//------------------------------// // Chapter Fifteen – Intermission // Story: The Scion of Harmony // by Thornwing //------------------------------// “Congratulations, Scion. You have made it to the halfway point.” Aeon boomed out his welcome as the walls of the temple shook in response. “A full day ahead of schedule, no less.” His legs trembled, but they held for the moment. Twilight gathered up her thoughts and turned away from the pool. “I didn’t know there was a deadline other than your life for completing the Trials. What do you mean by, I’m a day ahead of schedule? Are you planning your own funeral?” Aeon faltered as he tried to adjust his footing. Falling backwards, he caught himself leaning into a supporting temple pillar. “My body is failing.” He coughed up another puff of smoke mixed with a bit of fire and weakly waved his other arm. “I must conserve my strength—perhaps my servant can enlighten you.” He slumped back to the ground and slowly closed most of his eyes. Twilight swung around to the waiting Starswirl. “So, what else am I missing here?” Her words echoed in the rotunda. Starswirl shook his head. “Perhaps we should take a little break and discuss this over dinner.” He dropped the saddle bags that he had been waiting eagerly to present and turned to lead the way to the other end of the room. “Follow me.” Twilight didn’t hesitate and quickly followed his lead. In the far corner of the room, a little table covered in all sorts of colorful fruits and vegetables awaited their arrival. Twilight’s stomach turned in a knot as she recalled that her own body hadn’t eaten in what must have been almost two days. With her own body preserved in and by the magic of the pool, it hardly felt like she had gone that long without eating. The need for rest snuck up and hit her like a sack of bricks as well—the rush of being engaged in the Trials quickly falling away left her with only the dregs of what stamina remained from her whirlwind tours. Starswirl drew up a chair and offered it to Twilight. “Have a seat, enjoy a bite to eat, and allow me to fill in the rest of the tale.” Twilight sat down and passed over the nearby apples to pick up a heartier vegetable root that in no way resembled what she had spent all day harvesting. There was only one pony that could handle that many apples, and she was glad to be out of her body. Sitting to the side, Starswirl began with a sigh. “My dear Twilight, so much rests on your shoulders that I had hoped to alleviate what I could from your burden of knowledge. You play a pivotal role in holding together the fabric of our world.” Twilight tried to focus on his words while at the same time fighting to relieve her hunger. The crunching sound of her teeth snapping and grinding away on her meal undermined the weightiness of the conversation. Starswirl shook his head and smiled. “Now it comes to this. The Scion of Harmony sits at interlude before making ready for the final events to unfold.” Twilight looked up between bites. “What do you mean? All I wanted to know what was up with this schedule you keep referring to.” Starswirl crossed his legs and rocked back in his chair. “A millennia of careful planning and execution is what it comes down to. Call it fate; call it destiny. Your Trials have been planned and your journey has awaited you far longer than you have been alive. It all comes down to this—one last shot to save all the magic in the universe.” Twilight swallowed and nodded her head. “Yes, I get that my destiny is somehow written into all of this, but what’s with the deadline? Aeon is dying, but he’s been that way for a really long time by the looks of it.” The scone above the table flickered and cast a soft glow upon the dining partners. Twilight paused long enough to finally take note of what Starswirl had said. “Wait—did you say ‘ALL the magic in the universe?’” “I’ll get back to that.” Starswirl shifted in his chair. “There are actually three deadlines, princess. All must align for the process to be a success. The first depends on how long Aeon can maintain himself in his ancient, yet ultimately, mortal form. Immortality is such a poor term for describing relative lifespan. All living things eventually die so they can be reborn. I digress. The second has to do with the Elements themselves. In their current form, the Element’s powers can only survive for a limited time. The Pool of Harmony allows their energies a place to rest, but they cannot maintain their power in that state forever. A Guardian must emerge and take hold of the Elements in order for their energies to remain intact.” Swallowing another bite, Twilight reached over to grab another bunch of berries. “Is that what happened when Aeon destroyed the crystal orb and why the Elements keep migrating to the crystal star that replaced it as I pass through the Trials?” Looking over at the crystal emblem, three spheres of light beamed from within and added to the overall brightness of the otherwise dim space. “It is.” Starswirl nodded. “When the master freed the Elements to begin your Trial, he severed his own link with them. Under normal circumstances, should the Scion fail the Trials, he would return the Elements to his own care. Not to cause you any further worry, but in his current condition, I fear that won’t be possible. The only way to save the Elements now is by moving forward.” Twilight clapped a hoof to her forehead. “So, if I fail, not only does magic fade from existence, but the Elements of Harmony get destroyed as well?” “I’m kind of speculating here, since it hasn’t ever happened, but that’s what I believe. It is worth noting that I have no idea what will become you or your friends if that should occur, but let’s plan on never having to find out, shall we?” Starswirl nonchalantly reached over to the table and grabbed an apple. Twilight about choked on the radish she was in the middle of chewing. “So I could end up killing my friends too?” She spat out the chewed up bits with her retort. “I never said that.” Starswirl shined up his apple and took a bite. The juice dripped down his chin and ran the length of his beard. “This day just keeps getting better and better.” Twilight sank her head in her hooves. She raised a leg and peeked out to ask a follow up. “So what’s the third deadline then?” “That’s the easy one.” Starswirl took another bite and dropped his chair back to the ground. “As I said before, everything has been carefully calculated to bring us to this very moment. The timing had to be precise, otherwise the transfer of power would not be possible. The exact moment when the Mantle of the Master can be exchanged only passes twice a year—during aequus lux.” Twilight blurted out her reply. “The equinox?” It seemed more a statement than a question, but she asked it anyway. “Right you are. Aequus lux, or aequus nox as Luna would refer to it, comes but twice a year. The timing of the event must coincide with the Trials—the culmination of the Scion’s achievement must match with the vernal or autumnal equinox. Only on these two days is the planet in the proper balance between night and day where the Mantle can change owners and remain in alignment with the Harmony of the universe. Lord Aeon gave you a full week to complete the Trials.” “That’s…” Twilight struggled to do the math in her head, “less than five days away.” “Then it’s a good thing you’re already a day ahead of schedule—right?” Starswirl finished off his apple and went for a second. “You can take all night to relax and we can start up the back half of the Trials in the morning—how does that sound?” Twilight stared back wondering at Starswirl’s complacency. Her own focus grew dim as her body stressed the need for rest. “But can’t Princess Celestia or Princess Luna make any day of the year into an equinox? They raise and lower the sun and the moon, don’t they?” Starswirl chuckled while spitting out small bits of apple core and seeds. “Such a smart girl you are, Twilight.” He reached out and grabbed an orange and another apple from the table. Juggling them in the air one after the other he demonstrated the process. “Celestia and Luna control our sun and our moon, but we must adhere to the laws governing these celestial bodies or else there would be chaos.” He let both fruits fall to the ground leaving a small spray of juice to issue from the broken skin and rind. “What do you think would happen to the seasons, or the tides, if they didn’t follow the set order of things? Chaos! We can’t have a transfer of Harmony under such chaotic conditions—the whole planet could be turned inside out.” “All right, but why does it have to be now? Why not next Spring?” Twilight grabbed a pitcher of water and poured herself a glass. “That goes back to the first deadline.” Starswirl pointed back toward the resting form of the Master. “He puts up a good front, but he’s nearing the end and probably wouldn’t last that long. He waited as long as he could to give you the best possible shot you could have. It all comes down to time, and we’re running short of it.” Twilight finished her drink and stared back at the ancient Guardian. “I didn’t even know any of this existed until a week ago. Who would have guessed that everything would come to this?” A yawn caught her in its mighty pull. “For as much as we plan and prepare, in the end, we have to trust in the Elements.” Starswirl picked up another apple that he had been eying. “We have to trust in you.” He pointed toward the crystal star as it spun above the Pool of Harmony. “We have to trust that in less than five days from now, you will stand right there, in the center of the Temple of Harmony, having successfully completed the Trials. We must be sure you will be set where the equator of this world aligns with the sun at the height of the autumnal equinox bearing directly toward the heart of the universe and the cradle of Harmony itself. At that moment, after being bathed with the blessing of the Elements of Harmony, the Mantle of the Master will fall to you. That is your destiny, and I trust you will fulfill every bit of it.” Twilight took a lazy bite of one of the fruits she had never seen before. She spat out the outer husk before peeling back the rest and took another bite of the sweet tasting center. Swallowing it down and getting her fill of dinner, she finally surrendered to her exhaustion. “I don’t know if I understood all of what you just said, so I think I better find someplace to bed down for the night.” Starswirl gave her a toothy smile dotted with fresh pieces of apple. “Sounds like a plan. Let’s get you some rest and we can proceed with the Trials bright and early tomorrow morning.” He came over and helped Twilight up. She fought hard to keep her eyelids open as he guided her to a padded bench with an overstuffed pillow back against the wall. Twilight curled up and swung her tail up against her body. Closing her eyes, she ceased her fight to stay awake. Starswirl rolled his foreleg down her mane. “Sweet dreams, princess.” He hummed a soft tune as Twilight slipped away gently. The night passed rather quickly, but Twilight soaked up a partial renewal of body and spirit in the span of those hours. She made a point of grabbing a quick bite to eat before leaving her secluded corner of the temple—a little something to help tide her over in case she didn’t get back to a meal in the next day or two. Rumbling around in her thoughts all night had been a singular question—if she was only half way through the Trials, and only had two friend based elements left to tackle, what could possibly be waiting when she got to number six? She didn’t dare ask for fear of adding to her already stressful task. Her focus needed to be on the next Trial and nothing else for now. “Good morning.” Starswirl kept his voice down as he waved from up near the pool. With the saddle bags at the ready, he awaited Twilight’s arrival. Aeon’s body rose and fell only slightly with each long and labored breath near the pillars behind him. The Master’s eyes remained mostly closed and the few that were open didn’t seem to be focusing on anything in particular. Twilight approached and readied herself for another day of full friend immersion. Starswirl tipped out one of the bags and dumped a few items on the ground. He smiled and it caught Twilight’s attention in an odd way. “I thought we’d start today off with a bit of fun. I hear your friend has quite the reputation when it comes to throwing parties.” With the choice of either Rainbow Dash or Pinkie Pie, Twilight couldn’t think of any particular reason to pick one or the other. “It’s always time for a party with Pinkie.” She reached down and gathered in a roll of glitter covered streamer paper and a colorful assortment of balloons. “I guess I’ll try my best to help lift everyone’s spirits as Ponyville’s resident super party planner.” She looked over her shoulder at the sleeping form of the Master and then turned back to Starswirl. “Any last words of advice?” Starswirl stroked his beard and thought for a moment. “Have fun!” He stifled a giggle but rained it in as Twilight gave him a look. Rolling his eyes, he delivered a more poignant thought, “You must understand that laughter isn’t always the best medicine. There is a time for fun and games, and a time tempering those desires. Find the right balance and you’ll be well on your way to your next Trial.” “Wish me luck then—I think I’m going to need it.” Twilight scooped up the party supplies and lined up with the pool. With a bit of a running jump, she leaped forward and splashed down without the accompanying splash. The world around her went dark as her fourth Trial began. Twilight opened her eyes. A pair of beady black dots and a pointy snout stared straight back at her. Pausing for a moment before freaking out, she realized that Pinkie’s pet, Gummy, was saying hello. “Happy birthday, Gummy.” She scooped up the little birthday boy and set him down on the floor while she took in the rest of Pinkie’s bedroom on the upper floor of Sugarcube Corner. The place was a mess. Party planning looked like it had reluctantly taken a back seat to eating and sleeping as all around her lay half-finished banners and other assorted party paraphernalia—not to mention the half eaten cupcakes and unfinished slice of apple pie. Twilight got out of bed and peeled back a portion of the sheet that had found itself glued to her backside. She walked over to a full length fun house style mirror and adjusted the tilt so she could get a better look at herself. Staring back at her was her own Twilight princess reflection which looked nothing like her current form when she stared straight down at her torso and past the poofy-pink-puff of mane that sat right on the edge of her vision. It felt incredibly odd, but she was able to move the mane out of the way just by thinking about it. Looking down lower, she found a partially completed party announcement stuck to her back hoof. Twilight sat back and read what it said. Turning back to Gummy, she called out, “I guess I won’t be able to deliver this one.” She tossed back the card that was addressed to her princess self. The invitation marked the party for later that afternoon, so she still had time to put everything together and try to pull it off. Gummy waddled over to the mirror and Twilight glanced down at him. “Let’s get you something to eat and then I can figure out what I’m going to do about your party.” She picked up the tiny caiman and tossed him on her back. Leaving the mess behind, she walked out the door, down the stairs, and into the sweet-smelling Cake kitchen. “Good morning, Pinkie.” Missus Cake was ready with her morning greeting. “Two for breakfast, as usual?” The twin Cake foals looked up from their breakfast momentarily before diving right back in where they left off. Food was flying off their trays—only some of it was making its way to their mouths. “Yes, ma’am. Gotta feed the birthday boy something other than cake today.” Twilight lifted Gummy off her back and set him in a specialized highchair attached to the end of the counter. Missus Cake opened the refrigerator and called back over her shoulder. “Would some assorted fruit bites be okay, or would you prefer something else?” “That’ll be great for Gummy.” Twilight sat down and felt her somewhat empty belly. Apparently her breakfast from earlier didn’t translate to her current form. “I’ll just have a bowl of oatmeal though if that’s all right.” Missus Cake’s head popped up a bit as she pulled back from the fridge with a bowl of fruit cocktail. “Aren’t you going to have your usual breakfast cupcake, Pinkie?” Judging by the look of shock, Twilight figured oatmeal wasn’t one of Pinkie’s staple breakfast foods. Trying to gracefully recover, she replied, “I’m not feeling all that great today—I think I should just stick with the basics.” With a smooth recovery, she not only covered her tracks for now, but set up the perfect alibi for later should Pinkie mysteriously come down with full blown case of rainbow flu. Missus Cake grabbed another empty bowl after setting the fruit down on the counter. “Not a problem then. I hope you aren’t coming down with that awful rainbow flu.” Twilight gulped. “H-How do you know about that?” “Oh don’t be silly dear, the whole town knows about it. It’s dominating the local gossip—why just this morning I heard that poor Applejack had come down with it as well. They say it’s getting worse.” “Who said that? How is it getting worse?” Twilight probed for details. Missus Cake tossed some oats in the empty bowl and set a kettle on the stove to boil. “Just a bit ago, Rainbow Dash came by looking for smelling salts. She seemed like she was in a hurry and just took off with what I gave her.” “On second thought, I think I’ll skip breakfast.” Twilight tossed a few pieces of fruit over on Gummy’s tray and got down from her counter seat. “Can you take care of Gummy for a bit while I go and check on Applejack at Sweet Apple Acres?” “Why certainly, Pinkie.” Still carrying a smile, Missus Cake took the kettle off the stove. “While you’re there, do you think you could pick up a bushel of apples? I could use as many as you can carry to make some fresh apple tarts for the store.” “No problem—I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Twilight hopped to the back door and was out and running in no time. She took off, zipping toward the Apple’s farm. In less time than she figured it would take, she was standing on the front porch of the Apple homestead. I’m not sure how she does it, but I’ll take it. Twilight knocked on the door but walked right on through seeing as it was already open. She followed the only sounds she could hear up the stairs and down the hallway to Applejack’s bedroom. The scene that greeted her was oddly reminiscent of the hospital with Rarity as well as the bedroom back at Fluttershy’s cottage. There were a few exceptions, however. “You should be in the hospital, and not out and about spreading your disease.” Granny Smith gave a bit of a tongue lashing to Rarity. “But I feel perfectly fine and wanted to see if I could help.” Rarity bit her lip and shied away in the corner. “We need to put the entire town under quarantine. If this gets out in the wild, who knows how bad it’ll get.” Rainbow Dash worked to close the windows and draw the curtains. Princess Celestia stood near the head of the bed on the far side of the room examining Applejack. “Could you tell me, once again, what happened?” Apple Bloom stretched over the top of her sister and replied to the princess. “Applejack said she was gonna get the rainbow flu and that I wasn’t supposed to worry. All I had to do was tell you what happened and everything would be okay. That’s what she said, and my sister never tells a lie.” The filly choked back her tears. “W-Why won’t she wake up?” Celestia signaled to Big Mac to take Apple Bloom somewhere else. “Thank you dear. We’ll do our best to help her.” The big brother stallion scooped up his little sister, gently easing her away from Applejack. The filly sobbed but didn’t resist too much as he carted her off to her own bedroom. Taking the opportunity of the open spot, Twilight sidled up next to the bed. With an understanding nod to the princess and the return given, she reached over to hold Applejack’s hoof. A little spark bounced between them. The sleeping mare rustled and showed some initial signs of waking. With the rest of the room occupied, Twilight was the first to greet her. “Good morning, Applejack.” Rainbow Dash was quick to react and spun back around to the foot of the bed. “What did you do, Pinkie? We’ve tried everything to wake her up.” Trying to think of something Pinkie would say in a situation like this, Twilight went with the most nonsensical thing she could think of. “Well duh, you obviously didn’t try saying good morning. It’s really the only way to greet the day and raise a tired, sleepy head.” Rainbow Dash let the craziness slide and started digging into Twilight. “Speaking of sleepy heads, I thought you might be down for the count as well this morning, Pinkie.” Rainbow Dash broke away and paced the floor talking mainly to herself as Rarity and Granny Smith forgot their quarrel and came up to greet the waking patient. “How long was I out?” Applejack looked around at all her gathered friends and family. “Aren’t we missing Fluttershy?” Celestia stepped up to handle the questions. “Fluttershy is at her home being taken care of by her parents, and from what we can tell, you’ve been out of commission since late last night.” Applejack sat up straight and rubbed at her eyes. “I can’t remember nothin’ since going out to harvest in the morning.” She shook her head and tapped her temple possibly hoping to jar a memory free. “That’s another symptom of the, uhh, rainbow flu, dear. I lost track of an entire morning myself.” Rarity stood back and tossed her rainbow-fied mane. “The other is the so far permanent rainbow markings.” Applejack looked down at her legs and brought her mane around in front of her face where she could see the red color streaks. “Well I’ll be rainbow-fied. This has got to be the strangest flu I’ve ever had. I feel perfectly fine, but even that seems wrong.” “That’s great!” Twilight tried to infuse some fun into the mix. “We’ll have everypony happy and ready to party down with Gummy this afternoon.” “Call off the party, Pinkie.” Rainbow Dash continued to pace the floor. “If we don’t figure out what’s going on, the entire town could be drowning in rainbows before we know it—and I don’t mean that in a good way.” Twilight turned to Rainbow. Through a forced smile she added, “But we need this party, Rainbow Dash.” Rainbow Dash stopped pacing and stomped her forehoof to the ground. “No more parties until we find Twilight and figure out how to fix this rainbow flu epidemic.” “Philomenia will be so disappointed to hear that. She flew all the way from Canterlot just to be part of Gummy’s party.” Celestia’s angle was a good one and Twilight could see where she was going. Building off her lead, Twilight continued, “I’m sure we can take one little afternoon and celebrate Gummy’s birthday—Tank must be looking forward to it as well, right?” Twilight tried to turn things back on Rainbow in a way she couldn’t say no. The party had to go on—where else was she going to prove her worth with the Element of Laughter? Rainbow Dash sat back on her haunches and folded her forelegs across her chest. “Fine. Just this one party. But if anypony else comes down with rainbow flu, we’re shutting it all down.” “Hooray.” Twilight gritted her teeth and raised her hooves in the air in a mock cheer. Looking over at Celestia, she could see that she wasn’t the only one trying to fake a smile. “Let’s plan on getting together around three o’clock this afternoon at the castle then.” Celestia walked away from the bed and made her way toward the door. “Make sure and bring your pet friends.” With a stretching of her neck she signaled for Twilight to follow as she walked out the door. Twilight swung back to Applejack. “Good to see you’re awake, but I better get back to work—these parties don’t plan themselves you know.” She gave Applejack a clumsy hug and hurried out to meet up with Celestia. On her way out the door, she could have sworn that Rainbow Dash was watching her very closely. Quickly descending the stairs, Twilight came to a sudden halt before the princess in the main room. Celestia tucked her head in close and whispered in her ear, “I hope you’ve got a plan. Luna sent a message this morning wondering when I would be back in Canterlot, and the whole town is on the verge of panic over this supposed rainbow flu epidemic. Some ponies are scared, and some want to get rainbow-fied themselves. I’m not sure we can keep this up much longer.” Twilight whispered back, “You don’t have to worry about that. We’ve only got a couple days before this whole thing either gets sorted out, or it all blows up in our faces.” “Don’t tell me—it’s all going to culminate with the equinox, isn’t it?” Celestia brought a hoof to her head and rubbed her temple. “I’ve got foreign dignitaries visiting to witness the event in Canterlot. I hoped this would all be over before then.” Before Twilight could respond, the sound of hooves coming down the stairs interrupted their conversation. Twilight quickly switched gears. “I guess I’ll see you at the party then, Princess.” “I can’t wait.” Celestia smiled back through gritted teeth and whispered, “Good luck.” Before Big Mac hit the landing, she turned and trotted out the door. Twilight hung back suddenly remembering her Cake assignment. “Big Mac,” she asked turning to the stallion, “would it be okay if I picked up a bushel of apples for Missus Cake?” Big Mac thought for a moment before nodding. “Eeeyup.”