At first I was confused. These Ponies were unarmed and unarmored! They clearly weren't soldiers of any sort!

And yet... Celestia had somehow summoned them, and not her retinue...

Why?

Why bring these civilians to fight?

What was-

Something suddenly stuck out in my mind. A familiarity of sorts. I could not help but feel as if I had seen these Ponies before... But where? And when?

What was so- Their coat colors!

Gleaming white! Glinting pink! Brilliant blue! Dazzling yellow! And blazing orange!

These were the mares of light in the cave! When Celestia and I retrieved the Elements of Harmony! Only, clothed in flesh!

They stood in the order I had remembered encountering them, so many years ago.

The gleaming white mare stood, with a royal purple mane and tail that was slightly curled stylishly, with her mane in particular curling around a Unicorn's horn. She looked to be as elegant as her ancient predecessor.

The glinting pink mare seemed to vibrate with energy, her blue eyes wide, and her smile almost manic.

The brilliant blue mare's most distinctive feature turned out not to be her coat, but her bright mane and tail, colored all the colors of the rainbow. Sky blue wings beat a steady measure, as she hovered over the whole group, looking the perfect image of the Pegasi of old, ready to lay her life down for the Ponies at her side.

The dazzling yellow mare seemed to mirror what I suddenly felt as I saw the hue of her fur. She cowered behind both her friends, and her soft pink mane, which on a Human, would've been best described as 'waist length'.

The blazing orange mare stood confidently at the end, her stance sure and grounded. She would not move, unless she wished to.

But there was one more Pony, whom I didn't recognize at all.

She stood at the forefront of the whole group, and she was one of the most beautiful creatures I had ever seen.

Her lavender coat, while not meticulously groomed, was well maintained. Looking soft and silky to the touch. Her blue, purple, and magenta mane was strategically cut and groomed in such a way that her bangs, while long, couldn’t obscure her vision.

Her most striking feature however was her eyes… Of the thousands of people I had met while working as a Princess or a grocer, only four had as bright eyes as she did. Those four people, were Celestia herself, Clover the Clever, a 40 or 50 year old man I had only seen once. And a girl slightly younger than I/Lucas had been...

She'd come into the grocery store, and come up while I was on the cash register...

We'd banter, but she'd eventually leave. Still no more than strangers.

But then she just stopped coming.

I had thought she had finally gotten sick of me. Like everyone else.

It was a week later I overheard my coworkers discussing how she had been murdered by her ex boyfriend.

It was the next day after that when I realized, with the exception of her killer, it was very possible I had been the last person to ever see her alive.

The mare before me reminded me of her...

They were clearly different people, but their eyes shone the same way. Eyes that shone like lighthouses amongst barely smoldering candles. Her eyes were full of life and curiosity, eager, hungry even, to learn about anything and everything she could get her hooves on.

It was like seeing a ray of fierce light, piercing through a storm swept night at sea.

My mind’s eye swam with visions of us attending a renaissance fair, us laughing over a dinner, us playing board games, us snuggling in bed, each holding their own book. Peacefully reading. Our tails intertwined.

I could see it so clearly...

So perfectly...

Too perfectly.

And that was how I knew it was never going to happen.

God, Harmony, the Universe or whatever the hell it wanted to call itself would never allow such a thing. It was practically a fundamental truth of the Universe... Luna/Lucas, or whatever their chosen name, was to never be happy.

I wouldn’t have been able to stand seeing those bright luminescent eyes turn cold and uncaring, or worse yet, hazy and crawling with maggots.

I was broken out of my stupor by Celestia's voice.

"Twilight! The Elements! Use the Elements!" she exclaimed.

A wave of excitement and dread rose in my chest.

Unlike the last time I had been subjected to the Element's light, I couldn't pull on Generosity, Loyalty, and Honesty to make them stop. Even if I wanted to.

They had chosen new bearers. Bearers who likely would wield them far better than I ever could.

Like an old friend, Fate's noose settled on my shoulders.

It was finally time.

The Other thrashed under my grip, desperate for an escape.

"No, you're coming with me!" I snarled, grabbing the black Alicorn's throat and pressing down with all my weight and might.

She flailed and bucked as best she could to dislodge me, punching and scraping however she could.

But I held firm.

The lavender Unicorn nodded towards Celestia, and a gem shaped like a six pointed star floated out of her saddle bags.

The five phantasms made real began to glow with purifying light.

Bloody foam gurgled out of the Other's mouth as I pressed down as hard as I could.

Desperately, she tried for a wild haymaker to the side of my head.

The Moon's Blessing appeared, driving itself into the attacking leg, knocking it aside, and impaling it to the floor.

However, it was not the brilliant thing I had used against Bloodmoon. No, it was a ghost of it self. Much like how a glow-stick was a poor analog to actual moonlight.

Yet it still held the Other's foreleg firmly.

The light around the mares swirled in a violent vortex, the power and energy gathering together to form an off color rainbow, brighter than even the Sun in the sky.

The Other's struggles grew weaker and weaker, but her eyes blazed with fury.

"To the strongest." I muttered to her.

Her eyes widened, and began to grow hazy.

Her mouth twitched as she tried to say something past a foamy smile.

Time had come to a standstill as the light of Harmony seemed to banish any darkness it touched, including the shadows in my own soul.

I couldn't help but look up towards the very center of the light. Where, only barely, I could make out six figures.

Time did not resume, but the light pulsed in its brilliance.

For the first time since this mess started in the life of Lucas Maan, I felt tears truly slide down my face.

I was finally going to where I belonged.