Unforeseen Consequences - Divine intervention.

>“One, two, three… I say there’s at least a hundred of your little friends here. What a disappointingly low number, but…” Your mom Celestia arrogantly shrugged “One has to make the best with what she got, right? I can use them to stretch my legs a little.”
>Every single cultist, including Hope were clearly scared of your mom Celestia when she started walking towards them with a huge smirk on her face.
>“I see you’re a little tense” Your mom Celestia threw a little taunt with her hoof “Luckily for you, I know the perfect way to fix that problem! Let’s have a dance to break the ice!”
>“Now this is the actual false ruler. It doesn’t matter though” Hope narrowed her eyes as she glared at your mom with a disgusted face “You shall pay for mocking us!”
>It happened in just a second. A mutant pegasi cultist appeared from the forest and flew past you with an incredible speed, his surprise attack failed spectacularly though.
>Your mom Celestia hoped to her left and with just her right front hoof, she slammed the mutant guy in the ground, making it crack “I’m getting the distinct impression I’m not wanted here, but I love when ponies play hard to get!”
>“Ooooh!” Eris giggled as she munched her popcorn “That gotta hurt!”
>You didn’t know what was more impressive, your mom’s reflexes and strength, or the fact that after such a hard impact, the mutant cultist was still conscious and struggling to escape from your mom’s grip.
>Your mom simply pressed the guy harder and gave him a quick glance “What do we have here? Black crystals causing muscle swelling… and that’s pretty much it. No, no and no! What happened to the mutants that used dark magic? Or the elemental ones?

>Your mom then threw the now normal cultist away from her “Don’t tell me you sent them to the freezer! Those were the classics!”
>Hope took a step back and growled “Curse you!” She took out the curved crimson blade from her cloak and raised it above her head “My king, I’m sorry, but I will be using your power once more” After charging herself with its creepy magic, Hope shot a laser at your mom.
>You were sure that attack would be more than enough to take down even Eris, but it was nothing but a gentle breeze against the shield that your mom Celestia quickly casted.
>Your mom raised an eyebrow and looked at Hope with a bored face “Oh, Hope, I guess age really has caught up with you. It almost makes me feel bad for roasting you this much” She then broke the shield, causing a shockwave that made Hope to fall on her back “Now, I don’t want to think that I’m giving you the cold shoulder, so what you say if we end this lovely party in a warm note?”
>Your mom extended her wings, creating a warm gust. Then, she looked up and said with a slightly louder voice “Luna! Would you be so kind as to stop playing with those poor ponies and come here? Hope is a bit tired and she desperately needs a nap!”
>Almost immediately after your mom finished speaking, a bunch of mutated cultists tangled together in a giant ball of magic were thrown from the forest and landed near Hope with a loud thud.
>She didn’t have much time to react either, as soon after, at least twenty of those big freaks came running, or rather, they were being chased by your mom Luna.

>Besides her incredible galloping speed, the first thing you noticed, is that your mom’s eyes were glowing with an intense white light and her mane, despite still being flowy and starry, it was way darker than what you remembered.
>“MY SON! YOU DARED TO THREATEN MY SON!” Your mom Luna kind of looked like a lion hunting her prey when she was running around and shooting blasts at whoever cultist was near her “NONE OF YOU SHALL ESCAPE FROM THE WRATH OF THE PRINCESS OF THE NIGHT.”
>When one of those freaks escaped her magical attacks, she would make a sharp turn and basically maul at them, holding them firmly before spinning with them in the ground and launching them at random directions.
>Every time your mom got a new cultist, Cherrywood and Wind Rider would stand up from their seats and cheer for her.
>After she got all of the run-away mutants, your mom Luna batted her wings and made a big leap to where your mom Celestia was standing.
>If that wasn’t impressive enough, your mom Luna spun a couple times while on mid-air before landing like a majestic gazelle by your mom Celestia’s right side.
>Everyone was in awe by the display of agility... except for Eris, she simply raised a cardboard with a number seven written on it above her head.
>“Luna, could you drop the theatrics already?” Your mom Celestia rolled her eyes and shook her head “I get it, you are the athletic one, there’s no need to rub it on my face.”
>“That’s because I don’t assault the royal pastry at every waking opportunity!” Your mom Luna barked without taking her eyes off the cultists “And who are you to criticize me when it was you who reveled in such cringe-inducing banter?!”

>“Excuse me? Are you saying that my masterfully crafted taunts are cringy?” Your mom Celestia was clearly offended by those words “It’s called having style, my dear sister. It wouldn’t hurt you to try it sometime.”
>“You love to talk too much, Celie” Your mom Luna the started to charge her horn “Why don’t you show me if your words hold value in battle? The one who defeats the biggest number of King Sombra’s followers shall be crowned as the ultimate Princess of Style!”
>“Sheer numbers don’t determine style, my dear sister” Your mom Celestia giggled as her flames grew bigger “But I’m not a pony who can resist a fun challenge, especially coming from you.”
>“As they say…” Your mom Luna prepared to attack “Game on!”
>“Hold on, my dear sister” Your mom Celestia stopped her and calmly walked past her “Before we begin, though, there’s something important I must say…”
>Your mom looked at the cultists with a huge smirk on her face “You have seen the power that Luna and I possess. So, for the ones who do not wish to eat from a tube for the next couple months, this is your last chance to give up your ways and go back to your home, wherever it might be. For the ones who decide to fight a lost battle, I’m sorry, but I won’t hold back.”
>At least a quarter of the cultists looked at each other before running away from the field.
>“Screw this, dude! Selling fishes may suck but it doesn’t get you in a fight with the princesses!”
>“Bah! Who cares about King Sombra anyway! I’m joining the followers of the muffin! That’s where the money’s at!”
>“That guy was right anyways, there ain’t any hot chicks in this cult shtick!”
>“Or hot dudes! I’m gonna rollback to my idea of opening a spa in the badlands!”
>The cult morale was beyond broken, their numbers had diminished significantly and they were facing the most powerful ponies in Equestria. Those freaks were effectively backed into a corner.

>You actually expected Hope to not care about anything and command the remaining cultists to attack, and for a second, she was actually going to do that, but…
>The weird crimson curved blade started to palpitate with its evil green and black aura, stopping Hope from attacking and instead, putting the thing near hear ear.
>“Yes, my liege?” She said with a robotic tone “But… what about the false rulers? The annoying brat? Yes… Yes, I understand my liege… we shall return now…”
>Hope then gave your moms a disgusted look and raised the blade above her head “Do not think this is over. We shall return stronger than ever before.” She then smirked as all the cultists started to banish “As for you Anon, King Sombra sends his praises. Consider yourself lucky.”
>Your mothers quickly shot a couple of pretty powerful lasers but it was too late, Hope and her band of weirdos were gone.
>“Those cowards!” Your mom Luna yelled as she blasted the spot where Hope was “How do they dare to run away from me!”
>Your mom Celestia let out a sigh and patted your mom Luna’s back “That’s how these things usually go, my dear sister” She then turned to you and with a huge smile said “So kids, did you enjoy the show?”
>The first one to speak, or rather yell, was Pearl, who was absolutely ecstatic “THAT WAS AWESOME!” She hopped on her seat “WOOO! THIS IS BETTER THAN THE TIME DAD’S MANE CAUGHT FIRE!”
>“I know, right?! My favorite part had to be Luna though” Cherrywood was in the same state as Pearl “No offence to Celestia, she was cool and all, but… it kind of felt like a supercharged Annony, but what Luna did? WOW! She was creative, elegant and spooky!”

>Wind Rider crossed his front paws as he nodded in agreement.
>You could swear that you saw your mom Luna giving a huge smirk to your mom Celestia, you couldn’t be sure though, it was dark and it lasted for less than a second.
>“And that, boys and girls” Eris said as she stretched her paws and poofed away her popcorn “is why I don’t try my luck against those two”
>You wished that you could share the girls’ enthusiasm, but what Hope said had you feeling troubled. The same was for Thorax who was staring at the ground, lost in his thoughts.
>That didn’t go unnoticed by your mom Celestia. She calmly turned to Eris and said with a warm smile “Eris, would you be so kind as to take us back to the castle? I’m getting tired of this cold”
>“Wait, can’t we take the long route?” Pearl nervously said “I-I’m not that good with…”
>Eris shrugged and spun her talon “On it…” and in less than the blink of an eye, everyone was back at the Canterlot Castle main hall.
> Pearl’s white coat was now green “Teleportation… Urp!” She placed her hoof over her muzzle and galloped to a nearby plant pot.
>You were kinda bummed to get back home though. After all of this, you really, really wanted to go to the Crystal Empire and see Flurry Heart to calm your nerves.
>Well, seeing Pearl puking her guts out was a neat consolation prize.
>Your mom Celestia combed her mane as she gave Eris a warm smile “Thank you very much, a couple favors though. Could you take the girls back to her parents and Thorax to his kingdom? I need to have a private chat with my son.”

“Well my moose friend, I don’t think there’s a medal for us this time”
>“I’m okay with that” Thorax said with relief “Right now, I need to get back to the hive and discuss with Pharynx about what happened tonight.”
“No kidding, now that the cult has seen you, I’m sure they will be a problem for your hive too… hmmm, listen man, if you feel there’s anything going on…”
>“Anon, you don’t need to say it” Thorax calmly placed his hoof on your shoulder “I already know that I can count on you for anything that happens.”
“I was going to say, take an anti-acid to stop your indigestion, but thanks for the trust man, whenever you ask for my help, I will be there.”
>“Aw, crud!” Pearl said with disappointment after cleaning the vomit from her muzzle “Back to the boring pit I go”
>Cherrywood on the other hoof, flew to your mom Luna and gave her a pleading look “Can’t we stay just a little longer? It’s not like I don’t wanna see my mom but… I don’t wanna get grounded yet”
>Your mom Luna smiled and rubbed her cheek against hers “I wish that the answer could be yes, but Celie is right, we need to discuss important matters with Anon. But worry not, little Cherrywood, I know Moonlight and she’s going to be proud about the bravery you displayed tonight”
>“Oh, I know she’s gonna be proud!” Cherrywood nervously backed away “But that won’t stop my mom from grounding me!”
>“As I said, worry not, little Cherrywood” Your mom Luna chuckled and gave her a wink “I can guarantee you that Moonlight won’t react the way that you think she will.”

>Cherrywood rubbed the back of her head and shrugged “If you say so…”
>Your mom Celestia let out a sigh and turned to Pearl “As for you, Royal Blood”
>“I-I’m sorry, ma’am, but” Pearl said with a nervous tone “Could you call me Pearl, please? I kinda don’t like my real name”
>Your mom Celestia gave her a stern look “I could but I won’t, because this is an official statement. Royal Blood, as you know, thanks to his violent actions against the Prince, your father, Blueblood, was stripped away from his royal status and is barred from entering this castle. While his title is something that will never be returned to him, your actions tonight as well as your obvious friendship with the Prince has made me take the decision of lifting the aforementioned ban.”
>“OOOH! Thank you so much, ma’am! Wait…” Pearl rubbed her chin “I couldn’t enter the castle too?”
>“That is correct” Your mom Celestia nodded “But now you can, just tell your dad that if he starts boasting about this with the press or anypony who may have connections to it, he will get banned again and only you will be granted permission to enter.”
>Pearl sighed “Knowing my dad, I think it will be easier if I just tell him that I’m the only one who’s not banned. He kinda loves bragging about everything.”
>Your mom Celestia chuckled “Fair enough” She then turned to your big sis “Eris, there’s something we need to discuss with you too, I know you must be tired right now, so we will have a meeting first thing tomorrow morning.”
>Eris rolled her eyes and huffed “It better be about my medal, ‘cause I don’t like doing things for free and…” But when she saw the glare from your mothers, she changed her tone for a nervous one “I-I mean, you got it chief!”

>She then hovered in circles above everyone and said “C’mon lads! The Eris’ express is leaving now!” As she continued her act, a bright circle appeared below Thorax, Cherrywood and Pearl.
>Thorax gave you a quick hug “See you soon, Anon, despite everything that happened, I had fun. We need to think on how we can hang out without bumping into something that wants to kill us though.”
“Trust me, that’s harder than what you may think.”
>Cherrywood caressed your cheek and gave you a cute smile “If I don’t see Luna, then I will see you tomorrow, if not… then don’t start a new invention without me, alright?”
“Wouldn’t think about it. I can’t really do much without my super cool partner”
>Meanwhile, Pearl shook her head and started to back away “M-My house is near the castle! I-I can just wa-“
>And they were gone, leaving you alone with your mothers.
“So I guess that you want a recap of everything that happe… WHOA!”
>Before you could finish your sentence, your moms quickly embraced you on a cuddly tight hug, which also included kisses on your forehead and cheeks, of course.
>Well, who were you to turn down this kind of affection? Especially when it was just what you needed after this crazy night.