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// Orchestrator at work 
// Story: The Second Return 
// by Narim 
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The cave, hideout, laboratory, you name it, was a huge place. Five hundred hooves long and two hundred hooves wide, filled with bookshelves, tables, maps, books and scrolls on the ground, containers with various liquids (some of the red ones dangerously resembled blood), huge barrels with sulfur, boxes with gold, copper and silver metals. A fully equipped alchemist table, a star map (outdated, as Twilight quickly realized), a surgical table, cupboards with tiny cases. This and many more, all covered in dust and rust, dimly enlighten by a magical fire in the centre of the room. 

"Just as you have left it, Terran," presented Neklan the room. "Or rather, just as you were forced to leave it, when your sisters came here to banish you." So this was the place where Celestia and Luna imprisoned their brother. What a fitting place for that act. Some places were covered in red blood or burned. It appeared Discord didn't give up without a fight.

"This should do the thick," Discord said and enlightened the torches. The room looked a little less gloomy. "Fine, let me get to work, you other stay here and don't touch anything. I will call you when I need you. And you," he turned to Neklan. "Don't even think about leaving this place. I still have some questions for you," he commanded and started looking for various equipments all over the place.

"Excuse me, sir," asked Twilight boldly, "would you mind introduce yourself? We have never heard of you before, I am afraid."

Neklan quickly bowed in apology. "A thousand sincere apologies, my lady. My name is Neklan the Merry. Well known for my cultivated taste of wine, mares and poetry. I was one of the twelve Terran's companions, who joined him on his heroic adventures," he bowed again.

"You mean you've helped him to stop Helia?" asked Twilight.

"So you've heard about me! That is so wonderful!" he rejoiced. "Well, it was not as heroic as I have intended. Me and my other nine friends have perished during that fight. But then, our company managed to defeat her, so it was heroic enough to be..."

He was interrupted by a purple fog appearing out of nowhere. Just as in Neklan's case, the fog too formed into a pony shape. This time, it was an unicorn. Unlike any other unicorns, he had not one, but three horns, and majestic look in his face. His voice was filled with wisdom. Without a doubt, he quickly grasped the situation.

"Greeting, you are the Elements, I presume. All twelve gathered, with three of you hosting not one, but two of them. Interesting. Terran is here too, I see. If you excuse me, I have to help him," he apologized and moved to Discord checking the content of a huge box. He was surprised to see him, and seemed... happy, like a good old friends meeting again after a long time. Ponies could not hear what they talked about. Discord started quickly explaining and the purple ghost pony nodded or sometimes disagreed. They both went into one of the bookshelf lines, disappearing from their sight.

"Are we expectin' other guests?" wondered Applejack. Neither Discord nor Celestia told them about ghosts. 

"Who knows, my dear, who knows," said with a hope. "As usual, he knows much, but forgets the proper introduction. His name is Napoli of the Three Horns. The best mage of our time, the only one who could walk alongside Terran on the road of magical discovery. He was the one who taught us this spell, allowing us to come back to this realm. He could've at least make us able to enjoy the fine drinks again," didn't hide his complains. Discord and Napoli argued over some huge opened scroll.

"He was then the other of Discord's, uhm, friends?" guessed Twilight.

"You are correct. There were twelve of us. All gathered around Terran. And I guess this is the best time to start with one of the best things you can do at the evenings. Poetry." He started to recite, and with his trained voice, it was almost like a singing.

In ancient times of heroic deeds,
the ponies of the finest breeds
made an oath to protect this land,
surely it was a journey grand.

Beneath the Moon and under Sun
we sure hard hardship, we had fun.
From the icy north to southern lands
our epic mission never ends.

Twelve of us, companions,
the six mares and the six stallions,
with Terran as the thirteenth core,
about us I'll tell you something more.

Napoli, blessed in the magic art,
he was the first one at the start.
Right at the moment he was born
they saw there are two more horns.

Although Tara was born at a farm,
she swore to protect friends from harm.
There is no one with a stronger shield,
with it she never had to yield.

The most loyal was Neklan,
from any challenge never ran.
Wine, poetry and fine mares,
to doubt of him no one dares.

Grifel was the best at flight,
she was so agile, fast as light,
a daring queen of the sky,
it is something you can not deny.

The sage with the name Narcius,
his honesty was obvious,
for his wisdom served for only good,
to help the others he always stood.

Gavora, from the mountains peak,
she ventured down to challenge seek,
her stomp could cause an earthquake,
that strength was pure, and not a fake.

Although you might not guess by name,
the kindness made Furioso's fame.
I am obliged to make a remark,
he always brought light into the dark.

From royal court the Lady Ann,
her beauty lasts for lifetime span,
charismatic, oh there's no doubt,
you can't have gala with her being out.

Dahoman generous with bits,
he helped with money where it fits,
his giving never seen before,
he was always ready for the poor.

Kostrava with willpower great,
the art and paintings were her fate,
she sure was of a limitless mind,
the most creative artist you could find.

If you are unease, go find Portlanc,
the pony who lived to party, sing and dance.
Always armed with laughter,
he will make your day brighter.

Shagga, visionless and blind,
from her eyes no light have ever shined,
she could perceive all from then on in,
foretold all things before they could begin.

So twelve of us, companions,
in place of an army of millions,
and with Terran, as you can assume,
we ventured forth, to meet our doom.

Neklan seemed to have more to recite, but all of a sudden, he stopped. "I am sorry, but the last three strophes make my heart ache every time. They are full of pain and sorrow for my fallen friends," made his apology. Discord noted back at the library something about his friends paying the ultimate price. So these are the ponies who helped him back then. None of the girls could imagine the pain of losing one of their friends, forever. So many times they stood at the edge of death. Always they made a step aback, into safety. Will the day come, when they won't be able to? 

The light and noise from a burning furnace filled the chamber. Discord heated various metal rods. He did mentioned forging, after all.

Rarity paid close attention, unlike Rainbow Dash, who disliked poetry even more than Twilight's boring explanations, and wondered about the composition of the poem. What are the odds of using the names of all twelve elements in the single poem, unless they are related? She asked him about it and he confirmed her suspicion.

"Oh, that is easy. Once, Terran asked us a simple question: What do we value the most?" he got lost in his memories. "Each one of us made different answer. For me, as you know, it is the loyalty. Loyalty to Terran, to my friends, to this land, to myself. It gives me strength, even in afterlife." Neklan looked around and when he didn't see Discord, he leaned to ponies and whispered. "Terran will never admit it, but he sure can get quite nostalgic. He made each element with his feelings for us. After all, he did make them to gather the energy. Since our valued traits gave us strength, he was sure it would work with his elements too."

"The Element of Loyalty, huh?" said Rainbow suspiciously. "Well I am the Loyalty too," mentioned proudly. She forgot about her fear of ghosts. Neklan was not that scary any more, although it still was awkward to talk to a ghost.

"I know you well, Dashie," he called her with her filly name. "Being a ghost is not as exciting as you would think. I always enjoy the Nightmare Night, though. I can walk freely amongst the others and I always receive huge compliments on my well made magic costume. I won several costume competitions too. I could make them scream very well," he hesitated for a moment, but then quickly made his head fall from the neck, and started flying with it all around the place. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash screamed, but to others, especially Shining, Big Mac and Soarin', it seemed like an old, cheap trick. Neklan saw their reaction and made an offended face, followed by lines about ungrateful audience.

"Anyway," continued with his head back at its place, "I missed the sky very much, so on the bright days, I took few rounds around Equestria. I had to stay up to date. The language chanced a lot, and you stopped using cognomen and agnomen in your names. Being called only Neklan, instead of Neklan the Merry, would make me feel naked. You also keep wearing clothes less and less. It sure must be hard to earn a decent living as a tailor," he made a compliment towards Rarity.

"A fashionista, if you don't mind," gently corrected Rarity. "I would give anything to see the fashion of that time. It had to be amazing," she dreamt.

"It was nice, clean and practical, but to call it amazing knowing your works would be an insult towards your carrier," he flattered Rarity once again. "So like I said, I was watching the world from the sky. Not for fun, no. I was searching for someone. My companion, Shagga of the Endless Paths, told me, I quote, 'to find a mare, a filly, not an older, with a mane of six colors, regardless of order. The spell of your love make her acquire, for as a preparation for the end is it required.' I knew Shagga never tells anyone her prophecies without a good reason, so I searched for that requested filly, even after my death. I found some mares with five colors, sometimes with seven, but just recently I managed to find a mare, a filly, with beautiful, six-color mane," he paused and looked at Rainbow Dash.

It took a while before Dash realized it is her who Neklan talks about. She grabbed her tail and recounted the number of the colors, just to be sure. "Huh, I am six-colored, but I don't know any spell. I don't know if you've noticed, but no horn here, see?" she knocked on her forehead.

"Are you sure you don't know any spell? During my days, the earth ponies and Pegasi were capable of magic, just as the unicorns without magic specialization are. I could swear there is a spell you are proud of. It sure was a fitting show at the wedding," he gave her a significant clue.

Rainbow started recalling. "My awesome Sonic Rainboom? That's no spell, it's an aerial stunt!" she corrected him.

"Spell, stunt, ability. Just words. You sure remember the first time you've done this Sonic Rainboom, right?" asked.

How could Rainbow Dash forget? It was her best day ever. Nopony ever forgets the day they've got their cutie mark. Rainbow nodded. 

"Even I remember it well. I was there, you know. That chilling feeling you've got? That was not excitement. Not completely, I mean. I was there, flying closely behind you, so close, you could almost hear me, as I casted the Magical Inheritance on y..."

"YOU DID WHAT?!" Discord suddenly appeared behind his back and questioned him with terrifying voice. "You are no magician, Neklan. In case you don't know it, you can kill the heir even if you are right. And not only will you kill him, you'll also tear his soul apart. I would never expect such hazardous action from you," he didn't hide his disappointment.

"That's why I helped," said the purple ghostpony, Napoli, behind Discord. Discord turned and intended to scold him too, but Napoli stopped him. "Do you think I am the irresponsible one, Terran? I would never allow anyone to do such a thing unless I am completely sure. Safety first, as my love used to say, remember?" Napoli was offended, but gained control and calmed himself. "The Magical Inheritance is dangerous, but since I am dead, or rather very close to that state, I've gained a lot of knowledge. With that, I was able to remove every risk. I would still hesitate to use it, if it weren't for the Shagga's prophecy," he admitted.

"Wonderful," resigned Discord. Another prophecy. He hated that. A true prophecy means you are bound to do something, to let something to happen. Where's freedom in that? "What prophecy this time?" said obviously annoyed.

"At time you are already gone, there is a thing which must be done. Important spell you must revise, else our hopes leave in goodbyes. If you do so, we have a chance, and the Elements with us at our last stance," quoted the prophecy. I like riddles, thought Twilight, but this is neither the time nor the place for them.

"A riddle, I sure love them, just like my mares here," Discord made them remember the time he hid the Elements and forced them to solve his riddle. "So," tried Discord to explain it. "You have corrected the spell. Neklan used it on Rainbow Dash. What was the target spell, Neklan?" he asked him.

"The spell of my love. I sure enjoyed the presence of other mares, but I always stood loyal to my true love. Grifel the Light-fast," he remembered his special pony. "And the spell was no other than Golden Blast, of course."

"I see," realized Discord. "When she used it, the entire sky got cleared by a golden nova, brining happiness to everyone who saw it," described the spell.

"But hey," reminded Rainbow Dash. "Mine Sonic Rainboom is way cooler than that. It's rainbow colored, for those who never had the honor to see it."

Napoli explained how the Magical Inheritance works. "The inherited spell adapts to the user. Grifel's mane was like golden wheat. That's why her spell was golden. Her nova was way faster than yours. It was considered lifetime luck to witness it even once. Yours, on the other hoof, is slower, rainbow colored as your mane and as a bonus, it sparkles. Not sure where do the sparkles come from. Maybe it's the side effect of my Activating Command?"

"Activating Command?" asked Twilight, who was silent for longer than usual. "I just happened to read about it. You can use this spell to re-enable any of your previous spells. It is used for spells where the casting is complicated, so you don't have to do it every time."

"Yes, I used it to activate the Elements for this age," revealed.

Discord was not surprised at all, compared to others. "I knew it had to be you. You were the only one connected to them and with the sufficient knowledge on how to control them. Still, to activate them using third party spell is remarkable," he praised him. "Seems like the ironwork is cool enough," guessed and without asking for permission, he quickly grabbed few hairs from each pony's manes. 

"Hey," complained Rarity, "that's not how you treat a lady."

Discord ignored her whining, I mean complaining. "Now, the Elements," he said for himself. With his paw open, he commanded "Come!" and all six elements appeared in his possession. So that's know he got them from Celestia's magic protected safe, realized Twilight. How easy.

"Six are here, and I need to forge four more. There is no need to forge new ones for those who got two of them, just a simple modification will do," mentioned Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Rarity. "Three for the present stallions. I'll shape them after your cutie marks," mentioned Soarin', Shining Armor and Big Macintosh. "And finally, the thirteenth for myself. The Element of... hmm... Chaos?" said, but immediately rejected. "Let's keep it nameless. I hate naming them anyway," decided and started putting the pieces together. Every so often, ponies could hear his brainstorming, like 'Where is the copper?', 'The circle will do the trick' or 'No, that is still too low'.

"It may seem too late to ask," said Shining Armor while Discord was already away and occupied with the making, "But do I need to have a new element crafted? Princess Celestia mentioned that our love between Cadence and myself is the seventh element." He had a point. Their love defeated Queen Chrysalis, their love managed to do something that even Celestia couldn't.

"The magic," started Napoli, "originates from your power source. Stronger the source, stronger the magic. And love, together with hate, is the strongest one. And ask yourself, what is love? Isn't love having someone you want to protect so much, for the rest of your life? It is so fitting in your case, Armor."

Rainbow Dash seemed down, and sadly raked in the floor with hoof. So that's how is it, she thought in desperation. My awesomest trick is something I was given due to some stupid riddle. Not something I've earned because of my super flying skill. What now? What else have I been given? Her desperation was obvious, and Napoli comforted her.

"Do not even start thinking low about yourself, Rainbow Dash," he lectured her. "Magical Inheritance is useless, if you don't have the power to activate it. Who knows, maybe you are the only Pegasus caster of this age. That is something you had to work hard for."

Soarin' quickly came to aid. "He's right, Rainbow," agreed with him. "If you underestimate yourself, how should we think about ourselves, as the Wonderbolts? Not only had you saved my life during the Best Young Flyers Competition, but also of my two friends, Spitfire and Misty. I will never be able to repay you for your fast help that day."

The Wonderbolts membership would be fine, thought still depressed Rainbow Dash.

As if could Soarin' read her mind, he added. "The only reason you are not a Wonderbolt already is that we are already full for this and the next season. We can't change our formation mid season. Our performances require a heavy training, you know that the best. But hey," he said, closely leaned on her and whispered. "I could pull few strings to get you a spot during our breaks at the shows. Just imagine it. The entire stage, just for you, the entire audience just focused on you. What do you say?"

Her depression was replaced by another one. She remembered her stage fright at the Competition. That's something you can handle with training, she boosted herself. Yeah, how can I tell Fluttershy to trust in herself if I can't do it myself? She gave her brother a nervous, yet happy smile.

"See? Now that's my sis for sure," he praised her. "When we are done here, I can show you a few tricks that might work. But you have to train hard to master them. Not too hard, though. Cap' would had my feathers if you were better than us," he said seriously, imagining Spitfire's face when she's angry.

Neklan looked upward, as if he could see through the ceiling. "The forging will take some time. I suggest you to get some sleep. You can find some old hay to sleep over there," he pointed at a huge pile of hay in the corner. What could Discord use it for? It was hard to imagine him sleeping on hay. "Who knows how soon we will have to depart. We'll let you know if your presence is needed, so rest now," he encouraged. 

Twilight wondered how long it was since she woke up. It felt like a year, due to all the news she learned today. Here, underground, you couldn't guess what time it was. There were several clocks on the walls, but none of them worked. Although she was hardened from her study runs, she never felt so tired. She found a nice pile of hay and laid down her weary body. Her brother did the same close to her.

"Hey Twily," whispered Shining quietly. "Do you know the last time we slept like this together? You were just a filly back then. You sure grew up, sis." 

She did not respond. Her eyes were closing fast. The last thing she saw was the blue and purple glows of Neklan and Napoli, discussing something.





The lull before the storm. It won't last for long. While the ponies are resting, will Discord be able to finish his work? In the next chapter of The Second Return we will at least stand face to face to Helia and the story will reach its peak.