Secrets of the Everfree

by PaisleyPerson

Chapter 23: Princess Essence

Chapter 23
Princess Essence

“Who are ya?” Applejack demanded, the first of us back on her hooves. The destral gasped at the sound of her voice, almost delicately jumping. Aparently she hadn’t realized she was surrounded. At first glance, you’d never think she could hurt a fly. She looked so young, so innocent, just like Luna when she’d first been released. But I knew better. Destrals were deadly.

“Forgive me,” the destral sang in a voice as sweet as honey. She looked around at all of our expectant faces. “I am Princess Essence, Guardian of the Everfree Forest. If I may ask, to whom do I owe my thanks?”

“You may NOT ask,” I snapped, standing tall and defiant.

“I apologize, m’lady,” she dipped her head. “I did not mean to offend.”

“Acrylic, what are you doing?” Twilight hissed.

“She’s a destral! They led the thestral uprising! You can’t trust them!”

“They don’t exactly have a spotless record,” Wild Flower quietly supported.

“I am aware that the mutiny and poor decisions of my kind have blemished our reputation,” Essence sighed, “but please allow me to explain.”

“I’ve already heard the story. You thought you were doing the right thing by trying to force the rest of Equestria to accept us. But guess what? It wasn’t the right thing after all!”

“Acrylic, calm down, please,” Torch soothed. “This is exactly what happened to us. Remember when everypony thought we were evil and I almost took over Equestria? The least we can do is hear her out.” I almost paused at the reminder of that unpleasant event, but shook myself out of it. We didn’t have time for this.

“I’ve got better things to do that sit around for story time. Like find a way out of this body, maybe?”

“An’ how’re ya gonna do that without the glowin’ ball do-hickey?” Applejack challenged.

“I don’t know, but I am not going to stay stuck as an alicorn forever,” I huffed, beginning to storm off.

“You were not always an alicorn, Lady Acrylic?”

“You should know that. You were the one who switched us in the first place!”

“I...” she cut herself off, brow furrowed as she tried to work out what I meant. Then her eyes widened. “Oh, no. Please, please forgive me. I’m so sorry for the inconvieniance I’ve caused you. I believe I may have an explanation for this phenomenon.”

“We’re listening,” Twilight prompted.

“Even after thousands of years of imprisonment, it was only recently that I had regained enough power to attempt to return. I hoped to combine what little power I had saved and combine it with that of the Tree of Harmony. You see, as Guardian of the Everfree, I am directly linked to the tree. I protect the balance, allowing it to thrive, and in turn, I may draw power through the elements. We support each other in this way.

“As I was saying, I was attempting to tap into the tree’s energy. I was puzzled, of course, when I found it lacking the elements. It had chosen six of you to weild them in Equestria’s time of need, and later even formed a seventh,” she smiled to me. “Yet without them, I was not able to transfer the energy to myself. When I sensed the elements within your presence near the orb imprisoning me, I was becoming desperate. I felt you were my last hope. I tried teleporting you all to the tree in hopes my message would get through. With my mind separated from my body, it was very difficult to channel that magic. Obviously, something went wrong. I have been using the rest of my magic reserve to try and lead you to the tree. Clearly, my message got through in the end,” she gestured to the elements now embedded into the Tree of Harmony. “I know how hard it must have been for you to give up the elements, but I sincerely thank you for doing so. They were my only means of escape.”

“It seems like they weren’t ours to keep,” Twilight reasoned.

“Look, I’m all for a crash course in destral magic theory or whatever it is you’re talking about, but do you know a way to fix us or not?”

“I am the one who caused this mess, and now it is my responsibility to undo the damage. You have waited long enough. Please, come here, all of you. I may know a reversal spell. Stand as you were when you first approached the orb.” Blaze hopped on my back, and they all practically galloped up to the destral. I held back a moment longer. What if this was a trick? I quietly sighed in defeat. I didn’t exactly have a choice but to trust her.

We encircled Essence, substituting her for the pedestal. “You must hold still,” she directed. “This will not hurt at all.” Her horn began to glow with a bold green aura, and I held my breath. I shut my eyes, and suddenly felt very woozy. I couldn’t trust the ground beneath my hooves. Or maybe it was my legs that were giving out. I couldn’t tell. I felt myself tipping over as I was drawn out of Twilight’s body.

I couldn’t see, I couldn’t hear, I couldn’t feel. Yet, somehow I existed. I began to panic as I realized that there was nothing to keep Essence from stopping here, letting our minds float around in this void for eternity. What if I was right? What if we were all stripped of our bodies forever, or any body for that matter? What if-

I was snapped out of my panic when I felt solid ground under my hooves. My eyes shot open to take in the scene around me. I checked my hooves first, just to be sure. As promised, they were the familiar gray of my own body. Moving my wings aside, I double checked to make sure my cutie mark was back. Sure enough, my flaming paintbrush and purple paint puddle had been returned. Looking past Essence, I eyed Twilight, excitedly waving to me. I was finally able to release a sigh of relief I wasn’t aware I’d been holding, and my pounding heartbeat returned to normal. She’d returned us to our proper bodies of her own free will. I decided we could trust her after all.

Celebratory cheers were coming from all around, but mostly from the excitable Pinkie. Torch and Cedar whooped and clapped each other on the back, and Wild Flower and Rainbow high-hoofed each other. Then, Wild Flower’s face twisted in pain.

“Ooooh,” she groaned, letting herself fall over. “Rainbow, I told you to take it easy!” The blue pegasus just laughed, and Cedar smiled but moved in to massage her sore wings.

I was abruptly scooped up by Torchwood, who promptly kissed his wife. I couldn’t help but smile, and returned his affection. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever get to see him like this again.

“Whoo hoo!” Wild Flower whistled.

“Gross,” Spike groaned. Torch broke away in good humor, and we both got to welcome Blaze back to his proper body.

“Thank you!” Twilight sighed, fondly nuzzling Spike despite his protests. “I guess we owe you a proper introduction. That’s actually Acrylic, not me. I’m Twilight, this is Spike, and over there is Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Torchwood, Cedar, Blaze, and Wild Flower, all in their proper bodies now, thanks to you. Everypony is fixed, right?” Applejack and Rarity exchanged glances.

“Well, now that ya mention it...” Rarity said in a perfect country accent. Twilight’s eyes widened.

“I think you may have missed us, Princess,” Applejack finished in the sophisticated city accent Rarity used.

“Oh, no!” The two of them busted out laughing.

“Gotcha!” AJ laughed. The rest of us soon followed suit, including our new destral friend. One familiar cackle could be heard above us all. A draconequus tumbled from where he’d been watching from above down into our midst.

“Oh, that was priceless!”

“Discord!” Fluttershy caught him headlong in a hug.

“What’re you doing here?”

“I came to check up on the lot of you. That’s something friends do, isn’t it? So I see you were serious about switching bodies, then? I’m sorry I didn’t believe you before,” he flattened his ears. “I honestly thought you were trying to pull a fast one on me, much like Rarity and Applejack have just displayed.

“Oh, that’s alright,” I waved it off, letting him wrap an arm around me. “You helped us in the end.”

“How’d you know where we were?”

“As Lord of Chaos, I’m an expert at sniffing out magical imbalances. I must say, that was a doozy! Who is the mysterious mare responsible for it, I wonder?” He teleported to her side at the center of the room, bending over so she could stare into his unbalanced eyes.

“I am Princess Essence, m’lord,” Essence bowed. “And who, pray tell, might you be?”

“M’lord? Finally! Somepony who pays me the respect I deserve!” he joyously clapped.

“This is Discord. And don’t call him ‘m’lord’. He’ll get a big head,” I rolled my eyes. He shot me a mischievious grin.

“But draconequi have always been addressed as such,” Essence confusedly protested.

“Not anymore,” Rainbow chortled.

“I see much has changed over the last few thousand years. Of course, I must adapt,” the princess sighed.

“Few thousand years?!”

“How long were you trapped in that ball, exactly?”

“I lost count of the eons I spent in banishment. At least two thousand years must have passed since then, for I was not here for the thestral and destral uprising. Had I been able to stop Kindling, perhaps it all could have been avoided.” She hung her head.

“It wasn’t your fault,” Twilight assured, placing a comforting hoof on her shoulder. “It sounds like there was nothing you could have done..”

“Who’s Kindling?” Rainbow inquired.

“And how the hay did you get there in the first place?” AJ added.

“It appears I have much to explain. Please, I would rather speak directly with whomever is now in power so that I will only have to recount my story once.”

“I’ll arrange for a conference with Princess Celestia,” Twilight promised. “Spike?”

“Ready!” He pulled a quill out of nowhere. Even Blaze jumped.

“Where’d that come from? I was you, and I wasn’t carrying any scrolls around!”

“Dear Princess Celestia,” Twilight ignored the question.

“I’m happy to report that not only have we located the palace you sent us out to find, but we have also encountered somepony I’m sure you will be interested to meet. It is of utmost importance that we all convene as soon as possible.

“Signed Princess Twilight Sparkle.”

“Princess?” Essence raised an eyebrow. She hurriedly knelt at her hooves. “Your Highness, I was not aware.”

“No need for that,” Twilight shook her head. “After everything that’s happened today, I think any hope of formality got pushed out the window.”

“Hmm,” Essence hummed. I wasn’t sure if she was laughing or just agreeing with Twilight, but she smiled with understanding.

“Come on,” Twilight directed. “You can stay with us in Ponyville until the Princesses can arrange a meeting.”

“First,” Essence interrupted, “where are the remnants of the orb that imprisoned me?”

“I thought it disappeared,” Cedar offered.

“Not disappeared,” Fluttershy realized, looking around. “Just shattered.” She pointed to the dust particles and bits of wood blasted apart and strewn around the room.

“Oh dear,” Essence sighed, moving to the largest chunk of wood left. “Jasper, are you alright?”

“Jasper?”

“She’s talkin’ to a piece of wood,” Applejack quietly whispered to Rainbow.

“I think a thousand years in that thing made her a little crazy,” Dash quietly hissed back. They both got a chuckle out of that. The joke was on them when Essence supplied a small amount of magic to the wood chips, causing them to rattle and float. Some even grew like branches where they had been cut off. They finally arranged themselves into an all too familiar shape.

“Timberwolf!” Fluttershy shrieked. Discord wasted no time in jumping to her defense, snarling at the beast on all fours. Torchwood also ushered Blaze and I behind him. Cedar was similarly covering the rest of the girls. Discord moved in to take care of the wolf, but Essence blocked him with a flick of her wing.

“Jasper shall not harm you,” she assured, turning back to the beast. It was a massive timberwolf- larger even than Essence herself- with glowing black-blue jewels for eyes. Unlike most timberwolves, similar jewels adorned the tops of his paws, and one was also embedded in his chest. He growled almost fondly, and nuzzled her.

“Is he your pet?” Fluttershy gasped, fluttering over to investigate. Jasper acknowledged her with a quiet grumble.

“He is my guardian and escort, as well as my friend. I am not sure if you would call him a pet,” Essence thought.

“I think he qualifies,” Fluttershy decided, timidly reaching out to stroke him. He made no move of aggression towards her. Delighted by this fact, Fluttershy smiled and gave him an enthusiastic rub.

“Come, Jasper. We are going out.” With a huff of acknowledgement, Jasper pulled away from Fluttershy and began to glow, energy radiating from his core. He broke down again, though this seeemed to be a deliberate collapse. His pieces floated to Essence, who expectantly extended a hoof. One of the pieces touched her hooftip, and instantly began to blossom. The wood grew and twisted around her hooves, all the other fragments floating into place. Some strayed from her hooves and began winding themselves around her chest and neck. It wasn’t too hard to figure out what they were forming; in fact, the resemblance to Celestia and Luna was undeniable. Just as our alicorn leaders wore formal, decorative chestplates and horseshoes, Essence’s ‘pet’ timberwolf was transforming itself into wooden armor.

There was a jewel embedded in the top of each of her shoes, as well as three in her chestplate. While the gnarled braches continued to unfurl, the gems began to glow. So did the Tree of Harmony. Strands of light were beginning to flow from the elements to meet with each jewel, completely enveloping Essence in light. It wasn’t as bright as before, but we all shielded our eyes. She had clearly had been weak upon her arrival, because she was now using the tree to regain her full power. She shot up a couple of feet to Celestia’s height, and her mane and tail flowed and shimmered with magic. The blue streaks of her hair almost gave the impression of a rushing river by the way they shimmered, but the brown somehow reminded me of rough bark.

When I didn’t think things could get any stranger, I noticed her fur. Wherever the wood touched, her coat had changed to a lush, vibrant green. It was as though the rest of the color had been sucked from her and diverted to those areas to sustain the vegetation. At last, the branches stopped winding up her legs, and the transformation was complete. Though she did not wear a crown at present, Princess Essence looked as regal as Celestia herself. She smiled down on our awestruck faces.

From behind her, the tree was still glowing. Each of the minor elements on the tree’s branches pulsed with one last burst of energy, which traveled to the six pointed star. From there, it continued to pass through the crescent moon, the sun, and down through one of the roots. A small sprout promptly blossomed. We all moved closer to investigate. Essence only watched quietly from the background. Twilight looked to her for answers, but Essence nodded her on. Twilight obediently continued forward, and timidly poked the newly formed flower bud. It bloomed in a rainbow of light, revealing a heptagonal chest within. A keyhole was located on each of its seven faces.

“What is it?” Twilight gasped.

“I believe it is a gift for you and your friends, Princess Twilight. From the tree, to you,” Essence beamed.

“But what’s inside? How am I supposed to open it?”

“I’m afraid that I do not have the answers for you, Princess. This is something between you and the tree. However, I am quite sure you will not be solving this mystery alone.” Twilight looked back to the rest of us, and smiled.

A belch from Spike brought us all out of our happy moment.

“It’s a response from the Princess!” he called, waving the scroll for our attention.

“What’s it say?” Spike cleared his throat.

“Dear Princess Twilight Sparkle,

“I am thrilled to hear your news! Please escort your guest to Canterlot Palace immediately. Princess Luna, Princess Cadence and I shall all be arriving promptly.

“Signed Princess Celestia.”

“That was fast!”

“Well, what’re we waitin’ for, y’all? Let’s go!”

“Wait a minute. Princess Essence?” I interrupted, approaching the immense destral. My ears were flat and I did everything in my power to keep my hooves from dragging. “I’m sorry about what I said before. I know what it’s like to be misjudged. Out of everypony here, I should have been willing to give you a chance, but this time I was the one jumping to conclusions. I was wrong about you, and I’m sorry. Can you forgive me?”

“How curious,” Essence cocked her head. “The Element of Forgiveness asks to be forgiven?”

“I guess the thing about forgiveness, is you also have to be forgiven by others,” I weakly chuckled.

“Indeed,” Essence smiled. “Of course I forgive you. Your frustration was understandable, considering the circumstances. I must apologize as well, for putting all of you in such a predicament in the first place.”

“No biggie!” Pinkie happily chimed.

“It all worked out in the end, didn’t it?” Twilight agreed. “Now, come on, everypony. Let’s not keep the Princesses waiting.”

Author's Note:

A/N: Okay, guys, it looks like we’ve got the chest, so we’re back in business! We are now free to rejoin the series.

Comments

[Fresnor]

No! Not the chest! Think of the poor libbrary that is doomed to be destroyed now.

[Admiral Q Ponyform]

5243714 he has a point. why could't Twilight move into a restored Two Sisters?

and Applejack and Rarity. I knew those two were pranking.

IAnd i guess because Essence drew power from the tree they couldn't just remove the Elements when done. sigh.

[Fistfire]

Noooooo! I don't think o can stand the library getting destroyed again. O hve read it destroyed thousands of times in thelp time loop series. [Sigh]

[Fistfire]

Noooooo! I don't think o can stand the library getting destroyed again. O hve read it destroyed thousands of times in thelp time loop series. [Sigh]