Rarity finally recovered her voice. “Is it really you?” Reaching out a hoof, she coaxed herself forward.
“What in blazes is goin’ on?” Applejack scolded.
“Twilight?” Fluttershy drew back having caught a glimpse of the same image as Rarity.
“No silly.” Pinkie Pie bounded to the front. Catching up a lock of Twilight’s mane she turned to face the others. “It’s sort of hard to tell with all of us sporting rainbows, but this is Rainbow Dash.” She spoke the name slowly giving emphasis with her demonstration of the multicolored mane.
Twilight carefully removed Pinkie’s hoof from her hair. “Sorry, Pinkie, but they happen to be right.” She took a few steps toward the throne and lined up with the reflective backing so all could see.
Applejack removed her hat. “I’ll be bucked.” Her floored expression said it all.
“Wait a sec!” Pinkie stormed over to the throne. “You’re saying all I had to do was make a birthday wish and… well…” She picked up Twilight’s tail and inspected her cutie mark while comparing the reflected image. “I give up. Who wants cake?”
Rarity pulled herself up and walked over toward Twilight. “If you’re Twilight, then where is Rainbow Dash?”
Twilight sat down on her throne. “I don’t know for sure.” Rarity halted her approach with the others taking up positions alongside. Twilight stared down at the four confused faces. “It’s a long story and I’m not sure I can get into all of it right now.”
“Umm, we’re all ears and we’ve got all night. Let’s hear it.” Applejack plopped herself down on an oversized pillow.
Twilight hung her head. “I know you all must have a million questions for me, but that’s the problem. I can’t really tell you what’s going on. You’ll just have to trust me.”
“Can you at least tell us if you’re okay?” Fluttershy settled in next to Applejack.
“I’m fine, Fluttershy.” Twilight quickly answered. “Thanks for asking.”
“How about Rainbow Dash?” Applejack asked. “Is she okay too?”
“As far as I know.” Twilight lifted her head. “She may be joining your rainbow ranks here soon, but I’m not sure how she’s going to handle breaking the effects of the spell.”
“Spell? What spell?” Rarity perked her ears as she slid into her pillow.
“Duh. The illusion spell Rainbow’s using on her reflection to make her look like Twilight.” Pinkie giggled and hopped down onto another pillow. “Awesome prank by the way—although your delivery could use a little work.”
“Pinkie, it’s not a trick.” Twilight straightened up tall. “It’s really me—I’m Twilight. Right now I’m stuck in Rainbow’s body just like I was stuck in all the rest of you over the past few days. I helped Rarity and her sister come together. Then I worked out Fluttershy’s issues with her parents. Next, I got Applejack through the harvest, I hope without her family getting too upset. Yesterday, I even threw a party for Gummy—which is something I will gladly let you handle in the future, Pinkie.” She paused after the rush of disclosure. “That is, if we even have a future.”
“What do you mean, Twilight?” Fluttershy shook her head. “Have you been to the future again? Is it bad?”
Twilight struggled with herself. The truth wanted badly to be set free. She closed her eyes and silently wished for Celestia, or Starswirl, or even Aeon himself to magically appear and set everything straight. The very fabric of the universe and the harmony that held chaos in check threatened to tear loose if she failed her test. She couldn’t decide if it was worth the risk divulging it all even if it was to her friends. In the end, she had to trust that they would understand.
Breaking from her conflict, she yelled, “Rarity, break the binding spell!” A panicked breath followed. “I need to get to Canterlot and talk to the Princess.” Overwhelmed and alone in her decision, she punted. The Princess would be able to help. If she couldn’t, then there really would be a problem.
Rarity stood up and calmly maintained her composure. “Twilight. I can see you are having trouble telling us just what exactly is going on. I don’t know why you can’t tell us, since we’re all your friends here, but I will do my best to understand and help you regardless.” Rarity’s horn came to life as a soft glow encircled Twilight’s wings.
Applejack sprung to her hooves as well. “Same here, Twi. If there’s anything I can do to help, just say the word.”
Fluttershy remained seated. “I’ll do my best to help as well. You know you can always count on a friend.” Her kindhearted smile warmed Twilight’s heart.
Pinkie Pie bounced around the group. “Best… Birthday… Ever!”
The warmth of Rarity’s spell ratcheted up a few notches. Twilight’s feathers loosened from their tangled mass, but it didn’t stop there. The feeling spread out across her back and down through her dock and tail as well as up past the base of her neck. As the inner glow reached her crown, the same feeling crept along through her legs and pulsed down into her hooves. She recognized the feeling and she knew she didn’t have long.
Twilight barely had the chance to squeak out “I’ll be fine—don’t worry!” before she burst into full-blown rainbow-fied Dash. She lost sight of her friends as she slipped into the blackness of the waiting pool. The welcoming hoof of Starswirl reached out to hold her as she spilled out into the Temple of Harmony.
Turning back to the pool, the gathering of mares in the vision remained remarkably calm. Rarity and Fluttershy helped carry a blanket to lay across Rainbow Dash. Applejack left the room, but returned soon after with a worried looking Spike in tow. Pinkie Pie divided up the rest of her birthday cake and pulled up a blanket next to Rainbow. She set a small plate in front of the comatose mare holding the final slice.
Twilight watched as Spike scribbled out a note dictated by Applejack and tossed it into a breath of dragonfire. Having weathered the storm of emotion, the tired group eventually extinguished the lights and settled in for the night. With everypony huddled around the stricken Rainbow Dash, the vision came to a close.
“You have done well, Scion.” The loud voice of Lord Aeon thundered though the temple. “The Elements are pleased.” Within the crystal star, five globes spun together in a stunning display of rainbow light.
Twilight, along with Starswirl, turned to face the Master. “Is that all? Am I done?” Twilight stepped forward cautiously gauging the response. Aeon lay still except for the labored rise and fall accompanying each breath.
Starswirl placed a hoof on her shoulder. “I’m afraid not, Princess.”
Twilight dropped back and swung around to face Starswirl. “What do you mean? I’m the Element of Magic. I can’t take over my own body and go through another Trial like the rest—I’m already in it. As well, I certainly hope I’ve proved that I’ve already mastered my own Element at some level. Isn’t that how I became a princess in the first place?”
“By your own admission, you do not yet understand your place and therefore must complete the final Trial.” Aeon shook the ground as he unexpectedly lumbered from his resting place. Taking two giant steps forward, his center horn roared to life. A beam of light shot from his head and collided with the golden dome above. With a loud crack, a seam appeared and split the dome in two. Both halves slid away into the stonework above as the night sky opened up to view.
Twilight gazed up at the light of the nearly full moon overhead. Having been secluded in the temple for the better part of four days, the rush of fresh air sought to carry her away on the welcome breeze. She searched her thoughts going over Aeon’s remark. Something was missing and she had no idea what would follow. Uncertainty opened the door to fear. Fear led to her rising levels of panic. Panic wasn’t a good thing for Twilight.
Aeon’s horn lost its glow and he slowly swung around taking up his spot by the back pillars once more. Sinking to the ground, he spoke low and with ragged breaths. “Take up your rest, Scion. The final Trial begins at sunrise.” Without another word, he closed most of his eyes and tucked his head into the curve of his forearm.
Twilight drew back into the waiting hooves of Starswirl. The warm embrace of the stallion sheltered her against the cool night breeze. Her hooves knocked as the rising panic melted away. Still, she felt lost and afraid once again. “It sounds like I failed.” Her voice quivered to a hush.
“That couldn’t be further from the truth, my dear.” Starswirl lifted her head up to see eye to eye. “The Twilight I know wouldn’t back down from a challenge. She’d face it head on. The final Trial is much different from the others—there’s nothing left to prove.”
“I’m not sure if that makes me feel any better about it.” Twilight pulled herself free and made her way to the other end of the temple. Her tail sagged behind as thoughts of a successful and unsuccessful final Trial swam in her head. So much depended on her; so much that she still knew so little about.
Starswirl followed closely behind. “Twilight Sparkle, you just need to trust in yourself. That’s all that stands between you and a clear understanding of your destiny.”
“I guess I have about two-and-a-half days to figure it out for myself then, since no one around here seems keen on filling me in on that part.” Twilight plopped herself down on her makeshift bed.
Starswirl pulled up a golden wool blanket and tucked it around Twilight. “If I could tell you that easily, I most certainly would. Trust me when I say that you already know the answer, but you have to find it for yourself. That is the only way.”
Twilight just tucked her head between her hooves and closed her eyes.
“Sleep well, Princess. I’ll see you at sunrise.” Starswirl backed away slowly before turning on his heels and sinking into the shadows.
The sky overhead slipped seamlessly from moonlight to sunshine. Twilight stood at the base of the Pool of Harmony watching the rotation of the spheres within the star. She hadn’t been there long. The night had been kind and she slept rather peacefully under the warmth of the fleece. Whatever her final task was to be, she was as ready as she would ever be to face it.
A few of Aeon’s eyes kept watch on her, unbound by any recognition from the Master of Magic himself. If it weren’t for the steady plume of smoke rising from his nostrils and the subtle motion of his chest, she may have thought she was too late as it was.
“I’ve been thinking,” Twilight began as soon as she felt the presence of Starswirl approaching from behind. “What if I never made any friends? What would have happened then?”
“Chaos, I suppose.” Starswirl reached back and flipped open the pack laid across his back.
“Is it really that bad? Discord seems to enjoy it.” Twilight continued to stare up at the orbs, embraced in their hypnotic trance.
“I guess that depends on your definition of good. For a creature like Discord, chaos is natural and pure. I don’t suppose he feels the chaotic powers he commands to be anything but a normal state of being. There is nothing inherently good or bad in that view, only what we feel relative to our own natural sense of order.” Starswirl drew up next to Twilight and gazed up into the crystal star along with her. “I would ask how you would feel if everything you held to be good and true were suddenly stripped away without warning. Night became day and day became night. Love swapped with hate and everypony was made to accept it. How would you feel then?”
Twilight glanced down at the pool and the final orb floating just under the surface. “I think I would feel a lot like that orb down there. There used to be five others sharing its light and radiating back in turn. Now, it’s all alone. Life would still go on, but I’m not sure how good it would be without the Element of Magic.”
Starswirl let out a heavy sigh. “I’m afraid the Master was right. You do have a Trial left to complete and a great lesson still to learn.”
Twilight stomped her hoof. “And just how do you expect me to do that? Is there somepony out there that’s supposed to teach me my final lesson? Is it written down in one of your long lost books? How am I supposed to learn when the teachers remain silent?
“As I said, you already know the answer.” Starswirl picked up his foreleg and placed his hoof against Twilight’s chest. “Search within yourself and let your heart teach your head what it already knows. Let the Elements of Harmony show you the way.”
“I’ve been thinking about it all night. I’m not even sure I understand how I came to pass each Trial up until now. I feel like I’ve still got a lot to learn and I’m nowhere close to ready to face number six. Still, I’m as ready as I’ll ever be unless you’re going to fill in the gap with a quick lesson or two. I doubt Aeon will have much to say on the matter—even though everything depends on my success at this point.” Twilight peered over the still water at the sleeping Guardian.
“He must conserve his energy. We still have two days left before the equinox and he can’t afford a misstep.” Starswirl walked around in front of Twilight. “If you’re ready to face the final Trial, reach in and get your last foci.”
“You said this Trial would be different.” Twilight reached into the pack and pulled out a sheet of paper. “It seems like we’re doing the same thing as before, except now, I’m all out of friends.”
“You are partially correct. While the Trial may be different in purpose, the methods employed are the same.” Starswirl giggled as he watched Twilight bring up the page and consider the contents. “I trust you realize where this is going?”
Twilight read down the page: a common form from her years at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. Every subject under the sun listed out with a golden letter ‘A’ off to the right side. The final line, instead, read Friendship with a silver colored ‘C.’ Her eyes went wide as she considered the implications. “You aren’t going to send me back in time to my fillyhood days in school? I’m not going to have fix my grade, am I?”
Starswirl laughed. “No, no, no. Way too dangerous.” He finished with a sigh. “The whole reason for these items is to have you create a bond with your host as you go about your Trial. When I picked up your report card, I couldn’t help but notice you had it stuck in the back of your drawer. I thought to myself, why would Twilight Sparkle not have each and every one of her report cards hanging from the wall in a pretty little frame all proud of her great accomplishments?”
“Because I’m not!” Twilight stomped her hoof again.
“And why is that?” Starswirl rebounded.
“Because I wasn’t perfect.” Twilight turned her head and shied away. “How was I supposed to know Friendship was an important subject?”
“Ahhh… So now we get to the heart of the matter.” Starswirl backed away from the pool. “I believe you have a Trial to attend to. See that you work out that small detail while you’re at it.”
Twilight stared down at the page and took a step toward the pool. Peering over the edge, she found her reflection in the water. A common Unicorn. Nothing all that special about her. How has it all come to this? I never wanted to be a Princess. I never asked to be a Scion. Why is it all up to me?
A hoof slipped into view as Starswirl placed her crown on her head. “I think you’ll be needing this as well.” He stepped back and bowed. “Good Luck, Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship. May the Elements guide you to your destiny.”
“If I fail and everything falls apart, I’m going to haunt you for the rest of the afterlife.” Twilight gave Starswirl an apprehensive smile and stepped into the water.