//------------------------------// // Study Time and Explosions:Arc 2, Chapter 2 // Story: New Reign // by Dream Seeker //------------------------------// Twilight smiled as she finished the book she was reading. "Time to create a necromancy spell! A rune would work best, so first I need to read up on Rune grammar, letters, and words!" After only a few minutes, Twilight's research was going nowhere. Frustrated, she threw the book she had been reading against the wall. In the whole library, only one book even mentioned the existance of Rune grammar and words! "Maybe Luna will know!" she smiled happily, then frowned. "But how can I phrase the question in a way where she won't guess what I'm doing?" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Luna?" Twilight asked. "How do the Elements of Harmony work? Would it be possible to prevent a Nightmare from taking over a pony's body with them?" "I... do not know for sure, but I don't think so. The Runes that make up the Elements are physical Runes, but they also make a sort of, how can I put it... ah, yes! Think of it like the Astral Plane, where your Alicornation took place. It doesn't exactly reside in the physical world, but it can effect the physical world, and the physical world can effect it. The Elements have several configurations that all access this other plane of reality in the same, or close to the same, way. The Runes that most think are invisible, are in fact inscribed in the shapes of the necklaces and crown, and the jewels inside them. The Element of Magic acts as a focus, that directs the energy from the collectors to the target. The other Elements are collectors, gathering power from their wearer depending on how much they truly represent their Element. Most Runes require wires to connect the collectors, and in the rare case a focus is used, it must be connected as well. However, the Elements are connected via the other plane of reality. Nightmares also reside on other planes of reality, as well as souls. The Elements' power may flow through the same plane as Nightmares, but the effects will only defeat a Nightmare if the Nightmare is in control. Think of it like your soul is a tangible object, and the Nightmare is inside it. Only if the Nightmare comes to the outside can we defeat it. The best course of defeating your Nightmare is by fighting it, and trying to be a good pony. The Elements are not a fix-all." "Thank you Luna. I will try to resist." Twilight replied, smiling at how easy it was to come up with a solution now. All she had to do was modify the Elements to effect this other plane, and she could both stop her Nightmare easily (if she needed too) but bring dead souls back to life as well! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A massive explosion rocked Canterlot, as the top of Mount. Canterlot was blown off, rubble flying everywhere. "Oops..." Twilight blushed. She had just changed one of the Elements of Harmony's shape, or at least tried to. She had forgotten that a powerful spell was designed to fix the Elements in case they were broken, and it reacted violently to her attempt. After coughing a few times, Twilight saw Luna coming. "Doth thou know what thou hast done?!" Luna said fiercely. "Thou hast destroyed an important symbol of Canterlot! An entire mountain has been ruined! That is only what we know of so far. Mayhap thou killed somepony! What were you even doing?!" "Um... studying the Elements of Harmony?" asked Twilight sheepishly, blushing and looking at her hooves. "Art thou a child? Must we really confiscate them from you? We already told thou, thy Nightmare must be solved by you and you alone, the Elements cannot help you. Didst thou not already know not to mess with Runes, especially complex ones? What happened to thy COMMON SENSE!" The last part was roared in the Royal Canterlot Voice. "I'm sorry..." whimpered Twilight, ashamed at both lying to Luna and causing the explosion. "I wasn't thinking..." Meanwhile, in Ponyville, Fluttershy whimpered in pain. A boulder had flown out of nowhere and smashed her wing against the ground. She knew that if she survived, she would never be able to fly again. It was two days before she was due for another trip to the spa with Rarity, so if she could survive until then, she stood a chance at being saved. Her animal friends were keeping her company, and keeping her alive by feeding her and giving her water, but they couldn't do anything for her wing, as her injuries were still trapped under the boulder. Two days later, Rarity visited the spa to find Fluttershy was not waiting for her. In fact, she didn't even show up the whole time! It wasn't like Fluttershy to simply not show up, and Rarity had especially wanted to talk with her about the explosion at Canterlot. Rarity sighed and walked to Fluttershy's cottage, concerned at the gaping hole in the roof she saw as she approached. Her animal friends were nowhere to be seen outside, but appeared to be crowding inside. The moment Rarity saw what was inside, she screamed and fainted. Her screaming had been heard, and when she woke up a medic was already at the scene. "S-she is going be okay... right?" Rarity asked in a small voice. "I don't know yet, we need to get to a hospital immediately. She's lost a lot of blood, and we definitely can't save her wing. Luna willing, she might make it." Rarity looked confused at the expression, and the medic blushed. "Now that Princess Celestia is gone, many ponies have been using Luna's name for expressions, so Celestia willing would be Luna willing, or instead of thank Celestia, thank Luna. I'm surprised you hadn't heard one of them before." the medic replied while wrapping Fluttershy's limp body. "Now help me. The faster we get her treatment, the better the chance she'll recover. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "I came as fast as I could!" said Twilight quickly. "How is she?" "She's not looking good. We found her with a boulder crushing her wing. No clue how a boulder got into her house, the closest mountain is Mount. Canterlot!" Twilight winced. "Can I visit her?" "Yes, but only for a short while. We could lose her at any moment. You may enter now." Twilight walked through the small doorway, ducking a bit as she went through. She didn't remember being so large, maybe she was growing to Celestia's size. When she saw Fluttershy, she gasped and covered her mouth with one wing. The pegasus was severely injured, with only one wing left, and many gashes in the rest of her. "Twi-light? I-is that... you?" Fluttershy asked weakly. Twilight moved closer to her friend, whimpering, "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry! It's all my fault! I was messing with the Elements, and it made an explosion, and it blew the top off of Mount. Canterlot, and one of the boulders that fell off must have landed on your wing! This is all my fault!" Fluttershy smiled. "I-I forgive you, Twilight. It was an accident. Don't blame yourself. Just do better next time. G-g-goodbye..." her words trailed off, and and her muscles slacked. The heartbeat monitor's gentle constant beeping flatlined into a constant screech. Twilight sobbed over her friend's dead body, tears dripping down her face as she listened to the voice in her head. You caused this. You killed her. Give up, foal, you've already lost. Your hope is gone. Meanwhile, in Canterlot, Luna watched in surprise and shock as the Element of Kindness gradually turned to stone. Even more worrying was that the Element of Magic was gradually growing darker, and a blackness seemed to be spreading through the gem in the crown.