//------------------------------// // Unsettling Realizations // Story: Restoring Harmony to the Cosmos // by Orfearus //------------------------------// “TWILIIIIGHT Wake up” Spikes cry pierced through Twilights dreams. And I was just getting good at the flight spell she thought, wanting to recapture the dream. “Spike, can’t I sleep a bit longer. That was a late party last night” “WAKE UP NOW” came the reply Twilight cringed at how loud the baby dragon was. Any hope of recapturing the dream was disappearing fast. She opened a single eye, only to have it bathed in Luna’s bright moon “The sun’s not even up, what could possibly so urgent?” she said, contemplating the fact that she might have slept through the entire day “Well, the moons been up for the past 18 HOURS. IT’S LUNCHTIME. NOW GET. UP.” Spike literally roared the last few words, rolling Twilight out of bed. “Lunch under the moon?” Twilight groggily said. “That’s not even … WHAT DID YOU SAY!?!?” “I said the moons been up far too long, and there’s a hoard of ponies outside hoping you can shed some light on things.” “Why would I be able to shed light on things?” She thought aloud. “What could even cause the moon to still be up?” Twilight was still wiping the sleep from her eyes, so it took a moment for the events to make logical sense in her mind. Why would Luna not lower the moon tonight? Nor Celestia raise the sun? The only answer would be something is stopping them, but there’s only one pony strong enough to stop them. Realization struck like a solid wall, as everything lined into place Nightmare Moon “Oh no” Twilight said to Spike. “Could Nightmare Moon really be back?” “I think that’s what they want to ask you.” He said, gesturing to the ever increasing crowd of ponies gathered outside her house. There was a loud CRASH at the balcony door, as a rainbow streak ploughed into it “Rainbow Dash. Are you OK?” Twilight said, helping her friend inside. “no, no, NO! What are we going to do Twilight? The sun didn’t rise, Nightmare Moon probably has taken over Canterlot, and the Princess is in danger right now.” The Princess! Twilight couldn’t let anything happen to her mentor. “Calm down, Dash. We’re the elements of Harmony. Let’s just gather the others up and head on up to Canterlot. We can simply trap Nightmare Moon once more, and allow Celestia to raise the sun.” “Um, everypony’s already gathered up at my place” came a new timid voice from the window, following the agitated rainbow pegasus into the library “Fluttershy, that’s amazing! We can just get out of here and hurry to the castle!” Twilight replied. “You two fly on ahead, I’ll meet you there.” Twilight walked downstairs and only then realized the flaw in her plan. How was she going to get past all these ponies outside her front door? “Spike, gather my things. I want you to pack a few of my books, as well as all of my notes from the past month. They may be helpful, and perhaps once this is done I’ll finally get some more time to talk to Celestia.” She became a little giddy at the last point, before calming down once more to face the gravity of the situation. “Meet me outside once your done; I have some ponies to calm down!” Taking a deep breath, she stepped out into the crowd surrounding her house “Nightmare Moon is back”. She heard the scream from multiple ponies and from all sides. The fear pierced the air and seemed to overwhelm everybody with the realization that their beloved daytime might never return “Everypony, calm down” Twilight shouted “But NIGHTMARE MOON is coming” came a shout from the nearest pony “Calm down everypony.” Twilight responded. There was no way she could do anything if she could not even get the crowd under control “Didn’t you defeat Nightmare Moon?” asked a calm and rational unicorn, standing off to the side. “We did, I’m sure of it! It shouldn’t be possible for her to return.” “Then the greatest fears have come true. The elements have lost their power” The grey unicorn silently disappeared in the resulting chaos from his comment. “Oh no” “What will we do?” “Were going to live through this night forever” “CALM DOWN” Twilight shouted, amplifying her voice through magic. The entire crowd went silent. “Thank you. I presume you’re all here because you know I’m Celestia’s student and I will know what’s happening. I’ll be honest. I do not.” “Then we should all rush up to Canterlot and demand Nightmare Moon brings back our day!” “That is the most REDICULOUS idea I have ever heard. Violence doesn’t solve anything. It never has. Besides, you’ll get lost in the streets of Canterlot just approaching the castle, let alone the labyrinth of corridors within the castle. And what will you do when you find Nightmare Moon? Will she just give back our day because we asked for it?” The mayor approached the front of the crowd. “Twilight, you have led us through some hard times. You are the reason that Winter Wrap Up was successful for the first time in many years, and you have defeated Nightmare Moon before. What do you suggest we do?” Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. Now the conversation was going a way she could handle. “I am going to take a small group of 5 others with me to Canterlot Castle. The elements of harmony will return to the castle once more to restore peace to Equestria. You must stay hsere and remain calm; we will have the sun raised by tomorrow morning." That seemed to silence the crowd for a while. Twilight had once learnt that by exuding confidence, other ponies would listen to her and follow her decision without question. She was just glad that they were remaining calm. Spike came out of the Library and broke her concentration. “All ready” He said “Thank you, my number one assistant” she replied. She looked at Spike, and he saw her horn start to glow. A daring spark was in her eyes. Spike gave her a quizzical look, seeming to say ‘You sure this is a good idea?’ Twilight's audacious smile only replied ‘absolutely’ Giving complete confidence, Spike took a tentative step closer to the unicorn. “So where are the other elements now?” a question came from the crowd Just what she had been waiting for “Waiting for me. And with that I must leave.” Spike came as close to Twilight as he could. A spark jumped from Twilights horn, and the magic grew to encompass the two of them. A unicorn never forgets the vividness of their first teleportation. Neither would Spike. The world around them twisted to a black, endless darkness. The purple aura encompassing them seemed to be the only warmth protecting them from the frigid world they were passing through. Spike could not feel the forces threatening to tear their fragile magic field apart, nor the effort that precision of a long distance journey required. If he could, he would have been paralyzed in fear at the complexity of such a spell. They spent mere moment in that abyss, before Fluttershy’s cottage re-appeared in front of their eyes, leaving behind an astonished crowd of Ponies at the library. But that couldn’t be helped. They needed to act fast. ......... “Where IS She” Shouted an impatient Rainbow Dash “Well, there were a lot of ponies outside waiting for her. Perhaps she got delayed by them all.” Replied Fluttershy, trying to be courageous and stick up for the friend that saved her from the practical joke the previous night “What’s she going to say to them? ‘Hey, I’m Twilight. Yes we defeated Nightmare Moon, but apparently she’s back, so now we’re going to try again while you run wild wondering if you’ll ever see the light of day again.’” “Actually, I was trying to calm them” interjected Twilight, having materialized behind the rainbow pegasus she just startled. “The last thing we want now is chaos. I simply told them that we would have their sun back by tomorrow morning.” “We don’t even know what to do” replied Rainbow Dash, turning to face Twilight head on. “We’ve defeated Nightmare Moon, with no small amount of danger and hard work, and look how long THAT lasted. How are we going to do it again before tomorrow morning?” At the last comment Twilight let out a little giggle. “Morning is the time when the sun comes up. Tomorrow morning won’t come until we succeed.” Rainbow Dash’s confidence dropped a little at such a simple oversight. “If y’all are done arguing, than we should get going” urged Applejack. “Your right, is everypony ready?” Twilight took a step back to inspect the group assembled in front of her. The scene she witnessed was reminiscent of the time they all went to get rid of the dragon. Each of them had saddlebags filled with their own supplies that they believed important to take with them on any trip outside of Ponyville. Every pony appeared confident and rearing to go. The only difference from last time is that instead of hiding inside a bush, Fluttershy was also gathered and prepared for whatever danger lay ahead. “A’ve got apple fritters, apple pies, apple chips, apple sandwiches, apple danishes, and apples.” said Applejack. This was met with some quizzical glances from the other ponies. “What? Nopony makes better meals than th’ Apple family.” Everypony had to agree with that “I’ve just packed the essential fashionable items for any night-time excursion. Scarves, blankets, and a hat” Rarity said, putting on the woollen toque she pulled out of her bags. “I packed extras for anypony that’s missing something” “Me next, me next” said Pinkie Pie, jumping up and down. “I packed some balloons and party hats I had left over from last night ... err this night” “But Pinkie, why would we need a party?” asked Twilight “Maybe grumpy old Luna just needs to loosen up a little. Just one party and she’ll be back to her normal, day allowing self” Twilight decided not to press the issue any further. “Well, I packed some food and medicine I keep for any injured animals. It may not be too helpful with the princess, but I wouldn’t be able to stand leaving any poor, injured animal at the side of the road” Fluttershy said. She did not mention the diamond amulet she packed, made from a diamond she found the first time she ventured into a deep, dark cave by herself. It was a special amulet that gave her courage when confronted by fearful situations. “Did you pack anything that might be useful against Nightmare Moon?” Twilight questioned “Oh. Uh, no.” Twilight was getting visibly annoyed. Most of her friends didn’t have anything that would be even remotely helpful in restoring the sun to the sky. “Dash, please tell me you have something useful in those... your not bringing anything?” she said, noticing the lack of saddlebags that Dash was carrying “Time and speed are the most important, so I'm not letting anything weigh me down!" Dash replied, launching herself into the sky “Well, I brought some books. So somewhere amongst these party supplies, apple sandwiches, and fashion accessories we need to find a way to defeat Nightmare Moon. Either way, we’re wasting precious moonlight. Elements of Harmony, let’s MOVE OUT” With that, the six ponies galloped off up the path towards Canterlot, the full moon still shining high in the sky above them. As they galloped, Spike lay on Twilights back, worrying about the princess, and worrying even more due to their lack of communication. The others may have overlooked it, but when you are the one receiving the burning notes, you did not. If Celestia was alright, she would have sent notice by now to inform Twilight by now. He closed his eyes and prayed for the princess’s safety, as they sped on through the silent, still landscape of the night. ......... Screams of frightened ponies greeted the courageous herd as they approached the Canterlot gates "Run for your lives!" "Nightmare moon is back!" "How will we live without the day?" Chaos was running rampant in the city. Ponies were running over each other in attempts to leave the city, or head back to their homes, or to just head anywhere in general. General disorder threatened to trample any unsuspecting pony. The six ponies stopped outside the city to re-capture their breath "Ah don't see why all these here ponies are running" said Applejack. "It's not like y'all can outrun the night. Specially once it's already risen" "What are we waiting for?" Dash said, already starting to fly towards the castle. "In case you didn't notice, not all of us can fly" Rarity pointed out. Having finally caught her breath, Twilight took a step forward. "Everypony that can't fly gather around me. Dash, Fluttershy, go on ahead but wait for us outside the castle. We need to do this together." "Alright, but don't take too long" replied the cyan pegasus, as she led Fluttershy above the chaos. The remaining ponies gathered close to Twilight as she closed her eyes and started reciting a complex spell. A mystical purple aura appeared around the 4 ponies as Twilights horn started to glow with a burning light "Your not going to try and teleport us all, are you?" asked Rarity. "That would be crazy" The light died down and the aura disappeared. "You don't really think I'm that crazy, do you?" asked Twilight, with a faint giggle. Her response didn't instill much confidence in the group. "So Twilight, what-cha going to do?" Asked an every happy Pinkie Pie "Just stick close together and everything will be alright." The 4 ponies walked into the crowd, huddled together to try and avoid the stampeding ponies rushing out through the gate. A stallion slipped on the ground and went hurling towards them. They closed their eyes and braced for impact, only to have it roll off of a magical barrier only inches from Applejack's nose. Twilight visibly shook with the effort required to deflect such a blow. "That's some pretty fancy magic there Twilight." Applejack said "Let's just keep moving. I don't know how many more hits like that it can take." They quickly made there way through the city, the shield pushing aside ponies that ran to close and threatened to bowl over the 4 that fought their way against the flow of the crowd. The closer they got to the castle, the smaller the crowd was, until it had all but disappeared. At that point a flash from Twilight's horn dispelled the barrier, and they broke out into a gallop climbing the last few step to the entrance. "That was a nice spell there" said Rainbow Dash, who had clearly been watching and was impressed by her solution to the crowd. "I aim to succeed." she replied. Twilight was already exasperated by the effort, but they could not stop for even a moment for her to catch her breath. She pushed onwards, leading the small troupe of ponies into the castle's main hallway. They charged inwards on a mission, but the beauty of the hall, accented by the soft yet powerful light of the moon stopped them short. Polished stone floors and walls reflected the pure light of the moon that entered through the open doorway, bathing the whole room in a pure light. Accenting this was the light that shone through the multitude of colored glass windows, creating a rainbow of colors that gave an otherworldly glow to the room. This, along with the intricately carved marble columns that lined the hallway, ornate carpet along the floor, and gold and diamond chandelier that hang in the middle of the room, stopped most of the ponies in their tracks Twilight had never witnessed such beauty, but had seen the hall many times before. She was the only one able to overcome it's enchanting spell as she rushed forwards to the closest guard "Where's the princess?" she demanded "In her bedroom. But I really don't...." Twilight didn't wait for the rest of the guards response. "Lets go ponies!" she shouted, snapping the rest out of their trance as they followed her galloping down one of the many hallways. For an inexperienced pony you would almost certainly get lost. However Twilight had run these halls for many years, and was able to easily guide them to the bedroom of the Princess of the Sun "Are you all ready for this?" she asked, receiving quiet nods from her companions. They were about to burst through the bedroom doors when words floated out from the room. "Sister, don't waste your magic. This isn't very important." came a voice "No, it's far too important. After what you've done, it's the least of what you deserve." That voice was clearly Celestia's. Twilight couldn't hold back anymore. She charged at the door followed by her 5 faithful companions, and blasted it open with her magic. Standing before them were the two princesses, a comb encompassed in a gentle green light combing Luna's mane. "Princess Celesita" Twilight said. "But.... Celestia... the moon... Nightmare.... LUNA?" "My dear student, you shouldn't jump to conclusion." Celestia said "I wouldn't blame her" Luna interjected. "That's the first thing I would have thought too." "So what's goin on?" asked Applejack "We're not quite sure" answered Celestia. "For some reason we can't seem to recover our magic after using it. To make things worse Luna used all of her magic in an attempt to raise the sun this morning. Unfortunately that means she'll be without magic until we can figure out how to fix this," Twilight walked over to Luna, a deep regret in her eyes. "I'm sorry I doubted you." she said. "I know you've changed now, but I couldn't think of any other possibility. I guess I was to afraid of something I didn't know, I decided to put the blame upon a friend. That was wrong of me." "I think we all owe her an apology" Rainbow Dash said, reluctantly walking up beside Twilight. The other followed suite. "No need to worry. Now that all this is sorted out, I'm sure we'll find a solution." Luna replied. "Wait, Celestia, does that mean you can't recover your magic either?" Rarity asked "Precisely" she said "Than give me that!" She snatched the still levitating comb out of Celestia's magic with her own, and started to help Luna bring her mane under control "There's still a crowd of chaotic ponies outside" Fluttershy timidly said, gesturing to the city that was visible from the balcony. "Your right Fluttershy. Twilight, come. We should restore at least a bit of order to the city now." The two of them walked out to the balcony. As they walked, Twilight looked up to her mentor. "Why didn't you send a letter?" she asked, thoroughly confused by the recent revelation. "I am sorry, my dear student. When I saw Luna in that condition all other thoughts left my mind. I guess I just feared seeing her injured due to my actions. Or lack of actions. I knew you would come, so I spent the short time since her failed attempt at raising the sun by her side." The two stood, staring out over the city. Ponies still ran in every direction, apparently unaware that their disorder would not some how magically fix the problem. "Twilight, would you be so kind as to put a voice amplification spell upon me. In my current state I would hope to retain as much magic as I can in case we need it." "Gladly" Twilight said, focusing hard as she made the invisible spell permeate the air surrounding the princess. "CITIZENS OF EQUESTRIA. I THINK YOU CAN DO A BIT MORE THAN THAT TWILIGHT" She said Twilight put all of the power she could muster into the spell "CITIZENS OF EQUESTRIA. PLEASE REMAIN CALM. NEITHER ME NOR MY SISTER IS GREATLY HARMED. THE NIGHT WILL NOT LAST FOREVER. WE ASK THAT YOU CONTINUE ABOUT YOUR NORMAL DAILY ACTIVITIES WHILE WE RAISE THE SUN ONCE MORE" Celestia nodded at Twilight, and she dropped the amplification spell. The chaos that had ruled the streets of Canterlot a moment ago disappeared, and ever pony appeared calm at hearing Celestia's reassuring voice in this time of trouble. "Thank you Twilight. Things would be much more difficult if you were not around." The two of them returned to the room to see the ponies circled around Luna. Rarity had finished combing her mane to it's normal perfect appearance, and Applejack was pulling out another apple danish to give to the princess. "Wow Applejack. These are really quite tasty." Luna said "Ah'm glad you like 'em" responded the pony, smiling at the compliment. "Did everything go well out there?" asked Rarity "Everything went fine" responded Celestia. "Now I think it would be best if we tried to figure out what has happened to our magic, and find a way to reverse it." "But I've never heard of such a thing before!" Twilight said "I have" said Luna. She was staring at the ground, a shameful look on her face. She glanced over at her sister, and seeing the reassuring look on her face, proceeded to talk "Over a thousand years ago, when Nightmare Moon was controlling me, I remember considering trying to..." the words were hard for Luna to say ".. to find a way to cut an Alicorn's connection to magic." She stared at Celestia, having brought the thoughts of Nightmare Moon to the surface. "Go on sister." Celestia said. "I know it is hard, but please continue." "I figured it would be a much more elegant and simple solution to ......" Luna stopped. But it was not because she couldn't continue; Celestia was visibly shaking "I'm sorry for everything that I put you through, all those years ago." Celestia said, trying to remain strong. "At the time I had no idea what you were going through. If I could go back, I would never have let it happen. I'm sorry" Luna just stared at her sister. "I'm more ashamed of my actions than is possible to say. I let out friendship mean so little back then. But I digress from the reason for my story. During my research I discovered there is only one possible way to sever an Alicorn's connection with magic. However it requires and ancient artifact and ancient magic I did not possess. However my research also told me about a 'Spring of Magic', where waters ran clear as crystal imbibed with magical powers, that could cure it." Luna stopped talking at that point, and walked over to lay beside her sister. Knowing that they needed the time together, but not having time to waste, Twilight picked up the conversation. "Perhaps one of my books has a reference to this spring." She floated out the books from her saddlebags. Foremost among them was Supernaturals - natural cures that are just super. She opened it up. "Here we go." Spring of Magic: This spring holds magical water thought to have a connection with the essence of magic itself. A drink of these waters is able to give anypony the ability to use magic, and is the only way to restore a pony's connection with magic once it is severed.* To carry this water from the spring without losing it's magical ability, a diamond chalice is required.* * See 'Magic Severing' * See 'Diamond Chalice' Twilight flipped to the chalice's page first Diamond Chalice: This is a magically enchanted cup made of pure diamond. It's properties prevent any magic from effecting it. It is for this reason that it is able to preserve the magical qualities of water from the Spring of Magic.* * See 'Spring of Magic' Twilight than flipped back to the Magic Severing page and read aloud "Magic can only be severed through the use of the Discordial Dagger. This is a a special dagger known to be enchanted by Discord himself. It requires the special dark magic of discord himself to wield." She paused and looked at Celestia "That is an extremely evil and ancient form of magic, which cannot be sensed by unicorns and alicorns around it when used. Supposedly Discord invented it and is the only one who knows it, however he rarely used it. Whether this was due to overconfidence or fear we'll never know." She gestured back to the book and Twilight continued. "The ritual requires a slice of the dagger along the victim’s cutie mark. A spark jumping from the daggers horn to that of the victim signifies the completion of the spell. There are no immediate signs, but the victim will be unable to recover their magic once it has been used, and their connection with magic will sever at the end of the week." Twilight looked up to see a look of horror on both princesses faces. "That's exactly what happened to me!" Luna shouted, unable to contain her fear at this point "But Discord is still in his prison of stone" Celestia said, trying to remain calm and composed. "There's no way he could do this" "Let's go check the garden!" shouted Rainbow Dash, who was tired of waiting around and talking. Before anyone could stop her, she was out the window and flying off. The other ponies ran of to follow her. As Twilight left the room, she glanced behind her to see the princesses still lying on the floor, silently being close to each other. She knew that they had reached a touchy subject that day, so she quietly slipped out of the room to follow her friends. ......... "IT'S GONE!" shouted Rainbow Dash, her voice breaking into fear on the last note. The others were just entering the hedge garden, running past other statues to reach the empty pedestal that Dash stood in front of. "But that shouldn't be possible" said Applejack "I don't see what's so bad about a missing statue" Pinkie Pie said, confused by the fear everyone else was showing "It's not just a statue" Twilight explained "but it's Discord himself, frozen in a prison of stone" "And if he's gone ...." Fluttershy wasn't able to finish her sentance "Oh no, what can we do?" Rarity asked. "How do we fight DISCORD?" shouted Rainbow Dash "We need to restore the princesses magic powers. They'll be able to combat Discord." Twilight magically pulled a map of Equestria out from her saddlebags, levitating Supernaturals beside it. "The last location of the Diamond Chalice was deep in the diamond mine. It should be about... here" She placed an x at the edge of a mountain range. "The spring of magic is even more ambiguous though." A pure white hoof reached over Twilight shoulder and pointed to the middle of the Everfree forest on the map. "There" Celestia said "is one of the oldest castles in Equestria. In the treasury is an ancient compass, enchanted to guide ponies to their hearts greatest desire. However, it can only be used by selfless ponies such as yourselves. It will guide you to the spring." "How do you know this?" asked Twilight "That used to be our castle" Luna replied, walking up beside her sister. "Alright ponies, are you ready?" Twilight shouted, met with a resounding chorus of yes's. "Then let's go!" "Hold on" said Celestia She tentatively approached Twilight. The midnight moon made her look even more powerful than the sun did. "I wouldn't ask this of you if I did not think you capable" she said, looking deep into Twilight's eyes. "I want you to stay. We need you to try and raise the sun." "WHAT?!?!" Rainbow Dash shouted. Twilight felt he legs give way underneath her. "Celestia, how would that be possible?" she asked. "I don't have nearly as much power as you, and even if I did I wouldn't know where to start." "I will be there to guide you, every step of the way. When I took you on as an apprentice, you displayed an immense magical talent. While you stayed at the castle, we worked hard to prevent your magic from getting out of control; doing so reduced the current magic you us now to only a fraction of your true capability. Now we need to unlock that power." Twilight stared into her mentors eyes, looking for any hint of a joke. All that returned was a stare of utmost confidence and determination. She looked around to her friends, standing by her side. "Will you be alright without me?" she asked. "We'll be fine" Applejack replied. Twilight reluctantly handed the map to AJ. "Alright, Celestia. I'll stay" "Than I'm staying too" said Rarity, stepping up to beside Twilight "Rarity, don't be rash. They`ll need you, you can't stay." "And ah recon you'll need her more" AJ said. "Now don't you remember what happened last time I turned down a helping hand?" Twilight remembered last Applebuck season all to well. It was not a pretty memory. "Twilight, dear, your trying to lift the SUN. I couldn't even fathom the energy that would take. And with the princesses unable to use magic, I'm sure having another unicorn around will be helpful." "Fine, Rarity. You can stay too" Rarity ran up and embraced Twilight in a quick hug. "Thank you Twilight. I'll make sure you don't regret it!" "Alright, if were done here, than ah think we best be hitting the road" Applejack said. "There's a lot o' distance to cover tween here and that big castle in the forest, and not a lot of time to do it in." "Thank-you, all of you, for your brave efforts" Celestia said. "If you stay true to yourselves, and your friends, then there is no way you will fail." Applejack and Pinkie Pie galloped away from the castle, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy flying above them. Twilight and Rarity stood beside each other watching them go. Spike groggily sat up on Twilight's back, having just awoken from a much needed nap. Celestia and Luna stood towering above the unicorns, contemplating the effects of everything that had occurred that day And the moon hung above them all ......... Somewhere in the darkness of the night that covered Equestria, It waited. “You have taught me well, master” It said out loud to Itself “Even though you remain in stone prison, you aid in the growing chaos. I shall cause the downfall of the princesses. Disorder runs rampant in Equestria, and the princesses power weakens every day. By the end of the week, the powers that hold you in your prision will be gone. By the end of the week, you will be free.” It easily disappeared into the shadows that covered the world