//------------------------------// // Chapter Seventeen – Primary Colors // Story: The Scion of Harmony // by Thornwing //------------------------------// “Wake up, princess.” Starswirl gently rocked Twilight from her dreams of the void. The night had crept by slowly. The last thing Twilight could remember was the ethereal glow of the Elements as they serviced the claims of her previous Trial far into the early hours of the morning. Twilight woke with a start. “What time is it?” Sunlight didn’t register in the enclosed space of the Temple of Harmony, but she knew that she had overslept the sunrise. “Don’t worry. You still have seventy-two hours until the culmination of the equinox.” The ancient stallion’s smile beamed brightly in the flickering light from the sconce above. Across the way, Twilight detected the light blue glow of the Element of Laughter which had risen to the crystal container. The red glow of Loyalty beat out a pulse in rhythm with her heartbeat in the pool below. “The Elements have made their choice and your fifth Trial awaits.” Twilight jumped up from the uncomfortable seat that was unfortunately becoming her live in bed. She trotted over to the pool and took in the vision the Element of Laughter afforded. In the waters of the basin, she could make out a room among many in the castle. Rarity sat knitting next to the bed where Pinkie Pie slept peacefully into the late morning nearing judging by the length of the illumination from the sun barely reaching through the window. Twilight wondered why nopony else was by her side. “I need to get back now.” Twilight called over to Starswirl who had gone to fetch her bags. “Am I clear to go?” Most of the night she spent wondering how badly she had messed up her Trial. It was no laughing matter given the conditions she departed under. The soft blue throb from above boosted her spirits some. While not ready to burst out into song and dance, she at least felt a bit better. “You just need your foci and then you’re all set.” Starswirl trotted up with the saddle bags draped over his side. Twilight reached in and pulled out the copter blade once more. “Remember this, Twilight—Loyalty can be a tricky Element to master. You must earn a pony’s trust and reciprocate. Without a foundation built on mutual trust, there is no hope for Loyalty to endure.” “Thanks for all your help. I couldn’t do this without you.” Twilight reached over and gave Starswirl a hug. “Wish me luck.” She drew back and spread her wings. Clutching the broken blade, she lifted off and flew over the pool. Without fighting the pull, she dove into the water and the swirling darkness that awaited her arrival. The ground approached. The rush of air across her wings signaled a rapid descent. Why is she flying? Twilight fought to right herself and get her wild flapping back in rhythm. Opening full and cupping the current, she broke from freefall and leveled out. Not far below, the sight of the Filly River stretched out toward Baltimare. Sorry, Rainbow Dash. We’ll have to take a little detour. Twilight circled around and rose up to soaring altitude. The flight back to Ponyville would take a few hours normally and she meant to cut that time in half. In the body of the fastest flier in Equestria, it was certainly possible. Gripping the air currents and pulling hard with every flap of her wings, her Pegasus magic enveloped her and she shot off toward home. When the castle peaks crested over the last hill coming into the outer reaches of town, Twilight made her descent. It was only an hour or two past noon and she had made excellent time. Her wings were sore, but nothing could stop her from reaching her friends. She swooped around to the throne room balcony and came in for a landing. With the fear of transformation in flight behind her, she vowed to stay grounded until she completed her Trial. The door was closed and with her shaking hooves she fought with the catch on the handle to unbar her way inside. Her hoofsteps echoed as she cantered past the thrones to the hallway beyond. Darting past the open doors, she caught sight of Spike as he crossed into a room near the far end of the hall. Quickly, she followed. Entering into the small room, she found herself in minimal company—the same from the vision. “Welcome back, Rainbow Dash,” Rarity sneered. “I thought you’d be half-way to nowhere by now.” She scoffed at her entrance and laid a fresh cloth across Pinkie’s brow. “Did you find Twilight yet or did you just give up on flying solo?” Spike held up a bowl of water while he attended the matter paying little attention to the new arrival. “I changed my mind. This is where I need to be.” Twilight hurried over to the far side of the bed and laid her hooves over Pinkie’s. Another little spark exchanged a jolt of magic energy, and Pinkie stirred. “What did you do?” Rarity pulled back nearly tripping over Spike. “That was magic—I’m sure of it.” She took up a defensive stance pulling Spike back behind her. “Who are you and what have you done with Rainbow Dash?” Rarity’s horn glowed in flickering light as she bravely stood her ground. Twilight raised her hooves in the air. “Wait, I can explain.” Pinkie Pie blinked and turned her head from side to side taking in the view all around. “I came back to help.” “I know what you came back for. Keep your hooves off my friend, you monster!” Rarity strained to bring her magic up to full power. The magic beam spell she worked to conjure fizzled and never materialized. Twilight dropped back from the bed and swung around to the near side. “Spike. Make sure Pinkie is okay. I need to talk to Rarity—alone.” Rarity pushed Spike even further behind her. “I won’t let you touch a single scale on his precious little head! Get out of here before I unleash my… my magic!” Her threat was empty; her magic irrelevant at the moment. Realizing her bluff had been called, Rarity grabbed her knitting needles and swung them haphazardly in the most threatening manner she could muster. The tiny rods swished through the air as her knitting project went flying. Twilight approached cautiously. “You have to trust me, Rarity. I’ll tell you what I can, but we need to talk in private.” “Whatever you have to say, you can say it in front of all of us.” Rarity pivoted to keep herself between the bed and her perceived Rainbow imposter. Her threat lost credibility with each swish of her impromptu miniature swords. Twilight had to think of something fast. The situation demanded an explanation, one that she wasn’t prepared to divulge. She had to tell the truth, but that might be going too far for the Trials. Barely overcoming the last one didn’t help to provide confidence she could afford another slip up. She made up her mind—her friends needed to know something. “I figured it out!” “Stop talking in riddles, demon. We aren’t falling for your lies, whoever you are.” Rarity jostled for position. Her horn laid low, ready to strike with or without magic at the slightest provocation. “Cut it out, Rarity. It’s me, Rainbow Dash.” Twilight sat back and raised her hooves in the air. “I figured out the problem with the rainbow flu—that’s why I came back.” Pinkie Pie raised her hoof in the air wanting the teacher to call on her. “I could guess, but could somepony please explain what’s going on?” Rarity didn’t budge. “If that’s true, then tell me something only Rainbow Dash would know.” Twilight shook her head. “What kind of test is that? If I were some kind of demon, I would know everything that’s inside my head anyway.” “Point taken.” Rarity straightened up. “So tell me what you discovered about the rainbow flu, Rainbow Dash.” She dropped the knitting needles into her basket and plopped herself down on the bed. “That’s it? Aren’t you going to try and quiz me some more?” Twilight couldn’t believe how quickly Rarity had just let the whole thing go. “Why should I, you’re obviously Rainbow Dash. Nopony else would be so stubborn as to try and make sense of my simple question. Now, tell us what you know.” Rarity crossed her back legs and fell over on her side keeping her head propped up under a foreleg. Twilight shook her head. Even having been recently joined together, she had no idea what could possibly be going on in Rarity’s brain. She wasn’t going to waste any more time thinking about it either. “It’s pretty simple, but we need to get everypony back together. Where did they all go?” “Hello, what’s going on?” Pinkie Pie stretched her foreleg further into the air before catching sight of the balloons floating from the headboard. Forgetting her question, she turned away to bat her hooves at them. “Right after you left, the whole party fell apart.” Rarity reached back and pulled on a balloon string to bring it down into Pinkie’s range. “Applejack? Fluttershy? Princess Celestia? They all left?” Twilight began to pace. “Why would they all leave?” Spike poked out his head from where he’d been stuffed behind the headboard. “Why would it matter? You seemed to think it was okay to abandon your friend when she needed you most. Even Celestia told you to stay here with her. So much for the Element of Loyalty.” Twilight straightened up and defended the actions of Rainbow Dash. “I went to find Twilight, but came back to help when I realized what was going on.” The pieces of the puzzle didn’t quite seem to fit. Rainbow Dash hadn’t been gone for more than the morning and the party finished up the night before. Twilight pondered the question of what her current host had done with the time in the interim. “We found the note you left this morning. By the sound of it, you must have spent the entire night going back and forth on the idea of leaving or not.” Rarity sat back in her chair and pulled up a scrap of paper from the bedside table. Spike jumped out of the way as she went. “Seriously though, what made you come back?” “Because I needed to do my part in helping Pinkie Pie. I needed to absorb the magic of the rainbow flu.” Twilight approached the bedside. “I’m pretty sure I need to help you too, Rarity.” “You’re not making any sense, dear.” Rarity stared back unflinching. “Just tell me what you did to help Pinkie Pie.” Twilight pulled her tail around and flopped it on the bed. “The rainbow flu is magic. It’s just how it works. It only affects Element bearers and it jumps from one to the next. I have it now.” Twilight pointed out each color in her rainbow tail and hopped her hoof from one section to the next. “I took the magic from Pinkie, Pinkie took it from Applejack, Applejack took it from Fluttershy, and Fluttershy took it from you. The magic needed somewhere to go, otherwise you’d all still be in a coma.” “That’s a wonderful idea in concept, but there’s a flaw in your logic.” Rarity drew up a hoof and examined the polish. “I was already awake by the time Fluttershy arrived in Ponyville.” “That’s what I mean.” Twilight drew up next to Rarity. “I need to help you too.” She quickly reached out and touched Rarity’s horn. A single spark jumped across. Rarity pulled back in shock. “How dare you touch my horn without asking permission.” She felt the tip and it started to glow. Leaning over, she tipped her head and the bowl of water levitated off the ground and then came back to rest. “I-I have my magic back. H-How did you know?” Twilight sat back and folded her forelegs. “How did I know your magic wasn’t working, or how did I know that I could help get it going again?” “Both,” Rarity stammered. “Kind of a lucky guess.” Twilight grinned. “I figured your horn absorbed most of the magic and that’s why you haven’t been using it lately. All the others needed a direct shock to wake them up since they don’t have those cool Unicorn horns to take care of that kind of thing.” “But what happens now? When each of us were all infected there was somepony else to pass it to.” Rarity pointed at Twilight. “You’re infected now, but you don’t have a horn. Who’s going to help wake you up?” “Guess I’ll have to trust that I’m too awesome for the rainbow flu to knock me out.” Twilight sighed. “Either that, or we better hope Twilight makes it back soon to help fix all this.” The idea for what would happen next was one she hadn’t considered. If she did pass this Trial, how would she be able to help Rainbow Dash from half-way across the globe? Shaking the thought from her head, she leaned over to Pinkie Pie. “By the way, happy birthday, Pinkie.” “What?” Pinkie Pie sprang from her bed popping the balloon she was holding. “I missed Gummy’s party?” “No, Pinkie. You didn’t miss the party. It was actually pretty fun. I’m sure Gummy had the time of his life.” Spike chimed in above the panic. “You probably forgot because of the rainbow flu.” “But… Wait… Is it my birthday now? Where is everypony?” Pinkie slumped down and looked like she was about to cry. “Don’t they want to come to my party?” Spike went down his mental checklist to bring her up to speed on the whereabouts of the rest of the gang. “Celestia had to return to Canterlot, Applejack needed to finish the harvest—she said she’d be back this afternoon—and Fluttershy had to wrangle all her animals plus help her parents load their things so they could get back to Cloudsdale.” Rarity stretched out her foreleg to pat Pinkie’s head. “And then there’s us, dear—we’re here to celebrate with you.” “That’s not right. Let’s go get Applejack and Fluttershy and have a real party.” Twilight stretched out her wings before she remembered that flying wasn’t something she wanted to be doing. Checking herself, she figured some precautions were in order. “Umm, Rarity? Could I ask a favor now that you have your magic back?” “Certainly, darling. What can I do for you?” The purple glow from Rarity’s horn sprang to life as she tossed the water dish in the air reveling in the return of her abilities. “Could you bind my wings so I can’t fly?” Twilight folded her wings back in tight to her sides. “I don’t know how long I have before the flu hits, and I don’t want to go all rainbow coma hundreds of feet in the air.” Rarity recoiled somewhat at the request. “That’s—a good idea.” She set down the water bowl and concentrated on a different sort of magic. “Hold still a moment. I’m a little rusty, but I think I can handle a simple binding spell.” Her horn sparked and carried a beam toward Twilight’s wings. The feathers wilted and lumped together in an immovable mass. “Ahhhh! That’s good.” Twilight hopped back as the heat became too much. The smell of burnt feathers seeped through the room. “Sorry.” Rarity pulled back and put a hoof over her nose. “I did mention that I was a bit rusty. In any case, I don’t think you’ll be flying anytime soon.” The standard blue hue looked a little black around the edges of Twilight’s primaries. “It’ll work.” Twilight glanced out the window before turning back toward the door. “I’ll go get the others. You guys stay here and set up for the party.” In a flash, she was charging down the hall. The others watched her go without protest. “Fluttershy, are you there?” Twilight knocked on the door of the cottage. Fluttershy’s big bear friend barely raised an eyebrow in response to the noise. From within, the chatter of animals muffled the sound of pony hooves coming to welcome another guest. The handle turned and the door pulled inward. “Hello, Rainbow Dash.” Fluttershy smiled stiffly and stepped to the side presenting her already full house. “Please come in.” The scene behind her bordered on total chaos. Frazzled to the point of splitting, she looked ready to fall apart. Twilight stepped back after seeing the circus inside. Most of the animals she recognized from earlier, but there were significantly more that she didn’t. Three in particular that she did recognize sat in the corner together but apart from the rest—Gummy, Angel and Tank. None of them looked particularly happy to be there. “Sorry Fluttershy, I just came by to tell you that Pinkie’s awake and we’re having a party for her up at the castle.” “That’s wonderful.” Fluttershy maintained her smile and automatically began petting a badger that had crawled up alongside her. She didn’t even flinch when a pair of geese flew in her window and crash landed on her couch. Angel flew into a tirade finally losing his cool. Hopping over and waving a frying pan, he chased the fowl back out the window. Fluttershy was miserable and Twilight could see it. All her animal friends wanted so badly to show their love and affection, and she didn’t have the heart to turn them away. Twilight resolved to stage an intervention. “Fluttershy, you’re coming with me to the party. Let’s grab Tank and Gummy and get out of here.” She rushed past and quickly scooped up the pets. With a bit of a nudge, she had Fluttershy out the door a moment later. Twilight tossed Gummy on her back and led the way over the stream before turning down the path toward Sweet Apple Acres. Tank’s flying apparatus clicked into gear as he floated along behind. Barely free of the house and just past the bridge on the open road, Fluttershy collapsed. “I can’t do it anymore.” She sunk to the ground and covered her head in her forelegs. “It’s just too much.” Twilight stopped and spun back to assist. “What’s wrong, Fluttershy?” She reached out to comfort her friend. “How can I help?” “Twilight, my parents, rainbow flu, my animal friends—I don’t even have a present for Pinkie Pie’s birthday party.” The tears came fast for Fluttershy. All Twilight could do was wrap a leg around her friend’s neck and pull her in tight for a hug. “Just let it all out. I’m here for you.” Gummy curled up on Twilight’s back and Tank landed and nuzzled up close to Fluttershy’s side. They remained that way for a few tear-soaked minutes. Fluttershy had a good cry, and Twilight did her best to provide the shoulder to cry on. The emotional toll of the past week bore heavily on them both. While in their state of despair and comfort giving, none other than Applejack happened to gallop up the lane. Twilight raised her head with the sound of approaching hoofbeats. “Applejack!” She waved and called out to the approaching pony. “What’s in tarnation happened to y’all?” Applejack pulled up and came over to check on the pair. With Fluttershy in tears and Twilight’s wings singed and fused together, it was quite the sight to behold. Twilight smiled reassuringly. “I’ll fill you in on the way to the castle. We’ve got a party to get to.” “Did you find Twilight?” Applejack asked expectantly while helping to haul up a weepy Fluttershy. “Not yet, but Pinkie’s awake and we need to throw her a birthday party.” Twilight helped lift the other side while keeping steady for Gummy and allowing Tank some room to propeller into the air again. Fluttershy sniffled but came up easily. “I thought you weren’t doing parties until we found Twilight.” Applejack pulled back Fluttershy’s matted and tear soaked mane from her face. The rainbow streaks in her hair drew together in a glob of mixed colors. Twilight brushed off Fluttershy’s dusty coat and patted out a few misaligned rainbow feathers in her wing. “We’re making an exception for Pinkie since I just woke her up and got Rarity her magic working again.” “Say what?” Applejack’s confused look made it clear that the story needed to start from the beginning. “I just want to go to bed.” The tired and drained, tear-soaked and dusty Fluttershy dropped her head. Twilight’s smile brightened considerably as a brilliant idea popped into her head. “That settles it then. We’ll have a slumber party at the castle and I can bring you both up to speed on the way there.” She patted Fluttershy on the shoulder and motioned her on ahead. Fluttershy looked up. “Can we leave my animal friends here this time?” A small smile crept up the corners of her mouth. “Other than Tank and Gummy, I think we can manage that.” Twilight giggled and joined Fluttershy in another reassuring hug. Applejack looked on, still a bit confused. “Are you feelin’ okay, Rainbow Dash? You’re acting a might strange and your wings look like they’ve been bar-b-queued.” “I’ll be doing much better once we’re all back at the castle.” Twilight shook out her true rainbow mane. “As for the wings, you’re just going to have to trust me on that one. I had Rarity bind them—It’s for my own good.” Applejack shook her head. The red and pink streaks of color in her mane made her a pretty close match to Rainbow Dash in terms of color. “Maybe I don’t want to know, but at this point, I could use a bit of good news. Just start at the beginning and give it to me straight.” “I’ll do my best.” Twilight turned her head to address the turtle. “Tank, lead the way. We’ve got a party to get to.” “This place has like thirty bedrooms. You don’t all have to sleep on the floor in the throne room.” Spike grumbled as he lugged a pile of pillows and blankets down the hall. “The whole point of a sleepover is to sleep together, Spike.” Twilight hauled along a few more pillows on top of a makeshift sleigh of bedsheets. The cloth slid easily over the polished crystal floor toward the throne room. “You’re welcome to join us if you want.” “I better not. It sounds like a pretty hard-core mare thing.” Spike pulled up outside the throne room doors. “I have a reputation as a gentle-dragon to uphold after all.” He dropped off his load and turned to head back the way he came. “Suit yourself.” Twilight pushed on through the doorway lugging her sheets in tow. The others greeted her in subdued welcome. Rarity sat brushing out Fluttershy’s mane. Applejack tended to the bedding setup. Pinkie was busy hanging the recycled decorations from the day before—her chair looked rather festive even considering the lack of overall theming in the decor. Gummy and Tank curled up between the seats on their own pile of blankets together. Seeing all of her friends displaying the bright colored markings of their rainbow power forms gave Twilight some encouragement. She was nearing the end of her engagement and everything should be resolved properly if she could stick to the course and finish strong. Becoming Rainbow Dash helped remove the only major obstacle she faced in all her previous Trials. Without somepony constantly scrutinizing her every move, she was able to focus more on the task at hoof. A quick detour to her royal quarters upstairs netted the present she had been planning to give Pinkie on her birthday. Removing the tag saying ‘From Twilight,’ she presented the sturdy book of jokes as having come from Rainbow Dash instead. The present backfired a bit when it became evident that no pony else had the forethought to bring a gift to the last minute slumber birthday party. A few warm hugs and well wishes later, all thoughts of presents were forgotten and they got down to discussing recent events. Pinkie, being the center of attention, looked around at the others. “Thank you all for coming. I really appreciate you being here.” Her smile from the fleeting moment of birthday enjoyment quickly faded. “I just wish Twilight was here as well. It would be the best birthday present ever to have her back safe and sound.” She walked over towards Twilight’s seat and bowed her head. The group moved in and huddled close together facing the empty chair. Twilight bowed her head as well and fought the urge to come out with the truth. The idea of disclosing to her friends the plight of the world and the part she had to play in deciding the future of magic was near torture considering the grief hiding it had caused. Still, she had come so far and she still wasn’t sure if letting it out now would derail the final Trials. When it was all over, she would be free to fill them in. “It can’t be!” Rarity’s voice struck a chord. She turned and faced Twilight and then looked back toward the starburst throne. “What in Celestia’s name…” She drew back from the group and stumbled over a throw pillow. Falling to the ground, she quickly drew back up and covered her mouth as she stared straight ahead. “What’s the matter, Rarity? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Applejack hopped over the blanket pile to assist. Fluttershy drew back with a nervous look. Pinkie Pie just looked more confused. Twilight wasn’t sure what to do—Rarity was blubbering and pointing in her general direction. She turned back to look at the empty throne they were all staring at a moment ago. In the fuzzy reflection of the crystalline high back, she discovered what had set Rarity off. Her own image met her gaze—not the light blue mixed with rainbow styling of her friend, but her own familiar purple coat complete with Alicorn horn and wings. She spun around. “Rarity, I can explain.”