Twilight woke up slowly that morning. She was normally quicker at getting up, but maybe her body being diagonal in bed had something to do with that. She was just so tired and the bed was so comfy. She could hear the birds chirping vigorously outside; Fluttershy must've given them that imported bird feed from Farasi. The light didn't shine through her eyelids, so Spike or Harry must've shut the blinds. Twilight stretched, pushing against her large pillow. The large, warm, moving pillow.
Twilight's eyes open, taking in the sight before her. Harry was lying belly-down, stretched over the short side of the bed. The "pillow" was one of his forelegs, placed beneath her head. What Twilight pushed against were his ribs. Twilight tensed. How did— oh right, late-night study session, she thought. Best not to wake him up.
As stealthily as she could, Twilight slipped out of and away from her bed. She crept back quietly, to not disturb Harry's sleep. When she reached the door, Twilight quickly dashed outside, closed the door, and pressed her ear against the door to listen for any sounds of Harry stirring. Hearing none, Twilight turned to get started with her day. After all, her sleeping-in undoubtedly put her behind schedule, and Twilight liked her schedule. After all, the Equestria games were in a few days, and everypony was excited to do their part. Hopefully, Sike could light the torch.
Twilight glanced back at her room. He'd more than paid for his "mishap" with the book by cleaning up. She'd let him sleep in.
Only a few days after their "incident" with the Inspiration Manifestation book, the Equestria games were right around the corner. Everypony participating was training to succeed. In all honesty, the Crystal Empire needed this. Hosting the Equestria Games always promised powerful economic and morale boosts, things the crystal ponies (a thousand years behind the times and still recovering from Sombra) needed a lot.
Due to her princess status, Twilight was expected to sit with Celestia during the opening ceremony. It was an honor, but it did lead to one tiny change in her plans for the games. She asked Harry to keep an eye on Spike while she was with Celestia. While Harry had a small number of years on Spike, the dragon looked up to the stallion more and more.
When the games started, Harry promised to keep an eye out, even if he needed to use his cloak. This led to a small... incident, during the opening ceremony. As Harry explained, Spike was too nervous to light the flame himself. Twilight was going to intervene on his behalf before the fire lit abruptly. However, it hadn't been from Spike. As Harry explained after, he had been hidden under his Invisibility Cloak and lit the flame for Spike, to save him from public embarrassment, something everypony Spike feared. When Spike met up with the group later, Harry didn't wait to expose his actions. Spike had been devastated. Spike didn't cry often, and this was one of those moments.
Twilight tried her best to console him, but his self-confidence remained shaken as he tried to prove himself through ridiculous means (including a musical number in front of thousands). Needless to say, it didn't help, and Spike wore a trenchcoat when she forced him to get out. Then came the ice arrow incident. Some unlucky pony shot their freezing arrow into a cloud, nearly crushing the crowd. It was only Spike's quick thinking and fire that stopped the ice. (Twilight suspected Celestia had some plan B, but she wasn't going to tell Spike that.) After that incident, and magical security was relaxed, the games continued as normal. Many events won, some lost, but the games were an event to remember. Spike and Harry repaired their friendship, and everypony went home happy.
Now, if only she didn't have to come back to welcome dignitaries from Maretonia in less than a month.
Twilight was more than a little nervous today. Celestia had summoned her to the Crystal Empire to be a part of welcoming dignitaries from Maretonia. It wasn't Twilight's first official outing as a princess, but it was significant. She was glad her friends decided to visit the empire to provide moral support, she would need it. By the time all eight reached the empire, Twilight was feeling better about the visit.
Spike excitedly walked around the empire, it was quickly becoming his second favorite location. "Seems like only yesterday I was saving this place from being totally destroyed. Hey, you guys remember that?" he asked, oblivious to the giant crystal statue of him.
"You only mentioned it about fifteen times on the train here," Rainbow Dash replied.
"Yes, and we never hear a peep out of you about your exploits," Rarity quipped
Rainbow Dash blushed bashfully, rubbing her head. "Heh, point taken."
"I'm glad you all wanted to come, but I don't think it's gonna be that exciting. I pretty much just have to smile and wave as the dignitaries arrive," Twilight said.
"Yes, but you get to smile and wave like a princess," Rarity said.
"I think that's her problem, Rarity," Harry said.
"How exactly is that different than smiling and waving like not a princess?" Applejack asked.
Twilight sighed dejectedly. Harry and Applejack were right. "It isn't."
"What's wrong, Twilight?" Fluttershy asked.
Pinkie Pie teasingly stretched Twilight's face out. "Why the looooooooong face?" she giggled.
Pinkie's antics failed to cheer Twilight up. "I've just been feeling a little unsure about things lately. It doesn't seem that my new role as a princess equates to all that much," Twilight confessed.
"That's just silly. You've got a real important role in Equestria," Applejack said.
Harry walked up to Twilight. "A mare of your talents and position wouldn't be here for nothing. I'm certain Princess Celestia knows that."
"I guess you're right," Twilight admitted.
"Of course we are," Rarity said. "Now hurry along! You don't want to risk having that important role diminished because you were tardy for your regal meet-and-greet."
Twilight looked over the balcony of the Crystal Palace as the four dignitaries from Maretonia arrived. A guard (what was his name?) announced the arrival of the Duke and Duchess of Maretonia as the trumpeters blew their horns. Just as the Duke and Duchess walked up to greet the other Princesses, Twilight played her part in the ceremony. She walked to the edge of the palace's balcony, igniting her magic.
And unfurled a banner.
Twilight waved awkwardly as she watched the dignitaries and the Princesses walk inside the castle. Truthfully, Twilight felt a little discouraged. She hadn't chosen to become an alicorn or a princess, but she felt like there was something... missing. Like she could be doing more with her role than smiling and waving.
"That was it? Princess Celestia had you come all the way to the Crystal Empire just to do that?" Spike said incredulously.
"Mate, not cool," Harry scolded, pointing at Twilight's crestfallen expression.
"I mean, whoa, really regal and important!" Spike over-corrected himself.
Applejack lightly swatted the dragon.
"You are a princess," Harry reminded Twilight. "You're practically a politician."
Twilight laughed awkwardly. Her, a politician? Twilight looked back over the castle courtyard. This was the biggest letdown in her career (did this count as a career?) as a princess. Even the Rainbow Falls Traders Exchange felt more regal. Anypony in the guard could fulfill the same task.
"Well, now that my important job is done, you don't have much reason to stay," Twilight said.
"We're sorry this didn't turn out how you expected," Fluttershy said.
"I'm sure Princess Celestia will come to realize your royal potential, eventually," Rarity remarked.
"Thanks for trying to cheer me up girls," Twilight paused for a moment, "and Harry."
Harry felt awful as he and the others returned to Ponyville. Twilight was unsure about her place in the world, and there was nothing he could do to fix it. Scratch that, there was little Harry seemed to do about anything, like his time in Equestria was building up to... something. He went to bed that night wishing he could do more to help his friends, something that seemed more common these days.
The next day, Harry, Spike, and the others waited by the train station for Twilight to return from the Crystal Empire. When the train finally arrived, they eagerly rushed to greet Twilight.
"How did the meeting go?" Rarity asked with zeal.
Twilght shrugged a looked away. Something was bothering her.
"The meeting went fine, but..." Twilight bit her lip, and Harry felt his heart sink. Something definitely went wrong at the empire. "I think Equestria's in danger again," Twilight said.
"Great, what's it this time?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"One month. Can I go one month without danger?" Harry grumbled.
"What's happening, dearie?" Rarity asked.
"Celestia had a vision last night," Twilight said. "A centaur named Tirek escaped Tartarus. Tirek has the power to steal magic, and now he's running loose again, getting more powerful as he goes."
"I swear I've heard that name before," Harry muttered.
Twilight nodded and summarized Celestia's words about the centaur. "Thousands of years ago, Tirek and his brother, Scorpan, came to steal Equestria's magic. Thankfully, Scorpan betrayed his brother after making friends with ponies. He warned Celestia and Luna, who banished Tirek to eternity in Tartarus for his crimes. Tirek has escaped and regained the strength to steal magic. He poses a threat to Equestria, one Celestia has already acted upon. However, she decided to use an... unorthodox solution. She's sending Discord."
"Discord!?" Everypony shouted in shock.
"...As in Discord Discord?" Applejack asked.
"Yes!" Twilight exclaimed
Fluttershy shook her head. "I don't think it's that big of a surprise. He can be very helpful."
Harry fake-coughed loudly. "He gave me Blue Flu and Tatzlwurm Fever in less than twelve hours," he deadpanned. "If that's 'helpful', I'd hate to see what defines a nuisance." Twilight nodded in agreement. That was rude, though Harry would be lying if he said Twilight's care while he was sick wasn't a good change of pace. It felt... nice.
"He can sense when there's a magical imbalance," Twilight admitted. "The next time Tirek steals magic, Discord will be able to track him down."
"So what are you supposed to do in the meantime?" Rainbow Dash asked.
Twilight sighed. "Nothing. Unless of course one of you needs me to smile and wave," she said, mimicking the motions she had wasted her day on. Twilight turned to walk away from the group. Harry moved to walk beside her.
"Twilight, where are you going?" he asked.
"To the Castle of the Two Sisters. I'm not really needed anywhere else. Might as well catch up on some of my reading."
Rainbow decided to break the awkward tension. "You want some company?"
When Twilight didn't object, everypony followed Twilight as she walked to the Everfree Forest.
"It has been a while since we visited the castle. Might be fun!" Applejack said cheerily, trying to lift everypony's spirits.
Twilight smiled. "Maybe I could use a little company right now."
The group walked through the Everfree Forest, briefly making a stop at the cliff overlooking the Tree of Harmony. Twilight looked down, remembering how they had given the Elements up to save the tree. It felt odd, knowing that the Elements had brought them together, and now they were gone.
"I still can't believe we had to give back the Elements," Rainbow commented.
"It had to be done or the Tree of Harmony wouldn't have survived," Rarity countered
Fluttershy nodded. "But Twilight was right. Even without the Elements, our friendship is as strong as ever."
"I just hope another 'friend' of ours never makes us sorry we had to give them up," Applejack said.
"Oh, you're talking about me, I presume?" Discord's voice said.
Everypony looked up to see Discord floating down to them, wearing a hat and holding a suitcase and umbrella. Twilight saw Harry's jaw drop.
"Is that bloody Mary Poppins? How in Tartarus do you even know about that?" he demanded.
Discord laughed. "You should know a thing or two about magicians and their secrets," Discord said as the items vanished. His ears were on fire. "Besides, my ears were burning. Somepony was talking about me." Discord splashed water on his face, dousing his ears.
Rainbow Dash got in Discord's face. "What are you even doing here, Discord?"
Discord pulled out Twilight's friendship journal, flipping through a few pages. "Oh, just a bit of light reading before I head off on my extremely important mission. I suppose you all know that I've been tasked to capture a certain escapee," he said, pulling out a pipe full of... bubbles?
"Big deal," Spike scoffed.
"You're right, Spike. It is a big deal."
Discord's pipe trapped Spike in a large bubble, sending the poor dragon up in the air. Thankfully, Rainbow Dash grabbed him before he could fall.
"Seems I possess a magic that gives me quite an important role in Equestria. Maybe they should make me an alicorn princess." A pair of pink wings, a pink horn, and a massive crown appeared on Discord, as he blew large kisses to the air. He must have heard about the dignitaries from Maretonia.
Rainbow Dash knocked the crown off of Discord's head. "In your dreams!"
Discord frowned. He pushed down on his fake horn and his original horn and antler reappeared. "Oh, I never dream of such things. Ask Princess Luna."
Twilight frowned. Discord was just staling at this point, wasting everypony's time.
"Don't you have a creepy magic-stealing villain to track down?" Applejack asked, clearly thinking the same thing as Twilight.
"Yes, yes, yes, of course." Discord grabbed everypony and teleported them to the Tree of Harmony. "It's just that I couldn't help but notice that Twilight hasn't yet opened this little chest of hers."
Everypony looked at Twilight with a mix of pity and curiosity. Twilight shrugged. There was nothing she had been able to learn about this thing. Nothing in any book she had read before mentioned anything about such a chest.
Discord continued to talk from the chest. "I-I-It got me thinking, what if what's locked inside is something that could help her prove her royal worth? I only bring it up because she said that she's been feeling like her role as a princess doesn't equate to much," Discord said, pulling Twilight's face into a pout.
Twilight merely stared back, not going to add fuel to the flame by lying or agreeing.
"Wait a minute! How do you know how she was feeling?!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed with an accusatory tone.
"Oh, my. Is eavesdropping, not the way you're supposed to find out what your best pals are up to? Woe is me. Will I ever learn the intricate nuances of being a good friend?" Discord said with mock sadness, hanging from the tree melodramatically before smiling whimsically.
"You tell me, patient zero," Harry said, looking as skeptical as everypony else.
Nopony was believing a word Discord said, except maybe Fluttershy. Twilight knew Discord was just being dramatic and she knew he knew it.
Discord coughed awkwardly. "You're never going to let me live that down, Harry. Well in any case, I suppose now is as good a time as any for me to make my exit." Discord hopped on some vehicle that spewed out bubbles, then vanished.
"And good riddance!" Applejack shouted.
Discord reappeared behind them, smiling and holding the journal.
Discord leaned over and showed off the book. "Oopsie-doopsie, I almost left with the little journal you've all been keeping. What a fascinating read. Haven't you girls just learned so much? I've bookmarked a few of the more interesting passages. You really should take a look!" He said, balancing the book on Twilight's horn.
Twilight tried to keep the book's delicate balance before she grabbed it. Doesn't Discord understand how important this is to us? No, he probably knows how much it means, and is messing with it because of it.
Discord leaned over the Fluttershy, whispering something to her.
"I wouldn't miss it," Fluttershy responded.
Discord smiled and waved as he walked to a doorknob that appeared out of thin air. "Well, I'll bring the cucumber sandwiches!" He said as he vanished through a door that vanished as soon as it closed.
"Sometimes I think the 'reformed' Discord is more obnoxious than the 'before-he-was-reformed' Discord," Applejack said.
"Indeed," Rarity agreed.
"But he could be right, couldn't he? What if there is something important in that chest?" Fluttershy spoke in defense of her friend.
Twilight rubbed her chin, and an idea came to mind. "There's only one way to find out. The castle library."
Harry was not a bookworm. He had learned this the hard way in his first year at Hogwarts when he was looking for the stone. But, hey, if Rainbow Dash was going to read a book, Harry wouldn't object to helping Twilight. Harry had elected to read through the passages Discord had highlighted in the journal. Call it a safe bet, but Discord always seemed to know plenty more than he let on. Harry flipped through the five bookmarked sections. Each one had something in common, he just knew it. Each entry was written by one of the ponies who held the Elements, except Twilight. There had to be some connection there.
Let's see. Applejack had to be honest, Rainbow Dash chose her friends over winning, and everypony else dealt with something about their Element. Perhaps Discord's trying to give us a clue to unlocking this thing. That's... nice?
"Anything?" Twilight asked, flipping through another book. Various "no"s rang out from the other six.
Harry stood from his seat.
"I think I found something," Harry said. He levitated the book up with his turquoise magic, depositing it in front of Twilight. Everypony gathered around Harry as he flipped between the bookmarked sections. "Each one of these sections is about you being true to your Elements. Applejack and the tonic, Fluttershy and the breezies, Pinkie Pie and the party, Rainbow Dash and the Equestria Games, Rarity and the fashion show, every entry here is about embracing the Element you represent. And when you did that, you helped somepony else who gave you an object. Point is, these are too similar to be mere chance." Harry pushed the book over so Twilight could read it.
Twilight flipped through the pages rapidly. "Harry's right! There is a connection. It sounds crazy, but maybe there's something special about those objects that could lead us to the keys. The chest is connected to the Tree of Harmony, the Tree is connected to the Elements, and the Elements are connected to all of us. That must be the connection! It sounds weird, but maybe Discord was trying to be a good friend after all," she said with a smile on her face.
Harry felt a swell of pride that he had contributed something to this adventure.
"Then we'll all go get them, and book it over to the Tree!" Rainbow Dash declared.
"Let's go unlock that chest!" Pinkie Pie declared.
"So, how do we unlock a chest with a rubber chicken, a thread, a pin, a flower, and a bit?" Applejack asked, looking down at the five items.
Twilight felt the same way. Applejack was right. These items were completely mundane, with nothing inherently magical about them. "I don't see anything on them that would give us a clue as to where the keys might be. They're just... ordinary, everyday objects," Twilight noted.
Pinkie Pie picked up the rubber chicken. "Come on, Boneless! Give us that key!" She shook the toy like it owed her bits.
"I don't think that's going to work," Twilight commented. She ducked as Pinkie Pie threw the chicken as hard as she could.
The chicken hit the chest and then was suspended in a magical bubble. Twilight looked intensely in surprise as the chicken twisted and shifted in a wavy with a handle that looked like three balloons. key. And that key fit itself nicely into one of the keyholes. Twilight looked at the other objects. These items don't lead to the keys, they are the keys!
"I think that is going to work," Harry smirked. "Put the keys in."
The other four placed their items on the chest and stepped back. The chest levitated the items and reshaped them into different keys that resembled each Element. One after the other, each new key was inserted into a keyhole until one remained. It was this keyhole Twilight looked at with growing apprehension. Of course, the sixth is missing. Why is the sixth always missing?
"There's still one key missing: the key that represents the Element of Magic, my Element," Twilight said with disappointment. Everypony else had done exactly what they needed to, except her.
"Oh, but I'm sure that if we've gotten our keys, you have too, Twilight," Fluttershy reassured.
Rarity walked up to Twilight, looking her in the eyes. "Think, Twilight. When have you completed a difficult magical task, and in doing so encouraged another pony to do the same?"
Everypony looked between Twilight and Harry.
"What? Why are you all looking at me like that?" Harry asked.
"Well, you are the closest thing Twi has to an apprentice," Rainbow Dash said.
"She does teach you an awful lot of magic," Applejack agreed.
"Twilight does teach Sweetie Belle from time to time, but not like she teaches Harry. He's practically your protégé!" Rarity commented to Twilight.
Harry shook his head in disagreement.
"Twilight teaches me magic all the time, but I'm not sure if any of it counts as a task," he countered.
"What about the... you know," Spike spoke reluctantly, "the book thing?"
"I don't think so," Twilight said.
"That wasn't a task for Twilight," Harry said, shaking his head. "You all learned an important lesson about your Elements and passed it along. But Twilight and I haven't encountered anything like that, not by a long shot. She's taught me plenty. Spells, magical theory, and manipulating pre-existing spells; she knows everything she teaches like the back of her hoof. Nothing has challenged Twilight, she's too good at magic to be challenged by that."
"Besides," Twilight blushed at the praise, "if something had been a challenge, I would have written about it in the journal."
"Unless it was quite personal," Rarity said in a sing-song voice.
Twilight blushed again. Rarity had fallen back on her habit of teasing them.
Spike placed a claw on Twilight's shoulder. "Don't worry, Twilight. I'm sure you'll get your key eventually."
No sooner than Spike spoke, the dragon covered his mouth like he was going to puke. But what came out was a whisp of green fire that manifested into a scroll from Celestia. Twilight grabbed the note and opened it hastily. What if this was important?! The note was brief, and in the worst hoofwriting Twilight had seen from Celestia. Which said a lot, her writings were always in the same pristine language.
Twilight Sparkle, you are needed in Canterlot, at once. Please, hurry.
"What's in the letter?" Harry asked,
"That I'm needed in Canterlot at once!" Twilight exclaimed.
"What? Why?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"Who cares, just go!" Harry said. "There's a centaur on the loose, get moving!"
Twilight waited for not a second more, flying away as fast as she could. Hopefully, Celestia had some good news.