//------------------------------// // Episode 2 - Harmony, part II // Story: The Magic of Six // by SigmatheAwesome //------------------------------// Lightning arced through the sky, falling out of a cloud of pure stardust. Underneath the spiralling storm was a lone figure, clad in blue armour, laughing and savouring his victory. The Mayor pointed, alerting the gold-clad avian warriors stationed nearby. "Seize him! Only he knows where the Princess is!" The three guards rose up, their wings flaring white. They burst forward to try and grab Nocturne, but the God-like figure turned to them with anger. "Stand back, you mortal fools!" Three bolts of lightning arced down and struck them, shorting out their magic wings and throwing them back. He grinned, and enveloped himself in stardust and drifted away as a cloud. Rachael, pulling against Jackson's grip, managed to get out and give chase. But, fast as she was, she only watched the cloud race into the mountains, too slow to chase it. She panted, then her face took on an expression of worry. "Eternal night...?" Being an Avian allowed her a natural 3D perception, an ability to look not only sideways but up and down in instinct. It was this perception that allowed her to notice the purple-haired streak racing down to the town library, a green haired companion in tow. "What's she up to?" *** Barb stumbled inside. "We need... To..." Tori gently guided her to her bed. "Just rest, Barb. I'll restore natural order to the world before you know it." Barb fell asleep instantly. Tori quietly made her way out and turned the lights off, closing the door behind her. With that out of the way, she charged head-first into the shelves of the library, scanning them for anything. "Elements, Elements...! Ugh, how can I stop Nocturne without the Elements of Harmony?!" She looked up to see Rachael giving her a death glare, pushing her slowly back to the wall. "And just what are the Elements of Harmony?! And how did you know about Nocturne, huh?" Tori felt her back pressed against a shelf. "Are you a spy?" Rachael was pulled back with a yelp, Jackson gripping onto her ankle. "Simmer down, Rae. She ain't no spy." Tori breathed a sigh of relief. "But she sure as heck knows what's goin' on, don't ya Tori." "Victoria." "Victoria, sorry." Tori sighed. "I did some preliminary research before coming here. I read all about the prediction of Nocturne, and about these strange objects called the Elements of Harmony, which are the only things that can stop him." "That's mighty handy." "But I don't know where they are, or what they look like. I don't even know what they do or how they work." "The Elements of Harmony," Patrick called out. "A Reference Guide." Tori dashed up and pushed him aside. "How did you find that?" "It was under 'E', duh." Tori mentally facepalmed, but physically brought the book down and opened it up. "There are six Elements of Harmony, but only five are known: Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Honesty, and Loyalty." Tori frowned. "The sixth is a complete mystery. It is said that the last known location of the Elements is in the ancient castle of the Royal Siblings, which is now in..." "...The Everfree Forest..." Tori gulped. "I cannot see this ending well at all..." Evans muttered. "Whee!" Patrick took a few steps forwards. "Let's go!" "Hold it!" Tori stuck out her hand to stop him. "I appreciate your help, but I need to do this alone." "Nope, sorry, cutie-" "Cutie?!" "-But we ain't lettin' any friend-" "Friend?!" "-Of ours go into that creepy place by herself." He took a long stride forwards, the others following. "We're stickin' to ya like caramel on a candy apple." "Especially if there's candy apples in there." Patrick added. "Patrick?" Tori raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?" "That made no sense whatsofreakingever." Tori followed the party into the forest. *** "So... None of you have actually been in here before?" "Oh, good heavens, no." Evans replied. "I mean, look, this place is so... dreadful." "And it ain't natural either." Jackson added. "Folks say it don't work the same as Equestria." "What's that supposed to mean?" Tori looked around nervously. "Nobody knows~" Rachael, now airborne, hovered slowly in front of Evans, Emily and Patrick. "Do you know why?" "Rachael, quit it." Jackson pulled Tori to his side, and away from Rachael. "Because everypony who's ever come in, has never... come... OUT!" The three victims leapt back in surprise, and a split second later a massive crack appeared behind them. The whole cliff edge dislodged and slid down the mountainside, and the four non-fliers fell onto the slope it created and followed it to the depths of the ravine. "Emily!" Rachael called out. "Quick!" Rachael dived down and lifted Patrick up, as Emily flew over and slowed Evans down by grabbing onto his arm and holding him back. Jackson grabbed a tree root that was poking out to hold him back. Tori, however, continued sliding until she was all but over the edge, gripping onto it with her arms only. "Hold on, Tori, Ah'm comin'!" Jackson released his grip and slid down, grabbing Tori and keeping her stable. "Jackson, what do I do?!" Tori strained to get up, her voice betraying her panic. Jackson looked behind her, then levelled his view directly to her eyes. "Let go." "Are you crazy?!" Tori yelled back. "No Ah ain't. Ah promise, you'll be safe." "Oh yeah, accept a promise from someone who not only claims we're friends when we're clearly not and also openly hits on me. Do you think I would believe you?!" "Now listen here, Victoria. Y'all may not think we're friends, but Ah like ya enough not t' drop ya off a cliff. What Ah'm sayin' to you is th' honest truth." He levelled a serious gaze at her. "Let go, and you'll be safe." Part of her wanted to climb up there, and probably give him a belting. But something, something that she couldn't explain, overrid that instinct, and told her to drop. She let go, and fell down with a shriek and closed eyes, and waited for the pain. Mid-fall, she felt four arms grabbing her, and minimal pain. She opened her eyes again to see the two Avians holding her aloft, slowly floating down. Jackson leapt down the cliff face, jumping on small platforms that were available to him. "Well, Ah reckon that's that." Tori walked up and slapped him. "That's for before, the hitting on me" Jackson looked at her with surprise. "Did you just-?" "Yes I did. Now we're even." Rachael let out a low whistle. *** "... loop-de-loop and wham! Caught you right in the nick of time." "Rachael, you had at least five seconds to put them down and wait for me to drop." "And, um, I saw you not actually do a loop." Emily stated. Rachael sighed. "You're no fun." "But," Tori stated. "I'm very grateful, but we've got-" Something large landed in front of them. A large, red-maned lion, with a scorpion tail and bat wings. "A manticore!" Tori charged up magic around her hands. "We've gotta get past him." The manticore leapt up and swung over Evans' head, who ducked and retaliated with a kick of his own. "Take that, you fiend!" The manticore roared at him with such force that it literally billowed his hair open and into a tangled mess. "My hair..." His attention snapped back to the snarling Manticore, and he tactically retreated. "Wait..." Emily called out, but due to her quiet voice nobody noticed. Jackson leapt up and landed on its back, waving his hat in the air. "Yee-haw!" The manticore bucked and bucked- "Wait!" Emily once again called out. - and finally Jackson was flung off. As he soared through the air, he smiled at Rachael. "All yours, partner." "On it!" Rachael soared off- "Wait!" - and flew around the manticore, creating a prismatic tornado. It did nothing, as a flick of its tail sent her sprawling in front of the group. "Rachael, are you wounded?!" Tori ran up and immediately began to check for a wound from the tail. "Just my pride." Rachael stood up and joined the forming line. The manticore scrapped its paw on the ground, preparing for a charge. The five did much the same, then burst forwards. Tori charged a spear of magic in her hands as she dashed forwards, aiming for the- "Waaaaaaaaaaait!" Emily, who had not been charging, stepped in front of them, halting the charge. She turned around and slowly approached the manticore. The manticore raised its paw, claws out, to strike. Tori covered her eyes. "Shh, it's ok..." Tori opened her eyes to see her rubbing the beast's paw gently, soothing it. After a moment, it opened it and showed its palm, a massive splinter embedded deep within it. "Oh, you poor, poor little baby." "Little?" Rachael commented. "Now, this might hurt for just a second." Emily gripped the splinter and yanked it out. The manticore grabbed her in its paws and roared loudly. "Fluttershy!" Tori readied her magic again. The manticore started licking Emily. Emily, beaming, giggled and talked to the manticore as one would talk to a cat or child. The party walked past them and on to the journey, but Tori stopped to wait for Emily. "How did you know about the thorn?" "I didn't." Emily walked up, her hair brushed back. "Sometimes we just need a little kindness." "Ugh..." Elusive groaned, fixing his hair up. "My eyes need a rest from this forest, it's so horrific to look at." The area around them became darker as they walked under a disturbingly thick amount of foliage, obscuring all their vision. "I wasn't being literal." "The castle could be right here and we wouldn't even know it." "Don't you know a light spell?" Rachael asked. "No, that's in next year's course, along with gravity and momentum." "When do you learn hypnosis?" "I don't know if it's in the course or not." Tori felt someone bump into her. "Terribly sorry." Evans replied. A dull thud. "Sorry, pal." "That's my leg, Patrick." Tori felt something press against her chest, accidentally groping her. "Get your hand of my breast!" "Oh my, uh, sorry, Victoria, I didn't see you there, really." Emily replied. Squelch. "Oops, Ah think Ah stepped in somethin'." Emily screamed. "Emily, calm down, it's just mud." Jackson snapped his head forwards and came face to face with something vicious, and leapt back with a yelp. Tori noticed the light coming off it, and then the same light all around, each with its own twisted, wooden face on the side of a tree. The group backed up into each other, and the only thing on their mind was to scream. A laugh interrupted them. "Huh?" Tori saw Patrick, next to one of the trees, laughing his head off and making faces at it. "Patrick, what are you doing?! Run!" "Oh guys, don't you see?" "Am I the only one hearing music right now?" Evans commented. "No..." Emily replied. *** The party, having thoroughly giggled at the ghosties enough to defeat them, bounced out of the forest quite happily. Until Patrick stopped and everyone collided with him. Tori peered over his shoulder, an easy feat considering he was the same height as her. In front of them was a raging river. "How are we gonna cross this?" A very flamboyant wail of despair drew their attention to another part of the river. In the river was a large humanoid with an excellently-styled hairdo, but in place of a pelvis or legs was a long, serpentine tail, which was thrashing around violently and causing the movement of the water. "Excuse me, sir, why are you crying?" Tori asked the creature. "Oh, I don't know, I was just sitting here, when a tacky little cloud of blue smoke just-" He swept his arm aside. "Whisked past me and tore half of my beloved moustache clean off!" He pointed to his moustache. Half of it was indeed lopped off. "And now I look simply horrid!" He added, moving very melodramatically, before crashing into the water to continue his despair. The resulting wave crashed over the six and soaked them thoroughly. "That's what all the fuss is about?" Jackson crossed his arms. "Why, of course it is!" Evans leapt out, his previously wavy hair now long and straight. "How can you be so insensitive?" "What?" "I mean, look at him. Such wonderful, luminescent scales." The serpent sniffed. "I know, right?" "And such an excellently coiffed hairstyle." "Oh, I know, I know." "Someone kill me." Rachael muttered. "Such a fabulous manicure." "It's so true~" "The flamboyancy is gonna make me sick..." "And ruined without your moustache." "It's true, I'm hideous!" Evans frowned. "I can't let such a crime against style go uncorrected." He reached forwards and yanked the closest scale to him out of the serpent's tail. The serpent wailed in pain. "What did you that for?" Evans flicked his hair out and dropped suddenly into a combat stance. "Evans, what are you-?" A flash of movement, and the serpent fell. Evans remained stationary, having finished striking. "Is he dead?" Rachael asked. "I really hope he's dead." Evans's ponytail fell off. He discarded the scale and lifted, magically, the lock of hair and fused it into the serpent's lack of moustache. The serpent reared and laughed. "My moustache! How wonderful!" "You look smashing." Evans smiled. "What about your hair, Evans?" Tori asked. "It’s fine, my dear. Short hair's in this season." He replied, but with little conviction. "Besides, it'll grow back." "So would the moustache." Rachael commented. Tori walked into the river. "Hey, it's stopped moving. We can cross now!" She felt the earth move from underneath her. The serpent looked down at her with a smile as part of his tail lifted her up. "Allow me." "Five bucks says that serpent guy is gay." Rachael commented, readjusting one of her fingerless gloves. "Rachael, must you be so vulgar?" Evans replied, running a hand where his long ponytail used to be. "He's effeminate, not necessarily gay." "You wanna take that bet?" "Guys, there it is!" Tori shouted, halting everyone. In front of them, over a smoke-covered bridge, was a castle, worn with age and plant life. She ran forwards, grinning. "We're almost there!" She slipped on something wet, and her legs fell down over the edge of the ravine, where the bridge was supposed to be. She teetered on the edge, her legs flailing and her arms desperately trying to pull her back up, and failing. Mercifully, a hand grabbed her and pulled her back. "What's with you and falling off cliffs today?" Rachael helped her back up, smiling. "Now what?" Patrick looked at the fallen bridge. "Go around and look for a different route?" Jackson asked. "Try again tomorrow?" Emily suggested. Rachael opened her magic wings and flapped them around. "I can fly, duh." "Oh yeah." Patrick replied as Rachael dived into the fog. She emerged a second later with the two ropes in her hands, pulling the bridge back up. She quickly tied off one of the support ropes and started work on the other, when an ethereal voice called out to her. "Rachael..." "Who's there?" She looked around nervously. "Rachael..." Rachael raised her fists and punched forwards a few times. "I ain't scared of you! Show yourself!" "We've been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the best flier in Equestria." Rachael blinked. "Who?" "Why, you of course." Rachael beamed. "Really? I mean, oh yeah, me. Uh, hey, you wouldn't mind telling the Wonderbolts that, would you? I've been trying to get into that group for, like, forever." "No, Rachael Dallas, we want you to join us." Out of the fog, a three-pony team emerged, wearing a dark mockery of the Wonderbolt flight suit. A woman with blue hair stood at the head of the formation, two bulky men flanking her. "The Shadowbolts." "Shadowbolts?" "We're the greatest aerial team in the Everfree Forest, and soon we will be the greatest in all of Equestria." "Even surpassing the Wonderbolts?" "Yes." The woman replied. "But first, we need a captain." Rachael grinned. "The most magnificent..." The woman circled Rachael on wings of grey light. "Tick." "Swiftest..." "Yep." "Bravest flier in all of Equestria." "Yep, that's all true." "We need..." The woman flew close to her ear and whispered. "You." Rachael cheered and fistpumped. "Sign me up!" The Shadowbolt smiled to herself. "Just let me tie up this bridge, then we have a deal." "No!" The woman flew close to her face, and Rachael leapt back a step. "It's them or us." Rachael felt the nearly-magical glare from underneath her goggles. *** "Rachael!" Tori called out. "What's taking so long?" She looked across the bridge, and spotted Rachael talking with what appeared to be a shadowed mockery of the Wonderbolts. "Oh no." The leader of the aerial team turned her head to the party, and with a bright glow of magic from her goggles, the fog drew closer together, thickening substantially. "Rachael, don't listen to them!" She took a step forwards, but Jackson pressed a hand against her. "Let her deal with it herself." "Besides," Patrick announced, wrapping an arm around Emily's shoulder, much to the shock of the avian. "We've have Emily." *** "Well?" The Shadowbolt leader leant closer to Rachael. Rachael tensed up in thought, her mind straining. After a long moment her shoulders went slack, and she looked up at the team. "You." The woman leant back, savouring her victory- "Thank you, I mean, but I kinda have to help my friends and inadvertently save the world." Rachael grabbed the rope and swiftly tied it to the stone. "Besides, no ponies live in the Everfree, that's just stupid." After tying the bridge her wings burst into life, and she sailed over and alighted in front of the party, the fog dissipating. She revelled in the cheering of the team. "See, I'd never leave you guys hanging." With a burst of lavender magic, Tori pushed the wooden oak doors aside with a loud creak. "Woah..." Patrick looked over the desolate scenery. The stone inside was fragmented and broken, with vines growing over it, a fine layer of dust covering the area. "Welp, we're here." Jack crossed his arms. "Now, Tori, y'all know where these Elements are?" Tori looked up at a column, six supports sticking out of it, each holding an orb. "That's them. The Elements of Harmony." "How can you tell?" Rachael asked, tilting her head. "I can feel a strong resonance of magic coming from their direction." "Oh yeah." Jack replied. "Weird Highborn stuff." "The politically correct term is caster, thank you very much." Evans crossed his arms. Tori cleared her throat, half to get attention and half to clear the dust out of her lungs. "Emily, Rachael, can you bring them down?" Rachael saluted and raced up, Emily following swiftly. They grabbed five of the orbs, settling them down in front of her. Rachael went for the sixth, but returned with only a few scraps of amethyst. "There's only five intact ones." Patrick looked over the stone spheres. "Yeah, the other one was a gemstone the same size as them." Rachael tossed the amethyst to the ground. "Didn't survive as well." "Was that the sixth element?" Emily asked, almost frightfully. "No, fortunately." Tori sighed. "The sixth element only appears when the five are present and a spark will cause it to be revealed. "So what the heck is that supposed to mean?" Jackson replied. "I don't know... But," Tori smiled. "I have an idea. Stand back." "Why-?" "These objects are reportedly highly-potent arcane artefacts, and I'm going to try to funnel some magic into them. It could cause a massive feedba-" "Enough with the science, Toz." Rachael groaned. "We're going." "Come along, y'all, she needs to concentrate." Jackson turned and walked out of the building, all but Emily departing. Emily, however, approached slowly. "Victoria-" "Emily, I need to concentrate. Sorry, but we can talk once I'm done." "O-okay then..." Emily glided slowly away. Tori closed her eyes and stretched out her hands above the elements. With a flash of light, fields of magic surrounded her arms and the Elements, lifting them slightly into the air. Streaks of violet light crawled along her body, creating a pattern that to those trained in magical theory knew was a high-level use of magic. It was taking its toll, however, as her mind strained to keep up with the needs of the spell. A small wind kicked up around her feet, which as far as she could tell wasn't supposed to happen. When she opened her eyes, a raging tornado of blue magic was growing, taking the Elements with them. She took a wary step back, but the tornado moved faster than her, scooping her up and trapping her within the aura with a slowly-building high-pitched keening noise. As the noise became deafening, it cut out suddenly, throwing her back onto the floor - a different floor. She raised her head to see, upon an old stage a fair distance away, the armoured figure of Nocturne, holding the Elements in a cloud of stardust, laughing triumphantly. She frowned, standing up and preparing a spear of magic. Nocturne's triumphant smile dropped into a more skeptical one. "You're kidding." Tori crouched, ready to charge forwards at a moment's notice. The spear glowed brighter. "You're kidding, right?" Tori slowly started a charge, her tired legs slowly but surely working their way to speed. Nocturne frowned, and created a lance of blue magic, instantly moving at a high speed. The two rapidly crossed the distance between them, and just as Nocturne thrust forwards, Tori's spear burst into a bright light and she disappeared. Nocturne ground to a halt, looking around. Tori reappeared on the stage, staggering. Adopting the same straight-bodied position as before, she pumped her magic into the Elements. "Come on... One spark..." She heard Nocturne reappear directly in front of her, but before she, and he, could react a strong feedback of magic sent her flying back, sliding against the cold stone. As she sat up, she saw sparks flying around the Elements and Nocturne's leg. "No!" Tori's smile dropped as soon as the magic around them stopped. Nocturne looked equally surprised, but then he broke out into a fanged grin. The grin turned into a laugh, and with a shockwave of magic applied to the ground, the Elements were destroyed, turned into chips of marble. Nocturne looked up at Tori, and without warning snakes of stardust binded her limbs, hoisting her into the air. "You little fool... Thinking you can defeat me?" He walked slowly closer. "Now you will never see your Princess, or your Sun, and Night will reign eternal." His aggressive expression changed into one a lot more terrifying to her - sadism. "But first..." She felt a tendril of magic slowly snake up her leg, lifting the base of her skirt up. She tried to wiggle away, but it failed. Just as the magic wrapped itself around the strap of her panties and gently tugged down, everything stopped when voices were heard. Something happened. Something inside Tori, something that was dark and cold, a part she never knew existed, sparked. The surge of feeling bolstered her confidence, and suddenly the mystery of the Elements became clear to her. She turned away from the noise and towards her captor. "You think you can destroy the Elements of Harmony?" "I just did, didn't I?" Nocturne replied bitterly. "I tore them into chunks, leaving you helpless to me." "You're wrong." Tori managed to free one of her arms in a burst of magic. "The Elements aren't a bunch of stone. They are metaphysical constructs, and the Spirits of the Elements are right here!" With a surge of magic, Tori destroyed her bindings, landing softly on the ground. As she stood, she could see - no, feel - the other five members of her team beside her. The marble shards glowed with magic and lifted themselves into the air, much to Nocturne's surprise. She turned to Jackson. "Jackson, who reassured me when I was in doubt, represents the Spirit of Honesty." Red-glowing fragments proceeded to spin around Jackson. "Emily, who tamed the Manticore with her compassion, represents the Spirit of Kindness." Pink shards moved their way to the flying Emily. "Patrick, who banished fear by laughing in the face of danger, represents the Spirit of Laughter." Blue fragments spun around Patrick, who was bouncing with excitement. "Evans, who calmed a sorrowful Serpentine with a meaningful gift, represents the Spirit of Generosity." Purple shards gathered around Evans. "And Rachael, who could not abandon her friends for her own heart's desires, represents the Spirit of Loyalty." "That's what I'm talking about." Rachael grinned as magenta shards spun around her in the air. "The spirits of these five ponies got us through every challenge you threw at us." "You still don't have the sixth Element, Victoria Tanton." Nocturne growled. "Your adventures are pointless. The spark was not activated-" "It was." Tori spoke softly. "A different kind of spark, one that cannot be measured by magic or science." She turned to the team, a friendly look on her face. "I felt it as soon as I realised how happy I was to hear you, to see you. How much I cared about you." Tori's eyes started to water. "The spark appeared inside me when I realised that you all are my friends." A bright light appeared above her, and drifting down slowly on a cushion of invisible magic was another stone sphere, the primary shape of her Talent Mark etched into it. Nocturne shielded his eyes with a black wing. "You see, Nocturne, when those Elements are ignited by the... spark that resides in us all, they create the Sixth Element. The Element of... Magic." A bright aura of spectral magic engulfed them all. The floating crystals condensed on the necks of the wielders, turning into crystals, with gold being formed around the neck of the wielder. The sphere of Magic turned into a large, six-point star-shaped crystal, a gold crown forming off it and resting on Tori's head. A tone of arcane resonance built up around them until it literally burst upwards as waves of rainbow magic, forming together and arcing straight onto Nocturne. It hit only a foot away from him, but it quickly became a tornado of light, engulfing him. Despite his efforts, his magic couldn't touch it, and it quickly binded around him with an arcane howl of agony. The magic grew to such intensity that Tori, overcharged with magic, passed out. *** Tori's eyes flew open. "Everyone alright?" Jackson asked, pulling himself up, offering a hand to Tori, who gladly accepted it. "Thank God!" Evans shouted happily, holding a lock of his once-again long hair. "Oh, Evans, it's so wonderful." Emily, who wasn't even looking at his hair, commented. "I know! I'll never part with it again." "No, you're necklace. It looks exactly like your Talent Mark." Evans blinked, then compared the shape of his sudden necklace with the shape of the diamonds on the back of his hands. He looked up, directly at Emily's chest. "So does yours." Emily blushed and rubbed her arm nervously, looking over her necklace. "Look at mine!" Patrick announced, the blue crystal the shape of a balloon. "Aww yeah!" Rachael fistpumped. "Gee, Tori, Ah thought you were bein' all crazy and stuff, but Ah reckon we do represent the Elements." Jackson commented. "Indeed you do." A majestic, almost angelic, voice resounded across the room. From one of the windows, the party could see the sun rise, glowing brightly. The bright glow reappeared inside the castle, and with a flash of magic a tall, well-built woman stood in its place, feathered wings where magic wings would be. A spiral of golden magic emanated from her forehead, and her hair fell down in spectral waves down to her hips. She wore a long, white, almost form-fitting dress, and bore a crown of gold. Everyone bowed except Tori, who approached her happily. "Princess Celestia!" "Tori Tanton," Celestia opened her arms, and Tori ran into them happily. "My most faithful student." She reluctantly released her hug. "I knew you could do it." "But... You told me it was an old woman's tale." "I told you that you needed to make some friends, nothing more." She walked forward slowly, her wings slowly converting into magic and then into nothing. "I saw the signs of Nocturne's return, and I knew it was you who had the magic inside to defeat her. But you could not unleash it until you let true friendship into your heart." She turned sombrely to the stage. "Now, if only another will as well..." Lying on the ground was someone that looked similar to Nocturne, but significantly weaker. "Prince Artemis." He slowly pulled himself up, only to meet the gaze of the Princess, and he recoiled in fear. "It has been a thousand years since I've seen you like this..." She knelt down in front of him. "Time to put our differences behind us. We were meant to rule together, little brother." "Brother?" Rachael asked. "Will you accept my friendship?" Celestia pulled herself up, offering a hand. Artemis leapt up and wrapped his arms around her. "I'm so sorry, Celestia... I've missed you so much..." "Me too." Celestia put her arms around Artemis. Patrick immediately started crying. And, just as quickly stopped. "Hey, do you know what this calls for?" "A party!" Patrick announced, immediately running into town along with other happy villagers. Tori calmly walked back, the four of her friends following behind her. "He can sure get a party organised quickly." "He's known as Ponyville Grand Party Master for a reason." Rachael commented. As Tori reached the town, Celestia and Artemis pulled up in a royal chariot. Barb, fully awake, emerged from the crowd and gave Tori a tackle-hug. Celestia approached, and the entire town bowed their heads slightly. Two young avians flew up and placed a ring of flowers around Artemis's neck, who looked honestly surprised that it happened. Tori's smile dropped after a moment. "Why so glum, Tori?" Celestia placed a gentle arm around her shoulder. "Are you not happy to return to Canterlot and continue your studies, now that your quest is complete?" "That's the thing, Princess." Tori moved out of her arm and made her way slowly to her friends. "Just as soon as I learnt how wonderful it is to have friends, I have to leave them." Celestia smiled. "Barbara, take a note please." Barb saluted and pulled out a quill and scroll immediately. "I, Princess Celestia, hereby decree that the Caster Victoria Tanton shall take on a new mission for Equestria." Celestia turned closer to Twilight. "She must continue to study the magic of friendship. She must report to me her findings from her new home in Ponyville." Tori couldn't help but beam. "Thank you, Princess Celestia. I'll study harder than before." "Barb, is that the last box?" Barb grunted, slamming another large box down. "Box of Books number 75. That's all of them." "Excellent." Tori used her magic to sort them out. She saw the light behind her darkening, and she turned to see a silhouetted figure in the light of the doorway. "Barb, can you turn the light on?" As soon as it flicked on the silhouette took the form of Prince Artemis, who approached slowly. "Miss Tanton, if I may speak with you privately for a moment?" "Sure." Artemis came closer to her, shutting the door to the room behind him. "I would like to formally apologise for my actions beforehand." "Oh, that?" Tori smiled. "You were a corrupted god of eternal night back then, I don't think you need to apologise." Artemis smiled. "Thank you, regardless. I would also like to thank you for freeing me from my madness. I have missed much of humanity's developments over the last thousand years." "Ask your sister about it when you get the time. A lot has changed." Artemis, with a slight blush, gingerly took Tori's hands in his own gloved ones, and kissed the back of it. Tori laughed, amused by the archaic display of affection. "That gesture's a little old, milord." "Oh." Artemis's face grew hotter. "Oh, I deeply apologise for that." "It's ok, my Prince. You'll get used to it." Artemis relaxed. "Thank you. I shall endeavour to meet up with you in the near future." Tori watched him leave quickly, a slight blush on her face. She giggled to herself. "Come on, Tori, you can't be falling in love with a Prince, can you?"