Story
You see Rockhoof kicking a huge stone away from an Olden pony town. Flash Magnus speeds ponies away from falling debris. Somnambula helps keep the ponies’ spirits up. Mistmane works to fix the houses up once the trial is over. Mage Meadowbrook makes sure no pony needs medical attention. Starswirl uses his magical knowledge to stop the volcano, blocking the opening to stop the magma before it rains down.
You look over to see Stygian walk close to you, overlooking the daring scene. In one hoof is a magic page. The other holds one of Starswirl's spell books. "Alright. Let's see if my new spell works. Here goes nothing." He takes a breath and speaks the incantation, "From one to another. From another to one. The mark of one's destiny singled out alone fulfilled!"
A sudden gust of wind blows around him and the rest and a strange light causes everypony to close their eyes. The white magic blends with the orange magic of the page.
Suddenly, Starswirl is trying to help ponies who are hurt with no bedside manner. Mage Meadowbrook runs around as fast as she can, trying to save shield ponies without the ability to fly. Flash tries his best to repair houses with the plants, which continuously pull him back. Mistmane tries to kick rubble off houses to no avail. Rockhoof tries to keep the other pony's spirits up, but everypony seems uncomfortable and confused when he speaks with them. Somnambula looks for a new spell with no way to wield it.
Stygian blinks, "Wha- no. Why did it switch their Cutie Marks? Why are they so bad at those talents? I don't understand. It wasn't supposed to change their destinies. It was supposed to reveal mine! I don't understand. I worked so hard to word it just right. All I wanted was to be special like them. I just wanted my own special destiny. Every time we go help a town, even though I do all the research, no pony even notices my contributions. Everypony loves the Pillars. I don't want to be better than them…I just…I just wanted them to see how valuable I am to the team. What did I do wrong?!"
[CHOICE]
What did he do wrong?
> Maybe the spell isn't finished. Try helping them remember their true selves by helping each other. (Chaos)
> I think maybe you didn't think it through. Maybe you should talk to them before trying this spell. They might understand your feelings. (Hero)
> Nothing. Now he can be the hero! (Villain)
[ENDING A: CHAOS]
"Hey, we all make mistakes." You say. "Maybe to fix it, you should get them to help each other with their normal jobs!"
"I suppose it can't hurt. Thanks." Sygian nods and starts with Somnambula helping Rockhoof, and continuing down the line. Once Mage Meadowbrook helps Starswirl, a beautiful white light engulfs Stygian and he disappears. The Pillars gasp in shock, looking around for their friend. After some time, a light comes down from the sky and Stygian appears with wings to go with his horn. He opens his eyes to the gasps of his friends.
"What?" Stygian jumps back.
"Stygian. You…you're an alicorn!" Starswirl breathed, "how did this happen and…is that one of my spell notebooks?!"
Stygian blushes. "I may have borrowed one with blank pages to try a new spell. I know you don't remember this, but at one point, I was going to try this new spell by taking your artifacts temporarily and using them to find my place in the group. When you found that I took them, you all assumed the worst of me…Starswirl worst of all. I found a page to change events and decided to try again…but it didn't work. All it did was mess you all up. With my new friend's help, I realized helping you all remember your talents through helping each other was the best way to fix the mistake. I'm so sorry everypony. I never meant to take your talents or your artifacts…I just wanted to show you that I am a part of this team too and-Wait-did you say…alicorn?!"
Rockhoof gives a mighty chuckle, "Indeed, my dear friend. I do not think you will have to worry about anypony thinking little of your contributions any longer!" He shows Stygian his reflection in a pool of water.
Somnambula nods. "Stygian. We are so sorry. If we had only known you felt this way…no. We should have known. We should have let you know that you help just as much as we do."
"And I promise we will make sure you know how much we appreciate you in the future!" Mistmane nods.
"Yeah. You're the one who brought us all together!" Flash points out.
"And the one who first notices danger." Mage Meadowbrook pipes in.
Starlight sighs, "I did you wrong, my boy. I overlooked you most of all. But look at you know…future Ruler of Equestria. You will have so much to learn."
Stygian smiles, "At least I'll have my friends there to help me along the way!"
They go off to help Stygian learn how to be a ruler.
(+1 page for Chaos)
[ENDING B: HERO]
"Instead of using a spell like that, shouldn't you ask your friends for help? Maybe they'll understand your feelings." You suggest.
Stygian sighs. "I don't know. I just want to help like they do…but I guess it would be better than this mess." Stygian looks down at the pillars and back at you. "I…I wanted to but they weren't listening. They thought I took their relics when I just wanted to borrow them. I ran off when they confronted me…they were so mad that I changed everything when this weird magic page appeared. I guess I could try one more time though. I mean, they're supposed to be my friends, right?! If I just settle them down…maybe they'll finally listen and understand. I worry though. I don't know what I'll do if they reject me…" Stygian looks away.
You give Stygian a hug. Stygian takes a deep breath. He takes out a page out of his pack. The page swirls with an orange light, consuming the area. When the world goes back to normal, the town seems fine. "I had the page take us back to a moment I could remember to try my spell. A moment when I knew they all had their relics. They're probably looking for me now…I'll give you the page for safe keeping. Wish me luck!" He gives a nervous laugh before slowly going off towards where he thinks they may be.
(+1 page for Heroes)
[ENDING C: VILLAIN]
"You didn't do anything wrong. This is your chance. While the Pillars are a little off, you can have a chance to be a hero!" You nod.
"I suppose I couldn't be overlooked. Maybe I can be noticed. It won't be long. I can always just read the spell over again until their Cutie Marks are right when I want to! Okay. I'll give myself time to be noticed. Thanks!"
Unfortunately, with their Cutie Marks swapped, the Pillars do much more harm than the good Sygian tries to do. Each pony with a different Cutie Mark tries their best and fails time and time again to follow what they think is their true talent. Stygian tries the spell again and again, but every time he changes the Cutie Marks, they swap randomly, causing more chaos.
Stygian stresses out, trying to figure out why it keeps randomly changing. He studies his spell over and over. Eventually, after a few moons, the Cutie Marks finally go back to their right ponies, but by the time the pillars were back to their true selves, the damage had already been done. The Pillars reputation was tarnished. And evil never rests, so when enemies come they meet little to no resistance.
(+1 page for Villains)