The Adventures of the Power Ponies
#28-The Power of Six-Part 6
The Power Ponies and the Mysterious Mare Do-Well stood in front of a house that was clearly a fixer-upper. It needed paint, the wood was loose, and the plants were in need of a LOT of trimming.
Filli-Second was a little creeped out. "I guess the cleaning lady took the... year off. What is this place anyway?"
"This..." the Masked Matterhorn said recognizing the house, "This is Moondancer's home. Mare Do-Well, why are we here? We're supposed to be looking for Moondancer."
Instead of answering, the masked pony opened the front door and the Power Ponies followed her inside. Radiance screamed when the looked in.
"THIS IS HORRIBLE! THIS IS DREADFUL! THIS... THIS... IS A COMPLETE MESS!" She tried to back away from all the books and wrinkled rugs all over the floor.
"Whoa." Zapp said. "Looks like Moondancer put up quite a struggle."
"No, this is how her house always looks." the Masked Matterhorn said. "She doesn't get visitors that much. Mare Do-Well, what's going on?"
The Mysterious Mare Do-Well walked to approach a wall. Even when she was 3 feet and closing in, she didn't slow down. Within a second, her body began to disappear as she sunk herself into the wall startling the Power Ponies. They approached the wall and Filli-Second touched it. Waves flowed across the wall from where she was touching.
"Suddenly, I feel like I'm in Grannie Pie's Jell-O mold."
Nervous, the Power Ponies walked into the wall and closed their eyes. A second later, they opened their eyes to a darkened hallway with a staircase. They continued down until they heard working power tools down in the room.
The Power Ponies peeked in and saw Moondancer constructing a large machine with two glass tubes the size of ponies. One of the tubes was empty, but the other had the Electro-Orb inside on top of a pedestal. The Masked Matterhorn jumped through the door and into the other room startling Moondancer.
"Moondancer! Are you all right?"
"The Masked Matterhorn?" Moondancer gasped. "What..."
"Great job, Matterhorn!" Zapp shouted showing herself with the rest of the team. "We lost the element of surprise on the Dark Alicorn."
"And the rest of the Power Ponies!" Moondancer panicked. "What are you doing here?! You shouldn't..."
"Moondancer, calm down." the Masked Matterhorn said. Without thinking, she dug her hooves under her mask and removed it from her face. "It's me, Twilight."
Moondancer's eyes widened over hearing the bombshell. The rest of the team groaned while Hum Drum smacked his forehead.
"Twilight..." Moondancer gasped. "You're... All along... You..."
"Hey, I'm not the only one with secrets." Twilight said. "Why didn't you tell me you had your own, hidden lab?"
"I don't." Moondancer said. "The Dark Alicorn made this corridor after she abducted me." Suddenly, she gasped. "The Dark Alicorn! Listen, you've got to get out of here."
"We will." Mistress Marevelous said. "That's why we're here, to get you out of here."
"No!" Moondancer shouted. "You don't get it! I have to finish this!"
Twilight looked at the machine behind Moondancer and took a second to examine it. Suddenly, she recognized it.
"Moondancer, is that a siphoning chamber?!"
"A what?" Radiance asked.
"A siphoning chamber!" Twilight explained. "It takes the energy from one thing and places it into the other."
"Wait." Hum Drum gasped. "So you're saying..."
"The Dark Alicorn's going to take the power of the Electro-Orb and use it to boost herself! We've got to destroy it!"
"Wait, you can't!" Moondancer shouted. "The Dark Alicorn..."
"Don't worry." Mistress Marevelous interrupted. "After we're done, we'll protect you."
"DON'T YOU DARE!" a new, booming voice shouted. Everyone looked at a door from a different side of the room and the Dark Alicorn stormed in. They all stared at each other before the Dark Alicorn spoke again. "You can't destroy the machine."
"Actually, we are." Zapp said. "You days of tyranny are over."
"You don't understand." the Dark Alicorn said. "If you'd just let me explain..." Suddenly, she roared loudly frightening everyone else. She opened her eyes, and her pupils turned a lot more feral.
"I don't like the looks of this." Hum Drum said.
"Neither do I." Twilight said pulling her mask over her face again. "Zapp, Radiance, Filli-Second, the three of you keep her busy. The rest of us will take the siphoning chamber apart piece by piece."
"NO, WAIT!" Moondancer shouted.
Suddenly, Filli-Second zipped in front of the Dark Alicorn and laughed.
"I am here!" she said dodging the Dark Alicorn's strikes. "I am here!"
"All right, Power Ponies!" the Masked Matterhorn told the ponies sticking with her. "Let's take this apart!"
"NO, YOU CAN'T!" Moondancer shouted jumping in front of them. "YOU NEED TO LISTEN!"
"Moondancer, what is it?!" the Masked Matterhorn asked.
"You need to hear this!" Moondancer said. "The Dark Alicorn needs to be in there!"
"WHAT?!" Matterhorn gasped. "Moondancer, don't you know who that is? She kidnapped you! She stole from Maretropolis! She tried to bring eternal night to Equestria hundreds of years ago, for Celestia's sake!"
"Twilight, just listen to what I have to say!" Moondancer said. "The Dark Alicorn is really..." She was interrupted by a dark-blue magic blasting her from the back. Moondancer collapsed on the floor while the Dark Alicorn proudly stood in front of the machine.
The Masked Matterhorn caught Moondancer's unconscious body before she could hit the floor. Meanwhile, the Dark Alicorn faced the siphoning chamber and grinned. Her black horn started to glow as if preparing a spell.
Suddenly, out of the shadows, the Mysterious Mare Do-Well galloped toward the Dark Alicorn and shoved her forward into the open, empty chamber. Mare Do-Well stepped out and quickly sealed the capsule.
"Mare Do-Well, what are you doing?!" Zapp shouted. "You're giving her what she wants!"
The Dark Alicorn shook her head and stammered. "Wh-What happened?" She looked around her and gasped. "I'm in! Quick, some pony, turn it on! I can't do it myself in here!"
"WHAT?!" the Masked Matterhorn shouted. "You expect us to give you what you want after what you did to Moondancer?!"
"Listen to me." the Dark Alicorn said. "Do you remember when I saved your Pegasus friend back at the factory?"
"Yeah." Saddle Rager said. "Why did you save me?"
"All I can tell you is that I know I did some terrible things and said some horrible stuff in the past," the Dark Alicorn replied, "But trust me; everything I'm doing, everything I'm fighting, it's all for Equestria! There's nothing I want more than everyone's safety!"
"Saddle, what if she's lying?!" the Masked Matterhorn shouted. "Remember who she is! She's the Dark Alicorn!"
"LOOK INTO MY EYES, PONIES!" the Dark Alicorn begged desperately. "DO YOU REALLY THINK I'D WANT TO HURT YOU?!"
"WE CAN'T!" the Masked Matterhorn argued. "WE NEED TO..."
"Twilight." a new voice called out. The Power Ponies followed it and realized the speaker was the Mysterious Mare Do-Well. "Trust her."
Under the mask, the Masked Matterhorn wrestled with the decisions in front of her. Her head was telling her to keep the Dark Alicorn prisoner, but everyone else is telling her to let the Dark Alicorn through it. She struggled with the worry of a wrong decision. Suddenly, the Masked Matterhorn made her decision. She quickly grabbed a switch on the control panel and flipped it.
"MATTERHORN, WHAT ARE YOU..." Zapp shouted.
Suddenly, a bright light pulsed out of the machine pushed everyone to the wall. As soon as the light dimmed, everyone dropped to the ground and watched the machine.
Inside her capsule, the Dark Alicorn screamed while a black mist flowed out of her body and through the pipes. The pipes then led to the other capsule and the mist slammed onto the Electro-Orb. The mist shrunk on impact and the Electro-Orb became much darker. The Dark Alicorn's capsule opened up and the princess collapsed onto the floor, her helmet popping off of her head on impact.
"What... what... that?" Zapp asked.
"I think... that was the Asteroth." the Masked Matterhorn said.
"Correct." the Oracle walked through the hallway and into the room. "The machine was meant to take the Dark Alicorn's power and place it in the Electro-Orb, not the other way around. That was her plan all along."
"I don't..." Mistress Marevelous started to say before hearing a groan.
The Mysterious Mare Do-Well started to get up when her mask fell off of her face. In a panic, she tried to lower her hat over her face.
"It's all right, child." the Oracle said. "The time for those is over. It's time they know."
"Who... Who is that?" Hum Drum asked.
"The pony behind the Mysterious Mare Do-Well..."
Slowly, the Mysterious Mare Do-Well removed her hat revealing her golden face. Her slightly-curled mane had a mixture of red-and-yellow colors.
"...Sunset Shimmer."
"PRINCESS CELESTIA!" Shining Armor shouted as he galloped into the throne room. When he stopped, the princess noticed he was out of breath.
"What is it, Shining Armor? Did you hear from your sister?"
"Yes." Shining Armor said. "She's here. She said... she's succeeded."
Princess Celestia widened her eyes in complete worry. "Let her in."
The doors opened and a group of ponies walked in one hoof at a time. Obviously, the Power Ponies and Hum Drum were there. The Mysterious Mare Do-Well (covering her face with her hat), Moondancer, and the Oracle followed. But the one pony that shocked Celestia the most was her sister, Princess Luna, without her Dark Alicorn armor.
"What is this?" Celestia asked.
"Well, I don't understand it much myself." the Masked Matterhorn said.
"Let me." the Mysterious Mare Do-Well said. She removed her hat revealing her face. Celestia's surprise returned to her.
"Sunset Shimmer?! You're... You're back? But I thought..."
"I know I have a lot to explain," Sunset Shimmer said, "But if you let me..."
"Oracle..." Princess Celestia asked.
"It's okay, your highness." the Oracle said.
"It's like this." Sunset Shimmer explained. "You sent me to locate a lost amulet for my final exam. Halfway there, I found an old hut and met the Oracle. He told me if I continued on my quest, I'd be straying from my destiny. To ensure the safety of Equestria, he told me I had to follow his instructions, including making myself disappear. I took on the identity of the Mysterious Mare Do-Well and made sure Twilight and her friends would team up to free your sister."
"Free my sister?" Celestia asked. "From what?"
"From this." Moondancer said holing up the Electro-Orb. There was a black liquid flowing inside of it. "Inside this Electro-Orb is the Asteroth. After Luna abducted me, she told me she needed me to build a siphoning chamber to put the thing inside the Electro-Orb."
"Stop the ice-cream truck!" Filli-Second exclaimed. "You mean this whole time, the Dark Alicorn was good?"
"It's complicated." Princess Luna said. "Celestia, do you remember when we first found the Asteroth in the secret catacombs under the castle?"
"How could I not?" Celestia asked.
"The reason I was able to find it is because I was drawn to it." Luna continued. "It was like it was calling to me. And when I absorbed it, it was like it was trying to convince me to embrace the newfound power. But when my power grew, so did my aggression. And soon, my free will started to diminish and I couldn't control myself. When you sent me to the moon, I was unleashing my rage at nothing for hundreds of years before I was able to gain back control. But it was already too late; I was separated from the kingdom and sister that I loved. And so, I've been watching Equestria from afar, and after the advancements that I saw, I knew today's science could free me from the Asteroth's influence. So when I returned to Equestria, I took as many machine parts as I could need. Then, I needed someone to build what I needed. And I had to do all this as soon as possible or the Asteroth would take control back. I've had a few episodes, but I was able to cool off. And now, it's over."
"Luna," Celestia breathed stepping off of her throne, "Had I known..."
"You've got nothing to apologize for." Luna said. "If any pony should be sorry, it's me.
"For many centuries, I've been so blind
Of everything that I lost
I was so consumed with temptation
I never thought about the cost
I may not know what the future holds
But here me when I say
That I'm going to try my best
So my past is not today
I had a great responsibility
As the princess of the night
Yet the influence was too strong
For just one mare to fight
Now that all that's behind me
I wish to make amends
I want to have retribution
To make all the nightmares end"
"Forgiveness is easy to gain," Princess Celestia sang,
"All you have to do is ask
As long as you are true to your word
And always stick to your task
You never lost the love we had
The bond we have is the same
Why do you think I dedicated the nights
In honor of your good name
You see, you're Princess Luna
The sister I've longed to see
There's nothing I wanted more
Than you to be with meeeeeeeeee"
"We've been drifting for far too long," both sang,
"Let's forget who's right and forget who's wrong
At last, we've sewn back what we once tore
You are my sister. We're a family once more"
"We are sisters, and that can't change," Princess Celestia sang.
"I am ready to rearrange," Princess Luna sang.
"Life's too short to miss out on yoooooouuuuuu," both sang,
"WE'VE BEEN DRIFTING FOR FAR TOO LONG
LET'S FORGET WHO'S RIGHT AND FORGET WHO'S WRONG
AT LAST, WE'VE SWEN BACK WHAT WE ONCE TORE
YOU ARE MY SISTER! WE'RE A FAMILY ONCE MOOOOOORE
You are my sister. We're a faaaamily once mooooooore"
Filli-Second pulled out a tissue and wipes her watery eyes with it. "I just love tearful reunions."
"HOLD THE PHONE!" Zapp interrupted. "You mean to tell me we weren't needed at all?! All we had to do was sit back and let Luna get her Asteroth out and we didn't need to interfere at all?!"
"Um... pretty much, yeah." the Oracle replied.
"But I don't get it." the Masked Matterhorn said. "Oracle, you said we were needed to stop the Dark Alicorn."
"No, I said you were needed to stop the great threat." the Oracle corrected. "Believe it or not, it's not over."
"What?" everyone asked.
"Oracle, you never told me there would be more." Sunset Shimmer said.
"I can't divulge too much about the future." the Oracle said. "I have an agreement with the Doctor."
"The who?" Radiance asked.
"You'll understand later." the Oracle said. "Right now, you better turn on the news."
"There's no TV in this room." Shining Armor said.
Suddenly, Filli-Second pulled out a TV set from behind her and smiled. "There is now!"
"...Where do you keep that?" Saddle Rager asked.
"I'll never tell." Filli-Second said.
The screen flashed on and Starlight Glimmer appeared in front of a large crowd of ponies. A reporter held out a microphone.
"Ms. Glimmer, you announced that you had something to say?"
"Actually, yes." Starlight Glimmer said. "You see, you all have heard the rumors that I am the anti-super activist known as the Purifier. Well, I am here to put those rumors to rest. ...They are true."
A loud gasp escaped the crowd at the same time as the Power Ponies widened their eyes at the bombshell news. Many ponies shouted comments and questions until Starlight spoke again.
"Yes, yes. I know some of you have negative comments about my Super Purification Act, and that is why I had to conceal myself. But now, something has happened that forced me out of hiding. I am gathering you all here to hunt down a dangerous villain plagueing our fair Equestria... the Dark Alicorn."
"But wait?" a reporter called out. "We've never heard of any Dark Alicorn!"
"I bet you haven't." Starlight said. "You see, the supers and our princess have been hiding it from us independent citizens who had a right to know! We put our trust in these so-called 'heroes' and they have never given us a reason to! Right now, they have captured the Dark Alicorn, but all they're not going to do anything to stop her!"
"WHAT!" the crowd shouted. "THEY CAN'T DO THAT! AN EVIL ALICORN IS TOO DANGEROUS! THIS MADNESS MUST STOP!"
"ARE WE GOING TO LET THESE SUPERS CONTROL OUR SOCIETY ANY LONGER?!" Starlight shouted.
"NO!"
"THEN FOLLOW ME TO CANTERLOT!"
The angry mob got into their vehicles and followed Starlight's out of the city limits. They were headed for the capital of Equestria itself. The TV turned off leaving the ponies watching it full of worry.
"This... is bad." Radiance said.
"I'm calculating our odds of getting out of this all right at... zero." Moondancer said.
"This doesn't make sense." the Masked Matterhorn said. "How could..." Her attention was caught at a tiny, little device on Saddle Rager's outfit. She scooped it up and examined it. "It's... a listening device! Starlight's been listening to everything we were saying!"
"Oh, no." Princess Luna cried out. "This is all my fault!"
"Oracle, what do we..." Sunset Shimmer started to say until she saw the Oracle wasn't there anymore. Everyone gasped at the empty space.
"We should really put a bell on that guy!" Filli-Second said.
"Wait!" the Masked Matterhorn said looking at the floor. There was a folded up piece of paper that she levitated to her face. She opened it and read the words written on it aloud. "'Give them a reason.'"
"A reason?" Zapp asked. "What kind of reason?"
"We have to figure this out." Princess Celestia said. "In the meantime... Shining Armor, gather the guards! Form a barricade around the castle! Don't hurt any pony who attempts to enter here, but don't let them in!"
"Yes, your majesty!" Shining Armor agreed as he galloped out of the room.
"A reason." the Masked Matterhorn whispered to herself. "A reason. What could he mean?"