Princess Celestia looked over the book in her possession one last time. She knew it was no ordinary book. Despite it seemingly plain appearance with only two big blue stars surrounded by swirls on its cover, this book was in fact the personal journal of Starswirl the Bearded. And it was the only thing in his possession that had remained after his mysterious and unannounced disappearance.
The journal had been used by the old sorcerer to jot down his many different spells that he had spent his entire lifetime perfecting (he had a separate journal for his private thoughts and feelings, but nopony knew what had happened to it or where it had gone). After his disappearance, Celestia and Luna had held onto it as a way to remember their old teacher. And for over a thousand years they had kept it hidden away, carefully preserved just in case Starswirl were to ever return.
Yet now, Princess Celestia was weighing an important decision. She had been considering this ever since Twilight had been instrumental in thwarting an invasion of changelings during a royal wedding, a threat that even the sun princess herself had not been expecting. But after all she had seen since beginning her star student's advanced studies, she knew she could delay the decision no longer.
Princess Luna had raised her doubts upon learning what her elder sister had planned to do. "You really believe Twilight Sparkle is capable of doing what even Starswirl could not?" She had asked her sister.
Princess Celestia had firmly nodded when the discussion had come up in the throne room just the other day. "She has shown an ability to master magic that rivals even that of my own. She continues to exceed even my highest of expectations. I've tested her time and time again and she has always passed with flying colors. She is ready."
Reluctantly, Princess Luna decided not to argue further on the matter and had simply replied. "If you are so confident in Twilight's ability, I shall reluctantly trust your judgement, sister. For both our sakes, I hope your faith in your student is not misplaced. You have been wrong before."
It was that very warning that now played in Celestia's mind as she held the journal aloft in her magic. It would be so easy to send it off to Ponyville and leave the rest to Twilight. But yet, a nagging part of her mind would not leave her alone. It kept telling her that she was wrong to put so much trust into anypony, no matter how much that trust might be warranted. Everything leading up to this point had been one thing, but asking even a pony like Twilight to succeed where Starswirl had failed? That was a huge undertaking, one that carried with it great risks as well as rewards.
So it was that the sun princess opted to write down a little note to send along with the journal. "Instructions" so that her student might know best how to proceed with something so important. Doing her best to keep a quill held aloft in her magic steady, she wrote in large letters "DO NOT OPEN WITHOUT ME!" and then signed her name at the bottom. She would come to Ponyville first thing after raising the sun tomorrow. "At least then I'll be on standby in case anything goes wrong." She thought to herself, trusting Twilight not to disobey an order.
Yet what the mighty alicorn could not have known was that her instructions were going to be ignored. She had underestimated just how eager Twilight would be to perform new magic. And the consequences of that decision would have profound effects that even the sun princess could not have anticipated.
And when it was all said and done, a big change would be coming to Twilight's life. But it would not unfold in the way that Princess Celestia was expecting.
Twilight Sparkle woke up the next morning feeling even more cheerful than usual. Something about last night had awakened something inside of her that made her feel happy just to be alive and living in a town like Ponyville. Looking out her bedroom window and taking in the sights of the town she'd come to call home for over two years now, something began to stir inside of her.
With a smile on her face and a spring in her step, Twilight threw open her bedroom window and happily began to sing without a care in the world. And it went something like this:
Morning in Ponyville shimmers,
Morning in Ponyville shines!
And I know for absolute certain,
That everything is certainly fine!
The studious unicorn naturally didn't want to waste a perfectly good day cooped up inside. She headed downstairs, trying to wake Spike up only to find that the little dragon was in no mood to awaken anytime soon. That didn't stop her, she'd just leave Spike to rest and he could catch up with her later on. For now, it was another beautiful day in Ponyville and Twilight was intent on making the most of it.
Walking outside with the sun shining down, Twilight took in more sights and sounds of this fine day in town. Everything seemed to be just like it always was. And that prompted her to keep on singing, not caring who heard her.
There's Mayor Mare on the way to her office,
And the sofa clerk selling some quills.
Ponyville is so gentle and still.
Could things possibly go wrong?
I don't think that they will.
Morning in Ponyville shimmers,
Morning in Ponyville shines!
And I know for absolute certain,
That everything is certainly-
But before she could finish, Twilight's singing was suddenly (and quite rudely in the unicorn's opinion) interrupted by a shower of cold water. Looking up, she discovered that the source was a lone storm cloud that she could've sworn hadn't been overhead a minute ago. Naturally, the unicorn grumbled at who she thought was to blame for such a thing happening. "Rainbow Dash, that's not funny! If you don't like my singing you can just say so, you don't have to literally rain on my parade."
Instead of Rainbow Dash, however, it was Rarity who replied to Twilight's angry accusation. And she did so by issuing an apology. "Oh, terribly sorry, darling. That was an accident. I'm afraid I'm not so good with the thundery ones. I was supposed to get this weather order taken care of yesterday, but things got away from me."
Twilight was about to ask her fellow unicorn what she was talking about, but a quick glance at the fashionista's flanks provided more of an explanation than any words that could've been uttered. Instead of three diamonds, Rarity's cutie mark was the same rainbow colored lightning bolt coming out of a cloud that Rainbow Dash had.
Suddenly, Twilight blinked in horror as a terrible thought entered her mind. "Everything is definitely not fine," She thought to herself. "And I get the feeling that this is all my fault. But why?"
Rarity was too busy with the sky, using her magic to move various clouds around. So she didn't take any notice of Twilight's behavior.
But Twilight was still confused at the sight of her fellow unicorn having Rainbow Dash's cutie mark and doing Rainbow Dash's job. She had to know what was going on, what had caused this. "Rarity, why are you trying to do Rainbow Dash's job? You're supposed to be working at Carousel Boutique. And why in the wide world of Equestria do you have Rainbow Dash's cutie mark instead of your own?"
The fashionista (or perhaps former fashionista was better considering what must've happened to her) just blinked slowly, as if she were confused that Twilight would even ask such a thing of her. "Whatever are you talking about, Twilight? I've always had this cutie mark and this has always been my job. I've never set hoof in a boutique and even if I did I wouldn't know the first thing about how to run one," She then explained. "My job is to manage the different weather that the Cloudsdale weather factory produces specifically for Ponyville. However, it's a tad bit hard to do that on time and keep the sky looking beautiful. And if I don't get it done soon, I'll never have time to test my skills in the next Equestrian 500."
"You? Racing?" Twilight blinked.
Rarity nodded. "Whoever says a racer can't be fabulous? It was the best I could do after my attempts to break into the world of fashion went nowhere," And an unhappy sigh escaped her lips before she found herself overhearing arguing and grumbling from some very unhappy ponies. They were all complaining about the bad weather she was failing to control. "Oh dear, I'm in way over my head. Seems all my slacking off to work on my racing skills has finally caught up with me."
The studious unicorn stomped a hoof down as she demanded in a serious tone of voice. "Where's Rainbow Dash? Shouldn't she be handling this, or at least assisting you?"
Rarity just replied. "Rainbow Dash has never worked a day in weather. But if you want to know more, you can ask her yourself."
So it was that, a short time later, Twilight was leading Spike (and herself) to the lone cottage not far from the entrance to the Everfree Forest.
Along the way, Spike let out a yawn as he remarked. "I still don't know why you had to wake me up. I love sleeping in the rain, you know."
Twilight shook her head. "It's not about the weather, Spike. Rarity had Rainbow Dash's cutie mark and was doing Rainbow Dash's job. And when I asked her about Rainbow Dash, she told me that this was Rainbow Dash's cottage and not Fluttershy's. Somehow, our friends seem to believe they're someponies that they're not and that they're supposed to be doing each other's jobs. Except they're not very good at it if Rarity is anything to go by."
Spike scratched his head. "Sounds confusing. What's up with that?"
"I don't know, Spike," Twilight replied with a gulp. "Something very strange is going on and I don't like it one bit," Then she noticed something that troubled her greatly. "Things are definitely not right. It looks like the Everfree Forest is taking up way more land than it normally does." And as she and Spike came close to the cottage, they could see that it was no longer near the Everfree Forest's entrance but still outside it. It now seemed to be part of the forest itself.
Coming up to the front door, pony and dragon knocked and were surprised to be greeted by Rainbow Dash instead of Fluttershy. "Hey Twilight, hey Spike," The rainbow maned pegasus greeted. "Sorry but this is kind of a bad time. You'll... have to come back later, I've got my hooves full at the moment."
Twilight refused to be turned away. She quickly pressed her snout up against the door so as to deter Rainbow from closing it on her. "If this is about the Everfree Forest, I've already noticed. I'm sure that whatever it is, you, I and the rest of our friends can solve it after we figure out why you're all doing different jobs today."
Rainbow Dash shot back a look of confusion even as she reluctantly allowed Twilight and Spike to enter the cottage proper. "I'm doing the same job I've been doing since I got my cutie mark. This was the only place I could find where the animals could come to me instead of me having to always rush to the animals," And as she spoke it was possible to see that she had the three pink butterflies that had always been on Fluttershy's flank. "As for the Everfree Forest, your guess is as good as mine about why it's taking up so much land. It wasn't always like this, but now even Zecora says she's never seen it like this. And she's been living in the forest longer than most animals have. I'd help her but... well, you can see for yourself."
And as soon as Twilight and Spike got a good look at the cottage interior, it was possible for them to see a variety of animals big and small running loose.
Rainbow sighed. "I tried to warn you. It's especially bad today." And then she started to sing seeing as it was just about the only thing she could think to do in this situation. And her song sounded something like this:
These animals just won't listen. No, not one little bit.
They all run around, out of control. Throwing their hissy fits.
It's all up to me to control them, as clearly you can see.
It's got to be my destiny! And it's what my cutie mark is telling me.
Putting two and two together from what he'd been told, Spike immediately questioned the brash mare. "So, if you're doing Fluttershy's job and Rarity is doing your job, what's Fluttershy doing?"
The rainbow maned pegasus was quick to answer. "Oh, you wanna know that? That's easy. You can find her at Sugarcube Corner with the Cakes."
"Really?" Twilight questioned. "Isn't that more Pinkie Pie's thing?"
"Go and see for yourself if you don't believe me," Rainbow insisted. "Either way, for right now I've got to try and get these animals under control."
Taking Rainbow's suggestion, Twilight and Spike made their way into Ponyville while doing their best to avoid the sporadic storms of rain and even snow that had "gotten away" from Rarity. And just like when Rarity's comments had directed them to Rainbow Dash, Rainbow Dash's words had, in turn, led them right to Fluttershy.
Fluttershy was indeed at Sugarcube Corner, doing what would've been expected of Pinkie Pie. She was currently hosting a party for a small gathering of ponies who had come inside to get out of the bad weather that was becoming a problem all over town (to say nothing of the threat of a fast approaching Everfree Forest that looked poised expand into much of the town proper). The shy pegasus happened to have Pinkie Pie's cutie mark of three balloons: Two blue and one yellow.
"Sorry, Twilight. Sorry, Spike. Can't talk right now," Fluttershy said to both as they approached her. "You can clearly see that I'm busy. I'm not the best at parties and celebrations, but they're the fastest way to spread joy. And joy and laughter are two things Ponyville needs badly today. It seems to be a day when everything is going wrong."
Twilight was once again confused. It seemed that she was more right than she knew when she'd told Rainbow Dash that her friends were doing each other's jobs. And they all seemed to believe that they had always done them even if they weren't good at them. But Fluttershy was an especially noticeable case. At least Rarity and Rainbow Dash seemed to have some clue about what they were supposed to be doing. Fluttershy looked completely helpless and the crowd seemed to be in a bad mood if the frowns on their faces were any indication.
The pegasus mare seemed to guess what was on Twilight's mind as she simply went on to say. "I know what you must be thinking: Why would a pony like me try to be an entertainer?" She gestured to her flank. "I really don't have a lot of other options thanks to my cutie mark. I used to be at least somewhat capable of making other ponies happy, and I have to keep trying until I can do it again. Nopony else is going to do it."
"Not even Pinkie Pie?" Twilight inquired.
Fluttershy shook her head. "Especially not her. I could never ask her or any of our other friends to do my job anymore than I could be expected to take over on one of their jobs. You can't argue with cutie marks." And then she went on to unhappily sing while attempting (and ultimately failing) to entertain the ponies inside the bakery:
I try to get them laughing, put a smile upon their face.
But no matter what I try, I just seem like a disgrace.
Yet I know I must entertain them, it's there for all to see.
It must be my destiny! For it's what my cutie mark is telling me.
The ponies in the audience didn't crack a smile or chuckle at all no matter what Fluttershy did. It took Spike dancing in a silly fashion just to amuse them. And Twilight took advantage of it to try to determine the location of Pinkie Pie. "If Pinkie Pie isn't here, then where is she?" She asked Fluttershy.
"Probably on Sweet Apple Acres, working her tail off as usual," Fluttershy responded. "I feel so sorry for her. She leaves one farm life behind only to end up with another."
Twilight and Spike soon left Sugarcube Corner and made their way to Sweet Apple Acres on the other end of town. Yet even though it wasn't affected by Rarity's disorganized weather patterns or an encroaching Everfree Forest, it was not in good shape at all. The entire farm looked ready to fall apart at a moment's notice.
And perhaps because of that, Pinkie Pie was anything but cheerful when she saw Twilight and Spike near the farm's outskirts. Most telling of all was the fact that her mane and tail hung flat against her body instead of being their usual poofy and curly selves. And sure enough, instead of three balloons on her flank she had Applejack's cutie mark of three apples. "What do you want?!" She snapped! "Make it quick, I'm busy!"
"Busy with what? You're not supposed to be working here." Twilight pointed out.
Surprisingly, Pinkie Pie didn't laugh as she responded. "Twilight, this isn't a joking matter. Fluttershy's supposed to be the one making others laugh. I have no time for fun and games. I have to get the farm ready for an early harvest, everything's falling apart and ponies are getting desperate. That means more work for me."
Spike was looking all around, taking notice of the empty fields and neglected trees. But it was the absence of some particular ponies that he was most concerned with. "Where's the Apple family? You know: Granny Smith, Big Macintosh, Apple Bloom? Do they know you're helping Applejack?"
The earth pony mare snorted. "They all did their best, but none of 'em want to be around me. They do their chores and I do mine, and it's better that way," And she added. "As for Applejack, she's too darn busy running that silly boutique of hers to lend her own family a helping hoof. In her absence, somepony had to take charge and I figured it as might as well be me. Of course, a rock farm is a whole lot different from an apple farm. I'm learning that the hard way."
The studious unicorn was left scratching her head. "None of this is making any sense. Why is it that all my friends are acting so different today and trying to do each others jobs? Why am I the only one who knows who's actually supposed to be doing what?"
Pinkie only bitterly remarked. "If anypony's not making sense, Twilight, it's you. Things have always been like this. There's only so much I can do to force myself to smile. So if you're not gonna help me get my chores done, stop wasting my time and get out of my way! If the farm goes under, it'll be my fault. I promised the rest of the Apple family that I could make a difference when Applejack left. I can't go back on that promise no matter how much it makes me unhappy." And then she too started to sing while struggling to do various chores like buck apples, repair a water chute and collect eggs from the chickens:
I don't care much for pickin' fruit, and plowin' fields ain't such a hoot.
And no matter how hard I try, I simply can't fix this busted water shoot!
I have so many chores to do, it's just no fun being me.
But it has to be my destiny, 'cause it's what my cutie mark is telling me.
"So, I guess now we're going to go see Applejack?" Spike asked Twilight after the singing had stopped.
"I guess so, Spike," Twilight reluctantly nodded in agreement. "But somehow, I don't think Applejack is going to be any different from the others."
Pinkie Pie just grumpily declared. "Well if you're going to see her at her boutique, make sure to tell her that she had some nerve to abandon her family to pursue her dream. A lot of good it did her in the end."
Applejack was indeed at Carousel Boutique, and it was of little surprise when she happened to have Rarity's cutie mark of three diamonds. Strangely enough, she had kept the stentson she was always known for wearing, but it looked rather ragged and worn. And she currently had a tape measure slung around her neck. "I ain't takin' any more orders or requests. I'm up to my neck in orders as it is." She complained while frantically rushing about the boutique.
"So I'm guessing you've always been working here instead of Rarity?" Spike guessed.
Applejack nodded. "This here boutique was about to close for good before I stepped in and took over. I figured all my time in Manehattan meant I knew all there was to know about fashion," She promptly wiped the sweat from her brows while exclaiming. "Ooh boy was that a mistake! I wanted a change from farm work, and I sure got it all right. I figured this was the best way to do what my cutie mark was tellin' me to do, bring out the beauty in other ponies and other things. But now my dream boutique has turned into a nightmare."
Twilight added. "And Rarity has been doing Rainbow Dash's job of controlling the weather. Somehow, I'm the only pony who hasn't been affected by whatever caused this," She looked at Applejack. "I'm sorry you can't remember a time when you actually enjoyed working on your family's farm. You used to take pride in being so close to your roots."
The earth pony mare forced a smile. "That's mighty kind of ya to say, Twilight. But you don't have to lie to me just to make me happy. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie work hard enough as it is to keep me from worryin' about things, and I couldn't even dream of askin' them, Rarity or Rainbow Dash to take over for me even just for a day. This is my boutique and my responsibility."
"Even if that responsibility is something you're not very good at?" Twilight questioned as she noticed the rather poor quality of the dresses that the boutique currently had to offer.
Applejack just replied by saying. "Eeyup. At this point, with everythin' else that's goin' on I don't think ponies are goin' to care much about what they wear. Got too many other problems on their hooves as it is. Now if you'll both kindly excuse me, I need to get back to work while I still can. Even if it drives me to the brink of collapse, I'm gonna see to it that every last customer gets the dress they deserve!" Then, as she went over to the sewing machine she began to unhappily sing:
Lookie here at what I just made, I think that it's a dress.
Oh, I know it doesn't look like much. I'm under some distress.
Can y'all lend me a hoof here so I can fix this mess?
My destiny may not be pretty, but it's what my cutie mark is telling me.
And as soon as Twilight and Spike left the boutique, they could hear Rarity singing from afar:
I'm all in love with weather patterns, but other ponies have concerns.
Oh, now I just gave them frostbite on top of their sunburns.
I have to keep on trying, for everyone can see.
It must be my destiny, because it's what my cutie mark is telling me.
As the singing ended, it became clear to Twilight and Spike that only they seemed to have any knowledge of what should be as opposed to what was. And neither of them knew what it was that had caused this confusing turn of events.
The two retreated to the familiar confines of the Golden Oak Library in order to try and wrap their heads around what was going on. And to their great surprise, Princess Celestia was already there to greet them.
The sun princess didn't seem to be at all enthusiastic about her unannounced visit if the expression on her face was any indication. It looked like she was frowning, which was a rare sight for the alicorn with a coat of majestic white. Though it was at least of some relief to both pony and dragon that her cutie mark was still a sun and not something else.
Still, the nature of the alicorn's visit was of great concern and mystery for Spike. And especially for Twilight who sought to inquire. "Princess Celestia? Why are you here?"
In response to the question Princess Celestia responded. "I had planned to come here to provide you with assistance and guidance on your greatest test yet. I didn't anticipate you would deliberately defy my instructions and proceed without me," Then she saw fit to ask a question of her own. "Twilight Sparkle, what have you done?!"
Twilight appeared to be confused judging by the expression she shot back at her mentor. "What do you mean? Did I do something wrong?"
Perhaps to provide better clarification on her question, Princess Celestia used her magic to hold up a book very familiar to her and instantly recognizable to Twilight. "Perhaps you're aware of the incomplete master spell written within the very pages of this journal?" She pointed out while flipping through the pages until she came to one that was partially left blank.
"Hey, I don't recognize that book!" Spike commented. "What's going on here?"
But Twilight knew all too well what that old book was and thus what Princess Celestia was suggesting. "Spike, do you remember your seven hour bubble bath last night?" When the little dragon nodded, she explained. "Well, while you were in the middle of said bath, I received an important package from Princess Celestia herself. And inside that package was this book, which is apparently a journal." And her mind started to flash back to the previous evening when she had received said package in the mail.
An excited Twilight carefully opened the package that had just been delivered to her doorstep. Attached to it was a letter that had read as follows:
Dear Twilight Sparkle,
What you're seeing now is Starswirl the Bearded's journal, a journal he used to record all the spells he created and perfected over the course of his lifetime. Contained on the last page of this journal is his secret unfinished masterpiece.
He was never able to get it right, and so he abandoned it in favor of 'another time' that never came to be before his sudden disappearance many years ago. But I believe you are the only pony who can understand and thus rewrite it, completing what Starswirl could not.
However, given the nature of this spell and the fact that it was never cast, I do not know what might happen if it were attempted. Therefore, I've attached extra instructions to the journal's cover that I want you to read over first.
Sincerely,
Princess Celestia
After reading over the note, Twilight let out a gasp! "Ooh! Something from Starswirl the Bearded?! How could I possibly resist?" It all made sense now. All those advanced magical studies Princess Celestia had been putting her through as of late, all of that had been in preparation for this. She was now to succeed where even the greatest magical mind had failed.
In fact, the unicorn was so excited that she barely even took notice of (let alone bothered to read) the "extra instructions" Princess Celestia had seen fit to tape to the front of the journal. In very large letters they clearly spelled out "DO NOT OPEN WITHOUT ME!" followed by Princess Celestia's signature. Yet where this warning would've made a more cautious pony rightfully hesitate, Twilight's curiosity and eagerness to please her mentor caused her to discard the note without a second thought.
Then Twilight flipped through the pages as she opened the journal, soon coming to the last page and the incomplete spell that she'd been told about. Clearing her throat she read aloud: "'From one to another, another to one. A mark of one's destiny singled out alone, fulfilled.'," As she read she thought she felt a faint magical energy swirl around her, but she quickly dismissed it when the energy seemed to fade as quickly as it could. And all she could think about was. "Wait, that's it? That doesn't make sense. It doesn't even rhyme."
Oh well, those were thoughts for another time and place. She would have all the time in the world tomorrow to look deeper into the spell to figure out what it was supposed to do and how she would "complete" it.
The flashback ended as a look of realization slowly crossed Twilight's face, and then horror and guilt slowly settled in! "It can't be! I... I must've cast the spell accidentally without even knowing it!" She realized! "How could I have been so foolish?!"
"So you understand the consequences of your actions now, Twilight," Princess Celestia sternly remarked with her disapproving glare. "Even knowing how much you idolize Starswirl the Bearded, I thought for sure I had taught you better than this."
Spike was quick to jump to Twilight's defense. "Well, to be fair you did subject her to a test when the Crystal Empire came back that was kind of about how some orders of yours were to be defied or ignored. Like how you told Twilight she had to be the one to help protect the empire, and only by disregarding that was she able to make the right decision in the end."
But Twilight protested. "No, Spike, that's not a valid defense. Because that test was also to see if I would put my own interests ahead of others no matter what. It was only by ignoring what I thought I had to do that I was able to give you the order that allowed you to get the Crystal Heart to Cadence in time. If I'd remembered that lesson, I would've realized that my desire to learn more about the spell would have to wait until Princess Celestia could arrive to help guide me."
Spike then commented. "Well, I still don't see how that has any connection to what we witnessed this morning," And then a thought struck him. "Wait, that's it! This is all just a dream!" He began to break out into a nervous laugh as he declared. "Yeah, that must be it! This is all a crazy dream I'm having. Any minute now, I'm gonna wake up in my bed screaming and Mom's going to be there to comfort me. And we're both going to have a laugh at how silly this all is. Right? Right?!"
Neither Twilight or Princess Celestia would acknowledge the little dragon's suggestion. For them this was all too real. But Spike still didn't want to believe it. "N-no, this can't actually be real! I... I need to wake up now!" He declared and proceeded to throw himself hard into the nearest wall! But when pain coursed through his tiny body, the reality of the situation slowly settled in. "This... this is real?"
The sun princess slowly nodded. "Much as I wish it weren't, Spike, it is," And then she gestured a hoof to a nearby glass display case. "My suspicions about what happened were confirmed when I got a good look at the Elements of Harmony. Having them so close to such magical energy must've affected them somehow."
It was only now that Twilight and Spike gave any thought to looking at the powerful artifacts that had been left at the library just a few weeks prior when Discord had more or less agreed to change his ways. It was less an insurance policy against the chaos maker and more a security measure intended to have the elements close to the ones who could wield them. But now it seemed that decision had backfired. Although the crown of magic remained unaffected, the other five elements in their necklaces had changed colors (though not shapes): Honesty was purple, kindness was blue, generosity was red, laughter was orange and loyalty was pink.
"The spell must've altered the Elements of Harmony in some way, and only the caster was unaffected," Celestia concluded. "That must be why the elements are all wrong."
"And the Everfree Forest threatening to take over Ponyville?" Spike nervously asked.
The alicorn reluctantly explained. "The forest has always contained a special magic connected to the elements. It's why Luna and I once lived in a castle in the heart of the Everfree. But after Luna's banishment I could live there no longer, the memories associated with it were too painful," She briefly turned to shed a lone tear before doing her best to regain her composure. "With the Elements of Harmony now disorganized, the Everfree Forest must've reacted."
Spike then pleaded. "So, what are you waiting for?! Change it all back! There's a counter spell for all of this, right?! I mean, every spell has a counter spell. Doesn't it?"
Frantically, Twilight scanned the pages of the journal anew only to be confronted with her worst fear in this case. "Not this time, Spike. There's no counter spell. I guess since Starswirl never got the spell complete, he never saw the need to develop a counter spell."
Celestia put a hoof to her chin. "More likely, since he didn't know what the spell would do he figured it would be impossible to design an appropriate counter spell. And he may have feared that designing one to counter an untested spell could make things worse," She then shook her head. "I'm afraid that there is no magical solution that can fix this. At least, not that Luna or I know of."
The little dragon then suggested to Twilight. "Well, if our friends' memories are the problem then why not just use the spell you used to cure them when Discord corrupted them?"
Twilight protested with a shake of her head. "It's not that their memories are altered, Spike. They all believe they've been like this for as long as they can remember. Their true selves are what's been altered. No memory spell can counter that."
Quickly rattling off ideas, Spike asked. "Uh... Zecora's cure for the cutie pox? I mean, our friends' cutie marks are all wrong and that's what causing the false memories."
Again, Twilight shook her head. "That won't work either, Spike. The cutie marks aren't the problem, it's what they've led our friends to believe that needs to be fixed. And I don't know how to do that," Then she began to hang her head. "Their destines have all been completely changed, maybe forever. And it's all my fault. If I hadn't been so eager to cast that spell, none of this would've happened in the first place."
"Twilight." Princess Celestia began, sensing the change in mood that was enveloping her student.
But the studious unicorn was in no mood to listen as she went upstairs and threw herself upon her bed. "How could I have messed up so badly?" She thought to herself as tears started to form in her eyes. "I let everyone down: Princess Celestia, the ponies of Ponyville, and most of all my friends."
Twilight's mood only worsened as she looked out the window, seeing the devastation that her actions from the night before had now unleashed upon the town she'd come to call home. Various parts of town were covered by rain or snow while other parts got nothing, animals ran free with nothing or no one to hold them back, ponies glared and growled at each other whenever they happened to bump into each other, and places like Sweet Apple Acres and Carousel Boutique looked to be on the verge of ruin.
Unable to think of anything else to do, the unicorn began to sing without a care in the wide world of Equestria for who might overhear her:
I have to find a way,
To make this all okay.
I can't believe one small mistake,
Could've caused all of this heartache.
Oh why?
Oh why?
I'm losing promise,
I don't know what to do.
I'm seeking answers,
But I fear I won't get through to you.
Oh why?
Oh why?
Breaking down into loud sobs, Twilight only barely noticed when Spike and Princess Celestia approached her to presumably offer comfort. "What am I going to do?" She asked them without looking up from her bed. "Everything's all wrong now, because of me."
It took quite a while for the unicorn to cease her crying and sobbing even with her mentor and her adopted son by her side. "This is all my fault. Of all the things to mess up, why did it have to be this? Why couldn't I have failed at something less important, something where at least if I messed up it wouldn't change everything and everyone around me for the worse?"
"Twilight, you can't beat yourself up over this," Spike pleaded. "You're not perfect, you know."
Twilight sniffled. "Well I should be! I should be a model student! I should be as perfect as Princess Celestia!"
At that Princess Celestia seemed to react with shock as she sharply declared! "Twilight Sparkle, you of all ponies should know that true perfection is impossible! Even I have failed."
"Never in a way like this, never in a way where everypony is worse off because of you!" Twilight protested! "The closest you've come was having to banish your own sister to the moon for a thousand years. But you found a way to make everything better."
The sun princess then added. "Yet you've seen for yourself that I can be outsmarted. That sometimes even I don't hold all the answers. Think about when Discord returned and I didn't anticipate him swiping the Elements of Harmony from their storage place. Or the royal wedding when I not only didn't see an invasion occurring, but also brushed off my own niece's bad behavior despite you trying to warn me. In both cases, I messed up. In both cases I failed to protect Equestria when, as the ruler of the land, it is my royal duty to be the first line of defense for my subjects."
Slowly, Twilight looked up and dried her eyes. "I... I didn't think about it like that," And she was quick to apologize. "I'm sorry for lashing out at you like that, Princess Celestia. That was uncalled for. I didn't even mean the things I said. I was just so stressed and I got frustrated... and... and..."
Celestia draped a wing over her student to reassure her. "It's okay, Twilight. It's not healthy to keep things bottled up inside you all the time. What matters is that you realize now what you did wrong. Admitting to a problem is the first step towards overcoming it," And then she smiled. "I know you'll find a way to make things right again. You've never let me down before. In a way, you're more than just my student. You're the closest I've ever had to a child of my own. Seeing you grow so much in just the last two years has been a joy. And it's because of that that I say 'I have faith in you'."
Spike then added. "Come on, Twilight. You've never given up before. And you've always taught me to believe in myself no matter what," And he encouraged. "I'm sure you'll figure something out. After all, you didn't give up on officially making me your son even when you had to sort through more paperwork than I think anypony's ever had to deal with in their lifetime."
The studious unicorn slowly stumbled out of her bed. Despite her eyes being red from all the crying she had done, it seemed like a newfound sense of optimism had found its way into them given how much they seemed to be sparkling. "You're right, Spike. I've been in tough situations before. Many just as tough as this. And I've never given up! I can't start now! I may have messed up, but that just means I need to stop blaming myself and start working on a way to fix all of this! I can do this! Everyone's counting on me, especially my friends," Then, looking at a picture of herself with her friends, something began to stir deep within her. "They mean more to me than anything else. My friends..."
Spike and Celestia happened to notice an unusual glow overtake the unicorn as she gazed at the picture. Nervously, Spike couldn't help but ask. "Uh, Twilight, are you okay?"
Twilight gave a firm nod. "Yes, Spike. In fact, I'm more than okay, I think I've figured out a way to make everything right."
"You do?" Spike asked with both hope and concern.
Twilight nodded again. "Indeed. I may not be able to just remind my friends of who they are or rather who they used to be, but I can show them what they all mean to each other," She hurried over to the display case, lifting it up as she floated over the tiara of magic and placed it upon her head. Then she used her magic to quickly scoop the five incorrectly colored elements into the shiny blue case with a yellow lock that had previously been used to hold them. "Doing that should restore the Elements of Harmony to normal. And when the Elements go back to what they were, so should our friends."
"Well that's great and all, but what about the Everfree Forest?" The little dragon pointed out. "It's still out of control, and I don't think it's done taking over just yet. Even if your plan works, there may not be a Ponyville left to save."
Princess Celestia immediately unfolded her wings as she declared. "You leave the forest to me for now."
With a newfound sense of optimism Spike asked. "You mean, you're going to stop the forest and drive it back?!"
The sun princess shook her head. "I'm afraid that's beyond even my capabilities, Spike. I will do the best I can to hold it back for as long as it possible," And she turned to Twilight. "That should give you time to put your plan into action. Once the elements have been restored, you and your friends should be able to calm down the forest and return it to its hibernative state. And if nothing else, I hope that when this experience is over, you will have learned a valuable lesson about defying my orders for the sake of your curiosity. After all, we must never allow something like this to happen again. Next time, we may not be so lucky."
"Don't worry, Princess Celestia," Twilight quickly replied while she motioned for Spike to come over to where she was standing. "I won't be forgetting this experience anytime soon. I've definitely learned my lesson already," She then rushed out the library door with the Elements of Harmony in tow while calling to Spike. "Come on, Spike! We've got no time to lose! Our friends aren't going to save themselves."
Princess Celestia watched her star pupil disappear over the horizon, no doubt already having decided on who she would try to help first. And as the alicorn prepared to do her part to help her student successfully right the wrong she had caused, there was something nagging at her in the back of her mind. "That glow," She thought aloud to herself. "Could it really be?" Putting a hoof to her chin she seemed to briefly contemplate something before shaking her head and dismissing the thought. "No, it couldn't be. Could it? It shouldn't be possible." But those were thoughts for another time and place.
It didn't take long for Twilight and Spike to find the first friend to help. As luck would have it, they ran into Fluttershy just as the pegasus mare was plunking down a sack of bits to pay for a balloon ride. And she was just about to step into the hot air balloon's basket.
At least, that's what was about to happen when Twilight frantically and desperately called out to her pegasus friend! "Fluttershy, wait! Don't go!"
Fluttershy reluctantly stopped in her tracks and turned to face Twilight. "Oh, hey Twilight, hey Spike," She greeted. "You two seem to be doing well. Well, about as well as anyone could be doing under these circumstances."
"Where are you going?" Twilight asked. "You're not actually thinking of leaving Ponyville, are you?"
Fluttershy nodded. "I'm afraid I am. I'm moving back to Cloudsdale," And she explained in an unhappy tone of voice. "It's time I faced facts, I'm just not good at what I'm supposed to be doing. It was bad enough when things were peaceful and quiet, but today it's worse because the weather's all messed up and the Everfree Forest is forcing ponies and animals out of their homes. I just can't make anypony laugh no matter how hard I try," To prove her point she pulled out a whoopee cushion that promptly deflated. "See? That was one of my best gags. And if that doesn't work, you know darn well nothing else will."
Twilight protested. "So that's it, you're giving up?"
The shy pegasus reluctantly nodded. "I really don't have a choice, Twilight. If nopony's laughing, then they're certainly not buying anything and that means Sugarcube Corner won't be staying open. No Sugarcube Corner means I'm out of a job. Besides, I don't think Ponyville's going to last much longer at this rate."
"Well, before you go," The studious unicorn insisted. "I was just wondering if you might be willing to help me with Rainbow Dash. She's having a lot of trouble with her animals."
Fluttershy shook her head. "Twilight, I don't know much about animals. That's not my specialty or my destiny. I'd like to help, but I don't see how I could."
Twilight pointed out to her friend. "You do know a thing or two about Rainbow Dash, right? After all, you two were childhood friends."
Fluttershy put a hoof to her chin as she pondered. "Well, yes, we were. And I... know that Rainbow Dash is a true friend. She's always been there for me when I needed her, she was a big help when I moved to Ponyville, and a big help before then when we were living in Cloudsdale," She eventually seemed to come to the conclusion. "I suppose I can't really call myself much of a friend if I wasn't willing to do whatever I could to help. Rainbow's always been there for me, so now it's my turn to be there for her!"
The unicorn mare smiled. "Excellent! Knew you'd see it my way! Now we'd better hurry, no telling what kind of trouble Rainbow Dash has gotten herself into. Follow me!" And she took off running as fast as her legs would carry her.
Reluctantly, Fluttershy followed.
The two friends made their way through Ponyville, dodging the rain and snow showers and the branches from trees that seemed to be almost everywhere. At last, they came to the cottage that now rested within the entrance to the Everfree Forest itself. Things already didn't look good there considering the cottage door seemed to be ready to fall off its hinges at a moment's notice!
"Rainbow Dash?" Twilight called as the two mares got close. "I've brought a friend."
But from the other side of the door came a loud thud and the angry sounds of animals who probably hadn't been fed in who knew how long?
Rainbow Dash frantically called out a second later! "In here! I'm trapped! Somepony help!"
Twilight and Fluttershy needed no further encouragement to rush in! Yet even they were not prepared for what they saw!
Rainbow Dash was tied up and trapped within a cauldron on a pile of logs. Try as she might, the pegasus mare could not escape. And meanwhile, various animals that she was supposed to be watching were marching around the cauldron while holding up forks and knives. It was clear that they intended to make the rainbow maned pegasus their next meal.
"Don't worry, Rainbow Dash! Help is here!" Fluttershy declared before turning to Twilight! "Do something, quick! Cast a spell to get her out of there before it's too late!"
But Twilight refused. "I can't do that, Fluttershy. And even if I could it wouldn't solve anything. Those animals are angry. You need to find a way to calm them down. Rainbow Dash needs your help, not mine."
"O-okay, I'll... I'll do my best," Fluttershy gulped and reluctantly stepped forward to face the hungry and angry animals. She then cleared her throat. "Um... hello? Little... uh, woodland creatures?" The animals all stopped to look at her. "I know that you're all very upset right now and feel like giving Rainbow Dash a hard time, but what you're doing to her isn't going to solve anything."
Rainbow Dash nodded. "Yeah, turning me into lunch meat isn't gonna fix anything! But these guys just won't listen."
Fluttershy just continued to talk to the animals to try and calm them down. "I'm sure you're all very hungry. Rainbow Dash is doing the best she can to get you all fed, but there's a lot of you and only one of her. So maybe you should try to show her some respect," Then she looked around as she noticed some things laying around the cottage. "Uh, maybe you could all have a snack to tide you over so my friend can get Rainbow Dash free? How about some nice, juicy leaves? Ooh, and some crunchy, munchy acorns too?"
That seemed to do the trick, the animals forgot all about trying to eat Rainbow Dash when there was far more tasty food readily available to them. And both Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy breathed a sigh of relief when the animals' rebellion appeared to have been appeased and halted.
Looking over the animals again, Fluttershy started to feel something deep down inside her. "You know, this actually wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It's almost like I can understand you," As she spoke she found herself being picked up and kissed by a bear. "I... I feel all strange and tingly, like... like this is what I'm actually meant to do, like this is who I really am! Almost like it's..." She gasped as the realization struck her! "My destiny!" And no sooner had she said those words than did her flanks start to glow!
Sensing an opportunity, Twilight floated over the Element of Kindness and watched as a bright pink glow enveloped her shy friend.
Memories began flooding Fluttershy's mind in an instant! Memories that until a moment ago she had not had! And soon afterward there came a blinding flash! When it faded, the pegasus mare stood up and scratched her head. "What just happened to me? It's like I was in a dream, watching somepony else cover for me. But it felt so real."
Twilight happily cheered! "It worked! It worked! My plan's a success! You're back to normal, Fluttershy!"
"'Normal'?" Fluttershy slowly blinked. "What are you talking about, Twilight?"
The studious unicorn just commented. "I don't have time to fill you in on all the details. You had your cutie mark swapped and you thought you had to be somepony else. But now you're back to what you've always been. And I need your help if we're going to save the rest of our friends!"