//------------------------------// // Magic // Story: Tales from the Conversion Bureau: The Last Bastion // by Sachiel //------------------------------// Library, Second Imperial Palace, Petropolis, Second Empire of Brazil, one year ago She was the last one now She felt it, one by one, five magical presences she'd known for centuries had blinked out, now it was just her. It had been many centuries since she'd known the feeling of loneliness, not since she was a bookworm shut away in her little library tower in Canterlot Luis, Prince Imperial appeared from out of the stacks clutching the volume she'd been looking for...among others, he set the stack down on the table and handed one to her “That's a lot of books” “Getting some light reading for tonight” she only raised an eyebrow, mares in glass houses shouldn't throw stones “Well...at least you're not making book forts anymore” “What?” “You don't remember? As a kid you used to come in here to see me, take the ones I'd finished reading and stack them up to make a fort” “Well tia Twilight, you always said this place was a fortress of knowledge” that got a laugh out of the old mare, making her ancient sides ache as she levitated up the book he'd brought “Maybe you can take your sense of humour and go track down the next volume for me?” “Sure thing” Luis turned to go and then heard a heavy thud, he spun back around, Twilight was slumped over the desk, half the books on the floor “Tia!” She slowly pushed her eyes open and the world swam back into view, she was in her bed, in her room, the Imperial family surrounded her bedside “Tia?” Luis asked “I'm here Luis” she said softly, struggling to sit up “Wait Twilight, the doctor said you have to be careful” Pedro warned her “What happened?” “The doctors think it's some kind of stroke, Silver Suture thinks something went wrong with your magic, she said it happens a lot to...” he didn't need to finish, when unicorns got to a certain age their magic would start going funny, it was like humans being prone to falling, she'd burned through too much of her alicorn power “Both our human and unicorn doctors agree you need to take it easy” “I've got too much to do” “Twilight..” Luis started, she looked at him, she thought it was time “Pedro, would you mind?” the emperor nodded, taking his wife and niece by the shoulders he led them out of the room “Tia? What's going on?” “This is something all future emperors have had to do once they're old enough, there's one final secret you need to know, to know the truth” “What is it?” “It's something I've got to show you, I hope I can still do the spell” she beckoned him closer and leaned forwards, the tip of her horn glowing she pressed it to his forehead and the princes eyes burned with white energy Suddenly he was floating in a vast white void, the old alicorn next to him and a row of doors on either side of therm both “Phew, still got it” “Where are we?” “In essence, my head, these are my memories” she waved her foreleg and the doors sped by at lightning speed until stopping at a battered, old looking door “Do you know why the Elements and I came over to earth?” “Dad said you tried to help us after Celestia wouldn't stop the barrier and you got banished for it” “That's...technically right” Twilight's horn glowed and the door opened, she motioned for Luis to step inside Below them it played out, the doors to the room flung open, the Elements charged in with determination, forming up as their necklaces and crown glowed, loyalty, laughter, generosity, honesty, kindness and magic calling forth their power. The different coloured light shooting forth from each, merging into a rainbow and rushing at the newest threat to harmony To Celestia's credit she looked shocked as it raced towards her, unable to believe her most faithful student and her friends had turned against her. Then a wall of white flame rose around the throne, a split second before the rainbow power could reach her and it shattered, even the power of the Elements paling before the barely contained might of the Princess of the Sun The white flames parted and Celestia strode forth, her eyes now golden yellow and black, blazing with a terrible, ancient rage, the fury of betrayal. She bellowed for the guards to seize them with a true Royal Canterlot Voice, so full of power that it almost cracked the castles walls. Twilights determination morphed into horror, it hadn't worked, her horn began to glow as Celestia took another step forwards, the carpets burning from the heat of the solar fire The other Elements clustered next to her as her purple magic coated them, but a brilliant white magic began to swirl around each necklace and the crown, fighting with the purple. With a bang the six friends vanished from the room, the necklaces and crown remaining in place for a second, caught between the swirling, battling magic of mentor and student, then cracking and exploding in a blinding array of rainbow light As the pieces scattered onto the floor Celestia raised her head and let out a furious shriek, waves of white flame bursting forth, the magic in her voice shattering every window in Canterlot Castle in her fury and anguish “You tried to use the Elements against her” Twilight hung her head, even now ashamed “I tried to convince her to stop, she didn't listen, she'd written you off as monsters. She wasn't going to stop. So I...I had to stop her, I had to try. The girls agreed with me, it was the only way, none of them were willing to give you up either” Twilight sighed bitterly “she sent me to Ponyville to learn about friendship, at some point she forgot what that means” “You gave up everything for us” “We couldn't go anywhere else in Equestria, she'd have been able to cast spells to block my teleporting, we had to go then and there or...I don't know what she'd have done and I don't want to know. So we left everything and came here, to help on this side” “It's a lot to take in but thank you for showing me” Twilight shook her head “No no, this isn't the secret” her horn glowed and in a flash they were back in between the rows of doors, in front of one with all six of the Elements cutie marks etched into the wood “This is” Luis didn't know what could be worse than what he'd just seen but he reached for the door and opened it Once the stepped inside he was floating above another room with his old mentor beside him “Luis, you know how Alicorns can live forever, right?” “Yeah, your magic is special, different from those of unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies, it slows your ageing down so it's basically non-existent” “And yet...” Twilight gestured to herself, waiting for her number one assistant and pupil to put the pieces together, like his father, grandfather and past emperors and presidents had done before him, she didn't wait long “You gave it up somehow, you sacrificed your immortality, sent the alicorn magic somewhere else. No, to someone else, someones else, someponies else” She hung her head low as below them past Twilight moved towards her friends and her horn began to glow with a deep royal purple, far darker than her usual magic “You sacrificed your immortality for them, to prolong their lives” “I lost everything and everypony I ever knew, I...I couldn't lose them too” she looked down as the deep purple magic spread from her horn into the other Elements, for a second their eyes glowed with the magic “That's it, the final secret” in a flash of light they were back outside in the hallway of doors “Thank you for showing me Twilight, I know it can't have been easy to do this for every ruler in Brazil since you came here” “I asked each of them the same question and now I need to ask you” she lowered her gaze “do you forgive me?” “I...what?” “By sacrificing my magic I shortened my own life, the time I had to try and stop the barrier, the magic at my disposal to try to use against it, all for my own selfish reasons, because despite everything, I still felt friendship was magic. Maybe if I had more time I could had done more, I could have hep you more, saved you, atoned for what I did. So, I have to ask you, do you forgive me?” Luis stood there for a second, then a rainbow glow shined in his eyes and hers and he moved forward to embrace her “You did so much for us, you never gave up on us, you fought for us, you sacrificed everything for us and you keep trying to help save us. I can't forgive you because there's nothing to forgive tia Twilight” he let go and looked her the old mare he'd come to see as a mentor and a friend That old mare slowly began to smile “All these centuries, every time, you all say the same thing” tears began to well up “and every time I remember why we did it and why I know all six of us would do it again. When you weigh the good along with the bad you're worth it, you're worth fighting for” her horn glowed and a sash appeared. It was made of a repeating design consisting of six purple, yellow, blue, red, green and pink gems arrayed around a six-pointed magenta star on a dark background “Here, I want you to have this” she levitated it over to Luis “What is it?” “Kind of our unofficial flag, the Elements I mean, we all made one so no matter where we went, where we ended up we'd always have a reminder of how important we are to each other and of the magic of friendship. The magic that brought us all together and made us realize you were worth fighting for” Luis took it and slipped it on “I'm honoured Twilight” She smiled as her horn glowed again and suddenly they were back in her room in the palace, looking down Luis saw he was still wearing the sash, somehow He didn't say anything about it, there was nothing he needed to say “Luis, I'm tired, would you mind reading me something until I fall asleep?” she tapped the book lying on the table next to the bed “Sure” he reached for the book “Thank you, my most faithful student” she whispered softly, Twilight made herself as comfortable as Luis settled into a chair next to her bed and opened the book, bound in purple with a golden horseshoe on the front cover Hm, it was written like a journal...