//------------------------------// // What Kind Of Woman Am I? // Story: Creating A Hive // by Authora97 //------------------------------// “Tirek is set on possessing Alicorn magic. When he comes for us, we cannot have what he is looking for.” Luna explained. Twilight braced herself. “I am more than willing to do my part and give up my magic.” She tried to forget about Morgan, to push any thoughts of that away. The last thing Twilight needed was to worry about Raspberry. “You misunderstand. Our magic cannot just disappear into thin air. Somepony must keep it safe.” Luna added. “That somepony is you, Twilight.” Cadence revealed. Even more reason for Morgan to be here, Twilight thought. No pony could protect the magic better than Morgan. Morgan could leave this reality for a different one. Why wasn’t she here? Then again, her last plan had been to convince Celestia to trust Discord. Maybe it was supposed to be Twilight and her friends finding Tirek. Morgan changed that- for the worse. It’s up to Twilight to fix it. “Why me?” Twilight asked. “We do not believe that Tirek is aware that a fourth or fifth Alicorn princess exists in Equestria.” Celestia answered. “If we transfer our magic to you, Tirek will not know where it has gone.” “Morgan could take it!” Twilight argued. “She’s a powerful alicorn, yes, but this task is not for her.” Cadance explained. “Do you understand what we’re asking of you?” “Yes. It’s just... I’m only now learning how to control my own Alicorn magic.” Twilight spent the past few months working with Morgan. Both of them practiced their magics, trying to control it. Twilight suspected that it would unlock the box. Morgan just needed proper practice. “To take on even more–” “Twilight, you represent the Element of Magic. If there is anypony who can do this, it’s you.” Cadance explained. “Morgan would agree.” Twilight braced herself. “Taking on this task will be one of the most difficult things I’ll ever do, but with the help of my friends–” “I’m sorry, Princess Twilight, but you must keep your new abilities a secret. I fear that your friends being aware of your new power could put them at great risk. Morgan is only being trusted with this secret on account of her foreknowledge. Nopony else can know.” Celestia asked. “Do you still think you can take on this responsibility?” Your time is coming soon You’ll play your part Morgan gave Twilight a warning. She shouldn’t be so foolish to let it slip by again. “This is the role I am meant to play as a princess of Equestria!” Twilight promised. “I will not fail to do my duty!” “Then we must begin at once.” Celestia stated. Her horn glowed a brilliant gold, like sunlight. Luna and Cadance’s horns glowed as well. Magic swirled off their horns. The magic shot at Twilight. Twilight expected it to hurt. Instead the power settled over her. It hurt, yes, but only for a moment. Twilight opened her eyes. Her fellow princesses- the ponies she looked up to the most- laid on the floor. All three princesses had heavy bags under their eyes. Twilight rushed over, hugging Celestia. To her horror, Celestia’s cutiemark was gone. Twilight checked Luna and Cadance. Their marks were gone too. “It is done.” ==CAH== Raspberry woke up to darkness. She hadn’t expected that.  As she climbed out of bed, the sun rose. By the time she reached the window, it set again. Raspberry opened her blinds, squinting outside. The sun shakely rose up to it’s usual spot in the sky. Raspberry wanted to sigh. Instead, she closed the blinds. She wanted to go back to bed- to cuddle under the sheets with Thorax until the world outside was okay. But she couldn’t do that. Thorax hadn’t come back yet. That meant she needed to cook the kids breakfast. Raspberry blew out a breath.  ==CAH== In Canterlot, Discord and Tirek took over the kingdom. Raspberry was making pancakes. She flipped it over. Cookie leaned over her mom’s shoulders to watch. “Are they ready yet?” Cookie whined. “Not yet, Cook.” Raspberry replied. She titled up the pancake, showing the gooey side. “See? Not golden brown.” “I wanted heart shaped ones.” Cookie whined. “Those are circles!” “What? No. They’re hearts.” “No see! They’re ugly circles!” A child giggled. Raspberry looked. Dynamite and Justice sat at the table. Raspberry raised an eyebrow. On seeing they had their mother’s attention, they shut up. Raspberry went back to the pancakes. Apparently, she couldn’t make hearts to save her daughter from starvation. ==CAH== Raspberry’s children were still grounded. Raspberry refused to explain more than that. Instead of going out with friends or even playing in the backyard, the kids stayed inside. Raspberry sat with Lilac at the table, helping Cookie read a picture book. Lilac was the closest of the two in matching Thorax’s skills with impressions. Dynamite sat at the end of the table with blueprint designs. VC had blueprints of her own, situated beside her brother on the living room couch. Finished with homework and little else to do, Justice decided to read. An explosion went off in town. Justice, VC, Lilac, and Cookie looked at the likely culprit. Dynamite held up her hooves. “It wasn’t me!” “Yeah right.” VC rolled her eyes. “Its always you.” “Sometimes it’s Pinkie Pie.” Justice reminded her. “No way. Pinkie Pie usually uses confetti cannons.” VC explained. “They just sound alike.” Raspberry sat up in her seat. She glanced out a nearby window. “Cannon fire and my explosions make completely different sounds!” Dynamite argued. “They’re exactly the same!” VC argued back. Lilac watched her mom, concerned and confused. “Mom?” Another explosion went off. Raspberry hummed. She was still looking out the window, looking towards Ponyville. “NO THEY’RE NOT!” “YES THEY ARE!” “Mom, is everything okay?” Lilac asked. Raspberry continued to stare.  Lilac climbed from her seat. She tapped Raspberry on the shoulder. “Mom. Why are we really grounded?” Raspberry stepped away from the window. “It’s Twilight. She did a thing. The explosions are harmless.” She looked back at two of her daughters. “Girls. Stop arguing with each other. Now.” That made Justice chuckle. VC slumped on the couch, crossing her hooves over her chest. Dynamite preened, like she’d been vindicated. Cookie held up her book. “Mama, what does this say?” “Everypony go to your rooms.” Raspberry ordered. The kids said nothing. “Now.” They scattered. Lilac stayed behind, watching her mother with wide eyes. Raspberry glared at her. Lilac didn’t move. “Go upstairs.” Raspberry ordered again. Lilac swallowed. She shook her head. “Mom. What’s going on?” “Classified. You’re not on mission yet.” Raspberry reminded her.  Lilac shook her head. “My friends are out there. I want to know.” Raspberry clenched her jaw. Lilac raised her chin. “Mom. I want to know.” Lilac stated. “So tell me.” Raspberry kept her mouth shut. ==CAH== In Canterlot, Tirek sneered at the three weak princesses. His body had grown in size and might. Gone was the thin, lanky toothpick limbs. Now he stood tall. His height would Tower over Celestia if she were at her full power. Tirek’d limbs were thick with muscle. The stolen magic coursing through him, feeding him energy. His skin was a healthy bright red, his coat a clean black. His twin horns curled, standing a full two feet tall from his head. His sneer held more sharp teeth. Like a predator, Tirek smelled their weakness and wanted to feast on it. To his disappointment, that magic was gone. The feast he’d been promised held nothing but scraps. “Getting rid of your magic so that I cannot take it from you? That was your plan?” He hissed. Celestia tried to lift her head. It fell back down with a thump. Tired stomped over to her. He grabbed her chin in his clawed hand. The claws dug in her cheek. Tirek grinned at the flash of pain in her eyes. “How does it feel, knowing that soon, every Pegasus, unicorn and Earth pony will bow to my will, and that there is nothing you can do to stop it?” Tirek boasted. Princess Celestia heaved a breath. “You will not prevail, Tirek.” Tirek laughed. “Give my regards to Cerberus.” He gathered magic in his horns. Magic from their precious ponies. Red, fiery magic made his horns glow. He cast magic at them. The same spell they cast on him so long ago. Tirek never forgot it. Tirek boasted about his victory. His conquest of Equestria. Taking all the power, that would be inevitable. Ponies couldn’t fight back when they learned their leaders were gone. “You meant our will, didn’t you?” Tirek fought to hide a sneer. He turned to his unfortunate underling. Discord. Spirit of disharmony and chaos. Fighting alongside Tirek in the name of honor and recognition. Tirek only needed him around for a little while longer. Still. Keeping his loyalty would be most important here- where Tirek could not match Discord in raw power. If the princesses had their magic, Discord would be in Tartarus with them. Instead, he had been redecorating the stain glass windows of the throne room. “Of course. Here, I want you to have something.” Tirek pulled his necklace off. It took all he had not to toss the offending item out of his sight. Instead he offered it to Discord. “This was given to me by someone very close to me. I give it to you as a sign of my gratitude and loyalty.” Discord beamed happily. Just as Tirek expected. “Oh, my! I do love a good accessory. I suppose that’s Rarity’s influence.” He dropped it over his long neck, letting it sit on his chest. Tirek laughed. “Amusing.” Discord kept speaking about his pony friends. When they conquered the Earth ponies, he made jokes of a point called…Apple something. In their show in Manehattan, Discord recalled a pink pony who would like the trick. Cloudsdale, Discord said they finished faster than ‘Rainbow Dash’ would have. It brought bile to Tirek’s mouth. If he were not being filled by their magic, Tirek would have thrown up at their very mention. “But we have no time for such things. With the princesses out of the way, we can now–” Tirek stopped at another window. This window had a purple alicorn, standing beside one of dark pink. Both wore crowns on their heads to highlight their horns, their wings displayed proudly on their backs. “Is this meant to be humorous?!” Discord turned from a window. He changed it to show him and Turek as puppet masters over the princesses. “Oh, no, I haven’t touched those ones yet.” Tirek ground his teeth. “There’s a fourth and a fifth? And you did not tell me this?!” He did his best to not growl harshly at Discord- not wanting to lose that tenuous trust. Discord waved a hand, flippantly ignoring the danger. “I just needed some assurance that you truly considered this a team effort. And now I have it.” He lashed out at Discord, grabbing him by the throat. Just above the necklace he now treasured so much. “Then where can we find these fourth and fifth princesses? Where are their castles?”  Discord laughed now. “Castles? No, Princess Twilight lives above a library in Ponyville. Castle?” He laughed again. Tirek threw Discord to the ground. The draconequus rolled over to the other side of the room. “Not for much longer.” He spoke under his breath. He turned to Discord. “And the fifth?” “Oh, her castle is too far away.” Discord waved off, nonchalant. He stood up, leaning beside another stained glass window. “It’s not even a castle- just a boring office building. I offered to style up the place but she turned me down.” “Then where is it?” Tirek pressed.  “In another reality.” Discord answered. His head tilted to the side. Tirek took a look at the window Discord was now beside. This one, showing a human standing beside a changeling, a pony, a dragon, and Discord himself. Discord smiled fondly at it. “That Morgan- such a clever reality walker. She’s the princess of her entire planet. Humans are funny little things if sorely lacking in the humor department.” “You mean she can walk between worlds?” Tirek asked. He went to the window, glancing between the human figure and the dark pink alicorn in their separate windows. “And they are the same princess?” “Oh yes.” Discord answered. He ran his eagle claw on the pendant again. “Princess Morgan Raspberry Stardust Spencer. Blergh. Can’t she just pick the one name-” “But she is here? In Equestria?” Tirek pressed. “Without a doubt. If Twilight is the last princess, Morgan wouldn’t have let her handle it alone. She gets ever so stressed.” Discord explained easily. “Morgan likes to help, you know. Why I bet if we captured Twilight’s friends, then Twilight would have to help. Morgan would feel obliged to step in- thus giving you the powers of all the princesses in Equestria.” Tirek grinned. Sharp teeth glinting in the sunlight. His horns glowed again. The windows started melting, dripping hot glass. Yet he did not see Discord give the glass window a sad smile. For he remembered what had gone so very wrong that day. Remembered the fear he felt as changelings were trying to foalnap Fluttershy, and Morgan’s own fear as they tried to take away her children. She had more children to worry about now- more princesses and a prince of Equestria. But their magic would be useless to Tirek. So they weren’t worth mentioning. ==CAH== Thorax’s phone was ringing. He didn’t answer. Instead, Thorax looked out the window. The Friendship Express stopped without telling the passengers. All in all, a poor choice on his part. He heard explosions and screaming. Thorax opened the door of his train compartment, running out. The ponies in the compartment with him called out, asking what he saw out there. One pony pointed out the noise from his suitcase. A scream went out. Thorax couldn’t think about the phone. Thorax leapt in the sky. His wings buzzed. Up ahead, something blocked the path of the train. Thorax could see why they had to stop for it. A massive centaur stood ahead. Some twenty feet tall, with bright red skin and dark black fur. He held ponies in his claws. He raised them up in his fiery red/orange magic. Thorax wasted no time with thinking. He charged. Magic built up in his antlers.  The giant centaur released the ponies. They fell to the ground. They weren’t standing back up.  Thorax flew faster. This thing attacked his train. It was definitely going to attack Equestria, or it already had been. Raspberry talked about a big bad threat for months. That she and her sister tried, and they couldn’t even find the thing. If this thing was so bad Raspberry tried stopping it early, then it would hurt their friends. More importantly: it would hurt their kids. Thorax wouldn’t give this thing the chance. It already scared his wife. His kids were in danger. He wasn’t going to lose his family! The beast grinned. “You’re new.” Thorax hadn’t expected it to talk. “Wha-?” A claw grabbed Thorax. He yelped. The beast chuckled. “What are you? I’ve never seen ponies like this.” “That’s because Thorax is a changeling.” “Discord!” Thorax yelled. He strained against the beast. He glared at the draconequus. “What are you doing?!” “Hi Thorax! Didn’t you hear? I’m on Tirek’s team now.” In a flash, Discord wore a sport’s jersey with Tirek’s face. He held a sport’s flag of Tirek, giving it a little twirl. “Changelings?” The beast asked. “They look nothing like this! They’re supposed to be insects!” “Hey!” “Oh they found the power of friendship.” Discord explained. “It made them all colorful. Except for this one- he fell in love with Princess Morgan.” Thorax strained against the clawed hand. He pulled out his hooves. He wished he could blast out magic from his hooves. “AND WE’RE STRONGER THAN YOU!” “They all thought that too.” The beast’s horns glowed. ==CAH== There was a snap sound from behind her. She paid it no mind. She knew this was coming. A long time, probably longer than most people would consider healthy. A defeatist point of view, of someone who knew the fight couldn’t go on forever. She gathered up her kids, the ones in town at least. They were all up in their rooms, safe and sound. Thorax wasn’t answering his messages. She wanted to believe that the magic in their house messed with the phone lines. She needed to believe that. “You said yes, didn’t you?” There was silence. Morgan sipped her drink, letting the warmth of tea fill her mouth to try fighting off anxiety crawling out from her chest. “What? Why would you think that?” Discord asked. He floated over to her side. His body floated in the air. It moved so that it wrapped around Morgan in what was their usual way. Normally, it was fun. To Morgan it was no better than a noose. She let the tea fall down her throat. It did nothing to put down whatever was lodged in there. Dread, perhaps? Or maybe just overwhelming disappointment. “I can feel the necklace, Discord.” The draconequus froze. Morgan put down her cup. She straightened up in her seat. Her eyes bore into Discord. She had perfected that motherly glare- for it burned something in Discord hotter than any of Celestia’s.  He got the picture she was trying to send. “Okay, look, I had a good reason for it.” Discord brushed off the fact that he’d betrayed all of Equestria. Morgan waited. Discord huffed. He drapped himself along the wall, bemoaning his fate like Rarity on her fainting couch. “Come on, Morgan. He offered something better- more powerful than what I’ve been doing! I had to stop lying to myself. Their pony friendship was weak. It held me down. You know what that’s like. To be held back by them, to not be able to do all the things you could if you only went wild? If you were free of their silly morals and ideas. Now I can do whatever I please. Like, bringing chaos to Equestria.” “I suppose you’ve done a good enough job, that.” Morgan had more of her tea. “Betraying everyone’s got them all up in a tizzy. You know by now where the magic has gone.” “There, there, dear.” Discord gave Morgan a patronizing pat on the head. “They would never have given their precious Equestrian magic to a human like you.” Discord explained in an assuring voice. The tone of voice a friend used to comfort another struggling through a messy break-up.  Morgan said nothing to this. Her hands were clasped tightly to her cup of tea. She had finished it though still held it. Tightly. So tight, one could almost hear the glass creaking under her grip. Discord took that as a sign she was withholding her anger. Another wonderful thing about Morgan’s true nature she tried to hide away. “That’s what I told Tirek at least.” The teacup shattered. Discord fought a grin. Morgan’s hands were clenched before her. She paid no mind to the broken glass, nor to the shards that had decided to stick themselves into her skin. Discord noticed. He winced in disgust. “Ew. Should you be cleaning that up?” She pushed herself to her feet. Her hands clenched and unclenched. Loose shards of glass fell to the counter in faint clinks. Drops of blood fell in pats around. Morgan refused to look up at Discord. Her gaze remained down towards her fists.  “You told Tirek I was human?” “Well you’re not exactly wearing your pony face right no-” Morgan growled. A truly dark growl that shut Discord up. “What else?” It was Discord that was silent now. Under the impression that he had, for lack of a better phrase, miscalculated. “What else did you tell Lord Tirek, the power stealer, about me?” Morgan growled. She tightened her fists. The shards that were not loose dug in deeper to her skin. More blood trailed along her fingers, dripping to the countertop below. “You’re worried that he’ll take your powers?” Discord reasoned. “Don’t worry so much! You’re turning into Twilight with stress levels this high.” Morgan seethed. She moved her fists to her sides. They were shaking- going white with the grip she was keeping on them. Or perhaps blood loss was already taking effect. Discord wondered for a moment if she would actually try to punch him. “How much does he know?” “Well he saw your little windows in Canterlot. Of the time we overthrew Chrysalis way back when, do you remember that?” Discord asked. Morgan hissed through her teeth. “I knew you would. He was so excited to hear about you. I told him about your powers, your humanity, even your world! He thought you had a castle, so I had to correct him. It was just so ridiculo-” Morgan moved. Discord had gotten it wrong earlier. He hadn’t miscalculated. He’d fucked up. Morgan leapt at him with Rainbow Dash levels of speed. She grabbed his arms, forcing them behind his back. Her blood dripped onto his own hands, splashing the shaded yellows with a foreboding red. She was snarling, pushing his face against the wall. Now her blood was on his shoulder- just above his pegasus wing. “Ouch.” Discord complained, very put upon. “You could really hurt me.” She pulled him back before slamming him back into the wall. He made a noise of pain. “You told him where I live? About my powers? About me?” Morgan seethed. “What the actual fuck, Discord?” Discord laughed in response. “Your grip is tight-” “You move, I will give you more pain than you have ever felt in your life.” Morgan warned. “In fact, you should get it anyway. What in the Author’s Name made you tell Tirek the power stealer about me?! The guy that got betrayed by his own brother-” “He asked!” Discord answered without a care. There was a noise that followed. Discord likened it to air flying out of a bag. “Fuck!” Morgan let go of Discord. He spun his head around. She had sunk to her knees. Morgan had her hands in her hair- running it through to grip the roots. Her amber eyes were wide in dismay. Her panicked thoughts were plainly written across her face. She thought so quickly, no doubt thinking up a billion different terrible things at once. “Fuck!” She let out a pitiful whine. “My family lives in this house.” Discord waved an eagle claw- also clearing away any drop of blood on himself and her. “They’ll be alright.” “This house goes on lock down. Magical lockdown, I can manage it.” Morgan panicked. Her expression went tight- her eyes shut so she could better see the nightmares in her mind. “Right now. The kids are already inside, I’d have to go get Bee. Killjoy can fend for herself. Oh shit- Thorax. He’s not answering his phone-holy fuck Discord why were you so stupid.” Discord gave no fast reply. Instead he gave her a toothy smile- far too sharp for the likings of anyone. “You’ll see. I should go- there’s more work to be done- Tirek wants the Alicorn Magic. You understand. Twilight’s actually let her guard down. She thinks if anything were to go wrong you’d come help. I’ll go tell her you’re locking yourself away in your house- giving up on the pony idea of friendship and being there for each other. Hope that won’t crush her confidence.” He vanished in a bright flash. Morgan gawked at the space, her cheeks shining. ==CAH== Twilight- at the orders of Princess Celestia- ignored her friends. They were trying to connect and offer help. They wanted to be there for their friend. Twilight wanted their help. Instead, she turned them away. Or rather she teleported herself away. Of course, this said nothing about what her friends were doing. Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Spike were doing a lot in Ponyville. Just because Twilight was avoiding them doesn’t mean they sat around on their plots contributing nothing to the...plot. “Alright, y’all. I think we’ve warned everypony to stay inside.” Applejack told her friends. “I’m sure Discord will catch Tirek and this will all be over soon.” Fluttershy assured. She’d been trying to remind them of that all morning. That Discord changed, that he could be changed. “That’s what Morgan said, and look what happened!” Dash snapped. “Both of them are gone.” “Or perhaps, these things are better off done alone.” Fluttershy gasped. The group all turned around. Discord floated above them, grinning smugly. “You’re back! Did you bring the cucumber sandwiches?” Discord held up a plate, full of the tiny sandwiches. “I did. I imagine they’ll be your last decent meal for quite some time.” He let the plate fall to the dirt. Before Fluttershy could even ask, Discord snapped his fingers. A large metal cage appeared around the girls and dragon. Worse yet, another creature was in the cage. Thorax. “Thorax!” The mares and Spike gasped. He tiredly lifted his head. It fell back on the ground with a thunk. The ponies and Spike all shouted their anger at the draconequus. To make matters worse, the girls and Spike watched someone walk behind them. A large, black and red centaur walking up to their cage. Discord threw up his arms, gesturing to the cage. “Ta-da!” “You’ve gathered up all of them?” Tirek asked. He looked over the metal cage, making sure they were well and truly trapped. “And Twilight’s little dragon, too.” Discord tried to boop Spike on the nose. Spike tried biting his hand. Thorax scanned the ponies in the cage. None of them were his kids, or sister-in-law. Where were they? Raspberry must’ve kept them all inside. His kids had to be safe. Thorax would lose his mind, like he lost his magic. He should’ve stayed at home. Fluttershy fell, crying. Applejack wrapped her up in a hug. “Why are you doing this? I thought we were friends! That Raspberry was your friend!” “Oh, we were.” Discord replied. “But Tirek offered me so much more than just tea parties. Surely you saw this coming.” “I didn’t. I really didn’t.” Fluttershy sobbed, curling herself in Applejack’s hooves. “Well Raspberry did.” Discord replied. “Then again, she was-” Tirek’s horns glowed. As he breathed in, in, in, the colors in the ponies and Spike went down, down, down. Tirek grew again. His mane and beard grew- turning into a thick, tall mohawk and a large beard. “You really think she’d do anything for them?” Tirek asked Discord. “If Twilight has magic to give, it will be yours. Soon there won’t be a Pegasus, Earth pony, unicorn, changeling, or human who will be able to stand up against us.” Discord boasted. “Us? Who said anything about us?” Tirek said as his horns glowed again. Discord blinked. His feelings were momentarily hurt. “You did.” Tirek laughed. “You’ve helped me grow strong, you’ve provided the means by which I can obtain Princess Twilight’s magic, and now you are no longer of any use to me.” Tirek let his magic out. It ensnared Discord. Bright, red and orange magic. Discord gasped out as his magic was drained. Colorful magic poured out from his throat. Dark, purple magic with flashes of color. Discord watched, helpless, as Tirek swallowed it all. He fell to the dirt, barely able to lift his head to meet Tirek. “But you said this was a sign of your gratitude and loyalty.” Discord held up his necklace. “A gift from someone close to you.” Tirek sneered in disgust. “My brother who betrayed me. It is as worthless as he is.” Without another word, Tirek stomped away. “Surely you saw this comin’.” Applejack snarked. Discord looked down at the necklace. He suddenly noticed a spot of blood on it, a small smear of red on the bright gold. “I didn’t. I truly didn’t.” Well Raspberry did. No wonder she was so angry with me... ==CAH== Twilight Sparkle, Princess of [undecided], stood on a cliffside. She stared at the Castle of the Two Sisters. She needed to get a hold of her magic. She thought about checking in with Morgan. Only...Celestia said that Morgan only knew because she saw the future. Twilight took that to mean Morgan could not be trusted. It made a sort of sense. If Morgan wanted to help, she would be by Twilight’s side. Helping. Right? Maybe her friend was stuck? Maybe...maybe Discord was actually supposed to help, and when it failed it sent Morgan into a tailspin? Oh Celestia, that made so much sense. Twilight was never supposed to succeed against Tirek. Discord was. Now he failed, and Twilight couldn’t contain the magic, and Equestria was doomed. Morgan was probably on Earth already. Her, all her kids, and Thorax. Left. Gone from Equestria. Never to be seen again. Twilight should have known she was going to fail. You are a princess. Play your part. No. No, Celestia believed in her. Twilight should be able to take this on herself. Even if Morgan came to help, Twilight would ignore her. Because- because she couldn’t go to her friends. So she went to the Castle of the Two Sisters. Something in there must be her key to the box- the key to stopping Tirek. Twilight took a deep breath. “I can do this.” She powered up her horn. In a flash, Twilight stood on the ledge below the cliff. “See! Ha! Perfectly controlled teleportation-” -Twilight stood on a palace window- -on a rock in the middle of a waterfall- -on buffalo backs, riding in their stampede- -finally, ended up trapped between two rocks. Twilight sighed. This was going to go horribly wrong. “Twilight!” Twilight tried to peek out from the rocks. She failed. There was a loud pop. She saw her friend. Raspberry, Queen of Planet Earth’s Travelers and Princess of [undecided] in Equestria.  Raspberry standing outside the rocks. “How did you find me?” Twilight asked. “The show.” Raspberry answered. She reached her hoof out. Twilight did too. With another pop, they were hiding behind the rock. Twilight let out a breath. It had been tight in the rocks. She failed to notice Raspberry’s panicked face. Twilight knew she would come. That’s why she was here. Twilight needed help and Raspberry showed up to give it. Raspberry opened her mouth- ready to say anything to help.  Someone beat her to the punch. “Princess Twilight!” Twilight gasped. “Tirek!” “Princess Morgan!” Tirek shouted again. Raspberry squeaked. She cowered back against the rock, her wings shielding her from sight. Twilight never saw Raspberry cower like that before. Or ever, come to think of it. “You have something that belongs to me!” Twilight grabbed her friend. “No wait-” Twilight flared her wings, soaring up. Firing into the sky at sonic speeds. Raspberry clung to her side. Twilight flew past the Centaur. “You’re going to give me what I want!” Tirek yelled at their retreating backs. Twilight felt the magic. Raspberry’s yellow magic covered them. They appeared on a mountain- the one previously owned by a sleeping dragon.  “Morgan, this is a good time for a plan!” Twilight asked. “I don’t have one!” Raspberry replied. Twilight gawked. “What?!” “I don’t have one!” Raspberry repeated. Her eyes widened. Twilight looked over. To her horror, Tirek spotted them. He fired magic at them.  Large, red, fiery magic. Twilight teleported them both away. She landed Raspberry and herself on the dirt. They looked up, seeing the top of the mountain blowing up. Raspberry let out a relieved sigh.  “Plans are your thing! You’re all about them!” Twilight yelled at her. “Why don’t you have one?!” “If it goes wrong, I lose everything!” Raspberry snapped. “All of it! If it gets screwed here it’s screwed everywhere!” “You could have warned us!” Twilight yelled. “More than just a conversation with Celestia, you should have said something!” “Would you have listened?!” Raspberry argued. “You haven’t listened to me for months!” “Yes we have!” “Not when it matters! None of you have! You ignore what I said and keep on moping!” “So did you!” Raspberry inhaled sharply. She braced herself, her wings curling close to her chest. “Now I understand what your fellow princesses have done!” Tirek shouted from across the field. His boomed voice carried over to them. Twilight grabbed Raspberry. She dragged her friend into the sky. Twilight flew right at Tirek’s face. She powered up her horn. Raspberry’s glowed too. They blasted Tirek. Tirek blocked it with his own stolen magic. He knocked the magic rays aside. He fired his own magic. Raspberry conjured a shield bubble around them. The red magic slammed into the shield. Twilight could feel the effects, even without powering the shield. Raspberry cried out when the shield broke. Twilight tried to conjure one in time. Instead she and Raspberry were blown back to the ground. Twilight felt no impact. She heard Raspberry fall. Raspberry made a noise of pain. Twilight growled. She glared at the smug, sneering Tirek. ==CAH== She was letting them all down. Twilight wasn’t ready for this fight. She- she needed more than that. Raspberry pushed herself to her knees. She looked at Twilight. Her eyes kept going in and out of focus. The field where they were fighting was big and vast, quickly losing any green grass or trace of blue sky. Thorax loved that blue sky.  Something bubbled in Raspberry’s stomach. Maybe she felt dread. The idea that she’d let everypony down, led her family and friends to failure. Twilight was going to lose her fight, because she counted on Raspberry. What did Raspberry do? Absolutely nothing. Maybe she felt afraid. A giant monster was eating her friends. It would eat her too. Then Morgan doomed her whole planet to a hell of epic proportions. Humans had little to no magic. If Tirek came out, he would pull out whatever he could reach. Her people would be drained of their powers, and the humans would just...the only magic humans had was the magic of being alive. Tirek would learn about the Traveler abilities. He definitely would. One by one, he would swallow the magic of every place. Good reasons to be afraid. Maybe...maybe what she really felt was exhaustion. Months. She’d fought for months. There was a plan. One that kept her, and her family safe. All they needed to do was wait. Instead, Raspberry ran out of their home in a panic. She fought alongside Twilight. Look where it got them. Twilight, angry at the wrong pony. Tirek, only more powerful. Twilight would’ve been fine- playing her part like normal without Raspberry. It made Raspberry tired. She wondered why she even bothered, if it only led to- “You’re her friend.” Cadance assured her. “And you’re a princess too.” Raspberry made a noise of pain. It got lost behind the magical blasts. “No. This time, Twilight should hear from a good friend.” Raspberry looked over at Twilight. The purple alicorn was fighting, but it was clear. She was going to lose. Even with all the Alicorn magic on her side, Twilight wasn’t winning this fight. “Hope that won’t crush her confidence.” Tirek blasted Twilight again. She went flying- crashing right in front of Raspberry. Raspberry glared at Tirek. Twilight couldn’t afford to wait to see her friends. She needed help now. Though she did not know it, Raspberry’s eyes flashed the rainbow. “Fine!” Raspberry stood up. “Fine.” Tirek’s horns glowed. Raspberry ran past her. Twilight reached out her hoof. Raspberry kept running. She stood between Twilight and Tirek. “You.” He grinned, smiling broadly and with a smugness that made Raspberry growl. “The other princess.” “I am Princess Morgan Stardust.” Her hooves began to glow gold with her magic. Pink wings flared out from her back. She glared at Tirek. “I know the future, and I’m here to stop it. You won’t win today. My friends will stop you. ” Tirek laughed. “We’ll see!” Raspberry braced herself. His horns blasted out the magic. Raspberry let herself be grabbed. “MORGAN!” Twilight screamed. Raspberry got dragged up. Tirek opened his maw. Raspberry kept her eyes open. You can do it, Twilight! Tirek began to swallow. ==CAH== Twilight watched in horror. Raspberry’s magic was being pulled out of her. Twilight hoped to never see magic being pulled from a pony again. The other Princesses lost their magic in color with their usual magic. Raspberry’s magic was gold, yes. It had many other colors too. Silver, blue, orange, all of it blending together. The magic began shifting from the mix of colors to pink. Then she began to scream. As she screamed, magic ran up her body. Hooves and fur shifted to feet and skin. Blue and silver became black. Twilight knew personally how much it hurt. Raspberry hadn’t even cast her numbing spell. Tirek drained her of everything. Everything. “If it goes wrong, I lose everything!” Raspberry’s alicorn magic...it got mixed with her Traveler magic. In giving up one, she gave up the other. She’s not a Traveler. She’s a normal human. Twilight hated seeing her friend like this. Morgan started falling to the ground.  Twilight ran. She caught Morgan in her arms. The human passed out- from pain or shock, Twilight couldn’t tell. “Morgan?!” Twilight pleaded. “Say something! Please! Anything!” Morgan was uncharacteristically quiet.  Tirek stomped closer. Twilight glared up at him, tears welling up in her eyes. “It appears we are at an impasse. How about a trade, Princess Twilight?” Tirek asked. He snapped his fingers.  Morgan disappeared. “No!” Twilight gasped. She looked up. Bubbles floated around Tirek. Nine bubbles. Each one holding one of her friends.  “Their release for all the Alicorn magic in Equestria.” Tirek bargained. Twilight stared at the bubbles. Real horror building inside of her, blocking her throat and making her heart race. Morgan was in a bubble. Slumped over, floating in the air. Not moving. Her usually healthy tan looked so pale and close to death. “What’s it going to be, Princess?” Tirek challenged. Her friends were shouting at Twilight. All of them telling her not to. Twilight wanted to focus on them. Instead she could only stare at the quiet Morgan. Somepony said her name. Twilight looked. Discord watched Morgan’s bubble, face drooping. “You’re the pony that taught me friendship is magic.” Morgan told Twilight the same, once. That Twilight helped her become a better friend. She thanked Twilight for it. “You and Fluttershy. I had magic and friendship, and now I don’t have either.” Discord slumped. Twilight looked at her friend again. “Enough!” Tirek yelled. “I want an answer, and I want it now!” Twilight paused. She looked up at the bubbles. As she looked, each bubble shined with light. A specific, familiar light. She knew what she would do. It wasn’t even a choice. There hadn’t been any doubt. Twilight’s eyes flashed the rainbow. “I will give you my magic, in exchange for my friends.” Twilight promised. Her friends exclaimed. Tirek grinned. “As you wish.” The bubbles fell. As they made impact, the bubble popped. The creature inside was free. Only one bubble stayed floating. Morgan fell to the ground with a thud. Thorax rushed to her side, pulling her in his hooves. Pinkie and Fluttershy ran to him. “All of my friends.” Twilight insisted. Tirek blinked, surprised. “After the way he has betrayed you, you still call him a ’friend’?” Morgan would have She calls me friend too. She believed in Twilight. Risked everything for Twilight. Twilight can show kindness too. “Release him!” Twilight demanded. “If that’s what you want.” Tirek snapped his claws.  Discord lowered back to ground. His bubble popped. “Thank you, Twilight.” Discord turned to his two closest friends. Fluttershy, holding up her hoof to Morgan’s head. “I’m sorry.” Fluttershy wouldn’t meet his mismatched eyes. “I know.” His horns glowed again. “Your turn.” Twilight let herself be lifted. She screamed. Tirek shouted out his glee. ==CAH== Morgan squinted her eyes open. She was tired. Really, really tired. People were talking to her. No, not that. Ponies were talking to her. Did she know them? Her head hurt. Everything hurts. She was too tired to hurt. But someone touched her face. Morgan thought it was warm. Familiar. She tilted her head into it. Twilight was gonna save me...soon, I hope ==CAH== Thorax held her cold face in his hoof. “She’s cold.” Fluttershy warned. “Is she breathing?” “A little.” Thorax replied. He could barely feel it. Her body had small movements, small rises, like she was in the deepest sleep ever. Thorax hated it. “Twilight, what were you thinking?!” Spike asked. “Tirek tricked me into believing that he could offer me something more valuable than friendship. But there is nothing worth more. I see that now.” Discord admitted. He slumped down. He held the medallion in his hands. “He lied when he said that this medallion was given as a sign of gratitude and loyalty. But when I say that it is a sign of our true friendship, I am telling the truth.” He placed the medallion over Twilight’s neck. Her eyes flashed the rainbow again. “You think that might be the one we need?” Applejack asked. “Morgan still doesn’t have one!” Pinkie reminded them. “Yes she does.” Discord replied. “Thorax, check her bag.” “She’s not wearing it!” Thorax snapped at him. “Please, check?” Discord asked. “I did! It’s not-” But Thorax did look. Sure enough, somehow, the Bag was at her side again. “Wha-” “It’s enchanted.” Twilight recalled. She ran to the Bag. Fluttershy stepped aside for her. Twilight tried opening the bag to no avail. “It won’t open for me. Thorax?” The changeling nodded. He opened the Bag, the latch giving easily under his hoof. He reached inside. Only one thing bumped his hoof. He pulled it out. “A broken teacup?” “Is that one of mine?” Fluttershy asked. “She borrowed it. She broke it after...well...” Discord winced, rubbing his arm. “After I told her she was a bad friend.” Twilight looked at the broken cup. She checked Morgan’s face. The human squinted her eyes open. “Morgan?” Twilight asked. “Can you hear us?” She blinked, slow, like her eyelids were impossibly heavy. But even then, Twilight saw flashes of color. “We have to get to the chest.” Twilight warned. ==CAH== Down below, in a cave, a chest sat patiently. Six ponies, one dragon, one changeling, and one draconequus stood before it. A human rested on the changeling’s back. Twilight held up her medallion. In a flash of purple magic, the medallion changed into a key. Twilight’s cutiemark at the end. “Morgan?” Twilight looked back. Thorax walked up. Morgan was even paler now. Her skin turned to a sickly grey. She still held the teacup in her hands, curled against her chest. Thorax carefully picked her up, holding Morgan to the Friendship chest. The human blinked at it. “S’vvn?” “Yes. Please?” Twilight asked. Morgan tried raising her arm. Thorax helped. As soon as the cup touched the chest, it shifted into a large golden key. An open book at the top. Morgan rested against Thorax’s side. “Together! I think we have to do this together!” Twilight realized.  All the friends pushed their keys into the chest. Morgan practically fell on the box to make sure of it. The chest lit up. The Tree of Harmony did too. The light shined down on the six ponies, and the one human. ==CAH== Tirek stomped towards the next pony town. The pathetic little place Twilight and Morgan called home. In fact, he could see houses on the outskirts of the town. He would start there. A powerful burst of magic caught his attention. Thinking himself ready for another upgrade, he turned. What he saw had his jaw dropping. The ponies he just defeated floated nearby. Only they were not powerless anymore. Instead, all seven floated in a white orb of light. Tirek squinted to see them better. All the ponies grew out their manes, each with more colorful strands of hair. Even the one that turned into a human had colored hair- black and blue and silver with green and pink streaks. But one thing was certain. They knew they would win. “How is this possible?! You have no magic!” Tirek yelled. “You were warned!” Morgan reminded him. “I told you my friends would stop you. And here they are, because you forgot something very important about the ponies of Equestria!” “We may have given you our Alicorn magic!” Twilight shouted. “But we carry within us the most powerful magic of all!” Their glow brightened. A colorful beam of rainbow magic hit Tirek in the face. Tirek screamed, feeling the magic drained out of him. All over Equestria, ponies stood back up. Cutiemarks and magic returned. ==CAH== Once the rainbow magic vanished, another event happened. The Mane 6 plus Morgan returned to Ponyville to see it happen. The chest was not done with them yet. It soared in the sky, flying and flying and flying towards Ponyville. Behind homes and businesses, the chest landed in the ground. It buried itself under the dirt. As the ponies watched, magic bloomed from that spot. Up from the ground sprung a tree. A large, crystal tree that also had rooms. One might even call this a castle. “Sweet Celestia! Are you all seeing what I’m seeing?” Rarity gawked. But... whose is it?” Twilight asked. “Who else could it belong to?” Morgan ruffled Twilight’s multi-colored hair. “Princess Twilight.” “It’s not just for her, Princess Morgan.” Said Princess Celestia. When Morgan looked back, all the alicorn princesses were there. And her own kids. And Darcy. Discord and Thorax waving beside them. ==CAH== The inside of the palace was just as shiny as expected. Large crystal walls of a warm welcoming blue. Door frames of gold, doors themselves a dark pink. Cookie pointed out the pretty colors from her mother’s shoulders. Morgan smiled, her hand holding tight to Thorax. “You’ve been wondering what you are meant to do as a princess. Do you know now?” Celestia asked Twilight. “As princess, I believe I have the power to spread the magic of friendship across Equestria. That is the role I am meant to have in our world! The role I choose to have!” Twilight teleported in between her friends. “But I didn’t defeat Tirek on my own– it took all of us to unlock the chest!” “Then it is unlikely you are meant to take on this task alone.” Princess Celestia used her returned magic to open a pair of doors. Beyond them, a throne room. Instead of one throne for Twilight, and one for Raspberry/Morgan, the throne room had many. All of them bearing the cutiemark of their friends. Morgan got a throne. She never had a throne before...her desk at the Center got a rolling chair. “You are now Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship. But what is the princess of friendship without her friends?” Celestia asked. The mares all hugged. Morgan stared at her throne. Pinkie tapped her arm. Thorax lifted Cookie off her shoulders. Morgan smiled. She knelt down, hugging her friends. Discord floated above them. Morgan grabbed his lion paw, dragging him down. Discord joined the hug. “Wait a minute, where’s my throne?!” Discord asked. “I don’t think you’re quite there yet.” Fluttershy chastised. Morgan giggled. “You owe me a teacup.” “I used it to save all of Equestria, you cannot be mad about it!” Everypony laughed. “But Princess Celestia, you said it’s Morgan’s too.” Darcy reminded them. The laughter slowed. “Besides the walls outside being pink, I don’t see it.” Celestia smiled. “Morgan is just as much a princess of Equestria as Twilight. If anypony were to share a castle with Twilight, I can think of no greater friend than Morgan. For as long as Equestria stands, I know Morgan will be there. By Twilight’s side.” Twilight looked at Morgan. Morgan pretended to focus on the ceiling. Twilight pulled Morgan in for a hug. Morgan went along with it. “DOG PILE ON MOM!” Darcy shouted. The kids cheered. They jumped on Twilight and Morgan’s hug.