Discord had pounced for Charlie, who was defenseless with a nub for a horn. Mary had gotten out in front of Charlie, and put up her arms to protect them. It was a dumb move, but she needed to do something so he wouldn't die, let alone keep the Elements of Harmony safe. She didn't feel the pain instantly; heck, she heard the scratching and snarling from afar. She looked over her arms to see a magenta force-field protecting her and Charlie.
"Look!" Charlie exclaimed, seeing Jackie using her magic, with Joey, some stranger, and…is that a horse? Once Discord was done throwing his claws at them, he turned around to see the source of the magic.
"You…." he snarled, walking with booming, slow footsteps to the three. This dramatic walk gave Charlie time to look through the Elements of Harmony. There were six, which they could identify, and four others. The four were all necklaces, a yellow one with a pencil-cut gem, a red one cut like an apple, a green one that looked like a glow stick, and a blue one that seemed to be an uncut crystal.
"Which ones are ours?" Mary whispered, careful not to draw Discord's attention back to them.
"I'm not sure," Charlie replied with the same tone, and glanced back to Jackie, Joey, Shining Armor, and Twilight. The allicorn, without either of her distinguishing features, kept herself hidden behind the siblings and her brother. They were all using spells to keep him back, but mostly, it was just "random throwing of their magical auras." With all these spells, Discord started feeding off their randomness. This gave him energy to focus on throwing his own magic at them. The magic hit them in the form of a golden beam.
Well, it would've hit them if it weren't for the blue wall of crystals blocking the door. Jackie and Joey looked confused for a minute, but Twilight was knowledgeable enough to turn around.
"Princess Cadence!" Twi exclaimed, coming to her old babysitter. The princess was there, and so were Fluttershy, Big Macintosh, Soarin, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie.
"Twilight!" the five exclaimed back, and hugged her enthusiastically. Pinkie was the most enthusiastic when hugging.
"Um, Pinkie…" Though the others had stopped hugging her, Pinkie Pie was still clinging to Twilight's neck. "You're…choking…me…"
"Whoops!" She pulled away nervously. "Sorry! It's just that we haven't seen you in forever!"
"Yes," Princess Cadence came to the crystal wall where Joey and Jackie were. "But now it is time for the Elements of Harmony to set things ri-!" She was just about to finish, when she noticed someone with Twilight, and started to cry. "Sh-Shining?" She came up to him and held onto his shoulder. "Is that really you?"
"It is, Cadence…" he smiled and gave a little nod. "You don't know how long I've waited for you…"
"Yeah, I know you've spent forever apart," Jackie interrupted the tender moment, "But Charlie and Mary are still trapped in there!" Cadence nodded, but knew they were not valuable to him; Twilight Sparkle was. Still, she started to use her magic from inside the room to protect them. From the box levitated two of the necklaces: the one with the pencil and the one with the glow stick. The pencil one clipped around Charlie's neck, and the other around Mary's. Both glowed for a second, but they didn't notice; they were too busy watching Discord.
He was fixated on the crystal wall, slashing furiously at them. Some shattered, but he'd need more power to break through the wall. Focusing again, a yellow light consumed the crystals, and they all shattered. The nine standing behind it didn't need to be told to run; fortunately, they ran in different directions. Discord turned to the group of Twilight, Cadence, Shining Armor, Jackie, and Joey. The pony took to hiding behind Jackie and Joey again, and the Crystal Princess had to defend them again. But this time, Joey, Jackie and Shining Armor decided to help hold up the force field, the whole thing a mix of their magenta, blue, and sky blue magical auras.
"I don't get it." Whispering, Charlie was still nervous at grabbing Discord's attention. He came over to the ones that weren't surrounded, along with Mary. "We're the bigger group. Not only that, we have the Elements of Harmony."
Mary took the box of Elements out of Charlie's hands and handed them out to the correct persons. She explained, "Well, it's easy for me to see why. I've seen you all in my dreams, and I've also seen Discord. He's seemed…a bit unstable as of late. And he sees them as more powerful then these." She motioned to Pinkie, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash, who had their necklaces. "In short, he's finally snapped." All seven watched as Discord tried to break the force field.
Rarity and Applejack had arrived in Canterlot. The first thing Rarity did was race for Fancypants' house; AJ only tagged along because Winona II followed her. Rarity seemed to be blind to the devastating condition of the place, until she did reach Fancypants' abode. The place didn't look worn or dilapidated like the others, its fate was much worse. She looked in horror at the smoking husk of a house, tearing up at the thought of her dear friend perishing in the fire. Applejack soon came to the scene too, and even though she never really knew Fancypants, took pity on her situation.
"Do you think…" Rarity asked to AJ, her words muddled by tears. "Do you think he made it out alive?"
"Rarity…" Applejack put her free hand on Rarity's shoulder, and sighed, "I think he made it out just fine, no scars or anything. But if he didn't…" She gave a glare to Canterlot castle, "it's another reason for Discord to pay for his crimes." Rarity let out a sigh herself, and realized the sooner they got rid of that dreadful dragonequis, the better everyone's lives would be. Applejack made it to Canterlot Castle, Rarity following behind her. They had made it to the castle, AJ tying the leash to a peg nearby, and was about to go in, when a pale hand stopped her.
"A-Applejack…" Rarity looked worriedly over the looming castle, her clammy hand on her friend's shoulder. "Will Twilight be in there?"
"I'm not sure. Discord's definitely in there, but Twilight may be a prisoner in her own ca-!"
"I'm just afraid, Applejack. What if Twilight hates us for taking so long, and-?" AJ's hand clasped Rarity's shut.
"Rarity, she could be mighty ticked we took so long, but not even that will stand in the way of our friendship. She knows what we've been through, what hardships we've faced. Heck, no time with Discord is sittin' in the lap o' luxury. And we'll fight with her, and our other friends once they come a-!" All of a sudden, there was a loud boom heard from inside the castle. They heard various screams, and a high-pitched one they could distinctly make out.
"Pinkie!" They exclaimed, Rarity reaching out with both hands.
Applejack turned to Rarity. "That couldn't be her, could it?" The unicorn just gave a shrug, and ran across the drawbridge. "Hey, no fair!" AJ tried to catch up, but even her athleticism wouldn't help. As a former nurse, Rarity was used to responding to help quickly.
The force field seemed to cave in from Discord's impressive explosion. It left no real damage, but everyone screamed, and there seemed to be a layer of soot on the five victims. They ran off again, but it was pretty hard to get away, as the tower was a very small space. Mary was getting nervous, knowing Twilight wouldn't be able to activate the Elements in time. She looked around and groaned, "We need another unicorn or else we're screwed!"
Her cries of help seemed to be answered when Rarity and Applejack came dashing in. Rarity looked around for which way to go, when she saw Mary motion to her. Applejack followed and watched the others. The unicorns seemed to be split up again, Jackie and Joey being closer to Discord, Twilight, Shining Armor, and Cadence farther away. All of them had magical shields up, but all were nervous, knowing they wouldn't last much longer.
"Who are you?" Rarity asked Mary, seeing the Element of Trust around her neck. "What's going on?"
"Just put on these," Mary replied, handing the two their respective Elements. They clasped them around their necks. Mary put her arm around Rarity pointing to the corner where Twilight, Shining and Cadence were. "I need you to get the crown to Twilight, but be discreet." The unicorn nodded, taking the Magic crown out of the box. "I think I can handle the rest."
"What do you mean?" Charlie whispered to her, not wanting to grab Discord's attention with their plans.
"Trust me." Mary gave a sly wink and started to run for Jackie and Joey. Charlie looked to her and gave a sigh; she wasn't the Element of Trust for nothing…. Meanwhile, Rarity was carefully bringing over the Element of Magic to Twilight. Discord was going over to Twilight, of course, and Rarity's eyes widened. Immediately, she tried to throw the thing past Shining's magical shield, but it was useless. The magic came out of her horn's grasp, and the crown fell pathetically to the floor.
Discord picked it up and chuckled, "This was all you had going for you. Now you're as useless as Princess Cadence." He let out another laugh, and Cadence gave a glare. The dragonequis taunted her more. "Did you honestly think these children could help you?" This was the last straw; she had tried to keep her patience with him, but like everyone else in the room, she was tired of his five hundred year reign. A growing fury and a twist of hope running through her, she was able to snag the Magic crown with her magic.
It didn't take long for Discord to notice this and he tugged back with his hands. The princess still pulled magically, not giving up. Eventually, the crown got away from his grasp, and into Cadence's hands. She placed on Twilight's head, and it almost slipped out, with no horn to hold it up. Once it felt like it wouldn't fall off, Twilight gave a nod to her brother, and with a little doubt, he took down the shield. No one noticed, but Jackie and Joey took down their shield as well, Mary giving them their Elements. Twilight stood forward, in front of her brother even, and stated strongly, "I'm not afraid of you."
Discord gave out a mighty, fear-inducing laugh. "Oh, magic may be your talent, but you have none now. How will you power these Elements? How will the Magic of Friendship survive?" Twilight was taken aback by the words, and so was everyone else. Well, everyone except Jackie.
"We still have unicorns, right?" she asked confidently. Her horn started to glow as did her Element, the blue gem changing magenta. Joey nodded, and did the same with his horn, his Element turning blue. The power they gave off spread to Mary and Charlie, but they wanted to give off their own magic to help power the Elements. And of course, they both thought the same thing: friendship is magic. They both thought of all the time they had spent together, all four of them as friends. These memories were enough to turn Mary and Charlie's Elements pink and orange.
Cadence smiled as she watched them float off the ground with awe. But their Elements alone were not enough; they were only excess, after all. She gave a nod to her husband, and both their horns flickered to life. If the magic of friendship was not enough to fuel them all, the power of love would be. They floated off the ground as well, forming a heart shape with their bodies. The six Elements left smiled and felt themselves floating, and knew memories of friendship, love, and hope would get them through.
"For Caramel, my siblings, and the farm," Applejack said.
"For the Wonderbolts, Cloudsdale, and Ponyville!" Rainbow Dash yelled.
"For my sister, the hospital, and Canterlot," Rarity stated.
"For my protectors, animals, and Discord's own good!" Fluttershy nearly murmured.
"For the Cakes, happiness, and parties everywhere!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed.
"For Fire Dawn, my kingdom, and every royal before me!" Twilight added.
"For my friends, my family, and Equestria!" they all proclaimed in unison. At this point, Discord would've flashed away, but something was holding him down. He could feel it, the stone just coming up his feet and tail. It felt more painful than every one of his last stonings combined. He tried to distract them, letting out a primal roar, but their thoughts were keeping them full of magic. He still snapped and shouted, until it all faded away to silence, as did the effects of his long, chaotic reign.
Soarin and Big Macintosh were the first people to awake. Or should I say, the first ponies. The two were astonished to find themselves in coats of fur, though Soarin still had a tattered Wonderbolt uniform on. Both of them wandered around the scene, finding everything as good as new, the hallway white, and the stained glasses fixed. But Soarin was the one who found something shocking. There, in pure white stone, was Discord snarling at whoever looked up at him. It was a scary pose, but Soarin had to admit it was cool.
"Urgh…" Rainbow Dash, one of the strongest of the Elements of Harmony, woke up first. She looked around, and upon seeing everyone was back to their equine forms, looked over her own body. "Hooves….my wings…" She stretched them out, and then glanced to Twilight, the closest to the Discord statue. She gasped, drawing Soarin and Big Mac's attention, "Twilight! Twilight has wings! A-and her horn back!"
It seemed after she heard her name, Princess Twilight awoke, and noticed there was something on her head; not just her crown, but a horn. She gave a bright smile, and noticed the ponies surrounding her. Right next to her was the sleeping couple of Shining Armor and Princess Cadence. She nudged her brother with a hoof, and he started to wake up. He stretched in his old body, getting up on his hooves, and took a look around with his sister.
"Did we win?" His wife started to get up next to him. "Is the fight finally over?"
"Yes," Twilight replied, still smiling, "but I believe the effects of Discord's reign are not yet over." She looked past the stained glasses to one of the arched windows, noticing the sun was about to set; it seemed to blaze the whole room red. "Fire Dawn is still out there, and the effects of Discord's corruption could still be on him. Plus, he was given his horn…"
"Do you want to find him?" a new voice chimed in. Cadence was now fully awake, and looking over her form.
"Not until everypony's awake." Twilight looked over the several sleeping ponies. "Man, it's been a while since I've used 'everypony.'"
Cadence smiled, and looked upon the four new ponies. They'd have to get used to their new bodies, and there was no doubt Charlie and Joey would have to get used to no wings, but she was so proud that they'd come back here, and they'd come so far. She turned to Twilight and her husband, and explained, "It will probably take a while for the newest Elements of Harmony to wake up. They're not used to so much magical power."
"The Elements seem to have reversed the effects of Discord's magic," Twi replied, looking over Canterlot. "But there will still lives lost, and many left this land for the human world. I don't know if the ones that survived will be drawn back here, or they will stay human for the rest of their existence."
"Well, I don't think we lost anyone that important," RD interrupted. "I mean, Soarin and most of the Wonderbolts are still alive." She gave a wink to Soarin and he chuckled. Soon after, the cyan pony heard a little yawn, from near the middle of the room. She ran over to the newly awakening pony. "Fluttershy?"
"Morning, Rainbow," the yellow Pegasus yawned, getting up. "It is morning, ri—Oh, look." She pointed to the pink earth pony, her mane back into its fully fluffy form. "Pinkie Pie."
It didn't take long for Pinkie to be fully awake and even shorter time for her to exclaim, "Applejack!" The orange mare was just waking up and wasn't even expecting a hug from her pink pony friend. The two pegusi gathered around in the hug, and for a ping of nostalgia, Twilight hovered over all of them, watching them have a nice group hug.
"Wait a minute," AJ pushed all of them away for a minute, noticing someone was missing. "Rarity? Where's Rarity?" The five friends searched for a moment, then Twilight noticed a plain white nurse's uniform. Underneath the fabric, she heard something breathing. With her magic, she pulled out a newborn unicorn foal, her coat white, and her mane scraggly with shades of pink and purple. The only distinguishing mark on her was a piece of her left ear had been torn out.
"I think I found Rarity," Twilight announced, slightly confused. All of those that were awake gathered around to study the foal. After studying her, Twilight had come to a conclusion. "This is definitely Rarity. The only reason this has happened is because she seemed 'disconnected' from the Elements of Harmony. She didn't have any close bonds with anyone, not even her sister. She was helping people…without having it in her heart." All the ponies around the purple princess blinked, trying to comprehend what she had just said. Noticing this, she summed up, "Basically, she's regenerated." She had heard of regeneration before, but…never like this.
The group took their attention from the regressed Rarity to the sound of four groans; the Excess Elements were finally waking up. Mary looked around with a groan, only to take notice to her pink hooves.
"I….I'm aaaaaaaa-!" She was just about to scream when Cadence covered her mouth with a sigh.
"Yes, I know. You'll get used to them…." Cadence looked to Twilight, the foal "Rarity" on her back.
"I'll get this young one off to an orphanage. I'd love to raise her on my own, but, I need to find Fire Dawn." The purple allicorn then headed out of the tower. Cadence looked to Charlie, who was a yellow pony with brown spots all over him. His hair was auburn mixed with striking neon green stripes, a fully-grown horn poking out. Charlie looked up to her, and saw she was smiling.
"Wait, what are you-!" He then felt around his head, and felt not a nub, but a fully-grown horn! He jumped up in excitement. "I've got a full horn! Yeah!" He then looked to his back, but noticed the wings were gone, and Joey's were too.
"I'm sure you'll get used to them in time," Jackie chimed in. She then turned to Cadence. "So why am I all stripe-y? And what's my cutie mark?"
"Those are all important things I need to teach you," Cadence stated, "but for now, let's get you someplace temporary to stay." The princess looked to the box the Elements of Harmony were in before, and unclipped all the necklaces from their owners, putting them back in. She moved the box back to the pedestal it stood on, and the door closed by itself, waiting for the next time disaster would come.