My Little Pony, Friendship is Magic: Stallion Edition

by SuperPinkBrony12

Chapter 70: Seeking Answers

The six stallions (along with Spike) quickly headed out into the center of town, fortunately everypony had either already been scared off by the vines or were busy helping others, so the location the stallions arrived at was completely deserted.

"Okay, are we ready?" Shining asked the others, all of whom nodded. Closing their eyes and drawing on the power of their elements, it didn't take long for the familiar rainbow colored beams to appear. One by one they formed a chain, reaching up to the Element of Magic, then they shot out and formed a tight spiral of energy.

When the spiral faded, there stood Discord, who seemed to be completely unaware of his surroundings. For some strange reason he was in a bathtub showering, while singing to himself. "Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap-ooh!" Once he quickly realized where he was, the mischevious spirit couldn't help but chuckle, as he wrapped a pink towel around him. "Now, Shining Armor, I thought Princess Celestia told you were supposed to give me a little heads up with that summoning spell of yours. You're lucky I didn't have something very important to tend to at the moment, I was just in the midst of the most invigorating shower. Even a spirit like me knows the importance of good hygiene."

Shining was anything but amused by Discord moving about, while rubbing the pink towel tightly. "Okay, quit fooling around! We summoned you here for a purpose!"

"I should hope so, I shudder to imagine what kind of sense of humor you have if this is how you get your kicks," Discord laughed. "So, what can the master of chaos do for you all?"

Shining tried to maintain a straight but serious face, as he told Discord. "Just look around you. The Everfree Forest is invading, and Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have vanished into thin air."

"You up to your old tricks?" Big Macintosh asked with a glare. "You'd have some nerve pullin' a stunt like that after you said you were reformed.""

"Why, whatever do you mean? Surely you don't think I'm responsible for all of this, do you?" Discord asked innocently. "What could I possibly stand to gain?"

"Beats me, but you can't deny this has your cloven hoofprints written all over it," Soarin said with a scowl. "So start talking, unless you want us to turn you back to stone. And trust me, if we have to, we will."

Discord snorted. "Why of all the nerve! I'll have you know I've only got one cloven hoofprint, and you won't find it on anything here!" He protested, before he pulled out a camera and started taking pictures. "Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love with you've done with the place. I only wish I'd thought of something like this myself, but hey chocolate milk and cotton candy is much more practical than black and thorny."

"Sounds like you're confessin' to me," Braeburn reluctantly spoke up. "You can't deny you have both the opportunity and the motive. With the princesses gone you could take over once again. So if you ain't guilty, why don't you spill it and tell us who or what is the real mastermind?!"

"Seriously, guys, I'm innocent," Discord insisted, shushing Braeburn with a claw. "Be honest, would I lie to you?"

"You don't want us to answer that, do you?" Thunderlane nervously asked.

"Not the kind of answer I was hoping for but I'll take what I can get," Discord replied, folding his arms across his chest. "If Fluttershy of all ponies could see the goodness in me, I would've surely thought the rest of you would feel the same way."

"Some wounds take a long time to heal, you all of beings should know that," Shining said in response. "Nopony is saying you did it, but you're not exactly helping your case by doing any of this. If you're truly innocent, then the least you could do is help us figure out what we need to do or who we need to confront to put a stop to all of this."

But Discord remained stubborn and uncooperative. "Sorry, but it seems we're at an impass," He protested. "I'm telling the truth, but some of you think I'm lying. So what do friends like us do in a situation like this, Prince Shining Armor? Oh, that reminds me, congratulations on your ascension to alicornhood. I suppose it was inevitable you'd land that promotion, you totally deserve it."

"Well, what are we supposed to do now?" Fancy Pants wondered outloud. "We've got nothing other than speculation to go on, and that's hardly enough evidence to blast him back to stone. Is it?"

Shining was silent, as he thought through the information he had. "The last thing I want do to now is make a rash decision," He thought to himself. "Last time I let rumors and emotion cloud my judgement, I nearly assumed Zecora was an evil enchantress." Shining had the feeling that Discord knew more than he was letting on, but Discord was the kind of creature would could easily see through a bluff. Without any convincing evidence, Shining doubted he'd able to get Discord to open up. "Discord is innocent until proven guilty," He told the others, then he turned to Discord. "But that doesn't mean we're done here. Let's say I believe you when you say you're not guilty, help us figure out who is!"

"Well, I suppose I could tell you something. But the funny thing is, what I was going to tell you seems to have slipped my mind at the moment," Discord replied with a grin. "And after all the hoof pointing and besmirching of my good name, I don't know if I'll remember anytime soon."

"Great," Soarin sarcastically remarked. "Now what are we supposed to do?"

"Oh, cheer up guys, all is not lost," Discord laughed, while knitting up a few vines. "Why don't you ask one of your other friends for advice? You know, someone who calls The Everfree Forest her home?"

"What are you talking about?" Thunderlane asked.

"Your zebra friend.... what's her name...." Discord explained. "You know who I'm talking about, right?"

Shining noticed that Discord's knitted vines were forming an arrow, and when he turned to look he saw a familiar zebra wandering along while hauling a wagon full of various items. "Of course, Zecora!" Shining exclaimed. "Why, didn't I think of her before?! If anyone has any idea of what's going on, it's got to be her!"

---

Shining and his friends rushed to Zecora at once, they were more than a little surprised to see her in town, but at the same time they were glad to see she wasn't hurt.

"Zecora, are you okay?!" Shining asked the enchantress.

Zecora was exhausted from hauling her wagon full of items, but she still managed to greet her friends in a pleasant tone. "From my own home, I've been forced to flee! The Everfree has grown too wild, even for me!" She panted.

"Any idea on why this is happenin'?" Big Macintosh asked. "Any strange creatures or plants?"

Zecora shook her head. "I'm afraid it is a mystery, to myself as well. However, I have something that might work, if combined with the right spell.""

"Right spell?" Fancy Pants asked Zecora. "What do you mean?"

"Before I had to leave my hut, my days have been spent in devotion. Trying to perfect this special potion." Zecora explained, pulling out a vial of some purple colored liquid and placing it on the ground.

Shining gasped! "Of course, now I remember! Twilight mentioned how you've been working on a spell to improve your memory by helping you see things you couldn't see before! Were you able to complete it before The Everfree forced you to leave?"

Zecora nodded, only to then sigh. "Alas, it is quite tragic. The potion will only respond to the right kind of magic. For it to work, one must turn the liquid from purple to white, then a sip should lead to quite a sight."

"I'll bet my alicorn magic will be strong to do the job!" Shining concluded.

"And you do think that potion will give us some answers?" Braeburn asked him. "I mean, who knows what will happen if you drink it?"

"Whatever the risks, I have to try! It's the only thing even close to a lead we have!" Shining replied firmly. "At this point, I'm willing to put my faith in an unconventional approach! Zecora's potions have come through in a pinch before, and hopefully they'll do it again!"

"Well, I suppose it's worth a shot," Fancy Pants agreed. "But do be careful."

"I will, now all of you stand back so I have a clear shot at that vial!" Shining instructed. Everyone obeyed, including Discord and Spike, and they all watched with interest as Shining began to light up his horn. He strained quite visibly, as he fired off the most powerful beam of his alicorn magic that he could muster up. But the magic bounced right off the vial and shot into the air!

"It didn't work?!" Spike gasped.

"I guess even alicorn magic isn't strong enough to affect this potion," Shining concluded, and gulped. "But there is a magic stronger than alicorn magic."

All of Shining's friends gasped, except for Discord who had no idea what he was talking about.

"You're not seriously thinking of using dark magic, are you?" Soarin commented. "That stuff's dangerous!"

Shining reluctantly sighed. "I know, but it's the only thing I can think of that'll turn that potion white. I've seen Princess Celestia use it, and I used it myself a few times back when Sombra was trying to take over the Crystal Empire. I should be able to keep its influences under control if I concentrate."

"No, there's gotta be another way!" Spike protested. "The more you use dark magic the greater the chances of it corrupting your mind become! Twilight will know how to turn that potion white without having to use dark magic! Or we could go to the Crystal Empire and get Cadence to use her love magic, that should be strong enough!"

"Spike, I'll be fine," Shining insisted. "I know you worry about me, but I've used dark magic only sparingly. Twilight's magic has been cut off by the invading Everfree, and there's no way we can get to Cadence anytime soon. I have to do this, it may be the only way to find out what we need to do before it's too late! With each passing second The Everfree Forest continues to advance across Equestria!"

"I just don't like the idea, there has to be another way! There has to be!" Spike pleaded. But Shining had already lit up his horn again, and he was now straining even more. Sparks began to pour out of his horn, as the familiar glow of dark magic started to appear! Straining heavily, Shining aimed a beam of the magic at the vial, and much to everyone's amazement the liquid began to change from purple to white!

When the process was complete, Shining breathed a much needed sigh of relief and trotted over to the vial. After examining it carefully, he picked it up with his normal magic, and drank a small portion of it. The taste was bitter, but not overwhelmingly so. Shining waited for a few seconds after setting the vial down. "Doesn't seem to be worki-" He began, but his sentence was cut off as his eyes suddenly began to glow white and a blinding flash overwhelmed him!

Author's Note:

With Discord here, Shining at least is trying to refrain from accusing Discord without proof, even if Discord has the motive and opportunity.

As for Zecora, I tried to make it so that her and her potion are less of a plot device. I also took the liberty of addressing what I can only assume was a mistake in editing caused by Meghan being asleep at the wheel for editing in Season 4. Twilight is said to use alicorn magic, but it's clearly shown that she's using dark magic, and the episode does not seem to acknowledge this.

Next chapter will be a pretty big one in terms of importance, as we come to what some would consider this episode's highlight and others the episode's biggest weakness.

Comments

[kahnac]

Yeah, that REALLY seemed to be an issue at that moment with completing the potion. And when i saw it being used again, i was curious about if it would eventually lead up to something. Now, considering just how much of a big deal it was made out to be, i have to ask: will there be some kind of repercussion for Shining using the Dark Magic once again? I know he really didn't use it that much, but there is a chance SOMETHING might happen because of it. Anything to say on that?

[SuperPinkBrony12]

7732197 I suppose I could work something in.

[Comickook]

Hey there. Thanks again for getting the next chapter up. I really appreciate you going to the effort. Once again, great job on the exchanges, emotional content, humor and future chapter set-up in all the right places. I particularly liked Shiny being willing to give Discord the benefit of a doubt without being stupid about it AND the stuff Shiny went through to activate the potion. I'll definitely be looking forward to more of this as soon as time and inspiration will allow.

[kahnac]

7732445 Only if you feel like you should. I was only asking because i always figured (before season 4 proceeded as it did) that the Dark Magic might end up getting used more than intended, and would eventually lead to something very dangerous happening. So what i asked was mostly just curiosity. You don't have to read too much into it if you don't want to.

[SuperPinkBrony12]

7733600 Well, if you want to write that, feel free to do so.

[Yoshifan30]

I'm glad that shining armor is not accusing discord even though he sort of does know what's going on Now they had to figure out why this is all happening With that potion He will see something what happened to them