THE TIES THAT BIND

PART NINE: CORONATION

XLI. A Touch of Triumph

Meadowfree watched Trixie imperiously trot out of the hangar area of the New Dawn and onto the main observation platform, bereft of her usual hat and cape, but wearing a look of calm conviction. As she confidently marched toward Morningstar, Meadow thought she saw something like a smirk play across Trixie's face. She was happy to see her friend, and hopeful that with Trixie she would be able to convince Morningstar to leave Ponyville in peace.

"Well? The Great and Powerful Trixie is here. Now what do you want?" she demanded of Morningstar.

"Daughter," Morningstar began in a conciliatory tone, "my only hope is that we can set aside our differences and put the past aside. Meadow here tells me that you have garnered quite the reputation for magic across Equestria, and I believe your skills could be put to good use in my new kingdom."

"Trixie would never consent to be a mere minion," the azure unicorn replied haughtily. "The Great and Powerful Trixie deserves far better than that."

"I agree," Morningstar replied. "I will need a pony to enforce my will across Equestria when I cannot be physically present, to squash rebellion while it is nascent, and to be a mighty symbol of the crown. I believe that pony is you."

"You want Trixie to be your minister? A mere civil servant?" Trixie asked, so confidently that it seemed to Meadow as if Trixie believed that she held the power in the conversation. Perhaps she already sensed where Morningstar was headed.

"No, Trixie, I have a far grander place to offer you. I would have you be my Crown Princess, Trixie of Cornutopia!" Morningstar declared. "You will be able to ensure that unicorns rule Equestria for ages to come, and the others, the beasts of earth and air, are chased to the fringes of our society where they belong, or else enslaved or exterminated."

"You would truly ask me join you, and expect that I would accept, after the injustice you and your brother did to me?" Trixie asked.

"That is nothing now," Morningstar said with a dismissive wave of his hoof. "Only the future matters now, and the future is Cornutopia."

Trixie closed her eyes and took a breath, appearing to ponder the offer. Meadowfree could only hope that Trixie would think of a way to stall her uncle, and convince to convince him to abandon his plan to destroy Ponyville while he tried to cajole Trixie into joining his cause. Of course, Meadowfree thought, Trixie would never actually entertain siding with the pony who had destroyed her dream at PEGASUS. She would never give up on the dream of revenge that she longed for all these years.

"I accept," Trixie declared at last. Meadowfree couldn't believe it.

"Excellent news," replied Morningstar, "for refusal meant your doom." He turned and walked over to the edge of the observation deck, crimson robes billowing in the high-altitude wind. Trixie and Meadowfree followed, and the three unicorns looked down upon the village below. "And now, Princess Trixie, the time has come for your first royal duty – the destruction of Ponyville. You may give the instruction to fire the Prismatic Coil whenever you are ready.

For the first time, Meadowfree saw surprise pass over Trixie's face. "Trixie, that is Princess Trixie, thought you planned to give them until dawn if she returned to you," she said.

"My terms were that the Ponyville ponies had to return you to me, but you appeared of your own volition, without any action on their part. Furthermore, now that I have you any bargain with those traitors is worthless. Ponyville is an earth pony town, and a unicorn cannot be expected to make binding agreements with those beasts of burden."

"There are pegasi and even unicorns living there as well," Trixie reminded Morningstar.

"Winged abominations and traitors," Morningstar replied curtly. "We have come to send a message, and it is time to send it. Give the order, Princess, or prepare to have your experience as royalty cut short."

Trixie sighed, and Meadowfree briefly caught her gaze as she looked up. Out of Morningstar's line of sight, Meadowfree vigorously shook her head. "No!" she mouthed silently

"Very well," Trixie replied determinedly, ignorning Meadowfree and turning back to Morningstar. "But first," she pointed a foreleg at the unconscious Twilght Sparkle, "that unicorn. She was the first and only pony to get the better of the Great and Powerful Trixie in magic. Allow me a moment to enjoy my victory over her, in case she does not survive the firing process."

"Yes, fine, go ahead," Morningstar replied with a shrug of his shoulders. Horrified at her old friend, Meadowfree watched Trixie walk over to the limp unicorn, her body tied to the ship and cabled to Morningstar's great weapon. With a triumphant smile, Trixie stared at Twilight Sparkle, leaned forward, and touched her horn softly against the lavender unicorn's head. What was she doing? Meadowfree wondered. Was she somehow communicating with Twilight Sparkle? If so, why? Did she merely want to gloat, as she had said?

"You were always second best, and now it's official," Trixie said, her face only inches away from Twilight Sparkle's. "As if there was ever any doubt."

Meadowfreee could only gape in shock as her friend turned back to Morningstar and the other unicorns assembled on the observation deck.

"Fire the weapon!" Trixie shouted.

"Commencing firing!" one of her uncle's followers replied, and relayed the order into a pipe that led to the control center. Moments later, Meadow could feel a slight twinge that she recognized must be magic beginning to be pulled out of the world around them and into the capacitor of the weapon.

"Excellent, the inhibitor field is operational," Morningstar declared. "Princess," he said to Trixie, "the sensation you are feeling is the weapon, which charges by creating a magical vortex that drains magic from the environment and any ponies nearby. You can thank Twilight Sparkle there for designing the inhibitor that I've incorporated in this ship, although she didn't know what she was doing at the time. It keeps the weapon from draining too much of our magic. Soon, it will be ready to fire and Ponyville will be no more."

"My king!" another robed unicorn shouted, galloping across the deck. "There's some sort of problem with the weapon!"

"What is it?" Morningstar demanded furiously.

"The charging sequence is underway, but the weapon is charging at a fraction of its intended speed. It's almost like a kink in a hose."

"How long until the weapon is ready to fire at the current rate of charging?" Morningstar growled.

"By our current projection, six hours," the unicorn technician replied.

"Fix it now!" Morningstar screamed. "Or you will leave this ship immediately, and without the benefit of a carriage or a flying spell."

"Yes, my king," the unicorn replied before beating a hasty retreat. Meadowfree observed Trixie staring meaningfully at Twilight Sparkle, and again thought she saw that same confident smirk. Was Trixie really so petty as to gloat over the unconscious body of her rival, Meadowfree wondered.

She turned away to the swiftly darkening vista outside the ship. To the west, she could see the sun finally descending below the hills outside of Ponyville, the town that would soon be erased from existence. A bright full moon was already visible rising to take its position in the sky above them Meadowfree lowered her head sadly. Sometimes she thought that her uncle knew how much she hated him and everything he believed, and only kept her around to watch her misery as she bore witness to the evils he perpetuated.

To her surprise, Trixie turned to look at her while Morningstar was still distracted by his anger at the weapon's malfunction. Meadowfree shook her head in disappointment at her friend. Trixie gave her a little smile in returned, and then winked. What in Equestria did that mean, Meadowfree wondered. Was there more going on here than she understood?

"My king!" another unicorn shouted, this time from one of the watchpony stations on the edge of the deck. His voice was choked with panic. "Pegasus ponies incoming! It looks like dozens of them!"

XLII. Cry Havoc

"Soarin', Spitfire, Surprise, you've each got control of your squadrons," Rainbow Dash shouted to the three athletic ponies flying abreast of her. "When I pull off my trick, there's gonna be a light show, and that'll be the signal for you to move in. My friend Applejack is also waiting for the signal, down in Ponyville. That is, if she's managed to get her part of the plan pulled together!"

"We're on it, kid," the Wonderbolt Spitfire called back. She and the other Wonderbolts, Soarin' and Surprise, peeled away from the formation and fell back to join the rest of the flock of pegasi flying behind. Rainbow Dash could still scarcely believe she was finally, after all her waiting and dreaming, flying with the Wonderbolts, the greatest flying team in all of Equestria. Of course, she thought wryly, it just had to be a time like this!

Everypony in Cloudsdale had gotten word about Morningstar as soon as the first terrified pegasus arrived home with tales of a flying machine ten times the size of the Cloudsdale Cloudiseum. Not one, though, knew that the mad king planned to destroy Ponyville until Rainbow Dash arrived with the grim news. When she had gathered a crowd and made her announcement, the pegasi were a mixture of furious and fearful, as Rainbow had expected. Given Morningstar's hatred of all but unicorns, it took little imagination to envision Cloudsdale becoming his next target. When she asked for volunteers to help Ponyville, though, the silence was deafening.

Thank Celestia that three of the Wonderbolts had been in town practicing their precision flying. Rainbow's idols proved every bit the heroes she knew them to be as they flew up to publicly offer their support. If they hadn't paved the way by signing on with her plan, Rainbow Dash had no idea how she would have attracted volunteers for this crazy mission. Now she had nearly fifty ponies flying behind her, and would have more when her weather patrol would join them. Soarin', Spitfire, and Surprise, looking fittingly gallant in their blue and gold Wonderbolt costumes, each leading a wing of fifteen fliers. Rainbow Dash flew point. With the sun setting, they would have nothing more than the moonlight on their wings by which to navigate, and she hoped they could avoid flying into each other. Their target, fortunately, looked like a thousand campfires burning in the sky, lit by all the bright lights within. It would be impossible to miss. In fact, if she squinted, Rainbow thought she could just pick it out now.

"Target dead ahead!" she yelled to the ponies behind her, who relayed the message to their squadrons. "Here we go!" Okay Rainbow, she told herself, you can do this trick. The Buccaneer Blaze was a close second only behind the Sonic Rainboom in terms of degree of difficulty. In fact, it was the trick she had always hoped would get her invited to join the Wonderbolts. Well, here they were, and even though this wasn't exactly an interview, Rainbow Dash would not disappoint. She reached a hoof up to pull down the protective goggles she was wearing, and revved up her wings as fast as they could beat. Now she was racing ahead, far faster than any of the pegasi behind her could match, save the Wonderbolts of course. Maybe.

When she had pulled a respectable distance away, Rainbow Dash took a deep breath and pulled up, zooming upward, higher and higher, until … "Here we go!" In the dark, she could just make out what she needed – a big puffy cloud. She raced past the cloud, and then immediately pulled into a tight loop around it before coming around again for another pass, each time flying close enough to brush the cloud with her mane and tail. Loop, loop, loop, faster, faster, faster! She could feel the static electricity building as she kept circling. This had to be enough, she thought.

Finally, she broke the loop and zoomed up over the cloud, which was now crackling with electricity. At the apogee of her flight she inverted and raced back downward toward the top of the sparking cloud. A bolt of lighting flashed past her as she drew closer. Not yet, Rainbow. Steady. Then she was practically on top of the cloud. If she flew through it, she'd get fried by the electricity built up inside, so perfect timing was an absolute necessity. Now!

Rainbow Dash inverted again and unfurled her wings to their widest span to slow her descent, simultaneously transferring all her momentum into her back legs. She bucked against the cloud with all her might and, as planned, the cloud obligingly released all of its stored energy in a brilliant rainbow-colored explosion of light, with bolts of rainbow lighting flying off in all directions. It was a perfect Buccaneer Blaze! As for Rainbow Dash, she checked with an exploratory hoof and made sure all her parts were still in order. Except for a mane that was slightly spikier than usual from the static electricity, she was good to go.

At her signal, Rainbow Dash watched from above as the three pegasus squadrons formed into three separate flying v's and split like the prongs of a trident. As planned, Soarin's squadron flew left, Surprise went right, and Spitfire's team, consisting of the strongest fliers, barreled straight ahead toward the glimmering airship. Surely Applejack's defenders had seen the brilliant light show as well and would be preparing their strike. "Alright Rainbow, let's give 'em a little Dash!" Her legs extended fore and rear, and she raced forward.

The airship loomed large and heavy in the dark sky ahead. They were close now. Of course, the pegasi had lost quite a bit of the element of surprise, but Rainbow Dash was sure that Morningstar would have spotters searching the skies anyway. Whatever benefits of surprise they had lost were made up for in increased coordination among the teams and the ponies on the ground. "Gah!" She rolled left as a brilliant white bolt of magic blew past. Soon, the evening sky was afire with unicorn magic as dozens of defenders on the airship cast bolts at the advancing pegasi. Rainbow Dash could only hope the squadrons held together and stuck to the plan: Spitfire's strong fliers were to draw fire and cause whatever mayhem and confusion they could while Soarin' and Surprise circled the ship with their teams, whipping up a windstorm as they flew. If all went according to plan, they could knock that monstrosity out of the sky before Morningstar could so much as harm a hair on anypony below.

Wide cones of light now pierced the evening sky as several of the unicorns cast searchlight beams from their horns. That was not good. Rainbow Dash had hoped that the defenders wouldn't be able to see the pegasi in the dark and would essentially be firing blind. Now, she watched in dismay as the defenders worked in tandem, casting lights and spells together, to target specific fliers. Rainbow Dash cringed as one of Spitfire's wingponies tumbled away, stunned. Even after she regained control, she'd probably be out of the fight, Rainbow thought.

Suddenly, Rainbow Dash was forced to squeeze her eyes shut as light more brilliant than the sun washed over the sky like a wave of fire. She traced the light's source down to the horizon to – Canterlot! Seconds later, a thunderclap sounded as if every bolt of lighting in the world had discharged all at once ten lengths away. What in Celestia's name could that be? Worry and dismay crept into her thoughts as she remembered that Rarity and Pinkie Pie were there trying to rescue the Princesses. What if something had gone terribly wrong? Rainbow Dash's fears seemed to be confirmed as, without warning, the rising moon dropped like a stone out of the sky, leaving behind pitch darkness.

Then, the darkness too was replaced as the sky began to glow with an unearthly iridescence, shimmering with every color of the rainbow. The northern ponies called this an aurora, Rainbow Dash knew, but she had never heard of one so bright and vivid that it replaced every bit of the night with mysterious colored light before. Rainbow Dash could only imagine what had happened in Canterlot, but the fact that the sun and moon were gone did not bode well for the rescue mission.

"Keep flying!" she yelled, racing through each of the pegasus squadrons in turn to bolster support. "We've got to keep fighting!" Now she circled the airship, surveying the battle, and was even more concerned as she saw that the fierce winds being created by the pegasi were doing little more than causing the massive ship to sway from side to side, its propellers compensating for the gale. "This is bad. Very bad," she muttered. In the eerie glow of the aurora sky, the unicorns could make their targets, and more pegasi were tumbling away from the battle as the stunning spells connected.

"Rainbow Dash!" a voice called from nearby. Rainbow looked over to see Medley, one of her best weather ponies, flying up to meet her.

"Medley, where's the rest of the weather patrol?"

"Coming," Medley shouted back over the cacophony of battle. "With Fluttershy, but they're not ready yet. You need to get everypony away from the ship so Applejack doesn't hit you!"

"What? Aren't they just using apples?" A ball of green fire suddenly flared into existence with a loud bang and a whoosh of hot air as some kind of incendiary projectile connected with the bottom of the airship.

"Whoa! Guess not!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. She turned and flew directly over the airship, dodging spells all the way, and then pulled the string emerging from the packs strapped to her side. Concentrated liquid rainbow, straight from the Cloudsdale weather factory, poured out of her packs and over the side of the airship, drenching at least one unicorn defender in multicolored liquid light and painting a rainbow swath down the side of the ship. Since nopony could hear more than ten lengths away over the din of the battle, she had needed visual signals if she wanted everypony's attention, and this was the one for retreat. Those pegasi who were uninjured formed back up and wheeled away from airship, which looked none the worse for wear. The battle was definitely not going Rainbow's way at the moment.

As they retreated, dozens more of the green fireballs lit up the sky around the ship. Many connected, and Rainbow Dash watched in satisfaction as one particularly bright fireball tore through the thin protective coating on the main balloon-like cylinder of the airship, bursting inside. She could see the mighty ship begin to list as it lost buoyancy on that side. Nevertheless, she knew would take far more than that to bring it down. If Rainbow was any judge of design, the airship looked to be made up of many individual compartments, so breaching one would not cause any significant loss of lift. It would take much more.

Rainbow Dash could now see the great propellers on the ship rotating to point upwards, and soon the ship was climbing higher into the strange prismatic sky, up and out of range of the defenders on the ground. Rainbow Dash doubted that the doomsday weapon on the airship would have such a range limitation. It was up to her and her fliers again …

"Hello, Rainbow Dash," a soft voice spoke beside her. Recognizing the dulcet tone, Rainbow happily turned to see Fluttershy hovering beside her, along with a brilliant red and gold bird that appeared to exude droplets of flame as it beat its wings. She instantly recognized Princess Celestia's pet phoenix, Philomena. "It took a little longer than I thought for my birdie friends to find Philomena, but now everyone is here to lend a wing," Fluttershy explained, gesturing behind her. Rainbow Dash turned, mouth agape, to see great clouds of birds wheeling around in the unearthly sky, and her pegasi, including the weather patrol, staring back with steely gazes, ready to resume the fight.

"What are we waiting for?" Rainbow shouted. "Charge!"

XLIII. Fireworks

Meadowfree ducked as a group of sparrows flashed past and began swarming one of the marksponies trying to take aim at the pegasi and the flocks of birds surrounding the New Dawn. In the strange light of the shifting sky above, she could see the entirety of the conflict playing out above Ponyville. Even with attackers everywhere, and Morningstar's own few remaining pegasi having fled at the start of the battle, the unicorns were holding their own thanks to their powerful spells and the ironclad construction of the New Dawn. A few defenders had been knocked from their perches and were forced to parachute to the ground below, but most were still casting magic in every direction to keep the attackers at bay. Though hours remained until the Prismatic Coil was ready to fire, Meadowfree felt the tide was still in her uncle's favor. That thought troubled her to no end.

When the blast from Canterlot swept over the sky and the moon fell out of sight, Morningstar had immediately discerned that the Orrery had been destroyed or disabled. For long few seconds, he had frozen, perhaps expecting Celestia and Luna to materialize before his eyes. When they hadn't, he had resumed directing his forces, though with a wild-eyed malice that marked a stark contrast to his normally cool demeanor. He was more determined than ever to destroy Ponyville, and then to go on to crush all opposition. Meadowfree feared he would not rest until only Canterlot remained standing.

And there stood Trixie, standing calm at the center of the storm around them. How could Meadowfree have been so deluded as to believe her old friend could be the solution to their problems, when in fact she appeared to have betrayed Equestria for a tyrant's crown. Behind Trixie, the limp Twilight Sparkle had begun to radiate energy as the Coil continued its slow charge. Meadowfree fixed a baleful stare at Trixie, wishing her friend could know how hurt and disappointed she was. Trixie caught her gaze and … Meadowfree startled. Trixie had just winked at her again, she was sure of it. What was Trixie doing? If she had a plan to stop her uncle, she sure hadn't tipped her hoof yet, and the time to do so was growing shorter and shorter.

"Dragon! Dragon!" cried out one of the spotters, and a dozen unicorns, including Morningstar and Trixie, hurried over to the railing to look where the spotter was pointing. There, from the unfathomable depths of the Everfree Forest, the unmistakable bulk of a full-grown dragon arose and began to lumber skyward, its great leathery wings generating gales in its wake as the iridescent light of the sky glistened on its armored green scales. Surely, Meadowfree thought, the ancient beast would not deign to intervene in pony affairs. To her surprise, many of the unicorns gasped as the dragon wheeled around and began flying straight toward them, its hulking body rising and falling with each beat of its wings.

"Concentrate all spells on that dragon!" Morningstar bellowed. "Bring it down now!"

As the dragon bore down on them, Meadowfree dared hope that its magic flame, hotter than any other, would cleanse the world of her uncle's madness once and for all, that it would wash over the New Dawn and leave only the harmony of the Princesses' Equestria behind, that the sun and moon would return and balance would reign. She could see, as the beast drew nearer, the birds and pegasi fell into formation with it, creating a vast and terrible flock like nothing Meadowfree had ever imagined. How could a dragon be working with ponies? Then she saw the rider – the diminutive purple and green figure perched on the dragon's neck and clinging to a spine. It looked like another, far tinier, dragon. Meadowfree suddenly recognized the Ponyville ponies' friend, Spike. Somehow he had convinced this dragon to enter the fray. What madness!

As the dragon approached, the pegasi behind it started to roll in unison, dispersing into a rotating funnel-like formation behind the monstrous beast. Meadowfree recognized the rainbow mane of the lead pegasus as one of Rarity's friends from Ponyville, Rainbow Dash. The pegasi had control over the winds and weather, and as the funnel spun with Rainbow Dash at its point, a vortex of swirling air formed around the pegasi like a whirling lance of cyclonic wind.

"You weak foals!" Morningstar shouted from Meadowfree's side as the unicorns' spells bounced harmlessly off the dragon's magic-imbued body. He shoved his minions out of the way to cast his own attack. Meadow watched, almost mirthfully, as her uncle's own powerful spell dissipated against the plate-armor scales.

"Do something!" the erstwhile king screamed at Trixie, also standing next to him. She merely shrugged and turned away. So this is how it ends, Meadow thought ruefully, preparing to bathe in magical fire. Perhaps it would burn away all of her sins, all of her failures to stop her uncle. She welcomed it.

Instead, only pleasant warmth washed over her as the dragon's fire burned not the command deck, but instead tore threw the protective sheeting of the main lift chambers above them. Lighter-than-air gas escaped as the fire tore through at least seven sealed lift compartments. She then watched as the dragon pulled up and turned to fly away. Behind it, the pegasi dispersed in all directions, leaving their whirling air spear to fly through the dragon's wake and into the gaping wound in the ship it had left behind. The cyclone tore through the exposed and unprotected innards of the lift chamber, breaching at least another ten compartments. Meadowfree clung to the railing as the New Dawn listed precariously to starboard. She knew that even with all the redundancies built into the ship, this damage was too great. It was only a matter of time before they crashed.

"That's enough!" Morningstar screamed, observing the fatal damage to his mighty flagship. "Fire the weapon now! Overload the capacitor!"

"My king!" a technician cried, stumbling as he tried to stand on the tilting deck. "That unicorn is buffering against magical discharge." He gestured to Twilight Sparkle. "She'll be killed if we overload the system like that. She won't be able to handle the discharge, given the problems we're having with managing flow and containment of all the magical energy. We could all be destroyed!"

"Do it now, or face my wrath!" Morningstar shouted, his face turning red with rage.

"Of-of course!" The technician bumbled his way back to the command center, tripping like a newborn foal as he tried to navigate the damaged and tilting deck.

Moments later, Meadow felt a sharp pain as the weapon began pulling in magic at a dangerous pace, partially overwhelming the resistor in the damaged airship. She could see an eerie purple glow emanating from the body of Twilight Sparkle, and sparks of magic dancing around her coat. Even Morningstar knelt with a hoof to his head as the weapon charged.

"Two minutes until discharge!" a voice called out, clearly in pain. The ship was rocked by another blast of air from the circling pegasi, and a number of Morningstar's guards tumbled over the rails, opening their parachutes as they fell. There were only the three of them on the forward deck now.

Meadowfree then gasped as Morningstar keeled over completely. He had been kicked hard in the side, and the circlet on his head fell off and skittered across the deck. Trixie stood over him, righteous fury lighting her features and giving here the appearance of an avenging spirit.

"That one was for my mother, Belladonna," Trixie declared, glaring down at Morningstar.

"So, now you betray me to seize the crown for yourself," Morningstar replied, grimacing, as Trixie trotted over and calmly kicked the circlet over the side of the ship. "And to claim credit for destroying Ponyville."

"Wrong, father," Trixie replied calmly. "There was a time when I thought your kind of power was what I truly wanted, but then I realized there something more important I needed to seek."

"Revenge," Morningstar stated.

"No," she laughed. "You're so clueless. Do you want to know why your weapon has taken so long to charge? When I touched Twilight Sparkle with my horn, we communicated. She is not truly unconscious, rather her waking consciousness resides in the realm of pure magic beyond ours. She is aware, and I told her to fight you, to fight you with everything she has. That's why the weapon has taken hours to charge. You see, you believe that magic is power, and it's true that magic can make a pony powerful. But you will never be truly powerful, because you don't understand where magic really comes from."

"One minute!" a pony voice croaked.

"It doesn't come from bloodlines, or from studying books, or from fighting and showing off." She walked over and put a hoof on the sparking body of Twilight Sparkle. "She taught me, with her selflessness and determination, that friendship is magic. And now I will finally be able to be a friend to her, and to Meadow, my true family, and to Equestria, my home." Trixie's horn began to glow.

"You don't have the power," Morningstar scoffed. "The weapon is pulling in too much energy for you to cast even the most basic spell. You can't stop it."

"There is magic you will never understand," Trixie replied, shaking her head. Still holding onto Twilight, she magically tore the plating from the deck in front of her, exposing the cable leading from Twilight Sparkle to the capacitor for the Prismatic Coil.

"You'll kill us all!" Morningstar shouted, as Trixie tilted her horn and slashed the cable in half. A great jet of pure prismatic energy shot up into the air from one end of the severed connection before arcing back into the other end of the cable.

"Ten seconds!" A high-pitched drone filled the air and Meadow could feel that the airship was completely saturated in magical energy, a thousand times more powerful than any spell she had ever encountered.

"We are descendants of the mage Moonglow Sparkle," said Trixie, still with a hoof on Twilight Sparkle. "And we will right the wrong she allowed to be perpetuated nine thousand years ago. Maybe someday you will understand, father. Goodbye, Meadow. You were always a friend, and I'm so sorry to have to bid farewell like this." Calmly, Trixie let go of Twilight Sparkle and stepped into the arc of magical energy, serving the connection. Meadowfree could only gasp in horror as Trixie the unicorn disappeared in a flash of incandescence, to be replaced with a pony-shaped form of pure prismatic energy.

"Firing now!"

It was as if all the light in the world coalesced in one place as Trixie became a burning star, floating in a stream of magic. The glowing pony shape reared back, pointed her horn aloft, and a rainbow beam shot forth into the heavens, piercing the sky and sending waves of multichromatic light pulsing across Equestria. Explosions of magical light in every color of the spectrum burst across the sky as all of the magical energy of the weapon was dissipated harmlessly. When the light show faded, Trixie was gone, and the unicorn Twilight Sparkle tumbled from her restraints onto the tilting deck of the mortally wounded airship, blinking her eyes groggily.

Tears streaming down her face, Meadowfree crawled over to the spot where Trixie had vanished. There was nothing there now but cables strewn upon the deck like dead snakes. Above them, she could see a tear slashed through the sky above, through which pure white light streamed from an unknown source. Below, she knew, the ground was rushing up to meet the stricken New Dawn. It wouldn't be much longer now. "Trixie!" she cried in anguish.

XLIV. Across the Universe

As the smoldering, listing hulk of the New Dawn sank toward the earth below, Meadowfree watched the last able-bodied unicorns leap over the rails, parachuting to safety. Of course, safety was relative as the immense bulk of the airship fell toward Ponyville. Her uncle might yet destroy the poor town, she realized, but there was nothing anypony could do about that now. Morningstar himself lay on the deck a few lengths away, injured and alone, all of his followers having abandoned him. He was a broken pony.

The lavender unicorn Twilight Sparkle clambered to her hooves, and Meadowfree could see that she was lucid, despite just having awoken from what must have been akin to a neverending nightmare.

"The ship is going down right on top of the town!" Meadowfree called out. "You can teleport away. Get to safety!"

Twilight Sparkle stared back at Meadowfree with a look of understanding. She closed her eyes and her horn glowed, and Meadowfree prepared to watch her blink away, leaving her and her uncle to go down with the ship. Morningstar would have at least one victim, after all. Instead, the lavender unicorn gritted her teeth and the glow from her horn intensified until magic was sparking in all directions. Incredibly, Meadowfree felt her innards compress as the ship slowed and then stopped its descent. Then, the burning airship began to move, slowly at first and then picking up speed as it floated without any apparent means of propulsion. Meadowfree didn't believe it, but Twilight Sparkle was magically controlling an airship the size of a small town.

"That's impossible," Morningstar spat, still lying prone on the slanted deck. "No pony has that kind of power!"

Suddenly, Twilight's eyes shot open, and all Meadowfree could see was bright light burning from within. The lavender unicorn's body began to shake from the strain of channeling so much energy, and Meadowfree feared she would not be able to withstand it much longer.

"No!" Meadowfree shouted, hauling herself to her hooves. "Nopony else is going to sacrifice herself!" She couldn't say what force possessed her, but she found the strength to run over to Twilight Sparkle and throw her forelegs around the other unicorn. "Twilight!" she called. "Please, it's okay! We're not over Ponyville anymore. Come back!" Even with her weak talent for magic, Meadowfree could feel the energies coursing through the young pony she held in her arms, and could scarcely wonder at what it would be like to channel such a spell.

Then, the glow faded from Twilight's eyes and she fell into Meadowfree's embrace. She looked up and blinked. "H-hello?" Twilight Sparkle murmured to the pony holding her in her forelegs. At that moment, the floor dropped out from under them. With the spell broken, the New Dawn began to fall like a rock, and Meadowfree could feel the deck tilting even more. Soon, they would all spill off the side, if they didn't impact the ground first.

"Oh, right," Twilight stated feebly, still dangling somewhat limply in Meadowfree's grasp. "Allow me." Her horn glowed once more and a glowing bubble formed around herself, Meadowfree and Morningstar. In a flash, they were gone.

When Meadowfree opened her eyes, she was standing at the edge of an expansive apple orchard. Amidst the fields at the edge of the orchard, dozens of ponies stood at attention amongst large wooden contraptions and the remains of a broken down barn, staring at the sky. Meadowfree followed their gaze. Above the hills some distance away, the burning wreckage of the New Dawn made its first and final descent, crashing into the earth with a rumbling boom that shook the earth under her hooves. Next to her Twilight Sparkle struggled to he hooves, and beside them Morningstar knelt in defeat.

Meadowfree could feel sadness sweep over the solemn crowd of ponies as the ship impacted.

"Why is everypony so glum?" Twilight Sparkle called out to the crowd.

"Twilight!" the orange earth pony Applejack cried out as she galloped over to her friend and tackled the lavender unicorn. "You're alive! You're okay! We thought you were on that thing!"

"Take it easy!" Twilight replied. "Yikes!" Twilight was blindsided as a small purple and green figure leaped upon her neck and squeezed tightly. "Can't breathe!"

"Sorry!" the dragon, Spike, let go and landed on his feet. "I'm so happy to see you! I can't believe you ever put a spell on me to make me forget about you! I don't ever want to forget about you!"

"Oh, Spike, I'm so sorry. I'll never do that again," Twilight Sparkle promised, rubbing the little dragon's forehead with a hoof.

"Twilight!" the two pegasus pony friends, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, flew over as soon as they saw their friend appear in their midst. Meadowfree then heard shouting above, and she looked up to see the unmistakable shape of Princess Celestia's royal carriage race past overhead and land in the field. Out bounded not either missing Princess, but rather a pink pony-shaped bundle of energy and the white unicorn Rarity.

"You're alive! We were so afraid!" Rarity cried out.

"Not me!" Pinkie Pie declared, jumping into the pile forming over the protesting Twilight Sparkle. "I knew you were okay!"

"It's you! Arrest this unicorn for crimes against Equestria!" Rarity shouted, pointing at Morningstar. The guard pegasi who had pulled the carriage rushed over, alongside a large group of angry townsponies, and surrounded Morningstar. Without his magic circlet, Meadowfree knew he would not resist.

"Meadow!" Rarity exclaimed, turning to her. "I'm so glad to see you too. You should know that you have got real friends now, right here in Ponyville."

"Thank you," Meadowfree replied quietly. While she appreciated the sentiment, nothing could change that her truest friend was lost forever. She wondered what she would do now, and where would she go. She would be a pariah, the niece of the evil Morningstar. Eventually, the other ponies managed to unwrap themselves from their friend..

"How did you escape that awful unicorn?" Fluttershy asked Twilight Sparkle.

"I never would have," Twilight Sparkle replied, "if not for Trixie."

"Trixie? The weather team told me they saw her show up out of nowhere and hop onboard that thing. I figured she had switched sides," Applejack said.

"No, she risked everything to save me," Twilight Sparkle replied. "She communicated with me and gave me the hope and strength to fight Morningstar's machine just long enough, and then she put her life on the line to free me from the machine and redirect the blast of the weapon away from Ponyville."

"Well, where is she?" asked Rainbow Dash. At that, Twilight sadly shook her head, and Meadowfree stared at the ground to avoid displaying the tears running down her face.

"Oh, Twilight, I'm so sorry, she was your cousin," Rarity said. "And Meadow, she was your close friend. We'll always remember her as a hero for saving our friend Twilight." Meadowfree wondered if that was true. Would there be statues commemorating her friend? Would there be monuments or memorials? After all, the ponies gathered around her were now thrice heroes of Equestria, while as far as the rest of society was concerned, Trixie was just a showpony. Meadowfree felt ever more miserable as she imagined her friend as nothing more than a historical footnote.

"Well, now what? Judgin' by that freaky sky I'm guessin' something didn't go to plan in Canterlot?" Applejack addressed Rarity and Pinkie Pie.

The two rescuers' faces blanched. "We did all we could," Rarity started.

"We stopped the machine holding the Princesses, but then it all just exploded!" Pinkie Pie said. "POW!" She mimed a blast with her legs.

"Equestria surely can't survive like this!" Applejack declared, gesturing at the glowing sky above, devoid of sun or moon. "How in tarnation can we grow any crops without sunshine?" Applejack's face fell. "Looks to me like we may have lost after all."

"Hold on, girls," Twilight Sparkle interrupted. "The Princesses aren't gone for good. When I was connected to the magic realm through Morningstar's device, I could feel the presence of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna there. I believe their essences are stuck there now, waiting to return to Equestria. The only problem is that they lack the means. You see, the Princesses bound part of themselves to Equestria when they took physical forms in our world, and they left that part here. Since they do not have access to all of their powers in the magical realm anymore they lack the ability to return to Equestria."

"All I just heard sounded like a lot of mumbo jumbo," Applejack replied. "Are you sayin' you can get the Princesses back?"

"I think so," Twilight Sparkle replied. "But I'll need something, or rather some things."

"Not the Elements of Harmony by any chance?" asked Rarity, levitating the bejeweled artifacts in front of the group. Meadowfree had never seen the fabled jewelry in person before, but the necklaces and diadem that made up the Elements were more beautiful than she had imagined. She was amazed to see that each Element did in fact bear a jewel in the shape of one of the pony friends' cutie marks.

"Yes! How?" asked Twilight.

"Well, we saw them at the palace just lying out for anypony to take, because all of the Princesses' security spells were broken, and I said, maybe we bring 'em, just in case," Pinkie Pie said. "And here they are!"

"Thank you! Even though the Princesses are no longer connected to the Elements, as former wielders, part of their essences are contained within them. I believe we can use them to pull the Princesses back to Equestria though that." Twilight raised a hoof and pointed it at the glowing gash in the colorful aurora above. "It's a tear between this reality and that of pure magic. Only the Prismatic Coil is powerful enough to shatter the fabric of reality like that, so once again Trixie may have saved Equestria by redirecting the beam like she did."

"I'm ready when you are!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

"Let's get those Princesses back!" Applejack affirmed.

"The sooner the better – this light makes my coloration look all washed out," Rarity said.

"Okay, here goes!" Twilight Sparkle exclaimed, as she magically affixed five jeweled necklaces to each of her friends, and placed a diadem with a huge purple jewel in the shape of a star atop her own head. By now, a great circle of ponies had gathered to watch. Meadowfree stood aside with Twilight's assistant, Spike. Twilight's horn glowed brightly, and soon all six friends were bathed in a magical light emanating from the Elements of Harmony. Finally, Meadowfree gasped as a swirling rainbow beam shot up through the sky and straight into the glowing tear high above.

XLV. Back from Beyond

"Did it work?" Rainbow Dash asked as the assembled ponies stared up at the breach into the glowing sky above. So far, nothing had changed.

"I don't know," Twilight Sparkle admitted. "Let's give it a moment. Time doesn't exist in the magic dimension, so they may not have the same sense of urgency that we do."

"I hate waitin'," Applejack muttered.

"Look!" somepony called out from the crowd. Meadowfree looked up and saw the light radiating from the tear grow brighter and begin to send pulses of white light radiating out across the sky. Suddenly, two points of light like tiny stars, one brilliant yellow and one cool blue, emerged and flew in opposite directions, stopping a thousand lengths or so apart from one another, high in the sky. Around the pinpoints of light, Meadowfree began to see a glowing outline, almost like the shape of a pony, but much more angular and a thousand times larger, with pointed wings fanning out like knife blades across the entire sky. The lights pulsed once more, and the otherworldly glowing sky disappeared to reveal the cool darkness of night and a beautiful full moon beaming down on the gathering of ponies. The tear through reality seemed to zip close and it disappeared as well. The pinpoints of light then descended to the ground in a graceful spiral and then disappeared with the flash of a thousand flashbulbs. Meadow gasped at what replaced them.

"Princess!" Twilight Sparkle cried out, galloping over to Princess Celestia and nuzzling her head against the tall pony's chest. Princess Luna stood regally at her sister's side. Meadowfree had never been so close to the Princesses before, as she was never privy to the meetings between them and the magic council. Celestia was snow white with a shimmering mane and tail of glowing pastels that fluttered as if blown by a wind that nopony else could feel. She stood twice as tall as any pony, with long graceful legs, mighty wings, and a long, sharply pointed horn. She was adorned with a golden tiara and necklace, and her cutie mark was a beautiful sun. Luna was slightly smaller in stature than her sister, with a coat of midnight blue and a lighter blue mane, and a crescent moon cutie mark. Despite her smaller size, Luna looked no less stately than Princess Celestia. A massive cheer erupted from the assembled ponies and they stamped their hooves in applause at the sight of the returned rulers of Equestria.

"Twilight Sparkle, my most faithful student, and dear friend," Princess Celestia replied with a joyful smile. Next to her, the slightly smaller figure of her sister, Princess Luna also addressed Twilight.

"You brought us back, and saved Equestria from a pony we thought we trusted. Once again, you and your friends are heroes, and we are in your debt."

"Thank you all," Princess Celestia said, addressing the entire crowd. "When Morningstar's Orrery was destroyed, we passed through from this realm into our eternal home, a realm of magic. Though we could not reenter Equestria without your help, from there we watched you stand up bravely to protect Ponyville and each other. We are so proud of all of you."

"Deny it all you want, Celestia, but unicorns were never meant to live with these scum," Morningstar croaked from with the circle of ponies holding him prisoner. "You remember what happened before – you were there. You know how it must end, eventually." Silence overtook the crowd.

Princess Celestia walked over to Morningstar, towering over him. Wearing only shreds of his once resplendent robes, he cowered as she looked down upon him.

"Morningstar, my trusted advisor. How sad that you became so deluded. You are right about one thing, though. I do remember the history of the old ponies, though it was something I naively tried to forget. It is my fault for hiding a part of history I didn't want to remember from everypony, for without knowing this history, some ponies didn't know better than to try to repeat it."

"But we did do something right as well," said Luna, addressing Morningstar. "We helped build an Equestria founded on tolerance, understanding and harmony between all ponies. With that unwavering foundation, your misguided views would never find favor. You had lost before you even began."

"Bah!" Morningstar fairly spat. "How can magical beings such as yourselves care for the powerless animals that are earth ponies and pegasi, when you could watch over the true race and lead them to their destined greatness?"

"Morningstar, my faithful student Twilight Sparkle tried to tell you. Aside from the fact that all ponies have their own kind of magic, all ponies all have access to the most powerful magic of all. It is the same magic that is embodied by the Elements of Harmony: honesty, kindness, laughter, generosity, and loyalty, all bound together by the magic of friendship. Each and every pony that embodies these is truly magical. Surely now you have seen that all of your machinations, your diabolical machines, and your vile philosophy are nothing compared to that magic." Celestia then turned to her sister.

"But you cannot be permitted to continue on as you have, using your magic to promote prejudice and bigotry, for you will undoubtedly try to cause this same type of trouble again. We have a solution in mind that may change your hateful way of thinking for the better," Luna said. She and Celestia lowered their heads and each touched Morningstar with their horn. With a flash of light, Morningstar's own horn disappeared.

"No! Destroy me utterly, but not this! I cannot live as an earth pony!" the once king cried pitifully.

"Morningstar, have you listened to nothing I've said," Princess Celestia chided. "You are not an earth pony. We've removed your magical connection altogether, and as you know, earth ponies are magically bound to the earth. You are a fourth type of pony, one without magic at all. Perhaps, over time, that can change, but you must truly change for that to become a possibility. And I have my doubts."

"No! Please! Celestia! Princess!" Morningstar's shouts eventually died down as the royal guards placed him in the flying carriage and took off in the direction of Canterlot. So that was that, Meadowfree thought. She was free of her uncle at last. She was free, and she was alone.

PART TEN: MINISTRATION

XLVI. After the Storm

The next morning …

Twilight Sparkle stood on the upper floor balcony of her library home, watching the sun rise in Equestria. A new dawn, she thought wryly. Morningstar did succeed in a way: Equestria had changed. Ponies of all types and talents had come together perhaps more closely than ever before, and they would not soon forget the danger of allowing bigotry to creep into their hearts and minds.

Twilight had learned a few things about herself too, she reflected. Familial ties, hidden and long-forgotten, had come to light. Her own past failings, where her pride and yearning for approval had made her easy prey for Morningstar's charisma and bold speech, had come back to haunt her. Finally, she had once again relied on the friendship of friends old and new to grant her the strength to overcome terrible obstacles.

Despite all of that, this victory felt incomplete, and left Twilight Sparkle with a bitter taste in her mouth. She had learned about her family, found out that Trixie was her cousin, and learned just what a brave and true pony she really was, only to have her snatched away before Twilight could even get to know her. Now, she was left with mostly memories of boasting and exaggerated bravado, the character Trixie had grafted on in order to struggle through a life that was not the one she had dreamed about. Could they have been friends if Trixie were here now? Twilight Sparkle didn't know, but she thought she would have liked to try to become so.

"Hello?" a small voice called out from downstairs.

"The library is open, please help yourself and fill out the checkout form," Twilight Sparkle called back.

"I was just hoping you could talk for a minute. It's Meadow." Trixie's friend now had a difficult road ahead of her, Twilight thought. She had been pardoned for her role in the unicorn conspiracy due to her long-standing, if mostly ineffectual, attempts at undermining Morningstar. She was, however, isolated from her parents and notoriously related to the most hated pony in Equestria. Furthermore, she had lost her only friend. Twilight wished she could show the poor pony that she was at least welcome among her friends in Ponyville. She and Meadowfree also shared another thing: Trixie had been both Twilight's and Meadowfree's cousin, the daughter of Meadow's uncle and Twilight's aunt.

"I'm on my way down," Twilight Sparkle called, already on her way down the stairs to the main floor of the library. When she arrived, she saw Meadowfree standing nervously.

"Hey, why don't you make yourself comfortable? I have these nice comfy couches," Twilight offered. "Can I get you some tea?"

"Oh, no, that's alright. I just wanted to stop by and, well, I thought I might feel a little better to see you, as a reminder that it, that it wasn't all for nothing," Meadowfree said, before beginning to cry. Twilight walked over and placed a foreleg over the other unicorn's shoulder.

"I'm glad you came," Twilight Sparkle said. "I want you to know that you always have a friend and a place to stay here in Ponyville if you need it. I was also hoping you could talk to me a little bit. About Trixie."

Meadowfree collected herself and looked at Twilight. "What about her?"

"What was she like in school, you know, before the 'Great and Powerful Trixie?'" Twilight Sparkle asked.

Meadowfree let go of Twilight Sparkle and lay down on one of the library couches. "Well, she was really excited to be in school – it was her dream to be a star, and she was obsessed with learning new spells to show to everypony. Whenever we got an assignment she was far more interested in how many spells and pyrotechnics she could pull off in front of the class than what grade she would get. I remember sometimes she would space out so much that she would distractedly shoot off fireworks in the middle of a lecture, completely lost in her own imagination." Meadowfree smiled. "I always thought she would be an amazing performer, and so I was excited when I eventually learned she had her own show."

"I'll bet you wished you could go see her perform," Twilight Sparkle said with a little smile.

"I sure did," Meadowfree replied. "You can imagine my disappointment, though, when I heard she was just going around challenging ponies to fights. That's when I realized that this wasn't the old Trixie. At PEGASUS, Trixie was never a showoff or braggart, she just was so excited about learning new things and proving that she really belonged there that she would invite the other students to see her new tricks. And she was so good at projections, illusions, and fireworks that everypony wanted to see. She could have been really popular if she had been more into friends and less into practicing magic spells."

They were alike in a lot of ways, Twilight thought. Trixie and she had both been so driven in school that they had little time to make new friends, but for Twilight it had been her drive to learn, get high marks and please her teachers, and for Trixie it had been her sheer love of magic and spectacle. Trixie had ironically been too outgoing to make friends, while Twilight was too introverted. They were two sides of the same coin. "She sounds like she must have been a lot of fun," Twilight Sparkle said.

"She was. I'd give anything to see her again, to try to make up for all the time we lost because of my uncles," Meadowfree responded.

"Well, I know I'm a poor substitute, but maybe I can show you around Ponyville and we can work on getting you some new friends. You've got one so far!" Twilight Sparkle offered, and showed Meadowfree to the door.

XLVII. Still Invited

Twilight Sparkle was reminded of the parasprite debacle as she and Meadowfree strolled through town. The damage caused by hordes of panicked ponies rushing from celebration to evacuation was evident in the trashed carnival stalls, trampled gardens, toppled statuary, and overturned merchant carts visible everywhere downtown, not to mention the normal detritus of the summer sun holiday that had not yet been cleaned up. Already, though, the citizens of Ponyville were hard at work cleaning, repairing, replanting, and replacing what was lost.

"I've only lived in Ponyville for a year now, but it already feels like home," Twilight Sparkle said to Meadowfree as they walked. "Coming from the formality of Canterlot, there was a time when I thought everypony here was crazy, rushing over to meet me and say hello, asking me questions, coming to visit at all hours of the day. Eventually I learned that it was only something called 'being neighborly.' We could do with a little more of it all over Equestria if you ask me."

"And we also like parties!" said Pinkie Pie, appearing alongside the pair.

"Well, yes, eventually I even warmed up to … Pinkie Pie? Where in Equestria did you even come from?" Twilight Sparkle asked.

Pinkie took a deep breath and launched into a rapid-fire monologue. "Well, after everything last night I got to thinking, because of that meanie Morningstar we missed the chance to throw you a ponyversary party, and everypony had the Summer Sun Celebration ruined for them. Tthen I saw Meadow, and I thought, wouldn't it be great if we threw a party for Meadow because she doesn't know anypony and if she doesn't know anypony that means she doesn't have any friends in Ponyville yet, and that made me sad, even though I was glad about the whole evil airship not destroying Ponyville, but anyway, we really need a party, so I said to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna: you know what this calls for?"

"A p …" Twilight began.

"A PARTY!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, drowning out her friend. "And Princess Celestia said Pinkie Pie, you're absolutely right. And I said, it'll be the best party ever! Bigger than the Summer Sun Celebration, bigger than the Grand Galloping Gala, bigger than Gummy's birthday! And Princess Celestia said plan for the party to start at seven o'clock sharp the day after tomorrow and she wanted it to be a very special thank you to all the ponies in Equestria, and she and Luna were going to spread the word and, can you believe it, everypony is invited, and I mean EVERYPONY, from Canterlot to Fillydelphia! And that means YOU'RE invited, Twilight, and you too Meadow. Oh, I'm so happy for both of you!"

"So we're having a party for all of Equestria that wants to come. Here. In Ponyville. Tomorrow?" Twilight asked, looking around at the debris-strewn downtown of Ponyville.

"Weren't you listening? Do I need to repeat myself? 'Cus I can!" Pinkie Pie drew another deep breath.

"No, no, I've got it. Party. Tomorrow. Check," Twilight replied, and heard Meadowfree laughing beside her. Leave it Pinkie Pie to get a laugh out of just about anypony, Twilight thought with a small smile. She walked to the town square where ponies were hard at work putting new sod down where the grass had been destroyed by trampling hooves and carriage wheels.

Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy had been up early that morning setting up stands near the town hall. Fluttershy was maintaining a list so that ponies who had become separated from friends or family could check in and reunite. Rarity was offering practically her entire stock of wares to ponies who had lost baggage and personal belongings in the chaos of the evacuation. Applejack, meanwhile, was offering apples, pastries and apple juice to the hungry ponies working on the cleanup. Finally, Twilight Sparkle saw the Cakes of Sugarcube Corner giving out sweets and also healthier snacks to the workers.

"This is Ponyville at its best," Twilight Sparkle said to Meadowfree.

"Except for the time it was raining chocolate milk," Pinkie Pie corrected.

"Sure," Twilight Sparkle gamely acknowledged, purposefully ignoring the fact that it had only been raining chocolate milk due to the chaotic influence of Discord, and that he had literally turned Ponyville upside down at the time.

Suddenly, Pinkie Pie's tail began to vibrate. "Uh oh! Twitcha-twitcha-twitch!"

"Are you okay?" Meadowfree asked concernedly.

"That means we need to get under cover! Something's about to fall!" Twilight Sparkle stated. Unfortunately there was no time to explain how Pinkie Pie's "Pinkie Sense" worked, even if she could muster an explanation that made the faintest amount of sense.

"Really?" Meadowfree asked as Twilight Sparkle dove under a nearby cart and Pinkie Pie followed after.

"Yes! Get down!" Twilight Sparkle yelled.

Before Meadowfree could react, Twilight Sparkle gasped as Princess Celestia and Princess Luna gracefully dropped out of the sky and onto the lawn of the town square.

"My little ponies!" Princess Celestia exclaimed, as the ponies in the square stopped what they were doing to kneel before the Princesses. "Please, don't stop. We're so proud of your hard work putting Ponyville back together." When everypony resumed what they were doing, the Princesses turned to Twilight Sparkle, who was sheepishly clambering out from under the cart, along with Pinkie Pie. "My dear student, I'm so happy to see you up and about," Celestia said.

"Princess Celestia, Princess Luna!" Twilight exclaimed, rising. "I'm so, so sorry you have to see Ponyville like this!"

"What, you mean safe and standing after being seconds away from being blown to bits?" Luna asked curiously.

"No, I mean, yes, I mean, it's a mess!" Twilight Sparkle stammered.

"Don't be so anxious, my dear," Princess Celestia said with a smile. "I presume Ms. Pie told you about the party we have planned? It shall be a royal jubilee, a celebration to let go of past indiscretions and old animosity, and celebrate all ponies coming together. In fact, I've already spirited your loyal assistant Spike away to Canterlot to help Luna and I plan some special surprises for the event." Celestia winked at Twilight Sparkle and her friends.

"We can tell you that we shall mark the start of the festivities with a solar eclipse and a display of lights visible all across Equestria, the greatest ever seen, and my sister and I plan to be right here in Ponyville," Princess Luna added.

"With you and your friends, to whom we owe the survival of harmony and our very continued existence here in the place we love, Equestria," Celestia finished.

"I – we – I'm honored, Princesses," Twilight Sparkle stated at length. "I promise that we'll make this the best party ever!" She surveyed the still-wrecked square. "Somehow!"

XLVIII. Streamers

That evening, after a long day of hard working cleaning and preparing Ponyville for the celebration to come, seven ponies sprawled on a high knoll outside of Ponyville, looking up at a moonlit sky full of stars. Stargazing was one of Twilight Sparkle's favorite ways to relax, and it was even better in the company of friends. Normally, Spike would be here too, but since he was away in Canterlot, it was a girls' night out beneath the stars.

"Y'know, somepony could write a book about the things we don't know about what's really going on up there," Applejack said, breaking the silence.

"Actually, I'm happy lend you any number of books about …" Twilight Sparkle began before being cut off.

"I was bein' romantical, sugarcube," Applejack stated, looking over at Twilight. "I jest mean it's a right beautiful and mysterious sight. We know Princess Luna causes the moon to rise up into the sky, but did she really make the moon and all the other stuff? The stars and meteors and that wavy ribbon thing?"

"That ribbon is what you see when you look in toward the center of the galaxy," Twilight Sparkle said. "Our home is just one little point in space among millions, or even billions, or, well nopony really knows how big the universe is."

"Nopony except the Princesses, you mean," Rainbow Dash corrected her.

"I don't know," said Twilight wistfully. "The universe is awfully big, and I imagine that it's full of little hidden doors and windows leading to places we haven't even dreamed of yet. I think maybe it's even older and bigger and more mysterious than Princess Celestia."

"I'd just like to know if the stars are really made of diamonds," Rarity noted.

"Or if Rarity is really made of marshmallows, " added Pinkie Pie, causing Twilight Sparkle and the rest to break into fits of giggles. Rarity did have a certain fluffy white quality about her, Twilight Sparkle thought.

"Pinkie Pie!" Rarity exclaimed, her cheeks turning red. After a second, she too burst out laughing.

"I'd like to be the first pony to visit the moon!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed when they had calmed down. "I mean, except for Princess Luna, er … um … awkward." She mumbled the last. Twilight Sparkle was not about to touch that observation.

"When I was a filly my momma said that somepony might be lookin' down at us just the same as we're lookin' up, so we'd better be good little ponies and set an example that Princess Celestia could be proud of," Applejack said.

"Spike's become friends with that big dragon that lives in the Everfree forest," Twilight Sparkle said. "Even though he chased us when he first met us, it turned out he's really not a bad sort after Spike assured him that he wouldn't touch his horde of gems. Spike told me that dragons say that when they grow old enough and big enough that their scales become as hard as diamond and the fire inside them burns so hot that their whole bodies harden and turn into a giant shining gem, and they are hung in the sky overhead for all the other dragons to remember and tell stories about them. That's why the stars shine different colors. You can see a big red one, and over there a green one, and a blue one, because dragons come in all shades."

"I like that," said Fluttershy. "I wish I could stay and watch over my animal friends forever. Did you know I've often wished I could …"

"Be a tree?" her five friends said at once. "Yes!"

"I'd like to know if maybe the ponies who've left us are out there somewhere, and if we'll ever see them again," said Meadowfree, softly. All was quiet for a time afterward, save the night birds and insects.

"I like to think so," Applejack said at last.

"It would be wonderful if it were true," said Fluttershy.

"Well," Twilight Sparkle began, "I know that as long as I'm here, I have the memories of friends and good times and all the best parts of life with me always. I've always said that I only believe in what I see and understand, but if there's one thing I've learned in Ponyville, there are always things that just haven't been explained yet. I mean, I still haven't proved Fermare's Last Theorem, but I know it must be true, somehow. I guess what I'm saying is, I just don't know whether we get to meet lost loved ones again, but at least I can always keep a trove of happy memories to dig through when I'm feeling sad or alone."

"I remember my mother and grandmother and her mother with a quilt that's been passed down through the generations," said Rarity. "Each new generation adds to it."

"And I can tell every one of my Granny Pie's stories word for word 'til I'm blue in the face," Pinkie Pie said. "I'll never forget her."

"I hope my mom and pop are watchin' over Sweet Apple Acres an' takin' care of us, but whatever the case is, Big Macintosh and me work ourselves to the bone for that farm, 'cuz that's what they woulda done, and they were part of that land just the same as we are," Applejack said.

"I just wish I could see Trixie one more time," Meadowfree said. "Most of my memories are of all the things I wish I'd done differently. Couldn't I have run away to find her and tell her the truth? Couldn't I have helped her overcome all of her troubles? Couldn't I have stopped my uncle on my own? Why didn't I? If I had, she'd still be here now."

"We all have regrets," Twilight Sparkle said. "I wish I'd never created designs that Morningstar could turn to evil, and that I'd never fallen for his crazy ideas in the first place. But it happened, and with my friends here in Ponyville and with Princess Celestia I'm a better pony today. I'm happy about the pony I've become."

"Well, you're a hero all over Equestria. I'm a madpony's niece," Meadowfree pointed out.

"You know," Twilight Sparkle said, "if you hadn't convinced Trixie to go to Canterlot, she'd never have found her way again, and I'd never have learned she was my cousin, and she might have stayed the way she was before … forever."

"Twilight's right," Rarity said. "And you're a hero in my book too, Meadow, for fighting to undermine Morningstar, trying to keep us safe, and pulling Twilight back from the edge when she was overtaxing her magic."

"And I just know we're going to be friends," Fluttershy added softly.

Suddenly, a meteor flashed from one end of the sky to the other before burning up in a brilliant display of sparks. Twilight Sparkle had never seen one so bright before, and it seemed so close she could have touched it. "Beautiful," she murmured.

"That reminds me," said Pinkie Pie. "We're gonna need more streamers for the party."

XLIX. Showstopper

The next day, Twilight Sparkle was awoken by Princess Celestia's royal pegasus guards rapping sharply on the library door. They explained that a carriage waited outside to take her to Canterlot for a special meeting with the Princesses. There was no time for even a cup of tea, so Twilight Sparkle did no more than quickly brush her hair before jumping into the passenger compartment of the carriage and taking off for the capital. She wondered what the Princesses could want with her today, the day of the Sun and Moon Jubilee. After all, she was mostly still resting and recuperating, and had let her friends and the mayor take care of planning and organizing. She leaned back on the plush cushions in the carriage and closed her eyes, concentrating only on the feeling of the wind rushing past. For the first time in a long while, she decided not to overthink the matter and just find out from the Princesses first hoof. When the carriage touched down in the courtyard of the palace, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were already there to greet her. Twilight Sparkle happily noted that Spike was there too, standing between the two winged unicorns.

"Princesses," Twilight Sparkle acknowledged deferentially, stepping out of the carriage and kneeling immediately.

"Stand, my dear student," Celestia stated, and the lavender unicorn rose to her hooves.

"Hi Twilight!" Spike said with a friendly wave. "The Princesses have me consulting on the fireworks for tonight's celebration!" Spike declared proudly. "You know, because I can breathe magical fire?"

"Hello Spike, that's wonderful," Twilight Sparkle replied. She looked up at the Princesses. "Hello Princesses. How can I be of service?"

"Can't a friend simply invite another over for some pleasant conversation?" Celestia asked innocently.

"Um, of course," Twilight Sparkle replied hesitantly. Princess Celestia had always maintained enough of a teacher-student distance that Twilight Sparkle couldn't help but be suspicious at the friendly invitation, but she certainly wasn't going to question spending time with her mentor.

"Why don't you just follow us, and we'll show you why we invited you over," Luna stated, giving her older sister an inscrutable look.

"I'll just get back to work then," Spike said, firing off a jet of magical green flame as he walked away across the courtyard. "You're gonna love this, Twilight," he called back as he departed the group.

Twilight Sparkle followed just behind as the two Princesses set off toward the tallest and most majestic structure on the palace grounds, Canterlot Tower. Twilight Sparkle remembered the tower as the place where Princess Celestia had first told of them of threat of Discord's return to Equestria, and where the celebration after his defeat had taken place. The tower gleamed gold and white in the morning sun, not unlike Princess Celestia herself, as the trio passed through its massive double door and entered the tower's great hall.

Twilight Sparkle looked around, gawking like a tourist though she had been in the hall several times before. The walls were decorated with enormous and painstakingly crafted stained-glass windows, many lengths high, depicting famous scenes from Equestrian history. Some of the windows even showed her and her five friends, embodying the spirits of the Elements of Harmony, defeating their great foes Nightmare Moon and Discord. She fondly remembered the mixture of pride and embarrassment she had felt when Princess Celestia unveiled the latter window while Twilight Sparkle and her friends stood before a crowd of cheering ponies in this very hall. Toward the center of the hall, Twilight Sparkle saw that one of the windows was obscured by enormous draperies displaying the sun and moon motif of the royal pony sisters.

"No way, you didn't," Twilight Sparkle began, turning to her mentor.

"You know, Twilight Sparkle, we're going to run out of windows if you and your friends keep having to save Equestria," Princess Celestia observed.

"Next time I'll have to get in there to save the day first, just so we can have a couple windows left showing me in a good light," Princess Luna added with a smile. With that, Princess Celestia's horn glowed, and the draperies parted to reveal a new decorative window.

Twilight felt a lump in her throat as she looked upon the image. The window depicted two unicorns, one lavender and one azure, standing together with eyes closed and hooves touching as brilliant magic coursed through and around them. At the bottom of the window, the red and gold-clad Morningstar knelt in shame, defeated. Above the unicorns, near the top of the window, were depictions of two cutie marks; a shining star surrounded by five smaller pinpoints of light, and a wand imposed over a crescent of magical starlight. Twilight Sparkle recognized herself and Trixie.

"Oh, thank you Princesses," Twilight Sparkle managed. "I don't really deserve that much credit, though, I was mostly unconscious."

"Even in your dream state, stuck with one hoof in two realms, you fought bravely to slow Morningstar and save your home and friends," Celestia replied.

"Then, thank you. It's a beautiful memorial to Trixie," Twilight Sparkle said.

"Thank you, my dear," Princess Celestia said, sharing a mysterious look with her sister.

"Why don't we move on to the south wing of the tower," Luna suggested. "The south wing is in the process of being turned into a museum. Celestia and I have decided that it was wrong to ever hide the history of ponykind from you and everypony else in Equestria. We hid the history of Cornutopia, and the story of Discord, and Celestia allowed the story of Nightmare Moon to fade until it became an old mare's tale. Then, when all of these came back to haunt us, nopony was prepared, and in Morningstar's case, many ponies didn't know better than to trust him, not knowing the ruination that such disharmony inevitably brings." The Princesses walked on, with Twilight Sparkle following behind.

"So we've resolved to change our ways, and share the past with everypony. I've collected so much history over the ages, it's going to take a tremendous effort to catalogue everything, and pore over every book of the history of ponykind in my private archives. There's a lot of rediscovery that needs to take place," Princess Celestia said.

Twilight Sparkle's eyes grew wide and her heart beat faster as the group approached the decorated door to the new south wing museum. She realized at what the Princesses must be hinting. "Oh, Princesses, I'm flattered that you would think of me for such an honor! It's just, well, I still think I have more to learn back in Ponyville, and I would hate to leave my friends behind, and, well of course I'll do it if you want," she said. She would never be able to refuse Celestia, Twilight knew. To her surprise, her mentor gave a little laugh.

"Oh, Twilight Sparkle, you really are my most faithful and loyal student. No, of course I would not take you away from your studies of friendship," Celestia affirmed.

"Oh. Then, why tell me about all this today?" Twilight Sparkle asked, confused.

"We have chosen a new royal historian to manage the museum," said Princess Luna. "And she practically begged us to bring you here today, before the celebration tonight. It seems you and she may have a lot to talk about."

"What?" Twilight Sparkle asked, now more confused than ever. "Who?"

Princess Celestia's horn glowed, and the heavy museum door swung open. On the other side, Twilight Sparkle saw stacks and stacks of boxes and crates, piled from floor to ceiling. Display cases were jumbled in disarray, and precious objects from pony history lay scattered about, some tagged with identifying information, and others waiting to be addressed, still lying in untidy heaps. In the center of the room, mounds of scrolls and thick dusty books were arranged all over the floor, many open, and in the center of all the chaos knelt a unicorn mare, poring over a particular passage. She looked up as the door opened.

"You came!" exclaimed Trixie, leaping to her hooves.

"Meet the new royal historian of Equestria," Princess Celestia said as Trixie weaved her way through the artifacts and books over to Twilight Sparkle, who was frozen in shock and confusion.

"B-but …you … Meadow saw you … how … is that really you?" Twilight Sparkle stammered.

"It is," Trixie affirmed. "In the flesh." Her smile turned into a more serious expression.

"And I really need to talk to you."

L. Elemental

"But you can't be here!" Twilight Sparkle exclaimed, backing away from the azure unicorn standing not two lengths away. This couldn't be Trixie, it had to be some kind of illusion or apparition. She knew that Princess Celestia liked a little joke now and then, but this was simply too much.

"That really is Trixie," Princess Celestia confirmed. "You see, my dear student, when you were partially stuck in the realm of pure magic, Trixie did try to sacrifice herself to save you and stop the machine. In order to pull you free, Trixie channeled the destructive force of the Prismatic Coil to puncture a hole in the fabric of reality separating the two planes of existence. She magically pulled you out, and you regained consciousness. At the same time, Trixie's body was converted into pure magical energy and transmitted along the beam and into my dimension."

"When you used the Elements of Harmony to allow my sister and me to return to Equestria we took Trixie with us, though she could only exist as raw magical potential that we carried inside us. It took a little time and a great deal of advanced spellwork to give her back her body. But here she is!" Luna explained.

It sounded impossible, but it was becoming more and more difficult for Twilight Sparkle to deny the existence of the mare standing in front of her. "Why didn't you tell us right away? You let us think she was …" Twilight Sparkle looked searchingly at her mentor and Princess Luna.

"Well," Celestia looked guiltily back at her favorite student, "at first we weren't even sure we could restore her physical form, but even after we did," she paused, and turned to Trixie.

"I begged them not to tell anypony," Trixie stated. "I pleaded."

"But why?" asked Twilight Sparkle. "Meadow is just miserable, and what about me? I'm your cousin!"

"Please let me explain," Trixie began, her eyes searching. "Unlike you, who were only stuck part way in that place, I fully became magic. And because time does not exist there, while only a short time passed in Equestria, it seemed like forever to me."

"Wow," Twilight Sparkle replied. "What was it like to actually be magic?"

"Strange, and hard for me to put into words. It was as if I was experiencing many events all at once, and with multiple selves, all formless – real and unreal at the same time. And I was not alone. The Princesses were there, and other beings, some close at hoof and some just on the periphery of what I could detect, always just out of sight and out of reach. There were also specters of other ponies who had touched or been touched by that realm. You were there, or at least an echo of you."

"I was?" Twilight Sparkle asked.

"Yes. And you weren't the only pony. My mother was there, your aunt Belladonna. She was more than just an echo – she had been absorbed completely into that place, but so completely that she had a hard time maintaining a cohesion that I could recognize. I could still get feelings from her, though. Mostly love, and hope, for me. Your echo then took hold of my hooves, and led me onward. In the miasma I could hear ghostly music, wistful and melancholy. You told me it was an eternal hymn of the ponies lost to the ancient unicorn weapon. Another echo then appeared, our ancestor Moonglow Sparkle. When she touched me, I felt an outpouring of forgiveness and gratitude – two emotions that I hadn't felt in a long time. I could also see visions there, glimpses of an Equestria that never was. I saw myself, happy and carefree, where I never found the secret book and never left school. Then, of course, when Morningstar attacked, I had neither the motive nor the skills to intervene, and Equestria was lost. I understood that my life, which had seemed so purposeless and single-minded, really did have purpose and meaning. I sloughed off my regret and self-loathing like a serpent's old skin. The Princesses came and took hold of me, and then I remember waking up in a bed in Canterlot, yesterday afternoon."

"But why don't you want anypony to know that you're alive and well?" Twilight Sparkle asked incredulously. "It would make so many ponies happy."

"That's why I brought you here," Trixie sighed. "I am still learning who I really am. I need time and solitude here with these scrolls and relics. I fear becoming what I was again, and that no matter who I am, nopony will accept me. You, Twilight, are who I'd like to be. You're the pony Equestria deserves. It's better for everypony that I stay here, alone with these books and relics for now. I was just hoping you could quietly inform Meadow, and your friends, of my wellbeing. It would be too awkward for me to go myself," Trixie said.

"Trixie," Twilight Sparkle began, "I know who you are." She smiled. "You're the boastful braggart who claimed to have defeated an ursa major all by yourself, the pony who was so confident she challenged all of Ponyville to a duel, who was powerful enough to blow up half the PEGASUS library, who twice disarmed and defeated the most dangerous pony in Equestria, who dared call himself king, you're the pony who unraveled the mysteries of the ancient unicorns, who can make the greatest magical fireworks and light shows in all of Equestria, and who decided to choose friendship, family, and loyalty even though it meant the ultimate sacrifice. And I like all that about who you are, because it's who you are. As long as you maybe tone down the boasting and the dueling one teensy notch. And I want to get to know you even better, cousin. I think we can be great friends, and everypony else will feel the same, I just know it."

"Do you – really mean that? You like Trixie, er, me?" Trixie asked.

"Was there ever any doubt?" asked Twilight with a grin. Both unicorns laughed and drew each other into a tight embrace.

"And this is why she is my favorite student," Celestia proclaimed, watching the scene from a respectful distance.

"I think I'm going to have to get one of those," Luna replied, smiling.

"I have a suggestion, then," said Celestia.

"I might have a guess," said Luna. "But," she cleared here throat before speaking up loud enough to catch the two unicorns' attention, "in the meantime, we have a celebration to host. I presume you're both coming, then."

Twilight and Trixie nodded. The four collected Spike, who was already quite familiar with Trixie's presence in the palace, and made haste for Ponyville. They passed throngs of ponies pouring into the town for the celebration as they flew overhead in the royal carriage.

"There's the stage!" Spike pointed to the large wooden structure the ponies had assembled in the town square.

"Set us down behind and out of sight," Celestia called to the lead pegasus guard. Soon the party was ensconced backstage.

"I'm emceeing," Spike declared. "I'll see you ladies later. Princesses," he bowed, excusing himself.

"Now Twilight," Princess Celestia began. "I plan to call you and your friends out on stage in recognition of your heroism. Why don't you wait here in the meantime with Trixie?"

Momentarily, the celebration began, and Twilight Sparkle could hear Spike's voice magically amplified. Probably, she thought, Rarity was handling the lighting and visual magic, and they had probably brought that popular young unicorn disc jockey back from Canterlot to handle the sound.

"Fillies and gentlecolts," Spike began, "once again, all of Equestria owes its gratitude to a group of heroes. Ponies bold and brave enough to stand up against any foe. With the stakes high, these ponies met the challenge and saved us all once again. Also, I helped this time." Spike coughed. "Ahem, and now it is my pleasure to present to Equestria, your sun and moon, the royal pony sisters, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna!"

To wild stamping of hooves, the curtains of the stage parted and the Princesses emerged. Wordlessly, the winged unicorns' horns glowed as bright as the dawn, and from opposite ends of the sky, sun and moon converged, and for the first time anypony could remember, became as one. The applause reached a new level in appreciation of the beautiful eclipse. The sun's corona shone behind the glimmering moon with all the colors of the rainbow and cast beautiful shimmering pastels all over the face of Equestria, while the eclipse darkened the sky just enough for the show to follow.

"Ponies of Equestria, once again we stand here before you to thank our heroes, the bearers of the Elements of Harmony!" Celestia declared. As each pony's name was called, she climbed up onto the stage. "Pinkie Pie, who boldly saved Princess Luna and me from the infernal machine in which we had been imprisoned."

"Rarity, who bravely infiltrated Canterlot and brought word of a nefarious plot to her friends, so that they might unite to save us all," said Princess Luna as the white unicorn daintily walked up onto the stage.

"Fluttershy, whose close connection with the environment turned nature itself against the evil Morningstar," Celestia continued.

"Applejack, who valiantly led the defense of Ponyville from the ground against hopeless odds, even sacrificing for the greater good the farm buildings which she had painstakingly built," said Luna.

"And Rainbow Dash, whose loyalty to her friends inspired the ponies of Cloudsdale to come to Ponyville's aid, and who demonstrated amazing courage in the face of extreme danger," Celestia finished.

"And Spike, who awesomely rode a giant dragon to save the day," mumbled Spike, apparently forgetting that his voice was amplified for the whole crowd. Everypony applauded again.

"Finally," Celestia began, "let us remember two ponies who willingly prepared to lay their lives on the line for their friends, for their Princesses, and for all of Equestria." Princess Celestia nodded, and a second curtain drew back behind her, revealing Twilight Sparkle and Trixie. Rather than applause, a gasp of shock rippled through the audience, and from Twilight Sparkle's friends gathered onstage, at the sight of a very alive and well Trixie. Twilight Sparkle walked past the Princesses to the center of the stage and addressed the crowd, wearing a silly grin. "Prepare yourselves, ponies, for the prodigiously proficient prestidigitation and fabulous fireworks of my cousin, Trixie!"

Smiling, Trixie stepped forward, closed her eyes, and began to shoot sparks from her horn straight up into the heavens, where they burst into amazing fireworks shaped like a shining star, butterflies, a bright red apple …

"Hey, our cutie marks!" Twilight said, as the crowd exploded into cheers and applause.

"You try one!" Trixie offered, now creating brilliant explosions all over the magical eclipse-created rainbow sky.

"I couldn't," Twilight replied, blushing.

"Go on, do it!" Trixie encouraged.

Twilight Sparkle concentrated, imagining the spell she wished to cast, and fired off a spark that erupted high in the sky into a heart and rainbow in all shades of pink and purple, much to the delight of the audience. As Trixie resumed casting beautiful fireworks, Twilight Sparkle saw a pony clambering over the crowd toward the stage, and recognized Meadowfree. Princess Luna waved off the royal guards as the pony leaped onto the stage and veritably tackled Trixie, tears of joy streaming down her face.

Twilight watched the pair embrace, and looked up to see six of the Wonderbolts scream past in formation as the fireworks ended, to another roar of delight from the crowd. She walked over to her friends, who were all standing together, smiling back at her as she approached.

"You know what?" Twilight Sparkle asked.

"What's that, darling?" Rarity replied.

"You're all my very best friends. And you always will be," Twilight Sparkle declared, and the six quickly became entangled in a giant group hug.

EPILOGUE

The next day ...

"A letter from Princess Celestia?" asked Twilight Sparkle as she magically picked up and unrolled the scroll that Spike had carried over to her.

"I just got it!" Spike replied, rubbing his belly gingerly.

"Let's see what she has to say," Twilight Sparkle said. "I hope it's not any kind of mission. I've got to tell you, Spike, that I could use a little break from adventuring right about now."

"I hear that," Spike agreed. Twilight Sparkle read the letter.

To my most faithful student Twilight Sparkle,

The time has come for me to write a letter to you about what I have learned about harmony and friendship, thanks to you and your friends. Though I have been around a long time, and become set in my ways, you've reminded me that it's always possible to learn new things.

I learned that it's easy to become tied down by the past, burdened by memories of choices not made, wrongs still not righted, and friends long gone. When I first met you, I knew immediately that you were the descendant of my great friend Moonglow Sparkle. I selfishly convinced myself that you were just like her, and that through you she and I could have more time together. I neglected the fact that you are your own pony, with your own hopes, dreams and fears. If I had been a true friend, I would have stepped in long before Nightmare Moon's return to make sure you were happy and had other friends in your life. Had I done so, Morningstar would never have preyed on your anxieties.

Trixie's example taught me how freeing it can be to let go of past wrongs – I should never have allowed myself to become so concerned with hiding the dark secrets of pony history. I wanted so much to prevent the tragedies that occurred under my watch in the past from happening again that I inadvertently led to the creation of a conspiracy right under my nose. I resolve to live here and now, in the present, and be a good and true friend to you. No friendship has ever meant more to me that that of my most faithful student. I also resolve to be a better sister to Luna, and never allow seeds of bitterness to grow unchecked again.

You also reminded me that friendship sometimes requires sacrifice. You and Trixie were willing to give up everything for those for whom you cared most deeply. Know that I would do the same for you. Even I cannot tell the future, for in a world like Equestria, bound by the constraints of time, the future is always in flux. Yet I know that our fates are inextricably bound together by the greatest forces in the universe, friendship and love.

Your faithful friend,

Celestia

THE END