Well, here it is. Sorry for the wait. I've been pre-occupied with college and intense writers block.
Chapter 7: Revival
"So, what is your answer? Will you join me, Trixie?"
"W-what? Why do you want me to join you? Why should I join you?"
"Think about it. With Twilight no longer around, you truly are the most powerful unicorn in all of Equestria. And if you join me, I'll even make you my queen, and together, we shall rule all of Equestria."
"Don't do it, sugar cube. Think about Twilight. Remember, after she saved you from that Alicorn Amulet, she forgave you. We all did."
"AJ is right. And considering how powerful you have become with your magic, you don't need him. Also, technically, you are the most powerful unicorn in Equestria. Twilight isn't a unicorn anymore."
"You're right. My answer is no. I may never be able to surpass Twilight, but I can still get better and better with my magic."
"...Fine. Have it your way. Foolish foals who think they can defy me must be dealt with. Once I've absorbed Twilight's power, your time will be up."
"Enough talk Night. Where is the Jewel?"
"Why, whatever do you mean, Discord? Oh, you mean the Jewel of Harmony? It's in this castle, not like it will do you any good. Only an Alicorn of pure heart can use its power."
"Stop yer stalling before I buck ya back in time."
"Buck me back in time? Ha. Oh Applejack, you think you can harm me? You forget I can do magic and you can't. Why don't you run back to Ponyville and go cry to your dragon lover about how you lost one of your closest friends."
"W-w-w-what the hay are t-t-talking about? You leave Spike out of this."
"Who said anything about Spike? I was being vague when I said 'dragon lover'. Do you have feelings for the little runt?"
"W-w-w-what? Of c-c-course not. And he ain't a runt."
"Who are you trying to convince? Me or yourself? Whatever, it doesn't concern me. Now Discord, why refuse my offer. Join me and we shall rule Equestria together. You can spread all the chaos you want."
"I already said no. Nothing you can say will change my mind. I don't know when or how it happened, but you changed Night. You are no longer the friend I once had."
Hearing those words pushed the dark alicorn over the edge. "So, it has come to this. You, my last and only friend, betrays me. I...will...make...you...REGRET THIS!" The dark alicorn begins charging up magical energy, more so than usual. "I'm going to blow this place sky high. So enjoy your final moments."
"Is he insane?"
"Discord..." The draconequus turns his attention to Fluttershy, who was crying her heart out. "...I'm scared."
"Don't worry. I Pinkie Pie promise nothing will happen to you. I will protect you."
"You will protect her? HA! But who will protect you?"
The draconequus ignores Night's statement and conjures up a force field. "Take your best shot."
Noticing how weak Discord was earlier, Trixie uses her magic to provide additional support to the force field. "I got your back on this one."
"Thanks."
Night finishes charging his magic and releases it all at once, creating an explosion big enough to wipe out Ponyville. The castle was now in more ruins.
As the smoke cleared, the dark alicorn sees the force field was still up. Knowing they were still alive, the dark alicorn uses his remaining magic to quickly escape before the dust clears.
"Was that all you-Hey, where did he go?"
"He retreated. He knew we were still here, and judging by the blast, he used up almost all his magic."
"Tch. Coward. The Great and Powerful Trixie won't forget this."
"Forget about him. We still need to find that Jewel."
"Discord's right. Twilight is running out of time. I say we split up to cover more ground."
"Right."
As the gang disperses, Fluttershy stops Discord.
"Is something wrong Fluttershy?"
"No...um...I just wanted to say...thank you."
"Oh, you are quite welcome. What did I do?"
"*giggle* For protecting me...us...for protecting us."
"It's no big deal. You are all my friends, even if some of you still don't trust me. Now come on, let's go."
Before walking off, Fluttershy flies over and kisses the draconequus on his cheek and flies off in embarrassment.
Unsure of what had just happened, the draconequus holds his paw to his cheek and ponders.
"What just happened? Did Fluttershy kiss me? Does this mean she likes me?"
The draconequus puts his other paw over his heart. He feels his heart beating faster and faster. He is soon snapped back into reality when he hears Fluttershy calling him.
"Hey Flash, any changes from my sister?"
"Sorry Captain. Nothing. But at least she still has her pulse."
"Good. I just hope Sirius returns soon."
"Forgive me, Captain, but who is Sirius?"
Before Shining Armor could answer Flash's question, a bright light came from the portal, and from it came Sirius and alongside him was Sunset Shimmer.
"We're finally back. Where are the others?"
"They are still searching for the Jewel. I have every confidence they will find it."
"I hope so. Without it, and Trixie's help, I can't perform the spell to save your sister. By this time tomorrow, it will be too late."
"Isn't there anything we can do?"
"The most I can do is to send another pony to help with the search."
"I'll go. If it means saving Twi-Princess Twilight, I'll do anything."
"Flash, are you sure?"
"I've never been more sure in my life Captain."
"You must be Flash Sentry. Very well. You may help with the search. You will find our friends at the ruins of the old castle within the Everfree Forest."
"I'm on it. Wait, how do you know where they?"
"I placed a tracing spell on Trixie and Discord moments before I went through the portal. Now hurry."
"Of course."
As Flash leaves the Crystal Empire, Sirius calls for his daughters to assist him.
"It's good to see you returned safely Sirius. And to you, too, Sunset Shimmer. It has been a long time."
"Likewise, Princess Celestia. And I wish to apologize for all the wrongings I have done over the years."
"I forgive you. I assume it was Twilight who opened your heart and showed you the magic of friendship."
"Yes. And that is why I am here now. To save my friend."
"Alright. Shall we start setting up. I need Twilight in the center of the room. I also need a circle around her, as well as three other circles connecting the center."
Within the ruins of the old castle, the gang search high and low for the Jewel. The gang had split into four groups: Rarity and Applejack searched the throne room.
Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash searched the utilities.
Fluttershy and Discord searched the dungeons.
Trixie searched the library by herself.
"Why must the Great and Powerful Trixie search the library all by her lonesome? This task would go smoother if Trixie had some assistance."
With being too into the search, Trixie was unaware of the hoof steps coming from behind her.
"If it is help you require, so it shall be. But there isn't much here to see."
"Ah...who are you?"
"Forgive me if I may have gone "boo." I didn't wish to startle you. My appearance may seem off with this fedora, but if you wish to know my name, it is Zecora."
"Zecora? I remember you. You were the one who helped Twilight when I banished her from Ponyville when I was under the influence of the Alicorn Amulet. What are you doing here?"
"I was in my hut, drinking some tea. Then there was an explosion, so I came to see what it may be."
"Oh, right. I had forgotten that you live within the Everfree Forest. Well, since you are here, would you help the Great and Powerful Trixie with her search?"
"If it is my help you wish to enlist, then I'd be happy to assist. May I ask what we are looking for? I feel the search will go smoother, of this I am quite sure."
"Must you always rhyme? I feel as though it's a waste of time...Oh great, now you got Trixie rhyming." Trixie groans and takes a deep breath before continuing. "We're looking for an object called the Jewel of Harmony. It's a magical..."
Before Trixie could finish, Zecora interrupts her.
"Artifact that changes color. Are you interested in how I know the answer?"
"Yes. How did you know?"
Before answering, the zebra reaches into her saddle bag and pulls out the Jewel.
"I'm sure you were probably in a rut. However, this Jewel had crash landed in my hut."
"It must have been from the explosion earlier. Thank you so much Zecora."
"No thanks are necessary in finding the treasure. After all, it was my pleasure."
With the Jewel found, Trixie uses her magic to send a signal to the others, letting them know that she found the Jewel.
High above the mountains between Canterlot and Ponyville , Flash Sentry is en route to meet the others at the Everfree Forest.
However, in the distance he sees a dark silhouette coming his way, flying at a lower altitude. As the two came closer, Flash is able to make out who the mysterious flyer is.
"Hmm, a black alicorn with a red cape and red stripes in his mane and tail." Flash whispers to himself and quickly matched the pony's description. "That's Night. The one who is the cause of Twilight's condition."
Without thinking, Flash charges at the dark alicorn with immense speed.
The dark alicorn continues flying and doesn't notice Flash.
Flash quickly lands a surprise attack on Night.
Night gets sent straight to the ground as fast as a shooting star.
"Oooooo, ow. Who in Equestria dares to attack me." The dark alicorn shakes off the rumble and pain and looks up to see Flash. He then flies up to meet him at eye level. "And who might you be?"
"I'm the one who's going to kick your flank back to the scum hole you crawled out from." Without hesitation, Flash attacks Night once again, sending him straight into a mountain.
"Ugh. You sure are a feisty one. Very well. Just remember, you signed your own death wish, kid."
Night flies straight at the guard pegasus, shooting magic blasts one after the other.
Flash dodges each and every one with ease and quickly counter-attacks.
"I know who you are. I'm going to make you regret what you did to Twilight."
"Oh? So you're a friend of that foolish alicorn? How amusing. But do you honestly believe you can defeat me?"
"No doubt. I've been kicking your flank around and you haven't even touched me yet. So who's the one who is fighting a losing battle here?"
Night quickly thinks to himself, "Dang. He called my bluff. That magic explosion I did at the old castle took everything out of me. I don't the energy to match his speed."
Just then, Night sees two changelings in the distance.
The two changelings see the dark alicorn is in trouble and decide to help. One of them peers into the heart of Flash and transforms into Twilight while the other stays back to wait for the signal.
"Hey Flash, I'm here to help."
"TWILIGHT?! How can you be here? Shouldn't you be in the Crystal Empire?"
"Why would I be there?"
"Because you had a duel with the Captain and lost. You've been unconscious ever since."
"Oh, well I woke up. My brother told me you were on your way to the Everfree Forest. So I came to find you. Perhaps I can help?"
"Thanks but no thanks, I can handle Night on my own."
The dark alicorn lets off a smirk before responding. "Oh, really? Try me."
Just before Flash is about to attack, he is blasted from behind and starts falling to the ground.
"Ahhh...Twilight...why?"
The pegasus guard passes out mid-fall and is soon caught by the second changeling, who then covers Flash in a green ooze which quickly hardens into a cocoon.
"Well, I guess I should thank you for the assistance."
"No thanks are necessary. We only did what our queen would have wanted. We only ask that you come back to our hive with us. Our queen wishes to meet you after receiving your message."
"...Hmm, very well. Lead me to your queen."
"Of course."
"Wait." The second changeling flies up to his partner and the dark alicorn. "What should we do with him?"
"Bring him along. He can be of use for us and my next plan."
The three fly off in the direction of the Changeling Hive.
"I can't believe you found it. You really are something Trixie."
"Well, Trixie wouldn't have found it without the help of Zecora."
"This fact is quite true. Now there is only one thing left to do."
"Right. Time to take this 'ere Jewel back to the Crystal Empire."
"Thanks for the help again, Zecora."
"I'm always here to help in your hour of plight. Now go and save Princess Twilight."
With all said and done, the gang rushes out of the Everfree Forest and back into Ponyville.
"If we hurry, we can catch the train to the Crystal Empire."
"Great. I'll fly ahead to see if they can wait a minute for you guys."
"Great idea Dashie."
The rainbow colored pegasus dashes off ahead to delay the train for the rest to get on board.
"Last call for the Crystal Empire."
"Wait." Rainbow Dash arrives at the station just in time. "Can you please wait another minute? My friends and I need to get on this train."
"Sorry but that was the last call. You will have to wait until the train returns from the Crystal Empire."
"What if I told you it was an emergency that involved Princess Twilight?"
"Did you say Princess Twilight? Then by all means we will wait."
"Thank you. They should be here any second."
And just as Rainbow says, the rest of the gang arrives.
"Alright. Everyone is here. Let's go."
The gang gets on board the train and it sets off for the Crystal Empire.
"Alright. The preparations are complete. Now we just wait for everyone to arrive with the Jewel and we can begin."
"Hmmmmm..."
"Something wrong Sunset Shimmer?"
"No. I was just trying to remember where I saw this diagram before."
"Probably in a book. I told everypony I knew about this spell. It was probably passed down through the generations and recorded. However, the diagram you see is only meant for an alicorn." Sirius turns his attention to Shining Armor. "I know this may sound mean and rude, but I wish you had lost that duel Shining Armor."
"In all honesty, I wish I did too."
"The reason I said that was because I wouldn't need the Jewel of Harmony to save your life. If Twilight was still a normal unicorn, I wouldn't need it to save hers either."
"What do you mean?"
Sirius sighs with grief before explaining. "I've only ever used this spell once. On an alicorn anyways. I needed the assistance of either two extremely powerful unicorns or one other alicorn and a very powerful magical artifact. However there is a cost that is to be paid."
"A cost?"
"Yes. Like I said, if Twilight was still a normal unicorn, I could cast the spell with no consequences. But, casting this spell on an alicorn...destroys the artifact used to amplify the powers of the one who casted the spell."
"So, if what you're saying is true, then..."
"You would be correct, Ms. Shimmer. The Jewel of Harmony would be destroyed in the process."
"Thou can't be serious."
"Luna?!"
"Don't we need the Jewel in order to defeat thy evil side?"
"It's not impossible to defeat Night without the Jewel, but it will be more difficult. As long as he doesn't receive Twilight's energy, we can still stop him."
Suddenly, a letter appears before Sirius.
"A letter for me?" Sirius opens the letter and begins reading it. " 'Dear Sirius, we just want to inform you and everypony there that we have succeeded in finding the Jewel. We are currently on the train heading for the Crystal Empire as we speak. We should arrive around the time Celestia has to raise the sun. Signed: The Great and Powerful Trixie.' Perfect. They have the Jewel and are on their way. I think it's best if we rest to conserve our energy for tomorrow. We're going to need it."
Everypony heads to bed to rest up and to wait for the arrival of their fellow friends.
The next morning, just as Celestia raises the sun, the train arrives at the Crystal Empire.
Once off the train, the gang is greeted by Princess Luna.
"It is good to see thou hast returned safely from thy journey."
"Thanks a lot Luna. How's Twilight's condition?" The rainbow colored pegasus replies back to the princess.
"Unchanged."
"Well, how about we head to the castle and fix that?"
While rushing to the castle, Princess Luna notices that Flash Sentry isn't with them.
"Hast thou seen Flash Sentry? I was sure he would be with you."
"Flash? Was he suppose to meet up with us?" Rainbow Dash asks as she slows down to keep pace with the others.
"We sent him to help you with your search for the Jewel."
"That's weird. He never showed up. I'm sure he'll come back to the castle once he realizes we're no longer in the Everfree Forest."
"I do hope so."
Once they reached the castle, the gang quickly rushes to the room where Twilight was.
"Oh good, you're here. Shall we get started? I must ask that everypony leave the room except for Trixie and Sunset Shimmer."
As everypony leaves, Trixie pulls out the Jewel and gives it to Sirius.
"Thanks for the help. Now, take your place in the circle opposite of Sunset Shimmer and we shall begin the spell."
"Of course."
Outside the room, the rest of their friends are discussing Flash Sentry's M.I.A.
"So Flash never made contact with you?"
"Sorry sugar cube. He didn't."
"That doesn't sound like Flash. He's an exceptional member of the royal guards. I wondered what happened."
Everypony began pondering the options of what could have happened. Discord was the first one to speak up.
"You don't suppose he ran into Night."
"WHAT?!"
"Well, after Night tried to blow us all sky high, I'm sure he didn't have enough magic left to teleport out. So he probably flew away. And it's possible they crossed paths."
"Oh. You had me scared there for a second. If Night can't use his magic, then Flash would have the upper hoof. He may be a new member of the castle guards, but I've seen what he is capable of."
"If that's the case, where is he then?"
"That's a good question. Maybe Sirius would have an idea."
Inside the room, Sirius, Trixie and Sunset Shimmer are nearing completion with the spell.
"You're doing great girls. Just a little more."
After a few mere minutes the spell was complete. The Jewel had absorbed enough energy from the two unicorns and alicorn and transferred all the energy in Twilight.
Once all the energy was transferred, the Jewel of Harmony shatters and the pieces turn to dust.
"What? What happened to the Jewel?"
"That's the price to be paid for this spell in order to save an alicorn, Trixie. The magical artifact that is used to amplify our combined energy is destroyed after transferring that energy into the one whom we try to save."
"That's quite the price. Don't we need the Jewel in order to defeat Night?"
"I told the others this too. 'It's not impossible to defeat Night without the Jewel, but it will be more difficult. As long as he doesn't receive Twilight's energy, we can still stop him.'"
"Speaking of Twilight, shouldn't she be awake."
"Don't worry it takes a little bit for the effects to kick in. She'll be just fine."
"Oh good. Perhaps we should inform the others of the good news."
"Good idea. Sunset Shimmer, can gather everypony and bring them here."
Sunset Shimmer nods and heads off to gather everypony.
When she returns, Shining Armor is the first pony to rush to his sister's side.
"How is she?"
"She's going to be just fine. It'll be about another ten minutes before she regains consciousness."
Everypony sighs with relief. Before anypony can celebrate, Discord breaks the silence, asking if Sirius knows what may have happened to Flash.
"He hasn't returned?"
"No. We assumed he may have encountered Night when he was on his way to meet up with us."
"Wait, WHAT?"
"It's a possibility. Night used almost all his magic when he tried to blow us up back at the castle in the Everfree Forest. Instead of teleporting, he probably flew away."
"And encountered Flash when trying to flee. Last place I know where Flash was in was the mountain range between Canterlot and Ponyville."
"How do you know that?"
"Just like you and Trixie, I put a tracing spell on him just moments before his departure."
"Concerned for our safety?"
"Of course. I don't want to lose anypony. And with Night out there, I'm not taking any chances."
"So what should do we then?"
"Well..." Before Sirius could answer, everypony hears a groan coming from Twilight's bed.
Everypony turns their attention and sees that the purple alicorn is finally regaining consciousness.
"Oh, my head. What happened?"
"TWILIGHT!" Everypony shouts and rushes to her side.
"Huh? Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash. it's so good to see you again."
Twilight then turn her attention to the other side of her bed.
"Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Sirius, Cadence. I'm happy to see you too."
"What about us?" Trixie, Discord, and Sunset Shimmer ask sarcastically in unison.
"It's good to see you too."
With her attention toward her friends, Shining Armor steps forward with tears streaming down his face like a river.
"Shi-"
Before she could finish, Shining Armor embraces his sister with a hug.
"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. Please forgive me for what I did."
Twilight begins to tear up and embraces her brother. "I forgive you. You're my B.B.B.F.F. And I understand you were in a desperate situation that was beyond your control. So there is no need to apologize."
Soon everypony jumped in and embraced in a group hug.
"It's a shame Flash Sentry isn't here. I'm sure he would be thrilled to know that you're okay." Sunset Shimmer steps forward and speaks up.
"Flash? Where is he?"
No pony answered for they did not want to worry Twilight.
"What's going on? What happened?"
Feeling as though this was partly his fault, Sirius speaks up.
"As of right now, Flash Sentry is missing."
"W-what?"
Uh-oh. What will happen to Flash? And what could Night be scheming now? Also, writing lines for Zecora was hard. I'm not much of a rhymer.
