//------------------------------// // And Save A Tree // Story: The Visiting Team -- Part II // by Lets Do This //------------------------------// Sunset Shimmer stood inside the cave entrance, looking out at the riverbed beyond and scanning the sky in what she thought was the direction of Canterlot. "Ya think she got the message?" Applejack asked. "I hope so," Sunset said. "I think I did the spell right, but if not, I don't know what to fix. If she doesn't show, we could try it again, but--" "But I don't think we'll have to!" Rainbow called, pointing. Overhead they could see the Royal Chariot, sweeping about in a long curve above the treetops. It lined up with the chasm, and the Chariot's flyers brought it in for a rough, bumpy landing on the riverbed. Standing on the Chariot's platform were Twilight and Spike, accompanied by Tempest, Grubber, and Cheese Sandwich. "Hi, everypony!" Twilight called as she hopped down. "Hey, Sunset -- I got your message." "Great, Twi. But where are the others, and the Elements?" "We had to split up," Twilight said. "These things aren't designed to seat eight plus luggage." She pointed upwards, to where a second chariot was lining up with the chasm. The Royal Chariot took off, and the second chariot came in for a landing. Aboard it were Starlight, Trixie, and Moondancer, plus a rope bag containing five of the stone orbs. The sixth, larger one had been roped securely onto the platform behind them. "Somepony call for an order of Elements?" Trixie asked archly. "The Great and Powerful Trixie does not disappoint!" Ignoring her, the ponies all helped unload the orbs, and set them in a loose circle. Then they looked at each other, uncertainly. "So... we've got them," Rainbow said. "Now how do we wake them up again?" "I'm... still not sure," Twilight said hesitantly. "Twilight." Sunset looked at her sympathetically. "That's not really true, is it?" "Huh?" "You've known, all along," Sunset went on. "You just haven't wanted to admit it, even to yourself." She gestured to the Ponyville group. "It's like you said: these ponies are your friends, some of the best friends one could have. And having spent time with them, I've seen why, first-hoof. They're smart, capable, and caring. And when it really matters, they don't give up." "All true!" "Shut up, Rainbow," Applejack muttered. "And," Sunset went on, "unlike us ivory-tower students, these ponies aren't so steeped in magic and spellwork that they can't see a way through without them. They don't need magic: they just need the Element of Harmony that each of them represents." Sunset put a comforting hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "All you have to do is accept that, and be the Element you represent: Friendship. That's all it takes." "I know that, Sunset." "So? What's this really about, then?" Twilight looked at her miserably. "What if... what if by taking on the Element of Magic, I can't be part of our group any longer? What if the Elements interfere with the Field of Harmony in some way, so we can't use it? What if --" Sunset held up a hoof for silence. And then she stared at it in surprise, and both of them laughed in recognition. "You know, that's exactly what Princess Celestia would do," Twilight said, "whenever I'd been stressing out aloud too much." "Guess I've picked up more than a few things from being her student," Sunset agreed. "But the point is, Twilight, you don't have to worry, not ever. So what if you're not able to power the Field with us? Or if we have to rely on using the Elements instead? We'll manage, like we always do. And we'll still be your friends. All of us, no matter what." Twilight glanced around. The other ponies were all nodding, proudly and willingly. But Twilight still looked doubtful. So Sunset played her final card. "You know," she said, "I could try activating the Elements with Applejack and the others. I could try taking your place here." "Really?" Twilight asked. It wasn't clear if she was relieved or regretful at the possibility. "Could, but for one thing," Sunset said. "C'mon, I wanna show you something." Sunset led the way into the cave, to the dying tree. Twilight gasped, seeing it. "The Tree of Harmony!" Sunset blinked. "Is that what it's called?" Twilight nodded. "Moondancer found a description of it, more or less, in one of Star Swirl's journals." "I really need to brush up on my history," Sunset admitted. "In any case, look at the center of it, the very heart of the tree." Twilight was looking, her eyes wide. "My cutie mark..." "Uh huh. You were right, Twilight. The six of you were always meant to be together, meant to be friends, meant to reactivate the Elements and use them together. And then restore them to the Tree of Harmony to keep it from dying." "And restore that power," Twilight quoted, "that will defend and maintain balance in all Equestria." She grinned sheepishly. "That's from Star Swirl's journal, too." "Lemme borrow it sometime when we get back home. But right now, we've got a tree to save, huh?" Twilight nodded. "You're right, Sunset." Working together, the ponies brought the six stone orbs into the cave, and spread them in a loose circle, with one of the ponies from Ponyville standing by each of them. Twilight looked around the circle. "Is everypony okay with this?" she said. "I realize it's a big ask, but--" "Twi," Applejack said. "If we weren't willing to help come what may, none of us'd be here. Just tell us what to do." "I don't think you need to do anything. It's all on me. Just be ready." "Fire away, then," Rainbow said. And the others nodded, too. Twilight stared at the orbs, uncertain. "You know, Twilight," Sunset said quietly, "when Princess Celestia originally tasked me with finding a way to reactivate the Elements, I always assumed I was the pony to wield them too. But I think my job was simply to find somepony who could do that. And I've done that... It's you, Twilight. You can do this. You should do this." She smiled, nodding. "Go on." Twilight nodded, then cleared her throat. She pointed a hoof at each of her friends, naming them: "Applejack, Element of Honesty. Fluttershy, Element of Kindness. Pinkie Pie, Element of Laughter. Rarity, Element of Generosity. Rainbow Dash, Element of Loyalty..." She took a deep breath. "... and Twilight Sparkle, Element of Magic." The ponies waited. And waited... and waited some more. Nothing happened. The orbs didn't even flicker. Rainbow had been holding her eyes tight shut. She opened one of them and peered around. "Is something sparkly and rainbow-lasery supposed to be happening right now? Just askin', cause I don't wanna miss it..." "It's not working!" Twilight said, frightened. "In the other timeline, all I had to do was name my friends and our respective elements." Fluttershy pointed at the Tree. "Maybe the Tree's too far gone?" she said. "Maybe it doesn't have enough power left for this to work?" They all stared fearfully at the strangled, dead-looking crystal tree. Sunset stamped a hoof. "Maybe it doesn't. But we sure do." She looked around at the Canterlot group. "The Field of Harmony, gang! We'll use it to give the Elements a jump-start. We'll pair up, each of us with the pony whose Element matches ours." She pointed rapidly. "Starlight, you're with Twilight. I'm with Fluttershy. Cheese, you're with Pinkie. And the same for the rest of you." "Let's use the seven-gem solution," Starlight suggested. "That way, Twilight can help power the Field as well." "Works for me," Sunset said. "Trixie, you have the spare set of Field gems?" "Hmph! Why else do you think I stashed these away before we left?" Removing her hat, Trixie produced the Field necklaces from it, one by one, and hoofed them round to their respective ponies. "Do you think it'll work, Sunset?" Moondancer asked. "The way these vines distort our magic..." "Of course it'll work," Sunset said. "Because the vines only block regular everyday magic. The Elements -- and our Field gems, too -- they use a very different kind of magic..." "... Friendship," Twilight agreed, nodding. "And we won't be trying to work a spell," Sunset went on, "so much as provide a pool of magic for the Elements to draw on." Rainbow shrugged. "Worst case, it doesn't work. And we're toast. So no loss in trying, huh?" "Not when you put it like that." Moondancer grimaced. The ponies swiftly teamed up. And Applejack looked around the ring of paired ponies, grinning. "Huh! Just like dance night in Appleloosa. Bow to your partner, bow to your own, and so forth..." "All right, gang!" Sunset said briskly. "Let's fire it up." Together, the Canterlot ponies triggered the Field spell. In seconds, the cave was gleaming with the swirling, spectral light of the Field's storage ring. They were lifted off the ground, eyes gleaming, their manes and tails gently flowing. And the five Ponyville ponies were lifted with them, held securely in the air. OKAY, TWILIGHT, Sunset said, her Voice booming in the confined space. WHENEVER YOU'RE READY. Twilight nodded, and looked around the circle. She pointed, and named the elements: "HONESTY... KINDNESS... LAUGHTER... GENEROSITY... LOYALTY... ... AND MAGIC..." The stone orbs crackled with power, gleamed briefly... then exploded into swirling clouds of gleaming shards. Each of these swept upwards, to one of the six Element Bearers, reforming into a glittering necklace for each of them, plus the lavender star-gemmed crown for Twilight. Amazed, Twilight peered up at the crown, then down at the Field gem she was wearing. Both were gleaming with power, feeding their separate magic auras without conflict. IT WORKED! she called, overjoyed. OKAY, NOW FOR THE HARD PART... TWILIGHT! Moondancer called, LOOK OUT! Attracted by the surge of magic, vine shoots were flinging madly at the group. They quickly snared all twelve ponies in midair. The vines twisted around their hooves, their necks, their horns, tugging at them, pulling them in different directions, trying to draw them apart. KEEP IT TOGETHER, GANG! Sunset called. GO FOR IT, TWI! Twilight hurriedly redirected the Field's magic, to gather up each of the six Element gems, one from each pony, including herself. She tried to levitate them towards the Tree, but then a vine wrapped around her face, covering her eyes and blocking her view. For a moment, her levitation spell faltered, the gems trembling perilously in midair. Shaking her head fiercely, Twilight managed to get one eye uncovered. With that, she took firm hold of the gemstones, and swept them over to the branches of the Tree, dodging tendrils and creepers that were attempting to grab them. The gems swept up to their places on each of the Tree's branches. Each gemstone slotted smoothly into its socket. The center of the tree opened like the mouth of a starfish, accepting the final magenta star gemstone. For a long, tense moment, nothing seemed to be happening. The ponies struggled against the pull of the vines. The Field of Harmony's storage loop thrumming dangerously, threatening to unbalance, to overload... And then there was a blaze of cleansing, soothing light. The Tree flared brilliantly, its energy fully rekindled. A wash of power blazed outwards from it, crumbling the vines to dust, which blew away on the winds. The explosion of power briefly bottled up in the cave's narrow tunnel, and then simply blasted outwards, taking a chunk of the cliff-face with it, exposing the cave to the open air outside. The explosion of power moved on, magnifying as it went, spreading outwards across the Everfree Forest, across Ponyville and Canterlot, wiping out the vines wherever it encountered them, eradicating them utterly. And the ponies could all feel it happening directly, as if they were flying along with the blaze of power themselves, all across the land. It was a wonderful, marvelous feeling -- like finally, finally cleaning up a mess that had been allowed to gather and fester far too long. Feeling dazed, Twilight glanced around at her friends, who all looked just as bewilderedly pleased as she did. STAND DOWN, she called, gratefully. The Canterlot group complied, winding down the Field spell. The ponies' eyes and manes returned to normal, their hooves settled to the ground. And then they all stood and stared at the Tree of Harmony. It was utterly transformed. No longer gray and sickly, it glittered like a fireworks display. Its branches were draped with strands of sparkling light, the gemstone Elements gleaming brightly. Rainbow spoke first. "That... was... awesome!" Leaping into the air, she turned several loop-the-loops, threatening to brain herself on the cave's ceiling. Zecora nodded, smiling ear-to-ear. // I don't have to ask // // if you did it right. // // I could tell myself -- // // it was so bright! // Rarity touched the empty necklace at her throat. "It does feel strange however -- getting the Element gems back, then having to turn right around and give them up again." Twilight glanced up at her now-empty crown. "I feel the same way, Rarity. But it had to be done. And we don't have to worry now. The Tree is restored, and we still have the Field of Harmony if we need it to defend Equestria." "Now," said Sunset, "we just need to figure out what happened to the Princesses." "And to Discord," Fluttershy added quietly. "Unless," Applejack said, half-seriously, "ya feel like continuing to rule Equestria... Princess Twilight." She bowed respectfully, and the other ponies did likewise. Twilight smiled ruefully at them. "If it's all the same to all of you, I really just wish we could find the Princesses and put things back to normal. I've had more than enough of being in charge for one day." "Hey!" Pinkie Pie said. "What are those heaps of vines doing there?" The gleam of the Tree was slowly settling down to a less eye-watering level, so they could now see that there were four piles of vines left, around the Tree's roots. Abruptly, these swirled with energy, then were eradicated like all the rest... revealing the Princesses, Celestia, Luna, and Cadance. Plus a very embarrassed-looking Discord. "Princess Celestia!" Twilight shouted. And she ran forwards to hug her mentor, tightly and relievedly. "Twilight!" Celestia said gratefully. "And Sunset," she added, as Sunset hesitantly came up to hug her as well. "I am so very proud. Both of you have done extraordinarily well. Equestria owes its safety, and we owe our freedom, to the two of you." "It was a team effort," Sunset said. "Twilight was a great leader. She stepped right up and took charge." "And Sunset was the best backup I could ever ask for," Twilight said. "I was afraid I wasn't doing enough to help Ponyville. And I shouldn't have been. Sunset had it covered the whole time." "Most of the time," Sunset allowed. "And we had a lot of help from our guide, Zecora, here." The zebra bowed her head respectfully to the Princesses. // Pleased I am, // // and honored, too, // // to meet those who rule // // by knowing what to do. // Twilight felt a hoof at her shoulder, and she turned to find Princess Cadance smiling thankfully at her. Twilight smiled back at her, lost for words. Then she looked around at the others as well. Trixie was hugging a startled Princess Luna tightly, like she never wanted to let go. And Starlight and Moondancer were with her as well, smiling and letting the younger Princess know just how much they'd missed her. The ponies from Ponyville were standing a short distance away, their expressions a mixture of relief everyone was back safely, and awe at being in the presence of all the ruling ponies of the realm at once. Even Discord was being welcomed back. He and Fluttershy were exchanging a heart-felt hug. Then the draconequus reluctantly set Fluttershy back on the ground, and came over to the Princesses. And bowed, ashamedly. "I guess I owe all of you an apology," he said. "But it's my own fault, really. All these vines? They're my doing... that is, the old me, I mean," he added, seeing the shocked look on Fluttershy's face. "I planted those plunderseeds a thousand years ago, in hopes they'd snare Celestia and Luna, and drain the Tree of its magic. Of course, that was right before the Princesses showed up with the Elements and gave me that rather permanent time-out. So I wasn't able to do anything further about them." He stared up at the Tree in amazement. "But even without the Elements, the Tree had enough magic to keep the vines from sprouting, even after all this time. It's astonishing when you stop to think about it. Say what you will about Star Swirl -- and believe me I have, many times -- he knew his stuff." Discord glanced around, shamefacedly. "But, like I said, that was the old me. And when I suddenly recalled yesterday, while talking with Fluttershy, that the vines were still down there waiting to spring up and cause all this trouble, I decided I'd just go and root them out quietly. I probably should have said something, left a forwarding address and so on. But I was hoping I could just go take care of them, and no pony would be the wiser. Nopony would need to find out about my elegant little booby-trap." He rolled his eyes. "But, fool that I was, I forgot the most important rule about dealing with booby-traps --" "Don't get caught in them," Trixie said, smirking at him. "Don't get --" Discord frowned at her. "You stole my thunder." Trixie beamed smugly. "So now that we're all free again," Discord went on breezily, "if I promise to help clean up and get things back to normal, could I ask you all to overlook my little lapse of judgment? I didn't mean for things to get so out of hoof." Then he twiddled his thumbs, looking innocent. "Though I will put my paw up to having thoroughly enjoyed the resulting little hiccup in the daily routine!" Celestia glanced at Luna, then at Cadance. Then she smiled at Twilight. "I'd say that's for the current Princess of Equestria to decide." "Huh?" "Well, Twilight, as far as anypony else knows, you're still in charge." Twilight smiled uneasily. "I'll be more than happy for you to take over again, Princess. You and Luna both." Then she glared at Discord, who at least had the decency to look worried. "Just as long," Twilight said, eyeing him, "as there aren't any other little leftovers from that other timeline that we'll have to deal with." "Nothing on my slate," Discord said. "But to be honest, I don't normally plan these things in advance anyways. It's so much more fun when I'm just as surprised by the outcome as everypony else." Twilight sighed. "Then I'd say we should all just get back to civilization, and let everypony know they can stop worrying and get on with their lives." She glanced around at her Canterlot friends. "And then we should head back to the Royal City," she added. "To hand things over to the Princesses, and help get things sorted out up there." "Oh..." Fluttershy said. "Already? We'd only just gotten used to having you here." "Indeed!" Rarity said. "We knew it wouldn't be forever but... we'll miss seeing you, Twilight." "We'll be glad to have the pleasure of your company again," Applejack said. "Any time y'all want to come visit." "Oh, you're coming with us, Applejack," Twilight said. "I still want to hear all the details, but it sounds like you five and Sunset did a terrific job protecting Ponyville, and then figuring out where the Tree was." "Ah, no biggie," Rainbow replied smugly. "We were just awesome!" "Strange, but I feel the same way," Rarity said. "While it might mean having to get my hooves dirty just a bit, it was nicely exhilarating." "I guess I really am cut out for a life of adventure," Fluttershy agreed. Then she hunched meekly. "As long as it's not too adventurous..." "Yeah!" Pinkie Pie was suddenly dressed as a cheerleader, and waving pom-poms. "We knew just what to do, 'cause our friendship is so true! Yaaaayyy, us!" "So I'm thinking," Twilight said, "what if we made the five of you official members of the Advanced Projects group? You wouldn't have to actually move to Canterlot, or give up your lives here. But if we needed the extra hooves on deck, so to speak, it would be good to be able to think of all of you as our backup team, here in Ponyville." Applejack smiled, and glanced at the others. "Twilight, we're already your friends. And we'll always be glad to pitch in and help, whenever ya need us. But if you want us with ya more formal-like, then just speakin' for myself, I'd be plum honored to sign on with ya." "Yeah!" Rainbow said. "Do we get to wear official jerseys, or something? Just so folks around here know we're on the team?" "We can come up with something," Twilight said. "Or at the very least, make an announcement, while we're still here in town. And then let's all head back to Canterlot. After all, we'll want your input on adding some new rooms in the tower, so you five have a place to stay whenever you come visit us." "Seriously?" Rainbow asked, grinning. "Do ya mean it, Twilight?" "Yay!" Pinkie shouted. "Absolutely," Twilight said. "'Cause it's like the old saying goes: one should always take good care of the visiting team... exactly the same way that all of you took care of us." "You know, Twilight," Celestia said, "I had thought about suggesting you consider expanding the membership of your group to include earth and pegasi ponies. Once again, I find you anticipating me. And given how well you handled being in command of Equestria itself, I believe I made the right decision in making you the leader of this group." "I was only able to manage it because of my friends," Twilight said. "And because you've always trusted me and believed in me, Princess. Just like you said in that note you left me." "Twilight?" Celestia looked puzzled. "What note was that?" "On the last page of your diary?" Twilight said. And then she blushed and looked uncomfortable. "Um, not that I was reading it or anything... but, on the last page, it did say --" Celestia looked astonished. Then she laughed out loud. "Oh, Twilight! That message wasn't written for you. Well, I suppose it is now, and I'm more than happy to have it apply to you. But to be strictly truthful, I wrote that note in my diary years ago -- when Sunset was my student." "Princess?" Sunset looked both surprised and pleased. "Sunset, only fate kept you from being where Twilight is now. And I consider both of you to be my most faithful of students." "Sister," Luna asked plaintively. "Do you think we might leave this cold, dark cave now, and head back home?" "Seconded, Auntie," Cadance said. "We should get back to the Royal City soon, before Shining Armor implodes from worry about me." Celestia nodded. "That's an excellent suggestion. If you'll be good enough to lead us, Princess Twilight?" With Twilight at the head of the group, they all left the cavern, heading back to the Chariots still waiting outside. Which just left the small problem of where to seat everypony. "We might have to make a couple of trips," Twilight finally said. "I'm not sure there's room for everypony, even with both Chariots." "Then isn't it a good thing we have more?" Tempest pointed to where a third platform and team were coming in for a landing. "I asked them to join us later. I figured we might need the extra space coming back." "Tempest!" Twilight grinned. The Commander shrugged. "Standing around watching things means you always have time to plan ahead." "Well... even with the extra space," Twilight said, "we should allow the Princesses to go first." "Oh, I wouldn't hear of it!" Celestia said. "You ponies are the heroes of the day. It's only fitting for you to return in style. And besides, having been snared in those vines for hours, I feel like stretching my wings. What do you say, Luna? Shall we 'wing it', as the saying goes these days?" Luna looked a little doubtful, then nodded. "It shall make our return all the more impressive, Sister," she said. Cadance nodded willingly. "I'm up for it, Auntie, if the two of you are." In the end, they divided the group so that Twilight, Sunset, and Tempest were on the lead Chariot, with Trixie and her companions on the following one, and the ponies from Ponyville on the third -- aside from Rainbow, who insisted on flying on her own to make more room for the others. And as the flyers took wing and drew the three Chariots up into the air, Twilight glanced left, to where Trixie was standing at the railing of her Chariot, which was being escorted by Luna. Then to the right, where Cadance was escorting Twilight's Ponyville friends. The Ponyville ponies were all staring around in awe at the scenery passing below. Finally Twilight looked up, to the graceful form of Princess Celestia overhead, her wings flapping powerfully. As the Chariots approached Ponyville, Celestia's horn sang with golden magic and the Sun finally, finally completed its ascent into the sky. At the same time Luna, concentrating fiercely, sent her Moon down below the horizon, bringing the strange half-day/half-night to a close. And from the streets below, a loud, roaring and stamping cheer went up from the citizens, young and old, as their sovereigns and heroes returned in triumph. Looking at it all, listening to it all, Twilight smiled. The kind of smile she felt all over. It was that kind of moment... ------------------------------ Behind them, in its cavern, the Tree of Harmony suddenly gleamed brighter. The gleam coalesced into a glow, which spread downwards along one of its roots. There, a single flower emerged, then bloomed, revealing a small blue, crystal chest, hexagonal in shape... ... and having twelve keyhole-shaped slots on its various facets. One for each of the members of the Advanced Projects group, both old and new. As if the Tree itself knew, somehow, that more help would be needed this time round... The End My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, its characters and indicia are the property of Hasbro. No infringement is intended. This story is a work of fan fiction, written by fans for fans of the series.