The Lunar Resistance operated in the shadows and the darkness of night. A nocturnal agent, an owl, was dispatched to maintain contact between the Canterlot cells and Twilight Sparkle.

Meanwhile, tales of Princess Celestia's caprice spread. It was murmured that she had tricked a big-hearted pegasus into thinking a pet bird had died, when in fact it was an immortal phoenix. She had reportedly mocked hosts giving her tea. Most shocking of all, she had reportedly vaporized the wings of a contestant in the Young Fliers' Competition with solar energy, causing the contestant to plummet nearly to her death.

"Trollestia," they called her. "Tyrant."

They rallied around Princess Luna, their only hope against the power of Daystar. They spoke of Long Tail and Sunnyside, the Golden Egg, the two ponies who had openly opposed Daystar's power and since been forced into hiding.

Outside the walls of Canterlot, Long Tail and Sunny met with their friends to plan their resistance. Long Tail had learned that Nightmare Moon had been cleansed by using the Elements of Harmony, and the group hoped to do the same with Daystar.

"The Elements of Harmony?" came a chipper voice from just outside the circle of friends. "That package has already been delivered! Derp!"

Ditzy cheerfully joined the circle and sat herself down, her eyes independently scanning the group.

"Hi boss," Glitterdust said, apparently accustomed to such interruptions.

"Delivered where?" asked Sugar Scoop.

Ditzy considered for a moment. "The vault at the castle! Princess Celestia puts her horn into the lock and it says 'That's the magic of the Prin-cess! I'm gong to open now!' Already delivered."

All the ponies perked up at that, and looked in unison at Glitterdust, who was wearing Sugar Scoop's hat to cover the horn Daystar had bestowed upon her.

"We have a horn with Celestia's magic!" Fizzlespark announced.

"Let's use it to get the elements!" Sugar Scoop agreed.

"Okay, I'll let the princess know you're coming!" Ditzy said cheerfully, taking to the skies.

"Oh, shoot, is she actually going to warn the princess?" Fizzlespark asked.

Long Tail concentrated, and her horn glowed. "Probably not for eight hours or so."

"We should distract her somehow!" Fizzlespark decided.

"What does she like, Glitterdust?" Sunny asked.

"Well... mail and muffins."

"Okay," Sunnyside said. "I have cousins in the breakfast families that can whip up some muffins."

Fizzlespark pulled out a beaker and some envelopes. "I'll make shiny mail with my spare radium!"

"Is that safe?" Sugar Scoop asked.

Fizzlespark frowned, then pulled out a marker and wrote "DO NOT LICK" on the envelopes. "Sure!"

"How are we going to seal them without licking them?" Sunnyside wondered aloud.

"Details!" Fizzlespark got to work.

Long Tail watched with a dubious expression, then her horn started to glow. Her mind filled with visions of mutated envelopes menacing the city, of the rebels being blamed for a terrorist attack using the mail, of the muffin family in irons for collaborating... so many possibilities, terrible possibilities. Her eyes glowed blue-on-blue, then white symbols appeared and she passed out.

When she awoke, the plan had been enacted and there was no time for concern. The ponies returned to their planning for retrieving the Elements of Harmony. Their best opportunity would be that very night, the night of the Grand Galloping Gala, when there would be plenty to distract Daystar and the royal guards. Assuming Ditzy took her time getting to the Princess, Daystar hopefully wouldn't be forewarned about what the rebels planned.

They still weren't sure just how much support they would have at a gathering of the elite. Sugar Scoop suggested putting an ad in Equestria Daily. Sunnyside got a nervous look, and glanced to Glitterdust, who looked guilty. Fizzlespark spoke before Sunny could stop him.

"Did you hear the government shut down Equstria Daily? For all the lies and slanderous fanfic? There's a new, official newspaper, the Daily Sun."

"WHAT?" Sugar, always black and white, was turning red all over.

"Have you read the propaganda that's replaced it?"

"Like a said, a new newspaper."

Sunny, who had been gesturing wildly for the two unicorns to stop adding fuel to the fire, ducked behind a stump as Sugar howled in journalistic rage.

***

Ditzy hummed to herself as she merrily delivered mail. Her work took her all over Equestria, from Canterlot to Ponyville to other places she didn't even remember all the time. It was fun, but sometimes she wondered if-

MUFFINS!

Just sitting there, in a cute little row on the ground.

"Muffffffins..."

She pounced from mid-air, loosing a cloud of mail, and scarfed down the first muffin.

"More muffinff!"

Ditzy followed the muffin trail until it ended, just in front of a golden-shod, white hoof. She looked up and smiled, cheeks round with muffiny goodness.

"Hi Prinfeff!"

***

Our heroes returned to Canterlot under cover of night, and to the tune of At the Gala:

Long Tail (Fluttershy's verse):
At the gala, we will heal her
Elements of harmony
Cel-es-ti-a, We will free you at the gala~

With their friendship, and our cunning,
Twi-light's friends and our crew,
We will mitigate disaster-
Prob'ly- at the Gala! (at the Gala!)

Sunnyside (Applejack's verse):
At the gala
I will save them
All the Scoops and all the Cakes
I don't really know how...
But I'll do whatever it takes!

And I'll be reconciled
With the whole Egg Family! (at the Gala!)

Glitterdust (Rarity's verse):
At the gala, I am watching,
The Princess carefully
Got to make sure nothing happens in the ballroom (at the Gala!)

And I'm hoping, and I'm wishing,
That all my friends will be
At their places, all together,
and on time to the Gala!

Sugar Scoop (Rainbow's verse):
We interrupt this party to bring you a breaking story.
Four stars and magic tricks, turned Celestia into a witch.
The stars were kind of witless, but can we stop the princess?
I'm Sugar Scoop reporting live here at the Gala!

Fizzlespark (Pinkie's verse):
I am here at the grand gala, for it is the place to be,
For it's here the rebel plot is going down in history,
And I have to help my friends out with my wonderful machines,
Machines glowing,
Machines sparking,
With me at the gala!

Daystar flies overhead, royal music trumpeting.

Daystar (Twilight's verse):
At the gala,
All my subjects,
They will worship only me
It will be like old times,
All Equestria will see.
Princess Luna must be punished
For inciting treach-er-yyyyy~

At the Gala!

***

Fizzlespark reconfigured his Pony Rescuing Device to enable part of the team to tunnel into the castle from below. He calls it his Pony Anti-Rescuing Device, and acknowledges that the name is a work in progress. He and Long Tail will enter by the subterranean route, white Glitterdust and Sugar Scoop infiltrate in postal uniforms and Sunnyside uses the Wonderbolts performance as a distraction to do some aerial scouting.

Underneath the castle, the Pony Anti-Rescuing Device disgorged Fizzlespark and Long Tail into the underground caverns. Fizzlespark had Spring along, as well, carrying the clockwork dragon on his back. The two made good progress, until Long Tail brought them to a stop.

"We probably should have gone left back at the last fork," she said.

"What? Why?" Fizzlespark asked.

Long Tail remained silent to let the emerging star dragons speak for themselves, but it was another pony who spoke.

General Gemesis stepped forward, his crystalline armor glinting majestically even in the meager light of the cave. "I have you now!"

***

Sunnyside glided silently past the Wonderbolts performance, noting the locations of the guards and counting their numbers on his way to the citadel where the Elements were locked in the royal vault. It was a party, so he had dressed in his tuxedo jacket, and his mane was carefully combed and slicked back, a far cry from his usual wild look. His last task on scout duty was to make sure Daystar was attending the celebrations, and was thus accounted for.

As the golden pegasus came into view of the royal booth, he say Daystar was indeed there, and had already been watching the very spot he now occupied. Sunnyside saw her grin, but there was no humor in it, just the smug pleasure of a predator that had cornered its prey.

The Wonderbolts had just executed a loop in formation, and were barreling towards him. He dove out of their way and into the artificial canyon of the city streets, but they wheeled to pursue. It seemed their performance was over, and the chase was on.

***

Spike wandered dejectedly through the corridors of the castle. Somehow, all of his friends had gotten distracted with some obsession at this party. It was almost as if someone didn't want them to be able to watch out for one another and act as a team. But that was crazy. Who would want to do something like that?

Deep in thought, he didn't notice for a moment that he had wandered into a chamber with a group of slavering dragons, three unicorns, and... Spring.

Spike's eyes went wide and he leapt back to cower against one of the dragons.

"Guys! We've gotta get out of here!" he cried. "That thing! It's- It'll- just run!"

The star dragons exchanged a nervous look. Spring hopped off of Fizzlespark's back and opened it's mouth, emitting a tiny, tinny roar. Spike ran as fast as his little legs would carry him, and the dragons followed, disappearing into the darkness.

"Wait!" Gemesis shouted. "I'll feed you gems! Rubies! Sapphires! Diamonds!"

It was too late. They were gone. Spring sat back on his haunches, a self-satisfied expression gracing his metallic face.

Long Tail seized the moment. "There's no need for concern. We're on a mission for the Princess even now."

Gemesis narrowed his eyes. "I wasn't informed."

Long Tail scoffed. "If the Princess didn't think you needed to know, then I suppose you don't need to know."

Long Tail was obnoxious, but she had never lied to him before.

He hesitated, and Long Tail spoke again. "If you need to escalate, then escalate, but stop wasting my time."

Gemesis gritted his teeth. "Oh, I'll escalate. I'll escalate bigtime!"

With that, he stormed out of the chamber, leaving Fizzlespark and Long Tail free to continue their trek through the tunnels.

***

The Wonderbolts were hot on Sunnyside's tail. He tried every trick he could think of, but they matched him loop for loop, and they were fast. Before long, he found himself in a dead-end alley, gasping for breath as a phalanx of Wonderbolts glided down the alley to hover in a semicircle before him.

Rapidfire, a Wonderbolt colt with a grey mane, flew into the lead position.

"Egg, when we're through with you, all Luna's fillies and all Luna's colts won't be able to put you together again."

Sunny glared defiantly at the Wonderbolts, but defiance turned to shock when a large egg splatted into Rapidfire's head from above and knocked him to the ground.

Scrambler stood on the rooftop, looking down over his snout at the Wonderbolts, righteous anger in his gaze and in his voice. "No pony picks on my little brother."

On queue, the other eleven Benedict Bombers rose from their positions, eggs at the ready. Scrambler gave the Wonderbolts no chance to surrender, he simply swept down his hoof and the Bombers unloaded with military precision. After a brief but messy battle, the Wonderbolts slunk off with egg on their face.

"All these eggs are making me hungry."
"Shut yer pie hole, Soarin'."
"Mmm, pie..."

Scrambler hopped down to ground level.

"You alright, Sunny?"

"I'm fine," Sunnyside said, looking gratefully into his brother's eyes. "Thanks to you! If you hadn't..."

Scrambler blushed. "Aw, bro, don't go all runny on me... You know how it is. No pony picks on my little brother... except me!"

With that, he pulled Sunnyside into a headlock with one hoof and noogied him with the other. Sunny's carefully-groomed mane reverted to its wild, forward-swept poof.

"Ack! Scrambler! Leggooo~!"

***

Glitterdust and Sugar Scoop were unimpeded as they made their way through the castle. Partially, this was because the Princess had commanded that all guests line up to receive her blessing, which kept them (and her) somewhat occupied. They had also taken special measures to ensure Prince Blueblood would not be able to enact his plan, whatever it was, by making sure Rarity knew just where to find him.

As Glitterdust and Sugar approached the vault, they overheard two royal guards discussing the new Daily Sun.

"This newspaper is so much better than the old one! Just check out the fillies on page 3!" The guard whinnied.

"And the horoscopes – they're so true! Let me see mine for today... let's see... 'You will capture a fugitive pony named Sugar Scoop who is standing across the hall from you... see picture...'"

Glitterdust just kept moving, but Sugar Scoop stomped over to the guards and tore the paper from their hands, rolling it into a bludgeon.

"Journalistic integrity cannot survive without an intelligent readership!" she screamed, beating the two guards with the rolled up paper. "You get the media you deserve!"

Glitterdust tried to calm Sugar Scoop down, but was whacked in the snout for her trouble, dislodging the hat covering the unwholesome horn Daystar had given her.

Meanwhile, Daystar was in the greeting chamber, welcoming each pony with spoken pleasantries and a single word burned into their minds.

OBEY.

With Glitterdust's horn exposed, she paused and narrowed her eyes, taking in the scene. Nothing escaped her sight, not even the Scoop family pony shrouded in ninja garb positioning herself to save Sugar Scoop. Her eyes narrowed and she turned her head to regard Philomena, her loyal phoenix. The firey bird nodded its understanding, and flew off to the scene of Sugar Scoop's assault on the royal guards.

Philomena swooped down just as the Scoop ninja reached for Sugar Scoop, forcing the ninja back. The Postal Inspectors Peaches and Cream grabbed Sugar and forced her to the ground. With her face planted against the stone floor, she read a brief excerpt from the paper in front of her: her horoscope.

"You will be made an offer you can't refuse," it said, with an asterisk after 'refuse.' The footnote read: "Or else."

The Inspectors hauled Sugar Scoop into the line of ponies waiting to receive the blessing of the Princess. All too soon, she found herself before Daystar.

The Princess's horn glowed as she spoke. "How good to see you, Sugar Scoop!" OBEY. "Where are your friends?" OBEY. "I'd hate to miss them tonight." OBEY. "I'm sure if anyone can persuade them to come see me, you can." OBEY.

Sugar Scoop gritted her teeth. "I- this new newspaper is a travesty!"

To Sugar's surprise, Daystar nodded her head. "I wanted to discuss just that with you." OBEY. "I would like you to head a new journalistic organization devoted to the truth." OBEY. "I call it the Sunlight Foundation." OBEY. "You will shine the light of truth into all the dark places where traitors scheme, and expose them for all to see." OBEY. "Doesn't that sound nice?" OBEY.

"Now go, and return with your friends, so we can bring them into Harmony." OBEY.

"Y- yes, Princess," Sugar Scoop said, as if in a trance. Then she bowed and trotted off to find the others.

***

Fizzlespark and Long Tail arrived at the grand cathedral, where the great feats of ponykind were recorded in dazzling stained glass. Glitterdust soon joined them, and Sunnyside thereafter, having managed to extricate himself from his brother's embrace.

"Where's Sugar Scoop?" he asked Glitterdust.

"She was taken to see Daystar," Glitterdust said, glumly.

"Then we're down to just four Elements?"

Fizzlespark spoke next. "I'm still not clear on how we were supposed to get the sixth."

Sunny answered. "When the five elements are brought together, a spark causes the sixth to appear."

"Pfft." The science pony was not impressed. "It'll just conveniently happen?" He rolled his eyes. "I suppose that's magic for you."

"If Sugar Scoop is with Daystar," Long Tail said. "We should be able to get five Elements together, each wielding one."

The others nodded. Glitterdust removed the hat from her head and thrust the horn Daystar had given her into the lock of the vault. It glowed a vibrant, sky blue, but a blue that drizzled with stars. Even so, the large door ground open to reveal a jeweled box. Long Tail moved to retrieve the box, but Glitterdust's horn glowed again, more brightly, and blue light filled the cathedral.

The ponies blinked against the brightness, then winced as a high-pitched, scraping sound assailed their ears. The glow dimmed, and they found themselves facing a large, stained glass version of Daystar, who had peeled out from one of the images lining the room. The light glinted off of the razor sharp horn and hooves of the glassy menace.

It immediately went on the attack, scattering the ponies in all directions. The ponies hooves simply bounced off of it – the glass was too hard to crack. It seemed there was no hope, but the ponies refused to give up on retrieving the Elements, even as their reflexes slowed from fatigue and each near miss became nearer and nearer to a fatal blow.

Long Tail charged for the Elements while Sunnyside buzzed the monster's head to distract it, but the creature was too fast. One wing knocked Sunny out of the way, and a hoof slammed down, right onto Long Tail's tail.

Time seemed to stop. The room was silent. Long Tail gazed in horror and disbelief at the pitifully short, mathematically irrelevant puff of hair left on her behind. Her lips trembled, and she inhaled and shut her eyes to scream.

But before she did, Fizzlespark leapt in front of her, an amplifying bullhorn clenched between his teeth. The shriek blasted out of it with visible force. The glass Daystar held one wing to shield herself, but the wing slowly cracked, then gave way. Glitterdust's horn was glowing blue, holding the creature together, Long Tail's shriek shattered the glass creature and every window in the cathedral. When they burst, so did the unnatural horn on Glitterdust's brow.

Everypony hunkered down, hooves over their ears, and waited for the rain of glass to subside.

"Everypony alright?" Sunny asked. Fizzlespark and Glitterdust nodded, but Long Tail just stared at her lost tail, lying lifeless and flat on the stone tile.

Sunnyside walked over to her and put on hoof on her shoulder. "It'll grow back."

She looked at him with wet eyes. "But what are the odds it'll grow back anytime soon?" She shook her head. "Surely too negligible to even bother casting my prediction spell."

"But we have the Elements!" Fizzlespark announced, the six items of jewelry glittering as he levitated them out of their box.

At that point, Sugar Scoop flew in through one of the shattered windows. She seemed to take the destruction in stride, which was only natural, considering that she'd seen Fizzlespark in action before.

"We should go to the Princess," she announced.

"Yes!" Fizzlespark said. "Everybody take a necklace."

He tossed the necklaces out to the other ponies.

"Sweet, a lightning bolt," Sugar Scoop said.

"Say, this butterfly matches my hair," said Sunnyside.

"What's this supposed to be?" Glitterdust wondered. "A kite?"

"I've got a hot air balloon," Fizzlespark said. "And I'll hold onto this crown with the explosion on it."

Long Tail frowned. "This isn't Mane-delbrot's Set. It looks like an apple. That's not any kind of probability distribution."

"Maybe it's in polar coordinates?" Fizzlespark suggested. That seemed to satisfy Long Tail, who turned back to her lost tail and gathered it up in her mouth.

"Let's go to the Princess," Sugar said. The others enthusiastically agreed.

***

Red Velvet spotted Applejack entering the royal kitchens and followed her. The earth pony seemed lost in the vast facility where the royal feasts were made.

"I saw the entire thing," Red said sympathetically, walking up to the orange filly.

"Ah just cayn't imagine what she sees in that stuck up, good-fer-nothin' Blueblood," Applejack said. "But it ain't no concern o' mine. Ah gotta come up with somethin' fancy, right pronto, or ah'm agonna miss mah chaynce t' earn the bits ah need t' fix Granny Smith's hip, an' the ol' barn."

Applejack gave Red Velvet an appraising look, taking in her elaborate green dress, her carefully arranged mane, and the fine jewelry she wore.

"Say, yer lookin' pretty fancy yerself," Applejack said. "So, uh, what does a fancy pony like yerself fancy, apple-wise?"

Sunnyside had apprised Red Velvet of the plan. It was obvious to her, after seeing the incident at Applejack's cart, that Rarity was reaching the limit of her willingness to tolerate Blueblood's constant attempts to get rid her. If she gave up on him, and stopped distracting him from whatever his plan was, they would need a Plan B to take him out of the equation. Let him eat cake.

"My dear, are you familiar with Apple Cake?"

Applejack lit up. "Am ah ever! Why, t'ain't a birthday without one o' them big ol' apple cake's to celebrate. But..." The earth pony's enthusiasm waned. "They take a while t' fix up, 'specially if'n we're gonna gussy it up all fancy-like."

"Oh ho ho," Red Velvet chuckled, softly. "Perhaps I should introduce myself." She stood tall, and spread her wings. "I am Red Velvet, of the Cake Family. We'll have a world-class Apple Cake in ten minutes flat."

"Well, gee, Miss Velvet, it's mighty kind o' you to help out. The name's Applejack." She grasped Red Velvet's hoof and shook it vigorously. "It's a real playsure t' be making yer acquaintance!" She let the pegasus's hoof go, and pursed her lips. "But ten minutes is awful fast. You sure 'bout that?"

"Trust me," Red said. "It'll be a piece of cake."

***

As Sugar Scoop and her friends galloped towards the great hall, a sudden shaking almost knocked them to the ground. It repeated, a heavy thudding, a few times each second, growing closer. The water in a nearby fountain rippled with the impact, but the ponies found their footing and pressed on.

They soon encountered the source of the disturbance: Lady Double Scoop was galumphing down the corridor, using her wings for a bit of lift, each bound causing her massive bulk to impact the floor and rock the castle to its foundations. She was accompanied by Sprinklebelle and Sprinklebelle's cousin from out-of-town, Lickety Split.

Doublescoop stopped at the sight of Sugar Scoop, and spoke. "It's chaos in the Gala. Someone launched a cake at Prince Blueblood, the statue of Celestia has been shattered, and a swarm of beasts was loosed into the hall. Come with us, daughter. We can protect you."

Beside her, Sprinklebelle's eyes held the same message. Come with us, to safety. She directed her gaze briefly at Sunny, but those eyes found her sister as well.

Sugar Scoop didn't hesitate, but her voice was unusually tender. "No, I must bring my friends to the Princess. It's the only way to make things right."

Double Scoop waddled closer, never taking her eyes off of Sugar.

"Then at least take this." She held out a tall ice cream cone. "It's dangerous to go in there."

Sugar felt tears rising in her eyes, and fought to hold them back. "My favorite flavor..." She took the cone, reverently. The other Scoops continued their escape, but stopped when Sugar spoke again.

"Mom, Sprink, I'm..." Her face contorted, her eyes clenched shut. "ss- I'm ssso- ss- sorr- I'm..." She exhaled and opened her eyes. "I'll write!"

Sprinklebelle and Double Scoop smiled and nodded, and Sugar and her friends continued their gallop towards the great hall.

They burst in, finding the décor in tatters, but it was hardly the scene of chaos and panic the Scoops had described. The guests were seated in precise, orderly rows, gazing at Princess Daystar, whose pastel mane had been replaced with roiling flames. Twilight Sparkle and her friends were nowhere in sight.

As Sugar and her friends walked into the chamber, everypony turned to watch them in unison. The door behind them slammed shut. But that was alright. They had no intention of running.

"Ah, my faithful Sugar Scoop," Daystar said, her voice reverberating with power. "You brought your friends, just as I foresaw."

Sugar Scoop kept walking forward, but the other ponies halted.

Long Tail dropped her severed tail from her mouth to speak. "Oh, you foresaw that, too?"

Daystar smiled indulgently at the flippant unicorn. "You will now join the rest of us in Harmony, and put aside this foolish rebellion. Sugar Scoop will realize her greatest dreams as the head of my new Sunlight Foundation. With the authority of the throne, no one will deny her investigative privileges."

"Daystar," Sugar said, angrily. "I'd like to deliver a special report... on tyranny!"

Everypony gasped. Everypony but Daystar.

"Before you do, you should consider the consequences of not accepting the role I've selected for you. There won't be much news to report... on the MOON."

Sugar Scoop still hesitated, looking back towards her friends.

Daystar leaned down to speak with Sugar once again. "Discord cannot be tolerated. You can't even imagine what will happen if it is allowed to run free. Trust in my wisdom, and OBEY."

Sunnyside turned to Fizzlespark. "We could really use Princess Luna to wield that sixth Element right now. You're a spark. Could you use your friendship with her to make her appear?"

"That's just ridiculous," Fizzlespark replied. "Friendship doesn't just 'make' ponies appear."

Sunnyside was crestfallen. "But-"

"SO, MY SISTER LUNA WAS PART OF YOUR SCHEME," Daystar howled, in her royal voice. "I KNEW SHE COULDN'T BE TRUSTED. VERY WELL, LUNA, I DARE YOU TO SHOW YOUR FACE IN THE LIGHT OF MY-" The chamber rattled, and fire burst from Daystar. "MIDNIGHT SUN!"

The Sun blasted into the sky, blowing the moon down past the horizon. The fierce light of high noon beat down into the chamber.

"That might be a problem," Fizzlespark observed.

"EVERYPONY. SEIZE THE TRAITORS."

The orderly ranks of ponies rose and moved to restrain Sugar Scoop and her friends.

Long Tail turned to Sunnyside. "So, are we running away, or using tact?"

Sunnyside and Fizzlespark shared a look, then Sunny nodded grimly. Fizzlespark answered for him.

"We may have exhausted the limits of tact." As he spoke, his horn flashed, and a variety of fearsome weapons deployed from his saddlebags, notably his rocket-launching morningstars.

Sunny had a pair of eggs in at the ready. "So it's come to this."

Glitterdust tossed her mane, relieved not to feel the weight of Daystar's horn on her head, and scraped at the ground with one hoof, ready to charge.

Long Tail nodded at the others, are carefully levitated her severed tail into a safe corner before turning to face the masses of mind-controlled ponies that had moved to separate them from Sugar Scoop.

Daystar was content to watch, with Sugar Scoop seething at her side. Until she spotted Fizzlespark setting up a particular device.

"The sun-blocker," she muttered. "A blasphemous contraption. Philomena, destroy it."

The phoenix saluted, but before it could fly off, Sugar Scoop whirled and thrust the ice cream cone her mother had given her straight into the firey heart of the bird. It sizzled and steamed, but in the end, it was overcome, with both hooves on the cone, Sugar forced the smouldering bird to the ground, where it lay in an expanding pool of ice cream soup.

As a last, pitiful croak escaped the phoenix, Sugar recited her family motto. "We all scream for ice cream!" Then she whirled and took to the air.

"Everypony, listen! Thinking for yourselves is important!" Sugar shouted.

"Thinking for ourselves is important," they replied, in unison. Sugar pressed one hoof to her brow in frustration. Daystar chuckled.

"It's not right for a ruler to exile everyone who disagrees with her! Ponies must enjoy basic dignities – rights of free expression, freedom from arbitrary punishments... don't just lie down and accept dictatorship!"

A few ponies stopped their pursuit of Sugar's friends, gazing confusedly at her instead, but the thralls vastly outnumbered them.

Daystar narrowed her eyes. "ENOUGH." Her mane flared, and an intense beam of light burst from her horn. It sizzled through the air towards Sugar Scoop, but she ducked out of the way at the last moment, the beam so close it burned a hole straight through her hat.

Which left the beam arcing across the room towards Red Velvet. She had fallen under Daystar's thrall, and was about to drop a pair of hefty cakes onto Fizzlespark to stop him from operating his machine. As the lance of solar energy neared her, it was met by a golden streak. He blocked the laser with his body, and reflected light flared blindingly for one golden moment.

Red Velvet blinked, the haze in her eyes clearing. In confusion, she let the cakes slip from her grasp. Below, Fizzlespark pulled the final switch and announced that he was done, just before being buried in cake.

Looking around, Red found Sunnyside amidst some rubble on the ground, steam rising from his body. She dove to his side as Sugar Scoop continued exhorting the crowd to resist Daystar's mental shackles.

"What she can't control – she would destroy. Just as she has tried to destroy your minds, the essence of what makes you Pony."

"I'll stand with you." It was Officer Snapdragon. Sugar was touched, and smiled appreciatively.

"Me, too!" shouted Red Velvet, from next to Sunnyside.

"And me!" "Me as well!" "For freedom!" A wave swept over the crowd, and Daystar's spell was extinguished.

Daystar took a step back, surprised at the display of defiance.

As she did, a shadow began to sweep across Canterlot. Fizzlespark's light-bending contraption rose again, as it had during the Summer Sun Celebration, and blocked out the sun itself. As the line of darkness crossed the ballroom it revealed Princess Luna, who now stood among the crowd of ponies opposing Daystar.

"So she did appear!" Glitterdust said.

"Yes, but it wasn't magic!" Fizzlespark replied vehemently, cleaning the cake off of himself with a rotary licking device. "I sent rocket pigeons." He gestured to a window, where Luna's chariot could be seen, rocket pigeons attached at the front.

Daystar spoke to Luna, again in her royal voice. "DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE YOU CAN DEPLOY THE ELEMENTS OF HARMONY AGAINST ME? THEY'RE BOUND TO MY PUPIL. YOU AND THESE PONIES, WHY, THE SYMBOLS DON'T EVEN MATCH."

Luna's eyes flashed white, and thunder boomed. The Elements changed into a beaker, a bag, a Lorentz distribution, a spyglass, an interrobang, and a crown bearing a crescent moon, which Luna levitated to her own head. Four ponies gathered in formation around her as the Elements glowed bright.

"YOU'RE GOING TO THE SUN, SISTER," Luna said, in her own royal voice. "TO THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU'VE DONE. TO THESE PONIES. TO ME."

"Wait, what?" Long Tail cocked her head at Luna's plan.

"IF YOU USE THE ELEMENTS AGAINST ME, YOU'LL COMPLETE THE CYCLE OF DISCORD," Daystar warned.

Luna ignored her. "I INVOKE THE ELEMENTS OF HARMONY!"

"LOYALTY!" Sugar Scoop swooped into the air to gaze down at Daystar, then glowed brightly. The room thrummed with gathering power.

"GENEROSITY!" Glitterdust stood sturdy as a rock, magic energy pulsing through her.

"LAUGHTER!" Luna smiled at Fizzlespark. "Laughter?" he objected. "Science is serious business!" This just made Luna smile more broadly, and Fizzlespark ignited with the glow of his element.

"KINDNESS!" Somepony was missing from the formation. Luna's gaze swept across the room to find Sunnyside, charred and still smoking, groaning in pain. Sprinklebelle had returned, and held an ice pack on his head, while Red Velvet dabbed his brow with a spongecake. His necklace flickered faintly.

"OKAY... WELL... GOOD ENOUGH," Luna said. "HONESTY!"

"I honestly think this is a bad idea," said Long Tail, as Luna turned to her. The power of the Elements faded and snuffed out.

"BUT," Luna said. "WE THOUGHT YOU WERE OUR FRIENDS. IT HAS BEEN SO LONG, WITHOUT A FRIEND, PERHAPS... WE WERE MISTAKEN." Luna hung her head and looked sidelong at Fizzlespark.

"IT IS THY JEALOUSY," Daystar said. "AND THY TREACHEROUS SCHEMES THAT PREVENT THEE FROM KEEPING FRIENDS. WE OFFERED THEE OUR FORGIVENESS, OUR FRIENDSHIP, BUT THOU HAST REPAID US WITH REBELLION."

"That's not right, either!" Long Tail objected. "Princess Luna, we are your friends, but we need to use the Elements to heal your sister, the way Twilight Sparkle and her friends healed you. We can't just banish her to the Sun! That probably won't solve anything."

"She's right," Sugar Scoop said, placing one hoof on Luna's shoulder. "You have to stick by your sister, because that’s the only way they’ll learn sense. And one day, when you’re in trouble, they’ll come to help you out – because that’s what –" Sugar sniffed, and blinked away tears. "That's what family’s all about.” Sugar Scoop smiled at Luna, then her ears suddenly perked up and her smile flipped upside down. She turned slowly, and noticed Sprinklebelle was in the room. “Oh no! Did you hear all that!?”

Sprinklebelle just nodded, with tears of her own.

Next to her, Sunnyside's eyes were open. He struggled to his feet and flexed his wings. They were blackened and wouldn't open all the way, so he walked slowly forward.

"I thought my brother had lost faith in me," he said, a little hoarse. "But when I was in trouble, when I needed him, he came through. Family always does." Sunnyside took his place in formation around Princess Luna and smiled at her. " And so do friends."

"EVERYPONY," Luna said. "YOU ARE RIGHT. WHAT WE WANT, MOST OF ALL-" Luna's voice cracked, just a little. "IS TO HAVE OUR SISTER BACK."

Light gathered around the assembled ponies as Luna called upon the Elements.

"LOYALTY!" Sprinklebelle had joined the circle, and Sugar Scoop was embracing her. Light burst forth as Luna announced Sugar's Element.

"GENEROSITY!" Glitterdust's necklace glowed, and she levitated into the air as energy gathered around her.

"LAUGHTER!" Fizzlespark had somehow attached Spring to his necklace, and was cranking him furiously, cackling maniacally as he did so. Sparks flew from the Element, joining the cascade of power building in the center of the room.

"KINDNESS!" A sheath of light enveloped Sunnyside's whole body, healing his injured wings. He leapt aloft to shine like a beacon, and extended one hoof to Daystar in a gesture of friendship.

"HONESTY!" The power washed over Long Tail from head to tail, then kept going, sweeping back in a graceful arc of mathematical purity. Of, if not certainly, then quantifiable uncertainty.

"THESE FIVE ELEMENTS TOGETHER, CREATE THE SIXTH ELEMENT. THE ELEMENT OF..."

"MAGIC!" cried everypony in unison (except for Fizzlespark, whose shout of "Science!" was drowned out by the rest).

Luna lowered her horn and took aim. The multicolored energy of the Elements coalesced around her, then swept out from her royal horn in a spray of colors.

"NO!" Daystar cried. "OBEY ME! OBEYYYYYYYYY..."

***

When the light from the Elements faded, it was nighttime once again. The Midnight Sun had passed, and the Moon shone down, illuminating the platform on which Celestia now lay. Her mane was pastel again, but unmoving, lying still on the ground.

Princess Luna alone seemed unharmed by the experience. In fact, she seemed to have grown in stature, similar to Princess Celestia herself. She galloped to her sister's side.

"Tia?" she said. "Are you alright? Please wake up?"

"Hmmph?" Celestia responded. Her mane slowly began to undulate, but she didn't open her eyes. "Wake up? But it's the middle of the night. Did you have that nightmare again, with the butterflies..."

Luna blushed and looked back to see if anypony was close enough to hear. "No, shush about that! It's the night of the Grand Galloping Gala. Don't you remember?"

"Oof, no. It must have been a good party." Celestia finally opened her eyes and saw where she was. "Oh, oh dear."

The other ponies were starting to recover from the force of the Elements, as well.

"You know, Luna, it being nighttime and all, why you handle this?" Celestia said, taking in the chaos. "I'm going for a cup of coffee. Fill me in at dawn, okay?"

As her big sister left, Luna grinned broadly, turning to the assembled ponies. Tia was finally trusting her to handle things like a Princess.

"WE THINK THIS CALLS FOR A CELEBRATION!"

A cheer rose from the crowd, and the players took up their instruments once again to play a joyful tune.

***

The soundtrack continued the joyful music as scenes from a subsequent day played on the screen. Glitterdust and Ditzy Doo took the stage beneath a banner announcing that the Pony Express mail service was now an Equal Opportunity employer.

In the audience, Long Tail pulled out a copy of the reinstated Equestria Daily newspaper, where the front page announced that the army was being recalled from the border with Gryffindor, and war was averted. The byline was Sugar Scoop's, and below her file photo the paper acknowledged her receipt of a well-deserved Mule-itzer prize.

The camera zoomed in on the photo, and transitioned to Sugar Scoop standing outside the front door of Scoop Manor. The door opened, and Sprinklebelle launched out of the doorway to embrace Sugar.

Red Velvet and Sunny were standing outside as well, and Red Velvet walked forward and tapped Sprinklebelle on the shoulder. The two smiled and shook hooves. Sunny looked as if he was about to say something, when Scrambler swooped out of the sky and gave him a surprise noogie.

Sunny swatted Scrambler's hooves away, then leapt into the air to give chase. The two flew high and twisted around a tall tower, laughing. The camera panned away from them to a large, towertop structure studded with telescopes, gears, and steam vents. Fizzlespark and Princess Luna were cutting the ribbon on the "Canterlot Academy of Lunatic Science."

Propellers sprouted from the top of the building and spun up, carrying it high into the sky. Fizzlespark rode it into the air, while Luna waved goodbye and walked into her study.

Owlowiscious was waiting. Luna's horn glowed, and a copy of the book Elements of Harmony rose from a side table and opened, revealing hidden compartments. Next, the Elements appeared, reverting to their original shapes. She carefully placed them inside the book. As the cover shut, the screen went blank and the credits played.

***

END OF SEASON 1