Echoes of Harmony

by BronaFides

Out of Time

Twilight Sparkle woke as her head impacted the ancient round table, the noise of the book falling from the air reverberating in her ears. I can't stop now, the answer has to be here. She lifted the book again and began quickly skimming the page.

“Hast thou been reading through these all day, Twilight Sparkle?” Luna voice sounded behind her.

“Is it night already?” Twilight glanced at the windows, wishing they let in just a little more light. She focused briefly, and the candles in the sconces around the room all came alight, the faint smell of burning dust briefly pervading the room. “No, I fell asleep after breakfast. I guess the mass teleport took more out of me than I thought.”

Luna nodded at the stack. “May I?” Twilight floated a book to her in answer, and Luna began flipping through it with her. “It must have. I cannot imagine the pony grown from the filly my sister described slumbering while a shelf of rare books awaited her perusing. Where are the others, thy friends?”

“Oh, Pinkie helped me by randomly picking the books to start with, she always has a knack for that. She's in the kitchen now helping Applejack make snacks, so I don't have to take breaks as often.” She nodded to a plate of fresh apple fritters and apple-frosted cupcakes. “Rarity and Fluttershy were gathering supplies earlier, but without any clear goal, there was only so much they could do, so I think they're touring the castle grounds now.” The book she was skimming while she spoke was a fascinating discussion on weather-related spells, and she had a difficult time not stopping to read in more detail. There will be time later. “The Dashes are doing a wide patrol to see if a pegasus-eye view can provide more details on the changeling movement.” She closed the book and moved it aside, floating the next one over. 'One Hundred and One Growth Spells.' Well, change and growth are pretty similar.

“I will aid her by watching the night from my tower,” Luna said decisively, “lest they end up deeper in Equestria.” She lowered the book she had slowly onto the table.

“Do we even know if they mean harm?” Twilight looked up and met Luna's questioning gaze. “I mean, if they've left Queen Chrysalis behind, perhaps they've rejected her deceptive ways.”

“Their very nature is deception. I fear there are two great possibilities – that they have split with her, and her vindictive nature will cause her to seek them out, leading to an epic pony war, or that they are still working with her, and the attack was a ruse to distract us.”

“I... I hadn't thought of it that way.”

“Do not be hard on yourself. I may be a thousand years short of my sister's experience, but I do know something of strategy.” Luna moved to the door, and said softly as she left, “Fear not, you will find what you seek in time, Twily.”

Twilight Sparkle set the book she was reading down, jarred by the nickname. She must have heard Shining Armor use it, she reassured herself. Still, it was odd for Luna to use such an informal name with her like that. Maybe she's finally relaxing a bit. She moved to the door, watching Luna depart. Her formal stance and measured gait didn't seem any more relaxed. Twilight's stomach rumbled slightly, and she lifted a cupcake from the platter munching on the edge as she returned to her book.

Suddenly, she felt heat rise up hear cheeks all the way to her mane. “Hot! Hot!” she ran out the room, knocking the book Luna had set down onto the floor. She ran full gallop to the kitchen, sweat pouring down her face. She forced the door open, looking frantically around for a drink.

“Looks like your warning will be too late,” Applejack observed.

“Sorry Twilight, I accidentally gave you the batch with hot sauce!” Pinkie had a tray on her back with several other cupcakes and a pitcher of lemonade. Twilight quickly snatched the pitcher and drank its contents.

“How's the studying?” Applejack offered her a slice of apple pie.

“Oh, good.” She ate the pie quickly, the sweet crispness countering the last of the burning sensation.

“Really? You found something?” Pinkie Pie asked excitedly.

“Well, no,” Twilight frowned, then growled in frustration. “It's all really fascinating, but none of it has been helpful so far!”

“Well, you know a little break might do you some good,” Rarity said from the doorway. “Fluttershy and I have just finished touring the garden maze. You know, without Discord making it a labyrinth of torment and despair,” she added nonchalantly.

“Rarity, I spent a lot of my youth here,” Twilight reminded her. “I've toured everything. Multiple times.”

“Yes, well,” Rarity countered, “I still think a little fresh air would do you good after all that dust and the smoke of those candles.”

“The candles!” Twilight ran back to the room as fast as she could. Of course, she reminded herself as she checked the sconces, they were wall mounted, so none of them could have set the books on fire, but having just gotten this collection, she couldn't help but be a little paranoid about it. She sighed in relief and then picked up the book Luna had been looking at carefully. On the black leather cover was etched the two five-pointed stars with the background spiral, unmistakably the cutie mark of Starswirl the Bearded. She checked the spine and found there was no title. Her curiosity piqued, she opened it up.

She closed it again, studying it carefully from the outside, then opened it again. “Is this a prank of Luna's or something?”

“I doubt it, she doesn't strike me as a real prankster,” Spike commented, entering the room. He picked up the pile of books that Twilight had finished with and began refiling them.

“Then what do you make of this?” She floated the book to him and opened it.

“Are all the pages blank like this?” Spike scratched his chin thoughtfully when she nodded. “Maybe it's a notebook he never got a chance to use?”

“But Luna sat here and leafed through the book while I talked to her.” Twilight thought back to the discussion. Her eyes had been glued to her own books while she talked, and she barely noted the book that she had floated to Luna, but she recalled now that it was bound in red leather, and was quite a bit thicker. She spotted that book nearby on the table, dust still on the cover. “So, where did you come from, then?” She flipped through the pages anxiously. One page near the middle had a single speck of ink in the center, but all the others seemed completely clean. She squinted at the spot. “Spike, stay back, I'm going to try something.”

He darted a glance around the room, and decided the safest place was to wedge himself under the ancient table. “Just be careful, all right?” he waggled a claw at her before his hand retreated to safety with the rest of him.

She leaned in, bringing the book closer at the same time, until the tip of her horn just touched the black spot. The second it made contact, she could hear a buzzing noise, like it was coming from somewhere behind her, and so faint she wasn't sure she wasn't just imagining it. She moved the book back slightly, and the noise stopped. Not just my imagination, then. She furrowed her brow, and made contact again. There was another barrier there, she could feel a slight flow, like static in her mane. She pushed just the slightest bit of magic down her horn.

Suddenly, the pages of the journal were alight with her violet hue, lines tracing out from the original spot, until they made the shape of two overlapping six-pointed stars, with five other smaller stars appearing nearby. Inside the outline of this image of her own cutie mark, words and letters suddenly faded into view, then seemed to pour out of the outline until they filled the page. She quickly turned the pages to find them slowly filling in the same way. The cover shuddered and the light pulsed outward across the room, extinguishing the candles as the light itself went out.

“Twilight, what happened? Are you all right?” In the same direction as Spike's voice, she heard a thud.

“I'm all right, hold still.” Twilight relit the candles quickly to see Spike rubbing an obvious bump on his own head. In his concern, he'd stood up too quickly and hit the table. Twilight felt like she must have hit her head as well, as there was a dull throbbing just behind her horn. That spell was simple, but... subtle. Strong. She shook her head, trying to shake the knot of pain loose.

“Cool, it's got your cutie mark on it now,” Spike said, picking up the book and leafing through it. “Too bad it's still all blank.”

“What?!” Twilight stopped her shaking suddenly, and lifted the book from Spike, flipping the pages quickly. She skimmed them, then turned it back to him. “So this looks blank to you?”

“Uh, yeah. Twilight, are you sure you're all right?”

She turned the book back to read the pages, her eyes skimming the cramped writing and the carefully notated diagrams. “I'm more than all right, Spike. Put the rest of these away, I'm pretty sure I've found what we need.”

* * *

“There has to be an easier way.” Twilight sighed, pacing in circles around the table, dark circles under her eyes and her mane in a disarray. Spike had eaten the last of the cupcakes hours ago and fallen asleep awkwardly on the platter. She vaguely recalled reassuring each of her friends that she was on her way to bed, but she couldn't remember if that was before or after she had stumbled across the spell that she still had the book open to. She stopped for a moment, flipping the pages back and forth again, the sound of shuffling paper soothing her...

“Oh, my faithful student, did you get any sleep at all?”

“I'm sorry, did I oversleep for the test,” Twilight mumbled. She could feel Celestia's calming presence near her as she awoke, so that she was less startled that she should have been.

“No more tests, Twilight Sparkle.” The sun princesses voice was a little firmer now. “It's the real thing this time.”

“Did something happen?” Twilight suppressed a yawn as she forced herself to wake faster.

“An assault came from The Badlands to Appleoosa last night.” Celestia continued in response to Twilight's expression of concern, “no, nopony was badly hurt this time, but they lost a lot of the crops, and they're terrified,”

“Why didn't Luna get me? We could have helped...”

“She knew what you were doing here was more crucial. Even more so now. I fear we were right, and the factions have split. And now the other faction will flee further into Equestria. I'll have to stretch the guard posts to Applewood and Las Pegasus now. More innocent ponies in the middle.”

“Then... I think I have an answer.” We don't have a choice, we have to try it. “I found a treatise on time travel spells in this journal,” she levitated the book and moved to the page she wanted to discuss. “I've used one of Starswirl's earlier time travel spells before, but it was very limited. He theorized that the Elements of Harmony could be used as a spell booster and extend the range of the spell.” She looked up and saw Celestia staring blankly at the page. “Oh! I thought maybe you'd be able to see through it. He had a very powerful encryption spell on this to make sure it didn't fall into the wrong hands.”

“No. He always said it seemed that alicorns had more raw magic power, but the subtlety of his skill was always a marvel. Luna put some effort into it when she was young, out of respect for an... idol of hers, but I accepted the nature of my magic long ago.” Celestia seemed distant again, and she added, “go on,” without bringing her focus to bear.

“Right, I... can't find a way to break the spell on the changelings. Starswirl the Bearded didn't even mention them directly, but he discusses the nature of interwoven spells – I think the existence of any of them fuels the enchantment for all of them. They all tie back to the queen. So, I think the only way to get rid of them...” she paused here briefly, then pushed the last part of the sentence out as she exhaled, “is to make them not happen to begin with.”

Celestia seemed to consider the distant point she'd focused on for a minute longer without wavering, and Twilight was just beginning to wonder if maybe she'd spoken too softly, and opened her mouth to repeat herself, when Celestia finally spoke. “Are you sure, Twilight Sparkle? If you change the past, there's no telling what else could change. You could return to an unfamiliar world.”

“I found this half a night ago,” Twilight responded. “I've tried to think a way around it, but I don't see a choice. I'd have to ask everypony - since I need them for the spell, they'd have to agree.”

“Then ask them, and give them a day to think on it,” Celestia added, “And get some sleep, my student,” she smiled warmly, mentally returning to the room and turning to face the unicorn. “You'll want to have all your strength if you're going through with this!”

* * *

A slight creek in the door let Twilight know that somepony had entered her room, and she opened her eyes slightly. She was facing Spike, who was still snoring soundly in his bed, where she'd moved him carefully before collapsing on her old bed and into a deep slumber. The tiara and notebook perched on her night stand reminded her sharply what she intended to try, and she turned her back on them both to see who had arrived.

“Twilight Sparkle,” Luna said, “Art thou prepared for thy plan?” The dark alicorn hovered a tray over to the bed. It looked to contain the most amazing breakfast Applejack had ever prepared.

“I'm more prepared for that than I am to be waited on by a Princess,” Twilight responded. The quickly levitating the slice of dutch apple pie and took a small bite. The crust was buttery, crispy, and perfect. “Would you like some? Applejack really overestimated my appetite.”

“Thy slumber lasted all of yesterday, and most of this night,” Luna responded, helping herself to a fritter. “Her concern probably stems from that.”

“What?” Twilight nearly dropped her pie. “How long until the dawn?”

“An hour remains until Tia awakens for her morning duties.”

For a moment, Twilight hesitated. We could wait until tonight]. One last day, just in case? She shook the doubt from her head. No. This will work. I can do this. She finished the remainder of the pie while she calculated. “Gather everypony. We'll leave before dawn. Spike?”

“What is it? Changeling attack?!” Spike startled awake, shaking.

“It's okay Spike, you're safe here” she soothed him. “Luna and Celestia will look after you while we're gone.”

“Are you sure I can't come?” Spike pouted.

“Fear not, young dragon,” Luna interrupted, stepping forward, lowering her head to look him in the eye. “Thy mistress shall return swiftly, and until then, thou can assist me with some royal reports.” She winked at Twilight Sparkle as she turned to lead them from the room.

“Aw, I have to work while you're gone?” Spike pretended to complain, but Twilight knew he'd feel better being useful. “I suppose I can send for Peewee, and he can play with Philomena while I work....” He grabbed an apple off her tray as he passed it, munching it as he followed Luna. Twilight rolled her eyes, resisting the impulse to scold him. He'll be fine... no matter how this turns out. She pushed back at the returning doubt, swallowing it with a bite of apple brown betty she dragged along.

* * *

When they arrived in Celestia's balcony, everypony was already there. Twilight wasn't surprised to find all her friends, but she asked, “You're all sure? I... I can't guarantee that we'll come back.” Her eyes drifted to Celestia's, whose face was once again unreadable as she met Twilight's gaze directly, and recalled her warning. “And we might change more than just the changelings.”

“Braeburn and Appleoosa will be in a might better shape if that attack never happens, Twi.” Applejack said.

“If we can keep those poor ponies from suffering as changelings,” Fluttershy added, “it will be worth it.”

“And that poor princess!” Rarity pondered, “I wonder what Chrysalis looks like... before.”

“I think you'll be surprised by her beauty,” Celestia spoke with a sad smile.

“And you know we'd stick with you no matter what, silly!” Pinkie continued, nudging Twilight.

Twilight smiled and turned to Rainbow Dash, but the multicolored pegasus was considering her double seriously, before finally asking, “Are... are you sure you're all right with this?”

“Hey, you can't leave your friends hanging,” Iris Dash said nonchalantly. “Besides, you heard Fluttershy, I'll be a happy, non-changeling pony if you do this, who will have lived and died peacefully years ago.”

“But-”

Iris put a hoof in Rainbow's mouth to cut her off. “I won't remember anypony here,” she nodded her tone more serious, “but you'll remember me, so that will have to be enough.”

Rainbow Dash nodded, and she turned a focused expression on Twilight. “All right. Let's do this.”

“Okay, everypony stay close. Princess Luna, I'll need you to signal me when the moon is gone. I'll be concentrating on the spell.”

“Until next we meet, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna nodded sharply, turning to the moon, her whole form set aglow as she lowered it form the sky.

She turned to Celestia, who moved a few steps further away, watching them the whole time. Her mouth opened slightly, then closed again wordlessly.

“Okay, girls, use the elements, but focus them back on me.” No words of encouragement? Maybe she doesn't think I need it...

They nodded, forming a circle around her, and closing their eyes serenely. The necklaces they wore began to glow, faintly at first, then increasing in intensity. The elements began to swirl around Twilight Sparkle, waiting for the final element to guide them.

Twilight frowned slightly as the element of loyalty seemed to crackle and arch some of its energy towards Iris Dash. The changeling noticed it, too, and went to step away, but the energy arc fought against her and pulled her back in. Twilight gestured at her to stop, and Iris swallowed nervously and nodded silently. Like she said, none of this ever happens...

Twilight began to focus on the details of the spell, carefully laying all the groundwork and structure to support the final casting before she pulled in all the power to activate it. Celestia provided the exact number of years, months, weeks, and days, and the exact direction in which Chrysalis' ancient castle lay in. She fixed the direction based on the stars, and slowly turned the circle until she faced that way.

“Now, Twilight!” she heard Luna's royal Canterlot cry.

She pulled as much magic as she could reach, and as it rushed into her, she relaxed, letting the flow suffuse her. The tiara she wore shimmered such a bright light, she could barely see Celestia over the light, as she finally mouthed the words.

“See you soon.”

The arch of the element's rainbow bloom arched up, a five-petaled flower blossom from each of the other ponies in the circle, settling firmly on the crown Twilight Sparkle bore, the pure light of magical energy escaping her creating a pillar that reached beyond the castle towers, above the highest roofs of Cloudsdale, and beyond.

Now.

* * *

Celestia stood shakily. The wave of magic discharge had washed over them like hurricane winds, and for a moment, Celestia fully expected they might be flung to the far corners of Equestria. She had stood her ground though. Still strong enough. The towers of Canterlot were still miraculously undisturbed, but she could see the wave if light on the horizon, still expanding outwards. Everypony will panic. No helping it, and Chrysalis will be worried, too. Besides herself and Luna, nopony else remained on the balcony.

“Sister, she did it,” Luna marveled. Her mane was ruffled her feathers slightly out of place, but she certainly looked steadier than Celestia felt.

“Of course.”

“If thou knew she would succeed, then why wait so long to summon her?”

“I wanted to see if you would.”

“A test, then,” Luna sighed.

“One you passed beautifully. We shouldn't have to wait long,” Celestia noted, turning to take to the air, nearly stumbling as she did so.

“Tia, raise the sun from here,” Luna urged, suddenly at Celestia's side, holding her upright.

“After that display, and with everything going on, everypony is going to be nervous enough! I'll do it from the summer sun display, as I have since the wedding. If I don't show-”

“Fine. Then let me accompany thee. Seeing both royal sisters will be even more reassuring. And I shall aid thee in thy duties.” Celestia opened her mouth to object, but Luna anticipated her. “I will need to learn it, why not start today? And I will be discreet.”

Celestia closed her mouth slowly. She's starting to get this. She smiled with relief and nodded mutely.

Comments

[BronaFides]

2012891 I see your point on the personal questions. I guess I presupposed it would fail based on the three months the changelings were studying them. Rainbow Dash likes to tell a lot of stories about herself, so the changelings had heard them all, and she does tend to be an open book. And anything she doesn't talk about, her friends wouldn't think to ask about. Maybe I will find a way to edit in some emphasis on the intel gathering.

[Soft Shell]

leading to an epic pony war

I don't think a war between colorful peace mongering ponies would be epic, more adorably sad.

[Razzy]

4887107... You made me imagine a group of ponies just slapping each other while muttering apologies.

Cya
Raziel-chan