Polaris #6: Colors

"She's still so young. You would let her suffer like this?"

Even after all these years, Cadance's words echoed in Princess Celestia's mind as she rounded the hallway leading to the room where Twilight slept. Though torches along the walls lit the way, she used her horn to do the same. She always just felt better using her own light.

"You've lived with such anguish for centuries! Right now she thinks she's the only pony in the world with the capacity to mess up. You're the perfect pony to prove otherwise!"

She stopped a short distance from the room and took several deep breaths.

"You're her mentor. Her hero. Please, go see her. Bring her back."

A voice -- this time from much closer -- cut into her reverie. "Well, well. I never thought I'd ever seen the great Princess Celestia this visibly nervous."

Celestia turned around, her heart jumping to her throat moments before seeing the
voice's source calmed her. "Oh! Luna, you startled me."

Luna snorted. "Yes, I've been told I have a knack for that."

"No, Sister, nothing of that sort. How do I..." Celestia took another deep breath, choosing her words carefully. "Luna, after what you told me -- and I suppose for years now -- there's more than one part of me which has felt just awful. Which questions all I've done with her up to this point."

Luna raised an eyebrow. "'Her' being 'Twilight Sparkle'?"

Celestia rolled her eyes. "With me, is it ever anypony else?"

Luna looked directly at her sister. "Exactly once -- a millennium ago, if I recall."

Celestia bowed her head. "I've wanted to try and fix things for so long. But what if things go terribly wrong, the first step I take towards her? What if she no longer trusts me? What if what we both fear is true, and her last dream was more than a-oh..."

She was stopped by Luna placing a hoof on her cheek, and meeting her eyes.

"Not five hours," said Luna, "and I'm already starting to regret telling you about her slumber troubles. But aside from that, Celestia, I do know how you feel. So know in advance that the next words I say are with all of the love one sister can grant another."

"And what would those words be?"

Luna's grin was mischievous. "Cease thine babbling and get in there. You need this as much as she does."

Celestia's smile matched her sister's as a weight lifted off of her heart. "Fair enough." After sharing a gentle brush against her Luna, she opened the door.

---

"My dearest and most cherished student... awaken for me... please..."

"P-... Princess Celestia..." Twilight mumbled before realization of her current situation caught up to her, and she froze. "...Princess Celestia?"

Her throat hitched.

"Are you sure I'm not in a dream?"

Twilight looked around -- her room seemed to be the way she'd left it. "Lately it's been getting harder and harder to tell." She cuddled into her mentor's mane, her voice crossed between whimper and whisper. "I'm scared."

Celestia's heart twisted. "Shhh, child. This is no dream, I promise. It is you that I am here to see." Celestia nudged Twilight's face upwards. "Also, note my smile. Please, do not fear."

"I..." The sparkles engulfing Celestia's mane weren't simply there for show. They tickled, they massaged, they ruffled against Twilight's coat as Celestia spoke her words. Working together, they eventually calmed Twilight's heart enough to allow rational thought to return.

"I... I won't, Princess." Twilight gave a sharp exhale. Thank you."

Celestia's smile became warmer. "That's the Twilight Sparkle I know."

Twilight blushed, then looked around again. "It's still dark out. Is everything alright?"

Celestia nodded. "Absolutely. Merely the early hours of the morning. Every reason for me to be up and about."

"But you still came to visit me?"

Celestia barely managed to hold back a laugh. "Am I no longer allowed to visit my most faithful and treasured of students?" Her voice contained a twinge of confusion. "The one who has gotten me and my kingdom out of more tight spots than I can count?"

"It's not hard to count to two," Twilight said.

Celestia afforded herself a chuckle this time, then leant in close. "Spoken like somepony who has no idea just how much weight the mere mention of her name truly carries."

"I... my name? What do you mean?" Celestia's coat brushed and tingled against Twilight in the same manner as her mane. It was softer than any of her sheets or pillows. She visualized clouds, and fought to not fall asleep again.

"I may share the answer to that with you one day. However, I came here this morning for a very specific purpose. That being... as much as I love my sister, I hate to see her to outdo me at anything."

Celestia levitated above the bed, extending a hoof downwards in invitation. "Twilight Sparkle, will you allow your Princess the honor of your company?"

Now Twilight was awake. Her heart did flip-flops. Celestia didn't seem angry at her in the slightest. Things seemed safe... and going in the best way possible. "Y-yes, absolutely!" She hesitated before adding, "Always."

"Excellent." For a split second Twilight's world vanished, then reappeared as she did on Celestia's back. "Then let us go."

---

A leisurely flight atop Celestia was something Twilight had not been privy to since her filly days, and she made sure to enjoy it by holding on as tightly as possible. At Celestia's brisk flying speed, however, it didn't last long, and Twilight felt a twinge of regret as she dismounted.

That regret gave way to surprise the second she recognized the elevated meadow they both stood in. "Canterlot Cliffs?" said Twilight. "But why?"

"Because I know this place holds special meaning for you," replied Celestia. "I've also heard that memories here for you have been... mixed."

Twilight held back a scowl as she looked past a cliffside. "Really? And exactly how would you have heard this?"

"Hmmmm." Celestia's smile was the coyest Twilight had ever seen. "A little pegasus might have told me."

"Uh huh. I'm guessing this pegasus had a horn? And might have been pink?"

Celestia laughed. "Let us simply say her identity is classified to protect the innocent. However, there are far more important matters at hoof. Do you know what time it is, Twilight?"

"Um..." Twilight willed a small clock into existence, which did so with a small poof. "Close to six." The clock was poofed away. "Which means it's almost time for..." Twilight stopped. "Uh, not that your company isn't appreciated, Princess, but shouldn't you be going about-"

It was only then that Twilight noticed Princess Celestia's horn aglow, her eyes closed, and her head raised skyward.

No way. I'm... she's...

Understanding and realization hit Twilight like a magic blast to the face. Her mind raced faster than Rainbow Dash during a Wonderbolts Derby.

She's going to raise the sun. She's going to raise the sun and she's giving me a private audience and oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh I'm going to be so close to her when she does it oh my gosh...

Celestia opened her eyes. "I know what you're thinking, Twilight. And you're on the right track, but not quite there."

"Not quite there?" Twilight blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Well, to speak candidly," said Celestia, "I'm still recovering from our last battle. As much as I hate to admit it, Queen Chrysalis's siege, failed though it might have been, left me weary both physically and magically. So what I mean is that in order to perform this morning's ceremonies..."

She turned, and smiled at Twilight with a telltale wink.

"...I wouldn't mind a little help."

Twilight fainted on the spot.

---

(*splash*)

"Waugh!"

Twilight sputtered as she came to. The bucket Celestia used to revive her was was willed out of existence. Twilight's wet mane and coat were insta-dried and restyled with a magical wave seconds later.

"Let's try this again, shall we?" said Celestia.

"Again?" Twilight's head darted around until the events of minutes past came back to her, and her cheeks flushed. "Oh my gosh, Princess Celestia, did I... I'm so sorry!"

Celestia simply laughed. "It is all right. But truly, Twilight Sparkle..." Celestia gazed into Twilight's eyes intently enough to drive her student near to fainting again. "...will you assist me in raising Equestria's sun this day?"

"I-I..." It was impossible for Twilight not to stammer. "S-sure! But I-I don't even know how that's possible! I'm just a unicorn! You're a princess and the one with the sun cutie mark and everything!" She looked backwards to her own haunches. "Wouldn't I be better with, I don't know, stars or something? How could I possibly-"

Celestia placed a gentle hoof to Twilight's muzzle, and chuckled again. "You're not my best student for nothing, Twilight, but sometimes that wonderful mind of yours runs faster than the rest of you. I have every confidence in your being able to assist me, but if you want, we can call this a test of how far you've come. The first of many."

Celestia looked up at the now-moonless sky. Luna had finished her duties. Soon it would be her turn.

Twilight looked up as well, coming to the same conclusion. "Well... all right." Her horn glowed as she concentrated, then faded moments later. "H-hang on a sec. Where do I even focus my magic?"

"On me."

"Got it." Twilight did a double take. "Wait. You?"

Celestia nodded. "I'll do the rest. I promise. Lend your magic to me, and I will guide it the rest of the way."

Twilight relented, deciding to trust the princess who had yet to ever lead her astray. She concentrated again, as did Celestia. Violet and white horn-lights spun from their temples, met, and swirled together in midair.

The world grew brighter... and Twilight felt herself growing weaker. "Princess... Celestia?"

Her princess stared at her with a reassuring smile. "You're doing fine, my student. The journey you are about to embark on may be trying. But I promise you, it will be more than worth it."

"Wait... 'journey?' What do you mean by...?" Those were the last words Twilight had the energy to say. For a second, all was white in her field of vision.

Then... darkness.

---

Ughhh... Twilight clutched her head to stop it from spinning. Where am I?

On cue, a pair of voices answered her question.

"Hahahahahahahahaha! He may not be my husband, but he is under my total control now... and I'm sorry to say, unable to perform his duties as captain of the royal guard!"

"Not my Shining Armor!"

Twilight opened her eyes. Deja vu didn't begin to describe her emotions once she did so.

Wait, I'm back! I'm back in the castle! The wedding's happening again! Queen Chrysalis, the changelings, all of it! Her mind raced to make sense of things. Am I reliving Princess Celestia's memories now, too? Is this what she meant by a 'journey?'

"Soon my changeling army will break through! First we take Canterlot, and then, all of Equestria-"

"No. You won't."

Twilight saw Princess Cadance beside her... and Celestia in front of her, walking towards Chrysalis. Okay, guess that answers that.

"You may have made it impossible for Shining Armor to perform his spell," said Celestia, "but now that you have so foolishly revealed your true self..."

But if I'm really me, and I'm really here... Twilight tested her limbs. And I really can move...

Celestia and Chrysalis rushed towards each other, clashing horns.

"I can protect my subjects from you!"

...then this is my chance to change this!

---
"Polaris"
A My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic Fanfiction
Part 6: "Colors"
by Bookish Delight, 2012-2013
All characters and referred properties belong to Hasbro.
----

A violet magic blast hit Chrysalis's side, sending her roaring back in pain. Seeing her chance, Twilight darted forward, leaping in front of Celestia.

"Princess! You're not doing anything without the help of your number-one student!"

Celestia didn't skip a beat. "Twilight, get back!"

"I'm sorry, Princess Celestia, but I can't do that." Twilight shook her head. "Because I've already seen what happens when you take on Queen Chrysalis by yourself. I won't let that happen again! We... we almost lost you."

Celestia's eyes widened in surprise, but only momentarily before she regained her composure. "Be that as it may-"

"No buts, Princess! We do this together!"

"Then you die together as well!" said a recovered Chrysalis.

Twin magic beams rocketed towards Chrysalis, who responded in kind. A mental tug-of-war ensued...

...which both princess and student lost. Chrysalis's green beam hit them both square on their horns, the magical backlash sending them flying into the wall at the other end of the throne room with a sickly thud, then onto the floor.

Twilight tried to rise, finding out in alarm that she couldn't move a muscle. Her entire body had been taken over by a paralyzing pain. "Princess, I... I can't..."

"Neither can... can I, my student," Celestia groaned. "Which was why I didn't... want..." She closed her eyes.

"Princess... Princess!" Twilight cried. "Not again, not again, not again..." She stopped as she heard hoofsteps coming towards her. Soon Queen Chrysalis's gloating face was right above hers.

"I'd expected to be able to take down Celestia," the changeling queen said. "But you? The one who never stopped asking questions? The one who nearly managed to bring my plans to ruin? Ha!" She leaned into Twilight's ear, her next words a mirthful whisper. "Who'd've thought you'd have been so easy? In the end you were an even bigger foal than your precious princess!"

But... but how? Only one thought went through Twilight's mind, over and over. How did she manage to defeat both of us?

Another thought cut in, giving her something else to ponder.

"Twilie...? Twilie! Are you still there?"

Twilight perked up at the voice in her mind.

"Shining! Shining, is that you?"

She looked to her brother. His eyes were still green and spellbound. At this point, however, she didn't care enough to ask questions.

"Shining, I'm sorry... I tried to protect Princess Celestia, but I couldn't..."

"I know. I can see everything. I just can't do anything about it, same as you. But Twilie, why did you do what you just did?"

"Isn't it obvious? To protect Celestia! She needs me!"

"Twilight, that's MY job."

"But..."

"During my every waking moment, the duty of protecting Canterlot and Princess Celestia falls to me. The Princess, meanwhile, willingly placed herself as our second line of defense. Because guess which SIX ponies serve as our last?"

"You mean...?"

"The Princess knew that that the Elements of Harmony would be our best bet. But if you can't help your friends retrieve or use them..."

Shining Armor trailed off -- not that he needed to continue. All Twilight had to do was move her head to the smallest degree in order to see her friends, her brother, and Cadance, being encased in cocoons as Chrysalis and her Changelings ransacked the city.

I... I was wrong again. I hate being wrong.

Once more, the last of Twilight's energy gave out -- and so did her vision.

---

When it returned, Twilight found herself in the one place, even beyond a successful Canterlot Castle siege, that she absolutely did not want to be.

"We've come to show you the truth." said a malevolent voice in an ever-so-close whisper.

"W-what's going on?" Twilight twisted her head back and forth to get a view of things through the pouring rain.

Nightmare Moon. Discord. They were back. The mud-ponies were back as well, holding onto her limbs with the same iron grip they had in her dream from days ago. "Why am I here?"

"Our defeats only happened because you've always been bailed out. By your precious friends. Your precious family. Your precious..." Discord spit to the side. "...princesses! But here and now, we get to see what the name 'Twilight Sparkle,' on its own, is really worth."

Twilight's heart sank to her stomach.

"I can already tell you," she said. "Not much of anything."

Nightmare Moon laughed. "Glad we agree."

Through her tears and the cold rain, Twilight could barely see Nightmare Moon raise her hoof, making a horizontal slash in the air. Thunder and lightning blended into the chaos that was her vision and hearing, also barely noticed.

And when the mud-ponies pulled this time, she stopped fighting, and let it happen-

"No, you don't!"

Twilight perked up upon hearing a familiar -- and recent -- voice. "Shining?"

The mud monsters holding her limbs were destroyed in a flash by curving magical beams, with several more crisscrossing through the sky.

The beams were white and pink. Twilight knew those lights.

"All right, everypony, charge!"

It was Shining. And Rarity, and Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie! her brother led the charge, alternating between headbutting foes and encasing others in shield bubbles which shrank until they popped, crushing those within.

My brother... my friends... they came for me. Even though I'm a failure, they came for me!

"Well why would we not, Twilight darling?" said Rarity.

Wait. Did I just say that out loud?

Rarity rolled her eyes. "No, but I'm afraid your thoughts are so loud in this place -- and so dreary -- that they're impossible not to overhear. Hang on a tad, would you?" She stopped to spin-buck three mud-monsters, then magicked five more out of existence with a thought and a glow of her horn. "Out, out, you demons of filth and ugliness! I've got a friend to save here!"

"We all do! Good thing my Party Cannon doesn't do just parties!" Pinkie said, lighting it and launching pink cannonballs at all present.

"Rarity! Get Twi on her hooves!" Applejack said, bucking monsters back and forth, twice as hard as she'd ever bucked any apple tree.

"We'll take care of the rest of this," said Fluttershy, flanked by a squadron of eagles and hawks, all of which used their claws to great effect.

"Ewww, I hate how these skies look," said Rainbow Dash, zooming upwards. "How about we change that? Hi-yah!"

Clouds were kicked and pushed every which way, with their destruction leading to a gradual clearing of the storm. Nighttime remained, but the moon appeared overhead -- a full moon with a soothing light. Nightmare Moon and Discord soon found themselves standing alone in a clear moonlit grass meadow, their teeth bared in defiance.

"Fine, fine, so you took care of the underlings," said the former. "But what do you plan to do about us?"

"Oh, I've thought of that too, 'dear sister,'" said a sky-high voice. Hovering near the full moon overhead was a navy-blue alicorn, staring daggers at her evil counterpart.

"Princess Luna!" said Twilight.

"Twilight!" Luna smiled. "I believe I have something that belongs to you and yours." With those words, the Elements of Harmony appeared in the sky, brightening the landscape further with their colored lights before lowering and clamping themselves onto their bearers.

For the first time in a long time, a confident smile could be seen on Twilight's face. "I think you know what happens now," she said, staring in triumph at the two villains.

Discord sighed, outstretching his hand towards Nightmare Moon's. Nightmare's hoof joined it, and the two closed their eyes.

"Well, we'll always have an hour ago," he said, before a gigantic rainbow wave washed over the landscape, rendering them nonexistent.

---

The Elements of Harmony disappeared, and Twilight stood before her friends.

"You guys, I... I can't believe you're all here!' She sniffled, hugging the pony who was closest to her. "Thank you so much."

"I told you," said Rarity with a sigh and a return of Twilight's gesture. "She's delirious. Still acting all 'surprised' and whatnot."

"Nah, that's just normal for her." Applejack walked over, turning to face Twilight. "Told you this before, sugarcube. You may be all 'chosen one' and stuff," Applejack said, "but can't no one pony do it all. They need friends, and they need family. If y'all didn't have either, then, well..." Applejack poked at the ground with her hoof. "...look, just be glad you do, okay?"

"And because you do, everything that just happened here?" said Pinkie. "That's just going to keep happening, over and over and over an--mmph!"

"So it doesn't matter if you're not quite as awesome as I am," said Rainbow Dash, removing her hoof from Pinkie's mouth. "You've got us."

Fluttershy simply nodded.

"And you always will, little sister," said Shining Armor, placing Twilight's hoof in his. It was a hoof that Twilight felt for a single second, before she saw her brother and friends wave... then grow transparent... then fade away entirely.

"Wait! Wait, come back! Where are you going?" Twilight asked, but in vain. She looked up -- Luna was gone too. In mere moments, Twilight was left alone in an empty meadow.

"Just great," she said to nobody. "What do I do now?"

Just when she thought nothing could surprise her anymore today, her own voice answered her, echoing through the skies.

"That's something we'll have to piece together ourselves."

Twilight gasped. "Ourselves? What do you mea-"

And then she disappeared as well.

---

Okay, this is getting old. Really, really old.

When Twilight was conscious of the world once more, there was forest all around her.

And none of this rings a bell for me at all. Where am I now?

Looking around her, she noticed a clearing amongst the trees. As she trotted towards it she spotted a crowd of ponies standing in a meadow -- the same one she had just left, in fact. She decided to take the stealthy approach, hiding behind a large tree which made up the arch of the forest's exit.

Not long after she'd made the decision, she was glad she had, because she saw yet another thing she never would have expected, even given how crazy this morning had already gotten.

Namely Rainbow Dash, pushing another Twilight -- a Twilight which looked older than herself and wore a dark cape made of shiny material -- into a mud puddle. As Twilight looked on in shock, she briefly considered adding said cape to her wardrobe.

"Apologies, schmologies," said Rainbow Dash. "When will you get it? You used to help ponies! Now all you are is Equestria's mad magician! All harm and no good! You're not worth keeping around anymore!"

That clinched it.

I know where I am now -- but I never wanted to be here again.

A chill raced through Twilight's spine as she watched events play out, and watched her other self be set upon by ponies whose homes she had just destroyed.

Why does this keep happening?