//------------------------------// // ...is Magic // Story: Friendship // by Ekhidna //------------------------------// Friendship Friendship. What a simple word, is it not? Intellectuals and philosophers define it very clearly. Friendship is, simply put, a relationship in which two or more individuals share a bond of affection, generally created by sharing sympathy of similar ideas, opinions, likings, hobbies, etc. Friendship can also be defined as a stronger form of interpersonal bond rather than a common association between individuals. Friendship is nothing more than a social phenomena created by the necessity of individuals to feel some sort of affective connection and understanding between them. I call that bullshit. Friendship is something that cannot be defined or put in simple words. Friendship is something you must experience to comprehend, and only if that friendship is true. Friendship is more than just a petty definition inside a book, for it can transcend every social barrier there is, even to a point where two individuals of totally opposite personalities can share a bond of friendship. Friendship is marvelous, friendship is great, friendship can give you the strength you need when you feel defeated, friendship can be the light you need in your darkest hours, friendship can make you do things others may consider as crazy, friendship will make you smile and laugh when you feel sad, friendship will test your loyalty, friendship will test your tolerance and your honesty. Friendship comes in many forms and, sometimes, in strange mysterious ways, and if you are lucky it can last forever, maybe even more. Friendship is Generosity. Friendship is Kindness. Friendship is Loyalty. Friendship is Laughter. Friendship is Honesty. Friendship IS Magic. Oh, sorry about my rambling but I seem to have been doing that quite often for some years now, annoying habit of mine that I can’t get over. Anyways, my name is Spike, Spike Solaris to be precise, and I’m about to teach you a lesson on what friendship is. Let’s start from the beginning. I was hatched by princess Twilight Sparkle in her early days, I was then adopted and cared for by princess Celestia Solaris, my mother whom I love very much, as time went by I was taught the ways of politics, aristocracy, nobility and many other roles, but my most important was that of the future assistant of Twilight Sparkle. When time came by I did become her assistant and for some years I stood by her side, she was always studying, always working, never slacking. Never having enough time to have friends outside myself, Shining Armor and Cadence. Twilight never understood what good could come from having friends and at the time, neither did I, sure I knew some of the guards by name or some of the servants but outside Twilight, Shining and Cadence my only real friend was Pony Joe. The days always went the same, wake up, attend classes, work on experiments, study, eat, study, study some more, sleep or study even more and repeat, it was boring to say the least. That is, until that fateful day arrived. During our private conversations, Mother always told me about the power of friendship, a power she didn’t even understand completely though she understood its power, was something that could bond and unite many beings into an unbreakable group that had total confidence in each other. She told me that friendship was a force so strong that no matter what challenge, as impossible to overcome as it seemed, or foe, as strong and invincible as it may appear, it could be defeated by using friendship as both sword and shield, but only if it was a true friendship; a friendship so strong that it could tie the destinies of many together, forever. I was blessed to be one of the few to see such friendship be born. Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, such a strange group to be friends but at the same time, so unique. I was there every single time to see their victories, both personal and as a group, I was there to see firsthand how their friendship grew more, and more, and more. I was there to provide reason, help or some sort of advice if necessary, the fact that I could help them make their friendship stronger fills me with joy and pride even to this day. No matter what sort of challenge or foe came down their way they always surpassed it, always together, always growing stronger, always bonding together, The Elements of Harmony growing stronger as their friendship did, with them no foe or villain could stand a chance of succeeding. Not even Discord, who came so close to victory that I was actually afraid that all those talks with mother about friendship were a lie, that friendship isn’t strong, that friendship isn’t powerful, that friendship was fake. But they proved me wrong, their own lessons, their common, mundane, daily lessons about friendship saving them and giving them the power to defeat Discord. In that moment I understood the meaning of friendship. Friendship is sticking together and standing up for each other, no matter what, and always face the difficulties as one. Friendship is doing what is right, even if it means hurting your friends sometimes, that will only bring them closer. Friendship is forgiving. Friendship is love. Friendship is joy. Friendship is Magic. Time and time again Twilight and her friends proved that friendship could overcome anything, be it something so ordinary as a simple discussion between friends to something trying to destroy their very friendship. It didn’t matter, they were always there, together as ONE, ready to fight back and save the day. Always, no matter what. Want proof? Nightmare Moon? Proof that their friendship was destiny and that it only meant the start of something even bigger. Discord? Defeated by friendship, the very thing he came to adore years later. Queen Chrysalis? Defeated several times in her many attempts to break their friendship. Now best friend of Cadence after solving their little ‘problem’. Sombra? Even after his return, he was defeated easily, this time destroyed for sure. Just to mention a few. Thanks to their friendship Twilight ascended into an Alicorn. Need more? Rainbow’s first sonic Rainboom marked them all from their filly days, uniting their destinies. Her second one proving that, to save a friend, one is able to do the impossible. Fluttershy proved that no matter how strong your fears are, your friends are more important and that you can stand up for them. Rarity proved that just doing something nice for a friend doesn’t require any sort of payment other than to see them smile. Applejack proved that honesty, while sometimes ugly and harsh, is always better than lying. After all, nothing kills a friendship faster than lies. Pinkie Pie proved that you don’t need a reason to be with your friends other than the simple joy of being with them, hearing them laugh, seeing them smile and spending time together. Twilight proved that studies and hard work are important, but without friends there to help you achieve your goals, celebrate your victories or help you up when you fall down, it is not worth it. And all six together resurrected the Tree of Harmony, giving them brand new Elements of Harmony, allowing them to make their friendship all the more special, unique and stronger. With me always watching on the sidelines. Friendship is tolerance. Friendship is compromise. Friendship is caring. Friendship is Magic. Some have asked me if I ever felt envy for them, for being there but not truly there with them all the time, to be honest, sometimes I did envy their friendship. That is until I had to save the day alongside them. It was the best day of my life, for the first time in my life I truly belonged in that marvelous friendship, that day I understood that I had always belonged and that I only needed a little more time to catch on to that. Even so there are only six Elements of Harmony, not seven, but I knew my place, my place was the most important one of all, my place, since that day forward, was to be the pillar between them, their ever vigilant guardian. The one that would, more than a few occasions, be a shoulder to cry on, a helping hand, the voice of reason or the one to remind them about their friendship if they got into a fight. I loved it and I was happy with it. Years went by more challenges and stupid villains came, all defeated by the six of them, sometimes with my help, sometimes by their own. Some of them were strong, some others difficult but by the end of the day, none stood a chance against them. Against us. We always celebrated our victories, parties and whatnot together, always laughing, joking around, dancing and playing games. Every goal in their personal lives reached, always sharing the happiness of those moments making them all the more special. I can’t help but smile at the memories. Friendship is wonderful. Friendship is great. Friendship is awesome. Friendship is Magic. Then something I couldn’t believe happened. The Tree of Harmony died but not before passing all of its power into six permanent avatars, my dear friends. This only meant a new challenge for all of them but, as all previous challenges, they overcame it. And it also brought great joy to all of them; their friendship would be eternal, death and time were no longer an issue. At first I was afraid of what would happen to them the day I was gone, but with me being a dragon it meant that I’d live a very, very long time. Things only turned out harder from that point on, stronger enemies came, challenges so great that even Discord doubted his own strength would suffice to defeat them alone, but we never gave up, they never gave up, not even when Tartarus broke lose, not even when the Windigoes returned, not even when the dragons went to war against Equestria. They never gave up, they never looked down, they never turned their backs on Equestria or on anyone that needed their help. Friendship is courage. Friendship is power. Friendship is tenderness. Friendship is Magic. I stood by their side every step of the way, I did all I could to aid them throughout the years and as reward I saw their friendship become a monument, a true solid, perfect monument to all ponies, zebras, griffons and all other races all over Equus. I was happy just by seeing them happy, by seeing their invincible friendship destroy every single idiot that dared to fight against them, no one single villain stood a chance. Not even one. I made sure no one survived, no one was going to disrupt the friendship that meant everything to me, no one was going to stand in their way and ruin the shining pillar that gave hope and courage to all Equestria and beyond. I was going to make sure every single imbecile out there knew that the six princesses of Harmony had an everlasting guardian at their side. I was going to make them learn. And learn they did. Friendship is protective. Friendship is union. Friendship is happiness. Friendship is Magic. One day the challenges and the villains simply……….stopped coming, at first we welcomed the peace, it had never lasted more than a two or three years at best, so we stood ready to face anything new that would come our way. We waited for five years, then ten, then twenty and then we just accepted the fact that there was truly nothing else to fight against, no ancient evil left to stop, no challenge left to surpass, no villain trying to conquer the planet. There.Was.Nothing. At first I was happy to finally catch a breather for such a long time, everyone of my friends received a charge and a piece of land to rule over, taking responsibilities to take care of various aspects, from studies, weather, farming, economy, you name it, they were probably related to it. You would be amazed at how much Equestria grew now that the power was properly distributed and that many leaders could act in different areas at the same time, and at first I was happy with it, until……..until. Until I noticed. Our friendship…..---- their friendship was withering down, their responsibilities demanding almost all of their time, add to the mix that each one of them lived in different extremes of Equestria and that they could only meet up once or twice a year, three times if they were lucky. Heck, I was the only thing keeping them from totally drifting apart, and even then I had a hard time keeping that up; being the General of the Royal Guard doesn’t give you that much free time either. They hardly saw each other and when they did, they were so tired and so full with work that it was the only thing they ever talked about. I bucking hated it. What ever happened to the parties? What ever happened to the jokes, the laughter, the silly talks, the adventures? What happened to their friendship? Where was that great monument that promised to stand proud and strong for all eternity? Where was that strong bond that had defeated countless enemies and foes? Where was the friendship that could overcome any obstacle? I’ll tell you, it was been killed by routine and monotony. I tried all I could to bring you all together for at least a few days, to rekindle that blazing inferno I love so much, to see the friendship we, the seven of us, share deep inside our hearts. I tried calling you for parties but no one was able to come, thanks to your mountain of work and chores, I tried to fake sickness, I tried to fake a meeting call or urgency, I even tried fake my death at some point – that didn’t turned out well at all – but no matter what I tried it never worked. So I tried to be patient and wait for another foe to rise against you. I waited for fifty years but aside from some minor incidents that were nothing but meager shadows of the challenges of old, nothing ever changed. I bucking hated it. I spent day, after day, after day, trying to come up with a solution to save your friendship, not because it was needed to protect Equestria, not because it was now a legendary symbol to all young foals and fillies, not because mother asked me, not even because of my own selfish desire to see you united, standing side by side, proud and mighty against your enemies, no, I wanted to save your friendship because I could see, because I could feel the pain of not being able to see each other, of being apart brought to all of you, a pain so deep, so soul breaking that more often than not it made me cry. I thought about it long and hard, thinking of everything we had achieved and faced. Then it hit me. Your friendship was so strong because every little challenge and enemy you faced brought something new to fight for, your friendship was strong because for every struggle you went through, it only served to make your friendship all the stronger. But there was something else, something so insignificant and so obvious it was almost painful to have never noticed it before. Every villain that had ever faced you always made the same mistake: they underestimated your friendship. Makes sense why Discord was the only one that had almost achieved victory: he knew your friendship was strong, the main source of your power, so he decided to attack it, in the end your friendship proved to be stronger than him, only because he grew cocky and confident. The solution was simple, I just had to find a villain intelligent and cunning enough to be an actual challenge to you, to make you unite once more and let your wonderful friendship resurge once more. But there was another problem, I didn’t know how to employ it or how to contact a villain, at least none of the old ones, I’d made sure to kill them all, then who, who could I turn to? Where could I find someone smart and powerful enough to challenge you all, especially with your reputation. For a moment I thought my solution was only a dead end, a stupid idea that for a moment promised to be just what you needed, only to reveal itself as a joke the next second. That is, until an accident happened, an accident that involved me thinking about said problem and how I could solve it, my claw and a maid. The maid looked at me with horror and fear, she started crying and then left the room in a hurry. It took me a while of me just standing there before I noticed the small stains of blood over my claw. It had been so easy, so simple, so…….wrong, causing pain, fear, terror and harm to others was sickeningly easy to do, did villains do what they did because it was easy to do? Harming and killing wasn’t difficult, I should know, I had done it several times before, but always against evil beings, but now I saw it was just as easy to do it against the innocent. Of course, it was so obvious, it all made sense in a way, really. There was someone capable of becoming the villain you needed, one that could be your greatest challenge of all, one that could save your friendship from that hell it had entered. All I had to do to keep your friendship alive was to become a villain myself, a threat to all of Equestria, the more I thought about it the more it all made sense, it was so logical and simple, plus I had a weapon no other villain had, something that would not only turn me into your greatest threat but also your biggest challenge. I know everything about you, all of you. Every little single detail, your capabilities, your strengths, your weaknesses, your fears, what you like, what you hate, what pushes your buttons, everything, absolutely everything, because I am your friend. But, could I really do it? Could I truly betray you all just to become the very thing that you needed, that your friendship needed? Could I betray our friendship? Yes, yes I could. But I could never become a true villain, it’s not in my nature, but my love and devotion towards your friendship is stronger than that, I made a promise to protect you all from harm, to always be there for you to remind you that your friendship was the source of your happiness, that is was the greatest treasure all of you had, I promised to never let anything destroy your friendship. And I was going to make sure to keep that promise. So it took me a while but in the end I became a ‘Villain’, how does a villain work? Heck, I don’t know, but we have fought against so many that I knew how to act like one, so what did I do? I used my powers to grow big and I started to burn Canterlot, there was no warning, there were no signs, I simply woke up that morning, during the morning of my birthday, a day that all of you managed to come to celebrate it. I made sure not to harm too many ponies that day, yet I had to harm enough to make me look like a real threat, that I was being serious. All of you tried so hard, so, so hard to find anything wrong with me, but I couldn’t let you figure out the truth, I had started and I had every intention to keep going, to force you to fight your own friend, I had to look convincing enough, that’s why I had to knock out my own mother and aunt with my fire. Tartarus really broke loose then. Both royal and night guards charged at me, trying their best to take me down, I had to hold back proud tears at their efforts and loyalty. I had to destroy half of Canterlot, I had to harm dozens of ponies, I had to beat all of you around, I had to push your buttons so hard it almost made me confess the truth. “I was never your friend!” I shouted to all of you, your response were only more tears falling from your eyes “Since day one I have been planning this day, my day of reckoning, I had to be patient and wait, I had to learn ALL about you so I could defeat you, now you can’t stop me, no one can stop me!” I laughed darkly “and you know why? Because I am your ‘friend’ and you would NEVER harm a friend, A HAHAHAHA!” I had to laugh hard and deep to keep my tears back, I couldn’t even hear what you screamed at me, but I could see the flashing colors of the rainbow in front of me, I stopped to see the Elements of Harmony activated and ready to fire against me. I did it. I thought stepping back, truly afraid. Never forget your friendship, girls, I love you all. I closed my eyes as the power of the Elements hit me and then……..nothing. I opened my eyes slowly to see what had happened, to my surprise you were all in the ground, exhausted and just as shocked as I was. Of course, I’m not evil, the Elements only act against evil beings. I thought about it for a second before remembering my position, I had to act soon or my cover would be blown. “Was that it?” I said chuckling “Was that all you could manage to throw at me?” I smirked back at you “What will you do now, Twilight? The Elements are rendered USELESS against me!” “No….NO! This can’t be right! The Elements have never failed us before!” You looked back “How could it--!?” you gasped at what you saw “My friends!” they were on the ground, unconscious “.......No” “HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I have defeated the Elements of Harmony, after years of careful planning I have done it! There is nothing that can stop me now! Say your prayers, Twilight Sparkle!” I said as I opened my mouth, ready to launch a fire stream against you, and all you could do was to look devastated as you cried. “I’m sorry girls, princess Celestia……..everypony” you closed her eyes, ready to receive the final blow “I failed.” But I never fired my attack, instead I stopped and turned back to normal, I walked right in front of you and took hold of your mane, pulling you up. “This was too easy, I was expecting more of a challenge, you know? Tell you what, I will give you a month, at the end of that month I will return, and this time I hope you can be able to provide me a real challenge, my dear friend.” You closed your eyes while crying harder “Equestria, The Crystal Empire and eventually everything else will be mine, try to stop me, use your precious ‘friendship’ against me, it won’t work.” I released your mane, letting you hit the floor harshly, looking up you barely had time to see the fire flowing out of my claws and eyes, I saw you grit your teeth in frustration and I smiled back at you “See ya in a month!” I shouted as I began my fly away, laughing all the way and never letting you see my own tears. During that month Discord visited me, he knew what I was doing and promised me he wouldn’t interfere, and that my secret was safe with him. My mother was devastated and so were my friends, but I had done it, they all believed I was truly a villain. My plan had succeeded. When our battle finally came to an end you had done it, you had ‘defeated’ me, your friendship have revived, that eternal burning fire was once again alive and strong, this time united to defeat someone that could fight against you in the same field of power. I was ready to accept my defeat when I realized something, what if no other challenge ever presented itself? “NO!” I shouted as forcefully as I could “I will not allow it!” and how could I? If I were to be defeated then you would fall back into that same routine and monotony “This isn’t over yet, I will be back, and when I do, you shall BURN!” That time I barely escaped, but it didn’t matter, I had come to a decision, I wasn’t a villain, I could never truly be a villain, but I could act as one, I could be what you and your friendship needed to always stand together, my role had never changed, my role was still the same, I am your eternal vigilant guardian. It is my duty, honor and pride to help you all. Is it the best way? No, it isn’t but this way I can make sure your friendship will be truly everlasting. Will I ever regret my decision? Yes, someday in the future I will regret my decision. Will you ever be able to forgive me once you find the truth? Maybe. Will I forget my purpose and end up transforming into a true villain? I hope not. But for the time being, I shall fight against you again, and again, and again, and all the times that are needed until I can make sure your friendship never dies, I will be happy to see you all united and strong, I will be there always with you, in the shadows, watching you and your beautiful friendship shine brighter than the sun of my mother. And when the day of my punishment finally comes, I will accept it with open arms, until then I will make sure to keep my promise. Now as I stand outside the reconstructed great hall of Canterlot Castle I see you dancing, joking and laughing, your friendship is back, all thanks to me. I can’t hold back my tears of joy. I only beg you to understand, if anyone, maybe even one you, finds this letter that everything I did, do and might do in the future, I do it out of love. I love you all girls, you are the fire that burn inside my heart. I’m sorry for hurting you mother, I love you too, I hope you can understand my motives. Please remember that everything was, is and will be in the name of friendship. After all. A true, true friend helps a friend in need. Friendship is strong. Friendship is light. Friendship is sacrifice. Friendship is Magic. Signed by Spike Solaris. Now best known as ‘Typhon,The Traitor.’