//------------------------------//
// Chapter 4 
// Story: The Price of Power 
// by kingrulerword 
//------------------------------//


**********Ponyville**********


I walked through the colorful streets of Ponyville with Starlight Shimmer. The bright, warm sunlight felt great as it dried my soggy body. In order to walk through town without causing an uproar, I had transformed myself into a grey earth pony.  Walking on four legs had taken some adjustment but it was easy enough. Whatever reservations Starlight had about me were completely gone. She was enraptured with the idea that studying my magic would make her the next Starswirl the Bearded. My abilities presented her with so many possibilities, she said. For now this just meant a barrage of annoying questions.

"So what are you? And what kind of magic is it that you use? How do you use magic without a horn? How were you able to transfigure yourself into a pony with so little effort? Can all of your species use magic? Where are you from? How many different types of magic can you use?" Starlight was like a kid with a shiny new toy. I, on the other hand, was starting to prefer her docile and fearful state.

"You know, it's not too late for me to kill you. I have a rage problem and questions set me off," I bluffed.

We walked in silence for a minute before she stated up again.

"You're not going to kill me."

"How can you be so sure?"

"If you were going to kill me, you'd have done it back in the forest like the guards. You wouldn't risk bringing me to a populated area. Also, for whatever reason I'm valuable to you and you don't seem like the type to let things go to waste."

I was stunned silent. She was right. It was a little suspicious how easily she had read me but I guess she was just perceptive. But I did need her. I needed her to analyze my magic. I also needed a pony magic expert. Lost in thought, I stopped walking. Starlight started up with her questions again.

"By the way, what's your plan here? Why are we in Ponyville? there aren't any labs here. And what are you looking for?"

I craned my neck, searching for my prey.

"We should have run into her by now," I said.

"Run into who? That reminds me, Ponyville probably isn't the best place for an enemy of the princesses to hide. Are you listening to me?"

Starlight was getting irritated but I wasn't paying attention to her. I just kept looking around.

"We definitely should have seen her by now especially since THIS IS MY FIRST TIME IN PONYVILLE!"

"Again, who are you looking for? Tell me and I can help. And why are you yell-"

"Did somepony say it was their first time in Ponyville?"  A bubbly pink earth pony popped out of a nearby barrel. "Every new pony in Ponyville needs a super duper Welcome-to-Ponyville Party!"

"What? Where did you come from? Who are you? Were you listening to our entire conversation?" Starlight looked like she was going to have a heart attack. She had a hoof to her chest taking deep breaths.

"Well to answer your questions: A party silly. Everypony loves parties. I came from a mama pony and a daddy pony just like you! I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Pinkie Pie, the bestest party planning pony in all of Ponyville. And no I wasn't listening to your conversation. My Pinkie Sense told me there were some new ponies in need of a party!"

Starlight was again rendered speechless. Pinkie had said her entire speech in one breath. I grinned at her and she scowled back at me. Pinkie gave us her biggest smile, waiting for us to say something. I was enjoying Starlight's confusion and didn't want to ruin the moment. She kept looking back and forth between me and Pinkie Pie. I chuckled and spoke to Pinkie.

"It is very nice to meet you Pinkie," I said. "A party sounds like a great idea but first can you help us out? We ran into a bit of trouble."

"Oh no! I would love to help you," Pinkie replied. "What can I do?"

"We collected some dangerous stuff in the Everfree Forest and we need some scientific containers for it."

"Sciencey stuff, huh?" Pinkie rubbed her chin with a hoof. " I got it! You should go see Twilight! If anypony can help with that kind of thing, she can!"

I smirked. "Can you take us to see her? We don't know our way around yet."

"Of course I can," Pinkie put a foreleg around Starlight and me, pulling us in close. "New friends should always meet old friends, then new friends become old friends and meet more new friends. Then everypony is friends and then we can have the biggest wildest Let's-All-Be-Friends party ever!"

"Yeah. Sure."

"Follow me!" 

Pinkie Pie motioned for us to follow her. Starlight regained her composure and pulled me a few feet behind pinkie as we walked.

"What just happened?" Starlight asked.

"You're  going to need to be more specific, " I smirked.

"I don't think you understand who we're dealing with. This is-"

"Pinkamena Diane Pie, pastry chef at Sugarcube Corner, party planning pony extraordinaire, and bearer of the Element of Laughter."

"How do you...Nevermind, the important thing is that the Twilight she's talking about-"

"Refers to Twilight Sparkle, librarian at the Golden Oaks Library, private student to Princess Celestia herself, bearer of the Element of Magic, and de facto leader of the Elements of Harmony," I said calmly.

"How can you remain so incredibly calm despite knowing that?" Starlight asked incredulously. "We're about to come face to face with one of the most powerful unicorns in Equestria who, by the way, has a direct connection to the princess that's hunting you! I don't see how we could be in a worse situation."

I smiled at her.

"Unless... This was your plan all along! You used me to help you find the Elements of Harmony so you could get rid of them!" Starlight whisper-shouted.

I opened my mouth to say something but she cut me off.

"I won't help you hurt innocent ponies! That wasn't part of the deal."

I shook my head. "You almost had it," I said. " Yes, running into Pinkie Pie and getting her to take us to Twilight Sparkle was part of my plan. I'm not planning on hurting her or any of the bearers though. Twilight has a lab under the library and we're going to use it."

Starlight sighed with relief once I told her my intentions. I could see she still had more questions but she remained quiet. We walked side by side behind Pinkie Pie, who bounced in front of us while blathering facts about Ponyville. I looked around, memorizing the terrain and landmarks. I was pulled from my thoughts by Pinkie announcing we had arrived. I looked at the Golden Oaks library. It was huge. looking through a screen at the place did not do it justice. That had to be the biggest tree I'd ever seen. Pinkie didn't give me much time to admire it. She grabbed me and Starlight and pulled us inside.

"TWIIIIIILIIIIIGHT!" Pinkie shouted.

A lavender unicorn came trotting down the stairs of the library. "Pinkie? What is it? What's wrong?" She stopped when she saw us. 

"Pinkie, who are they?" she asked.

"These are my new friends...um.. what are your names?"

"My name is Rolling Stone and this is Starlight Shimmer," I said.

"Hello," Starlight added.

"It's nice to meet you both," Twilight smiled, "How can I help you?"

"They were in the Everfree Forest," Pinkie said and Twilight gasped.

"What were you doing in there? It's really dangerous," Twilight said.

"Okay this is two-parter so get ready," I started. " Starlight Shimmer is a scientist from Canterlot who was following a lead on some unknown magic in the Everfree Forest. She had two escorts. While they were collecting samples of the magic they ran into a dangerous creature."

Starlight rolled her eyes when I got to that part of the story but I continued on.

"Starlight managed to escape with her life which is more than can be said for her escorts." Twilight and Pinkie gasped. Both had a hoof over their mouths and drooping ears. 

"I found Starlight while she was escaping and we decided to travel together for safety."

"Are you both okay?" Twilight asked looking over at Starlight.

"I escaped the monster without any injuries," Starlight said, turning to face me. "But let me tell you, this was a hideously ugly monster. It lumbered around on two legs, had glowing red eyes, and no fur or scales."

I stifled a chuckle at Starlight's attempt to insult me. I actually felt kind of entertained that she would describe me as some sort of nightmare creature.

"Back to the story," I started, " We did manage to escape the horrifying monster, but at the cost of Starlight's equipment and supplies. She did manage, however, to hold on to the few samples of magic she managed to collect."

"You've both been trough so much," Twilight said. " What can I do to help you?"

I smiled. I had Twilight in the palm of my hand. Hoof? 

"That's not even the worst of it," I continued. " The magic she collected has become active. She would have left it but we don't know what kind of damage it could cause if it were to be left alone. What we really need is a lab to safely contain and study it."

"Then you're in luck," Twilight's face brightened. " I have a lab in my basement and you can use it for as long as you need."

"Of course," Starlight muttered.

"Really? That's perfect! I don't know how to thank you," I said. Starlight just rolled her eyes at me, trying to keep her shocked expression to herself. She needed a moment to fully process what was happening in front of her. I  had just fooled not one but two Elements of Harmony. I had had convinced Twilight Sparkle, widely regarded as a genius, to give her lab to a potential enemy with nothing but a disguise and a sob story. 

"Do you mind showing me the lab?" Starlight asked.

"Of course. Just follow me, " Twilight walked towards a door under the stairs. 

"Starlight you go get set up. I'm going to stay up here and do a little research. Let me know when you're ready." Starlight nodded and followed Twilight down the stairs.

That left me with Pinkie Pie who still had a deflated mane. " I'm sorry about those other ponies, Rollie," Pinkie whimpered.

"That's okay Pinkie," I tried to comfort her. "Instead of focusing on those who died, think about those that are still alive. Now you get to throw Starlight a I'm-Glad-You-Survived party, right?"

Pinkie's mane instantly inflated as her trademark smile returned.

"You're right," Pinkie shouted. " And I still need to plan your welcome party." 

With that Pinkie zoomed out of the library. I walked around looking at the shelves. I was tempted to look for early history of Equestria. I've often wondered what evidence of my escapades survived.

"Can I help you find something?"

I turned around to see a small purple dragon with a large stack of books in his arms. He looked up expectantly at me. 

"Sure, but it looks like you're busy at the moment," I said.

The dragon put the books on the floor.

"Nah, I can do that later," he said.  "Name's Spike."

"Nice to meet you Spike. I'm Rolling Stone."

"Rolling Stone? What kind of name is that?"

"The name of a traveler who has seen most of Equus. After all wherever I lay my hat is my home."

"You don't have a hat."

"I used to have one. It was a great hat. Now I'm looking for books about early Equestria after Discord's fall and the life of Starswirl the Bearded."

Spike scratched his head. "We don't really have a lot of books about Equestria during that time, you know? There were a lot of wars."

I did know. After all I did start a few of them and I fought in all of them. " That's fine. What books do you have on Starswirl?"

"If you want books on his spells we have a few but most of them are checked out, " he said looking up at Twilight's room. "We have plenty of biographies available though."

"I actually wanted to study his life, not his magic," I said as I tapped a hoof to my forehead. " No horn. I want to know things like where he was born, where he lived, when and how he died, and where he's buried."

"In that case," Spike ran around the library grabbing books of the shelves and putting them into a pile in front of me. After stacking 10 books in the pile he grabbed the ones he had dropped earlier and went back to work. I pulled the first book out of the stack. I looked at the cover: Starswirl the Bearded: The Truth About Equestria's Greatest Mind. How long could it take to set up a lab?

***
Six hours. It takes six excruciatingly slow hours to set up a magic lab. During which time I got through two and a half books. I learned a lot of useless information about Starswirl and had gotten no closer to my objective. I was on the verge of falling asleep when Twilight came and informed me that the preparations were complete. I followed her into the basement and saw some strange device. It had a glass ball suspended in midair with tubes leading out of it into a large machine nearby. There were knobs and dials everywhere each with their own indicators. I marveled at the fact that such machinery could exist and at the same time they had no cars, television, or phones. truly this world had a schizophrenic relationship with technology. 

"It's all ready, " Starlight poked her head out from behind one of the machines. " We should get started."

"Okay," I said. "Twilight, you should wait upstairs."

"Why? I can help," Twilight stuck out her bottom lip and gave me big puppy dog eyes.

"I want you to be safe for the dangerous part. Once the transfer is over, you can help with the analysis."

"Great!" Twilight ran up the stairs.

"Ponies get excited about the weirdest stuff. I mean I'm all for scientific research but analysis is the boring part," I said to Starlight.

"We're going to learn about magic that no pony has ever even seen before. It's like nothing else that exists in this world.And you seriously can't understand how we'd be excited about that?"

"Of course you are," I said as I returned to my normal form. " Now what do I have to do?"

"When I tell you to start, feed your magic into the sphere in the center," She said. She moved to a control panel and put on goggles.

I placed my hand on the glass sphere and looked at Starlight. She nodded so I began pouring chakra into the ball. The room came alive with beeps and flashing lights.

"Just incredible," Starlight shouted over the noise of the machines. " Just a little bit more."

I nodded and increased the flow of chakra. I wondered how much this machine could hold. I allowed my mind to wander. I wondered if i would ever see another human again. It's not that I missed all of humanity in general, but it had been over a thousand years since I had seen a human female. While I was lost in my fantasies, I unconsciously allowed the chakra flow to increase. I was so wrapped in my own thoughts I didn't hear the sirens. The glass ball cracked.

"Stop!" Starlight screamed. "It's too much! You're going to overload it!"

I yanked my hand back but it was too late. I could see the energy in the machine building. It was going to explode. I activated the mangekyou and grabbed Starlight with Susanoo. The chakra in the machine turned purple in response to Susanoo's presence and released a huge pulse of energy. The pulse passed harmlessly through me and clung to Starlight. I realized the pulse was made of chakra. She stood frozen in place with wide unblinking eyes. I waved my hand in front of her face. She didn't respond. Starlight curled up on the floor, shivering.

"Please don't be traumatized," I whispered as I sat down and pulled her into my lap. What the hell had she just experienced? I heard footsteps coming down the stairs so I turned back into a pony. I transformed just in time to see Spike running down the stairs.

"What happened down here?" he asked. "Never mind that! I need help! Something's wrong with Twilight!"

I put Starlight on my back. "Walk and talk at the same time Spike," I said as I followed him up the stairs.

"I was doing chores and Twilight was reading when all of a sudden I felt this strange feeling all over my body."

"What did it feel like?"

"Like something cold was covering me and trying to make me do stuff."

"What kind of stuff?"

"I don't know. Evil stuff. And there was this giant skeleton monster that had me in its claw."

"A giant skeleton monster?"

"Yeah. It was purple and glowing and it had horns."

Well fuck. Can't say this one wasn't my fault. Spike being a dragon gave him a natural defense but ponies are much more vulnerable. Not only that but unicorns have large protruding magic receptors on their foreheads. "What happened to Twilight?"

"See for yourself."

Spike led me into his and Twilight's bedroom. I gently put Starlight down and walked to the bed. Twilight was lying in the bed in the same pose as Starlight with the same horrified expression on her face.  I picked up Starlight and put her in the bed.

"Spike," I said, " Find out how many ponies in town this happened to. I'm going to help these two."

"Can you really help Twilight?"

"Yes, but I need you to find out how far this spread."

"You can count on me."

Spike ran out of the library leaving me with the catatonic mares. I changed back to my human form and put my hand on Twilight's head. There wasn't much chakra inside her. There probably wasn't enough chakra in the pulse to affect ponies outside the library. I pulled the chakra out her body and back into my own. Her body relaxed but her eyes remained open. I used my sharingan to enter her mind. Just as Spike had said, she was in Susanoo's hand. I dispelled the Susanoo in her mind and left.

Twilight was visibly relaxed now and sleeping peacefully. I turned my attention to Starlight. Pulled the chakra out of her body and entered her mind. Instead of cowering in Susanoo's hand, she was being crushed in its fist. I dispelled it and left her mind.I went down the stairs and awaited Spike's return.

***
About an hour later, Spike ran into the library followed by the remaining members of the mane 6.

"Spike what happened? Why'd you bring them?" I was stunned. I hadn't thought he'd bring the whole group.

"Nopony got it as bad as Twilight. They all had flashes but it passed for everypony else," he said. It made sense. Both Twilight and Starlight were at the epicenter. 

"They came, " Spike gestured to the ponies, " to make sure Twilight was ok."

"She's our friend and we just had to make sure she wasn't hurt," Fluttershy surprised me by talking first. When I turned to look at her she eeped and hid behind her mane.

"So if you wouldn't mind, darling, we'd like to go up to see how she's doing," Rarity said.

"While I am no doubt impressed by this great show of friendship and camaraderie, I'm afraid Twilight is sleeping right now. And with the exception of Spike, I will not allow anypony to disturb her," I said.

"Who are you to stop us from seeing our friend?" Rainbow Dash pushed her face against mine and snorted.

"The pony that saved her life and knows that right now, more than anything, Twilight needs rest,"  I said maintaining my calm demeanor.

"Now calm down Rainbow, "  Applejack said, " We should be grateful he took such good of Twi and listen to what he says."

Rainbow Dash contemplated Applejack's words for a moment before backing down. "Fine, but," Rainbow Dash without breaking eye contact, " there's something wrong about you. I don't know what it is but my gut is never wrong."

Throughout the conversation, Spike had been pacing back and forth looking worried. "It's ok Spike," I said. "You can go see her."

He wasted no time and raced up to the bedroom.

"Spike said you all felt the magic pulse. Would you mind telling me exactly what happened?" I asked.

"I was gonna ask you the same thing. Spike says ya'll were doin' some crazy experiment," Applejack said.

"Something like that," I said.

"So then all of the monsters in ponies heads and everything that happened to Twilight is your fault!" Rainbow Dash was back in my face.

"Please Rainbow Dash, let him explain. I'm sure he didn't intend for this to happen," Rarity pleaded with her friend.

"This was supposed to be a simple transfer of magic from one container to another. But it was too much for the new container and it exploded," I explained. "Twilight and Starlight were at the center so they got the worst of it."

"Who is Starlight? And you were in it too, right? Why weren't you affected?" Rainbow hadn't broken her glare.

"Starlight is my associate. And I wasn't affected because I'm not a unicorn. The magic infected them through their horns."

"And if you're not a unicorn how did you solve a magic problem?" Rainbow Dash was starting to get annoying  but she was right. Earth ponies can't use magic.

"I used zebra magic." That got a gasp from the group. " I've traveled all across Equestria and beyond. Fixing this problem was simple."

That got Rainbow Dash to back down. But I had other things to attend to and no time for idle conversation.

"Now then, I trust that while I'm gone you'll give your friend the space she needs to recover."

"Wait, where are you going?" Applejack asked.

"Just out to take care of some business, " I responded, " I'll be back."

"What kind of 'business' do you have to take care of this late at night?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Are any of you familiar with the concept of a booty call?" I asked.

"Ooh ooh! I know!" Pinkie exclaimed, "Is it a dance?"

"Not in this particular situation, Pinkie," I said.

Several minutes later I walked out of the library leaving behind some very red faces and stiff wings. Looking around to make sure there weren't any late night lurkers, I returned to my normal form. I placed a flying raijin mark on Twilight's door frame and teleported away.


**********Canterlot Castle**********


I had been worried that she might still be awake but Celestia slept peacefully. I looked around her room. Golden decorations adorned the walls and ceiling. Like Luna, she lay in a bed that made her look small. I walked to her bed and looked down at her. She looked beautiful even while sleeping. Her ethereal rainbow mane still, her mouth hanging open, a little drool on her lip. She just looked so...defenseless. An evile smile spread across my face as I summoned the two soldiers I captured earlier. They were just sleeping now leaning on each other and snoring. I pulled out a kunai and started cutting two holes in Celestia's bed.

"You're not going to understand this reference, " I whispered as I put the soldiers into the holes so that only their heads stuck out. "But trust me, it's a good one."

I took a moment to adjust the soldiers so they would be the first thing Celestia saw when she woke up. I splattered some red paint around and took a moment to admire my handiwork. I ran my hand through Celestia's mane and scratched behind her ears causing her to smile. As I turned to leave, I saw Celestia's desk. I found some blank paper and one of her quills. "Well", I thought, "It would be rude not to say anything." I sat down and began writing.