//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 // Story: Clear Waters and Obscured Connections // by canterlots //------------------------------// Twilight and Applejack made their way out of the chamber, back to the foot of the mountain. The tunnel wasn’t nearly as scary the second time. However, Twilight insisted that they wait for day until crossing the swamp. She didn’t want to repeat her experience with the snakes. Applejack had come much more prepared than Twilight, even bringing a small tent and some food. They took turns sleeping and watching guard through the night. Being much more cautious this time, the snakes didn’t give them any trouble. The stairs proved to be a bit of an obstacle, but with some help of some rope that Applejack brought, they made it through just fine. After what seemed like a very long walk, they were back in Ponyville. The two were too tired to be excited, however. They both simply had a good home cooked meal and then went straight to sleep. Over the next few days, as the news spread around town, they became semi-celebrities in Ponyville. Everypony wanted to hear their gripping tale. Applejack adjusted quickly to the fame, often embellishing the truth a little for the foals. Twilight, however, remained much more reserved about it. She still wasn’t very comfortable with the consequences of their adventure. One day she went to see Princess Celestia to try to put her mind at ease. The two met in Princess Celestia’s private chamber. Twilight told her all about her dream and what had happened. Princess Celestia merely listened passively to the whole thing, but one could tell that her mind was deep in concentration, processing all that Twilight was saying. As Twilight finished her story, Princess Celestia remained silent, still deep in thought. Twilight took the opportunity to ask her some questions. “Princess, there are some things which are still bothering me. What is the ‘Mauros’ field and why have I never heard of it?” “Twilight, you need to promise not to beat yourself up over what I am about to tell you. I understand you are very curious and this is all partially my fault for not teaching you about these things earlier. ‘Mauros’ means simply ‘Black’ in an ancient language of unicorns called ‘Ekhwas’. What you were using was in fact black magic and the reason you have never heard of it before is because such magic is illegal in Equestria.” Twilight’s eyes widened upon this revelation. She thought back to the eerie blue glow and formidable darkness she had seen. Manipulating the dark energies seemed to have come natural to her. She pictured herself in Sam’s position, draining the life from some helpless unicorn on the floor. “I didn’t know... I would have avoided it completely if I knew that I was using black magic...” “I understand that,” she responded. “However, you showed yourself to be quite proficient in a field of magic which is notoriously difficult to grasp. It’s a feat which should come with some sense of accomplishment.” “It’s hardly something to be proud of...” Twilight felt somewhat uncomfortable with what the princess was implying. “Well you may be a bit biased by the stigma associated with it. The truth is, black magic has been a part of unicorn culture for quite some time now. It was long before your time, but I remember seeing ponies use it from day to day. They came up with some rather... interesting applications for it.” Twilight considered the profound cultural change the princess must have seen during her lifetime. A thousand years of memory seemed to her like a burden. She suddenly felt reverence towards the princess for bearing it so lightly. “You see, back in the ancient times when the three pony races lived in segregation, this magic was practiced as a regular thing in the unicorn kingdom. Everypony was encouraged to hone their talents in black magic and sparring for practice was prevalent. However, when the races were united here in Equestria, these customs started to unnerve the pegasi and earth ponies. You see, black magic is fatal to unicorns. It is a field which repels all others. Manipulation of this field can thus rob unicorns of the very magic they require to stay alive. And while it was rare, sometimes in sparring practice, unicorns would die.” “The earth ponies and unicorns saw this happening and became fearful of unicorns. Most of them didn’t know, or refused to believe, that black magic could not harm them. Their bodies are not constructed in the same way as unicorns. They can be exposed to that field for a long time with little effect. However, there was a lot of racial tension at that time, and I was forced to outlaw the practice of black magic to prevent the situation from escalating.” “It was still practiced, but it became an underground thing, based around a few select cults. They started isolating themselves into mini societies, often using only the ancient unicorn languages. Some of them were bitter against me. They thought I wanted to destroy their culture and force them into assimilation. Some even glorified the days of Discord and wanted to bring him back as a leader. I launched a campaign of sting operations against them, trying to rid my cities of these cults. It worked only partially. They were merely forced into the outskirts of town, hiding in safehouses in places like the Everfree Forest. They would often have complicated initiation procedures to test new initiates, which seems to fit the description of what you went through quite well.” Princess Celestia paused thoughtfully. She had the air of somepony reliving nostalgic childhood memories. “It might interest you also that I knew your friend, Mr. Flotsam Clearwater. Back in those days, his cutie mark actually was a sextant. It was around 70 years ago when some of my agents were sent undercover to the temple you went to. It was destroyed after we found it, and its inhabitants were arrested, but some had sworn their souls to Discord. They became his servants, granted immortality, but forced to do his bidding. They live now as ghosts—tormented souls who cannot depart from this life. I never knew what had happened to Mr. Clearwater." Her voice carried no resentment, only sympathy. "It saddens me to learn of his fate.” Twilight thought of all that she had heard. It was a lot to take in, but it was all starting to make sense now. However, there was still something which was disturbing her. “Princess, I am still a little disturbed at how easily I fell in with all this.” “Yes, I noticed that too, Twilight.” Twilight’s heart sank. “But don’t you think it was a little too easy?” Princess Celestia continued. “I don’t know. What do you mean?” “What I am saying that that maybe more than luck is at work here. Discord wanted to draw you in, Twilight. He tried to act like it was solely you who brought yourself to him, but the truth is I can see his hand in this straight from the beginning. He grabbed on to the bit of turmoil which was in your heart and it gave him power over you. So let me ask you something. Is there anything which has been bothering you recently?” It all started to come back to her at once. “Well I just feel so pressured. It feels like there are so many ponies that rely on me and I need to be there for them. And then I think about what could happen if I am not ready when the need arises...” Twilight trailed off, her mind returning to her vision of the apocalypse. “Twilight, I am sorry if this sounds belittling, but you worry too much. Discord is gone. No matter what he may have said, he will not be returning to power any time soon. If you believe in the strength of harmony, he has no power over you. It is a good time to be alive, Twilight. I can tell you that with certainty. Things are stable now. We are due for a long era of peace.” Princess Celestia gave a smile of genuine warmth. “Also, you act as if you are the only one watching over your friends.” Twilight understood. “Ok, but, I guess what I am worrying about is... Princess... How does a pony make sure that what she is doing is the right thing?” “It’s not an easy question to answer.” Princess Celestia’s features hardened. She bore an expression of gravity. “I would never trivialise the issue, but at the same time, I don’t think it is something one can know for sure. One must contextualize one’s actions. Sometimes, even seemingly small decisions can have large impacts on the lives of other ponies and that is something one must consider. However, in the end, it is mostly just gut feeling.”Princess Celestia’s expression and tone brightened. She spoke in a manner which seemed to make a mockery of her seriousness that had come a moment ago. “Twilight, if anyone knows what harmony means, you do. Everybody makes mistakes but I have faith that you will make the right choices in the end. I am not worried about you and you shouldn’t be either,” she said with sincere conviction. A feeling of pride warmed Twilight’s heart. Even after all that had transpired, the princess still had faith in her. She felt like a pair of heavy saddlebags had just been lifted from her back. She returned the princess’ fervent smile. “Thank you, Princess.” The meeting with Princess Celestia had done wonders to put her mind at ease with the recent events. As she rode the chariot back from Canterlot with the wind and clouds rushing past her and the miniscule details of Ponyville coming into view, the sensation she felt was one of airy freedom. I am not worried anymore. I know I have mistakes in my past, but they are all things that I can learn from. The future is rife with possibility for new beginnings. A thought warmed her heart. Tonight was the night of the Apple family’s feast. They had postponed it a few days given the recent events. Twilight smiled. She was going to have a lot of fun.