Kindness
"Are you sure you'll be okay without me?" Twilight watched Spike with concern. While he had frequently run errands for her in Ponyville, she had rarely let him far outside the castle on his own in Canterlot. She had arrived in the capital to have tea with Luna, and Spike had informed her on the train he wanted to do some shopping. Alone. In one of the biggest cities in Equestria.
"Twilight, we've been over this. I know my way around like the back of my claw. I'm always right next to you when you come here, remember?" Twilight took a deep breath, and slowly let it out.
"I know Spike. It's just hard for me sometimes not to see you as the widdle baby dragon I hatched." she put on a purposely cutesy voice and gave him a nuzzle, causing the embarrassed dragon to blush and stumble back a couple steps. He glared indignantly as she let out a giggle.
"Twilight!" After watching what she went through against Tirek, Spike had finally broken down and told her that he saw her as his mother. After a long night discussing it, they had mutually come to the decision to treat each other more affectionately, although she told him he only had to call her mom if and when he was ready. If Spike was honest with himself, he had always seen her that way. He'd mostly been waiting for her to be mature enough to handle the role. Despite his feelings at the time, he could see now that it would have been unfair to thrust that kind of responsibility on a 9-year-old filly. None of that stopped him from being embarrassed when she did it in public, however.
"I know, I know. You're not a baby anymore, not really." It was true. Despite appearances, Spike had been hatched nearly 14 years ago. If he were a pony, he would look quite a bit older than the CMC, but dragons age naturally much slower than ponies, and Spike had long since made the choice to age that way, rather than taking a greed boost. Twilight smiled and rustled the spines on his head with one hoof. "But it's true. I still remember when you were so small you practically fit in my hooves."
"I get it," he grumbled, looking down in embarrassment. After a moment he met her gaze again. "But really Twilight. I'll be fine. I'm just going to pick up some things, and Rarity asked me to scope out the fashion district for a good building for her."
"Oh that's right, she's planning on opening a second store soon, right?" the Dragon nodded.
"Real soon, yeah. She made a lot of bits off her last deal with Sapphire Shore's, and it finally gave her enough for a down payment in the city." Twilight glanced up at the station clock and cringed when she realized how late she was running.
"Okay, fine. Just, be careful, okay? And don't be late meeting me at Mom and Dad's. I have the authority to put the city on high alert, and if you're so much as five minutes late I will not hesitate." He let out a chuckle and waved off her concern.
"Okay okay, I get it already. Go have tea with Princess Luna, and I'll see you at your parents' house tonight." She smiled and gave him one more quick nuzzle, ignoring his protests, before taking wing and heading towards the castle. She smiled fondly, thinking of her interactions with Spike, but once alone it didn't take long for her thoughts to take a downturn again. She had not been having a good couple days since arriving back in Ponyville. Attending Apple Bloom's cute-ceañera with the We Got Back Our Cutie Marks Again afterparty yesterday had been fun, and she had been sure she was over what had happened the night before. But then last night the nightmares had started up again. She had given up on sleep entirely halfway through the night, turning her head towards research instead. But she couldn't even focus on her books. She kept thinking of different ways she could have handled Starlight Glimmer.
She frowned as she felt her fur bunch up in goosebumps just at the thought of the other unicorn. The tree of harmony had given her the castle, and the map for a reason. And she had failed. Starlight had gotten away, run off to do Celestia knows what, and there was nothing Twilight could do about it now. She shook her head and let out a sigh, tilting her wings to bring her in for descent. Her landing in front of the grand entrance to the castle was a bit awkward, and she sent an embarrassed smile to a twittering pair of noble ponies. She had improved at flying of course, but she was still no Rainbow Dash.
She pulled open the doors with her magic and stepped inside. She was pleasantly surprised to see Princess Celestia chatting with an official in the hall. She smiled slightly at the sight, the princess was clearly bored out of her mind. Oh, her mask of attentiveness was near perfect, nopony who wasn't very close to her would be able to tell, but Twilight was very close with her, and could read it plain as day. Celestia glanced up on hearing the door, and her eyes lit up upon seeing her former student.
"Princess Twilight Sparkle! Whatever brings you here? Is everypony in Ponyville well?" Twilight bit her tongue to keep from laughing at Celestia's emphasis on her title and sent the official an apologetic look as the monarch dismissed him. The look he gave her was far more respectful than it would have been back when she was just a student. Few could argue with Official Princess Business. Twilight fell into step beside her former teacher as they headed towards the throne room.
"Everypony's fine Princess." Twilight gave a quick look to make sure the official was out of earshot. "Princess Luna invited me for tea"
"Oh, that's wonderful. How have you and my sister been getting along? I know she just adores you and your friends." Twilight smiled and nodded.
"Pretty well. We've been sending each other letters. I wish I could see you both in person more often, but I understand you have so many responsibilities." they had reached the throne room, and Twilight sat a moment with Celestia, although as usual for when they were alone the elder princess sat with her on the floor, rather than on her throne.
"Yes, the life of a princess isn't always an easy one." Celestia sent her a rueful look. "Of course, you know that as well as anypony now, don't you Twilight." Twilight blushed and looked down. She hadn't realized she was so transparent. She scolded herself, Celestia had helped raise her. Of course she would see how she was feeling!
"Yes Prince- er, Celestia. I've just had..." she let out a weary sigh. "I've had a lot on my mind. I never really decompressed after what happened with Tirek, and then the bombshell about the elements. Plus, well..." She trailed off. The princess nodded, leaning in to nuzzle the younger pony.
"I know, it's a lot on one pony's shoulders. Being a leader often means having to make difficult choices, and I don't doubt for a second you will always do the best you possibly can in a bad situation. I'm proud of you Twilight, always. Never forget that." Twilight smiled, leaning into the gesture. Already, she felt lighter. Talking to her mentor always made her feel better.
"Thanks, Princess. I should go meet Luna before I'm any later." Twilight rose to her hooves, an action mirrored by Celestia, who ignored the slip.
"You know, being a princess doesn't have to be all bad. Remember to take some time out to do things you enjoy, and just take your mind off things. Perhaps it's time you took on a student or two?" Twilight's eyes widened.
"A student? Do... do you really think I'm ready?" Celestia chuckled.
"Luna and I took on many students over the years, and will likely take on many more. My sister is already keeping an eye out for any candidates. It truly is a rewarding experience. One day I'll probably take another myself." she leaned in close to Twilight, voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "Don't tell them, but you'll always be my favorite." Twilight blushed slightly, letting out a giggle. Celestia stood back to her full height. "The choice is yours to make, either way. I won't force you. Just, think about what I said, okay?" The purple alicorn nodded.
"I promise I'll consider it. Thank you for the advice." They said their goodbyes and Twilight headed out to the castle gardens where she was to meet Luna. She noticed the night alicorn from a distance, watching the sky with a serene look on her face. Twilight glanced up. It wasn't quite evening yet, but the sun was low in the sky, the opposite horizon just beginning to darken. She lowered her gaze back to where she was going, only to find herself mere inches from Luna, who was smiling in amusement. Twilight's brain screamed for her to back up before she ran into her, and she ended up reflexively teleporting about a foot away. She dropped her head in embarrassment and mumbled and apology.
"Tis... it is no issue Twilight Sparkle." Luna's face screwed up in intense concentration as she spoke. "Forgive me, I am trying to modernize my speech patterns. Do tell me if I get something wrong." Twilight let out a small laugh and sank to a seat across from the other alicorn. There was a pop and a flash of nearly ultraviolet magic as a delicate pink china tea set appeared out of nowhere between them.
"It sounds great so far Luna." Twilight nodded at the other, who gave a small smile in return.
"Yes. It was my sister's idea. She felt it would help cross some of the distance between myself and other ponies. A thousand years is... a very long time." she looked down and they lapsed into silence. Twilight took a sip of her tea and watched the dark magic lift what had to be a good hoofful of sugar cubes and gently drop them into Luna's cup, then grab a spoon and begin stirring. Twilight made a face into her cup. She had nothing against sweetness but found the taste of sugar to be overpowering. She much preferred the full flavored sweetness of honey. She nearly choked when as soon as the sugar was properly dissolved, the honey jar lifted and proceeded to empty half it's contents into the cup. A chuckle brought her eyes up to Luna's face, and she found the other Alicorn grinning deviously at her. Very, very slowly, the other princess raised the sugary abomination to her lips and took a very deliberate sip causing Twilight to recoil in disgust, nearly dropping her own tea. She glared at the Luna, who had collapsed onto the ground laughing loudly. She rolled her eyes as Luna slowly composed herself, wiping a tear from her eye.
"Celestia... Celestia makes the exact same face at my drinking habits." She managed to get out, shaking with restrained laughter. She cleared her throat, and visibly calmed herself. "I am very glad I invited you. It has been most happening, and quite groovy." Choking on a laugh, Twilight opened her mouth to correct her, then thought back to what had just happened. She disguised it as a yawn, which was only partly faked. In an instant, Luna's face grew gravely serious. "Yes, but that is not the only reason I invited you today. I have seen your dreams Twilight Sparkle, and they have been troubled of late."
Twilight flinched. Luna's ability to traverse dreams, and even speak through them had been brought to her attention during Twilight time. Apparently, she had visited the dreams of both Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle last year, when they were troubled by something. Both fillies raved about the quality of her advice. Twilight had asked Luna about it in her next letter, and Luna had explained some of how it works. In the realm of dreams, she had all the dreams of all the ponies in Equestria laid before her, but her magic drew her towards those who needed her help. When she had first heard about it, it sounded wonderful. Having somepony guarding her, even from nightmares made her feel so protected. Now, she just felt oddly exposed.
"I'm... fine. I've just had a lot on my mind. The Tirek fight, losing the elements, the map, it's just... all been a lot to take in in a short amount of time." Luna nodded and extended a wing in a welcoming gesture.
"Yes. Why don't you tell me about it Twilight Sparkle? They say a burden shared is a burden halved. Why not start by telling me of this map?" Twilight nodded, rising to her hooves and starting to pace in front of Luna. Luna said nothing, she had seen on more than one occasion that this was simply how Twilight focused.
"Well, it all started last week. The table in my throne room turned out to contain a secret magical map of Equestria, and it sent me and my friends on a mission out to the middle of NOWHERE, where there was this creepy little town where everypony had weird fake smiles and the same cutie mark!" at this Luna's expression changed from polite interest to something more serious. Twilight didn't notice, now that she had begun recounting the tale, she couldn't stop. She paced even quicker, moving in tight circles before the elder princess. "So we got down there and everypony is just... really bland. Like they had no personality at all. And then..." she trailed off and a shudder ran through her, a haunted look in her eyes. Luna reached out a hoof to touch the shaken pony, but before she could Twilight shook her head, coming back to herself.
"Th-then we met the leader of the town. She said her name was Starlight Glimmer, and that everypony in town had been... liberated from the pain of having cutie marks." her face scrunched up, disgusted by the idea even now. "She wanted us to give up ours, said that with a princess on her side, soon all of Equestria would be... free. She invited us to explore the town and see how 'happy' everypony was. We went to a bakery and met some of the townsponies and they told us about the 'Staff of Sameness' and the cutie mark vault. So we got St-St... we got her to take us up there and... and... oh Luna!" she stopped pacing and looked Luna in the eye directly. "It was a wall of cutie marks! Hundreds of them, all in little containers behind glass. And then she! Sh-she...!" Shaking legs dropped Twilight into a sitting position. Her wings drooped, flight feathers trailing on the ground. She still faced Luna, but her eyes were far away, reliving that moment. Luna's eyes went wide with alarm, and there was an ultraviolet flash transporting them to her private rooms just before the wail came. "She stole our cutie marks!"
*****************
Apple Bloom trotted happily towards Ponyville, feeling very grown up. Applejack and Big Mac were both busy with the farm, and Granny was at a follow-up appointment for her hip surgery, so there was nopony to head into town to run some errands. Apple Bloom had calmly presented a case for herself being the pony to do it, seeing as she was a mature mare now, with her cutie mark and everything.
And when that had failed, she had begged, and pleaded, and swore on everything from her ribbon to her tail that she wouldn't mess this up. Finally, Applejack gave up and let her go. Which brought her to now, wearing her brand new green saddlebags with her cutie mark on them, a present from Rarity, who had also made her cute-ceañera for free. Although she had seen Applejack sneaking bits into the fashionable mare's hat when she wasn't looking, she knew that it would nowhere near cover what the dress should actually cost.
Her cute-ceañera itself had been like a dream. She'd gotten to wear the gorgeous peach dress Rarity had made her, which perfectly complimented the pink in her eyes. And it had had so many gorgeous details and flounces, she was shocked her sister hadn't fallen down dead at the impracticality. She could only imagine what Sweetie's would look like. Then they had gone to the spa to have her mane done, in a beautiful style with two braids starting in front of her ears and looping back to meet at the back of her head, with her ribbon braided in and tied into a bow right where the two braids met. She had tried all morning to replicate this work of art, but the best she had managed was a single clumsy braid which hung over her shoulder now, with her bow tied at the end of it. Best of all, all her friends had come. In fact, her entire class had come, with the noticeable exception of two fillies.
Apple Bloom made a face, her good mood evaporating as she saw one of those very fillies ahead of her, on the bridge heading into town. She started to turn and try and find another way, so as to not have a confrontation with the other filly when something made her pause. She wasn't that far from the bridge, having been lost in thought of the party yesterday, and she was definitely close enough to have been noticed, but Diamond Tiara hadn't even glanced up. She stopped and took a moment to really look at her. The pink filly was stood up on her hind legs, front ones folded on the railing, and her head resting on them. She was staring down into the water and looked... sad. She almost looked like she was going to cry.
"Diamond Tiara? Are you... okay?" she shocked herself by speaking. And shocked the other too, by the look of it. Diamond Tiara's head snapped around, and she dropped to all fours to glare at the other filly. The soft sadness had gone from her face, replaced the usual icy mask of disdain she donned whenever around her classmates. Only, for the first time, it didn't fool Apple Bloom at all.
"How dare you! Were you spying on me? Don't you have anything better to do, you... you... dirt farmer!?" Long habit allowed Apple Bloom to be baited, distracting her from what she had seen.
"Dirt! At least we do an honest work! All you do is sit around! What the hay is..." she had stalked onto the bridge by now, a mere foot from her rival. This close, the obviousness of the other's previous condition stopped her anger in its tracks. Diamond's eyes were rimmed with red, and her mane was frankly the messiest Apple Bloom had ever seen it. Not that that was saying much, since it still looked much nicer than her own, but she had been used to perfection with nary a hair out of place from the rich pony. She calmed, something that seemed to set Diamond Tiara on edge again. She looked almost, afraid, by this change. "What's your problem with me?" she finally finished in a subdued tone.
Diamond Tiara seemed to start at this, then opened her mouth to fire back an angry retort, before closing it thoughtfully. This repeated several times before she sighed. She sat delicately in front of Apple Bloom, who mirrored the action in confusion. Diamond Tiara gave her an appraising look.
"What does my cutie mark mean?" she asked, finally. Apple Bloom stared at her, perplexed. Of all the possible responses, she never expected this. What did that have to do with anything? She started to reply, only to stop. Each time a member of the class received their cutie mark, the entire class was made to write an essay about what their cutie mark meant, or what they imagined their future one to be. The next day, anyone who wanted to was allowed to read theirs aloud to the class. Diamond Tiara never had, not even when she'd first gotten her own, just laid it silently on Miss Cheerilee's desk. Apple Bloom had never thought about it before, but that was an odd thing for the usually boastful pony to do. Maybe she was embarrassed about it?
"It means you're good at sitting around looking pretty, right?" Sure it wasn't a talent Apple Bloom would be proud of having, but it fit Diamond just fine, so why be embarrassed? The look on the face of the other pony wasn't embarrassment though. It almost looked like... resignation? Diamond sighed again, turning to stare at the bridge next to her rather than at Apple Bloom.
"My father loves the working pony. He says everything great in this world is made from the efforts of honest, hard working ponies. It's... it's why he's so fond of your family." she glanced quickly at Apple Bloom in acknowledgment of this before looking back down. "For my 9th birthday, my mother bought me jewelry. My father took me to go see how it was made. Do you know how jewelry is made, Apple Bloom?" her head rose to look the farm pony dead in the eyes.
"Not... really." She admitted. She knew Rarity did something involving jewels, but she had never really bothered to learn what. She still didn't see where this was going.
"It's rocks. Some rocks hold priceless gemstones inside, others can be twisted, and polished, and shined into the beautiful necklaces, and bracelets and earring everypony loves. These ponies, they take rocks and turn them into something beautiful and valuable. I was entranced. I insisted on learning. My first efforts... they were pretty bad." she looked down in embarrassment, before looking back up, pride and hurt both shining in her purple eyes. "My tiara was the very first thing I successfully made." Apple Bloom's eyes widened and her jaw dropped.
"You... you made your tiara??" realization hit her hard. She and her friends weren't the only ones who had misconstrued the other filly's cutie mark, their whole class had. She'd even heard other towns ponies talking about it. "Why... why didn't you ever tell us?" Diamond Tiara turned red and jumped to her hooves, tears once again pricking her eyes, but these were of anger.
"Because nopony ever asked! Everypony just assumed my mark meant 'sitting and looking pretty' from the day I got it! Even my... even my mother hopes that that's what it means so that I won't be a 'common trade pony'" she wrinkled her muzzle at the words before continuing, her voice sad again. "The only ones who know what it really is are my father, Miss Cheerilee, Silver Spoon, and Randolph. Silver is the only one who knows what it's like. She collects antiques, and her special talent is in finding the value within even simple things, not just 'being rich'!" Panting slightly, Diamond sat back down. Apple Bloom was in shock and had no clue what to say. 'I'm sorry' didn't seem to cover the scope of this. Swallowing slightly, she went with the first thing that popped into her head.
"Can ah see it? Your tiara?" Diamond stared at her in shock for a moment, before turning slightly red.
"I-I guess. But it isn't even that good. The trade was meant for unicorns, so it's almost unheard of for an earth pony to do at all." She carefully removed the tiara and held it out for Apple Bloom to inspect. Up close, it was far from perfect. Odd bulges and bends littered it, usually carefully disguised by hair and distance. But it still looked really good, to Apple Bloom anyway. Especially for a first success. She gingerly gave it back.
"Ah think it's great. What did your teacher say?"
"I didn't have one. I learned all by myself. Nopony would agree to teach an earth pony how it would just be a waste of time." this last was said bitterly, and with an air of quotation.
"You learned that all by yourself? And you think it's bad? For somepony self-taught you're amazing Diamond!" the pink filly blushed, surprised at the compliment. An idea went off in Apple Bloom's head. "Hey, have you ever considered an apprenticeship? Ah bet you could pick it up in no time with somepony helping you."
"Weren't you listening? Nopony will teach me!" there was resignation, and a sense of hopelessness in her voice, but Apple Bloom was undeterred.
"Did you try askin' Rarity? Ah know she mainly does dresses, but she does work with gems and metal too, which sounds like it could be similar to what your lookin' for. Ah know she harvests it herself from raw materials."
"Oh yes, I'm sure she would just love to help me after how I've treated her sister." Diamond Tiara scoffed, but when she spoke there was a sorrow behind the mockery. Apple Bloom wondered how long it had been there, and why she had never seen it before today. But she was right. They stood in silence for a moment, before she had another idea.
"Ah could... maybe put in a good word for you?" the words came out soft and hesitant, almost shocking herself with them. The pink filly was even more shocked.
"And why would you do that? We hate each other! I've..." she trailed off, looking away. "I've been awful to you." Apple Bloom nodded slowly.
"You have. But, ah'm startin' to realize there was plenty of that on both sides." she held out a hoof. "So... truce?" Diamond stared at the offered hoof dubiously, before shaking it.
"This doesn't make us friends you know." Apple Bloom just smiled and nodded, before continuing to town to run the errands her sister had asked her for. True, they weren't magically going to be friends now. But, it seemed like maybe that door wasn't tightly locked anymore.
****************
Fluttershy was having a wonderful day. Angel was behaving, Matilda the duck's wing was healing nicely, and she had even managed to smooth over an argument between Mr. and Mrs. Otter. As a treat to herself, sh had decided to head into town and pick up the ingredients for her favorite meal for dinner. It was a lovely day, so she decided to just walk. She smiled, noticing Apple Bloom on the bridge with another filly. While her first attempt at babysitting hadn't gone well, she had done so again on a few occasions, usually separately this time, and had grown quite fond of the fillies. She watched as the other filly, a little pink one she didn't recognize, showed something to Apple Bloom. As she got closer, almost close enough to call out, Apple Bloom held out her hoof to the other filly, and in that moment something truly bizarre happened. Fluttershy stopped dead in her tracks, as Apple Bloom seemed enveloped in a soft pink light. Neither filly seemed to notice, however, and as the other shook Apple Bloom's hoof the light darkened to almost red, before dissipating. A strange feeling welled in Fluttershy's chest, some strange combination of pride and connection causing her to gasp.
As soon as she could move again she turned and took off, on wing this time, towards Sweet Apple Acres. Applejack would have to hear about this!
*************
Applejack gave a sigh and wiped the sweat from her brow. She glanced up at the sun. Apple Bloom would be in Ponyville by now. At least, she should be. No way of knowing with that filly. She gave a small chuckle, thinking of the havoc she had put Big Mac and Granny through at that age. And of course... she shook her head. No point in dwelling on things you couldn't fix. She turned to head back out and start bucking the next grove when a fast moving blur appeared in the corner of her eye. Reflex saved her, and she jumped out of the way just in time as whatever it was barreled out of the air straight through where she had been standing, continuing through the open barn door to crash into a haystack, sending the stuff flying everywhere. As moment later, as Applejack took a cautious step into the barn, a familiar yellow pegasus flopped out of the pile to collapse, panting, on the floor of the barn.
"Applejack... important... had to tell you quick..." Fluttershy wheezed before collapsing back down on her back. Applejack rolled her eyes a bit. Fluttershy wasn't the most athletic inclined of ponies, and when she 'rushed over to tell you something important', it often seemed to take longer than if she had simply walked. Feeling somewhat amused, she waited while her friend's color and breathing went back to normal, and she rolled over to take a long drink of water from the bucket Applejack kicked over to her.
"Alright, so what was so important you had half kill yerself rushin' out here to tell me?" Fluttershy nodded, pulling away from the water somewhat regretfully.
"I was heading into Ponyville, and on the way I saw Apple Bloom, and-"
"Oh of course! What has that filly done now? Ah swear no sooner do ah start to raise my expectations of her than she stomps them right back down into the-" her rant ceased as she caught sight of Fluttershy's face, looking sad, and almost apologetic. "She's alright? She's not hurt is she?" Fluttershy opened her mouth, hesitated, then closed it again. Her hesitation filled Applejack with dread.
"She's not hurt... but... I think she might be..." Fluttershy bit her lip, hiding slightly behind her mane.
"Might be what, Fluttershy!?" Applejack demanded, harsher than she had intended. Fluttershy flinched backward, letting out a squeak.
"I think she's an element of harmony!" she yelled, scared half out of her tail. Applejack froze. Applejack was a pony of motion, maybe even more so than Rainbow Dash. Now, she barely seemed to breathe. Seeing her this still chilled Fluttershy, scaring her more than any act of violence could have. It took a long moment for her to snap out of it, a seeming eternity. Finally her eyes, widened by the news, narrowed in anger.
"Tell me what you saw. All of it, don't leave nothin' out." Fluttershy nodded quickly, sinking down lower against the floor of the barn.
"W-well I was walking into town... a-and I saw her on the bridge with a filly I didn't recognize, pink with a purple mane and-"
"Pink..? Oh, that musta been Filthy Rich's filly, Diamond Tiara."
"I-I suppose. Anyway, they were talking, and the filly... Diamond Tiara... showed her something, and then Apple Bloom held out her hoof to shake and-"
"No, no that can't be right. Those fillies hate each other. You sure you saw what you think you saw?"
"Yes, Applejack," Fluttershy said firmly. Applejack sighed.
"All right, ah believe you. Go on then, what's next?"
"Well as she reached her hoof out, she was surrounded by this soft pink light. Neither of them seemed to notice, but it just looked and felt so familiar I... I think it was the element of kindness." Applejack let out a sigh and pressed a hoof to her forehead. She suddenly felt a migraine coming on. She dropped to a seat.
"Are you sure?" she asked in a somewhat broken voice. Fluttershy thought about it for a second, then nodded.
"Yes. I'm certain of it. And when Diamond Tiara reached out and touched her hoof, the light changed color. I think... I think it accepted her as it's new bearer." They sat in silence for several minutes while Applejack absorbed this.
"Twilight," she said finally. "We have to get to Twilight. Twilight can fix 'er, Ah'm sure of it." She jumped to her hooves, startling Fluttershy into doing the same.
"Well, m-maybe but... Twilight's having tea with Princess Luna, remember?" Applejack's face clouded with thought. "Maybe we should just wait?" Fluttershy offered.
"No." Applejack said quietly. She looked out the barn door at the sun. Had it really only been minutes that they'd been in here? She turned back to Fluttershy. "Gather the girls. We're going to Canterlot.
******************
Twilight sat on Princess Luna's bed, wrapped in a deep purple blanket. A mug of hot chocolate sat cooling in front of her. After her declaration, Twilight had been distraught. The princess had comforted her until she felt ready to continue, and which point a glow of magic escaped Luna's horn, and a moment later Celestia had appeared in a flash of gold. After Luna summarized the first half of the story, the sister's listened grimly as Twilight described what else had happened in that horrible town.
"I'm sorry... I've failed you horribly. We were caught off guard and St- she got away." she finished, tears welling once more. Celestia walked over and nuzzled her shaken student.
"Never, Twilight. You did the best that could have been expected of you, of anypony. Even one of us." she glanced at Luna who nodded.
"Tis true Twilight. Just because we are princesses does not make us perfect. Any of us." Twilight sniffled but nodded.
"It... it didn't feel like this when Tirek did it. I still feel..." she trailed off, for once having no words to explain herself.
"You are correct, it is nothing like what Tirek did. He stole magic, which kept your special talent from expressing itself. What she did... it severed your connection with your talent entirely, essentially cutting off part of who you truly are. That is why your friends suffered the personality changes they did. It is very powerful, and very forbidden magic.This is very serious indeed." Luna turned to Celestia, who nodded.
"Yes. And that is not the only thing that concerns me." She walked over to the window, staring out at the sky for several moments. "Twilight, in your studies, have you ever come across a stallion named Pretty Words?" Twilight flinched but nodded. She had read that particular bit of Equestrian history while in a section of the royal library she wasn't technically allowed in. She quickly thought back to that day, pulling up the passage in her head.
"Yes.... he was an earth pony charged with the murder of sixty-three ponies about thirty years ago. He was sentenced to life in the dungeons, the last pony to receive such a harsh sentence so far." Luna looked up in shock. Celestia nodded, sending her student a quick affection look, only to quickly grow serious again.
"Yes. And do you know the only reason he was given that sentence?" She looked into Twilight's eyes, noting her confusion. "Because we don't put ponies to death, although there was a lot of outcry for me to make an exception. Luna and Twilight both stared at her in shock.
"Sister..?" Celestia nodded solemnly.
"Yes. It is rare for our little ponies to wish such a thing on anypony but... this was a very severe case you see. Twilight, you're likely unfamiliar with this word, but he was the leader of something known as a cult." Luna gasped. "He believed earth ponies to be inherently superior to any other race. Or... perhaps he didn't and just used words to manipulate those who did. Oh yes Twilight, even today there are those who believe in the superiority of one race over the others. It isn't true, but ponies will always believe what they believe. He found others who shared in this belief. So... so many of them." Twilight flinched at the pain in her mentor's voice, longing to run to her, but understanding Celestia needed to finish this story. Whatever this 'cult thing was, it was important to understanding that town. Although, Twilights analytical brain was already making connections, and none of them were good. "They hung on his every word. They gave him all of their possessions, lied for him, stole. He asked them to lay down their lives for him and they gladly agreed. Not... not all of them were even earth ponies. Of these, he asked the most. Unicorns and pegasi who joined were asked to... to become earth ponies." Twilight held a hoof to her mouth, fighting the urge to retch. Short of ascending to alicorndom, a pony of one race could never become another. But they could be made to look like one.
"Surely... surely they did not..." Luna was shaken. Such things happened on occasion shortly after the founding of Equestria, but she had never heard of a pony willingly submitting to such a thing. But Celestia nodded, only long years of practice keeping her emotions in check.
"They did. When they were finally caught there were eight unicorns and five pegasi among their ranks. From what I understand, there were seven others who refused this... cure, as they called it. They were killed by the others." At this point, Twilight let out a sob. She was trembling from horn to hoof. How could such actions have been committed by ponies? Celestia kept going, knowing if she stopped now she wouldn't be able to bring herself to finish, seeing the anguish it put her student through. "The final thing he asked, was that they kill for him. You see Twilight, he never killed a single pony with his own hooves. He led others to do so for him. They killed twenty-four mares, twenty stallions, and twelve foals of the unicorn and pegasi races. Each of them was disfigured in the same way as the members, all done premortem. They were finally caught halfway through the murder of a family of unicorns. It was... too late to save the parents. The guards were able to save the filly but... she never did magic again. In total there were twenty-seven cult members at the time of arrest. He was sentenced to the dungeon, and we did our best to rehabilitate the rest. Some are still in hospitals. A couple have been released, although they are carefully watched, just in case. A hoofful have killed themselves." Celestia sighed and looked back into the room. "Do you understand why I told you all of this Twilight?" The crying mare nodded.
"That town... it was a cult wasn't it? Not as extreme but... the same idea." Celestia nodded.
"From what you've told me, as soon as her fraud was revealed the other ponies rebelled against her teachings. This is good, although we will be keeping an eye on this town for a while, just to make sure." Only now, did she move to comfort her student. "I'm so, so sorry you had to learn all of this Twilight. I had always hoped to shield you from the darker parts of life but... it would seem that I had already failed even before today. I'm truly sorry you and your friends went through what you did at the hands of this pony, and if any of you ever need to talk know my sister and I are here for you. Always."
**********
It was nearly night by the time Twilight felt up to leaving. Celestia had bid her goodbye and gone to check on how things had gone with the kingdom after her sudden absence. Luna had insisted on walking her home, saying she had plenty of time before her duties became necessary. Twilight chewed her cheek slightly. To be perfectly honest, there had been something else nagging at her. As they entered the neighborhood where her parents lived, she let out a quiet sigh.
"Luna? I... there's something I've been thinking about. It... it's kind of silly but..."
"Fear not Twilight, you can tell me anything." Twilight nodded, but it was a minute or two before she spoke again.
"It's just that... well... ever since becoming a princess, I've been afraid of..." she sighed and shook her head, stopping just short of her parent's gate to face Luna. "Am I going to have to outlive all of my friends?" Luna gave her a bewildered look.
"Why on earth would you be worried about that?" Twilight blushed slightly, feeling truly foolish. But she had come this far.
"W-well, I am an alicorn now... I was worried I might be... immortal..?" her voice faded as she spoke, quieted by Luna's obvious amusement. The elder princess let out a bark of laughter, tears gathering in her eyes as she struggled to contain her mirth.
"M-my apologies Twilight Sparkle... it is just... I had been led to believe you witnessed an alicorn again for yourself with Princess Cadence, did you not?" Twilight's blush deepened. She had forgotten. "Have no fear of outliving your friends, becoming an alicorn does not make one immortal Twilight," Twilight let out a small laugh, filled with relief, and maybe just the slightest twinge of regret. She opened her mouth to apologize for being silly when Luna continued. "Using the elements does." LUna's laughter continued, as she failed to notice the utterly stricken expression rising on Twilight's face.
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I am interested to see where this story goes. I'm enjoying it so far.
So, concerning the guesses for who bears the elements, is it just the CMC that are the new bearers? Or are other individuals valid guesses? Because if it is just CMC then my guesses are as follows:
Apple Bloom - Kindness & Generosity
Sweetie Bell - Magic & Loyalty
Scootaloo - Honesty & Laughter
8225733
Also, there will be 6 bearers. Try taking a peek at the character tags again.
Thanks so much.
8225879
So no Silver Spoon as a possibility?
Now seeing the character tags:
Apple Bloom - Kindness
Sweetie Bell - Magic
Scootaloo - Generosity
Diamond Tiara - Loyalty
Pound Cake - Honesty
Pumpkin(?) Cake - Laughter
8225899
Sadly no, although she will still be in the story. I did consider her, but in the end, it came down to how I personally believe the elements function as a symbol of harmony between the pony races. Lack of balance would throw them off kilter in my eyes. In my version, the only reason the Princesses could wield them was that Alicorns canonically have the abilities of all 3 races.
8225919
Makes sense when presented like that. Can't argue with there being a balance between the number of ponies from each species.
I REALY love this. It's a shame it looks like you won't be continuing it...
8550081
Ah..! I will be, slowly but surely. I don't get as much time to type since my son started walking, but I haven't given up.
Thank you very much for reading though, it means a lot to me. 
8555321
Any great story featuring a reformed Diamond Tiara and those ever lovable Crusaders I'm automatically attracted to, so don't be surprised that I'm a fan. I look forward to you carrying this on one day, and congrats on your son's achievements...
More please *hissss*