I suddenly found myself falling, just after stepping onto the bridge Twilight had raised. I would've been proud I didn’t scream, but, truthfully, I was too scared to. I jammed my eyes shut, not wanting to see the ground rushing up to meet me. I was certain that the next moment would see my personal rebellion against Him to come to a sudden stop.
After what felt to have been hours, though it was only minute, I did stop. I felt like I was floating, painlessly. ‘…. Is this what being dead feels like?”
“You’re not dead! Open your eyes, Cheerilee, you’re okay.”
With that, I could feel myself starting to rise. When I was able to finally open one of my eyes, I could see the walls of the chasm descending past me. I looked down, expecting to see the bloody, broken remains of my body smeared against the rocks below. Instead, I could see the edges of a pair of lavender, misty wings extending from the side of my body, where a pegasus’s normally would be attached.
It still took me a moment to come to grips with the fact I was still alive. “What did you do to me?” I asked as we cleared the cliff edge.
“….I’m not too sure. I knew I needed to catch you, and I started to push up against your body.”
“A-and the wings?”
“An unnecessary side effect? I’m pretty sure it’s still a part of me….”
Twilight flew us over to the foggy side of the chasm, “landing” a safe distance from the edge. The “wings” dissolved off of me and rejoined Twilight as she left my body. “See, side effect” She sounded happily relieved at that thought.
“…..You had no idea, did you?”
“…. No, I didn’t.” Twilight’s edges started to rapidly undulate, what could be seen as nervous fidgeting in a normal pony. “You have to understand, I- I only….”
“You only…. What, Twilight?”
Twilight started to block her thoughts from me. The undulations slowed, so it was obvious she was thinking. Eventually, she opened her thoughts to me “I only… Just woke up… A few days before you met me. That’s why I needed the history lesson, to see what had changed.” She turned a tendril back to me. “But, you must understand. I need to keep much more about me a secret, lest you, and that information, fall into Tirek’s hands.”
I looked around with a sigh, “Fine. Now, where is this ruin you spent so much time talking about?”
*^*
“Heh, just follow me” I turned and lead Cheerilee into the mist. Since I knew where I needed to go, I flew just fast enough to stay ahead of Cheerilee. After a little while, I passed over the first step to the castle. If I didn’t know what to look for, I would’ve flown right over it. The fog hadn’t lifted at all since we had landed. I didn’t realise it, but I had started to fly faster as I moved through the castle. Now, if I remember correctly, I need to stop…..
“Here.”
Cheerilee fell to a sliding stop next to me. She lay on the floor, trying to catch her breath. “You can –gasp- move pretty –gasp- fast when –pant- you want to! Just let me…” Her words trailed off as she focus on regaining her breath. After a minute or so, she sat up, still breathing heavily. “So, are we at the ruins?”
“Better: we've actually have been in the castle for a little while now.” I turned to look at her. “But here is where we need to be.”
“Oh. Well, that’s good.” Cheerilee slumped forward again, “Discord, she just took off on me! I really need to get back in shape if we need to keep running everywhere.”
Did she just swear by Discord? I thought to myself. Just how much has changed?
“So, what is it we’re here for……?” just as Cheerilee asked that, the fog started to lift, the new sights causing her to trail off as she stared about with wonder. We found ourselves in a large hallway. Tattered tapestries hung from the walls between crumbling columns. Sections of the ceiling had caved in, exposing the faded carpet to over a thousand years of weathering. When the moonlight finally managed to pierce the fog, we could see the mosses, grasses and other plants growing along the base of the walls. But what drew our attention was the device in the middle of the room.
Five arms branched out from the main trunk, each supporting an orb. The main trunk itself held up an orb easily twice the size of the others. Each orb seemed to have a slightly different shaped notch in them, as if gems had once resided in them. The whole device looked like something my teachers, and likely Cheerilee, used as a model to teach foals about the solar system.
From my own memories, I knew the orbs to be the old Elements of Harmony, just as I knew that the arms once moved and spun as the whole device would rise from their home in the floor. Now, they had sat immobile for so long, the mossy vines hanging from it would prevent it from budging even an inch. If it could still move at all.
“This,” I state as I flow up to Elements, “is what we've come for.” I spread myself out as much as I could to pick up all of the Elements in one go. Instead of picking them up, though, I passed through them.
That can’t be right. The Elements seemed to be…. Devoid of mana.
*^*
The Mist coiled around the five smaller stone orbs for a moment. Eventually, Twilight brought the orbs down, one at a time, and placed them on the ground in front of me. “So~oo,” I started, “what are these?”
“These are what are known as the Elements of Harmony.” Twilight answered as she set the final stone down. “They may not look much now, but they are what will help us defeat Tirek. Princesses Celestia and Luna wielded them in the past against Discord in ages past, and Celestia used them on Nightmare Moon to banish her to the moon. But
Celestia’s connection to them was lost with the defeat off Nightmare Moon. Ever since then, they’ve stayed here, lying dormant, until their new bearers could come along and claim them.”
I looked at the Elements. “What about Luna? I know she disappeared when Nightmare Moon fought Princess Celestia over a thousand years ago. Are we to find Luna, and reconnect her to these Elements?”
“Ee~eh, no. Her connection was lost before Celestia’s. And even if hers was still there, she wouldn't be able to use the Elements at their full potential. If we are to defeat Tirek, the Elements must be used by a group of ponies. And they can’t be just any ponies. They have to be the ponies that are exemplars of their respective Element, and contain its spirit.” Here, Twilight floated over the orbs as she listed their names. “Honesty, Generosity, Loyalty, Laughter, Kindness,” she floated over the floor behind the elements, “and Magic.”
I did a quick count. “You listed six Elements, but there are only five here. Where’s the sixth?” Twilight seemed to, flinch, at that. Odd. She never said much about herself, except that she was a Spirit…..
…. Of Magic.
“Are, are you connected to the Element of Magic?”
Twilight shrank away from me. “….. Yes. But my Element was hidden away, then lost, by Celestia. I think. What I do know is that mine cannot be revealed until the others have been Awoken.”
“Okay, so we just need to find the rest of the bearers, connect them to their elements, and use them to defeat Tirek.” I look at the Elements, then my saddlebags. “Why do I get the feeling that it won’t be that simple?”
“I know where one of the Bearers is.” Twilight floated up to me. “And I have a plan that requires your help. Ironic, I know.” She drifted back above the Elements. “I’ll tell you what I need you to do in a moment. But there is something I need to do first. Just trust that I know what I’m doing.”
And with that, she seeped into the Elements, and proceeded to shatter them.