Begin Part 8
-Finale-

“Applejack! Macintosh!” Rarity called out through the trees in front of her. “Is that you two over there!?”

“Rarity! Are ya'll alright sugarcube!?” Applejack said, turning around with her brother and racing towards Rarity.

“I'm alright darling,” She replied, her and Fluttershy now quickly approaching the two siblings. “I'm just glad we were lucky enough to run into you on our way to the Crusaders' club house.”

“Well I'll be, that's where we're headed! And hey, you got Fluttershy with you too!”

“I'm so glad you're alright applejack...” Fluttershy said as she slowed down to a gentle trot, the two groups now in front of each other. “I didn't know if you were going to be okay. I wanted to help but, Twilight said we had to go... I'm sorry...”

“Now don't you be worryin about that missy,” Applejack replied, giving Fluttershy a soft nudge. “We was keepin Celestia busy while you and the others escaped. Ain't that right Big Macintosh?”

“Eeyup.”

“Well let's not linger here any longer then darlings,” Rarity suggested. “The club house should be just up ahead, so we should hurry!”

“Wait, I have something important to tell you all first!” Fluttershy spoke up in a loud whisper.

“You can tell us on our way there, 'Shy” Applejack replied, turning flank and about to freak into full gallop. “We just gotta be hurryin' is all.”

“Oh, okay...” The three other ponies had already began running again, and fluttershy sighed before she too took off, able to catch up quickly with the aid of her wings.

“Now Fluttershy,” Rarity called as Fluttershy came up next to them. “What was it we need to know?”

“Well... Celestia told me that the only way to stop her and get her back to normal is with a lot of friendship, and a bit of magic...”

“Friendship and magic, huh?” Applejack questioned, turning her head to the side to look at Fluttershy. “So yer sayin that we gotta use the Elements of Harmony... on Princess Celestia!?”

“Oh, no, well... I don't know. That was all she got a chance to tell me. I'm sorry...”

“That's quite alright, darling. We'll make due, but first we just need to reach the-”

“HALT!” A loud voice boomed, making all four ponies suddenly skid to an abrupt stop. Before them stood two royal pegasus guards who still had their flanks pushed into a pile of bushes. “You cannot pass!”

“What the hay!?” Applejack complained. “What are ya'll royal guards doin here?”

“We're under strict order from Princess Luna to keep watch over this area,” one of the guards said. “We cannot allow anypony to pass beyond this point!”

“But why not?” Rarity asked.

“There's currently a plan being played out as we speak that Princess Luna believes will save Princess Celestia from her alternate self. If we allow any interruptions, it may ruin everything.”

“But where's Twilight?” Applejack spoke out. “And Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie?”

“The pink one and the rainbow colored one are currently inside of a small wooden structure taking cover. Twilight Sparkle is busy with the plan to cure Celestia.”

“So she's alright?”

“Rest assured,” The second guard said. “Any injuries or mental anomalies caused by her role in this will be tended to to the best ability that the Royal Equestrian Physicians can provide.

“Injuries? Mental anomawhats..? Just what in the hay are ya...” Applejack suddenly froze, her eyes widening to saucers as it hit her. “Yer... Yer lettin Celestia just have Twilight!”

“WHAT!?” Rarity gasped.

“Oh no oh no oh no oh no...” Fluttershy whispered softly.

“We assure you that everything is being done at this point,” The first guard said. “You can return home and rest, we will take care of this.”

“Heck no I ain't just goin home!” Applejack yelled in an enraged tone, taking a step forward and eyeing both the guards. “One of my best friends is in trouble, and you want us to just forget about it!?”

“If you are not willing to comply,” The second guard spoke up as both of the guards simultaneously stepped all the way out of the bushes and unfurled their wings. They stared directly into applejack's eyes, both of their gazes beginning to beat back at the farmer pony's. But as applejack had finally made a step back, a large hoof suddenly boomed against the ground before the two guards.

“Ah don't take lightly to nopony, I mean NOPONY threatenin my sister like that...” Big Macintosh boomed in a low voice as he took another step towards the guards. “Now our friend's in trobule... and you're going to let us pass.”

“Watch your mouth laborer!” The second guard spoke up. “You cross the line, and we're going to be taking a bite out of you!”

“Hmph,” Big mac replied, snorting a few times through his nose in anger. “Biting off more than you can chew is just what I'm countin on...”

Big Macintosh leaned his muzzle down and pushed it directly up against both of the two guard ponies' muzzles. The two guards stared straight at Big Macintosh with a heavy scowl, but Big Mac was completely unphased. Giving off a heated snort, he applied more pressure, pushing both guards back a step. The guards retaliated by pushed at the same time with all their might, leaning their bodies towards the farmer pony. Big Macintosh's back legs shook a little from the tenstion, but quickly flexed as he used all his muscles to push back. Even both guards were no match as Big Macintosh quickly pushed them both backwards and onto their haunches, his eyes narrowed and burning with a subtle rage as he stared down the two guards.

“Now...” Big Macintosh finally spoke, his dominance made obvious. “Yer both lettin mah sister and her friends through... ya hear me?”

Both of the guards were now shaking slightly in fear, the second one giving a light gulp before they both nodded in agreement. Though their faces were still in a heavy scowl as they had always trained, their minds were well aware that this big red stallion could pulverize them both if he really wanted it.

“AJ...” Big Macintosh spoke softly, his gaze still locked onto the guards'. “You and the others get goin, ya hear?”

“I... uh, oh! Right... um...” Applejack stammered slightly, having just snapped out of the moderate trance she was in from watching her brother square off two royal guards. “Well uh, c'mon yall!” She called out to the other two who had also just snapped out of their trance, their eyes returning to normal after being as wide as saucers. “Let's go save Twilight!”

“R-right!” Rarity acknowledged. “Coming!”

The three ponies quickly trotted past Big Macintosh and the two guards, going straight into the bushes before them. As they poked their heads out the other side, they could now see exactly the “plan” that had been going on. Twilight was sprawled out on her back in the middle of a large clearing with Celestia's body on top of her. They were both sweaty and panting heavily, and seemed to have been going at it for a while by the looks of it. The three gasped softly at the sight before Fluttershy started to take a step forward.

“Oh no, we have to help them... we have to save Twilight!”

“FIRE!” A voice suddenly yelled out from the opposite side of the clearing. In the next moment a blue beam of magic shot out from a patch of bushes on the far side of clearing and connected directly with Celestia's forehead. Celestia froze at that moment, her eyes going wide as her pupils dilated as her mind seemed to plunge into subconsciousness. Meanwhile, Twilight was laying flat on her back with her head lazily on its side, panting wildly and breathing hard, not even paying attention to what was happening above her. Over on the other side of the clearing, Trixie was channeling all her magic into the spell currently at work on Celestia's mind, the azure mare clenching her teeth from the difficulty of the process.

Trixie's mind strained as she focused her thoughts into Celestia's mind. It was an absolute mess in Celestia's mind, as if there had been a war raging within her subconscious. There were thoughts and ideas scattered everywhere, intentions and feelings seeming to battle one another, and even pockets where her mind's ideas somehow turned into jumbles of randomness. However, despite the chaos, an overwhelming consciousness was in control, and it was obvious that it was the Molestia side currently in charge. Trixie's spell then began to work through Celestia's brain, grabbing at the bits of the Molestia persona and bundling them together to be packaged up and moved to the furthest depths of her subconscious. However, as she worked, Celestia' mind began to fight back. It resisted the spell violently, lashing out at Trixie's magic and even countering with some of Celestia's own magic. Trixie struggled to maintain control, but in the next moment Celestia's horn glowed brightly, and the spell abruptly stopped.

Trixie fell back as the spell broke, using her hoof to rub her forehead as she sit on her haunches. Looking up, she could now see Celestia standing up straight her eyes narrowed and her gaze directly directly at her. Trixie's heart skipped a beat, now realizing that not only was the spell a failure, but she was now about to be caught and used in the same way Twilight was. The same realization hit Luna and Silver Shield as well, the two realizing their best hope to end this had just failed.

“Oh no...” Luna gasped softly. “We... we have to get out of here!”

“Fall back... Luna and Trixie, get to the carriage now and-Wraaagh!” Silver Shield's body was suddenly snagged by a magical force as it brought him floating out of the cover of the bushes towards Celestia. Luna and Trixie gasped and tried to make a dash for the trees, but they too were quickly picked up by another magical force and pulled out to the clearing.

“My my...” Celestia spoke triumphantly. “What a pleasant surprise! You all came to have fun with me!”

“Sister no!” Luna shouted, using her own magic to break Celestia's magical grip on her, allowing her to land on her hooves just in front of Celestia. “You have to stop this! Remember who you are, remember your duty!”

“Oh little sister, I know very well the duties I must perform...” Celestia said as she lashed out a part of her hair towards Luna, gripping it around her waist and pulling Luna up against her. “Now, I'm going to make sure that we both perform out duties... together.”

“NO!” A voice suddenly cried out from behind the group. Turning around, Celestia saw a yellow pegasus with a pink mane standing as tall as she could, staring straight at her.

“You will NOT, I repeat, you will NOT, HURT MY FRIENDS!” Fluttershy yelled out, now using her wings to lift her into the air. Quickly, Celestia used her magic to grab a hold of the pegasus and draw her near her. However, as she pulled Fluttershy to her, she now caught herself once again peering into the dreaded stare that was used on her before.

“Fluttershy!” Rainbow Dash called out as her and Pinkie Pie rushed out of the tree house.

“Rainbow! Pinkie Pie!” Applejack called out as her and Rarity stepped out of the bushes they were in, heading towards the center of the clearing.

“Girls!” Fluttershy yelled out, her stare still focused on Celestia. “I can't keep this up very long... we have to stop Celestia now!”

“But how!?” Rarity cried. “We don't have any sort of means to cure her!”

“Yes we do!” Fluttershy replied. “We just need out friendship... and a little bit of magic too!”

“Magic...” Twilight suddenly spoke in a soft whisper, leaning up onto her haunches slowly. “The element of magic... the sixth element...”

“Yeah!” Pinkie Pie suddenly announced as a small glimmer of light appeared around her neck. “We can't let our friends go and get hurt! We gotta stick together!”

“We have to be there for our friends... and keep them safe from danger!” Rainbow Dash added as a gem shaped like her cutie mark formed below her neck.

“We can't let our friends, or anypony else who's good and kind at heart to be hurt by something like this!” Applejack yelled, a golden necklance forming around her neck.

“We simply cannot stand idly by and watch such a travesty occur, we must do something! We must help!” Rarity said as a large purple gem attached to a necklace took shape under her neck.

“It's the only way to save our friends...” Fluttershy said softly at first, but then rose her voice loudly as her elemental necklace finished forming around her neck. “And to save the friends of our friends! We're all your friends Celestia, even if you're the ruler of Equestria! And no matter what, we will help save you from whatever's hurting you!”

“Because...” Twilight finally spoke up, standing on all four hooves as she looked up at Celestia. “Because that's... that's the magic of Friendship!” A golden crown with her cutie mark appeared on her head, shining brightly as Twilight stood up firmly.

Suddenly, a large beam of light shined out from each of the ponies, each light a different color as the beams swirled together in a wondrous rainbow. The rainbow formed above the six, and then struck down at Celestia, engulfing her in a way similar to how it did with nightmare moon. Celestia cried out and released Luna from her grip as the rainbow seemed to consume her, the swirling colors now covering her entire body. The sound of Celestia's struggles could no longer be heard over the roar of the Elements' magic swirling around Celestia. Finally, in a bright flash of light, the rainbow subsided and all of the ponies around Celestia were pushed back several feet, and then blacked out.

^=^=^

Twilight Sparkle slowly opened her eyes, groaning slightly as she shifted her body around a bit on the grass below her. She turned her head a bit, smiling slightly as she saw the morning sun on the horizon. Then, with a large gasp Twilight shot to her hooves, looking around to see she was still in the clearing from that night. Her friends were there as well, now also just beginning to wake up. Princess Luna and Silver Shield were also present and waking up, except for Trixie who was snoring loudly at the edge of the cluster. The only pony who wasn't around was Celestia, who Twilight couldn't find even after looking around again.

“Is everypony okay?” Twilight asked as she looked over her friends.

“Y-yes... I'm alright,” Rarity replied, slowly getting to her hooves.

“I'm fine... just, a bit worn out...” Applejack said, giving out a loud yawn afterwords.

“I'm okay...” Fluttershy spoke softly, laying on her hooves.

“I'm up! I'm up!” Pinkie Pie called out as she happily bounced in place, the poofiness in her hair back. “That was so cool! At first the rainbow was like WOOSH and then it was like VWAAAOOOHH and then it was all KERSPAAAAHH! It was so amazing, wasn't it Dash!?”

“Five more minutes...” Rainbow Dash grumbled, turning over on her side as she tried to fall back asleep.

“Everyone's alright then?” Luna asked, now getting onto her hooves.

“I think so princess,” Twilight replied. “But, where's Celestia...?”

“She just got done raisin the sun,” Said a voice that approached from behind. As Twilight and the others turned around, they saw Big Macintosh and several royal guards come out from some of the bushes. “Celestia's just fine, she just needed some time to think to herself is all.”

“Where is she?” Twilight asked, taking a step towards Big Mac. “Is she going to be okay?”

“I think she's more worried about all of ya'll than she is about herself. But if I had to say, I'd think she's just about ready to talk to some of ya again.”

“Where is she?” Luna asked, walking up beside Twilight.

“I'm right here...” A majestic voice spoke softly, making everypony in the area turn to look at Celestia behind them, her head held low.

“Sister! Are... are you...?”

“I'm just fine now Luna, thank you. But, I'm so... terribly sorry for all the trouble I caused last night...”

“Princess, what happened to you?” Twilight asked, taking a few steps towards Celestia. “Why did you suddenly go out and... do all that?”

“It's... a long story,” Celestia said with a soft sigh. “After being around so long, I somehow grew an alternate personality that liked to... indulge on such horrible things. I tried having it sealed away with magic, but that only works for so long...”

“It's not your fault big sister...” Luna spoke solemnly. “I mean, I didn't know when, it's just... back at the castle, last night I...”

“I already know little sister...” Celestia interrupted. “And don't worry... it was bound to happen eventually. I can only thank you for yours and everypony else's help in all this. I am truly honored by your devotion...”

“So... what are ya gonna do now?” Applejack asked.

Hmm...” Celestia sighed softly and thought to herself for a moment before she looked up at the sun, freshly risen over the horizon. Then, an idea popped into her mind as she looked down at Twilight Sparkle. “How about a friendship report?”

“A... um, o-oh! Of course!” Twilight stood up firmly as she looked up at Celestia, who smiled down at her proudly. “Ahem...”

Dear Princess Celestia,

Sometimes there comes a time when a friend must help another friend get out or stay out of danger. But when it's another close friend causing the danger, it's up to you and your friends to come together and help out the one in need. No matter what they do, or what happens to them, as long as the friend is true and good at heart, a real friend would do everything they can to help them to get better.

Your Faithful Student, Twilight Sparkle.

At the end of the short speech, a familiar brown owl just happened to be passing by when it landed at one of the windows of the club house. Looking in, it saw three sleeping fillies on one end of the wooden room and a dragon sleeping on a table on the opposite end. Taking flight again, it hovered over to the dragon and landed beside it, pecking lightly at the dragon's shoulder.

“Eeh... uuh... w-what...?” Spike mumbled as he sat up slowly, wiping an eye with his hand. As he looked over, he saw Owlowicious' big eyes staring straight at him.

“Who.”

“WOAH!” He yelled out in surprise. “Dude, I told you not to do that! It's creepy!”

The End

Author Notes: Let it be known 2 things.
1: I suck at finale's (hope ya'll liked it though!)
2: I'm also bad with putting together friendship reports.

Well, I hope you all enjoyed my story! I will be adding alternate endings, as well as perhaps a collection of spoof scenes that I had in mind, so stay tuned for those.

Take Care~!

Long Days and Pleasant Nights, from Streak The Fox