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Open Book3,171 words
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Stopping Time4,941 words
Identity Crisis4,246 words
Epilogue: Night Star's Report768 words

Identity Crisis

Identity Crisis

Contrary to what we believed, Ponyville did not return back to the town we loved. Things appeared broken and twisted, just as they were before. Shining Armor and Cadance waited within the town limits. All the flustered ponies flocked together in disbelief.

"I don't understand," Twilight stated, "We defeated him. Shouldn't things have returned back to normal?"

Celestia replied, "What has been altered could not have been so easily been undone with his disappearance alone."

Shining Armor asked, "What are we missing?"

"These! Ow... Ow... Ow...," Applejack said while hopping forward on her hind legs. Her brown hat rested slightly off balance on her head. One of her front legs was bandaged with a delicately wrapped white cloth. Her other leg held tight around the back of Rarity's neck. She carried a small woven tacklebag over her left shoulder. The brown markings on its side resembled the treasures Zecora kept from her native land.

"Easy with that leg!" Rarity exclaimed, "Zecora said it would still take another day to heal."

"AJ! Rarity!" Twilight rushed over and skipped a step over next to Applejack. "Are you to alright?"

Applejack replied, "I'm fine. My leg could be better."

Applejack looked at Twilight and then directly at the bag. Twilight reached into the sack and pulled out a large tome. Its binding pretruded out with black dragonscales, and a black encrusted head of a dragon covered over the front.

"What is this?" Twilight asked.

Applejack replied, "Open it."

Twilight unlatched the book's scarlet fastening and opened it. Inside laid the Elements of Harmony. "The elements!"

Applejack's eye twitched as she tried moving her wrapped leg. "Zecora found it in amongst her books while fixing up my leg. Ordain must have hidden it there when we weren't looking."

Twilight pulled out Rarity's and Applejack's necklace and secured them around their necks. Rainbow Dash pulled her necklace out and wrapped it around her neck. She turned around and passed on Fluttershy's necklace.

As Fluttershy strapped her necklace on, Twilight grabbed hold of her crown and gently placed it upon her head. She reached down and pulled out the last necklace with blue gems in the shape of a balloon. She glanced around the area and said, "Pinkie? Pinkie! Has any pony seen Pinkie?"

Pinkie popped up behind Twilight. "Surprise! I mean, present!"

Twilight lost hold of the necklace. It flung over near Pinkie Pie. The rate of her breathing increased dramatically. "Don't do that, Pinkie!"

Pinkie Pie snapped her hoof into the air and caught the necklace. She slipped the necklace around her neck and gleefully smiled.

As the ponies corralled together, I raised my hoof out to Twilight. "Wait! How do you know this will work? Ordain said, 'The elements of harmony won't work.'"

Twilight confidently stomped her hoof into the ground and lowered her head. "We represent the Elements of Harmony. If we could put a stop to Ordain, we can do the same to his effects." She raised her head up and smiled. "Besides, it won't hurt to try."

I felt the manes of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna brush against my sides. Shining Armor stretched his leg around Cadance next to me. We watched and waited as the six ponies proudly stood beside each other.

The colors of the rainbow emitted from each respectiveful gemstone. The magnificant rays shot up into the air and joined together above Ponyville. As the wavelengths arched downward, the colors turned into dust that fell to the ground.

As the light dissapated, Twilight's mouth opened wide. The power of the elements had no effect. The buildings remained intact as blocks of wood.

Pinkie Pie said, "Shouldn't that have worked?"

Twilight looked at Princess Celestia. "I don't understand. If that didn't work, what are we supposed to do now?"

Princess Celestia turned to her sister. "Luna, you know more about this that I do. Is there something here we are missing?"

Princess Luna gaited her way in front of me in a royal fashion, carefully laying each hoof flat in each one of her steps. "You need one more pony."

Rarity said, "But there was always six elements of harmony. Are you saying there is a seventh one?"

Princess Luna raised her leg in objection. "No, I'm not saying that at all. I'm merely implying you need the addition of another pony's special talent." She lowered her head and blissfully asked, "Moonlight, do you remember earlier, in the Everfree Forest?"

Rainbow Dash interloped, "You mean when one second the boulder was about to crush us and the next we were safe and sound?" She glanced between Princess Luna and I. "Yeah, what did happen back there?"

Luna explained, "The situation seemed bleak. That moment, I chose to slow down time."

Rarity exclaimed, "You can do that?!"

Princess Celestia playfully said, "Luna. I'm surprised at you. I never knew you could do that."

Luna bobbed her head and smiled. "You don't usually stay up that late. That ability draws off, not just from my own strength, but from the power of the moon. Slowing down time takes an extreme amount of concentration, leaving me almost completely immobile."

"Doesn't sound like a very useful spell," Twilight replied.

Luna continued, "Ah, but it helped Moonlight. His horn generated that same kind of power."

"My horn was glowing?" I asked.

Luna contained from laughing. "Yes, Moonlight."

"I don't understand. What does this have to do about the Elements of Harmony?" I asked.

A sudden spark of electricity appeared behind me. The surge tore open a hole through the fabrics of space and time. Within seconds, the small tear hollowed out into a black circular portal of emptiness. As if a drop of water descended upon its center, a ripple swiftly propelled outward to the boundary of the gate. A distorted image of the northern night sky appeared within its confines. Suction, created by the newly-developed portal, swirled around me.

"What is that?" Applejack asked as she grabbed hold of her hat.

The strength of the current pulled me off the ground and dragged me into the void. My last sight of Ponyville was of Princess Luna lunging forward before the portal disappeared. I became disoriented and nauseated from the constant spinning of the stars around me. Fortunately, the speed of my rotating gradually slowed down to a halt.

Without ground beneath my hooves, nor the movement of stars around me, my exact positioning in space appeared futile. There was no telling whether I completely stopped or progressively floated in one direction towards some unknown destination.

Everything seemed fine. My breathing remained constant. My body held completely intact. There were no burns or bruises, no stinging cuts on my skin. Besides being torn away from my friends, the scenery proved quite peaceful. Drifting in the depths of outerspace both frightened me and peaked my curiosity.

Thoughts raced through my mind of how such a phenomenon could have occurred. The generated portal emerged very much like the one from before I arrived in Ponyville. However, this time it popped up without a book. It's possible Ordain escaped and relinquished my assistance in helping reverse his creations. The event happened just when Princess Luna tried telling me something about myself.

As I searched for a clue, I heard the sound of static electricity. With a flash of light, a blue box appeared in front of me. "A phonebooth?"

The doors slid open, and a voice echoed out of the inside chamber. "These are the coordinates, but this can't be right! It's in the middle of nowhere."

A brown pony with an hourglass-shaped cutie mark walked out of the booth. He held a tiny strap of paper with some numbers written on it. The pony and his machine resembled a character with the same descriptions in a fiction I kept by my nightstand. A unique being that crossed different dimensions with an alternate way of measuring time.

The pony walked towards me as if crossing over on an invisible platform. As a flying comet quickly flashed through behind him, he tossed the paper over his shoulder and shrugged. "Oh well."

I failed to construct a coherent question and jumbled over my own words. "Who?... What?... Where?..."

"When and why are perhaps the two questions you should be asking," the pony replied.

"You don't happen to be the doctor?" I asked with a confused look on my face.

"Yes. You may call me Doctor Whooves if you wish."

"No!" I objected, "This is impossible. You are scientifically impossible."

With a smurk on his face, Doctor Whooves replied, "Don't be telling me I'm impossible, or anything for that matter."

I said, "You can't be him. He isn't real."

"Sure I am," he replied with no hesitation.

I flaired my legs around. "No really... you are who?"

"It's pronounced Whooves."

I closed my eyes and rubbed my forehead. "No. I mean. Who are you exactly?"

"There are a few possibilities."

I carefully listened as I imitated the Doctor's stance and felt something beneath my hooves. "Alright..."

Doctor Whooves cleared his throat and waved his left leg into the air. "For one, I could be the very doctor you know that travels all over the place. Through time even. Whether you read certain records of my account or heard witness testimonies, they are all completely accurate. Whatever myth you think I am is simply untrue."

"Or?"

Doctor Whooves planted his left leg down and switched over to his right. "I could very well be Starswirl the Bearded but only recognized now as... the Doctor. Ordain flung me into the future, but I used my knowledge of time to make it back to Ponyville using this device. When I noticed you went missing, I used the device to search you out."

"...Or?"

Doctor Whooves pointed at me. "Well we must not exclude the possibility that the stress of the entire situation could very well be warping your mind. I could simply be a figment of your imagination, here to sort things out for you. You could be hallucinating this whole thing."

The notions Doctor Whooves admitted to me blew my mind. True, the entire experience seemed a bit too surreal. Perhaps I only dreamed of leaving Ponyville. Maybe something knocked me out cold. However with my nerves shot and the synapses in my brain not making valid connections, the only thing I could do was shout, "What is going on here?!"

The Doctor calmly replied, "I'm glad you asked. There are a few possibilities on that too."

Waiting for another boggling response, I replied, "Fine. Tell me."

Doctor Whooves explained, "You may very well have been sent to another plane of existance, a form of limbo as it were. A portal formed when you struggled to make a decision about yourself. This area gives you time by yourself to ponder over things."

"Wait, what?"

Without a hitch, Doctor Whooves pressed on and explained, "There is always the chance you might have been knocked unconscious, and this is all in your mind. The ponies back in Ponyville could very well be trying to wake you up this very moment."

"You really aren't going to tell me what-"

"Or you used your powers on accident and traveled to a nice place in the galaxy to watch the shooting stars pass you by. Seriously, this is a nice spot."

The idea I personally teleported myself to an odd location grabbed my attention. "So what do I need to do to get home?"

Doctor Whooves wrinkled his eyebrows and mouth. He held back his thought as he uttered, "You... have to be the one to figure that out."

"WHAT?" I shouted, "Do you know?"

"Yes."

I said, "Then just tell me."

"I can't," Doctor Whooves replied.

"Why not?"

Doctor Whooves replied in an agitated state, "It won't help!"

"Please?"

"Nope."

"Please?"

"No."

"Pleeeeeease?" I asked with the biggest grin on my face.

Doctor Whooves rolled his eyes and sighed. Clearly my begging broke him. I knew he wouldn't leave without providing the necessary information for me to go home. "Alright," he said, "But only I am allowed to ask questions. You are only permitted to answer. Agreed?"

I nodded in agreement.

The Doctor asked his first question, "It is my understanding you live somewhere by Ponyville, correct? Have any friends?"

I had a hard time understanding the Doctor's line of questioning. Knowing I lived by Ponyville must have been an educated guess. Perhaps he wanted to know my biography to further understand my motives. I did acquire new friends in Ponyville, but the basis of his question must have partained to where my home resided. "I... don't really have any friends where I live."

"Occupation?" Doctor Whooves asked.

I felt like I was being interviewed for a job. I had no line of work, or type of employment. I lived alone. I carved wood out of necessity and read books with my spare time. "I really don't have one."

Doctor Whooves slowed his voice with his next question. "If you could go anywhere right now, where would you go?"

"I want to go back to Ponyville," I replied quick and direct.

"Are you sure?" Doctor Whooves promptly asked.

"...Yes."

Doctor Whooves shook his head. "You don't seem so sure."

The moment Doctor Whooves asked me the question, I replied without hesitation or thought. Nothing really mattered more than returning Ponyville back to normal. I cared about the ponies too much to skimp out on their time of need. In truth, my original goal of returning home had faded much away into the recesses of my memory. "Well...I kind of just wanted to go home."

"Which home?"

I cleared out the gunk in my ear that may have distorted Doctor Whooves' question. "I'm sorry, what?"

Doctor Whooves raised his voice. "I am the one asking the questions!" He paused to see if he had my attention. "You were living in a treehouse. What made you come to Ponyville?"

"How do you know about that?" I asked.

My lack of cooperation showed in Doctor Whooves voice. "Just answer the question."

I replied, "Ordain pulled me through a portal."

My answer pleased Doctor Whooves. With a slight grin on his face and twinkle in his eye, he asked me a troubling question with two simple words, "Did he?"

"Well I certainly didn't do it," I replied.

"Are you sure?" When I hesitated in my response, he continued saying, "What I've learned from my travels is to never assume anything. Anything is possible. Let us say for a moment that Ordain didn't do it. Let's say you did it. Why? What were you doing that moment?"

"Nothing."

Undoubtedly Doctor Whooves didn't believe me, but he played along by asking, "What happened with the book at Twilight Sparkle's place?"

Doctor Whooves knew too much about me. I had to ask, "Have you been following me?" With a simple glare from his face, I knew I wouldn't get an appropriate answer. Instead, I simply replied, "I just wanted to help Twilight Sparkle."

"What about the boulder?" Doctor Whooves asked.

I replied, "I just wanted-"

"Do you see where I am going with this? Doctor Whooves interjected.

The belief I had a unicorn's extraordinary power before turning into one sounded preposterous. By the questions posed by Doctor Whooves, I knew he tried implying that. I refused to accept something completely and utterly insane. "That doesn't prove anything."

Something happened inside of me as if my heart suddenly ripped apart. I collapsed on my knees. I gripped my chest. Pain seared through my body in an instant.

Doctor Whooves pressed on ignoring my current state. "It proves your abilities activate everytime you wanted to do something for another being. It is what makes you, you, the you to the very microscopic little cell of you. You are here, because you refuse to accept who you are. Essentially, a tantrum."

As the pain vanished, I rose up and stared Doctor Whooves in the eye. "I am not. What you say makes no sense."

Doctor Whooves paced across my point-of-view. His hurried speech demonstrated how impatient and forceful he wanted me to accept his argument. "You are one stubborn pony, you know that? Think! What is your talent?"

"I don't have one!" I shouted from the bottom of my soul.

A tear rolled down my cheek. My aching heart felt empty of purpose like the vastness of space around me. I never received my cutie mark. I never knew what to do in my life. I never knew what was right or wrong. I followed every pony else like an empty vessel.

Happily, Doctor Whooves comforted me. "Your talent is illumination. Just like the moon. Ponies see the moon everyday and are captivated by its shine, but they forget that the light doesn't originate from itself. Through diffuse reflection, the moon reflects sunlight onto Equestria."

"When you meet a pony, you tend to do the same thing. You reflect their personality and feelings. You certainly have other traits, but they don't necessarily shine through. Ponies know there is another side of the moon, but they don't see it. Yet, it exists. If they really want to see the entire moon, they would have to get closer and better acquainted with its properties and-"

I interrupted Doctor Whooves' rambling, "I thought music was my talent."

He replied, "Maybe you are just good with math."

The more I thought about it, the more I accepted the idea. I've almost always acted nearly identical to the ponies around me. "So whenever I saw a pony in trouble, I was able to use my powers to help them?

Doctor Whooves replied, "Precisely."

I stated, "That must be what Luna was trying to tell me. My power comes from others."

"A form of refraction, yes."

I said, "So if I see something that needs to be done, my horn will make sure it happens?"

Doctor Whooves waggled his hoof. "More or less."

A gust of wind blew past my mane. A portal with an image of my treehouse had appeared behind me. Electricity flowed around the outer rim of the wobbling tear. The circuit broke out and shocked my system. The pain forced me to my knees.

"Moonlight! Listen! You have to stop struggling. When you make a decision, believe in it," Doctor Whooves reassured me.

"I... want to help," I uttered while contending with the pain received by the bolt of lightning, "No... I can help."

A second lightning strike shot out of the portal. Before it could surge through my body, my horn glowed bright purple. The yellow stream of light redirected to my horn. The resulting clash repelled the volts back at the portal. The picture blackened and changed to an image of Ponyville.

The unusual tingling sensation of diverting electricity strained all from the tip of my horn to the edge of my tail. I looked at Doctor Whooves and asked, "What just happened?"

Doctor Whooves pointed at my flank. "That is what happened."

An interesting marking flashed forth upon my body. It resembled three separate gray rays of light pouring down onto a ripple of water below. The dispersion gave me a cutie mark of my very own to admire.

Doctor Whooves brushed his hooves together and raised his shoulders up. "Well, I think I accomplished what I was sent here to do. Mission successful."

As Doctor Whooves slid open the door to his phonebooth, I shouted, "Wait! I'm still not sure how to use my magic."

"Twilight Sparkle can help you with that. The rest will come naturally... in time."

I stepped towards the portal, but one last thing prevented me from entering. I turned my head back to the Doctor and said, "Thank you. I'll never forget this."

"What did I do?" Doctor Whooves replied, "I merely asked a couple of questions."

The door to the phonebooth closed shut and disappeared. I turned back to the portal and slipped through its jelly-like exterior. In seconds, I returned back to Ponyville. The crescent moon on Princess Luna's chest stared me in the face.

"Uh, Moonlight?" Princess Luna awkwardly asked.

I looked up at her face and blushed. "Sorry," I whispered as I slowly backed up.

The faces on my friends lit up. One after another they shouted, "Moonlight!"

Twilight asked, "What happened?"

"Nothing much. Space. Lightning. Portal. And my cutie mark!" I shouted as I shook my rump.

"Nice," Rainbow Dash stated.

Princess Luna lowered her head and looked me in the eyes. "Then this means you have found out your true potential."

Applejack asked, "But how does this help Equestria?"

"You'll see," Princess Luna stated, "Girls, ready for another strike. Moonlight, position yourself in front of the blow."

With the ponies circled around and their eyes glowing bright, energy poured out of their bodies and flowed directly at me. With a swift helping of magic, my horn acted as a prism and transformed the colors into a solid beam of white light that transversed across Equestria. With one fell swoop, the land returned to its former glory.

"It worked," Twilight said astounded at the results.

Luna said, "You performed wonderfully, Moonlight. Ordain's dark magic may absorb each of the Elements of Harmony, but the combination of them all actually transforms them into something completely new, something powerful enough to penetrate even his alterations."

"YEAH!" Pinkie Pie rushed over to the Sugarcube Corner and hugged the outside wall. "I missed you so much." She ran inside and exited with a large tray of cupcakes. "Who wants cupcakes? I do!" She slammed her head against the tray and inhaled one of the cupcakes. "Mmm. You guys want some? They're good!"

Rarity walked over to Pinkie Pie and picked up a cupcake. "Don't mind if I do."

Shining Armor smiled as Rarity partook into the cupcake's strawberry frosting. "I wouldn't mind having one too."

Princess Luna and I watched as our friends each received a cupcake from Pinkie Pie. When they distanced themselves from us, I looked up at Luna and said, "Thanks Luna for believing in me."

"All you needed was a bit of encouragement."

My eyes softened. "To think... saving all of Equestria...on my shoulders."

Princess Luna leaned next to me and whispered, "Actually Moonlight if you didn't come back, I was going to do it." My mouth opened wide. She turned and winked at me. "Let's keep this our little secret."

Cadance lifted a cupcake into the air. "Moonlight, you want one?"

"Just a minute!"

My adventure had come to an end. Hiding from the unknown brought me shame. Seeking a life of solitude only perpetuated my anxiety. Running from the truth ushered in pain. Fear plagued me for far too long.

When the decision came, I made my choice - to be with my friends, not in isolation. They are the ones who care about you. They are the ones that bring the best out of you. They are the ones you never forget. That is what matters.

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