Interlude: Of Vines and Cutie Marks
Eleven Years Before Ascenion
Tally Reed was an exceptionally adventurous seven-year-old. Not that she had gotten much chance to fully explore that, in her opinion. The Pillars were constantly warning her to stay in the cave where they could see her and when she did venture out with her ghostly guardians, they had a pack of protective timberwolves who practically smothered her. Tally was surprised she was even allowed to go visit Roary and his family, though she did have her escorts with her then too.
The young filly let out a snort and her ears flicked back in annoyance, curling herself up with her nose almost touching her blank left flank.
"What is wrong, little one?" Somnabula asked kindly as she flew up to Tally, who was currently perched on the Tree of Harmony's lowest branch. "You have been up here pouting for some time now."
"Not pouting." Tally huffed, turning her face away to hide the truth.
Somnambula laughed and flew around to see the little filly's face again, "You are." she flipped herself to peer at the young filly upside down, "Tell me little Tally. What bothers you so?"
"I wanna go outside," the young unicorn mumbled.
Somnambula raised an eyebrow, "Well what is keeping you in here? It is not meal time, nor is it time for training. We could go..."
"No!" Tally squeaked, her cheeks reddening, "I wanna go out alone!"
"Out of the question." a stern voice interrupted them, Tally hung her head with a sigh as Starswirl glared up at them from below. "You can go out with us to the edge of our range with the timberwolves but no further! You are not yet ready for such things!"
"But Starswirl, I wanna explore!" Tally whined.
"You will have plenty of time to explore once you are further along in your training young filly!" Starswirl said, "If you are so keen on going out by yourself you can get down here this instant and go through your exercises!"
Tally lept from the tree, with the ease of one all too used to the jump, and landed gracefully in front of the bearded unicorn, "I already did those today!" Tally huffed, stomping her little hoof and trying her darnedest to be intimidating to her elder, "I wanna go adventure! Like Rockhoof and Flash and Meadow!"
Flash Magnus chuckled from where he was laying on one of the tree's roots with the other Pillars, "You are a bit young to go on one of our adventures, little feather." he reached over and mussed up her mane, making the little filly huff again, "A dragon would sooner laugh than breath fire at you."
Tally swatted his hoof away, her cheeks puffed out in embarrassment, "I am not gonna fight a dragon Mangy." she whined, "I wanna explore the forest." she looked up at Starswirl, her embarrassment draining away to give room for all the seriousness a seven-year-old could muster, "I wanna go find the castle! You said there are books there! Magic books!"
Starswirl snorted, "Grimoires, Tally." he corrected, "Say it."
The little lavender unicorn huffed but responded dutifully, "Gr-im-oires." she scrunched up her nose on the unfamiliar word but managed to get it out. Once it was down she stomped her hoof and glared up at Starswirl, "I wanna go find the castle and the grimoires!"
"We can't travel that far without fading." Starswirl huffed, turning away, "You'll have to wait until further along in your training."
"But Starswirl-"
"Enough Tally!" Starswirl huffed, "It is not safe for you to leave right now!"
Rockhoof chuckled as he came over to sit next to the filly, dwarfing her in an instant, "Fear not young Tally. You will have plenty of time to adventure and regale us with your tales when you are older."
Tally looked up at the large stallion with wide watery eyes, "But Rockhoof, I wanna go see the books!"
Flash snickered from his perch, "This is your own fault Starswirl, she's too much like you."
"Indeed." Somnambula giggled, "Didn't you once drag us all into the path of a yeti for a single ancient caribou tome?"
"He did!" Meadowbrook threw in with a smile, "Stygian was very nearly eaten!" Starswirl whirled to glare at them as the other five Pillars laughed.
"We were full grown, fully capable ponies!" Starswirl stressed, "She is a filly."
"We aren't denying that." Mistmane soothed, "However, we did want to point out that her insistence to leave safety for books did not spring from a vacuum." she finished with an amused smile.
Feeling that she had been ignored long enough, Tally reached up and tugged on Starswirl's beard with her magic. When she had their attention back she locked eyes with Starswirl.
"You said that ponies who train in the magical arts must take multiple approaches." Tally began seriously, straining to stand tall before her guardian, "The physical approach splitting into drills and par-" her nose scrunched up on the word, "Part- particular experience!" she finished triumphantly, "I wanna go out to get the books and get particular experience!"
Starswirl's face softened just a little and he sat down in front of Tally, "It is 'practical experience', Tally." he corrected, "And I would suggest sparring before simply running out into a danger as practical experience."
Tally's ears drooped in defeat.
The Pillars' gazes turned tender as they looked at the dejected filly.
"Perhaps you could summon a book from the castle," Meadowbrook said softly, Tally's ears barely twitched in acknowledgment, "A compromise of sorts."
Starswirl's lips pressed into a thin line and he glanced up at the tree, "We have been using more of the sapling's magic in training lately." he said haltingly, "To reach over the distance from here to the castle, break past any wards on the castle itself or any grimoires, and secure one to travel here may be too much at the moment."
"If not a grimoire, then maybe a history book or field journal," Mistmane offered, her eyes still on their youngest member, "I know our Tally loves our stories, she may enjoy stories of others."
Starswirl hummed, "It...could be possible." he said hesitantly, Tally peeked hopefully from beneath her wild fringe, "There would also be a possibility of draining the sapling's stores..." he stroked his beard as he peered up at the tree. He began to mumble a series of magical formulas under his breath, unaware of Tally's gaze hyper focused on him and the other Pillars' laughing quietly at the scene they made.
"Perhaps we should just make Tally her own hat and cloak." Somnambula giggled, "So that they might match completely."
"Would that not be the most adorable thing?" Meadowbrook sighed.
Flash shook his head, "At least we will know what to bribe her with when she gets older."
"Indeed." Rockhoof chuckled.
"Starswirl?" Tally questioned softly.
The older unicorn looked down into wide purple eyes with a sigh, "Tally...the sapling is right in the middle of a replenishing cycle. Summoning a book right now would drain it dry and our physical forms would be diminished until power was restored."
Tally's face pulled into a small pout, "You would still be here though, right? I could sit and read until power returned to the sapling! Please!"
"Come now Starswirl." Mistmane hummed, "We should still be here to watch her, we just wouldn't be corporeal. if the sapling is in the middle of the cycle then it should not be too long for us to regain power."
Flash Magnus scooped Tally up and all but shoved her in Starswirl's face, "How could you say no to this look?"
Starswirl sighed when the lavender filly played along, widening her eyes and dropping her ears back as she looked up at him. "Very well." he sighed.
"Yay!" Tally and Flash cheered together.
"Yes," Starswirl sighed, "settle down while I reach for the castle." The bearded unicorn strode toward the entrance of the cave while Tally wriggled free of Flash's embrace and dropped down to sit on the ground, waiting expectantly.
Starswirl pulled on the saplings magic before reaching out to the castle he knew stood nearly three miles away. He could feel the presence of the seeds within the castle, under several layers of anti-summoning wards and the like. He ignored them and focused in on the libraries crumbling walls and wards. Starswirl brushed his awareness past many grimoires, urging the magic in his grasp to find a book to fit his wishes. It didn't take him long to find one such title, he let the spell latch onto the book and run its course.
The forms of the Pillars faded until they were only barely discernable from their surroundings. Moments later a large book flew into the cave and landed right in front of Tally.
"There you have it, Tally." Starswirl said, even his voice fainter under the draining effects. "Now, just-"
A flare in the sapling's connection to them interrupted Starswirl and everypony turned to look at the sapling curiously. There was another quick flare in the sapling's magic before its light dimmed considerably and a tremor ripped through the ground.
"What in Faust's na-" Meadowbrook began, only to yelp when something very suddenly shot from the ground.
Thin, whip-like black vines adorned with blue thorns shot from the ground and headed unerringly toward the sapling.
"No!" Starswirl almost growled, charging forward with Rockhoof and Flash moving with him. Of course, in their diminished state, they could do nothing as the vines started to wrap around the sapling.
A dark aura began to pulse slowly around the sapling as the vines wound their way up the branches. On the second pulse, Meadowbrook disappeared completely with a gasp. The third took Rockhoof and Somnambula who shouted in alarm.
Tally pressed herself to the ground, her ears pressing flat against her skull in fear. "What is-" she squeaked as the fourth pulse took Flash Magnus.
Starswirl and Mistmane turned to Tally urgently, "Tally, I need you to listen carefully." Starswirl began, drawing the filly's frightened gaze to him, "You must retrieve the seeds! Return them to the sapling!"
"T-the se-eds?" Tally stuttered, "I-in the cas-tle? But I-" she jumped almost a foot in the air as Starswirl disappeared completely. "M-misty?" Tally whimpered.
Mistmane leaned down to look Tally in her eyes, "You can do this. Trust your instincts, young Tally." Mistmane said gently, "Go have an adven-" Mistmane disappeared with the sixth pulse.
"Misty!" Tally yelped. Looking back up at the vine-covered sapling, Tally found that the dark aura was thickening around it while the vines began to climb the walls and the vines around the tree began to grow bigger.
One of the seeking vines seemed to sense Tally and shot toward her unerringly.
The filly leaped backward, her heart racing and her wide eyes locked on the vine. It didn't stop coming, easily regrouping to shoot at her again, this time brushing her back hoof before she managed to fully move out of the way. That close call was enough to send Tally running from the cave and climbing the stairs as quickly as her little legs could carry her.
Soon, she stood on the ridge that overlooked her cave in the dying daylight, watching fearfully as the vines began creeping outward at a steady pace. Tally swallowed hard before turning away from her cave. The trees that she was so familiar with had taken on a foreboding air, but Tally couldn't decide if that was a side effect of the vines or the seriousness of her first solo adventure.
"Find the seeds, bring them back," Tally whimpered to herself, she swallowed hard again to combat her suddenly dry throat. She brought a shaking hoof to her mouth and let out a sharp whistle.
The nearby underbrush rustled before breaking apart to reveal five timberwolves. Their leafy ears perked up when they spotted Tally and they all crowded around the filly, sniffing her and rubbing up against her, attempting to soothe her when they sensed her panic.
Tally leaned into her companions gratefully, "I am fine." she told the wolves shakily, trying to reassure herself more than anything. "We have to go to the castle." she told the pack, "Then bring the seeds back to help the sapling." The lead wolf gave a rattling bark and licked her with the dew damp moss that served as its tongue. Despite the situation, Tally giggled at the feeling. "Alright. I can do this." A yipe and the breaking of twigs had Tally whipping around and watching in horror as two of the timberwolves were crushed in circling vines. "No!"
In the next moment, the lead wolf grabbed Tally carefully in its teeth and took off, running from the cave as fast as its paws could carry it. Tally, hanging from the jaws of the timberwolf without protest, watched behind them as the vines chased after them. The two wolves who had managed to run with them snapped at vines that got to close. A particularly vicious vine speared through one of the wolves and the other stopped to meet the vine head on. Tally quickly lost sight of the two wolves and the vines as the lead wolf leaped over a fallen log and skirted a rockadile's bathing pool.
It was a few more minutes before they emerged from the tree line and came to the rushing river that ran through the Everfree.
The timberwolf set Tally down and took up a post by her side, watching for any vines that followed after them.
Tally looked around, trying to get her bearings, "The castle is over the river...right?" she questioned her companion. The wolf only cocked its head at her. Tally blew out a breath and shook her mane out, "I have to be sure." she plopped down on the ground and closed her eyes.
Even before her magic lessons had begun, Tally had been training. Her guardians had made her whole existence one that revolved around learning. They taught her about foraging for food and about the animals of the forest, those that instinctively deferred to her aura and those that didn't. They taught her history and morals through stories, historic and otherwise. However, one thing had permeated all of her lessons and everyday life. The Harmonic Forces.
The Harmonic Forces were something she was exposed to daily as far back as she could remember. She knew their feel like the texture of her own mane. Reaching for that feeling was one of the first things she was formally taught.
Tally let her magic out in a pulse, searching for the Harmonic signature of the dormant seeds. Being made from the magic of her Guardians the seeds should feel like their magical signatures, so that's what she searched for in the unfamiliar forest across the river.
Sure enough Tally was able to feel the signatures of the Pillars ahead of her. It was faint, which was to be expected from the dormant seeds, but she could still feel them.
"We need to cross the river," Tally told her companion, opening her eyes.
The wooden wolf barked and trotted over to the edge of the river before laying down on its belly and looking to Tally expectantly. The little filly didn't hesitate to jump up on the timberwolf's back. The wolf moved into the river carefully, sinking down to let its wooden body float on the top of the water while its legs propelled from underneath. The current pulled them along, taking them a little further downstream, but they made it across with no other trouble.
Tally jumped from the timberwolf's back once they reached the other shore and set out determinedly in the direction she felt the seeds.
This far from where the vines had begun spreading, the duo didn't run into any big problems. They did run into a rockodile who Tally had never come into contact with before but her aura did most of the work in calming the creature down, the large carnivore practically turned to putty when she rubbed her hoof along the sensitive underside of its jaw. If it hadn't been for the underlying reason and sense of urgency, this would have been a nice walk through the forest with the stars watching over them.
Finally, they made it to one of the Everfree's inner treelines and their destination came into view.
Tally's eyes went wide as she took in the big castle ahead of her, "Amazing!" she squeaked, taking off toward it at a gallop. Her timberwolf companion trotted after her, easily keeping up with her tiny legs.
It took only the slightest bit of Tally's magic for her to push open the old weathered door, a door so worn it fell off its hinges the moment Tally released it from her hold. The filly didn't pay it any attention, she was too busy looking around the castle excitedly. The timberwolf followed after her, a little warier than the curious filly but wanting to protect its charge all the same. Tally was itching to explore but she knew she had a mission. A mission given to her by Starswirl none the less! Besides, if she proved herself with this mission, she would hopefully be allowed to return to the castle later.
Determined, Tally followed the signature of the seeds through the castle, forcibly ignoring the elaborate but disintegrating tapestries of battles and the knowledge filled books she could practically hear calling her name.
It didn't take Tally long to find the room she was looking for since she was following the feel of the seeds. It was a very large and long hall with what appeared to be two thrones at the head of the room. On the opposite end of the thrones was where the signature was coming from, there Tally found a strange pedestal of sorts with five arms. The center pedestal was empty but the five radiating arms each held a single stone ball.
Tally cocked her head in confusion. This is where the signature was radiating from but, "Starswirl never said anything about balls of rock." Tally mumbled, "They're supposed to be gems." the timberwolf barked, seemingly in agreement. Tally huffed and beckoned the wolf closer, "Help me up there so I can investigate." the wolf grumbled but lowered itself down for Tally to step gingerly on its head, the wolf stood again before slowly lifting onto its back paws, letting Tally leap the last few feet to the empty center pedestal.
From there, Tally carefully stepped onto the narrow strut that led out to one of the stone balls. Her years of tree climbing paid off as she balanced with her two back hooves on the strut and a single hoof on the platform holding the stone ball. Using her free hoof and her senses, Tally examined the stone. It felt like Rockhoof, steady and unyielding, strong. Tally spun the ball on its stand, looking at it from different angles, trying to figure out where the seeds had disappeared to. Tilting her head, Tally blinked when her perception of the seed changed just slightly.
"The signature is not coming from the rock itself," she muttered. The filly couldn't think of any reason for the gems to be put inside a rock but she confidently pushed the stone off its stand anyway. Levering herself up on the stand, Tally leaned over to see if the rock had broken like she had intended.
It hadn't quite shattered like Tally may have been hoping, but a large chunk had broken off to reveal the top part of an orange gem. Tally smiled brightly and turned back to the other stone balls. One by one she took them in her magic and flung them as hard as she could against the floor. She cheered as each ball shattered, revealing a magically enchanted gem within each one. The poor timberwolf hid behind the pedestal to avoid being hit by flying bits of rock. Tally easily lept from the pedestal when she was finished, its height much smaller than the sapling where she usually jumped from. It didn't take her much time at all to break Rockhoof's gem free of its rock prison.
When it was free, she lifted the orange gem free of the rumble and smiled at it. "Strength." she looked over at the other piles and picked up the blue and light pink gems next, "Hope and Healing." Flash's red gem had ended up right under the pedestal and Tally ducked a little to gather it into her magic as well, "Bravery." she checked off happily. The last one, Mistmane's, had flown a little further away, over at the edge of the room. "There's beauty." Tally hummed, heading over to pick up the purple gem. "What happened to-"
As soon as Tally picked up the purple gem with her magic the filly froze, all her muscles seizing and her knees locking. Tally let out a short scream as her magic flared, her eyes glowing white with power.
Tally's awareness of the gems and the Harmonic Forces they represented blew wide open. Though she stayed where she was, Tally was given a clear view into the Harmonic Plane, the sensation of the place wrapping lovingly around her body and ruffling her mane. It was everything that Starswirl had said it was and more. Tally felt an almost supernatural peace flow over her at the connection. At her young age, Tally had never even considered that she was missing something and yet, she couldn't deny the feeling of wholeness that the Harmonic Plane brought her.
Something cool touched Tally's horn and her magic was forcibly soothed back to its normal state.
Tally slumped to the ground, only instinct letting her keep hold of the seeds once she came out of her trance.
The filly looked up to find the source of the soothing touch and smiled when she saw the dark pink star floating above her. "There you are." she sighed shakily, Tally cradled the seed representing sorcery in her magic as she let herself rest against the stone floor for a moment.
She only got a few moments of rest before the timberwolf began to lick her ears, grooming her worriedly.
Tally twitched her ears but got shakily to her hooves, "I'm up, I'm up." she huffed, she shook out her mane and rubbed her damp ears, "I'm well." she assured the timberwolf, patting its head reassuringly, "Thank you." the timberwolf barked and wagged its fir branch tail. Tally smiled, "Lead me home."
As the wolf started out and Tally followed, floating the seeds around her in a comforting circle, the filly caught a flash of something out of the corner of her eye. Glancing back, she was awed to find that delicate silver flowers were growing in her wake.
Curious, Tally swerved a little bit as she made it past the castle doors. The flowers followed her deviation and Tally giggled. The purple gem pulsed with the distinct feeling of fond amusement as Tally began to jump forward, making puddles of silver growth several feet apart. "Just like Mistmane." the filly whispered in awe.
A bark drew her out of her observation and Tally reluctantly let the flowers be. She ran after the wolf, eager to fulfill her mission.
Having already walked this route, they made it back to the river rather easily. The crossing would have been just as easy as before but what awaited them on the other side had Tally swallowing hard and pulling the seeds closer to her. Apparently, the black vines had continued their pursuit of her after she lost sight of them. The vines now threaded through the opposite tree line, invading the river's banks.
Tally's wolf companion angled itself around behind her in a protective stance, growling at the offending vines as Tally stood frozen, her eyes glued to the vines across the river.
The blue and orange gems that were held in the filly's magic pulsed reassuringly and Tally shook herself, stomping her forehoof on the ground. "No! I can not stop. This is my adventure. Mangy did not back down from dragons. Namby did not back down from the sphinx." Tally nodded sharply to herself, "I can do this." her hooves trembled as she approached the edge of the river. "They are just plants." The timberwolf edged itself into the river for the second time tonight and Tally jumped on its back.
When they reached the opposite shore the vines reacted immediately.
Tally and her companion lept apart as a vine lunged at them, Tally stumbling before regaining her balance. These vines seemed to have some sentience, but they appeared to be violent and single-mindedly focused on Tally or, perhaps, the seeds she carried.
The timberwolf attempted to run back to Tally, to guard her, but a vine wrapped around the wolf's back paws, pulling it up into the air to just hang there and struggle.
Tally instinctively jumped back as another vine made a swipe at her, she squeaked when her back hoof dipped into the river. That distraction was all it took for a vine to wrap around Tally's front left hoof.
The filly froze.
A shudder ran through Tally at the touch of the vine but it wasn't disgust, nor was it fear.
Something about the vine didn't feel right, a strange statement since Tally didn't know a lot about the vines herself, but this was more like...instinct. Something tugged at her mind, something that felt an awful lot like the glimpse she had gotten of the Harmonic Plane earlier.
When the answer came to Tally she beamed and threw out her right forehoof, "You're out of bal-ah!" Another vine wrapped around her right hoof and others swarmed, Tally squeaked as a vine wrapped a little too snuggly around her middle as she was jerked off the ground. The vines continued to tighten, no doubt leaving a large bruise as they began to engulf the little filly.
A flash out of the corner of her eye drew Tally's gaze to the seeds. The light pink gem was pulsing warmly and Tally mind spun. "Trust your instincts, young Tally." Mistmane's voice echoed in her head. The filly closed her eyes and thrust her head out, her nose coming to rest against a vine.
The movement around her stopped.
Tally nuzzled gently at the plant holding her up in the air. She forced herself to relax in the vines that held her, slowing her breathing and her thundering heart. A light puff, like a breath across her face, had her opening her eyes. A bulb-like object that opened into two lobes like a terrifying maw had appeared at the end of a vine before her. Tally tilted her head to the side and the bulb titled back, the filly couldn't help but giggle.
"Hello." Tally greeted, the bulb opened and closed silently. "You are out of balance." the filly dutifully informed the black vine, it only opened and closed some more. Tally hummed thoughtfully and tilted her head forward, placing her horn against the vine bulb, the little filly let her magic flow directly into the vines.
The effect was immediate.
The vines shuddered around Tally, spasming like a hyperactive squirrel. They flexed and roiled until they gently set Tally and her timberwolf guard back on the ground. Tally still didn't move her horn away from the bulb. She did, however, bring up a hoof to stroke at the closest vine. Finally, when the vines in the forest began to retreat, leaving only a few delicate vines and the bulb in front of Tally, she drew her horn away, a little light-headed from the large magic transfer she had used.
The vine with the bulb draped over Tally's shoulders and she smiled when she didn't get that strange feeling of wrongness at the touch now. "You are more balanced now," she noted happily, she wasn't quite sure what she had done to help that but she trusted Mistmane when the older mare told her to trust her instincts. The vine let out a strange humming sound in acknowledgment of Tally's statement.
The timberwolf trotted over to sniff curiously at the vine around Tally's shoulders but seemed to accept that its charge had calmed the chaotic plant.
Tally smiled at her wolf companion, "We should return home. I want to restore the sapling."
As the timberwolf took the lead again, Tally followed with her new plant friend. The more delicate vines, which had apparently burrowed underground, now followed after her docilely, intertwining with the silver flowers that sprung up in her wake. The larger vine with the bulb on the end seemed to be recoiling all the way to Tally's cave, it unwove around the trees and unwrapped from fallen branches alongside Tally's path. The filly couldn't help but laugh at some of the tangles the vine had gotten in to get more leverage.
Eventually, the strange group of a filly, a timberwolf, and a mass of chaotic foliage made it to the edge of the cliff that overlooked Tally's cave home. The timberwolf settled at the edge of the cliff as Tally excitedly jumped down the stairs, her new vine friends following.
When the tree came into full view Tally gasped. The vines that had been wrapped around the tree had grown large, thick as thick as Tally herself and the tree's usual blue color had darkened to a sickly green. "Get off of it!" Tally demanded, her voice rising into a high squeak. She trotted over and struck at the closest vine with her little forehoof.
Another shudder ran through her, another feeling of 'not right', of unbalance.
Without any hesitation this time, Tally pressed her horn to the larger vines and directed her magic into them. The magic seemed to slow as it waded through huge vines, their thickness making the transfer slow and taxing on the tiny filly. Still, the bigger vines began to retreat, falling to the sides of the tree to settle there.
Tally slumped when the bigger vines had all released the tree, her magic wavered and the seeds jerked in her weakening grasp. Her magic was weakening from the expenditure. Taking a deep breath and focusing on the branches of the tree, Tally sent the seeds up toward their places. Her magic faltered just before the seeds reached their spots and Tally quickly brought them back down so she wouldn't drop them. The filly glared up at the top of the tree, blowing her bangs from her eyes moodily.
"Come on Tally." she berated herself, "You have brought the seeds back, you just have to put them back." She tilted forward so she stood on the tips of her hooves and pushed the seeds up as high as she could with her diminished magic. Her concentration broke with a yelp when the bulbed vine opened and lifted her up by her middle, taking her several feet off the ground. Tally dropped her head between her forelegs to look at the bulb the currently supported her, "Thank you!" she chirped happily. The bulb let out another unnatural humming sound.
With the extra boost, Tally was able to send the seeds to their proper places at the end of each branch and settle the gem of sorcery in the center of the tree.
The gems began to glow, growing brighter and brighter until they let out a burst of energy and light that made Tally close her eyes. The vines jerked but remained still and whole otherwise.
When Tally opened her eyes it was in just enough time to see the Pillars reforming in front of the restore tree.
"Flash!" Tally squealed happily, launching herself from the bulb holding her and onto the pegasus who hovered midair. Unfortunately, Flash hadn't been expecting Tally and they both tumbled to the ground.
A soothing blue magic lifted Tally off of Flash's flattened form and the filly was floated over to Mistmane and Meadowbrook. "You did it, dear Tally. You returned the seeds to us. You have done so well." Mistmane praised softly, bringing the filly close to nuzzle her.
"And without a scratch, it seems." Meadowbrook observed, she ran her hooves over the little filly and paused when Tally winced at her touch over her side, "Bruised ribs perhaps, cracked at worst. And some magical exhaustion it seems." she nuzzled the filly herself and gave Tally a mischevious wink, "Still, a better job than Rockhoof and Starswirl." The filly giggled.
"Aye, 'tis true!" Rockhoof boomed, "It would seem your first adventure was a successful and lucky one, young Tally."
"I would say so." Starswirl said, his eyes roving critically over the new editions to the cave, "Please do tell me how you came to procure these curious vines, Tally."
The young filly beamed at her mentor, "I made friends with them!"
Starswirl shot the filly a fond but exasperated look as he examined on of the thick vines, "Made...friends with them. Right."
"Leave them be for now." Somnambula scolded gently, "Our Tally Reed's adventure was successful in two ways and the second deserves some celebration."
"Second way?" Tally questioned, cocking her head.
Flash chuckled as he finally climbed to his hooves, "A rather important second way." he said, point to her flank, "You've earned your mark, little feather."
"MY MARK!" Tally shrieked, her face lighting up. She wriggled out of Mistmane's magic and twisted to look at her previously blank flank.
Set against her lavender fur was Tally's mark, it consisted of a set of six silver circles arranged with one in the center and the other five evenly spaced around it. In the center of each circle was a star-shaped gem. The center circle held a dark pink gem. In the circle above that was a red gem. In the upper left circle, there was a light pink gem. The lower left held a sky blue gem. The upper right circle held an orange gem. The lower right, a purple gem. Each of the outer circles connected to the center circle by a line of silver.
"I got my mark!" Tally squealed, she got to her feet and bounced in place as the Pillars laughed at her enthusiasm. "Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes-"
"Alright, Tally." Starswirl chuckled, "Settle so we can all have a look."
On her next bounce, Tally jumped right over to the semi-circle of her guardians, coming to a complete stop so everyone could see her new mark.
"It is a grand reward for your adventure, young Tally." Rockhoof rumbled, laying down on the ground with Somnambula alighting on his back. "Now you can regale us with your tale, tell us how you came by your glorious new mark."
Tally beamed and settled down on the ground with her family and new vine friends to tell them of her adventure.
Sorry this took so long! I had some family issues come up that I had to take care of and then some writer's block hit me. Thanks for waiting so patiently (some of you, lol 
)! The only good thing that came out of it is that I now have a more concrete plan for the end of this story. Let's pray I can pull it off!
Ages are really hard to determine in this show but I picture Tally around the Crusaders age/size during this. (Maybe a bit younger, Twilight did look younger than the CMC during her entrance exam)
Yay! First Interlude! I don't know if I will get to all of them but comment suggestions on what little flashbacks you want to see and I'll try to put a few between chapters as we go (or put them as a separate story, if I really like the idea but they seem too out of place for this one).
Also, I really liked the idea of Starswirl having a lot of Twi's cannon egghead traits. lol
Another thing, how deep is the forest river supposed to be? Steven is able to chill out there without all of his body being half out of the water despite looking thicker than a pony and then when he calms down Twilight just trotted through the water without issue (before he apparently felt obligated to use his body to get across without getting wet of course)? So...what the hell? First season, I know. Still, for me, I'm going to have the river pretty deep, enough to swim through. It just seems more believable for the Everfree, especially if I can have it lead into the underground cave system (where Maud lives later).
lol Timberwolf for best emergency raft.
Once again cannon is kinda cookydooks and doesn't explain jack shit. In the first episodes the elements are in their stone balls but when Nightmare shatters them there aren't gems inside. In the flashback in S4E2, the elements are free standing but the element of magic is held within a stone ball (?), so wtf? I went with Celestia somehow store the gems within the stone balls, that somewhat makes sense.
"Author Lady, where is Steven?" Easy, out on the high seas where he's meeting Cranky for the first time, he is a sea serpent after all. He won't settle in the forest for a couple years, after he's helped Cranky out with his Matilda search a bit.
'Cutie Mark' seems a little too...cute (for lack of a better word) for the darker, harder times that it is presented that the Pillars lived in, but what the hell would you call it if not a cutie mark? I couldn't come up with anything that didn't sound ridiculous.
Check out the two newest blog posts to have your say! One is on Chrysalis (this one is pretty much figured out but I always welcome more ideas!) and the other is on the TwiLuna 'sequel/spinoff' that will be dropping as soon as I add a second chapter for it.
See you next time for family drama! (P.S. Pray for me, I have to write for *shudders* Zecora!
I love her, I do, but all the Celestia be damn rhyming!)
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Nice.
Well, a Grogar called them "Destiny's Brand", but I don't think that's what you're looking for here...
UPDATES
This chapter was partly adorable and partly awesome, also how come the interlude is the longest chapter yet
Then don't rhyme. at least all the time. Rhymes are hard. You won't go far. Speak simple. Or you will get in a wrinkle.
I have a hard time trying to visualize Tally's cutie mark. Do you have a sketch somewhere?
I'd think a cutie mark would probably be called something like a destiny/fate brand
Harmony Theory calls them Talent Glyphs.
As to ages, that's a frustratingly vague issue.
We know Fluttershy is one year older than Pinkie Pie. And that's just about the only hard fact we have. Everything else is assumptions. Lets start by assuming it's been roughly two and a half years from season 1 to season 7. We can possibly use Equestria Girls as a metric. If the crystal mirror doesn't mess with ages, than we can conclude that the Mane Six are all in mid to late teens. Of course there are problems with that, since the CMC are at Canterlot high which would make them a minimum of fourteen, which is definitely not the case. By season seven they might be thirteen at best. (I'm assuming the CMC are ten'ish at the start of canon.)
Another problem with the EQG timeline is the crystal mirror only opens for three days every two and a half years. The first EQG movie happened between seasons three and four, so one year after the start of canon. Count back two and a half years means Sunset left Celestia a year and a half before Twilight went to ponyville. If Sunset was still Celestia's personal student at that point she'd have been there with Twilight... So how is it Twilight doesn't know who Sunset is? I know she was pretty bad about friends in that time, but surely she'd remember her fellow personal student of Celestia. And we can't assume that Sunset ran from Celestia earlier than that, unless we assume she was bumming around Equestria for years before going through the mirror. High school in America (which I assume is the system they're using) is four years. So Sunset would have had to have gone through last time the mirror opened for her to still be in school by the time Twilight goes through the mirror (two mirror cycles would have been five years, which is too long). There's also the problem that if Sunset was fourteen when she first arrived in EQG world then she should be graduating in a couple of months if not already graduated. (two and a half years for the mirror to cycle plus the year of Cadance's pregnancy is a minimum of three and a half years, if we don't allow time for the other three seasons not counted for, and high school is four years.)
I'd initially assumed the Mane Six's ages were kinda spread out a bit but trying to fit EQG into it means they have to be closer together. During The Cutie Mark Chronicles Applejack says she was the last in her class to get her cutie mark, which I assumed meant she's the oldest of the Mane Six. Even if we assume the cutie mark system means ponies begin their adult lives earlier than humans I can't really put Twilight any younger than sixteen at the start of canon. But by Friendship Games we're two years into the canon timeline, meaning that if Applejack was any older than sixteen at the start of canon she'd be graduated from Canterlot High already. So the only way to fit EQG into the timeline is to make all the Mane Six but Pinkie sixteen at the start of canon, with Pinkie being fifteen.
There are additional problems if we try to fit Spike into the mix. His age at the beginning of canon seems to be a precocious ten'ish. Except we know he was born when Twilight got her cutie mark, which was the same time the rest of the Mane Six got theirs. And we know from following the CMC around that between the ages of ten and twelve is about when ponies get their cutie marks. If we're forced to assume that Twilight got her cutie mark at the age of ten'ish, then that plus Spike's assumed ten makes Twilight at least twenty and way too old for high school. And we can't say Twilight got her cutie mark significantly early because she got it at the same time as the rest of the Mane Six so that would make her considerably younger, or them considerably older, which means that couldn't all be in high school together. So Spike would have to be closer to six at the start of canon. The only real way to fix Spike's age while still keep the Mane Six high school age would be to make the CMC considerably younger (so that the average cutie mark age is younger). But there's just no way to justify an assumption of the CMC being six'ish at the start of canon, any more than we could justify Spike being that age.
It's a mess.
One way to fix it is assume the mirror changes ages. That allows us to have early twenties pony Mane Six, ten'ish Spike and CMC, and allows for a teenage Twilight once she goes through the mirror. The question then becomes why does it do that. It also doesn't solve the question of why Twilight didn't know of Sunset. And it causes problems with Sunset and in fact Twilight dating high school boys when they're actually in their twenties.
Another way to fix it is to assume that any parallels between Equestria and EQG are coincidental. That means we don't have to match any EQG characters' ages with their pony equivalents except for the two that transfer over: Twilight and Sunset. That would allow us to assume Twilight got her cutie mark exceptionally early, like six'ish, while allowing for the rest of the Mane Six to be older, not caring that they'd be too old for high school. So Twilight got her mark at six, making her sixteen at the beginning of canon and seventeen during the first EQG movie. The other Mane Six got theirs at the more average ten to twelve, making them between twenty and twenty-two at the start of canon. That has some other minor problems like Maud being Pinkie's older sister yet only going off to university in season four, and Rainbow Dash competing in the Best Young Flyer competition in season one, as well as her not being able to apply for the Wonderbolts until season three. But that could easily be fixed by just spreading out the ages, since they no longer all have to fit into high school age. Make Rainbow and Pinkie seventeen in season one, Fluttershy would then need to be eighteen, and Rarity and Applejack can be older, say twenty and twenty-two, to fit their more established businesses. Meaning that Rainbow, Pinkie and Fluttershy got their cutie marks a little earlier than the average but that's ok. Still doesn't fix the Twilight-Sunset thing, or the Sunset is about to graduate thing, but fixes most everything else.
The only remaining problem is if Sunset was fourteen when she went through the mirror the first time, and we assume Twilight is sixteen at the beginning of canon, that actually makes Twilight about six months older than Sunset. There's no way to make Sunset older while both allowing her to attend Canterlot high right out of the portal and allowing her to still be a student by Friendship Games. And I don't think we can really make Twilight any younger.
Like I said, a mess. If anyone else has any more concrete age theories I'd be happy to hear them.
Yay updates i love it when twi is reffered to as princess or god of anything but friendship i really hope they come out like yea freindship is magic totally so twis the god of both
9152481
Lol wow and yeah, it gets even more convoluted if you try to use Granny Smith as an age scale because “she was there for the founding of pony ville” yet she still looks pretty young in Perfect Pear which we assume isn’t that long but certainly long enough for AJs parents to concieve three children (even if you accept the head cannon that AJ and Big Mac are twins there is still a pretty noticeable gap between them and Apple Bloom) and then die leaving Granny to grow old and raise the three of them in how long exactly? Idk, totally agree, it is an enormous mess.
9152481 There are a number of students in EqG who are CLEARLY adult ponies in the Pony World. Also, Celestia and Luna in the human world are CLEARLY not thousands of years old.
It's best to assume the whole thing happened entirely because plot convenience and just shrug.
9152460
I'll try to sketch it out but IDK how good it will be.
9152403
Lol, I know, I meant to keep to the 5,000-word chapter length but it got away with me. I think mostly because it is paced like a one-shot rather than a chapter fic. Whoops.
9152633
Meh, I'm not complaining
9152619
The Granny Smith thing is easily explained away by how you define 'founding'. It could be as early as when the first Apples settled there, or as late as whenever the town was officially declared a town. I have to presume the latter for my own sanity. Previous to Perfect Pear the popular theory was ponies just lived a long time, but as you pointed out, she's quite young looking in that episode so that doesn't really hold water anymore.
9152621
Yeah, EQG ages can not possibly match up. I was basically just playing devils advocate to myself, as shown later in the post where I'm forced to throw that theory out. The only ones that have to match are Twilight and Sunset. We don't even need to match Starlight because due to how the character designs are, we can't really assume she's a teen when she crosses over. And since we never see her in the school environment she could easily be as old as the mid-twenties I've always thought of her being.
Well, this made my day. I've been reading this story ever since chapter one was posted and almost gave up on it being continued but now it has returned and I am eagerly waiting for the next chapter!
Not to dampen the worth of Tally’s adventure, but isn’t the Castle directly above the cave the tree is in? Did she take the long way around or something?
9152658
I always kind of assumed it was nearby but not close, hence the three miles. Which I used because it is roughly from my house to our closest walmart which I have walked, roud trip, in about two hours without being in a hurry. So I thought it was a good length for Tally at the age she is at here. As much as we try there isn’t really a clear shot in the show (unless I’ve missed it somewhere which is totally possible) that gives us the basic locations of everything in reference to each other.
I'm fine, and used too, waiting long times for updates, so I'm fine but so happybthat there is another chapter out, thank you. Great work.
9152676
In S4E2, about 10 minutes in, after the Cragodile, after Twilight returns to Ponyville and is berated by Discord, as the remaining 5 are walking through the Everfree, Rainbow is talking about the potion Twilight drank and says “maybe there is no tree of Harmony”, and AJ responds “maybe it’s right down there!”. There is then a zoom shot of the cave from the top of the ravine stairs, but it very briefly shows the castle of the two sisters situated above the cave.
Granted, in this continuity if it has been a thousand years since someone went to the castle, it’s possible that there is no bridge until Tally builds one and must go the long way around anyway. First up the stairs, then around the ravine, then back through the forest, and then all in reverse.
9152711
Geez that would have made thing back in chapter 2 easier as well. I did mention in those authors notes though that the other thing I took into account was in the first episodes, when they head to the castle, they have to cross the river and yet when they head directly for the Tree in the “Princess Twilight Sparkle” 2-parter they did not have to cross the river. Either way, MLP has never been great about consistency and its a bit late to change it now. Plus since Twi has spent her whole life in the forest I was planning on expanding it all the way to the Badlands on the connoical map, just to facilitate the changling thing that will come in the next two chapters.
Tally is going to change the name to twilight?
9152646
To keep myself from getting a headache, I figured time must flow differently between the EG and the pony world. EQ would have to be slower to account for Sunset, so while for her it was 2.5 years but for pony Equestria it would've been more. That'd make pony world mane six older as well, but probably too old to really fit the bill here. Thinking about mlp's broken timeline gives me too much of a headache. I the math a while ago that gave the one year timetable of events for the first 2/3 seasons but that was back when Starlight's cult was the fandom topic.
Anyway, I don't have a definitive answer for why time would be different in the EQ world. Maybe they're closer to a black hole or something.
9152798
doubtful her name has been Tally Reed for so long I doubt she'd just give it up
9152975
True, but I think Tally is an acceptable shortened nickname for "Twilight" so she could compromise and still go by Tally. After all, a pony going by a nickname is canon. Just look at Pinkamena "Pinkie" Pie for an example.
You could always say Zecora doesn’t rhyme when speaking her mother tongue.
9153129
I just do not see it happening, or if it does not quickly. She was literally raised by the Pillars who were like her parents. They gave her a name, love and affection and taught her like any parent would. And she lived with em for what 16 years? if Anything I think Tally would use Twily as a nickname. Is the a bit cruel to Twilight Velvet? Perhaps, but the reverse would equally unfair to Tally taking away a name she knew for many years.
9153472
I never said that Starswirl wasn’t an atgonist? Or at least antagonistic in that episode? Where the hell did I imply that?
And, if you fully read my reply and not just raged at me for a perceived slight you apparently though was directly against you, you’ll see I said both were right I just personally think the Pillars’ view of things were wider and more inclusive. Because your right, Strength does not equal honesty, however it does take strength to remain honest even when lying would be the easy thing to do. But telling the truth is not the only thing that shows personal strength, a lot of things can show personal strength. Bavery, Strength, Hope, Beauty, Healing, and Sorcery also overlap with each other more; which, if you think of Harmony like a fabric like a lot of people tend to, would make the weave stronger.
Again, it’s down to personal preference and I’ve chosen a side. I’m certainly not changing it now, 30,000 words in. I’m also not forcing you to read this, so if it is such a disconnect for you then you do not have to stay. I’ve explained my reasoning well enough.
Epic & awesome flashback chapter to show us how Tally earn her cutie matk & her connection to the vines! Worth the wait!
9152731
One explanation as to why they had to cross a river in the first episodes is that they had fallen off a cliff. The path they were originally on could have crossed over the river with a land bridge.
9153798
While I apologize for the harsh wording, I did not mean for that to sound angry.
Let me try to rebuild some bridges by saying that other then this one bit, I deeply enjoy this story. The characters all feel believable, and with alterations this could easily make for a fascinating original story. It has a strong Hero’s Journey, a strong(ly written) protagonist, and an interesting hook. What if the metaphorical forces of Destiny actually had to RAISE the chosen one? Great stuff!
I've always loved the idea of Starswirl's antics being a common inside joke between the rest of the Pillars, both in the official canon and this AU. Can't wait to see more!
Well, I can wait, actually. Take your time. Heaven knows I don't have any right to rush people.
eager to see more of this
Pretty enjoyable story so far. I'm looking forward to seeing where things go from here. My only complaint is that I don't like Twilight being called Tally.
Maybe "Sigil"? But honestly I think just Mark works perfectly fine.
I've seen them called 'Destiny Marks' somewhere else but I forget.
A cute and fun little chapter though. Kinda stayed up and marathon read the whole story thus far.
And yeah... writing Zecora is hard. You have my sympathy lass.
:0000
I've been waiting for an update!!
I really like this book and it's concept!!
im ok with op twilight so long as it dosnt ruin the story, im loving the story so far
I dont want to be rude but when can we expect the next chapter?
Love the story, hope to see more in the future👍
Promising:-)
Keep up the good work. Thanks for the good read.
Wasn't the cave of the Tree under the area under the bridge next to the castle?
The way you describe it makes it seem near the edge of the Forest.
Also I'm not apposed to the idea of OP Twilight/Tally but don't you think the castle was too sudden like I feel like there could have been some interaction with the "Outside" world before returning to the Everfree?
9341664
This particular chapter is a flash back. If you’re talking about the previous chapter, the castle is just set up for Twi to have as a base since she had the self appointed task of caring for the Everfree. Once she is sure her forest is safe she’ll be interacting with Ponyville and Celestia is going to invite her to visit Canterlot by bribing her with books.
9254963
i would like to know to?
Great so far, OP main characters are the best when they are done right and so far you seem to be doing well with it. I'll be tracking this one for sure.
Welp, you got me hooked now
Really hope this story ain't dead.
any idea when we can expect an update and new chapter?