//------------------------------// // Elements // Story: Harmonious Legacy // by Retroberrii //------------------------------// They noticed well before they got the letter, although prior to that none of them could have told you what exactly they had noticed. Something was different. Not bad, just not the same. Princess Twilight had driven herself half mad trying to find what had changed. It wasn’t their friendship, that was as strong as ever. Could it be her relationship with Spike? She had been trying to act a bit more maternal with him. But somehow she didn’t think that was it. It felt almost like something were missing, rather than being something new. Plus, when she brought it up during one of their weekly luncheons (she insisted, her royal duties would not interfere with her spending time with them) they each admitted to feeling something similar. So clearly the issue couldn’t have been in her private life. She had practically run herself into a wall when the letter arrived. Dearest Twilight, A matter of great import has recently come to our attention. Do not panic, this is not meant to alarm you. Please ask your friends to meet us in the throne room of Ponyville Palace this Monday evening just after sunset. It is very important you are all there. Princesses Celestia and Luna “So they didn’t mention what this was about?” Rarity asked a pacing Twilight Sparkle from her position seated on her throne that Thursday as they waited. Twilight shook her head between glances to the window to check the status of the sun. She did this precisely every 15 seconds. “Not at all. It must be really important if they’re both coming though.” She checked the window again. Still light out. Back to pacing. “I’m sure it’s nothing bad Twilight. She did say not to panic.” said Fluttershy walking up to Twilight and giving her a nuzzle. Twilight stopped pacing and sat on the floor heaving a sigh. “I know, and I’m trying not to. But if it requires both Princesses and the elements of harmony it can’t possibly be good, right?” She glanced at the window again, seemed to realize she was doing it and forced her gaze forward again. “Hey, maybe we’re getting another window? I feel like we should each get one since I totally deserve one all to myself.” Exclaimed Rainbow Dash flying up into her typical gloating pose. At a look from the other, she dropped back down to her seat. “And so do all of you of course. Heh.” “And why exactly would Princess Luna need to be here for that?” demanded AppleJack who sat on the floor next to her throne. She didn’t feel fully comfortable sitting on a throne. “Duh. To offer her royal congratulations for how awesome I am -we are.” AppleJack rolled her eyes. Whatever remark she intended to make however was forgotten as Spike entered with tea for everyone, plus two extra cups for the princesses when they arrived. And just in time apparently, as just as each of the girls took their cups, the outside light faded causing the torches in the throne room to all light up (a spell Twilight had thought up as a filly so she wouldn’t need to pause her reading to light a candle manually). Barely a moment later, there was a knock at the great front entrance. With a nod from Twilight, who had moved into her own throne, Spike opened the doors with a bow. In strode Celestia and Luna, each of whom gave a nod of greetings to the assembled ponies, Celestia with a smile, Luna looking a bit more uncomfortable. They each sat on cushions that had been laid out for them. Celestia did not speak immediately, choosing instead to take a sip of the tea offered by Spike. It took all of Twilights immense strength of will to sit still in her seat. just as she was about to burst out with questions, Celestia spoke. “Greetings my little ponies. And thank you, for agreeing to meet with us on such short notice. I understand you are all quite busy in your personal lives and appreciate you taking the time to meet with us. However, I’m afraid this is not simply a friendly visit. I have news to share that, while not bad, may be difficult to hear.” the gathered ponies were all paying close attention now, even Rainbow Dash. "You see," she hesitated, and Twilight struggled not to hyperventilate at this. She seemed to struggle with putting whatever the news was into words. Luna, seeing her sister's reluctance took over. "You girls no longer possess the elements of harmony." Ignoring the varied levels of shock from the seven gathered (including that Pinkie Pie seemed to have turned into some manner of flame propelled cylinder with eyes that shot off into one of the back walls) she turned to her sister who gaped at her. "Honestly Celestia, t'was not that hard. I do not understand why you hesitated so." Celestia shook her head, but before she could reply the girls began to panic. "Girls, please. One at a time." Celestia spread her wings in a calming gesture. "Really it's not as bad as it sounds." The girls made an effort to contain themselves but continued to look at her desperately. Finally, AppleJack managed to compose herself enough to ask the main question. "Princess Celestia, if we don't have 'em, where are they?" As the other nodded Celestia let out a sigh of relief. This could have gone much worse. She had feared Twilight might have a panic attack severe enough that desperate measures would need to be taken, rather like when she first discovered there was no Tooth Breezy. "Fret not my little ponies, the elements are perfectly safe."She could practically feel the relief that swept through all the ponies before her. "You see, when it comes to pass that the elements are no longer needed, during times of lasting peace, for instance, they return from the ponies who embody them back to the tree of harmony, where they lie dormant until next needed." "So when we need them again they'll just come back to us like Zhhhhhoooooooo PASH and we'll be all rainbowfied and again and just blast the bad guys like BABAM!!!" Pinkie stopped her bouncing as she took in the reluctance on the princesses faces. "Umm... right?" The princesses shared a look. "Pinkie, you girls..." Once again sensing her sister's reluctance, Luna opened her mouth to speak only to have her muzzle tied shut by a belt made of glowing golden energy. She sent her sister a glare and crossed her forelegs. "You girls will not be capable of using the elements in the future." She closed her eyes and prepared for an explosion. She cracked one open when her revelation was met only with silence. All of the girls gaped at her. She also noticed that Pinkie Pie's mane had flattened, which was odd. She made a mental note to ask Twilight about it at a later date. "Princess... what do you mean we can’t use the elements anymore?" Twilight was the first to regain her voice, and Celestia felt a rush of pride at how in control of herself Twilight was. "Twilight. As you know, in times when Equestria is in danger the elements of harmony will seek out ponies who embody their ideals in order to put a stop to it. You know that the first such ponies to do so were Luna and myself. I was most in tune with the elements of magic, kindness, and generosity, while Luna was most in tune with laughter, loyalty, and honesty. What you don’t know, is that while the elemental gems remained in the palace for safe keeping, after we defeated Discord my sister and I were no longer able to wield the elements. Because they were no longer needed, they disconnected themselves from us, and once you are disconnected from them reconnection is impossible." "Excuse me askin' Princess but, didn’t you use the elements to banish Luna- er Nightmare Moon?" Luna by this point had managed to pry off the belt with a dark blue magical crowbar. "She did. And it was very foolish of her, and done only because she could see no other option." "It's true. I could feel it the moment I tried, something wasn't right. I couldn’t control the energy. Were Luna and I anypony but who and what we are.. one or both of us would likely have perished. It was my attempt to use them without a connection that resulted in them being turned to stone." The six now former bearers exchanged nervous glances. "It is because of this that I ask you to make a promise to me, each one of you. No matter how dark things may seem, you must absolutely not attempt to use the elements again. You must trust that when the time comes that they must be used again there will be ponies ready to step up and bear them. Promise me." "I.... I promise Princess. I promise I won’t try to use them again." Celestia's expression didn’t betray her surprise. Of all the ponies to step forward first, she had never expected sweet Fluttershy. Apparently, neither had any of the others, although they quickly followed her example. "I promise too, Princess Celestia." said AppleJack removing her hat to show her sincerity. "Me too. I promise." Rainbow Dash was never one to let herself be shown up. "I promise as well Your Majesty. You have my word." "I promise too! Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." Celestia winced as the pink pony did just that, her mane back to its normal poofiness. She really must ask Twilight about that. She focused her gaze on her former student, who seemed a bit lost. "I... I pro- but Princess what if something really bad happens and I'm the only-" "Twilight." Celestia's tone was calm. The purple princess sighed and bowed her head. "I promise. I won't try and use the elements again." Celestia nodded and she and Luna rose. "But.. how will we know? About the new bearers, I mean?" Celestia walked calmly over to Twilight and touched her horn gently to the younger mare's chest. "You'll know. You'll know right here the moment you see them." she turned to gaze at the others. "All of you will, as former bearers yourselves, you still carry bits of the elements within." she turned back to Twilight again. "Twilight you received the element of magic the day you hatched Spike and earned your cutie mark. The rest of you," she turned so she was facing all 6 of them again. "Received your elements in the years between that day and the day Nightmare Moon returned. I watched it happen. And I knew the second each of you received them." She saw a bit of misery in Twilight's eyes. "Now, if there are no more questions, we must be leaving. It's almost time for Luna to raise the moon. Twilight, if you would like to walk us out?" They walked back to the grand entryway, Celestia and Luna flanking the younger Princess. "What hast thou so downcast Twilight Sparkle? Surely you can see this means Equestria will not be threatened, for a while at least." Twilight flinched slightly, before nodding. "I know. And I'm happy for that at least, it's just.." she trailed off shaking her head. "Twilight. You know that even though I'm no longer your teacher, I'm still always here for you." Twilight looked up into Celestia's eyes. And that's when the tears started. She wrapped her hooves around her former mentor's neck in a hug. "It's just... without this... I don’t know who I am!" Celestia wrapped a wing around her. "Twilight. You're still exactly who you've always been." Twilight pulled back. Under the tears, Celestia could see the beginnings of panic in her former student's eyes. "No, I'm not!" She began pacing. "Being the element of magic has brought me everything I have. My friends, my crown," she cast a sad look up at Celestia. "Even being your student." Here Celestia stopped her. "No, Twilight." not angry, but still forceful. Enough to stop the pacing. "Do not ever think this in any way changes our relationship. Yes, you received the element the day we met, but that was because you earned it. Just as you earned your place as my student. Do not think that one has ever affected the other." She placed a hoof on Twilights shoulder. "And do you really believe your relationship with your friends has in any way lessened due to no longer having the elements? That was the start of your friendship yes, but not the basis of it. You girls have been without the elements for quite a few days now. Has your friendship suffered any for it?" Twilight sniffed and shook her head. Wiping her eyes, she stole a glance up at Celestia. "And my crown?" Celestia gave a little nod. She knew Twilight had been anxious about living up to the crown since the day she had received it. "Your crown. Are you the princess of magic, Twilight? Or princess of the elements, perhaps?" Twilight flushed slightly and shook her head. "No. You are the princess of friendship. A title you gained because you were the very first pony to use the magic of friendship to perform a spell, just as Cadence was the first to use love as a basis for magic. This came from you Twilight, not the elements. You embody the element of magic, for a time you possessed it, but you are not the element of magic. All of your achievements come from you." Smiling, Twilight hugged the Princess again, before walking them both out. *************** "Althea Bloom Apple! What have you done??" After the revelations of the day, AppleJack had been eager to return home to the normalcy of Sweet Apple Acres. Normalcy that, she supposed, she finally fit into again. Well, she was glad for it. She wasn't cut out for all that magical nonsense anyhow. She had almost managed to convince herself of this when she saw her house. Which at some point during the few hours she had been gone had gained an entirely new wing. She glared up at the roof where the banging that had been going on suddenly stopped, and a little yellow head poked over the side. "AppleJack! You're home! You'll never guess what happened!" "You decided we needed room to house an army?" Asked AppleJack flatly. Where had she even gotten this much lumber? 'Yeah! Well, no. Ah just felt like ah had to build something, and once ah started I couldn’t stop and ah just had to keep buildin' and buildin' and the very best thing happened and you're gonna be so super excited just wait right there!" She vanished but AppleJack could hear her bouncing down a pile of... something around the new corner of the house. Once hitting land the filly flew straight at her sister, a yellow and red blur barely stopping short of bowling her over before shoving her flank right into her face. Her little yellow flank which bore the image of a red apple with two nails sticking out of the top of it. "D'ya see it?" AppleJack smiled despite herself. "And how exactly was ah s'pose to have missed it, two inches from my muzzle like that?" she let out a small chuckle as AppleBloom fell over from lack of balance in the position she currently held. "Ya got your cutie mark. And ah am so proud." she glanced up at the renovations. "Still a little mad, but proud. Now let's go on in the house. Ah believe we've got a cute-ceañera to plan." AppleBloom beamed. "So ah'm not in trouble then?" she asked as she trotted behind her big sister. "Oh you absolutely are, and you're gonna have to explain all of this mess to Granny." the filly's face fell. "But... that can wait." The grin came back full force, and as they entered the house she was practically bouncing. ~~~~~ AppleBloom peeked around the corner again. She was watching the other ponies enter the school house. She wanted to be the last to enter, so she could make a really big entrance. Okay... maybe she was spending a little too much time around Sweetie. She peeked again. There were Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. She couldn't wait to see the looks on their jerky faces when she strolled in with her new cutie mark...for real this time! No sign of the girls yet though... "So what are we hiding for?" she whipped back around the corner to find Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo also pressed against the wall next to her. "G-girls? What are you doin' here??" AppleBloom stood on her rear hooves with her back against the wall, and Sweetie doing the same next to her, and Scootaloo continuing the trend on Sweetie's other side. So clearly they hadn't noticed her cutie mark yet. Sweetie giggled. "We saw you sneaking around and hiding from everyone, so we thought we'd come see why." "Yeah. What if you were planning a totally awesome prank or something, we couldn’t let you do it without us." Sweetie's face lit up. "Cutie Mark Crusaders Master Pranksters Yay!!" she quickly covered her mouth at a glare from the other two crusaders, before repeating it at a whisper. AppleBloom shook her head and dropped down to all four hooves, careful to face them straight on. "Okay, ah wanted it to be a surprise but, last night..." she turned so they could see her flank. "Ah got mah cutie mark!" There was a high-pitched gasp from Sweetie, and within a second she had grabbed hold of AppleBlooms cheeks. "What was it like? How did you know? Tell me everything." she pulled AppleBloom even closer so their foreheads practically touched and shook her with every word. "I! Need! Details!" Scootaloo pulled her off. "She can’t tell you if she can’t breath Sweetie Belle!" She pointed at the gasping for breath Apple Bloom. "Oh yeah. Hee hee." Once AppleBloom caught her breath she sat and began to explain. "Remember how about a month ago we got a letter from Babs sayin' she got her cutie mark?" They both nodded. "Well in the letter she mentioned how even before she got it, she really liked gardenin', and she felt right doin' it. She got her cutie mark when her first flower bloomed. So it got me thinkin' what did I really enjoy doin'? And I remembered fixin' up the clubhouse for us to use. It felt real good knowin' that somethin' I built was real useful. And just as I thought this, I got the sudden urge to build somethin' else! So ah did. And... maybe ah went a little overboard. But that’s not the important part. Once I started buildin', it just happened. I could feel it, like findin' a part of me that’s been missin'." the still cutie markless crusaders listened in rapt attention. As AppleBloom finished they both got thoughtful looks on their faces. "Something we're good at and like doing? I dunno, that sounds a bit like what Rainbow Dash's friends told us when we asked them..." "Yeah, and they somehow all managed to find their cutie marks. Imagine that," said Sweetie dryly. She sent a sad look to Apple Bloom. "Does.. does this mean you're not going to be a crusader with us anymore?" Both Scootaloo and Apple Bloom gave her confused looks. "Why wouldn't ah be? The crusade don't end until we all get our cutie marks, and ya'll still don’t have yours yet." "Duh," added Scootaloo. Sweetie pulled them into a group hug. Just then the school bell rang the first chime. "Uh oh. Better run before we're late. Again." The three took off running the last 40 feet or so to the school house. They skidded to a panting stop inside the door, just as the final chime rung. "Good of you three to join us." came Cheerilee's muffled voice from the front of the class, not even looking back from writing the day's assignment on the board. "Perhaps you'd like to find your seats so we can begin?" Excitement temporarily forgotten, the three began to stammer through their usual apology, missing the puzzled look given by Snails, who had taken the seat closest to the door today. "Hey, Apple Bloom got her cutie mark!" He sat up straighter at his desk, seemingly proud of having figured this out. Cheerilee's head whipped around and the chalk fell forgotten to the ground as most of the class gathered around Apple Bloom, who proudly showed off her new mark to everypony. Still at her desk, Diamond Tiara rolled her eyes. "Who cares? It's probably a fake. Again." Silver Spoon, who sat on the opposite side of the class because they'd been separated, giggled into her hoof. "Diamond Tiara! Don't say things like that!" Cheerilee admonished, before leaning in to quietly ask Apple Bloom "It is real this time, right?" The yellow filly blushed but gave a quick nod. "It's real. An' if ya don't believe me, you can come to the farm and see for yourselves! Ah um... added a bit of an extension to the house." She blushed brighter and shuffled her hooves as Scootaloo snorted. "Ah may have gotten a bit carried away in my excitement." "So your cutie mark ith for building thingth?" Twist asked. Apple Bloom gave a small smile to her oldest friend. "Yup! Well, carpentry specifically. At least ah think. I haven't really tested it out much, but ah did build our clubhouse, which is what inspired it, and added on to my house." "You know, I was just thinking we could use a new birdhouse for the school yard," said Cheerilee brightly as she ducked into the storage closet, coming out with a stack of boards and some paint. "Maybe you could use that as your presentation?" Apple Bloom nodded, smiling up at her teacher. Whenever a member of the class earned their cutie mark, she always had them demonstrate it to the rest of the class. She led the way out to the yard and took a seat at the picnic table while the rest of the class gathered around her. She tuned them all out, however, as she poured all of her concentration into her work. Within about 20 minutes she was done, and there sat a yellow birdhouse with a red roof. It wasn't anything fancy, but the care and skill that went into it were still clear for anyone who looked. "That's amazing Apple Bloom!" "Yeah, you rock!" Apple Bloom gave her two dearest friends a smile. "Thanks, girls." the rest of the class were quick to add their admiration, all but two fillies who didn't seem particularly impressed. "Whatever, so she can build birdhouses. Should have known her cutie mark would be for manual labor." Silver Spoon laughed, turning up her nose at the birdhouse. Diamond Tiara looked almost surprised at her friend for a second, but the emotion passed so quickly that those who did see it assumed they had imagined it. She too sneered at the tiny construction. "Yeah, I think I'd rather be blank than have such a worthless cutie mark!" Apple Bloom went bright red in anger and humiliation. Sweetie and Scootaloo each put a hoof on her shoulder as they glared at the two across the table. Before any of them could retort, Cheerilee was up and rounding on the two bullies. "That is quite enough out of both of you! Those smart remarks just earned you detention and no recess!" Both fillies opened their mouths to respond, likely with the usual unmeant apologies, but Cheerilee wasn't finished. "For two weeks!" The entire class let out a gasp, as Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon's ears snapped down against their heads. That was the harshest punishment Miss Cheerilee had administered to anypony the entire time they'd had her. "That... that isn't fair! You can't do that!" screamed Diamond Tiara, turning bright red in anger as Silver Spoon seemingly struggled not to cry. "I most certainly can. And if I see or hear about any more bullying out of either of you before the two weeks is up it will be two months." The Cutie Mark Crusaders shared a glance. Cherilee was never this hard on anypony, but especially those two. Diamond Tiara had always seemed untouchable. But then, she wasn't usually so brazen with her bullying as she had been today. "My father will hear about this." Seethed Diamond Tiara, but Cheerilee was unphased. "He most certainly will. Because you will each have a note to bring home to your parents, which you will have them sign, then return to me. And if I even suspect the signatures are forged I will visit your homes personally." At this Silver Spoon could no longer hold back her tears, and ran sobbing into the school house, followed closely by Diamond Tiara, who shot everypony one last dirty look on her way. Cheerilee turned back to the rest of the class, giving a small sigh. "All of you take the rest of the day to think about what your cutie mark means to you, or what you think it might be for those of you that don't have one yet. I expect an essay on the subject first thing in the morning. I'm going to go see to them." The class nodded, and she turned and trotted back to the school house. ************ The Cutie Mark Crusaders walked quietly through the main square of Ponyville. Normally they'd be elated at having an early dismissal, but they were all thinking about the scene that had just transpired. "I can't believe she said that to you!" Scootaloo finally said, rearing up her hind legs to bring them down onto a small stone, breaking it into pieces. The other two stopped to stare at her. "They just make me so angry! You have an amazing cutie mark Bloom. They're just jealous that their own are so pointless." Giving a small smile Apple Bloom nuzzled her friend. "I just don't understand why they have to be so mean!" Sweetie kicked back with one leg, hitting a sign post. She instantly went pale and bit her lip and her eyes began to water. Her friends gave a chuckle at this, even as Scootaloo stretched out one small wing to lay over the unicorns back comfortingly. "Well, AppleJack always says ya can't know somepony's story without askin' them. But ah can't imagine what could possibly be so bad in her life for her to treat other ponies this way." The other two shook their heads in agreement, and they started walking again, going mostly on autopilot. Before they realized it they were almost to Ponyville Palace. "How excited are you to show her your cutie mark? She's gonna be so happy for you!" said Scootaloo, trying to brighten the mood. The three had continued with Twilight time almost every day after school, provided she was in Ponyville and not working on some important issue. It wasn't always all three, some days Apple Bloom had chores, or Sweetie was spending time with her sister or visiting her parents in Whinneapolis, or Scootaloo was hanging out with Rainbow Dash. "Ah know, ah can't wait!" "Are you going to build something for her too?" teased Sweetie, causing Apple Bloom to blush slightly before laughing and sticking out her tongue at her. "Hey, just wait til you get your cutie mark, you'll want to show it off too!" Sweetie laughed as well and was about to reply when the castle doors flew open just as they reached the base of the stairs. Twilight Sparkle didn't even seem to notice them as she trotted down the stairs, dictating a list to Spike, who followed quickly behind her writing down everything she said. More slowly, the rest of her friends began to stream out of the castle behind her. The three fillies stepped to the side of the stairs so as not to be in the way, and waited til everypony reached the bottom. Rainbow Dash waited just long enough to send them a wink and a wave before zooming off, rainbow contrail in her wake. "Hi Twilight." the fillies chorused, causing the distracted alicorn to stop short, a reflexive wave of violet magic stopping Spike before he could crash into her. "Oh, hi girls. I'm afraid I don't have time for Twilight time today, and we're going to be away for a few days. Apple Bloom, congratulations, AJ told me all about it and I can't wait for a demonstration when we get back. Spike, add that to the return list please, and for the preparations list, read back the first four..." she continued as she sped off into Ponyville, Spike shuffling between multiple sheets of parchment as he followed. As she spoke Fluttershy and Pinkie also took their leave, Fluttershy taking wing and Pinkie doing her signature high-speed boinging. AppleJack and Rarity came over to intercept the girls. "Apple Bloom, ah'm not entirely sure what's goin' on, but there's a magical map of Equestria in Twilight's throne room that's tellin' us we gotta go on a journey." Apple Bloom's face fell as she listened to her sister. "But what about my cute-ceañera?" she demanded, cringing slightly at how whiny she sounded. "Ah know, it's disappointin', but it's only Tuesday, and we hopefully shouldn't be gone mor'n a few days, so we can have it this weekend, alright?" Apple Bloom pouted but nodded. "Sweetie Belle, I'm going to make arrangements for you to stay with Granny Smith, but you must promise to be on your absolute best behaviour. Am I understood?" Rarity stared down at her sister sternly, but at Sweetie's agreement, her expression softened into a smile. "Good. And do be a dear and check in on Opal at least once per day? She needs to be brushed from head to tail at least 30 times per day, but no more than 45, and do make sure she has enough food, should we run out she'll only eat Pretty Kitty Feline Cuisine." still listing off requirements, Rarity began to walk towards her boutique Sweetie in tow. "All right come on now Sugarcube, we hafta go over the list of chores round the farm while I'm gone. Big Mac will be takin' over most of the heavy liftin' acourse, but you need to do your part to help him and Granny too." AppleJack began to swiftly trot towards the farm, Apple Bloom close behind. Scootaloo watched them leave for several minutes, before dropping her head and beginning the walk home alone. *************** With a pop and a quick flash of violet light, Twilight Sparkle appeared near the ceiling of her bedroom. She half glided half tumbled into bed. She rolled onto her side, digging herself into the blanket and soft mattress. She had never been so happy to be home. It was late Friday night, and not wanting to wake Spike combined with weariness from the journey resulted in her simply teleporting into the castle almost as soon as she and the girls had split up. Rolling onto her stomach, she contemplated the trip the map had sent them on. That lilac pony... Starlight Glimmer. Twilight suppressed a shudder. Another pony had never scared her like that. Tirek and Discord sure, if she was honest maybe even Chrysalis, but never a pony. She had never met a pony like that. She had been deranged... Twilight wondered if she even truly believed her warped ideology, or if she just used it to control others. She had kept her own cutie mark after all... "If only we still had the elements..." she whispered, before shaking herself. No, they couldn't just use the elements on random ponies. Even if they had been an option she never would have abused their power like that. She was just speaking out of frustration. For what must have been the hundredth time since leaving that creepy little town, she checked her flank. This had been the second time in a very short span that she had been robbed of her cutie mark. The first time, she'd barely had time to react to it before rushing off to open the chest, but this time she'd been left powerless for almost a whole day. She shuddered at the memory. She never wanted to feel that helpless again. Shutting her eyes against the memories, she drifted off into a fitful sleep, plagued by nightmares. Her last thought before drifting off was about how Starlight Glimmer had escaped.