Disclaimer: All MLP:FiM characters belong to Hasbro and DHX Media. I do not own any of them except my OC.
It was evening once more and I was here in Canterlot looking at the beautiful sunset out the window. Now you might be wondering, what am I doing here in Canterlot? Well, tonight is the Summer Sun Celebration that is celebrated every year in the summer. It is believed to be the first day of summer because as Twilight read from Predictions and Prophecies in Season 1 Episode 1 "Friendship is Magic Part 1," it says that "on the longest day of the 1000th year, the stars will aid in her escape and she will bring about everlasting night." If you remember anything about the seasons, the first day of summer is known as the longest day of the year, so the same can be applied here. Because the Celebration occurs on the longest day of the year, it's always the first day of summer each year. I'm sure you're following along with this. The door opened and it revealed both Princesses which seemed surprising. Celestia said "Sorry to interrupt." It's fine. Got nothing better to do anyway. "We know you're busy planning the Summer Sun Celebration as we requested, but…"
She suddenly stopped speaking and looked around to not see a giant mess all over the place. Luna said "Oh, things seem umm uh calmer than we expected." Nothing to worry about here. Spike was reading his magazine and said "No complaints here." I definitely have to agree with him. I'm loving the quiet and peacefulness that lies within this room because it makes it that more relaxing. Twilight said "With the exception of the odd Trivia night, I've made a lot of progress since the Royal Swanifying Ceremony." Yeah, that took a bit for you to figure out. Oh boy was that a hot mess. "You may not know this about me, but I occasionally freak out." Uh, what was the point of that? That seemed very cringey and completely pointless if you ask me. Both Celestia and Luna looked at each other confused and Twilight quickly clarified herself. "That was a joke." I hope it was. Wasn't sure where you were going with that one, Twilight. "I wanted to show you with the Summer Sun Celebration how much I improved." Yeah, you've come a long way, Twilight. And I don't mean that in a sarcastic way either. I'm actually being serious. "So, I focused on delegating and trusting others. It's been great." It's about time you figured that out.
Rulers can't do everything by themselves. That's the whole point of committees so that the big important events can get taken care of without causing too much stress. Luna said "That's… actually what we came to talk to you about." Really? Do pray tell. I came over next to Twilight and raised an eyebrow at Luna. "This may be the last Summer Sun Celebration you'll need to plan." And why is that? I hope you have a good explanation for that Luna. Twilight seemed concerned and asked "Did I do something wrong?" I hope not. Celestia said "Of course not. It's just the celebration has always been about us." That is a fair argument, but I still need some more context here before I can make a decision. "My defeat of Luna." It was a good thing I wasn't around for that. Quite brutal if you asked me. Luna rolled her eyes and said "And, thanks to you and your friends, my reunion with my sister." I wish I was there for that though. I would have loved to help reunite family members, but unfortunately, I was still a teenager then. So, I might have been a bit immature and done some stupid stuff.
I did lower my ears a bit in sadness because I did want to be part of that, but Twilight put a hoof on my shoulder and gave me a reassuring look saying that I am no less important which really did help. Twilight always knows how to make me feel better. Celestia said "Now that we're leaving, we don't see a need for the holiday any longer." I see. Okay then. That makes sense now. Twilight said "Now that you're…" before Celestia said "My sister and I have decided the time to retire is upon us. You and your friends have proven to lead Equestria. You and Zachary will make excellent leaders." Thanks Celestia. Never thought I would ever hear that from you. "So, let this be the last Summer Sun Celebration as Equestria leaves behind the old to embrace the new." I'm kinda gonna miss the old, but I believe the new should be just as good. Twilight took the amulet and gulped in nervousness. You'll be fine. The both of them left and we went to meet up with our friends in one of the castle hallways. Rarity asked "My goodness, how are you feeling about all this?" I'm feeling quite fine actually, thank you very much. Pinkie said "Something like this could definitely send you into full freaky outie mode!" For once, Pinkie didn't use fake words which made me happy. Twilight said "I'm actually fine. Since Zach is completely calm, I am as well. But if this is going to be the last Summer Sun Celebration, I wanna make sure it;s the best one ever!"
I heard Rainbow say "Please don't give us more work. Please don't give us more work. Please don't give us more work." I don't think that'll do anything, Rainbow. Twilight said "So, even though everything was done, I thought of a few last minute changes I could use your help with." Seems reasonable enough. Rainbow groaned and said "AGH! I knew it!" What did you expect? A get out of jail free card? I don't think so. Suddenly, we all heard Discord's voice, but he was nowhere to be seen. Har har. Very funny Discord. You can copy something that I do a lot. He said "Oh, the end of a beloved holiday? Last minute changes to a celebration? *appears in front of the Mane Six* That sounds positively chaotic!" I gave him a glare and said "Don't even think about it Discord. Just because there is going to be a shift in royal power soon does not give you free rein over anything here in this kingdom. So, control yourself if you don't mind. *speaks in a dark and sinister voice* Or I will be forced to deal with it myself. Am I clear?" Discord nodded and I was satisfied. Applejack asked slightly annoyed "What are you doin' here?" Why do you think? Since there will be a changing of the guard when it comes to royal power, that grabbed Discord's attention.
(AN: If you haven't watched Season 9 yet, there are going to be spoilers in here. So if you don't want to see that, don't read this chapter. Anyways, enough talking now. Enjoy the chapter!) Also, you have to remember that Discord is acting as Grogar. So since he said he was leaving to go find an artifact to the Legion of Doom, that gave him an excuse to come here. Discord said "I've known Celestia and Luna longer than any of you." Yes, Discord. We know that. You've known them for 2,000 years. It's not that surprising. I've actually known Celestia and Luna longer than the rest of my friends since I watched the entire series, but compared to Discord, that's nothing. "I terrorized them. They turned me into stone." How Discord managed to mimic himself turned into stone and breaking into pieces astounds me. The creators did such a great job with Discord's abilities. The things he does sometimes are just exciting to watch. "If this is the last Summer Sun situation, I simply can't miss it." Of course you can't. You were part of their history even though this holiday was long after you were put to stone. "Well, it seems like I arrived just in time for the "Twilight gives her friends an impossibly long and overly detailed list predicament." You'd be surprised though. You'll find out in a second.
Twilight smirked and said "I guess some draconequus isn't the know-it-all he thinks he is." I wouldn't say know-it-all, but just stating the expected from past experience. Twilight levitated small note cards over to each of us and Discord wanted one, but Twilight skipped him. Rainbow raised a brow and asked "This is it?" I guess so. I knew this was coming, because Twilight told me all her plans a few days ago. Twilight seemed confused and said "What?" Rainbow explained by saying "We were kinda with Discord on this one." Yeah, we've been used to it for so long, that it's kind of what we expect from her nowadays. Twilight understood what Rainbow meant and said "No more crazy lists. No more freaking out. With your help, I know we got this." Now, that's a good motivational speech right there. However, Discord didn't seem to agree and said "Character growth is so boring." I glared at Discord and said "Character growth might be considered boring to you because you're the Lord of Chaos, but character growth actually means something. It shows that a person or in this case a pony has changed in a good way and has matured away from their childish ways."
"You might think it's ridiculous, but it shows a positive impact on the rest of the community. I can only hope you'll be able to grasp that concept one day because your head can't seem to wrap its mind around it right now." Discord rolled his eyes and most of the group was snickering because I had kinda just roasted Discord right there. Discord said annoyedly, "Do I at least get my own notecard?" With that kind of attitude, heck no. Twilight rolled her eyes with annoyance and wrote something down on a notecard before giving it to Discord. She said "There. Now I need to go rewrite my speech. But if you all look at your cards, you'll see-" before Discord rudely interrupted her and said "Can't talk now. Have so much to get done before Sunrise." I quickly cast a spell to block out Discord's magic and he snapped his fingers taking the rest of the group away from him. I saw the board fall and I went into my shadow form to head down into the streets of Canterlot. I noticed something suspicious, so I took a look to investigate. *gasps* The Legion of Doom! What are they doing here? I moved through the shadows to eavesdrop on their conversation so I could hear their plans. I heard Tirek say "Why are so many ponies up in the middle of the night?" Why do you think they are? Use your brain, you stupid scumbag.
Cozy Glow said with annoyance in her voice "It's that silly Sun holiday." It's not that silly. It's quite important to the history of Equestria. Literally, for 1,000 years, it represented the defeat of one of your good buddies who was a former villain. Chrysalis asked with anger "How many holidays do you ponies have?!" A lot. But most of the time, I don't really celebrate them, so you can't throw me under the bus. "No matter. Getting into the castle won't be a problem." Do you really want to test that theory? I can think of several spells that will activate a shield and repel you guys out of Canterlot for good. Tirek was actually smart here and said "Are you sure about that?" He pointed to the giant fans and because of the powerful winds it produced, it knocked a bird over and it landed in Tirek's hands. The bird flew away and Tirek watched it leaving. Chrysalis said "Oh, those are new. But even so." She changed into a royal guard and went up to the castle. Good luck with that. She tried pushing the door open, but it refused to move. She said in a different voice "Transfer, have to head inside. Open up." Oh, so you do know how to do military talk. Okay. You win there, but there are still more challenges.
I guess it makes sense for Chrysalis to be able to know how to do military talk since she led her army back in the day and would give commands to generals. At the end of the day, she still was a ruler. Just an evil one. Anyway, the night guard came through and used her badge to open up the door and walked inside. Chrysalis tried walking in while the door was open, but that night guard was smart and the door slammed on Chrysalis' face before she could get inside. She looked awkward and said nervously "Right. Of course." Yeah. You're supposed to use that except it won't work. She tried putting the badge on the door, but nothing happened. HA! You think I'd let you into the castle that easily? Heck no. I specifically put a spell on every single castle door in Canterlot to detect for fake badges so that dangerous creatures can't get inside. I'm a lot smarter than you think Chrysalis. When it comes to security, I am a master at it. It's practically my job if you think about it. Being a military leader means I have to put in defenses to protect Equestria which does include increased security at the castle and other public buildings. Anyway, Chrysalis started sweating and said "Uh, does yours get glitchy too?" Badges don't get glitchy. I make sure of that. I check through guard badges every day to make sure they function properly and have no errors.
Yours is "glitchy" because it's a fake badge and the system can detect counterfeit very easily. So, it won't let you into the castle. "More meadillions, more problems, am I right?" Not really, but whatever. The guards looked confused, but went back to their position as if nothing happened. Chrysalis went back over to the campout area and for some reason, Cozy Glow and Tirek were playing chess. How odd. Chrysalis returned to her normal voice and said "They've increased security into the castle. This is going to be more challenging than I thought!" You're welcome. I made sure I did this just for you so I can watch you suffer the torture of my masterful planning. Chrysalis changed back to her original form and suddenly, Discord and the rest of the group appeared. I did show up there so nothing looked suspicious, but I still had my eye on those three. Rainbow was clearly annoyed and said to Discord "Could you not go popping us all over the place please?!" He's Discord. He's not going to care whatsoever.
Discord said "Time is of the essence. Let's *changes into cheerleading outfit* GO TEAM!" Oh brother. But anyway, he is right. There isn't a lot of time before Sunrise and these things need to get done before then. So in a way Rainbow, he's kinda right. Fluttershy said "We need to know what we're doing before we go and do it." She has a good point. Let's see here. What does my card say? Oh how interesting. I'll tell ya in a second. Applejack said "Pinkie, you and I are givin' Braeburn and rest of the Appaloosan ponies some adjustments to the menu." Seems simple enough. Rainbow said "Fluttershy and I are meeting with the ponies from Cloudsdale to give them changes to the weather." I'm a little confused by that. It's already a clear night outside, so I don't see anything that needs to be cleared up here. I could be missing something though, so you never know. Rarity said "Spike, we're going to update the Sky Flaming Firework Unicorn Group with Twilight's new vision." That will be interesting. I pulled out my card and I said "My duty here says that I need to continue checking up on security and make sure a certain someone doesn't cause chaos." He he. I'm watching you Discord along with the Legion of Doom behind me. Discord said "And I'm supposed to... *puts on reading glasses* make sure Discord doesn't do anything Discordy? Well, that's annoyingly specific." You can't be trusted these days Discord, so that's why Twilight wrote that on your card.
They all went their separate ways and I disappeared into my shadow form. I went back to the building I was at so I could still spy on the Legion of Doom here. They all know I'm the most powerful creature in Equestria, but they don't know that I can sneak around places and eavesdrop on their conversations without them seeing me. Anyway, Tirek said "Increased security on a crowded holiday with Twilight and their friends bumbling around? This is impossible." With me around checking security, yes it will be. Chrysalis said "No no. This is perfect! We needed a distraction and those ridiculous ponies just gave it to us! Now do exactly as I tell you." I tried to listen to the conversation, but it was so quiet that I couldn't hear anything. I haven't exactly mastered the spell yet where you can change the volume of a whispering conversation into a more comfortable one to where you can hear it, so I'm kinda screwed here. Oh well. I watched the episode, so I know what happens. I would interfere, but the Spirit of Harmony doesn't want me to because it would mess up it's great plans for me. I'm not sure how, but whatever.
If it says not to interfere, then I'll listen to it. But, that doesn't mean I can't go around and troll them. Anyway, I went over to where Applejack and Pinkie were to see how they were doing and it looked fine to me. Of course, Pinkie jumped out of one of the barrels and said "Step away from the wagons! Official food tasters here on official food tasting business!" Umm, excuse me Pinkie. I did not authorize you to go start eating the bakery items just for the purpose of "testing them." So, stop doing that before that causes problems. Braeburn said "Ah well, it ain't gonna be easy. But I think we can whip up these new cookies Twilight wants before Sunrise." I think so. I don't think it will take that long. Applejack said "If anypony can handle some last minute bakin' Braeburn, it's y'all." See? Even your own cousin believes in you. Pinkie kept eating the cupcakes and Braeburn quickly took notice of it. He said "We brought plenty for the celebration, but if she keeps testing, we might be in trouble." He isn't wrong. You need to cut that out Pinkie. I doubt there is poison in there or something. Applejack had a "say no more" look and dragged Pinkie away from the dessert stand. Pinkie yelled "But I see a SUSPICIOUS LOOKING COOKIE!" Doesn't matter. You can't keep eating all this food for yourself on the basis of "testing food." That's not how it works. I saw Tirek peak his head through the bushes and I knew he was planning something.
Sure enough, I was right. An earth pony came walking by with a flour sack in her hooves and Tirek started draining the magic from her which increased his size and gave him more power. It's been a long time since I've seen that. Braeburn noticed that and Tirek quickly hid in the bushes again so he wouldn't get seen. That was after he was looking at them muscles. They do look nice, but stealing magic from other ponies just to get bigger muscles is quite foolish and selfish as well. Braeburn asked "Are you okay?" Some other ponies tended to her and she said "I feel weak all of a sudden." That's what happens when Tirek drains magic from you. You feel weakened and your eyes fade a bit. Somepony else saw it and they got their magic drained as well. Braeburn started to catch on and said to the bushes "Is somepony back there?" Not somepony, someone. A dangerous villain to Equestria. Braeburn tried peeking through the hole, but Tirek was on the move, so Braeburn couldn't see him. He tried looking for Tirek but then, his magic got drained too and he fell to the ground.
Dang. Tirek is absorbing magic from everybody today. Hasn't done that since his introduction in the Season 4 finale. Another pony asked Braeburn "What is it?" Braeburn had no clue and said with a weak voice "Everypony, get away from the food till we figure out what's going on!" I'll tell ya what's going on. Tirek is draining magic from you guys and is gaining power from it. It has nothing to do with the food. But since all these ponies listened to Braeburn, they quickly screamed in fear and scurried out there faster than a herd of buffalo stampeding through a China shop. Tirek gave an evil laugh and took some pie before disappearing again. I really wanted to attack him and get him out of here, but I can't do that since this is only temporary for now. I know they'll be back at the end of the season. I left Tirek alone and went to go find Rainbow and Fluttershy. They were in the spot they were supposed to go to and the pony they were talking to was having a panic attack. He said "The princess wants WHAT?!" Everypony else stopped and Rainbow said "Just what's on that little card. No big deal." Easy for you to say Rainbow. The pony was having none of it and said "No big dea- It-it's a much more aggressive weather pattern than what was originally ordered!" Yeah, but that's what Twilight wants, so you'll have to do it anyway whether you like it or not.
"This-this is very irregular. We'll need to… No. First we must… Wait. We can't *makes panicked noises*" Fluttershy said "Take a breath." The pony breathed in like she said and Fluttershy continued. "Let it out slowly." The pony let it out and he said "Tell the princess we will do our best." I sure hope so. Fluttershy said "We're sure you're doing an excellent job." They haven't even started yet, Fluttershy. So, you can't really say that. Rainbow must have forgotten about that and said "Oh yeah. Totally. You're not going to panic and screw up at all." When you say it like that, that doesn't help his situation. They both walked away and the pony said "I-I'm not built for high pressure situations!" Most of us aren't, but if you do it right, you have nothing to worry about. Cozy Glow came up and said "Golly. Sounds like you need some help." Oh brother. Here we go with the insincere cuteness manipulation. I hate that the creators made Cozy that way. I really wish they didn't, but it's their show, so I'll just have to deal with it. The pony asked with confusion "Who are you?" Cozy Glow. Who by the way is a villain but doesn't look like one. I guess this pony never heard about what happened at the School of Friendship a while back.
Anyway, Cozy Glow said "Somepony who's organized enough to handle the small stuff so you can focus on the big picture!" The pony obviously fell for the bait and said "The big… yes! That sounds right!" Cozy took the card and gave an evil laugh. She said "This kind of weather has to be handled delicately." Of course. Why wouldn't it be? "Good thing I'm here. I'll take care of everything." She gave an evil grin and I just twitched my left eye. All three of them knew I was here and that I was watching them, but they didn't care because of their massive egos. It would get boosted even more if they heard I couldn't do anything about it. I gave a growl at her and took off to the stage where Rarity and Spike were. There were fireworks that went off and Spike was amazed at it. Well, both of them were. Rarity said "The Flaming Sky Firework Troop is a marvel." It sure is indeed. The lead pony said "We take pride in what we do." I'm sure you do. That's very lovely. I'm being sarcastic for all you uneducated and uncultured people out there. Spike asked "These last minute changes are too challenging, are they?" I'm sure it's fine Spike. The lead pony looked at the card and simply laughed. She said "Ha! The more challenging, the better." See? What'd I tell you? It's fine. "We aim to astound." You've made that quite clear.
"Now if you don't mind, we do have a new routine to prepare." Yes, ma'am! Come on guys. Let's get out of here. Oh wait. Chrysalis is hiding behind the stage. You guys go on. I'll stick around for a bit. "Horns at the ready!" Okay then. Spike and Rarity took off and Chrysalis saw them disappear. She saw that as her cue to strike. She changed into that photographer pony from Season 8 Episode 13 "The Mean 6" and walked over to the front of the stage. She said in her normal voice "Very impressive." Where are you going with this? The lead pony said "Thank you. Unfortunately, we have no room for anypony else at this time. *clears throat* I'm sorry…" Chrysalis smirked and said "Crackle Coset." How original. Of course, she had to lay low so no one would suspect anything. But I knew what was going on this entire time. "And I don't want to join your silly little troop." Ah, this method eh? First, you praise them, then you insult them to get them to see your side of the argument. The lead pony was offended and said "Pardon me?" Chrysalis smirked again and said "Oh, I meant no offense." Sure you did. Yeah, I don't think so. I know what you're up to Chrysalis. You ain't fooling me.
"It just seems a pity for unicorns to waste their talents on something so… inconsequential." What do you mean by that? I understand your point, and you're technically not wrong, but I don't see what you're trying to get out of this here. The other ponies seemed confused and murmured amongst themselves on what Chrysalis was talking about. "Unicorns wield magic. We are the most powerful ponies in the land." That is actually not true whatsoever. Alicorns are the most powerful ponies in Equestria. Not unicorns. So, that's faulty logic and an invalid argument Chrysalis. "Don't you ever feel you're destined for more than performances?" Now you're starting to sound like Sombra here or even Nightmare King. "HEY! I HEARD THAT!" Yeah, I don't care. Just don't even bother alright? "Fine, but I'll get you for that later on." Whatever you say man. Anyway, Chrysalis walked away and the entire troop started to question what they were doing. I went back to the castle and returned to the hallway we were all at earlier. The rest of the group was there and Twilight said "It's all coming together. I really think this is going to be the best Summer Sun Celebration ever!" If you say so. Rarity said "You've done an outstanding job!" She did when organizing this entire event. Twilight said "We've all done an outstanding job!" I don't feel like I did a great job though.
She pulled us all into a hug and Discord came over like a car squealing on its brakes and said "And what about me?" No one forgot about you Discord, so chillax. "You'll be happy to know that I've been watching myself all night and I have yet to do one Discordy thing." How Discord used those binoculars was quite funny if you ask me. Luna said "Now that truly is amazing." Yeah, it definitely is. Since Celestia and Luna have known Discord for far longer than we have, they've had to experience the worst of his power. Celestia said "Twilight, since Zachary has already mastered raising the Sun and Moon and has chosen to raise the Sun each day, we thought perhaps a practice session of raising the Moon with the amulet before the festivities might be in order." Yeah, I've chosen to raise the Sun when I take over as King. Twilight will be handed the role of raising the Moon. It's as simple as that. Nothing more to it. Twilight said "That's… a good idea." She wasn't being sarcastic in case you were wondering. She turned around to face us and said "Thank you all so much." You are welcome Twilight.
She went into the throne room with Celestia and Luna to practice and the doors closed. Applejack said "Ah sure am proud of her." We all are. Particularly me. We will be ruling together and leading Equestria during the Golden Age of this country. Spike said "Yeah, she finally realizes that things will turn out fine even when she isn't micromanaging every little detail." You might have spoken too soon Spike. Braeburn stepped forward and this caught everyone's attention. Applejack was concerned and asked "Braeburn? What's wrong?" Everything. The attack of Tirek. Braeburn said "Earth ponies sick. Food missing. Can't bake anything." He fell to the ground and lied there. I'm surprised no one even noticed the faded pupils in Braeburn's eyes. Not even Discord recognized that. I guess he isn't as smart as the one in the YouTube video "Sailor Moon Meets My Little Pony (½)." Oh well. A guard suddenly came in and said specifically to me "Something's wrong with the weather! Storms, hurricanes, fog! You name it! It's a disaster out there!" He specifically said that to me because guards report to royalty and I'm the only royal presence here in the room. The firework troop came up and the lead pony said "Rarity! Please inform her highness that we will not be performing. A simple firework show is beneath us! We're better than that!" Yeah, you are better than to fall for a villain's manipulation schemes.
The group was shocked in horror and Applejack said "What the? Everythin' was fine a minute ago." Not really. I've been watching the Legion of Doom the entire time and they've been causing chaos across the city. Fluttershy said "Apparently, a lot can change in a minute." It sure can. Any time period in fact. They all looked down below and truly was a disaster. There were a bunch of weak Earth ponies moping around, it started to rain very heavily, and there was lightning out there. Rainbow said "It's total chaos out there!" Don't even try looking at Discord. I know he didn't do that. I've kept tabs on him. The group glared at him and he said "Don't look at me." He's right. Don't always blame him as soon as something bad happens. Fluttershy asked "What are we going to do?" First, we're going to tell Twilight the truth and then we'll fix it. Twilight came back and said "Do about what?" This mess out there. The group blocked the window and I stood away from them. There's no way I'm covering that up.
Spike asked nervously "What are you doing here?" Why do you think? Twilight said "I forgot these. You guys okay?" Nope. I was about to say something, but Applejack beat me to it. She said "Twilight, we're sorry, but-" before Rainbow flew in front of the group and said "but uh, we don't do now that everything's all ready." She laughed quite nervously and Twilight said "I guess I was too organized!" Har har. Very funny Twilight. "I'll try to come up with a few last minute errands before Sunrise." The group glared at me to get over here, but I stood my ground and fired back my death glare. Anyway, Rainbow said nervously, "Well, that's a relief." Can you not be like that? That's just creepy and awfully suspicious. Applejack was annoyed and asked "Explain to me why we didn't tell her the truth." Because they're afraid and there's a lack of trust here. Rarity said "Twilight is finally learning not to let her stress get the better of her. If she finds out everything went wrong, it could be devastating!" I said "It doesn't matter. The truth is always better than a well meant lie. ALWAYS! It's funny how you mention that when we had that play at the School of Friendship a long time ago, but when it comes to the Summer Sun Celebration, you want to hide everything away and forget that basic reality. That is being hypocritical and extremely foolish. If you aren't going to tell her the truth, then I will." I turned around to go find Twilight, but Rainbow flew in front of me to try and stop me.
I wasn't going to let them get away with this, so I just went into my shadow form and dashed away to the throne room. But at the last second, I got stopped and couldn't get in. There was some sort of magical barrier that I couldn't figure out here. Dang it. They probably got Discord to do it to make sure I didn't escape. I turned back around and returned to my lion form. I gave them a glare and said "I'm listening." Applejack said "Well, what do y'all suggest?" Tell her the truth! Pinkie raised her hoof and said "We'll just fix it all before she notices! No lying necessary." Good luck with that. Applejack rolled her eyes and said "I guess." I don't think it's a good idea. Spike said "We need a miracle." Don't look at me. I ain't fixing your problem. Rainbow said "We have a miracle! Don't we?" Discord changed into a bathrobe outfit and he was basically mimicking Jesus here. Had the halo on his head, the blinding light, the harp. Everything. He said "I suppose I could fix everything. But isn't the real miracle here the miracle of teamwork and character growth?" He has a good point. He changed into a bunch of feathers and disappeared.
Rainbow was annoyed and said "Oh come on!" They all looked at me and said "Don't even think about it. I'm not fixing the mess that the Legion of Doom had to cause." Oh crap. I just said that, didn't I? Oops. Rainbow asked, "What are you talking about?" I sighed and said "Never mind. The point is you need to go fix this mess. Not rely on me or Discord's magical powers to fix the problem." Fluttershy nodded and said "He's right. Twilight needs us. Whatever happened, we can fix this!" Are you sure about that? Lightning and thunder went off and it only got me more angry. Spike asked "What did happen?" I growled loudly and then let out a roar in anger before taking off to give the Legion of Doom my firecest death glare I could give them. It didn't take long to find them and they were hiding behind the crates. I was still in my shadow form and I made myself look like Sombra before switching back to my lion form and giving them my most powerful death glare. They all trembled in fear, but after a few seconds, they were smirking. I knew they wouldn't do anything right now, but they will come back later. I did hear Cozy say "Best road trip ever!" Is this really what you call a roadtrip?! WHY I OUGHTA! "You should finish them off while you still can." What are you talking about, Nightmare? "You saw them. They make you so angry and they even trembled in fear of you for a few seconds." I guess that's true.
But they started smirking a few seconds after. "Yes, they did that because they knew you couldn't do anything. However, fear is still fear. Even if they show it for a few seconds, it still counts. They know you're the most powerful creature in all of Equestria. They see that as a threat and will eventually try to take you out. Don't you want to beat them to it?" As much as I hate them, I'm not going to commit murder! Sorry. That's not happening. "Fine, if you won't do it, then I will!" What are you talking about? "Oh, I'll simply take over your body and you'll transform into me!" NO! I will NEVER transform into you! You're everything I don't want to be. "Deep inside, you know how powerful you are. You don't need anypony!" That's not true! Even with all my power, I still rely on Twilight. I need her and she needs me. "Oh please! Don't get me started with that! You don't need that weakling! You can do whatever you want and all you have to do is get rid of anypony who stands in your way!" Even if that's the case, I still refuse. Vengeance isn't something I'm seeking for. "Hmm, not motivated enough? Okay then."
"Let's say that the Legion of Doom will eventually hurt Twilight and then destroy her." WHAT?! That-that's impossible! "Alicorns can lose their immortality in two ways, remember? The first one is resurrection spells and the other is being killed in battle. Getting destroyed by the Legion of Doom counts as dying in battle." You're purposely trying to set me up. I can sniff this trap from a mile away. "*growls* Fine, you caught me. But it will happen regardless. You'll see things eventually." Whatever. I went to the food stands and saw both Applejack and Pinkie examine the food. Pinkie looked at one of the Earth Ponies and pulled their tongue to see if there was anything in here. I don't know how that doesn't hurt. I guess because of the lack of magic, they don't feel anything. Pinkie said "Even if I was an actual doctor, I would have no idea what's wrong!" Yeah, well, it isn't what you think it is. Applejack said "There's gotta be a reason. Something got 'em all sick. Maybe the food?" NO APPLEJACK! IT'S NOT THE FOOD! IT WAS TIREK THIS ENTIRE TIME! Ugh. I don't know why I even bother anymore. Pinkie's eyes shrunk down to pinpricks and said "I ate the food too!" Please don't spit on Applejack's face, Pinkie. That's quite disgusting. "Does that mean I'm sick?!" No. It does not. The food is perfectly fine. "Ohhh nooo! *coughs to the ground and then springs back up* Nope. I feel fine." You should considering what happened.
Pinkie ate another cupcake and Applejack rolled her eyes. I left the scene there and went to follow the Legion of Doom. I saw a lone guard walking up to the door and then Cozy Glow appeared behind them. The guard got an eerie feeling and he looked at Cozy. She simply smiled and then Tirek's massive shadow appeared behind the guard and before the guard could do anything, Tirek stole his magic from him. The guard fell and Chrysalis picked up the badge to open the door. They walked in and headed through the castle. Har har. Very smart Chrysalis. You may have beat me there, but I still have plenty more defenses. I looked at the sky and went to go find Rainbow and Fluttershy. I quickly found them and it didn't look good. Rainbow and the Wonderbolts were trying to get rid of the storm clouds while dodging lightning, and Fluttershy was consoling that pony with the rainbow tie from earlier. He said "I don't know how this happened!" It's not entirely your fault. It is and it isn't. It is because you fell for Cozy's fake kindness and it isn't because she caused this mess, not you. So don't blame yourself that much.
"I'm going to be fired for sure!" I don't think so. It was just a small accident. Fluttershy put a hoof on his shoulder and said "Rainbow Dash and the Wonderbolts will have the weather rounded up any minute." Are you sure about that? Rainbow came screaming down and crashed into the bush all burnt up from the lightning. Ouch that probably hurt. She said "Or not!" Yeah, that doesn't help things. The pony fainted and Fluttershy seemed even more worried. I went back to where the Legion of Doom was and they were approaching the throne room. The archives aren't there in that room, you dimwit. She opened the door and said "Not here. The archives are in a different part of the castle." One of the gesse heard Cozy's voice and went to observe what was going on. Unfortunately, Cozy forgot to close the door, and the goose followed them toward the archives. I went back to the stage where Rarity and Spike were and it was bad there too. Rarity said "What about aiming for perfection?" The lead pony of the troop didn't seem to care and said "We've set our heights higher!" That's ridiculous. You allowed the twisted words of Chrysalis get to you. Such foolishness. Spike asked "Higher than perfection?" I don't think that's it, Spike. It's something else. The lead pony said "Higher than putting on a silly little show for the other ponies!" That's ridiculous! There's nothing silly about it.
In fact, it's quite cool. But to a villain, they consider that nonsense. It really shows you how easily villains can make ponies turn on each other. They really have learned nothing from before the founding of Equestria. This will be a problem later on in the season. Rarity said "But you were so excited before! What changed?" Chrysalis made them choose that fate. You weren't around to see that go down, so you would be confused. I went over to the archives of the castle and saw that goose reach the corner only to find another one. This is probably Chrysalis in disguise. The goose talked in goose language and Chrysalis repeated the same thing. The original goose went back to the throne room and Chrysalis changed back. Geese really don't know the power of changelings do they? I guess not. They don't have the same intelligent minds that humans do or in this case, ponies. Cozy was able to pick the lock and the three of them walked in. I went back outside to find Twilight. I need to tell her what's going on. I found her talking to Celestia and Luna which didn't surprise me at all.
She said "You two just enjoy the festivities. I have a few surprises in store for- *Discord floats over* Yes, Discord?" Why do you sound like that? Discord simply smirked and said "Oh, well don't mind me. I'm just here for the chaos. *lightning and thunder go off* Oh ho ho and here we go." Figures, Discord would want to watch this as if it's a movie or something to him. Rainbow quickly flew by and Twilight asked "What is Rainbow Dash doing?" She went to go after her, but stopped when she saw a giant pot of soup in front of her. "Pinkie, is this soup?" You would be correct. Pinkie said nervously "Yes! I… was really hungry?!" Yeah, I don't think so. No one can eat that much by themselves. Suddenly, there was arguing being heard and Rarity was saying "Nopony understands wanting to take pride in your work more than I do!" Really? Oh wait yes she does. She's a fashion pony. Of course she would understand that. One of the ponies in the front yelled "You could do more with your magic than make frilly dresses!" That's not the point. Not every unicorn wants to use their magic to the fullest extent. The desire for knowledge can easily turn into a lust for power. I've seen it done before. Back home on Earth and here in Equestria. Rarity scoffed and said "Nopony makes frills anymore. At this season, it's all about simplicity and-" before Spike yelled "Not the point, Rarity!" Thank you Spike for telling her that. That's not the issue right now.
Twilight tried to investigate, but the pony with the rainbow tie jumped in front of her and said "Princess! I beg your forgiveness! It's entirely my fault!" No it isn't. Stop beating yourself up so much. Twilight was confused and asked "What is?" You'll find out in a second. Suddenly, lightning and thunder went off and the rain came pouring down. The rainbow tied pony said "That!" Fluttershy came walking over and said "Oh, uhhh… Just a slight hiccup in the weather. Heh heh." That's not convincing whatsoever. Rainbow suddenly cleared the storm clouds and Twilight saw Applejack running as fast as she could with a cart full of stuff. She wanted to know what was happening and asked "Applejack, what is going on?" Applejack couldn't take it any more and yelled "I TOLD Y'ALL THIS WAS A BAD IDEA, BUT NOPONY EVER LISTENS TO ME!" She threw her hat on the ground and I had enough. I came out of my shadow form and said "THAT'S IT! I HAVE HAD ENOUGH!" I quickly charged up my scepter and brought all of them except Twilight over to me. I slammed them to the ground and then I slammed down my paws in anger and lightning and thunder went off.
All of them were trembling in fear and it only increased my power of the death glare. I looked up at Luna and she seemed concerned. She showed me a reflection of myself with her magic and I was horrified at what I saw. My teeth and claws have become sharper, my pupils have turned to dragon slits, my fully extended out wings have turned into dragon ones, and I have purple mist coming out of my eyes. NO! I'm starting to turn into him! What am I doing?! I backed off and everything on my body went back to normal. I went into my shadow form and disappeared without saying a word. I think Luna realized what was happening to me and what I was about to turn into. I can't believe Nightmare King was about to do that to me. Make me turn against everyone. I guess he had enough power to do that. But if that did happen, I would… hurt Twilight and I could never do that! That is the one sin I never want to commit. Twilight will never forgive me for what just happened there! I can't be around her. She shouldn't be with a monster like me. I listened in on the conversation and Twilight came up to her friends and asked "What did happen? Why did it cause Zach to turn into… whatever that was?" She wasn't playing games and demanded an answer to why things were so bad and why I had gotten so angry. Fluttershy stepped up and said "We tried to fix everything ourselves." Yeah, that had worked out as well as you thought it would've.
Applejack added "As to why Zachary grew angry and turned into somethin'… dangerous, we're not sure but we think it's our fault." What do you mean by that? "We saw he was angry, but none of us tried to stop him. So, we're mighty sorry." I hope you are. Twilight said "I forgive you, but why didn't you tell me?" I think I know why. Rainbow said "We didn't want you to freak out." Twilight raised a brow and said "You really thought not telling me would avoid a freakout?!" Please don't do that. I've already made a big enough scene as it was. Spike said "When you say it like that, it sounds like a really bad plan." That's because it was a bad plan from the start! I tried telling you ponies over and over again, but like always, I get ignored. Twilight simply breathed in and Discord had his binoculars out ready to see her freak out. You're not going to see anything Discord. So don't even bother. He said "Here it comes!" You're going to be disappointed. Twilight said "I know how I used to react, but I really have changed! Panicking won't solve anything." That's my girl. Or was. Until… what just happened. I can't have someone as beautiful as her be around a monster like me.
I could have put Equestria into eternal suffering! I can't do that! Everyone would hate me for that and would want me executed! I can't do this. Anyway, Discord put down his binoculars and rolled his eyes. Sorry man. You're a little too late to the party. "But we can handle any problem that comes our way as long as we handle them together!" I hope so. The Legion of Doom will completely throw you off. Celestia said "Spoken like a true leader." She isn't wrong. That's for sure. I wish I could be a better one. "How can we help?" Fix the mess that was left behind. Twilight said "I love a good to do list. So tell me exactly what happened so we can figure out exactly what to do to fix it.'' They all said what had happened and I followed the Legion of Doom throughout the archives because I know they were looking for the user guide on how to use Grogar's bell and I remember putting a spell on the book a long time ago to make sure that didn't happen. They circled around and when Cozy moved a book around, she saw the user guide to Grogar's bell. She budged through some books and managed to get out onto the other side. It had chains locked to it so no one could simply steal it, but Cozy was smart and used another book that fell in order to break the chain. She tried picking it up, but then the book started teleporting all over the place like a Minecraft dragon egg.
They all grew extremely frustrated trying to retrieve the book and finally, Chrysalis got it to stop and successfully held it in her grasp. Dang it! She must have found a loophole somewhere within that spell I used. Oh well. It won't last forever. Once the clouds were all cleared away, the firework troop did their performance and shot up magic into the air and resulted in the sparkles to be Nightmare Moon's imprint on the moon that was there for 1,000 years. If I had turned into Nightmare King, I might have ended up there! The fireworks went off and Celestia was brought to tears of joy because of it. Luna wiped them away and both of them went up to the stage. Twilight was standing right there and turned the amulet around to lower the Moon. That was my cue to raise the Sun which was done perfectly. They all had orange shadows cast over them for a few seconds, before returning to normal. The crowd cheered and Twilight grabbed the microphone. She said "This celebration has always been a reminder not to fear the night, for there is always a new day to look forward to." That is very much true and it says something similar to that in the Bible. It said in there that we even if we may have pain in the night, there will be joy in the morning. Or maybe that's just a Newsboys song. I don't know.
"But as we look towards Equestria's future, I'm sad to say this will be the last Summer Sun Celebration." The crowd gasped in horror and Twilight did something no one was expecting. Well, except for me. I already knew what it was going to be. "Because there is something that is even more important to celebrate." This confused Celestia and Luna and Twilight went on. "There are two ponies who have watched over us, night and day, for as long as we can remember." Yeah, they've been ruling Equestria for at least 9,000 years. But then, Celestia had to rule on her own for 1,000 of those years until Twilight and the rest of the gang brought Luna back to Celestia and they continued ruling together ever since until now. They still will for a little while, but their time is coming to step down as rulers since the Sun is setting on their time and will rise with me and Twilight. "We will no longer commemorate their battle or their reunion. Instead, we'll take this day to celebrate how much they mean to all of us!" They definitely mean a lot to Equestria. Even to me, they've made a difference. "From this day forward, today will be known as… the Festival of the Two Sisters!" Now there's an interesting one. Both Celestia and Luna were shocked and the crowd roared with cheers which definitely put a smile on their faces. Twilight turned around and Celestia said "We don't know what to say." How about thank you? That would work.
Celestia gave Twilight a hug and then they all waved to the crowd. Twilight went over to the gang and Pinkie said "A brand new holiday?! You're my kind of princess!" Excuse me?! Twilight said "I'm just glad we pulled it off." Yeah, after all that mess. Applejack said "About that, we just wanted to say we're sorry." Didn't you say that already? Oh well. Whatever. Rarity said "You did tell us you've changed." Yeah, and you should have taken her word for it instead of trying to lie about it and then have me explode on you. Fluttershy said "As your friends, we should have trusted you." Yeah, you should have. But we all make mistakes, so I guess it's fine. Rainbow said "Next time you say, you're not going to freak out, we'll believe you." I sure hope so. Twilight said "Good. Because I'm sure there's going to be plenty of things I'll need my best friends' help with!" Yeah, I guess I'm not one of them anymore. I basically screwed myself over. Good job Zachary. You've messed everything up. Now no pony would want to be near you and your closest friends have basically kicked you out.
Ouch. That really does sting when I say it like that. They all went in for a group hug and Pinkie crashed on top of them which they all laughed at that. I saw Discord sitting on a cloud and heard him say "You know, it really does seem like you just might be ready for whatever comes next, Your Majesty." I see your scheme Discord. I know it's coming soon, so don't be surprised when I already know that this plan is coming. I heard Twilight get up and say to the gang "Where's Zach?! I can't just leave him out there in Celestia knows where!" I'm over here Twilight. I haven't left Canterlot yet. Rainbow asked with suspicion "Why do you care?" Dang. That seems harsh. But, you're right. Twilight shouldn't still care about me. However, Twilight didn't seem to think so and got angry. She said "Because I care about Zach and his well being! If he's missing, I worry about him! If you had someone that close to you, you would understand." Woah there. Chillax. "He's probably worrying himself to death about how much of a monster he is and that nopony cares about him anymore. I need to find him! Do you guys have any idea where he went?" They looked around and Applejack saw me with my back turned towards them. She said "Over there, Twilight." Twilight quickly turned her head and rushed over to where I was. I felt extremely guilty and started feeling remorseful. My ears were drooped down as well.
I said "I don't know what got into me. You shouldn't be around me. I can't stand being around myself anymore-" before Twilight said "Shhh. It's alright. I'm here now." She put her hoof on my heart and wrapped her body around me. I noticed that the others hesitated to even approach me. That made me even more sad and Twilight took notice. This is what I feared. If I can't get my emotions under control, then my friends won't even bother to approach me ever again. Twilight turned around and gave an angry glare towards the rest of my friends and they started sweating nervously. She turned back around and continued giving me comfort. I sighed and said "Even after all that, why do you still come to find me?" Twilight moved in front of me and said "Why do you think, silly? Just because you mess up and lash out, doesn't mean I don't care about you anymore." I said "But you shouldn't be around me! I'm a monster!" Twilight simply looked at me and said "Zach, you're not a monster. You're my best friend and my boyfriend. I care for you. Even if you scare others away, I always come chasing after you. You could never scare me away. And even if you did, I would find a way to get you back."
"So please. Don't beat yourself down so much. It wasn't entirely your fault. You were being controlled by something and that worries me. If not for yourself, do it for me." I was about to retort something, but then I got lost in her beautiful violet orbs that just shine so beautifully. I sighed and said "Alright Twilight. I'll listen to you." Twilight smiled and said "Besides, I could never say that I wouldn't want to be around a handsome creature like you." I was embarrassed and Twilight smirked. She then leaned in and kissed me passionately. I returned it because well, she's the most beautiful mare in Equestria and I couldn't resist not returning it. After a few seconds, we pulled away and stared into each other's eyes. The rest of the group didn't even bother saying anything because they were completely confused about what just happened and decided not to intervene which helped out my situation greatly. But now, I'll have to face the music and try to speak with the rest of my friends again. I hesitated, but Twilight put a hoof on my shoulder and gave me a look that said "It will be okay. I'm right here." We both walked up together and Twilight gave the group a look that said "You better give him an apology or else we're going to have problems." They all started sweating again and I seemed unsure about this.
Applejack stepped forward and said "Zachary, we're mighty sorry for makin' ya mad. You told all of us that we shoulda told Twilight the truth from the start, but we were too afraid to tell her. But now that we see Twilight didn't give the reaction we expected, we realized we shoulda listened. We're sorry." I was about to say something, but Rarity blurted out "I'm sorry too! We should have stopped you when you got mad, but none of us tried to because we were worried about other things. I hope you can forgive us, darling." I can, but I'll need to hear apologies from each of you first. Pinkie was the next one to speak up and "I'm sorry, ZACHARY! Please don't hate me!" She was crying somewhat and had her hooves wrapped around my legs which I was really confused about, but Twilight only drew a shrug. Fluttershy said "I'm sorry as well, Zachary. We never meant to anger you." I know you didn't Fluttershy. Rainbow was the last to speak up and said with sincerity "Yeah, I'm sorry too. Should have listened to you." Well, now that I've heard an apology from each of them, I can speak now.
I looked at Twilight and she gave me the nod to go ahead and say what I needed to say. I said "I accept each and every one of your apologies guys. And… I'm sorry as well for getting so mad and nearly turning into well uh… something else. Anyway, it's just that I used to have a bad habit of lying in the past and I'm not really proud of it. That's why it makes me so angry when others do it. Because it's a reflection of how I used to act when I was young and it's something I would like to forget. However, that doesn't give me an excuse to lash out at you. I guess I still have a lot to learn about friendship." My ears drooped down even further and Twilight said "Actually Zach, I think you know a lot more than you think." I was confused and asked "What do you mean?" Twilight said "You always knew the truth to every situation even when we didn't listen to you. Even though you might get a little explosive sometimes, it sets our mind straight about reality and makes us remember what really matters. You also know about proper discipline and how to hold others accountable for their actions. In a way, you represent each element in some way. Honesty, Generosity, Laughter, Kindness, Loyalty, and Magic. So, even if you have your flaws, you still know a lot about friendship." I guess that's true. Applejack said "Yeah. Every time we got ourselves stuck in a situation, you told us the reality of it and how to properly fix it even if we don't want to."
The rest of the group nodded in agreement and Twilight said "Regardless of how you may act, you still matter to us. Without you, it would leave a tear in our hearts. Particularly in my heart. We all screw up sometimes, but it's what we do with it that defines our character." She's got a good point. The group came in for a hug and I felt better. I saw Nightmare King shake his head in disbelief and simply growl at me. "You will fall one day and no one will be there to save you." If you say so, Nightmare. "Believe me. You won't escape it. Now that you almost transformed into me, I finally have enough power over you and I shall take over all of Equestria! Ha ha ha. HA HA HA!" I can only hope he doesn't try to take over my body and wreak havoc on Equestria or else it will be in trouble.
AN: Well, we've come to the end of another chapter! I know I just posted the previous chapter yesterday at the time of this being written, but this is one of my favorite episodes in Season 9, so I simply couldn't resist. I'm trying to push out as many chapters as I can before the beginning of July. It's a new goal I set and tomorrow will be the last day of school for me. Online school sure was something. I hope things can return to normal in the fall. Anyways, that's all. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!
Next Chapter: Trickery! When someone comes to Zachary's secret fortress of Solitude, he gets suspicious of this pony. The pony comes to him and says that others completely disrespect him and say all these things to get the Prince angry. He tricks Zachary into signing an edict declaring that all of ponykind must bow down to him and anyone who refuses to do so shall be killed. Little does he know that he basically signed a death warrant to his friends and they are about to get executed via a guillotine. When Twilight tells him about this, Zachary becomes enraged and is determined to have the pony executed where his friends were meant to go. Will this pony be able to get away with it, or will Zachary be able to find him with ease and give this pony a piece of his mind?
Until then, my fellow readers