Hoof pokes in. Hoof pokes out. Hoof pokes in. Hoof pokes out. Hoof pokes in. Hoof pokes out.
"Trixie, if you don't stop poking your non-existent hoof into my eye, I'm going to stop helping you and revoke your interaction privileges for a week." Twilight Sparkle barely looked up from Starswirl's journal as she sniped at her head-guest. Notes had been scattered all around Zecora's hut, to the zebra's eternal frustration.
Trixie jerked her illusionary body back, quickly dashing to the other side of the room, lest she annoy Twilight further. "Trixie is sorry. Please don't banish Trixie back into-"
"I'm not going to cut off the senses you're borrowing from me, that's just cruel. " Twilight rubbed a hoof against her mane in frustration. What Starswirl had been working on, it... well, was beyond anything she had ever heard of. Multiple concepts that were still theoretical in modern studies were completely fleshed out in his work, and partially discarded as he had devised the most insane spell she had ever seen. "I never thought that the only reason I'm seeing Starswirl the Bearded's magnum opus would be because one of my friends got herself turned to stone."
"Trixie would hardly call herself your friend. Maybe your inferior, or acquaintance, but she doesn't deserv-"
Twilight's glare stopped Trixie's dismissive hoof-wave mid-swing. "I might not like all that much about you and your habits, and we might not be very good friends, but we're still friends. I respect you, and the work you put in to keep yourself going. And you have some of the best illusions I've ever seen under that hat of yours."
Trixie blinked in surprise, the unexpected compliment having blindsided her. "Umm, Trixie thanks you?"
"You're welcome. When I fix you, you wouldn't mind teaching me a few of your tricks? I've got a thing or two I can show you that might spice up your act." Twilight turned back to the book, taking a new glace at it with her refreshed mind. A part of her realized that it would take months before she could properly cast it, and she hoped Trixie could wait that long. Starswirl's journal entries had begun to become erratic after a few months in his own studies.
"Trixie supposes she could. She would rather not, they were Trixie's mother's, and their uniqueness is the one thing she has left of her." Trixie worked her illusionary body, it's features wriggling for a little while as she struggled to show her sadness with it.
Being a disembodied spirit looking through another's eyes while trying to maintain a consistent illusion of her presence at a distance from her borrowed perspective was irritating and almost painfully difficult. Still, it was better than being trapped in the void again, with nothing to see but ponies's souls. She didn't want to feel that crushing darkness clutching at her again.
"It's alright Trixie. I shouldn't have asked."
The hut's door opened, Zecora wreathed in rare plants of the Everfree as she struggled to gently push it shut. "Lovebirds I see? Or a special drink that should have been saved for me?"
Twilight and Trixie both spluttered at Zecora's inneudo, tripping over each other's words trying to refute it. The zebra shamaness laughed politely as she let them splutter, looking at the still incomplete spell notes scattered across her formerly neat home. "Be at ease as I only meant a joke. Such hostile embarrassment I did not mean to provoke."
Twilight phew'd in relief, turning back to the book as Trixie tried to follow the shamaness. "Trixie does not perform that form of trick. Just for future reference."
Zecora nodded, having only been teasing. Now that she had been talking to her for a while, Trixie seemed remarkably humble when not upon a stage. Certainly a far cry from the tales told by Pinkie Pie. Though perhaps the part where staying on your savior's good side being the only way to stay saved might have had something to do with it. Zecora set her bundle in the large alchemical alcove to one side and deeply breathed in relief from the weight that had been upon her.
The sound of Twilight grunting in frustration and dropping her head against the pile of notes before her caught Zecora's attention, drawing her back to her kitchen table. Trixie's illusionary avatar joined her as they looked over the massive spread in confusion. It was as if Twilight had run around and around mentally, trying to catch some hidden facet of the spell. But the latest notes were different. Six points repeated over and over again in the notes, scribbled around and circled whenever they appeared.
"So tell us; have you made sense of this fuss? Or have you hit a stump, and now find yourself on your rump?"
Twilight's mane sprang into madness at the inquiry, looking as if she had not combed it in decades. Her eyes had shrunk to manic points of obsessive focus, the stress of the spell slowly unraveling her nerves. "Hit a stump? Yes! A stump! A big stupid ugly STUMPED!" Twilight threw her hooves in the air, magic sparking from them as it almost seemed like her mane was smoking.
Trixie could feel the growing madness of failure driving the unicorn, consuming her. Which was just wonderful, since having a mad host was likely not going to end well for her. "Trixie wonders why exactly Twilight is taking this so personally? Did not even Starswirl have problems just coming up with the spell?"
The ghostly image of the showpony jumped back as Twilight rushed up to her, Twilight pointing at her rump with fury and indignation. "See this? I'm supposed to have a special talent in magic itself! I should know this instantly! Or at least I should general know how this stupid kludge works!"
Zecora reached beneath her table, her hoof emerging with a cup filled with a calming elixir. She understood why Twilight was becoming slightly unhinged. She dealt with a spell that defied her. The shamaness was ashamed to admit it, but more than one potion had similarly consumed her. "Perhaps you have grown too self-reflective. May I suggest a new perspective?"
Twilight closed her eyes in thought as she greedily snatched the cup from Zecora and slammed its contents down her throat in a single gulp. Her spluttering from the burn that it dragged down her esophagus took a moment; leaving her panting as her frayed nerves slowly relaxed, and as her muscles untensed themselves. As she opened them again, only a super-equine show of will kept her from facehoofing as Zecora rapidly pointed between herself and Trixie. Now she just felt stupid for forgetting that they could have been of help.
"Oh. I'm sorry. I forgot that I had friends who at least hear me out and help me get this off my chest." Twilight took deep breaths as her mane slowly relaxed and fell into a more natural disheveled state. The dim lighting in the kitchen served to assist her as she closed her eyes and used her old standby of thinking that Celestia was right behind her and encouraging her to stay undiscouraged. "Right. Well, I'm so worked up because of how complex this spell is. it has six originating nodes! Six! Simultaneously!"
Trixie's eyes grew wide as she realized how crazy that was. An originating node was the pony or object that cast a spell, the foundation on which a spell was based. Usually, if there was more than one node, they either cast the exact same spell, or staggered their initiation in order to prevent horrific interactions. Casting two spells as part of a single spell from two sources at once was rare and a dangerous feat. But six? The ponies would be lucky if they merely turned inside out and exploded. Twice maybe if they were extra lucky. More likely they would die screaming as their bodies slowly evaporated when their spells turned upon them.
"So six the spell does name... but are not your Elements of Harmony the same?" Zecora shivered as she walked through Trixie, reaching up to the recessed bookshelf on her hut's wall to pull out a reference guide to Equestrian artifacts.
Trixie and Twilight both jerkingly turned towards Zecora, mouths agape. It couldn't be, could it? Twilight's mouth worked like a gasping fish as she realized how blindingly obvious the solution had been. Trixie's hoof hesitantly jerked up and down as she tried to find a way to politely interject herself into the conversation again.
"I- I... why am I made of stupid?! Of course!" Twilight rapidly sorted her massive array of notes in the air until she found one of the sources of her frustration. Trixie tried to make sense of the terrifyingly complex diagrams and equations. "See! The originating nodes connected into a larger effect! Only one of the elements has to cast this specific spell, and the elements complete the rest of the spell!"
"This is a good thing for Trixie, yes?"
Twilight nodded rapidly, skipping through the field of notes to hug Zecora tight enough to squeeze the breath out of her. "Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! Oh, Zecora, you're a lifesaver."
Trixie projected the sound of her throat clearing, hoping that Twilight would pay attention.
"Oh, right. Literally a life saver." Trixie rolled her illusionary eyes, pointing a hoof to the extending shadows in the room as the sun set upon the Everfree Forest. Twilight's gaze snapped to the window hidden in the mouth of one of Zecora's tribal masks, yelping slightly in worry as she noticed the sunset outside. "Oh gosh! Sorry for leaving the place a mess! I'll get it all cleaned up tomorrow, I really have to go!"
Zecora nodded bemusedly, wondering how Twilight hadn't learned to budget some time to clean up after a week of coming out to study Starswirl's text. The ghostly cold of Trixie's illusionary body passing through her illicited a hop to one side to make way for the illusionary mare being dragged away as her anchor ran off into the forest.
"Until we next meet! I would suggest getting ready, Twilight is getting fast on her feet."
"Remind Trixie about iiit!" Trixie's galloping illusion fought against the tug, sliding across the floor and straight through a wall as the disembodied mare was yanked across the forest to her host.
Zecora walked over, shutting the door that Twilight had left open yet again while humming a tune of her people under her breath. She wondered why Twilight always left her hut in a mess, no matter what the occasion for the visit. Parasprites, a ghost performer, enough notes to write a thesis paper on, pony-statues... Surely they didn't leave each other's homes in such messes. Now where did she leave that broom?
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Darkness lurked all about them once more. Not a metaphysical one, but instead a literal one as the stars rose upon the Everfree Forest. Trixie shivered in the comforting pinkish glow of Twilight's soul, having banished her body of illusion, watching out in her spiritual vision for dangers to her host. The constellation of lights watched over them, each a life of it's own. The darkness that had lurked about them on their first journey together into the Everfree had not returned yet; something that worried Trixie.
'Trixie was wondering, she noticed that you feel relatively confident about the Elements of Harmony. Why? Trixie understands that they are her best chance, but they haven't been seen in a thousand years.'
'Uh, about four months in a few days actually. Maybe a day or two, depending on when Princess Celestia last checked their vault.'
'Um, Trixie is not entirely certain she understands what you mean.'
Twilight sighed, wondering how somepony had missed Princess Luna's return. The deep woodlands of the Everfree Forest were fading, the light scrub and grass of the fields around Ponyville coming to surround them as the stars glittered high above. She stopped, looking up into them and hoping that maybe, maybe Trixie would soon be safe. 'You do remember the big commotion regarding the return of Princess Luna, right?'
'No. Trixie doesn't remember a- wait. Is that why all of Trixie's performances were canceled for a week several months ago?'
'Yes. Princess Luna was Nightmare Moon, and she's Princess Celestia's little sister. I think.' Twilight stepped off, feeling Trixie anxious for them to get out of the open and into someplace where she could manifest and feel like something more than a passenger. 'About four months ago during the Summer Sun festival, the thousand year prison that Princess Celestia put her in failed, and she came to Ponyville after putting Princess Celestia in the sun. It got kind of crazy after that, but me and my friends defeated her and became the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony.'
'Oh.' Trixie looked out across the void of her senses, seeing the faintest lights of souls clustered around what she presumed to be Ponyville. The little rainbow from a thundercloud, the ever glittering diamonds, the tumbling trio of apples... wait. 'Oh no. Would three of your friends happen to be the hecklers that Trixie took care of?'
'Yes, but I don't see how that- Oh no.' Twilight's eyebrow twitched as she walked down the tree-lined road leading into town. Trixie had a right to be worried after all, would the Elements even work if the bearers weren't all in agreement? What would Rarity, or Rainbow Dash say? They had been so humiliated by Trixie when they had bothered her and called her out on her boasting.
Trixie curled in on herself, compressing into a point in the glow as she realized that she had personally insulted three mares with the ear of Princess Celestia. Hay, if she hadn't been turned to stone, in a few weeks she would have been ruined in the backlash. Her life was over...
'Trixie? Trixie! Calm down. My friends will forgive you. It might take some work, but they will. You're still okay, this is just going to be more complicated than I had thought. Okay?' Twilight trotted a little faster as she saw her home on the Ponyville skyline, knowing that in an hour or so she'd have the Elements on-hoof to save Trixie.
After all, as one of their bearers, Princess Celestia was bound to let her have them if she needed them!
-----------------------------------------------------
Spike yelped high in the air as Twilight slammed the front door of the library open. The baby dragon struggled to keep the mighty ladder that he was on from tipping over and disrupting the painstaking work he had put into reshelving many of the books Twilight had been carelessly searching through in her project. Vertigo swallowed him, consuming each of his senses as he tangled in the air from his precarious perch ten paces off the ground; his legs kicking with protest from the unpleasant sensations.
Magenta magic snatched him from the ladder, safely conveying him to the wondrous stability of the ground on what felt like the softest bed imaginable. Heartbeats raced in his hearing from the close call he had suffered, a clawed paw clutched across his chest to calm his raging heartbeat from the Pinkie-time tempo it had been keeping. Opening his eyes once more from their scared clench nearly sent his heart back into overdrive as Twilight's eyes stared into his own from far closer than he ever wanted to see them.
"YEEAAA-AUGH!" Spike flopped from her grip to the floor, tail stiff and both paws clutching his chest from the shock.
Twilight picked him up by his tailtip, shaking him lightly to snap him out of it as she levitated over a fresh quill and a sheet of paper. "No time for theatrics, Spike! I have an urgent letter for Princess Celestia!" She shook him again once more, pressing the writing implements into his paws for him to grab.
"What is it? What's wrong? The Parasprites are back? A giant timberwolf has come to eat the town? No, wait! Don't tell me Trixie came back to seek her revenge for being humiliated by you!" Spike waved his arms at the last idea, yelping as Twilight dropped him softly onto the cushion in front of her writing desk.
'Ha-Ha, Trixie would never- well, yes she might have. If she got broke enough and could never find work again...'
"Ready for the letter, Spike?" Twilight looked to him for a moment, seeing his nod of readiness as she paced around the table in the center of the lobby.
"Dear Princess Celestia,
I am writing to you today on a matter of utmost importance. A friend of mine suffered a most terrible mishap, incapacitating her. As a part of my investigation into curing her, I discovered a full and intact copy of Starswirl the Bearded's journal, which included the exact spell I was looking for. But, it can only be cast by the Elements of Harmony due to it's complexity. I urgently request to have access to them for several days so that I can help my friend. The Elements are her only hope.
Signed, your Faithful Student,
Twilight Sparkle."
Spike scratched his head as he tried to spell out some of the words Twilight had used in his head. He already had most of the letter down, other than a few little teensy problems. "Uh, how do you spell in-ca-watsinating?"
"Trapping her, Spike."
"Got it!" Spike waddled over to the window, sending his precious missive onwards to Celestia in a gout of green fire. Puzzlement etched into his face as he thought of something he forgot to ask. The night lighting of Ponyville glittered out before him from the low balcony he stood on, each reminding him of somepony he had met in the small town since their unexpected move. Funny, he couldn't remember anypony going missing...
"Say Twilight?"
"Yes, Spike?" Twilight didn't look up as she slowly paced around the room, her head nodding and shaking every once in a while, as if holding a personal conversation in her head.
"Who went missing? I can't remember anypony getting lost." Spike walked to the center of the room, turning in place to keep Twilight in view as a frown creased the set of thick scales that somewhat served as his eyebrows.
"You- you've already met her. Kind of a brief meeting, and she'll probably want to talk to you later when we free her." Twilight looked over to the window, anxious to see if Celestia would respond right away. The faster, the better.
Spike fretted at the way Twilight hesitated. Like she thought he would disapprove of whoever Twilight was helping. But anypony who was one of Twilight's friends had to be a good pony, so he wasn't too worried about it. "So, Twilight?"
"Hmm?"
"What happened to her? I mean, it has to be pretty bad if you're breaking out the Elements of Harmony and all."
"Spike... she was cursed by a cockatrice." Twilight stopped pacing, and walked over to Spike to hug him with all of her might, shivering as she embraced him. He hugged her back, concernedly glancing across their shoulders to where she laid her head against his back.
"Uh, I thought you didn't believe in curses."
"I didn't, until I saw what a cockatrice does to somepony. It's horrible, turning it's victim to stone, and then sealing them with a spell that rips their soul apart if removed. Nopony has ever been saved, only... only given Celestia's Mercy or placed in a place of honor in the palace so they won't be so lonely. And- and the cockatrice is always hunting for it's victim, because it wants to eat their soul." Twilight struggled to keep an even tone as she spoke, choking up as she once again thought over the horrific consequences that awaited if she failed.
Spike recoiled from Twilight, tripping over himself in shock as her words sank in. The realization that every one of the statues in the castle could be a frozen and inwardly screaming pony sent shivers of ice down his spine, and put a twisting knot into his gut. No, wait... that wasn't fear, that was a- BUUUUUURRRRRRP!
Celestia's reply rudely erupted from Spike's maw in a firey burst of light, plopping to the ground between them like a Sword of Camelcleas. They both hesitantly reached for it, bumping their heads together in the confusion. Rubbing his scalp, Spike reached down again before Twilight could, preparing to break it open to read it to her. But something stopped him. This was Twilight's friend, her plight to recover from.
"Twilight, here. You read it. It wouldn't be right for me to read it." Spike stretched out his arm, holding the rolled up document for Twilight to take ahold of.
She nodded to him with ever so slightly tearful eyes, taking the missive from him and breaking it's seal.
"To my Dear and Faithful Student,
Twilight Sparkle:
I am sorry, but I cannot grant your request to use the Elements of Harmony, no matter how charitable the cause. There are older, and fouler things than Nightmare Moon that stalk our world, and I need them ready and where I can find them should the worst come to pass. I am terribly sorry about your friend, but I cannot risk the nation's safety for anypony. I am confident that you can find another way, Twilight. I believe in you."
Twilight swallowed back the horror and disbelief, feeling Trixie all but ready to wail in sorrow in the back of her mind. "Now what?"
Wait, this is before the Twilight stone thing right? And I saw your jab at magic duel.
... Luna's going to be pissed.
Translation: Dear Twilight Sparkle. Please stop beating around the bush and tell me just what you want the Elements of Harmony for, and I may actually agree with you.
Your Princess Who Should Not Be Left In The Dark When You Want The Car Keys,
Celestia
1897262
Dear Twilight Sparkle
The magic nuke is not a toy, and is Equestria's primary strategic deterrent against things that make Nightmare Moon look cuddly. I'm not handing them out for a domestic grade issue.
1897281
Dear Princess Celestia,
Today I learned that if a friend is in trouble, you should do anything you can to help them. Unless, you know, it's inconvenient.
Your Faithful Student
Twilight Sparkle
P.S. Please say Hi to Luna for me, and give Discord a good dusting out in the statue garden. I'm off to Zebrica for with my statue-ed friend to see if I can find a cure there. If any horrid abominations from Tartarus should stalk the land in the meanwhile, just keep them busy, I should be back in a few months. Ta.
If the elements can't leave Celestia's care then the solution is to bring everypony to the elements.
Then if anything bad happens the bearers are right there to fix it. Celestia wouldn't have a reasonable basis to argue against that, and it's her nature to do what she can for her little ponies. That goes double for Twilight.
Twilight and her friends are the only ones who can use the elements of harmony. if something comes Twilight and her Friends will get the elements of harmy to help fight it. so by that logic giving her the elements should not mater since then it would just save them time by having them from the start in case something happened.
In other words Celestia is being a bitch. or realy stupid.
Starswirl the Bearded is referred to as 'the Beard' in Twilight's letter.
I thought it was funny, but wasn't sure if it was intentional.
1897281 a nuke damages everything around it the elements don't even damage the thing they target they just purify it so no its not a magic nuke.
I can deal with "not a happy tale", but I am not as good with "not a happy end". I don't suppose you'd mind sharing whether or not this will have a (somewhat) happy end, even through a note? It does have an interesting premise.
1480608 I think you can only free somepony turned to stone by a cockatrice by convincing the cockatrice to free them. To my knowledge, Fluttershy is the only pony who can do that. The issue should be obvious enough.
Anyway, I really have no idea why I'm about to read this. I'm not particularly fond of darkfics, and my feels are very sensitive. *shrug* I'm probably just a moron. Adventure ho!
Ah the old mountain and Mohammed problem.
Damn man, something about that cover art just pulls at me; can't look away. Was resisting reading, to give you time to build up more chapters, but I just can't resist any further.
Read, liked, tracked.
1897415
You're certainly right, at least theoretically. And teh beautiful thing is sinc the events of Magic Duel never happened and Fluttershy doesn't really know [about] Trixie, convincing her to help would be easy. But you have to consider two things that keeps us from that solution. First and foremost, Twilight really has a tendency (I don't use the word penchant because that's something you like doing) to over think a problem. The Chrystal Bi-fecta is a big example, as is Pinkie Keen. So so simple a hypothetical solution probably won't come to Twilight unless it's dropped into her face, as was the potential of using the Elements of Harmony. Also, is there only one cockatrice in teh Everfree forest, or several? I imagine she would have to find and mind-rape the exact same one that placed her under the spell for that Stare of hers to have any effect.
"Now what?"
SOLUTION: FIELD TRIP!
Celly doesn't want the elements out of sight? Well, pack up the Six, grab that paper weight that is Trixy, and book a stay in the castle tower for a week.
... Wouldn't the best place to keep your arcane magical Mcguffin be where It can be used by those who can use it?
I think Celestia needs to read the chapter in the Evil villain hand book on Important Relics, technology and rituals.
Now twilight you steal the elements of harmony.
FOR FRIENDSHIP!
1897303
Lols, I love this post!
Meh, your grasping at straws for conflict in your story, you may keep my thumbs up but I'm taking my favorite with me.
1897587
"Mr President! Mr President! I have a brilliant idea! Let's have the guy who carries the command codes for our nukes carry around a nuke 24/7 with him!"
1897870 Yes but the elements aren't a WMD (Debatable) its like keeping your DVD player and Television Disconnected in different rooms and not plugging them in when you want to watch a movie in case of a power surge.
But its your story, your universe. Keep on writing.
Also Ghost
NappaTrixie!I haven't read the story yet, but the synopsis seems very much like Dalton Trumbo's Johnny got his Gun. I hope it's as good.
This is the greatest quote of all time.
I love you so much right now.
Six originating nodes? Like the six bearers of the Elements, perhaps? Okay, I figured as much.
Wait, what? In my opinion, Celestia just majorly went out of character with that letter. I really don't believe that she would say no without asking for any clarifications. She wouldn't be curious about why Twilight thanks she needs the Elements to help a trapped friend, or what spell of Starswirl she is working with that needs six casters? Considering the danger that we were just told about multi-caster spell casting, Twilight's letter to her should have raised some serious red flags. Now, maybe those red flags are why she said no, but I sure hope she doesn't leave it at that.
1898144 Yeah, this. Sorry, but at the least she'd ask Twilight for specifics, then there's a good 90% chance she'd hoof-deliver them. She loves all her little ponies, from the Elements on down.
1897870 soo hummm celestia might need the elements, but to activate them she needs twilight, and twilight is linked to trixie, sooooooooooooooo if they dont get trixie out of there, and seeig how twilight refuses to severe the link, wouldnt the elements be ussless, since twlight would end more or less like trixie???????
I think the new chapter is very canon and you should ignore the posters who say its a bad twist. This is set before chrysalis and discord, and if you remember, during both those events the elements were locked away in the vault. So this is probably how Celestia would act (although maybe more conforting) in that she would keep the elements locked up for some reason we dont yet understand. Dont blame the author, blame canon (or canada..whichever).
1899160
Or, keep them locked up both for their protection and those of the element bearers. This isn't a 'verse where Equestria is the only civilized nation on the planet. There are other nations out there. Other nations that have been shown to have mind control, replacement of ponies, and other such things. Their anonymnity is one of their best defenses. Not only could the elements get stolen if they're kept with their bearers, but their bearers are put at that much greater risk of kidnap, brainwashing, assasination, and other such methods to neutralize or turn the elements.
Something I guess I need to make crystal clear next chapter.
Ummm, wouldn't the elements just finish the seal? I mean, they are harmony, so wouldn't it just free the soul from the stone? Twi is out of danger, but Trixie has no chance of leaving...
Also, does this>>1899299 mean that we will get an update soon?
New chapter? Sweeeeet!
Out of curiousity what reason is there to keep bearers from going to Canterlot and using the elements there?
Surely that would deal with most of the issues of anonymity and national security.
1900659
I'm not certain exactly how large a font size I need to make 'Celestia's Mercy'. You would figure the capital letters would be ominous enough. She cares deeply about all her ponies. And in this case, she's willing to ensure they escape the oblivion of the Cockatrice's hunger and reach the next life, even if she has to forcibly evict them from this life.
Interesting chapter. Curious to find what happens next.
1897303 Lol. I love it.
I would love to see Luna's reaction to this. Unfortunately, I think it might be along the lines of agreeing with Celestia. Not that she wouldn't drop everything and help Trixie that is. Could the spell be cast using an artificial system of nodes created by Twilight, or is that concept limited to the Elements themselves?
huh, could've sworn i faved this a while ago
1897205
Yes, it's before that. It started on a day after episode eight, and that happened in episode... eleven? I think.
1897437 Well, Fluttershy is Actually Part Pinkie Pie. The Pony that most Inspired Pinkie was a Pegasus Named Surprise. When they Made FiM, They took Suprise's Wings and Grafted them onto an earth Pony Named Posy, Who was Fluttershy's Forerunner. So Evidently, Lovecraftian Horrordom can be Transplanted.
1907162 So, Suprise was an Eldritch Abomination at first. Someone took her wings and glued them to Posey, who then became Fluttershy. Surprise, now under the name of Pinkie Pie, became slightly less horrifying, and that horrifying-ness in her wings that was subtracted from Pinkie was given to Fluttershy, technically making them both Eldritch Abominations?
1897557 I'm not really sure how many cockatrices there are. I'd have to assume there's at least a small population of them in the Everfree. Since Fluttershy can apparently speak to animals, so she might be able to track it down with information from other animals who live there.
Okay, two problems, here.
First - from last chapter:
Trixie is quite clearly aware of the Elements and their recent usage.
Secondly - the response from Celestia. At the very least, she would enquire as to the nature of the emergency that Her Faithful Student deemed sufficiently important to use the Elements for.
That said, even if she cannot allow the Elements to escape her strict watch, the six Bearers can easily visit Canterlot, and Twilight read that the common solution is to move the statue there anyway. So, easy answer, they all stop in the castle for a while, perform the spell under the supervision of the Princess, and, if it works, cast it on the other petrified ponies in the statue garden. Everypony wins.
Other than that, this is still a wonderful story.
1908871 Exactly! That's why Pinkie Pie is able to use to laws of Physics as her playthings and Fluttershy can use her Mindscrewery! If they were to Be Melded back together, They'd basically have all the power of discord. And thus Equestria would descend once more into eternal partying.
In an earlier chapter, Trixie clearly refers to Twilight as the Element of Magic or Bearer or something like that, so unless this petrification is starting to mess with her memories... little bit of a hole there!
And this thing with Celestia's letter... I can see her refusing to send the Elements, but to say absolutely nothing else?! No asking about details?! No "Why don't you bring your friends to Canterlot instead" or some other suggestion that doesn't put the Elements in danger?! That feels so incredibly contrived. And about this 1900706 "Celestia's Mercy"? It is irredeemably stupid to think that Cele would just off Trixie without letting Twilight at least try to save Trixie if Twi brought Trixie to Canterlot, especially if she brought Starswirl's book as proof that she has a plan of attack. Cele may want to always protect her ponies, but how would a cockatrice ever get inside Canterlot, never mind inside the castle?! In other words, you better have a good reason for having Cele act so soulless towards someone Twilight explicitly called her friend and (as Cele herself might say) "one of [her] ponies."
1913313 Will there be cupcakes?
2007936 Always. There will ALWAYS be cupcakes.
Strawberry and Vanilla and Chocolate and and Banana Nut and Choc Chip and Blueberry and Lemon and Passionfruit and Pineapple and Tomato and Mango And Spinach and Ginger and Raspberry and well, you get the Idea
2015016 Cupcaaaaakesssss...
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I was curious to see if someone had made a crossover with that book on fimfiction, and this turns up. I'm surprised no one's done a spot-on replica (heck, someone could even use the game's plot as a guide) of that book though.
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Nope. I mean, it gets worse, but 'Earn your happy Ending' is well in effect, one way or another.
Um, the Elements are useless anyway without their bearers, and eventually they do get left with the Mane 6 anyway (Keep Calm And Flutter On), in addition to a spell that can summon them to the Six from wherever. However, I can understand how in headcanon (especially pre-Season 3) the Elements should be reserved for the most important of situations. What if they only had so many uses before they were tired out? (In addition to the reasons used by the author in other comments.)
If those in the garden are cockatrice'd Canterlotians of clout, then there would be a lot of very undignified statues in the Gardens.
... Yeah...
... I must agree with many others... Having Celestia respond like that, so cold, so... BITCHY!!... regardless of political issues, was grossly out of character.
As far as I'm personally concerned, the story has been shot in the foot. At the very least, inquire about details, don't just immediately say 'no'. After all, remember the wedding, Celestia? Remember not listening to your student then? What happened? Oh, yeah, near-successful invasion by changelings.
... Celestia is one of my fave characters, and to see her written so dismissive...
That said, I'm HOPING I'm overreacting and shooting in the dark, here. I like Scootamom, that's in my faves, but to see... that...? Ugh...
It's jarring to me because, IF I read correctly, and I may not have, this takes place in your 'Scootaverse'... This is the "kind" Celestia whom raised Scootaloo... To me, that translates out to saying that if her own DAUGHTER was in the same situation and she didn't know, she's give the same answer, but give special treatment if she DID know it was Scoots.