Turmoil Rising

by JFT

Chapter 6: From Within

Sunburst just walked out of his office, exhaling. What an exhausting day. That’s pretty much been the tempo for the last few months. With Twilight Sparkle leaving the School of Friendship in Starlight Glimmer’s hands as the new headmare, it was up to him, her, and Trixie to run it. Yet as things go, the rest of Twilight’s friends who served as teachers inevitably got caught up by the weight of their lives outside the school; so, one by one, over the course of three years, they dropped out as teachers. With him, Starlight, and Trixie being the only permanent members of the staff, they needed some fresh blood, somebody more permanent; having temporary substitutes would not get them far. This is why it surprised him that the answer to their troubles arrived today. Three applicants signed up, but the situation was… weird. This was outside of his jurisdiction as the vice headstalion; the headmare will have to sort this out. He arrived at her office and knocked.

“Come in!” the voice said.

He walked in and saw a pink, purple-maned mare sitting behind her desk, deep in paperwork.

“Oh hey, Sunburst,” Starlight Glimmer welcomed him. “Students all gone already?”

He closed the door behind him. “Yeah, left some time ago. You know, lately, they’ve been spending a lot of their time over in the Everfree Forest by their Tree of Harmony house. I’m kinda worried about them, Starlight.”

She smiled after taking a sip from her mug. “Sunburst, I think out of all ponies here, the two of us should know the best what’s eating them. Their fourth year here is about to end. They’ll have to leave the school so they’re likely frustrated and confused on what they’re supposed to do now that they’re at the end of the line.”

“Well, when you put it like that, I really can’t blame them.” He fixed his glasses. “I remember how it ended for me when I couldn’t keep up at magic school. You think they might need some assistance?”

“That’s what Trixie’s here for, Sunburst, if they wanted to talk she would’ve known and told us already. Speaking of which, where is she?”

“Oh, she left a few minutes ago. Said she’ll prepare for tonight’s entertainment.”

She sighed. “Of course she did. With moments like this, I don’t even dare thinking about putting her in the position of a teacher, not after what happened last time. We really need to get more permanent staff at the school, Sunburst. When the students get home and the leaders are delighted with how they progressed, they’ll send even more students our way, so we need to fill up our ranks asap.” She stopped herself, thinking for a moment before speaking again. “Say… you don’t think we could try to convince THEM to stay behind and help out?”

Sunburst chuckled. “I honestly wouldn’t say no to that, but I’m sure if they wanted, Trixie would’ve informed us by now.” Then he remembered. “Oh, speaking of which, I got these application forms you may wanna look at.”

He handed the documents over to Starlight, and after looking through the three of them as a star of delight lit in her eyes. “Oh my… Sunburst I think our worries may be over!”

“Yeah, about that…” He scratched his head trying to find proper wording. “You know I normally wouldn’t say to look a gift horse in a mouth, but are you sure these three are a viable option? I mean they just graduated from the local school.”

She paused for a moment. “Now Sunburst, I completely understand. I wouldn’t want to put just anypony for a job as a teacher either, especially somepony as young as this. But these three fillies were born for this kind of job; at their age, they created an organization that helps other ponies who have problems finding their way in the world. Not to mention they technically did graduate from the School of Friendship long before any other student here. So, they basically got references to show they’re competent.”

“I mean, I guess, but still… this young? They might as well pass off as new students attending this school.”

“Trust me Sunburst, these girls are perfect for the job.” She took one last sip from the mug, before putting the applications on the table.

She knew these three fillies all too well. An orange purple-maned pegasus with flight impairment, a yellow red-maned earth pony, and a white unicorn with a curly mane. She recalled how desperately they once tried to get into the school merely as students. While Sunburst’s concerns were valid, she was sure this was the right course of action. Desperation was high enough to make Starlight more malleable.

She finished signing the last document, finally finishing her duties for the day. “Finally, a weekend of relaxation at last. Pity that Maud and Mudbriar are away on a trip to Crystal Empire. Guess it’ll just be the three of us then.”

She traipsed over to the stallion. “Ready to go?”

Sunburst nodded, and with a flash of magic, they disappeared.

POOF!

In a moment, both Starlight and Sunburst appeared in their home, high ceilings of the castle’s entry hall opened before them. This place once housed the Princess of Friendship and the rest of Equestria’s embodiments of Harmony. From here Starlight began her reformation under the watchful eye of her new friends; it was the closest thing that she could call home. And the School of Friendship was situated just outside of it. But as of late, the place has felt rather empty and lonely; her, Sunburst, and Trixie were the only ones now inhabiting the castle, and there were times when she missed having those who helped her get back on the path be close to her.

“So,” Starlight asked her friend, “what do you think will be on today’s menu from our “Great and Powerful School Counselor”?"

“Well, if I had to take a stab in the dark- “

“STARLIGHT!” a shriek echoed through the near-empty castle, silencing the stallion before he could answer.

That was Trixie’s voice. What could’ve possibly happened? They dropped everything and dashed down the hallway and ran into the main room, where the seats of the Elements of Harmony stood along with the map.

“Trixie what’s wrong?!” she yelled as she burst through the door.

The blue unicorn stood by the Cutie Map, slowly turning her head and then screaming from excitement. “The Map! It’s been activated!”

“Wait, seriously?” Sunburst asked, confused, Starlight joining him. “But… since the Tree of Harmony was destroyed the map remained dormant.”

“Dunno, but look! It’s already showing something!”

Their curiosity was piqued and she joined to her friend’s side, only to be met with general confusion. The Map was activated once again, all of the landmasses, the furthers known borders of Equestria could be seen on it, including territories of their neighbors. But there was one distinct difference: no cutie marks were levitating above any specific area. Instead, a dark cloud loomed over the location representing the Everfree Forest.

“Oooooh, this is so exciting. I’ve never been on one of those friendship quests you’ve told me so much about,” Trixie excitedly exclaimed

“Trixie,” the stallion pointed out, “I hate to break it to you, but this isn’t normal.”

Starlight agreed. “The more serious question should be, what in the world’s happening over there?”

Within confines of the remains of the castles of Two Sisters, Princess Twilight Sparkle, and her friends finally found refuge and unexpectedly encountering the foreign students. They didn’t have much time left however, Rainbow Dash needed some serious help. She was still shivering uncontrollably; she had just gone through a harrowing experience and while she managed to survive, the fate of her frozen wings was still undecided and they had to act quickly before they would succumb to frostbite. Twilight and Rarity levitated several gallons of water and used it to envelop the blue pegasus’ wings and having it circulate, while Spike and Smolder gently breathed fire near it to keep it warm at the steady temperature, to ensure the ice melted without damaging her wings. Yona took her back drape and wrapped it around the pegasus’ front to keep the rest of her body warm, with Fluttershy sitting by her side to try and comfort her, while Silverstream brought some warm tea and helped her drink it as she couldn’t even hold the mug properly without spilling it.

“Wait… are you serious?” Sandbar asked, trying to comprehend what Applejack had just explained to them.

Ocellus felt uneasy. “Chrysalis summoned a… creature made of pure Hatred?”

“At least that’s what she called it,” confirmed the country pony.

“And it totally whooped all of your flanks?!” Sandbar freaked out.

“Considering Rainbow Dash’s state,” she glanced at the blue pegasus, “that would be putting it mildly.” Applejack then glanced upwards. “Hey Pinkie! Anything in sight yet?”

The pink pony was situated on top of the wall of the castle ruins, acting as a lookout, trying to spot if anything is approaching. “Nothing!”

“Ponies very lucky you got away,” the yak said.

“Luck ain’t got nothin’ to do with it, Yona,” Applejack retorted. “If it weren’t for Zecora’s magic we’d likely be changeling food by now.”

“So… what exactly is she doing now?” Gallus asked, pointing her way.

They turned to her. The zebra was traipsing about with chalk in her mouth, drawing strange circles into the stone ground.

Silverstream flew by, then stopped and backtracked, after seeing the scene. “You know, I’m all for expressive art, but I don’t think this is exactly the time and place for it,” she went closer to country pony and whispered in her ear. “I think she may have problems if she goes around and never washing the paint off.”

“Err, Silverstream,” she explained to her, “those stripes on her are all-natural. She’s a zebra.”

“A… zebra?!” she gasped. “I’ve never seen a zebra before!”

“Yeah well, it’s only one you’ll likely see in Equestria. I’m surprised of you though; you kids are here often, she lives in the Everfree Forest and you’ve never seen her, or interacted with her before?”

The four students looked at one another for a moment. “Well…” Ocellus finally spoke, “I’ve seen her pass the trees outside the ruins, but I’ve never really given it much thought.”

“So where did she come from anyway?” Gallus asked.

Applejack shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine. Twilight only said zebras are from a faraway land and Zecora never really talked about it.”

The sound of chalk dropping to the ground reached their ears, followed by the voice. “Please don't speak as if I'm not here, only because I’m turned on my rear.”

Gallus scowled. “Does she always speak this weird?” before he had a hoof shoved on his beak. “Kid, don’t push it.”

The zebra walked over to Rainbow Dash’s side and checked her over.

“We’re doing as best as we can, Zecora,” Twilight turned to her, “but the process is going too slow.”

“Yeah…” Spike said, gasping for air while it was Smolder’s turn to keep the fire alight, “and it’s a bit difficult trying to keep the temperature steady to not get too hot.”

“Don’t you have anything that could help speed up the process?” Fluttershy asked her while she was still by blue pegasus’ side, trying to comfort her.

The zebra thought for a moment, then opened her saddlebag and pulled out a bottle filled with orange glowing liquid. “A spoonful to cure shivers is plenty, though saving her wings will leave us on empty. A drop too much might also be dangerous to touch.”

Through the sound of clattering teeth, words came out of Rainbow Dash’s mouth. “I… d-d-don’t care. If I c-c-can never use me wings again t-t-t-then I’m done for… J-j-j-just do it…”

The zebra pulled the cork on the bottle. “Drink it all, slow and swallow, be warned a sting is sure to follow.”

The pegasus nodded as she chugged down the whole concoction. She let out a loud burp before the chattering of her teeth continued… But then it slowly started to fade away. It seemed to be working; she was no longer feeling the shivers all over the body! She was about to say something when she all of a sudden grimaced; she turned bug-eyed, tearing up, her coat and mane turned fiery red, and when she finally opened her mouth, with a cry, a flame followed. In her frantic flailing about, she tossed her cover into Rarity, causing her to fall backward and ceasing the water circulation, leaving Twilight to only hold it up. She heard a hissing sound coming from inside and watched as the frozen wings heated up, causing the ice to just go puff, the vapors bubbling onto the surface. She smiled, realizing that Zecora’s medicine worked. Then a splash followed; Rainbow Dash bent backward, plunging her head into the water behind her and begun to drink it up to douse the fire inside, and with the face she was pulling it frightened the princess so much that she let go of the spell holding up the body of water, causing the whole thing to splash to the ground, getting everybody around it drenched.

The red color slowly started to fade away from the pegasus, returning to her natural blue, but as she finally managed to breathe in, her eyes pointed like daggers at the zebra. “ZECORA, YOU SAID IT WAS GOING TO STING, NOT BURN!”

Fluttershy parted her mane, covering her eyes. “Rainbow Dash, do you feel better?”

“Well, yeah, but it still hurt.”

She went behind her back to check on the possible injuries. “Your wings seem fine.”

“There’s only one way to find out for sure,” the blue Pegasus said, positioning herself to leap into the air.

She jumped, she felt the wind brush through her wings, she was delighted to know it hasn’t left her… and after a few seconds she fell flat on her face.

“Dash, you alright?” Applejack rushed to her side.

She slowly rose back up, with a distraught expression on her face. “My…. My wings won’t move… WHY WON’T MY WINGS MOVE?!”

The water flattened the healer’s mohawk mane, she shook in an attempt to shake off the moisture, then traipsed over to her side, examined her wings, and said with a smile. “Don't worry, friend of mine, your wings are fine. Out in the cold, they tend to strain; some days of rest will make them right as rain.”

“A few days? Hah, I can live with that,” she boasted, while Applejack and Fluttershy, smiled realizing that she’s in no serious mental distress, while Rarity in the meantime finally managed to get up from under the yak drape that’s become heavy because of water. “I mean, I’m a Wonderbolt. I can deal with something small like not flying for a while. I’m sure somepony else can in meantime take over teaching the newbies… or going on maneuvers… or doing the performance… and feel their mane flowing in the wind…” the realization slowly washed over her and she cracked. “I can’t… not fly for a whole week! My career is over!” she sobbed loudly.

The earth pony and the other pegasus went to her side to reassure her it will be alright in the end, meanwhile, the unicorn groaned and thought to herself: What a drama queen. She struggled to lift the heavy fabric, then her eyes stopped for a moment after she noticed the beautiful pattern design.

“Yona,” she asked the yak, “did you make this?”

The big student nodded. “Mama taught Yona the traditional Yakyakistan pattern and Yona want to make it even better.”

“Oh my, you do have a way with a needle young lady; you’ve quite a talent,” the fashionista responded. “Have you ever considered dipping your hooves in a fashion industry?”

“Yona dipped hooves in water right now, but Yona never tried to dip in fashion yet. Needles hurt,” the yak bit on the wet fabric and sling it over her back, making a splashing sound as it contacted an already drenched yak fur.

“Erm… that was just an expression, dear.”

“Yona know,” she grinned. “Yona made a joke.”

Rarity couldn’t help but let out a chuckle. Then she remembered something’s been poking her since the escape and brought out a finely crafted piece of golden metal.

“Twilight, darling,” she got the princess’ attention, “I believe this is yours,” she handed the crown back to her. “I found it in the dirt back at the cave. Good thing I have a keen eye, otherwise you’d need to get yourself a new one.”

Twilight held the crown aloft, observing her own reflection in the gold. She was roughed up and tired, strands of her mane standing all over the place. But she felt…

The crown’s clanging sound echoed all around as it fell on the stone ground, getting everybody’s attention, silencing even Rainbow Dash’s crying.

“Twilight, careful! Both Princesses Celestia and Luna gave up their crowns to make that one, you can’t risk getting it damaged!” Rarity grimaced.

“Really…?” a single eye glared at her. “That’s what you’re worried about right now?!”

“Twilight, what’s wrong?” Spike asked.

There was frustration growing inside her. “Spike, have you missed what happened not long ago?! We got more serious problems right now! We failed! We’ve done our best and it wasn’t enough to stop that… THING that Chrysalis brought.”

“Now Twilight, calm down,” Applejack intervened. “No need to get aggressive on us. So maybe we had bad luck. We just need to hit it with something stronger.”

Sandbar jumped in. “Yeah! Remember how all those years ago we defeated Chrysalis, Tirek, and Cozy Glow? You just need the rest of us,” he extended his hooved at his fellow students, “as well as the Pillars. Then we can-“

“Sandbar, that’s the problem!” she interrupted him. “When I faced Chrysalis alone, she was different than last time. She wasn’t empowered by an ancient artifact, something that could be dispelled; it was as if she had been completely changed, molded to the point where her own hatred fuels her. She proclaimed herself to be a paragon of her own inner turmoil, “The Pillar of Hatred”, much like the Pillars of Old Equestria.”

“But are you sure that it wasn’t just a fluke? I mean maybe you did something that didn’t make it work,” Smolder added.

“Smolder, we gave it all,” the princess told her. “We were true to ourselves as we’ve always been. But that creature, this… “manifestation of Hatred” as Chrysalis dubbed it, it’s beaten us all like it was nothing, as it’s evidence with what happened to Rainbow Dash.” She glanced at her. “We barely managed to get away with our lives… at the last moment,” she wiggled her hind leg which still had a severed shadow tendril wrapped around it.

“Twilight…” Rainbow Dash finally spoke. “It feels like there’s something more you’re not telling us if you’re Twilighting this much.”

Everybody around the blue pegasus looked at her and then at the princess. It has been a long time since Twilight Sparkle had one of her typical freak-outs, which they had dubbed fittingly. She looked like she was about to burst from the anger of using that sentence at the most inappropriate time… but she inhaled and exhaled; Rainbow Dash had a point.

“There is… something else, but I don’t want you all to fall into possible despair.”

“Twilight, I ain’t gonna be hearin’ none of that!” the element of Honesty predictably intervened. “The fact that you’re even questioning to trust us must mean that it’s serious.”

“But… the students…” She looked at them and they simply sat there with their arms crossed; they were on Applejack’s side of this.

The princess sighed in defeat. “Okay. After our initial failure, I tried to discern what exactly that abomination was, so I looked at it through the sight that perceives magic and… I best show you to understand…”

She closed her eyes. Her horn begun to glow, followed by her whole body, beginning to levitate. She opened them and a bright light flashed out of them, blinding everybody.

They finally managed to see past the light. Twilight was still standing before them, in her state of trance, but what stood behind her… was not something they expected. They saw windigos, the spirits of cold and ice harnessed in dark chains, which were extending way up into a giant mass of darkness above them; no matter how far and wide they looked it didn’t have an end, like looking at the endless blue sky. Genuine fear began to settle in when the realization came over them: this was darkness the size of the world. The light engulfed them again.

They were all back in the castle ruins. There couldn’t possibly be any words worth passing that could describe the terror. Considerable time passed before a word was finally uttered.

“You…” Ocellus started. “You don’t think that’s what the spirit of the Tree of Harmony warned us about?”

“Based on what we just saw?” Gallus responded. “I’d say that’s a hundred percent yes.”

Their words got the princess’ attention. “Wait, the tree’s spirit called to you?”

The students nodded. “It happened not a moment before you all arrived; warning us about "great shadow and to not let it come to this place",” Sandbar answered.

“Wait… does that mean that dark thing can come here at any moment?” Silverstream panicked.

Applejack turned back to the wall and called out in concern. “Pinkie! Anything in sight yet?!”

“Nada!” the reply came from the pink pony.

“But if what you’re telling is true,” Twilight responded to the students, “if the spirit of the tree did warn you then it really is the worst-case scenario! I’ve been seeing it in my dreams for the last two weeks. This dark creature, which breathed ice and snow, resembled one of those faces that haunted me, and there were five others with it. Their darkness consumed all of Equestria and all of my friends… and now it made itself manifest. Ever since that moment, I began to wonder: What if my dreams weren’t just that, but a premonition? What if what I saw was a warning that what will happen is inevitable? That nothing we do can stop this?”

A hoof tapped her shoulder, the zebra trying to get her attention. “Princess, I understand your distress, but if what you’re describing is true, then we can no longer second-guess.” She walked over to Spike with a wooden stick. “Spike, if I may ask, for you to provide a light for this task?”

The dragon looked at her, then shrugged and blew a green flame to set the stick on fire. Then she traipsed over to the circles on the ground and started adding other reagents from her bag: she poured flakes of ice from a small gourd, a saucer filled with water, and the bottled lightning. She put the burning stick on the edge of one of the circles and pushed a rock in its path to cast a shadow. And lastly, she stacked up some kindling inside one of them, then rummaged through her saddlebag to bring out the fire-lizard, who promptly huffed into it, setting the pile ablaze.

“Zecora, what are you doing?” Twilight asked.

“Doing what you asked of me: to help with your stress,” she replied. “No better timing, since we’re under duress.”

“You want to diagnose me RIGHT NOW? No offense, Zecora, but this isn’t the time to- “

“Twilight Sparkle, be still,” she said in a serious tone, as she pulled out her staff, “lest I make somepony ill! My incantation is tricky, we don’t need the spell to come out icky. If done right the problem’s root will appear in sight.”

She walked to the center of the circle and sat down, closing her eyes. The zebra was nervous herself. She had not done this ritual in years and the first time she used it, it did not end well. She needed to concentrate and focus. Ice, fire, lightning, water, and shadow; the five elements surrounded her but it was herself that was the grounding force for them all; it required her to empty herself of all thoughts and feelings. She tapped the bottom of the staff against the floor. It echoed. And then it happened: the surrounding circles lit up, their energy slowly merging at the very center until she herself was completely enveloped by it. Everybody else stared in amazement; they’ve not seen anything like this before. Then her eyes shot open in blue light and a magical radiance burst out in a wave, spreading through the ruins and across the Everfree Forest. Silence fell on the scene and her eyes stopped glowing, but it was soon broken by a familiar voice.

“Weirdness spotted at four o’clock!” Pinkie Pie yelled.

Applejack immediately took note of it, rushed to the walls of the ruins, and looked through the window.

“Whoa, nelly. Y’all may wanna see this,” she said in a tone of unease.

The rest of the ponies and the students joined her and realized the problem. In the distance, they could see a dark, sinister aura rising over the treetops. It was like a massive cloud forming, covering the sky in perpetual darkness.

“Is that what zebra magic reveals?” Yona asked. “Because this dark even worse than Yakyakistan on the worst day.”

“Zecora, what is that?” Fluttershy asked in a frightened tone.

“This magic gives turmoil a physical, visible form. And though I see it far away… even here, we’re not safe from its storm,” she said in a very concerned voice, looking at the Princess of Friendship.

“Not safe here? Zecora, what are you talking about…” Twilight’s voice trailed off when she realized that everybody was starting to stare at her with a freaked-out expression. “What? What are you all looking at me like that for?”

“Princess Twilight, are you feeling alright?” Smolder asked. “Because you look kinda… smokey?”

Rarity pulled out a hand mirror and slowly levitated it towards the princess. “What she’s trying to say Twilight, is that you look… to put it mildly… unwell.”

The princess gazed into the mirror and got a most unpleasant answer. Looking at her face she saw grey smoke venting out of her eyes.

“What… Zecora, what is this?! What’s happening to me?!” she panicked.

“‘I thought it then, but now it’s certain!” the shaman spoke. “The shadow of Doubt is upon your person!”

“Zecora this isn’t the time for rhyming riddles, be direct!”

“I’ve been perfectly clear with what I said! Your own doubt is bubbling up to the surface, making itself manifest.”

Doubt. That was the root of the problem. Ever since she started having those nightmares two weeks ago, she felt unease weighing her down. It felt like nothing at first, but as time passed the burden kept growing and nobody else could assist her in any way. Twilight may have known what’s wrong with her, but there was no cure for it and to make matter worse, her recent experience compiled the issue, making her doubt grow more and more. She suddenly felt a strange chill coming up her leg. The tendril remains that were wrapped around her hind leg liquified and started to spawn small tendrils, slowly crawling up her. On first instinct, she used magic on it to detach it off her… but there was no effect. She panicked, trying to brush it off with her front hooves but all it did was cause the mass to attach to them and it started to crawl up her closer. The rest of the ponies immediately rushed to her side to try and help take the black mass off her, yet it kept slipping through everybody’s hooves. She tried to cry out for help, but her voice was muffled as the mass crawled up to her face and beginning to absorb the vapor being exhumed from her eyes.

“Ponies, go away!” the zebra yelled. “There’s only one way to stop her from falling under its sway!”

Zecora clenched her staff between her teeth and charged at the group, everybody else moving out of her way. She swung it, the gourds on the staff’s shaft coming in contact with the back to Twilight’s head, and the black mass attached to her face was flung off her and splattering on the ground. The vapors from the princess’ eyes had dissipated and she collapsed out cold.

“Twilight!” they called in unison quickly joining to her unconscious body, with the students running to her side.

“The princess! Is she…?” Silverstream asked before she got his question answered by the shaman.

“She will be fine, we intervened in the nick of time,” the zebra reassured them.

They sighed in relief. The threat had passed… or so they thought. While her friends were around Twilight, they weren’t paying attention to the splatter on the ground. The black mass began to slowly reassemble, conglomerating into a single blob, beginning to stir until a mouth formed and releasing a shrill at the end. It got everybody’s attention.

“What is that?” Rarity asked in a grossed-out tone.

The blob shifted around, looking in all directions. Was it… confused?

“Maybe…” Fluttershy wondered, “it’s not as harmful as it seems.”

The pegasus slowly approached the mass of goo, despite the protest of the rest of the group. As she got in hoof’s reach of it, the amalgamation’s attention finally turned to her.

“Hello there, little thing. There’s no need for you to be scared of me,“ she coddled it, slowly extending her hoof in its direction. “Come on. There’s no need to fear, I’m not gonna hurt you.”

Her hoof stopped a few inches away. The blob slowly extended its face in her direction. Suddenly, tentacles sprouted out of its body, its maw opened and it released a shrilling cry as it extended at her.

Applejack immediately leaped and pulled the yellow pegasus back at the last moment. “I don’ think it got friendly, Fluttershy!”

“Get it!” Pinkie Pie screamed on top of her lungs and jumped on top of it, squishing it.

That didn’t stop the blob, as it crawled out from under her and made a getaway towards the treehouse.

“SMASH BLACK BLOB!” the yak yelled and charged after it.

“Yona wait!” Sandbar called out and ran after her, followed by the rest of the students.

“Stop! It’s too dangerous!” Rarity called out, but her warning fell on deaf ears as the students already went inside the house.

“We need to go with them, y’all!” Applejack urged as she got up. “They could get hurt by that thing!”

“I’m staying with Twilight,” Spike responded, “if that thing happens to come back I’m not gonna let it get to her again.”

“Same here,” the fashionista responded, the dragon giving her a glance of surprise.

“We got this!” Rainbow Dash yelled and leaped into the air, only to land belly first and sliding on the ground. “Right… forgot; no wings.”

“Rainbow Dash, you should stay behind, you’re not well yet,“ Fluttershy tried to tell her, only to be immediately cut off.

“The hay I will! My legs are still working. You’ll just have to handle the flying bit instead of me,” she told her.

She got back on her feet, and they, along with Applejack and Pinkie Pie dashed into the treehouse after the kids.

The black blob squeezed through the narrow cracks in the tree until it reached the bottom, a large empty room with no noticeable exits. It shifted about, trying to determine its surroundings, unable to perceive anyone. It let out a whimpering growl.

A light turned on, the source coming from the corner of the room; the tree itself. The substance twisted, becoming agitated; it spited the light. Then the source made itself manifest, a shape made of light, resembling the Princess of Friendship, stood before the creature made of black mass, towering over it. Its behavior changed suddenly; it had gone quiet, facing directly at the Spirit of the Tree of Harmony, intently focusing on it.

The Spirit spoke in a calm tone. ”Fragment, the remnant of the shadow that once emerged from the world. That which should not be. I… do not have the power to stop you. With the Tree gone, you can no longer be suppressed by it, but in turn, others have now risen to the occasion. Those who live in this world now will rise against you… even without me. Their light will triumph over your darkness in the end.”

The black blob stared at the spirit, unmoving. Then it began to bubble up as its form twisted and its maw opened, letting out a gurgling cry, but only two comprehensible words came out:

"DOUBT… STRONG…!"

The students accompanied by one adult each were going about the house looking for the black mass: Gallus and Silverstream with Fluttershy checked the area near the branches, Ocellus and Smolder with Rainbow Dash checked the upper levels, while Yona and Sandbar with Applejack checked the ground levels; only Pinkie Seems to have vanished out of sight. By the end, they all finally met back at the ground floor at the front door, but they were all empty-handed.

“Tarnation!” cursed Applejack. “Finding that varmint is like trying to find a needle in a haystack.”

“More like a pebble amongst boulders,” Gallus quipped.

“That creature can squeeze through any crack,“ Ocellus showed concern. “It could be hidden anywhere.”

“Let’s not lose hope just yet,” Fluttershy answered. “Pinkie Pie’s yet to come back, maybe she’s found something.”

A sound followed, echoing from one of the rooms. It sounded like a glass touching the hard rock ground, yet they could also hear the sound of traipsing hooves. The pink pony appeared, one of her front hooves stuck in a giant jar.

“Sorry guys, no luck on this end,” the party pony said, acting as if she’s not aware of her current position.

Smolder eyed her for a moment. “Why is your hoof in a-” she stopped herself, re-examining the jar, then pulling a sour face. “Wait a minute… that’s my rock candy jar!”

“Oh. So it is,” she answered with a smile. “I found it open when I was inspecting the pantries and thought to myself: "What if the black blob hid inside?" So, I decided, at the risk of my own life to remove every piece from the jar to find this invasive alien creature. But it was a sacrifice I was willing to make for my friends…”

She posed dramatically, but the rest of the group were not impressed, especially Smolder who was still pulling a sour face.

“You just had cravings for rock candy, didn’t you?” Rainbow Dash asked in a nearly Maud-like neutral tone.

“Relax, I have every intention of giving it back.” She tried to soften the situation and then started flailing her hoof about. “Although I’m afraid I got stuck when trying to reach that last piece that somehow got stuck at the bottom. Can somepony please get it off me?”

Smolder glared at her, before approaching her and grabbing the jar. “You’re paying me back EVERY. SINGLE. PIECE. I had them counted.”

“Erm… guys? I have a question,” Silverstream asked, standing outside, looking upwards, her voice being let known before the dragon could pull the jar off. “Is it normal for leaves to fall from trees?”

“Well ‘course it is, Silverstream,” Applejack answered. “Every year in autumn when the leaves grow old, we hold the annual Running of the Leaves to help them fall off.”

“I already know about the leaves falling from normal trees, but do they normally also fall from crystal trees?” she asked, still looking up and as she finished that sentence a crystallized leaf fell on the ground before her.

The group looked at one another and ran outside to see what she was talking about. Unease struck them; they saw the crystal leaves from high branches beginning to lose their luster and falling off. This wasn’t normal, especially not from this tree, which never lost its leaves until now. It started to sound like hail falling as the crystals fell on the house roof and around them, shattering as they hit.

“No, that definitely NOT normal,” the yak said.

But it still didn’t stop. Little by little the bright luster of the tree’s branches began to dim, progressing further downwards to the trunk and the rest of the house.

“What’s happening to the tree?!” Ocellus panicked.

“That creature…” Fluttershy pointed out. “Maybe it’s responsible for this?”

“Ye, but where is it?!” Gallus' voice rose in panic. “We searched every place, except for nooks and crannies that we can’t get into. It could be anywhere!”

“We checked every corner! Are you kids sure there’s no other room here?!” blue pegasus questioned them.

“Hey, I have a question!” the party planner called them from inside. “Do you have a light-show room for parties below?”

Sandbar ran in, questioning what she meant, but all she did was point to the crack in the floor below a bookshelf. There was a bright flash coming from below. Was there perhaps another room below the house they didn’t even know about?
Everybody got called in and as they moved the bookshelf away, they all saw the phenomenon, all the while the tree continued to lose its luster; it was now on the ground level.

“We need to hurry and find out what it is! Otherwise, the tree won’t last much longer!” Ocellus stressed out.

“How are we supposed to break through that? We don’t even have any tools-” Applejack told them, but before she finished the sentence, the yak let out a war cry, jumped up and crushed on to the crack in the floor, the crystals giving out under her weight and force, revealing a stairway leading downwards. “Or… that works too.”

“Hey guys, wait! You forgot the…” Pinkie tried to get their attention as they all rushed down the recently revealed path, while she still had her hoof stuck in the jar and she slowly limped after them.

The trip was short, no more than a single circle as they reached the bottom, yet during the whole time they traveled, the light kept flashing. As they arrived at the bottom, a doorway was open not far away, exposing the light show. They tried to close in on the opening quietly, but they were disturbed by the very pronounced sound of glass being pressed against the rock.

“Guys… a little help here, please?” she pleaded.

Finally, Silverstream grabbed the jar and pulled it off Pinkie’s hoof. Finally free from her predicament, she flailed about with excitement… then stopped, and pointed to the ceiling. The luster disappeared from it and it continued down the wall at a rapid pace. The group finally rushed forward to look in the room. What they saw left half of them shocked and confused, while the rest were terrified by the sight.

Comments

[nightshroud96]

Wonder if Luna's link to darkness and such might help out later on? Or be touched on at all?
Wonder how the sisters react to how the tree of harmony's spirit took the form of Twilight there? Or about the fact its sentient, given how it essentially tossed the two aside after they lost connection to the Elements..

“Twilight, careful! Both Princesses Celestia and Luna gave up their crowns to make that one, you can’t risk getting it damaged!” Rarity grimaced.

Speaking of the crown, what bothers me is how its more like just Celestia's crown slightly tweaked than a fusion of the two crowns. Which made Luna even more in Celestia's shadow.
Really it just isn't fair that Luna didn't get to keep her crown for much long before destiny made her gave it up to Twilight. Just wished that issue got addressed..

Sandbar jumped in. “Yeah! Remember how all those years ago we defeated Chrysalis, Tirek, and Cozy Glow? You just need the rest of us,” He extended his hooved at his fellow students. “as well as the Pillars. Then we can- “

Speaking of that, would they question why weren't Luna and Celestia included in firing the rainbow laser too? Even if they were no longer connected to the Elements, Luna and Celestia should have been included anyway due to being previous Bearers and their cutie marks were on the tree.
I wished that got touched on.
In fact I wonder if the whole thing with Spike being included in the rainbow laser gets touched on too?
Its absolute miracle the writers had Spike be part of the rainbow laser in the series finale, I wished they touched on why though. Like is he this 7th Element that will turn the tides?

Looking forward on what happens in the next chapter.
Wonder who the other 5 might become Pillars of a negative aspect like Chrysalis did?

[JFT]

10761010
I'd say it's because of symbolism, aka Pillars = past, Mane 6 = present, Student 6 = future.
And the reason, why princesses weren't included, was because they're immortal.
And Spike is because the writers acknowledged that he's no longer just "a sidekick" but part of the group.

[nightshroud96]

10764728
Shouldn't Twilight be immortal or at least longer living too due to she's an alicorn?
In fact wouldn't it make more sense for Luna and Celestia be with Twilight there? Like Luna drawing in the rainbow from the Pillars due to she and the Pillars went through the same problem(1000 years stuff) while Celestia draws in the rainbow laser from the Student 6 due to like the rising sun represents a new day and future?

[JFT]

10764851
As far as I understand only born alicorns are immortal, not ones that are ascended, like Twilight and Cadance.

[nightshroud96]

10764898
Honestly I feel like the Royal Sisters being immortal really shouldn't exclude the sisters from the final rainbow laser.
Hell, they wouldn't even be allowed to use the Elements in the first place a 1000 years ago nor the tree would have had the sisters' cutie marks on it.

[Doctor_Den]

10761010
It seems to me that when Celestia and Luna owned the elements of harmony, then each of them was the embodiment of three elements. A fan theory suggests that "Honesty", "Loyalty" and "???" were at Luna. At the same time, Celestia had "Magic", "Kindness" and "???". However, after the "Nightmare Moon" incident, the sisters lost contact with the elements and with each other. (at least because Luna practically cheated and betrayed.) Even after Luna's return, the sisters are no longer as close as they used to be. (they could not understand each other until the episode "Royal Problem") At the same time, Celestia is also no longer the true embodiment of kindness, because while Fluttershy shows kindness to the manticore, Celestia sends her to Tartarus. (Remember that moment in Tartarus. In addition to Tirek, there were ordinary unintelligent monsters like "cockatrices", "bearbug" and "manticores" sitting there. In addition, sending an ordinary child without superpowers to Tartarus does not look fair against the background of truly dangerous creatures.) Considering all of the above I suggest that the sisters need to go through "work on themselves" and "personal growth" in order to regain the opportunity to have harmony.