//------------------------------// // Arc 3: The End of the Crusaders? // Story: The Seven Tribes // by Scootaloo-009 //------------------------------// The Seven Tribes by Scootaloo-009, a.k.a. Mechsrule1 My Little Pony and related names, images, and scenarios are property of Hasbro Inc. Edited by N Arc 3: The Sea Ponies Chapter 9 And then Sweetie Belle began singing. It didn't have a distinct tune, nor words in any language they knew, just a noise from the unicorn's mouth. It was sad, but at the same time joyful. She kept singing despite the tears running down her cheeks. Soon everypony was staring at her through watery eyes, but she didn't seem to be aware. She just kept the song going. As her voice grew, points of light appeared in the water around her. They floated towards her, coalescing at the tip of her horn. As she continued the song, the ball of light grew and grew until it was almost blinding. As she sang, her voice grew until it became deafening. Later, sea ponies would claim to have heard it as far away as the other side of the city. When she uttered the last lyric of her song, the light shot from her horn and hit Apple Bloom's body. It twitched erratically for a couple seconds, like it had been hit with electricity. Her wounds that had all but stopped bleeding, began leaking anew. Fluttershy pressed her ear to the foal again. "She's alive!" she shouted. "Ah'll ask how, later. She ain't going to last long like this!" Applejack said, leaning over her sister. "I got this," Twilight said, moving forward. She leaned over the re-dying filly and pressed her hooves over the foal's ragged chest. “Oh right, no magic,” she said, tugging at the collar. “Here,” Rarity said. Her horn glowed briefly and the collar fell away. Twilight batted the thing away, cringing at how it made her feel. “Now I can do this.” "Sweetie Belle?" Rarity said to the unicorn who was rubbing her throat. “Yes?” she croaked. “OW!” She winced. “I must have strained my voice a bit,” she murmured quietly. “What happened?” “I thought about how the sirens could do magic, so I started singing. The words just seemed to come to me,” Sweetie Belle replied in a raspy voice. “Seafoam?” “I don't know. There are myths of sirens who could bring back the dead with their music, but they are very old legends,” Seafoam replied. "There," Twilight announced, backing away. Apple Bloom's wounds had been charred black, but they no longer bled profusely. "This'll leave some nasty scars, but I stopped the bleeding for now. We need to get her to a hospital, now." "We can't trust anypony here," Rainbow Dash said. She was still losing blood rapidly, but had still managed to drag herself over. “Rainbow Dash you shouldn't be moving!” Fluttershy said, very concerned. “I'm okay. I've been hurt worse than this before,” Rainbow Dash replied, smirking. “Where can we go?” "Canterlot," Twilight answered, "it's far, but it's the best chance she has." "We'll never make it in time," Applejack said. "I'll teleport us." "That far? It's impossible!" Rarity exclaimed. "Maybe for one unicorn. But not two," Twilight said. "Right;" Rarity realized where this was going. She called forth all her magic and touched her horn to Twilight's. She forced all the magic out into her friends horn. Its red hue didn't noticeably change. "Well?" Twilight asked. "That's all I have," Rarity replied. "Wow," Twilight said simply. "I never really realized how much stronger I was. I can barely feel your magic." "I'm tapped out," Scootaloo informed them. “Me too,” Sweetie Belle added. "I'll have to make do," Twilight sighed. “You girls go. I am going to return to the palace and expose the Captain's treachery,” Seafoam said. “May the currents guide you to your destination safely.” “May the winds always be at your back,” Rainbow Dash returned. With a flick of her tail, Seafoam was off. "Leave us here. Use your magic to get Dashie and Apple Bloom to Canterlot. We'll come back on our own," Pinkie Pie said. "What I'm teleporting is fairly small compared to how far I have to teleport. Plus you'll be in danger if you stay here," Twilight replied. “And I’ll need your help. I’m teleporting really far, so I might not end up right where I want to. If that happens, I’ll need you to help me get them to the hospital.” "If you're sure..." Pinkie murmured. "Get close." They moved in as Twilight commanded. She planted her feet wide and charged her horn. She poured all her magic into it, more magic than she had ever used before. The water around them rippled with the energy, and a ring of light formed around them. Sparks jumped from her horn to the ring and back, more and more rapidly until the water was full of the sparks of magic. Then, in a flash, they were gone. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~         “Rainbow Dash?” Clance Qnak called. He entered the bedroom Rainbow Dash and his daughter shared to find the filly hunched over on her bed. The bed was like any other, though a bit special in her case. Like all griffon beds, it was covered in furs for warmth, but like all older griffon beds, the furs of animals they had hunted themselves, and Rainbow Dash’s was no exception.         “Yeah?” Rainbow Dash asked, not looking away from what she was doing.         “We seem a bit short on knives in the kitchen. Have you seen any of them?”         “Uh.... yeah,” Rainbow Dash said sheepishly. “I kind of borrowed some of the older ones. I wanted to see if it would work before I spent any bits on it.”         “On what?” Clance asked.         “This!” Rainbow Dash said proudly. She turned around and held up a hoof. Wrapped around her leg was a fur band with three knives wrapped in additional bands to hold them in place. They were placed so the blades’ entire lengths were past the end of her hooves, with the sharp side inwards.         Clance looked surprised at what she had made. “Oh!”         “I still want to make it so they retract, you know, so I can still walk,” Rainbow Dash said, turning her hoof over. “Once I figure that out, I’ll get some real blades. I hope it’s okay I borrowed these.”         “Just make sure to bring them the next time we go hunting so you can try them out,” Clance said, turning to leave, a smile on his face.         “Sure thing, dad,” Rainbow Dash said, returning to her work. A second later she mentally slapped herself. Did I just.... Did he notice?         Clance didn’t slow his pace as he left the room. Did she just... no, I must have misheard.         It didn’t mean anything. Just a slip of the tongue, Rainbow Dash reassured herself. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Another flash and they stood outside the Canterlot hospital. They gasped in the lack of water for a second, coughing up what remained in their lungs, but were soon able to breathe normally again. Then they all cried in pain as their ears popped. Twilight fainted from the energy expenditure. "Twilight!" Rarity cried, seeing her friend fall. Then she noticed something. Twilight’s familiar dark purple mane was completely gone. She looked around at her friends trying to shake off the post-teleport disorientation. All their manes and tails were missing. "What happened to our hair?" "Will you stop fussin and help us?" Applejack snapped, her sister lying on her back. Scootaloo and Fluttershy were trying to pick Rainbow Dash up. Rarity joined Pinkie Pie in helping to carry Twilight in. No sooner had they walked through the door, then Rainbow and Apple Bloom were taken off to be treated. They wanted to take Fluttershy too, but she explained it wasn't her blood and wandered off to clean herself up. They all sat in the waiting room silently. "Ah hope Apple Bloom is alright," Applejack said. She was hiding her face with her hat, but her voice was labored. "She'll be okay," Fluttershy said, "this is the best hospital in Equestria." "Ah shouldn't a brought her," Applejack moaned. "You had no idea this would happen. None of us did," Rarity said softly. As she was talking, a doctor entered the room. They all turned and looked expectantly. "I know you all want good news, so that first. As far as I can tell they're both going to live," the doctor said, reading some papers. "The mare seems alright. We stitched her up, but we need to keep her for observation in case of infection. The filly is in bad shape. I'm surprised she even survived the injuries." She didn't. "Is mah sister gonna be alright?" Applejack asked, lowering her hat. Her eyes were bloodshot and the inside of the hat was soaked, as was most of her face. "I'm not making any promises, but she is stable for now. She's in an induced coma at the moment while her body recovers. At best, she'll be here about a year. When she is eventually discharged, I would recommend buying her a few shirts. There is nothing we can do about the scarring." "But she'll be alright?" Applejack repeated. "At this point, we're not sure, but if she's survived the injuries this long, I'd say she has a good chance of making a decent recovery. The bites grazed a few organs, but everything important is still there, she broke five ribs and several major arteries appear severed but were obviously healed later. She’ll never be one hundred percent, but I feel she will recover enough to go home." "But she'll live." Applejack said, sniffing. "That's all Ah needed tah hear." ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ "And that’s what happened," Scootaloo finished. "Would you like to hear what you missed after that?" Twilight asked. "Fine. I'm not leaving soon anyway." "Well we had all fallen back asleep, but you know that," Twilight began. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ "Twilight, wake up," a voice called gently through the mists of sleep. "Huh?" Twilight mumbled groggily. "Twilight?" She turned and saw Princess Celestia standing there looking very concerned. "Princess!" she said hoarsely. "What are you doing here?" "I got her," Spike announced. "It's the middle of the night. Shouldn't you be asleep?" "It’s early morning actually, and you are far more important to me than sleep." "Princess," Twilight said, smiling. "What happened in Barrier City?" Princess Celestia asked after a brief pause. "One of the sea ponies woke us up in the night and told us there were ponies trying to kill me. He led us to what he said was a safe house, but it was a trap set by a terra pony. He wasn't lying, only he was one of the ponies trying to kill me. The terra pony sent some sharks after us and Rainbow Dash and Apple Bloom were hurt really bad." "Oh my," Princess Celestia said sitting down next to her student. "I was so scared. I couldn't think, I didn't do anything,"Twilight said, hanging her head. "I'm a failure." "Twilight you don't have to be so hard on yourself. With the protracted peace we have been in, you not knowing how to fight is to be expected, and a good sign of how well we've maintained that peace.” “And having a magic blocking collar didn’t help. It was awful, not being able to feel my magic,” Twilight said, shuddering at the vivid memory. “I have fortunately never experienced that. I see you lost your mane. What happened to it?" "I didn't have enough magic to teleport us here, so I had to convert the hairs into magical energy. Plus losing them meant less to move." "A very clever trick," Princess Celestia praised. "I did see some amazing magic too," Twilight went on, "magic I don't think even you can do." "I find that hard to believe," Celestia said with a chuckle. "Apple Bloom was dead. And I mean dead. Her heart had stopped. Then Sweetie Belle started singing this song, and cast some spell. Next we know Apple Bloom is alive again," Twilight said. "I've never heard of somepony bringing another pony back to life." "Do you see the true power friendship can bring?" Princess Celestia asked. "You are right, restoring life is beyond my power, and believe me, I have tried to do so, many, many times. I have no doubt what happened was only possible because of their friendship." “Seafoam said it may have been a form of sea pony magic,” Twilight said, remembering the performance. “They have sea ponies down there that can do magic just by singing.” “That is very fascinating,” Princess Celestia commented. "I know many incantations, but to have them in song form must be lovely to hear." "That wasn't all," Twilight said after a pause. "Scootaloo did something I think was combat magic. She cut up the sharks pretty bad with a spell. They probably died from it. If she hadn't... we probably wouldn't have made it." "These three have certainly been through a lot lately haven't they?" Princess Celestia said fondly. "Princess?" "Yes?" "What do we do now? I don't know if the King was to blame, but I don't think we can trust the sea ponies." "I'll handle him myself," Princess Celestia said. "I think you all should stay in Canterlot for the next few days. I am going to personally teach you fight with magic." "I don't want to hurt anypony," Twilight whined pathetically. "I think this little filly is going to need some help," Princess Celestia said, ignoring her and jerking her head towards Scootaloo. "Doing what she did can be quite traumatic. You should help her through it." "I'll do my best, Princess!" Twilight said. Her reluctance to hurt was matched by her eagerness to help. "There are matters I must attend to, but please stop by when you feel ready to learn combat magic," Princess Celestia told her before leaving. "I'll send some guards to get your things in Gallopster." ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ "And that is why you are here," Twilight said finishing, "I want you to tell me how you feel about what happened." "I don't feel anything," Scootaloo replied. “It's perfectly natural to feel ashamed or regret after doing something like what you did." "I don't regret what happened," Scootaloo said without blinking. "Even if they are trying to hurt you, it is still normal to feel regret toward what happened. What if you had killed them?" "I sort of regret not killing them," Scootaloo shot back. "They deserved it." "Don't talk like that," Twilight chastised, "that is not the way for good ponies to talk." Which I am not. "Can I go home?" Scootaloo asked again. "Not until your parents come and get you," Twilight repeated. Scootaloo had had enough. "They're not coming!" she shouted. "They never will come!" "All our friends are on the hunt for them as we speak. They'll find them." "They're wasting their time," Scootaloo spat. "Your parents seem to be a hot button issue for you. Why?" "Do you really want to know?" Scootaloo asked, snarling. Twilight nodded. "I don't have any parents, alright!" "You're an orphan?" Twilight was so surprised, she nearly dropped her quill. "I had no idea." "Well now you do. Can I go now?" "Of course not. We'll just call the orphanage, and they can send somepony to pick you up." “The orphanage closed down after I left,” Scootaloo replied, smiling creepily. “I'm sure we can find one to take you in.” "NO!" Scootaloo shouted with such ferocity, Twilight felt actually afraid of the filly. "If you make me go back-" she said, grabbing the collar. She couldn't remove it herself. "Scootaloo, calm down," Twilight ordered. "If you try to make me go, I will kill myself. I will," Scootaloo threatened. She didn't back down. "It's where you are supposed to be. It's what's best," Twilight said calmly. "It's not worth killing yourself over. What could be?" "Shut up!" Scootaloo commanded. Twilight obeyed, but more out of shock than obedience. "You're a smart pony Twilight, smarter than I'll ever be. I know that. You've read more books than I ever will even see. You know a lot of things I'll never know. "You know what it's like to have a loving family. You know what it's like to feel safe. You know what it's like to have everything hoofed to you. To feel comfortable, and get support from everypony around you. You know a lot, but there are some things you will never know. Things you will never read in a book. "You will never know what it's like to be abandoned less than a week after you're born. Or what it's like to stay up late at night wondering why they did it, and where they could be. Why they could just abandon their daughter like that. Did they just not want a foal? Were you born wrong? "Do you have any idea what it's like to grow up without a real name? To be simply called the day you were found? Coming up with your own name is something you have never read about. "What it's like to be starving every day. To live in an orphanage. Your books can't tell you what it's like to wake up every morning, and instead of wondering 'what will I learn in school today', you wonder 'gee I wonder who will use me for a punching bag today. Will it be the older kids here, the kids in town, or maybe one of the caretakers who's had a bad day'. "I bet you've never thought about what it's like to hope and pray every minute of every day that somepony will walk through that door and take you out of that tartarus hole, but also knowing it will never happen. Do you know how it feels to not fear death, or even desire it, because it means escape from there? If taking my own life means I never have to go there again, I will do it without hesitation. "Ever read a book about how it feels to escape that kind of place? They almost stopped me you know, but I got three of them with a nail I dug out with my bare hooves. How about what it feels like to run across Cloudsdale in the dead of night, with the police and everypony else out looking for you? What about spending two years on the run? Do you know what it feels like to go to sleep every night, not knowing if you will even wake up in the morning? I bet you don't. "You will never know what it feels like to dive in a dumpster, just so you can maybe find somepony's leftovers so you might have something to eat. You will never know the feeling of despair that comes from being kicked out of a doorway, into the rain. You won't feel the pain of finally making some real friends, but knowing you can never tell them. "You will never know what it feels like to lie to them every day. Stealing food so you can stay alive. So the pains of an empty stomach are weak enough to bear another day, or working your hooves to the bone to earn enough for some real food every once in awhile, or to keep of the facade of having a family. You will never know how it feels sleeping in the cold every night because you have no other choice. "Twilight you will never know what it is like to be me. I wouldn't want you to. You don't have to understand why I did what I did. You don't have to approve, or ask how it makes me feel. I want you to understand this: I have never regretted the things I've done. I am ashamed of lying to my friends. What pony wouldn't be? "But I don't regret what I did. I did what I had to. I saw a way out, and I took it. I didn't let them stand in my way. I saw my friends being killed, and I did what I had to. No matter what you say, I will never regret what I did. I did it because I had to. I would have only regretted anything if I had done nothing or failed. "I don't regret giving up my own life force to save them. Even if I had known, even if it meant I died tomorrow, I would have done it anyway. My friends are worth it. Aren’t yours? I wouldn't call myself a friend otherwise. "So before you think, oh she's an orphan, she belongs in an orphanage. Before you assume she needs therapy, do something first. Try putting yourself in her horseshoes. Try imagining what it must be like. You wouldn't last one day in my life. But I don't regret any of it. It's made me who I am. If that's wrong, then I'm wrong, but I wouldn't want it to have happened any other way." Scootaloo stood, panting. She had never spoken about her life before and she had half growled half shouted her speech. Tears were rolling down her cheeks, but she was too angry to care. Twilight was staring at her, trying to absorb what she had just heard. The pad and quill had long since fallen from her hooves. "I... I had no idea..." Twilight said shamefully. "Just... please don't tell. Please," Scootaloo begged, her vision obscured by tears. "I don't want to go back. I want to stay in Ponyville, with Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom." "I Pinkie Promise that what you said won't leave this room," Twilight said. "Can I go see Rainbow Dash and Apple Bloom now?" Scootaloo asked after she had finally calmed down. "Uh, yeah," Twilight said. She was still trying to process the filly's words. "I'll call off the search for your parents." Her horn flashed, and Scootaloo's collar fell away. The filly walked to the door gratefully, and turned. "You're a nice pony Twilight. I'm glad you're not me. A nice pony shouldn't have to go through that kind of stuff," Scootaloo said before leaving. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - "Princess?" Twilight asked, entering the throne room. "Hello there, Twilight," the Princess greeted. "I'm ready to learn combat magic," Twilight said. "I thought you didn't want to hurt anypony. What changed your mind?" "I realized I didn't want to see my friends hurt more than I didn't want to hurt somepony." "Seems like you learned something important," Princess Celestia said knowingly. "Were you able to help Scootaloo get over what happened?" "She didn't need it. But I did," Twilight admitted. "I thought as much. Shall we begin?" Princess Celestia asked.         “Actually, before that, I had a question.”         “Ask away. You know I’ve never refused to answer any of your questions, nor do I ever see myself doing so.”         “Well, while we were there, we met a dragon called Glare. He was a lot like Spike, only older, and more grown up. He seemed surprised that Spike didn’t know there were other dragons like him, and he mentioned something called the messenger dragon corp.”         “Oh,” Princess Celestia said awkwardly. “I had intended to place him in the corps later.”         “By later you mean when he was old enough?”         “By older I mean after you wouldn’t need him anymore.”         “I don’t need him, I want him around, he’s like my brother!” Twilight stated. “Why does everypony seem to think I only use him to as a servant!”         “Well, I meant after you were, you know, no longer able to need him,” Princess Celestia said.         “Ohhhh,” Twilight said, finally catching on.         “There is a messenger dragon corp here in Canterlot, and most young dragons are put into it for training, but I held off on it in Spike’s case.”         “Because of me?”         “Well yes,” Princess Celestia replied. “Do you remember the test you took to get into the School for Gifted Unicorns?”         “Of course I remember the day I became your faithful student!”         “Well, you weren’t supposed to pass,” Princess Celestia said with a giggle.         “Huh?” Twilight said, confused.         “We do that test for every student. They’re supposed to just show their control of magic by injecting their magic into the egg to help hatch it. Messenger dragon eggs require pony magic to hatch. It’s one of the things that keeps our two species together and reliant on each other. It normally takes about an entire class to hatch one egg.         “When it does hatch, the baby is put into the corps until the class graduates. The dragon is then presented to the best performing student in the entire class to be their companion until death.”         “By I hatched it all by myself,” Twilight said.         “I felt you two were meant for each other, so I let you keep Spike, without sending him off for training. After all, he has plenty of time to learn more skills, and he knew what he needed to, to help you.”         “Would it be alright if he spent some time in the corps while you teach me combat magic?”         “That is for the two of you to decide. All messenger dragons are allowed in the corps.”         “Say, if this corps thing is for all dragons, do you know who his mom or dad is?” Twilight asked.         “No,” Princess Celestia said, shaking her head. “All eggs are taken from the parents as soon as they are laid, and put into the school system for classes to hatch.”         “That seems so mean,” Twilight stated, “they never meet their parents. How could you do that to them?”         “It was their idea,” Princess Celestia replied.         “Oh.”         “So, would you like to begin now, or do you have any more questions?”         “Can I just let Spike know where to go for the corps?” Twilight asked.         “I’ll have Nova let him know,” Princess Celestia said. She took out a scroll and wrote something on it. Then she levitated the scroll out through a side door. Twilight looked at her confused. “Nova’s my current messenger dragon.”         “Oh.”         “What, did you think I just magicked the letters into Spike?”         “Good point.”         "Most dragon are raised by the parents, just not the ones in the corps, though most not in the corp system are family dragons. The family of dragons serves a pony family forever. Like Nova, her mother, and her grandfather were both my messenger dragon as well,” Princess Celestia explained. “If you are ready, we can begin,” Princess Celestia said. “Now do not hesitate to strike me. You cannot seriously harm me.”         “What? Hit you?”         “Of course. An important part of combat magic is sparring, and you are far too strong to spar with anypony else but me or my sister.”         “I don’t know...” Twilight said nervously. She couldn’t seriously throw magic at royalty, could she?         “Go ahead Twilight. I promise you can’t hurt me.”         “Here goes,” Twilight said, mustering all her magic. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Scootaloo walked into the hospital wing that housed her friend and parent. Rainbow Dash was awake when she entered. The older pegasus put down the book she was reading. Her torso was wrapped in bandages, but she seemed fine. "Mom!" Scootaloo cheered. "Hey Scoots, I haven't seen you since I woke up. How are you?" Rainbow Dash greeted, ignoring what the filly had called her this time. "I told Twilight," Scootaloo said simply. "It was the only way I could get her to let me see you." "Well they had to find out sooner or later," Rainbow Dash sighed. "No, I told her about me. I didn't even say I was adopted," Scootaloo said, reassuring the older pony. "She kept going on about how I needed help to get over what happened. I don't." "I know, Squirt," Rainbow Dash said, ruffling the younger pony's mane. "I know you know," Scootaloo replied, smiling. She wasn't going to mention her abuse of her magic. "Has Apple Bloom woken up?" "Not yet," Rainbow Dash replied. Scootaloo trotted over to her friend. The poor filly had been in bad shape when she had been brought in, and looked in even worse shape now. Her chest was covered in bandages that were continually changed as blood stained them. She had hoses and tubes sticking in her everywhere. But she was alive, and she would get better. That's what the doctors had said. They said she was lucky to be alive at all. They didn't know the half of it. “Hey, Scootaloo! What are you doing here?” Scootaloo turned and saw Sweetie Belle walking in, carrying a book behind her with her magic. “Hey, Sweetie Belle. I got Twilight to let me go,” Scootaloo said simply. “What are you doing here?” “See this?” Sweetie Belle said, presenting the book. It was quite old and didn't seem to be made of paper at all. “When they brought our stuff here, this was in the basket.” “So what is it?” “It's a book of siren songs. The sirens must have sent it to Glare for me,” Sweetie Belle sang. “I found this song that promotes healing, so I've been coming here every day to sing to Apple Bloom, so she'll get better.” “That was pretty cool how you revived her,” Scootaloo said. “I still have no idea how I knew that song,” Sweetie Belle replied. She sat down by Apple Bloom's bed, and opened the book to the correct page. Scootaloo opened her mouth to say something, but stopped and waited. Then Sweetie Belle began her song. A fast paced, cheerful tune this time. As she sang, bits of light began appearing as before, but this time floated right into Apple Bloom. The earth pony developed a halo of light. When the song ended, the light faded into her. She moved a bit in her sleep, but did nothing else. “That was cool,” Rainbow Dash said from across the room. “Sweetie Belle,” Scootaloo said finally. “Yes?” “You beat us.” Sweetie Belle looked confused for a moment, then looked at her flank. On it was a mark. A golden emblem she had seen before. The mark of a siren. “I got my cutie mark!” She screamed. She and Scootaloo began jumping up and down excitedly. “I have to show Rarity!” she said after a few minutes of dancing and cheering. She hurried from the room, book in tow. Still smiling, Scootaloo returned to Apple Bloom's side. "Get better Apple Bloom. I have something I want to tell you two," Scootaloo whispered to her friend. She didn't know if she could hear her, but she didn't care. She was ready to tell them everything. Or mostly everything. “Hey, Scoots,” Rainbow Dash called. “Yeah?” Scootaloo replied, not taking her eyes off Apple Bloom. “I was wondering if, maybe you wanted to come with me the next time I go to Shattered Beak.” “Wow, really?” Scootaloo said, excited. “You never let me come before!” “I think you’re tough enough,” Rainbow Dash replied. “So, do you want to come?” “Of course!” Scootaloo exclaimed. “When do we go?” “Once I’m out of here,” Rainbow Dash said. “Which I hope is soon. It’s so boring in here.” “Yeah,” Scootaloo said. “I have to wait here for you and I don’t even get a bed!” “You have a key,” Rainbow Dash reminded her. “I know,” Scootaloo said, sitting down beside Rainbow Dash’s bed. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - “Greetings, Miss,” said a pony wrapped in a cloak. “Bonjour, madame,” the unicorn she was addressing replied, before switching to the strange pony's own tongue. She had been very nervous when the abnormally large mare had walked into her shop in the early morning with a gray griffon following her. “What brings you to my salon today?” “I heard you can do permanent hair dyeing. I have a great need of your services,” the pony said. “Oui. What kind of color are you looking for?” the manedresser asked. The cloaked pony removed her hood revealing a patchwork of orange and brown, with a few spots of blue. “I want the rest of my coat to match my horn,” the pony said. “Not a problem. You'll just need to remove your clothes.” The multi colored unicorn looked around. The store was empty. She waved a hoof. The griffon went outside and stood outside the door to deter any passersby from entering. Then she removed the cloak covering most of her body. “Bouche bée!” the manedresser cried. “Here are the bits for the dye job,” the unicorn- no alicorn before her said, placing a bag of money on the counter. “Plus some extra that say you never saw me.” “Oui, oui!” she said. “Come this way and Je shall match you right away.” “Excellent,” the alicorn said, following. She was led to what looked like a large standing shower with a mirror along one wall. The stylist began mixing paints and testing against her natural color until she was satisfied. Then she poured the paint into a spray bottle. “What color would vous like your mane?” she asked. The alicorn searched her mane for one of the few locks that still held her own color. “Like this,” she said, snatching some with magic, "with a highlight in the middle." The stylist went back to work and soon had two more bottles. “Close your eyes and let la magic begin.” she said. The alicorn did so. While the stylist pony sprayed the paint on her body, she went over recent events in her mind. Four months. It had taken four months. Four months since her life had changed so dramatically. Four months it had taken to travel from the laboratory all the way to Prance. It had been slow going. They had to avoid ponies at all costs. She knew Celestia would be looking for her. One did not get away with assaulting royalty. Because of this, they had to make wide detours and travel at night. Prance was on the far side of Equestria from where they started, but such a trek would have only taken two weeks by air normally. It had been hard traveling too. Trixie knew how to eat of the land. It was a skill she had honed as she traveled from town to town. When she couldn't find enough to eat, Greg shared what he could hunt. There was a time in her life when she would have refused such a meal, but that was a long time ago. Long before she met the professor. The manedresser worked diligently to cover her entire body in paint. Even every feather of her diminutive wings. When she was done, Trixie felt a wave of magic pour over her body, followed by torrents of water that washed the paint off. Then the stylist moved onto her mane. Trixie had plans. After she had her proper looks back, she would return to her old career. They would have to avoid Equestria, but there were plenty of other countries out there. Celestia would not risk war by invading another country just to get at her. Of that she could be certain. Her wings were mostly a waste. They were too small and weak to support her weight for more than a few seconds. She had tried ignoring them, but they bugged her until Greg taught her how to preen them. An activity that thoroughly disgusted her, but she could not deny how nice they felt afterwards. Occasionally she would catch them stretching without her realizing it, or she would find herself moving in a way she didn't intend. It was a constant reminder that two other ponies had gone into her new body. She had tried to reach them, even commanding them to speak, but they seemed mostly gone. Whatever the reason, she was glad she didn't have to share control with two other minds. She commanded her body, nopony else. The coloring must have been almost over. She could feel water running through her mane and tail now. Finally the stylist pony used a heat spell to dry her off nearly instantly. “Okay, open and see la beauty!” the stylist said. Trixie opened her eyes. She was staring back at herself. Her old self. She smiled broadly for the first time in months. “Oh, this is fantastic! Trixie feels like her old self again!” she cheered. “How permanent is this coloring?” she asked. If she had to return frequently, she wanted to know how often. “I said permanent, and I meant permanent. I use la magie to change your hair color on inside.” the stylist explained. “Even as your feathers fall out, new ones will be blue.” “Quite the magic trick there,” Trixie said, admiring herself some more. “Would you like manecut as well?” the manedresser asked. “No, this is all I needed. Thank you,” Trixie said, donning her cloak again. “Remember, I was never here.” “Oui,” the unicorn nodded, dumping the bits into the shop til. “No winged unicorns in my shop today or ever.” The now blue alicorn left the shop, escorted by the griffon. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ "Tia, I think I have it worked out." Luna announced. It had taken weeks, but she had finally deciphered the ancient carvings. "That is wonderful! What does it say? What is this place?" "That's just it. Even they didn't know. They found it much like we did," Luna answered. "It begins by saying who they were and how they found this place. It seems they did this because that is what the previous visitors had done." "So each of these sets of writing is just another group of ponies finding this place and writing they found it?" Tia asked. "It seems that way. I can't go back any farther, so what the initial writings were about we'll never know. But what they talk about is amazing. They said that here they found artifacts of immense power, and used it to banish a great evil. I don't know the name, it cannot be translated, but the last thing they said is they, like their predecessors, returned the artifacts here for when they would be needed again." "And the artifacts?" "They called them the Elements of Peace." "These stone things?" Tia said, pointing to the six stones they had left untouched on the pedestal. "It would seem so. This place is fascinating. All this history, lost because we simply cannot read it. Oh how I wish I could understand just a fraction. Imagine what we could learn from all the beings that have set hoof here, or rather whatever they have, here. Ponies seem to be only the most recent visitors." "But the artifacts? The elements? Does it say how to use them?" Tia asked, stepping over to the pedestal. "It did say each had a name, they translated roughly as, honor, giving, happiness, truth, gentleness, and power." "That sounds... a bit counter to 'peace'." "They were a bit hard to translate," Luna admitted, "I think there are better ways to define them. The group before us was made up of all alicorns. The elements reacted to them. They were very specific on which reacted to whom, but again, I can't translate names." "So what do we do?" Tia asked. "Let's get a look at them," Luna said. She picked one up in her hoof and examined it closely. It was a nearly perfect sphere with a stone rhombus carved into the surface. As she looked at it more, it slipped from her hoof and fell to the stone floor where it shattered. The two alicorns stared at each other, wide-eyed. "Did you just break an ancient artifact of great power?" Tia asked finally. "It shouldn't be possible!" Luna said, tapping the fragments with her hoof. Tia did as well. Suddenly the shards began glowing yellow and began hovering around the white alicorn. "I think I get it!" Luna declared. She began touching each of the stones in turn. Three reacted to the contact, and began floating around her as well, one pink, one blue, one red. "Maybe you should..." Luna prompted, and Tia touched the remaining stone orbs. The remaining two glowed green and purple, and began floating around the white alicorn. Suddenly, the speed of the orbs began to increase. Faster and faster the stones orbited the alicorn's getting closer and closer to their necks. "Luna..." Tia whined nervously. Then the balls hit them, and there was a bright flash of light. As their vision adjusted back to the normal glow of their horns they saw what had become of the Elements. "This is lovely!" Tia said, admiring the gold necklace upon her neck. Embedded in the front was a purple disk shaped gem with two crescent shaped gems on either side, one yellow, one green, that flared on the outside edge, creating a picture similar to her cutie mark. "Fascinating." was all Luna could say. Her necklace was pitch black, with a blue crescent moon shaped gem and two star shaped gems on either side, one red, the other pink. "So how do we know which is which?" Tia asked. "I'm not sure. Maybe each has unique properties or something." Luna replied. "And how do we use them?" "The writings didn't say." Luna replied. "So now we have the Elements of Peace..." Tia said. "Now we can defeat Discord." Luna said confidently. "NO!" Tia shouted. "You know it's far too dangerous to fight him. We'll only get ourselves killed!" "We're going to die either way! It might as well be for a worthy cause!" Luna shouted back. "It's still suicide!" "It says these things have vanquished great evil before. What if that evil was Discord?" Luna said. “The dates would place it when grandfather was killed, which fits with what we already know.” "Luna, we are not going to rush into Discord's palace and challenge him. We'll be dead before we can even figure out how to use these things." "So we'll learn first. We can defeat lesser evils. Then when we know how to use them, we can face him." "Luna, mom and dad died so we could be safe. Throwing our lives away on such a bad idea would be a mockery of their sacrifice." "Mom and dad died so Alicornia could have hope. And we found that hope right here." Luna replied. "We have a duty to keep all of pony kind safe." "And what good will it be when we die and the world stops. At least Discord keeps it turning." "I'm going to do my best to stop him, and if you won't come then so be it." Luna declared. With that, she turned and walked out of the chamber. "Wait. I'll come with you. If we die, we die together." Tia said following. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Second picture is courtesy of Google images.         If you like this story, you should check out some of my other works:         My tumblr, an alternate universe mixing MLP and Cyborg 009.         Forever a Changeling, my new story starring Rainbow Dash as a changeling.         Samurai Applejack, a drastically different kind of story. It’s rated mature for violence and some suggestive lines.         Night of the Werepony, what I consider to be my worst story, but it’s my most popular. It’s just one chapter long.