~JESSE P.O.V
Opening our eyes, our hooves were tied down by the same green goo from the cacoons. But Winslow seemed to be entirely tied to the ground, which made him hiss in discomfort.
Starlight and I tried to get our hooves unstuck, but it didn't seem to work. "Well, well, well... The princess of Friendship's sole pupil. Honestly, I didn't think you were worth replacing with one of my drones," Queen Chrysalis stated as she flew down and landed on her throne. She made eye contact with me, smirking. "Ah, one of the dimension travellers. Welcome to my kingdom," she greeted, tapping her chin as my eyes widened. "Jesse, was it?"
"How do you-?!"
Queen Chrysalis giggled. "Oh please, I have associates all over. One of which would love to get their hands on your sister... Crystal, right?"
I glared at her. "Leave her out of this!" I growled.
"You won't get away with this!" Starlight shouted.
"I already have," Queen Chrysalis stated, motioning up to the cacoons above us. "No pony is coming to save you. Your little squad was it. And now, it's just you three,"
Starlight gulped, looking more defensive, but a smile still graced her face. "Thorax, Lukas, and Crystal are still out there!"
Queen Chrysalis glared at us. "Don't mention that traitor's name in my kingdom!" she shouted with a gigantic glare as she flew over and landed in front of us. "He was a fool to leave and even more a fool to return," she growled, turning around and walking away. "When I find him... He'll learn just what happens to those who betray the hive!"
Starlight gasped, whimpering in fear. Queen Chrysalis glanced back at us, eyes widening. "And it seems I don't have far to look, do I?" she smirked, blasting her magic at Starlight, hitting her. She groaned, transforming back into Thorax. Winslow and I looked at Thorax, worried. "Thorax!" Queen Chrysalis growled.
The Changelings hissed at him as Queen Chrysalis walked toward us with the intent of hurting him. But paused when we heard something behind her, causing everyone to look where the noise was coming from.
We spotted the real Starlight, Lukas, and Crystal bashing rocks against the throne, trying to destroy it. They took a few deep breaths, pausing when they noticed we were looking at them. Queen Chrysalis tried to blast them with her magic, but they dodged out of the way in time.
~~~~~~
~CRYSTAL P.O.V
I tried to calm my breathing as the three of us hid behind the throne. "Very clever. And clearly Thorax revealed to you the secret of my throne," Queen Chrysalis started saying, coming up to the holes near where we were hiding. "I can't have powerful ponies using their abilities against me,"
When she looked away, the three of us ran off to find a better hiding spot, Lukas and I exchanged a look, grabbing each other's hoof for comfort.
"Even with your embarrassing little rescue attempt. Everything's going according to my plan!" Queen Chrysalis yelled.
"What plan? Why are you doing this?" Lukas asked, questioning what Chrysalis' plan was.
She poked her head in through a hole, causing us to run off before we were caught. "So I could deed, of course. By replacing the most beloved figures in Equestria, my drones will be able to store all the love meant for them. And return it here, to me," Queen Chrysalis started explaining, flying up and landing on her throne. "Everypony will do as I command, and my subjects and I will feed on their love for generations!"
She laughed, followed by the other Changelings.
Starlight, Lukas and I poked our heads out from behind a rock, looking at the scene in front of us. We spotted Throax's wings, making us pause.
"What if you didn't have to?" I asked with a nervous smile.
We jumped in fright when Queen Chrysalis landed next to us with a furious look on her face. "Ridiculous!" she shouted.
The three of us tried to run away but she grabbed Starlight's tail with her mouth while she stopped Lukas and I with her magic, tossing us over to her guards, who held us down.
"The hunger of Changelings can never be satisfied," Queen Chrysalis stated, walking past us to get to Thorax, Jesse, and Winslow.
"Exactly!" Starlight yelled, causing the Queen to pause and turn to us. "Thorax left the Hive and made a friend. He shared love and now he doesn't need to feed. You don't have to live your lives starving all the time!"
"There are other options," Lukas continued.
"You don't have to be stuck with just one," I added.
The Changelings looked toward one another, conflicted.
Suddenly, the three of us were surrounded by a green aura and pulled towards Queen Chrysalis. "You three know nothing of the Changelings or what it takes to be their Queen!" she snarled at us, tossing us into a wall and we slammed against it, dropping to the ground. Lukas moved in front of us, protecting us from the Queen as she stopped over to us. "I decide what's best for my subjects, not a couple of mulling-grubs!"
"I know what it's like to lead by fear and intimidation," Starlight started saying, getting up from the ground. "And I know what it's like to want every pony to do what you say. But I was wrong. A real leader doesn't force her subjects to deny who they are. She, he, or they celebrates what makes them unique, and listens when one of them finds a better way,"
Lukas got up. "And I know what's it like to lead without having the confidence to settle situations within their subjects or friends," he started saying, gaining the confidence to speak up. "But sometimes, having a loud and clear voice is the right way to go, and other times just talking to them can do a great mile,"
I slowly stood up as well. "And I know what's it like to have a leadership role trusted onto you when you feel like you aren't ready for it. Maybe you feel like you're gonna lose all the people you care about because you have to choose between two different paths, along with feeling like you have to keep secrets to protect them... Being supportive and kind to one another is the best thing you can do to help them or each other. Communication is the key after all... Along with remembering that it is tough being a leader, but with the right people in your life... You can do it,"
"And I remember thinking that most leaders were just bad dochebags who couldn't control their subjects/friends in the slightest and were unlikeable. But I was wrong. Sometimes people are just unfit for leadership while other people are better suited for it. And other times, just a little encouragement or taking things off their shoulders can go wonders to help them," Jesse finished.
The Changelings glanced at each other, taking our words in and pondering about them.
Queen Chrysalis narrowed her eyes, walking over to Thorax, Jesse, and Winslow. "The only thing Thorax has found. Is what happens to those who turn their back... On the Hive!" she shouted, lighting up her horn and blasting Thorax.
"Thorax!" Jesse cried as Winslow meowed worriedly.
Starlight, Lukas, and I tried to run over but the Chnageling guards held us back. "No stop!" Starlight yelled.
"Don't do this!" Lukas shouted.
Thorax was lifted up into the air, the goo coming off his hooves. "Just as soon as I drain every last ounce of love from him. And show my subjects what a real leader is!" Queen Chrysalis stated before she started sucking the love out of him.
He groaned. "I can feel the love inside me slipping away... I can't hold onto it much longer..." he whimpered.
I looked down, an idea came to mind. "Then... Don't! Sharing love is what made you different to begin with. You should share yours with Chrysalis! Give her all of it!"
Thorax closed his eyes, letting out a large shock beam of bright pink, causing the Changelings near him to fly away while Queen Chrysalis was blasted into her throne, forming a crack where she hit it.
Pink ribbons formed around him, becoming a glowing cacoon with him inside it. The Changeling guards let go of us so we could walk over to the three. I got the goo off Jesse and Winslow's feet while Starlight walked up to the cacoon, touching it and it let out a bright glow.
When it disappeared, we opened our eyes to see Thorax on the ground. He had a different look but still looked fantastic all the same. He looked over himself, seemingly surprised by his transformation.
Starlight looked around to the rest of the Changelings, motioning to Thorax. "This is what happens when you give love freely instead of taking it!"
One by one, the Changelings all did the same thing. Thorax did, letting out waves of love while being wrapped in pink ribbons. It became so much that the throne started cracking from it. Queen Chrysalis' eyes widened before it exploded.
Before the blast reached us, Starlight's magic activated and formed a shield around us. Once the dust cleared, Starlight lowered the shield and we noticed the throne and the roof had been destroyed.
"Everyone okay?" Jesse asked.
"Yep," Lukas replied with a nod.
The Changelings landed on the ground around us, all transformed.
I put my front hooves together. "We did it!" I cheered, pulling Lukas into a hug.
Blushing a bright red, he hugged me back while I felt my face heating up as well.
Winslow meowed, hopping onto Thorax's back and rubbing his face onto Thorax's cheek. He laughed. "Thanks buddy,"
Jesse chuckled, shaking his head amuseingly. "I'm just glad everyone's all-" he started saying but cut himself off with a gasp. "Where are the others?"
Looking over, we spotted most of Starlight's friends, which were Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash. Starlight walked over to help Trixie while we saw Luna and Celestia getting up from the ground. Thorax went over to help Spike and the Changelings gave a foal back to Cadence and Shining Armor.
Discord pushed past two Changelings. "Fluttershy?!"
Fluttershy looked in his direction before she was picked up, being brought into a hug. "It's, um... Good to see you too," she greeted, returning the hug.
Lukas looked over and pointed to something. "There they are!"
Jesse and I looked where Lukas was pointing, spotting Ivor and Petra waking up from their daze. "Guys!" we exclaimed, rushing over to meet them.
"Petra!" Jesse cried, causing the girl to look up just in time to see the three of us tackling her into a hug.
"Whoas! Hey guys," Petra greeted, gently pushing us off of her because of the weight. "What happened?"
"Well, nice to know when you're appreciated," Ivor sarcastically commented, wiping the goo off himself.
I chuckled slightly. "Sorry, Ivor. We're glad you're okay too!"
Ivor rolled his eyes playfully, getting up and walking over to us. "Did everything work out?"
Petra nodded in agreement. "Yeah... Did we stop the Changelings?"
"Yeah," Lukas stated with a nod. "We stopped Chrysalis, destroyed the throne, and the Changelings are... I think good now,"
Ivor and Petra's eyes widened. "Awesome! Nice going, guys!" Petra congratulated us.
"Yes. A fabulous turn of events!" Ivor commented.
"Guys,"
We turned to see Starlight (with Winslow on her back) walking over to us. "Come on, I'll introduce you all to Twilight,"
"The real Twilight?" Jesse joked with a smirk.
Starlight laughed. "Yeah, of course," she said, walking over to Twilight, with the five of us following her.
We stood in front of Twilight as she opened her eyes. Starlight held her hoof out to the Princess. "Starlight...?" Twilight muttered, grabbing Starlight's hoof to pull herself up. Her gaze fell onto us. "Who are...?"
I took a step forward. "Princess Twilight. I'm Crystal. This is my brother, Jesse. And these are Lukas, Petra, and Ivor. We're the Order of the Stone!" I introduced us, causing the others to pose behind me. "We travel the world. Searching for treasure while doing good deeds,"
"Well, searching for treasures is more Ivor's thing. We're just trying to get home," Lukas added.
Ivor raised an eyebrow at him. "That's because we've been exploring different worlds, we might find treasure that isn't in our world," he defended himself.
Petra shook her head. "Of course..." she muttered.
Twilight's eyes sparkled. "Other worlds?"
Jesse nodded. "We've been trying to find the portal home for a while now. But each portal we've gone through doesn't exactly bring us home. The recent one we went through, we ended up here,"
"Starlight suggested that we go see you to help us find the portal back to the portal hallway... But that didn't happen since something else came up," Lukas finished.
"You guys are from another world... That's amazing! I'll be sure to help you once we get back to Ponyvile, but..." Twilight gushed, trailing off as she looked around confused. "Starlight, what happened?"
"We defeated the Changelings with no magic at all, they found a new leader, and they're all kinda... Good now," Starlight admitted with a sheepish smile.
Thorax walked over to us, nodding to confirm what Starlight said.
Twilight stared at us in shock as Princess Luna walked over to join us. I caught Princess Celestia's eye, who was looking at me with a mix of shock and disbelief.
I shook my head, signalling that I'll speak to her soon. Her face relaxed, nodding back in response.
"Well done, Starlight Glimmer. It seems you've learned a great deal since we last spoke-"
Princess Luna was cut off when we heard something move. Looking over, we spotted someone trying to get out from under some rubble. Queen Chrysalis burst out, hissing while her horn glowed. She froze when she noticed all of us ready to fight her if she wanted to do anything.
Starlight glanced over to Jesse, Lukas, and I before the four of us stepped close to her. "When Twilight and her friends defeated me, I chose to run away and seek revenge. You don't have to. You can be the leader you're subjects deserve,"
Queen Chrysalis looked down sadly as Starlight held out her hoof. Queen Chrysalis slowly reached out to grab it, but her expression changed to a glare, slapping Starlight's hoof away. "There is no revenge you could ever conceive on that will come close to what I will exact upon you one day, Starlight Glimmer!" she hissed at us.
She backed away to the edge before she made eye contact with me. Smirking, she used her magic to pull me over to her. "Chrissy!" Lukas shouted.
She held me in place before leaning close to my ear. "Listen here, Princess. This isn't over. Your little secret is safe for now, but not for long. I suggest you watch your back. Leader Rachel and Master Latissy will be watching you..." she whispered in my ear, before backflipping over the ledge.
Her magi let me go as Starlight, Lukas, Jesse, and a few others ran over to the ledge to watch Chrysalis fly away from the Hive.
Jesse leaned closer to me. "What'd she say?" he asked in a whisper.
"It's..." I trailed off, shaking my head. "It's not important right now. I'll tell you later,"
Lukas sighed in relief, placing a hoof on my shoulder. "Thanks, slime, she didn't you. You scared me for a second there,"
"I'll admit, so did I," I muttered, glancing at him.
Starlight looked down sadly as Twilight walked over, wrapping a hoof around her back and the two smiled at each other.
Winslow leapt off Starlight's back to hop on top of Thorax's head. Celestia walked up to Thorax, Spike, and Winslow. "Thorax, as the new leader of the Changelings, I look forward to discussing how we can improve our relationship in the future," she stated, to which Thorax bowed in response. Princess Celestia turned to us. "However, for the moment, perhaps it is best that we leave the Changeling kingdom, to the Changelings,"
Discord appeared between Applejack and Rarity, clapping. "Splendid idea. Now who's up for some celebratory tea at Fluttershy's!"
Fluttershy's eyes widened, looking around at all of us. "Oh, um, everypony?" she asked.
"That does sound lovely after all that's happened today," Ivor agreed.
"We deserve a break," Petra added.
Starlight walked over to Discord. "Actually, now that you can snap your claws and send us absolutely anywhere again. I think I have a better option,"
~~~~~~
~THIRD PERSON P.O.V
Double Diamond and Party Favour lifted the Sunset Festival Banner back up when Starlight stepped into the village. The two heard her, causing the to look back and spot her. "Ah, hey Starlight. What are you doing here?" Party Favour asked as he and Double Diamond walked over to her.
"You left in such a hurry before... We kinda thought that you didn't wanna come," Double Diamond stated.
Starlight smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, I guess after the way I used my magic on all of you, I wasn't sure I was somepony to be in charge of a baking contest. I was afraid I might go back to being the pony I used to be. But I realized that sometimes, you don't have a choice. You have to step up, and... I have changed. I can handle it, whether that means saving Equestria or helping friends with the Sunset festival. Speaking of which, I know the festival's almost over, but I kinda invited a few of my friends to join," she finished, pointing behind her.
Behind her, stood Princess Celestia, Luna, Cadence, Shining Armor, Flurry Heart, Spike, Rarity, Rainbow, Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, Discord, Trixie, Crystal, Jesse, Lukas, Petra, and Ivor. All had some sort of smile on their faces.
Starlight looked back at the two. "I hope that's okay,"
Double Diamond laughed. "Are you kidding? Of course!" he replied.
"Great - Now where's that baking contest? This pony needs a cupcake," Starlight said, starting to walk down the path, with Double Diamond, Party Favour, and a few other ponies following her.
~~~~~~
~PETRA P.O.V
Discord, Ivor, Trixie, and I stood to the side while we watched the princesses, Shining Armor, Twilight and her friends walk into the festival. Crystal, Jesse, and Lukas started to follow them when Crystal stopped, turning to look at us. "You guys coming?" she asked.
"We'll catch up in a second," Ivor waved them off.
"Right," Jesses muttered before the three walked off.
Discord looked down at Trixie and I. "So... I'm able to rip the very fabric of reality again," he said with a smile.
Trixie rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. And I'm still a self-absorbed, below-average, illusionist. Right?" she questioned.
"While I'm trying to hide my soft side with a fake strong-edged, baby personality. That about right?"
"Well, Discord and I were talking. And actually, some of those illusions were slightly above average," Ivor spoke, waving his hoof around.
"Yes, and honestly, the whole personality gab was just a joke to get a rise out of you. Ivor's idea," Discord added before leaning over to Trixie. "If you ever need a little chaos in your act, let me know,"
"Hah! When pigs fly," Trixie joked, smirking slightly.
"Uh, Trixie..." I trailed off.
"Your wish... Is my command!" Discord shouted, snapping his claws.
Suddenly, the four of us appeared on top of flying pigs. Discord smirked, slapping the back of mine and Trixe's pig. The two of us screamed as we flew down the street, with Ivor laughing behind us while he and Discord followed.
~~~~~~
~THIRD PERSON P.O.V
Twilight, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Rainbow, Applejack, Rarity, Spike, Crystal, Jesse, and Lukas were sitting at the table, eating some food and pastries.
They froze when they heard Trixie and Petra scream, seeing them go past while Ivor and Discord followed behind.
"What in crafting was that?" Jesse exclaimed in confusion.
"Some pony really has to catch us up on what we've missed," Rainbow commented.
~~~~~~
A few days later, Twilight and the Order of the Stone were sitting in the castle library with books surrounding them. "This whole situation is entirely fascinating! An entire place with hallways of portals. Possibly hundreds of worlds! That's incredible?" Twilight gushed, clapping her hooves together.
"As much as I hate to admit it. It is cool. But we've just trying to get home," Jesse agreed/stated.
"Which is why we need to find the portal back," Ivor pointed out.
"Is there anything in your books that could help us?" Lukas asked.
Twilight used her magic to float over a book. "There's a location spell for valuable objects," she informed, opening the book and flipping to the right page.
"That's good," Jesse said.
Petra held up her hoof. "Wait for it..."
"But the caster has to know what the object looks like," Twilight added, reading over the spell.
"Knew it!" Petra stated.
"There's gotta be a way for us to do that spell. Maybe we could describe it?" Lukas suggested.
"Or we could draw it," Crystal also suggested.
"That might work, but it's a long shot," Twilight agreed slightly, looking doubtful.
"I might have an idea,"
They looked over and spotted Starlight walking over with a long blank spell sheet. "I might be able to tweak it so we could locate it with a similar power source. But that'll be the main problem, we need that power source," she explained.
Crystal smiled, pulling out the flint and steel. "Will this do?" she asked. Starlight floated the flint and steel over to her. "We use that to activate each exit portal we come across,"
Starlight nodded with a smile. "Yeah! This could work," she said, floating the book with the locator spell over to her. "Give me twenty-four hours and I'll have it done!"
And with that, she ran out of the room.
~~~~~~
Starlight and Twilight lead the head of the walk, using the location spell to lead them through the Everfree Forest. Crystal, Jesse, Lukas, Petra, and Ivor followed right beside them. Princess Celestia and Luna, Discord, Trixie, Thorax, and Winslow followed close behind.
"We're almost there everyone!" Starlight shouted, pushing past a few bushes.
In the clearing, the portal was resting on the hill. "Oh... Wow," Trixie muttered, speechless.
"I didn't know this was here," Discord commented.
"It's beautiful!" Twilight gushed.
"That's the portal, all right," Jesse confirmed.
Lukas looked back and noticed three figures missing. "Hey, where's Crystal, Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna?" he asked.
"Oh, the Princess wanted to have a word with Crystal. Said it was a private matter," Thorax informed.
"Are you sure you guys don't want to stay for the celebration tomorrow?" Starlight questioned.
"We'd love to, but we have to get back to the portal hallway to find a way home," Petra replied.
"Don't worry, we'll make sure to mark the front of the portal so can come back and visit," Lukas reassured.
"Well, you better. I enjoyed your company... Sort of," Discord replied, crossing his arms with a small smirk.
"Okay, we're ready,"
Crystal, Celestia, and Luna walked over to the group. Crystal stepped toward Winslow, who was sitting on Thorax's back. "You positive you wanna stay here?" she asked.
Winslow meowed, nodding in response.
Thorax reached back and patted his head. "I'll look out for him. He'll be safe with the Changelings," Thorax promised.
"Well, guess this is goodbye for now. I wish you the best of luck with finding your way home. And..." she trailed off, using her magic to pass them five passes. "Here are free passes to one of my shows if you come back. It doesn't expire either,"
They grabbed one each, putting them in their inventories. "Thank you, Trixie," Petra thanked her.
"Of course, the great and powerful Trixie is kind to all those she meets," she said, seemingly trying to keep it together.
Celestia chuckled, stepping forward. "We thank you for all your assistance," she thanked.
"Yes, we cannot thank you enough," Luna added.
"It's what we do. Don't worry about it," Jesse waved them off.
Princess Celestia pulled out five seemingly five rare gems, giving one to each of them. "We want you all to have these. A small token of our gratitude and a moment of your time here,"
"Thank you, princess," Lukas thanked.
The five of them walked over to the portal, ready to go through. "Ready?" Ivor asked.
"Yep," Crystal replied pulling out the flint and steel. She clicked the pieces and the portal activated.
"Woah!!!" Twilight exclaimed in awe.
"Not bad... But I can still rip the fabric of reality still," Discord said, causing Thorax to laugh.
"Oh, be quiet!" Trixie shushed him.
The Order of the Stone turned around to face the ponies while Starlight walked up to them. "I guess this is goodbye," Crystal muttered, seemingly saddened more than she should.
Starlight waved them off. "Nah. You'll visit again someday. I know it. Good luck in getting home,"
"Thanks, Starlight," Lukas thanked.
"We shall see you all again, one day. Adventure!" Ivor waved before he ran into the portal.
"Can you please remind Ivor about our comedy tour? I'd like to plan it with him at some point," Discord asked.
"Don't worry, I'll be sure to tell him. Bye, Trixie!" Petra waved.
Trixie waved back. "Bye, Petra. Take care!" she yelled before Petra walked through the portal.
Jesse walked halfway in before turning to Thorax. "See ya, Thor,"
"Bye. Be safe!" Thorax said back and Winslow meowed in response.
Jesse smiled before walking through.
Crystal stared at the Princesses with a longing look as Lukas walked up to her, setting a hoof on her shoulder. "You okay?" he asked.
She blinked, looking over to him. "Yeah, yeah. I'm okay. Let's go,"
Lukas held out his hoof and Crystal took it, the two walking through after the others.
The ponies (plus Winslow, Thorax, and Discord) watched the portal in silence for a few moments. "So... Are those two together or what?" Twilight questioned.
"Probably," Starlight replied.
"You talking about Lukas and Crystal or Jesse and Petra?" Trixie asked.
"Uh... Both?" Twilight replied.
"It's possible," Thorax muttered.
"If they're not together, then they will be soon," Trixie stated.
As the four spoke to each other, Discord, Celestia, and Luna watched from the sidelines. "Why are they talking about this like filly's?" Luna asked.
"Yawn, Crystal and Lukas won't get together for another episode or so and who knows if Jesse and Petra will get together," Discord said, shrugging his shoulders while looking at the readers.
Celestia and Luna looked at him in confusion. "What?" the two spoke in unison.
~~~~~~
Princess Luna walked into the middle of the portal hallway, levitating some notes with her magic. "Greetings everyone, it is I, Princess Luna. And I'll be sharing with you what's next on Minecraft Stor-"
She was cut off Discord appeared out of nowhere. "On Minecraft Story Mode!" he shouted.
"Discord, what are you doing?" Luna asked with annoyance.
"Getting back from Equestria, the group ends up back in the portal hallway, of course. Will they be able to get control of the situation? Or will their usefulness run out?" Discord spoke with a small smirk.
"What are you spoiling everything?" Luna questioned in a hushed whisper.
"What? I'm giving a teaser for the next episode. Isn't that what Sparklez and the others did in this section?"
"Yes, but not when you're spitting out things that practically spoil things,"
"To you maybe," Discord drawled, leaning closer to the readers. "But you all do,"
Princess Luna moved Discord out of the way. "Anyway, for certain readers, this adventure is about to take a drastic turn. Whatever happens, this will have great consequences for our heroes," she finished.
"Oh, come on! Are you not gonna tell them about-?!"
Discord was cut off when Princess Luna pushed Discord into the portal, following behind him.
~~~
AND THIS EPISODE IS DONE!!!
Two more to write.
I'm sure that this seemed like a filler episode/four chapters (It kinda was), but parts of this episode will come up later on.
My MOC exams are over, but I'll be back in it in about a month or so.
Hopefully, this won't be affected, but we'll see.
The next chapter will be out between 7th-12th of October.
Anyway, for now, keep dancing in the moonlight and keep making the UwU, bye.