them. Bits melted together to form the rims of the amulet. Finally, the rubies took the form of the flames on the solar charm. With all three parts created, Twilight fused them together to complete the amulet.
Twilight held it together, "Yes! It isn't falling apart!"
"It might have broken after we made it?" Starlight asked while still holding the amulet.
"The book on amulets said the Princesses tried to recreate it after the first one incinerated itself after use. They couldn't make it again."
"Huh, how curious. Why isn't it breaking now?"
"I'm not sure, but I am glad it isn't. Now just enchant it with a protection spell to stop the sun."
Starlight's horn lit up and shot at the solar amulet while Twilight continued to keep it stable. While Starlight cast and finished the spell, it grew brighter. It soon reached what seemed to be its brightest, when it began to emit noise. Then, to their utter disappointment, the amulet's sounds ceased and its brightness clicked off. It fell to the ground but did not shatter.
As the amulet fell with a soft but heartbreaking clang, Twilight became angry, "No! Why is it not working!? We did everything right . . . Two magic-wielding entities and a protection spell . . ."
"And we got the right materials to assemble it with," Starlight chimed in while thinking.
"Exactly! The book must have false information in it! Or is lacking information? Nothing bothers me more than incomplete books," Twilight stomps on the floor as she grew more flustered.
Starlight thought of a technicality they missed, "Well . . ."
Twilight shoots her gaze at Starlight with wide eyes, "'Well' what?"
Starlight continued, "The book said two magic-wielding entities, which we are, but spells and amulets can be very specific. This being a relatively unknown and old amulet, we could be missing the specifics we need. It could mean two unicorns, two alicorns, or one of each but doing different tasks."
Twilight thought about Starlight's assessment. ". . ."
"This amulet is exactly what we need. With a normal protection spell, we can fix the sun right now."
"Alright, what does it need?" Starlight said anxiously, ready to save the world post-haste.
Twilight reread from the book, "The amulet needs inferno crystals, gold, and rubies."
"We can use our bits for the gold," Starlight answered.
"and we can take the inferno crystals out of the fireplace," Twilight added.
"Right!" Starlight concurred. "But . . . where are we going to get rubies?"
They both pondered for a moment, then slowly looked back at each other.
"I won't tell him if you won't either," Starlight deviously said to Twilight.
Twilight shook her head in agreement. "Oh, I promise, I won't say a thing to him but if you spill the beans, I'll deny it!"
"No way I would ever tell him."
They went into Spike's room and opened his closet. Twilight removed a stack of Power Ponies comics to reveal a once-hidden basket of gemstones.
Twilight levitated a few rubies from the pile. "Spike thinks this is his secret stash of gems I don't know about. It's cute really."
Starlight giggled, "Won't he notice though?"
"He is too busy reading these comics to know what gem he eats and has left."
With the rubies, they sprinted through the scarlet hallways of the castle, upstairs, and threw open the doors to the balcony to assemble the Solar Amulet of Protective Amplification.
"Starlight, I need you to cast the protection spell once I assemble and ensure everything remains stable," Twilight instructed.
Starlight nodded, determined to end this crisis once and for all.
With Twilight's new knowledge of the appearance of the amulet, she could meld the inferno crystals, bits, and rubies into their proper shapes. The inferno crystals were refined into cut gemstones as the picture had them. Bits melted together to form the rims of the amulet. Finally, the rubies took the form of the flames on the solar charm. With all three parts created, Twilight fused them together to complete the amulet.
Twilight held it together, "Yes! It isn't falling apart!"
"It might have broken after we made it?" Starlight asked while still holding the amulet.
"The book on amulets said the Princesses tried to recreate it after the first one incinerated itself after use. They couldn't make it again."
"Huh, how curious. Why isn't it breaking now?"
"I'm not sure, but I am glad it isn't. Now just enchant it with a protection spell to stop the sun."
Starlight's horn lit up and shot at the solar amulet while Twilight continued to keep it stable. While Starlight cast and finished the spell, it grew brighter. It soon reached what seemed to be its brightest, when it began to emit noise. Then, to their utter disappointment, the amulet's sounds ceased and its brightness clicked off. It fell to the ground but did not shatter.
As the amulet fell with a soft but heartbreaking clang, Twilight became angry, "No! Why is it not working!? We did everything right . . . Two magic-wielding entities and a protection spell . . ."
"And we got the right materials to assemble it with," Starlight chimed in while thinking.
"Exactly! The book must have false information in it! Or is lacking information? Nothing bothers me more than incomplete books," Twilight stomps on the floor as she grew more flustered.
Starlight thought of a technicality they missed, "Well . . ."
Twilight shoots her gaze at Starlight with wide eyes, "'Well' what?"
Starlight continued, "The book said two magic-wielding entities, which we are, but spells and amulets can be very specific. This being a relatively unknown and old amulet, we could be missing the specifics we need. It could mean two unicorns, two alicorns, or one of each but doing different tasks."
Twilight thought about Starlight's assessment. ". . ."
"This amulet is exactly what we need. With Spherical Prison, we can fix the sun right now."
"Alright, what does it need?" Starlight said anxiously, ready to save the world post-haste.
Twilight reread from the book, "The amulet needs inferno crystals, gold, and rubies."
"We can use our bits for the gold," Starlight answered.
"And we can take the inferno crystals out of the fireplace," Twilight added.
"Right!" Starlight concurred. "But . . . where are we going to get rubies?"
They both pondered for a moment, then slowly looked back at each other.
"I won't tell him if you won't," Starlight deviously said to Twilight.
Twilight shook her head in agreement. "Oh, I promise. I won't say a thing to him, but if you spill the beans, I'll deny it!"
"No way I would ever tell him."
They went into Spike's room and opened his closet. Twilight removed a stack of Power Ponies comics to reveal a once-hidden basket of gemstones.
Twilight levitated a few rubies from the pile. "Spike thinks this is his secret stash of gems I don't know about. It's cute really."
Starlight giggled, "Won't he notice though?"
"He is too busy reading these comics to know what gem he eats and has left."
With the rubies, they sprinted through the scarlet hallways of the castle, upstairs, and threw open the doors to the balcony to assemble the Solar Amulet of Protective Amplification.
"Starlight, I need you to cast the protection spell once I assemble and ensure everything remains stable," Twilight instructed.
Starlight nodded, determined to end this crisis once and for all.
With Twilight's new knowledge of the appearance of the amulet, she could meld the inferno crystals, bits, and rubies into their proper shapes. The inferno crystals were refined into cut gemstones as the picture had them. Bits melted together to form the rims of the amulet. Finally, the rubies took the form of the flames on the solar charm. With all three parts created, Twilight fused them together to complete the amulet.
Twilight held it together, "Yes! It isn't falling apart!"
"It might have broken after we made it?" Starlight asked while still holding the amulet.
"The book on amulets said the Princesses tried to recreate it after the first one incinerated itself after use. They couldn't make it again."
"Huh, how curious. Why isn't it breaking now?"
"I'm not sure, but I am glad it isn't. Now just enchant it with the Spherical Prison spell."
Starlight's horn lit up and shot at the solar amulet while Twilight continued to keep it stable. While Starlight cast and finished the spell, it grew brighter. It soon reached what seemed to be its brightest, when it began to emit noise. Then, to their utter disappointment, the amulet's sounds ceased and its brightness clicked off. It fell to the ground but did not shatter.
As the amulet fell with a soft but heartbreaking clang, Twilight became angry, "No! Why is it not working!? We did everything right . . . Two magic-wielding entities and a protection spell . . ."
"And we got the right materials to assemble it with," Starlight chimed in while thinking.
"Exactly! The book must have false information in it! Or is lacking information? Nothing bothers me more than incomplete books." Twilight stomped on the floor as she grew more flustered. ". . ."
Twilight thought aloud, "This is exactly what we need! We just need to combine this and the spell we learned and everything will be saved!"
"Alright, what does it need?" Starlight said anxiously, ready to save the world post-haste.
Twilight reread from the book, "The amulet needs inferno crystals, gold, and rubies."
"We can use our bits for the gold," Starlight answered.
"and we can take the inferno crystals out of the fireplace," Twilight added.
"Right!" Starlight concurred. "But . . . where are we going to get rubies?"
They both pondered for a moment, then slowly looked back at each other.
"I won't tell him if you won't either," Starlight deviously said to Twilight.
Twilight shook her head in agreement. "Oh, I promise, I won't say a thing to him but if you spill the beans, I'll deny it!"
"No way I would ever tell him."
They went into Spike's room and opened his closet. Twilight removed a stack of Power Ponies comics to reveal a once-hidden basket of gemstones.
Twilight levitated a few rubies from the pile. "Spike thinks this is his secret stash of gems I don't know about. It's cute really."
Starlight giggled, "Won't he notice though?"
"He is too busy reading these comics to know what gem he eats and has left."
With the rubies, they sprinted through the scarlet hallways of the castle, upstairs, and threw open the doors to the balcony to assemble the Solar Amulet of Protective Amplification.
"Starlight, I need you to cast the protection spell once I assemble and ensure everything remains stable," Twilight instructed.
Starlight nodded, determined to end this crisis once and for all.
With Twilight's new knowledge of the appearance of the amulet, she could meld the inferno crystals, bits, and rubies into their proper shapes. Beats of sweat rolled down Twilight's face as she tried to fuse the pieces together.
"What's wrong, Twilight?"
"My assembly spell isn't working . . . H—how hot is it?"
Starlight attempted to teleport the thermometer to them but failed. "I . . . don't know. I am getting—really dizzy though," she said while her legs failed, forcing her to the floor.
"Starlight!" Twilight dove for her and let go of the pieces of the amulet.
As the pieces fell and scattered around the balcony, the sun became victorious.
Twilight responded, "We just learned how to make a solar amulet to improve protection spells. We should make it and save the world before it's too late."
"Alright, what does it need?" Starlight said anxiously, ready to save the world post-haste.
Twilight reread from the book, "The amulet needs inferno crystals, gold, and rubies."
"We can use our bits for the gold," Starlight answered.
"and we can take the inferno crystals out of the fireplace," Twilight added.
"Right!" Starlight concurred. "But . . . where are we going to get rubies?"
They both pondered for a moment, then slowly looked back at each other.
"I won't tell him if you won't either," Starlight deviously said to Twilight.
Twilight shook her head in agreement. "Oh, I promise, I won't say a thing to him but if you spill the beans, I'll deny it!"
"No way I would ever tell him."
They went into Spike's room and opened his closet. Twilight removed a stack of Power Ponies comics to reveal a once-hidden basket of gemstones.
Twilight levitated a few rubies from the pile. "Spike thinks this is his secret stash of gems I don't know about. It's cute really."
Starlight giggled, "Won't he notice though?"
"He is too busy reading these comics to know what gem he eats and has left."
With the rubies, they sprinted through the scarlet hallways of the castle, upstairs, and threw open the doors to the balcony to assemble the Solar Amulet of Protective Amplification.
"Starlight, I need you to cast the protection spell once I assemble and ensure everything remains stable," Twilight instructed.
Starlight nodded, determined to end this crisis once and for all.
With Twilight's new knowledge of the appearance of the amulet, she could meld the inferno crystals, bits, and rubies into their proper shapes. The inferno crystals were refined into cut gemstones as the picture had them. Bits melted together to form the rims of the amulet. Finally, the rubies took the form of the flames on the solar charm. With all three parts created, Twilight fused them together to complete the amulet.
Twilight held it together, "Yes! It isn't falling apart!"
"It might have broken after we made it?" Starlight asked while still holding the amulet.
"The book on amulets said the Princesses tried to recreate it after the first one incinerated itself after use. They couldn't make it again."
"Huh, how curious. Why isn't it breaking now?"
"I'm not sure, but I am glad it isn't. Now just enchant it with a protection spell to stop the sun."
Starlight's horn lit up and shot at the solar amulet while Twilight continued to keep it stable. While Starlight cast and finished the spell, it grew brighter. It soon reached what seemed to be its brightest, when it began to emit noise. They stood there, sweating in place with weakened vision. It wasn't visible, but the thermometer on the floor was reading two hundred ten degrees.
As the suspense built, their hopes grew, only to be struck down. To their utter disappointment, the amulet's sounds ceased and its brightness clicked off. It fell to the ground but did not shatter, unlike their hopes. The amulet fell with a soft but heartbreaking clang, Twilight became angry, "No! Why is it not working!? W—we did everything right . . . Two magic-wielding entities and . . . and a protection . . . spell . . ."
The worsening conditions became too much for them to bare. Starlight lay herself on the floor for a quick rest. Twilight tried to get her back up but to no avail. She was soon forced to join Starlight on the baking floor.
Her body struck the floor as the sun struck the planet shortly thereafter.
"I just found this Spherical Prison spell. We should use this on the sun to stop it from getting hotter."
Starlight looked over the spell. "I'm not sure this is a 'we' effort, just you. It says only pure alicorn magic can cast the spell."
"Hmmm," Twilight lifted her hoof to her chin in thought. "I know how you can help, Starlight."
"How's that?"
"You can use a donation spell to give me your magical capabilities. As long as you keep the pulse active, it will add to my own power, guaranteeing that this spell works against the sun."
"Good idea, Twilight. I would be happy to help."
They walked down the large halls of the castle, climbed the stairs to the second floor, and stepped out onto the balcony.
"Wow, it's hot out here," Starlight noticed, as the balcony's floor was almost too hot for her hooves.
She teleported the thermometer to her and waited a bit.
"Umm . . . Twilight."
"Yes?"
"It's hotter than it was an hour ago."
"Well yeah, it gets hotter until the early afternoon."
"No . . . Like it's a LOT hotter."
"Now that you say it, it does feel too hot out here to be 100. It might even be hotter than that. What is it?"
"It's 165."
"Huh!? Okay, something is definitely going on with the sun."
Twilight looked up — not directly at the sun — and noticed it was slightly redder, perhaps even a tad . . . bigger.
"Alright,—" Twilight said while stretching "—are you ready?"
Starlight nodded in confirmation.
Twilight's horn lit up as she conducted the spell. Starlight began her donation spell, increasing Twilight's magical power. A purple blast beamed from her horn and raced toward the growing star. Eventually, the spell arrived and surrounded the sun with ease, trapping it with ease.
"Yes, we did it!" Starlight celebrated.
"Well," Twilight mused, "that was easy. Want to go get ice cream?"
"Nothing better than that on a hot day after saving the world - again."
They left the castle for the first time that day and went to search for the ice cream stand run by none other than Bulk Biceps.
"Don't you also have a nut stand?" Starlight looked around for that very cart.
"In the summer, I work my ice cream stand instead. What flavors do you want?" Bulk Biceps offered.
"I'd like mint, please."
"Mint?" Twilight blurted.
"Yeah, mint! What is wrong with mint?"
"Oh, nothing . . . just, you might as well brush your teeth with it."
Starlight snickered, "Hmph, what flavor are you going to get then? Probably something vanilla, like chocolate."
They both paused and held back a chuckle together, but it was futile. They burst out in synchronous laughter.
"Vanilla. Like chocolate. Hahaha." Instantly, Twilight stopped laughing and switched to a dead serious face. "No."
"What is it then? I swear if you say vani—."
"I like coffee ice cream."
Starlight had her mouth open like she was going to say something, but nothing came out. It took a moment, but finally, she said, "Oh, that's actually a pretty good flavor."
"Right away." Bulk took the scooper and loaded it with mint. He put the ball of pretend toothpaste on the cone, but his immense strength crushed it. He smiled and blushed a little. "Sorry, I'll get another."
"Thanks," Starlight said sweetly while holding back a giggling smile.
"No problem!"
The next pony in line stepped up for their ice cream once Twilight and Starlight paid and walked away.
It was then that a soul-trembling rumble ruined the fresh, delicate peace.
Twilight and Starlight took a guess and looked up at the sun, hoping to be wrong. Unfortunately, they were correct. The shield around the sun had begun developing visible cracks, shaking the world below as they gave way under the sun's strength.
Grrrrr-CRACK
Pieces of the protective barrier evaporated as it shattered. The sun, now freed from its confines, jumped back into action right where it would have been if never imprisoned at all. From a warm-orange ball to a scorching-red star, it had returned.
The white-hot heat crashed in one big wave that covered all of Equestria. Lyra's new ice cream quickly melted and plopped on the ground. She frowned.
"This is exactly what we were looking for. We must be fast and put it to the test."
Starlight looked over the spell. "I'm not sure this is a 'we' effort, just you. It says only pure alicorn magic can cast the spell."
"Hmmm," Twilight lifted her hoof to her chin in thought. "I know how you can help, Starlight."
"How's that?"
"You can use a donation spell to give me your magical capabilities. As long as you keep the pulse active, it will add to my own power, guaranteeing that this spell works against the sun."
"Good idea, Twilight. I would be happy to help."
They walked down the large halls of the castle, climbed the stairs to the second floor, and stepped out onto the balcony.
"Wow, it's hot out here," Starlight noticed, as the balcony's floor was almost too hot for her hooves.
She teleported the thermometer to her and waited a bit.
"Umm . . . Twilight."
"Yes?"
"It's hotter than it was an hour ago."
"Well yeah, it gets hotter until the early afternoon."
"No . . . Like it's a LOT hotter."
"Now that you say it, it does feel too hot out here to be 100. It might even be hotter than that. What is it?"
"It's 165."
"Huh!? Okay, something is definitely going on with the sun."
Twilight looked up — not directly at the sun — and noticed it was slightly redder, perhaps even a tad . . . bigger.
"Alright,—" Twilight said while stretching "—are you ready?"
Starlight nodded in confirmation.
Twilight's horn lit up as she conducted the spell. Starlight began her donation spell, increasing Twilight's magical power. A purple blast beamed from her horn and raced toward the growing star. Eventually, the spell arrived and surrounded the sun with ease, trapping it with ease.
"Yes, we did it!" Starlight celebrated.
"Well," Twilight mused, "that was easy. Want to go get ice cream?"
"Nothing better than that on a hot day after saving the world - again."
They left the castle for the first time that day and went to search for the ice cream stand run by none other than Bulk Biceps.
"Don't you also have a nut stand?" Starlight looked around for that very cart.
"In the summer, I work my ice cream stand instead. What flavors do you want?" Bulk Biceps offered.
"I'd like mint, please."
"Mint?" Twilight blurted.
"Yeah, mint! What is wrong with mint?"
"Oh, nothing . . . just, you might as well brush your teeth with it."
Starlight snickered, "Hmph, what flavor are you going to get then? Probably something vanilla, like chocolate."
They both paused and held back a chuckle together, but it was futile. They burst out in synchronous laughter.
"Vanilla. Like chocolate. Hahaha." Instantly, Twilight stopped laughing and switched to a dead serious face. "No."
"What is it then? I swear if you say vani—."
"I like coffee ice cream."
Starlight had her mouth open like she was going to say something, but nothing came out. It took a moment, but finally, she said, "Oh, that's actually a pretty good flavor."
"Right away." Bulk took the scooper and loaded it with mint. He put the ball of pretend toothpaste on the cone, but his immense strength crushed it. He smiled and blushed a little. "Sorry, I'll get another."
"Thanks," Starlight said sweetly while holding back a giggling smile.
"No problem!"
The next pony in line stepped up for their ice cream once Twilight and Starlight paid and walked away.
It was then that a soul-trembling rumble ruined the fresh, delicate peace.
Twilight and Starlight took a guess and looked up at the sun, hoping to be wrong. Unfortunately, they were correct. The shield around the sun had begun developing visible cracks, shaking the world below as they gave way under the sun's strength.
Grrrrr-CRACK
Pieces of the protective barrier evaporated as it shattered. The sun, now freed from its confines, jumped back into action right where it would have been if never imprisoned at all. From a warm-orange ball to a scorching-red star, it had returned.
The white-hot heat crashed in one big wave that covered all of Equestria. Lyra's new ice cream quickly melted and plopped on the ground. She frowned.
"We should use it now to stop its expansion while we can."
Starlight looked over the spell. "I'm not sure this is a 'we' effort, just you. It says only pure alicorn magic can cast the spell."
"Hmmm," Twilight lifted her hoof to her chin in thought. "I know how you can help, Starlight."
"How's that?"
"You can use a donation spell to give me your magical capabilities. As long as you keep the pulse active, it will add to my own power, guaranteeing that this spell works against the sun."
"Good idea, Twilight. I would be happy to help."
They walked down the large halls of the castle, climbed the stairs to the second floor, and stepped out onto the balcony.
"Wow, it's hot out here," Starlight noticed, as the balcony's floor was almost too hot for her hooves.
She teleported the thermometer to her and waited a bit.
"Umm . . . Twilight."
"Yes?"
"It's hotter than it was an hour ago."
"Well yeah, it gets hotter until the early afternoon."
"No . . . Like it's a LOT hotter."
"Now that you say it, it does feel too hot out here to be 100. It might even be hotter than that. What is it?"
"It's 165."
"Huh!? Okay, something is definitely going on with the sun."
Twilight looked up — not directly at the sun — and noticed it was slightly redder, perhaps even a tad . . . bigger.
"Alright,—" Twilight said while stretching "—are you ready?"
Starlight nodded in confirmation.
Twilight's horn lit up as she conducted the spell. Starlight began her donation spell, increasing Twilight's magical power. A purple blast beamed from her horn and raced toward the growing star. Eventually, the spell arrived and surrounded the sun with ease, trapping it with ease.
"Yes, we did it!" Starlight celebrated.
"Well," Twilight mused, "that was easy. Want to go get ice cream?"
"Nothing better than that on a hot day after saving the world - again."
They left the castle for the first time that day and went to search for the ice cream stand run by none other than Bulk Biceps.
"Don't you also have a nut stand?" Starlight looked around for that very cart.
"In the summer, I work my ice cream stand instead. What flavors do you want?" Bulk Biceps offered.
"I'd like mint, please."
"Mint?" Twilight blurted.
"Yeah, mint! What is wrong with mint?"
"Oh, nothing . . . just, you might as well brush your teeth with it."
Starlight snickered, "Hmph, what flavor are you going to get then? Probably something vanilla, like chocolate."
They both paused and held back a chuckle together, but it was futile. They burst out in synchronous laughter.
"Vanilla. Like chocolate. Hahaha." Instantly, Twilight stopped laughing and switched to a dead serious face. "No."
"What is it then? I swear if you say vani—."
"I like coffee ice cream."
Starlight had her mouth open like she was going to say something, but nothing came out. It took a moment, but finally, she said, "Oh, that's actually a pretty good flavor."
"Right away." Bulk took the scooper and loaded it with mint. He put the ball of pretend toothpaste on the cone, but his immense strength crushed it. He smiled and blushed a little. "Sorry, I'll get another."
"Thanks," Starlight said sweetly while holding back a giggling smile.
"No problem!"
The next pony in line stepped up for their ice cream once Twilight and Starlight paid and walked away.
It was then that a soul-trembling rumble ruined the fresh, delicate peace.
Twilight and Starlight took a guess and looked up at the sun, hoping to be wrong. Unfortunately, they were correct. The shield around the sun had begun developing visible cracks, shaking the world below as they gave way under the sun's strength.
Grrrrr-CRACK
Pieces of the protective barrier evaporated as it shattered. The sun, now freed from its confines, jumped back into action right where it would have been if never imprisoned at all. From a warm-orange ball to a scorching-red star, it had returned.
The white-hot heat crashed in one big wave that covered all of Equestria. Lyra's new ice cream quickly melted and plopped on the ground. She frowned.
Starlight looked over the spell. "I'm not sure this is a 'we' effort, just you. It says only pure alicorn magic can cast the spell."
"Hmmm," Twilight lifted her hoof to her chin in thought. "I know how you can help, Starlight."
"How's that?"
"You can use a donation spell to give me your magical capabilities. As long as you keep the pulse active, it will add to my own power, guaranteeing that this spell works against the sun."
"Good idea, Twilight. I would be happy to help."
They walked down the large halls of the castle, climbed the stairs to the second floor, and stepped out onto the balcony.
"Wow, it's hot out here," Starlight noticed, as the balcony's floor was almost too hot for her hooves.
She teleported the thermometer to her and waited a bit.
"Umm . . . Twilight."
"Yes?"
"It's hotter than it was an hour ago."
"Well yeah, it gets hotter until the early afternoon."
"No . . . Like it's a LOT hotter."
"Now that you say it, it does feel too hot out here to be 100. It might even be hotter than that. What is it?"
"It's 165."
"Huh!? Okay, something is definitely going on with the sun."
Twilight looked up — not directly at the sun — and noticed it was slightly redder, perhaps even a tad . . . bigger.
"Alright,—" Twilight said while stretching "—are you ready?"
Starlight nodded in confirmation.
Twilight's horn lit up as she conducted the spell. Starlight began her donation spell, increasing Twilight's magical power. A purple blast beamed from her horn and raced toward the growing star. Eventually, the spell arrived and surrounded the sun with ease, trapping it with ease.
"Yes, we did it!" Starlight celebrated.
"Well," Twilight mused, "that was easy. Want to go get ice cream?"
"Nothing better than that on a hot day after saving the world - again."
They left the castle for the first time that day and went to search for the ice cream stand run by none other than Bulk Biceps.
"Don't you also have a nut stand?" Starlight looked around for that very cart.
"In the summer, I work my ice cream stand instead. What flavors do you want?" Bulk Biceps offered.
"I'd like mint, please."
"Mint?" Twilight blurted.
"Yeah, mint! What is wrong with mint?"
"Oh, nothing . . . just, you might as well brush your teeth with it."
Starlight snickered, "Hmph, what flavor are you going to get then? Probably something vanilla, like chocolate."
They both paused and held back a chuckle together, but it was futile. They burst out in synchronous laughter.
"Vanilla. Like chocolate. Hahaha." Instantly, Twilight stopped laughing and switched to a dead serious face. "No."
"What is it then? I swear if you say vani—."
"I like coffee ice cream."
Starlight had her mouth open like she was going to say something, but nothing came out. It took a moment, but finally, she said, "Oh, that's actually a pretty good flavor."
"Right away." Bulk took the scooper and loaded it with mint. He put the ball of pretend toothpaste on the cone, but his immense strength crushed it. He smiled and blushed a little. "Sorry, I'll get another."
"Thanks," Starlight said sweetly while holding back a giggling smile.
"No problem!"
The next pony in line stepped up for their ice cream once Twilight and Starlight paid and walked away.
It was then that a soul-trembling rumble ruined the fresh, delicate peace.
Twilight and Starlight took a guess and looked up at the sun, hoping to be wrong. Unfortunately, they were correct. The shield around the sun had begun developing visible cracks, shaking the world below as they gave way under the sun's strength.
Grrrrr-CRACK
Pieces of the protective barrier evaporated as it shattered. The sun, now freed from its confines, jumped back into action right where it would have been if never imprisoned at all. From a warm-orange ball to a scorching-red star, it had returned.
The white-hot heat crashed in one big wave that covered all of Equestria. Lyra's new ice cream quickly melted and plopped on the ground. She frowned.
"Ah hah!" Twilight pieced it together, "I found what we need! We need to combine this spell with the amulet, then all will be saved!"
"We need to get back to the amulet!"
Starlight led the charge with Twilight just behind. They would not slow down, even while blistering temperatures in the castle simulate that of an oven.
They visited the amulet on the balcony once again and began their second, and final, attempt.
Twilight's horn lit up and shot the solar amulet with Spherical Prison while Starlight kept it stable. The amulet was brighter as Twilight finished the spell. It started to radiate a teal blue while it continued to shine ever brighter. Unlike the last attempt, it began to spin on its own and shot a radiant ray of light directly at the sun.
The ponies of Ponyville saw this teal light project from the castle. They stopped moving clouds for protection and assembled below the castle's balcony to bask in the spectacle. Slowly, a bubble-like shield began to form around the sun. The sun was still growing, attempting to fight off its captor. Twilight, Starlight, and all Ponyville residents remained still, full of anxiousness as there was nothing left they could do.
The bubble entrapping the sun let out a deep plump sound and resonated a blue glow when it finally completed its task.
The sun had been detained.
"Twilight! We did it!" Starlight shouted in glee as she jumped as if she were playing a game of jump rope.
Twilight had no words for this spectacular moment. She simply sat down and took in the moment. The moment that guarantees that the planet would not be destroyed. The moment that saved millions of lives. The moment that kept the future safe for centuries to come.
The Solar Amulet became white-hot and glowed a resplendent pure white; it was like a miniature star. After reaching its apex of bright intensity, it burst into flames, then disintegrated into ash that floated upon the delicate breeze.
Joyous shouts and celebratory hurrahs quickly came from Ponyville down below.
"All we have to do now is cast this Spherical Prison on the sun and all will return to normal again!"
Starlight looked over the spell. "I'm not sure this is a 'we' effort, just you. It says only pure alicorn magic can cast the spell."
"Hmmm," Twilight lifted her hoof to her chin in thought. "I know how you can help, Starlight."
"How's that?"
"You can use a donation spell to give me your magical capabilities as long as you keep the pulse active. It will add to my own power, guaranteeing that this spell works against the sun."
"Good idea, Twilight. I would be happy to help."
"Let's get into view of the sun."
At first, they trotted with a purpose, quickly and full of energy through the massive halls. However, they slowed down considerably when they reached the stairs and panted as they ascended them. Once they reached the balcony, they were as tired as if they had run a marathon.
"Ouch!," Starlight stepped on the balcony and found out it was way too hot for her hooves. She jumped back into the doorway.
"We will have to do it from here," Starlight suggested.
"This is fine. I have a view of the sun."
Out of curiosity, Starlight summoned a thermometer to read it.
"Umm . . . Twilight."
"Yes?"
"It's exceptionally hotter than it was just moments ago."
"How hot?"
"The temperature has gone up 60 degrees, up to 210."
Twilight looked up — not directly at the sun — and noticed it was much redder . . . and larger.
"Alright,—" Twilight said while stretching "—are you ready?"
Starlight nodded in confirmation.
Twilight's horn lit up as she conducted the spell. Starlight began her donation spell, increasing the magical power of Twilight. The purple blast of Spherical Prison blew out of her horn and raced toward the growing star.
They both stood there as the heat rose exponentially. Starlight continued her donation spell even while she struggled. She was not the only one. Twilight was audibly groaning through her efforts.
Twilight watched the spell reach the sun and begin wrapping around it.
"It's working!" Her heart skipped a beat. Was it because of the jolt of excitement or the stroke-inducing heat?
Starlight stopped the donation spell and celebrated with Twilight. "We did it! The sun has stopped!"
"It will be perpetually hot now . . ."
Starlight shook her head and waved her hoof as if it wasn't a big deal, "That will be dealt with that later. I'm sure Princess Celestia can move the entire thing farther away."
They both gazed upon their success with pride. Then Starlight cocked her head, "Uh . . . is it still getting brighter?"
Twilight took a moment and noticed the same thing. "How is it getting brighter? We stopped it."
"Maybe we shoul—"
Before they could even mentally register what had happened, the shield broke and allowed the sun to rapidly expand once again. The planet was mercilessly evaporated by an explosion of pure plasmic fire within milliseconds.
Twilight jumped out of bed in fear of the fireball in the sky before realizing it was over. She was drenched in sweat, her heart pounding while she sat on the cold floor. Having finally caught her breath, she said, "That had to have been a vision of what that pony was saying yesterday! I need to see Princess Celestia at once!"
She ran into Starlight while galloping for the door.
Starlight waved at Twilight with a smile, "Good morning, Twilight!"
Continuing to run uninterrupted, but not wanting to be rude, Twilight completed the exchange with a quick, "Morning!"
"What's the rush?"
Twilight, against her wishes, stopped momentarily to talk to Starlight. "I'm going to Canterlot to find Celestia."
Starlight cocked her head to the side, "Is there an emergency?"
"I believe the sun is going to engulf the planet and I need to make sure everything is alright!"
Starlight giggled. "Are you overreacting to a bad dream again? Remember when you dreamed about all the chocolate-chip cookies in the world disappearing?"
"I hope this is as fake and silly as that. I wonder if Mrs. Cake still thinks I'm insane." Twilight rubbed the back of her head while blushing a little out of embarrassment. "But this may be serious on a global scale."
"What happened in this nightmare then?"
"As I said, the sun is going to get bigger and eradicate us all unless I do something about it. This is why I am going to the only pony who controls the sun. I really must get going." Twilight began to back up, trying to end the dialogue faster.
Starlight teleported the thermometer from the front door over to her, "Wow. . . 95 degrees. Hottest it has been for centuries since Celestia fixed the sun. Locking the sun's orbit on a permanent equidistant path so she never accidentally raises it too close again."
"Truly a fascinating feat of magic," Twilight impatiently added. "I really have to go now Starlight, I just need to port to her and see what is happening." She activated her horn for a split second before being interrupted again.
"Wait!" Starlight put out her hoof.
Twilight grunted as she stopped once again. "What is it?"
"Just keep an eye on the temperature. If you teleport in anything above 110, you risk disfigurement, missing parts, and/or death — depending on the heat difference beyond 110.
She facepalmed, "Then I need to leave now, before it gets too hot. Goodbye, Starlight."
"Good luck."
"Thanks," Twilight then waved and teleported.
She teleported into the throne room, but it was devoid of life.
"Princess Celestia! Where are you? I need to talk to you!" she shouted while swinging her head in the direction of every doorway.
Her calls echoed around the empty halls with no reply. The throne room was empty, and so were the meeting room, dining room, and ballroom. Not even a royal guard or cleaning pony in sight, it was desolate. Twilight was beginning to worry that Celestia has been hurt or kidnapped, more reasons why the sun could be threatening all life.
Finally, she caught a glimpse of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna in the gardens. "Phew, she is okay," Twilight internally confirmed with a pleased sigh.
"Celestia!" Twilight blurted out with a tone of celebration upon finding her. "Luna! You're here too, good."
Celestia turned around relieved, "Twilight! Thank Me, I am delighted you decided to come."
"Okay, this is turning out to be a lot worse than expected. I need to go see Princess Celestia at once!"
Starlight exhaled with great relief, "Oh, good. I really thought you were just going to ignore it all day."
"Oh, of course not! That would be insane. There's obviously something wrong and I need to speak to the princess of the sun," Twilight activated her horn to teleport to Canterlot.
"Wait!—" Starlight tapped the top of Twilight's horn, disrupting the spell. "You weren't really about to teleport in this heat, were you? Do you know how dangerous that is?"
On the border of concern and confusion, Twilight asked, "What is it?"
"If you teleport in anything above 110, you risk disfigurement, missing parts, and/or death. You should know this, Twilight! It's the main reason why Celestia locked the sun's distance in the first place."
Twilight facepalmed, "Oh, right. Well, then I need to leave now! Goodbye, Starlight."
"Good luck."
"Thank you," Twilight darted by Starlight, swung the front doors open, and bolted off en route to Canterlot.
During her flight, Twilight could tell something was not right. Almost arriving in Canterlot, she compared her surroundings since starting. The sun was slightly redder and it was definitely hotter. This could be fatigue from flying or sight alterations from the heat, but the sun looked slightly larger as well.
The spires of Canterlot castle overcame the horizon and elegantly presented themselves to Twilight. These tall and proud towers of regality were surrounded by a transparent red bubble, the same way Shining Armor protected Canterlot on his wedding day. Twilight's mind sped through many different realities, speculating why Canterlot needed protection. Are they under attack? In trouble? Is it to keep the outside out. . . or the inside in? Had Celestia turned into Daybreaker?! Twilight increased her pacing, trying to see Celestia as fast as possible while frantically mauling over every possible situation.
She passed through the borders of the shield and instantly knew what type of protection it was: temperature. The evidence was clear when she entered its barrier, it was a cooler environment compared to the outside. This reaffirmed her fears that her vision of the sun is a very real crisis.
Twilight flew onto the announcement balcony above the plaza. She didn't even spare time to land and instead slid on the smooth marble, transitioning from flying right to a galloping stride. Once in a steady run, she immediately called for Celestia.
"Princess Celestia! Where are you? I need to talk to you!" she shouted while swinging her head in the direction of every doorway.
Her calls echoed around the empty halls, but a reply was never given. The throne room was empty, and so were the meeting room, dining room, and ballroom. Not a single royal guard or cleaning pony in sight, it was desolate. Finally, she caught a glimpse of Princess Celestia in the gardens with her horn activated. "Phew, not Daybreaker," Twilight internally confirmed with a pleased sigh.
"Celestia!" Twilight blurted out with a tone of celebration upon finding her.
Princess Celestia was facing the horizon to the south, but also in front of her was Luna, comforting Celestia and ensuring she remains strong. "Luna! You're here too, good."
Celestia turned around with a look of relief, "Twilight! Thank Me, I am delighted you decided to come. You decided not to teleport either, that was very wise."
"I don't know how it was fixed last time. This could be well beyond us." She came to a conclusion. "I need to go see Princess Celestia at once!"
"What should I do while you're gone?" Starlight asked.
"Try to find out more about what is happening and what we could do to stop this—er—what you can do for that matter. I don't know what will happen in Canterlot."
"You got it, Twilight. Now go! I'll do my best." Starlight looked committed to the cause.
Twilight activated her horn to complete a teleportation spell to Canterlot, but was thankfully interrupted.
"Wait!—" She dove toward Twilight, Starlight tapped her hoof on the tip of Twilight's horn, ending the spell.
Starlight continued to speak, after plopping on the floor, "You weren't really about to teleport in this heat, were you? Do you know how dangerous that is?"
On the border of concern and confusion, Twilight asked, "What is it?"
"If you teleport in anything above 110, you risk disfigurement, missing parts, and/or death. You should know this, Twilight! It's the main reason why Celestia locked the sun's distance in the first place."
Twilight facepalmed, "Oh, right. Well, then I need to leave now! Goodbye, Starlight."
"Good luck."
"You too." Twilight darted by Starlight, swung the front doors open, and bolted off en route to Canterlot.
During her flight, Twilight could tell something was not right. Almost arriving in Canterlot, she compared her surroundings since starting. The sun was slightly redder and it was definitely hotter. This could be fatigue from flying or sight alterations from the heat, but the sun looked slightly larger as well.
The spires of Canterlot castle overcame the horizon and elegantly presented themselves to Twilight. These tall and proud towers of regality were surrounded by a transparent red bubble, the same way Shining Armor protected Canterlot on his wedding day. Twilight's mind sped through many different realities, speculating why Canterlot needed protection. Are they under attack? In trouble? Is it to keep the outside out. . . or the inside in? Had Celestia turned into Daybreaker?! Twilight increased her pacing, trying to see Celestia as fast as possible while frantically mauling over every possible situation.
She passed through the borders of the shield and instantly knew what type of protection it was: temperature. The evidence was clear when she entered its barrier, it was a cooler environment compared to the outside. This reaffirmed her fears that her vision of the sun is a very real crisis.
Twilight flew onto the announcement balcony above the plaza. She didn't even spare time to land and instead slid on the smooth marble, transitioning from flying right to a galloping stride. Once in a steady run, she immediately called for Celestia.
"Princess Celestia! Where are you? I need to talk to you!" she shouted while swinging her head in the direction of every doorway.
Her calls echoed around the empty halls, but a reply was never given. The throne room was empty, and so were the meeting room, dining room, and ballroom. Not a single royal guard or cleaning pony in sight, it was desolate. Finally, she caught a glimpse of Princess Celestia in the gardens with her horn activated. "Phew, not Daybreaker," Twilight internally confirmed with a pleased sigh.
"Celestia!" Twilight blurted out with a tone of celebration upon finding her.
Princess Celestia was facing the horizon to the south, but also in front of her was Luna, comforting Celestia and ensuring she remains strong. "Luna! You're here too, good."
Celestia turned around with a look of relief, "Twilight! Thank Me, I am delighted you decided to come. You decided not to teleport either, that was very wise."
"I don't know how it started, but now we may have the means to fix this." She came to a conclusion. "I need to go see Princess Celestia at once! Maybe she and I can put this to use!"
"What should I do while you're gone?" Starlight asked.
"Try to find out more about what is happening and what we could do to stop this—er—what you can do for that matter. I don't know what will happen in Canterlot."
"You got it, Twilight. Now go! I'll do my best." Starlight looked committed to the cause.
Twilight activated her horn to complete a teleportation spell to Canterlot, but was thankfully interrupted.
"Wait!—" She dove toward Twilight, Starlight tapped her hoof on the tip of Twilight's horn, ending the spell.
Starlight continued to speak, after plopping on the floor, "You weren't really about to teleport in this heat, were you? Do you know how dangerous that is?"
On the border of concern and confusion, Twilight asked, "What is it?"
"If you teleport in anything above 110, you risk disfigurement, missing parts, and/or death. You should know this, Twilight! It's the main reason why Celestia locked the sun's distance in the first place."
Twilight facepalmed, "Oh, right. Well, then I need to leave now! Goodbye, Starlight."
"Good luck."
"You too." Twilight darted by Starlight, swung the front doors open, and bolted off en route to Canterlot.
During her flight, Twilight could tell something was not right. Almost arriving in Canterlot, she compared her surroundings since starting. The sun was slightly redder and it was definitely hotter. This could be fatigue from flying or sight alterations from the heat, but the sun looked slightly larger as well.
The spires of Canterlot castle overcame the horizon and elegantly presented themselves to Twilight. These tall and proud towers of regality were surrounded by a transparent red bubble, the same way Shining Armor protected Canterlot on his wedding day. Twilight's mind sped through many different realities, speculating why Canterlot needed protection. Are they under attack? In trouble? Is it to keep the outside out. . . or the inside in? Had Celestia turned into Daybreaker?! Twilight increased her pacing, trying to see Celestia as fast as possible while frantically mauling over every possible situation.
She passed through the borders of the shield and instantly knew what type of protection it was: temperature. The evidence was clear when she entered its barrier, it was a cooler environment compared to the outside. This reaffirmed her fears that her vision of the sun is a very real crisis.
Twilight flew onto the announcement balcony above the plaza. She didn't even spare time to land and instead slid on the smooth marble, transitioning from flying right to a galloping stride. Once in a steady run, she immediately called for Celestia.
"Princess Celestia! Where are you? I need to talk to you!" she shouted while swinging her head in the direction of every doorway.
Her calls echoed around the empty halls, but a reply was never given. The throne room was empty, and so were the meeting room, dining room, and ballroom. Not a single royal guard or cleaning pony in sight, it was desolate. Finally, she caught a glimpse of Princess Celestia in the gardens with her horn activated. "Phew, not Daybreaker," Twilight internally confirmed with a pleased sigh.
"Celestia!" Twilight blurted out with a tone of celebration upon finding her.
Princess Celestia was facing the horizon to the south, but also in front of her was Luna, comforting Celestia and ensuring she remains strong. "Luna! You're here too, good."
Celestia turned around with a look of relief, "Twilight! Thank Me, I am delighted you decided to come. You decided not to teleport either, that was very wise."
"I don't know how it started, but now we may have the means to fix this." She came to a conclusion. "I need to go see Princess Celestia at once!"
"What should I do while you're gone?" Starlight asked.
"Try to find out more about what is happening and what we could do to stop this—er—what you can do for that matter. I don't know what will happen in Canterlot."
"You got it, Twilight. Now go! I'll do my best." Starlight looked committed to the cause.
Twilight activated her horn to complete a teleportation spell to Canterlot, but was thankfully interrupted.
"Wait!—" She dove toward Twilight, Starlight tapped her hoof on the tip of Twilight's horn, ending the spell.
Starlight continued to speak, after plopping on the floor, "You weren't really about to teleport in this heat, were you? Do you know how dangerous that is?"
On the border of concern and confusion, Twilight asked, "What is it?"
"If you teleport in anything above 110, you risk disfigurement, missing parts, and/or death. You should know this, Twilight! It's the main reason why Celestia locked the sun's distance in the first place."
Twilight facepalmed, "Oh, right. Well, then I need to leave now! Goodbye, Starlight."
"Good luck."
"You too." Twilight darted by Starlight, swung the front doors open, and bolted off en route to Canterlot.
During her flight, Twilight could tell something was not right. Almost arriving in Canterlot, she compared her surroundings since starting. The sun was slightly redder and it was definitely hotter. This could be fatigue from flying or sight alterations from the heat, but the sun looked slightly larger as well.
The spires of Canterlot castle overcame the horizon and elegantly presented themselves to Twilight. These tall and proud towers of regality were surrounded by a transparent red bubble, the same way Shining Armor protected Canterlot on his wedding day. Twilight's mind sped through many different realities, speculating why Canterlot needed protection. Are they under attack? In trouble? Is it to keep the outside out. . . or the inside in? Had Celestia turned into Daybreaker?! Twilight increased her pacing, trying to see Celestia as fast as possible while frantically mauling over every possible situation.
She passed through the borders of the shield and instantly knew what type of protection it was: temperature. The evidence was clear when she entered its barrier, it was a cooler environment compared to the outside. This reaffirmed her fears that her vision of the sun is a very real crisis.
Twilight flew onto the announcement balcony above the plaza. She didn't even spare time to land and instead slid on the smooth marble, transitioning from flying right to a galloping stride. Once in a steady run, she immediately called for Celestia.
"Princess Celestia! Where are you? I need to talk to you!" she shouted while swinging her head in the direction of every doorway.
Her calls echoed around the empty halls, but a reply was never given. The throne room was empty, and so were the meeting room, dining room, and ballroom. Not a single royal guard or cleaning pony in sight, it was desolate. Finally, she caught a glimpse of Princess Celestia in the gardens with her horn activated. "Phew, not Daybreaker," Twilight internally confirmed with a pleased sigh.
"Celestia!" Twilight blurted out with a tone of celebration upon finding her.
Princess Celestia was facing the horizon to the south, but also in front of her was Luna, comforting Celestia and ensuring she remains strong. "Luna! You're here too, good."
Celestia turned around with a look of relief, "Twilight! Thank Me, I am delighted you decided to come. You decided not to teleport either, that was very wise."
". . . The sun is Princess Celestia's domain. Maybe she is in trouble and needs help."
Starlight exhaled with great relief, "Oh, thank Celestia. I really thought you were just going to ignore it all day."
"I thought it was nothing, but by the looks of it, this is very real and very bad. There's obviously something wrong. I need to speak to the princess at once. I can't believe I've waited this long." Twilight activated her horn to teleport to Canterlot.
"Wait!—" Starlight tapped the top of Twilight's horn, disrupting the spell. "You weren't really about to teleport in this heat, were you? Do you know how dangerous that is?"
On the border of concern and confusion, Twilight asked, "What is it?"
"If you teleport in anything above 110, you risk disfigurement, missing parts, and/or death. You should know this, Twilight! It's the main reason why Celestia locked the sun's distance in the first place."
Twilight facepalmed, "Oh, right. Well then, I need to leave now! Goodbye, Starlight."
"Good luck."
"Thank you." Twilight darted by Starlight, swung the front doors open, and bolted off en route to Canterlot.
The instant she left the shaded confines of her castle, she felt the scorching heat of the hostile sun violently bombarding her. When Twilight took flight, she was instantly out of breath, as if she were a newbie flyer once again. As she flew, fatigue quickly grew from ache to pain. The feeling of her wings disappeared before she even left the boundaries of Ponyvile, the same feeling she got when working out her wings with wing-ups. For the entire duration of the trip, she had to pant heavily for air, as it was hard to breathe in the blazing heat of the day. It was rough and demanding, but she had to make it to Canterlot.
Shortly before arriving in Canterlot, she compared her surroundings since starting. The sun was redder and had become even more intense, baking the world in its ever-worsening heat. This could be fatigue from flying or sight alterations from the baking atmosphere, but the sun looked larger as well.
The spires of Canterlot castle overcame the horizon and elegantly presented themselves to Twilight, swaying through the cooking air. These tall and proud towers of regality were surrounded by a transparent red bubble, the same way Shining Armor protected Canterlot on his wedding day. Twilight's mind sped through many different realities, speculating why the sun had become active in this way. Has the star reached the end of its life? Had Celestia turned into Daybreaker?! Twilight increased her pacing, trying to visit Celestia as fast as possible while frantically mauling over every possible situation.
She passed through the borders of the shield and instantly knew what type of protection it was: temperature. The evidence was clear when she entered its barrier, it was a vastly cooler environment compared to the outside. This added to the reality unfolding every second, that her vision of the sun was the dawn of a very real crisis.
Twilight flew onto the announcement balcony above the plaza. She didn't even spare time to land and instead slid on the smooth marble, transitioning from flying right to a galloping stride. Once in a steady run, she immediately called for Celestia.
"Princess Celestia! Where are you? I need to talk to you!" she shouted while swinging her head in the direction of every doorway.
Her calls echoed around the empty halls, but a reply was never given. The throne room was empty, and so were the meeting room, dining room, and ballroom. Not a single royal guard or cleaning pony in sight, it was desolate. Finally, she caught a glimpse of Princess Celestia in the gardens with her horn activated. "Phew, not Daybreaker," Twilight internally confirmed with a pleased sigh.
"Celestia!" Twilight blurted out with a tone of celebration upon finding her.
Princess Celestia was facing the horizon to the south, and in front of her was Luna, comforting Celestia and ensuring she remained strong preserving Canterlot's heat protection. "Luna! You're here too, good."
Celestia turned around with a look of relief, "Twilight! Thank Me, I am delighted you decided to come. You decided not to teleport either, that was very wise. Though, I'm sure the flight was difficult."
"I don't know how it was fixed last time. This could be well beyond us." She came to a conclusion. "I need to go see Princess Celestia at once!"
"What should I do while you're gone?" Starlight asked.
"Try to find out more about what is happening and what we could do to stop this—er—what you can do for that matter. I don't know what will happen in Canterlot."
"You got it, Twilight. Now go! I'll do my best." Starlight looked committed to the cause.
Twilight activated her horn to complete a teleportation spell to Canterlot, but was thankfully interrupted.
"Wait!—" Starlight dove toward her and tapped her hoof on the tip of Twilight's horn, ending the spell.
Starlight continued to speak after plopping on the floor, "You weren't really about to teleport in this heat, were you? Do you know how dangerous that is?"
On the border of concern and confusion, Twilight asked, "What's the matter?"
"If you teleport in anything above 110, you risk disfigurement, missing parts, and/or death. You should know this, Twilight! It's the main reason why Celestia locked the sun's distance in the first place."
Twilight facepalmed, "Oh, right. Well, then I need to leave now! Goodbye, Starlight."
"Are you sure it's safe to fly in this heat either?"
"I can't just sit here, Starlight. Flying is less risky than teleporting, and those are the only two options to get to Canterlot in time."
"Alright. All the luck to you then, Twilight."
"You too." Twilight darted by Starlight, swung the front doors open, and bolted off en route to Canterlot.
The instant she left the shaded confines of her castle, she felt the scorching heat of the hostile sun violently bombarding her. When Twilight took flight, she was instantly out of breath, as if she were a newbie flyer once again. As she flew, fatigue quickly grew from ache to pain. The feeling of her wings disappeared before she even left the boundaries of Ponyvile, the same feeling she got when working out her wings with wing-ups. For the entire duration of the trip, she had to pant heavily for air, as it was hard to breathe in the blazing heat of the day. It was rough and demanding, but she had to make it to Canterlot.
Shortly before arriving in Canterlot, she compared her surroundings since starting. The sun was redder and had become even more intense, baking the world in its ever-worsening heat. This could be fatigue from flying or sight alterations from the baking atmosphere, but the sun looked larger as well.
The spires of Canterlot castle overcame the horizon and elegantly presented themselves to Twilight, swaying through the cooking air. These tall and proud towers of regality were surrounded by a transparent red bubble, the same way Shining Armor had protected Canterlot on his wedding day. Twilight's mind sped through many different realities, speculating why the sun had become active in this way. Has the star reached the end of its life? Had Celestia turned into Daybreaker?! Twilight increased her pace, trying to visit Celestia as fast as possible while frantically contemplating every possible situation.
She passed through the borders of the shield and instantly knew what type of protection it was: temperature. The evidence was clear when she entered its barrier, it was a vastly cooler environment than the outside. This added to the harsh reality unfolding every second, that her vision of the sun was the dawn of a very real crisis.
Twilight flew onto the announcement balcony above the plaza. She didn't even spare time to land and instead slid on the smooth marble, transitioning from flying right to a galloping stride. Once in a steady run, she immediately called for Celestia.
"Princess Celestia! Where are you? I need to talk to you!" she shouted while swinging her head in the direction of every doorway.
Her calls reverberated around empty halls, but a reply was never given. The throne room was empty, and so were the meeting room, dining room, and ballroom. Not a single royal guard or cleaning pony in sight, it was desolate. Finally, she caught a glimpse of Princess Celestia in the gardens with her horn activated. "Phew, not Daybreaker," Twilight internally confirmed with a pleased sigh.
"Celestia!" Twilight blurted out, celebrating.
Princess Celestia was facing the horizon to the south. In front of her was Luna, appearing to support Celestia. "Luna! You're here too, good."
Celestia turned around with a look of relief, "Twilight! Thank Me, I am delighted you decided to come. You decided not to teleport either, that was very wise. Though, I'm sure the flight was difficult."
"Which is why I need to go see Princess Celestia at once! Maybe she and I can put this to use? I wish you could come with me, Starlight. I really do, but there is no safe way you can get to Canterlot."
"I understand. What should I do while you're gone?" Starlight asked determined.
"Try and see if there are other ways we could stop the sun — anything."
"You got it, Twilight. Now go! I'll do my best," Starlight looked committed to the cause.
Twilight activated her horn to complete a teleportation spell to Canterlot, but was thankfully interrupted.
"Wait!—" She dove toward Twilight, Starlight tapped her hoof on the tip of Twilight's horn, ending the spell.
Starlight continued to speak, after plopping on the floor, "You weren't really about to teleport in this heat, were you? Do you know how dangerous that is?"
On the border of concern and confusion, Twilight asked, "What is it?"
"If you teleport in anything above 110, you risk disfigurement, missing parts, and/or death. You should know this, Twilight! It's the main reason why Celestia locked the sun's distance in the first place."
Twilight facepalmed, "Oh, right. Well, then I need to leave now! Goodbye, Starlight."
"Are you sure it's safe to fly in this heat too?"
"I can't just sit here, Starlight. Flying is less risky than teleporting, and those are the only two options to get to Canterlot in time."
"Alright. All the luck to you then, Twilight."
"You too." Twilight darted by Starlight, swung the front doors open, and bolted off en route to Canterlot.
The instant she left the shaded confines of her castle, she felt the scorching heat of the hostile sun violently bombarding her. When Twilight took flight, she was instantly out of breath, as if she were a newbie flyer once again. As she flew, fatigue quickly grew from ache to pain. The feeling of her wings disappeared before she even left the boundaries of Ponyvile, the same feeling she got when working out her wings with wing-ups. For the entire duration of the trip, she had to pant heavily for air, as it was hard to breathe in the blazing heat of the day. It was rough and demanding, but she had to make it to Canterlot.
Shortly before arriving in Canterlot, she compared her surroundings since starting. The sun was redder and had become even more intense, baking the world in its ever-worsening heat. This could be fatigue from flying or sight alterations from the baking atmosphere, but the sun looked larger as well.
The spires of Canterlot castle overcame the horizon and elegantly presented themselves to Twilight, swaying through the cooking air. These tall and proud towers of regality were surrounded by a transparent red bubble, the same way Shining Armor protected Canterlot on his wedding day. Twilight's mind sped through many different realities, speculating why the sun had become active in this way. Has the star reached the end of its life? Had Celestia turned into Daybreaker?! Twilight increased her pacing, trying to visit Celestia as fast as possible while frantically mauling over every possible situation.
She passed through the borders of the shield and instantly knew what type of protection it was: temperature. The evidence was clear when she entered its barrier, it was a vastly cooler environment compared to the outside. This added to the reality unfolding every second, that her vision of the sun was the dawn of a very real crisis.
Twilight flew onto the announcement balcony above the plaza. She didn't even spare time to land and instead slid on the smooth marble, transitioning from flying right to a galloping stride. Once in a steady run, she immediately called for Celestia.
"Princess Celestia! Where are you? I need to talk to you!" she shouted while swinging her head in the direction of every doorway.
Her calls echoed around the empty halls, but a reply was never given. The throne room was empty, and so were the meeting room, dining room, and ballroom. Not a single royal guard or cleaning pony in sight, it was desolate. Finally, she caught a glimpse of Princess Celestia in the gardens with her horn activated. "Phew, not Daybreaker," Twilight internally confirmed with a pleased sigh.
"Celestia!" Twilight blurted out with a tone of celebration upon finding her.
Princess Celestia was facing the horizon to the south, and in front of her was Luna, comforting Celestia and ensuring she remains strong. "Luna! You're here too, good."
Celestia turned around with a look of relief, "Twilight! Thank Me, I am delighted you decided to come. You decided not to teleport either, that was very wise. Though, I'm sure the flight was difficult."
"I think I need to visit Celestia in Canterlot at once. This is a solar issue, and who best to fix it than her? Maybe she and I can put this to use!"
"What should I do while you're gone?" Starlight asked.
"Try to find out more about what is happening and what we could do to stop this—er—what you can do for that matter. I don't know what will happen in Canterlot."
"You got it, Twilight. Now go! I'll do my best." Starlight looked committed to the cause.
Twilight activated her horn to complete a teleportation spell to Canterlot, but was thankfully interrupted.
"Wait!—" She dove toward Twilight, Starlight tapped her hoof on the tip of Twilight's horn, ending the spell.
Starlight continued to speak, after plopping on the floor, "You weren't really about to teleport in this heat, were you? Do you know how dangerous that is?"
On the border of concern and confusion, Twilight asked, "What is it?"
"If you teleport in anything above 110, you risk disfigurement, missing parts, and/or death. You should know this, Twilight! It's the main reason why Celestia locked the sun's distance in the first place."
Twilight facepalmed, "Oh, right. Well, then I need to leave now! Goodbye, Starlight."
"Are you sure it's safe to fly in this heat too?"
"I can't just sit here, Starlight. Flying is less risky than teleporting, and those are the only two options to get to Canterlot in time."
"Alright. All the luck to you then, Twilight."
"You too." Twilight darted by Starlight, swung the front doors open, and bolted off en route to Canterlot.
The instant she left the shaded confines of her castle, she felt the scorching heat of the hostile sun violently bombarding her. When Twilight took flight, she was instantly out of breath, as if she were a newbie flyer once again. As she flew, fatigue quickly grew from ache to pain. The feeling of her wings disappeared before she even left the boundaries of Ponyvile, the same feeling she got when working out her wings with wing-ups. For the entire duration of the trip, she had to pant heavily for air, as it was hard to breathe in the blazing heat of the day. It was rough and demanding, but she had to make it to Canterlot.
Shortly before arriving in Canterlot, she compared her surroundings since starting. The sun was redder and had become even more intense, baking the world in its ever-worsening heat. This could be fatigue from flying or sight alterations from the baking atmosphere, but the sun looked larger as well.
The spires of Canterlot castle overcame the horizon and elegantly presented themselves to Twilight, swaying through the cooking air. These tall and proud towers of regality were surrounded by a transparent red bubble, the same way Shining Armor protected Canterlot on his wedding day. Twilight's mind sped through many different realities, speculating why the sun had become active in this way. Has the star reached the end of its life? Had Celestia turned into Daybreaker?! Twilight increased her pacing, trying to visit Celestia as fast as possible while frantically mauling over every possible situation.
She passed through the borders of the shield and instantly knew what type of protection it was: temperature. The evidence was clear when she entered its barrier, it was a vastly cooler environment compared to the outside. This added to the reality unfolding every second, that her vision of the sun was the dawn of a very real crisis.
Twilight flew onto the announcement balcony above the plaza. She didn't even spare time to land and instead slid on the smooth marble, transitioning from flying right to a galloping stride. Once in a steady run, she immediately called for Celestia.
"Princess Celestia! Where are you? I need to talk to you!" she shouted while swinging her head in the direction of every doorway.
Her calls echoed around the empty halls, but a reply was never given. The throne room was empty, and so were the meeting room, dining room, and ballroom. Not a single royal guard or cleaning pony in sight, it was desolate. Finally, she caught a glimpse of Princess Celestia in the gardens with her horn activated. "Phew, not Daybreaker," Twilight internally confirmed with a pleased sigh.
"Celestia!" Twilight blurted out with a tone of celebration upon finding her.
Princess Celestia was facing the horizon to the south, and in front of her was Luna, comforting Celestia and ensuring she remains strong. "Luna! You're here too, good."
Celestia turned around with a look of relief, "Twilight! Thank Me, I am delighted you decided to come. You decided not to teleport either, that was very wise. Though, I'm sure the flight was difficult."
"I think we may now have the means to fix this!" she exclaimed. "I need to go see Princess Celestia at once! Maybe she and I can put this to use? I wish you could come with me, Starlight. I really do, but there is no safe way you can get to Canterlot."
"I understand. What should I do while you're gone?" Starlight asked determined.
"Try and see if there are other ways we could stop the sun — anything."
"You got it, Twilight. Now go! I'll do my best," Starlight looked committed to the cause.
Twilight activated her horn to complete a teleportation spell to Canterlot, but was thankfully interrupted.
"Wait!—" She dove toward Twilight, Starlight tapped her hoof on the tip of Twilight's horn, ending the spell.
Starlight continued to speak, after plopping on the floor, "You weren't really about to teleport in this heat, were you? Do you know how dangerous that is?"
On the border of concern and confusion, Twilight asked, "What is it?"
"If you teleport in anything above 110, you risk disfigurement, missing parts, and/or death. You should know this, Twilight! It's the main reason why Celestia locked the sun's distance in the first place."
Twilight facepalmed, "Oh, right. Well, then I need to leave now! Goodbye, Starlight."
"Are you sure it's safe to fly in this heat too?"
"I can't just sit here, Starlight. Flying is less risky than teleporting, and those are the only two options to get to Canterlot in time."
"Alright. All the luck to you then, Twilight."
"You too." Twilight darted by Starlight, swung the front doors open, and bolted off en route to Canterlot.
The instant she left the shaded confines of her castle, she felt the scorching heat of the hostile sun violently bombarding her. When Twilight took flight, she was instantly out of breath, as if she were a newbie flyer once again. As she flew, fatigue quickly grew from ache to pain. The feeling of her wings disappeared before she even left the boundaries of Ponyvile, the same feeling she got when working out her wings with wing-ups. For the entire duration of the trip, she had to pant heavily for air, as it was hard to breathe in the blazing heat of the day. It was rough and demanding, but she had to make it to Canterlot.
Shortly before arriving in Canterlot, she compared her surroundings since starting. The sun was redder and had become even more intense, baking the world in its ever-worsening heat. This could be fatigue from flying or sight alterations from the baking atmosphere, but the sun looked larger as well.
The spires of Canterlot castle overcame the horizon and elegantly presented themselves to Twilight, swaying through the cooking air. These tall and proud towers of regality were surrounded by a transparent red bubble, the same way Shining Armor protected Canterlot on his wedding day. Twilight's mind sped through many different realities, speculating why the sun had become active in this way. Has the star reached the end of its life? Had Celestia turned into Daybreaker?! Twilight increased her pacing, trying to visit Celestia as fast as possible while frantically mauling over every possible situation.
She passed through the borders of the shield and instantly knew what type of protection it was: temperature. The evidence was clear when she entered its barrier, it was a vastly cooler environment compared to the outside. This added to the reality unfolding every second, that her vision of the sun was the dawn of a very real crisis.
Twilight flew onto the announcement balcony above the plaza. She didn't even spare time to land and instead slid on the smooth marble, transitioning from flying right to a galloping stride. Once in a steady run, she immediately called for Celestia.
"Princess Celestia! Where are you? I need to talk to you!" she shouted while swinging her head in the direction of every doorway.
Her calls echoed around the empty halls, but a reply was never given. The throne room was empty, and so were the meeting room, dining room, and ballroom. Not a single royal guard or cleaning pony in sight, it was desolate. Finally, she caught a glimpse of Princess Celestia in the gardens with her horn activated. "Phew, not Daybreaker," Twilight internally confirmed with a pleased sigh.
"Celestia!" Twilight blurted out with a tone of celebration upon finding her.
Princess Celestia was facing the horizon to the south, and in front of her was Luna, comforting Celestia and ensuring she remains strong. "Luna! You're here too, good."
Celestia turned around with a look of relief, "Twilight! Thank Me, I am delighted you decided to come. You decided not to teleport either, that was very wise. Though, I'm sure the flight was difficult."
"I don't know how it started, but now we may have the means to fix this." She came to a conclusion. "I need to go see Princess Celestia at once!"
"What should I do while you're gone?" Starlight asked.
"Try to find out more about what is happening and what we could do to stop this—er—what you can do for that matter. I don't know what will happen in Canterlot."
"You got it, Twilight. Now go! I'll do my best." Starlight looked committed to the cause.
Twilight activated her horn to complete a teleportation spell to Canterlot, but was thankfully interrupted.
"Wait!—" She dove toward Twilight, Starlight tapped her hoof on the tip of Twilight's horn, ending the spell.
Starlight continued to speak, after plopping on the floor, "You weren't really about to teleport in this heat, were you? Do you know how dangerous that is?"
On the border of concern and confusion, Twilight asked, "What is it?"
"If you teleport in anything above 110, you risk disfigurement, missing parts, and/or death. You should know this, Twilight! It's the main reason why Celestia locked the sun's distance in the first place."
Twilight facepalmed, "Oh, right. Well, then I need to leave now! Goodbye, Starlight."
"Are you sure it's safe to fly in this heat too?"
"I can't just sit here, Starlight. Flying is less risky than teleporting, and those are the only two options to get to Canterlot in time."
"Alright. All the luck to you then, Twilight."
"You too." Twilight darted by Starlight, swung the front doors open, and bolted off en route to Canterlot.
The instant she left the shaded confines of her castle, she felt the scorching heat of the hostile sun violently bombarding her. When Twilight took flight, she was instantly out of breath, as if she were a newbie flyer once again. As she flew, fatigue quickly grew from ache to pain. The feeling to her wings disappeared before she even left the boundaries of Ponyvile, the same feeling she got when working out her wings with wing-ups. For the entire duration of the trip, she had to pant heavily for air, as it was hard to breathe in the blazing heat of the day. It was rough and demanding, but she had to make it to Canterlot.
Shortly before arriving in Canterlot, she compared her surroundings since starting. The sun was redder and had become even more intense, baking the world in its ever-worsening heat. This could be fatigue from flying or sight alterations from the baking atmosphere, but the sun looked larger as well.
The spires of Canterlot castle overcame the horizon and elegantly presented themselves to Twilight, swaying through the cooking air. These tall and proud towers of regality were surrounded by a transparent red bubble, the same way Shining Armor protected Canterlot on his wedding day. Twilight's mind sped through many different realities, speculating why the sun had become active in this way. Has the star reached the end of its life? Had Celestia turned into Daybreaker?! Twilight increased her pacing, trying to visit Celestia as fast as possible while frantically mauling over every possible situation.
She passed through the borders of the shield and instantly knew what type of protection it was: temperature. The evidence was clear when she entered its barrier, it was a vastly cooler environment compared to the outside. This added to the reality unfolding every second, that her vision of the sun was the dawn of a very real crisis.
Twilight flew onto the announcement balcony above the plaza. She didn't even spare time to land and instead slid on the smooth marble, transitioning from flying right to a galloping stride. Once in a steady run, she immediately called for Celestia.
"Princess Celestia! Where are you? I need to talk to you!" she shouted while swinging her head in the direction of every doorway.
Her calls echoed around the empty halls, but a reply was never given. The throne room was empty, and so were the meeting room, dining room, and ballroom. Not a single royal guard or cleaning pony in sight, it was desolate. Finally, she caught a glimpse of Princess Celestia in the gardens with her horn activated. "Phew, not Daybreaker," Twilight internally confirmed with a pleased sigh.
"Celestia!" Twilight blurted out with a tone of celebration upon finding her.
Princess Celestia was facing the horizon to the south, and in front of her was Luna, comforting Celestia and ensuring she remains strong.
Twilight approached them. "Luna! Good, you're here too."
Celestia turned around with a look of relief, but she didn't look very well. She forced a weak and distressed voice. "Twilight! I am delighted you decided to come. . ."
"Perhaps Celestia will know what to do with it, she had to of used this before. I need to go see Princess Celestia at once! I wish you could come with me, Starlight. I really do, but there is no safe way you can get to Canterlot."
"I understand. What should I do while you're gone?" Starlight asked determined.
"Try and see if there are other ways we could stop the sun — anything."
"You got it, Twilight. Now go! I'll do my best," Starlight looked committed to the cause.
Twilight activated her horn to complete a teleportation spell to Canterlot, but was thankfully interrupted.
"Wait!—" She dove toward Twilight, Starlight tapped her hoof on the tip of Twilight's horn, ending the spell.
Starlight continued to speak, after plopping on the floor, "You weren't really about to teleport in this heat, were you? Do you know how dangerous that is?"
On the border of concern and confusion, Twilight asked, "What is it?"
"If you teleport in anything above 110, you risk disfigurement, missing parts, and/or death. You should know this, Twilight! It's the main reason why Celestia locked the sun's distance in the first place."
Twilight facepalmed, "Oh, right. Well, then I need to leave now! Goodbye, Starlight."
"Are you sure it's safe to fly in this heat too?"
"I can't just sit here, Starlight. Flying is less risky than teleporting, and those are the only two options to get to Canterlot in time."
"Alright. All the luck to you then, Twilight."
"You too." Twilight darted by Starlight, swung the front doors open, and bolted off en route to Canterlot.
The instant she left the shaded confines of her castle, she felt the scorching heat of the hostile sun violently bombarding her. When Twilight took flight, she was instantly out of breath, as if she were a newbie flyer once again. As she flew, fatigue quickly grew from ache to pain. The feeling of her wings disappeared before she even left the boundaries of Ponyvile, the same feeling she got when working out her wings with wing-ups. For the entire duration of the trip, she had to pant heavily for air, as it was hard to breathe in the blazing heat of the day. It was rough and demanding, but she had to make it to Canterlot.
Shortly before arriving in Canterlot, she compared her surroundings since starting. The sun was redder and had become even more intense, baking the world in its ever-worsening heat. This could be fatigue from flying or sight alterations from the baking atmosphere, but the sun looked larger as well.
The spires of Canterlot castle overcame the horizon and elegantly presented themselves to Twilight, swaying through the cooking air. These tall and proud towers of regality were surrounded by a transparent red bubble, the same way Shining Armor protected Canterlot on his wedding day. Twilight's mind sped through many different realities, speculating why the sun had become active in this way. Has the star reached the end of its life? Had Celestia turned into Daybreaker?! Twilight increased her pacing, trying to visit Celestia as fast as possible while frantically mauling over every possible situation.
She passed through the borders of the shield and instantly knew what type of protection it was: temperature. The evidence was clear when she entered its barrier, it was a vastly cooler environment compared to the outside. This added to the reality unfolding every second, that her vision of the sun was the dawn of a very real crisis.
Twilight flew onto the announcement balcony above the plaza. She didn't even spare time to land and instead slid on the smooth marble, transitioning from flying right to a galloping stride. Once in a steady run, she immediately called for Celestia.
"Princess Celestia! Where are you? I need to talk to you!" she shouted while swinging her head in the direction of every doorway.
Her calls echoed around the empty halls, but a reply was never given. The throne room was empty, and so were the meeting room, dining room, and ballroom. Not a single royal guard or cleaning pony in sight, it was desolate. Finally, she caught a glimpse of Princess Celestia in the gardens with her horn activated. "Phew, not Daybreaker," Twilight internally confirmed with a pleased sigh.
"Celestia!" Twilight blurted out with a tone of celebration upon finding her.
Princess Celestia was facing the horizon to the south, and in front of her was Luna, comforting Celestia and ensuring she remains strong. "Luna! You're here too, good."
Celestia turned around with a look of relief, "Twilight! Thank Me, I am delighted you decided to come. You decided not to teleport either, that was very wise. Though, I'm sure the flight was difficult."
"Maybe we need two alicorns for this amulet to work properly. The two princesses are the ones who used this before. I should go to Canterlot and see what they can do with this amulet."
"What should I do while you're gone?" Starlight asked.
"Try to find out more about what is happening and what we could do to stop this—er—what you can do for that matter. I don't know what will happen in Canterlot."
"You got it, Twilight. Now go! I'll do my best." Starlight looked committed to the cause.
Twilight activated her horn to complete a teleportation spell to Canterlot, but was thankfully interrupted.
"Wait!—" She dove toward Twilight, Starlight tapped her hoof on the tip of Twilight's horn, ending the spell.
Starlight continued to speak, after plopping on the floor, "You weren't really about to teleport in this heat, were you? Do you know how dangerous that is?"
On the border of concern and confusion, Twilight asked, "What is it?"
"If you teleport in anything above 110, you risk disfigurement, missing parts, and/or death. You should know this, Twilight! It's the main reason why Celestia locked the sun's distance in the first place."
Twilight facepalmed, "Oh, right. Well, then I need to leave now! Goodbye, Starlight."
"Are you sure it's safe to fly in this heat too?"
"I can't just sit here, Starlight. Flying is less risky than teleporting, and those are the only two options to get to Canterlot in time."
"Alright. All the luck to you then, Twilight."
"You too." Twilight darted by Starlight, grabbed her saddlebag and put the amulet inside, swung the front doors open, and bolted off en route to Canterlot.
The instant she left the shaded confines of her castle, she felt the scorching heat of the hostile sun violently bombarding her. When Twilight took flight, she was instantly out of breath, as if she were a newbie flyer once again. As she flew, fatigue quickly grew from ache to pain. The feeling of her wings disappeared before she even left the boundaries of Ponyvile, the same feeling she got when working out her wings with wing-ups. For the entire duration of the trip, she had to pant heavily for air, as it was hard to breathe in the blazing heat of the day. It was rough and demanding, but she had to make it to Canterlot.
Shortly before arriving in Canterlot, she compared her surroundings since starting. The sun was redder and had become even more intense, baking the world in its ever-worsening heat. This could be fatigue from flying or sight alterations from the baking atmosphere, but the sun looked larger as well.
The spires of Canterlot castle overcame the horizon and elegantly presented themselves to Twilight, swaying through the cooking air. These tall and proud towers of regality were surrounded by a transparent red bubble, the same way Shining Armor protected Canterlot on his wedding day. Twilight's mind sped through many different realities, speculating why the sun had become active in this way. Has the star reached the end of its life? Had Celestia turned into Daybreaker?! Twilight increased her pacing, trying to visit Celestia as fast as possible while frantically mauling over every possible situation.
She passed through the borders of the shield and instantly knew what type of protection it was: temperature. The evidence was clear when she entered its barrier, it was a vastly cooler environment compared to the outside. This added to the reality unfolding every second, that her vision of the sun was the dawn of a very real crisis.
Twilight flew onto the announcement balcony above the plaza. She didn't even spare time to land and instead slid on the smooth marble, transitioning from flying right to a galloping stride. Once in a steady run, she immediately called for Celestia.
"Princess Celestia! Where are you? I need to talk to you!" she shouted while swinging her head in the direction of every doorway.
Her calls echoed around the empty halls, but a reply was never given. The throne room was empty, and so were the meeting room, dining room, and ballroom. Not a single royal guard or cleaning pony in sight, it was desolate. Finally, she caught a glimpse of Princess Celestia in the gardens with her horn activated. "Phew, not Daybreaker," Twilight internally confirmed with a pleased sigh.
"Celestia!" Twilight blurted out with a tone of celebration upon finding her.
Princess Celestia was facing the horizon to the south, and in front of her was Luna, comforting Celestia and ensuring she remains strong. "Luna! You're here too, good."
Celestia turned around with a look of relief, "Twilight! Thank Me, I am delighted you decided to come. You decided not to teleport either, that was very wise. Though, I'm sure the flight was difficult."
"I'm sorry, but I think I need to take this spell to Celestia. Maybe with her being the princess of the sun, this spell could go differently. Or, she knows something that could fix all of this. I need to visit her at once."
"I understand. What should I do while you're gone?" Starlight asked determined.
"Try and see if there are other ways we could stop the sun — anything."
"You got it, Twilight. Now go! I'll do my best," Starlight looked committed to the cause.
Twilight activated her horn to complete a teleportation spell to Canterlot, but was thankfully interrupted.
"Wait!—" She dove toward Twilight, Starlight tapped her hoof on the tip of Twilight's horn, ending the spell.
Starlight continued to speak, after plopping on the floor, "You weren't really about to teleport in this heat, were you? Do you know how dangerous that is?"
On the border of concern and confusion, Twilight asked, "What is it?"
"If you teleport in anything above 110, you risk disfigurement, missing parts, and/or death. You should know this, Twilight! It's the main reason why Celestia locked the sun's distance in the first place."
Twilight facepalmed, "Oh, right. Well, then I need to leave now! Goodbye, Starlight."
"Are you sure it's safe to fly in this heat too?"
"I can't just sit here, Starlight. Flying is less risky than teleporting, and those are the only two options to get to Canterlot in time."
"Alright. All the luck to you then, Twilight."
"You too." Twilight darted by Starlight, swung the front doors open, and bolted off en route to Canterlot.
The instant she left the shaded confines of her castle, she felt the scorching heat of the hostile sun violently bombarding her. When Twilight took flight, she was instantly out of breath, as if she were a newbie flyer once again. As she flew, fatigue quickly grew from ache to pain. The feeling of her wings disappeared before she even left the boundaries of Ponyvile, the same feeling she got when working out her wings with wing-ups. For the entire duration of the trip, she had to pant heavily for air, as it was hard to breathe in the blazing heat of the day. It was rough and demanding, but she had to make it to Canterlot.
Shortly before arriving in Canterlot, she compared her surroundings since starting. The sun was redder and had become even more intense, baking the world in its ever-worsening heat. This could be fatigue from flying or sight alterations from the baking atmosphere, but the sun looked larger as well.
The spires of Canterlot castle overcame the horizon and elegantly presented themselves to Twilight, swaying through the cooking air. These tall and proud towers of regality were surrounded by a transparent red bubble, the same way Shining Armor protected Canterlot on his wedding day. Twilight's mind sped through many different realities, speculating why the sun had become active in this way. Has the star reached the end of its life? Had Celestia turned into Daybreaker?! Twilight increased her pacing, trying to visit Celestia as fast as possible while frantically mauling over every possible situation.
She passed through the borders of the shield and instantly knew what type of protection it was: temperature. The evidence was clear when she entered its barrier, it was a vastly cooler environment compared to the outside. This added to the reality unfolding every second, that her vision of the sun was the dawn of a very real crisis.
Twilight flew onto the announcement balcony above the plaza. She didn't even spare time to land and instead slid on the smooth marble, transitioning from flying right to a galloping stride. Once in a steady run, she immediately called for Celestia.
"Princess Celestia! Where are you? I need to talk to you!" she shouted while swinging her head in the direction of every doorway.
Her calls echoed around the empty halls, but a reply was never given. The throne room was empty, and so were the meeting room, dining room, and ballroom. Not a single royal guard or cleaning pony in sight, it was desolate. Finally, she caught a glimpse of Princess Celestia in the gardens with her horn activated. "Phew, not Daybreaker," Twilight internally confirmed with a pleased sigh.
"Celestia!" Twilight blurted out with a tone of celebration upon finding her.
Princess Celestia was facing the horizon to the south, and in front of her was Luna, comforting Celestia and ensuring she remains strong. "Luna! You're here too, good."
Celestia turned around with a look of relief, "Twilight! Thank Me, I am delighted you decided to come. You decided not to teleport either, that was very wise. Though, I'm sure the flight was difficult."
"I need to see Princess Celestia, now. I'll be back soon, Starlight."
Twilight went up the castle stairs and to the balcony. She jumped off the sizzling floor and spread her wings to fly toward Canterlot.
She instantly became tired and fatigued as the sun's heat felt like daggers on every square inch of her body. Enough so that she could not fly straight anymore, like a drunk taxi driver in Manehattan. Her vision was wavey, as she struggled to breathe the hot air.
Twilight took a moment to stop and look back at Ponyville. She watched in desperation as the efforts made by Ponyville to block out the sun had failed, allowing the baking heat to scorch everything. Then, she looked up to see a rapidly expanding sun in a cloudless blood-red sky.
In a panic, she resumed speeding toward Canterlot. Exhaustion got the best of her as the lakes below began to boil. Similar to Ponyville, Twilight also collapsed, and so did the planet after her.
"What in the wide land of Equestria is happening?" Twilight shouted alarmingly — twilighting.
"Five hundred years ago an amulet was made, one of great power. It was a solar amulet that amplified our protection spells and directed them at the sun. I made it when the sun first revolted against us, but it seemed to have self-destructed after use. I attempted to recreate it after the heat crisis was over in case the sun ever rebelled again, but whenever we tried, it just fell apart. This was after winter's return."
Twilight tilted her head in curiosity. "Winter returned? What do you mean?"
Celestia elaborated. "The sun was not as quick to expand as it is now. It took 55 days for the sun to get only a fraction as bad as it is currently. On the 46th day, the sun replaced the middle of winter with the hottest peak of summer. Now freed from captivity once again, it has become increasingly enraged with revenge."
"Science has progressed since the last time this happened. The sun isn't angry Celestia, it is old. Keeping it trapped didn't stop it from aging. It is expanding faster now because the older sun is free from the spell."
"Good to know, Twilight, but we do not have time to change the olden methods at the moment. Finding a new way to deal with the sun would take too long."
"What in the wide land of Equestria is happening?" Twilight shouted alarmingly — twilighting.
"Five hundred years ago an amulet was made, one of great power. It was a solar amulet that amplified our protection spells and directed them at the sun. I made it when the sun first revolted against us, but it seemed to have self-destructed after use. I attempted to recreate it after the heat crisis was over in case the sun ever rebelled again, but whenever we tried, it just fell apart. This was after winter's return."
Twilight tilted her head in curiosity. "Winter returned? What do you mean?"
Celestia elaborated. "The sun was not as quick to expand as it is now. It took 55 days for the sun to get only a fraction as bad as it is currently. On the 46th day, the sun replaced the middle of winter with the hottest peak of summer. Now freed from captivity once again, it has become increasingly enraged with revenge."
"Science has progressed since the last time this happened. The sun isn't angry Celestia, it is old. Keeping it trapped didn't stop it from aging. It is expanding faster now because the older sun is free from the spell."
"Good to know, Twilight, but we do not have time to change the olden methods at the moment. Finding a new way to deal with the sun would take too long."
"I read that this happened before. How did you fix it?"
"Five hundred years ago an amulet was made, one of great power. It was a solar amulet that amplified our protection spells and directed them at the sun. I made it when the sun first revolted, but it seemed to have self-destructed after use. I tried to recreate it after the heat crisis was over in case the sun ever rebelled again, but whenever we assembled it, it just fell apart. This was after winter's return."
"I read about a solar amulet and know how to make it."
"Thank goodness!" Celestia said with great relief. "I knew an amulet was used, but I forgot how to make it. All we need to do now is make it and combine it with Spherical Prison, a protection spell."
Celestia appeared tired and weak, even with Luna's help.
"Are you alright, Celestia?"
"We just must act with haste. I'm not sure how much longer I can keep this up."
"Okay, uh . . ." Twilight's head was rushing with what to do next. "Let's make the amulet so you can cast the spell again."
"I can't. You have to. I can teach it to you. Focus on the issue at hoof then say, 'Shielgorus un sphericana etis impetrano circulus pentalor'."
Twilight was quick to learn Spherical Prison. To test it and her ability to successfully complete the spell, Celestia had her use a pot of flowers.
She aimed her horn and began, "Shielgorus un sphericana etis impetrano circulus pentalor!"
The floral decor was then surrounded by a transparent purple-tinted sphere, it was perfect. Until it dissipated shortly after Twilight disengaged.
All three alicorns reacted in surprise, "What?"
Their curiosity quickly ended and turned into panic as Celestia began to groan in pain.
"This temperature regulation bubble is proving harder to maintain as the sun grows hotter. I'm not sure how much longer I can keep it up."
"But, Princess, the spell . . ."
"We have no time to practice more. We must hurry."
"What in the wide land of Equestria is happening?" Twilight shouted alarmingly — twilighting.
"Five hundred years ago an amulet was made, one of great power. It was a solar amulet that amplified our protection spells and directed them at the sun. I made it when the sun first revolted against us, but it seemed to have self-destructed after use. I attempted to recreate it after the heat crisis was over in case the sun ever rebelled again, but whenever we tried, it just fell apart. This was after winter's return."
Twilight tilted her head in curiosity. "Winter returned? What do you mean?"
Celestia elaborated. "The sun was not as quick to expand as it is now. It took 55 days for the sun to get only a fraction as bad as it is currently. On the 46th day, the sun replaced the middle of winter with the hottest peak of summer. Now freed from captivity once again, it has become increasingly enraged with revenge."
"Science has progressed since the last time this happened. The sun isn't angry Celestia, it is old. Keeping it trapped didn't stop it from aging. It is expanding faster now because the older sun is free from the spell."
"Good to know, Twilight, but we do not have time to change the olden methods at the moment. Finding a new way to deal with the sun would take too long."
"What in the wide land of Equestria is happening?" Twilight shouted alarmingly — twilighting.
"Five hundred years ago an amulet was made, one of great power. It was a solar amulet that amplified our protection spells and directed them at the sun. I made it when the sun first revolted against us, but it seemed to have self-destructed after use. I attempted to recreate it after the heat crisis was over in case the sun ever rebelled again, but whenever we tried, it just fell apart. This was after winter's return."
Twilight tilted her head in curiosity. "Winter returned? What do you mean?"
Celestia elaborated. "The sun was not as quick to expand as it is now. It took 55 days for the sun to get only a fraction as bad as it is currently. On the 46th day, the sun replaced the middle of winter with the hottest peak of summer. Now freed from captivity once again, it has become increasingly enraged with revenge."
"Science has progressed since the last time this happened. The sun isn't angry Celestia, it is old. Keeping it trapped didn't stop it from aging. It is expanding faster now because the older sun is free from the spell."
"Good to know, Twilight, but we do not have time to change the olden methods at the moment. Finding a new way to deal with the sun would take too long."
Celestia appeared tired and weak, even with Luna's help.
"Are you alright, Celestia?"
"We just—must act with haste. I'm not sure—how much longer I can—keep this up."
"Okay, uh . . ." Twilight's head was rushing with what to do next. "What protection spell did you use last time?"
"It was Spherical Prison. I can—ugh—teach it to you. Focus on the issue at hoof then say 'Shielgorus un sphericana etis impe—GAH!" Celestia loudly yelped.
She collapsed to the ground in terrible exhaustion. Her horn deactivated, prompting the collapse of the red-tinted bubble. The scorching heat of the sun was now allowed to torch all of Canterlot, and soon thereafter, Equus.
"Celestia, this has happened before. How did you fix it?"
"It was a combination of an advanced spell and a solar amulet," Celestia replied.
"Where's the amulet now?"
"It-it disintegrated after use 500 years—ago." Celestia appeared tired and weak, even with Luna's help.
Twilight gasped, "Are you alright, Celestia?"
"We just—must act with haste. I'm not sure—how much longer I can—keep this up." Celestia appeared to struggle with every word.
"Okay, uh . . ." Twilight's head was rushing with what to do next. "What protection spell did you use last time?"
"It was Spherical Prison. I can—ugh—teach it to you. Focus on the issue at hoof then say 'Shielgorus un sphericana etis impe—GAH!" Celestia loudly yelped.
She collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. Her horn deactivated, prompting the collapse of the red-tinted bubble. The scorching heat of the sun was now allowed to torch all of Canterlot, and soon thereafter, Equus.
"I read about a solar amulet and know how to make it."
"Thank goodness!" Celestia said with great relief. "I knew an—amulet was used, but I forgot how to make it. All we need to do—now is make it and combine it with—Spherical Prison, a—uh—protection spell."
Celestia appeared tired and weak, even with Luna's help.
"Are you alright, Celestia?"
"We just--must act with haste. I'm not sure—how much longer I can—keep this up."
"Okay, uh . . ." Twilight's head was rushing with what to do next. "Let's make the amulet so you can cast the spell again."
"I can't . . . You have—to. I can—ugh—teach it to you. Focus on the issue at hoof then say 'Shielgorus un sphericana etis impe--GAH!" Celestia loudly yelped.
She collapsed to the ground in terrible exhaustion. Her horn deactivated, prompting the collapse of the red-tinted bubble. The scorching heat of the sun was now allowed to torch all of Canterlot, and soon thereafter, Equus.
"What in the wide land of Equestria is happening?" Twilight shouted alarmingly — twilighting.
"The sun broke free of its confinement and is heading right for us." Celestia's tone lacked hope.
"Actually, the sun itself isn't moving closer to Equus. It is simply exploding, as dying stars do. Apparently, our sun is dying."
"We don't have time to figure out why this is happening. We need to find a way to stop and reverse this."
"Right! Well, I learned a spell earlier. It was Spherical Prison."
"Yes, I know that spell. It was used to stall the sun last time."
"So why didn't you cast it again?"
"That's not how it works. It needs an amulet to work through, but I have since forgotten how to make that amulet."
"It doesn't exist anymore?"
"It disintegrated upon use."
"I'll go find an amulet book from the archives then. I'll be right back."
Twilight flies through the castle to get a book called the Unabridged History of Amulets. When she returned to the gardens, Celestia was laying on the ground still protecting Canterlot with her magic. Luna was doing her best to help her sister, but the stress of battling the sun was proving to be too much.
"Celestia! Are you okay?"
Celestia makes a noise to signal some sort of consciousness.
"Princess Celestia, we all need you to stay awake. You're the only one who can protect us. I also need you to point out where the amulet is in this book so we can make it again."
Twilight shows her page by page. The deeper into the book they got, the harder it was for Celestia to open her eyes to look. Then came the moment no one wanted.
"Was this the one? The "Amulet of Fire Resistance"? Celestia? Celestia!"
Luna tried to wake her up with a spell that ends a deep slumber, but it did not work. Celestia's horn became inactive, abruptly terminating the protective magic. Instantly, an unforgiving rush of heat and pressure acted like an imploding bomb to all of Canterlot.
"I read about a solar amulet and know how to make it."
"Thank goodness!" Celestia said with great relief. "I knew an—amulet was used, but I forgot how to make it. All we need to do—now is make it and combine it with—Spherical Prison, a—uh—protection spell."
Celestia appeared tired and weak, even with Luna's help.
"Are you alright, Celestia?"
"We just—must act with haste. I'm not sure—how much longer I can—keep this up."
"Okay, uh . . ." Twilight's head was rushing with what to do next. "Let's make the amulet so you can cast the spell again."
"I can't . . . You have—to. I can—ugh—teach it to you. Focus on the issue at hoof then say 'Shielgorus un sphericana etis impe—GAH!" Celestia loudly yelped.
She collapsed to the ground in terrible exhaustion. Her horn deactivated, prompting the collapse of the red-tinted bubble. The scorching heat of the sun was now allowed to torch all of Canterlot, and soon thereafter, Equus.
"I learned a spell earlier. It was Spherical Prison."
Celestia nodded. "Yes, I know that spell. It was used to stall the sun last time."
"So why didn't you cast it again?"
"That's not how it works. It needs an amulet to work through, but I have since forgotten how to make that amulet."
"It doesn't exist anymore?"
"It disintegrated upon use."
"I'll go find an amulet book from the archives then. I'll be right back."
Twilight flew through the castle to get a book called the Unabridged History of Amulets. When she returned to the gardens, Celestia was laying on the ground still protecting Canterlot. Luna was doing her best to help her sister, but the stress of battling the sun was proving to be too much.
"Celestia! Are you okay?"
Celestia makes a noise to signal some sort of consciousness.
"Princess Celestia, we all need you to stay awake. You're the only one who can protect us. I also need you to point out where the amulet is in this book so we can make it again."
Twilight shows her page by page. The deeper into the book they got, the harder it was for Celestia to open her eyes to look. Then came the moment no one wanted.
"Was this the one? The "Amulet of Fire Resistance"? Celestia? Celestia!"
Luna tried to wake her up with a spell that ends a deep slumber, but it did not work. Celestia's horn became inactive, abruptly terminating the protective magic. Instantly, an unforgiving rush of heat and pressure acted like an imploding bomb to all of Canterlot.
"I read about a solar amulet and know how to make it. I also know a spell named Spherical Prison."
"Thank goodness!" Celestia said with great relief. "I knew an—amulet was used, but I forgot how to make it. All we need to do—now is make it and combine it with—Spherical Prison, a—uh—protection spell."
Celestia appeared tired and weak, even with Luna's help.
"Are you alright, Celestia?"
"We just—must act with haste. I'm not sure—how much longer I can—keep this up."
"Okay, uh . . ." Twilight's head was rushing with what to do next. "Let's make the amulet so you can cast the spell again."
"I can't . . . You have—to. I can—ugh—teach it to you. Focus on the issue at hoof then say 'Shielgorus un sphericana etis impe—GAH!" Celestia loudly yelped.
She collapsed to the ground in terrible exhaustion. Her horn deactivated, prompting the collapse of the red-tinted bubble. The scorching heat of the sun was now allowed to torch all of Canterlot, and soon thereafter, Equus.
"I read about a solar amulet and made it, but what do I do with it now?"
"Thank goodness!" Celestia said with great relief. "I knew an—amulet was used, but I forgot how to make it. All we need to do—now is make it and combine it with—Spherical Prison, a—uh—protection spell."
Twilight's ears perked up. "So that's why it didn't work for Starlight and me!"
Celestia appeared tired and weak, even with Luna's help.
"Are you alright, Celestia?"
"We just—must act with haste. I'm not sure—how much longer I can—keep this up."
"Okay, uh . . ." Twilight's head was rushing with what to do next. "Let's make the amulet so you can cast the spell again."
"I can't . . . You have—to. I can—ugh—teach it to you. Focus on the issue at hoof then say 'Shielgorus un sphericana etis impe—GAH!" Celestia loudly yelped.
She collapsed to the ground in terrible exhaustion. Her horn deactivated, prompting the collapse of the red-tinted bubble. The scorching heat of the sun was now allowed to torch all of Canterlot, and soon thereafter, Equus.
"Well, I learned a spell earlier. It was Spherical Prison."
Celestia nodded. "Yes, I know that spell. It was used to stall the sun last time."
"I tried casting it earlier but it didn't work!"
"By itself?"
Twilight wondered what she meant, "No, I was with Starlight."
"No, I mean did you cast it through a medium?"
"Ooh, no."
"It needs an amulet to work through, but I have since forgotten how to make that amulet."
"It doesn't exist anymore?"
"It disintegrated upon use."
"I'll go find an amulet book from the archives then. I'll be right back."
Twilight flew through the castle to get a book called the Unabridged History of Amulets. When she returned to the gardens, Celestia was laying on the ground still protecting Canterlot with her magic. Luna was doing her best to help her sister, but the stress of battling the sun was proving to be too much.
"Celestia! Are you okay?"
Celestia makes a noise to signal some sort of consciousness.
"Princess Celestia, we all need you to stay awake. You're the only one who can protect us. I also need you to point out where the amulet is in this book so we can make it again."
Twilight showed her page by page. The deeper into the book they got, the harder it was for Celestia to open her eyes to look. Then came the moment no one wanted.
"Was this the one? The "Amulet of Fire Resistance"? Celestia? Celestia!"
Luna tried to wake her up with a spell that ends a deep slumber, but it did not work. Celestia's horn became inactive, abruptly terminating the protective magic. Instantly, an unforgiving rush of heat and pressure acted like an imploding bomb to all of Canterlot.
Twilight attempted to calm the masses, "There is no need to fret! Celestia and I have a plan that will end this crisis! We just need your assistance!"
Her words of reassurance, and hopes of a plan, slightly diminished the panic.
Celestia leaned closer to Twilight's ear and whispered, "You have a plan?"
Twilight quietly replied, "I was hoping you did . . ."
Due to the voice amplifier, her whisper was more of a talk — loud enough for some of the crowd to hear.
"They don't have a plan!" cried somepony near the front.
Before they resumed panicking, Celestia quickly thought of something and amplified her own voice. "My little ponies, hear me." Everypony looked up at her. "We have a plan to combat the aggressive sun. Princess Twilight will cast a reinforced shield spell toward the sun to stop its growth as I continue to keep us in cool temperatures. I can not do them both since they are advanced, making me unable to cast them simultaneously."
Twilight wasted no time after Celestia taught Twilight a spell called Spherical Prison. A purple beam of magic shot upward, through the temperature shield, at the sun. The crowd watched as the shield tried to develop around the sun, but it was struggling.
A random stallion from the crowd shouted, "The sun is overpowering her! We must assist the Princess!"
"How?" a mare asked.
"Let's share our magic power with her."
"We can't make a difference."
"Yes, we can! All of us must work together!"
The stallion activated his horn and shot a spell at Princess Twilight. It was a donation spell, giving one's magical power to another while it is active. His action inspired others around him to contribute their own magic.
One, two, four, then twelve beams of multicolored light struck Twilight's horn, increasing her own magical capabilities. As a result, her beam of magic grew thicker and more powerful — the shield more fully surrounded the expanding sun. It was not long before all of Canterlot was donating their powers.
Even with all of that power, hundreds of ponies boosting Twilight, the sun remained superior.
Celestia had a hard time deciding if she should . . .
Still frazzled about the situation, "We need to quickly think about how to stop this, and fast. How did you fix the sun last time?"
Celestia cleared her throat. "An amulet was made, one of great power. It was a solar amulet that amplified our protection spells and directed them at the sun. I made it when this previously occurred, but it seemed to have self-destructed after use. I tried to recreate it after the heat crisis was over in case the sun ever revolted again, but whenever we assembled it, it just fell apart. This was after winter's return."
Twilight tilted her head in curiosity. "Winter returned? What do you mean?"
Noticing Twilight's expression, Celestia elaborated. "This same crisis occurred 500 years ago, though less hastily. It took 55 days for the sun to get only a fraction as bad as it is now in just a few hours. On the 46th day, the sun replaced the middle of winter with the peak of summer."
"What was this spell you used? We need—"
Twilight was interrupted by Celestia's audible struggle in maintaining the temperature regulation bubble. Looking upwards, the sun had become a giant red ball.
"It is getting too hot out there . . . the temperature shield is becoming too much for me to handle," Celestia stated through her grunts.
Luna cast a donation spell to help ease the strain her sister was enduring. Since Twilight did not know how to make the amulet Celestia spoke of, nor the spell, she decided to help Celestia with the bubble as well. Her horn lit up and cast the same spell to share the burden. With nothing holding back the sun, it grew exponentially, filling the sky with its red glow as if it were setting for the last time.
Instead, the heat overpowered the princesses, shattering the temperature bubble, and then the planet.
Twilight thought about Starlight's assessment. "You're right, we should try again, but this time you keep the amulet stable while I conduct the spell."
"You got it," Starlight agreed.
Twilight's horn lit up and shot the solar amulet with a protection spell while Starlight kept it stable. The amulet for brighter as Twilight finished the spell. It started to radiate a teal blue while shining ever brighter. Unlike the last attempt, it began to spin on its own and shot a radiant ray of light directly at the sun.
"It's working!" Twilight shouted over the noise of the amulet.
Starlight finished the spell and watched as the solar charm did its job.
Looking upward, they saw the teal ray of light from the amulet touch the sun. It started to create a transparent shield around the big red star — it was triple the normal size.
Twilight pranced excitedly in place for saving Equestria, and the world, once again. "We did it!" she expressed joyously while trotting to Starlight before getting face-hoofed by her, stopping Twilight in her tracks.
"As much as I would like to celebrate, we need to see if it's truly working first." Starlight took a nearby flower pot and morphed it into a thermometer. She observed the red kerosene expand, but slower and slower over time.
"Twilight . . ." Starlight said with an eerie tone Twilight did not like.
"What is it?" she responded, hoping the news was not too bad.
"It is 160 degrees . . . BUT the temperature is logarithmic, we did it! The sun is stabilizing!"
They both rejoiced and hugged in congratulations. Loud cheering came from below the balcony, surprising both of them.
Walking to the end of the ledge, they witness the citizens of Ponyville cheering them on for saving the day. Rainbow Dash flew up and landed next to Twilight.
"We saw the teal light and came over. We were all starting to think it would never stop! Nice going!" Rainbow Dash proceeded to hoof bump Twilight's shoulder. "It's too hot though, I can barely fly without getting dizzy."
Starlight checked the thermometer, "Yeah, it's 161 degrees, way too hot to do anything more than walk."
Twilight made an announcement to Ponyville, "The crisis is no longer a threat! All we need to do now is wait for the heat to dissipate. I advise we—"
An extreme wave of heat suddenly dazed everypony, some ponies fainted immediately.
Starlight glanced at the thermometer again, it was getting hotter. Just moments ago it was 161. "Twilight . . . it just got 20 degrees hotter," she warned.
Everyone looked up at an enormous red sun that was expanding once again, with shattered pieces of shield disappearing around it.
Rainbow offered an option, "Twilight, we could use your help moving more clouds to shade Ponyville. We started earlier when we noticed meals could be cooked on the roads." If only it were really an exaggeration.
Twilight stomped on the floor as she grew more flustered. "We need to try again."
"Twilight, I know what went wrong."
"What was it?"
"The Spherical Prison spell, I think we forgot it only works for alicorns. So you have to keep the amulet stabilized while I do the spell."
"You're right. I completely forgot . . . The stress of all of this must have distracted me."
Twilight's horn lit up and shot the solar amulet with a protection spell while Starlight kept it stable. The amulet became brighter as Twilight finished the spell. It started to radiate a teal blue while it continued to shine ever brighter. Unlike the last attempt, it began to spin on its own and shot a radiant ray of light directly at the sun.
The ponies of Ponyville saw this teal light project from the castle. They stopped moving clouds for protection and assembled below the castle's balcony to bask in the spectacle. Slowly, a bubble-like shield began to form around the sun. The sun was still growing, attempting to fight off its captor. Twilight, Starlight, and all Ponyville residents remained still, full of anxiousness as there was nothing left they could do.
The bubble entrapping the sun let out a deep plump sound and resonated a blue glow when it finally completed its task.
The sun had been detained.
"Twilight! We did it!" Starlight shouted in glee as she jumped as if she were playing a game of jump rope.
Twilight had no words for this spectacular moment. She simply sat down and took in the moment. The moment that guaranteed that the planet would not be destroyed. The moment that saved millions of lives. The moment that kept the future safe for centuries to come.
The Solar Amulet became white-hot and glowed a resplendently pure white; it was like a miniature star. After reaching its apex of bright intensity, it burst into flames, then disintegrated into ash that floated upon the delicate breeze.
Joyous shouts and celebratory hurrahs surrounded them from Ponyville down below.
"Ugh, let's go back to the amulet and try again. This time I will keep the amulet stable and conduct the spell as well."
"It's worth a shot," Starlight concurred.
They ran through the scolding hot hallways of the castle yet again and obtained the amulet on the balcony.
Twilight took the amulet to stabilize it. "One," she started. "Two," Starlight continued. "Three!" they said simultaneously while casting the shield spell at the solar amulet.
They both stood there, shooting at the amulet as the air around them grew hotter by the second. It was hard to breathe, if they had to guess, it would be around two hundred degrees by now. Even through sweating out more water than a running faucet, they continued the spell with all of their strength. They knew time was running out.
The spell was done and the amulet was glowing once again. As expected, it shot out a ray of light toward the sun.
The light from the amulet was doing its best, but the red sun was too big for it now. The shield could not expand around it fast enough; it was being pushed back as it was breaking.
Starlight tapped Twilight, "Uhm . . . Twilight."
Twilight turned her head to see Starlight pointing at something in the distance with a look of horror and her mouth agape. She looked to see that all the clouds the citizens of Ponyville moved for shade, were completely gone. Not only that, but even farther away on the horizon, Cloudsdale was falling to the ground in pieces.
Twilight forced herself to speak over her emotions strangling her throat. "C—Cloudsdale . . . All the clouds in Equestria are gone . . . and flying in this heat is not safe at all. Did we fa—" Starlight embraced Twilight to make her feel better . . . or was it a final goodbye?
The steamy air of dead clouds combined with the overbearing fireball produced countless rainbows. Who knew the heat death of Equestria would produce such melancholic beauty?
"No! It isn't over yet!" Twilight pushed past Starlight.
"Help me do the spell again!" Twilight desperately demanded.
Starlight admitted with a sinking heart, "Twilight . . . it's over."
Behind them, the amulet deactivated and fell to crash against the floor, just as the sun crashed into the planet's atmosphere.
Twilight answered, "We need to try again. Obviously, Starlight and I did something wrong and we need to fix it."
Rainbow Dash rose off the ground, "Alright. I'll see you later then, Twilight."
"Goodbye, Rainbow. Good luck."
"You too," Rainbow Dash flew to the ponies below to rally them once again.
Twilight picked up the solar charm, "Did you do the spell right last time?"
Starlight raised an eyebrow, "Really . . ."
"Heheh, of course you did it right," Twilight was slightly ashamed for assuming such a thing. "Then I suppose we have to try again. This time I will keep the amulet stable and conduct the spell as well."
"It's worth a shot," Starlight concurred.
Twilight took the amulet to stabilize it. "One," she started. "Two," Starlight continued. "Three!" they said simultaneously while casting the shield spell at the solar amulet.
They both stood there, shooting at the amulet as the air around them grew hotter by the second. It was hard to breathe. If they had to guess, it would be around 200 degrees by now. Even through sweating out more water than a running faucet, they continued the spell with all their strength. They knew time was running out.
The spell was done and the amulet was glowing once again. As expected, it shot out a ray of light toward the sun.
The light from the amulet was doing its best, but the sun was too big for it now. The shield could not expand around it fast enough; it was being pushed back, breaking.
Starlight tapped Twilight, "Uhm . . . Twilight."
Twilight turned her head to see Starlight pointing at something in the distance with a look of horror and her mouth agape. All the clouds the citizens of Ponyville moved for shade were completely gone, evaporated. Not only that, but even farther away on the horizon, Cloudsdale was falling to the ground in pieces.
Twilight forced herself to speak, emotions strangling her throat. "C—Cloudsdale . . . All the clouds in Equestria are gone . . . and flying in this heat is not safe at all. Did we fa—" Starlight embraced Twilight to make her feel better . . . or was it a final goodbye?
The steamy air of dead clouds combined with the overbearing fireball produced countless rainbows. Who knew the heat death of Equestria would produce such melancholic beauty?
"No! It isn't over yet!" Twilight pushed past Starlight.
"Help me do the spell again!" Twilight desperately demanded.
Starlight admitted with a sinking heart, "Twilight . . . it's over."
Behind them, the amulet deactivated and fell to crash against the floor, just as the sun crashed into the planet's atmosphere.
"Spherico Na Pentra Circum!" Twilight commanded, immediately ready for action.
Starlight looked confused, "Again? It just failed."
"I don't think we held it long enough. Donate your power again, so we can save the world . . . again."
"Alright . . ."
Starlight joined Twilight, once again, in the battle against the sun. Her donation spell bolstered Twilight's effort to entrap the sun. However, it was no longer an easy task. They were fighting a larger and more violent star than just moments ago.
To Starlight's surprise, the protective sphere surrounded the sun and resonated a blue glow as if it was complete.
"See! We just stopped prematurely," Twilight bragged.
Starlight admitted defeat. "Alright, alright. You were right."
Residents of Ponyvile cheered as they approached them for a congratulatory celebration. However, they were rudely interrupted by the sun breaking through the shield . . . again.
As quickly as they arrived, the citizens scattered in fear. If Twilight couldn't stop the sun, who could?
Starlight joined Twilight once again in the battle against the sun. Her donation spell bolstered Twilight's effort of entrapping the sun. However, it was no longer an easy task. They were fighting a larger and more violent star than just moments ago.
It was an endless task as it took longer to contain the sun again. The longer it took, the larger the sun got, but the larger the sun gets, the more time it would take to capture the sun. The workload snowballed from hardly possible to impossible.
The temperature had risen forty-five degrees in minutes, making the air act like an air fryer at two-hundred ten degrees.
Starlight's donation spell was the only extra power and energy Twilight had to rely on, but it wouldn't last. Starlight succumbed to the heat, leaving Twilight completely drained. The spell weakened as the sun continued to grow effortlessly.
As the remaining bits of the shield evaporated away, so did the planet soon after.
"Really?! Again? Twilight, we know this doesn't work."
"I am determined this is the right way. What other option was there?"
Starlight sighed and elaborated, rolling her eyes. "We could try to find the materialistic medium the spell said it required."
"I'm sure that was just a recommendation."
"We could also find out more about what happened last time, since we know this already occurred 500," Starlight insisted.
"and go back all the way to the castle? We'll just try this spell again, it'll work."
"Or we could go to the princess of the sun herself!"
"Starlight! This will work, just watch."
Starlight rolled her eyes so hard that everyone in Ponyville could sense it. Against her better judgment, she joined Twilight once more in the battle against the sun. Her donation spell bolstered Twilight's effort of entrapping the sun. However, it was no longer an easy mission. They were fighting a bigger and more violent star than just moments ago.
It seemed an endless task as it took longer to contain the sun again. The longer it took, the larger the sun got, but the larger the sun got, the more time it would take to capture the sun. The workload snowballed from hardly possible to impossible.
The temperature had risen 45 degrees in minutes, making the air act like an air fryer at 210 degrees.
Starlight's donation spell was the only extra power and energy Twilight had to rely on, but it couldn't last. Starlight succumbed to the heat, leaving Twilight completely drained. The spell weakened as the sun continued to grow effortlessly.
Starlight uttered her last words to Twilight, "I—told you so . . ."
As the remaining bits of the shield evaporated away, so did the planet soon after.
"We need to try again. I don't think we held the spell long enough."
"Alright . . ."
Starlight joined Twilight and sprinted outside once again to fight back against the sun. Twilight's horn lit up as she conducted the spell. Starlight began her donation spell, increasing the magical power of Twilight. The purple blast of Spherical Prison blew out of her horn and raced toward the growing star.
They both stood there as the heat rose exponentially. Starlight continued her donation spell even while she struggled. She was not the only one. Twilight was audibly groaning through her efforts.
Twilight watched the spell reach the sun and begin wrapping around it.
"It's working!" Her heart skipped a beat. Was it because of the jolt of excitement or the stroke-inducing heat?
Starlight stopped the donation spell and celebrated with Twilight. "We did it! The sun has stopped!"
"It will be perpetually hot though . . ."
Starlight shook her head and waved her hoof as if it wasn't a big deal, "That will be dealt with later. I'm sure Princess Celestia can move the entire thing farther away."
They both gazed upon their success with pride. Then Starlight cocked her head, "Uh . . . is it still getting brighter?"
Twilight took a moment and noticed the same thing. "How is it getting brighter? We stopped it."
"Maybe we shoul—"
Before they could even mentally register what had happened, the shield broke and allowed the sun to rapidly expand once again. The planet was mercilessly evaporated by an explosion of pure plasmic fire within milliseconds.
"Why didn't you tell me this was going to happen sooner?!" Twilight roared at Celestia, breathing heavily.
The Princess was not quite expecting this attitude from Twilight, but she was not surprised either. This was standard for a panicking Twilight — she was twilighting.
Celestia explained the gist of what was happening, "The sun is angry, Twilight. I was able to put a stop to its expansion with an intricate spell and amulet when this happened before. It seems, due to its complex procedure, the protection lasts only half as long as normal spells: five hundred years."
Twilight was unbelievably shocked, jaw wide open.
"I did not tell you sooner because . . . I forgot about it," Celestia confessed.
"So . . . " Twilight tried to speak fluently but kept stumbling over words while her brain was overloaded. "The sun was going supernova . . . you stopped it . . . and never told me? or anypony? and you just . . . forgot about it?!"
"Hey, you try remembering something for five hundred years," Celestia scowled.
"How do you forget something this important?"
"A lot of things I do are important. They all blend together after a few centuries."
"The death of the sun seems like a high priority to me."
"Snap out of it, Twilight. You know better than to act like this."
Twilight shook her head to refocus, "Apologies, Princess. Just . . . this not only affects Equestria but the entire world."
"All the better reason to calm down and fix this with me."
"Right . . . why can't you just repeat what you did last time?"
"It won't work, Luna and I have already tried. It seems to be a one-time per alicorn spell-amulet combination."
"Do they know yet? Canterlot? Equestria?"
"It is too late to inform the rest of Equestria what is happening. No, Canterlot does not know what is happening yet."
"Why didn't you tell me this was going to happen sooner?!" Twilight roared at Celestia, breathing heavily.
The Princess was not quite expecting this attitude from Twilight, but she was not surprised either, this was standard for a panicking Twilight — she was twilighting.
Celestia explained the gist of what was happening, "The sun is angry, Twilight. I was able to put a stop to its expansion with an intricate spell and amulet when this happened back then. It seems, due to its complex procedure, the protection lasts only half as long as normal spells: five hundred years."
Twilight was unbelievably shocked, jaw wide open.
"I did not tell you sooner because . . . I forgot about it", Celestia confessed.
"So . . . " Twilight tried to speak fluently but kept stumbling over words while her brain was overloaded. "The sun was going supernova . . . you stopped it . . . and never told me? or anypony? and you just . . . forgot about it?!"
"Hey, you try remembering something for five hundred years," Celestia scowled.
"How do you forget something this important?"
"A lot of things I do are important, they all blend together after a few centuries."
"The death of the sun seems like a high priority to me."
"Snap out of it, Twilight. You know better than to act like this."
Twilight shook her head to refocus, "Apologies, Princess. Just . . . this not only affects Equestria but the entire world."
"All the better reason to calm down and fix this with me."
"Right . . . why can't you just repeat what you did last time?"
"It won't work, Luna and I have already tried. It seems to be a one-time per alicorn spell-amulet combination."
"Do they know yet? Canterlot? Equestria?"
"It is too late to inform the rest of Equestria what is happening. No, Canterlot does not know what is happening yet."
"Why didn't you tell me this was going to happen sooner?!" Twilight roared at Celestia, breathing heavily.
The Princess was not quite expecting this attitude from Twilight, but she was not surprised either. This was standard for a panicking Twilight — she was twilighting.
Celestia explained the gist of what was happening, "The sun is angry, Twilight. Well, it has been for five hundred years. I was able to put a stop to its expansion with an intricate spell and amulet. It seems, due to its complex procedure, the protection lasts only half as long as normal spells: half a millennium."
Twilight was shocked, her jaw wide open.
"I did not tell you sooner because . . . I forgot about it," Celestia confessed.
"So . . . " Twilight tried to speak fluently but kept stumbling over words while her brain was overloaded. "The sun was going supernova . . . you stopped it . . . and never told me? or anypony? and you just . . . forgot about it?!"
"Hey, you try remembering something for five hundred years," Celestia scowled.
"How do you forget something this important?"
"A lot of things I do are important. They all blend together after a few centuries."
"The death of the sun seems like a high priority to me."
"Snap out of it, Twilight. You know better than to act like this."
Twilight shook her head to refocus, "Apologies Princess. Just . . . this not only affects Equestria but the entire world."
"All the better reason to calm down and fix this with me."
"Right . . . why can't you just repeat what you did last time?"
"It won't work. Luna and I have already tried. It seems to be a one-time per alicorn spell-amulet combination."
"Do they know yet? Canterlot? Equestria?"
"It is too late to inform the rest of Equestria what is happening. No, Canterlot does not know what is happening yet."
Celestia let out a groan of pain as the strain of keeping the temperature regulation bubble up was becoming almost unbearable.
"Why didn't you tell me this was going to happen sooner?!" Twilight roared at Celestia, breathing heavily.
The Princess was not quite expecting this attitude from Twilight, but she was not surprised either. This was standard for a panicking Twilight — she was twilighting.
Celestia explained the gist of what was happening, "The sun is angry, Twilight. Well, it has been for five hundred years. I was able to put a stop to its expansion with an intricate spell and amulet. It seems, due to its complex procedure, the protection lasts only half as long as normal spells: half a millennium."
Twilight was shocked, her jaw wide open.
"I did not tell you sooner because . . . I forgot about it," Celestia confessed.
"So . . . " Twilight tried to speak fluently but kept stumbling over words while her brain was overloaded. "The sun was going supernova . . . you stopped it. . . and never told me? or anypony? and you just . . . forgot about it?!"
"Hey, you try remembering something for five hundred years," Celestia scowled.
"How do you forget something this important?"
"A lot of things I do are important. They all blend together after a few centuries."
"The death of the sun seems like a high priority to me."
"Snap out of it, Twilight. You know better than to act like this."
Twilight shook her head to refocus, "Apologies Princess. Just . . . this not only affects Equestria but the entire world."
"All the better reason to calm down and fix this with me."
"Right . . . Do they know yet? Canterlot? Equestria?"
"It is too late to inform the rest of Equestria what is happening. No, Canterlot does not know what is happening yet."
Celestia let out a groan of pain as the strain of keeping the temperature regulation bubble up was becoming almost unbearable.
"Why didn't you tell me this was going to happen sooner?!" Twilight roared at Celestia, breathing heavily.
The Princess was not quite expecting this attitude from Twilight, but she was not surprised either. This was standard for a panicking Twilight — she was twilighting.
Celestia explained the gist of what was happening, "The sun is angry, Twilight. Well, it has been for five hundred years. I was able to put a stop to its expansion with an intricate spell and amulet. It seems, due to its complex procedure, the protection lasts only half as long as normal spells: half a millennium."
Twilight was shocked, her jaw wide open.
"I did not tell you sooner because . . . I forgot about it," Celestia confessed.
"So . . . " Twilight tried to speak fluently but kept stumbling over words while her brain was overloaded. "The sun was going supernova . . . you stopped it . . . and never told me? or anypony? and you just . . . forgot about it?!"
"Hey, you try remembering something for five hundred years," Celestia scowled.
"How do you forget something this important?"
"A lot of things I do are important. They all blend together after a few centuries."
"The death of the sun seems like a high priority to me."
"Snap out of it, Twilight. You know better than to act like this."
Twilight shook her head to refocus, "Apologies Princess. Just . . . this not only affects Equestria but the entire world."
"All the better reason to calm down and fix this with me."
"Right . . . Do they know yet? Canterlot? Equestria?"
"It is too late to inform the rest of Equestria what is happening. No, Canterlot does not know what is happening yet."
Celestia let out a groan of pain as the strain of keeping the temperature regulation bubble up was becoming almost unbearable.
Twilight freaked out. "The sun is dying and you didn't bother to say anything? How long did you know this was going to happen? Why didn't you say anything about this?! We could have come up with a solution!"
Luna stomped a hoof, "Twilight! Watch your tone!"
"Forgive me, Luna, but don't you agree? Why wouldn't she tell anypony?!"
Celestia, very fatigued, responded almost completely incomprehensibly. "Because telling anypony could eventually lead to societal collapse if it spread too much and to the wrong ponies."
"Why couldn't you fix this anyway, aren't you the princess of the sun and day?"
"It was safer keeping it a royal secret," Celestia continued
Twilight snapped a sarcastic comment at the Princess. "And look how safe we are now."
Fed up with this ridicule and stress from the world ending while keeping Canterlot safe, Celestia shouted back in her royal Canterlot voice. "I tried to fix it myself, but the amulet wouldn't work! The amulet in question can apparently only work once per user in a lifetime! You should understand something fully before going out of your way to shout and criticize like a brute! You're better than that!"
Twilight's soul was shaken to the very core. "Y—you're right, Princess. I don't know what came over me."
The heat of the moment was too much for Celestia, who was already over-fatigued. Her horn suddenly stopped glowing. Frantically, she willed her magic to flow again, but it was no use.
Canterlot imploded from the cave-in of solar heat.
Twilight considered how to continue, "We should tell them right away. They have a right to know what is going on."
"Very well." Celestia teleported them to the announcement balcony that overlooked a large plaza.
There was already a massive crowd waiting for a word from the Princess. They were beginning to huddle together and get closer to the balcony when Celestia and Twilight arrived.
As they exited the confines of the castle and stepped onto the ledge, both of them noticed how deeply red it was.
An extremely exhausted Celestia warned Twilight, "Quickly! I can barely keep the shield up anymore. The sun is strong and only getting more powerful."
Twilight applied a voice-amplifier spell to herself, "Citizens of Canterlot! Take this news with a steady mind and a strong heart. The protection over us all is a temperature regulation shield. It is protecting us from the extreme heat of the expanding sun. Celestia and I will be doing everything in our power to ensure that we keep Equestria safe and return the sun to its prior state."
The crowd remained dead silent for a few seconds before exploding into a panic.
As chaos broke out on the plaza, Celestia could no longer maintain the heat shield. The red-tinted bubble fell, allowing the scorching heat of the sun to bake all of Canterlot. The sun's corona soon followed.
Twilight considered how to continue, "We should tell them right away! They have a right to know what is going on."
"Very well." Celestia teleported them to the announcement balcony that overlooked a large plaza.
There was already a massive crowd waiting for a word from the Princesses. They began to huddle together and get closer to the balcony when Celestia and Twilight arrived.
As they exited the confines of the castle and stepped onto the ledge, both of them noticed how deeply red the sky was.
A slightly exhausted Celestia warned Twilight, "Do make this quick, I am experiencing increased difficulty keeping the shield up. The sun is only getting stronger."
Twilight applied a voice-amplifier spell to herself, "Citizens of Canterlot! Take this news with a steady mind and a strong heart. The protection over us all is a temperature regulation shield. It is protecting us from the extreme heat of the expanding sun. Celestia and I will be doing everything in our power to ensure that we keep Equestria safe and return the sun to its prior state."
The crowd remained dead silent for a few seconds before exploding into a panic.
Twilight considered how to continue, "Alright, good. Telling them may cause unnecessary panic."
"What was this spell you used?" she continued. "We need—"
Twilight was interrupted by Celestia's audible struggle in maintaining the temperature regulation bubble. Looking upwards, the sun had become a giant red ball.
"It is getting too hot out there . . . the temperature shield is becoming too much for me to handle," Celestia stated through her grunting.
Since Twilight did not know how to make the amulet Celestia spoke of, nor the spell, she decided to join Luna in helping Celestia with the bubble. Her horn lit up and cast the same spell to share the burden. It worked for a moment, but with nothing holding back the sun it grew exponentially. It filled the sky with its red glow as if it were setting for the last time.
Instead, the heat overpowered the princesses, shattering the temperature bubble, and then the planet.
"Right. We need to remake the amulet you used last time," Twilight said, expecting Celestia to answer with confidence.
Celestia had to think for a moment before showing a face that Twilight did not want to see.
"Please tell me you remember . . ." Twilight asked beggingly.
"I—I don't remember. It was so long ago. All I can remember is that it requires inferno crystals."
"How can you forget that!" Twilight shouted in despair.
"It is hard retaining everything you have done and experienced over a thousand years! You will know that someday, but you might forget before then."
With Celestia ending that piece of dialogue with sarcasm, Twilight tried to improvise. "What held the inferno crystals together? Silver? Gold?"
Celestia thought about it for a moment, "Gold sounds correct."
"But there is nothing in there yet that would direct it to the sun. Hmmm," Twilight pondered over what gemstones she knew and what they did to alter magic. Then the lightbulb clicked on when she knew the solution.
"Amethyst! Amethysts most easily direct where magic flows."
"I believe the inferno crystals do that, but more specifically, directing the spells at the sun."
"That doesn't sound completely right. Inferno crystals improve the spell's ability to withstand counterspells and natural resistance like heat. It's okay, Princess. As you said, it has been five hundred years."
Since Celestia did not have full confidence in her own answer, she let that comment slide, but not without a slight look of disdain.
Twilight continued, "Okay, so we need inferno crystal, gold, and amethyst."
"There are inferno crystals in the heating room and we can use my chest piece for the other two."
"Are you sure you want to use that?"
"I would much rather sacrifice these jewelry pieces than the existence of this planet."
"Heheh . . . Good point. Do you remember what it looked like? Can you assemble it?"
Celestia got the inferno crystal and took her chest piece off to craft the amulet, "I believe so."
While still regulating the temperature shield, she morphed the inferno crystal into a circle while she encircled it with gold. Then she placed the amethyst on top of the new amulet, proceeding to also wrap gold around it.
"There we go, the solar amulet. To my knowledge, this should repel the sun, just like last time."
"Excellent!" Twilight celebrated.
Her rejoicing quickly ended and turned into panic as Celestia began to groan in pain.
Twilight didn't notice until now that Celestia had been maintaining a protective shield over all of Canterlot.
"This temperature regulation bubble is proving harder to maintain as the sun grows hotter. I am not sure how much longer I can keep it up."
"Right. We need to remake the amulet you used last time," Twilight said, expecting Celestia to answer with confidence.
Celestia had to think for a moment before showing a face that Twilight did not want to see.
"Please tell me you remember . . ." Twilight asked beggingly.
"I—I don't remember. It was so long ago. All I can remember is that it requires inferno crystals."
"How can you forget that!" Twilight shouted in despair.
"It is hard retaining everything you have done and experienced over a thousand years! You will know that someday, but you might forget before then."
With Celestia ending that piece of dialogue with sarcasm, Twilight tried to improvise. "What held the inferno crystals together? Silver? Gold?"
Celestia thought about it for a moment, "Gold sounds correct."
"But there is nothing in there yet that would direct it to the sun. Hmmm," Twilight pondered over what gemstones she knew and what they did to alter magic. Then the lightbulb clicked on when she knew the solution.
"Amethyst! Amethysts most easily direct where magic flows."
"I believe the inferno crystals do that, but more specifically, directing the spells at the sun."
"That doesn't sound completely right. Inferno crystals improve the spell's ability to withstand counterspells and natural resistance like heat. It's okay, Princess. As you said, it has been five hundred years."
Since Celestia did not have full confidence in her own answer, she let that comment slide, but not without a slight look of disdain.
Twilight continued, "Okay, so we need inferno crystal, gold, and amethyst."
"There are inferno crystals in the heating room and we can use my chest piece for the other two."
"Are you sure you want to use that?"
"I would much rather sacrifice these jewelry pieces than the existence of this planet."
"Heheh . . . Good point. Do you remember what it looked like? Can you assemble it?"
Celestia could not collect the energy to answer. Twilight panicked as Celestia began to drift in and out of consciousness. "Luna, help her!"
"I am doing all I can!"
"This—temperature regulation bubble is impossible . . . to maintain. I am not sure how much—longer—I can keep it up."
"Don't worry, Celestia. Let's . . ."
The sun became too much for Celestia to bare any longer. Her horn suddenly stopped producing magic, disabling the protection around Canterlot. Frantically, she tried anything to get it working again.
Canterlot imploded from the cave-in of solar heat and allowed the sun to reign supreme.
"We need to remake the amulet you used last time," Twilight said, expecting Celestia to answer with confidence.
Celestia had to think for a moment before showing a face that Twilight did not want to see.
"Please tell me you remember . . ." Twilight asked beggingly.
"I—I don't remember. It was so long ago. All I can remember is that it requires inferno crystals."
"How can you forget that!" Twilight shouted in despair.
"It is hard retaining everything you have done and experienced over a thousand years! You will know that someday, but you might forget before then."
With Celestia ending that piece of dialogue with sarcasm, Twilight tried to improvise. "What held the inferno crystals together? Silver? Gold?"
Celestia thought about it for a moment, "Gold sounds correct."
"But there is nothing in there yet that would direct it to the sun. Hmmm," Twilight pondered over what gemstones she knew and what they did to alter magic. Then the lightbulb clicked on when she knew the solution.
"Amethyst! Amethysts most easily direct where magic flows."
"I believe the inferno crystals do that, but more specifically, directing the spells at the sun."
"That doesn't sound completely right. Inferno crystals improve the spell's ability to withstand counterspells and natural resistance like heat. It's okay, Princess. As you said, it has been five hundred years."
Since Celestia did not have full confidence in her own answer, she let that comment slide, but not without a slight look of disdain.
Twilight continued, "Okay, so we need inferno crystal, gold, and amethyst."
"There are inferno crystals in the heating room and we can use my chest piece for the other two."
"Are you sure you want to use that?"
"I would much rather sacrifice these jewelry pieces than the existence of this planet."
"Heheh . . . Good point. Do you remember what it looked like? Can you assemble it?"
Celestia could not collect the energy to answer. Twilight panicked as Celestia began to drift in and out of consciousness. "Luna, help her!"
"I am doing all I can!"
"This—temperature regulation bubble is impossible . . . to maintain. I am not sure how much—longer—I can keep it up."
"Don't worry, Celestia. Let's . . ."
The sun became too much for Celestia to bare any longer. Her horn suddenly stopped producing magic, disabling the protection around Canterlot. Frantically, she tried anything to get it working again.
Canterlot imploded from the cave-in of solar heat and allowed the sun to reign supreme.
"Alright. Don't worry, Princess. Let's save the world! Where can I find gold, inferno crystals, and rubies?"
"I know where they all are." Celestia proceeded to teleport the necessary materials in front of Twilight. It was a struggle, as the strain of the shield wore her down.
With Twilight's knowledge of the appearance of the amulet, she could meld the inferno crystals, bits, and rubies into their proper shapes. The inferno crystals were refined into cut gemstones as the picture had shown them. Bits melted together to form the rims of the amulet. Finally, the rubies took the form of the flames on the solar charm. With all three parts created, Twilight fused them together to complete the amulet.
"Excellent—," Celestia said weakly, her remaining energy rapidly depleting. So was Luna's, since she had been supporting Celestia this entire time. "Now use Spherical Prison on the amulet while I keep it stable."
"Are you able to do both spells at once? You could barely manage teleporting objects."
"There—is no other choice."
Celestia took the amulet in her magic and prepared for Twilight's part. Her horn lit up and shot the solar amulet with Spherical Prison. The amulet was brighter as Twilight finished the spell. It started to radiate a teal blue and continued to shine ever brighter. Spinning on its own, the amulet shot a radiant ray of light directly at the sun.
The ponies of Canterlot saw this teal light project from the castle. They assembled below the castle's balcony to bask in the spectacle. Slowly, a bubble-like shield began to form around the sun. The sun was still growing, attempting to fight off its captor. Twilight, Celestia, Luna, and all Canterlot residents remained still and anxious, while there was nothing left they could do.
The bubble entrapping the sun let out a deep plump sound and resonated a blue glow when it finally completed its task.
The sun had been detained.
"We did it!" Twilight shouted, jumping in glee as if she were playing a game of jump rope.
Celestia had no words for this spectacular moment. She simply sat down and basked in it. The moment that guaranteed the planet would not be destroyed. The moment that saved millions of lives. The moment that kept the future safe for centuries to come.
The Solar Amulet became white-hot and glowed a resplendently pure white; it was like a miniature star. After reaching its apex of bright intensity, it burst into flames, then disintegrated into ash that floated upon the delicate breeze.
Joyous shouts quickly surrounded them from a distance as Canterlot celebrated.
"Right. We need to try to remake the amulet you used last time," Twilight said, expecting Celestia to answer with confidence.
Celestia had to think for a moment before showing a face that Twilight did not want to see.
"Please tell me you remember . . ." Twilight asked beggingly.
"I—I don't remember. It was so long ago. All I can remember is that it requires inferno crystals."
"How can you forget that!" Twilight shouted in despair.
"It is hard retaining everything you have done and experienced over a thousand years! You will know that someday, but you might forget before then."
With Celestia ending that piece of dialogue with sarcasm, Twilight tried to improvise. "What held the inferno crystals together? Silver? Gold?"
Celestia thought about it for a moment, "Gold sounds correct."
"But there is nothing in there yet that would direct it to the sun. Hmmm," Twilight pondered over what gemstones she knew and what they did to alter magic. Then the lightbulb clicked on when she knew the solution.
"Amethyst! Amethysts most easily direct where magic flows."
"I believe the inferno crystals do that, but more specifically, directing the spells at the sun."
"That doesn't sound completely right. Inferno crystals improve the spell's ability to withstand counterspells and natural resistance like heat. It's okay, Princess. As you said, it has been five hundred years."
Since Celestia did not have full confidence in her own answer, she let that comment slide, but not without a slight look of disdain.
Twilight continued, "Okay, so we need inferno crystal, gold, and amethyst."
"There are inferno crystals in the heating room and we can use my chest piece for the other two."
"Are you sure you want to use that?"
"I would much rather sacrifice these jewelry pieces than the existence of this planet."
"Heheh . . . Good point. Do you remember what it looked like? Can you assemble it?"
Celestia could not collect the energy to answer. Twilight panicked as Celestia began to drift in and out of consciousness. "Luna, help her!"
"I am doing all I can!"
"This—temperature regulation bubble is impossible . . . to maintain. I am not sure how much—longer—I can keep it up."
"Don't worry, Celestia. Let's . . ."
The sun became too much for Celestia to bare any longer. Her horn suddenly stopped producing magic, disabling the protection around Canterlot. Frantically, she tried anything to get it working again.
Canterlot imploded from the cave-in of solar heat and allowed the sun to reign supreme.
"It was Spherical Prison," Celestia responded. "An advanced and complex version of the common shield spell. It requires pure alicorn magic, no unicorn can conduct this spell. So we should have no trouble with it. Allow me to teach it to you."
Twilight was quick to learn Spherical Prison. To test it and her ability to successfully complete the spell, Celestia had her use a pot of flowers.
She aimed her horn and began, "Shielgorus un sphericana etis impetrano circulus pentalor!"
The floral decor was then surrounded by a transparent purple-tinted sphere, it was perfect. Until it dissipated shortly after Twilight disengaged.
Both alicorns reacted in surprised shock, "What?"
Their curiosity quickly ended and turned into panic as Celestia began to groan in pain.
"This temperature regulation bubble is proving harder to maintain as the sun grows hotter. I am not sure how much longer I can keep it up."
"But, Princess, the spell . . ."
"We have no time to practice more. We must go, now."
"It was Spherical Prison," Celestia responded. "An advanced and complex version of the common shield spell. It requires pure alicorn magic, no unicorn can conduct this spell. So we should have no trouble with it. Allow me to teach it to you."
Twilight was quick to learn Spherical Prison. To test it and her ability to successfully complete the spell, Celestia had her use a pot of flowers.
She aimed her horn and began, "Shielgorus un sphericana etis impetrano circulus pentalor!"
The floral decor was then surrounded by a transparent purple-tinted sphere, it was perfect. Until it dissipated shortly after Twilight disengaged.
Both alicorns reacted in surprised shock, "What?"
Their curiosity quickly ended and turned into panic as Celestia began to groan in pain.
"This—temperature regulation bubble is impossible . . . to maintain. I am not sure how much—longer—I can keep it up."
"Don't worry, Celestia. Let's . . ."
The sun became too much for Celestia to bare any longer. Her horn suddenly stopped producing magic, disabling the protection around Canterlot. Frantically, she tried anything to get it working again.
Canterlot imploded from the cave-in of solar heat and allowed the sun to reign supreme.
"It was Spherical Prison," Celestia responded. "An advanced and complex version of the common shield spell. It requires pure alicorn magic, no unicorn can conduct this spell. So we should have no trouble with it. Allow me to teach it to you."
Twilight was quick to learn Spherical Prison. To test it and her ability to successfully complete the spell, Celestia had her use a pot of flowers.
She aimed her horn and began, "Shielgorus un sphericana etis impetrano circulus pentalor!"
The floral decor was then surrounded by a transparent purple-tinted sphere, it was perfect. Until it dissipated shortly after Twilight disengaged.
Both alicorns reacted in surprised shock, "What?"
Their curiosity quickly ended and turned into panic as Celestia began to groan in pain.
"This—temperature regulation bubble is impossiblev. . . to maintain. I am not sure how much—longer—I can keep it up."
"Don't worry, Celestia. Let's . . ."
The sun became too much for Celestia to bare any longer. Her horn suddenly stopped producing magic, disabling the protection around Canterlot. Frantically, she tried anything to get it working again.
Canterlot imploded from the cave-in of solar heat and allowed the sun to reign supreme.
"Right. I know the spell: Spherical Prison. You used it last time."
Celestia nodded. "I did."
"I tried casting it earlier but it didn't work!"
"By itself?"
Twilight wondered what she meant. "No, I was with Starlight."
"No . . . I mean did you cast it through a medium?"
"Ooh, no."
"It needs an amulet to work through, but I have since forgotten how to make that amulet."
"It doesn't exist anymore?"
"It disintegrated upon use."
"I'll go find an amulet book from the archives then. I'll be right back."
Twilight flew through the castle to get a book called the Unabridged History of Amulets. When she returned to the gardens, Celestia was laying on the ground still protecting Canterlot with her magic. Luna was doing her best to help her sister, but the stress of battling the sun was proving to be too much.
"Celestia! Are you okay?"
Celestia makes a noise to signal some sort of consciousness.
"Princess Celestia, we all need you to stay awake. You're the only one who can protect us. I also need you to point out where the amulet is in this book so we can make it again."
Twilight showed her page by page. The deeper into the book they got, the harder it was for Celestia to open her eyes to look. Then came the moment no one wanted.
"Was this the one? The "Amulet of Fire Resistance"? Celestia? Celestia!"
Luna tried to wake her up with a spell that ends a deep slumber, but it did not work. Celestia's horn became inactive, abruptly terminating the protective magic. Instantly, an unforgiving rush of heat and pressure acted like an imploding bomb to all of Canterlot.
Feeling bad for ignoring everything up until now, Twilight got up and left the castle to join Starlight.
"Oh, hi Twilight. I didn't expect to see you out here," Starlight said dismissively.
Slightly offended, Twilight replied, "Why is that?"
"Oh, you know. Just ignoring everything I said about the sun and temperature."
"Yeah . . . Sorry, I wasn't being myself."
Starlight sighed, "Well, you are here now. Help us move these clouds into position."
The resident pegasuses and unicorns were moving local clouds above Ponyville to block out the sun's harmful rays. Unfortunately, the earth ponies could not help in the weather department but found a way to help out by supplying food and drink.
As the day progressed and grew hotter, the clouds became less dense, forcing the ponies to condense them again. Only to repeat the process shortly after once they inevitably heated up more. The clouds rose in altitude in search of cooler temperatures, but the unicorns kept shoving them back where they needed to be.
Their struggle to keep the clouds dense and at the right altitude became exponentially tedious. Nothing was stopping the sun from growing and plunging the planet into a more powerful heat. Even the clouds seemed to do very little to help at this point. The air was so hot that shade was rendered useless, except to prevent instant sunburn.
Eventually, the clouds could no longer take it. They evaporated into pure humidity, making the heat worse than it needed to be. Just like the clouds, Ponyville could no longer take the heat. Finally, the planet could also no longer take the heat of the ever-expanding sun.
Still frazzled about the situation, "I . . . I need to go back to my friends!"
Celestia bowed her head, "If you believe that is right to do, then you must hurry. You do not have long until the outside becomes lethal."
Twilight spread her wings and lifted off the ground. "Good luck Princess Celestia," she flew off.
When Twilight passed through the temperature bubble she experienced a heat wave like nothing felt before. It forced her to lose wing balance for a moment. After recollecting herself, she resumed flying to Ponyville in a hurry.
It was not long until she became tired and fatigued. Enough so that she could not fly straight anymore, like a drunk taxi driver in Manehattan. Her vision was wavey, as she struggled to breathe the hot air.
Twilight took a moment to stop and look back at Canterlot. She watched in desperation as the red temperature bubble around Canterlot collapsed, allowing the baking heat inside. Then she looked up to see a rapidly expanding sun in a blood-red sky with no clouds.
In a panic, she resumed speeding towards Ponyville. Exhaustion got the best of her as the lakes below began to boil. Similar to Canterlot, Twilight also collapsed, and so did the planet after her.
Twilight attempted to calm the masses, "No! There is no reason to panic! Celestia and I have it under control!"
The crowd did not believe them, the red sky was enough to scare them off into their homes for good. The plaza was quick to become nothing but chaos as citizens ran and screamed.
"Twilight," Celestia began, "you must do the spell I am about to teach you. I am unable to if I am to protect Canterlot from this heat."
Twilight nodded, "I understand, what is it?"
Celestia quickly taught Twilight how to do the Sphericle Prison spell, a more advanced version of the common shield spell. It is a thick magically reinforced shield that none can escape from. Only gases, sound, and temperature may pass through. There are only two ways it can be broken, by the one who cast it or after five hundred years have passed.
Once Twilight felt confident about the spell, she immediately cast it on the sun. The purple beam of magic went through Celestia's temperature bubble to suppress the growing solar crisis. It wrapped around the sun . . . almost completely.
"The sun . . . it's too strong!" Twilight said while struggling to keep the spell activated.
Celestia had a hard time deciding if she should keep the temperature regulation bubble activated to keep Canterlot at a nice seventy degrees or help boost Twilight's magic.
Ultimately, she chooses to deactivate the temperature shield and help Twilight suppress the sun sooner.
She believes a little heat is fair in exchange for defeating the sun faster.
Having disengaged the regulation spell, Celestia cast a donation spell on Twilight. The donation spell gives the user's magical power to the targetted entity. Instantaneously, the purple blast creating the spherical prison got larger and stronger. Nopony saw, but it slowly wrapped around the sun even more.
Unfortunately, it was too late, the sun had grown large enough to render the advanced spell useless.
With the bubble gone, a massive change of temperature flooded into Canterlot. The sudden change made Canterlot go from feeling room temperature to a preheated oven in a flash.
The violent star grew more as time passed, becoming redder and hotter.
With the temperature regulation shield over Canterlot gone, Twilight's legs began to wobble in their weakness, and her grunts of agony continued and got worse. With no heat protection, Twilight became more fatigued much quicker.
"Can't . . . complete . . . spell . . . tired . . . so sorry . . ." is all Twilight could get out before collapsing to the ground unconscious.
The fearful screams of unicorns still loomed over them.
Without any resistance, the sun became exponentially deadly and soon collided with Equus.
"Don't worry Princess. Let's show it to Canterlot for all to see. So they may witness the amulet and our victory."
"Very well," Celestia teleported both of them to the announcement balcony that overlooks a large plaza.
There was already a massive crowd waiting for a word from the Princesses. They began to huddle together and get closer to the balcony when Celestia and Twilight arrived.
As they exited the confines of the castle and stepped onto the ledge, both of them noticed how deeply red it was.
An extremely exhausted Celestia warned Twilight, "Quickly! I can barely keep the shield up anymore. The sun is strong and only getting more powerful."
Twilight applied a voice-amplifier spell to herself, "Citizens of Canterlot! Princes Celestia and I have come up with a plan to end the sun's expansion and suspend the heat. I have with me an amulet that will enhance the power of a protection spell. This spell, with the help of the amulet, will be strong enough to contain the sun and return it to its—."
"GAH!" Celestia loudly yelped.
She collapsed to the ground in horrible fatigue as her horn deactivated. The red-tinted bubble fell, allowing the scorching heat of the sun to bake all of Canterlot. The sun's corona soon followed.
"Don't worry, Princess. Let's put it to use right now. What was that spell again?"
"We have no time to teach you the spell. Are you willing to take on the responsibility of holding the shield?"
"I will take the burden off your hooves if it means we can save this planet."
"I need to free up my horn to do this spell. It is a large and difficult one. I can not do both."
"Yes, I understand," she nodded.
Twilight connected herself to the temperature shield and took half of the pain. When Celestia disconnected herself, the rest of the burden hit Twilight, and hard.
As she grunted because of the strain, Celestia began the complex protection spell.
Her horn lit up and zapped the amulet. It floated in place as it became brighter, apparently working. Their confidence grew more as it continued to glow. Until it shattered, and with it, their hearts and hopes.
Celestia bowed her head in somber acceptance.
"What?!" Twilight shouted in distress. "No! It has to work! We . . . We can not fail . . ."
Shortly thereafter, Twilight failed to preserve the temperature bubble as it became too overpowering. With the heat being able to enter Canterlot, everything was immediately scorched. The expansive fireball then engulfed the entire planet.
"Alright, do not worry Princess. Let's announce our progress for all of Canterlot to hear. So they may witness the spell and our victory."
"Very well," Celestia teleported both of them to the announcement balcony that overlooks a large plaza.
There was already a massive crowd waiting for a word from the Princesses. They began to huddle together and get closer to the balcony when Celestia and Twilight arrived.
As they exited the confines of the castle and stepped onto the ledge, both of them noticed how deeply red it was.
An extremely exhausted Celestia warned Twilight, "Quickly! I can barely keep the shield up anymore. The sun is strong only getting more powerful."
Twilight applied a voice-amplifier spell to herself, "Citizens of Canterlot! Princes Celestia and I have come up with a plan to end the sun's expansion and suspend the heat. We have a spell, Spherical Prison, that will allow us to trap the sun and return it to its prior state of p—."
"GAH!" Celestia loudly yelped.
She collapsed to the ground in horrible fatigue as her horn deactivated. The red-tinted bubble fell, allowing the scorching heat of the sun to begin baking all of Canterlot.
Twilight shut up and activated the spell. A purple beam of magic shot upwards, through the temperature shield, at the sun. The crowd watched as the shield tried to develop around the sun, but it was struggling.
A random stallion from the crowd shouted, "The sun is overpowering her! We must assist the Princess!"
"How?" a mare asked.
"Let's share our magic power with her."
"We can't make a difference."
"Yes, we can! All of us must work together!"
The stallion activated his horn and shot a spell at Princess Twilight. It was a donation spell, giving one's magical power to another while it was active. His action inspired others around him to contribute their own magic.
One, two, four, then twelve beams of multi-colored light struck Twilight's horn, increasing her own magical capabilities. As a result, her beam of magic grew thicker and more powerful — the shield better surrounded the expanding sun. It was not long before all of Canterlot was donating their powers.
Even with all of that power, hundreds of ponies boosting Twilight, the sun still prevailed. The sun's corona soon overtook the planet.
"Alright. Don't worry, Princess. Let's put it to use right now."
Twilight looked up at the huge blood-red sun and activated Spherical Prison. A purple beam of magic shot upwards, through the temperature shield, at the sun. It began to surround the sun, then stalled, seemingly not strong enough. Slowly, the sun began to overpower Twilight and the spell.
Taking a huge risk by gambling on the safety of Canterlot in favor of the planet, Celestia stopped conducting her temperature regulation spell and helped Twilight with the spherical shield. Luna joined in to help by using a donation spell with Celestia.
It was working. The sun was no longer able to beat the shield and was soon trapped inside.
Although Canterlot was now flooded with near-lethal heat, the threat of the end of the world was suspended.
Twilight went to embrace Celestia and Luna in a hug of celebration. Celestia put her foreleg around Twilight as well.
"We did it! Equestria is saved! I just hope the heat wasn't too damaging."
"I am thankful I remembered that spell. It has been five hundred years since I've had to use it last."
Twilight's smile immediately faded, replaced by fear-filled eyes as she remembered a critical detail. She pushed herself away from their embrace. "Wait. Didn't you talk about an amulet?"
"Yes, I did. Why wou—" Celestia's eyes widened. "Oh no. That's why your practice spell didn't last long. Spherical Prison needs a medium to work properly."
"But why is it working, then?"
"I'm not sure. Maybe an amulet wasn't needed at all?"
"Well, how long will this spell last without the amulet?"
"I don't think it's ever been tested on such a violent scale like an aggressive sun."
"A dying sun," Twilight interjected.
"It could be days or years . . ."
The shield around the sun failed to contain it any longer and began to crack. The sounds of these fractures resonated across all of Equestria.
". . . Or less."
The sun violently exploded outward once it broke free from the shield's confinement.
Celestia had a hard time deciding if she should keep the temperature regulation bubble activated to keep Canterlot at a nice seventy degrees or help boost Twilight with the rest of Canterlot.
Ultimately, she chose to protect everypony by keeping the temperature shield up.
Twilight grunted more while the sun forced her to put more effort into the spell. Her agony grew as her strength weakened, but never failed. Though, she was not the only one in pain with their magic being strained. Celestia was having no easier time keeping the temperature regulation active. The hotter it got, the harder it was to maintain.
It was unknown how hot it really was beyond the protection, but it could be witnessed — Celestia was the only one whose eyes were open since everypony else was focusing on their task. Below the castle, at the bottom of the waterfall, steam was visible. Upon closer inspection, the reason that could be seen was obvious. The water within the bubble was at a normal temperature, but it made contact with boiling water on the other side.
"It is hot enough that water is boiling!?" Celestia mentally shouted. "It is already too late to save anypony, or creature, else . . ."
Beyond the river, she observed smoke all along the horizon, blackening the blood-red sky.
She continued her internal monologue to not freak out Twilight mid-spell cast. "Nature itself caught on fire from the pure heat. Not even a singular cloud can be found . . ." she mourned with her head down for a moment before popping back up in realization. "Cloudsdale! Las Pegasus! They are sure to be in ruins on the ground by now . . . All those lives . . ."
After her conclusion, that all life was already dead, she sat down.
"No!" she said aloud while getting back up, looking around the still-alive Canterlot. "We are not dead, we have not completely failed yet."
Twilight's legs appeared weak as they began to wobble, and her grunts of agony continued to get worse.
"Can't . . . complete . . . spell . . . tired . . . so sorry . . ." is all Twilight could get out before collapsing to the ground unconscious.
The donation spells from everypony were quickly terminated as the Princess fell. The masses saw no progress containing the sun, growing dissatisfied and worried.
Simultaneously, Celestia cried in pain that seemingly came out of nowhere.
She called for help, "Luna! Help me! The regulation bubble!"
Luna quickly cast an additional temperature regulation shield spell to share the burden with her sister. Lessening the brutal impact of maintaining the shield on Celestia.
The crowd could do nothing but stare at the spectacle and hope the bubble did not fail. The two sisters kept the temperature around Canterlot stable while Twilight lay still on the floor.
The Spherical Prison spell had failed.
Hours passed, what seemed like an eternity to everypony. The sun had grown enough to take up most of the sky, and the world outside the bubble was nothing more than a blackened wasteland — trees reduced to charcoal, bodies of water fully evaporated, the sky void of any clouds, and life reduced to ashes.
The two sisters continued to struggle against the heat of the attacking star. If there was ever a hell to experience, this would be the best emulation of it. The pain was unending torture for Celestia and Luna, but they would bare it if it meant Canterlot lived on. However, they were not sure how much longer they could keep the bubble up. They might soon end up like Twilight, then like all other life outside the bubble.
Their cries of torment through the hours influenced the entirety of Canterlot to split in half, one half casting a donation spell to Celestia, the other to Luna, making sure they were both equally relieved. Twilight gained consciousness, but not her strength. That did not stop her from trying to help as she donated her own leftover magical power to Celestia.
It could not last long, the sun expanded more every second. The sky was almost completely filled with the star's presence.
The citizens of Canterlot helped as long as they could. Slowly and one by one, citizens collapsed of exhaustion from helping the princesses. With support slowly dwindling, the sisters had reached their limit. Even with the combined help of what remained of Canterlot, the bubble could not hold any longer.
"Luna, I did not imagine this would be the end," Celestia started. "I am just glad I could spend our last moments together with you and what we could preserve."
Luna smiled, "You too, sister. We made it this far. For that, I am happy we put in a valiant effort."
"It's been my honor, Princesses. I'm sorry I failed you," whispered a weakened Twilight.
Celestia reassured her, "Twilight, you've been the best student and friend a princess could ask for. It was I who failed us."
The atmosphere had now been stripped away, confirmed by the surface being wiped clean of ruin. The sky did not change to the darkness of space, since the sun had already taken over.
The sun became dark blood-red with black dots littering its surface. Soon, it made contact with the bubble, then the planet.
It cannot be said they did not try, they lasted until the last nanosecond. The sun had to destroy the world in order to defeat Canterlot.
Celestia had a hard time deciding if she should keep the temperature regulation bubble activated to keep Canterlot at a nice seventy degrees or help boost Twilight with the rest of Canterlot.
Ultimately, she chose to deactivate the temperature shield and help Twilight and Canterlot suppress the sun sooner.
She believed everypony could take a little heat in exchange for defeating the sun more swiftly.
Disengaging the regulation spell, Celestia cast the donation spell on Twilight. Luna, once supporting Celestia, lent her help to Twilight. Instantaneously, the purple blast creating the spherical prison got larger and stronger. Nopony saw, but it slowly wrapped around the sun even more.
Unfortunately, it was too late, the sun had grown large enough to render the advanced spell useless. The spell peaked and shattered.
With the bubble gone, a massive change in temperature flooded into Canterlot. Some ponies could not handle the sudden change and fainted — from room temperature to a preheated oven in a flash — weakening Twilight's ability to counteract the sun.
The violent star grew more as time passed, becoming redder and hotter.
With the temperature regulation shield over Canterlot gone, Twilight's legs began to wobble in their weakness, and her grunts of agony continued and got worse. With no heat protection, Twilight's fatigue overcame her.
"Can't . . . complete . . . spell . . . tired . . . so sorry . . ." is all Twilight could get out before collapsing to the ground unconscious. Everypony's spell was automatically terminated when she fell.
Without any resistance, the sun became exponentially deadly and soon collided with Equus.
"This spell is exactly what we need to combine the amulet with. If we make the Solar Amulet of Protective Amplification, we can fix the sun right now."
"Alright, what does it need?" Starlight said anxiously, ready to save the world post-haste.
Twilight reread from the book, "The amulet needs inferno crystals, gold, and rubies."
"We can use our bits for the gold," Starlight answered.
"and we can take the inferno crystals out of the fireplace," Twilight added.
"Right!" Starlight concurred. "But . . . where are we going to get rubies?"
They both pondered for a moment, then slowly looked back at each other.
"I won't tell him if you won't either," Starlight deviously said to Twilight.
Twilight shook her head in agreement. "Oh, I promise, I won't say a thing to him but if you spill the beans, I'll deny it!"
"No way I would ever tell him."
They went into Spike's room and opened his closet. Twilight removed a stack of Power Ponies comics to reveal a once-hidden basket of gemstones.
Twilight levitated a few rubies from the pile. "Spike thinks this is his secret stash of gems I don't know about. It's cute really."
Starlight giggled, "Won't he notice though?"
"He is too busy reading these comics to know what gem he eats and has left."
With the rubies, they sprinted through the scarlet hallways of the castle, upstairs, and threw open the doors to the balcony to assemble the Solar Amulet of Protective Amplification.
"Starlight, I need you to cast the protection spell once I assemble and ensure everything remains stable," Twilight instructed.
Starlight nodded, determined to end this crisis once and for all.
With Twilight's new knowledge of the appearance of the amulet, she could meld the inferno crystals, bits, and rubies into their proper shapes. The inferno crystals were refined into cut gemstones as the picture had them. Bits melted together to form the rims of the amulet. Finally, the rubies took the form of the flames on the solar charm. With all three parts created, Twilight fused them together to complete the amulet.
Twilight held it together, "Yes! It isn't falling apart!"
"It might have broken after we made it?" Starlight asked while still holding the amulet.
"The book on amulets said the Princesses tried to recreate it after the first one incinerated itself after use. They couldn't make it again."
"Huh, how curious. Why isn't it breaking now?"
"I'm not sure, but I am glad it isn't. Now just enchant it with the Spherical Prison spell."
Starlight's horn lit up and shot at the solar amulet while Twilight continued to keep it stable. While Starlight cast and finished the spell, it grew brighter. It soon reached what seemed to be its brightest, when it began to emit noise. Then, to their utter disappointment, the amulet's sounds ceased and its brightness clicked off. It fell to the ground but did not shatter.
As the amulet fell with a soft but heartbreaking clang, Twilight became angry, "No! Why is it not working!? We did everything right . . . Two magic-wielding entities and a protection spell . . ."
"And we got the right materials to assemble it with," Starlight chimed in while thinking.
"Exactly! The book must have false information in it! Or is lacking information? Nothing bothers me more than incomplete books," Twilight stomped on the floor as she grew more flustered. ". . ."
"Wait! Spherical Prison can be combined with the amulet! With this spell being amplified through the amulet we learned, we are sure to save the world!"
"Alright, what does it need?" Starlight said anxiously, ready to save the world post-haste.
Twilight reread from the book, "The amulet needs inferno crystals, gold, and rubies."
"We can use our bits for the gold," Starlight answered.
"and we can take the inferno crystals out of the fireplace," Twilight added.
"Right!" Starlight concurred. "But . . . where are we going to get rubies?"
They both pondered for a moment, then slowly looked back at each other.
"I won't tell him if you won't either," Starlight deviously said to Twilight.
Twilight shook her head in agreement. "Oh, I promise, I won't say a thing to him but if you spill the beans, I'll deny it!"
"No way I would ever tell him."
They went into Spike's room and opened his closet. Twilight removed a stack of Power Ponies comics to reveal a once-hidden basket of gemstones.
Twilight levitated a few rubies from the pile. "Spike thinks this is his secret stash of gems I don't know about. It's cute really."
Starlight giggled, "Won't he notice though?"
"He is too busy reading these comics to know what gem he eats and has left."
With the rubies, they sprinted through the scarlet hallways of the castle, upstairs, and threw open the doors to the balcony to assemble the Solar Amulet of Protective Amplification.
"Starlight, I need you to cast the protection spell once I assemble and ensure everything remains stable," Twilight instructed.
Starlight nodded, determined to end this crisis once and for all.
With Twilight's new knowledge of the appearance of the amulet, she could meld the inferno crystals, bits, and rubies into their proper shapes. Beats of sweat rolled down Twilight's face as she tried to fuse the pieces together.
"What's wrong, Twilight?"
"My assembly spell isn't working . . . H—how hot is it?"
Starlight attempted to teleport the thermometer to them but failed. "I . . . don't know. I am getting—really dizzy though," she said while her legs failed, forcing her to the floor.
"Starlight!" Twilight dove for her and let go of the pieces of the amulet.
As the pieces fell and scattered around the balcony, the sun became victorious.
"We should give Celestia a visit. Maybe she knows a better way to fix it. She's done it before."
"I understand, but you have to go alone, I can't fly. What should I do while you're gone?" Starlight asked determined.
"Try and see if there are other ways we could stop the sun - anything."
"You got it, Twilight. Now go! I'll do my best," Starlight looked committed to the cause.
Twilight activated her horn to complete a teleportation spell to Canterlot, but was thankfully interrupted.
"Wait!—" She dove toward Twilight, Starlight tapped her hoof on the tip of Twilight's horn, ending the spell.
Starlight continued to speak, after plopping on the floor, "You weren't really about to teleport in this heat, were you? Do you know how dangerous that is?"
On the border of concern and confusion, Twilight asked, "What is it? Something about why you brought up flying? I have to fly all the way to Canterlot. . . don't I?" she concluded unamused.
"If you teleport in anything above 110, you risk disfigurement, missing parts, and/or death. You should know this, Twilight! It's the main reason why Celestia locked the sun's distance in the first place."
Twilight facepalmed, "Oh, right. Well, then I need to leave now! Goodbye, Starlight."
"Are you sure it's safe to fly in this heat too?"
"I can't just sit here, Starlight. Flying is less risky than teleporting, and those are the only two options to get to Canterlot in time."
"Alright. All the luck to you then, Twilight."
"You too." Twilight darted by Starlight, swung the front doors open, and bolted off en route to Canterlot.
The instant she left the shaded confines of her castle, she felt the scorching heat of the hostile sun violently bombarding her. When Twilight took flight, she was instantly out of breath, as if she were a newbie flyer once again. As she flew, fatigue quickly grew from ache to pain. The feeling of her wings disappeared before she even left the boundaries of Ponyvile, the same feeling she got when working out her wings with wing-ups. For the entire duration of the trip, she had to pant heavily for air, as it was hard to breathe in the blazing heat of the day. It was rough and demanding, but she had to make it to Canterlot.
Shortly before arriving in Canterlot, she compared her surroundings since starting. The sun was redder and had become even more intense, baking the world in its ever-worsening heat. This could be fatigue from flying or sight alterations from the baking atmosphere, but the sun looked larger as well.
The spires of Canterlot castle overcame the horizon and elegantly presented themselves to Twilight, swaying through the cooking air. These tall and proud towers of regality were surrounded by a transparent red bubble, the same way Shining Armor protected Canterlot on his wedding day. Twilight's mind sped through many different realities, speculating why the sun had become active in this way. Has the star reached the end of its life? Had Celestia turned into Daybreaker?! Twilight increased her pacing, trying to visit Celestia as fast as possible while frantically mauling over every possible situation.
She passed through the borders of the shield and instantly knew what type of protection it was: temperature. The evidence was clear when she entered its barrier, it was a vastly cooler environment compared to the outside. This added to the reality unfolding every second, that her vision of the sun was the dawn of a very real crisis.
Twilight flew onto the announcement balcony above the plaza. She didn't even spare time to land and instead slid on the smooth marble, transitioning from flying right to a galloping stride. Once in a steady run, she immediately called for Celestia.
"Princess Celestia! Where are you? I need to talk to you!" she shouted while swinging her head in the direction of every doorway.
Her calls echoed around the empty halls, but a reply was never given. The throne room was empty, and so were the meeting room, dining room, and ballroom. Not a single royal guard or cleaning pony in sight, it was desolate. Finally, she caught a glimpse of Princess Celestia in the gardens with her horn activated. "Phew, not Daybreaker," Twilight internally confirmed with a pleased sigh.
"Celestia!" Twilight blurted out with a tone of celebration upon finding her.
Princess Celestia was facing the horizon to the south, and in front of her was Luna, comforting Celestia and ensuring she remains strong. "Luna! You're here too, good."
Celestia turned around with a look of relief, "Twilight! Thank Me, I am delighted you decided to come. You decided not to teleport either, that was very wise. Though, I'm sure the flight was difficult."
"I think I know how to fix this!" she exclaimed. "I need to go see Princess Celestia at once! Maybe she and I can put this to use? I wish you could come with me, Starlight. I really do, but there is no safe way you can get to Canterlot."
"I understand. What should I do while you're gone?" Starlight asked determined.
"Try and see if there are other ways we could stop the sun - anything."
"You got it, Twilight. Now go! I'll do my best," Starlight looked committed to the cause.
Twilight activated her horn to complete a teleportation spell to Canterlot, but was thankfully interrupted.
"Wait!—" She dove toward Twilight, Starlight tapped her hoof on the tip of Twilight's horn, ending the spell.
Starlight continued to speak, after plopping on the floor, "You weren't really about to teleport in this heat, were you? Do you know how dangerous that is?"
On the border of concern and confusion, Twilight asked, "What is it?"
"If you teleport in anything above 110, you risk disfigurement, missing parts, and/or death. You should know this, Twilight! It's the main reason why Celestia locked the sun's distance in the first place."
Twilight facepalmed, "Oh, right. Well, then I need to leave now! Goodbye, Starlight."
"Are you sure it's safe to fly in this heat too?"
"I can't just sit here, Starlight. Flying is less risky than teleporting, and those are the only two options to get to Canterlot in time."
"Alright. All the luck to you then, Twilight."
"You too." Twilight darted by Starlight, swung the front doors open, and bolted off en route to Canterlot.
The instant she left the shaded confines of her castle, she felt the scorching heat of the hostile sun violently bombarding her. When Twilight took flight, she was instantly out of breath, as if she were a newbie flyer once again. As she flew, fatigue quickly grew from ache to pain. The feeling of her wings disappeared before she even left the boundaries of Ponyvile, the same feeling she got when working out her wings with wing-ups. For the entire duration of the trip, she had to pant heavily for air, as it was hard to breathe in the blazing heat of the day. It was rough and demanding, but she had to make it to Canterlot.
Shortly before arriving in Canterlot, she compared her surroundings since starting. The sun was redder and had become even more intense, baking the world in its ever-worsening heat. This could be fatigue from flying or sight alterations from the baking atmosphere, but the sun looked larger as well.
The spires of Canterlot castle overcame the horizon and elegantly presented themselves to Twilight, swaying through the cooking air. These tall and proud towers of regality were surrounded by a transparent red bubble, the same way Shining Armor protected Canterlot on his wedding day. Twilight's mind sped through many different realities, speculating why the sun had become active in this way. Has the star reached the end of its life? Had Celestia turned into Daybreaker?! Twilight increased her pacing, trying to visit Celestia as fast as possible while frantically mauling over every possible situation.
She passed through the borders of the shield and instantly knew what type of protection it was: temperature. The evidence was clear when she entered its barrier, it was a vastly cooler environment compared to the outside. This added to the reality unfolding every second, that her vision of the sun was the dawn of a very real crisis.
Twilight flew onto the announcement balcony above the plaza. She didn't even spare time to land and instead slid on the smooth marble, transitioning from flying right to a galloping stride. Once in a steady run, she immediately called for Celestia.
"Princess Celestia! Where are you? I need to talk to you!" she shouted while swinging her head in the direction of every doorway.
Her calls echoed around the empty halls, but a reply was never given. The throne room was empty, and so were the meeting room, dining room, and ballroom. Not a single royal guard or cleaning pony in sight, it was desolate. Finally, she caught a glimpse of Princess Celestia in the gardens with her horn activated. "Phew, not Daybreaker," Twilight internally confirmed with a pleased sigh.
"Celestia!" Twilight blurted out with a tone of celebration upon finding her.
Princess Celestia was facing the horizon to the south, and in front of her was Luna, comforting Celestia and ensuring she remains strong. "Luna! You're here too, good."
Celestia turned around with a look of relief, "Twilight! Thank Me, I am delighted you decided to come. You decided not to teleport either, that was very wise. Though, I'm sure the flight was difficult."
"I think I know how to stop this!" she exclaimed. "I need to go see Princess Celestia at once! Maybe she and I can put this to use? I wish you could come with me, Starlight. I really do, but there is no safe way you can get to Canterlot."
"I understand. What should I do while you're gone?" Starlight asked determined.
"Try and see if there are other ways we could stop the sun - anything."
"You got it, Twilight. Now go! I'll do my best," Starlight looked committed to the cause.
Twilight activated her horn to complete a teleportation spell to Canterlot, but was thankfully interrupted.
"Wait!—" She dove toward Twilight, Starlight tapped her hoof on the tip of Twilight's horn, ending the spell.
Starlight continued to speak, after plopping on the floor, "You weren't really about to teleport in this heat, were you? Do you know how dangerous that is?"
On the border of concern and confusion, Twilight asked, "What is it?"
"If you teleport in anything above 110, you risk disfigurement, missing parts, and/or death. You should know this, Twilight! It's the main reason why Celestia locked the sun's distance in the first place."
Twilight facepalmed, "Oh, right. Well, then I need to leave now! Goodbye, Starlight."
"Are you sure it's safe to fly in this heat too?"
"I can't just sit here, Starlight. Flying is less risky than teleporting, and those are the only two options to get to Canterlot in time."
"Alright. All the luck to you then, Twilight."
"You too." Twilight darted by Starlight, swung the front doors open, and bolted off en route to Canterlot.
The instant she left the shaded confines of her castle, she felt the scorching heat of the hostile sun violently bombarding her. When Twilight took flight, she was instantly out of breath, as if she were a newbie flyer once again. As she flew, fatigue quickly grew from ache to pain. The feeling of her wings disappeared before she even left the boundaries of Ponyvile, the same feeling she got when working out her wings with wing-ups. For the entire duration of the trip, she had to pant heavily for air, as it was hard to breathe in the blazing heat of the day. It was rough and demanding, but she had to make it to Canterlot.
Shortly before arriving in Canterlot, she compared her surroundings since starting. The sun was redder and had become even more intense, baking the world in its ever-worsening heat. This could be fatigue from flying or sight alterations from the baking atmosphere, but the sun looked larger as well.
The spires of Canterlot castle overcame the horizon and elegantly presented themselves to Twilight, swaying through the cooking air. These tall and proud towers of regality were surrounded by a transparent red bubble, the same way Shining Armor protected Canterlot on his wedding day. Twilight's mind sped through many different realities, speculating why the sun had become active in this way. Has the star reached the end of its life? Had Celestia turned into Daybreaker?! Twilight increased her pacing, trying to visit Celestia as fast as possible while frantically mauling over every possible situation.
She passed through the borders of the shield and instantly knew what type of protection it was: temperature. The evidence was clear when she entered its barrier, it was a vastly cooler environment compared to the outside. This added to the reality unfolding every second, that her vision of the sun was the dawn of a very real crisis.
Twilight flew onto the announcement balcony above the plaza. She didn't even spare time to land and instead slid on the smooth marble, transitioning from flying right to a galloping stride. Once in a steady run, she immediately called for Celestia.
"Princess Celestia! Where are you? I need to talk to you!" she shouted while swinging her head in the direction of every doorway.
Her calls echoed around the empty halls, but a reply was never given. The throne room was empty, and so were the meeting room, dining room, and ballroom. Not a single royal guard or cleaning pony in sight, it was desolate. Finally, she caught a glimpse of Princess Celestia in the gardens with her horn activated. "Phew, not Daybreaker," Twilight internally confirmed with a pleased sigh.
"Celestia!" Twilight blurted out with a tone of celebration upon finding her.
Princess Celestia was facing the horizon to the south, and in front of her was Luna, comforting Celestia and ensuring she remains strong. "Luna! You're here too, good."
Celestia turned around with a look of relief, "Twilight! Thank Me, I am delighted you decided to come. You decided not to teleport either, that was very wise. Though, I'm sure the flight was difficult."
"That's it. I need to see Princess Celestia, now."
Twilight went up the castle stairs and to the balcony. She jumped off the sizzling floor and spread her wings to fly toward Canterlot.
She instantly became tired and fatigued as the sun's heat felt like daggers on every square inch of her body. Enough so that she could not fly straight anymore, like a drunk taxi driver in Manehattan. Her vision was wavey, as she struggled to breathe the hot air.
Twilight took a moment to stop and look back at Ponyville. She watched in desperation as the efforts made by Ponyville to block out the sun had failed, allowing the baking heat to scorch everything. Then she looked up to see a rapidly expanding sun in a cloudless blood-red sky.
In a panic, she resumed speeding toward Canterlot. Exhaustion got the best of her as the lakes below began to boil. Similar to Ponyville, Twilight also collapsed, and so did the planet after her.
Twilight responded, "The amulet said it amplifies protection spells. We have the solution right here!"
"Alright, what does it need?" Starlight said anxiously, ready to save the world post-haste.
Twilight reread from the book, "The amulet needs inferno crystals, gold, and rubies."
"We can use our bits for the gold," Starlight answered.
"and we can take the inferno crystals out of the fireplace," Twilight added.
"Right!" Starlight concurred. "But . . . where are we going to get rubies?"
They both pondered for a moment, then slowly looked back at each other.
"I won't tell him if you won't either," Starlight deviously said to Twilight.
Twilight shook her head in agreement. "Oh, I promise, I won't say a thing to him but if you spill the beans, I'll deny it!"
"No way I would ever tell him."
They went into Spike's room and opened his closet. Twilight removed a stack of Power Ponies comics to reveal a once-hidden basket of gemstones.
Twilight levitated a few rubies from the pile. "Spike thinks this is his secret stash of gems I don't know about. It's cute really."
Starlight giggled, "Won't he notice though?"
"He is too busy reading these comics to know what gem he eats and has left."
With the rubies, they sprinted through the scarlet hallways of the castle, upstairs, and threw open the doors to the balcony to assemble the Solar Amulet of Protective Amplification.
"Starlight, I need you to cast the protection spell once I assemble and ensure everything remains stable," Twilight instructed.
Starlight nodded, determined to end this crisis once and for all.
With Twilight's new knowledge of the appearance of the amulet, she could meld the inferno crystals, bits, and rubies into their proper shapes. The inferno crystals were refined into cut gemstones as the picture had them. Bits melted together to form the rims of the amulet. Finally, the rubies took the form of the flames on the solar charm. With all three parts created, Twilight fused them together to complete the amulet.
Twilight held it together, "Yes! It isn't falling apart!"
"It might have broken after we made it?" Starlight asked.
"The book on amulets said the Princesses tried to recreate it after the first one incinerated itself after use. They couldn't make it again."
"Huh, how curious. Why isn't it breaking now?"
"I'm not sure, but I am glad it isn't. Now just enchant it with a protection spell to stop the sun."
Starlight's horn lit up and shot at the solar amulet while Twilight continued to keep it stable. While Starlight cast and finished the spell, it grew brighter. It soon reached what seemed to be its brightest, when it began to emit noise. They stood there, sweating in place with weakened vision. It wasn't visible, but the thermometer on the floor was reading two hundred ten degrees.
As the suspense built, their hopes grew, only to be struck down. To their utter disappointment, the amulet's sounds ceased and its brightness clicked off. It fell to the ground but did not shatter, unlike their hopes. The amulet fell with a soft but heartbreaking clang, Twilight became angry, "No! Why is it not working!? We--we did everything right . . . Two magic-wielding entities and . . . and a protection . . . spell . . ."
The worsening conditions became too much for them to bare. Starlight lay herself on the floor for a quick rest. Twilight tried to get her back up but to no avail. She was soon forced to join Starlight on the baking floor.
Her body struck the floor as the sun struck the planet shortly thereafter.
"You're right, we should try again," Twilight picked up the solar charm, "Did you do the spell right last time?"
Starlight raised an eyebrow, "Really . . ."
"Heheh, of course you did it right," Twilight was slightly ashamed for assuming such a thing. "Alright, this time I will keep the amulet stable and conduct the spell as well."
"It's worth a shot," Starlight concurred.
Twilight took the amulet to stabilize it. "One," she started. "Two," Starlight continued. "Three!" they said simultaneously while casting the shield spell at the solar amulet.
They both stood there, shooting at the amulet as the air around them grew hotter by the second. It was hard to breathe, if they had to guess, it would be around two hundred degrees by now. Even through sweating out more water than a running faucet, they continued the spell with all of their strength. They knew time was running out.
The spell was done and the amulet was glowing once again. As expected, it shot out a ray of light toward the sun.
The light from the amulet was doing its best, but the red sun was too big for it now. The shield could not expand around it fast enough; it was being pushed back as it was breaking.
Starlight tapped Twilight, "Uhm . . . Twilight."
Twilight turned her head to see Starlight pointing at something in the distance with a look of horror and her mouth agape. She looked to see that all the clouds the citizens of Ponyville moved for shade, were completely gone. Not only that, but even farther away on the horizon, Cloudsdale was falling to the ground in pieces.
Twilight forced herself to speak over her emotions strangling her throat. "C—Cloudsdale . . . All the clouds in Equestria are gone . . . and flying in this heat is not safe at all. Did we fa—" Starlight embraced Twilight to make her feel better . . . or was it a final goodbye?
The steamy air of dead clouds combined with the overbearing fireball produced countless rainbows. Who knew the heat death of Equestria would produce such melancholic beauty?
"No! It isn't over yet!" Twilight pushed past Starlight.
"Help me do the spell again!" Twilight desperately demanded.
Starlight admitted with a sinking heart, "Twilight . . . it's over."
Behind them, the amulet deactivated and fell to crash against the floor, just as the sun crashed into the planet's atmosphere.
"Great thinking Starlight! We should use Spherical Prison immediately."
Starlight looked over the spell. "I'm not sure this is a 'we' effort, just you. It says only pure alicorn magic can cast the spell."
"Hmmm," Twilight lifted her hoof to her chin in thought. "I know how you can help, Starlight."
"How's that?"
"You can use a donation spell to give me your magical capabilities as long as you keep the pulse active. It will add to my own power, guaranteeing that this spell works against the sun."
"Good idea, Twilight. I would be happy to help."
"Let's get into view of the sun."
At first, they trotted with a purpose, quickly and full of energy through the massive halls. However, they slowed down considerably when they reached the stairs and panted as they ascended them. Once they reached the balcony, they were as tired as if they had run a marathon.
"Ouch!," Starlight stepped on the balcony and found out it was way too hot for her hooves. She jumped back into the doorway.
"We will have to do it from here," Starlight suggested.
"This is fine. I have a view of the sun."
Out of curiosity, Starlight summoned a thermometer to read it.
"Umm . . . Twilight."
"Yes?"
"It's exceptionally hotter than it was just moments ago."
"How hot?"
"The temperature has gone up 60 degrees, up to 210."
Twilight looked up — not directly at the sun — and noticed it was much redder . . . and larger.
"Alright,—" Twilight said, stretching "—are you ready?"
Starlight nodded in confirmation.
Twilight's horn lit up as she conducted the spell. Starlight began her donation spell, increasing Twilight's magical power. The purple blast of Spherical Prison blew out of her horn and raced toward the growing star.
They both stood there as the heat rose exponentially. Starlight continued her donation spell even while she struggled. She was not the only one. Twilight was audibly groaning through her efforts.
Twilight watched the spell reach the sun and begin wrapping around it.
"It's working!" Her heart skipped a beat. Was it because of the jolt of excitement or the stroke-inducing heat?
Starlight stopped the donation spell and celebrated with Twilight. "We did it! The sun has stopped!"
"It will be perpetually hot now . . ."
Starlight shook her head and waved her hoof as if it wasn't a big deal, "That will be dealt with that later. I'm sure Princess Celestia can move the entire thing farther away."
They both gazed upon their success with pride. Then Starlight cocked her head, "Uh . . . is it still getting brighter?"
Twilight took a moment and noticed the same thing. "How is it getting brighter? We stopped it."
"Maybe we shoul—"
Before they could even mentally register what had happened, the shield broke and allowed the sun to rapidly expand once again. The planet was mercilessly evaporated by an explosion of pure plasmic fire within milliseconds.
"It's just a recommendation. We should cast the spell anyway."
Starlight looked over the spell. "I'm not sure this is a 'we' effort, just you. It says only pure alicorn magic can cast the spell."
"Hmmm," Twilight lifted her hoof to her chin in thought. "I know how you can help, Starlight."
"How's that?"
"You can use a donation spell to give me your magical capabilities as long as you keep the pulse active. It will add to my own power, guaranteeing that this spell works against the sun."
"Good idea, Twilight. I would be happy to help."
"Let's get into view of the sun."
At first, they trotted with a purpose, quickly and full of energy through the massive halls. However, they slowed down considerably when they reached the stairs and panted as they ascended them. Once they reached the balcony, they were as tired as if they had run a marathon.
"Ouch!," Starlight stepped on the balcony and found out it was way too hot for her hooves. She jumped back into the doorway.
"We will have to do it from here," Starlight suggested.
"This is fine. I have a view of the sun."
Out of curiosity, Starlight summoned a thermometer to read it.
"Umm . . . Twilight."
"Yes?"
"It's exceptionally hotter than it was just moments ago."
"How hot?"
"The temperature has gone up 60 degrees, up to 210."
Twilight looked up — not directly at the sun — and noticed it was much redder . . . and larger.
"Alright,—" Twilight said, stretching "—are you ready?"
Starlight nodded in confirmation.
Twilight's horn lit up as she conducted the spell. Starlight began her donation spell, increasing Twilight's magical power. The purple blast of Spherical Prison blew out of her horn and raced toward the growing star.
They both stood there as the heat rose exponentially. Starlight continued her donation spell even while she struggled. She was not the only one. Twilight was audibly groaning through her efforts.
Twilight watched the spell reach the sun and begin wrapping around it.
"It's working!" Her heart skipped a beat. Was it because of the jolt of excitement or the stroke-inducing heat?
Starlight stopped the donation spell and celebrated with Twilight. "We did it! The sun has stopped!"
"It will be perpetually hot now . . ."
Starlight shook her head and waved her hoof as if it wasn't a big deal, "That will be dealt with that later. I'm sure Princess Celestia can move the entire thing farther away."
They both gazed upon their success with pride. Then Starlight cocked her head, "Uh . . . is it still getting brighter?"
Twilight took a moment and noticed the same thing. "How is it getting brighter? We stopped it."
"Maybe we shoul—"
Before they could even mentally register what had happened, the shield broke and allowed the sun to rapidly expand once again. The planet was mercilessly evaporated by an explosion of pure plasmic fire within milliseconds.
"Alright, what does it need?" Starlight said anxiously, ready to save the world post-haste.
Twilight reread from the book, "The amulet needs inferno crystals, gold, and rubies."
"We can use our bits for the gold," Starlight answered.
"and we can take the inferno crystals out of the fireplace," Twilight added.
"Right!" Starlight concurred. "But . . . where are we going to get rubies?"
They both pondered for a moment, then slowly looked back at each other.
"I won't tell him if you won't either," Starlight deviously said to Twilight.
Twilight shook her head in agreement. "Oh, I promise, I won't say a thing to him but if you spill the beans, I'll deny it!"
"No way I would ever tell him."
They went into Spike's room and opened his closet. Twilight removed a stack of Power Ponies comics to reveal a once-hidden basket of gemstones.
Twilight levitated a few rubies from the pile. "Spike thinks this is his secret stash of gems I don't know about. It's cute really."
Starlight giggled, "Won't he notice though?"
"He is too busy reading these comics to know what gem he eats and has left."
With the rubies, they sprinted through the scarlet hallways of the castle, upstairs, and threw open the doors to the balcony to assemble the Solar Amulet of Protective Amplification.
"Starlight, I need you to cast the protection spell once I assemble and ensure everything remains stable," Twilight instructed.
Starlight nodded, determined to end this crisis once and for all.
With Twilight's new knowledge of the appearance of the amulet, she could meld the inferno crystals, bits, and rubies into their proper shapes. The inferno crystals were refined into cut gemstones as the picture had them. Bits melted together to form the rims of the amulet. Finally, the rubies took the form of the flames on the solar charm. With all three parts created, Twilight fused them together to complete the amulet.
Twilight held it together, "Yes! It isn't falling apart!"
"It might have broken after we made it?" Starlight asked while still holding the amulet.
"The book on amulets said the Princesses tried to recreate it after the first one incinerated itself after use. They couldn't make it again."
"Huh, how curious. Why isn't it breaking now?"
"I'm not sure, but I am glad it isn't. Now just enchant it with the Spherical Prison spell."
Starlight's horn lit up and shot at the solar amulet while Twilight continued to keep it stable. While Starlight cast and finished the spell, it grew brighter. It soon reached what seemed to be its brightest, when it began to emit noise. Then, to their utter disappointment, the amulet's sounds ceased and its brightness clicked off. It fell to the ground but did not shatter.
As the amulet fell with a soft but heartbreaking clang, Twilight became angry, "No! Why is it not working!? We did everything right . . . Two magic-wielding entities and a protection spell . . ."
"And we got the right materials to assemble it with," Starlight chimed in while thinking.
"Exactly! The book must have false information in it! Or is lacking information? Nothing bothers me more than incomplete books," Twilight stomped on the floor as she grew more flustered.
Starlight thought of a technicality they missed, "Well . . ."
Twilight shoots her gaze at Starlight with wide eyes, "'Well' what?"
Starlight continued, "The book said two magic-wielding entities, which we are, but spells and amulets can be very specific. This being a relatively unknown and old amulet, we could be missing the specifics we need. It could mean two unicorns, two alicorns, or one of each but doing different tasks."
Twilight thought about Starlight's assessment. ". . ."
"Alright, let's go shade Ponyville from the sun. If we can't fix the sun itself, then we can at least help Ponyville."
The resident pegasuses and unicorns were moving local clouds above Ponyville to block out the sun's harmful heat. Unfortunately, the earth ponies could not help in the weather department but found a way to help out by supplying food and drink.
As the day progressed and grew hotter, the clouds became less dense, forcing the ponies to condense them again. Only to repeat the process shortly after once they inevitably heated up more. The clouds rose in altitude in search of cooler temperatures, but the unicorns kept prodding them back where they needed to be.
Their struggle to keep the clouds dense and at proper altitude became exponentially tedious. Nothing was stopping the sun from growing and plunging the planet into a more powerful heat. Even the clouds seemed to do very little to help at this point. The air was so hot that shade was rendered useless, except to prevent instant sunburn.
Eventually, the clouds could no longer take it. They evaporated into pure humidity, making the heat worse than it needed to be. Just like the clouds, Ponyville could no longer take the heat. Then the planet could also no longer take the heat of the ever-expanding sun.
"At least we know the amulet and spell worked last time. Wait, all we have to do is cast Spherical Prison at the sun. Then all will be normal again!"
Starlight looked over the spell. "I'm not sure this is a 'we' effort, just you. It says only pure alicorn magic can cast the spell."
"Hmmm," Twilight lifted her hoof to her chin in thought. "I know how you can help, Starlight."
"How's that?"
"You can use a donation spell to give me your magical capabilities as long as you keep the pulse active. It will add to my own power, guaranteeing that this spell works against the sun."
"Good idea, Twilight. I would be happy to help."
"Let's get into view of the sun."
At first, they trotted with a purpose, quickly and full of energy through the massive halls. However, they slowed down considerably when they reached the stairs and panted as they ascended them. Once they reached the balcony, they were as tired as if they had run a marathon.
"Ouch!," Starlight stepped on the balcony and found out it was way too hot for her hooves. She jumped back into the doorway.
"We will have to do it from here," Starlight suggested.
"This is fine. I have a view of the sun."
Out of curiosity, Starlight summoned a thermometer to read it.
"Umm . . . Twilight."
"Yes?"
"It's exceptionally hotter than it was just moments ago."
"How hot?"
"The temperature has gone up 60 degrees, up to 210."
Twilight looked up — not directly at the sun — and noticed it was much redder . . . and larger.
"Alright,—" Twilight said, stretching "—are you ready?"
Starlight nodded in confirmation.
Twilight's horn lit up as she conducted the spell. Starlight began her donation spell, increasing Twilight's magical power. The purple blast of Spherical Prison blew out of her horn and raced toward the growing star.
They both stood there as the heat rose exponentially. Starlight continued her donation spell even while she struggled. She was not the only one. Twilight was audibly groaning through her efforts.
Twilight watched the spell reach the sun and begin wrapping around it.
"It's working!" Her heart skipped a beat. Was it because of the jolt of excitement or the stroke-inducing heat?
Starlight stopped the donation spell and celebrated with Twilight. "We did it! The sun has stopped!"
"It will be perpetually hot now . . ."
Starlight shook her head and waved her hoof as if it wasn't a big deal, "That will be dealt with that later. I'm sure Princess Celestia can move the entire thing farther away."
They both gazed upon their success with pride. Then Starlight cocked her head, "Uh . . . is it still getting brighter?"
Twilight took a moment and noticed the same thing. "How is it getting brighter? We stopped it."
"Maybe we shoul—"
Before they could even mentally register what had happened, the shield broke and allowed the sun to rapidly expand once again. The planet was mercilessly evaporated by an explosion of pure plasmic fire within milliseconds.
"At least we know the amulet and spell worked last time. Wait, we have all we need already! With Spherical Prison being amplified through the amulet, we are sure to save the world!"
"Alright, what does it need?" Starlight said anxiously, ready to save the world post-haste.
Twilight reread from the book, "The amulet needs inferno crystals, gold, and rubies."
"We can use our bits for the gold," Starlight answered.
"and we can take the inferno crystals out of the fireplace," Twilight added.
"Right!" Starlight concurred. "But . . . where are we going to get rubies?"
They both pondered for a moment, then slowly looked back at each other.
"I won't tell him if you won't either," Starlight deviously said to Twilight.
Twilight shook her head in agreement. "Oh, I promise, I won't say a thing to him but if you spill the beans, I'll deny it!"
"No way I would ever tell him."
They went into Spike's room and opened his closet. Twilight removed a stack of Power Ponies comics to reveal a once-hidden basket of gemstones.
Twilight levitated a few rubies from the pile. "Spike thinks this is his secret stash of gems I don't know about. It's cute really."
Starlight giggled, "Won't he notice though?"
"He is too busy reading these comics to know what gem he eats and has left."
With the rubies, they sprinted through the scarlet hallways of the castle, upstairs, and threw open the doors to the balcony to assemble the Solar Amulet of Protective Amplification.
"Starlight, I need you to cast the protection spell once I assemble and ensure everything remains stable," Twilight instructed.
Starlight nodded, determined to end this crisis once and for all.
With Twilight's new knowledge of the appearance of the amulet, she could meld the inferno crystals, bits, and rubies into their proper shapes. Beats of sweat rolled down Twilight's face as she tried to fuse the pieces together.
"What's wrong, Twilight?"
"My assembly spell isn't working . . . H—how hot is it?"
Starlight attempted to teleport the thermometer to them but failed. "I . . . don't know. I am getting—really dizzy though," she said while her legs failed, forcing her to the floor.
"Starlight!" Twilight dove for her and let go of the pieces of the amulet.
As the pieces fell and scattered around the balcony, the sun became victorious.
Starlight looked over the spell. "I'm not sure this is a 'we' effort, just you. It says only pure alicorn magic can cast the spell."
"Hmmm," Twilight lifted her hoof to her chin in thought. "I know how you can help, Starlight."
"How's that?"
"You can use a donation spell to give me your magical capabilities. As long as you keep the pulse active, it will add to my own power, guaranteeing that this spell works against the sun."
"Good idea, Twilight. I would be happy to help."
They walked down the large halls of the castle, climbed the stairs to the second floor, and stepped out onto the balcony.
"Wow, it's hot out here," Starlight noticed, as the balcony's floor was almost too hot for her hooves.
She teleported the thermometer to her and waited a bit.
"Umm . . . Twilight."
"Yes?"
"It's hotter than it was an hour ago."
"Well yeah, it gets hotter until the early afternoon."
"No . . . Like it's a LOT hotter."
"Now that you say it, it does feel too hot out here to be 100. It might even be hotter than that. What is it?"
"It's 165."
"Huh!? Okay, something is definitely going on with the sun."
Twilight looked up — not directly at the sun — and noticed it was slightly redder, perhaps even a tad . . . bigger.
"Alright,—" Twilight said, stretching "—are you ready?"
Starlight nodded in confirmation.
Twilight's horn lit up as she conducted the spell. Starlight began her donation spell, increasing Twilight's magical power. A purple blast beamed from her horn and raced toward the growing star. Eventually, the spell arrived and surrounded the sun with ease, trapping it with ease.
"Yes, we did it!" Starlight celebrated.
"Well," Twilight mused, "that was easy. Want to go get ice cream?"
"Nothing better than that on a hot day after saving the world - again."
They left the castle for the first time that day and went to search for the ice cream stand run by none other than Bulk Biceps.
"Don't you also have a nut stand?" Starlight looked around for that very cart.
"In the summer, I work my ice cream stand instead. What flavors do you want?" Bulk Biceps offered.
"I'd like mint, please."
"Mint?" Twilight blurted.
"Yeah, mint! What is wrong with mint?"
"Oh, nothing . . . just, you might as well brush your teeth with it."
Starlight snickered, "Hmph, what flavor are you going to get then? Probably something vanilla, like chocolate."
They both paused and held back a chuckle together, but it was futile. They burst out in synchronous laughter.
"Vanilla. Like chocolate. Hahaha." Instantly, Twilight stopped laughing and switched to a dead serious face. "No."
"What is it then? I swear if you say vani—."
"I like coffee ice cream."
Starlight had her mouth open like she was going to say something, but nothing came out. It took a moment, but finally, she said, "Oh, that's actually a pretty good flavor."
"Right away." Bulk took the scooper and loaded it with mint. He put the ball of pretend toothpaste on the cone, but his immense strength crushed it. He smiled and blushed a little. "Sorry, I'll get another."
"Thanks," Starlight said sweetly while holding back a giggling smile.
"No problem!"
The next pony in line stepped up for their ice cream once Twilight and Starlight paid and walked away.
It was then that a soul-trembling rumble ruined the fresh, delicate peace.
Twilight and Starlight took a guess and looked up at the sun, hoping to be wrong. Unfortunately, they were correct. The shield around the sun had begun developing visible cracks, shaking the world below as they gave way under the sun's strength.
Grrrrr-CRACK
Pieces of the protective barrier evaporated as it shattered. The sun, now freed from its confines, jumped back into action right where it would have been if never imprisoned at all. From a warm-orange ball to a scorching-red star, it had returned.
The white-hot heat crashed in one big wave that covered all of Equestria. Lyra's new ice cream quickly melted and plopped on the ground. She frowned.
"I'm guessing we don't have the same luxury of time as they did back then," Starlight spoke meekly.
"Yeah, I don't think we do either," Twilight wore a look of defeat. "If only we had more time . . ."
Starlight's ears perked up, pointing right through the ceiling; her posture went from defeated sloucher to picture-perfect in record time. "That's it!"
An ear flopped to the side, "What is it?" Asked Twilight.
"Twilight, I know you would hate this, but just think about it: we can have more time."
"Hmmm. Uh, wait! Starlig—!"
"Before you say 'Mehhh but the time continuum', just . . . think about it. We can save all life if we do this. We know what to do now, but we do not have enough time. So—"
"Starlight, I think it's a great idea."
"Y—you do?"
"I'd say this is worth the risks of messing with the time continuum."
"Great! I have the spell right here!" Starlight did a Pinkie — she learned from the best — and pulled a scroll out of her mane.
"You've had it there the whole ti—"
"That doesn't matter. Let's hurry up and save the world!" Starlight struck the scroll with activation magic and jumped up into the portal with Twilight.
The portal dumped them into the library just hours before old Twilight woke up. They gathered the required material for the amulet hastily, creating the Solar Amulet. Having memorized Spherical Prison, they activated the amulet and aimed it at a small yellow sun barely peaking over the crest of mountains. The teal light had many Ponyville residents wondering what it was for — and what it was in the first place.
Rainbow Dash left the comfort of her cloud, of which she was resting until a blue laser blew past her, and asked, "What was that all about?"
"Oh . . . Nothing." Starlight and Twilight replied, looking at Rainbow and then back at each other. They laughed and walked back into the castle. Rainbow Dash was confused.
The next day, Princess Celestia came by to visit.
"Hey, Twilight. Starlight. Did you happen to do anything yesterday?"
"With the sun?" Twilight answered and asked rhetorically. "Yeah, we did a little something."
Celestia looked around to make sure it was only the three. "How did you know?"
"We just —" Starlight glanced at Twilight, both grinning "— knew," she shrugged.
With the bubble gone, a massive change of temperature flooded into Canterlot. The sudden change made Canterlot go from feeling room temperature to a preheated oven in a flash.
The violent star grew more as time passed, becoming redder and hotter.
With the temperature regulation shield over Canterlot gone, Twilight's legs began to wobble in their weakness, and her grunts of agony continued and got worse. With no heat protection, Twilight became more fatigued much quicker.
Then, suddenly. A most unexpected but needed hero appeared out of thin air.
"Ugh, why is it called thin air anyways?" Discord scoffed. "Why not thick or fat air? Ooo, I could make it syrupy."
The three princesses stared at him until one of them spoke what the collective was all thinking.
"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" Luna demanded an answer from the late-but-also-just-in-time draconequus.
"Oh, sorry. Were you expecting me? Waiting to save the world until I got here?" He teleported a lawn chair while simultaneously sitting on it with a smoothie donning a tiny umbrella and straw. "I hope I didn't waste too much of your time." He said in a very heartfelt sarcastic way while pulling shades down his snout.
"Discord, did you know this was going to happen?"
"The sun exploding? Why yes I— Wait a minute." Discord read the time on his fully functioning marker-drawn watch. "The sun should have exploded 500 years ago. How strange . . ."
"You made this happen?!" Twilight stepped back, surprised.
"Weeeeell. It was before the whole friendship thing. Back when dear Celestia and I fought like bickering couples." He dragged his claw under Celestia's chin.
She moved her head away. "and thankfully I was able to stop it."
"No. You were able to delay it. It has always been dying."
Twilight spoke with urgency. "Discord! Can you hurry up and fix your bright idea?"
Discord chuckled a good chuckle. "Hahaha, that's a good one, Twilight!"
They looked at him with a straight and unamused face.
"Oh come on. This is only another global crisis; just another day at the office for the likes of you three."
Luna stepped in to back up Twilight. "Discord, if you want to help us, now would be the time to stop playing around and snap your fingers."
"Oh, but what's the fun in making sense? I could just leave Equestria and be just fine. I could go anywhere and let this place roast."
Twilight smirked, "but what about Fluttershy?"
Discord perked up. "You're right . . . I'll take her with me and leave the rest."
"Discord!" They all said in sync.
"Oh, I'm just kidding around—" Discord snapped "—but if it puts your mind at ease, you've saved ponykind, once again." He said looking at Twilight.
"What? But the sun is sti—" She looked up to notice a small yellow sun sitting peacefully in a crystal blue sky as if nothing ever happened.
Twilight had to regather herself. "Well . . . Ponykind may be saved, but not by me or the Sisters. I can't snap my non-existent fingers like you can."
"Try these on for size." He snapped again.
"AH! Take them back!" Twilight did not like that experience . . .
After being fully marinated, he smiled and snapped again.
"Oh, but it was all you, Twilight. Your actions led you down this one specific path out of 159 other possibilities. Every one of you has seen it all."
"Uh . . . what?"
"Nevermind." He waved his hands around to dismiss the random thought bubble above him. "Let's just say you causing a mass panic saved the entire planet. No more questions! Too-ta-looooo!" He suited a black and red space-looking uniform and took out a communication device. Beep beep, "One to beam up." An arrangement of particles surrounded him to take him to who-knows-where — except Discord . . . He knows.
