//------------------------------//
// The Elements of Harmony 
// Story: Age Before Beauty 
// by RunicTreetops 
//------------------------------//

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...I-I'm sorry, can you repeat that?"

Anon, Sunny, Zipp, Hitch, Izzy, Misty, and Pipp sit around a table next to the Crystal Brighthouse's kitchen. Steam still rises from the tea in their cups as the six ponies stare at Anon with confusion and disbelief.

"I have reason to believe that the six of you embody the traits indicative of the Elements of Harmony."

"O-okay, but... what does that mean?"

Anon takes a calm sip of tea before responding.

"As some of you know, the Elements of Harmony played a vital role in Equestria's history. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna used them to defeat Discord and liberate the country thousands of years ago. After that, Celestia used them to banish Nightmare Moon, and a thousand years later, Princess Twilight and her friends inherited them and used their power to save the day on numerous occasions. On top of that, they've taken form on several other occasions, such as with the Pillars of Equestria or with the six prominent students from the School of Friendship's first year. Now, I believe they have appeared yet again in the form of you six."

The ponies fall silent once more until Zipp eventually finds the courage to speak up.

"But what does that mean?"

"It means that, like it or not, you all must shoulder the responsibility of keeping Equestria safe."

Hitch laughs nervously.

"What, you mean like super heroes or something?"

"...Not too dissimilar, I suppose."

"I-I was joking!"

After a moment of contemplation, Sunny speaks up yet again.

"I'm flattered that you think that about us, but what difference does it make?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we already brought magic back to Equestria. A few times, actually. Apart from that, what else is there to keep Equestria safe FROM?"

Anon turns his attention directly towards Misty, who noticeably recoils and looks away from his gaze.

"I believe you mentioned that Misty helped you save a baby dragon from an 'evil alicorn?'"

Misty doesn't respond, causing Pipp to answer on her behalf.

"Well, yeah. There's this mean alicorn named Opaline that made Misty do all this terrible stuff and kidnap poor Sparky! B-but we've all forgiven Misty for that already!"

Izzy continues where Pipp leaves off.

"She's really mean, but I don't know what we need to defend from her. Except Misty, I guess."

Misty mumbles something under her breath, but no one can hear it. As such, Anon continues.

"Opaline, huh? And you don't think the 'mean alicorn' that you left out there is something to be concerned about?"

Sunny answers again.

"Why should we be concerned? We beat her already. Her plan failed."

"No offense, but it sounded to me like you barely beat her. And on top of that, do you really expect her to just... stop trying?"

"..."

After a silent moment, Anon sighs.

"This is exactly what I'm talking about. Before I came here, I thought you were just a group of particularly talented friends. But now that I know Misty exists, the final puzzle piece has fallen into place. That's not necessarily a bad thing, though."

Zipp responds incredulously.

"So... what now? Let's say you're right and we've 'inherited the Elements of Harmony' or whatever. What do we do about it?"

"You tap into that potential. You hone your skills and figure out exactly how to use the Elements. Then, if someone like, say, Opaline shows their face again, you'll be more than ready to keep Maretime Bay safe."

"I don't know if you've noticed, but it's super peaceful around here. You said that yourself just a little bit ago, but now you're making it sound like Maretime Bay is going to be in danger all of the time. Why?"

Anon looks Zipp dead in the eyes with a dark, serious expression.

"Because I'm speaking from experience."

In that moment, when Anon finally drops his typical, gentle smile, he looks like an entirely different person. His features seem more serious. His scar seems much more pronounced. His demeanor reflects his age. When it all comes together, he looks not unlike a veteran that has seen horrors beyond anything the ponies around him could ever imagine. This change causes the table to fall silent once more, and no one wants to maintain eye contact with Anon. Eventually, it's Misty that finally raises her voice enough to be heard, even if her eyes are looking at the floor.

"What should we do now, then?"

Without a word, Anon reaches into an unseen pocket and retrieves the journal he took out of his backpack, placing it on the table with an audible 'thunk.' This catches the ponies' attention, and Sunny gasps in surprise when she sees it.

"The Journal of Friendship?"

"An original copy, too. If we're going to figure out your potential, why not refer to the lessons learned by your predecessors?"

Zipp responds again.

"Wait wait wait, 'we?'"

"What is a student without a teacher?"

"So you want to teach us... friendship lessons?"

"Not necessarily. You'll have to figure out that part yourself. However, I CAN help bring out the traits you're meant to embody. Plus..." Anon looks directly at Sunny. "I think your 'Element of Magic' needs help controlling her alicorn powers."

Sunny gasps excitedly.

"Really?! You can help me learn how to use my alicorn magic?!"

"I do have plenty of experience wrangling alicorns."

"Oh my goodness, this is so EXCITING! Thank you so much, Anon!"

Anon lightly chuckles, not completely unaware of the mixed feelings around the table. Zipp is suspicious of Anon's words, Hitch appears excited (though not nearly as excited as Sunny), Izzy is as hard to read as ever, Pipp seems a bit nervous, and Misty may as well be cowering in her seat.

"But there's no need for us to do this all at once. I know I just dropped a bombshell on you all, but getting antsy or anxious won't help anyone. Take some time to think about it, okay? I'm not going to force you to do anything you're not comfortable with." With that, Anon rises from his seat and begins to make his way towards the door. "Thank you all for the tour, and for your hospitality. I'll be seeing you in the coming days, okay?"

Sunny interrupts Anon before he can make it outside.

"O-oh, Anon! You forgot your copy of the journal!"

"Eh, keep it. You're going to need it more than I will, I imagine."

Then, with a wave, Anon departs, closing the door behind him as he does so. Now alone, the six ponies stare into their empty teacups, unsure of what to say first. Eventually, it is Sunny who speaks up.

"S-so, uh... it was cool to see Anon again!"

"He seemed nice," Izzy adds enthusiastically.

Zipp groans.

"C'mon. Let's not beat around the bush. Apparently Anon wants to train us so that we'll be able to stop Opaline?"

"Seriously, what's up with that? I'm a pop star, not a... actually you know what, that doesn't sound like bad publicity." Pipp places a hoof to her chin as her mind begins to wander.

"...Is that why he's been staring at me so much?" Misty finally manages to speak loud enough to be heard. "He called me 'the final puzzle piece.' What does that mean?"

The group sits in quiet contemplation for a few seconds before Hitch reaches for the Journal of Friendship that Anon left behind.

"It sounds to me like we might find the answers we're looking for in here."

Sunny leans towards Hitch to look into the journal as he opens it.

"I've read my own copy of this journal dozens of times over. Though I guess there could be some differences between my copy and his."

"Let's do a group study sesh, then. Maybe it'll help us wrap our heads around whatever the heck he was talking about."

The six ponies nod and, after cleaning up after themselves, make for the nearby living space to get comfortable, ready to learn from the lessons that Princess Twilight and her friends left behind many, many years ago.





While distracted by their conversation, the ponies within the Crystal Brighthouse failed to notice Anon tap his walking stick to the ground and summon two large vines that quickly grew out of the ground below him and lifted him into the air. They grow taller and taller until he is able to simply step off of said vines and onto the top level of the Brighthouse, right next to the Unity Crystals. The vines rapidly deteriorate until they have disappeared entirely within the span of a few seconds.

Anon takes a few quiet steps towards the Unity Crystals, bathing in the strange sense of comfort that they give off. However, his expression seems anything but relaxed. He looks into the crystals, seeing his own scarred reflection staring back at him.

"What are you planning, Opaline?"

Anon closes his eyes before letting out a long, drawn-out sigh.

"...I'm not going to let you hurt these ponies. Not again."

Opening his eyes once more, Anon reaches into his shirt pocket and retrieves an old, worn-out photograph of himself, noticeably lacking any scars, with his right arm wrapped around the familiar visage of Princess Celestia. A young alicorn filly stands between them, smiling at the camera.

After a moment, Anon gently tucks the picture back into his pocket before turning away from the crystals and silently returning to Maretime Bay.