Author's Notes:

Here it is everypony, the fourteenth chapter of the story! I hope you all enjoy it.

I will be updating the adjoining websites character page a bit to make it look more organized. So IDK when that will be completed, but it will include all new characters from this chapter and the last.

Mind still clouded after the heavy impact of the fall she had taken, Star awakens to find herself basked in the warmth of a bright light, encompassing the entirety of her body. All around her she can hear the worried sound of talking, figuring that it must be her friends, standing over her and wondering why she's just laying on the ground. She opens her eyes, which are still coming into focus after everything, and looks around, noticing right away that she's in the Princess Twilight Sparkle Memorial Library. Not too far off, in the open kitchen, Spike is walking around. He seems to be heating up a pot of something, based on the wonderful smell emanating from there. It smells like hot chocolate; delicious, rich, creamy hot chocolate. As the smell of the drink awakens her senses, Star comes to a realization of what must have happened now. She can see that the bright light is the sun shining in through the open windows, and understands that she must have been out all night. She has been studying, researching on Oblivion and the Elements of Harmony when she simply got tired, fell asleep, and had a weird dream. That's all there is to it.

Lyra, the Everfree Forest, her parents, and Princess Twilight Sparkle, all of it was a mere dream brought on by hours of endless studying, and now that she thinks about it, a mug of hot cocoa sounds really good right now. Smiling, the mare begins to rise to her hooves, shaking out the last of her tired daze and soaking up the beautiful warm light of the sun. It's a beautiful day, and now she can take a break and just spend some time with her friends. Of course, with Terra heading the Ponyville Militant Task Force, he's bound to be busy. Agelian and Devlin are both part of it as well, so they're out, and Bri is still missing. Maybe Chupa's free to hang out, or even somepony else. It's the weekend, so maybe she could have tea with Cheerilee, or cake with Silver Spoon. She could go to Sweet Apple Acres and see Apple Bloom. She's sure to be free to have a little fun.

"Spike," she calls out, "can I have a cup of cocoa, please?"

The quiet talking all around her comes to an instant stop, and she feels as if a dozen or so heads have just turned suddenly in her direction. A cold sweat begins to drip down her brow, and she fears looking around. In front of her, the little dragon has also stopped, and is just staring at the mare with open mouth and widened eyes. In his claw is a pot of something, which he seems to have forgotten all about. Star swallows hard, and though afraid of what she might find, slowly turns her head. As she does, however, the mare comes face to face with somepony she doesn't recognize. Staring intently at her, the mysterious blue coated mare eyes her up and down, as if she were examining her. Not saying anything, Star waits until the pony flies back, and that's when her fear returns.

The blue coated mare now hovers there in full view, a skeptical look etched on her face. Her mane is a rainbow of colors, unkempt and wild. Her cutie mark is a cloud, out of which strikes a rainbow colored lightning bolt. She knows now who this mysterious mare is, and it's not possible. Continuing to look around, Star sees a white mare with a styled purple mane, an orange one with a cowpony hat, an overly happy looking pink pony, and...Fluttershy!? But, she's visibly younger than she should be. She had just seen Fluttershy at the meeting too. And in the middle of them all stands exactly who she didn't want to see, and her presence alone reveals the identities of every other pony there.

Princess Twilight Sparkle steps up to the scared and confused mare, offering a friendly hoof as she asks, "are you ok? I'm so sorry that I bumped into you last night. I was so wrapped up in my own thoughts that I didn't even see you."

"I would've seen her," the rainbow-maned pony replies, smirking.

"Yeah yeah, I know that Rainbow. Not all of us can multi-task while flying though," the Princess tells her as she rolls her eyes with a smile. She then returns her focus to Star, whose head seems to be on a swivel as it darts back and forth between the two as they talk, "now, Spike made you some hot chocolate."

Suddenly, the happy pink mare bounces over to them, and mimics Rainbow Dash, looking over Star. She then gasps over-dramatically and yells, "Omigosh! You must be new to Ponyville! This calls for a party!" This is Pinkie Pie, there's no doubt. She remembers the stories Bri had told her about the party pony's attitude and actions. But this just isn't possible. Pinkie's been missing for almost sixteen years now, the same with Princess Twilight. And everypony else here; Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash, died. Fluttershy is the only one who could be here now, but why does she look so young? That's when it hits her, and everything begins to come together. Lyra's sudden and mysterious appearance in Ponyville, despite having died, and how she just disappeared in the Everfree Forest. How somepony else was living in her home, and how she saw her still living parents in her sisters house, and now, all of this as well. She doesn't know why or how, but she's traveled into the past.

As she notices everypony staring at her, Star smiles and tries to act as normal as she can. This isn't right. She shouldn't be here, and should somehow get back to her own time. She has an idea on how to do so, but first she has to get away from these ponies. So deciding to go with the only idea she has, Star climbs up to her hooves and gives them all a curtly thanks before turning and bolting out of the library as fast as she possibly can. More worried than ever, she begins to gallop through town, but takes off into the sky not long after so that she can go faster and get back to the Everfree Forest as quickly as possible. Right away she notices that the town is smaller and much less impressive than in her time, but that really isn't saying much considering how small and umimpressive Ponyville is even then.

Wanting to get back to her friends and family, the mare flies as fast as possible, heading East and soon finding the outskirts of town and Fluttershy's cottage. From behind her she can hear a voice call out, and without even stopping, she turns her head to see Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Princess Twilight chasing after, all having taken flight as well. Dash leads the group, being the fastest, but chooses to not leave her friends behind just to catch Star. Flapping harder than she ever has before, the mare flies off and into the Everfree Forest in no time. She knows how hard it would be to fly through, so she lands and begins to gallop again, her goal not only being to escape the three ponies giving chase, but to follow the path back to the clearing so that she can get back home.

Continuing to run along the path, Star notices a large patch of odd blue flowers in her way. She can't quite explain it, but something about them just doesn't seem right. So she avoids them, flying low overhead for a minute until the path is once again clear. As she lands, she notices the three ponies coming up to the beginning of the patch and stopping suddenly. Fluttershy begins to say something about sounding like a stallion, but deciding not to listen in to the entire conversation, Star continues to gallop away, hoping she'll be back home before they figure out how to get past the flowers. She soon finds the end of the path that leads right into the clearing and continues forward with a huge burst of energy. She runs through the center, and as last time, nothing seems to happen. However, as she turns around, ready to head back home with the knowledge that she must be back in her own time, she sees the three ponies reaching the clearing.

"No! I went back, you can't still be here! I went back home!"

Cowering down from all the yelling, Fluttershy squeaks out and begins to tear up. As Rainbow Dash goes to comfort her life-long friend, Princess Twilight gives Star a concerned expression and steps forward. She comes face to face with the now defensive Star, who falls to her flank and continues to scream at the top of her lungs, backing quickly away in fear. It's obvious to the Princess that she's terrified for some reason, and she attempts to offer her comfort to the mare just as Dash had with Fluttershy. However, the mare just continues screaming and backing away at full speed until she runs into a tree, slamming hard into it. The impact of her head smashing against the bark causes the crazed mare to knock herself out. Her overexertion, fear, and sheer confusion seems to have come out of nowhere. Wondering exactly what's going on, Princess Twilight levitates the unconscious mare onto her back and begins the journey out of the forest, Rainbow and Fluttershy following closely behind.

Waking up, once again in the library, Star notices that this time she's laying on a soft, comfortable bed. Above her, watching with worried expressions, are the six ponies and the small dragon she had seen earlier. All she can think about, however, is the forest. Something clearly had gone wrong. Whatever it was that had caused her to come to this time in the first place is now gone, and it seems unlikely that it's going to come back. Maybe it was Lyra herself. She is a unicorn, so maybe she created the portal through time. But why? What could require somepony to need to go into the future, and seemingly lure somepony else back to the past? On top of it all, from what she's heard, spells like that are supposed to be hard to cast. They're known to only be used by the highest level unicorns, or the alicorn princesses. From everything she had heard about Lyra Heartstrings, she doesn't fit either of those qualities.

First though she's got to figure out how to get back to her own time. Once she has a plan there she can focus on finding out exactly how Lyra relates to all of this. Now that she thinks about it, maybe Princess Twilight has the power to bring her back to her own time. She is an alicorn, so she should have a high level of magical skill. On top of it, she's said to have been highly skilled even before her ascension, her cutie mark focusing on her magical prowess. She can't just tell her who she is though. If anypony knew she had come from the future, she'd probably be locked up in the asylum, or even worse, alter history. She needs to use a pseudonym while here, just until she's able to figure everything out. Maybe then she can tell Princess Twilight alone, and get back. One pony knowing won't change much, especially if she doesn't actually tell her anything about the future.

Sitting up, Star cautiously looks around at the six ponies standing beside the bed, all of whom seem relieved at her return to consciousness. What does she do now? What does she say? She can't just introduce herself right out of the blue, not after what she did before. She needs some way to break the ice first, to get them all off to a good talking point, but what? Breathing in, she's about to fake a fangasm over being in the presence of a princess, but finds herself not having to, as just a second before she can open her mouth, Princess Twilight herself asks, "Are you ok? You scared us before, but I guess we must have scared you too. Who are you though? I don't recognize you. Neither does Pinkie Pie, and that's saying something."

"My name is," Star starts, suddenly remembering that she has to use a pseudonym to protect herself, and possibly even the future. Thinking quickly, she thinks of the bedtime story her sister had made up and used to tell to her when she was younger. With a smile, she continues, "I'm Midnight Glow, but you, you can't be Princess Twilight Sparkle, can you?"

"I am," Twilight replies, now blushing in humility, "but it's really nothing. I'm just glad you're ok. It was like you had a panic attack for some reason."

"A panic attack? She went completely nuts!" Rainbow Dash laughs, "you gave us quite the workout trying to keep up with you. Are you sure you're not secretly a Wonderbolt with flying skills like that?"

"No," Star replies with a laugh of her own, "I'm nothing like that. To be honest, I'm much more into studying and learning about things like history and astronomy."

As the words have barely left her mouth, Princess Twilight seems to glow in sudden excitement. Grabbing the hoof of the mare she knows as Midnight Glow, she flies at top speed downstars to the main part of the library. With the others following, she begins to show off her collections of history and astronomy books to Star, including her favorite, the Astronomical Astronomer's Almanac to All Things Astronomy. It's her second copy thanks to Spike having accidentally burnt the first prior to an important meteor shower. Star looks at all the books being given over to her and can't help but just laugh. This isn't what she would've expected somepony like a princess to act. It's almost as if she were a regular, everyday pony. It's weird, but she feels that Princess Twilight is almost just like her. Or maybe, she's just like Princess Twilight.

"I don't think she's as into it as you Twilight," Applejack says before turning to look at Star, "but I was wondering somethin' sugarcube. What got ya so spooked before? I hope it wasn't any of us that scared ya."

"No, it's just...well...I wasn't expecting to see you all around me like that. It caught me off guard, that's all."

Applejack looks unconvinced and raises an eyebrow at the mare, but decides to let it go in the end. Pinkie Pie then bounces over with a wide smile, rolling in a large steel cannon painted blue and pink. Right away Star knows exactly what it is. She remembers how often Bri had talked about wanting one ever since their first meeting. The party cannon is a specially made device constructed by the pink party pony herself with the sole purpose of launching out confetti and other party necessities whenever they might be needed. There are some who claim that Pinkie always has the cannon on her, somehow able to stow and pull it out of thin air at the most random of times. She's not quite sure that something like that could be true, although with everything she's already seen today, it's kind of hard to doubt anything anymore.

She had never even expected that she would be talking to Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends one day. And though there is the initial feeling of wonder, it turns bittersweet for the mare as she remembers exactly what happens to them all in the foreseeable future. Three of them die in horrible accidents, two disappear without a trace, and the last of them becomes a recluse for fifteen years. It's almost hard for her to believe that these indeed are the six storied ponies of history. The same ones who once rescued Princess Luna from the darkness in her heart, turned the villainous Discord back to stone and later befriended him, and caused the explosive death of King Sombra in the Crystal Empire. They're legendary, but right now, they seem like any other pony she's met during the course of her life. Suddenly changing the subject, Rainbow Dash asks Star what she's doing in Ponyville. The mare is surprised by the question. Should she answer truthfully? Maybe they can help her find Lyra. It's better than lying and having to search herself.

"I'm...I'm looking for somepony named Lyra Heartstrings," she nervously manages to tell them, stuttering as she does. Right away all six of them give her an odd look, then begin to huddle into a little discussion. While she isn't able to hear the entirety of the conversation, some key words manage to get through, such as humans, crazy, and oddly enough, oatmeal. Not sure of what to do, or especially of how to react to their sudden change in mood and discussion amongst each other regarding it all, she just watches and waits, hoping for at least one of them to be willing to help her. She has been expecting them to maybe question her, based on everything she had heard about the pony, but not anything like this.

"Are ya absolutely sure about that sugarcube?" AJ asks her, smiling gently and trying to be as courteous as she can. She tries to hide her true, hesitant feelings towards the situation, but Star can see right through it with ease. She remembers hearing that Applejack was the Element of Honesty after all. Somepony like that couldn't be good at hiding things or lying. She adds, "Lyra is, well, different. She's...uh..."

"What my good friend is trying to say," Rarity suddenly interrupts as she notices Applejack beginning to really stumble over her words, "is that Lyra is like a fine wine, darling. She's an acquired taste, and it's just really difficult for one to get used to her unique style. Do you know of her peculiar fascination with the human being mythology?"

"Yes, I know who she is already," Star replies, surprising them. However, she's the one surprised the most, by their reactions and attitudes towards the pony. This is just so unreal compared to everything she's heard about them. Sighing, she thinks about her sister and friends back home, of everyone she loves. If she can't get back, Oblivion will destroy everything. With his sudden rise in power, it's only a matter of time. She believes that Lyra can get her back home, and even give her the information she needs. She was brought here for a reason, and she needs to find out what that is. Tears begin to well up in her eyes as she tells them, "Everyone I love and care about is in danger. An evil force called Oblivion is attacking my home, and she brought me here. I need her help in getting home and stopping Oblivion from taking over."

Suddenly turning serious, Princess Twilight walks slowly over to her bookshelves, removing from them a book called Ancient Equestrian Legends, the very same book that Star had read prior to confronting Sevulva Star all that time ago. The book in which Princess Twilight had left a note about her search for the legendary seventh Element of Harmony and her believed connection between it and the dark stars. She said that the dark stars will herald the beginning of true evil's return, a force more powerful than the combined powers of Queen Chrysalis of the Changeling Kingdom, King Sombra, Nightmare Moon, and Discord combined. Looking through the book, Twilight stops on a certain page and reads it to herself before looking back at Star.

"You, your name isn't Midnight Glow is it?" she asks. Before Star can even answer, the Princess shoves the book into Star's hooves and shows her the page, on which is a picture of the legendary prophecy glass that talks about the return of the true evil. On it, at the part talking about how a famous star will be the key to everything, there's a small image of a blue pegasus pony with a gold and black mane. Princess Twilight then flips to the next page and reads aloud to Star, "When the Star arrives in a land to which it does not belong, the destruction of the world shall begin. Your name is Star, isn't it?"

"Yes...it is," she quietly replies, completely overwhelmed by all of the information she had just heard, by a picture of her in the prophecy glass. But this can't possibly mean what she thinks it does. If what Princess Twilight is insinuating is true, then the Star talked about in the legend was NOT Sevulva Star, and arriving in a land to which it does not belong isn't referring to him being from Canterlot and arriving in Ponyville. And that means that the dark star incident was not the beginning of the world's destruction. If this is true, then SHE'S the Star. She holds the key to everything, and just last night...while following a mysterious light blue pony...she arrived in a land that is not her own. Then...that means that the destruction of the world is about to occur.

"We have to get you out of here now!" Princess Twilight suddenly yells, having come to full realization of what this means as well. She quickly turns to her friends, who see her panic and stand up straight to do whatever she asks of them. She begins by ordering that Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy gather the Elements from the Tree of Harmony right away, that Pinkie Pie finds Lyra and brings her back, and that Rarity and Applejack evacuate Ponyville. They all go to do as they've been told, and turning back to Star, the Princess quietly and calmly asks, "Where are you from, Star?"

She knows this isn't a time to lie any further, so swallowing hard, she tells her, "I'm from almost sixteen years in the future. I followed Lyra Heartstrings into the Everfree Forest and somehow arrived in the past. Oblivion's attacked so many, and directly murdered Trixie Lulamoon. I don't know how my traveling here would affect things, but I don't want anypony else to get hurt or die, especially because of me."

She continues to tell Twilight everything that she can, and when she finishes, the Princess seems to understand more than she ever would've thought she would. And the death of Trixie is hard to hear. She hopes that the showmare was able to change beforehand. The door soon opens again and both Dash and Fluttershy enter with the Elements of Harmony. Princess Twilight whispers to her that they keep her secret exactly that. She takes the Element for herself, and gives both Dash and Fluttershy theirs. Pinkie Pie soon returns as well, accompanied by Lyra, who seems rather unexpressive. It takes longer for Rarity and Applejack to return, as evacuating an entire town takes a lot, even for somepony as trustworthy as AJ. However, they do soon return to tell their friends and Star that nopony should be left in Ponyville besides the nine of them.

"Good, now for you," Twilight says, turning to face the still unexpressive Lyra, "why did you bring Star here, and how did you do it!? You can't have enough magic to perform a spell of that magnitude! Tell her what she needs to know and then get her back home before the world ends!"

"Oh, but Magic," Lyra speaks in a voice not her own, "why would I send her back now, when I'm so close?"

Eyes widening, Star recognizes the voice and falls back. Everypony then watches in terror as the form of the pony begins to bubble and melt before them. It contorts in unnatural ways, and it's almost as if the very bone structure were being rearranged. Flesh begins to pop at certain points, squirting out blood through the fur. Princess Twilight quickly gives the rest of her friends their Elements as Lyra's body morphs before them all. Her horn twists and turns purple, her coat becomes stained in the blood squirting out from it, and horns rise from her head as her mane turns to black as if overcome with dark magic. A purple glow begins to cover the pony, leaving spots of the magic on her coat. Bat wings sprout from her back, and her muzzle squares out. A shrill shriek exits Star's throat as the form of Maaebjan appears before her, laughing maniacally.

Without a second's more hesitation, the six mares activate their Elements. A glowing light seems to envelop them all, which for some reason doesn't seem to alarm the monstrous Oblivion in the slightest. He watches calmly as beams of energy fly out of the Elements, combining into a giant spiral beam of rainbow-colored magic. It hits Oblivion directly, without him even trying to avoid it, and seems to encircle him in a sphere of the power. The six mares send forth everything they've got, but are suddenly knocked back by an unseen force. The rainbow sphere encompassing Oblivion seems to absorb into his body, and by the expression on his face, it's almost as if he were devouring the energy itself, making it one with his being.

A wicked cackle escapes him as he finishes consuming the magic. Regaining their composure, the six ponies climb to their hooves and stare in shock at the monster as he begins to glow. His eyes turn pure white and with a terrifying animal-like screech, he releases the energy back at them all. Star and the others fly back, the heat and energy of the magic burning at their coats and flesh, singeing the hairs and tearing into them. Hitting one of the bookshelves, Star lets out a throaty scream, her back arching over the edge. The pain is like nothing she's ever felt before; the combination of the pure magic tearing at her and her spine slamming hard against the sharp edge of a wooden bookcase. Suddenly, a bright light appears outside, and the three other Equestrian Princesses fly in.

As they enter, causing Oblivion to turn on the spot, Celestia seems to summon the light of the sun itself on her wings. Luna follows suit, bringing forth the majesty and wonder of the midnight moon, and Cadance with the very essence of love itself. The three most pure of magics begin to combine, but still do not seem to be enough as Oblivion releases his black magic at them. Leaping forth, Princess Twilight Sparkle yells out, capturing his attention as she unleashes the power of friendship. Her most powerful magic shoots forth, joining together with that of the other princesses, to form a giant flash of energy. The flash engulfs Oblivion at once, who screams out in rage and anger, then disappears suddenly. All signs of his presence disappear as well. The scars on the bodies of everypony fade, the destruction caused in the library seems to fix itself, and in the spot that Oblivion had been standing only moments ago, now lays the unconscious form of Lyra Heartstrings, her mind finally being her own again.

"Princesses, Cadance!" Princess Twilight calls out, excited as she greets them with a warm hug. The others begin to get up, and notice Lyra's body, rushing to help her as quickly as they're able. Star walks slowly over to the four princesses gathered near the door. The shock and awe of seeing the four princesses of old all gathered together is too much for the young mare, and with a smile, she fades and falls to the floor below. Twilight looks surprised at first, but a smile spreads across her face as well, and she asks Spike to grab a blanket for the exhausted pony.

"Twilight," Celestia suddenly says. The princess looks up at her mentor, whose face is as serious as can be. She knows that whatever Princess Celestia has to say that it's a big deal. Sighing, Celestia turns to both Luna and Cadance, who look as worried and serious as her, then continues, "we did not have the power to truly defeat Oblivion. I know that you too felt his presence transfer instead of diminish or die out."

"I did, but where was he transferred to?"

"We had to send him into the future, to a time where he can be defeated," Luna replies.

Cadance then steps up and adds, "We sent him to Star's time. She and her friends will suffer under his return, but in the end, it will be for the sake of everypony."

"Only in that time can Oblivion be defeated," Celestia continues from where Cadance had left off, "and only can he be defeated when the time is right. Star and her friends have found two of the Elements of Harmony, which by her time had vanished mysteriously from the Tree of Harmony. Once they find the rest, then and only then will they know how to stop this monster for good."

"But, I don't get it Princess Celestia. If we weren't able to stop him with the Elements of Harmony today, then how can they be able to do it in the future?" Princess Twilight asks her mentor. Looking out the window, Luna takes the question, telling her that one day she will find out, but that in the end, not everypony will be there. Celestia then speaks up again, adding that the Prophecy of World's End will be coming true sooner than expected, and not in the most welcoming of ways. She then says that the four of them must combine their powers one last time to send Star back to her own time, and that it's crucial they do so right away. And so they do, summoning up the rest of the magic they have available. A portal suddenly rips open right in the middle of the library, surprising the other five ponies sitting there watching and listening. Princess Twilight then levitates the unconscious Star through, knowing that she'll be safely inside the library on the other side.

"One more thing, Princess Twilight," Celestia says, "I want you to go to Germaney and meet with a colt there named Babe Chenko. Everything will become clear once you do."

Preview for Episode 15
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We’re finally here, the village is in sight, and so is Pinkamena Diane Pie.