//------------------------------// // Ch. 7 (Arc Finale): Quantità Di Moto // Story: Oscillation: Back and Forth // by TundraStanza //------------------------------// Ocellus gasped, pulling herself away from the mirror. She was back in the present, in her home in Ponyville. She held her hoof against her chest. She exhaled softly. "What happened?" Applejack trotted up beside her. "Are you alright?" The faithful changeling student stood up and closed her eyes. "Spike, take a letter. Tell Princess Celestia the threads of destiny are pulling." --- Celestia and Luna led the group of friends along the edge of the Everfree Forest. Fog rushed around them as the princesses lowered and raised their respective celestial bodies for the night. Rainbow was surprised when her gusts did absolutely nothing to the fog. To remedy this, Celestia and Luna weaved their magic into a double-spiral. This combination parted the fog on either side of the group. While fog still blocked the sight of everything behind, two large slabs of stone stood in front of them. As the rest of the party looked at the tops in wonder, the princesses trotted toward either side. Each of them pulled off their crown and pressed them against a spot in the rocks. An outline of a sun and a crescent moon glowed and the giant stones rumbled. Like doors for giants, the stones gradually parted ways. There was a cavern with a glittering light far inside. Once the doors were fully opened, the princesses retrieved their crowns and donned them again. A spring tapped open and sprayed water into a natural pool. "So, this is where you ran off to." Ocellus flinched before turning around. A familiar mare in the tattered remains of a cloak stepped out of the fog. "Twilight Sparkle," Ocellus remembered. Rainbow shook her hoof. "What are you doing here, stooge to Chrysalis?" Twilight harrumphed. "The late queen rules no longer. Or did you not witness her retirement?" "You mean when you murdered her!" Rarity pointed out. "Murder is such an ugly word." Twilight sighed. Applejack frowned. "Have you been following us?" "It wasn't that difficult." Twilight scoffed. "You five were emitting reality-defying magic that could be sensed for miles by any pony with the lowest expertise of the arcane." Pinkie's eyes spun in her sockets. "Could you say that again, but slower?" "I was mostly keeping tabs on Celestia's student, but I sensed that your cutie marks weren't right." Twilight glanced over. "Or did you always have three apples where balloons should be?" "So... you were... stalking Ocellus?" asked Fluttershy. "Again with getting caught up by details." Twilight face-hoofed. "We're not getting anywhere at this rate." "Where do you want to go?" Spike crossed his arms. "If you think you can just take the Tree of Harmony, you've got another thing coming!" Twilight waved her hoof dismissively. "I'm not interested in appropriating that overgrown weed. Perhaps I'll study it at a later date, but that's not why I'm here." "Then do tell." Luna raised her brow. "Why are you here?" Twilight levitated a satchel to her side. "Student of Celestia, I challenge you to a magic duel. I want to see if time and that transformed body of yours have improved your skills." "Another match?" Ocellus tilted her head. "But, you technically won last time. Shouldn't that be enough?" "That was back when you had a dire situation and were low on time." Twilight grinned with half-open eyes. "But you're not running against a clock this time, are you? We can do this at our leisure." Princess Celestia waited and listened to the entire exchange. Then, she trotted up to her student. "How do you want to respond to this challenge? Is it safe to ignore her?" "Maybe it would be better," admitted Ocellus. "But, there's something about her that needs to be confronted. This whole 'being better' mentality needs to be either quelled or satisfied." "If you need help, we're here to give it," offered Applejack. "Thanks, but she specifically challenged me to a duel," said Ocellus. "That doesn't really say one pony against a crowd." She stepped out from her group. "Alright, Twilight. I accept your challenge. But understand this: If any of us suspect that you're cheating or about to inflict lasting harm, I can't promise that my friends will hold back." Twilight shrugged and removed her cloak. "I expected nothing less, from those that rely on assumptions and camaraderie." --- Ocellus conjured a green shield that looked like a spinning crystal. Twilight responded by casting a magenta shield, resembling a transparent cocoon. The unicorn fired off five small magic missiles. The changeling countered with five green blasts. Their spells bounced off each other's shields. Twilight levitated out two identical logs from her satchel. They clacked against the ground. She cast a stream at one of the logs, transfiguring it into a hissing snake. Ocellus fired her own spell at the other log. It turned into a chatty mongoose. The two former logs wrestled with each other into a quick state of exhaustion. The unicorn's horn glowed a bright red. Three images of herself appeared next to her. The changeling grit her fangs, summoning three clones of herself. Twilight created flaming orbs that her illusions launched. Ocellus magically pulled water from the cavern pool, whipping the incoming fireballs. With a chuckle, Twilight pulled out a couple of cattail reeds. She magically conjured a wind that drew a specific, harmonic tune from the reeds. Ocellus's eyes darted while her mental gears turned. Then, something clicked. She crossed her front hooves over her chest. After a second, the changeling unleashed a series of pink rings. The rings rushed around and past the unicorn. Twilight gasped. "What... is this?" She held a hoof up to her eyes. Water dripped onto her hoof. "It's a taste of the love I feel for every pony else," said Ocellus. "But, changelings can't generate love on their own!" Twilight took one look at Ocellus's face, and that argument died. "A lot of things 'can't' happen." Ocellus's wings flickered. "Yet they still have happened." Twilight Sparkle took four steps backward. She grit her teeth and sniffled. Not even three seconds later, she turned and ran through the fog. A magenta flash indicated that the unicorn had teleported. "Bye! Don't be a stranger!" Pinkie Pie waved. "I feel sorry for her." Fluttershy twiddled her mane. "I kind of get it." Applejack nodded. "It ain't easy seeing your entire understanding buck itself upside-down." "Well, that's no fault of any pony but Sparkle herself!" Rainbow crossed her front hooves while flying in place. "She made a challenge, then ran away before it was done." "Hopefully, she learns something from all of that," said Rarity. "Are you okay?" Spike walked up. "Yes." Ocellus nodded. "If anything, I feel more ready." --- Standing taller than two minotaurs, the tree gave off a faint glow of light. Five branches spread out from the top of the trunk. Each of the branches had a hexagonal indentation. The largest hollow space was at the point where the branches split. "This is the Tree of Harmony," said Princess Celestia. "It kind of looks like it's dying," remarked Rarity. "It may very well be," said Princess Luna. "Well, we're here." Applejack looked at the others. "What do we do now?" Ocellus scratched her head. "I'm not entirely sure. The vision was kind of vague, and I don't know how much of it was literal." The changeling hovered up. She reached out and touched the trunk's hollow point. Nothing happened. She tilted her head. She tried funneling a little magic from her horn into the spot. There was still no response. "Oh! Oh!" Pinkie Pie hopped up and down. "Maybe we should do that thing we did against Discord?" Rainbow shrugged. "Worth a shot." Ocellus nodded and flew back. The wielders of Harmony stood in unison, channeling their internal magic together. A white light was sent forward. As Ocellus cycled through the forms of each of her friends, another layer of color was added to the wave: red, orange, yellow, green, and blue. Something in the magical wave compelled Spike to step forward. He held out his hand to Ocellus's side and closed his eyes. Ocellus glanced down, smiled, and then resumed her focus. Her transformative fires made her a copy of the young dragon. A layer of purple was added to the wave. Seven lights rose from their chests. These lights resembled stars and floated toward the Tree's crevices. A new indentation was added next to the one at the top of the tree. Then, all of them were filled by prismatic gems. Upon the ponies, the misplaced cutie marks slowly faded while their true marks returned. Magical petals surrounded each creature. They glowed brightly, forcing Celestia and Luna to squint through the intense light. Just as quickly as they appeared, the flowers shattered open. Applejack hopped onto her hind legs and clasped her front hooves together. Three rocks rose out of the ground behind herself. She made two opposing punching motions before slamming down her center of gravity. The rocks launched to either side of the cave while the third one rushed out of the cavern. Rainbow Dash flew in place while a lightning bolt crashed down upon her. But instead of burning her hide, it funneled into her front hooves. She rolled the electricity around into a floating orb. Then, she held her hooves together, expelling the discharge into one of the rocks. After sparking and shaking, the rock split into several pebbles. A diamond-shaped force-field appeared in front of Rarity. She sent it hurling like a discus. The purely magic diamond bounced around the sides of the cave before returning flawlessly to her magical grasp. She conjured several more to box herself in. Then, she dispelled all of the shields at once. Two dark Venus fly-traps sprouted near Fluttershy. They hissed and dripped acid. When the pegasus opened her eyes, they went silent. She whispered something incoherently to any pony listening. The carnivorous plants sank into the ground before crawling away. Pinkie Pie popped up and slid around. A pink substance appeared underneath her hooves. Most of it disappeared as soon as she had moved to a different position. However, she did manage to sweep a hoof against a little of the substance and lick it. Her lips moved to the syllables of "butterscotch icing". When Spike emerged, he was surprised at a sense of weightlessness. He then turned to look behind himself. A set of wings hummed behind him. He lowered himself to the ground to get a better look at the wings. They looked like a dark green copy of Ocellus's. He laughed genuinely at the sight. Ocellus stepped out of the light and her eyes went wide. It wasn't by much, but she felt like she was taller than her friends. She looked down at her hooves that had grown. Her tail and wingspan had extended to compensate. Additionally, she sported a pair of fuzzy antennae that trailed above her horn. Fluttershy's wings spread out. She blushed when she saw Ocellus's new look. "Too... cute..." "I don't understand." Ocellus looked at the princesses. "I thought we were giving back the Elements of Harmony." Celestia nodded. "You did. It seems the Tree of Harmony is thanking you for returning them." "Unique gifts for each of you," said Luna. "Do take care in how you use them." Pinkie Pie back-flipped onto a frosting trampoline. "You're welcome and thank you, Tree of Harmony!" Rarity yawned. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I think I'm due for some beauty sleep." "Race you back to Ponyville!" Rainbow blasted out lightning to dart off quicker. "Oh, you're on, sparky!" Applejack lifted up a board of rock and surfed on it across the ground. "Wheeee!" Pinkie conjured a giant frosting slide that vanished after she zipped out of the cave. Rarity summoned her diamond-shield and rode it like magic carpet. Fluttershy whistled and a vine stalk carried her away. "Need a ride?" Ocellus offered. "Nah, I think I can handle this time." Spike's wings buzzed behind him, agreeing with his statement. Ocellus chuckled as she followed her dragon home. Celestia and Luna took one last look at the rejuvenated Tree of Harmony. Then, they hugged each other before teleporting back to Canterlot. --- Six months later... After sweat, tears, and close calls, the castle at the end of the forest path was completely refurbished and redesigned. Enchanted wood was layered on top of the stone remains. The ground-floor windows were made of transparent gems, while the upper-level window frames were left empty, save for a few iron bars each. The gargoyles had been molded to have gentle smiles. Outside the entrance, a few guard ponies were stationed with jade-decorated armor. Inside the castle, the halls wound around to different rooms. One of them sheltered a zebra as she used a mortar and pestle behind a bubbling cauldron. In another, various crystals floated around as an orange and white unicorn fiddled with some metal bits and a tome. There were several guest bedrooms, a mess hall, and an indoor greenhouse with plant-life of all shapes and colors. At the very end of one hallway, there was a library consisting of one hundred filled shelves. The throne room had been smoothed out and cleaned up. Sun and moon ornaments were still present. But there were extra pedestals marked with other trinkets: a golden yellow apple, a silver cloud with a lightning bolt divided into thirds, a carved ruby, a blue butterfly, and a statue resembling a balloon doggie. Banners marked two throne seats. One had an interpretive outline of a dragon's head. The other had a simple crown with two antennae attached at the base. At the floor in front of the thrones, Spike was sweeping dust away with a broom. Ocellus was on one of the seats, occasionally flipping the next page in a book. "Viscountess!" A pegasus in jade armor galloped into the throne room. Ocellus bit her lip, then looked up from her book. "That still sounds weird, Phoenix Down. Could you please call me Ocellus?" "Oh, sorry." He cleared his throat. "You have a visitor from the changeling hive." "That hive?" Spike dropped his broom. "You think it's Sparkle again?" "We don't know that for sure." Ocellus placed a ribbon in the middle before shutting her book. "Send them in." A few minutes later, the door opened as the viscountess and her ambassador took their respective seats. The visitor cast a long shadow into the throne room. Unlike the shadow, the entity seemed jittery and unable to keep their eyes on one spot. "Greetings, visitor," Ocellus called out. The visitor knelt low, revealing themselves to be a changeling drone. "Your Viscountess-ness, I am not worthy to be in your presence." Spike snickered before whistling innocently. "It's okay," insisted Ocellus. "How may I help you?" "I have been starving for several days." The drone shivered. "I...I can't force myself to feed mercilessly like Chrysalis used to. It's just wrong! But it hurts to stop." A growl escaped his throat and another from his abdomen. "I wasn't sure when I saw you transform in Canterlot, but after Twilight Sparkle returned to the hive so shaken, I just knew there had to be another way. Can you... teach me how to show love instead of hoarding it?" Ocellus flew forward and gently landed in front of the drone. "Please rise. I can sense that your emotional stress is real, and I believe that your desire is true." She held her teal hoof against his black hoof. "I'll tell you as much as I can. What is your name?" The timid drone took a chance and looked up. "I'm Thorax." ---