//------------------------------// // Chapter 29: Rise To Harmony // Story: Magisight: Thaumaturgical Ocularity // by PsychicKid //------------------------------// “Okay, that should be it for now! Great job, team!” Rainbow Dash’s voice carried through the town center. Her declaration was met with a rally of cheers, some ponies collapsing into exhausted lumps. Twilight let out a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat from her brow. She fell to her haunches and released the telekinetic grip on her clipboard, letting it tumble onto the grass. She looked up at the sky, shading her eyes with a hoof. The group had worked well into the late afternoon. Ponies started to congregate by a number of water coolers that had been set up, and the noises of hammers and saws that had filled the air moments ago gave way to the hum of idle chit-chat. “Here.” A voice shook Twilight from her reverie. Rainbow Dash held out a cup of water in her wing and wore a proud grin. “Thanks for helping us out. We got done a lot faster ‘cause you kept us organized,” she said with a nod down to the clipboard. “I didn’t expect you to get your hooves dirty, but you really pulled through.” Twilight took hold of the glass with her magic, taking a few gulps and sighing. “Well, ever since becoming an alicorn I’ve gotten bigger and stronger. And recently…” She stood tall, flexing her wings and bearing down in a pose she’d seen in an exercise textbook. The glass drifted above her like a pendulum. “I’ve become a lot more attuned to my earth pony and pegasus magic. With all three of them—” When all three… Twilight gasped, her horn sputtering out. The glass tumbled, knocking into her head with a dull thunk. Stars floated in her vision as she shook her head, her wet mane scattering droplets of water all around. Rainbow snickered, then fell onto her back as she burst out laughing. “Looks like the storm wasn’t quite over, Twi!” She managed to squeeze out between laughs. Twilight sat upright, her mane clinging to her head and face. She nickered with annoyance, but couldn’t help the smile spreading over her face. She spied a pile of towels on a nearby cart, and floated one over to dry herself off. “Here, let me help you.” Rainbow yanked the towel free of Twilight’s magical grasp and started scrubbing the water from her friend’s mane. Twilight sputtered in protest, but didn’t move to stop her. “I’d offer my Rain-blow Dry, but I still haven’t heard the end of it from Rarity since last time. You okay?” Pulling the towel back from Rainbow, Twilight patted down her fur and wringed the towel into the grass. “I’m fine. I…” That voice. She brushed her bangs aside and nodded. “I’m fine. So, what's next?” Rainbow gave Twilight a sidelong look. “I think that’s most of the heavy lifting. Everything left is just little stuff.” She sat up and looked about the plaza, now full of socializing ponies. “Besides, I’d say we’re done for the day, anyway.” Twilight brought up her clipboard and flipped through the pages. As usual, she had made notes of all the major parts of Ponyville needing to be cleared. She scanned down her list, noting one particular unchecked line. “What about Sweet Apple Acres?” Twilight asked worriedly. “I haven’t seen the Apples since the storm started, and according to this, none of the repair teams have been out there yet.” “Oh, I stopped by there the other day. Applejack said she had it under control, but you know how she is,” Rainbow said with an annoyed shrug. “Yeah, I don’t think so,” Twilight said with a frustrated sigh. “If she brushed you off just like that, she’s probably withers-deep in trouble. Did you at least check?” “I’m not going near a thousand angry chickens!” Rainbow huffed. “If she says she’s fine, then she’s probably fine!” She snorted. “But, I guess if it’ll make you feel better, we can go check together. With stuff in town fixed, we can help her if she needs it.” “Actually, I have a better idea!” Twilight beamed and flared her wings. Rearing excitedly, her horn flared brilliantly as she summoned one of her oldest spells. The all-too-familiar teleportation matrix appeared in her mind’s eye, scooped up Rainbow Dash, and whisked them away. “Consarnit, Apple Bloom! Quit messin’ with the coops and go help your brother out in the west orchard! Me an’ Winona can take care of the critters!” Applejack bellowed from the front porch. A pair of feed sacks hung heavily from a saddlebag strapped to her back, filled to the brim with seeds and corn for the chickens. “Just a minute, sis! A few more nails and I’ll—Woah!” Apple Bloom flailed her forehooves, trying to regain her balance, and tumbled from the top of the chicken coop. She landed with a wet splat in the flock of crowing fowl and struggled to her hooves just in time to watch the hen house she’d just spent all day building suddenly implode with the sound of snapping wood. “Oh for Pete’s—” Applejack yelled, leaping from the porch and dashing to the commotion. She grumbled with annoyance as both of the feed bags slipped from her saddle, spilling their contents all over the yard. “Apple Bloom, are you okay? Apple Bloom!” A few chicks that had been chasing each other around Apple Bloom bolted away as Applejack skidded to a halt. Apple Bloom gave a half hearted nod and a squeak that sounded vaguely like, “Uh-huh.” Applejack sighed and pulled her sister from the mud. "Go clean up, get yourself somethin’ to drink, and once your head’s on straight go help Big Mac.” She watched Apple Bloom scamper off toward the house. With a loud whistle, she grumpily started chasing the escaped chickens. “Go on, git—Hey! You’re not supposed to—Get out of there! Winona, help!” A bright flash of magic accompanied by a familiar poof stole Applejack’s attention away to the farm’s front gate. Twilight Sparkle and the rest of her friends appeared out of thin air. “Applejack! How are things coming along?” Twilight called as she trotted to her friend, the others following—or in Pinkie’s case, bouncing. Applejack dropped to her haunches, a long drawn-out groan escaping her. A chicken landed on Applejack’s head and flapped off with her hat, clucking wildly as it vanished into the crowd of chickens. “Hey! You get back here!” Applejack cried out after it. She leapt to all fours and gave chase. Twilight blinked and grimaced. “Guess that answers that question.” “Oh, oh my goodness!” Fluttershy said, her airy voice little more than a whisper. She took off after Applejack, bounded down the hill, and slid to a stop in front of the flurry of feathers. She cleared her throat. “Okay, everyone! Let’s all quiet down!” All of the chickens stopped and looked at Fluttershy at the same time. After some confused clucking amongst each other, and a gentle hoofstomp from Fluttershy, they all formed a line in front of her. The one that had stolen Applejack’s hat dropped it off at her hooves before joining the lineup with a guilty cluck. “Now, let’s all be good little hens for Applejack. I know you’re scared because of the weather, but I’m sure they’ll get your home fixed as soon as they can. Don’t you think that…” As Fluttershy continued her speech, Twilight’s attention shifted and her friend’s voice seemed to fade. She squinted. A gentle mist of soft yellow arose from Fluttershy’s body, wafting over the flock. It shimmered in the light, and the more Fluttershy spoke, the quieter the chickens became. “Let’s all go to the barn while we wait nice and quietly for Applejack to put together your new home,” Fluttershy said, trotting along with a bounce to her step toward the barn. The chickens calmly followed, entering the barn one by one. Applejack sighed with relief and adjusted her hat. “Thanks, Flutters. They’ve been raisin’ a ruckus ever since the storm blew through.” “Oh, it’s no trouble at all. How are the rest of your animals?” Fluttershy said, rubbing her foreleg slowly. A small smile crossed her lips. “Mostly okay, jus’ some of ‘em are still a li’l spooked,” Applejack grunted, motioning to the barn. “Got everyone in there ‘cept the pigs.” She nodded toward the repaired enclosure, full of happily squealing pigs. Twilight trailed along behind her friends, transfixed by the sudden sight of magic flowing between the two. Something Fluttershy said made Applejack laugh—Twilight couldn’t quite make out the words at this distance. She did, however, notice their smiles coincided when that brief, faint trail of magic pulsed between them. A blink later it was gone, just as quickly as it appeared. Fluttershy disappeared into the barn as Applejack made her way back to Twilight and the others. “Fluttershy is gonna keep an eye on the animals. I can’t tell y’all how grateful I am that you’re here.” “If you needed help, why didn’t you come get somepony?” Twilight asked. She levitated her clipboard from her saddlebag, flipped to a blank page, and started scribbling some notes. “Heh, well,” Applejack said, rubbing the back of her neck, her face flushed with embarrassment. “Truth be told, I thought we’d be able to lick it on our own. I mean, we got a lot done before y’all showed up, but with the damage in the west orchard, it’s set us back a bit. RD came by the other day and I told her we had a handle on it.” “Well, we’re here now, and that’s what matters!” Rarity said, brushing her mane back behind her ear. “You just tell us what needs done.” Applejack chuckled. “If you say so, Rarity. I ain’t about to turn down a hard worker, but don’t come crying’ to me when you get all muddy!” Twilight glanced from Applejack to Rarity, then back to Applejack. The faintest trails of magic shimmered between them. A series of orange wisps flowed from Applejack to the rest of her friends, and a pale white arc linked Rarity and Applejack. What in Equestria is this? Twilight bit her lip as she pondered. Fluttershy’s special talent is handling animals, so I thought… why Applejack and Rarity…? Twilight blinked, and once again the magic had vanished. “Okay, I think that’ll work!” Applejack announced. “You catch all that, Twi?” Twilight started and blinked a few more times, her eyes refocusing. “I… what?” she stammered. She felt her balance reorient, and she stumbled. Applejack rolled her eyes and huffed. “Rarity’s gonna help us out with branch pruning, and RD can haul ‘em off to the house. Me an’ Big Mac’ll take care of the bigger trees after cuttin’ ‘em up. Pinkie Pie’s gonna help Granny Smith with supper. Think y’can write that down on yer fancy to-do list?” Applejack grumbled. “Oh! Right! Sorry, it’s… it’s been a long week,” Twilight breathed, her voice distant. She rubbed her head and started scrawling down a new checklist. Applejack put a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder with a gentle smile. “Believe me, sugarcube, I understand. There ain’t been no rest for any of us since we got back from Peacegrove. But I think just one more day is all we’ll need to have everything sorted! Come on everypony, let’s get to it!” Applejack whooped loudly and reared back, kicking her forelegs excitedly. Everypony cheered along with her, though Twilight’s were half hearted. Her thoughts kept drifting to this strange new magic. Something happened between Rainbow Dash and I… Now it’s happening to the others. It looks vaguely like tribal magic, but… there’s something different. Twilight trudged behind her friends, not paying particular attention to the direction—she was too busy taking notes on the back page of her clipboard. At this rate I’m going to be writing a book to the Princesses. They eventually joined up with Big Macintosh in the west orchard. He nodded to Applejack and continued on in silence, hauling a cart filled to the brim with logs. Twilight surveyed the damage and smiled slightly. It wasn’t as bad as she was expecting, but she knew it would still be a lot of work for just the Apple family by themselves. Against all of her better instincts, she decided to defer the taskmare role to Applejack. She just couldn’t take her mind off of the strange magic tethers. Her checklist-making and note-taking went into autopilot as Applejack told her this-and-that about the orchard’s layout and which parts needed the most attention. This is so strange. They’re not using magic, so what is it? I didn’t see it with anypony else in town. She watched as Rarity levitated piles of branches into Rainbow Dash’s cart. That familiar lattice—the most basic of unicorn spells—manifested itself before Twilight. Nothing unusual there. “Oh! Darling, wait just a moment,” Rarity said, putting her hoof on Rainbow Dash just before she took off. Rarity looked over the cart carefully. “Let me re-adjust this for you.” Rarity hummed to herself and used her magic to better sort the branches in the cart. She began to weave and affix them to one another into intricate patterns. Twilight watched as Rarity’s magic shimmered from her horn, the careful precision of her levitation and mending spell criss-crossing into the mass of branches. At that moment, she saw another pearlescent link form, connecting her to Rainbow Dash. “Gee, thanks Rarity!” Rainbow Dash muttered, rolling her eyes. “We good to go now, or should we put some ribbons on it?” “You’re all set, though I do think ribbons would really tie it all together!” Rarity said with a flourish. “Oh! Applejack, what are we doing with these branches once we’re done bringing them back to the house?” “Burnin’ ‘em,” Applejack said bluntly, her attention focused on loading Big Mac’s cart. “Them little twigs ain’t worth nothin’ anymore, so once we’ve got ‘em all rounded up, that’s probably the best thing to do with ‘em.” “What?” Rarity said, utterly aghast. “But these wood patterns are my best yet! I might even be able to…” She squealed as inspiration struck her. “Oooh, I have an idea for a new summer accessory line! Wooden rings and hoofwear studded with gems! It combines the chique with the rustic! Rust-ique?” She tapped a hoof on her chin. Applejack rolled her eyes with exasperation, but couldn’t help the smirk spreading over her face. “Y’know, that actually don’t sound too bad! Maybe y’all can look into that after we’re done cleanin’ the farm.” Twilight was entranced, her newfound sight overwhelming her with information. She could see magic flowing from Applejack and Big Mac’s hooves into the ground below them. The direction and color of the magic seemed to correspond with downed trees. Rainbow Dash flexed her wings, little sparks of blue energy crackling within the feathers. Rarity continued to fuss with the branches, her magic completely enveloping them. When all three have been connected... The colored tethers flashed into existence once again. They sparked between each of her friends, then vanished as quickly as they came. She hurriedly scribbled down more notes, her mind racing. It seems like it happens whenever they interact. I can’t tell if it’s explicitly magical. It looks like magic, but the strands appear independently of their magic use. Once we finish here, I’ll need to set up an observation and— A hoof against Twilight’s shoulder made her yelp in surprise, the clipboard flying wildly into the air as she recoiled. “Hey!” Rainbow Dash stepped away. “Hey, relax! We’re just trying to talk to you.” Twilight took a deep breath, feeling her senses return. “I-I’m fine,” Twilight said, exhaling loudly. “Sorry, just lost in my own head again.”  Rainbow fidgeted in the cart’s harness and flexed her wings. “I was trying to tell you that I’m heading back to the house with these.” “Right, yes, of course,” Twilight murmured. She ticked a box on her checklist. She scanned down the parchment. “With the amount of debris, we should be able to clear most of the smaller stuff in…” She twirled her quill around in mid-air, doing calculations in the air with it. “Three hours.” “Three hours? We’ll do it in two!” Rainbow scoffed before taking to the sky, cart in tow. Twilight watched as blue aethereal ribbons flowed from her chest, linking to all of her friends. The magic persisted even as Rainbow soared over the treetops, and only faded when Twilight blinked. Twilight continued to keep tabs on the new magical phenomenon as they worked. They never lasted long—no more than a second or two at the most—but they twinkled just long enough to keep stealing her attention. I’ve got to get to the bottom of this! She shook her head, exasperated. Still, she couldn’t help but smile as they flared up, more and more. Something about them was oddly… comforting. The scent of delicious cooked oats, apple pie, and other treats filled the Apple family home. Twilight and her friends settled around the kitchen table, excitedly whispering amongst themselves. Granny Smith slowly trundled from one end of the kitchen to the other, precariously balancing trays of food as Pinkie Pie assisted in her own bouncy way. “Heck yeah,” Rainbow said excitedly, wiping drool from her mouth. “I’m starving!” “I’m just glad we got all of the animals safe,” Fluttershy said softly. She peeked out from under her mane to Applejack and Apple Bloom. “You’re going to have the chicken coops fixed tomorrow, right?” “Uh-huh!” Apple Bloom said with an overly enthusiastic nod. “I think they’ll be okay one more night in the barn. That lullaby you sang to them was enough to even put me to sleep!” Apple Bloom blinked slowly before letting out a wide yawn. Pinkie Pie bounced over to the table. “Thanks to Granny Smith’s recipes, I think I’ve got everything figured out for everypony!” she exclaimed, taking a deep breath. “Rainbow Dash wants her oats extra crispy, Fluttershy easy on the sauce, Rarity no sauce, Twilight wants hers cut into two-by-three squares, Applejack wants ‘all the fixin’s,’ Granny Smith’s needs to be as soft as possible, Apple Bloom wants her dessert first, and Big Mac isn’t picky!” she rattled off, pointing to each of her friends in turn. Cheers and laughter resounded throughout the home. Food was served, drinks were poured, and everypony shared in the revelry. Twilight smiled and allowed herself to be swept up in the joy. How could she not? She was with her best friends! Pinkie’s grin grew and grew—just how much happiness can one pony contain? Twilight laughed as Pinkie scampered to and fro, helping Granny Smith with serving second helpings and dessert. It was a miracle that Pinkie could find the time for herself to eat. Then, Twilight saw it. A dazzling light show erupted from Pinkie Pie’s body, invisible to everypony but Twilight. Her mouth hung open as the trails of light stretched all across the room, growing in brightness. All the colors of the rainbow anchored Pinkie Pie to every single pony in the room. Sudden giddiness washed over Twilight as she wordlessly ate, for once too lost in the moment to turn magic theories about in her head. Twilight blinked, and the light vanished. She felt her breathing grow labored, a jumble of emotions flowing through her mind. I have to get to the bottom of this, she thought. She slumped down, resting her head on Rainbow Dash’s shoulder as weariness overtook her. “Everything okay, Twi?” Dash murmured, shifting slightly to bear the weight. Twilight smiled softly. “Everything’s great. I sometimes forget how wonderful it is to have so many amazing ponies to call my friends.” My friends… my friends… The words echoed in her mind, yet another piece of the puzzle she knew she would solve. Light filled the library and the shimmering of unicorn magic echoed through the chamber. A myriad of books found themselves bathed in the magical glow and, with a flash, blinked into Twilight’s bedroom. Twilight scanned the books floating around her. Magic & Myths, Lost Civilizations of Equus, Beyond the Eden Breach, The Trials of Ponykind, and similar titles adorned the withered spines. She let out a disappointed nicker. “No Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide. I never had a chance to finish researching that one.” One by one, the books piled neatly to one side as Twilight cast her thoughts back to that first evening with her friends. The first encounter with Nightmare Moon had been one of the most difficult trials of her life, but the love from her friends made all of it worth it. The mental image of them standing defiantly against the fiend melted away to a more recent one—sharing the laughter and joy around the Apple family table. Two very different situations, but the very same friends sharing an important moment. Twilight’s warm smile firmed as determination filled her spirit. “First things first.” She pulled out her journal and opened to the most recent entry, penned what felt like a lifetime ago. She closed her eyes, allowing the quill to trace her thoughts as she recalled her adventure. Day 10: Dream message continues to persist, but with new additions. As seen during my time in Amethyst Hollow, the fragment from the Golden Oak Aether has been added to the message (see Day 9). Since my abilities have not yet extended to pegasus magic, I must be particularly observant for any signs of pegasus activity throughout the day and update accordingly. Day 10 con’t: It took some time, but my abilities to visualize pegasus magic have started to manifest. The trigger to this new ability was an intense display of magic at a Wonderbolts show, via Rainbow Dash’s Sonic Rainboom. The arcs of magic left behind not only provided the first evidence of the base composition of pegasus aether, but also Rainbow Dash’s own latent abilities. I hypothesize it is related to her status as the Element of Loyalty—possibly a deep-seated connection related to the Sonic Rainboom linking the six of us together in the first place. Day 11: Weather disasters all across Equestria. An ancient weather factory, now known to be the mythical Cloudsbane, sent an incredible amount of weather to nearly every major city in the kingdom. Minor cloud cover built up over time until it finally culminated in the worst (and most unusual) storm Equestria has ever seen. Through some teamwork, and some clever use of pegasus weather control magic, we were able to clear the skies above Ponyville. I researched as much as I could find regarding the pegasus weather factories, and found an anomalous entity above the far-away town of Seaward Shoals. Day 12: I travelled to Seaward Shoals with Rainbow Dash, the pegasus most suited to assist me in this leg of my journey. We discovered that their weather was indeed controlled by the Cloudsbane, and that the weather patrol had been unable to access it for many generations. Upon investigating the factory, I learned that Umbrum magic—colloquially known as “dark magic”—was the culprit. Based on my observations of renegade weather simulacra, the corruption of the factory’s weather core, and the pegasus magic containment unit, a pegasus variant of Umbrum magic had been employed. Twilight scanned her writing, flicking the tip of her quill against her chin. She pondered for a moment before resuming. Perhaps it may be more accurate to say an Umbrum variant of pegasus magic. Contrary to prior research by Starswirl the Bearded, Umbrum magic variants of all three tribes may exist. Alicorns have been known to utilize the familiar “standard” variant employed by King Sombra (the unicorn variant) with difficulty. I was able to control this new pegasus variant while in the Cloudsbane, though I am not sure at what cost. With proper focus and discipline, repeated use of the magic appears to have mitigated its side-effects, but these conclusions are pending further research. No Umbrum variant of earth pony magic has been observed or attempted. Twilight paused, looking down at her hooves. She shivered, imagining the powerful—and terrifying—things Umbrum magic was capable of. Just what could earth pony magic be bent toward? She sighed, setting aside her journal and taking a moment to breathe. She gazed across the room toward the top shelf of her bookshelf, remembering the box given to her by Ivy Bramble. A smile crept across her lips. “Perhaps both of these thoughts can wait for another day.” She completed her journal entry, quickly proofed for spelling errors, then tucked the journal away. She pulled the top book off the research pile and opened it to the first page, taking care not to crack the ancient binding. Hours melted away into the night, and Twilight’s stack of research books dwindled to but a hoofful. She trudged through ancient civilizations, wandered far-off lands, and lived mythical cultures, yet still did not find herself any closer to the final piece of the puzzle. It’s all tied to alicorn magic, it just has to be. She sighed with frustration. Plowing through her fatigue, she opened one last book—a nearly-forgotten tome that was nearly falling to pieces. She carefully turned the delicate pages to reveal the the ancient tribal emblem: an icon representing each of the three pony tribes surrounding an alicorn in the center. Sifting through her notes, she pulled out her clean copy of the page. Scribbled in the margins next to their respective tribes were Amethyst Hollow and Golden Oak. She penned Cloudsbane next to the pegasus icon. She stared at the alicorn. She couldn’t tell if the image was trying to give her the hidden answer or taunting her with its existence. “When all three have been connected…” Twilight muttered. She stood from her desk and stretched, grunting loudly. She wandered her way over to the large map of Equestria on her wall. Her horn glowed, and three orbs of light shone on the map. A lavender orb illuminated Mount Everhoof; an orange orb rested above the Silverglade Forest; a bright blue orb shone above the South Luna Sea. Is the answer right here in front of me? She extruded colored lines of magic from each of the points, connecting them. Her eyes gravitated toward the center of the triangle. Canterlot? No, Canterlot is just a bit too far east. That means… Calculations ran through her head as she took measurements, summoning an aethereal ruler and compass. The only location equidistant to all of the foci is… She brought up a scrap of parchment and scribbled a few quick calculations It can’t be—but it is. The Everfree Forest! Twilight’s horn pulsed with light, and a fourth glowing orb—this one crimson—situated itself on the forest. She ran through the numbers again and again, furiously writing so hard that she actually tore the parchment in half. Her heart raced. She felt excitement building within, crescendoing on elation. This new focus wasn’t just the Everfree Forest. It was a specific location deep within. When all three have been connected, the Element will ascend… “The math checks out,” Twilight said confidently to nopony in particular, allowing the parchment to flutter to the floor. A wide grin spread over her face. It was there. It had to be there. The original resting place of the Elements of Harmony. The Castle of the Two Sisters.