Camaraderie is Sorcery

by FireOfTheNorth

Chapter 2:2 - Harmony's Return, Part the Second

Author's Note:

Find translations for this chapter here.

Chapter 2:2 – Harmony’s Return, Part the Second

Twilight Sparkle stared in horror as the world came apart at the seams, Discord chuckling gleefully all the while. How can this be? How could we have failed?

“What do you think you’re laughing about?” Pinkamena demanded of the mad draconequus without a hint of fear.

There’s also that problem, as if things weren’t going poorly enough already. What has happened to my friends? They’re all being horrible.

“Why, I’m laughing at you of course, and your failure to come anywhere close to posing a threat to me,” Discord chortled, “Oh, it’s nice to be able to have a bit of fun again!”

“Fun? Fun!” Pinkamena yelled, “I’ll teach you to laugh at my expense!”

The bard charged Discord, who easily grabbed her with a claw, extended his arm, and deposited her far, far away from him. Pinkamena charged the draconequus again, dodging falling furniture, but stopped as she passed Fluttershy, who was pointedly laughing at her. Pinkamena tried to attack Fluttershy instead, but now that she had her wings back, she was able to stay easily out of range of the pink pony’s swings.

“Y’know, Rarity, since we found this diamond o’ yours together, Twi’ said we ought t’ split it six ways,” Applejack casually mentioned as she moved to pull the rock from Rarity’s clutches.

“Never!” Rarity yelled as she struck out, and Applejack narrowly avoided a hoof to the face, “It’s mine! All mine, I say! Get back!”

“That is enough!” Twilight Sparkle yelled as Pinkamena clambered over her in an attempt to reach Fluttershy, “What has happened to all of you? You are acting just awful!”

“You’re one to talk,” Fluttershy snorted, pausing in her mockery of Pinkamena for a moment, “Madam ‘I’m from Cant’r Laht so I’m superior to you and don’t have time for your muddy peasant town’s concerns’.”

Twilight’s ears fell back at Fluttershy’s accusation. It wouldn’t have stung so badly if it hadn’t had the ring of truth to it. I was a pretty awful pony when I first met them, wasn’t I? Is there a single one of them that I haven’t acted like in some way in the past? But … that’s all behind me! I’m a better pony now after spending time with them … aren’t I?

Discord continued to laugh nearby, one eye narrowed suspiciously while the other rolled around crazily. Discord! It can’t just be that my friends have begun displaying the terrible flaws I had after spending all this time with me, with nary a hint of them before. He’s got to be behind this somehow!

“Discord!” Twilight Sparkle demanded as she marched up to him, projecting magical shields around her body to protect herself, “What have you done to them? I thought your little ‘game’ had rules. You have not given us a fair chance!”

“Excuse me? I’m not the one who broke both the rules I laid out for you explicitly at the start. That would be your not-so-loyal-after-all compadre Rainbow Dash,” Discord said as he reached over and popped Twilight’s guarding spells like a soap bubble with one of his claws, “A fair chance is exactly what you got, and I must say it was far fairer than what I ought to have given you out of self-preservation.”

“Just how is removing the labyrinth before we can find the Elements of Harmony fair?” Twilight demanded as she tried to recreate her magical shields and ended up conjuring frogs wearing pantaloons instead.

“Who said I’d hidden the Elements of Harmony in the labyrinth?” Discord asked dismissively and snapped his claws.

The entire world around the sorceress flip-flopped violently, but something told her she couldn’t and shouldn’t fight it. When some semblance of normality returned, she felt … flat. With a start, she realized she was part of one of the tapestries in Cant’r Laht Castle’s treasury. It was a bizarre sensation; in any other situation, she’d have wanted to gather as much data on as possible, but there was no time for that now. She and her friends were in the vault, along with the statue of Celestia, while Discord spoke to them from another tapestry.

“Twists and turns are my master plan. Then find the Elements back where you began,” the tapestry-Discord repeated before Twilight was whisked back to the present and regained her natural form (apart from a few flowers sprouting in her mane).

“You deduced they would be in the labyrinth, but that deduction was wrong, and it has cost you, Twilight Sparkle,” Discord mocked as he figure-skated around her.

“Whatever you have done to my friends … that is what you are talking about, is it not?” Twilight asked as Discord did a flip, “What have you done to them? Made them the opposite of what they were?”

“Yes!” Discord said enthusiastically, “And no. It wasn’t that hard to change them into what they are now. It was already inside them, after all. No pony, no matter how much you may think they embody a virtue, is safe from falling to the accompanying vice. All it takes is a little push, one I was glad to give.”

“So, you did not give us a fair chance after all,” Twilight huffed.

“I grow tired of this. If they really are as splendid as you imagine, then you ought to be able to bring them back with your own good nature. However, you’re a bit lacking in that department, madam sorceress,” Discord said mockingly as he rolled his eyes, “I’m through with you for the moment. So, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to spread some more chaos around. Ta-ta!”

With a snap of his claws and a flash of light, Discord vanished. As he departed, a rift opened in the sky, from which a tentacle lanced out, grabbed Cant’r Laht Castle, and deposited it upside-down on a cloud. Now what? As Discord demonstrated, my magic won’t work correctly so long as he’s spreading chaos everywhere, so what can we do to fight him? Celestia had the right idea about using the Elements of Harmony, but that plan has failed. Celestia …

“Hooves off my diamond!” Rarity yelled as she galloped past, the rock tied to her back with what looked like checkered hose.

“You mean my diamond,” Fluttershy said viciously as she swooped down and pulled the rock from Rarity’s back. The blacksmith wouldn’t give it up without a fight and jumped to grab it, her hooves dangling above the ground as Fluttershy tried to fly away.

Discord said that he can’t affect the Elements of Harmony, so he must still be hiding them somewhere, but where? What was that riddle? “To find your missing Elements, just make sense of this change of events. Twists and turns are my master plan. Then find the Elements back where you began.” Back where we began? Cant’r Laht Castle? Haltrotsun Manor? There’s no telling where he considers the place we “began.”

“Seeing as how I grew it on m’ farm, th’ diamond belongs t’ me,” Applejack said as she jumped up to grab the stone as well, dragging the pegasus and unicorn down to the ground with the added weight.

“That’s a good one,” Fluttershy laughed.

“Stop laughing!” Pinkamena demanded, and she tried to climb on Applejack and Rarity to get to the pegasus.

“I have had more than enough of this!” Twilight yelled, casting a spell that thankfully didn’t go awry and teleported the four ponies to separate locations, “I do not know what it was Discord did to all of you, but you make me wish you had all stayed in Ponieville!”

Wait, could it be?

“Nice temper, madam sorceress,” Fluttershy said spitefully, “I see where you get it. You’re like Celestia in a lot of ways. You’re both failures at stopping threats to the future of the entire world, for example.”

“Where we began. Where we began,” Twilight repeated to herself, “Maybe that is it. The Elements of Harmony are hidden where we—the Brave Companions—began, where we first came together a year ago. We need to return to Ponieville, to Golden Oak’s laboratory.”

The only problem is getting there, Twilight thought as she looked out on the roiling mess of chaos that was quickly consuming the Equestry Valley.

***

As if the events of a year earlier were repeating themselves, Twilight Sparkle found herself headed down from Cant’r Laht to Ponieville. This time, however, it was not with an armed escort and Spike, but with her friends. Although, they weren’t acting like any ponies she’d want to associate with. She constantly reminded herself that this wasn’t who they were, that Discord had done this to them, but it was becoming more and more difficult to convince herself of that as time went on. Every time Applejack said something deliberately misleading, or Pinkamena accused somepony of making fun of her, or Fluttershy made a hateful comment, or Rarity reminded everypony not to look at her rock, she cringed, inwardly and visibly. They needed to find the Elements of Harmony and set things right before she did something that she regretted.

Normally the trip through the White Mountains and around the Everfree Forest to Ponieville took three days, but time had become less predictable since they’d left Cant’r Laht. Sun and moon rose and set in a seemingly random pattern. Twilight tried to track how much time had passed on their journey, but she soon gave up. The route was likewise changed from her past trips, but she kept her eyes on Ponieville and plowed ahead through all the oddities and dangers that presented themselves. Her magic only did what she intended one in every three times now, so she tried to keep its use to a minimum and find other ways to deal with obstacles, though her friends seldom helped out.

The sorceress was relieved to finally see Ponieville within reach, even if the town’s palisade was now made of candles and the entire hamlet had been twisted into a corkscrew-shape. Chaos was abundant in the area, from the giant woodland creatures ravaging the nearby farmland, to the off-color grass and sky, to the Mayoral Keep which was now shaped like a pumpkin. As something bounded by on its tongue, the ground shifted beneath Twilight and lifted her into the air. She spun around in confusion and found she was standing on Discord’s head.

“Marvelous, isn’t it?” the draconequus crooned, “I like your new home much better this way, don’t you?”

“I think it was better the way it was,” Twilight stated, and teleported away, reappearing upside-down and landing on her face in a small pond.

“Oh, look at you, defending a place for which you felt so much disdain,” Discord chuckled as Twilight tried to climb out of the pond, then fell on her face again as it zipped away of its own accord and scaled a tree, “You know, it’s a curious thing, but I think it was somewhere around here that I had my confrontation with Celestia and Luna. Of course, things looked very different then. Strange, isn’t it, how certain places tend to attract important moments, like duels whose outcome decides the future of the world? Perhaps you and I will duel here yet. I assume, given your attempts to herd your companions here and that dreadfully serious look on your face, that you haven’t given up yet.”

“Are you scared, Discord?” Twilight asked, “Are you afraid that we will defeat you once we have the Elements of Harmony?”

“Like that’ll ever happen with you leading us,” Fluttershy mocked, and Twilight winced.

“I know a much better way t’ defeat Discord than th’ Elements o’ Harmony,” Applejack stated.

“Yes, I’m absolutely terrified,” Discord said sarcastically with a chuckle before snapping his claws and vanishing.

The sorceress’s anger simmered until she forced herself to calm down. I am just like Celestia. Nearby, Fluttershy had started laughing at Pinkamena again and hovered out of her reach, one of her favorite pastimes as of late, and Twilight forced her anger down again. I bet Celestia never had to deal with anypony like this, though.

“Come on now, everypony, to defeat Discord we must find the Elements of Harmony, and for that we need to enter the laboratory,” Twilight said wearily after she somehow managed to get the five of them through the restructured Ponieville, “Can we please do so without any irksome lies, nasty comments, pointless complaints, or selfish declarations?”

“I would ne’er enter a mage’s laboratory in a million years,” Applejack said as she trotted up, pushed open the door, and stepped inside.

“Whatever you command, madam sorceress,” Fluttershy said spitefully as she entered.

“I hate this place! It’s too bright!” Pinkamena complained as she trotted after the others into the laboratory.

“Come on, Rarity,” Twilight pled with her as she stood stubbornly outside.

“Oh no, I know your plan,” Rarity said suspiciously, “Once I’m in there, I’ll be outnumbered by you and your minion Spike, and you’ll take my beautiful Thom. But it won’t work! This diamond is mine, all mine!”

“What are you talking about? What makes you think Spike is anywhere near here?” Twilight asked as Rarity cackled, then she heard the sound of the adolescent dragon’s cries from within the laboratory, “Spike?”

The sorceress rushed inside to see her friends milling around the common room while Spike ran around in circles, chased by a hopping pillow with teeth. Fluttershy dove from behind and knocked Spike over, and the pillow pounced on him, teeth scraping against his dragon hide as it tried to consume him. Twilight quickly cast a spell and the pillow burst into flames. Spike brushed away burning feathers as he pulled himself free.

“Fluttershy? What did you do that for? That … thing could’ve eaten me!” Spike said as he clutched himself, making sure he hadn’t been injured in any way.

“It’s a shame it didn’t,” Fluttershy said moodily, “Now we still have to listen to your annoying voice.”

“What?” Spike asked, completely stupefied by Fluttershy’s behavior, “Twilight, what happened, and why is everypony looking so … well, gray?”

Twilight Sparkle hadn’t realized it until now, but her friends’ coats had continued to fade since they’d left Cant’r Laht. As Discord’s insidious spell took greater hold of them, their colors seemed to drain more and more. She couldn’t explain the effect, nor would she be able to find it described in any book from either Celestia’s library, the Cant’r Laht archives, or Golden Oak’s collection. Even if she could find a book from Discord’s reign that was still readable, the description of the effect would have no real explanation, as it was with much of Discord’s chaos magic.

“Discord. I’ll explain later,” Twilight told Spike, “Assuming Golden Oak’s collection has not been rearranged or rendered nonsensical by Discord, do you know where Magical Relics of Modernity and Myth is? It helped us find the Elements last time, and I have a suspicion it might do so again.”

“Of course,” Spike said as he rushed over to the bookshelf, giving Rarity a wide berth as she glared at him while clutching the rock she’d dubbed Thom, “Here it is!”

“Whoops,” Fluttershy said as she knocked Spike into the bookshelf and snatched the tome from his claws.

“Fluttershy, give me the book,” Twilight said as she approached slowly, worried that this new Fluttershy would destroy or damage it in some way that would prevent them from finding the Elements of Harmony and defeating Discord.

“No way I’m letting you cast any spells on me, witch,” Fluttershy said venomously, and threw it to Applejack as Twilight leapt toward her, “Keep it away from her!”

“Applejack! I need that book now!” Twilight yelled as she landed and changed directions.

“Rarity has th’ book,” the farmer lied as she threw the book toward Pinkamena.

“Pinkamena!” the sorceress yelled, but she’d already thrown Magical Relics back to Fluttershy.

None of them let her get close enough to snatch the book, but she began to anticipate their moves and came closer and closer to intercepting it with the help of Spike. Finally she had it, or would have if Rarity hadn’t come out of nowhere and snatched it from the air before she could reach it.

“Mine!” Rarity called gleefully as she held onto the book, seemingly having forgotten her “diamond.”

“Rarity! I need that book to defeat Discord!” Twilight yelled as she chased her.

“No! Get your own! This is mine now!” Rarity said petulantly.

Twilight had nearly caught up to Rarity by the time Fluttershy grabbed her from above and threw her into a bookcase. Rare books rained down around her, and she poked her head out of the pile angrily. Rarity seemed to have gone back to Thom and Magical Relics was nowhere to be seen.

“Where is it?” Twilight demanded, “Where is the book?”

“I’ve ne’er seen it afore in m’ life,” Applejack lied.

“Enough with the lies!” Twilight yelled as she spotted the book behind Applejack and jumped toward her.

Pinkamena tackled her before she could reach the tome and pinned her to the ground. Rarity seemed to take a renewed interest in it and crept up to steal it from Applejack. The sorceress pulled free only to be immediately struck to the ground by Fluttershy. This is going to take all day unless I do something! Twilight cast a spell meant to separate all five of them, but instead she ended up reversing gravity within the laboratory and everypony fell to the ceiling. It hadn’t been what she’d intended, but it sufficiently disoriented everypony enough that Spike was able to retrieve Magical Relics and Twilight was able to pull herself free from the tangle and rush over to him.

“Everypony stay back!” Twilight Sparkle yelled as her friends closed in around her and Spike tried to fend them off with a broom.

She flipped open the book before anypony could make a move. Quickly, she turned to the page describing the Elements of Harmony, but it wasn’t there. Instead, when she reached it, the pages became suddenly hollowed out, and the Elements of Harmony were nestled inside. Thank goodness we do not have to go anywhere else to get them. I do not think we would make it.

“We did it,” Twilight said breathlessly, then louder for the benefit of everypony in the room, “We found the Elements of Harmony!”

Other than Spike, everyone else seemed very apathetic to the news. It was like they didn’t even care about defeating Discord—no, it was more than that. It was like they didn’t even care about each other anymore. They’d all changed, and Twilight was beginning to doubt if things could ever return to the way they had been. Bizarre that I’m now the nicest pony among my friends. No! That is just what new Fluttershy would say.

“I never thought I would see the day that all of you would change so much that I no longer wanted to be with you,” Twilight said with disappointment, “I have only known you for a year, but I thought our bond was strong enough to keep us together through anything. I guess I was wrong!”

Angrily, the sorceress distributed the Elements of Harmony, fastening each amulet around the others’ necks. Applejack denied that she’d been given the right one, Pinkamena glowered at hers and looked ready to tear it off at any moment, Rarity stared at hers enviously before snatching it from Twilight, and Fluttershy remarked that with the Elements they might have a chance if it weren’t for Twilight dragging them down. She’d had more than enough of this by the time she placed the circlet with the Element of Sorcery on her own head.

“Twilight, I didn’t want to say anything earlier, with everything that was going on, but aren’t you missing somepony? Where’s Rainbow Dash?” Spike asked as the sorceress angrily adjusted her element.

“Rainbow Dash left us,” Twilight answered, the rage replaced by sadness and betrayal for a few seconds before it came rushing back, “You can wield the Element of Allegiance instead, Spike. You’re more dependable and unswayable than Rainbow Dash anyway.”

“Me!” Spike said incredulously as Twilight threw the amulet at him, “B-but, do the Elements even work for dragons?”

“They will have to. We have no other choice,” Twilight said before turning back to the other Brave Companions, “Come on, everypony, let us defeat Discord so we can set things back to normal, though I do not know if I will want to be around you for a while after we succeed.”

“The feeling’s mutual,” Fluttershy sneered as she and the others left the laboratory.

Gravity within Golden Oak’s laboratory was still reversed, so it wasn’t easy to leave without flying, and Fluttershy was being more of a hinderance than a help, but they managed to make it outside, albeit with several bumps and bruises. The square that normally existed outside of Golden Oak’s laboratory now dipped and rose in a way that made it hard to look at without turning one’s stomach while walking, for it felt like walking on a perfectly level surface. The shops and houses around the square were in various chaotic states, some inside-out, some upside-down, others twisted into curls or endlessly falling in a loop, vanishing just before striking the ground and reappearing in the air. In the midst of it all stood Discord with a grin on his face.

“Well, well, well, well, well,” Discord said as he clapped sarcastically, “So the Brave Companions have found the Elements of Harmony after all. I’m shaking in my clogs at the sight.”

“I figured out your riddle, and now it is time to end this game!” Twilight Sparkle called out to him confrontationally.

“Quite right, it appears I have no choice but to yield the field of battle and surrender. At least I am prepared for it this time and can get into a position that makes a better statue,” Discord said as he posed, “You can turn me back to stone whenever you are ready. Just be sure to get my good side.”

“Gladly,” Twilight said, “Come on everypony, get ready. That includes you, Spike.”

It was like Celestia had said; now that it was the moment to use the Elements of Harmony, they knew exactly how to do so, or at least they had the feeling that they did. Power surged through the gemstones, though it was dull, and their glow flickered quite a bit. The Elements were only working as a pale shadow of themselves, drawing on the last kernel of their virtues in the hearts of their bearers. It was enough to lift the five ponies off the ground, but not very far, and not for long. Discord applauded again as they all fell to the ground, the last spark in the Elements dying out.

“What happened?” Twilight asked incredulously, “The Elements of Harmony should have worked!”

“Mine worked fine. I bet it was th’ Element o’ Sorcery that failed,” Applejack said as Twilight inspected her circlet.

“What do I want with the Element of Mirth anyway?” Pinkamena said as she pulled her necklace off and threw it away.

“As I thought, a worthless relic, just like Celestia,” Fluttershy said as she discarded her amulet as well.

“Mine! Mine! Mine!” Rarity cried as she snatched up the abandoned Elements of Harmony.

“What an incredible performance!” Discord mock-praised as he continued to applaud and approached Twilight, “I couldn’t have asked for a better end to the rebellion against my new reign. Don’t look so glum, Twilight Sparkle, you’ll get used to the chaos. Or not.”

Discord swelled up before popping into a hundred soap bubbles that exploded as they fell and left tiny craters where they struck the ground. Once again, they’d lost. Twilight thought that it would be easier to take the second time, but that wasn’t the case. The Elements of Harmony had failed, and nothing else was strong enough to defeat Discord. It was over.

“Sorry, Twilight, I guess only Rainbow Dash can wield her Element. I tried my best,” Spike apologized as he dropped the Element of Allegiance and returned to the laboratory.

“I’m done with this!” Pinkamena yelled, “I don’t ever want to see any of you again!”

“The feeling is mutual,” Fluttershy snorted as Pinkamena ran away, “You’re all a bunch of failures that aren’t worth knowing, anyway.”

“I could’ve beaten Discord if it hadn’t been for all o’ you!” Applejack proclaimed.

“Fine! Leave then! Give up! See if I care!” Twilight Sparkle yelled as they all abandoned her, not believing hat she was saying, “I do not know why I bothered with you anyway! I was better off on my own!” At least then I wouldn’t have to feel the pain of losing you all. From far away, a snap resounded through the air, and Twilight’s coat faded to gray.

***

Twilight Sparkle glumly stalked the twisting streets of Ponieville, never sure exactly where she’d end up. It was a small town, and in her year of living here she’d become well-accustomed to its layout. That everything was now unpredictable was another reminder that everything had changed and wouldn’t be returning to the way it had been.

She’d lost, and not just the fight with Discord, but so much she held dear. I thought I had everything back in Cant’r Laht. I was a well-respected sorceress, personal protégé of the great Celestia, but I had no idea how much I was missing until I came to Ponieville. Friends, ponies whom I cared for, and who cared for me, who made me a better pony than I was. I’ve lost them all, and those friendships were worth more to me than anything I had before I met them.

“Come now, Twilight Sparkle, turn that frown upside-down,” Discord said as he materialized and began moonwalking upside-down just in front of her, “You may have failed utterly at defeating me, but look on the bright side. Your home will be a much more surprising and livelier place now that I’m in charge.”

“My home?” Twilight said distantly as she looked around at what was left of Ponieville, “No, Ponieville is not my home anymore, not without my friends.”

At last, all hope of the Elements of Harmony unifying is gone, Discord thought to himself with a giggle as he rubbed his claws together gleefully and floated away.

Even if it weren’t for the chaos twisting the town into indescribable shapes and painting it with inconceivable colors, Twilight knew she couldn’t stay in Ponieville any longer. When she’d first come here, she’d hated the town, but only days later she’d begged Celestia to let her stay. Her reason for staying had been the five ponies she’d come to know on their quest to stop Nightmare Moon. She may have grown fond of Ponieville now, but that wouldn’t be enough to keep her here. Without her friends, there was no reason to stay.

“Pack your things, Spike, if you can,” Twilight announced as she entered Golden Oak’s laboratory and was relieved that gravity had returned to normal, “We are leaving Ponieville. Maybe Discord’s magic has not reached the far reaches of Equus yet. I doubt it, but I cannot stay here in any case.”

A groan came from her bedchamber upstairs and she climbed up to investigate.

“Spike?” she asked as she entered.

The dragon was lying on the floor, claws wrapped around his chest. Around him were piles of books and scrolls.

“Spike, what is happening? Are you okay?” Twilight asked with concern. I can’t lose him too!

“I’ve never had … so many come at once,” Spike croaked out as he clutched his throat with one claw and pointed at the pile of scrolls with the other, “They’ve been coming … ever since you left … I can barely … catch my breath.”

The dragon’s face scrunched up before he let out a burst of flame and another scroll materialized, bouncing off him before joining the others. Twilight felt Spike’s chest to make sure he hadn’t hurt himself (as much as she could tell with her limited medical knowledge), before turning to the pile of scrolls. Picking one from the top of the pile, she flattened it out and began to read.

“My dearest mentor, Celestia …” she read aloud before stopping and continuing silently, “Are these all the letters that I have sent Celestia since moving to Ponieville? But how? Why? Who is sending them?”

“How should I know?” Spike groaned, “It isn’t like they were hoof-delivered.”

“They care naught who I am, so long as I am genuinely me, true to myself. There are no petty games or veiled criticisms with them, only true acceptance,” Twilight read aloud from another letter and turned to a third, “Every time I think I understand them, I am surprised again with strength I never knew was there. I am realizing that none of us can stand alone, for our weaknesses would consume us, but together there seems to be nothing that we cannot face.”

Twilight Sparkle continued to read her correspondence with Celestia as the sun and moon moved erratically through the sky and Ponieville shifted around her. With every new letter she was reminded of her experiences with her friends and everything she’d learned, everything she hadn’t realized she’d been learning. She saw again the true natures of Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Pinkamena, written with her own words. The cloud of doubt and despair that clung to her mind was slowly pushed back as she became more and more uplifted by what she read, and her coat gradually regained its color. At last, Discord’s magic was totally dispelled, and the sorceress found herself more invigorated than she’d ever felt.

“How could I have forgotten!” she exclaimed, “With everything we have been through together, I cannot give up now! This was Discord’s plan all along, to separate us. He knew he would never be able to face us together, so he had to drive us apart. Forcing the others to betray their true natures was all part of that, turning them against each other and against me. Well, it will not work any longer!”

“Do you remember, when we first arrived in Ponieville, I told you that the future of Equestria did not rest on me making friends? Nothing was further from the truth! If I hadn’t found my friends, we would never have been able to use the Elements of Harmony, never would have defeated Nightmare Moon. Without them, I can never hope to defeat Discord, but together we can do it!”

“I cannot give up without a fight, and I cannot allow my friends to go on the way they are! I have to find them, to bring them back to who they truly are, to bring us all back together; it is the only way. Just like a year ago, the future of Equestria rests on the six of us coming together!”

Spike groaned in what might have been agreement or might have just been gratitude that all the letters he’d had to materialize had been good for something after all.

“You stay here, rest up, and … try not to float away,” Twilight said after bringing him to his bed which, like the rest of the furniture in his room, was suspended in the air, “I have friends to save … and Equestria.”

***

Though the Apples’ farms were well outside Ponieville, somehow Twilight ended up there first. She hadn’t considered that maybe she would have difficulty finding her friends to win them back, but it was a real possibility with how confusingly rearranged the world was getting. No matter; she was determined to see this through no matter what, and she wouldn’t allow Discord’s toying with reality to get in her way.

“So there I was, about t’ defeat Discord, but all m’ so-called friends prevented me from doin’ it,” Applejack was telling a pony-sized chicken when Twilight arrived.

“Applejack! Am I glad to see you!” Twilight Sparkle called as she galloped toward her, “Everything I said, it was wrong. I am glad I met you, and I am here to fight for our friendship.”

“I’ve ne’er met y’ afore in m’ life,” Applejack lied, “E’en if I had, why don’t y’ fight Discord instead? I seem t’ be th’ only one around willin’ t’ stand up t’ him.”

“Enough!” Twilight yelled as she tackled Applejack to the ground and was glad the farmer didn’t use her superior strength to just buck her off, “This is not how you are! Discord has done something to you; you are not a liar. Remember!”

Twilight cast a spell that she hoped would work as intended and not harm Applejack in any way. At first, she felt the chaos nipping at the edges of the spell, striving to twist it wickedly away from its purpose, but the gem in the circlet around the sorceress’s head held the spell firm. The memories of the time the two of them had spent together, fresh in her memories from her old letters, flowed into Applejack’s mind, reminding her who she truly was, what she truly held dear. The spell became more stable as a light emanated from both the Element of Sorcery and the Element of Trustworthiness, and color returned to Applejack’s coat. Twilight Sparkle rolled off Applejack as she completed the spell, drenched in sweat from the ordeal.

“What happened t’ me?” Applejack asked in a daze, then shock was written across her face as she realized what had been going on since the labyrinth, “Twi! I saw th’ end o’ our friendship, us all splitting apart! I guess it really was th’ truth … th’ truth. I couldn’t handle th’ truth, so I started t’ lie instead. Can y’ e’er forgive me for what I’ve done?”

“What are friends for?” Twilight Sparkle asked, grateful that she knew the answer.

***

With Applejack helping her, it was easier to track down the others and remind them of what they’d lost. They began with Rarity, who was hoarding her, Fluttershy’s, and Pinkamena’s Elements, and moved on to the other two from there. Each time, Twilight was left exhausted from casting her spell, but it was getting easier with each friend she reclaimed. With their linkage through the Elements of Harmony, she found that it wasn’t just her memories flowing each time, but those of her friends as well. Eventually, only one Element remained without an owner, but the pony it belonged to was nowhere to be found.

“Rainbow Dash isn’t home,” Fluttershy announced after flying up and investigating her hideout, “I don’t think she’s returned since we left for Cant’r Laht either.”

“Where could she be?” Rarity wondered, “You don’t think she’s still in Cant’r Laht, do you?”

“If that is what it takes to find her, then that is where we will go,” Twilight announced as she looked at the mountain that had once been the Titan’s Horn with apprehension.

“Or we could just go over there,” Pinkamena said cheerfully, pointing up at the sky.

It was hard to make it out against the sky, which in this area looked like tessellating birds and fish, but there was a solitary cloud hovering up there. Atop it, Rainbow Dash stood guard, though exactly what she was guarding against was unclear, since she didn’t even flinch when a flock of fanged fish flew past or a fireball sailed past her tail.

“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight called excitedly up to her, “There you are! We have been looking for you.”

“That’s great,” Rainbow Dash said without much enthusiasm.

“We need your help t’ defeat Discord,” Applejack called up, “Could y’ maybe come down from there? We could really use y’.”

“No can do,” Rainbow replied flatly, “I have to stay here in Cloudsdale and make sure the Hunters don’t go extinct.”

“Does she really think that cloud is Cloudsdale?” Rarity asked doubtfully.

“Well, Discord did convince y’ that that rock y’ were haulin’ ‘round was a diamond,” Applejack pointed out and received a glower in return.

“Like all of us, Discord must have tricked her into betraying her true self. She knows no allegiance to us, and it is doubtful she will feel allegiance to that cloud for much longer before betraying it too,” Twilight said, “We will not be able to convince her to come down willingly, I am afraid. Fluttershy, do you think you can get the Element of Allegiance on her and get her close enough that I can cast my memory spell?”

“I’ll try,” Fluttershy promised before hovering up to Rainbow Dash, “Would you mind leaving … um … Cloudsdale so that Twilight can enchant you so that you’ll come with us?”

Well, you could’ve phrased it better, Twilight thought, but at least I know you’re yourself again, Fluttershy.

“Never!” Rainbow Dash yelled before zipping away with her cloud.

Fluttershy took off after her, but she would never be able to catch Rainbow Dash; there were few pegasi who could. Twilight Sparkle bit her lip worriedly and considered her options. How long could they chase Rainbow Dash before Discord’s chaos magic became irreversible? She was here now, and she had the opportunity to end this, but she didn’t like the risks it posed to her friend. Before the Hunter got too far away, Twilight assumed a spell-casting stance. With the Elements of Harmony providing shelter against disharmony in the immediate vicinity, the spell went off correctly, and a beam of magical energy shot across the twisted landscape before striking the cloud under Rainbow Dash.

“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight called as the pegasus fell from the sky.

She didn’t seem to be pulling up and Fluttershy wouldn’t reach her in time, so Twilight began teleporting, faster and farther than she ever had before. She materialized directly beneath Rainbow Dash in a grove of giant, roaring dandelions.

“Caen’r majia acca Ye’r accael!^[1]” Twilight incanted as she watched Rainbow fall, desperate to find out if she had harmed her friend in trying to stop her fleeing.

A cushion of air sprung into being beneath Rainbow Dash and slowed her fall, but not enough to keep her from knocking Twilight to the ground when she landed on her. The sorceress checked to make sure Rainbow Dash was uninjured, just dazed, before placing the Element of Allegiance around her neck. Before she could cast the memory spell, though, Rainbow Dash threw her off.

“You destroyed Cloudsdale!” the Hunter yelled before drawing a knife and leaping towards Twilight.

“Rainbow, no!” Fluttershy yelled as she caught up to them and tackled her friend, knocking the knife from her mouth.

Rainbow Dash pushed Fluttershy away and drew her sword. She swung toward Twilight, but her blade sank into Pinkamena’s lute instead as the bard reached them and used it to protect the sorceress. Applejack arrived next and tackled Rainbow to the ground. The Hunter tried to break free, and had a good chance of it until Pinkamena, Fluttershy, and even Rarity piled on to keep her pinned. Drawing on the strength and memories of her friends, Twilight cast the final spell on Rainbow Dash and she ceased her struggling.

“What have I done! Twilight, everypony, I’m so sorry! I can’t believe I abandoned you!” Rainbow spoke rapidly, “Did we win? We have the Elements back? Where’s Discord?”

“Everything will be all right, Rainbow. We are all back together again,” Twilight said as the others let her up, “This fight is not over just yet, though.”

***

Near the new location of the Mayoral Keep, Discord had built himself a court of sorts with walls made from oversized tarot cards (all featuring him) and seven-sided dice. Several houses had been pulled into the shape of throne for him to lounge on as he made alterations to his surroundings. He looked up uninterestedly from balancing eggs into a pyramid as the Brave Companions approached.

“Oh, goody, the super-friends are back,” Discord mocked as he snapped his claws and the eggs all changed into pigs, “What is it this time?”

“We’re here t’ defeat you, Discord,” Applejack announced, “Y’ tried t’ break us apart, but y’ couldn’t keep us apart forever!”

“Now, now, if things were really different, then you wouldn’t be lying to me,” Discord said as he snapped his claws and Applejack vanished before reappearing upside-down right in front of him, “Don’t forget who it was that made you a liar. Will any of you ever just give up and accept your fate?”

With four more snaps of his claws, the rest of the Brave Companions apart from Twilight appeared around the draconequus. She felt something emanating from the circlet around her head and knew exactly what she needed to do. Unlike the last time she tried, however, this time it actually worked. The gems around her friends’ necks glowed and Discord’s chaos magic was pushed away. After falling to the ground, the Brave Companions reassembled in front of Discord, the ground around their hooves morphing strangely between its natural state and the current chaos.

“You’ve acquired some new tricks, I see,” Discord said, recoiling as if burnt, “Well, it won’t make any difference. Will you ponies ever learn?”

“To accept defeat? I think not,” Twilight Sparkle replied, “You put us through the toughest struggle our friendship has ever had, and if we can get through that, nothing else could ever break us apart, so long as we do not give up and continue to fight to stay together.”

“A bit on the nose, don’t you think?” Discord scoffed, “Very well, if you’re going to try to use your Elements again, then make it quick. I don’t have all eon, you know.”

Twilight again felt that she knew exactly what she needed to do, and she let her magic flow through the Element of Sorcery. The others did the same, and Trustworthiness, Compassion, Mirth, Charity, and Allegiance all lit up. The six ponies levitated into the air, forming a magic circle in the air. Discord looked up from the play he was putting on with living puppets long enough to see the bright beam of multicolored light bearing down on him.

“No! This can’t be! No! Noooooooooo!” he cried out as the light engulfed him and his body began to transform back into stone.

Around him, everything began to shift back into its natural state. The Mayoral Keep changed from a pumpkin back to its imposing stone structure. The undulating ground turned into Ponieville’s muddy streets. His court collapsed, and homes and shops found their places again. Trees ceased their roaming and the sky shifted back to blue. With one final blast of energy, beams of light shot out in seven directions from Discord, and all the chaos he’d inflicted on Equestria was undone.

When it was over, the Brave Companions dropped to the ground, their Elements inert once again. Stunned ponies wandered around the town, trying to make sense of what had happened to them. In Ponieville’s square, they found the Brave Companions joyfully embracing, celebrating their victory. Discord stood nearby, a statue once more, frozen in a none-too-flattering pose of shock and disbelief. Surprise was written on his face, but at the corners of his mouth one could see the hints of a smile. He was not through with Equestria yet, not by a long shot.