//------------------------------// // Destiny, Oh Why? // Story: My Little Mages: Enchanted Enigma Elixir // by Foxhelm //------------------------------// Prologue: A Perfect Day? Twilight heard birds chirping outside her window, she got out of bed and after she got dressed she looked at the calendar, the day was marked as her first Musical Thursday as the lead singer. She smiled and threw open her window. “Morning in Magiville shimmers, Morning in Magiville shines, And I know for absolute certain That everything is certainly fine. There's the Mayor en route to her office. There's the sofa clerk selling some quills.” As she sang she jumped out the window in the Golden Oak and was helped down by Thunderlane and Bulk Biceps. As she walked, well it was more like a rhythmic dance-like march, Skyborn jumped into the air, some in summersaults, some a simple leap. Alongside Twilight several Magicborn and Earthborn were dancing not unlike Twilight, several engaged in their normal activities with a skip in their steps and movements matching the beat of the song. Even the Mayor and her immediate staff had a spring to their step. As Twilight pointed out the ‘sofa clerk’ in question, an Earthborn man somewhere between Shining Armor’s and her own father’s ages, Davenport was his name, was dressed in a casual business suit with a sofa and quills embroidered on his tie, called back to Twilight. “Morning, Twilight!” Twilight waved back with a smile. She continued the song, occasionally spinning in one spot before leaping on with the meter. “My, Magiville is so gentle and still Can things ever go wrong? I don't think that they will Morning in Magiville shimmers Morning in Magiville shines And I know for absolute certain That everything is certainly—” Cutting Twilight off as she held her arms out as if to welcome something with her closed, was a cloud that had poured down on her in a torrent causing a massive splash. Twilight took a few breaths to calm herself before she looked to her left, “Rainbow Dash, that's not funny!” “Terribly sorry, darling.” came the polished voice of Rarity to Twilight’s right. Twilight turned to see Rarity on a small hill and was trying to control a series of clouds and not controlling them well. “I'm afraid I'm... I'm not good with the thundery ones today for some reason.” The enchantress’ signature tiara did not have the three sapphires but what looked like a tri-colored rainbow coming from a stylized cloud that was Rainbow Dash’s aura mark. Twilight gasped at the sight as it dawned on her that “Something tells me everything is not going to be fine.” Destiny, Oh Why? Twilight shook her head trying to process what she saw as she witnessed Rarity move the clouds around with her magic “What are you doing? What happened to your aura mark?” Twilight asked as she joined Rarity on the small mound and was not able to understand what had happened. Rarity was taken aback, “Whatever do you mean, Twilight? I'm simply doing what I've done since the day it first appeared. I am an elementalist after all.” Rarity then looked to the sky and the patchwork of the clouds. “Does my sky look fabulous or what?” Rarity asked hoping to get some positive feedback on the fruits of her labor. Everyone started to complain about what Rarity was doing with the sky. “Too last season?” Rarity asked weakly as she gave an apologetic laugh as everyone walked away angrily, Twilight shook her head, “Where is Rainbow Dash? Why isn't she handling this?” the arcane mage asked. “Why would Dashie be managing the weather. She’s a druid and lives in the cottage not far from town. But seriously, Twilight Darling, how do you not know that?” Rarity asked utterly confused that one of her best friends seems so ignorant about one of the others. Twilight ran back to Golden Oak, “This is not what the Mayor told me about Musical Thursdays.” About twenty minutes later as Twilight and Spike were walking to the cottage near the Everfree. Spike was still very tired. He yawned, “I still don't know what you had to wake me up for. I love sleeping when it rains.” Twilight was not going to hear it. “It's not about the weather, Spike. Rarity had Rainbow Dash's aura mark, and class and said this was Rainbow Dash's cottage.” Twilight was flustered that they were at Fluttershy’s cottage. This was getting to become a headache. “Something strange is going on…” Twilight then knocked on the door and heard the calls of the animals that lived not only in the cottage with Fluttershy but nearby the cottage. The door opened to reveal Rainbow Dash in her usual attire, but her hair was pinned up with a hairpin with a stylized pink butterfly exactly like Fluttershy’s. “Hey, guys.” Rainbow allowed the two to enter as she flew to the side. “Rainbow Dash! Why is Rarity doing your job?” Twilight asked as she and Spike stepped in before they all heard several crashes as the animals were getting unruly. “And what in Mystica is going on in... here?” Rainbow Dash picked up the tamarind that Fluttershy normally played and started to play a tune on it… rather poorly... in an attempt to calm them down as she sang, to no success what so ever. “These animals don't listen, no, not one little bit They run around out of control and throw their hissy fits It's up to me to stop them, 'cause plainly you can see It's got to be my destiny, and it's what my aura mark is telling me.” After Rainbow Dash finished the verse, “Where’s Fluttershy?” Twilight was trying to come to terms with what is going on. Spike was simply watching it all. “Sugarcube Corner, duh, she’s the residing jester.” Rainbow Dash answered, while not singing, she was still in tune. About five minutes later Twilight and Spike entered the bakery and witnessed Fluttershy blowing balloons trying to entertain the people there, but no one was amused. The druid was dressed in her usual garb, much like Rainbow and Rarity, but her brooch was not the pink butterfly it normally is but a yellow balloon. She picked up a pair of drumsticks and tried her hand at the drum set and tried to play... tried being the operative word, the poor thing was clearly out of her league, much like with Rainbow with the tamarind, as she started to sing, “I try to keep them laughing, put a smile upon their face But no matter what I try, it seems a bit of a disgrace I have to entertain them, it's there for all to see It's got to be my destiny, and it's what my aura mark is telling me” As Fluttershy finished the verse, the tune still continued as Twilight looked around as everyone else left before she asks the key question. “Where’s Pinkie Pie?” “Pinkie Pie…” That name gave Fluttershy some pause for about a second until she remembered something, “How did you know Cripps Pink’s maiden name?” Fluttershy was confused that Twilight knew something that she shouldn’t have known. “Cripps Pink?” Spike asked for Twilight and himself. “She changed her name when she married Big Mac and moved in with the Apples when she moved here. But still, how did you know her name?” “We got to go. Thanks for the show.” Twilight said trying to be diplomatic in her exit with Spike, leaving a five hundred-bit note for Fluttershy. About five minutes later Twilight and Spike arrived at Sweet Apple Temple, the saw Pinkie Pie, her hair flat like it was deflated with stylized apples in lieu of the balloons on a stetson in lieu of her jester's cap, with Applejack’s base on her back, every so often she would play the base as she sang, “I don't care much for pickin' fruit and plowin' fields ain't such a hoot No matter what I try, I cannot fix this busted water chute! I've got so many chores to do, it's no fun being me But it has to be my destiny, 'cause it's what my aura mark is telling me.” As the pink-clad farmer was still running around managing… or rather desperately trying to… the farm. Bless her heart, but she was out of her element. “Where’s Applejack?” Twilight asked as Pinkie finished singing the verse and took a moment to look at her handiwork and continue playing the bass the tune of the song still going. “Why isn’t she here?” “Applejack?” Pinkie Pie asked confused. After a second of thought. “You mean Applejewel, she runs Dash of Manahattan, silly.” Twilight and Spike dashed back to town to Carousel Boutique, in about five-ten minutes they arrived and there was a sign that read ‘Dash of Manahattan’ in lieu of Carousel Boutique. As Twilight and Spike entered they witnessed Applejack finish sewing...something. Applejack, dressed as usual but had a sapphire cut as a kite in lieu of the stylized apple that normally adorned the pauldron, was at Rarity’s portable piano and started to sing as she played the piano. “Lookie here at what I made, I think that it's a dress I know it doesn't look like much, I'm under some distress Could y'all give me a hand here and help me fix this mess? My destiny is not pretty, but it's what my aura mark is tellin' me.” Twilight and Spike stepped outside to see Rarity with Rainbow Dash’s guitar, much like the others she sang as she played. “I'm in love with weather patterns, but the others have concerns For I just gave them frostbite on top of their sunburns I have to keep on trying, for everyone can see” Twilight then heard Rarity and Rainbow Dash sing together, “It's got to be.” Immediately repeated by Fluttershy singing, “It's got to be.” Pinkie Pie then joined in, “My destiny.” Applejack then joined in repeating Pinkie Pie, “My destiny” Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy then joined in again following Applejack, “And it's what my aura mark.” Pinkie Pie and Applejack then followed the three repeating most of the last line, “It's what my aura mark.” All five then sang together as Twilight saw in her mind's eye, Rainbow Dash with Fluttershy’s Aura Mark on yellow background behind with Rarity with Rainbow Dash’s Aura Mark behind her on a light blue background, to her left, with Pinkie Pie to her left with Applejack’s Aura Mark on an orange background, with Fluttershy to her left with Pinkie Pie’s Aura Mark on a pink background, with Applejack to her left with Rarity’s Aura Mark on a dark blue-purple background with Twilight, with her own Aura Mark on a lighter purple background to Applejack’s left. “Yes, it's what my aura mark is telling me!” Twilight ran back into the Golden Oak and started to levitate several books towards her and was read them at a nearly impossible speed for anyone else, “This is bad. This is very, very bad.” Spike came in shortly after and shut the door as Twilight put the books back finding nothing and the went to her own collection and continued to read the books. Spike had no idea what had happened but knew Twilight likely had an idea. “What's going on? Why is this happening?!” There was a slight panic in his tone, but he was for the most part calm. Twilight put away the last book, unable to find anything and gave a sigh of regret before she answered Spike. “Last night, I got a special delivery from the princess.” Twilight then thought back to what happened the previous night. The Mayor had just left having finished briefing her about the next day, as Brighteyes arrived with a package and letter for Twilight. Twilight signed for it and opened the package. It was an old book. Twilight the letter. Hearing Celestia’s voice, she started to read it, “Dear Twilight Sparkle, The spell contained on the last page of this grimorum is Star Swirl the Great's secret unfinished masterpiece.” Twilight gasped in delight as she looked at the book like a child in a toy story. “Ooh!” She then returned to the letter. “He was never able to get it right, and thus abandoned it. I believe you are the only person who can understand and rewrite it. Princess Celestia.” Twilight then opened the old spell book and she turned through the pages looked through it and found the spell Star Swirl was not able to finish. Before she read it she prepared to cast it. With her focus gem glowing, “From one to another, another to one. A mark of one's destiny singled out alone, fulfilled…?” Twilight was puzzled with that “That doesn't make any sense. It doesn't even rhyme!” Twilight shrugged her shoulders and placed the book down before she went upstairs to bed. Back in the present, Twilight “I cast the spell so I could find out what it was, but nothing seemed to happen. But now I know something did happen.” Twilight then looked at the Elements of Harmony and saw that they were alerted just like their bearers. “The spell has changed the Elements of Harmony! That must be why their aura marks are all wrong!” “Wow..., but why aren’t the rest of the town, you and I affected by the spell?” Spike asked. Twilight gave it some thought, “Well you’re a dragon, I cast the spell, as for the rest of town, I think it has to deal with the spell and the Elements, that it only affected my friends.” Twilight theorized. There was no way to test that but Spike elected to accept the working hypothesis. “Okay, how about you just cast the counterspell to it or that dispel magic spell and switch them back,” Spike suggested. Twilight shook her head, as she opened the book from which she learned the spell in question and “The ‘dispel magic’ spell doesn’t work on incomplete spells, and incomplete spells don’t have counterspells! They’re incomplete so there wouldn’t be a way to counter them.” Spike took a few seconds to think of another solution to the problem. “Why don't you just use that memory spell you used to fix everybody when Discord was here?” Twilight shook her head, “It's not just their memories, Spike, that the spell affected. It's their identities that have been altered!” Spike was confused at that and elected to seek some clarification on the topic. “How?” “An aura mark is more than just something that points to a person’s talent. It comes when a person has an epiphany, a realization, about him or herself and it’s not always about talent. Often it’s about one’s identity or who the person is, rarer a clue to their destiny, and not uncommon some sort of combination of the three.” Twilight started to explain as she walked through the library. “You know mine is a purple six-pointed star with five smaller white five-pointed stars in the five spaces between the six points. Stars don’t directly tie with magic, which is my talent, at least not in a way for the six that make up mine to say ‘she’s great with magic’. My aura mark ties to my identity and my destiny and I messed up my friends’.” “Well, what about Zecora's cure for the aura pox? You know when Apple Bloom ate raw ‘Heart’s Desire’ and she had Aura marks pretty much popping out of nowhere.” Spike suggested calling attention to another possible solution. “That won't work either…” Twilight brushed off as she started towards the stairs in defeat. “Well,” the dragon was out of ideas and suggestions. He sighed, “maybe it won't be so bad. Maybe our friends will grow to like their new lives.” “No, Spike.” Twilight started up the stairs “They're not who they are meant to be anymore. Their destinies are now changed, and it's all my fault.” After Twilight was out of sight, Spike shook his head, “Man, humans are complicated and they sure don’t make it things any simpler.” Twilight Sparkle looked out of the window in her room as everything started to go dark and gray because of the clouds that Rarity could not manage. She saw Rarity in a depressed state as she just stood in the rain. Twilight soon started to sing, “I have to find a way To make this all okay I can't believe this small mistake Could've caused so much heartache Oh why, oh why?” As she continued to sing she looked beyond and imaged how miserable Rainbow Dash was and was not getting anywhere with the animals, then Fluttershy as she was booed off the stage, some people even throwing bad tomatoes at her, then in the desolation of Sweet Apple Temple and Pinkie’s forlorn look, and then in town to Carousel Boutique and Applejack crying as another customer left anger. “Losing promise I don't know what to do Seeking answers I fear I won't get through to you Oh why, oh why?” Twilight’s voice broke as bundled herself into a ball as she laid on her bed. Tears started to trickle down as she desperately tried to keep herself from falling apart. This was so much worse than when she confronted Discord, namely because this was not brought about by someone using her lack of foresight against her, this was simply her lack of foresight.