Chapter 13:
Under The Stars/ It Is Time
It is now nighttime at Hakuna Matata Forest far away from the City Of Harmony. Stars are now shining and seen all across the night sky. It was completely quiet and silent, no creature was heard or seen until all of a sudden, a very loud monstrous belch echoed and reverberated across the landscape.
The Mane 6 were on a hill in a small field laying on their backs in the tall grass and looking up at the stars. It was a relaxing night for the six friends and it turns out to be Twilight who made that monstrous belch.
"Oh, um, excuse me," Twilight apologized, putting her hoof over her mouth and blushing in embarrassment.
"Whooooa, nice one, Twilight. Even I couldn't burp that loud," Rainbow Dash commented, amazed. And she wasn't easily impressed.
"Thanks, Rainbow. Boy am I stuffed," Twilight thanked, rubbing her full stomach.
"Me too, I ate like an Earth Pony," Pinkie Pie added, also rubbing her full tummy.
"Uh, Pinkie…Ya are an Earth Pony," Applejack corrected with an amused smirk on her face.
"Oh, right," Pinkie said, remembering what she said was actually true. It was always a little quirk about her, but everpony loved her nonetheless.
Content with their lifestyles, all six ponies sighed deeply in unison and stretched to get more comfortable as they looked back up at the stars above them again.
Twilight has never been happier in her life with her five new friends. She had a new home away from her troubles and her terrible past. Her friends never pressured her to tell them about the past and she was grateful for that. All of the Mane 6 were quiet for a moment until curiosity came to Pinkie Pie and she spoke.
"Hey, girls?" Pinkie asked her friends.
"Yeah?" Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Fluttershy replied in unison with their eyes closed, almost looking like they were about to fall asleep.
"Have you ever wondered what those sparkly dots are up there?" Pinkie Pie asked, it was obvious that she was talking about the stars above them.
"Pinkie, darling, those are stars, and I don't wonder. I know," Rarity said simply looking up at the stars that Pinkie was looking at.
"Oh, what are they, Rarity?" Pinkie asked.
"Why, they're diamonds of course. Diamonds that sparkle from the lovely black fabric of the night sky," Rarity answered, looking and gesturing vaguely at the night-lit sky with a hoof.
Fluttershy looked at her surprised, "Really? When I look up at those stars, I always thought they could be fireflies that flew all the way up there and shined down to guide our way," She admitted, explaining her way of thinking about the stars.
"Huh, I mostly thought they could be sparkling snowflakes that just stay there until next winter comes," Rainbow Dash added, looking at Fluttershy and then at the stars with a shrug.
"Well, my Granny once said that they might be tiny little suns that rest up there, taking turns to be the big sun to rise and set every day," Applejack said in her theory about the stars.
"Oh, gee, well I always thought they could be shiny sprinkles of gas that are burning billions of miles away," Pinkie commented, not realizing she was technically right.
Rainbow just scoffed and rolled her eyes, "Oh, Pinkie. With you around, everything's about sprinkles and frosting," She commented, it seemed unlikely that Pinkie has the right assumption of what the dots/ stars in the sky were.
After hearing both herself and her friends' explanations about the stars, Pinkie turned to her new friend, Twilight Sparkle. She was the only one who hadn't spoke.
"Hey, Twilight, what do you think those sparkly dots are?" Pinkie asked, wanting to know what Twilight thinks of the stars.
Twilight found their theories intriguing. They were all different and unique, just like her friends. She was about to tell them something, but she wasn't sure if she wanted to say it. It was a very old saying from somepony from her past. The one pony she cared about the most.
"Well…I don't know if any of you would want to hear it," Twilight tried to refuse, looking unsure and not feeling in the mood to share something deep with her five new friends.
"Oh, come on, give, Twilight," Pinkie begged her Alicorn friend, who is still not willing to share her thoughts.
"Yes, please, darling. We would love to know," Rarity tried to convince her.
"Yeah, we already told you ours," Rainbow Dash added. Since they shared it didn't seem right for Twilight to not share.
"Come on, Sugarcube. We're all friends after all," Applejack assured, waving her hoof.
"Pleeeeaaaasssse, Twilight?" Fluttershy begged, giving Twilight the baby eyes.
Twilight tried to refuse their pleas and put their comment aside. But hearing her friends pressuring her at the same time and after seeing Fluttershy's eyes, she gave in and sighed, "Okay, but do you girls promise not to laugh?" She asked.
"Cross our hearts, hope to fly, stick a cupcake through our eyes," Pinkie assured as she and the others did the ritual.
"Well, when I was a little filly, somepony once told me that, the great rulers of the past are up there…watching over us," Twilight recited the words of her mother, looking at the stars with far-off eyes.
Although she hadn't seen her family for a long time, Twilight still had memories of them. And miss them more than she liked to admit.
"Whoa," Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy gasped, looking at the stars in awe, they never heard that one before.
"Really?!" Applejack and Rarity asked after the former gave a low whistle, that was a really deep saying.
"Hold on, you mean a bunch of royal dead stallions and mares are watching us?" Rainbow Dash asked, raising a brow in confusion, as she tries to hold back her composure but then started to break out laughing. By the tone of her voice showed, she didn't quite believe what she was hearing.
Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy just glared at her in disbelief and anger. Twilight felt a little offended, even though she did Pinkie Promise, but she also laughed, though more half-heartedly, which the other four took notice of.
"Who told you something like that, Twilight? What mook made that up?!" Rainbow Dash asked, still laughing.
"Yeah, I know. It's pretty dumb, huh?" Twilight nervously said, as she nervously chuckled. She was trying not to show her hurt to her friends as she heard Rainbow Dash laughing.
"Oh, well dumb is not the word I'd use," Rarity reasoned, trying not to offend Twilight.
But the alicorn's expression changed into deep sadness as she looks up at the stars and started to wonder about something. The same old saying of The Great Rulers Of The Past really meant a lot to her. But hearing Rainbow's doubts, Twilight began to question if it was true herself.
Twilight sighed, "I'm gonna go, uh, get some fruit or something," She said with a false smile and sitting up.
Twilight then quietly gets up and walks down the hill, leaving her friends. The Mane 5 watched Twilight leave and disappeared. Rainbow Dash wondered if she may have said something that offended Twilight.
"Was it something I said?" Rainbow Dash asked, looking over to her friends.
"Gee, why did you say that, Rainbow?" Fluttershy asked her angrily, as the others were just as mad at her for laughing.
"I didn't mean to offend her!" Rainbow Dash defended, holding up her hooves.
"You didn't mean to?! Please, you just had to comment on her saying about the stars and then you started laughing," Rarity said, blaming the cyan Pegasus.
"Hey! Come on, something that crazy couldn't possibly be true!" Rainbow Dash argued.
"Ever stopped to consider that the one pony that told Twilight that was close to her, Rainbow Laugher?! How you feel if somepony laughed at what you were told by somepony you cared about?" Applejack argued back, thinking Twilight must have heard that saying from someone very precious.
Seeing what she was talking about, Rainbow Dash sighed in guilt and said, "I really blew it, did I?".
The other four nodded, as they all turned to where Twilight had departed in concern.
Not too far from her friends, Twilight walked up to a ledge of a small cliff that overlooked her forest home and looked up at the stars once more. The old saying of her mother has been haunting her ever since she started living with her new friends. But her mother's death had been haunting her even more.
It's been many years since the stampede and since Twilight walked into the care of the Mane 5, she believed that maybe her family would be better off without her. Even though she was the daughter of Cobalt and Aurora and heir to the throne as queen, she feared that Chrysalis might have told them about her crime in the stampede.
But here in Hakuna Matata Forest, Twilight finally felt like she could be herself around her new friends. She never has to worry about her responsibilities of being a princess. She can just kick back and relax with her five friends. But it also means her family didn't have to be constantly worried for her wellbeing.
Even though Twilight liked being around Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie, she wanted to see her family again. But if she returned home, would they accept her after everything she has done?
Still looking at the stars, Twilight was starting to wonder if her mother really was watching and if she was right about being there for her, even in death, or if what she said to her was all a lie. She looked on and on at the stars, hoping to see her mother up there, but saw nothing but tiny lights shining in the sky miles and miles away from her.
Then, being torn in the middle of her worries, Twilight collapsed in sadness and confliction on the ledge, realizing that what her mother told her was nothing but an empty saying to give her false hope. When she fell to the ground some of the dandelion seeds on the ledge were flung into the air and were carried by the wind to places unknown to her.
As the sun rises, the Dandelion seeds traveled far and wide across the land of Equestria and now they have reached the City Of Harmony. The seeds begin to fly with the winds toward Zecora's tower. The tower itself and the small land around seemed to be the only part of the kingdom that had any life remaining.
The Dandelion seeds are flying past Zecora's Tower when suddenly a white magic aura catches them. It was revealed to be Zecora, who was sitting on her porch in meditation when she saw the seeds.
Zecora begins to examine them as curiosity catches her, "Hmm, interesting," She murmured in curiosity.
Then Zecora teleported herself to the lower chamber of her tower, to her workshop where she grabbed a shallow cauldron and poured the seeds into it. Then Zecora begins mixing the seeds while humming a tune and grabs a gem, similar to the one she anointed Twilight with during her presentation, and levitates it above the seeds. She didn't know what was going on at first, but something told her to examine the seeds.
Soon the gem turned to magical dust and flew into the cauldron. It then started glowing a familiar color which Zecora took notice of and looked closer, seeing something she had seen before. Could it be true?
A look of realization dawned on the Unicorn Wizards' face when she had discovered what the seeds revealed and where they had come from.
"Twilight?!" Zecora gasped as he looked at the smudged painting of the long assumed 'dead' princess, who she had now learned…
"Is, is alive?! Hehe! She's alive!" Zecora laughed and stuttered.
Happiness was now flowing through the Unicorn Wizard mare. Zecora was overjoyed, for there was still hope for the City Of Harmony and Equestria after all. Zecora laughed with delight as she grabbed her staff and headed over to the painting of Twilight, for the Princess of Equestria is alive.
Then she picked up some paint and, with joy and excitement coursing through her body, started repainting Twilight taller with bigger wings, a longer mane and tail, and the golden crown on her head, symbolizing that the princess is alive and all grown-up.
Zecora smiled at her work, knowing that sooner than later the lost princess would soon return home before dawning a determined look, "This is superb, simply sublime. And more importantly… It Is Time!" Zecora said, looking at the painting with a smile of hope and knowing what had to be done.
She turned back to the seeds, using her magic to track Twilight's aura.
Zecora then rushed out of her tower, following an invisible trail, leading her to the forest. And the rightful Queen of Equestria! Though she didn't realize that she was not the only one heading to where Twilight was…
Author's Note: Looks like all is not lost for Equestria and the City Of Harmony after all.
In Hakuna Matata Forest, Twilight and her friends were stargazing at the night sky above them. Twilight was enjoying her new life with the Mane 5 so far, she has forgotten all about her responsibilities and her horrible past. But as they looked up at the stars, The Mane 5 began explaining their theories about what the stars are up there.
Rarity thought the stars could be diamonds lighting up the night sky.
Fluttershy thought the stars could be little fireflies.
Rainbow Dash, however, just thought the stars could shiny snowflakes.
As for Applejack, she mostly thought the stars are tiny suns taking turns to be the big sun, at least that's what her Granny told her.
Pinkie always thought the stars could be shiny sprinkles of gas burning billions of miles away, being unaware she was actually right.
The Mane 5 asked Twilight what she thinks about the stars. Although Twilight tried to refuse at first, she gave in and told them what she thinks the stars are.
Twilight told them that the Great Rulers Of The Past are up there, watching over them. Now, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie, and Fluttershy quite find Twilight's theory interesting and remarkable, but Rainbow Dash just laughed, finding it ridiculous and hilarious.
With her feelings hurt and being haunted by the past, Twilight was beginning to have a lot of doubts about what her mother said about being there for her. Collasping from the conflict, Twilight sents some dandelion seeds flying into the air to places unknown to her...
What Twilight didn't know is that the danedlion seeds she sent flying were heading to Zecora's Tower, where Zecora has grabbed the seeds with her magic. It took some time for Zecora to figure out where the seeds have came from, but it eventually hit her for she now knows that the assume 'dead' princess is actually alive and all grown-up.
And as Zecora said, "This is superb, simply sublime. And more importantly...It Is Time!"...