I finally stopped running when I caught up with the rest of the group. My legs burned and i had trouble breathing which had nothing to do with the exercise.
The tears flowing down my cheeks wouldn't stop as I kept remembering the parties Azure had played at, her trilling laugh and gentle smile. And then Gleam would appear, his size belying the gentle soul within, tossing River up onto his back as they went out to do something.
Oh, sweet Celestia, what was I going to tell River? She'd already lost one set of parents, to lose a second before she even gained her cutie mark...
"What are these things?" Indigo Zap asked, pulling the collar forward and staring at the amethyst gem cut in it.
"They look like the neckwear the princesses are wearing," Sugarcoat said, looking at hers. "But aren't they wearing magical necklaces?"
"They are," I said, swiping the tears away. "The Elements of Harmony are some of the most powerful artifacts in Equestrian history. They're powered by the Tree of Harmony and have been used to protect ponies for millennia."
"Protect them from what?" Sour Sweet asked.
"Things like what I became at the games, and worse," Twilight said as she deposited her passengers on the pavement. Sunset was still dazed, but Sorla seemed to have passed out entirely. Twilight's stance and bearing shifted slightly as her horn lit up. "I can sense a resonance between your collars and my Element, but I'm not sure why that would be. We've already discovered all seven of them, and they're all here."
"Actually, they're not," I said. "While the bearers might be here, with the conjoining of their minds the way they are, chances are they have too much chaos internally to use them."
"So they did what?" Sunny Flare demanded. "Chose new bearers?"
"I don't think so," I said. "I think they empowered you all with similar traits that you possess yourselves."
I got a wall of blank faces staring at me. I facehoofed and gestured to the other seven ponies in turn.
"Honesty," I said, pointing at Applejack. "Laugher, Generosity, Kindness, Loyalty, Empathy, and Magic. These are the seven known Elements."
I glanced at the five new pendants, taking in the shapes. "I'm not sure what they represent, but they're definitely Elements if they're resonating with currently existing ones."
Another tremor shook the ground, stronger this time. The pegasi hopped into the air.
Fluttershy shivered. "Those are getting more and more scary," she said quietly.
Sorla groaned and tried to sit up. "It's getting stronger," she whispered. "The Conjunction. I can feel it siphoning mana." She locked her sightless eyes off to the east where the spire on the top of CHS sparkled briefly as the sun pierced a cloud. "There's a great draw there."
Sunset sat up, eyes still slightly unfocused. "The mirror," she moaned. She tried to stand up. "Something in the mirror, have to check."
Twilight reached over and put a hoof on her friend. Wife. Whatever term fit the situation. "Take it easy, you're still dazed."
I was about to ask what she meant when a phone started ringing, Pinkie pulling it from her mane.
"Hello?" she answered. "Oh, hi Sonata, what's up? Really? That sounds really odd, hold on." The party pony looked at me and Twilight and tilted her head.
"Did you guys know there's a crystal map table at the school?"
I glanced at Twilight, who shared a shocked look.
"It's getting worse," she said.
And behind us, somewhere, was an insane queen hunting me.
Some days it doesn't pay to get out of bed.