//------------------------------// // CH6: Secret Recipe // Story: Magical Harmony Spec Ops Friendship // by totallynotabrony //------------------------------// “Hey Twiley, studying magic?”  Shining Armor stuck his head into his little sister’s bedroom. She smiled.  “Yep! What are you learning at the Guard Academy?” He walked into the room.  “I’m getting pretty good at shield spells.” “I was reading about them,” said Twilight, referencing her book.  She hopped out of her chair and stood before him in the bedroom. Scrunching her face in concentration, she conjured a light pink hemisphere just a little bit larger than herself. “Wow,” said Shining, tapping a hoof on the transparent barrier.  It rippled under his touch, but held. “I think that’s better than some of the other students in my class.” “Well, I did practice,” said Twilight canceling the spell and blushing modestly. “Do you know anything about other races’ magic?” Shining asked.  “The next lesson is supposed to be about cross training, so we know what our fellow Guards can do and how to catch bad guys off guard.” “What do you mean?” “As a unicorn, I know magic.  But I also need to know how to charge like a pegasus or use my body like an earth pony.” Twilight put her hoof to her chin.  “I understand how pegasi go fast, but what do earth ponies do?” “Well, for example, the signature earth pony move is bucking.”  Shining pitched forward and kicked his hind legs in the air. Twilight mimicked him, though nearly lost her balance.  Laughing, she tried it again. “A little more power, like you’re kicking a tree,” said Shining. Twilight bucked again, knocking her reading lamp off the desk and shattering it against the wall. “Twilight, what was that noise?” Twilight and Shining exchanged wide-eyed looks.  “Nothing, mom!” called Shining. Twilight hastily attempted to fix the lamp with magic. The lamp was never quite the same, but every time Twilight looked at it from then on, she was reminded of Shining Armor. Twilight woke up in her apartment in Canterlot surprised, but not at all displeased, with the extraordinarily good dream. It was a little bit of sweetness before stomaching the sour of the rest of her day. Pinkie took the tray of cupcakes out of the oven and set them to cool. “Thank you,” said Fluttershy.  “It’s nice to have contractors on-site.” “I’m basically a regular employee at this point,” Pinkie said.  “Maybe we should drop the pretense and just go back to being a unified group.  That would really simplify the command and control and build esprit de corps.” Fluttershy paused, eyebrows knitting, but before she could respond, Pinkie went on.  “Speaking of dropping pretense, if you’re here at this time of day I take it you stopped going to school?  Do you miss it?” “It...was fun for a while,” said Fluttershy. The two of them came out of the back room to put the cupcakes out to cool so they could be decorated. “Speaking of, where is Twilight?” Pinkie asked.  “I was all ready to do a welcome party, but Cadance told me to wait until the afternoon.” “She’s taking care of some personal business,” said Fluttershy. “Well, I’m certainly not going to get involved in her personal business,” said Pinkie.  “I saw what happened to that poser Element. All of Twilight’s pent up anger has to go somewhere, and expressing it in a healthy environment against evildoers is good therapy.” “I’m not sure you know anything about therapy.” “I don’t.” Moon Dancer woke up feeling refreshed.  Yesterday had been excellent. Shame about the café being closed forever, but excellent nonetheless. She got ready and headed for school.  She saw Lyra in the classroom and the two of them said hello.  Twilight came in just before the bell. “Good morning,” said Moon Dancer. “Somepony’s happy,” Twilight observed. “What are you reading today?” Moon Dancer asked. Twilight hesitated, but then reached into a new backpack and pulled out a comic book.  “I wanted to try something different. Something lighter.” “Oh.”  Moon Dancer paused in surprise.  “Well, let me know how that goes.” “Though I could work my way through something else if you had any suggestions,” Twilight quickly interjected. “Well, there was the reading list I gave you,” said Moon Dancer. “Sorry, I lost it.” “No problem.”  Moon Dancer began to rewrite it.  Her quill snapped. “Here,” said Twilight, giving her a new quill. Moon Dancer was forced to pause her writing as the lesson began.  As the teacher turned around to write on the chalkboard, a note landed on her desk.  The writing was clearly Lyra’s. Ask Twilight what we’re doing after school. Strange how Twilight, the new student, had suddenly become the hub of their small friendship group, but someone had to be, Moon Dancer supposed. Twilight headed for the dessert shop.  She detoured around the remains of the building where she’d fought Trixie.  The area was cordoned off because the magic blasts had fractured and holed the walls, but she would have avoided it anyway. It was a minor blessing that Twilight had discovered a small amount of peace after the battle.  She hadn’t second guessed herself in the slightest. She’d stepped up and been the Element she needed to be in the face of a threat. Of course, her confidence started to erode after Trixie had been defeated, but in the heat of the battle, she felt right, and just.  Feeling like she was doing the right thing was something Twilight hadn’t enjoyed in a while. She hadn’t gotten the same emotion from going to school.  Well, that’s because everypony her age did that. It was normal.  Being normal was a reward in itself.  But if she had to fight...then Twilight figured she could respect herself for it. She’d resisted her new direction, returning to the Elements, for so long.  While she was still uncomfortable with returning, and there may have been some pride at stake, Twilight also recognized that she’d given her word, and had no excuse to drag her hooves. That was part of why the first thing she wanted to do was get to the bottom of how Trixie knew who she was.  In for a penny, in for a pound. Twilight was back. She avoided the reporters gathered around the damaged building.  The newspaper that morning had carried a Crown press release, identifying Trixie as a powerful but misguided ne’er do well who had challenged the Element of Magic to a duel and lost.  Moon Dancer and Lyra, or any hints of involved civilians, were not mentioned. Two stories in a row now about Magic.  If anything, this just made her return official.  Twilight wasn’t sure if that made her feel better.  Maybe the public would appreciate her being back. She grimaced.  Especially trackers. She walked up to the front door of the café.  There was a purple sticky note on the glass that read surprise party. Twilight paused, and then smiled.  Well, that was nice of them. She opened the door. “Surprise!” said Pinkie, popping up from behind the counter to toss confetti in the air.  Cadance, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Sunset Shimmer filed out of the back room. Pinkie, and Fluttershy wore café uniforms.  Cadance wore a jacket, though with the same color pattern. Pinkie bounced over to Twilight and showed her a selection of cupcakes on a platter.  “Just for you! This is a little more low key than most surprise parties, but when I heard about yesterday, it didn’t seem like a good idea to startle you.” “I appreciate it,” said Twilight, taking a cupcake. “Fluttershy said you held back a little bit during the fight.” “Well…maybe.  I’m still brushing the dust off.”  If she’d had a little more time to plan and gauge her approach, Twilight was sure she could have performed better.  She was out of practice. Her eyes went to Sunset, who was holding back from the group and wearing an awkward expression behind her glasses.  It was a familiar look to Twilight, not knowing anypony in a crowd. It didn’t explain why she was there, however. Cadance caught her look.  “The Princess thought Sunset could use some fresh air and told her to come make some friends.” “That sounds familiar,” Twilight observed.  “Though when she said it to me, she meant it literally.  As Nightmare Moon was creating her army, Cadance and I went to Ponyville to create the rest of the Elements.” “Speaking of Elements, would you two mind joining me?” Cadance said, gesturing to the other room. “I’ve never been clear on the history of the Elements,” said Sunset.  “It’s not written down, of course.” A fellow book reader?  Twilight grabbed another cupcake to walk with.  She and Sunset followed Cadance into the back room. “Cadance was the first, aside from Celestia herself.” said Twilight.  “I guess from Celestia’s perspective, that made sense: another alicorn and with an inherently powerful quality like Love.  Celestia made me. Cadance made Rainbow, Pinkie, Rarity, and Applejack.” “There were...um, others, right?”  Sunset looked awkward again. “Rainbow made most of them.  As far as I know, Fluttershy is the only one who wasn’t killed or missing after the war.” “Firefly, Surprise, Night Glider,” said Cadance.  “I would have chosen more carefully, but at the end we didn’t have time to search for more candidates.” The oven was on, and in the warm room, Cadance took off her jacket.  Sunset stared at her scars, but averted her eyes. Cadance noticed, though. “There may be a vulnerability in the Elements if a pony loses the quality for which they were named,” she explained.  “I lost the power the moment my husband was killed. No Love, no Element. It hasn’t happened to anypony else, however, so it’s only a theory.” “Princess Celestia attempted to make Shining Armor an Element, too,” said Twilight.  “It didn’t work on him, or any stallion for that matter.” “Did she choose you because you were strong?” Sunset asked. “That depends on what you mean by ‘strong,’” Twilight replied after a moment of thought.  “Though, for a general definition, I do think I’ve gotten stronger since I was chosen.” She raised her head to look at Cadance.  “I always wondered, was I the next choice because he was my brother?” “That may have been part of the reason, but more important I think was your own talent and already knowing me,” Cadence replied. “We found all the rest in Ponyville,” Twilight said.  “What are the odds we’d discover all the best possible choices for Elements clustered together in one small town?  There’s no way. It could have been anypony, and it would have been if we’d gone somewhere else. Celestia could have chosen anypony.” That was threatening to pull down Twilght’s relatively stable mood, and she changed the subject.  “Cadance, what did you want to talk about?” Cadance gestured them to chairs.  When they were seated and focused, she began.  “Not counting Celestia, the three of us probably know more about the situation than anypony.  Unfortunately, there are still a lot of unknowns to uncover before we can solve the problem. Sunset will continue her research at the castle.  I’ll be leading the development group. Twilight, I need you to take a more tactical command, leading the Elements directly in battle.” “Uh…”  Twilight looked away.  “I don’t know if that would be a good idea.  I only just came back. Plus, I don’t know if I’m…” “Strong enough?” Cadance prompted. “Well, I mean going straight to the top of the group wasn’t what I thought you wanted.  I’m here. I’ll fight.” “It isn’t just about fighting monsters.  It’s not about you or what you want. You should know that by now.  It’s about saving Equestria. I need you to think of the bigger picture, Twilight.  Look past the battle in front of your nose to see the war. I know you can do it. I know you’d be good at it.” “But is there another choice?” Cadance crossed her hooves.  “I was...promoted to management after I lost the power.  Can you think of somepony who would be better at battle command than you?” Twilight considered it.  Pinkie and Fluttershy were non-starters.  Applejack refused to leave her farm. “Rainbow.” “Rainbow is too instinctive, and gets frustrated too easily.” “Rarity then.” “Rarity is too focused on details.  She’s a micromanager.” Twilight looked at Cadance.  “Was this ever really a choice?” “Not yours.”  Cadance pointed her hoof.  “I manage the Element Warfare Development Group.  I’m appointing you the leader of field operations.” “Why do you do this?” said Twilight.  “You played dirty to get me back and even now you’re only asking me as a formality before you go ahead and decide things for me anyway.” Sunset stood up.  “I need to get back to the castle.”  She hurried out. “Who should be making your decisions for you?” said Cadance. “Me!” “How do you know what’s best?  You aren’t legally an adult. I’m the closest thing to family you have, and I’m telling you to do what’s best for Equestria.” “And how do you know?  You aren’t anypony’s mother.” Cadance flinched. “I’m sorry,” Twilight quickly corrected.  “That has nothing to do with this.” Cadance composed herself, and when she began again, her tone had softened.  “I picked you to lead the others because I trust you. But I need you to follow and trust me.” The Elements were technically part of the military, though a far cry from the Royal Guard.  Twilight remembered when her brother had joined the Guards, remembered thinking it was unfair that he sometimes had to do things he didn’t want to do.  What a naive filly she had been. She thought fighting in the war had changed her, but had it really? Caught between her own desires and those of others once again, Twilight conceded.  No matter what she thought, they did need to focus on getting to the bottom of the threat to Equestria. “Okay,” she said, bowing her head.  “I’m in.” “Alright,” said Cadance.  “You’ll need to be near the others to be ready at a moment’s notice.  Rarity brought a uniform for you. I’ll show you how to make cupcakes so you can keep your cover at the shop.” Twilight almost protested.  Almost, but she held her tongue. At least there shouldn’t be a problem with working there.  Unless Moon Dancer and Lyra stumbled on Café Cadenza again.  Twilight got to work in an attempt to distract herself from that.  Being that Rarity had designed them, the uniforms for the shop were unnecessarily frilly and almost resembled maid outfits, which was only marginally better than Twilight’s Element clothing.  At least the uniform fit well, though Twilight didn’t know when Rarity had taken her measurements. Still, as Twilight committed herself to learning how to bake cupcakes as the first step to saving the world, it was hard to forget the friends she’d left behind.  A memory charm meant never having to say you’re sorry. The idea of tampering with somepony’s brain repulsed Twilight, even though she had a talent for it.  But it was necessary. She’d meant what she said to Moon Dancer: nopony should want to remember a fight like that, their life a plaything of those more powerful. Twilight hadn’t taken all their memories of her.  She couldn’t bring herself to do that, not to mention the fact that if she was trying to erase evidence of her existence she’d have to modify the memory of literally half the school.  So she’d just taken that last afternoon from Moon Dancer and Lyra, and replaced it as she’d promised with an otherwise pleasant day. She should have “told” them via implanted memories that she was treating them to the day out because she had to move away.  She couldn’t bring herself to say goodbye in person, not after what she had done to them. Instead, she had spent the morning alone in her apartment writing them both goodbye letters.  It wasn’t a replacement, though, for them or her. Cadance took Twilight on a quick tour of the back rooms of the shop to familiarize her with the development group headquarters.  There was a kitchen, as expected, but also a surveillance room and a locker room. The basement was heavily soundproofed, and Twilight could sense additional spells on top of that.  There was a small gym in the basement, a storage room, and a room that was made of featureless concrete, save for a drain in the floor. Aside from learning about the secret headquarters and receiving a key from Cadance, Twilight did actually learn how to make desserts.   “So anyway, then you just stick ‘em in the oven for a while,” said Pinkie, finishing up her cupcake-baking spiel.  While Cadance may have been Twilight’s boss, she left the baking part of the instruction to the expert. “What’s ‘a while?’” Twilight asked. “Long enough to be done, but before they burn,” Pinkie explained.  “Ovens vary in temperature and convection, so this one has a different setting than any other.” “Or we could just time them now and use that as a reference for the future.”  Twilight pointed at the clock. “Wow, Cadance said she brought you into fix things and you sure are!” Twilight couldn’t tell if Pinkie was being serious, melodramatic, or just herself.  Either way, the minor act of standardizing the baking did feel like an accomplishment, however small. In a quieter voice, Pinkie also walked Twilight through what she had been doing for Cadance.  “So with my connections, I get invited to all the parties.  That’s a good place to meet ponies and ask them questions.  Even if they aren’t hiding anything or don’t know any standout intel, a small detail combined with others could add up to something important.  For example, I met a mare who claimed that her powdered nose candy was coming with weird symbols on the package. I talked to a cop who knew about common smuggling routes.  Putting information together, we had enough for Rainbow to go down to Mexicolt and kill a bunch of ponies who were supporting some really suspicious ritual.” “Wait, go back,” said Twilight.  “Powdered nose candy?” “Drugs.”  Pinkie shook her head.  “Sometimes I forget that despite fighting the forces of evil, you’re kind of a square.” The chimes on the front door dinged.  “That could be a customer,” said Pinkie.  “Fluttershy will show you how to be a waitress.” Back in the front room, a young couple had come in.  Fluttershy gave Twilight a notepad. “Do you have something to write with?” It was only after she had summoned her fountain pen that Twilight realized how weird it would be to take dessert orders with an instrument that literally used the blood of her enemies as ink.  Though, somehow that felt slightly less weird than using it for homework. “What can I get you?” she asked. The stallion consulted the menu.  “How is the flan?” “It’s good,” said Twilight.  She’d recently discovered that they employed Spike to do the flambé part of it. “Are these cupcakes fresh?” asked the mare, looking at the glass display. “We made them this morning,” said Fluttershy over Twilight’s shoulder. The customers didn’t ask any more questions.  Twilight got the mare her cupcake and went to get the stallion his flan.  On the way into the back room, she realized she’d unconciously tucked her pen behind her ear. It was convenient and quick to access there.  That was usually where she had carried it during the war, when she wasn’t using it.  That reminded Twilight that the group still didn’t know how Trixie had found her. Until they figured it out, especially if there might be more like her out there, it would be best to stay prepared. That was something else concerning about Trixie.  She was unlike any enemy Twilight had ever faced before.  She had to be involved in the wider plot, it was too big a coincidence if she wasn’t.  But the thought of having to face thinking, pony enemies set Twilight on edge.  Killing monsters was one thing. Trixie had begged for her life. Twilight shook her head.  Flan.  Back to work.