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“Is everypony alright?” Applejack asked, dashing the last of the tears from her eyes.
Despite feeling clubbed inside and out, the others nodded. Nevertheless, Fluttershy looked ready to do murder, and everpony else shared her anger and pain.
“So what do we do now?” Rainbow demanded.
“We do what we’ve always done, darling,” Rarity told her rainbow-maned friend. “Save the day.”
“But how?” Pinkie wailed. Her mane and tail looked ready to deflate at any moment, and Sunset stepped in before that could happen.
“I think I know what happened,” she said firmly. She took a deep breath. “Twilight told me of Celestia’s goal to ascend her. But as you all know, Twilight turned her down, not wanting to rise to that pinnacle without the five of you.” She didn’t yet want to add herself to the group, and hastily pressed on before the questions appeared in the others’ eyes. “But it seems Celestia had a back-up plan in case the Tree of Harmony failed.”
Twilight nodded. “She, Luna and Cadance all gave their magic to us,” she said, her gaze taking them all in, even Sunset. “But it wasn’t a direct transfer. She sent the magic into limbo, to pass to us the moment their decoy power was drawn from them. Once it was gone, the power passed to us.”
Pinkie’s eyes were as large and round as dinner plates. “Really?” she whispered.
“Really,” Twilight told her. She took a deep breath. “Sunset, she also included you. I don’t know how, but it seems she always believed you’d come back to her for forgiveness.”
Sunset shook her head. “Why?” she demanded.
“It doesn’t matter,” Twilight insisted. “But you do have to come clean to everypony else.”
“Nuh-uh,” Rainbow disagreed. “Whatever Sunset’s done is in the past. As far as I’m concerned, she’s a friend.” As she spoke, a soft cyan glow surrounded her.
“I reckon so,” Applejack agreed, and she began glowing orange.
“I concur,” Rarity said, shining white as she gave her affirmation.
Fluttershy nodded, her own coat gleaming a soft yellow. “You’re a good friend,” she said softly.
“You sure are,” Pinkie said, and she too, lit up with pink light.
Sunset’s eyes were full of tears as she turned to Twilight, who was now glowing magenta. “Really?” she asked.
Twilight put a hoof on her shoulder. “Really,” she said, and just like that, Sunset felt her own fur light up, not amber, but red. Her eyes widened, before a firm expression came over her face.
“Then let’s do this,” she said firmly, and with that, six streams of colour converged on her, flowing into her and through her. White light rebounded from her as the hidden magic activated, together with the core natures of her six friends; honesty, kindness, laughter, generosity, loyalty, and magic. Those six streams then converged on the other mares, and as the magic reached its peak, Sunset felt a new element spring to life in her; redemption, and new tears streamed down her cheeks as she let the magic take hold.
When the world stopped spinning, it was Pinkie who let them all know what had happened. “Look!” she said, spreading new pink wings as wide as they could go. A matching pink horn sprung from her forehead. “It worked!”
“Well I’ll be hornswaggled,” Applejack exclaimed, as she examined her own wings and horn.
One by one, the others all took stock of their new features, and Sunset wasn’t too surprised to discover she had her own pair of wings. “Well, this is new,” she said, smirking as she felt her magic kick back into action. “Tirek’s going to be sorry he messed with us.”
Twilight gave her a matching smirk, but soon her smile died. “I’m going to have to apologise to Princess Celestia,” she said in a low voice. “Maybe I read her wrong this whole time.”
“Maybe so,” Sunset agreed. Then her face firmed and she spread her wings. “Alright, ladies,” she said. “Let’s go pay a visit to Tirek.”
Fluttershy hesitated, before shaking her head. “Wait,” she said, before walking to the soot-stain on the ground; all that was left of Discord. Taking a deep breath, the newly-minted yellow alicorn put her horn against the ground, and a yellow glow emanated from the tip. The others shared a look, and then they all trotted over to join Fluttershy, putting their horn-tips against the ground also. One by one they channelled their elements, and a soft white light filled the cavern as they reached out, seeking their lost friend.
A low rumbling sounded deep in the earth, and then a crack emerged, before a long green vine rose. A white flower budded, blossomed, and then opened, revealing a baby draconequus, curled up in its petals. Fluttershy used her magic to gently lower him to the ground, and there were gasps of wonder as he opened his eyes. Large pupils fixed on Fluttershy, and he reached out with one tiny paw, gently touching her muzzle. “Mama?” he said in a tiny voice.
Fluttershy blushed to the roots of her fur. “I’m Fluttershy,” she said, her own voice gentle.
The draconequus frowned. “Not Mama?” he said.
“No, but a very dear friend,” Fluttershy told him, giving him a gentle nuzzle. “Your name is Discord.”
His frown deepened. “Discord? But I not mean. I good.”
“You are good,” Fluttershy agreed. “But that is your name.”
“Not like name,” Discord grumbled. “Not-Mama is silly.”
“Give it a rest,” Rainbow moaned. “Discord, you’re our friend. And right now, we need you.”
Discord got to his feet. “I weak,” he protested. “No magic.”
“Then take ours,” Sunset insisted, holding out her horn to him. He frowned, before putting a tiny paw on the very tip. He gasped, and when the others all offered their horns, tears filled his eyes. “You… help me?” he said, his voice getting stronger as the magic flowed into him. “Even after what I… what I’ve done?”
Fluttershy smiled at him as he began to grow. “Yes.”
“Why?” His deepening voice was blunt. “I betrayed you. I hurt you.”
“I’m no bed of roses myself,” Sunset said flatly. She smiled, a thin smile that had no mirth in it. “But these girls extended their hooves to me in friendship. Why can’t we do the same to you?”
White light enveloped Discord, and when it cleared, he was back to his old self, tears streaming unashamedly down his cheeks. “I’m not good enough for any of this,” he moaned, genuine regret in his voice. "I don't deserve it, not after the way I sold you all out."
“Well, like it or not, we’re giving our hooves to you,” Sunset said firmly, and then she gasped as the cool weight of a golden torc settled around her neck. Looking down, she saw that it was a red and gold copy of her new element, shaped like her cutie mark. “Uh, ladies? Check your necks and head.”
The other mares did so, and gasped when they saw their own Elements had come back to life. “Oooh!” Pinkie exclaimed, delighted. “Now we can really kick Tirek’s nasty butt!”
“Oh please,” Rarity said firmly. “I believe in plot-kicking as much as the next pony, but we should give the poor dear a chance to explain himself. Right before we send him back to Tartarus,” she added, her mouth curving into a very unholy grin.
Fluttershy opened her mouth to add her own endorsement to the plan, but got no further when Discord swept her up and planted a kiss firmly on her muzzle. She froze in pure shock for a second, before burying her head under his chin, holding onto him as tightly, if not more so. Rainbow rolled her eyes and grinned. 184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHZt4kNEmBW
“Get a room, you two,” she teased, and the laughter which followed broke the almost lightning-like tension in the cavern.
“Right, to business,” Discord agreed, gently setting Fluttershy down. “First things first; these vines. Elements go back in tree; tree repulses vines; princesses are freed and can lend their aid.”
Twilight nodded. “But there’s room for only six Elements,” she said, frowning.
“Tree can make room for one more,” Discord said, brushing off her protest. A roar of pure rage sounded above their heads right at that moment, and all hilarity was cut off. “Move!” Discord snapped, urgency in his tone. “Tirek’s wised up.”
The mares gathered around the Tree, and, one by one, they released their Elements. It seemed as if it were a doomed plan from the start, but the starved Tree fought through the choking vines, and one by one, each Element slotted into its assigned place. And, just like Discord had predicted, the Tree did indeed make room for Sunset’s new Element of Redemption, allowing it a pride of place below the Element of Magic.
Light then bloomed from the Tree, and in the glow of seven streams of colour, the vines were eradicated. Tirek roared in pain and rage above, but as the healing rainbow swept the length and breadth of Equestria, there was little he could do, and the seven alicorns, plus one shell-shocked dragon, and one stunned-witless draconequus, shared a look. “Now we can go kick Tirek’s butt,” Fluttershy said, her voice soft as usual. But there was nothing soft in the hot glow of rage burning in her eyes.
Sunset made a small, private note to never piss Fluttershy off. And Tirek's about to learn the hard way!
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Tirek never stood a chance. To be sure, he might’ve stood one had it just been Celestia and Luna. But when seven pissed off princesses emerged, accompanied by an angry baby dragon, and a furious draconequus, Tirek knew he was Officially Bucked.
The contest was short-lived. The seven alicorns blasted him with a wave of soul-scorching magic, their goal to cut him down to size. And miraculously, it worked. Before long, Tirek was back in Tartarus where he belonged, and Celestia, Luna and Cadance soon found their chains snapped and their magic restored.
The seven mares then separated and sped off to restore the magic of all three tribes. Fluttershy and Rainbow gave the pegasi their gift of flight back; Applejack and Pinkie helped to restore the strength of the afflicted earth ponies, while Twilight, Rarity and Sunset restored the lost magic of the unicorns. Their job done, they returned to Ponyville, where the three elder princesses awaited them. There followed plenty of tears, recriminations, apologies, and finally, promises. Celestia in particular promised both her former pupils she would never be so shady again.
With the housekeeping out of the way, they all convened inside Sugarcube Corner (the library having been destroyed during Tirek’s rampage, much to Twilight’s disgust and dismay). There, Celestia got down to the business of explaining the metamorphosis of the seven mares.
“It’s quite unusual, really,” she opened, lost in thought. “But I did suspect that Tirek was going to break loose sooner rather than later. Luna dreamed of his escape, and she warned me some time ago. But I never dreamed he would cause the trouble he did.”
“My dream was vague,” Luna added. “But it carried a sense of great peril. So I told Celestia all I could recall of this dream, so we might be best prepared.”
“I then went to the tree in secret,” Celestia said, “and I used its latent magic to hide the majority of mine, Luna, and Cadance’s powers. We left just enough to keep us going, so Tirek didn’t have much to suck out. In any case, we were soon rendered helpless by the plunderseed vines, so Tirek had nothing left at all, in fact. He threw us in Tartarus and began his deadly rampage.”
“That’s why the tree granted us your magic,” Twilight said, awed.
“But why me?” Sunset asked, a frown on her face.
Celestia nuzzled her. “Because you did something selfless,” she said gently. “You worked with one whom you once despised in order to save Equestria, despite your… issues with me.”
“I never hated you,” Sunset said firmly, tears in her eyes. “But I didn’t like your cryptic ways.”
“I know,” Celestia admitted. “And I was wrong. It will not happen again, I swear it.”
“Good,” Sunset said, a small smirk returning to her face. “I might find myself in need of kicking you in the plot every now and then, just to keep you on the straight and narrow.”
Celestia blinked, and then laughed, triggering a wave of mirth amongst the group. “So what happens now?” Twilight asked, once the tide of hilarity had died down.
“You spread your magic across Equestria,” Celestia told her former pupil. “All of you have unique gifts and stories. And I believe all of you have a role to play in spreading the magic of friendship across this land. There are many races who do not know the true meaning of friendship, and I believe you seven are the ones best suited to the task.”
“And you will have the rest of eternity in which to do it,” Luna added, her voice kind as she regarded her new kin with gentle eyes. “And it helps take the load off me and Celestia.”
“But what happens to our families and loved ones?” Applejack asked.
“You all have the gift of eternal life within you now,” Celestia said gravely. She smiled. “You can spread that gift to all whom you love. It may or may not transform them, but it will guarantee your foals, grandfoals, and great-grandfoals will share the road with you for many years to come.”
“It is not a gift that can be returned,” Luna cautioned. “But it can be set aside when you are ready to pass the Wheel. You have only to will it, and you can seek your eternal rest, as will all those to whom you give this gift.”
Applejack rubbed her chin in thought, a slow smile coming to her face. “I sure would love to see Granny gallopin’ through the orchards with great-grandfoals,” she admitted. “I’m keen.”
“Me too!” Pinkie chimed in, beaming from ear to ear. “I get to see Pound and Pumpkin grow up and have cute foals of their own!”
“And we get to see our sisters grow up,” Rainbow added, her eyes gleaming at the thought of Scootaloo all grown up with her own foals. “Sweet!”
“It is very nice,” Fluttershy said softly, her eyes straying to Discord, who’d taken up a protective stance close by. He cleared his throat.
“Then I suppose I ought to ask that question I wasn’t sure I could ask,” he said gruffly.
Fluttershy blushed. “Asked and answered,” she said, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. There were “awws” aplenty as Discord went redder than a ripe apple, before giving his new fiancée a rib-cracking hug – hard enough to make her squeak, but gentle enough to warrant a grateful nuzzle. “That’s so sweet,” Rarity said, tears in her eyes. “You must let me design a dress for you, darling.”
“And I can totally do a Sonic Rainboom as well,” Rainbow added, grinning.
“I’ll get to bakin’ all the pies and fare you need,” Applejack said, her eyes thoughtful as she began calculating a mental list.
“Me too!” Pinkie chimed in. “Will you teach me the recipies?”
Applejack smiled at her honorary cousin. “Sure thing,” she said. “Let’s get a list goin’.”
“And what of you two?” Celestia asked Twilight and Sunset.
“I’m going to need a new castle,” Twilight said thoughtfully.
“Done,” Celestia promised her. She then looked at Sunset.
The amber alicorn shrugged. “I guess I just learn how my new element works,” she said. “I mean, I was redeemed, so I can go spread it around.”
“Not just redemption,” Celestia corrected her. “Empathy.”
Sunset blinked.
“You have a gift of empathy that outmatches anything I have seen before,” the sun princess told her. “Redemption is a part of it, but being able to empathise with any living creature is your gift. So I formally name you the Element of Empathy.”
Sunset gasped. “Wow,” she said softly. Her eyes filled with fresh tears. “You have no idea what this means to me.”
Celestia nuzzled her. “I think I have an inkling,” she said, smiling.
“I guess you do,” Sunset said, giving a dazzling smile of her own.
Twilight smiled at them both. “So I guess I got a crown after all,” she mused. “But at least I got to share it with my friends. And I can share it all across Equestria as well.”
“Indeed you can,” Celestia told her. “In two days’ time, you will all receive your new titles and missions. And I don’t think any of you will find it hard.”
“Just no more word games,” Sunset and Twilight pleaded in unison, before looking at each other and bursting into laughter.
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