Prism Star
Morning came on slowly in Ponyville. It started in the outskirts, the acres of farmland at the edges of the shield. Roosters crowed at the first rays of sunlight and the farm ponies went out to work their fields. Next it was the factories that churned to life, ponies coming in to can and preserve the food that helped feed Equestria. It would be mid-morning when the town proper woke, shops opening, ponies going to their jobs and to school. Today, though, Prism Star and Shimmer were up before any of them, even before the dawn.
"Alright, Prism. Let's go over the Classical History section again. Who were the Pillars of Equestria?"
Prism sighed at the older unicorn. "I... Starswirl the Bearded, Rockhoof, Mage Meadowbrook, Somnambula, Flash Magnus, and, um... um... Stop smirking at me!" She threw a book at Shimmer, who easily caught it in a lime-green telekinetic aura before laughing. "Starswirl, Rockhoof, Meadowbrook, Somnambula, Flash Magnus, and, I think... Mistmane?"
"I guess that'll do. What was the scholar Sunburst's contribution to-"
Prism Star slammed a hoof down. "Shimmer, I know the history! I know the theories! It's the magic I can't do!" Her horn sparked with anger as she said this, igniting the notes in front of her in rainbow-colored fire. "I- aargh! Buck it!" She started swatting at the fire with a hoof before Shimmer quickly snuffed it with an air-manipulation spell. "See, I can't even control myself!" Sunburst was always a sore subject for Prism. Much like her, he had at first seemed promising, but turned out to have little actual talent for magic. As far as she had heard, Sunburst flunked out of magic school and ended up exiling himself in shame to a library in the Crystal Empire, rising to become a minor functionary before mysteriously disappearing from the history. Aside from the rumor that he had secretly sired Starlight Glimmer's daughter, Prism couldn't begin to think of what his actual contributions were. "Sunburst was a failure and a fraud. Just... Just like me."
"You are not a fraud, or a failure! You can do magic, Prism! Remember..." Shimmer thought about it. "Remember when we pranked Professor Aurora Glow?"
"We got in so much trouble for that! The headmaster said he'd cut our horns off if we did it again!"
"He wasn't seriously going to do it, that's illegal! And it was so funny, the way she thought Red Ember was trying to grab her flank! Come on, you were laughing too. And Hearth could stand to get in trouble more."
Prism sniffled back some tears and nodded some, looking up at the older filly. "I... I guess." She managed a small giggle and a hint of a smile.
"Yeah. We got everyone laughing by the time she realized it was an illusion." Shimmer laughed herself- a laugh like sparkling crystal rather than the sandy gravel of her normal speaking voice. "But what's important is that it was your illusion. I know ponies are always telling you it's not good for anything, but you made a whole colt out of that woven light of yours. A colt so convincing that a trained wizard thought he was real until she tried to hit him with her hoof. You have a real gift."
"Then... then why don't I have a cutie mark?"
Shimmer looked confused by this. "A... um, I don't know. What do you mean?"
Prism shoved at her with one of her hooves. "If it's such a gift, such a unique talent, then why do I still not have a cutie mark? What else do I have to do?! I.. I... I'm never going to master magic, I'm never going to get my cutie mark, I-"
The older pony quickly, and somewhat rudely, interrupted Prism by putting a hoof to the filly's mouth. "That's not what matters, and you know it. It's not enough to have a talent. You have to understand yourself. You'll get your mark when you understand what makes you different from every other pony in the world, what you and only you can do to make Equestria better, and I think that it's going to be amazing." She got a dark look on her face suddenly. "Where is this coming from, Prism? Is someone teasing you? Because if they are, I'm going to find them and I'm going to make sure that everyone has something else to laugh-" She was interrupted by a loud horn blast from one of the towers- a deep, bone-shaking HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM that drove a spike of pain into Prism's ears and shook her framed picture of Southern Storm (the fastest rising young pop star in Las Pegasus, and Prism Star's crush ever since she was old enough to like colts) right off the desk.
"What was that?!" Prism jumped to her hooves, as the other fillies in the dormitory scrambled out of their beds, some falling to the ground and others getting tangled in their blankets in the panic. "Was that the shield?"
Shimmer held up a hoof just as another horn blast ripped through the room. "Two. The, the..." She gulped. "I... EVERYPONY STOP!!!" She let out a spell that paralyzed every filly in the room with a flare of green light. "Stay calm! Right now, you are in the safest place in Ponyville! That was just two blasts, which means the emergency shield around the castle is holding!" She took a couple of breaths to steady herself. Shimmer had always thought old Thunderbolt was crazy to have had her made a dorm prefect, but now she had a job other than turning a blind eye to loose candy wrappers and she was going to do it. "Ponies are going to be evacuating to here, to this castle! That means that we have to move quickly and calmly to the common areas! Don't bother with your clothes, don't bother with your things. Get out of your beds and get into a double-file line, now!"
It took them less than a minute to comply; after all, they had a drill on this once a month. With any luck, the shield would only be down for a few minutes at most. It occasionally flickered, but it had never actually fallen since the day that Shimmer came to Ponyville. That had been a terrifying experience even for Shimmer, who had spent much of her young life outside of the shields in a wandering circus caravan. For these little ones, who had never seen that kind of life... it would probably be terrifying if the emergency shields truly fell.
For now, though, that wasn't worth thinking about. She started leading her little convoy of confused and frightened fillies through the crystal hallways, slowly but surely making their way through the ordered chaos of hundreds of students and adults towards the huge round room at the heart of the castle. The room that sat empty except for a broken throne. It always gave Shimmer the creeps, if she was being honest. A room like that was too big for such a small throne, and it was all the wrong shape and layout for a proper throne room - it made the place feel empty and hollowed-out. It didn't help that ponies almost never went there anymore; perhaps they all could sense the sad emptiness, or perhaps they simply didn't go because there were rumored to be ghosts. Most ponies, young and old, stuck to the huge library or the great feasting hall, only going into the Big Room to practice dueling or other magic that wasn't approved of by the teachers.
Today it was filled to bursting, crammed with ponies along with a sea of cots, flameless lanterns, and cloth awnings made into improvised tents. It would hopefully be just a few minutes before the shield was reignited and the all-clear was given, but it was clear that nopony was taking any chances. "Alright. We're going to get situated on the far back of the room, by the door to the library. Remember, nopony wander off until the all-clear signal." Shimmer got her charges settled in before going to sit with Prism Star on one of the sleeping bags, stroking her blue mane with one hoof.
"Th-thanks, Shimmer. You don't have to baby me though, honest." Prism looked up, meeting Shimmer's lime-green eyes with her own paler eyes. "It's pretty scary, but I go through even more drills than anypony else. My dad is always drilling me at home for this or that weird scenario. He's crazy prepared, I mean... why would we have to run from the police? Or changelings? Changelings aren't even real. I mean, a bug that turns into a pony, that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard."
Shimmer laughed a little at this, unconsciously covering her cutie mark - a blue and green beetle with outspread, iridescent wings - with her tail. "Yeah, I know. It's completely ridiculous. But it's only because he cares about you so much. Some of it might come in handy too you never know."
"I... I guess..." She looked up at one of the leaded glass windows with a sad expression. "He's going to be out there the whole time, isn't he? Holding it back. Him, and all the pegasi and weather wizards... what if they don't come back?"
Shimmer quickly pulled Prism Star into a hug. "Shh... don't think of that. Thunderbolt is very brave, and he knows the risks. He's trained for this his whole life. You don't have to be scared for him, alright? You focus on keeping yourself safe, so that he has one less thing to worry about."
Prism sighed. "All right. I think I'd like to be alone for now, though. Maybe you should focus on the other fillies. Maybe I'll try to take a nap." She curled up in the bag with another sigh and closed her eyes, causing Shimmer to shake her head.
"If that's what you want..." She patted the younger pony on the shoulder. "I'll be around if you want to talk about it." Shimmer leaned down to nuzzle at Prism's ear before going off to comfort some of their dorm-mates.
Prism Star
Prism Star did manage to fall asleep, and it was hard to say how long she was napping for. She was woken by a sensation of warmth on her flanks, and for a moment she panicked, thinking that she had somehow wet the sleeping bag- something that she hadn't done since she was a little foal. After a moment to breathe, she realized that it wasn't actually wet, and the warmth felt like it was in her skin, so she scrambled out of the sleeping bag and looked down at her flank. It was... glowing. Her flank was glowing faintly, right where a cutie mark should be.
Could this be it? Prism jumped up to her hooves, and was about to shout out excitedly when she saw the most bizarre sight- A translucent pony that looked like she was made of crystal, with a long mane and tail of a hundred different colors, standing by the door leading off to the library. Nopony else seemed to see her as she raised the tip of one of her wings - beautiful things with long pinions in the same dazzling colors as her hair - to her mouth to indicate silence, before tilting her head towards the door and turning towards it.
"What? Who are-" It was too late for questions as she walked straight through the door, leaving Prism with a wide-eyed look of shock. This is a bad idea, but... I have to know. She looked back at Shimmer, who was busy handing out blankets and food, before turning towards the door and sneaking over as quietly as she could. Prism Star opened the door carefully with her magic and slipped through before it shut behind her, barely missing her tail. She saw the beautiful ghost pony on the other side, but she simply tilted her head again and began walking towards the library, leaving Prism to trot along behind her at a rapid pace. She tried to question the ghost again, but the ghost just shook her head and entered the library.
Prism got through the massive wood door just in time to see the spirit walk through a bookcase, and she growled in frustration. Why can't anything be easy? Thankfully, with everypony taking shelter in the Big Room and the feasting hall, the library was completely empty. There were no adults around to stop her from walking over to that same bookshelf and looking around, though at first she didn't find anything of use. "Maybe there's a secret passage," she muttered. Prism had never heard of any secret passages, but any castle had to have some, right? If there was, she'd better find it fast. She could see the emergency shield starting to flicker through the window, and the ancient, polished wood of the bookshelves was already starting to crust with a fine filigree of ice. Think, think, think... I've read plenty of books, I should be able to figure out a secret passage. Maybe the books themselves? There's always one that's fake and you tilt it and... Prism ignited her horn and started to move the books, pulling them out one by one with telekinesis until they were all sitting in piles on the carpet that was starting to look like frost-laden grass. "No, no! There's got to be something!" She started feeling around the bookshelf itself, because there had to be a secret button or switch.
"Prism Star? Prism, what are you doing out here? You have to get back to the warded rooms!" Prism suddenly turned, hitting her head with a yelp of pain, to see Shimmer standing by the door with a look of shock and fear. Shimmer's own cutie mark was glowing faintly.
"Sh-shimmer! I can't! There, there was a ghost, and my flank started glowing just like yours is now, and I think she wanted me to go through the bookshelf, and-"
Shimmer interrupted suddenly. "A ghost? What did she look like?" She stepped over to Prism Star, ignoring the chill that ran down her own neck as she heard a faint neighing in the distance.
"Shimmer, what is that? That doesn't sound like a pony!" Prism looked like she was about to panic, and ice was creeping up her hoof - a problem Shimmer quickly took care of with a low-powered energy blast, but they were both dead if they stayed any longer.
"It's a windigo! Don't panic, there's a way into the basement- your dad showed me." The older filly calmed herself with a deep breath and started laughing a little as she started rotating a wall sconce with her magic, turning it back and forth like a combination lock. "I hope it gets here."
"What?! Don't say things like that!"
"It'll be funny, though! Seeing the look on its face just before we escape through a secret door!" She laughed again as she finished turning the sconce and the bookshelf slid open to reveal a tiny room. "Come on, get in!"
"But it doesn't go anywhere!"
"Trust me, ok?" She pushed Prism in as the frost almost claimed her again, then quickly got in with her and hit a button that caused the floor under them to start sinking- it was a hidden lift!
"What is this? Why is there a elevator behind a bookshelf?" Prism looked up with big, frightened eyes at Shimmer. As surreal as all this was, though, at least the frost didn't seem to penetrate into the shaft. In fact, it was slowly getting warmer as they steadily descended.
"Um..." Shimmer hesitated, and then sighed before continuing. "Starlight Glimmer put it in. When she controlled the castle. Your... Thunderbolt showed me. It was the secret headquarters of the Order of Harmony until they moved to Canterlot. Airships always coming and going, Canterlot made it a lot easier to move-"
"I- forget about the airships, Shimmer! What is the Order of Harmony? What is all of this? Why didn't my father tell me any of it?"
"He wanted to protect you! I was supposed to protect you!" Shimmer practically shouted this at Prism as the elevator came to a halt and opened to a dark, low room that looked more like a cave chamber than part of a castle. The crystal walls twinkled with the reflection of the light coming off of their flanks, and when Shimmer cast a light spell on her horn, Prism gasped at the sight of a massive table of the same crystal, flanked on all sides by five high-backed thrones and one throne smaller than the rest. They all looked exactly like the broken throne in the Big Room, except... not broken. "I... listen, Prism. When I came to Ponyville, I was part of a traveling circus. I was... I think about the age you are now." She took a deep breath to calm herself and stepped into the room. "We'd go from city to city in our caravan, through the snow, and so long as we didn't argue or fight, our friendship would be enough to keep the windigos at bay. But that day, we did fight. There was a massive argument between some of the adults and our leader, just as we were about to reach the shield. The windigos came, with their frost and their terror, and we ran. We ran for the shield. But just as we got to it, the shield collapsed. I thought... I thought it would be the end. We were all going to be frozen to death." She sat on one of the thrones, which seemed to have a carving of three balloons on the arched back. "They took us one by one, and I was the last... but then your father showed up, with his wizards. They showed up just in time to save me. I... I owe everything to Thunderbolt. He helped me find a home. Taught me to fit into normal society. Got me into magic school. But there was a catch to it all. That catch was that I would repay my debt to him by watching over you, and keeping you safe. No matter what it cost."
"I... wow." Prism exhaled slowly and sat down across from her in the throne with a butterfly on the back. "That's... I don't even know what the hay to say to a story like that." She'd always known that Shimmer treated her differently than the other ponies - coddling her instead of bullying her, and always including Prism in her little jokes and pranks - but it didn't dawn on her until now just how much Shimmer acted like... "You're like my big sister, aren't you?"
Shimmer smiled at this. "Best sister friends forever." She laughed and put her front hooves up on the round table. "Come on, why did you think I never bullied you?"
Prism scoffed. "Because I'm so weak and innocent?" They both giggled hard at this, remembering Aurora Glow again. "But what's all this about the Order of Harmony? What's that?"
"OK, so... has your father told you yet? About the... the secret history?"
"Um..." Prism pursed her lips. "You mean the stuff about Nightmare Winter, and Twilight Sparkle, and all of that?"
This got a nod from the older girl. "Yeah. That stuff. There's another part he didn't tell you, because he didn't think you were old enough to know yet. You remember Starlight Glimmer, right?"
"Of course I do!" Prism Star groaned. "My dad never shuts up about her, you'd think she was his mom and not his great-great-great-great whatever!" She emphasized this with a dismissive motion of her hoof.
"Yeah, he does have kind of a pride thing going." Shimmer chuckled and shook her head, causing the three rings pierced through her left ear to jangle a little in the silence of the crystal cave. "But there's a reason for it. See, everyone talks about how she founded this school, how she tricked and defeated Discord, how she brought down Trixie Lulamoon and her little band of rebels. How... all of that." She seemed to want to say more on the subject, but held her tongue. "In the context of what Thunderbolt taught us about the real history, that seems really bad."
"It... it does. She ran, and then she turned on everyone." Prism suddenly looked confused and uncertain. "So why does Dad seem to love her so much?"
"Because even though she did all of those things, she never truly gave up - or stopped fighting. She secured her power as the Queen's favorite servant, she got this castle and a cushy post running a school, and from there she started working to undermine Flurry Heart and consolidate power for the future. She got some other ponies, and even creatures from other realms. Creatures who hated Flurry Heart, but could see the long game. Who knew they had to wait and plan instead of blindly rebelling. They called themselves the Order of Harmony, and they took this as their emblem." She turned up her hoof and brightened the light of her horn, letting Prism Star see that a six-pointed star was branded on the inside of her fetlock. "The cutie mark of Princess Twilight Sparkle."
"You... so they're still around? And you're one of them?" Prism Star's eyes were as wide as teacups, and her jaw hung open slightly.
"Thunderbolt brought me down here when I turned sixteen. He taught me the secret history, he taught me all about how I could fight for my people, he-"
"Wait, your people?" Prism gave her a confused eyebrow raise.
"Um, yeah. You know, ponies in general. We're all suffering under Flurry Heart." She gestured widely with her hoof and smiled nervously. "N-not the point. He gave me more to do with my life than be a circus freak. I.. I jumped at it. Sure, being branded hurt like you wouldn't believe, but... but it was the best day of my life." She sighed softly. "I finally belonged to something. A real family, and a real purpose."
"What purpose? What are you guys even doing?"
"At first the Order just spread the word. Kept the truth alive about what really happened even as Nightmare Winter erased the real history. Then they started gathering artifacts, anything that might have the magical power to help depose her, but what they really wanted was the Elements of Harmony. Magic artifacts held by Twilight Sparkle and her closest friends, with the power to do almost anything. But the Elements weren't ever found."
"That is because the right pony was not looking." Both fillies nearly jumped out of their skins as they looked to find the clear, sparkling voice of a mare. Eventually their eyes settled on the beautiful ghost pony that Prism Star had seen on the floors above, who glowed in the dark chamber as she walked towards the table and settled into the spot where the sixth throne would be. "The Elements of Harmony are not tools to be wielded by anyone with sufficient power. They are a reflection of the inner power of a pony's soul, and the bond of friendship between those who wield them. They will not reveal themselves to just anypony."
"You... you're the pony from upstairs." Prism shivered in fear. "Who... who are you?"
"I am the spirit of the Tree of Harmony, grown from a seed planted long ago by the Pillars of Equestria. The Elements are my fruit. Even this castle where we stand was grown from my roots."
Shimmer looked skeptical. "So I'm talking to a crystal... tree?"
"I am more than just a tree, Shimmerwing. I am the tamer of the Everfree Forest, a guardian for Equestria and the friendship of the ponies within. Once, when I was strong, I would call ponies from far and wide. They would do my will, and I directed them to save the friendships of ponies here and there across Equestria, always bringing harmony in their wake. But those days are long gone. Without my Elements... I only have the strength left for one more Friendship Quest. And I have waited so many years for the right ponies. So... so many years." She put a translucent hoof onto the table and strands of soft blue light began to jump and weave all across its surface.
"The... the Cutie Map." Shimmer's eyes were wide with awe. "I thought this was just a table, that the real thing was lost! It was hidden under our noses this whole time?"
"Shimmer, what's a Cutie Map?" Prism stood up in her seat and took in the light show.
"The Cutie Map was how the spirit called ponies when it needed them to go on a quest! Their cutie marks would glow and-" She quickly went silent as the realization dawned on her, and she looked down at her own flank. "You... us? We're the right ponies? We're..."
"We've been called by the Cutie Map." Prism Star's voice was one of quiet awe as a perfect map of Equestria, and the lands beyond, began to rise from the table, etched and carved in living crystal. Symbols began to appear floating above the map, flickering in and out. "Are those cutie marks?"
"I think they are, but what's wrong with them?" Even as she asked, they began to flicker out one by one until only six symbols remained - an orange tornado floated above a city in the sky, a shining beetle and a blank ball of light floated over Ponyville, and an apple, a full moon, and what appeared to be a claw of some kind appeared over a city to the east that Prism thought might be Manehattan. The symbols moved around until they were all floating above that sky city, spinning in a lazy circle overhead.
"I think that's... Las Pegasus. I've never been." Shimmer sounded a bit confused, a rare thing for her. "But what are we doing there?" The two fillies turned to face the specter, but she was already gone, and a few moments later the map flickered out as well.