After a few more minutes of discussion, we had a game plan: follow the Medallion's lead, find the pony that we needed, and bring them back to Ponyville—rinse and repeat until we had all seven. Simple enough, right?
In my mind, I wasn't so sure. I was already thinking up various ways of telling them ‘Hey, we need you to come with us, Equestria needs your help, you’re one of Seven Deadly Sin ponies connected to a magical Medallion that only you can activate.’ But who would believe that? Even to me, there and then, it sounded like something that would happen in a children's book. I just hoped that our search would be easier than I anticipated it being.
As I returned to the Library, I expected to be once again greeted by Spike. But this time he was on the ground curled up, asleep; apparently all the searching had tired him out. He stirred in his sleep when I gave his stomach a gentle nudge.
"Spike! Wake up! I need you!" I said, conscious that I’d just decided to involve him.
Spike's eyes fluttered open and stared up at me. I gave an excited smile.
"Did you find it?" I joked. Spike looked like he wanted to die in a hole a few moments later, so I didn't ask him anymore about it. “Anyway,” I continued, “I need you to take a letter to Celestia for me, please."
Spike uncharacteristically groaned, his sleepiness obviously clouding his inner judgment. With a loud yawn, he reluctantly took the piece of paper and quill that I levitated over from the nearby bench and looked at me expectantly.
"Dear Princess Celestia…” I began, “I have located the Medallion of Seven Sins, and my friends and I have gone to find the seven ponies that we believe are required to activate its dormant power. We will endeavor to be back before the Changeli—" I cut myself off, remembering that no one was really supposed to know about that, not even Spike "—change of events... occur—with these ponies—in approximately seven days."
Spike stopped writing. “What? Change of—”
“I’ll explain later, Spike,” I said with a shake of my head. I continued, "I apologize for not getting you this letter sooner, as I was rounding up the necessary supplies. I hope you understand. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle."
I glanced at Spike dramatically. "Did you get all that?"
"Yep." With a sigh, Spike blew a green fire out of his mouth, causing the piece of paper to instantly disappear.
"Good!"
"So, you're going on a trip?" Spike asked, hopping up on my back.
"Yes, Spike. And it's an important, highly confidential mission that nopony needs to know about. Understand?"
Spike let out a sad sigh before hopping off my back.
"Well, that's fair." He crossed his arms. "I'm almost always stuck here, looking after the Library. It's so boring!"
He pouted. Despite his obvious disappointment, all I could think was that it just looked absolutely adorable; I could see why Rarity always called him cute. While my heart ached for him, I knew I couldn't risk putting him in danger.
"Spike, you can't. I don't mean to make you feel excluded, but this is a job for the Elements of Harmony," I told him.
A playful grin suddenly appeared on his face. "Oh, I see, Twilight!” He spoke very slowly, as if he was mocking me. “I think it's just that you're just a teeny tiny bit jealous over my recent feat with the Crystal Kingdom?" He was so smug that even he couldn't help but stifle a laugh at himself. I simply rolled my eyes.
"You wish!"
He closed his eyes and waved me away playfully. "No no, it's fine, Twilight! Go and have your adventure! I would only hog all the spotlight anyway." He couldn't contain himself and exploded into a fit of uproarious laughter
I considered a rebuttal, but I decided to let him have the last laugh as I went up to my room to gather all of my things. His laughter rang out through the entire Library, and even the town for that matter.
***
It didn't take me long to pack my things: some cleaning utensils, a brush, a few books, and of course, the Medallion. As far as I knew—with the possible exception of Rarity—nopony had been further than either Canterlot, Cloudsdale, or Manehattan on more than one occasion, so I also grabbed three maps of Equestria. There was simply no real way of knowing exactly where our travels would take us.
We had all agreed to meet up at the Library by three that afternoon. Alas, the one bad thing about being so well-organised was waiting for everypony else to get ready. Still, I decided that could use the time to memorise some of the more minor locations in Equestria. Ponyville was a small place by Equestrian standards, but there were others that could make it look like an Equestrian capitol by comparison.
While I waited, I finally got a response from Princess Celestia, after Spike had burped it up. It was a good thing the Princess was so understanding:
Dear Twilight Sparkle,
I cannot tell you how pleased I am that you have found the Medallion of Seven Sins. How you came to possess it is sure to make a remarkable tale, for I thought it lost centuries ago, however I will not inquire further about that matter right now. What does matter is that you have it and are already willing to begin searching for those who can unlock its power. I am so proud of you, Twilight; proud that you are willing to shoulder such an enormous responsibility without question. I wish you the best of luck, for the search will not be easy, and time is of the essence. But if there is anypony who can complete this task, it is most definitely you. I have every confidence that you and your friends will be successful.
I believe in you, Twilight Sparkle.
Love, Princess Celestia
PS: I knew you were eavesdropping. Oh, and Odysseus says thanks for the cupcakes.
As Spike read along with me, he burst into a loud, obnoxious laugh at the last part.
"Busted!" he snorted after a few seconds, still trying to suppress his lingering chuckles.
I planted my hoof on his face and gently pushed him away. Wow, Spike has a serious case of the giggles today. How have his lungs not exploded? Did Pinkie force-feed him a bag of sugar masquerading as a muffin?
Rainbow Dash was the first one to show, in her usual way of course; why use the front door when there was a perfectly good window to burst through? She skidded with her momentum and came to a stop after hitting one of the Library’s shelves, spilling books everywhere..
"I'm here!" she shouted, appearing from under the pile of botanical books, her saddlebag wrapped around her in an uncomfortable-looking way. "And I can't breathe..."
She wheezed as her face turned an even paler blue than usual. I tugged her out of the paper avalanche and watched as she took many deep breaths of air. When she had calmed herself down, she looked at the mess she had just made and rubbed the back of her neck, smiling.
"Eheh… sorry..."
I gave a mockingly exasperated sigh, rolled my eyes, and glared at her. "Why can't you use the door like most ponies?"
Apparently, what I had just said sparked something inside of her, and she puffed up her chest. "That's because I'm not like most ponies!"
“Well, unfortunately, my books are like most other books—meaning they can be damaged, Rainbow Dash. You have to be more careful!” I lectured her. Yet as I moved to begin cleaning up the pile, an idea took root.
I abandoned the pile, smiled, and faced Rainbow again. “But you not being like other ponies… well, if you say so."
As I winked at her, Rainbow punched me. I knew she didn't mean to do it that hard, but she did hit the sensitive part of my shoulder.
"And what is that supposed to mean?"
"I think it means that you can be insanely full of yourself sometimes, Dash," I joked, rubbing my shoulder. My short chuckle died in my throat as Dash gave me the most painful stare I had ever witnessed. I immediately waved my hooves back and forth. "I'm kidding! I'm kidding!"
Rainbow Dash frowned for one more second before giving me her own satisfactory grin.
“You are just too easy, Twilight Sparkle,” she said. With that, she flapped away and took a seat at the table, which she immediately started drumming her hooves on.
Rarity and Fluttershy arrived together soon after. I was shocked that Rarity didn't actually bring an entire suitcase with her, but they did both bring saddlebags. I was pleased to find that Rarity had made us each—and brought with her—bags of our own; she had stitched a different patch representing our respective cutie marks on each bag.
"Hello, all!" Rarity announced, placing her saddlebag on the floor. "I brought healthy snacks!" She extracted a few snack bars from her bag and floated them gleefully to Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow took them and pulled a face as she read the names on the packaging. “Ew. ‘Nougat Swirl...’ ‘Pumpernickel Paradise...’ ‘Avocado-and-Raisin Bran’?” She faked a dry heave.
"Dash, you must know that they are good for you!" Rarity said. “These energy bars will prove most invaluable if our supplies start to run low.”
At that moment, Applejack appeared behind Rarity and grabbed the bar that said ‘Apple-Pear-Berry Blitz’. She unwrapped it, tore a large chunk from it with her teeth, and let out a moan of delight.
"Dash, yer missin' out!" she said, the half-chewed bar still in her mouth. Crumbs and pieces of apple fell from her mouth to the floor as she spoke. I glanced around at Fluttershy, who simply sat quietly at the table with a small pouch of her own.
"Well, it seems like everypony's… hold on." I looked around. "Where's Pinkie Pie?"
Everypony looked around and shrugged. At that moment, I heard a rustle of papers behind me; the remnants of the book avalanche were moving. Right where Rainbow Dash had come to a crashing halt minutes earlier, a pink, puffy mane appeared from within the pile.
"Hi, guys! Rainbow, you’re so silly! You sat on me! But it's okay because you’re my friend, and your tushie is soft and felt nice! Hehehehe!" She snorted with laughter, while Rainbow took a few awkward steps away from the pink mare.
"Okay..."
Well, now I know who Rainbow is not partnering with, I thought.
"Everypony, if you would listen to me now, please!”
With all eyes on me—and when Pinkie’s laughter finally subsided—I took a deep breath. “Okay. First things first: I just want to thank you all, from the bottom of my heart, for once again dropping everything and agreeing to help me locate these ‘Sin Ponies.’ It really does mean the world to me—and, well, to the world too I suppose.”
I paused to let them all offer some variation of a “No biggie” or an “Of course, darling,” before I continued.
“Secondly: our journey has the potential to take us anywhere in Equestria. This includes the major cities in every corner, from Manehattan to Las Pegasus or Tall Tale… but you must understand that these ponies could be literally anywhere, even in the smallest towns, possibly living wild.” I stopped to pull up the three maps I had procured. “As such, I have prepared a map for each group, as I don’t expect you all to know Equestria like the back of your hooves.”
Two of the three maps rose off the table and floated, enveloped in purple, towards Rarity and Applejack. They each grasped one and studied it briefly while I kept the third one for myself.
“Thirdly: I hope you have all packed adequately for the trip?” I turned to Fluttershy, on my left.
"I packed flashlights, matches, extra food and water... probably everything that we would need," she purred.
I expected that of Fluttershy. Looking after her critters all day would surely have given her a great sense of self-preservation. While not as out there as Rainbow or Applejack, I knew she spent most of her time outdoors regardless. She could be a very good choice of partner in a basic survival situation, I thought.
"Good to hear! Applejack?"
When everypony had rattled off the contents of their saddlebags, I breathed a sigh of relief.
I lifted up the Medallion with a studious frown upon my face. All eyes fell upon it, flitting back and forth between it and me. I could practically see the unasked question on each of their lips: will the spell work?
"Take your time, dearie," Rarity said. “We don’t want you to hurt yourself.”
With a nod, I narrowed my eyes and focused all my energy on the medallion. I had to get it just right the first time. The spell was more complex than even the wing-growth spell I used on Rarity had been; if I failed, it would be some time before I could recharge and try again. Power flowed from every ley line in my body towards my horn, where it culminated, ready and waiting. The pressure in my horn was immense, like I was trying to use it to manually lift a boulder. I fought the inevitable migraine and concentrated on casting the spell.
With a loud yell, I released my pent-up energy into the Medallion and promptly flew back off my chair in a puff of purple smoke. After a few seconds, I stood, shook my head, and rubbed my aching horn. With my mind relaxing, I looked back at the table where the Medallion—
"Yes!"
I stared in disbelief at the three similar medallions in front of me. The mission was most definitely a go!
"Yee-haw!" Applejack cheered, immediately picking up the artifact nearest her. When she touched the jewel, it didn't turn a dark green like when I had; instead, it turned into a dark, bloody red.
Applejack curiously held it up in front of her. At first nothing happened, but when she turned around and held up the jewel, it began to react. A quiet beeping noise was heard, and the jewel pulsed with a dim flash of light.
"So, it is a tracking device?" I pondered out loud. I turned to my right. “Rarity, try touching yours and see what happens.”
My theory was correct. Rarity picked up the other Medallion, eying up the gorgeous jewel before actually touching it. When she did, it lit up a light green color. Unlike Applejack’s Medallion, the jewel did nothing else, regardless of where Rarity pointed it.
“Hmmm. Nothing,” she said, a little disappointment lacing her voice. “Oh well.” She made to slip it over her neck.
“Rarity, don’t!” I cried with a hoof outstretched. “It’s too—”
“Ah, doesn’t it go just swimmingly with my coat?” Rarity said as she gazed at the giant golden disc.
“—heavy…” I tilted my head. “Huh. Perhaps when I cloned it, the Medallion’s mass got distributed between the three of them… it makes sense, I guess. Somehow.”
"I think yours’ tellin' us we're too far away, Rares," Applejack suggested, putting a hoof to her chin and lifting her brow.
"Then how do we know which way to go?" Rarity whined. Using her magic, she lifted it up as high as she could until the medallion was close to touching the ceiling. She twisted it around in all directions to no avail.
“Well, do they have some kinda settings or something as to which pony we can find?” Rainbow asked. “I don't want to go and find out were all looking for the same one.” She poked Applejack's Medallion.
“I don't think so.” I shook my head. “I think it depends on the pony who touches it. Remember earlier? When I touched the jewel, it turned bright orange. But when Applejack touched it, it turned red. I think... each color represents a different attribute, maybe.”
"Oh Oh Oh!" Pinkie Pie flung up her leg to point at the ceiling. "What if it turns rainbow?"
"Then we're going to have a few problems, Pinkie," Rainbow Dash deadpanned.
"In the meantime—” everypony eyed Rarity “—Fluttershy and I will be traveling together. We have already discussed it beforehand." She smiled at Fluttershy, who smiled back from behind her pink mane.
When I turned around, I saw Rainbow Dash and Applejack high-hoofing each other. As soon as I saw it, I knew those two together had to be a no-brainer.
That just leaves—
"Twilight!" Pinkie screamed as she tackled me to the floor, standing over me with those big cyan eyes of hers. "Looks like we get to be partners! Yay! We can talk and share secrets and sing songs! Oh it'll be so fun!" She bounced off of me, which allowed me to I sit up and rub the back of my head where it had forcefully hit the ground.
"Y’all good to go?" Applejack asked as most of us slipped back on our custom-made saddlebags.
My sides hurt...
Everypony nodded and cheered. Most of the group looked totally psyched to get going.
"Then let's get going!"