“Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure... than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.”

Theodore Roosevelt

Twilight Sparkle peered down at the circle of symbols engraved in the rock floor of the cavern. The deep blue stone had been carved not with any physical tool, but with the raw power of magic itself.

The floor shuddered violently and a shower of dust and pebbles fell from the ceiling. Twilight glanced up at the clusters of red crystal that dotted the cavern walls, fused to the rock as if they’d grown out of it. Twilight squinted at the shapes underneath the crystals: at the petrified bones that were barely visible through the ruby-bright facets.

These crystals are somehow drawing energy from the fossils. She tilted her head and brushed a strand of her mane out of her face. By why? And where is it going? What is it being used for? To cast a spell, or maintain an existing one? Or maybe it’s powering a natural phenomenon of some sort?

The cavern shuddered again with greater force. The needle-sharp stalactites shook, but held in place.

“Twilight!” shouted Pinkie Pie from the mouth of the cave. “Are you done yet?”

She tapped the bridge of her nose. A portal, maybe?

“Twilight! We really need to wrap this up soon! He’s getting lots closer!”

“Just keep him out of the cave a little longer,” she called back calmly.

“Are you almost finished with the magic runes?”

Twilight leaned down and examined a particular symbol. “No. I’ve almost started.”

Pinkie Pie spun around. “What!?”

“Patience is a virtue,” Twilight said in a sing-song voice.

Pinkie Pie hopped in place. “But what about being a smarty-smart smarty-pants? That’s a virtue too, right? I mean, we could really use that virtue right now.”

“Pinkie Pie, please. I am trying to think.”

“Then why do you look like you’re just standing there going hmm?”

“Because that’s what thinking looks like.” Twilight took a thick reference book out of her saddlebag and scanned the index. “What’s going on out there?”

Pinkie Pie spun around and looked out the mouth of the cave. “It looks like he managed to drink all three of the Potions of Notions and grew to the size of a house. He stole the airship’s anchor and swung it all around, smashing up the emerald mirror maze. The waterfall coming out of the mountain is flowing backwards now, and the King of all Lemmings is trying to de-hypnotize his subjects. I guess they’re trying to give him a bath or something. Oh, and there’s only two more miniature volcanoes left.”

A bright orange glow lit Pinkie Pie from outside and a blast of warm air swept her mane back.

“No, wait... just one.”

“Mmm.” Twilight flipped to the middle of the book. “Let me know when something happens.”

“Something!?” Pinkie Pie reared up on her hind legs and pointed outside with both front hooves. “Everything is happening!”

The cavern shuddered violently and several stalactites fell from the ceiling. Without taking her eyes from her book, Twilight stepped sideways. A giant needle of rock crashed to the floor beside her.

She turned a page. “I meant something important.”

“Twilight!” Applejack scampered up to the mouth of the cave and stood next to Pinkie Pie. “You gotta do something quick, Twi! He knocked down the giant magnifyin’ glass and we’re down to our last box of tiny umbrellas! Fluttershy and Rarity are tap dancing as fast as they can, but I don’t know how long they can keep it up!”

Pinkie Pie rolled her eyes. “I never thought the magnifying glass would work anyways. It was worth a try, though.”

Applejack shook her head, solemnly. “I reckon this might be a lost cause after all, Twilight. It’s nearly dawn and he’s almost reached the cave. The magical ‘living rope’ you made didn’t even slow him down.”

“The rope failed?” Twilight Sparkle looked up from her book. “It should be able to tangle anything.”

“It worked great,” Applejack said, “right up until he set himself on fire and burned right through it.”

“You didn’t know he could ignite himself?” Twilight returned to her book. “I thought I mentioned that before we left. In any case, he’ll turn to ashes in a minute or so. I can finish studying this magic circle while he’s busy revivifying himself.”

“A minute or so?” said Applejack. “He’s been on fire for the past half-hour!”

Twilight’s head snapped up. Her friends leaned forward and gave her their undivided attention.

“Applejack...?”

“Yeah, sugarcube?”

“Is he... singing?”

Applejack’s eyebrows shot up. “What does that have to do with anything!?”

“Please, Applejack. It’s important.”

Applejack frowned at her. “No, Twilight. He wasn’t singing.”

Rarity scrambled into the mouth of the cave and collapsed beside them. She was covered in soot and ashes, and gasping for breath. “No more... I can’t bear it any longer!”

Applejack knelt by her side and brushed away some of the soot. “It’s all right, Rarity! We’ll get you to the spa as soon as we get back to Ponyville! He didn’t hurt you, did he?”

“Hurt? No... mortally wounded, am I!” Rarity held a hoof to her forehead and swooned. “Never before have I heard such passion! Such resonant tone and timbre! My ears will never again be blessed by such rapturous melodies! To live out the rest of my days bereft of such beauty would be a fate worse than the icy embrace of death!”

Applejack stared at her, slack jawed. “Are you telling me he’s singing?”

“Rodrigo’s Aria, from Verdi’s Don Colto! I’ve only heard it once before: a live performance by Dmitri Horsetovsky. And this puts him to utter shame!”

Applejack glared at her. She then turned to Twilight, blandly. “Yep. He’s singin’.”

“Then he’s not a phoenix at all,” said Twilight. “He’s a rooster.”

“Are you sure?” Applejack said. “What kinda rooster can set himself on fire?”

“Only one.” She levitated a scroll in front of her face and inscribed glowing ink onto its surface. “Hold him off while I prepare a spell. And whatever you do, don’t distract me: I require complete concentration.”

Pinkie Pie and Applejack nodded together, but Rarity leapt to her feet.

“No! How can we put an end to such musical genius? I would sooner smash a stained glass window!”

Pinkie Pie gently set a hoof on her shoulder. “Rarity, you know what he’s trying to do. If he’s allowed to sing when the sun rises, there won’t be anymore Sundays! We’ll just go straight from Saturday to Monday! Can you live with the knowledge that you allowed that to happen?”

“No, of course not.” Rarity’s eyes welled with tears. “Curse him for making us do this!”

“Just don’t let him distract me,” said Twilight. “And let me know when he’s about to enter the Cavern.”

The three ponies nodded and rushed outside. The next instant, all five of Twilight’s friends were hurled back into the cave by an explosion of force. A gigantic rooster stood in the cave entrance surrounded by a nimbus of searing, golden flames. His tail was a long, flowing fan of red and orange plumage that swept the floor like a cape. His wings gestured at them grandly, and his feathers grasped at the air like fingers.

“Behold! I, Alectryon... have arrived!”

Applejack landed next to Twilight with a thud. “He’s in the cavern now.”

“I noticed.” Twilight turned to the rooster but continued to write on the scroll without looking at it. “I thought you should know something. This magic ritual of yours isn’t going to destroy the abstract concept of Sunday. It’s going to destroy the actual sun.”

The others gasped in horror.

The rooster puffed out his chest and swept one leg back. “Alectryon is perfectly aware of this.”

“I’ve studied the old legends,” she said. “You were supposed to be a guardian of the sun! A faithful servant! Why would you ever want to destroy it?”

The rooster tossed his head back and swept his comb and wattle aside with a rehearsed ease. “For countless centuries Alectryon has greeted the new day with his song. Not a single dawn has passed without the blessing of Alectryon’s peerless tenor! And how is Alectryon’s faithful obedience repaid?”

A streak of rainbow light shot towards the titanic bird. He snapped into an elegant, dance-like pose and swept his wing out, knocking Rainbow Dash aside with unmatched speed and grace. She sailed past him and scrambled to extinguish her tail.

“How, I ask you?” His talons scraped against the stone as he approached Twilight. “Alectryon has been the most faithful watcher a master could ask for, and now he is to be discarded? Like a worthless vagrant?”

Pinkie Pie spun a heavy iron cannon around and yanked its cable. A spray of foam and bubbles cascaded out, but the rooster swept his wing in a wide arc: a wave of fire burst forth and reduced the soap bubbles to hissing steam.

“Alectryon has served the daylight longer than your civilization has existed! Do you think your petty desires carry any weight? Alectryon would sooner see the sun destroyed than allow his magnificence to be spurned!”

Rarity gasped in shock. “You wouldn’t! You couldn’t! What did Celestia ever do to you?”

Twilight split her attention between the book, the circle of runes, and the question. “He’s talking about Helios: he was responsible for maintaining the sun before Celestia was even born. He created Alectryon to serve him.”

“You are wrong, foolish scholar! It was Ares, the god of war, who created me to stand guard. Only Helios, the bringer of light, was formidable enough to pass by me unseen. When Ares cast me out for my failure, it was Helios who took me under his wing! And now I have been abandoned and neglected by two gods! This will not stand!”

“That may be true Alectryon, but both of your masters have been gone for tens of thousands of years. Your dream of revenge is nothing but a delusion.”

Alectryon uttered a derisive snort. “One sun will do just as well as another. Alectryon’s revenge upon the gods will not be denied!”

“Don’t you dare!” Fluttershy said and flitted up in front of his face. “You can’t do whatever you want just because somebody hurt your feelings! Do you know what destroying the sun would do? Are you even thinking about anyone but yourself?”

Her gaze was a magnetic force in the air. The massive rooster flinched back as they locked eyes, but his beak opened wide. He held forth one wing and flexed his feathers as if grasping an invisible object in the air, and his resonant voice blasted the interior of the cave with a flawless tone. The words he sang came from a language that was ancient and indecipherable, and yet the emotions they conveyed were universal to all living souls.

Awe and wonder seized the pony’s hearts like an iron claw. The intensity of Fluttershy’s stare was no match, and she tumbled back through the air in shock. Rarity immediately swooned to the floor again, her hoof against her brow. Even Applejack and Rainbow Dash were paralyzed by the inimitable strength and purity they heard.

Twilight’s eyes remained fixed on her scroll and her scripting continued unhindered. “I’ve almost got this figured out. I just need a few more seconds.”

“Alectryon will not allow it! Now face the fury of a true servant of the dawn!”

The rooster charged forward in a sheath of sacred fire, and his talons scratched flurries of sparks from the stone. All of Twilight’s friends leapt at the colossal bird in a final, hopeless bid to slow his progress. Twilight continued to examine her scroll as the cave shuddered and quaked behind her. Explosions of scorching fire and shattered stone filled the air, and cries of surprise and anger echoed off the walls. Bursts of color and light and confetti and soap-suds and silver-threaded ribbon occasionally sailed past Twilight, all unnoticed. An arc of flame swept at her from behind: a rainbow swoosh deflected the majority of the heat wave, but a few errant flames landed on Twilight’s tail and mane. She swatted at them, mildly annoyed.

Twilight ceased her writing and stroked the end of her feather quill against her nose.

Hmm... maybe I should do one last proofreading, just in case.

Rainbow Dash shot past her and slammed into a stone pillar. She slid to the floor upside down, landing on her head. “Twilight! He’s—”

“Stop distracting me.” She held the scroll flat and blew across its surface, drying the golden ink. “There we go. Now all we need to do is get him inside the circle.”

She turned around and came face to face with the sharp spur on Alectryon’s scaled ankle. She craned her neck to look up at him.

“Inside the circle, eh?” He crossed his wings and peered down. “Then perhaps Alectryon will choose not to enter the circle. What then?”

Twilight cleared her throat and shuffled her feet.

“Alectryon didn’t think so.”

Twilight’s horn flared with magic and shafts of white-hot light shot up from the circle of symbols. The ring of runes expanded in size until their circumference covered the entire floor of the cavern.

Alectryon spun around, looking at the runes. “How—!?”

“Didn’t you know?” she said. “Twilight Sparkle can enlarge magic circles.”

The scroll burst into flames and the circle of runes crackled with energy. A cascade of purple beams descended upon the giant bird and began to enveloped him. The stream of tendrils coiled around his beak before he could sing, and swirled tightly around his legs and wings. He thrashed about with desperate fervor, but his fiery aura faded and his bright plumage was soon obscured from view. Eventually, all that remained of him was a great lavender orb.

The six ponies watched as the sphere of energy cracked and shattered. When the maelstrom of sound and light faded, a perfectly ordinary rooster—albeit, one with magnificent plumage—fluttered to the ground. It gave them a wobbly-necked look and started pecking at the floor.

“Eee!” Fluttershy rushed over and lifted the animal with her wings. “Who’s a little chicky-wicky! Who is? Thaaat’s right! Izzoo! Whooza itzzy-witzzy widdle...”

“It worked!” said Applejack. “We really did it!”

“You mean Twilight did it,” said Rarity. “That was simply amazing! I can’t believe you actually managed to cast such a complicated spell!”

Twilight rubbed her knee against her leg. “Well, it wasn’t that difficult.”

“Girl, please. I know how hard it is to create something special when you’re surrounded by constant disruptions.”

“You weren’t that bad,” said Twilight. “Although next time, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t ask a lot of questions. It’s a teensy bit distracting.”

Rainbow Dash reached over and brushed the remaining flames off of Twilight’s tail. “Yeah. I bet it is.”

“I knew you could handle it!” said Pinkie Pie. “You’re the best there is at magic! Why, I bet there isn’t a single spell in the whole wide world of Equestria that you couldn’t cast!”

“Girls, please!” Twilight said with a smile, “I couldn’t have done any of this without each and every one of you. We all did this together! Remember how Fluttershy convinced the King of all Lemmings to help us?”

“She’s right!” Fluttershy said. “And we never would have found the Cave of Secrets if Rainbow Dash hadn’t explored this mountain!”

“And the golden apples of the Hesperides!” said Rainbow Dash. “We couldn’t have found them without Applejack’s wilderness skills!”

“And the airship!” Applejack said. “If Rarity hadn’t been there to stitch the balloon back together, we’d never have gotten here in time!”

“And the... er...” Rarity turned to Pinkie Pie. “There was... hmm.”

Pinkie Pie hopped in anticipation. “Yeah? Yeah?”

“The... thing. You know, the ah...” Rarity turned to the others. “A little help here, girls?”

The others nodded and mumbled about how fantastic ‘the thing’ had been.

Pinkie Pie’s eyes moistened. “I’m so happy you liked it! I worked real hard on it, too!”

“Gee Twilight,” Applejack said, “I thought you were just spoutin’ a lot of hooey. Again. But I reckon we really did save the sun!”

The rooster let loose with a piercing cock-a-doodle doo. Fluttershy dropped the bird with a squeal and rushed behind Applejack.

Applejack eyed the rooster from a distance “Now why’d he—”

“Indeed you have!”

The six ponies gasped as warm, golden light flooded the cavern. The sunrise was perfectly visible through the entrance, rising over the distant mountains like a halo of fire. Princess Celestia emerged from the center of that light and drifted to the ground before them.

“My most faithful student!” she said. “I knew you could do it. Again.”

“It was an honor!” said Twilight. “We couldn’t let all of Equestria be destroyed!”

“Hm? Oh goodness, child! Equestria was in no danger. Our enemy was only trying to destroy the sun.” Celestia smiled and rolled her eyes. “You have no idea what a chore it is to replace.”

“Oh,” said Twilight. “Well, it was still a great honor.”

“It is good to know I can always depend on you.” Celestia leaned down and gave her a gentle hug. “I do hope the danger wasn’t too great.”

Dash shrugged. “Well, we did fight a giant flaming cockerel.”

“Alectryon?” Celestia’s glanced about the cavern, alarmed. “If I had known he was involved I never would have sent you. Not even I can estimate the power he wields! I am curious to know what his true purpose was: It couldn’t have been mere revenge.”

Dash pointed further into the cavern. “You can ask him about it yourself.”

Celestia looked at the small red rooster hopping about the cave.

“Oh, that is adorable!” Celestia’s horn glowed and the rooster levitated to them, flustered by the invisible force around it. Celestia nuzzled her nose against its beak. “Aren’t you just the sweetest little thing? Yes you are! Who’s the handsomest little birdy?”

Twilight Sparkle cleared her throat. “Princess? Perhaps we should—”

“Yes of course.” She straightened up and nodded to them. “I am thankful you were able to disable him harmlessly. It will be far easier to care for him in his current state. Perhaps, with time, he will attain the grace and humility needed to assume his true form responsibly.”

“You should have seen him before,” Rarity said with a grin. “He was a fowl knave indeed!”

Celestia cast a disapproving gaze. “This poor creature was a noble and worthy servant before his master chose to neglect him. Some degree of dignity and respect is-pfff!”

“...Princess?”

Celestia sputtered with laughter for a moment. “A fowl knave! I only just got that! How long have you been saving it?”

Rarity brushed her mane aside with a sheepish smile. “A few hours now.”

Celestia’s laughter faded into a gentle sigh. She cleared her throat and straightened her posture. “The royal court of Canterlot thanks you for your courage and determination. I thank you. All of you.”

The six ponies knelt together.

Celestia waved for them to rise. “You may retain the use of my airship for your journey home. I shall see to its repairs myself when it is returned to the palace.”

“What about this cavern?” Twilight said. “It has some amazing magical properties. Surely we could study it further!”

“I am afraid not, my student, for this is the final resting place of the first flock of phoenixes who chose to make our world their home. It is a hallowed memorial for a sacred animal.”

“Oh my goodness, I had no idea!” Twilight said, “you’re absolutely right, of course. This cave deserves to be treated with the utmost dignity.”

Celestia nodded. “Thank you for understanding.”

Celestia watched as the six ponies left the cave. She glanced back at the rooster, still hovering in place. She pulled her mane over her head like a curtain and brought the bird close.

She pulled her hair away, revealing her face. “Peek-a-boo!”

The rooster immediately uttered a loud, piercing crow.

“Absolutely priceless!” She walked out of the cave with the rooster in tow. “And what a handsome thing you are! Come to think of it, Philomeena has been a tad lonely. I’m sure you two will get along wonderfully! I’ll have to make sure she teaches you everything she knows about good manners and proper conduct. And how to preen yourself: your plumage is in terrible condition. And we’ll have to file your talons a bit. And maybe a little bowtie!”

The rooster flapped its wings and clucked frantically as she carried it out of the cave.

Next Chapter: %i%: Twilight gets a letter and brews some tea. Estimated time remaining: 9 Hours, 46 Minutes