//------------------------------// // Chapter Eight - The Spell of Harmony // Story: The Evolution of Harmony // by Thornwing //------------------------------// The tree suddenly burst into flame. The ponies scrambled for cover. Twilight tried to keep a level head. “Pair up and grab a guard! Move them away from the tree!” They each grabbed hold either pushing or pulling and making two trips to bring the six guards clear of the ring of stone. Just as they all made it clear of the structure, the tree simply exploded. Shards of black wood flew in every direction, some pieces still coated in the sticky purple ooze. The ponies managed to stay clear of the main trajectory of the blast. Twilight managed to spot, out of the corner of her eye, an object expelled along with the main force of the blast from out the top of the stone structure. “Is everypony okay?” Twilight spun around making a frantic headcount. A random chorus of affirmations echoed in response. Each of the ponies got back on their hooves as they tried to regroup on the side of the grassy hilltop just a few yards away from the now smoldering ruins of the shrine. “Sweet Celestia!” Rarity declared. “That old tree nearly blew us to pieces.” “Best! Party! Cannon! Ever!” Pinkie Pie bounced up and down as she did a little dance around the pile of guard ponies now laying on the grass beside them. Rainbow Dash folded her front legs and gave a disapproving scowl. “I don’t think that was meant for a party, Pinkie. That explosion could’ve hurt somepony.” “I agree,” Applejack set her stance and wheeled around to catch sight of the smoldering ruins. “How in blazes do ya think that happened, Twi?” Twilight replied, “I have no idea, Applejack. The only tree that I’ve ever seen explode like that was the Golden Oak Library! It must have been some kind of powerful magic.” She spun her head and looked out over the surrounding forest scanning for any activity. “Maybe it was the Smooze—we need to find a better place to hide.” “Maybe it has something to do with that…” Fluttershy motioned with her head and pointed a hoof toward the sky. Twilight followed the indication locking in on a brownish-green pony flying through the air, making a beeline straight for them. A purple beam of magic light burst from its head bearing down on the group. Without even thinking, Twilight raised a protective shield around the entire bunch of ponies, absorbing the blast. “Take cover!” she yelled. Rainbow Dash took off into the sky. Rarity and Fluttershy raced, and half rolled, down the side of the hill toward the Shadow Forest tree line. Applejack dug in her back hoof and charged forward, narrowly avoiding a second blast as it scarred the ground just to the right of where she stood. Pinkie Pie continued to bounce around the pile of guard ponies that were now starting to show more signs of coming awake. Twilight took to the skies as well bringing her own horn’s magic to life. She flew toward their attacker and charged up her energy beam letting loose a powerful blast of her Alicorn magic. “Take…. THAT!” Twilight’s horn blazed white as the energy poured out toward the oncoming pony. The solid beam of light shot toward the target. When the beam made contact with its mark, the brownish pony fell back, dazed by the force of the blast. Twilight pulled up. “You will not hurt my friends, whoever you are!” The assailant, visibly impaired by the counterattack, gave out a fading half-groan, half-roar and fell backward spiraling toward the ground. Twilight could hear the distant sound of snapping limbs and a hard thud as the pony dropped through the tree canopy and connected with the ground. She turned back and swooped down toward the grassy hilltop. The rest of the team gathered their wits about them, shaking off the tension of both explosion and battle together, regrouping near the shrine. Rarity and Fluttershy gingerly made their way back up the hillside. Pinkie Pie stopped her dance and smiled back at her captive audience. Rarity stammered. “Is—is it gone?” “Sure looks like it,” Applejack replied. “That… was… so… awesome! Hooray, Twilight!” Rainbow Dash cheered and did a flip in mid-air. Twilight looped around and came in for a landing. “Is everypony alright? Was anypony hit?” “We’re right as chocolate rain!” Pinkie replied. “And look—in all the excitement, these guys finally woke up from their nap.” She stopped prancing around long enough to point a hoof in the direction of the guard ponies. The girls gathered together and converged on the six young stallions who had now risen from the ground. The disheveled guards were roughly shaking out their manes and adjusting their armor as the mares approached. What seemed to be the leader of the squad addressed them. “Tell us who you are and why you have broken the spell.” Another guard chimed in. “Answer quickly now! We don’t have much time!” Twilight’s friends held their ground as she, herself, took two steps forward. She replied with as much of a regal and authoritative voice as her young princess self could muster. “I am Princess Twilight Sparkle of Equestria, and these are my friends—Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash. Who, might I ask, are you?” The lead guard looked somewhat confused as he turned his head from side to side gathering the silent input of his companions. They all shared a somewhat puzzled look. He slowly bowed his front leg and dipped his head with the rest of them echoing the gesture. “A thousand pardons… Your Highness. We stand ready to serve at your command.” Twilight was taken aback. “Ehhh… That doesn’t answer my question. Could you please tell us who you ponies are and where you came from?” Twilight tried to remain calm, putting a certain air of princessiness in her question. She didn’t want these ponies to doubt her royal position, but it made her a bit uneasy addressing the military types. The first guard stood back up and replied, “We are the Royal Guard of King Brightwing of Equestria, and we stand ready to serve, Your Highness. Please forgive my rudeness. I did not see your wings and you wear no crown—I was not aware there were other Alicorns in Equestria.” Twilight reconsidered a search through her bags. It wouldn’t do much good to pull out her crown at this point. “That’s quite alright. My friends and I are just curious what all of this is about. Why is there a pony shrine in the middle of the Shadow Forest? Why were you all encased in stone?” The lead Pegasus guard stepped forward and saluted. “Your Highness, we set out from Canterlot on a mission with the King. That mission was to ascertain the origin of a particular disturbance in the western lands. Begging your pardon, Princess, but are you not familiar with our quest?” “Not to disappoint you and your friends here, but I’m sorry to tell you that according to our records, you all left Canterlot a little less than two thousand years ago.” Twilight scanned the faces of her friends behind her. They ranged from shocked to scared to downright dreamy-eyed. Once again, the guard pony bowed his head, this time more from dejection than in deference to the royal that stood before him. His compatriots mumbled incoherently to one another as they shook their heads in disbelief. The Pegasus guard raised up once more. “If what you say is true, then our mission would seem to have been a success. Although, it stands to reason that circumstances may have changed. When we arrived in this place, we discovered a horrible evil had been unleashed. A great battle was fought against this dark foe. We engaged the creature for many days and many nights. However, the fight did not go well for us and we were forced to fall back to this very hill in order to regroup for our ultimate defense. That… is when it happened.” “What exactly do you mean… I’m sorry… I don’t even know your names.” Twilight held a hoof to her chest, trying to be somewhat polite given the circumstances. “My apologies, Your Highness.” The Pegasus bowed before Twilight. Rising back up, he barked out his command. “Corps—sound off!” Each of the stallions stood tall and saluted in turn. “Sir Firemane.” “Sir Lighthoof.” “Sir Thunderhead.” “Sir Tincture.” “Sir Earthquake.” “Sir Rumble.” The last two gave out a bit of a snort as they pawed at the ground with their massive hooves. Rarity’s shied away, batting her lashes at Sir Firemane. “I appreciate the introduction, Mister Lighthoof, Sir. Still, what did you say happened…” Twilight drew back in shock covering her mouth with her hoof. She stared down the line checking off her mental list. Applejack approached and laid a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “What’s wrong, Twilight? You alright?” Twilight held out her hoof pointing at the line of stallion guards. “You’re… the Flutter Ponies! You defeated the Smooze!” Sir Thunderhead was quick to correct her. “Flutter Corps, Your Highness.” Twilight shook her head letting the pieces fall into place. “No wonder I’ve never heard of you before. Starswirl covered it all up!” Sir Rumble dropped his salute. “Covered what up, Princess? Our designation was bestowed by the Queen herself. The ‘U’ in Flutter stands for Queen Una.” He swung his massive hoof and beat it against his chest. “We are the Flutter Corps—sworn to protect the Royal House of Canterlot and defend the Kingdom of Equestria from all threats both foreign and domestic.” “That rascal!” Twilight stomped her hooves and danced around in a circle. “He hid the truth right under my nose. The story was altered and turned into a foals’ tale. How dare he change history!” Sir Lighthoof fell back in line with the others. “I’m not sure what you mean, Your Highness. What was changed?” “Never mind. It doesn’t matter now.” Twilight rolled her eyes and waved off the question focusing back in on the current issue. “You were saying something happened here? What was it?” Sir Lighthoof nodded his head. “It happened right here. King Brightwing ordered us to hold this ground as he wove his master spell. It was to be our final stand—the King carried the hope of all of Equestria on his shoulders. His Majesty stood at the top of the hill, just there where those ruins are now and began his incantation in defiance of the beast. “The enemy came upon us and we rallied to his side. We parried blow after blow as the spell grew and the King’s magic expanded all around us. Soon we were engulfed in a blazing ball of light. The next thing I recall is walking up here on this same hillside with all of you. Does that answer your question, Your Majesty?” “So, you’re saying you have no idea what happened next?” Rainbow Dash tossed her hooves in the air and spun around. Rarity gave her a look. “Hush, Rainbow. Don’t interrupt.” Sir Lighthoof continued, “On the contrary miss… err… Dash I believe it was… There is one more thing. As the King’s magic engulfed us all, I remember he called out the name of his beloved, Queen Una. However, as you say, that is the last I remember of that day, two millennia ago as it were. I am sorry, but it seems the memory of our battle beyond that moment is a bit cloudy. I am certain, however, that the King’s spell was successful and the creature was vanquished—how else would we be standing here with you now if it wasn’t? Come to think of it, have you seen the King?” “Yeah… About that.” Rainbow Dash spun around behind Twilight and nudged her forward. “You tell him, Twi.” The rest of them looked away or turned to face the ground. “Uhhh… that’s a definite, maybe,” Twilight hedged. “Could you give us a moment?” She turned and glared back at her friends. They shrugged as she shooed them back away from the guards so they could talk privately. The girls all huddled close together. Each had a puzzled yet curious look on her face. “Well, girls,” Twilight whispered, “what do you think? Was that pony we just fought really King Brightwing?” “Well, it did seem to be an Alicorn.” Rarity scowled as she examined her chipped hoof. “I’m not so sure about that,” Applejack countered. “If that was King Brightwing, why’d he attack us?” “That’s a very good question, Applejack.” Twilight quickly gauged the response of the others. “Perhaps we should hold off on mentioning that part to the guards just yet.” “Twilight, didn’t that old book say that the King was a white pony?” Fluttershy asked. “Wasn’t he supposed to have a golden mane and tail as well?” Twilight replied, “Double right, Fluttershy. The picture that I studied in Starswirl’s book showed King Brightwing and Queen Una just before their transformation. The King was definitely white with a golden mane and tail. I don’t think we can readily assume that pony was the King.” “Maybe he just had some of that ooey-gooey ooze stuck to his coat?” Pinkie reasoned. “That tree sure didn’t like that awful mess. It turned all its leaves yellow and brown—like the color of chocolate… hmmm… sweet, sweet chocolate…” “Pinkie!” Twilight scolded, still using her whisper voice. “This is no time to be thinking about chocolate… But you do have a point. Maybe that ooze has something to do with this. Let’s ask the guards about that.” Twilight and company broke their huddle and came back over toward the six stallions. Stretching and yawning and trying to work out the soreness of having been encased in stone for nearly two millennia, they remained roughly where she had left them. Twilight posed her question. “Sir Lighthoof, there used to be a tree in that shrine over there. It recently exploded, but before it did, we saw it was covered in a purplish goo. Do you have any idea what that could mean?” Twilight pointed toward the shrine as she levitated a piece of the former tree’s bark off the ground, still dripping with the ooze. With a look of shock mixed with fear, Sir Lighthoof exclaimed, “It can’t be! We must take action now! Which way did the King go?” Twilight paused and glanced back at her friends before she continued on. “We just encountered a pony that may have resembled King Brightwing. Shortly after the tall black tree in the shrine over there burst into flames and exploded, he was knocked into the woods. I think he may be wounded. It didn’t seem like he matched the description we have of the King, though. Would the purple sappy sludge on the tree be a cause for concern?” Sir Lighthoof stomped at the ground. “That bile is what remains of the horrid creature. If it has infected the King, we may all be in grave danger. We must seek him out immediately and give whatever aid we can muster.” “Wait a second,” Rainbow Dash cut in. “Are you saying that goo made the King go all nuts? I think we deserve to know what ooof—hey, quit it.” She caught a short jab in the side from Rarity’s hoof. “That’s enough Rainbow. Please do try and be polite with the nice stallions. Tee, hee, hee.” Rarity giggled under her breath remaining engaged in trying to force eye contact with Sir Firemane. “My apologies, Princess,” Sir Lighthoof replied. “It seems the Spell of Harmony has been broken. The creature must be free again. We should seek out the King immediately—I fear it may already be too late.” “Hold up there,” Applejack cut in. “If the King’s in danger, doesn’t that mean we’re all in danger?” “Yes, milady. If the King has been infected by the creature, then I fear we may already be too late. We must find him with all possible haste.” Lighthoof stared at the girls and waited for a response. “So let me get this straight,” Applejack began. “Purple goo monster.” “Yes.” “King casts a spell and turns into a tree.” “Yes.” “Y’all spend two thousand years as Hearth’s Warmin’ decorations.” “I guess...” “Goo infects tree.” “It seems.” “Spell’s broken.” “I believe so.” “King’s in trouble.” “Most certainly.” “I guess that about sums it up,” Applejack concluded. Twilight looked up. “What did you mean by, Spell of Harmony?” Sir Lighthoof shook his head. “I don’t believe I understand your question, Your Highness. Spell of Harmony was all the King mentioned when he spoke of it. He said it would take all of us together in order for it to work. I trust that since we six are no longer permanent fixtures of that shrine, and the tree you speak of, which clearly manifested in the mark of the King himself, no longer stands—I can assume that the Spell of Harmony no longer holds the creature at bay.” “Well that certainly clears things up,” Fluttershy said. “Can we hurry home now and tell the Princess what we found? I really don’t like it out here.” “No, Fluttershy,” Twilight gently replied. “We need to see this through. We need to find King Brightwing and do what we can to help him.” “Excuse me, Miss Fluttershy.” Sir Tincture interrupted. “You speak of another Princess—are there more Alicorns where you come from?” “Oh, not a whole lot.” Fluttershy shied away. ”There’s just Princess Celestia and Princess Luna—oh, and Princess Cadance too.” Sir Lighthoof hopped back on the conversation train. “The Royal Foals are alive?” “Well, duh.” Rainbow Dash flapped her wings dismissively. “They’re Alicorns. They’re like, immortal. Celestia raises the sun, and Luna takes care of the moon.” “How interesting.” Sir Firemane ran his hoof through his mane, much to Rarity’s delight. “I had no idea such control could be managed by a single Alicorn. The High Wizard Council always handled the movement of celestial bodies with three or more mages at a time.” “Maybe we’re getting a little off track here.” Twilight turned around and indicated to the group the direction they needed to go in order to find the fallen pony. “I saw the King fall from the sky in the woods about two hundred yards in.” She started to walk toward the tree line. The knights tried to follow, but took only a few steps before the first collapsed to the ground. Fluttershy pulled out her cloth and set about tending to the fallen stallion. Sir Lighthoof seemed to be near collapse himself. “Princess Twilight, I fear our group is not able to sustain travel at present. I fear our time spent encased in stone has weakened us significantly. The effects of our interment should wear off in time, but we cannot wait any longer. I must ask that you and your friends go on without us and seek out the King. My deepest apologies, Your Highness. Please leave us, and we will tend to ourselves. You must press on without our added burden.” Twilight nodded and turned to her friends. “Looks like we’re on our own, girls. Let’s head out.” She turned back to Sir Lighthoof. “Take care of yourselves. We’ll find the King and bring him back here.” Lighthoof gripped his flank and bowed his head as the girls turned and trotted off into the forest in search of the fallen King.