When Rarity woke up again, it was to find that her body felt off. She got to her hooves and examined herself. This in turn caught the attention of Twilight, who was sitting against a nearby tree half-asleep.
Twilight noticed her examinations. “Is something wrong?” she asked, getting to her own feet and approaching.
Rarity frowned. “I don’t know about ‘wrong’, per se. But… I feel decidedly odd,” she admitted, patting her chest experimentally.
“As in?” Twilight encouraged.
“I don’t know.” This was apparently frustrating to the Unicorn, as she shook her head with a scowl. “As far as I can tell, I am perfectly fine, but I feel off. Like… Like there’s something only very slightly off-center.”
Twilight made an “ah” of understanding. “I think I get it.” She motioned to the side, where Rarity could see a now greatly diminished, though still muscular, purplish dragon laying in the grass. “You’re probably subconsciously feeling the bond between you and Spike. You remember what happened, right?” she asked. Rarity nodded. “Soul magic is a forbidden school of magic, and for a good reason. It is incredibly easy to abuse that kind of power to control people. Due to this, there’s not much documentation in regards to how it’s used, and most who delve into Soul magic do so through trial and error. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred… that ends badly.”
She motioned to herself. “I myself used Soul magic as a component to the ritual that brought me back to Equus, using my soul as a wayfinder to guide me home. Still, I’m no expert in the field and, to be honest… there was a very good chance I could have permanently damaged your souls trying to make an artificial bond between them. As it stands, I have no doubts that it’s an imperfect bond, likely not all that stable either, and that’s probably why you can feel it.”
Rarity tilted her head in consideration. “So… are we in danger?”
Twilight shrugged. “Even natural, perfect bonds come with hazards. If the bond was perfect, you would find yourselves slowly adopting personality traits from each other. Spike, for instance, may find himself admiring fashion more than he normally would, while you may find yourself wondering at what gems taste like. That would be it though.”
“And imperfect bonds?” Rarity asked.
“Imperfect bonds let more than just character traits flow between the bonded. What exactly will get moved depends on the severity of the instability. Considering my inexperience… if you start hearing Spike’s voice in your mind one day, don’t label it as insanity too quickly,” she warned. “This also comes with a risk of the barriers in your mind separating reality and fantasy breaking down. But if you’re determined and stubborn enough…” She shrugged again. “The bond will eventually stabilize itself. Eventually. I have no idea when.”
“So keep a close eye on my own mental stability, and alert you if I feel that something is off?” Rarity asked after a moment.
Twilight nodded. “Either me or Celestia. In fact, you may be better off scheduling regular therapy sessions and explaining the situation to your therapist.” Twilight’s ear twitched and she looked over. “C’mon, Rainbow Dash just got back from scouting ahead. Spike has shrunk back down to his regular size, so we can carry him until he wakes up.”
Rarity nodded and followed Twilight.
---
“So, before we go anywhere, I have a question for everyone. Who here has been hearing voices?” Twilight asked as everyone gathered in a clearing and prepared to leave. Spike was tied securely to Rarity’s back to ensure he remained there in case they needed to run at some point. “Please be honest, it’s important.”
Everyone glanced at each other, before Pinkie raised a hoof. “I have,” she said. Her eyes flashed with blue light. “I heard someone speak to me during my nightmare. He helped me overcome it and gave me the ability to go into everyone else’s minds to save them.” She held up a hoof and looked at the ghostly blue flame she managed to call to it briefly. “Still not sure how to feel about that though,” she admitted.
“I… I have as well,” Fluttershy said, raising a hoof. “It asked me questions about what I valued most, and when it was happy with my answers, it gave me the power to calm the Manticore.”
“Same here, darling,” Rarity spoke up. “When you asked for a volunteer for young Spike’s soul bond, I heard a voice egging me on to do so because of how he could benefit me. It was pleased when I refused to do that to Spike, and instead chose to bond to him to help him.”
“Anyone else?” Twilight asked. When no one else said anything, she nodded. “Good. I’ve heard a voice as well, and I believe they are the tests of the Elements. They seem to be seeking something within us. What, I’m unsure, but I was found somewhat lacking.”
“Lacking?” Sunset asked.
“It said I wasn’t what it needed, but that there was potential.”
Applejack looked thoughtful, staring into the fire. Twilight noticed. “Applejack, is something wrong?” she asked.
Applejack looked up. She frowned. “Ah dunno.” she said slowly. “I’ve just been thinkin’ about these Elements. Laughter, Loyalty, Generosity, Kindness, Honesty, and Magic. I jes’... I guess I’m having a hard time acceptin’ that they’ll save us from Nightmare Moon.” She shook her head. “Don’t get me wrong, the Princess used them on Nightmare Moon once, so clearly they work… but I just don’t understand how,” she said.
“Yeah, you never really did explain how the Elements work,” Rainbow Dash noted. “How do mushy things like that beat an Alicorn?”
Twilight looked around and could tell all of them were paying attention, clearly curious. She sighed. “Well, I guess we have the time.” She closed her eyes and thought of the Elements, and everything she knew about them.
“The first thing you need to understand is that the Elements of Harmony are what are commonly referred to as Conceptualized Artifacts. They’re basically a concept distilled and refined into a physical form. Their concept is, clearly, Harmony,” she said, shrugging.
“Now, Conceptualized Artifacts are pretty powerful, but they have their drawbacks. Harmony is a force of balance, so how powerful do you think the Elements would be if their bearers were wholly unbalanced?”
“Ah’m guessing not much’ll happen,” Applejack said.
Twilight nodded towards Applejack. “Right. If the bearers aren’t at harmony with themselves and each other, at least, then the Elements will fail to activate. Now, you asked how those six concepts can be useful. I’ll warn you that this is pure conjecture at this point, but I think the six Elements are meant to represent something when wielded together. I’m not sure what, but considering they are the Elements of Harmony, I imagine it will be something altogether harmonious.”
She paused in thought here. “... Fluttershy said she was asked about her views towards life. What were the exact words you heard?” she asked.
Fluttershy squeaked at the sudden attention. “Uh… I… I had froze after yelling like I did.I was… I could see everything as if in slow motion. I saw the manticore nearing me. I… I saw you pull out that long weapon. I saw Applejack and Pinkie lunging for the manticore. I saw Sunset and Rarity trying to use magic, and Rainbow Dash…” She shuddered.
Rainbow Dash looked away, all too aware of how her friend felt about her using her weather magic.
“I knew that… I had to stop everyone. But I didn’t know how. I didn’t even have the strength to move. That was when the voice appeared.”
Fluttershy hesitated for a moment. “It… offered me power. The power to act, but it also said that power came at a cost. If I used its power against the manticore, it would kill it. But if I didn’t use the power somepony else would die, maybe me.”
Fluttershy lowered her head, hiding her face in her mane. “It told me I had to choose. Power, or no power. Kill, or be killed.” Here Fluttershy looked up, and Twilight noted that her eyes had a green glint in them. “Death… or Life. I chose life, and it congratulated me, giving me the power to stop the manticore through understanding it.”
Twilight frowned as the green glint vanished. “I see,” she murmured, more to herself. She looked at Pinkie Pie. “And you? You said the voice saved you from your nightmare. How?”
Pinkie grinned a little uneasily, rubbing at her neck. “Well, everypony knows I like to throw parties and make people smile. It’s my passion, making others happy.” She waved a hoof. “I know! I know. That’s… not the healthiest way to live your life. It’s why I focus on some ponies. They ground me, remind me that my happiness matters too, that I deserve to smile as well.” She smiled, and the blue light glinted in her eyes once again. “I’ve never found greater joy than when I successfully made someone’s day better.”
The group was silent for a bit, considering how that all tied together. Sunset eventually stood up. “Well, clearly the Elements have some level of power. We can confirm at least that much. Whether or not it’ll be enough is what I wonder. I don’t know about all of you, but these abilities were never mentioned in any book or story I read regarding them, so I’m suspicious.”
Rainbow Dash nodded. “Yeah, I’m on Sunset’s side, not gonna lie. The few stories I heard about them as a kid were pretty vague. They never went into the hows and whys of them,” she agreed. “Just… bam! They’re used, day is saved, world restored, and life moved on.”
Twilight also stood, the others following, and they began packing up what little bit remained of their camp. “I guess all that we can do for now is wait until we get more information.” She looked towards what her compass frequently (though not always) declared was north. “Let’s keep moving. I think we’re getting closer.”