"I hope you're happy, Applejack."
The orange earth mare just stared at her little sister. This couldn't possibly be the Apple Bloom she knew and loved. That Apple Bloom could never look this defeated, this desperate.
The younger mare turned away. "He's gone. Twilight told me he's back in Canterlot and doesn't want to see me."
"And you'll just let it stand like that?" Applejack asked indignantly.
"What does it matter to you all of a sudden? Having an attack of conscience?" Apple Bloom's words dripped with venom. "You talked me into breaking up with him, why would you care now?"
"I know I made a mistake, and things got cleared up!" Something in Applejack's head railed against this whole conversation. This couldn't be happening - this hadn't happened.
"Cleared up? Sure, if you want to call it that." Apple Bloom stared at her sister as if seeing her for the first time. "I'll never let the family down, Applejack, you know that. I'll stand by Big Macintosh and Granny Smith. But you are a different matter. You drove a wedge between me and the love of my life, and I'll never forgive you for that. You're just somepony who works on the farm. I have no sister."
The orange gemstone around Applejack's neck - why am I wearing my Element? - blazed, and she heard her own voice in her mind.
It isn't true, but it very well could have been.
***
She was gone.
Rainbow Dash stared down at the letter, feeling her disbelief and sorrow threaten to overwhelm her. This couldn't possibly be true. She wouldn't do that. She was far too lost in her own importance. Yet there it was.
RD,
I'm sorry. I had time to think on all the names you called me at the party, and you were absolutely right about every single one of them. I destroyed everything we had, and more. There is nothing left for me now.
Forgive me if you can. Goodbye, Rainbow. I love you.
Gilda
The red lightning bolt around her neck - why do I have this thing on in my own house? - flared up, and a voice whispered in Rainbow Dash's head.
She didn't. But she was thinking about it, because you just let her go.
***
The parties were always so much fun. Even when the others - Barking, Screwie and the other inmates - couldn't make it, there were always her four best friends. Granted, Madame LeFlour did complain about the food from time to time, and Rocky wasn't exactly the smoothest talker, but they always got along, and they never disappointed her.
That was the worst thing anypony could do to her - disappoint her. But the ward was her safe zone from that. She would never be disappointed again by her friends.
The blue balloon-shaped gem around her neck - huh? Where does that come from? - began to shimmer, and suddenly she saw herself from outside - Pinkamena Diane Pie, resident of room 4 at the Ponyville Hospital Psychiatry Ward.
You're not here. But you let yourself go down this path, if only for a little while.
***
The black, billowing shape laughed in triumph. You really believed those children could stop me? it hissed. Maybe if you could have overcome your self-loathing, my dear Element of Generosity.
Equestria would never know peace and harmony again, and it was her fault. She had let everypony down. Generosity? She had tried to lead a double life, if only for a few days, and it had blown up in her face.
The blue diamond around her neck - my Element? This can't be... - lit up, and she saw the Spaces Between and the triumphant Doubt for what they were - illusions. A voice roared in her mind.
You did fail them, but they stood up for you. What if they hadn't?
***
It felt good. That was the worst thing about it. Being assertive was intoxicating.
"Fluttershy?" Twilight was staring at her in disbelief. "Pinkie's gone. She's moved back to her parents' rock farm. Rarity's gone to Canterlot, and she said she probably won't come back anytime soon. What have you done?"
"Just words, Twilight. If they couldn't take them, the words will break them. What use do we have for weak friends?" Even as she said the words, she knew something wasn't right.
"You're not the Fluttershy we all knew and loved anymore." Twilight turned away. "I thought I knew you, but I was wrong. Perhaps you've finally shown your true face beneath that mask of kindness." The unicorn spat on the ground. "I never want to see you again. I can't be friends with anypony capable of such cruelty."
The pink butterfly around her neck - why do I even have this anymore? - glowed softly, and she heard her own voice.
You came close to this. Oh so very close. They forgave you. But they didn't have to do that.
***
"No. What use is reading now?" Twilight shoved the heap of scrolls aside, even as Spike burped up another one. "What is she thinking? There's a spirit of chaos on the loose, and she writes to me? Seriously?"
She tossed her belongings into a suitcase and stormed out of the library, leaving Spike writhing on the floor. She only came to a stop at the edge of the Everfree Forest, when she noticed a glow above her head. Her crown - I left that at the library, why is it here? - crackled with energy and light, and her own voice seemed to reprimand her.
Celestia still got through to you. But it was a desperate ploy, one that could easily have failed.
***
Twilight opened her eyes and looked down on her own unmoving body.
Once her scream had faded, she managed to take in her surroundings. She was floating above her body, a shimmering, half-transparent figure, and she thought she saw similar outlines above the bodies of the other Elements of Harmony.
"What's happening?" she wondered aloud.
You saw your own weakest hour, Element of Magic. Warden Grey stepped into her field of view. Each Element of Harmony is currently confronting the time in her life when she acted most drastically against her own principles, her own Element. Denying the truth to herself, giving up on a friend, surrendering to unnecessary despair, suppressing generosity in the name of subterfuge, drowning kindness for selfish purposes, and losing friendship to isolation. The alicorn looked at Twilight with those strange purple eyes, and she felt stripped, naked down to the very bottom of her mind and soul. What possible justification do you have, Element of Magic? Warden asked, with a voice like a judge's gavel.
"I..." For a moment, Twilight found it hard to argue with Warden's words. "It didn't happen that way."
Perhaps not. But all it would have taken was one small change, one almost imperceptible shift, and things would have turned out for the worst. The alicorn blinked, and his eyes turned solid white. What use is friendship, what possible power does harmony hold, if so much is left to random circumstance?
Twilight pondered that for a moment, and her mind latched onto one key phrase. "It wasn't random."
What do you mean by that? Warden seemed genuinely interested in where she was going with this.
"Yes, one seemingly minor decision would have led to a massively different result, but there was nothing random about that decision." Twilight's eyes were blazing, she was staring at Warden with pure contempt. "I knew I could trust the Princess, however random her actions seemed."
Applejack's voice cut in from somewhere to their left. "I knew I was lying to myself, and I couldn't deceive myself forever."
"I knew Gilda would eventually come around." Rainbow Dash was fixating Warden with a stare similar to Twilight's.
"I knew I could trust my friends, even if I couldn't see it at the time." Pinkie grinned. "How silly would it have been if I didn't?"
"I knew that my friends would stand by me, no matter how blind my love made me." Rarity's haughty mien would have done a princess proud.
"I knew that what I did was wrong, and I knew that if I did the right thing, I'd be forgiven." Fluttershy had the Stare at full force, even though Warden seemed unimpressed by it.
Good. The one word seemed to resonate around the plain as though the alicorn had struck a bell. You have learned much over the years. Your friendship could have splintered and fallen apart on any number of occasions, but it never did. You always kept it together, through good times and bad. Slowly, as if his face had to relearn the movement, Warden's lips curled up into a smile. The Elements of Harmony could not have found worthier bearers.
"So...that was it?" Rainbow Dash asked. "We can go home now?"
Oh no, Element of Loyalty, certainly not. You have passed your tests, showing that the foundation of Harmony stands, yet now comes the more important test. Warden gestured with one paw, and Twilight saw the Elements of Unity start to twitch in their sleep. Strangely, they didn't scream or cry. Instead, the faces of Spike and the three young mares were curled up into happy, radiant smiles.
"What are you doing to them? Do they have to face their worst hours, too?" Pinkie Pie asked.
Would that they had it that easy, Element of Laughter. Their tests are far more dangerous and hurtful. Warden frowned, and Twilight thought she saw a hint of true sadness in the alicorn's eyes.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Applejack asked, confused. "What could be worse than facing your weakest hour?"
Isn't it obvious, Element of Honesty? Warden pointed at the four figures again. Look at them. They will have to face what they have buried deep inside their souls, for no one to see.
A sudden dread crept over Twilight. She looked at Spike, smiling in his sleep, and she got it. "They're not facing anything bad at all, are they?"
Very well done, Element of Magic. Warden waved a paw, and the other four figures on the ground started to toss and turn. The new Elements will have to help them with this. He looked at the grey pegasus. Even she, who has not found her Element yet, will be needed.
The keeper of the Seven Prisons cast a grim look at each Element of Harmony in turn. No one escapes their deepest wish without help.