Chapter 144: Too Many Pinkie Pies
On board the Dragon's Crest, Spyro and his friends were transporting a bunch of Wookiee's that they had just liberated from the Empire, saving them from being forced into labor to mine spice for the royal family on the planet Kessel. Spyro was piloting the vessel through the warp but felt his eyes getting heavy, nodding off to sleep as he set the ship on autopilot, shutting his eyes to get a quick nap in. However, he heard a chair squeezing and opened his eye, looking to see who it was to find Midnight rocking back and forth on the chair, looking bored as they went.
"Rocking back and forth won't make the ship go any faster." Spyro said, closing his eye.
"I know." Midnight replied, leaning back. "Just bored, that's all."
"Well why don't you go arm wrestle a Wookiee?" Spyro suggested. "I heard they're good at arm wrestling."
"Yeah, and ripping arms off." Midnight pointed out. "Seriously, I think I saw one of those hairballs rip a troopers arms off and use them to beat another."
"Well, he grabbed what was in arms reach." Spyro said, making them groan at the joke.
"Seriously dad?" Rosy asked. "That has to be one of your worse jokes ever."
"Nah, the Among us joke was the worst." Spyro said. "Old trend, stale content. Why don't you girls go and brush up on your training."
"You sure Spyro?" Twilight asked.
"I'm sure." Spyro replied. "Tomorrow you're going to learn how to fly a ship. For now, relax and have some fun, you earned it."
The ponies all looked at one another, wondering what to do when they all left the cockpit to find something to do, though Rosy stopped and looked back at her father, sensing something was different.
"Hey Rosy, you coming?" Midnight asked.
"Yeah, I'm coming." Rosy replied, sensing her father feeling bad about something before leaving.
As they left, Spyro took in a deep breath, sighing as he opened his eyes, looking out into the corridor of lights and colors as he leaned back in the chair, looking to the ceiling.
"I wish there was another way." Spyro said to himself. "I mean, Sombra still had light in his heart. If only I was stronger. If I were... I'd have separated him from his darkness and saved his light. And Celestia... oh, how the heck could I have failed her? Failed to save Sombra? I... I..."
As he was talking, he felt his eye lids get heavier and heavier until he closed his eyes, letting himself go to sleep, but as he slept, his eyes suddenly opened and he found himself in his Heart again, looking down to see the pillar of stain glass he was standing on, wondering what he was doing there, but as he looked around, his eyes set on something that left him with many questions, which it was a second stain glass pillar, making him wonder whose it was and why it was in his heart. Without waiting, he walked over to the edge of his pillar as a trail of colored glass appeared underneath him, moving towards the second pillar to see whose it was and why it was in his heart, reaching the pillar, but found that the floor of the massive pillar was collapsed, only a few pieces of glass were hanging on the ledge of the pillar, which it itself was cracked and had chunks missing from it, looking like it was ready to collapse.
"Whose pillar is this?" Spyro asked. "What's it doing in here? And how did it get here?" He continued to examine the floor and a moment later, he watched as a couple chunks of glass flew up from the dark abyss, reattaching itself to the ledge. "Who ever this pillar belongs too, it seems like it's repairing itself. Maybe..." He looked to his left and froze, seeing a silhouette in the distance standing near the ledge, looking down into the darkness and sighing, looking lonely as he stood there, seemingly miserable as if he wanted to find someone, or something. "Hello? Who's there?"
The figures head shot up, turning to look at him, but the shadow didn't have a face, but it did have eyes, colored green and the area around the eyes was colored a navy grey and a few pieces of his forelegs were also filled in, showing they were the same color and the area around his eyes as he seemed just as confused as he was.
"Spyro?" The shadow asked, the voice sounding familiar.
"Who... are you?" Spyro asked. Before he could get an answer, he heard an alarm go off, forcing him to wake up as he saw they were coming out of Warp Space, a rift opening up and a moment later, the ship came out of the colorful corridor of light and saw they had arrived at Kashyyyk, getting on the intercom to let everyone know they had arrived. "Attention everyone, this is your captain speaking. We have arrived at our destination, the planet Kashyyyk. Please fasten your seat belts and put your tray tables in an upright position as we will now be making our descent."
He then got off the intercom and and pushed pushed the control wheel down, allowing the ship to begin making it descent towards the world as Twilight and Applejack walked into the cockpit to have a look at the world before them, marveling at how beautiful it looked as they entered the clouds, hiding from a few Tie fighters that were out on patrol, looking for any unauthorized vessels entering or leaving. A moment later, they came out of the clouds and flew over the forests of Kashyyyk, the ponies mesmerized by how gorgeous it looked as they flew over the planet.
"This place is amazing." Twilight said, looking down at the ground. "Fluttershy would absolutely love this place."
"You said it!" Applejack replied. "She'd have happier than a heifer with a calf. Wonder what kinda critters live on this world?"
"There's lots of different kinds of wildlife that live on Kashyyyk." Spyro replied. "It's a Gaia world, so that means it can support all kinds of life. But I wouldn't recommend building a house here."
"Why not?" Twilight asked. "This place is perfect."
"Except for the massive spiders." Spyro replied.
"Did you just say spiders?" Applejack asked.
"And did you say massive?" Twilight asked, feeling a shiver run down her spine.
"Yeah, they're huge." Spyro replied. "Some are as big as a person. But we have nothing to worry about. Most of them are in the deeper portions of the planets forests."
"Well that's a relief." Applejack said.
Spyro kept the ship steady, taking it lower and lower until it was deep enough in the forest where the Empire couldn't spot them and it was close enough to a hidden Wookiee village, which he lowered the ramp and saw the Wookiees out, each of them showing their gratitude by patting them on the shoulder, giving them a hug, or by talking to them, though Spyro was the only one who fully understood what they were saying. After the last of the Wookiees got off of the ship, Spyro reactivated the engines on the ship and took off, leaving the Wookiees to get back home, but he didn't leave them defenseless as he also gave them keep the Empires E-11 blasters they picked up from Kessel to help keep them safe.
"I hope they'll be ok." Twilight said.
"Don't worry, Wookiees are tough, they'll be ok." Spyro replied. "Plus, they know this planet better than anyone else, they'll be safe."
"But what about the spiders?" Twilight asked. "Won't they attack them?"
"The Wookiees have survived on this planet for many years." Spyro replied. "They know how to avoid all of the dangers and how every animal behaves. They'll be more than safe." Spyro looked down and then spotted an Imperial Refinery, seeing how it was destroying the trees and how many of the Wookiees were being forced to work as they were wearing some collars that delivered a shock if they tried to rebel, so Spyro smiled and flew down a bit, activating his Meteor laser missile cannons and firing them into the power generators, causing all power to go out and free the Wookiees as their collars opened, cells deactivated, making the troopers try to fight back, but the Wookiees were many and the troopers had poor aim, getting overwhelmed by them. "Of course it doesn't hurt to have some help from a few friends."
The mares shook their heads at him, taking their seats as Spyro got the ship out of the planet's atmosphere, putting in the coordinates for Equestria as they jumped into Warp Space, passing through the tunnel of lights and colors until they got back home, Spyro piloting the ship back to the farm right as the sun was going down. As the ship landed in the garage, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo came out, happy to see that everyone was back as they walked down the ramp.
"Welcome back everypony!" Apple Bloom exclaimed, happy to see them. "Did ya have fun!? Did ya bring anything back!?"
"Just the crates Spyro went to get in the first place." Applejack replied.
"What's in them?" Scootaloo asked.
"Lightsaber parts." Spyro replied.
"Lightsaber parts?" Apple Bloom asked.
"You mean I can get my own Lightsaber!?" Scootaloo asked.
"Once you get your crystal, you can." Spyro replied. "For now, it's time for bed."
Before the fillies could say anything else, Applejack and Spyro picked them up and put them on their backs, heading for the farm house while Twilight and Rosy went into town to get to the library for the night while Midnight followed them, following Rosy and Twilight into town so as to have a place to stay for a while. The next day, everyone was getting up and going about their chores for the day, though there wasn't much for Spyro to do, so he decided to go into town for a bit to get some things for the farm as Applejack was planning on rebuilding the farm later in the afternoon and Spyro volunteered to help, but the farm mare said she already had enough help from some of the other ponies in town, so he decided to get a couple of missing items for the lightsabers as he was planning on having Twilight build her lightsaber today, beginning her training in the ways of the Force, but first decided to get something to eat, heading for Sugarcube Corner to get some breakfast, walking in and seeing Mrs. Cake was at the counter with the twins nearby, playing with their toys, which they were already getting bigger just for being a few months old.
"Morning Mrs. Cake." Spyro said.
"Oh, morning dearie." Mrs. Cake said. "You seem to be in better spirits than you were yesterday."
"Well what can I say, a little adventure helps to take the mind off what brings ya down." Spyro replied. "Anyway, got any chocolate chip muffins today?"
"You're in luck." Mrs. Cake said. "Just took a fresh batch out of the oven. I'll go get ya one."
Mrs. cake then walked away from the counter right as the foals crawled over to Spyro, which Pumpkin cake crawled up on the top of his head while Pound cake hopped on his back, trying to get to his sister as he smiled as the little unicorn filly laughed, being tickled by Spyro's mane as he picked her up and held her.
"In the meantime, I'll foal nap your little baby's and playing with them, forever! Ma ha ha ha!" Spyro said, tickling the little bundles of joy as he blew raspberries on their bellies, making them laugh uncontrollably as he played with them.
As he was playing with the foals, Mrs. Cake had just brought out a fresh muffin for him to have when Pinkie came bursting in, panting heavily as she slide across the floor, slamming into the counter and getting everyone's attention, but went about their day as it was just Pinkie being Pinkie. She got up and rubbed her head, stars coming off of the lump on her head when she saw Spyro, gasping as she rushed up to him excitedly.
"Hi Spyro!" Pinkie exclaimed. "You doing anything fun today!?"
"Not really." Spyro replied. "I'm planning a training session later today for you girls to learn how to fly a ship. And this afternoon I landed on helping twilight make her lightsaber as she has a Kyber crystal."
"Oh, that sounds like tons of fun!" Pinkie said.
"Not really." Spyro replied. "It's a long and tedious process. And Twilight's just only recently discovered her Force abilities, so I'm hoping that teaching her to make a lightsaber can help her to strengthen her connection to the Force. But, if I may ask Pinkie, you're acting a bit more strange than usual. What's gotten you acting up like this?"
"Too much fun... not enough time... to get to fun." Pinkie replied, breathing heavily before collapsing to the ground.
"And there's your aunt Pinkie being Pinkie." Spyro said to Pumpkin and Pound, carrying the foals to the play pen and putting them in it. After he put the foals into their playpen, Spyro went over and got Pinkie a chair, helping her into it as Mrs. Cake brought over his order, paying for it as she got there. "Now Pinkie, what do you mean by too much fun, not enough time?"
"Well, I was running around, trying to see what everypony was doing because it's pretty hard to have so many friends and not be able to be apart of the fun they are having without me, so I was trying to run around, figure out what everypony is doing and try to be apart of the fun that I am missing out on!" Pinkie replied, her head falling onto the table as she gasped for air.
"Pinkie, trying to be everywhere at once isn't exactly possible, you know that right?" Spyro asked, taking a bite out of his muffin. "The best you can do it choose what you want to do and go with it."
"But that's the problem!" Pinkie exclaimed. "I mean, just today, I ran into Twilight doing some spells and I kinda made her miss the orange and caused her to turn a bird into an orange."
"Wait she did what to a bird?" Spyro asked, now more confused than ever.
"And I saw rarity wearing a beautiful dress that I missed out on watching her make it!" Pinkie continued, ignoring his question. "So I tried to run around to see what everypony else was doing, but got very tired after stopping at Fluttershy, which she had her butterflies help me to calm down, which it was super soothing, but then Rainbow Dash and Applejack both have some totally fun things to do this afternoon at the same time, and you with teaching Twilight how to use the Force, this is driving me more Loco-coco than usual!"
As she finished her rant, her head slammed on the table again, taking a deep breath while Spyro shook his head, surprised at the party mare was actually stressed out instead of being her usually cheery self.
"Pinkie, I don't know what to tell ya." Spyro said, taking another bite of his muffin. "Even with your unnatural speed, you can't make it to both events and my teachings all at once unless you can clone yourself. Best thing to do is choose one of them to go to and go with it." He the took another bite form his muffin, but when he looked back at Pinkie Pie, her head started to tilt while ticking, making Spyro worry as she started to ring, now knowing that couldn't be good. "Pinkie, you're not going to blow up on me, are you?"
"That's it!" Pinkie exclaimed, knocking Spyro down and standing on top of him. "The legend of the Mirror Pool!"
"Uh, the what?" Spyro asked, having a bad feeling about what's going to happen.
"The legend of the Mirror Pool!" Pinkie repeated. "It's an ancient legend my Granny Pie told me all about, which it is about a pool of magical that can clone you! This way I can be with both my friends at the same time!"
Spyro looked at Pinkie, now knowing that the bad feeling he had about this was getting worse, but before he could talk her out of it, she was out the door, giving him a chance to get up and look to Mrs. Cake, both sharing the same worried expression.
"We both know this is not going to end well, right?" Spyro asked.
"Dearie, I think we both know Pinkie Pie better than she knows herself." Mrs. Cake responded.
"Alright, better go after her." Spyro said, walking past the table he sat at while using his tails blade to stab the muffin as he walked out, munching on it as he walked after the bouncing mare. As they walked, they soon came into the Everfree, which gave Spyro's bad feeling bout this whole thing a boost, now knowing this was probably a terrible idea as they went deeper and deeper into the forest.
"Pinkie, you sure you know where you're going?" Spyro asked. "This doesn't seem like the best place to find this Mirror Pool of yours."
"Of course I do silly!" Pinkie replied. "At least, I think I do. I just gotta remember the rhymes from my Nana Pie's stories."
"Terrific." Spyro said, walking after her.
"Now, let's see if I remember those rhymes correctly." Pinkie said, approaching an area thick with bramble. "Where the brambles are thickest, there you will find, a pond beyond the twisted of vines!"
She then tried to go through the brambles, Spyro following suit, but as they went, the brush and bramble scratched up their coats, snagged on Spyro's jacket, even getting caught on his hair and horns, which he heated his body up to burn the bramble off before releasing a gust of ice to prevent a forest fire as they went along.
"No offense Pinkie, but I think you may have gotten your randomness from your grandmother." Spyro said, not paying attention to where he was going. "I mean, seriously, a magical pond that can clone you, in the middle of the Everfree forest? Yeah, makes total sense to have it out-"
He didn't get to finish as he suddenly slipped, doing the Wilhelm scream as he fell in followed by the goofy yell, falling, bouncing around, and slamming into walls of a tunnel until he was spat out inside of a large room, slamming into the ground and seeing stars as he tried to get up, but before he could, Pinkie landed right on top of him after yelling and screaming like it was an amusement park ride, making Spyro gasp and groan in both surprise and pain.
"WHEE, that was fun!" Pinkie said, oblivious to Spyro as he groaned in pain. "Hey Spyro, I think you found it."
"You don't say." Spyro said, Pinkie getting off of him and giving him a chance to stand up, berating himself for not paying attention to his surroundings and using either his powers or his wings to recover. "Note to self, take your own advice after training."
As he opened his eyes after cracking his back, he could see the room itself was well lit with some fungi and a few rays of sunlight shining in from cracks to show the cavern was covered in plant-life and in the center was the pool Pinkie was talking about, but near it was some writing on the wall, getting Spyro's attention.
"Ooh, pretty decorations!" Pinkie said, walking to the pool.
"I don't think they're decorations." Spyro said, walking to one of the walls and pushing the plants away. "It's some kind of writing. It's familiar, but it's faded. I can't understand a word."
"Well maybe they're just the instructions on how to use the pool!" Pinkie suggested. "Which I already know how to use thanks to my Nana Pie." She then stopped in front of the pool. "Now how did the rest of the rhyme go? 'And into her own reflection she stared, yearning for one whose reflection she shared.'" She then reached out her hoof and the reflection did the same, however, a moment later, a literal hoof came out of the pool, spooking Spyro as he backed away. "And solemnly swear not to be scared of being doubly mared!"
Spyro could not believe his eyes as he was now starring at two Pinkie Pies, feeling his heart stop as he saw the two pink earth ponies.
"Fun!" The clone said.
"It worked!" Pinkie said excitedly
"Fun, fun!" The clone repeated.
"By Kingdom hearts, it actually worked." Spyro said, stunned in momentary silence before being brought back to reality by Pinkie pushing him.
"Alright Spyro, your turn!" Pinkie said.
"Uh, no thanks, I'm good." Spyro replied. "If I want to duplicate myself, I'll use my duplication spell."
"Oh come on, it's not that bad!"Pinkie replied. "Besides, it's lots of fun!"
"Fun!" The clone said, zipping around. "Where's the fun!?" I wanna have fun!"
Spyro was hesitant as he looked into the magical pool, seeing a reflection of himself in the pool, looking back to Pinkie and seeing she was standing with her clone.
"Do I need to say it the same way you did?" Spyro asked, but the ponies just smiled at him, making him groan as he didn't get an answer. "I'll take that as a maybe." He then looked back at the pool and took a deep breath, trying to psyche himself up for it, but wasn't;t feeling all that enthusiastic about it. "I got a bad feeling about this. And into her own reflections she stared, yearning for one whose reflection she shared. And solemnly swear not to be scared of being doubly mared."
Spyro cringed at himself for referring to himself as a girl, thinking it wouldn't work for him as he was a male, but a moment later, the water started to ripple, looking down at his reflection to see what was up and he saw his own hoof come out of the water, his body moving on it's own as he reached down and grabbed it. However, the reflection soon changed as his reflection was replaced by something else, a bright light glowed around the rim of the pool in the Elven language, the reflection pulled his hoof into the water, Spyro feeling something pour out of him and into the water as his reflection became dark, the words around the pool turned purple as bright light shined out, blinding everyone as they covered their eyes.
"What's going on!?" Pinkie asked.
"Fun!?" The other Pinkie replied, equally confused as the original.
"This was not supposed to happen, right!?" Spyro asked.
As he tried to yank his clone out, his vision went dark as he squeezed his eyes shut, trying not to go blind, but when he opened them again, he found he was back in his heart, confusion washing over him until he heard what sounded like yelling, Spyro looking around until he saw the second pillar, this time it looked like it had a few more pieces, but it was still ruined, walking to the edge until heard the screaming again, this time he looked to his right and saw a rift, running over to it as he saw someone fall through the darkness, so he reached his hoof out to whoever it was, wanting to help them and they took his hoof, Spyro pulling as hard as he could as the darkness tried to hold onto him, but Spyro gave one more tug and the rift started to shine, causing them to both fly out in the heart and in the real world, the light beginning to dim as Spyro landed on the ground, both Pinkie's opening their eyes to see Spyro on the ground unconscious, but before they could walk over to him, they both heard someone groan, looking over to see a unicorn grey stallion with a black mane lift his head up, shaking his head to get his bearings back before looking at his hoof, shocked to see it as he looked at himself.
"I'm... I'm back?" The pony asked, shakily getting up. "But... how? How's this possible?" He looked around and saw an unconscious Spyro, now even more confused than before when his eyes trailed over to the two Pinkie's, who were starring at him in confusion as he starred back, the two ponies familiar, but he didn't know them. "Um, hi?"
"Hi!" The clone said, tackling and bouncing on top of the pony, repeating the word fun every time she bounced on him.
"Gah, hey!" The pony said, pushing the clone off of him. "I am not a bounce house!"
"Who are you?" Pinkie asked, walking up to the mystery pony. "And... why do you look so familiar?"
"Oh, I'm-" The pony said, though he was interrupted by hearing Spyro groan, the purple hybrid slowly getting up and rubbing his head.
"Pinkie, remind me never to do that ever again." Spyro said, looking to the party ponies, but then froze, both he and the grey pony looking at one another in shock as they both got up, approaching one another as Spyro lifted his foreleg up, grabbing the grey pony by the shoulder, shocked to find he was flesh and blood. "Sombra?"
"Sombra!?" Pinkie exclaimed loudly.
"Spyro?" Sombra asked, equally as shocked. "What is-"
Before he could ask anything, Pinkie hit the pony in the head with a cartoonishly massive mallet, knocking him out cold in one hit, Spyro looking at the party pony in horror.
"Pinkie!" Spyro exclaimed.
"What?" Pinkie asked. "That's Sombra! The biggest meanie mean, baddie bad bully we know!"
"No Pinkie, this is the real Sombra." Spyro replied, picking him up. "Not his darker half, the actual Sombra."
"Wait, the real Sombra?" Pinkie asked, putting the mallet into her tail, much to his curiosity how she was able to store it. "How is that possible?"
"Beats me." Spyro replied. "Maybe pieces of his heart merged with mine whenever we fused. Still..."
Spyro looked back to the pool, trying to figure out how Sombra came out of the pool instead of a clone of himself, questions forming in his mind as he looked at the elven script.
"So, why did he come out of the pool instead of a clone of yourself?" Pinkie asked. "Or your Nobody?"
"Why would me Nobody come out of the pool?" Spyro asked.
"Oh, no reason." Pinkie replied, pushing a book underneath a rock.
"Ok then." Spyro replied, unsure how to respond to that as a latch in his bracers opened, a small drone coming out of it. "Scan the elven language around the pool. I was every noun uploaded into my bracers so I can study them later."
The drone made a couple of beeping sounds as it flew to the pool, a blue beam shooting out and beginning to scan the rim of the pool to collect information about the elven words around the pool.
"Ooh, what is that thingy!?" The clone asked. "Looks like fun! I wanna have fun!? Where's the fun!? Is it here!? There!? I don't see any fun!"
"Calm down me." Pinkie replied. "There's lots of fun to be had in Ponyville with my other friends! Come on, I'll tell you all about them."
Pinkie lead her clone out of the massive cave with Spyro close behind, an unconscious Sombra on his back as they walked up the pathway out of the Mirror Pool, leaving the drone alone in the cave to scan the writing around the pool. As they reached the surface, Pinkie and her clones were both bouncing up and down together, having fun as they made there way to town, but a moment later, Sombra started to stir, groaning as he felt his head splitting, rubbing his head as he woke up.
"Ugh, my head." Sombra said. "What was I hit with?"
"Pinkie hit you with a mallet, thinking you were still evil." Spyro replied, getting Sombra off his back.
"Does she always do that to ponies?" Sombra asked.
"Nah, she usually gives you a bone crushing hug before throwing you a party." Spyro replied, making Sombra look at the two party ponies quizzically.
"Is this Ponyville!?" Clone Pinkie asked. "I wanna have fun! Where's the fun!?!?""
"Well, Applejack is having a barn raising right about now." Pinkie said, her clone zooming away int he opposite direction. "Wait, it's the other way!" The clone then zoomed off in that direction. "Wait, come back!" The clone returned to her, bouncing excitedly. "Be sure to meet me here at this spot. I wanna hear all about the fun you had, which I had, that is also what we had! Oh my gosh, this is the greatest plan ever!"
"I wouldn't say that." Spyro whispered, the two ponies running in opposite directions.
"Shouldn't we stop them or something?" Sombra asked. "For some reason, I've got a bad feeling this is going to go wrong in a heart beat."
"Eh, she'll be fine." Spyro replied. "Anyway, I'm more interested in trying to understand how it is you're back. What kind of magic would be strong enough to bring you back." Spyro then walked around Sombra, using his power of the Force to see if he could find anything, much to Sombra's discomfort. "Well, it's definitely not Necromancy nor is it Holy magic. Hmm, maybe if I get you to my Garage, we can run some tests and figure it out there."
"Well, as much as that sounds like fun, I actually want to do something first." Sombra responded. "If it's alright guy you, I'd like to go and see Celestia, spend a little time with her."
Spyro wanted to quickly get Sombra back to the garage and figure out how he was back, but he could not help but smile, imagining how happy Princess Celestia would be to see Sombra again, nodding his head in agreement.
"Sure, the tests can wait until tomorrow." Spyro replied. "Go be with your princess. You deserve your happily ever after."
"Thank you Spyro." Sombra said, looking to Canterlot and running. "Hold on my love, I'm cominAAAAAAHH!"
Spyro looked to the creaming, seeing Sombra was on the ground, writhing in pain as his body was flickering, shaking and twisting like he was having an attack, making Spyro's heart crawl into his stomach.
"Sombra!" Spyro shouted, running over to him.
As he got closer, Spmbra's body stopped flickering, Spyro sliding to a halt and turning him over to check on him, finding he was unconscious. Without waiting, Spyro scooped the unconscious stallion up and rushed back towards the apple farm, jumping into the air and flapping his wings, going as fast as he could, reaching the farm as soon as possible. A while later, Sombra started to open his eyes, feeling light headed and feeling weightless, wanting to move when he found himself in some kind of cylinder, surrounded by some kind of water with something in his mouth, panicking as he tried to get out, struggling against something that was wrapped underneath his armpits, freeing himself as he shot out of the top, gasping and looking around, seeing he was in some kind of building, breathing heavily as he tried to get out.
"Morning sleeping beauty." Spyro said, looking up at him from a console.
"Spyro, where am I?" Sombra asked, looking around. "And what did I wake up in?"
"It's a Bacta Tank." Spyro replied. "It's a device that's filled with Bacta, a special liquid that can heal wounds. I put you in the tank as a precaution incase you had any injures you got when you fell. As for where you are, you're in my Gummi Garage, which houses my ships and my labs."
"Ok, so, why am I here?" Sombra asked.
"Well, when you tried to leave my side, you collapsed." Spyro replied. "I'm trying to figure out the cause and if it can be treated. AIVA, begin scanning. Give me every bit of information you can acquire about what happened to Sombra."
A moment later, a couple of mechanical arms equipped with scanners came down right as Sombra got out of the tank, shaking the liquid off right as arms began scanning, making him recoil backwards to get away, but before he could move, the scan was complete and the arms moved away, a holographic image of AIVA in pony form appeared in front of them.
"Scan complete sir." AIVA announced, the hologram turning yellow for a moment before returning to blue. "Sir, there is something you need to see." She then moved to the side as a new hologram appeared, fascinating Sombra as he approached. "It appears that a few pieces of Sombra's heart found their way into your heart."
"Yeah, kinda figured that part out." Spyro said. "But what I want to know AIVA is how was he able to come back and why did he collapse when he got too far away from me."
"Well, the Mirror Pool, as you call it, appears to have the power to replicate one's self using their reflection." AIVA replied, an image of the pool appearing. "The pools powers however seem to have another effect."
"What kind of effect?" Sombra asked, beating Spyro to the question as the image zoomed in on the elven symbols.
"There is very little to go on with current elven texts and scriptures." AIVA said. "However, I was able to decode some of the writing. It appears the pool can also restore a heart and the body, bringing them back to life."
"Wait, seriously!?" Spyro asked, shocked to be learning this. "AIVA, please repeat, how the heck can it restore a shattered heart!?"
"I an unable to give you that information at this moment." AIVA replied. "However, what I can tell you is that it can bring someone whose heart is shattered back into existence."
"So if the pool can bring someone back to existence, then anyone can use it to bring someone back?" Spyro asked.
"Confirmed." AIVA replied. "Anyone who houses two hearts can transfer the second heart into a new body whether they are good or bad, bringing them back into existence."
Spyro was completely shocked, hearing that pool Pinkie's grandmother told her all about could bring someone back to life by recreating their body using the pool, transferring the heart into the water's reflection and pulling them out, bringing them back to life.
"This... this is amazing!" Spyro said, looking to the pool. "But... what about when Sombra tried to leave my side and collapse as soon as he got twenty feet away from me?"
"Because sir, the transfer was incomplete." AIVA replied. "Sombra's heart is severely damaged, as only a few pieces managed to merge with your heart, preserving some trace amount of his existence. And those pieces are still merged with your heart sir, so if Sombra goes too far, he will start to fade."
"Ok, so that means he's stuck being right next to me for life." Spyro said, scratching his chin. "Or until his heart is fully restored. Well, at least you're alive again and can now live your life how you want to... partially."
"I'm afraid sir that is not the scenario." AIVA said, pulling up another screen. "While Ms. Pie replica is perfect and it has a heart, Sombra isn't perfect. His body will only last until tomorrow morning, after which, whatever pieces of his heart are in the new body will return to you immediately."
"WHAT!?" The all exclaimed at once.
"So you're saying Sombra only has a day until his body destabilizes and his heart merges with mine again?" Spyro asked.
"Unfortunately, yes sir." AIVA replied.
"So, what now?" Sombra asked.
"Well, since you can;t leave my side or else you're going to start fading, I'll take you to Canterlot." Spyro said, walking to the exit with Sombra nearby.
"Wait, seriously?" Sombra asked. "You'd... you'd actually do that... for me?"
"Why not?" Spyro asked. "That's what friends are for. But first, I want to introduce you to my friends."
"Are they as crazy as the pink one?" Sombra asked.
"Nah, they're all pretty cool." Spyro replied. "And they're my herd as well."
"Wait, Celestia granted you a herd!?" Sombra asked in surprise, following him.
While they were in the garage, Spyro looked over to the crates full of lightsaber parts and took a detour, activating the Anti-gravity on the crate and pushing it with them as they walked into town, but as they were walking, the screens went off as the drone inside of the caves completed scanning, transferring the data directly into his bracers. At the Golden Oak library, Twilight was reading some books, after Pinkie's continued interruptions, she decided to practice inside of the library, without anyone distracting her. However, a moment later, she heard someone knocking at the door, walking over to see who it was as she opened the door and saw Spyro with one of the crates they brought back from their adventure at Lothal.
"Hey Spyro." Twilight said. "What can I do for you?"
"Well actually, it's what I can do for you." Spyro replied. "Twilight, it's time to begin your training on the ways of the Force."
"Wait, so soon!?" Twilight asked.
"Twilight, you're naturally gifted and your power only recently surfaced." Spyro replied. "It's time you learned how to use that power, and we'll start by you constructing your lightsaber."
Spyro walked in, Twilight letting him in, but as soon as Sombra walked in, it was as if time slowed down, seeing the tyrant king walk in after Spyro made her blood freeze and her heart stop, instinctively, she summoned her Keyblade and swung, but Sombra looked just in time to see the attack coming and dodged, Spyro looking back to see Twilight attacking Sombra as the former dark king tried to dodge her attacks, only to be grabbed using her magic and throwing him against the walls and into the ceiling before tossing him towards the statue, Sombra getting ready to hit the thing, but Spyro used his own magic to grab him, his aura surrounding the injured unicorn and setting him down gently.
"Twilight, stop, he's not evil!" Spyro said, getting in front of him.
"Are you serious Spyro!?" Twilight asked, ready for a fight. "Spyro, that's Sombra! He nearly destroyed the Crystal Empire!"
"That was his darkness, not him." Spyro replied. "Please Twilight, trust me."
"But... he's the tyrant king." Twilight said, standing straight up. "What if he tries to attack us and take over Equestria?"
"He won't." Spyro said, walking up to her. "I understand your fear Twilight, but Sombra was corrupted, it wasn't his fault. Someone or something corrupted him, slowly eating away at him until his heart was nothing but fragments. And now, he's cured, the darkness is gone, and he has a chance at a new life, thanks to the Mirror Pool."
"Mirror Pool?" Twilight asked.
"It's a long story." Spyro said.
They both heard Sombra groan, rubbing his head as he was getting up and looked up, seeing Twilight approach as he got ready to be attack, but Twilight helped him up, dusting him off.
"Sorry Sombra." Twilight said. "Kinda got a bit ahead of myself."
"It's fine, really." Sombra replied, giving her a warm smile. "I would have been the same way."
As they were making up, Spyro opened the crate and tapped his hoof on the crate, getting their attention.
"Glad to see you're friends now." Spyro said. "Now, let's get started. Twilight, come here please." Both she and Sombra walked over, Spyro lying on his stomach with his legs tucked underneath with his forelegs out as did Twilight, Sombra sitting nearby as Spike came out after getting something to snack on. "Twilight, can you present your crystal please."
"Sure, one moment." Twilight said.
She used her magic to open a drawer, opening it to get the Kyber Crystal out of it, placing it in front of Spyro as he used his magic to pick it up, smiling at her.
"This is perfect Twilight." Spyro said. "Kyber crystals are all en tuned with the Force, meaning they can channel the Force into a powerful weapon. Used correctly, it's a weapon for peace. Far more elegant than a blaster and not as random either. And today, you get to build your first lightsaber."
"Alright!" Twilight exclaimed, feeling excited as she looked at all the hilts in front of her. "So, which one of these hilts do I use!?"
"That's for you to decide Twilight." Spyro replied. "But you shouldn't get just choose a random hilt. It needs to be one that's suited for you."
"And, how would I know which ones for me?" Twilight asked.
"Close your eyes." Spyro said, Twilight giving him a quizzical look. "Trust me." Twilight closed her eyes, doing as she was told as she listened to him. "Clear your mind, don't think about what you want, feel what is the best fit for you. Let the Force guide you."
Twilight tried as he suggested, clearing her mind, but felt nothing, starting t get frustrated and wanting to just say something to get a random hilt, but then she saw something, a hilt right before her, but the hilt itself looked strange to her, the hilt black in color, but with silver etching around the emitter and going around the front before moving upward, looping around the switch that activates the saber and the one that changes the length of the saber itself, both of which were on the front. There was also a layer of wood in the saber hilt, the same silver etching in it that made triangles on it while there was also a bit of wood at the bottom end of the hilt with a silver ring around the top, looking at the bottom to show there was a second saber like it, both connecting and igniting right in front of her and making her open her eyes.
"I... I think I know what I want." Twilight said, looking to Spyro.
"You think, or you know?" Spyro asked. "You must be certain Twilight, otherwise it won't work for you."
"I know the hilt is want." Twilight said. "I saw it."
"Then, look before you Twilight." Spyro said, showing her what was there. "Many of the parts I got from Ashoka when we went to Lothal, others i made myself to give these sabers a unique look. Once you've found what you want, point to it and we can begin."
Twilight looked at all the sabers in front of her, finding many different kinds of sabers with many different designs, some looked elegant, others looked like they could rip you apart without the laser sword. She could see what she saw for her saber, getting ready to give up when she spotted what she was looking for, the inverted rapier guard and the hilt decoration itself, using her magic to pull it to her and set it in front of her.
"This is it." Twilight said, looking at it. "This is the hilt."
"Interesting." Spyro said, looking at her choice. "This saber itself is a unique design, representing wisdom and knowledge with some Brylark wood in it, as strong as metal."
"Did... did I choose wrong?" Twilight asked, getting nervous.
"No Twilight, you didn't." Spyro replied. "The Force guided you to this particular saber, so it is meant for you. Now, onto hot to construct it." Spyro then took out his own saber, closing his eyes as he used the Force to levitate it, deconstructing it right in front of Twilight, much to her amazement and curiosity as she got to see the inside of the saber. "A lightsaber is made up of many different parts, each piece of the hilt necessary for it to work. Constructing one by hoof is difficult as it's easy to get it wrong, but through the Force, it'll come to you."
"It'll come to me?" Twilight asked. "How?"
"By focusing." Spyro replied, constructing the crystal chamber for her. "For many, they use the Force to help construct their lightsabers, letting the design come to them, but only if they allow the Force to guide them on how to construct the saber itself. Every piece and part can fit into the overall design of the saber, but only if you concentrate, and let it come to you."
He then set the chamber down in front of Twilight, which she seemed nervous as she looked up at Spyro, not sure if she could do it.
"But... what if I get it wrong?" Twilight asked. "Will I fail?"
"This isn't a test Twilight." Spyro responded. "If you get it wrong, we'll try again, and again, and again, as many time as it needs to be until your saber is complete." Twilight looked at Spyro, feeling her nerves get the best of her, but she took a deep breath and reached her hoof out, wanting to get started, but Spyro reached out and grabbed her hoof, making her blush as she looked up at him, seeing how serious he looked while also seemingly, calm and serene. "Remember twilight, let the design come to you. Let the Force show you what to do."
Twilight didn't fully understand how the Force would show her how to make her Lightsaber, looking down at the hilt pieces and parts, trying to imagine how they could go together, but then closed her eyes, letting her mind become clear again as she reached out with the Force, trying to figure out how to build the saber, but nothing happened, making the mare worry as she tried again, this time focusing on the saber and nothing but the saber and this time, the focusing lens started to shake, Spyro leaning forward as it and a few other parts started to levitate up.
"Wow." Sombra said, which Spyro indicated for him to be quiet.
"Good Twilight, good." Spyro said, Twilight sitting up. "Let the design come to you, let the Force assemble the saber for you, let it flow through you, guide you, nurture you. Feel it all around you, and now, assemble your Lightsaber." As he was talking, Twilight could clearly see how the saber was supposed to be assembled, sitting back and using her hooves to move the saber around, the parts moving as she moved them as the pieces started to connect, some parts twisting and turning as they were about to connect, but then they heard a commotion outside, breaking Twilight's concentration as the pieces all fell down and back into the tray, making Twilight groan. "It's alright Twilight, we can try again later. But I wonder what's with the commotion outside."
Spyro put the other saber's away while keeping the one Twilight picked out on a nearby table, everyone walking outside to see their friends and about half of Ponyville at the front of the library, everyone yelling over one another to tell them what happened to find a solution.
"Yikes, that's a lot of angry ponies." Sombra said, walking out. "Think they're here for me?"
"I don't think so." Spyro replied. "Only myself, my friends, the princesses, and the captain of the royal guard know anything about you outside of the Crystal Ponies. Something else has this angry mob going."
"Everypony, calm down!" Twilight shouted, trying to talk over the shouting.
"Calm down!?" Rarity exclaimed angrily. "I just had a hurricane of Pinkie Pie's rage through my shop!"
"Uh oh." Spyro said, looking to Sombra.
"And they trashed our critter picnic." Fluttershy said, though she was quiet most of the time, she looked unhappy.
"Them darn Pinkie's also ruined our barn raising!" Applejack shouted.
"Wait, two Pinkie's did all this?" Spyro asked, getting a dirty look from everyone.
"Spyro, ya know somethin' about what's going on?" Applejack asked, looking to his right and her eyes widened when she saw Sombra. "It's Sombra!"
"Sombra!" Rarity screamed.
The rest of the town didn't know what the screaming was about, but they all joined in, screaming about everything right as Applejack got her Keyblade out and charged, however Spyro was ready for it this time and called his own, blocking the attack from the farm mare and confusing her.
"AJ, stand down!" Spyro exclaimed. "He's on our side!"
"Did ya flip yer lid or somethin'!?" Applejack asked. "That's Sombra, remember!?"
"But not the one you remember." Spyro replied. "This is his lighter half, not his darkness. And he's with me. Please, put the weapon away."
Applejack gave Sombra a distrusting look, but did as Spyro asked, dismissing her blade as Spyro did the same.
"Oh, thank you Spyro." Sombra said. "Was not looking forward to getting hit again."
"Anyway, we have an idea of what's going on." Spyro said. "But I doubt two Pinkie pies can cause this much chaos."
"Spyro's right, we just need to calm down." Twilight said, a Pinkie appearing right next to her and mimicking her movements and words, surprising Spyro. "We'll figure this out and we'll get this entire thing fixed. We just need to remain calm and everything will be sorted out."
"Um Twilight..." Spyro said, pointing to the Pinkie next to her.
However as soon as he did, about a few dozen or so appeared out of the crowd, all chanting 'Fun' and making Spyro's eyes widen in surprise and horror, seeing there were so many Pinkie's now.
"Oh my gosh!" Twilight said. "Spyro, Sombra, Library now!"
The three of them all ran inside of the library for cover while there was an entire army of Pinkie's outside, causing the crowd to run in random directions to find cover from the storm of Pinkie's.
"How the heck are there so many Pinkie's!?" Spyro exclaimed, looking out the window. "There were only two when he left her!"
"That's what I want to know!" Sombra said, helping twilight through the books. "We need to find something that can help fix this whole mess!"
The three of them started to ransack through the books to find anything that could help them get out of their predicament when Spike found a secret compartment behind the books, pressing the horseshoe shaped button and the panel opened, revealing a book was hidden behind there and he pulled the book out.
"Twilight, I found something!" Spike said, presenting the book.
Spike took the book out and rushed over with it, presenting it to the three of them as a hot pink aura, Twilight lifting it up to see what was written until she found the what they were looking for.
"Aha, here it is!" Twilight exclaimed. "The legend of the Mirror Pool! Look, there's a spell here I can use to send the Pinkie's back into the pool! But..."
"But what?" Sombra asked.
"The clones are near perfect replica's." Spyro replied. "Meaning they look, act, and sound like Pinkie. Meaning if we zap the real Pinkie, we send her to the pong, loosing her forever."
"So, all we need to do is figure out which is the really Pinkie, and everything is good." Spike said.
"Spike, what part of near perfect didn't you get?" Spyro asked.
"Well can;t you use the Force and see who's the real one or not?" Spike asked.
"That will take time." Spyro replied. "And judging by the number of Pinkie's outside, there's a good chance the town will be destroyed before we figure out which Pinkie is the real one."
"Then what do we do?" Sombra asked.
"Well, we will first need to round them all up, then we'll figure out what to do from there." Spyro replied. "But... where will we hold them though?"
"What about the town hall?" Spike suggested. "It might be large enough to hold them all."
"That's perfect!" Spyro said. "Alright, Twilight, fill the others in on what we're doing, tell them to gather every Pinkie they can find and bring them to the town hall. Sombra, you and I are going to go around and get as many Pinkie's as we can find."
The three of them then ran out of the library to do what they were ordered, Twilight letting their friends know what they were up too and everyone rounding up all the Pinkie's they could find and bringing them to the Town Hall, Sombra sticking close to Spyro as they can;t stray too far from one another, otherwise he'd have himself an attack. The two of them ran through the town, collecting as many Pinkie's as possible and bringing them to the building in the center, doing a once over to make sure they didn't miss any.
"So Spyro, can I ask you something?" Sombra asked.
"What's on your mind Sombra?" Spyro asked.
"Well, I noticed how much you like Twilight, being in your heart and everything." Sombra said. "But... do you really like her?"
"Of course I do Sombra." Spyro replied. "I love her as I love everyone in my herd. Even Luna."
"Princess Luna!?" Sombra asked, completely shocked. "How the heck did you land her into your herd!?"
"Well, let's just say that I had the key to her heart." Spyro said, making Sombra snicker.
"That's a Keyblade joke, right?" Sombra asked. "Anyway, how do you find time to be with them? It must be difficult to make time for them individually."
"It's true, it is difficult." Spyro replied. "But I find time, no matter what. Every now and then, I make time in my schedule to take one of them out to dinner, make time for some snuggling, even the occasional kiss under a starry night sky. No matter what or when, I always make time for them."
Sombra looked at Spyro, impressed with how he handles himself in battle and with his herd, wondering if he would ever have the chance to be with the mare that he loves as well. As they were coming to the one area they hadn't checked yet, they saw another Pinkie with her head on a table, looking depressed and circling her hoof around.
"There's one more over there!" Sombra said. "And she's depressed! This'll be easy."
"Wait a minute." Spyro said. "This one's different. I think this is the real one."
"You sure?" Sombra asked.
"This one's not bouncing around shouting fun all the time." Spyro replied, walking over. "Not to mention all the clones are all happy and care free while this one's sad and seems to be deep in thought."
"Ok, both of those are good points." Sombra said. "So, do we just pick her up and put her with the others."
"I got a better idea." Spyro said. "Hey Pinkie!"
"Oh, hi Spyro, Sombra." Pinkie replied, making the frown on her face bigger than before.
"Oh yeah, this is the real one alright." Spyro said.
"Am I?" Pinkie asked. "I tried to tell ponies I was the real Pinkie, but nopony believed me. Oh, if only I hadn't made so many clones of my self and my clone selves made clones of their clones selves, and their clone selves made clone selves of their clone selves, causing so much trouble that even I'm starting to get sick and tired of having fun!" Pinkie then stalled her head into the table, mumbling to herself as her mane started to deflate. "And I went and made Spyro create a clone of himself, but instead of it being a clone of himself, it's actually Sombra, whose heart was inside of him and brought him back to life!"
"Are you sure it's really her?" Sombra asked. "What if the clones are smarter than they look?"
"No, I know it's her." Spyro said, walking up to her. "I can feel it in my heart."
"But what if your heart is wrong?" Sombra asked.
"It's never wrong." Spyro said, sitting down next to her. "I know my Pinkie Pie anywhere."
He then stuck his tongue out, a little forked tongue that he used to tickle her ear, making the depressed party mare giggle and laugh, wiping away the sad look on her face.
"Spyro, stop that!" She exclaimed happily. "That tickles!"
"There's the Pinkie I know and love." Spyro said, hugging her, which made Sombra smile. "And I might have an idea to prove to everyone that you're the real Pinkie Pie."
"Really!?" Pinkie asked excitedly. "How!?"
"Come with us and we'll show you." Spyro replied, the two of them getting up. "Twilight has an idea on how to find out who the real Pinkie is. But, it's going to be boring."
The three of them left together, heading in the direction of the town hall where everyone else was waiting for them. As they were walking, they looked around to see if they're were any more Pinkie Pie clones they had to drag to the town hall with them, but even with Spyro using the Force to see int there were any they had missed, he could sense that all of them were already in the Town Hall, waiting for them. They then arrived at the town hall and opened the doors, looking in to see the entire room was filled with Pinkie Pie's but what amazed Spyro the most was how they were able to get them to sit on the ground and not bounce around.
"Twilight, we got one more." Spyro said, the sad Pinkie walking in and taking a seat among the crowd.
"I think that's the last one." Sombra said.
"Good, now we can begin." Twilight said. "Now, I'm sure all of you Pinkie's are wondering what you're doing here."
"For fun!?" One of them asked, making all the Pinkie's bounce up and down saying fun over and over again.
"Nope, the opposite in fact." Twilight replied. "Simply put, you're here to take a test" As soon as she said that, the Pinkie's all groaned at the same time, disliking having to take a test. "It's a really simple test, as simple as they come. And whoever passes get's to stay. And the test you'll be taking will be..." A moment later, Spike pull the curtain up to reveal a lastered wall with dripping paint on it, Rarity and Fluttershy pushing it forward. "Watching paint dry!"
All of the Pinkie's gasped in horror while Spyro and Sombra just face smacked themselves, even the others face smacked themselves after hearing the kind of test Twilight had picked out.
"Seriously?" Sombra asked. "Paint? That's the best she came up with?"
"Well if the real Pinkie Pie wants to stay, then she'll watch a flower bloom to stay." Spyro replied. "In fact, she'd even be willing to watch grass grow if it'll make somepony happy."
"If any of you get distracted or look away will fail and be sent away!" Twilight continued. "On your mark... get set... go!"
The Pinkie's all looked at the wall of paint, leaning forward as they starred at it, determined to stay. However, the process wasn't as quick as Twilight had planned as the Pinkie's all continued to stare at the wall for what felt like a few minutes, which to them felt like an eternity as they waited for something to happen. However, a moment later, a bird flew in front of window and started to sing, getting one Pinkie's attention as she looked away from the wall to look at it.
"Oh look, a birdie!" The Pinkie clone exclaimed, immediately getting struck by a bolt of magic and being blown up like a balloon, turning into a sliver of magic and being sent away.
"One down, thirty five to go." Spyro said.
"How do you know there are thirty five clones left?" Sombra asked.
"I counted how many Pinkie's there were while waiting for one of them to get zapped." Spyro replied.
"You always count something if you're bored or something?" Sombra asked.
"Not always." Spyro replied, looking back to the group of Pinkie's.
They continued with the boring test and watched as the Pinkie's started to dwindle down as some would do something fun while the others would watch, getting instantly zapped and sent back into the pool. One Pinkie tried to bounce all the way to the ceiling, only to end up getting zapped along with another clone that watched, being sent back to the pool. Another looked out the window and saw a frog that was an unfortunate victim of Twilight's orange transformation spell, calling out about it as a bunch of Pinkie's all crammed to look, blasting away a whopping fifteen Pinkie's with one blast. Another Pinkie blew on one of her hooves and created a bunch of digits, horrifying Spyro as three Pinkie's got blasted, wanting to erase that memory out of his head as that was disturbing even for him, but another Pinkie completely changed her face, getting a couple more blasted. This kept up for another minute as one Pinkie got distracted after another, sending them back to the pool while everyone got nervous for the real Pinkie until here was only two left, both starring at the wall intently as they wanted to stay.
"Only two left." Sombra said. "This is it, the home stretch."
"Yes, but they're both intent on staying." Spyro said, looking at them.
"Ugh, I can't take it anymore!" Rainbow Dash said, flying up into the air. "Look, somepony's making balloon animals!"
However, it didn't work as both Pinkie's kept their eyes on the wall of drying paint, surprising Rainbow Dash.
"Well that didn't work." Sombra said.
"I can sense they're intent on wanting to stay." Spyro said. "Neither is giving up."
"What do we do then?" Twilight asked, looking to Spyro and Sombra. "I can't zap one at random. I might end up sending the real Pinkie away."
"There's one way you can be sure Twilight." Spyro said, walking up the stairs. "The Force."
"Huh?" Twilight asked. "Spyro, now's not the time for a lesson."
"There's always time Twilight." Spyro replied. "The Force is all around us, binding everything together. The Force can show you what is real and what isn't. The Force will show you which is the real Pinkie, if you clear your mind and focus."
Twilight looked at Spyro with worry as she wasn't sure she could do it, but decided to trust him, lying back on her stomach and closing her eyes, concentrating as she tried to figure out which was the real Pinkie, but as she did, her mind wondered to her lightsaber, the pieces lying in the tray they were in back at the library, which the pieces there started to levitate into the air and fly out a nearby window, heading straight for the library and flying in and heading straight for the lavender unicorn, sun;rising everyone as they levitated in front of her. The pieces started to move on their own, Twilight focusing on the saber, her mind wondering away from Pinkie Pie as the pieces assembled themselves, some pieces twisting and connecting to one another, each piece assembling perfectly with one another until he saber was in the straight line, her crystal levitating up and into the crystal chamber as it all assembled together, the saber complete as it floated in the air, Twilight opening her eyes and seeing that it was complete as she took it using her magic, looking it over as everyone was staring at her with shock and awe, except for one of the Pinkie's in the front as she remained focused on the wall of paint, but the other wasn't as lucky as she watched the whole thing, cracking the biggest grin.
"That was totally awesome!" The Pinkie said, Twilight looking down at her as her magic charged, the clone looked scared. "Uh oh."
Twilight then fired a beam of magic at the Pinkie clone, sending her away and leaving only one Pinkie behind, the real Pinkie having passed the test.
"Nice going Twilight." Spyro said, turning his attention to Pinkie as she continued to stare at the wall. "Pinkie, you can look away now."
"I... I passed?" Pinkie asked.
"You most certainly did little cupcake." Spyro said, walking over and hugging her. "You passed."
"You were the only Pinkie that kept starring at the wall." Twilight said.
"And the Noy one who didn't watch Twilight assemble her lightsaber." Spyro said, taking her saber and examining it. "Construction looks solid."
"I had to." Pinkie said, looking to everyone else. "I just had to. I just couldn't leave my friends. But I guess I will have to choose between them."
"I knew you would be up to the challenge." Twilight said.
"And I knew you could get the real Pinkie back Twilight." Spyro said, handing her lightsaber back to her. "Through the Force, you completed your lightsaber, which would have caused the clone to look away from the wall and to you as watching someone assemble their lightsaber for the first time is a once in a lifetime thing. The clone would find it more entertaining than watching paint dry."
"Enough talk, I want to see her lightsaber!" Rainbow Dash said, rushing forward. "Come on Twilight, activate it!"
"Yes darling, please activate your new lightsaber." Rarity said. "I'd like to see what color it is."
Twilight looked to Spyro, who nodded his head, so she turned it to find the switch to activate the saber and pointed it up, activating the saber to reveal a green blade, looking at it with surprise and awe as she carefully waved it around, everyone all looking to it and smiling. Elsewhere, at the world of dragons, in the temple with the statue of Malefor, the dark statue started to glow, sensing someone was approaching and the dark master wanted to see who it was.
"I know you're there intruder." Malefor said, dark mist coming off the statue. "Come out and let me look at you." As if on cue, the light's grew brighter and from the shadows, Aphara came out, approaching the statue with no fear, but hate in her heart. "You are either very brave or foolish to come here, little dragon. Who are you?"
"I am Aphara." She replied. "And you must be Malefor, the dark master. I've heard the tails."
"So you have heard of me?" Malefor asked. "What is your business here?"
"To help you." Aphara replied, surprising the dark master. "The Prince of Light and Darkness has humiliated me, made me a laughing stock and has turned my friends against me! I want to make him hurt! I want revenge!"
"Hate and anger, good." Malefor said, the mist approaching her. "Good. You may be of use to me."
"And how's that?" Aphara asked.
"Ever heard of the Legend of the Mirror Pool?" Malefor asked, Aphara looking confused. "Sit, young dragon, and let me tell you a tale of this pool, and its power."
Back in Equestria, in the city of Canterlot, a train had just arrived at the station in the capital city and passengers were hopping off, Spyro and Sombra getting off the train as it was the last train for the day as it was getting closer to night, the two of them walking to the castle.
"You... sure it's alright to visit this place?" Sombra asked, half expecting the guards to attack him.
"Don't worry Sombra, it'll be alright." Spyro replied. "No one else knows about you. I told the princess I was coming to visit Luna, spend some time with her, but my real intention was to bring you two together, even if it's for one night."
"You... think she'll be happy to see me?" Sombra asked.
"Trust me, she'll be thrilled to see you." Spyro replied, reassuring the pony.
They walked down the streets, making their way to the castle and past the guards, who gave a quizzical look at Sombra, but ignored them as the pair went inside of the castle, making their way to the throne room where Celestia was coming out, she and her sister ready to go to bed when Spyro walked around the corner, Sombra hiding behind the wall to wait for Spyro.
"Spyro, goose to see you again." Celestia said.
"Hey princess." Spyro said, smiling as they approached. "Glad to see you're no longer depressed." He then looked up to her horn, seeing she was wearing Sombra's ring still as he smiled. "And I see you're wearing the ring Sombra got for you."
"It's the one thing that reminds me of my love." Celestia said. "I miss him terribly."
"I know you do." Spyro said, still smiling. "Hence, I got something for you."
"Spyro, my birthday isn't today." Celestia said, cracking a smile. "It's another-"
However, before she could finish her sentence, Sombra walked around the corner, shocking them both as he was seen by the royal sisters, Celestia's eyes widening as her pupils shrunk.
"Hey there sun dew." Sombra said. "You look great."
"S-S-Sombra?" Celestia asked quietly, her heart skipping multiple beats as she saw him.
"Yeah, it's me." Sombra replied.
"But... how?" Celestia asked, many questions forming in her mind.
"Well, there were still a few pieces of his heart that had some light in them." Spyro replied. "They merged with my heart to heal. And, well, I found the Mirror Pool."
"The Mirror pool!?" Luna asked, completely shocked.
"Yes, the Mirror Pool." Spyro replied. "When I put my hoof in the water, instead of a clone of myself, the pieces of Sombra's heart went into the pool and brought him back. But..."
"But?" Luna asked.
"I'm afraid he can't stay." Spyro replied. "Apparently, his body will only last until tomorrow morning. And come morning, those pieces of his heart will return to mine. And he can't be more than twenty feet from me, otherwise he'll fade."
Celestia didn't seem to care as she rushed over to her love and the two embraced one another, the ruler of Equestria happy as can be as she got to see the stallion she loved again.
"A single night will be more than enough." Celestia said, a tear of pure joy rolling down her face. "Thank you Spyro. Thank you."
Before he could say anything else, Celestia and Sombra walked off with Spyro being close behind with Luna next to them as they made their way to the princess's private quarters, Sombra entering her room while leaving Spyro and Luna alone outside.
"Well, look is like I'm sleeping out here for the night." Spyro said.
"You sure about that?" Luna said, opening another door near Celestia's room. "This is one of our other guest rooms we have for nobles. We can stay here for the night."
"Well, at least I'll be, wait we?" Spyro asked, looking at Luna.
"Yes, we." Luna whispered in Spyro's ear, walking forward while her tail brushed underneath his chin, making him blush as the dark blue Alicorn walked into the room.
Spyro could feel his own heart racing, wasting no time as he rushed into the nearby room, the door closing so that no one would look in. The next morning, right before Celestia raised the sun, she and Sombra were standing on the balcony of her room, over looking the city.
"This place is beautiful Tia." Sombra said, the two rubbing noses. "But not as beautiful as you."
"You always did have a way with words." Celestia said, looking out as the moon was setting. "I wish this night would last forever. This way you could stay longer."
"I wish that too, Tia." Sombra said. "I wish that too. But you heard what he said, whether the sun comes up or not, I'll return to his heart no matter what." He then looked to Celestia, seeing the sadness in her eyes as he reached up, turning her head to look at him, gazing into one another's eyes as Celestia used her magic. "Don't worry, now that we know the pond can bring me back, when my heart is healed enough, I'll be back."
"You promise?" Celestia said, the sun about to break the landscape.
"I promise." Sombra replied.
Without thinking, they moved their heads closer together until they kissed, sharing a long and passionate kiss as the sun rose and Sombra turned to light, tiny particles of light floating into the sky as they ended the kiss and three blue lights levitated in the air, flying towards the door and through the wood, Celestia smiling as she looked to the sky, welcoming a new day after a great night.