Chapter 24: The Choice and Good-byes
There will be one more chapter after this followed by the epilogue. Expect the next chapter to be out in a day or two because it's written and now all I have to do is edit the heck out of it.
Also thank you so much for reading up to this point, I didn't think that this story would ever reach the popularity it has now.
I also hope this chapter explains things well enough for you guys.
So I hope you enjoy, and I only own my OC characters.
Wilmont- Early Morning (about 5 a.m.)
The sounds of gunfire still echoed throughout the city as the battle wore on. Some anarchists gave up and turned themselves in once the effects of Discord's magic wore off of them and their conscience returned. This included the S.W.A.T. team members who were turned into unicorns by Discord and were just changed back after his defeat. But most others stayed to fight until they were no longer standing. The fire continued to burn throughout the city as the army faced off against the remaining anarchists and unicorns.
But also present now, was a large group of unicorns that were now fighting alongside the soldiers, trying to finish off what little fight the resistance had left in them, knowing that even at the closing battles of a war, there was bound to be an excruciating amount of violence and bloodshed.
Meanwhile, up in City Hall, as some soldiers had made their way into the building, they were examining Discord's stone body, the only thing that remained from the battle that took place within the building only a few short hours before.
As they slowly made their way to the statue, there was a sudden "flash" and "popping" noise, which caused all of the men to jump back in fright. Once they re-gained their bearings, they saw that Discord had gone. They all slowly walk over to the place on the floor where the once mighty stone prison for the God of chaos stood, and look around in confusion, not sure about what had just happened.
All they knew was that Discord was gone.
Princess Celestia's Castle
As consciousness began to return to him, Carl slowly began to open his eye to a very bright light, or at least it seemed he had woken up in a white abyss. In fact, he was in a grand room that had white walls and a white ceiling, bright sunlight streaming in through beautiful stained-glass windows that were very familiar to him. Immediately, he knew where he was.
"Whoa, I'm back in Princess Celestia's castle…that's good right?"
Carl turned to his left to see Twilight laying a mere six inches away from his face, her eyes closed and her mane askew as she continued to sleep soundly. Her crown element was still on her head, but it was slightly crooked so that part of it was pushed forward while the rest of the crown wasn't.
Carl smiled at how cute she was, and he reached out to stroke her mane, even managing to straighten it out a bit as he did so. She let out a sigh and muttered, "That feels nice."
"Not as nice as your mane feels against my hand," Carl said soothingly, "you must condition the heck out of it, most girls don't have hair as soft as this."
Twilight slowly opened her eyes to see Carl's violet eyes, with were now even more radiantly violet than normal. Twilight's eyes went wide and she grinned from ear to ear as she saw Carl.
"Carl…" she muttered before she put her hooves around him and hugged him tightly, which Carl returned warmly.
"Twi…why are we in the Princess' castle? Am I dreaming again?"
Twilight pulled back and looked around at her surroundings. She then shook her head, "No, I think we defeated Discord. We don't remember because we were asleep when our elements worked on him, in fact I think all twelve of us were. The Princess told me how we'd be brought back here once Discord was defeated."
"How does that work?" Carl asked. "Our element working while we slept."
"The love each of you had for your partner activated the elements while you were out."
Carl and Twilight both turned to see Princess Celestia looking down at them with a kind smile. Suddenly, both Carl and Twilight heard a "pop" and felt their crowns disappear from their heads, both raising their hoof/hand up to feel only the hair on their heads, well, mane in Twilight's case, and no crowny-thing.
"Don't worry, I your elements will be in a safe place," Princess Celestia motioned her head toward a large set of doors, "Follow me, we've been waiting for you two to wake up."
"We?" both Carl and Twilight asked.
"Yes, the others have been up for the past hour." Princess Celestia said with a small chuckle.
"An hour? Why were out so long compared to the others?" Carl asked.
"You two were the Elements of Magic, the element that powers the other five. It drained more of your energy to harness it than it did the others when they did. Thus you remained unconscious for a longer period of time."
Carl and Twilight both gave understanding nods before they both began to stand up. Princess Celestia started to walk towards a large set of doors with Twilight and Carl close behind. As the continued to walk, Carl turned to Twilight.
"Hey Twi."
Twilight looked up at Carl with a face that begged for an answer.
Carl smiled back at her. Nothing over the top, just a simple, thankful, relieved smile, "Thank you again for convincing me to come out of that dream, and I'm sorry that I fought you on it."
Twilight gave a small shrug like it was no big deal, "Don't mention it Carl, not like we had a choice. Besides, it broke me to have to take you away from your father like that, even if it was just fiction."
"I know; that's why I appreciate it so much."
They both reached the double doors as Princess Celestia used her magic to open them. Carl and Twilight then entered a familiar hallway that had many stained-glass windows as well as a long, red carpet that ran from one end of the room to the other. If it were a little longer and not as wide, it could have been considered a hallway, but as it was it was more of a grand room, almost like a dance floor. There were also pillars that were all throughout the room, giving it quite a royal look, as if the stained-glass windows, the heavenly white walls, and the fact that it was in a castle didn't do that already.
Carl and Twilight were also greeted by the welcome sight of their friends; all talking with each other and all safe.
Louis had a bandage around his leg. Apparently the Princess or somepony had taken care of the break for him. He was chatting with Rarity about possible fashion ideas, such as dresses and other fancy outfits that ponies could wear to events such as the Grand Galloping Gala, while Rarity kept shooting him different styles that were "en vogue" at the moment.
Rarity was correct in her earlier theory that Louis' passion for art apparently had translated well into creative and unique ideas for clothing. All Louis had to do was envision a type of fashion that he would love to paint and tell Rarity before she decided if it could make a good design or not. After all, a dress that was good enough to be in a painting would certainly be good enough to make, and she was soon finding out how creative Louis really was.
Pete and Pinkie Pie were now planning a victory party that they planned to hold at Sugarcube Corner. Well, actually, Pinkie Pie was the one doing the planning and spitting out ideas while Pete simply stood by and listened, telling Pinkie Pie what his opinion on her different ideas were. Most of the time he approved with what she came up with, no matter how ridiculous the idea might have sounded. Whenever she had a radical idea that Pete thought was illogical to even think about pulling off, he reminded himself that he was talking to Pinkie Pie, the destroyer of logic and reason. He knew that she would find a way to make it work.
Alex and Applejack were standing with James and Fluttershy. All four of them were discussing James and Alex's dreams, and how their families were complete and perfect. How Alex's father was alive and his mother was still married to him. How James' parents and brother treated him with respect and Caroline was still alive, kicking ass and taking names in soccer instead of withering away in her bed as the cancer in her body slowly killed her.
James also went on about how Fluttershy had shouted down his parents in a very uncharacteristic way for the usually quiet, shy mare that could give the most manly man diabetes from her cuteness. James' story only made Fluttershy blush and try to hide behind her mane. Applejack continued to embarrass Fluttershy when she complimented her "standin' by her man" and telling her how she should shout down James' parents in real life if given the chance. Fluttershy surprisingly agreed with this.
Alex was also wearing Applejack's Stetson hat, leaving the country mare's blonde mane exposed for all to see. When James had asked Alex about it, why he was wearing it and why Applejack gave it to him after they woke up, he simply turned to Applejack and answered, "So I feel closer to my family, and to the one I love. That's why."
This, of course, made Applejack blush, which Fluttershy noticed before she began to tease Applejack about for a brief moment until her quiet side came back. She then turned away with a shy smile before she hugged James, giving his neck a small nuzzle.
Finally there was Ryan and Rainbow Dash, who were, as usual, talking alone. Rainbow Dash was blabbing on and on about how awesome it would be if Ryan really were a pegasus like in the dream. She went to say how cool it would be if she that could teach him to fly so they could race each other in the skies. Maybe then it would be more of a competition instead of Rainbow Dash owning him with her jet-like speed anytime they did something like a race. Besides, Rainbow Dash felt like Ryan could use the confidence gained from being able to fly at high speeds.
Ryan also listened to Rainbow Dash talk more about her love of the Wonderbolts, and how her top goal was to join them, her eyes going wide as she went all "fan-girl" and let out a little, excited squeal as she finished describing how she imagined it would be to join a group of such amazing pegasi.
Ryan responded by saying how he'd attend all of her performances to give her all of the support she needed in order to achieve her goal, and then continue that support after she did reach it, and he knew that she would.
Ryan and Rainbow Dash kissed each other again and then hugged. Rainbow Dash peered over Ryan's shoulder as they hugged and saw that Twilight and Carl were now standing in the room and she smiled.
She broke the hug and pointed her hoof behind Ryan, "Hey, Ryan look behind you."
Ryan turned around to see Carl and Twilight. He grinned, "Hey looks like the two sleeping beauties have finally woken up."
Everyone and everypony turned to see Carl and Twilight standing before them with faces that showed signs that they only recently woke up. They all got up and went over to greet the two elements of magic, their own faces smiling and excited since they all knew Discord had been defeated and everything was back to normal.
At least this is what they thought as they continued with their happy reunion.
"I can't believe we did it!" Louis laughed excitedly.
"It all was so crazy." Alex added. "I mean, after everything that happened it's a miracle that it worked out the way it did."
"I'm not disagreeing with you on any of that. Your leg looks better Louis." Carl said as he pointed at Louis' right leg, still wrapped in a white bandage. Amazingly, Louis seemed to be fine standing on it, as if it were fully healed.
"Yeah, the Princess fixed it for me, the bandage is just a precaution." He said with a small laugh before he turned to the Princess. "Thank you Your Highness, I really appreciate you healing it."
"Of course Louis, I was more than happy to help." Princess Celestia said with a warm smile.
"I also would like the thank you Princess," Rarity added, "The sight of Louis' leg was beginning to make me feel a bit woozy…no offence Louis."
"None taken."
"So what happened while Twi and I were passed out?" Carl asked, changing the topic to what was really important rather than Louis' broken leg and Rarity's apparent disgust with it.
"Well we were just talking a little bit," Fluttershy said meekly, but with a smile on her face. "Oh, and the Princess introduced us to Crescent Light."
"Crescent Light?" Twilight asked as she remembered the name, "You mean that unicorn who helped Discord and…who helped us?" She went from being angry at Crescent when she remembered what evil he did first, but she became more interested in seeing him when she remembered how he had helped them. "He's here?"
Fluttershy nodded, "Yes he is."
"Where?" Twilight asked, looking around the room to see if she could find him. Suddenly, a black hoof stuck out from behind a large potted plant that was next to a pillar.
"I'm here." The voice said. But it was a different voice than the unicorn that had met with them in City Hall. It sounded almost like it was coming from a slightly younger unicorn. Not that young, like the voice of a colt, but certainly not as old as he sounded back in Wilmont. His voice also had an unmistakable air of kindness to it, as if all of the evil that had once filled it was gone.
"Why are you hiding?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"I…I was afraid of how mad you'd all be at me," Crescent muttered, "after all I did so many bad things."
"Crescent that's all in the past, I have forgiven you for it and offered you a new start." Princess Celestia said as she took a few steps forward towards the plant. She wasn't directly in front of the plant, but she was closer to it now than she had been earlier. She continued in her reassuring voice, "and part of a new start is putting your past behind you."
A few seconds later, Crescent stepped out from behind the potted plant, and he definitely looked different. Not much different, but his appearance had confirmed what his voice had hinted too earlier, that he was now back to his younger self.
Not only that, but his cutie mark was back to its original crescent moon; there was no longer a menacing pony skull over it. His eyes were no longer emotionless and hate-filled, but kind and innocent, how they had been before the day that Discord corrupted him.
In fact, he was the same age he was that fateful day in the courtyard when Discord had first made contact with him; the day he took the name "Obscure Darkness".
He was still older than Twilight, but he still looked much younger than he was back in Wilmont. He went from looking like a middle-aged unicorn to a unicorn that was in his late thirties, as humans and ponies aged at approximately the same rate.
"Hey everypony." He said quietly, looking away from the group, as if he was ashamed, which he was.
"What happened to you?" Twilight asked.
"When your elements trapped Discord, all magic he cast was eliminated." Princess Celestia explained as she walked over to the timid Crescent, who was looking away, "including the magic he used on Crescent."
She ruffled the unicorn's mane, making him blush and inch back sheepishly. His eyes still looked sad but Princess Celestia continued, "and because of Crescent's proximity to you twelve and your magic, he wasn't just released from Discord's control, he was brought back to the age he was the day Discord first spoke to him."
Crescent closed his eyes and gulped, "I'm sorry for everything I've done." He muttered before he looked up at the twelve elements with apologetic eyes, "I know I don't deserve anypony's forgiveness, nor do I ask for it. But I just want to let you know I am truly sorry for the pain my actions have caused."
He looked up at Princess Celestia and nodded, "Thanks for sparing me. I'll just get going now and leave you alone."
Crescent turned and started to walk away when Pinkie Pie, who had jumped about fifty feet in the air, as if her hooves were made of springs, stopped him and she landed in front of Crescent with a grin on her face. Crescent stopped and looked at Pinkie with confusion on his face before she quickly pulled him into an extremely tight bear hug that made Crescent feel like he was suffocating, his eyes bulging slightly, before she loosened her embrace so he could get air.
Once he got his wind back, Crescent became even more stunned by the pink mare's sudden embrace of him after everything he did. But he didn't complain; he simply hugged Pinkie Pie back as she spoke kindly to him, "Oh we couldn't stay mad at anypony who apologizes sincerely, no matter how much pain they've caused! Especially when that big, mean Discord was responsible for it. I mean, he made my friends and I jerks, and I never wanted to be a jerk and neither did they!"
She broke the hug and looked at Crescent, who just looked back at her; tears were forming in his eyes when he suddenly saw a bright, purple flash from behind him. He turned to see Twilight, who had teleported behind him, glaring at him with the upmost seriousness, "You're the one who killed my uncle, aren't you?"
Crescent looked down and nodded, "I'm sorry Twilight…I…I'm so sorry."
Twilight nodded, "I know you are." He looked back up at her as she placed a reassuring hoof onto shoulder, "I'm not Applejack and honesty isn't my specialty, but when I look into your eyes I know you're being truthful about your apologies. Besides, it's not like you were completely yourself, after all Discord manipulated you."
Crescent nodded, "I still shouldn't have given him that chance, it was my envy that…"
"Everypony has envy," Twilight said quickly, interrupting Crescent, "and the only reason you acted on it was because Discord made you. It happened with us when Discord changed our attitudes and personalities. It's not your fault that you had a moment of weakness that he capitalized on; it's what he does. He is the God of Chaos after all."
Crescent nodded and gave Twilight a small, thankful smile, "Thanks Twilight." She nodded to him and led him back to the others.
But now other questions were arising.
"What happens on Earth now?" Ryan asked Princess Celestia, "Wilmont? What about all of the anarchists do they go back to normal because Discord's power over them wore off or something?"
Princess Celestia let out a sigh, "Not exactly."
"Then what's going to happen?" Rainbow Dash asked. "I mean, we beat Discord so things should go back to normal, right? No more chaos or war or death from his cronies?"
Princess Celestia shook her head, "The anarchists and remaining unicorn and pegasus army that fought for Discord will continue to fight a losing battle against the armies on Earth and group of unicorns that I sent down there." She then turned to Ryan and pointed at him, "I believe you met one of them at the hospital, am I right Ryan?"
Ryan nodded as he remembered the doctor that turned out to be a unicorn in disguise as a human. How he mentioned that "you have more allies than you think", or something along those lines, before leaving Rainbow Dash and Ryan alone in the hospital room so that Ryan could let his emotions pour out and get comfort from Rainbow Dash after his parents were killed.
"There have been a great number of unicorns on Earth, waiting for you to defeat Discord so they could finish off those who still fought in his name. They couldn't help you because only you twelve had the power to defeat Discord. If they fought earlier, their identities would have been compromised, and they would have lost to Discord, and the anarchists would have more of an upper hand right now. Since he is defeated, they will join the human armies in ending the rise of anarchy. It won't take much longer to beat them, but there will still be some bloodshed."
"But didn't the spell Discord put on them wear off?" Twilight asked before looking down at Crescent, "I mean, Crescent is back to normal, shouldn't they be?"
"The unicorns and pegasi who still fight joined Discord at their own free will, not by Discord's magic." Princess Celestia said before she continued, "the anarchists that were only fighting because of Discord's manipulation have returned to their normal selves. But still, many of them joined Discord willingly and they will continue to fight until the last one is killed. Your city's economy was bad and they bought into Discord's messages as mayor, and now they will fight in his name until the last of them is brought down."
"So after everything we've done, after everything we've done, chaos still runs amok and there will still be fighting after we defeated Discord?" Pete said with a hint of aggravation and anger, which reflected the mood of most of the boys in the room, especially Ryan, who lost the most.
"But here in Equestria everything returned ta normal after Discord was defeated." Applejack commented.
" Right, here in Equestria, in our world. Chaos will always run amok in their world." Princess Celestia said to Applejack before she turned to the boys, "Our world can eliminate evil when it shows itself and can have long periods of peace. But your world will never rid itself of evil; it's just how your reality differs from ours. Even when the anarchists are defeated, your world will be in the same chaos it was in before Discord caused everything that he did"
Princess Celestia then turned to Twilight, "Twilight, I'm sure your experiences in their reality have shown you the differences between the two."
Twilight slowly nodded as she remembered the Latin chants that echoed through the night, the chants that had given her such terror. She remembered the orange tint to the night sky as the city burned, the light from fire creeping into her jail cell through the barred windows and landing across the floor on her violet body as she trembled in fear.
Rainbow Dash remembered watching as Ryan's parents, two of the kindest people that she'd ever met, were murdered in front of her by a group of angry teenagers with guns and bandanas. She remembered the searing pain from the rock that broke her wings. She remembered the sight of Lawrence's knife, ready to cut into her abdomen and kill her, until Ryan saved her and broke his once best friend's back.
Fluttershy remembered Brett, who was now the innocent Crescent Light, approaching her to kill her when James stopped him, snitching on the others to spare her life. She remembered the sounds of James' screams entering her jail cell, as he was tortured while strapped to the interrogation chair, magic coursing through his veins as he screamed, struggled and spat blood all over the floor. Blood that Fluttershy saw dripping from his nose and mouth when she was brought into the interrogation room.
Applejack remembered Alex being strangled by his stepfather, and how his mother cared more about him than her son. How she ran to her husband's side when Applejack bucked him after ignoring her son's pleas for help. She remembered watching as the usually stoic Alex broke down in tears at the sight of the giant wave of alcohol with his stepfather's face in it.
Rarity remembered the dust cloud from the collapsed building as Louis drove through the city. She remembered the sight of the anarchist about to throw the Molotov cocktail at them until Louis rammed him with his car. She also remembered the same anarchist burning alive with one of his comrades after his Molotov cocktail had shattered on the ground, and the fires consumed them both. She shuddered at such horrible memories; they were memories that she'd never forget.
Pinkie Pie remembered the sight of the chaos in the city as well. She remembered choking on the ash as she sang, and then opening her eyes to the battle that she was in the middle of. She also remembered Pete's parents disowning him in the cruelest way possible. She remembered his tear-filled eyes. She remembered how even she couldn't cheer him up easily.
All of these memories filled the girls' head, they realized what Princess Celestia was saying was true. That their reality was different form ours, and how good didn't always win in our world, and how evil and terrifying things could get in comparison with the "evil" in Equestria. And if good did manage to get lucky and win, there was almost as much damage and tragedy on the winning side as there was on the losing side.
"The anarchists will soon lose, but your world will still be chaos." Princess Celestia concluded, "and nothing will ever change that. And what you six boys lost wasn't part of any prophecy, it's just how things tend to work out in your universe. You lose a lot in the pursuit to defeat evil."
There was a long silence as everypony and everyone let that sink in. The guys weren't too surprised, after all being surrounded by news story after news story about soldiers dying in a storm of gunfire in the Middle East, dictators, murderers, rapists, and other horrible people and events throughout their short lives on Earth, the idea of a world where complete and utter peace was never able to be reached seemed logical.
The girls, however, were downright depressed after hearing such things. Throughout their lives, they all lived in a world where good was rewarded and always triumphed over evil, and peace was definitely attainable. While their journey to the boy's reality made them realize the horrors that it had, they all secretly thought that Discord's defeat might bring peace, or that chaos could be stopped.
Hearing from their own Goddess that their reality was in a constant state of chaos, where evil often triumphed, where good people were more often punished for being good and bad people were rewarded for being scumbags, only made their hearts break.
Eventually Princess Celestia broke the silence and concluded her point, "But that doesn't mean I want you six boys to have lives of chaos."
All of the boys in the room looked up in confusion about what Princess Celestia said.
"What do you mean?" Carl asked.
"I have some things to show you, but first I need to ask you a question that I know has been on each of your minds for the past few days," she said, "do you want to go back to Earth to live out your lives, or do you want to stay in here Equestria with your partners?"
The boys all looked at her with confusion, "Wha…what…we have a choice?" Alex asked with a slightly excited tone as the idea of staying with Applejack made his mood skyrocket into complete happiness.
Princess Celestia gave a small smile in response, "Yes, Alex. Unlike what many fan-fictions in your world seem to say, I do not hate humanity. I believe you do what you can in a reality that can never be completely stable, and fosters chaos." She said, "and I most certainly do not want to force you and the girls to separate after everything that you've been through together. I'm not as heartless as that writer of "My Little Dashie" made me out to be. The six of you should be safe enough to allow to stay without breaking the fabric of space and time."
The guys all looked at each other with shock and some relief, as they now knew their destiny was in their hands, and not Celestia's, they could make up their own mind. Before any of them could respond, the Princess continued to speak.
"From what I've seen, I believe Pete and Ryan have their minds made up already."
They all turned to Ryan and Pete, both of whom had the least to live for on Earth, and by least I mean NOTHING. Both boys nodded before turning to their partners with the largest smiles that they could muster on their faces. They had such joy at the news that they could stay with their partners instead of being separated, as was the case with so many fan-fictions and stories.
"Ryan you're staying?" Rainbow Dash asked excitedly, as she didn't know what Celestia would do either until that point.
Ryan nodded with great enthusiasm. "You think I would leave you Dashie?"
Rainbow Dash didn't hesitate to tackle him to the floor before giving him such a tight hug that Ryan felt like his rib cage was going to break. She began to laugh happily into Ryan's chest and he swore that he could feel tears landing on his shirt; that the incredibly tough Rainbow Dash was crying into his torso as she embraced him warmly. He could have brought attention to it, but that would have killed the mood and he simply hugged her back and kissed the top of her head as tears began to form in his own eyes.
His own wish had mostly come true, except that he could no longer speak to his parents. His heart still wished he could speak to them at least one more time to tell them how much he loved them and give them the thanks they deserved for raising him in such a loving home.
"And I want to stay with you Pinkie." Pete said with a big grin, a grin that the formerly shy boy never had.
"Really?" Pinkie Pie asked
"Really."
"Forever?"
"Forever."
"Yay!" she shouted excitedly before bouncing around Pete, "Petey's gonna stay with me! Petey's gonna stay with me!"
She eventually hopped into his embrace and hugged him with even more force than Rainbow Dash, causing Pete to struggle for air before she noticed this and loosened her grip, "Sorry Pete, I sort of got excited, but YOU'RE STAYING WITH ME! THIS IS SOOOO GREAT!"
As the others watched this, Princess Celestia turned to the other four, "now I know you four have had a harder time deciding what to do…"
"I'm staying." Alex answered in haste, which surprised the Princess, "I don't want to leave Applejack; I love her too much."
"I'm staying too." James said. "Fluttershy trumps my asshole parents and brother any day of the week, and if I left her I'd never be able to find a girl as good as her."
Both Fluttershy and Applejack grinned at the news, and ran over to hug them. Fluttershy did so more gently, but Applejack didn't hold anything back and brought Alex down like a sack o bricks before kissing him right on the lips.
Now only Louis and Carl were left, both of whom looked at their partners with expressions that showed inner turmoil.
Both of them had the most to lose by choosing a life in Equestria. Louis would lose the fame he gained from soccer, and the best chance he'd have to bring pride to his family name, but if he did stay in Equestria, he'd have a job as a clothing designer and painter, and he'd be with Rarity; his beautiful partner. Louis knew his guardians would support his choice, but they were still like his parents in many ways, and he couldn't just leave them.
Louis knew that if he didn't have to leave his aunt and uncle, he wouldn't hesitate to be with Rarity. Hell, he'd give up his soccer for her. Regardless, the decision had him torn. It was like when he had to pick between accepting an offer from North Carolina or UCLA, which were both schools that he loved and wanted to go to. Much like this decision, however, only one could be chosen, and if he could keep in touch with his Aunt and Uncle, he felt like he could choose Rarity without too much guilt.
Carl had by far the most to lose. He had his mother and two sisters, all of who he'd been like a father figure for since his dad passed away. How would they react? Would they be fine without him? Not only that, but he loved them all so much, and he didn't want to leave them forever. But he also didn't want to leave Twilight forever, and he knew if he went back to Earth he would go on through life single and alone, as no other girl could ever get his attention after he was so close to being with Twilight. A kind, smart, funny, cute girl that no one on Earth would come close to matching in Carl's mind.
Rarity and Twilight both understood their partner's predicaments, but both secretly wanted them to stay in Equestria so they could be together. In order to try and avoid pushing them one way or the other, they said the only things that they could.
"Louis, I just want to let you know I support whatever decision you make." Rarity said while holding back tears, "I just want you to be happy."
"Same with me Carl," Twilight responded as she stepped forward, leaving Crescent all alone again, "I understand you have a great family back home that needs you. Whatever choice you make, I'm behind you one-hundred percent."
Carl and Louis looked at each other when Ryan piped up when he thought of something, "Princess Celestia! Wait I have a question."
She turned to Ryan, as he stood up from the floor, recovering from Rainbow Dash's tackle, "Do you have a way for them to communicate with their loved ones? Because in my dream I had a device that allowed me to talk to my parents and I remember reading a story called "My Second Life" where Twilight had a mirror to allow inter-dimensional communication. Do you have anything like that for Louis and Carl?"
Princess Celestia nodded, "Of course, it's not like you'd never, ever talk with your loved ones again. I have many different means of communicating with your world. I could even teleport you there occasionally if you'd like. Not every day or week, but once or twice a year."
This was all Carl and Louis needed to hear before they both nodded.
"I want to stay here." Louis said
"Me too." Carl added.
Both Twilight and Rarity were now grinning and ran over to them and threw their hooves around their partners. Twilight was all smiles as she nuzzled Carl and Rarity was letting out joyful, if not a bit exaggerated, tears.
As they hugged, Carl looked up at Princess Celestia, "Your Highness, can you send me back with Twilight so I can see my family to tell them what I'm doing, and make sure they're all right with it? It wouldn't feel right to just leave them behind without seeing them one more time."
Princess Celestia nodded, "Yes, in fact I was planning to send you, Louis, Alex and James back regardless. All of your parents are now unfrozen and it would be best for you to say good-bye. Plus, Twilight needs to go with you so she can bring a certain baby dragon back here."
Twilight suddenly jumped back and pointed at Carl, "Oh my gosh that's right, Spike is with your family, I completely forgot about that."
"Oh yeah. He-he, I guess all of that worked out then." Carl said with a sad chuckle, still not looking forward to giving them the news of his departure.
"Now, I'll teleport you four back and when you want to return, just think about coming back here and you boys will be able to teleport yourselves and your partner. Once you return, however, your magic will reduce drastically, except for Carl that is."
"Wait, the others won't much magic anymore but I will? Why not?" Carl asked
"I'll explain when you get back," They all nodded before the Princess pointed to an area of the room in front of her, "Now, all of you get together with your partners. Ryan and Pete, do you two need to go back for anything or you all set?"
Ryan and Pete shook their heads as they stayed behind the Princess with Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash.
Pinkie Pie was still hugging Pete closely as she stood on her hind-legs, and Rainbow Dash was leaning against Ryan's leg and giving him the occasional, affectionate rub with her head, earning an ear-scratch from Ryan, which felt amazing to her.
Princess Celestia turned back to the other eight, who had gotten into position, ready to be teleported back to Earth one last time, "Remember, think about coming back here and you'll be able to get back."
Carl suddenly thought of something, "Wait! Princess Celestia! Can I bring my family here to stay…or is that too unsafe?"
Princess Celestia shook her head, "No, so far I'm only allowing you six to stay because you've formed such a bond with your partners and that the magic you possess, no matter how little, will allow you to stay here without ruining either reality. Not to mention your presence would help the second Discord from your reality stay in stone. I brought him here soon after you defeated him, and if all twelve of you elements stay, he'll stay trapped in the courtyard with the other Discord. I will continue to find a way to bring your
That was the last thing before there was a sudden white flash and a "popping" noise. The eight elements that were in front of Princess Celestia were now gone, back to Earth to say their goodbyes.
As they left, Princess Celestia turned to Ryan, "As for you Ryan, there are some very special people who would like to see you."
Ryan just looked at her in confusion when he felt somepony tugging on his pant's leg with their teeth. He looked down to see Rainbow Dash pointing behind him with a shocked expression on her face. He turned around to see, standing behind him with smile on their faces, both of his parents.
His jaw dropped and his eyes went wide as he took a cautious step forward. When he was sure that he wasn't hallucinating, he sprinted over to them and hugged them, only to realize that his arms went through them. He stepped back and realized they were transparent, as if they were ghosts. This could have upset him, but just seeing his parents in front of him made him smile, no matter how solid or ghost-like they were.
Rainbow Dash grinned and slowly trotted over to join Ryan.
"Good to see you again son." His father said with a happy voice.
"You too…" Ryan said as he looked up at his parents with tears in his eyes, "but…how?"
"I brought them here." Princess Celestia said, "I was able to convince your God to send them down from heaven for a short time so you could give each other a proper good-bye."
Ryan smiled at her, "That's so nice…thank you Princess Celestia."
He turned back to his parents, who looked down at Rainbow Dash, who was looking back up at them.
"Nice to see you two again." Rainbow Dash said with a small chuckle.
"Likewise," Ryan's mother said before turning to Ryan, "So how is the happy couple?"
Ryan was about to answer when he stopped. He just stared at his mother in shock, "You…you knew?"
Both of his parents nodded, "Yes Ryan, we did. Rainbow Dash told us when you left to go find Carl. She didn't want you to burden yourself with it so she confessed everything."
Ryan looked down at Rainbow Dash, whose eyes were closed as she shook her head, "Ryan, please don't me mad at me I…"
She stopped when Ryan stuck his hand out at her to silence her before giving her a kind smile, "Don't apologize Dashie…I'm happy you did it."
Rainbow Dash looked up at Ryan and smiled back at him before he turned to his parents, "I seriously can't believe you guys are all right with it."
Ryan' father put his hand above his son's shoulder so that it didn't faze through, "Ryan we want you to be happy, and we know you'll be happy with Rainbow Dash. She's a great girl, regardless of your differences."
Ryan looked from his mother to his father before shaking his head in a happy disbelief, "I love you guys."
They all gave each other "air hugs", so that Ryan's arms didn't pass through his parents, and it was still close to an embrace. Ryan's mother looked down at Rainbow Dash, who was just watching the scene with happy eyes. "Rainbow Dash you can join us in this hug."
Rainbow Dash didn't waste any time before leaping into the air and flapping onto the mass and wrapping her hooves around the group as best she could without having them go through Ryan's parents and shouted happily, "Most awesome family EVER!"
They all laughed before they stepped back and continued to talk a little more while they still had time.
As this was going on, Pete and Pinkie Pie watched with happy faces. Pete longed to hug his parents like Ryan was, but he knew that could never happen so he decided to turn away from the scene and talk to Pinkie Pie, who was already running down a list of party supplies for the "victory party" she still planned to throw the group once they arrived in Ponyville. Not to mention she now had a plan to throw the entire group of boys a "welcome to Ponyville" party with the entire town, something that she was well known for doing, and a party to celebrate Pete getting to stay with her, but that would be for only her and Pete, and it would be more of a dinner date. So with three parties to plan, Pinkie Pie was in heaven.
Also in the room was Crescent, who pawed at the ground nervously as he heard the joyful reunion of Ryan and his parents, who were killed by the anarchists who worked for him and Discord. He suddenly felt his guilt coming back to him when he felt somepony tap him on the shoulder. He turned to see Princess Celestia looking down at him with a smile.
"Crescent, there's somepony I want you to see as well."
Carl's Uncle's House
Spike, Lisa and Anna were all in bed, talking to one another about Carl and the others. It was very early in the morning, six 'clock to be precise, and Lauren and Carl's Uncle Damien were in their own rooms. Well, Lauren was technically in the other guest room, but it was her room until she returned to Wilmont.
Also, while Uncle Damien was asleep, Lauren was lying in bed and staring up at the ceiling, her mind still on Carl.
Lisa, Spike and Anna were supposed to be asleep but, like their mother, they were finding it difficult to do so with everything that was going on around them. Spike kept worrying about Twilight while Lisa and Anna worried about their brother, something that Lisa never thought she'd do. After all, she fought with him to often it was like they were enemies instead of family.
"When's Twilight supposed to come get you?" Anna asked and Spike shrugged.
"I dunno, when they defeat discord I guess."
"When will that be?" Lisa asked.
Spike shrugged, "It could be days, or weeks, or…"
As if on cue, there was a great white flash followed by a loud popping noise. Spike and the girls all turned to the door of the room, listening as they heard two voices, both of which were recognizable as being the voices of Carl and Twilight.
"…now. Speaking of which." Spike said with a grin spreading across his face as he leapt to the floor and ran to the door that led to the hallway. Lisa and Anna were right on his heels.
They all ran into the hallway to be greeted by the welcome sight of Carl and Twilight, both of whom were grinning at the sight of the two girls and the baby dragon running over to greet them. In a matter of moments, all five of them were in a great, big hug, Carl's sisters and Spike shouting in joy, not caring how loud they were being. Soon, the commotion had woken both Uncle Damien and Lauren.
"What in tarnation is going on out here?" Uncle Damien asked, still uneasy about cartoon characters being in his house, as he just barely got over the idea of Spike being there. "Dear lord first the dragon now I got a cartoon pony in here? What's next, a griffon or something."
"Actually, Griffons exist where I come from." Twilight said, which made Uncle Damien just stare blankly for a moment as Twilight gave him a big, cheesy grin.
He groaned, "I need a drink."
"You do that." Laruen rolled her eyes as Uncle Damien walked down the stairs to his liquor cabinet to drown his sorrows and confusion in alcoholic delight.
Lauren walked over to Carl, who just looked up at her for a moment before she shrugged, "Is it over?"
"Did you beat Discord?" Anna asked excitedly, in a way only a girl as young as her could.
"Discord's defeated." Carl answered. "But it's not over."
"What do you mean?" Lauren asked.
Carl and Twilight exchanged glances before Carl turned back to his mom, "We need to talk about something…and I'm not sure how you're going to take it."
Alex's House
Alex's mother sat on the couch with Alex standing directly in front of her. He had just told her that he was going to live with Applejack in Equestria, and she was just stunned.
Behind him, Applejack was standing by his stepfather, her green eyes staring daggers into his own, as he looked down at the mare with a fearful expression. Even through he was still a little hung-over, as he was hung-over when he was frozen by the spell, he didn't forget how this pony had bucked him into the alcohol shelf and knocked him out cold.
Alex's mother just shook her head in disbelief, "I…why…why are you doing this Alex?"
"Because I found a place where I can truly be happy." Alex answered, "with the one I love, and I don't ever want any other girl besides her."
"Honey I…I don't want you to…" she started only to have Alex interrupt her.
"Mom, you and I know that's a load of shit." He muttered with pure venom in his voice, tired of holding back the rage he felt for his mother, "I know you care about Mark more than you care about me, otherwise you would help me out when he beat the life out of me. But you don't, I defend you with my Goddamned life and you never give me anything in return other than neglect."
Alex's mother looked away from Alex and, just then, he saw something he'd never thought he'd se.
His mother was sobbing like a baby.
"Hey you leave her alone!" Alex's stepfather shouted only to have Applejack jump in his way and stare him down.
"Ya ain't goin' anywhere; stay put." She hissed, causing the hung-over man to step back with a scared look in his eyes that made Applejack smile in success before she turned to look at Alex as he walked over to his mother and put his hand onto her shoulder.
"Mom?" Alex asked.
She nodded, "You're right, Alex. You're right, I'm so sorry for everything." She continued to cry into Alex's shirt. "I just…I don't want to betray two of my husbands in one life…I've always felt guilty about your father and how I treated him I…I guess I carried that over with Mark…and it wound up hurting you…I'm so sorry Alex."
Alex nodded and hugged her back. He turned to Applejack and pointed to his stepfather, "Applejack, make the drunken jerk leave."
She nodded before turning her attention back to the freaked-out stepfather and took a few, threatening steps towards him, her green eyes meeting his, "All right, ya never come back to this here home. If Alex or ah hear about ya beating his mother or even coming back here, ah'll make sure ta buck you so hard in the face yer head fly clean off yer head, do ya understand?" He nodded fervently before Applejack pointed to the door and commanded him like a dog, "Then get."
He wasted no time in sprinting from the house and going to his car; leaving forever. Alex expected his mother to go after him, to beg him not to leave, but she didn't, she just watched him go. It was like this was the first time she wasn't in denial about her husband. She simply looked up at Alex.
Alex just looked down at her as she continued, "You…you can go. Go live your life with the one you love and don't look back."
Alex nodded, but he felt his heart sinking at the sight of his mother, "What about you?"
She gave Alex a weak smile, "I'll be fine, trust me. Don't throw your one true chance of happiness away just because I did."
Applejack walked over to Alex's mother before speaking, "Alex and ah will keep in touch with ya."
"And someday maybe you can come with us." Alex added, remembering what the Princess had told them about trying to find a way to allow their loved ones to live with them.
But Alex's mom shook her head. "Thank you but…I don't deserve it after how I treated you…and your father."
"Alex's mom, if I may?" Applejack asked as she took another step forward.
"Ashleigh."
"What now?"
"My name is Ashleigh, you can call me that if you'd like." Alex's mother said with a small smile. "Seems weird to call me Alex's mom when you're dating my son."
"Ashleigh, ah ain't sayin' y'all didn't make mistakes, but ya ain't a bad person." She said with a small smile as she placed her hoof onto Ashleigh's shoulder, "after all, a bad person couldn't have raised a son ta turn out as amazin' as Alex did."
This seemed to make Ashleigh feel better and she laughed a little bit, "Yeah he…he is amazing, too amazing for me. Watch over him Applejack."
Applejack tipped her hat to Ashleigh and winked "Will do ma'am."
She then turned and trotted back as Alex bent over and hugged Ashleigh, "I love you Mom."
Ashleigh began to silently cry into her son's hair, "I love you too Alex, and I'm sorry for everything I've done."
"Don't…don't worry about it."
Suddenly Alex felt guilty that he had made up his mind so easily about staying with Applejack and leaving his mother. He now realized that his mother did love him, she just had a lot of issues to deal with. He didn't want to leave her, but he didn't want to leave Applejack either, and in the end he decided to do what his mother wanted and move to Equestria with the mare he loved.
"I promise you I'll talk to you often." Alex said, hoping that the Princess really did have a way for him to stay in touch with his mother, "I promise I will."
With that, Alex broke the hug and walked back to join Applejack in the middle of the room. He smiled one last time at his mother and closed his eyes, thinking about returning to the Princess' Castle. Applejack did the same and, suddenly, there was a loud "popping" noise and they were both gone. Ashleigh just stared at the empty space for a few moments as the realization that her son was gone hit her.
She was about to cry when she remembered something, "He's going to a better place," she muttered to herself as a single tear rolled down her cheek, "Alex you'll finally be happy."
And with that, she vowed to herself she'd improve her own life for Alex's sake, and hope when they saw each other again, she'd be a better person.
Louis' Aunt and Uncle's Hotel in California (where they were vacationing)
Once Louis told his Aunt and Uncle the news, they both accepted it quite well. They ere both emotional but they also understood his choice and wanted him to be happy. Rarity stood by Louis the entire time with excitement in her crystal, blue eyes.
"So you're cool with it?" Louis asked. Both his aunt and uncle nodded.
"LWhen we took you in after your parents died we vowed to raise you as if we were them, as if you were our son. We made a vow the day you moved in to make our decisions based on what your parents would do." Louis' uncle said, "and we knew they'd want you to be happy, and you're clearly happy with this girl."
"And it seems like you're happy with this girl…err…pony." Louis' aunt said as she pointed to Rarity, who just blushed.
"Oh you flatter me too much Mr. and Mrs. Clarkson." Rarity chuckled, "but I do appreciate the compliments."
They all had a quick group hug, Louis giving both his aunt and uncle thanks for raising him as if her were their son, before he and Rarity went over to stand in the living room.
Suddenly, Louis' Aunt held her hand out, "Wait! Louis what about your scholarship? Should we tell North Carolina you're no longer interested?"
Louis just smiled, "Tell him I'm off to follow my dream, not wear prissy, powdered blue uniforms."
"Now Louis, powdered blue is quite an exquisite color." Rarity said with a smile, "besides, you looked rather ravishing in that shirt."
"When we first met?"
Rarity nodded, "Indeed."
"Everything boils down to fashion with you, doesn't it?"
"You'd be surprised how much you learn from somepony just based on what they wear."
"Must be tough when most ponies usually wear nothing." Louis said with a chuckle.
"Trust me, when they do wear dresses it becomes crystal clear what kind of pony they are."
They looked at each other and waved to Louis' Aunt and Uncle, who returned the gesture. Both Louis and Rarity closed their eyes then were gone.
James' House
"I don't care what you say, I'm going." James hissed as he argued with his parents about running off with Fluttershy.
Couldn't expect all of them to be all right with the news, especially James' horrible parents.
"We forbid it." James' father hissed as Patrick stood beside him with his arms crossed. Apparently, they didn't care about his pot and even tried to find a way to justify it so it "wasn't his fault". That "he was stressed out from all of the pressure he had on him to excel and get into Stanford", and all James heard was "blah, blah, blah Patrick can do no wrong in our eyes, he is our God."
"Well I don't care." James hissed as he put his arm around Fluttershy and kissed her head. She didn't look shy at all now. She wasn't timid or skittish in the eyes of her coltfriend's family; her eyes were like daggers as they stared at them. She was angry as she was in James' dream, if not angrier, at this moment.
"Why are you doing this?" James' mother asked, "why are you so adamant in leaving your family behind?"
James was about to answer when Fluttershy stepped forward, "You want to know why? Because you three meanies always put James down."
"What are you talking about, what lies are you feeding our son!" James' father shouted.
"Lies? I haven't been lying to your son, you have." Fluttershy hissed as she started to storm forward, slowly but surly inching closer to James' family, who all started to look worried. "You have been saying how you care about him when all you do is put him down and treat him like he is so much less than your other son here."
She shot Patrick an angry look, which made him jump back in fear, his back now pressed against the wall, making him feel like he was trapped in a cage with a wild animal.
James didn't do anything but stand there with a grin on his face, enjoying the fact that Fluttershy was no longer holding back and was just launching the tirade against his family that they so richly deserved.
Eventually, Patrick couldn't take anymore of the fear and passed out onto the floor, a sight that forced James to cover his mouth as he began to crack up.
Meanwhile, James' parents just watched helplessly as Fluttershy leaned closer and gave them the "stare"; this act of terror made James' parents hold each other and scream before Fluttershy concluded her rant, "And you will let him move to Equestria will me and be happy for once. Now, do I need to repeat myself or did I get the message through your thick skulls?"
Both of James' parents nodded before they too passed out onto the kitchen table. Fluttershy normally would have let out a timid squeak and would have felt bad for making them go unconscious from fright, but in this case she smiled smugly at them and turned away, trotting back to James, who was clapping,
"Well done Fluttershy."
"Thanks." She said with a massive blush, "I hope I wasn't too upfront, for your sake. Not theirs, I could care less about them."
"Neither do I." James laughed before motioning her to walk over to his side so they could teleport back to the castle.
Uncle Damien's House
Uncle Damien sat in his armchair, eyes closed and a loud snore coming from his partially opened lips as the others were in the kitchen. Carl was finishing his case for why he wanted to move to Equestria with Twilight instead of staying on Earth with his family. He told Lauren and his sisters how he'd still be in touch with them, but he wouldn't be living in their world anymore.
Lauren just stared down at her hands, trying to hide the fact that she felt like she was on the brink of tears.
"Mom I…are you all right?" Carl asked.
Lauren didn't respond immediately, but eventually she nodded. She looked up at Carl, her eyes filled with tears, "Yes…Carl it…" she could only get out that much before she let her head fall into her hands and she began to bawl. Both Twilight and Carl stood up and went over to her side to help her feel better about the news, and Carl started to feel like a complete jerk.
Lisa and Anna just watched, their eyes open wide and showing their own sadness. Spike was also emotional, and tears began to roll down his cheeks. Obviously he would be seeing Carl a lot, and he knew that he was going back with Twilight and leaving Carl's sisters, both of whom he had become good friends with, but the sight of the boy telling his mother such a terrible thing was depressing. It wasn't like it was his fault, but just the scene of a son saying goodbye to his mother before going to live in a different dimension was disheartening.
"Mom I…"
"Carl listen to me," Lauren said as she looked up into Carl's eyes, her tear-filled, red eyes breaking her son's heart to see. The knowledge that he was causing her pain was ripping him apart and made him second-guess his decision. That is, however, until his mother continued to speak, "I am sad that I'll never see you regularly again…but I want you to be happy…I want you to go with Twilight."
"B-But you seem so sad about it."
"I am sad Carl, my only son is moving to another world." Lauren said as she wiped some tears away from her eyes and cleared her throat so she could continue speaking.
"But I lost your father before we had a chance to get back together again," she said sadly, "I don't want you to lose the one you loved like I did. And Twilight is such a great girl; I know you'll never be as happy with anyone else as you are with her. You share true love, and that's rare to find in this world."
Carl couldn't hold back his own emotions anymore and he fell into his mother's embrace and began to cry more. Twilight and the other could only watch as their own tears began to flow at the sight. Eventually, Carl and Lauren broke their hug and looked at each other sadly.
"I love you mom."
"I love you too Carl."
Carl turned to Lisa and Anna, who just looked up at him in shock.
"I'm sorry you guys." He muttered before they both ran over and hugged him. Now, he expected this reaction from Anna, as she was always the very kind and quiet one, but he was stunned when mischievous Lisa also ran over to him and hugged him tightly, crying into his torso.
"I'm sorry I was such a bad sister." Lisa wailed.
"Lisa what are you talking about, you've been a great sister."
"But I always got you in trouble on purpose and…and…done mean things to you. Please don't leave just because of me."
"I'm not Lisa, I'm not leaving because of you," Carl said as he wiped some of his tears, "actually it's you three that make this choice so difficult. Because I don't want to say good-bye, but I also don't want to leave Twilight, but this isn't good-bye. I'll still see you, and someday the Princess will hopefully find a way for you to come to Equestria. But until then I'll stay in touch with you and I'll visit you, I won't leave you three without ever talking to you again, I swear."
They continued to hug each other for a few more minutes before Carl, Spike and Twilight walked to the center of the kitchen so they could head back to the castle. Carl looked down at Twilight, "Ready?"
She nodded before looking at Spike, who was not looking at her, trying everything in his power to hide the tears that he was shedding. The three of them all waved to Carl's family, who sadly waved back before they shut their eyes and, moments later, disappeared.
Lisa and Anna hugged each other and kept staring at the spot on the floor where their brother had stood only moments before, and Lauren did the same from where she was sitting. Tears still welled up in her eyes and she gave a small smile.
Anna turned to Lauren and asked, "Mom are you all right?"
Lauren looked at her daughter and nodded, "Yes...yes I am."
"But you're crying."
"I'm just responding like any other mother does when they have to let their son go," she said sadly, "whether its off to college or a world filled with cartoon ponies."
Anna nodded and turned back to looking at the spot where the three beings teleported back to Equestria from, while Lauren wiped her eyes and let out a sigh, "Thank you for everything that you've done to help this family Carl."
Princess Celestia's Castle
Once Carl Twilight and Spike returned to the castle, they saw that everyone and everypony else were already there, waiting for them to return. Ryan and Rainbow Dash were still with Ryan's parents, talking it up while Princess Celestia's spell was still in effect.
Alex felt guilty about leaving his mother, but when the Princess promised that he could keep in touch with her often and visit her he felt better. He and Applejack then went into a discussion on Applejack's family. He listened while she discussed Applebloom, Big Mac and Granny Smith in exuberant detail, and Alex just listened with a smile on his face.
Everyone and everypony else were watching something off in the distance.
"What's everypony looking at?" Twilight asked, as she squinted to get a better view, only to realize their bodies hid whatever they were looking at.
"I'll check." Spike said before he ran off to the others.
Twilight looked up at Carl, who still looked depressed.
"Carl, are you all right?"
Carl nodded, "Twi, do you…do you think I made the right decision? Do you think I should have left my family like that?"
Twilight didn't know what to say, after all she couldn't say "yes, it was a good idea to abandon your family", but she also didn't want to say "you're selfish, you should have stayed", which wouldn't have only been disheartening for Carl, but a complete lie to Twilight. After all, she wanted to be with Carl forever, and was thrilled that he was going to live with her and Spike, but she also felt bad that it meant leaving his family behind.
So she did all she could, which was rub her head against Carl's leg lovingly.
"Twilight!" Spike shouted. Twilight and Carl looked up to see him sprinting over to them while pointing with fervor behind him, "Get over here, quick!"
Twilight wasted no time in running over to the group, Carl right on her hooves as he followed her to see what the group was looking at.
"Spike what…" Twilight began before she stopped moving and just stared at what was before her.
Everyone and everypony was staring at two ponies. One was Crescent, but the other was a larger unicorn with a blue coat that, like Crescent, looked younger than he was the last time anyone or anypony had seen him. Like Ryan's parents, he looked slightly transparent, as if he weren't completely there, but was instead an apparition. Twilight immediately recognized him, as did Carl.
"Uncle Bright?" Twilight asked in shock, a smile growing on her face.
Bright illusion looked at Twilight and smiled, "Well, well. Twilight how's my favorite niece been?"
Twilight wasted no time in running over to him, "I thought you were…" she then wrapped her hooves around Bright, only to have them go right through him. She froze and stepped back, a sad look in her eyes. Bright sighed and noticed that Crescent was turned away, hiding the tears that he was shedding for killing his best friend.
"I am dead, Twilight." Twilight looked down and gave a small nod. Bright turned to Crescent, "and Crescent, stop looking so down. I already told you, Obscure Darkness killed me, not you, and I don't blame you."
"But I was Obscure." Crescent whimpered, only to have Bright his hoof onto Crescent's shoulder, stopping it in mid-air so it didn't passed through his friend.
"You aren't that monster. Discord is Obscure, you're only Crescent."
Crescent nodded before turning to look at Bright, "I am so sorry again I…"
Bright stuck his hoof out to silence Crescent and he gave his best friend a reassuring smile, "It's okay, Crescent."
Crescent nodded and gave his friend, the one he had killed in front of a church only a few days before, a small, thankful smile.
Carl walked up next and talked with Bright, who went on asking Carl if he was taking care of Twilight, and how their relationship was going. When Carl told Bright how he was moving to Ponyville with Twilight, his eyes grew in joy and he jumped into the air before landing. Even though he was a slightly transparent version of himself, Bright sure still had an unmistakably excited expression on his face.
After a few moments of catching up, Princess Celestia cleared her throat to draw everyone and everypony's attention back to her. Once she had their attention, she told them how their time was up, and that the spell to bring their souls back into the living world would wear off in a minute.
Ryan and Rainbow Dash both gave tearful goodbyes to Ryan's parents, who just smiled and waved. Crescent, Twilight, Carl, and James, those who knew Bright the best, even if he was only Mr. Courtie, the local, eccentric magician, to some of them for years, said their good-byes before he slowly faded away.
Similarly, Ryan's parents did the same until their happy faces were completely gone, leaving a teary-eyed Ryan and Rainbow Dash, who was trying her best to hold back her emotions only to realize that she failed miserably as tear-drops rolled down her cheeks and landed on the floor around her.
Once everyone was settled, they turned their attention back to the princess. "Now what? Do we just go down to Ponyville and that's that?"
Princess Celestia shook her head, "No. There is one more thing I must tell you, Carl."
"What?" Carl asked in confusion.
"While the other five no longer have a high concentration of magic in them, you do. Because of this, when you enter Equestria, you will no longer be a human."
"W-What do you mean?" Carl asked somewhat nervously.
"There's a reason why we knew your identity before the other five, there's a reason your eyes are violet instead of a normal, human color; you have such a high concentration of magic deep in your soul that we could sense who you were, while Twilight needed to be up close to sense them magic of the other five elements," She looked up at the others, who all remembered how Twilight invaded their "personal space" to find out if they were the elements, putting her horn to their chest. "Carl, right now my magic is keeping you a human while you are in this castle, but once you leave, you will become a unicorn."
Carl's jaw dropped in shock; it was a true what the fuck moment, if there ever was one.
"Carl, I'm sorry that I forgot to tell you." Princess Celestia said.
Carl just stared before he looked down at Twilight, who just stared back up at him with some worry; worry about how he'd react to the news and hoping that learning such a shocking thing wouldn't make him reject the idea of living with her.
But just then he spoke up, "Twi…when I'm a unicorn…will you teach me magic?"
Twilight was shocked by this question, but it nonetheless made her suddenly feel better. "I don't know Carl, you seem pretty skilled at your magic already."
"I could always improve." Carl said with a small smile.
Twilight could feel her face become warm, as her cheeks grew red with a blush. She then grinned and nodded very quickly, letting out a very excited "Yes! This will be so fun!".
She jumped up and hugged Carl, "You're going to be a unicorn. Oh I can't wait to help you perfect all of the spells I know! Teleportation, levitation, OH! You'll be like my own star pupil! I'll be like the Princess and you'll be like me!"
Carl hugged her back and let out a small laugh, "I can't wait either."
Sure Carl felt sad that he was no longer going to be a human, but at the same time the idea of being a unicorn that Twilight taught was possibly one of the coolest things he could happen to him.
Princess Celestia smiled and turned to the others, "You five, on the other hand, have the choice of staying human or becoming ponies."
There was silence for about a second before Ryan stepped forward, "Can you turn me into a Pegasus?" he asked.
He turned back to Rainbow Dash, who just looked at him before asking, "Ryan are you sure? You know I love you as a human…"
"Dashie if I'm a human, I'm going to slow you down. You'll be on the ground more than you should; you deserve to be with a Pegasus who can fly beside you, to fly with you. Besides, you live in a cloud, how could I be up there with you if I would fall right through the floor?" Ryan snickered a little and looked at Rainbow Dash with a smile, "I'll stay a human if you really want me to, but otherwise I'd love to be a pegasus like you."
Rainbow Dash smiled, "Well…you did look pretty cute in your dream, maybe your actual pegasus self will be just as awesome looking."
Ryan smiled back and they both walked over to each other and hugged, planting a kiss on the lips.
"What about the rest of you?" the Princess asked.
"Pinkie, is it okay if I stay a human?" Pete asked and Pinkie Pie nodded.
"Uh-huh! Of course Petey!"
"Rarity, if you don't mind…I'll stay like this too…for now." Louis said.
Rarity nodded, "Darling that's more than all right, I think you make a handsome human."
"I'll stay human too." James said as he turned to Fluttershy. "Even though you're a Pegasus, you don't fly too often, right?"
Fluttershy shrugged, "Not really."
"You know I have a spell back in my library that can turn you into ponies, if you ever change your mind." Twilight added, which made James, Pete and Louis all feel better. They were all fascinated with the idea, but didn't want to go through such a change just yet. Maybe down the line they would turn themselves into ponies, especially when they wanted to have a family, but for now they all decided to remain their human selves.
Alex, on the other hand, didn't say anything out loud, and instead was in a lengthy conversation with Applejack.
"Alex?" Princess Celestia asked. "What's your choice?"
Applejack let out a giggle as Alex turned to Princess Celestia and smiled, "Pony me up."
"What made you decide that?" Pete asked.
"Well if I'm working on Sweet Apple Acres, it would only make sense for me to become a pony so I can buck apples. I mean, I have strong legs, but I think being an Earth pony would make me more useful." He then turned to Applejack to see her beaming in delight, the thought of Alex being an earth pony like her made her heart race. "And I might as well be the same species as my new family."
Applejack giggled and walked over and hugged Alex.
Princess Celestia nodded and motioned for everypony to move to the center of the room they were in. Crescent watched as all twelve elements and Spike massed in the center of the room, their necklaces, and Carl and Twilight's crowns, glistening in the light that crept into the hallway through the stained-glass windows.
Crescent watched as Princess Celestia moved to the group, "As you teleport, Ryan and Alex you will change. Carl will change as soon as he is back in Twilight's tree house."
They all nodded and Princess Celestia closed her eyes and her horn began to glow when Carl held his hand out, "Wait, Princess Celestia!"
She stopped charging her horn and looked at Carl. He gave he a kind smile, "Thanks for everything."
She nodded, "Don't mention it. And I will teleport communication devices to you in a few days so you can call your families."
The Princess went back to charging her horn and there was a sudden, bright flash. Crescent shielded his eyes as the thirteen being that had stood in front of him were now gone, off to Twilight's library.
"Um…Princess…what am I to do?" he asked nervously.
Princess Celestia smiled, "Crescent, you are to help me here at the castle. I could use somepony like you in the Royal Guard."
Crescent blushed, "Thank you."
"Oh!" Princess Celestia had a light bulb moment, "I forgot somepony to send James' way. Crescent, will you get me Bravery?"
Crescent nodded and gave the Princess a smile, "With pleasure."
And with that, he went off to get the small pony named Bravery that the Princess had asked for.
Remember, there will be two more chapters. The next one will be up in really soon and then there will be an epilogue to end the story.
As far as sequels go, I'm not sure. If I do decide to write one, it will be later on when I come up with an idea for a good follow-up (I don't want an un-necessary sequel like so many movies have now), or it may never come. Right now, I am going to start work on some screenplays before summer is over. Anyway, two more chapters and then its done, and the next chapter should be out in a day.
So, thanks for reading and, as always…
Go Giants! Go Rainbow Dash!