Chapter 3:
Bright Spark woke up that morning feeling angry, he didn’t know why,he just did He was in the kind of mood where everything could set him off. Walking down the stairs to the kitchen, he sat down at the seat while his wife continued to cook, “Morning hun. You’ll never guess what surprise I have for you.” his wife said.
“What is it, the same freaking food that you serve every freaking morning?” The stallion asked, standing up with his face distorted into a growl.
“Hunny? What’s wrong?” The mare asked backing away.
“What’s wrong?” The stallion asked before swatting away the cake, “The problem is that I am tired of sitting here, day in and out, haveing the same food badly prepared by a mare who doesn’t know how to cook. I am tired of working in the same dead end job for a wife who doesn’t appreciate anything I do, and I HATE the fact that a bookworm gets a high office while I GET SHIT! I’m going out, don’t bother looking for me!” The stallion growled, storming off through the door.
The young mare collapsed to the ground, tears filling her eyes, “FINE! GO OUT AND LEAVE!” She yelled, collapsing to the ground, her tears streaming down her face, “You probably wouldn’t like the news anyway! You would probably hate me for it!” Taking one look at the cake, she read the message, ‘congratulations! you r a daddy’ that was written on it with a pregnancy test next to it. Seeing this made her cry one more time, holding her stomach closely.
Twilight stepped out of the bedroom, using her magic to rub a towel across her wings, “‘Wing cleaning? OH it’s easy, you can get it done in a few minutes!’ That was a load and you know it, Dash! I still can’t see how you dry these things so quick,” Twilight grumbled to herself before looking into her guest room and noticing the absence of one of her guests, “Sunset? Where are-”
“Out of date, out of date, horribly written, inaccurate,” complained a voice from down the stairs.
“Sunset, what are you doing?” Twilight asked as she walked down the steps.
“Re-organizing your bookshelves,” Sunset said as she watched Twilight walk.,She thought A REAL alicorn would’ve glided down. “I figured since I was stuck back here, with you, I might as well help around the house by fixing your books. I can’t help but notice that some of them are horribly out of date.”
“Wait, how would you know that?” Twilight asked.
“Because, when I was at Canterlot Castle, I would spend a lot of time there rewriting the books and fixing their misinformation with the right ones,” Sunset said as she took out another book with her magic.
Twilight’s eyes looked on at the activity with an air of disbelief, “I really don’t think Celestia would keep that many books that were written badly.”
“You be surprised,” Sunset said as she brought out another book and flipped through the pages, “Take this wing spell, for instance. I bet when you cast it, you were really exhausted weren’t you?”
“Well, yes but I was-”
“That’s because the writer of this spell was thinking too lightly, borrowing mana from butterflies takes too long. From what I have seen and done, it would be far easier to mix blue and white mana to create temporary wings,” Sunset said, putting away one of the books.
“How did you figure that out?” Asked Twilight, looking at the book and seeing that Sunset was right.
“Because I happen to be very talented in finding out the fastest ways to use spells with a very low drain on mana. I didn’t get into Celestia’s school just because I’m a pretty face you know,” Sunset smiled.
Twilight giggled as she put one of the books back, “Of course you didn’t. You know, I was kind of hoping you would come back one day,” thee alicorn said with a sigh, “I mean, you were Celestia’s student before me, I figured we could spend hours together talking about the classes, the lessons, different magical-” Twilight stopped to see Sunset beginning to cry, “What’s wrong?”
“I never wanted to come back,” Sunset said, tears welling up “I was just fine staying back in that world, live out the rest of my life with my new friends, and never bother with all of this, ever again! I grew to love those girls, Twilight, they were like my sisters,” Sunset choked back a sob, “but in an instant, that man took it all away from me. Why? I was... finally happy.”
Twilight reached over and gave Sunset a hug with her wing, “It’ll be alright, Sunset. You’ll see, it might take a while but I bet I can find a way to go past the time limit of the portal and open it for you to go home.”
“YOU DON'T GET IT!” Sunset screamed at Twilight, “There is no way back, not now, not ever!”
“What?” Asked Twilight.
“Just before I left for your world, I used my magic to decimate the statue where the portal was. I ruined my only chance back, and without a proper portal relay... I can’t go home. I can never go back,” Sunset tearfully said, putting her face into Twilight’s shoulder.
“Don’t say that, Sunset,” Twilight said, rubbing the yellow unicorn’s back, “Nothing is for certain. Give me some time and I can figure out a way to send you back.”
Sunset raised her head, “You’ll do that for me? Why? I... I’ve tried to kill you twice and I tried to kill your friend.”
Twilight shrugged, “ I can be a little stupid sometimes, because I like giving second chances. I guess its because I’ve seen it done some good things for ponies in the past.”
Sunset chuckled at this, “You’re right, you can be stupid. So, where is our other guest?”
“Will is still asleep in her bed. If you ask me, it’s getting too crowded here,” Spike said, coming out from the kitchen with a plate of waffles.
“Sorry Spike,” Twilight said, “ but you know its rare for us to have more than one guest here at a time. This place just isn’t built for more than two ponies and a dragon living here.”
Before this conversation took place, Will was asleep in her bed, tossing and turning in it.
“Look, Cornelia, I’m sorry,” Will said, looking down at the ground with tears in her eyes. “I know that my plan was stupid and I could’ve gotten your sister killed but I had to-”
The blonde unicorn quickly interrupted the blue pegasus with a big hug, “Look, I may not agree with your ideas, and there’ll be times when I think you are an idiot, but I’ll never hate you.” She then pulled away, looking like a human girl with a soft smile, “Just know, no matter what you plan, I’ll be there to back you up. But don’t expect me not to argue with you about it.”
Will put her forehead to her best friend’s head, smiling, “Never have any other way.”
“It’s too bad, you’re all alone now. Aren’t you,” a voice said, firing a wall of flame at the young woman, incernating her.
“Cornelia!” Screamed Will as she woke up, panting. Taking the time to roll out of bed, she could hear the conversation from down below.
“I just.. .miss them Twilight. I never thought I would say that about anypony, ever,” Sunset said, looking down. “All my life, I was just focused on being the best, winning alone, and now... I can’t see my life without them.”
Will sighed as she walked to the edge of the stairs, “I feel the same about my friends. All of my old ones just wanted to be friends with me because they felt sorry and then I move to a new town and poof...I have four friends I can’t think about leaving.”
“Speaking of which, where are your friends now?” Asked Twilight.
“Well, they should be back in-” Will stopped herself, unsure of the answer. Her mind kept going back between the words ‘Vanhoover’ and ‘Heatherfield’, both seeming to be the right place and yet, seem wrong, “they should...”
Twilight watched as the redheaded mare swayed back and forth in confusion, “Hold on! Are you all right?”
Will smiled as she felt herself being held up by Twilight, “Y-yeah, I should be fine. I don’t know why I can’t remember where my friends are right now or where I live. It’s like a fog is in my head.”
“Twilight! The princess just sent something back,” Spike said, coming in with a letter and the pendant that was around Will’s neck.
“My pendant! Thanks Spike,” Will said smiling, putting it on as fast as she could. Once around her neck she lifted it up to her face and smiled, “The heart of Kandrakar, is the symbol of the leader of the guardians, it will bind you to the others.” She whispered softly to herself as she felt a little warmer with the necklace on her.
“I wonder what she found out?” Twilight asked as she look at the letter.
To my dearest Princess Twilight Sparkle.
Upon investigation, I have determined that the pendant is a source of very powerful magic and an item that belongs to your friend. Do not let her let go of it and you must protect her for the time being. I cannot say more in written form for fear of somepony else reading this.
As to your inquiry about the symbol, I am afraid I cannot confirm what it means until I have more information. Until then, please be careful of anything strange happening in Ponyville and report to me the moment you find something odd.
Sincerly
Princess-
“OH YEAH! WELL, BITE ME!” Rainbow Dash interrupted as she barged into the library, a book sticking out of her bag.
“Rainbow Dash, there isn’t a need to be rude,” Twilight said, rolling up the scroll.
“Not you, Twilight, I was yelling that out to-oh, you’re still here,” Dash remarked, looking at Sunset with a scowl.
“A pleasure to see you again, ‘Miss Dash’,” Sunset snarked back, only to get a light nudge from Will.
Twilight walked over to her cyan friend, “Rainbow, who were you yelling at then?”
Rainbow Dash let out a sigh as she looked at the door, “Thunderlane, he was having a fight with Bulk out there. I broke it up and he cussed me out for it.”
“Wait, Thunderlane? You mean that sweet guy? But he would never-” Twilight began.
“Yeah, I know,” Dash remarked, laying the book onto the table, “That’s the weird part. I know Thunderlane, he has a lot of patience. He’s not the type of guy to fly off the handle, just because somepony bumped into him.”
“That was it?” Asked Will.
“Yeah, weird huh?” Dash said as she walked to a bookcase.
At that moment, the door busted open and a ragged orange pony stepped out, “What is wrong with everypony today?”
“Applejack, what’s wrong?” Asked Twilight.
“Just a big feud going out there, is all,” Applejack said, not noticing Sunset.
“What do you mean?” Asked Will.
“Well, Ah was out in the market, when Ah saw the flower trio getting into an argument. No problem, Ah thought, after all, friends fight once in a while. Then, out of the bloom, they attacked another flower shop across from them. Ah had to step in before they could do anything serious!” Yelled Applejack.
“You guys don’t normally act like that, right. I thought Ponyville was peaceful and kind. At least that was what I heard,” Will said.
Applejack got a good look at Will and walked up to her, shaking her hoof fast, “Well, howdy! The name’s Applejack, ya must be Will. Thanks for savin’ Pinkie Pie and Twilight yesterday. Ah can’t thank ya enough for that and,” her green eyes then glared at Sunset, “What in Tarnation is she doing here?”
“A pleasure,” Sunset said, bowing to Applejack. “I seem to making new friends left and right.”
“Forgive me, Ah didn’t know Ah was supposed to be happy at seein’ a pony who tried to kill mah best friend TWICE, and put another in the hospital,” Applejack growled.
“To be fair, she was under a spell and your friend only suffered a mild head-”
“I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO INSULTED!” A white unicorn exclaimed as she walked into the house, followed closely by a tearful pegasus.
“Let me guess, ponies are easily agitated and take it out on others with no reason,” Twilight asked as she watched her two friends walk in.
“Yes, how did you know?” Asked the purple maned unicorn.
“It’s been happening a lot lately,” Twilight said plainly.
“Yes, it was horrible, Twilight,” Rarity said walking past the alicorn. “Not only did they insult my mane style and my fake lashes, but there was also a small stampede that hurt one of Fluttershy’s poor ducks!”
“Its ok, Goslyn, it’ll be all right,” Fluttershy said as she continued to wrap the wing of a duckling in a bandage.
“I swear, its getting weirder and weirder out there,” Rarity said as she walked around the library and looked at Will, “Ah, you must be Will! A pleasure to meet your acquaintance, I am Rarity and that is Fluttershy. And, my word, that is a lovely gem on your neck,” the white unicorn said, looking down at the heart.
“Thanks,” Will said.
“May I?” Asked Rarity.
“Sure,” Will said, smiling.
Using her magic, Rarity lifted the heart close to her face, “My word, where did you get this? I have never seen its make anywhere in all of Equestria, and there is no jeweler I know of that could possibly have cut it so well.”
“I... don’t know,” Will said, the name unable to come to her.
“Well, be as that may, I simply have to request you come to boutique soon and we can discuss your marvelous gem,” Rarity said with a smile before turning to Sunset, “And you must be Shimmer. A pleasure I’m sure.”
Sunset arched an eyebrow in surprise, “I’m surprised, no off-handed remark or insult?”
“Darling, as I told another mare not too long ago, I am a lady and we ladies do not hold grudges. Furthermore, if I am going to insult you, I will do so behind your back,” Rarity said with a smirk.
Will looked around the room, slightly confused, “I don’t get this, I thought that Ponyville was peaceful and quiet.”
“Yeah, its bucking weird,” remarked Dash, looking up from her book. “It’s like everypony decided to become flank-holes all of a sudden.”
“Kind of like, everypony jus’ up and forget how to be kind to one another,” Applejack added.
As Twilight listened to each of the girls talk about the previous events that had been occurring back in Ponyville, she looked back at the letter, “ Girls, pack your things! We’re making a trip to Canterlot!”
“What?” Asked Fluttershy.
“Princess Celestia told me to talk to her if I started to see something weird, and this most likely qualifies,” Twilight said.
Sunset walked to Twilight, looking rather perplexed, “So, you are just going to levitate us all there while flying? Wouldn’t a powerful mage like you rather teleport?”
“Actually, I was thinking of taking a train,” Twilight responded with a blush. “I mean, I can teleport me and Spike easily enough, but more than that and even I would get tired.”
“Wait, you get-you mean as an alicorn you never-” Sunset stammered.
“Took too much mana to try,” Twilight said.
Sunset sighed and muttered under her breath, “How did you even become an alicorn? How did you even beat me?” With a sigh, the orange unicorn looked up at Twilight, “Let me guess, you use only blue mana when you teleport, don’t you?”
“Well, teleportation is mainly mental, why? Is that a problem?” Asked Twilight.
Sunset sighed, “Because that is wasted energy and very insufficient. I know how to do it, without much of a drain.”
“How?” Asked Twilight.
Sunset then smugly smirked as she turned her flank to the other ponies, “Look at my mark. What is it?”
“A sun, so what?” Asked Dash.
“Wait,” Will said, taking a step closer, “Is that a yin/yang? A balance?”
“Yep,” the orange mare said, flipping back her mane confidently, “You see, I got this mark because I can balance out the mana needed for a spell while keeping enough for another without draining myself. This allows me to cast multiple giant spells in a row without tiring myself out or suffering mana drain for too long.” She looked back at the group of ponies, each with a confused look on their face save for Twilight and Will.
“I think I got it,” Will said, stepping forth, “What you are saying is that, a spell that would normally drain a normal unicorn like Rarity, you can cast while keeping enough mana for yourself to cast another strong spell.”
“But how? Even when I was an unicorn, I would have to use all of one of my mana pools to cast a large spell,” Twilight asked.
“Let me show you,” Sunset said, “Everypony, gather around Twilight.”
With questioning looks, the bearers and Will did so, with Fluttershy sighing, “It feels odd, doing this without Pinkie.”
“Ah, we’ll fill her in when we get back,” Dash said with a shrug.
“Ok, now, Twilight, prepare your teleport spell, and hold it,” Sunset said, watching as the purple alicorn lit up her horn. “Perfect. Now, do you feel yourself connected to the blue mana pool?”
“Yes,” Twilight said, closing her eyes.
“Now, instead of tapping into only that, I want you to take some of the energy from one of the other four pools. Bring it out,” Sunset, smirking.
“I-I- I can’t,” Twilight grunted, a small bit of sweat pouring down her face as she concentrated.
“Sure you can, its easy,” Sunset said, “You are an alicorn now, you have the largest mana reserve of any pony here. Just pull out the extra energy you need from those instead of only one.”
As Will watched the lesson go on, her mind began to shoot back in time.
An old mare, her once black mane now white, stood before the five mares, each tired from a battle, “Remember you five must always stand together. Alone, you are strong, but together, you are almost invincible.”
“Right, how can I forget,” Will said, looking to Cornelia, blushing. “Sorry,”
“It’s ok, if you didn’t mess up once in a while, you wouldn’t need us to lift you up,” giggled the unicorn. She then hugged Will with human arms.
The old woman smiled at the girls, “Never forget, your true strength flows from each other...”
“Hey Twilight,” Will asked, breaking Twilight out of her concentration, “When you used the elements to fire that rainbow thing. What did it feel like?”
Twilight smiled as she closed her eyes in remembrance, “It was like I could feel each of my friends giving me some of their energy, lending me just enough of their power to use but I was giving them some of mine, like we were all connected.”
“Try that,” Will said, “Try associating each one of the mana pools with your friends and treat it like each one of them is giving you their power.”
Twilight nodded and began to concentrate, her horn glowing for a moment. For a few moments, she felt nothing, then she began to smile, “I think I got it!”
“Do you?” Sunset asked.
“Yes, I can feel each one of them in a separate way,” Twilight said, making her horn flash, “Fluttershy is a calming white, Applejack is a strong green, Rainbow Dash is a blazing red, Rarity a creative blue, and Pinkie...” Twilight stopped herself, frowning about the lack of her friend..
Sunset shook her head, “It’s ok, you should be able to manage with only a bit from four pools.”
Eyes closed, Twilight nodded and continued to prepare the spell, taking in some energy from the other pools, not noticing her friends glowing as well, “HERE GOES! HOLD ON!”
“Who was that woman, and what did she mean that me and other guardians,” Will thought as they began to disappear into the ether, “And how did I know about how their power affect me, that I get stronger when they are nearby.”
“As you can see ambassador, everything will be fine for your people’s journey through Equestria tomorrow,” Celestia said to the satyr before her. “I am sorry to hear about your hometown, however.”
“Do not worry your highness,” the goatman said, his accent thick. “We Satyrs have this thing about vengeance and we will find the dragon responsible.” With that, he walked out the door of the castle, just as a purple dome of energy appeared in the center of the throne room.
“Sister, who is-” Luna asked, walking into the room, only to watch as Twilight and the others appear before her, “Twilight?”
Celestia, unfazed by the appearance of her student, chuckled at Twilight as she stood, barely panting, “Twilight, though I welcome your visits, I do wish you would warn me first. That, and I have never known you to teleport here before.”
“Your student never tried with a group before, I taught her how. Without wasting her mana I should add,” Sunset smugly smirked.
“I knew you two could learn from each other,” Celestia smiled as Twilight walked up.
“Princess,” Twilight said, trying to focus on the task at hand not on her glee at performing a new trick, “Something is going wrong in Ponyville. Fights are starting randomly, ponies are turning violent, and more and more are letting their rage overtake them.”
As Luna walked to stand next to her sister, she listened to this and shook her head. Looking to Twilight she asked, “Tell us, the ponies who attacked, did they have a V somewhere on their body. The neck or arm?”
Rainbow Dash quickly nodded, “Yeah, Thunderlane had this weird mark on his neck when he attacked Bulk.”
Celestia sighed, “It’s as I feared then.”
“You know something, your highness?” Asked Will.
“Of course she does, she’s the queen of secrets remember?” Responded Sunset with a scoff.
Celestia ignored the comment and began, “In order to know what is happening to the ponies, you must know who is responsible. Back when Queen Terra and King Titan were still young, the magic of our universe was held by a select group of dragons. The good king of dragons, Bahamut,” Celestia spat the name, like it sickened her to say it, “sent out his most trusted soldier to take it and bring it to the people. This purple dragon was joined on her quest by a kind yellow dragon, a generous white one, a loyal blue, an honest orange, and silly pink. Together they had many adventures and soon took the magic; but it was not without cost. The purple dragon lost her five friends in the course of the journey. So heartbroken was she, that she used the magic for one selfish thing... to bring back her friends.”
Twilight smiled tearfully at this and looked back at her friends, knowing she would do no less for them, “So, what happened next?”
“The six dragons used the magic to bring it forth across the universe, giving the earth ponies their strength, the pegasi the power over the weather and flight, and the unicorns their unique magicks. The five dragons then sealed their power into five orbs, known as aurameres and placed them within the halls of Kandrakar and the purple dragon became the first head of the council of Kandrakar.”
“What’s Kandrakar?” Asked Applejack.
“It’s a mystical realm just behind the veil that protects our world,” Sunset said, walking to the side of the group, “It a powerful source of magic, where all magic is said to flow. It is also said that, it is there where the five guardians will be chosen when the time comes.”
“Shouldn’t the red head one know this, she looks confused,” Luna said, whispering to her sister.
“But what does this have to do with what is going on in Ponyville?” Twilight asked.
“Have you ever heard of the balance?” Asked Sunset, “It states that when something of a great good happens in the universe, a great evil must also happen.”
“Agreed,” Luna stated, “When the purple dragon brought her five friends back, in exchanged, something dark was born. It was a black dragon, representing death and destruction. For eons, he rested, drawing upon energy from the death, hatred, and destruction that happened in the world overtime. All through this, a fairy with a heart as black as pitch raised him, tempered him into a fierce creature. Then she unleashed on our world, forcing him to try and kill us all.”
“Me and Luna teamed up with a company of brave soldiers to defeat him and finally seal him away. A year after Luna was freed, we had heard news of this monster’s release, and then his apparent death. We could hardly believe it, not only was he freed, but something was able to kill him. We went to where his grave was and sure enough... he was dead.”
“Who was this guy?” Asked Rainbow Dash.
“His name was Valtor,” Luna stated.
“And if that dreadful creature is dead, then why do you think he is the cause of what is happening?” Asked Rarity.
“His mark,” Luna stated plainly, “Whenever he would attack a world, his victims would bear the mark of a V upon their bodies. We can only assume this means that someone, or something has revived him and unleashed him on our world. For what reason, we cannot say.”
Applejack looked up at the two princesses, “So, what does all of that have to do with the ponies acting plumb out of their minds?”
“One of his many tactics that he would use to devastate the world was to unleash something that we had dubbed, the hate plague,” Luna stated plainly, the thought disgusting her. “It starts off when a carrier brings it into the world, touching and spreading it to the innocent populace of the planet. You have already seen the beginnings of the virus at the moment, stage one. Here, small things that once annoy a pony become huge means of aggravation. Ponies who would normally brush off a small insult will become aggressive and lash out. Stage two, the ponies rage increases, they begin attacking the ones that they feel have done the most harm to them. Friendly rivals turn into bitter enemies and now, even a small slight will turn a pony into a violent monster. Stage three, the pony starts to lash out at any and every pony, attacking and most likely, killing all that stand in their way.Lastly, stage four...” Luna stopped herself.
“S-Stage four?” asked Fluttershy, trembling.
“Your body cannot stand being a state of constant rage forever, the adrenalin pumping through you, your heart racing to keep up, it soon becomes too much and you...” Celestia stopped herself, “Die. Your body becomes covered in a black ooze and will drain you of your life. OR worse, your body will become covered in the ooze, turning you into a mindless monster, serving only the will of Valtor. What's more, when you are infected, your strength, senses, and some parts of your mind become stronger, sharper, and every way more powerful”
“Is there a cure?” Twilight asked.
“None that we found,” Luna said, shaking her head, “Though, we found that beating the tar out of the victims leaves them cold and unconscious long enough for you to find and defeat Valtor.”
“Twilight, me and Luna will try our best to find where Valtor is, but I want you and your friends to return to Ponyville and find a way to stop it. Or at the very least, find Valtor,” Celestia said. “EXCEPT! For you, Sunset shimmer, you are to stay in Canterlot.”
“Oh, I get it. Keep an eye on the criminal?” Sunset remarked, a bit of anger in her voice.
“Not at all,” Celestia said, shaking her head. “You have attacked a very beloved pony in Ponyville. The populace will be quite angry with you, and if any of them have the plague in them... they’ll attack you on sight. Do not fear, though, I have arranged to reopen your old room and you can assist in finding a cure for this plague with my student.”
Sunset walked by Celestia with a scoff and a flip of her mane, “Fine, but do not expect me to be reading any books.”
Celestia sighed and shook her head, “Of course not.”
Luna watched as Twilight and her friends left the throne room, “Sister, are you sure that the red head is, in fact, a guardian?”
“Yes, Luna,” Celestia nodded.
“Then why did she not fold here?” asked Luna.
“Perhaps she lacks the power too, maybe her powers have not fully bloomed,” Celestia stated.
“And where are the other four, there are FIVE guardians!” Luna asked. “She is nowhere near as powerful as she should be!”
“Yes, I know,” Celestia nodded. “A guardian alone, especially the keeper of the heart, is a very troubling sign indeed.”