//------------------------------// // Twist of Fate // Story: On Your (Cutie) Mark... // by Scantrel //------------------------------// Darkness. Absolute darkness. Sweetie Belle blinked her eyes to make sure they were still open. Shakily, she lifted herself up onto her hooves, wishing she could see something, anything. "Apple Bloom?" Sweetie called out hopefully. "Scootaloo?" When no reply came, Sweetie Belle's hope started to fade. She didn't like feeling like she was at the bottom of a hole, surrounded by nothing but blackness. If only she had a light... As if obeying her command, a sudden illumination started to form around Sweetie Belle, very dim at first but growing in strength. As her eyes adjusted to the sudden influx of light, Sweetie Belle turned her head, looking for the source. Finally, it dawned on her that she was the source, the glow was radiating from her horn. "At least my magic still seems to be working." Sweetie Belle thought gratefully. Sweetie Belle's relief was short-lived, however. Voices started to swirl around her, a cacophony of sounds that clashed against each other, none speaking louder than a whisper. "Who's there? Wh...What do you want?" Sweetie Belle stammered, involuntarily taking several steps backwards as the whispers built in intensity. The voices provided no answer, rather they seemed to be a flurry of whispered questions. "Stop! Stop it!" Sweetie Belle pleaded, starting to feel her resolve weakening. Another dim point of light appeared, moving towards Sweetie Belle, growing larger as it approached. Soon, the figure of another unicorn could be seen in the glow, walking slowly towards Sweetie Belle. The closer the unicorn approached, the more subdued the voices that were surrounding Sweetie Belle became. Finally, the unicorn came close enough for Sweetie Belle to be able to take a good look. The unicorn was a mare with a white coat and a carefully styled mane of blue and violet. Her eyes were a lighter blue, almost the color of a clear sky. She carried herself with dignity and grace and Sweetie Belle thought to herself the mare looked as if she belonged in Canterlot, not in some dark abyss. As Sweetie Belle looked closer, she was surprised to see the mare's cutie mark was the same as hers and Rarity's. The mare smiled as she followed Sweetie Belle's gaze. "That's right, it's just like yours. Or perhaps I should say, yours is just like mine." The voice was calm, collected and it had a soothing effect on Sweetie Belle. "I'm Sweetie Belle, what's your name?" Sweetie Belle asked politely. "My name is Diamond Belle," the mare answered with a gentle smile. "I know who you are my dear, I am your great-great-great-great-great-great grandmare." Seeing Sweetie Belle's curious expression, Diamond Belle continued. "The effect of the spell you are under allows my echo to speak to you here." "Where is here?" Sweetie Belle asked curiously, feeling much less afraid. "This place is a mystic resonance, a place where the memories of your ancestors have collected over the generations." Diamond Belle answered. "But I am puzzled, I would not have expected to find such a young filly in this place." Diamond Belle's face furrowed thoughtfully. "I am also fairly certain you couldn't have cast the spell that opened the way for you here." "Oh, no...that was Twilight. She cast the spell on all three of us, so we could try and find a way to help our sisters." Sweetie Belle replied. "There are more of you?" Diamond Belle lifted her head to gaze about, as if searching. "I do not sense any more of my descendants present, who else is here? Is this Twilight your sister?" "No, that's Rarity, and she's...I...I think I should start at the beginning." Sweetie Belle said quickly. Diamond Belle nodded and listened patiently as Sweetie Belle related the tale of finding the book, then earning her cutie mark that was the same as Rarity's. The elder mare frowned as Sweetie Belle related the evening where Rarity had collapsed and her cutie mark had faded away completely. Sweetie Belle finished by telling of her sister's condition at the hospital and Twilight's use of the spell to open the way for herself, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo. "I believe I understand. You now have her talent, no, even more, you have taken her destiny." Diamond Belle said after a moment. "The spell that you inadvertently triggered is one that was created many, many years ago before the three tribes were united. In those times, occasionally a talent was deemed to be vital for survival. This spell would allow a descendant to tap into that talent from their ancestor, drawing their destiny from a legacy." Sweetie Belle nodded as Diamond Belle spoke, not fully understanding but trying to follow along. Diamond Belle paused a moment, then continued her explanation. "The spell eventually was forbidden and was intended to be lost over the years in the obscurity of history. But I don't think the creators planned for it to be found by someone so eager to embrace their destiny, any destiny, such as yourself my dear." Diamond Belle looked closely into Sweetie Belle's eyes. "And now, you must make a choice. You can keep this destiny, this talent, and claim it as your own. If this is the choice you make, you need do nothing more. In a short time, the effect of the spell will become permanent. If you choose to relinquish your talent and forgo this destiny, you can release it here, back to your ancestors." Sweetie Belle gulped, she didn't like the tone Diamond Belle's voice had taken. "What...what happens to Rarity if I keep this destiny?" Diamond Belle reflected thoughtfully for a moment. "She will become a mare with no destiny, a shadow of her former self. She will fade away, to join the other shadows here." Sweetie Belle's eyes grew wide with fear. "Fade away? As in forever?" Diamond Belle simply nodded in response. "No! I can't do that!" Sweetie Belle cried. "I want the other choice, I want to give her destiny back to her." A puzzled look crossed Diamond Belle's features. "I never said you could bestow what you had taken back to your sister. Yet the idea is intriguing. Perhaps..." Diamond Belle turned silent as she went over her thoughts. "Perhaps it would be possible. You will have to bring her here. In this place, when you release what you have taken, she can try to reclaim it." Sweetie Belle looked back at Diamond Belle resolutely. "If that's what it takes to fix this, then that's what I'll do." Diamond Belle smiled gently. "You have much determination for one so young. I can see why the spell latched itself onto you. I will send you from this place for now. When you and your sister are ready, cast the spell again and I will be waiting to guide you. Until we meet again, Sweetie Belle." The glow around Diamond Belle started to shine brighter, until the radiance was blinding. Sweetie Belle closed her eyes against the painful light and when she opened them again, she saw she was back in the library. Twilight was still seated by the Neighcronomicon, her features showing the strains of maintaining the spell. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were also there, but looking shaken but unhurt. "Are...are you guys alright?" Sweetie Belle asked. Scootaloo snapped out of it first. "Yeah, I'm cool." she answered slowly. "I was flying in an empty sky, no clouds, I couldn't see the ground below. Then suddenly another pegasus appeared, he called himself Rapid Winds. We talked for a bit and he asked why I was there. I tried to explain but he seemed to be confused." Scootaloo shook her head, as if to clear her thoughts. "He asked why I had stolen my ability to fly and I said I hadn't done that. He didn't believe me though. I explained what had happened and he asked if my relative had passed away since I had stolen her destiny. I was confused and told him it wasn't a relative, but he just smirked. Then I heard your voice calling me and there was a bright light and we were back here." Scootaloo rubbed a hoof along her mane and asked, "Does any of that make any sense to either of you?" Sweetie Belle said slowly, "Perhaps a little...I think he was one of your ancestors, if what happened to you was the same as me. But that doesn't explain why Rainbow Dash was affec..." Sweetie Belle's voice trailed off as the ramifications hit her. "Scootaloo, I think this means you and Rainbow Dash share a common ancestor!" "Really?!?" Scootaloo started in surprise. "That's...that's awesome!". Scootaloo's face broke into a broad grin. "Yes, but we still have to fix things, and I think I know what to do." Sweetie Belle replied. The two fillies then turned towards Apple Bloom, who had been still and silent during the exchange. "Apple Bloom?" Sweetie Belle asked. "You OK?" "I'll be fine." Apple Bloom said softly, a tear rolling down her cheek. "I jus'...I jus' got to see mah parents an' I was tryin' to keep the picture of them in mah head." "Oh..." Scootaloo gasped, then moved to give her friend a comforting hug. Sweetie Belle quickly joined in and the three girls clung to each other. "Girls?" Twilight's voice interrupted after a moment. "What did you find out about reversing the spell?" "I think I know what we need to do." Sweetie Belle repeated, letting go of the other two Crusaders and turning to face Twilight. "We need to cast the spell again, but with all six of us together. The three of us need to take our sisters into that place were just in and then give back what we took from them." Twilight levitated the tome closed and into a saddlebag. "And you believe you know how to do this?" she asked Sweetie Belle. "Not exactly, but Diamond Belle will be there to guide us. That's what she said." Sweetie Belle admitted. "Then let's go to the hospital, I don't know how long this spell will remain active." Twilight urged. The three fillies and Twilight gathered up their things, then they all set off from the library headed to Ponyville Hospital. The time had come to end this particular crusade, the crusade to give up their cutie marks. After a final check that all of the preparations were complete, Nurse Redheart walked back into the isolation ward to tell Twilight they were ready. The non-critical patients from nearby rooms had been relocated to a different wing to eliminate any possible effect from a mystic backlash. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie had placed themselves outside of the ward to ensure that nopony would accidentally walk in and interrupt the ritual once Twilight had begun. "Are you girls comfortable?" Nurse Redheart asked to the three fillies now reclining on the portable beds that had been brought in. Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo each nodded their heads affirmatively, their expressions a mix of concern, anxiety, and preparedness. "Alright, good. We'll be monitoring their condition as best as we can." Nurse Redheart said with a look at the comatose forms of Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash. "Thank you, Nurse Redheart." Twilight acknowledged. "I'll still be aware while the spell is active, so if there's any sudden emergency, please let me know and I'll try to bring them out." Nurse Redheart wished Twilight and the girls good luck, then took her leave from the ward. The room fell into silence once again and Twilight brought out the Neighcronomicon once again, turning the pages carefully to the proper spell. Twilight then turned her gaze to the three fillies. "Are you all ready?" "I'm ready, let's do this." Scootaloo answered, the slight quiver in her voice betraying her air of confidence. "Me too." Apple Bloom said. Her voice carried no hint of fear. Sweetie Belle just nodded her head yes. "Very well. If it looks like there's any serious problem, I'll try to pull you back through the portal." Twilight said, and started reading aloud the words of the spell. As she spoke, the black mist formed again, stretching tentacles of darkness around each of the six ponies in front of Twilight. Reaching the spell's conclusion, Twilight's horn glowed brightly and a sudden flash of magical energy rippled outward. The black mist drew itself into each of the bodies and surrounded them in a dark nimbus, all of them interlinked. "Good luck." Twilight whispered to everypony and nopony in particular as she concentrated on maintaining the mystic portal.