POP!
Twilight and Magic soon appeared in a large cave. Twilight shook her head and backed away. Her mouth went agape as she saw a large crystal tree. Thorny vines wrapped themselves around the tree before Magic’s horn glowed and burned the vines down. It still didn’t fix the dull luster that the tree presented.
“W-what is this?” Twilight asked.
“This is the Tree of Harmony. Of which we were born from to fulfil a grand purpose. Protection from the forces of evil.” Magic said.
“We… You mean the Elements of Harmony?” Twilight asked.
“Yes. Each one needs to be attuned to the perfect pony to be fully utilized. And yet… the choices you made for the five Elements were… lacking.”
“They’re my friends!” As Twilight said that, Magic stamped her foot.
“Friends!? Does a friend leave you to cry after you get disowned by your brother? Does a friend ignore your concerns and pass it off as you being jealous for your brother!? Does a friend not care if you’re mysteriously missing from the wedding?!” Each time, Magic’s horn began to spark with magic. “DO THEY!?” It was more akin to a volcano than it was a horn.
“I know what you’re trying to do. You’re trying to get me to turn away from my friends.” Twilight said.
“No… I’m trying to force you to realize that your friends are nothing more than parasites. Remember the very first day after defeating Nightmare Moon? How they all clamoured for that extra ticket?” Magic asked her.
“It was merely a test from Celestia.” Twilight retorted.
“Do you not resent the old windbag for what she did, though? She knew you had six important friends and she only bothered to send two. And that’s where you see their true sides… All of them wishing to be your plus one only to use it to bolster their own desires.”
“Yeah, but they didn’t get what they wanted. It was only with all of us that we managed to make it the best night ever.” Twilight said.
“Even so, the same thing happened with the wedding. They all used Cadance’s importance to bolster their successes. They were all so wrapped up in their stupid little fantasies that they didn’t even realize there was a threat looming overhead. Only you managed to figure it out. You managed to expose Cadance… and yet… they rejected you. They resented you. When you went to the altar to expose her, you were shunned. Your friends would rather pretend to not be your friends if it means getting what they want.”
“It’s not going to work.” Twilight said.
“Stop ignoring the issue! Your friends are jerks!” Magic shot a bolt at Twilight’s feet, though she didn’t flinch.
“They have their off days, yes… But don’t forget that I have my off days too!” She fired back. “Remember how I screwed up during the Winter Wrap-Up when I tried to help!?”
“Remember how Applejack yelled at you and didn’t apologize for it!?” Magic shot a magic missile at Twilight, who teleported behind Magic.
“How about the time I got upset at Pinkie over her Pinkie Sense?” Twilight just rammed into Magic.
“How about the time she didn’t bother to explain how she was gonna solve the Parasprite problem!?” Magic created aural wings as she grabbed Twilight and flew up into the air.
“What about when I accidentally brainwashed the entire town and had them get obsessed over a doll just for a friendship lesson!?” Twilight used her hind hooves to pound against the cavern ceiling and push Magic back to the ground.
“What about when your friends laughed at you, only to realize you might end up being sent away!? Or how about the lesson they conveniently forgot when it came time to remember it!?” With that, Magic created a large aural recreation of her horn that drilled into the ground, damaging some seeds of which the thorny vines were sprouting from.
“YOU’RE MISSING THE POINT!” Twilight shouted as she blasted out a powerful magic spell that lit up the hole they made and incinerated the seeds that were growing. Magic’s body was flown up into the air and fell limply. Magic struggled to get up as Twilight levitated out of the hole. “You want to call out my friends for the mistakes they made, then I should be no exception. I must have made more disastrous mistakes than any of my friends combined. I’m not perfect. My friends aren’t perfect. We all make mistakes. That doesn’t mean that you get the right to torture us and hold those mistakes over our heads. We can learn from them.”
“I’m… trying to make sure… you don’t destroy Equestria with your foolishness! You ponies only won on a fluke… but… what if… what if the next threats result in Equestria in shambles? I may not be able to see the future, but I am able to detect the magic within all creatures… and right now, there are a couple of powerful creatures still lurking around. Some are about to have their seal unlocked, others roam around Equestria… one of them just so happens to be a pony like you… What if they are the next threats to Equestria?” Magic asked.
“… Then we will face them head on. We may make mistakes, but at the very least, we’ll improve from them. We will save Equestria, don’t worry about that… but… we’ll learn to save it without you.” Twilight’s horn lit up as the center of the tree began to open.
“W-what are you doing?!” Magic asked.
“You said it yourself. You and the other Elements came from here. It’s only natural that you’re able to be placed back in.” Twilight said.
“You’re making a mistake! You need me!” Magic said.
“No. If anything, I don’t deserve you.” As she said that, Magic was silenced.
“W-what?!” Magic muttered.
“You asked me who was the one pony I couldn’t forgive. And I found her… It’s me. I can’t help but admit that there are some days where I wished I never met my friends. I think that’s what had led to you being… you. All that resentment and bitterness… It corrupted you. I do have repressed anger and I worry that you are the reflection of that. There are mistakes I have made too… I almost killed Cadance in my anger. I shouldn’t replace Celestia as a Princess… Especially with how neurotic I can be. Especially with how angry I can get. I’m… not ready for you… I’m sorry.” Twilight shed a tear as Magic screamed.
“YOU CAN’T DO THIS! I AM THE LAST HOPE EQUESTRIA HAS!” Those were the last words Magic said before she turned into the Element of Magic and placed inside the heart of the tree. The tree’s trunk closed and sealed the Element.
“And you will be… Just not the one we need right now.” Twilight sighed. Before she left the cave, she noticed a flower began to sprout from the ground. As the flower bloomed, she noticed a large hexagonal crystal chest with six keyholes. Twilight levitated it and took it into her possession as she teleported back.
Twilight reappeared at the hall of the Elements. There, she set down the box and approached the still stunned Rainbow Dash. She looked at her and hugged her. Applejack soon rushed into the hall.
“Alright, now I’m really gonna… Wait, where is she?” Applejack asked.
“It’s over… Mare Do Well is gone.” Twilight softly said to her.
“… Whoo-ee, that’s a relief.” There was a pause before Applejack spoke up. “But… what about Coal?” Applejack asked her. Twilight thought about what happened to Mindy and Coal.
“I… don’t know.” Twilight frowned. That’s when Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Mindy, and Coal came to them.
“Oh… Twilight! You’re here…” Fluttershy smiled.
“What’s goin’ on?” Applejack asked.
“You… might wanna come outside for this one.” Mindy said.
The ponies came out and saw the entire town full of ponies wearing black. All of them had either flowers or portraits of ponies. Some even began to sang hymns. They all stood outside the hall of Elements.
“W-what’s this?” Twilight asked.
“I dunno, but they were forming up when I was runnin’.” Applejack said.
“It was Fluttershy’s idea. I wanted it to be a party, but she thought it’d work a lot better if it was more subdued.” Pinkie Pie said. The ponies looked up to Twilight, though she saw from their teary eyes that they weren’t looking to her for guidance. They looked to her for solace. Twilight’s lips quivered as she saw Spike comforting Sweetie Belle in the middle of the crowd. Rarity couldn’t help but shed a few tears. Twilight inhaled and stepped forward.
“My fellow ponies… Yesterday, our friendship and unity were attacked by a coward who chose to hide behind a smiling face. She turned friends against each other and shattered our peace. Although we won, I look among you and I feel like we’ve lost in a way. We lost friends and family to this attack and, in a way, we’ve forever lost our inner peace.” Octavia and Vinyl embraced one another.
“Many of you worried that Changelings would attack again. Many of you suspected each other to be Changelings. Some of you could no longer trust Celestia or even the Bearers of the Elements. But I am here to say that if we let ourselves break down like this, then the queen of the Changelings will have won.” Derpy patted her kids on the head.
“We allowed ourselves to be so traumatized from this event that we let a vigilante say what was best for us…” Twilight looked to Rarity as she took the papers that showed Coal when he was at the Manehatten Orphanage. “Case in point. Coal’s parents were killed in an avalanche, not by Changelings. Mare Do Well twisted the tale to take advantage of our pain.” As Twilight said that, Mindy broke down into tears and ran off. Coal tried to follow, but Applejack held him before she herself shed a tear.
“We shouldn’t cry about the scars that were placed on us… but we shouldn’t pretend they don’t exist. This event is burned into our memories. The images will play out in our dreams for years to come. No amount of parties, songs, or dances will clear it of that. That doesn’t mean we need to dread it. Instead, we should reflect on it. It should serve as a reminder to how resilient we are.” Bon Bon finished redressing a bandage that covered up a wound on Lyra’s back.
“We should honor those who have fallen. We should count our blessings. And we should take precautions to ensure this doesn’t happen again. This should not be viewed as a tragedy. This should be viewed as what it was: a wedding. Some of you might wish for us to bring retribution to the Changelings, but I say we shouldn’t. It would only mean that their attack impacted us so deeply, that we would wish for revenge. We’re above that. Friendship is the tenant of which we should stand by. One day, there will be a Changeling who wishes not to hurt us, but to be our friends. To let this event scar us and view the Changelings as monsters is to deny that for other creatures…” Spike patted Sweetie Belle on the back as she hugged him. She then kissed him on the cheek.
“I wish for you all to join me in remembering those who may have lost their lives during the Changeling attack. The resolve of Equestria is being tested. Make no mistake. We will show everyone that we can pass this test.” After Twilight finished her speech, everyone applauded. She trotted away as Rainbow Dash followed. The two got away from prying eyes as Rainbow Dash spoke up.
“Yo, Twi… That was a nice speech… Y-you sure you don’t wanna be a Princess?” She asked.
“… No. Let’s not mince words here, I don’t think I’d be perfect princess material… And… to be honest…” Twilight blushed. “I kinda like Celestia being a Princess.” That’s when Twilight saw Luna appear from the hall. “O-oh! Princess Luna… Y-you wouldn’t happen to know if Celestia’s gotten back, right?” Twilight asked.
“… Afraid not. Celestia’s effectively gone into exile. However, she’s still moving the sun. I’ve seen my sister use that spell enough times to get a feel of her magic whenever she does it but relying only on trace uses of magic would be a wild goose chase.” As she said that, Twilight frowned. “Besides, I’m needed here… There are a lot of ponies who have had nightmares from the ordeal. Let’s just say I have an ability that allows me to help them out.” She then placed a hoof on Twilight’s back. “Perhaps you should take Celestia’s place as Princess for a bit. As you said, Equestria is wounded… But time heals all wounds.” Twilight looked away.
“… No. I don’t deserve it. I… I have more problems with myself than I can hope to fix.” That’s when Rainbow Dash put a comforting wing over her.
“We’ll face them… together.” Rainbow Dash smiled as Pinkie and Fluttershy came in to comfort Twilight as well. Twilight smiled and hugged them back.
“Mindy!” Mindy wiped her tears as she turned away from the statues in the garden to look at Applejack. “Look, I know what you did was wrong, but you can’t be wallowin’ like this. Coal needs ya.”
“… No. He doesn’t. I allowed for him to get his mind scrambled by Mare Do Well… I’ve scarred him.” Mindy said.
“I know… but… you’re all he has.” Applejack said.
“No… I shouldn’t be with him… I… I still resent Celestia for what happened… I… I don’t want that stain to ruin him. If he lived with me, I… I worry that my anger will rub off on him. I don’t want him to grow bitter. He’s too kind for that sort of life.” Mindy crumpled down and cried. Applejack just looked at her and sighed.
“… I’ll take him.” Applejack said.
“W-what?” Mindy asked.
“I thought about it… Inside, I knew that this might be a likely outcome. If you want, I can have Coal live with me until you feel confident that you’ll raise him to the best of your ability.” Applejack said.
“Y-you’d do that?” Mindy asked.
“… Yeah, I would.” Mindy looked around before she hugged Applejack.
“T-thank you…” Mindy softly cried as Applejack just stared at one statue in particular: the statue of Discord. She noticed something off about it. “S-something wrong?” Mindy asked.
“N-no… Nothing.” Applejack just trotted off with Mindy following. Applejack couldn’t take her mind off the statue though. There were a few miniscule cracks. Cracks that weren’t there when they took the statue back to Celestia. She couldn’t help but hear granite slowly being torn apart, followed by a sinister chortle.
“R-rarity! I’m fine!” Sweetie Belle squeaked as Rarity hugged her. The two, along with Spike, rested at a hotel in Canterlot. Rarity had some memories, as this was the place where she resided during her stay at Canterlot.
“I know, but Spike told me all about your unfortunate run in! I can’t help but feel sorry for you!” She continually kissed Sweetie Belle on the cheek as Spike just looked out into the sun. He sighed. He still thought about what he could have done. In fact, there were many things he could have done, and not just that one event… Deep down, he felt as though he was just a dumb dragon…
Suddenly, Spike felt sick. How can this be? He never ate anything… Unless…
Spike ran out of the hotel room.
“Spiky-Wikey?” Rarity asked.
Twilight returned to her home and sighed. Before she could open the door, however, Spike ran to her, his mouth full.
“Spike? What’s up?” Spike hurled out flames as he took the scroll that would materialize from it.
“Twilight! It’s Celestia!” Twilight immediately took the scroll from Spike’s hands and read it.
My faithful student,
I thank you for resolving the matter, but as you may have known, I still feel guilty for the turn of events that transpired. As such, I have gone for an extended vacation while I sort out my feelings. I’ll do what I can to protect Equestria from outside threats. In the meantime, if you still feel unconfident to be a Princess, then I have an assignment for you that may help you decide.
There’s a reason the train goes all the way to the Frozen North. It is because a thousand years ago, there existed an empire that has been since locked away by an evil unicorn. In about three months’ time, the empire will appear once again, but with it, so too will the unicorn. Shining Armor and Cadance are already informed about it, so you may wish to coordinate with them on what to do. You have three months to prepare for this. Do not think of this as a test. Think of this as an adventure…
Your teacher,
Princess Celestia.
Twilight’s eyes widened as she looked to Spike. Magic was right after all.
There were dangers out there in Equestria…
The End…