Normalcy

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As far as I was concerned, I had a normal week. Sure, my home was destroyed and a castle had appeared near Ponyville, but this was normal. My home being destroyed was disheartening, but I fell in love with my castle upon further inspection. The redeeming quality was the amount of bookshelves.

The amount of bookshelves sent a blizzard down my back and wings, and my smile rivaled the Ghastly Gorge in length. There was a three story library, patiently awaiting the hoard of knowledge that would soon come.

As I walked back to my eyesore of a castle to put some donated books away, I saw Spike awaiting my return. Of course he had a fold up chair and a comic book, but that just told me he was enjoying himself.

He needs more of that, I thought to myself.

As I came up to the front 'door', Spike saw me and hurried over .

"Whatcha got there Twi?" He asked in his childlike voice.

He knew as much as I did, being my study buddy for years. He was still technically just a baby dragon, though. It made me wonder if his hoard would be one of knowledge.

"Oh, just some old law books from Mayor mare. I'm planning on shelving them, then going to the post office." I responded, books in a safe stack, firm in my telekinetic grip.

"So, what can I do for you? " he asked eagerly.

I barely hold back a flinch. He doesn't know, but I heard he and Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie the other day. They were trying to come with ways to deal with what they thought was a hellhound in the room, my house's destruction. It wasn't necessary, but I had to admit that I had shut myself into my castle in the week that I had it. I was just taking note of all the rooms to map them. Not my fault this castle was larger than Celestia's!

"If you want, you can keep mapping. I have most of the first floor done in this book," I floated the fold up book in question over to him, "and the second floor is about halfway done. Remember that-"

"Each box is a meter in length. I can do that!" He interrupted.

He took the book and ran, starting work as fast as he could. I walked towards the middle of the castle to my library.

I need to remember to go by Rarity's for gems, cook something for him tonight. I thought to myself. Might as well grab some curry and vegetables, make his favorite dish.

I made a shopping list as I unloaded the books onto quadrant 11, section H, Isle 3 down.

"I hereby proclaim this the historical texts of law territory." I muttered as I scanned texts to decide the order of the new books. "Huh. Must be a typo." I said as I skimmed 'Law of the Everfree' by Firma. I continued skimming, taking no notice of it or the others.

A couple minutes later the books were neatly shelved, and I was skipping out of the room.

I headed towards town at a brisk pace, enjoying the sky and clouds. The rainbow streak across the sky missed the clouds, so I assumed that Rainbow was stunt flying. She slowed as she came into town, busting a few clouds before flying off again. I knew I could fly at those speeds too, but I was mostly just happy to be able to fly at all. The flying lessons helped for sure.

When I got closer to town, Rainbow's streak skidded and dropped to my side. After several years of this mare crashing next to me or in my library, I couldn't act phased if I wanted to.

Immediately I noticed the yellow band across her left hoof. It was either a joy buzzer or an insignia. My answer was leaning towards the former as the weather mare/stunt flyer started speaking.

"Hey Twi. How are you? " she asked upside-down on a cloud.

"Just fine. And yourself?" I asked suspiciously.

"We'll, no broken bones yet, so pretty dang good." There was a pause while we walked towards the border of multicolored two-story homes. "You think you could help me with something, Twilight?" She finally asked.

"Such as?" I shot back.

"We'll, Pinkie's being extra… Pinkie right now. I would try to approach her, but she's twitching worse than that bog a year or two back." She seemed to have thought of a mistake, as she quickly blurted "not her Pinkie sense, but like… sugar-rush-oh-my-Celestia-we're-all-gonna-die twitching." She finished with a gasp of air.

After a second of pretending to think about it, I responded with "And I would be able to help, why?"

Rainbow was silent at this. "Well, you know as much about that mare as I do, and she's being weirder than normal. I'm scared of her touching buildings right now, as she'd likely cause one to collapse or something."

"I'll check up on her." I told Rainbow.

Rainbow flew off while I walked through town, taking many left turns.

"Hey Twilight!" Lyra said as she came up to me. She had a broken string on her harp. "Do you think you could do me a favor? One of my strings broke, and there weren't any at the music store that I could buy. I don't want to have to replace all of the strings, and was hoping you'd know a spell to fix it?" She asked me hopefully.

I lit up my horn and the ends of the string came together and stayed. "I'd recommend you leave your harp alone for about five minutes so the magic can do its work. Other than that, anything I can do?" I asked, Lyra following me to Sugarcube Corner.

Lyra shook her head and started taking out a bit pouch.

"Wait! Payment isn't necessary!" I voiced before she got the wrong idea.

"Well, I was going to get a treat for the both of us, maybe even a bit of… oh I don't know… cake?" She said as I rolled my eyes.

"We can still have cake though, right?"

Lyra smirked and we went into the Cake's shop. Inside, Pinkie was nowhere to be seen. Mrs. Cake was at the counter, thinking. There weren't many costumers, as the lunch rush was still an hour away.

Inside Sugarcube Corner, there was Rarity having a scone, the Cutie Mark Crusaders taste testing some new creation, and Bon Bon at the window seat. She seemed to be staring into space, and I didn't want to disturb anypony.

I walked up to Mrs. Cake. "Hi. Is Pinkie on break?" I asked, concerned.

"We thought it be best she have the day off. She ran off to the edge of the Whitetail Woods, fidgeting all the way." Mrs. Cake told me.

"My castle's near there. Do you want me to check up on her when I head back?"

"I wouldn't recommend it Twilight. She needs… things. It's not a good idea right now" Mrs Cake warned.

"Pinkie being her brand of weird is nothing, but this sounds like Pinkie being a normal weird…" I trailed off.

I got some bits for 6 of their fresh cupcakes, and left with a slice of strawberry-chocolate cake. It was sweet and had the perfect strawberry-to-chocolate ratio. It was gooey and had chunks of strawberry that made me yearn for another bite.

The slice was gone the moment I stepped out the door.

I went to the market for ingredients and then the road to the Whitetail Woods.

Pandemonium

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The train to Canterlot from Ponyville took an hour thirty minutes, with minimal fluctuation, which was enough time to think of what to ask. I was unsure for a while what to say to my sort-of-teacher, but had drawn a blank for a half hour. Should I ask about the author of the book, the logistics… I was just confused.

I was also irritated since my saddlebags were a tad heavy.

Looking at the blurs of green, brown, and grey, I began to wonder what Prin… Celestia was hiding. I went over all sorts of law in my studies, and I couldn't find a reference to that particular one anywhere. It was obviously FOR Celestia and Luna… and another ruler.

I tried sleeping on the issue, but couldn't put it down.

The clacking of the train on the track and the smell of the seats distracted me from, and yet made it easier to focus on, the conundrum.

"So, why Canterlot Twi?" The voice of a green and purple reptile piped from beside me.

I was silent, which I know worried Spike.

I opened my mouth, but didn't know how to address my issue.

"I need to ask Prin- I mean Celestia an important question, and I need to ask it face to face."

"What question?" Silence. "Was it about something in one of those books?" I nodded. "The author was Terra Firma, right?" I nodded. "What was in that old book that has you confused?"

"There's something in there that makes no sense unless something that makes equally no sense is true." I responded.

Spike gestured for me to continue.

"A set of laws that, if real, mean that Celestia and Luna weren't the only alicorns before Discord… at least ruling Equestria." I finished, thinking of the king and queen of the Crystal Empire before Sombra attacked.

"Well, wouldn't we have heard of a third? Luna we knew of because of Nightmare Night, but we've never had another evil alicorn or anything…?" Spike reasoned.

"I just… don't know."

Most of the rest of the train ride was spent in relative silence, Spike excusing himself to go to the bathroom a couple of times. I just watched as the train sped past the edges of the Everfree forest, then the plains separating Canterlot Mountain and the Everfree Forrest.

We got to the summit of Canterlot when a group of foals ran to my side of the train to see the city above. There were many "ooh"s and "ah"s as we went into the tunnels and bridge. I couldn't help but chuckle as an orange foal with green hair pressed her muzzle to the glass with wide eyes. It was heartening to see that much wonder in their eyes.

We exited the first tunnel, going over the bridge that gave the best view of Canterlot, and then into the second tunnel. The second tunnel ended at the start of the train station, and the train slowed. The rest of the passengers left the train, and I followed the crowd. I preferred being at the back, where shoving and the rush of others was at a minimum. That meant less of a chance of ruining my books or losing Spike in the crowd.

It also meant nopony usually noticed me, so last I went.

As I arrived at just before noon, it meant there were petitioners at Celestia's castle. I had to wait a couple hours, when Celestia's court would be close to ending.

I walked to Donut Joe's first, Spike on my back. The brown coated pony in question was at his counter, sneaking a donut or two for himself. There weren't many ponies in the shop, and there wasn't anypony I knew.

"Hey Joe! Can I have a half dozen gem donuts and a half dozen dark chocolate donuts?" I ordered

"Half Spike Specials and half Chocolate Delights, right?" He repeated, using the names he gave the donuts.

I nodded, and he put the Delights in first. He went into the back room, where there were an assortment of gems, and closed the door. The muffled noise of machinery and grinding came into the room we were in, and the vibration made me jitter a little bit.

The memories of all the times we came before filled my head, the sound and power of the machine feeling like an earthquake. The first time it had happened I ran out of the shop thinking there was an earthquake. It seemed a little silly now. And the quesadilla incident. Even if it was an accident, I can't get over my phobia for those cheesy abominations.

Joe came out, carrying 12 donuts with him. Atop the donuts was a rainbow of gems. Only he knew the combination and types of gems on there.

I took my bit pouch out of my saddlebag, paying for the donuts. Joe took the bits and gave Spike the donuts.

"Spike, don't touch the donuts just yet. I want to save them for the castle, okay?"

"Sure Twi." came Spike's response.

We continued walking at a slow pace. Spike pointed out a beautiful arrangement of flowers at a home in the middle ring of the city. The house was cyan, and it complimented the magenta Rosa Maria flowers in their front yard.

The houses in the middle ring of the city were vibrant, as there were more flavorful restaurants, more art and music centers, and more things to do in general. The outer ring were mostly 'slums', although that was just a derogatory term. The outer ring was home to many small apartments and businesses, but it had the best views on one side and the city went into the mountain on the other. It showcased the sturdiness of the earth, and allowed for nigh infinite dwellings.

The inner ring had the snobbish, rich, and, more commonly, both. My family lived in a grey area between the rich and the middle, so I was introduced to the upper class, with all their behaviors, as well as the middle class with its color and excitement.

There were even racial differences, with pegasi outnumbering unicorns and earth ponies combined 2 to 1 in the outermost layer. Earth ponies and unicorns preferred the middle layer, while the inner layer was almost exclusively unicorns. Celestia had tried to fix this, but the 'noble houses' always contradicted her.

As I walked further in, I saw a band in the streets(probably Luna's idea), artists painting the walls of ponies' homes, and chefs cooking in front of their respective restaurants. A couple of years ago, the artists would have been yelled at for vandalizing property, but because of a comment from the night princess, ponies saw it as a new trend and fashion.

During my time, the chefs wowed audiences, making dishes from scratch with flair and display. The band played tunes that made even the shyer ponies dance to their tune. The artists painted everything from individual ponies to breathtaking still scenes. And the passerby made requests, be it a hay sandwich, a particular song, or a portrait of their group.

My parent's house was up ahead, so I continued my walk, giving a couple bits to the musicians and artists. Spike commented on what he thought was 'cool' and got off to admire their work a couple times.

As we walked past this cluster of ponies and restaurants, taking a shortcut to avoid a longer walk, I came to the grey area between what the nobles thought were 'middle' and 'upper' classes. The walk was almost over, as my parent's house was up the street to the right. I took said right, and noticed the color schemes that separated the two sides. To my right was the color of the middle circle, and to my left the white and gold of the inner circle.There was a loop, and the house I was headed for was in the dead center.

One half was colorful and vibrant, showing dozens of different kinds of flowers. Through the windows, you could see waves on the curtains and vines engraved on the walls. It was chaotic and had the wine cellar underneath.

The other half was as bland as the noble houses. The walls were white, the curtains and edges gold colored. The walls were enchanted not to reflect as much light, so as not to blind anypony, and the windows showed strict, stern rooms. There weren't any flowers hanging or spurting out of the ground.

Of course, both halves were my parents' decision. They were a metaphorical agreement that they would be as passionate about their work as the artists, yet as serious and determined as the nobles could be.

As I walked up to the multicolored door, my father came out the door, looking in the house. He had his saddlebags on.

"-yeah, I can do that! Be back in a" he looked forwards at me. "bit." His face stopped, his eyes wide and mouth a thin line.

Then burst into laughter.

"Hon!" Night Light, my father, yelled into the house.

"Yeah?" My mother, Twilight Velvet, yelled back.

"I think groceries are gonna have to wait!" He yelled in, putting the saddlebags, colored like the house, next to the door.

"Night. Light. You'd better have a pretty good reason fo- oh Twilight! What a pleasant surprise!" My mother shifted from tyrannical to welcoming in the swish of a tail. "And you still have to go to the market, Night Light." The pony in question gave a groan in response as he shut the door and left.

"Couldn't he have stayed? I don't really visit all too often." I mumbled the last part.

"We're out of food. So unless we wished to eat out, which we don't, he had to go." She answered without remorse. "He promised me a nice dinner tonight to celebrate." She added.

"Celebrate what?" I asked, head slightly tilted.

My mom looked at me in a weird way. I was obviously missing something, but what…

WAIT.

"It's our anniversary, Twilight. Did you really forget?" She asked incredulously.

I chided myself.

"I'm sorry. I completely forgot that it was yours and dad's anniversary." I said, head lowered.

"Odd. You've always been the one who remembered every little thing."

"Including the exact arrangement of your spines when I turned you into a cactus." I replied with a smirk.

Mom blushed at this, and we continued chatting. We talked about Dad's job as an astronomer, her job as a spell technician under Celestia, and my new roles as a diplomat.

Dad had come back after about two hours, and started cooking something. Mom reassured me she had something perfect.

"As I'm the newly crowned 'Princess of Friendship', Prin- Celestia thinks I'll do better with external affairs than internal ones. She was planning on sending me to the Prince of the Yaks and the Dragon King to sort out some… less than optimal relations." I started out optimistic, but buttered up affairs quite a bit.

Yaks were a hardy and strong race, and they had done well before the Crystal Empire emerged. The snowstorm Sombra caused hit them a few days later at full force. There were still aftershocks from the magic used to make the Empire vanish, as well as reappear.

The Dragons had a sore spot with Ponies after coming to a standstill during a war shortly after Discord. They had started a war, and Celestia defended Equestria. They had strength and circumstance, as Changelings had come out and started feasting. While Celestia and Luna dealt with that, dragons took land.

It came to a melting point when ponies found a way to protect themselves from changelings. Luna started distributing the knowledge of a certain brew mixed with mud, while Celestia led armies against the threat. Celestia put up a shield around the dragonlands, going into them herself. She came out unscathed with a peace agreement and a grudge from the dragons.

"Sounds important. Any idea when this'll happen?" Mom asked.

"Sometime this year for the Dragons, and the Yaks have an event planned next summer. We were thinking winter for the Yaks to come and summer for us to go there." I explained. "What are you doing?"

"Well, there was a nice young colt who came in with an idea to make networks of different types of spells to make, what he called, a computor. In theory, you can plug certain numbers into it, and it'll use said numbers to calculate another number. If you put in a one and a one, it should make a two."

"Why?" I asked. "We have ways of doing that kind of math. Even thaumatical variables can be calculated to some degree."

"If he's right, and he might be, we might be able to make hundreds of these to use for communication and entertainment! If we can figure out how to connect a few of these computors, we can connect two Ponies from the Crystal Empire and the Roaman ruins!" Mom rattled off excitedly.

"That's… huge. But how would you connect one to the other without changing both of their programming at once?" I asked curiously.

"That's the problem we're running into. We've made a language for the computors to 'speak' in, but no way of transferring that language to the other. Right now it can only do basic math." She continued with the same enthusiasm.

My mind galloped for a minute or two, just thinking of the possibilities.

Then the Canterlot Bell Tower struck four times. I realized how late I had stayed.

" I'm so sorry, but I've got to go." I said, hugging mom. I grabbed my saddlebags on the way to the door. "Love you and see you later!" I called.

I trotted to the castle, going at a faster pace out of excitement. Even through my conversation with mom, that… typo had still been bugging me.

The scenery changed from white and gold houses to a gold gate and grand doors, one with a moon and the other a sun. There were stars appearing, vanishing, and reappearing on the gate, a costly enchantment that was great for asthetics. The gates had been changed after Luna's arrival, and once more when I was crowned. I navigated a labyrinth of corridors and rooms. I ended up in the waiting room, where numbers were called every ten minutes.

I walked up to the receptionist. She looked at me with one eye raised.. "You're here to talk? Privately?" She asked.

I nodded.

"You'll have to wait for the pony already in, but I can clear the room." She told me.

I walked over to a chair and waited.

After two or three minutes, the door opened and the receptionist ushered everypony out. I walked through the gold and silver colored door.

And out into the throne room. Near the side I came out, there were banners and a secret room to teleport into. There were pillars going up to the thrones themselves, stairs separating the petitioners from Celestia, and stained windows on either side of the thrones. The gold throne on the right had a sun to its left, the silver throne a moon to the right. There were two corridors by the thrones, one for each. They led to personal rooms for the two sisters. Celestia was on her throne, smile on her face.

"Twilight. It's good to see you. How have you moved in?" She asked, adorning a radiant smile. It was nothing like the dull motherly smile she gave to the nobles.

"We'll, I um... " I took a deep breath. "I've handled my new castle well, all things considering, but that's not why I'm here." I said as calmly as possible.

Why am I still so nervous around her? I thought to myself.

Celestia gestured me to go on.

"I was reading, as I normally do, and I found a typo or something in a historical document on law. But upon reading further, I found more. I can't determine who these laws were meant for, but if they were real, it would mean there were originally three rulers of Equestria." Celestia held up a hoof.

"Twilight, who else might have seen this document?" Prin- Celestia's tone had shifted from welcoming to cold.

"I-I don't kn-now, why?" I responded, stuttering.

"Twilight, I can't change the fact that you saw that, but you must not tell ANYONE about that. I'm sorry I can't tell you, but you can't know about that yet." She tried to say cooly. I could still see her eyes water slightly and her voice crack near the end. "Now, give me the book."

"Why? What are you going to do with it?"

"What I did with all the others. No one can know of even the author."

"Terra Firma?"

Celestia froze at this. She was unblinking, without breath, and totally, completely still. I could have mistook her for a statue.

She lit her horn. I felt a slight breeze and heard a pop as a certain night blue alicorn teleported, yelling "WHO DOTH ATTEMPT TO INV-oh hello Twilight." She turned to face Prin- Celestia. "This isn't really an emergency. At least not enough to wake me. Really sister, I thought you'd be more careful with that spell." She chided.

"Luna, she knows."

Luna groaned. "Of what? There's so many things you- mhf" Luna tried to say when Prin- Celestia stuck her hoof in Luna's mouth.

Celestia then took her hoof out and said "Lunaa! Why'd you have to do that?! That's gross!" as she started wiping her hoof frantically, trying to get slobber and saliva off her hoof.

"Luna, what can you tell me of the author Terra Firma?" I asked, demanding an answer.

Luna looked at Celestia, who nodded. Luna opened her mouth, hopefully to explain, when her mouth was taped shut. A draconequs walked out of a wall, glaring at the two rulers.

There was something wrong with his demeanor.

"Isn't it about teatime with fluttershy?" I asked.

"Why yes, but this is much more important. I made a deal Luna. Are you going to break it?" He asked, brushing me off.

"What deal?!" I shouted.

"I was not, Pu… Discord."She corrected at glarepoint. "And you owe us one, on account of your recent betrayal." She countered.

"This was an agreement for her sake" he pointed at Prin- Celestia "and mine. I agreed not to affect your end if you didn't affect mine."

His demeanor was still off.

I was getting impatient and offended at their ignorance of me.

"You can either tell me what's going on or get out Discord!" I shouted at the top of my lungs. He glared, but was scared by something and popped away in a burst of bubbles. I turned back to Celestia and Luna, who stared in awe. I took a couple of deep breaths, then continued. "As for you two, I'm disappointed. I expected you" I pointed a hoof at Celestia "to answer your student's questions. I expected you" I turned the hoof to Luna "to answer a friend's call. If this is how you two act towards me, I can figure it out without you." I glared at Celestia in particular. "After all, you two aren't the only ones from that long ago." I ended.

Luna raised an eyebrow. "Disc-"

"I'm not going to him." I interrupted.

I walked out. Calmly. As I walked through the stained glass hallway, I looked at each of the pictures. At the end, I looked a bit closer, but at my reflection instead of the picture.

My mane was flowing. If Celestia's was a trickle, mine was a waterfall. And then it blipped off my mane.

I went into the next room to grab Spike. I teleported to the train station, paid for a ticket, and left as soon as I could for the Crystal Empire. Spike was a little confused, yet silent.

I left spike, as he could mostly take care of himself. I also needed to be alone for a small while.

Several hours passed as I sat in thought. The train ran back the way it came, back towards Ponyville. The Canterlot station was a dead end, and Ponyville had a lot more tracks leading away from it.

The train went around the edge of the Everfree, where the tracks had to be enchanted to take wear and tear. After all, nopony wanted to go near that place, whether or not it was creepy.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" Spike asked. He probably knew the answer, but was trying to start up a conversation. Greenery flew past us still.

I shook my head, still looking out the window. I just hoped I could get my answer.

Spike was silent. I could tell he wanted to talk, but didn't know what to say.

"You still have those donuts?" I asked.

He took out the box. The Spike Specials were all there but one.

One of my eyebrows rose.

"You didn't eat all that much." I commented.

"I figured I'd eat one or two, then leave the others for later. We're probably not going back for a short while." He pointed out.

"Unless she calls because of a threat, I don't think there's a… a…" I tried to say. I felt a tickle on my nose.

"A reason?" Spike offered.

I sneezed. But the strangest thing happened. My horn lit while I was sneezing, and I felt a pop of air.

I teleported from sneezing?

It wasn't unusual for me to fire off spells reflexively, but teleportation takes a lot of power, at least relative to the amount discharged by mistake.

I looked around in the dark. I definitely wasn't moving on the train, and I could hear water droplets echoing. I teleported into a cave, but where I was was a mystery so I couldn't just teleport out. Sure, I could teleport by instinct, but that left much to chance, and I wasn't about to lose a leg or two.

Well buck.

The Door

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Realizing that I was in an unfamiliar area, I began looking around. The cave I was in turned out to be a deep tunnel, about half the size of my supercharged blasts a week prior. It ended shortly behind me, but the gleam from the smoothness made it difficult to tell. It was perfectly circular, so unnatural, and continued ahead.

I felt lucky about my ability to light my surroundings.

I shrugged and walked forwards, hopeful that there would be an easy way out. There was only one direction for quite some time. On top of how lucky I felt for my horn at that moment, I also felt grateful for the natural hardiness that came with being an alicorn.

I walked, hearing a dripping sound ahead, and feeling a familiar kind of magic in the distance. It wasn't chaotic, but wasn't quite orderly either.

The tunnel kept going for at least a mile. On the way, there were roots from large trees. I didn't want to harm the trees, so I ended up worming my way through a maze of roots. I got a couple of scrapes, but I disinfected them as soon as I had gotten the. The end of the tunnel confused me more so than the beginning itself.

There was a door.

It was wooden, and carved with exquisite imagery. There was one in each corner, taking up a fourth of the door each. But I couldn't focus on any one, as the images would change.

The top left had an image of a flame burning in such realism, I could almost feel the heat from putting my hoof near it. It would occasionally die out and become ash, but was given life once more by an unseen source, even though its fuel source should have been used up.

The top right had not one image that changed, but many. There were mountains, plains, and steel weapons. The mountains changed from Canterlot Mountain to others even I would have difficulty naming. The swords had hilts carved in such detail I could have swore that they were forged by griffins. The valleys were dark, cold places that seemed to hide monsters.

The bottom left had tornadoes on the top half. They blew around countless items. The bottom half was strange, as wherever a gust hit it, it would recoil and cause ripples of lines that looked like a breeze.

The bottom right was a piece of wood. It was sort of like the breeze image, but it rippled wherever my hoof touched it. The ripples continued in the confined space for a while.

The door itself had no handle, and wouldn't open inwards or outwards. I tried everything from knocking, which echoed off the cave walls, to firing spells at it. No matter what I did, the wooden door would be right there, sitting upon its stone floor.

Wait a second. Why didn't it think of this before?

I tried digging under the door with my magic. To my disdain, the door widened to whatever dimensions it needed to fit the hole.

"Please? Just open?" I said, head on the door.

The door didn't budge from its spot.

As soon as Twilight teleported, I did the only two things I could think of.

First I sent a letter to Celestia explaining what had just happened. It detailed the place (as far as I could tell), time, and what had happened before that.

As I recollected Twilight's insane magic surges as a foal, I could remember the texture of the air and how much thaumatic energy she could draw. I remembered how she had started levitating items around her house during nightmares, sent a concussive blast at her brother when he startled her on her birthday at 10, and caused items to whiz around the house at speeds much faster than she had been trying for.

The only issue was that she never had the raw power, the thaums, to overdraw enough to teleport, as it took more energy than her hiccups allowed.

The second thing I did was panic. I probably made a large commotion and scared a passenger or two, but that was definitely something I excelled at during the two or three moments Celestia took to write back.

The letter was slightly calming.

Dear Spike,
Although your first instinct may be to panic, I assure you that Luna, and I are on our way to look for her. My sister roped Discord into helping, as well. As it was near the Everfree Forest, it will be difficult to trace where she went. without him
What I wish for you to do is round up the Elements to search through the Everfree, helping them in your knowledge of Twilight.
Your added message was a little unnecessary, as 'AAAGGGGHHHH' is a little much, but thank you for getting to me about this.
With respect,
Princess Celestia

I took a calming breath and continued towards Ponyville with hope.

I stood by the site for quite some time, trying to think my way around the problem.

I've tried brawn and begging, let's try something else. What could the door be telling me. Let's take a step back.

I took a literal step back and saw the elements. The fire, tornado, and ripple thingy were all still moving, and the scenery was still changing in the top right corner.

I used my magic to make a hoof full of rocks, pressing it up against the top right slide. It glowed when the rock was placed near it, keeping a still picture. I knew I could make a flame spell and a breeze, but water was a bit more taxing to summon out of thin air.

I listened around the cave for the dripping water, but the overlapping sounds made it difficult to discern where it came from.

As I looked around the cave, I got sweaty from moving around so much.

I hate this stupid fur coat. All I want is a bit of water, and now I'll need a shower from sweating so...

An idea came into my mind faster than the train I had taken. I began running place and collecting my sweat in my telekinetic grip.

After collecting a mediocre amount and soaking the ripple corner with it, it glowed as well. I earned satisfaction from a well thought out plan, and dissatisfaction from knowing the exercise had taken a lot out of me.

An orange farm mare with green eyes came to mind.

When I get out of here, I'm asking Applejack to run with me in the mornings. Those were a good way to keep fit.

The flame spell was easy, I just needed a fuel source. For the first time since I had teleported myself here, I looked up at the black, smooth ceiling. There were small, white roots in some places. Pulling on them gave me a bunch of fungi, which reaffirmed I was definitely somewhere under the Everfree forest.

After all, fungal roots go on for miles. I thought to myself.

I gathered up a small bundle and dried them out with small bursts of low heat. They started to wrinkle, and one caught fire. I held it up to the door, which consumed the fire in some way.

All that was left was air. I went up and blew on it. I pushed on it... to reveal it wouldn't budge. I audibly groaned. The other three were still glowing a bright lime light onto the walls around me. I racked my brain for any information I could find.

The base magical elements were fire, water, earth, and wind. Fire and wind made chaos, water and earth made order, water and wind made life, fire and earth made death. Either fire and water or earth and wind could make pure, unbridled arcane magic, though it was a difficult feat. And a pony having opposites in their thaumatic profile was nearly impossible.

Perhaps this has a different meaning? I thought to myself, pacing the limited space around me. Luckily I felt no pang of hunger that used to come after long, break-less feats of magic, nor the out-of-breath feeling of teleporting. I was used to it by now, yet still questioned it. Either way, off topic. What to do?

I looked closer at the corner that was still unlit. There was a tornado, which would be a ridiculous magical feat to pull off in such a cramped space, and the breeze-wave thingy... where had I seen that before? And I couldn't really call it that, right? Yes. That's it's name right now. FOCUS.

I sighed after a moment and took a step back. There were the other three already lit, with lines between them. It would be unfeasible to cast chaotic magic that precisely, or necromancy at all. Technically I could, but most spells of that nature would corrupt my soul...

As I looked around the 'room' I was in, an idea formed. I played with it a little. I tried making a sphere of wind, directly over the panel. It spun at incredibly high speeds, but only in relevance to the panel. It wouldn't have spun as fast if it was large, not by a long shot.

The lime light spread through to the fourth and final panel of the door, allowing me entrance.

I pushed on the door, expecting a trick. It opened, but the door came off the hinges as soon as it did. As I looked closely at the reddish brown remains, I saw that they were more rust than hinge. Taking my eyes off the door, I looked around the room I was in. It was a perfectly square room with a sphere in the middle. It was spinning slowly, showcasing light greens and browns of the trees and an icy blue. The two sides were constantly moving and clashing. The sphere itself was in the center of the room. It didn't budge, and I could feel an immense magical power inside of it.

Deciding to leave it alone, I walked around the room, staying clear away from it. Getting halfway, I saw a green door, ready to be opened.

And then I felt a tendril lash onto me and pull me somewhere.

As I blacked out from the magical pressure, I couldn't think of anything to do but scream.

I was tracking a gem of Twilight’s, Applejack guarding me as I did my spellwork. I gave a gem to each of my friends in case of emergency, a gem that I knew the exact dimensions and type of. For Twilight, it was a pink Rhodolite that she put on her mane as an accessory. She was reluctant until I told her what it was for.

I'm glad to have put my skills to use for them. I thought.

I just hoped we would find her soon, so that I might finally get out of this DREADED forest. After all, I could only take so much mud until my friends couldn't make the excuse of mud bath.

Some things are better left untold.

The gemstone pointed to the castle of the two sisters almost exactly.

"Applejack darling? I think Twilight would be in that castle." I yelled to her.

"K- RGH- Rar'ty, just let me finish-HUP- up here." She yelled back from on top of one of the many beasts in the woods.

It seemed she had attempted to ride one of the Manticores hunting us into the others. Instead she was in the dead center, but she was having a great time. I pushed down the thought Of course she would have fun in this place and got out a bunch of my gems from my bag.

I crushed them into a near dust, then sent it in my telekinetic grip at two of the manticores.

The funny thing about gem dust, it's just as sharp as swords when you hit the gem in juuust the right place. Needless to say, the two manticores were allowed to escape, but not without several cuts and gashes.

Applejack fended the other two off, when a sickly light blue and forest green beam shot up out of the sky. We both could figure out it was the direction of the abandoned castle.

Twilight, you'd better not have hurt yourself darling. Otherwise I'll… I sighed and ran with Applejack towards the beacon.

I woke up to a clash of colors and entities.

One was cold as ice, and seemed to be translucent. It kept splitting into two or three entities to overwhelm the other, but was beaten back every time. It seemed… alone somehow.

The other was an alicorn. She had an image of a large tree as her Cutie Mark, her coat was a deep green, and her mane was a luscious dark brown.

Rarity would probably do better at explaining color schemes, but that's not important. What is going on here?

I walked over to them as a spell of the ice being came into contact with me. It didn't hurt, but I felt… off. It was kind of like I know I SHOULD have and WOULD have been killed, but hadn't.

Both beings looked and stared. The alicorn stared at me incredulously, like I had done something wrong. The ice being looked at me with malice. It… no, HE was planning something, but what I had no clue.

They both leapt at me, one to protect and the other to harm. I tried putting up a shield to stop the two of them. Then the world turned to Tartarus.

I felt the shockwave and corruption from Canterlot Castle. For a moment, I stood still as stone. I doubt I even breathed. Those around me helping me search, including Twilight Velvet, looked my way. They saw a flash as I made a teleport to the Everfree Ruins.

I was met with Luna and a crater.

As I looked around to verify I had not taken a detour, I noticed the perfection of the semisphere digging into the earth, and the cylindrical hole at the bottom of the crater. There was smoke and ash, both magical and physical. The only thing that hadn't been touched by the explosion was the tree of harmony, which looked strong as it had when she had taken the elements out of it to face Discord.

"Sister." She nodded.

I nodded back, silent due to the sheer amount of destruction on our old... well, It wasn't our real home.

There were three signatures in that explosion. One was unmistakably Twilight. One was Terra. . While I was ecstatic to have found where my sister had hidden herself to wear down one of those... monsters, one question raced through my mind as I walked up to the crater where the old ruins stood.

Who was the third? Could it have been…

I shook my head and looked down the hole. The Tree of Harmony was unscathed, luckily, but in the shadows lurking at the bottom of the hole, there were two bodies. One was Terra. She couldn't see me, as she was tending to Twilight.

Twilight was unconscious, and there was something off about her form. It was unclear, as there was both distance and lighting at play against me.

But as the smoke cleared, I saw her back without the limbs she had acquired, and her head devoid of her horn.

I closed my eyes, and took a step back. A gasp was let out from my sister behind me.

While running to the explosion to make sure Twilight was still alive, Applejack flew back as if struck. She refused to stop, so she continued running, failing to hide her bruised chest and back-left hoof. We ran through the forest, Applejack following while I swatted away any predators that came after us with gem dust. We ran straight through a nest of Plunderseeds and Plunderspiders. I used the gems to drill our way through to save us time, and the any spiders that tried to approach were cut to shreds. Guess I'll have to apologize to Fluttershy later... She would be dismayed at how I treated those spiders. Still though. Spiders were absolutely ICKY.

We came out of the forest proper, entering the clearing of the bridge and where the castle should have been. Instead of crumbling walls of aged stone, there was a crater. The back half of the spruced up ruins were still there, but the rest of the castle was gone.

The clearing was also a lot larger, with trees having been blown away. Dirt, stones, and mud coated the canopy of the trees, as much so as other trees did.

Nice to see our work is appreciated, UNIVERSE!!! I thought angrily. I pushed that in the back of my mind as I saw a cinnamon-haired pony with a deep, dark green mane pull Twilight out of the crater. It took a moment to register that the mysterious mare was an alicorn, as well as the fact that Twilight seemed to be without her horn or wings.

Even though I was not fluent in scholarly talks, I had asked Twilight why she hadn't just used her magic to get rid of her horn or wings for a while, especially when she was still somewhat embarrassed around town at being royalty. She had gone into her lecture mode, but I had gotten that it was nigh-impossible to change one's race from or to 'alicorn' because of how unique each alicorn must be. For Twilight to have turned into an earth pony would be devastating for her, but also should have been impossible.

"Princess, what happened to Twi's horn and wings?" Applejack asked, eyeing Twilight's sides and forehead, probably to check for injury.

Princess Celestia and Luna shared a look. I couldn't tell what it meant, as I was an outsider to their internal chats and codes, but I could tell that Luna was for telling us, and Celestia was arguing against it. Discord floated down on an umbrella, carrying a worried Fluttershy, who in turn carried an irritable Angel Bunny. Fluttershy was let down by Discord, who lacked his usual flair. She went to tend to Twilight and the brown mare.

Celestia started to speak as I zoned out on my unconscious friend. I fought back the voice in me that was yelling in anguish over the fact that I was unable to do anything.

"-although that is technically correct Applejack, you must remember that friendship is magic. Twilight may have specialized in friendship, but her true talent lies in pure arcane energy. Her profile is actually the four elements." Celestia lectured Applejack. I may have missed the first half of her lecture, but it was obvious what she was talking about.

"But Princess, is it not rare for a pony to have four thaumatic profiles? And especially for those four to be the four major elements?" I asked, startled by the discovery.

Celestia nodded, looking troubled at the way Luna and Discord were glaring at each other. After a sigh, she continued. "While it is rare, it is not unheard of. That is the reason she has been so skilled at magic. She can adapt to any circumstance, as she has the tools that even Starswirl lacked. As an alicorn, her profile is actually enhanced." She relented.

I gestured with a hoof for her to elaborate.

"My thaumatic profile is Fire, Water, and Air. As an alicorn, my extra trait is Hope. I am the embodiment of every creature's hopes and dreams. Their reason to live and their determination. I draw power from hope, so I have an unlimited source of magic. Luna is Water, Order, and Chaos. Her alicorn trait is Imagination. Her ability to dreamwalk with ease is due to this trait, as dreams are the mind imagining things while asleep. Cadance's profile is Fire, Water, and Chaos. Her alicorn trait is not love, but Emotion. The only reason she uses love magic is because she finds it inspiring for others' emotions.

Now imagine for a second that Twilight was, technically speaking, already an embodiment of Arcane magic as a unicorn. And if an Alicorn trait is an extension of both a Pony's thaumatic profile and their personality, Twilight would have to have grown stronger from her unicorn status, yes?" I nodded at this "Her alicorn trait is Magic. It essentially means that she has every thaum of magic in the universe at her disposal. And that is a double edged blade.

While it is great that she can defend Equestria far easier that Luna or I could, she has next to no control right now. This is evidenced by her miscasting a teleport spell. As Spike can tell you when you speak with him again, she was only capable of minor illusions and levitating things by accident. Now, however, she is capable of accidentally using every thaum of magic at her disposal to do something."

She opened her eyes from her lecture mode to see me looking somewhat confused.

"Imagine if you only intended to make one dress using a specific amount of fabric, but called every thread of that fabric in your home and used all of it in your creation. On top of looking horrendous, it would also take resources, yes?" I nodded my head in understanding.

I then paled, turning whiter than I had been, at what that implied.

"Wh-What are you going t-to do?" I asked shakily.

"I'll trap her in the sun, at least until I can be sure she won't cause major catastrophe."She said resolutely.

That's when I notice that Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Spike had shown up, and were listening to the lecture as well. I noticed because I heard loud shouting from either side of me, from an amalgamation of three voices. All of them dissenting that course of action. I mulled it over while listening to them.

"But, princess, you can't-"

"Who will come to my parties? I'll have to-"

"What about all of her duties?! You can't just-"

This continued on until Princess Luna got fed up.

"ENOUGH! CEASE THIS FRUITLESS BICKERING!! " Princess Luna shouted in the Royal Canterlot Voice*1. She then turned to Princess Celestia. "You aren't serious though? That will just complicate matters. What of her friends and family?" She pointed out to her sister.

Princess Celestia whispered something in Princess Luna's ear, and Princess Luna turned, ever so slowly, with a heartbroken look on her face. she teleported away. There was no flash, no pop, just... nothing. Discord gave Princess Celestia a glare, before jumping into a small hole in the earth, disappearing as well.

Princess Celestia walked over to Twilight, horn glowing. The mystery alicorn spoke in some foreign language, and probably attempted to talk the Princess out of what she was doing. A spell was cast, and a spear of light shot Twilight to the sun. Had I not been blinded by its light, I think I could have seen a face on the sun, telling of the alicorn now trapped there.

Transparent Deception

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Celestia sent us away from the destroyed ruins. In her own words, “The knowledge of a fifth alicorn is a state secret as of now, and I wish to give my eldest sister time to recover.” While Discord was… abnormally silent during our tea sessions. In the week that passed, all of the bearers became reluctant to leave their homes. Rarity kept making dresses, but nopony saw much of her.

When they did see her, they said she looked distraught. Ponies spoke of bags under her eyes, and theoretical books on magic taking up several of her shelves.

Applejack worked twice as hard, partially because of Tirek’s damage and partly to focus her mind on the problem. Applejack might not be the most adept on theoretical science and magic, but she can work her way around any problem. But, during the meetups we’ve had thanks to Pinkie, all of us know that she’s having trouble finding a solution to the issue at hoof.

Rainbow Dash is much less cocky than normal, though she’s still doing her stunts. Rainbow started tutoring Scootaloo on flight. From what I’ve heard from Dash, Scootaloo has the muscle and magic power, but she’s too focused on power. Dash has had her slow down (no matter how ironic it was) and Scootaloo has seen improvements.

Dash has also been finishing her weather sooner than normal, then sleeping the rest of the day.

Pinkie Pie was the one to break this trend, being just as cheerful as ever. But she did disappear more often, hiding in the Whitetail Woods. She had the same spring in her step as usual, but she was also… more excitable than normal.

I had been doing what I had done before, scouring the forest for animals.

Luna, with the mysterious alicorn she called ‘Terra’, moved into Twilight’s castle. I tried visiting them several times, and the castle was wide open. But the room they locked themselves into was boarded up with some sort of spell. The throne room was easily accessible, but Twilight’s throne was a sickly brown, and the rest of the elements looked dimmer somehow.

I was determined to see Terra, and ask for answers. As much as I hated the spotlight of important people, I was overwhelmed with curiosity.

Walking through the halls, the crystal seemed somewhat… darker. The light from outside was quite dim, even though it was around noon. The castle was still mostly undecorated, as Twilight hadn’t had the time or resources to get much furniture.

Walking past the throne room once more, I noted that the ceiling grew taller, somehow. There were also cyan spots that seemed to radiate cold adorning the ceiling and roof. The crystalline-tree seemed to be suffering, and it was somewhat obvious from what.

Continuing the trek, I heard a clanging coming from one of the kitchens. Should I take a detour?

I turned to the noise, taking a left, right, and a second right. There, I found Terra. She looked somewhat underfed still, and had deep bags under her eyes.

“Hi. My name is-” I started to introduce myself, but was interrupted.

“Fl-oo-tar-shee?” She asked for confirmation. She seemed to be piecing together sounds, but was not familiar to common Equish.

I nodded with a small smile. “I was wondering if you needed help with anything?” I half asked, hoping to be able to help the mare. Part of me also wanted an in, just to figure out what was going on, but that was negligible.

She started to speak, but it wasn’t in any language I had heard before. She noticed my confusion, and put a hoof to her muzzle.

“Sow-ray… St-ail adj-oo-stee-ng.” She said, breaking up the words. She took several items from the fridge, and began cooking. It seemed she was baking an apple pie, but she also had several berries and…

“Excuse me, but why are you putting Poison Joke into the pie?” I asked. After all, that plant could be… worrisome.

She looked back on it with a confused expression. “Th-ees ee-s s-ef…” She began, but gave up halfway in.

She shouted something in the language she spoke in earlier, and I felt a pop beside me. Luna and Terra began speaking to each other in Terra’s language, and Luna eventually nodded and looked back to me.

“Fluttershy, I appreciate you trying to help my sister, but she knows her way around a stove.” Her stomach grumbled slightly. “Sorry, memories of her cooking…” She said with a sheepish smile.

“Are you sure that you don’t need anything? Either of you?” I asked.

Luna turned to her sister. “Well, she could use some help learning Equish. As much as I try to help her with pronunciation and such, she’s still trying to adjust.” Terra spoke somewhat loudly to Luna at this. “Yes, sister, but we have a similar issue Celestia had with Twilight. So you going out right now would not only cause panic, but-” She was interrupted by Terra shouting again. At this point Luna seemed exasperated.

“Sister, I refuse to act as translator. As much as I love you, it’s just too taxing to relay what you’re saying! Much of it doesn’t even have a modern equivalent yet!” Luna stomped her hoof and whisper-shouted at her sister.

“P...Princess Luna?” I started.

She turned to look at me, showcasing the galaxy in her eyes. Literal galaxies. It was… wonderful. “What do you need, dear Fluttershy?”

“If I might ask, how are you teaching Terra to speak? It seems she is able to comprehend, but can’t put words together…” I trailed off.

“Ah. I’m teaching her by giving her my memories. Using the Dreamscape, she can pick up the meaning of words in no time at all. It has drawbacks, and due to them I can’t use it every night. But she has enough of a knowledge base to learn to write and listen.” Luna explained.

“Of these drawbacks, the one that you’d be most interested in is this: even though she can learn what different sounds that are put together mean, she will have no practice talking. I take it you heard her attempts?” At this I nodded. “I have been meaning to take her to Celestia for that, but I had to get her caught up on modern culture first.”

I nodded in understanding, and turned to Terra. I took a moment to really look at her.

I noticed the signs of malnutrition earlier, but failed to notice how scruffy her mane, tail, and coat were. They looked unkempt, as if she had been thrown into the wilderness and didn’t shower for an extended period of time. Her wings were ruffled, and looked as if they had started being cleaned, but whoever started hadn’t finished. Her horn was slightly curved. Not so much that it would break, but it looked like she had been casting a spell for a prolonged period of time. The only reason I knew the signs of magic exhaustion was because I spent so much time patching Twilight up after some of her worse failed experiments.

I noticed the bags under her eyes, but saw a determination in her eyes that rivaled Applejack’s when her family business was in danger. It seemed to fuel her in her absence of physical sustenance.

“If you’d like, Terra, you can come for tea on Thursdays or Fridays. I’m relatively free on those days, as most of my animals leave just before the weekends.” I offered her.

She didn’t respond, but nodded her head feverently and bowed to me in gratitude.

I blushed and turned away.

“Anyways, I have to go. Rainbow Dash usually shows me her stunts around this time.” I didn’t add how she would crash or ruin half of the stunts by accident, and I would have to patch her up afterwards. But she claimed it ‘builds character’, so I didn’t judge her. Plus, it showed her bravery. I always admired her for getting back up after she crashed.

I waved goodbye to the pair, and hiked to a hill far enough away from town that Rainbow could showcase her moves without crashing into any property. The smell of trees and various flowers filled my nose, and calmed what little nerves I had. Trotting up the hill, I found two ponies: Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo. Rainbow Dash was talking to an excited Scootaloo, and when I focused on them, I noticed Applebloom and Sweetie Belle with Scootaloo. As I neared, I picked up scraps of their conversation.

“-jus plain impractical! Even if - still take way too much power to carry us like that!” I heard Applebloom arguing.

I got a bit closer, and could hear Sweetie Belle agreeing with that conclusion.

“Squirt, I love that you’re trying to run before you can walk, but remember. Baby steps. Yes, it would be awesome if you could do that, but your friends are right. You can glide perfectly, and fly for a while, but you need to work up the rhythm of carrying heavy objects if you’re going to do something like that.”

I was honestly a little surprised at Rainbow Dash’s words, as they sounded like a responsible adult.

“Flutters! Wondering when you could get here! So, ready to see that-” She trailed on a list of stunts she would perform one after another, going into great detail. I laughed a little, as she was just as irresponsible as ever. Just looking out for Scootaloo.

After Rainbow Dash had finished talking, Applebloom got my attention.

“Fluttershy, do you think you could come by? My sis has been actin... weird.” She asked of me.

“Weird how?” I asked her with an eyebrow raised. I was putting on a brave face, as I was worried about her isolating herself. Even at Pinkie’s meets, she seemed a little distant.

“She does exacly the amount of work she’s supposed to, then locks herself up somewhere. Big Mac and I are getting worried, as she’s seemed… off for a while. She normally does twice th’ work she’s supposed to, tends to the trees until sunset, and comes in looking refreshed. The last few days, she’s come home looking…” Applebloom trailed off, struggling to find words. I put a hoof on her shoulder.

“Applebloom,” I said in a steady voice, “I will check on your sister. Rainbow Dash?” I called out to my friend with an apologetic smile.

“Just go Flutters. AJ needs you more than me right now. Plus, she’s been… sulky. So go.” She said confidently.

So I set off once more, Applebloom on my back, at a brisk trot. It was around 5 when I got to Applejack’s farm, and I could see a Rainbow streak at the distance.

Glad to know she’s still going strong.

As I walked upto the farm, Big Mac, the giant red stallion that he was, moved his hat further up his head. He gave a warm smile to Applebloom and I.

“I brought Applebloom home.” He nodded, corralling his younger sister into the house. “Do you know where Applejack is?” I asked hopefully. It was getting late, and I still had to do my night shift for the animals.

He nodded, then pointed a hoof towards the barn. He gave me a look that I took as ‘please help my sister’ in Mac-speech, and trotted into the Apple house.

After a few moments to cool my nerves among… other things, I inched towards the barn. There was a dim light coming from inside, I could see it through one of the windows. The silence emanating from the barn broke the moment I opened the door.

“LEAVE ME ALONE!!!” I thought it was directed at me for a second, but upon closer inspection of the room, it seemed Applejack was talking to herself. I looked around the barn, hoping for some clues before I made myself known.

The walls were adorned with hay, probably to block out her shouting. The windows had hay on them as well, though there were cut out holes in the shapes of the windows they covered. The area around Applejack was empty, save for the light she brought with her and a single chair. The chair was broken on one side of the backrest, cracks streaming down like miniature rivers. Applejack had tears in her eyes, and seemed to be emotionally drained. It looked like she’d been sobbing, which brought a small gasp from me. As long as I had known Applejack, she was immovable. The only time I ever saw her cry was after Discord had turned all of us on Twilight. She was dissapointed in herself for betraying her ideals, and still feeling the effects of being under his influence.

The gasp drew attention to me, as Applejack turned away and struggled to bottle up her emotions. She tried to hide them, but I could tell that she was lashing out. There were weeds growing and wilting around her.

I shivered as an icy breeze flew out from the barn. It was unnatural, but not my main concern.

“Applejack. I heard from your sister that you’ve been acting weird. I came to ask if you wanted to talk about it?” I said in a voice louder than usual and more confident than I felt. I was panicking, but kept that fear inside, as I could see uncertainty in the Apple’s eyes. Any show of fear could lead to the antithesis of what I was hoping for.

“I’m fine, Fluttershy. Jus need to recharge for a mite bit.” Applejack said hollowly.

“If this is about Twilight, there was nothing you could do. IS nothing you can do. We just have to hope the Princesses realize their mistake.” I started towards the distraught mare, but she backed up as quickly as I moved forward. “Applejack, I know you. You were the kindest, most welcoming pony when I arrived here. I had nowhere to go, and you pleaded with your family to let me move in and get work here, on account of my parents not being able to leave Cloudsdale. I know you’re determined, and it hurts to see you break like this and lie.” Applejack tried to interrupt, but before she could, I rushed over and hugged her. “I know that you’re scared, especially because you’re worried that you betrayed a part of yourself again, but lean on your friends. It seems like you shouldn’t, as you would just be putting your burden on another. But it doesn’t do that. It lets you rest from it, grow used to such a burden. Then it lets you throw it off of yourself. So, please Applejack. Let me help.” Applejack’s heart was pounding, I could feel it thumping away on my barrel. But, my efforts bore fruit as Applejack leaned into the hug, and started bawling. She wouldn’t tell me what about, even the morning after, but I did the best I could, and I was content with the results.

I awoke, hooves filled with that pins-and-needles feeling.

Then I realized I didn’t have hooves.

Or wings, or a horn. I didn’t have a body whatsoever.

I opened my ‘eyes’, which was a huge mistake. My sight was filled with a yellow-orange tinge, and it was so great that I felt it even after I shut my ‘eyes’.

I peeked my eyes open again, and the searing light was gone. In its place were hundreds of tiny particles. I reached my hoof out to one, and it was sent careening to who-knows-where. I couldn’t teleport, and could feel an anti-casting ward around me.

Okaaaaay? Well, these kinds of wards are hard to put up and harder to take down by force. But it also takes too much to put up a proper shield spell around it, as the anti magic ward would simply cancel it. So maybe if I just walk- float?- on over to the edge, I can teleport out.

This turned out to be a huge mistake, as when I moved, I went way faster than I intended. I smacked into a barrier on the outside of whatever that bright light was. It hurt like Tartarus, though it did allow me to see what my prison was, so not a total loss.

I was in the sun…

Celestia… banished me… to the sun.

I attempted to groan, but found this difficult with my lack of vocal cords. Instead, I closed my eyes and focused. I knew that pushing the field would be nigh-impossible, as it was being powered by both Celestia and the sun. But perhaps I could take the route Luna did, freeing myself by rattling the wards in just the right way.

I knew it would take a while, and hoped that time had not passed too much, but I focused on my task.

Twilight woke up. I know, because I felt a disturbance in one of my former teacher’s mind while she slept. I was thankful that Celestia was this stupid, as it meant that our return would go unimpeded.

I just hoped that Twilight didn’t figure out how to break the wards I… coerced Celestia to put up. She might think it was just a safety precaution, but I’m the reason she thought that in the first place. What’s more is that Celestia had gotten so used to being the only ruler, that she discouraged Luna or Cadance from acting against her. Honestly, the only reason I have to fear my plans failing is Discord. As gullible as he might be to former friends, something told me that his respect for his new friends trumps that for his old friends.

Bucking Tirek

Applejack and I talked about our childhood after she calmed down some. It was heartening to see how her mood changed so much by me coming here.

“And ah think the cincher fer mah family was how you talked those beavers into moving, cause that would’a been terrible for our trees to be waterlogged!”

I laughed as the memory of scolding those animals and helping them leave made me blush a little. Applejack went off on that whenever I came over for dinner.

She was looking much better than she had. There were still bags under her eyes, but she was legitimately happy. And the Applejack I knew couldn’t feign emotions like that to save herself.

We got up, a bit drunk on laughter and joy, and I helped her as she wobbled towards the door. The hay-covered windows were open, allowing us to see the sunset.

The sun finished its setting as I walked out of the Apples’ barn, Applejack in tow.

“Apps, I’ve gotta go take care of my animals. I think you know what you should do, but don’t know how to do it, right?” At this, Applejack nodded. Her eyes were bloodshot and puffy from her crying, and there was a splinter or two I took out of one of her front hooves. “Apps, just… do what you do best. Be honest. It is, by far, your greatest strength. Your family’s greatest strength.” I hugged her tighter, then released and waved goodbye.

As I walked back to my home, I smiled and trotted with a spring in my step. The darkness wasn’t as scary, and the sounds in the night were very calming as I trotted down the dirt path.

That’s when I saw Pinkie Pie in a ninja suit, complete with confetti-themed weapons, ‘stealthily’ crept on by.

“Hi Pinkie!” I said. I shouldn’t have made a habit of raising my voice, but I was in a great mood.

“My Pinkie sense is telling me two things are true. The first is that one of my friends helped another friend, and had a great time!” She said this while jumping, her body making an X in the air for a while.

I giggled at her antics, not minding how brash the pony was.

Then I frowned. “What’s the second thing?”

She inched towards me and whispered “It’s a se~cre~t” into my ear. She then bounced back towards town. The last thing I remember doing that night is laying in bed with a smile on my face, both because of the time reminiscing with Apps, and partly because of Pinkie’s antics.

Separation

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After I helped Apps two days ago, I went to work. I spent all that time I had previously been looking for animals on Terra. I had noticed a distinct lack of animals to help in the forest as of late, but I still look around at dawn.

It was a slow day, with several bears needing massages early in the morning, Princess Luna sharing her coffee addiction, and Terra struggling to form the words she sought.

But even so, Terra was showing definite improvements from when I had first talked with her.

“A-ee am Do-eeng well, yoorself?” She asked. It had gotten easier for her to speak, but she was putting the emphasis on the wrong parts of the words. Terra was also prone to start speaking in what I could only describe as gibberish. Although I knew it was a language of some sort, it seemed to require different sounds than I was used to. Sounds that I didn’t know a pony could make.

“Princess Luna, could I ask Terra something in private?” I asked the night princess.

Luna looked between us with a worried look on her face, but nodded. She stood up and left the room, though I didn’t know if she was listening behind a door.

Before I asked my questions, I took a couple of calming breaths. As excited as I was to help the dear, it was still nerve wracking to be helping with a problem of this kind.

“Princess Terra, I have a couple of questions, some about you. I just want to get to know you a bit better.” I explained with a smile.

Terra looked relieved at this, and gestured for me to continue. As much as her speech was being worked on, she found that she could talk through sign language. It was something I learned a long time ago for a friend, but I was happy to have a use for the dusty skill.

“Princess Celestia said that each alicorn has an unique sort of magic. I was wondering what… your was?”

Terra signed ‘Well, as much as I’d love to tell you, I can’t.’ I opened my mouth, but she put a hoof up. ‘Even if I knew mine, Discord struck a deal with me. He might be… unpredictable, but he’s got a good heart and a strong set of morals.’ She finished.

I chuckled slightly at this, and followed up with “That honestly sounds a little like Pinkie Pie, at least to me.”

Terra looked shocked. She started speaking in her language again, yelling and shouting things I couldn’t understand.

Princess Luna must have heard this, as she came in, glared at her sister, and said “Sister. Language. Pinkie’s mother did no such things, and is a nice, respectable mare. Pumpkin has nothing to do with how she turned out.” She looked my way, seeming to forget I was in the room, as she blushed and closed the door in haste.

‘Sorry about that, Fluttershy, but I was just’ She paused for a while. ‘Surprised is a good word.’

“Pinkie can be very surprising. Would you like to meet her?”

Terra shook her head, tears starting to form in her eyes. Knowing that what she was crying over was probably a taboo topic, I hugged her without a word. We sat on the cold castle floor as she let out some tears.

It seemed that many ponies were emotional as of late.

I went through so many emotions as I sat stuck in the sun that I could never have listed them all. Those that I know I went through were shock and outrage, if only because the sun seemed to grow brighter and stronger in my rage.

My mind turned to a conversation between my mentor and I as my mind raced for solutions. She had lectured me on the properties of alicorns after my coronation, as I needed to gain control of some of the more… drastic changes before they came to pass. Is this what Pr… Celestia was talking to me about when she said that I am supposed to embody magic?

My vision still purple, I looked around the core of the sun. It wasn’t as large as all the other parts, but I had a lot of room to move.

I thrashed around my cage, charging the shield in the form I was in. It wasn’t as effective as I had hoped, and I was bereft of the ability to cry or speak. It was frustrating, to say the least. Either way, with or without tears or voice, I was acting irrationally. I had always thought my way through problems, not brute forced them. Starting now would make no difference, especially with how much magic Celestia could make at any given moment.

First I looked at the spell matrix for a weak point, hoping my mentor had forgotten something minor that I could exploit.

Looking around, there were no limits to how far I could see with my magic-vision. I did have to move closer to zoom in on the matrixes, but the hour I spent scanning the walls enforced one thing in my head.

Celestia hadn’t messed up.

I sat still as I began to strain my mind for a solution, when a memory of Rainbow spinning out of control during a high speed stunt sprang into my head.

I don’t know if that would work, but I have to try…

It was still late afternoon, as Celestia couldn’t allow the sun to orbit our planet due to
The sun had flared. An hour or two had gone by, but the sun had not moved. It was a lot brighter, and everypony had to stay indoors or risk being blinded. It flashed, blinking over and over again as the Royal Guard were dispatched via a long ranged teleport. They seemed fine, though they had visors with heavy enchantments over their eyes.

Celestia said she could not risk moving the sun further away, as the light energy did not carry any heat with it. It was magical light.

In the midst of everything, I asked one of them to follow me so I could reconstruct the lenses for the citizens of Ponyville. He and his superior happily obliged, though they wanted to travel in pairs in case of emergency. That’s how Electric Burst the pegasus and Shocking Grasp the unicorn ended up at my boutique, right across from me as I levitated several gems that would dim the light naturally while allowing for enchantments.

Obsidian would have worked best, but I had run out of the transparent ones. Black glass was out of the question, as it would break under the strain of the enchantment put on the guard equipment. That left using a more reflective gem, which might counteract the dimming, or a reflective gem that was dark, so that the light reflected would be lesser. I decided on darker shades of sapphire, ranging from navy blue to black. I had plenty, as I had gone to get gems earlier that week.

I got into my zone, where I was able to make something like three or four of these ‘shades’ at a time, when I was snapped out of it by a bright light.

Everything around me dropped in a controlled fashion as I looked around for the cause of this.

“Sorry Miss Belle, I opened the curtain to check for a signal. Looks like Ponyville is hunkered up, ‘sides Sweet Apple Acres and Sugarcube Corner.” Shocking Grasp spoke up from the window of my workshop, the view of Ponyville covered up by a thick, snowcone blue curtain that didn’t clash with the pinks and purples of my workshop.

My lights were mostly off and it was still bright enough to work in my Boutique with all the windows adorned with similar curtains, which was a testament to how much brighter the sun had gotten.

“Mister Grasp, please. I may be a lady, but I am certainly not ‘Miss Belle’.” I admonished playfully.

“Ah. I get it, It’s ‘cause you’re such a rarity, isn’t it?” I chuckled lightly at his response. ”You know, I’ve seen dozens of recruits struggle with what you’re doing seamlessly. Or, well, you get the point. What's your trick?” He inquired.

I smiled, then responded with “Well, I imagine doing each action beforehoof. I imagine each step of making a dress, the stitches I put in, the cloth in the right places. I had to build up that habit, but it became easier to put together plans of any kind because of it!” My thoughts went to how many of my spells worked.

While I didn’t know much about arcane theory, I knew enough to figure out what I needed to do when applying illusions and glamours to dresses. I normally threw things together on the fly, as I had from the moment I opened my Boutique.

It helped that I specialized in Lumomancy, Gemancy, and Electromancy, two volatile magics and one anchor.

“As much as seeing how things work to build something new can be good, there are still downsides. You can easily be outclassed by any specialized mage, and your spells can’t get too complicated.” Burst spoke up in a monotone voice. She seemed bored and lethargic, despite the game of chinese checkers we were playing.

“Well, yes, but where I lack in power and knowledge, I make up for in versatility. I’m not a fighter, either. Aaaand...There! There should be enough shades behind me for a quarter of Ponyville. If you want, you could deliver them for me while I make more.” I made the statement sound more like a question, but I could see Burst’s excitement at getting to do something. She was very much like Rainbow Dash in that regard. “Oh! And if you see a prismatic streak flying around, could you give one of those to the pony attached to it?”

Burst gave a nod and donned her helmet. It was ugly and made me gag internally, but it served its function.

Burst walked over to the pile of shades and stuffed them gently into a saddlebag. There were much more visors than space to hold them in the bag.

“If you don’t mind dear, when you are done with that bag can I copy its enchantment?” I asked her. Being able to carry more around would be a lifesaver for me.

She chuckled and took off before giving me an answer. I DEFINITELY did not pout at her response.

I was taking shelter with Apps in Sugarcube Corner. She was pacing with what little room she had to move, mind obviously on her family.

From what I heard from the guard and Rarity’s periodic updates via magic fire, Sweetie Belle, Applebloom, and Scootaloo were holed up in my cottage with Rainbow Dash and Cheerilee. Dash was probably racing around to find those who were still out, and Cheerilee had the foals who were supposed to have had school today.

My cottage wasn’t as close to the schoolhouse as other buildings, but they had been in Whitetail Woods when the sun started being weird.

I felt a crash before I heard it, sure that Dash had gotten back with another pony or two. Lo and behold, Dash came in with Berry Punch and Derpy Hooves. The latter had a saddlebag full of letters, the former had Ruby Pinch under her barrel. Probably to shade her as much as possible.

Although Berry Punch had gotten a bad reputation for being an alcoholic, she was actually a protective mother who had struggled to get where she was. I went over to her for tea and drinks on occasion. The town had stereotyped her after an incident before Ruby was born, when she destroyed some of the Whitetail Woods while intoxicated.

The filly came at me faster than Dash could have, hugging me and throwing me off balance for a second.

“Hi Auntie Fluttershy!” Ruby exclaimed excitedly in her almost-singing-but-not-quite tone. It was endearing to see that she had gotten her Cutie Mark: a gem inside a red circle.

I looked at Berry with curiosity, glancing at her daughter’s Cutie Mark to give her a hint.

“We found out her thaumatic profile, which was Earth, Fire, and Order, and she decided to study. She actually just got that today at the library!” Berry said with a mixture of pride and joy.

I smiled and looked at Ruby. “What do you think it means?” I said louder than I meant to. I blushed lightly, but it passed rather quickly.

Ruby put a hoof to her muzzle thoughtfully. “I was looking up what each of those thome-thingies meant-”

“Thaumatic” her mother corrected.

“Right, when I found out that gems can be made with heat and pressure! I thought about trying to do that, and started looking up how certain gems were made, when I got my Cutie Mark!” She rattled out excitedly.

I hugged her, and noticed Dash looking at me nervously.

“I’m sorry sweetie, but I have to check on Dash. I’ll be back soon, and I’d love to hear what you want to do for your Cute-ceanera!” I said, walking past the pair and through the crowd. When I finally got to Dash, she looked more worried than normal.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“I’m worried about Twilight. Is she causing this? Is… is she getting hurt because of this? I just… I… *sigh* I don’t know.” Rainbow worried and theorized.

I put a hoof on her barrel. “Rainbow, worrying about it isn’t going to change it. Instead, let’s focus on what we can change, right down to the ponies that we can help in here. They’re scared, and I think you can change that, at least for a while.” I said with a smile and a hug.

Dash’s eyes started watering up, but she took a deep breath to calm herself. “While I’m helping here, can you check on Rarity? She’s sending us those letters, but she might be able to use your help with making those gem-shades or something.” She asked, almost pleading.

I nodded, turning to a guard to ask for his visor, when one of the guards Rarity pulled with her to her Boutique came through the doors.

“Yo! Rarity made these for all of you! Distribute these, then give any spares back so I can search for the rest of the groups!” She shouted into the confection shop, emptying her saddlebag of a bunch of visors, some with unicorn holes in them.

The ponies inside calmly distributed them, as they were part of the small community and were sure that everypony would get their fill. I briefly worried about what this would look like in Canerlot or another large city.

“Can I borrow one so I can go to Rarity?” I asked the guard who came in.

She smiled and nodded. “Why not come with me to hoof these out? We can go there together!” She said excitedly.

I must have looked taken aback by her energy, because she said “Sorry for my excitement, I’ve just been locked up all day in one place or another.”

I shook my head and told her “I was surprised, but I shouldn’t have been. Thank you, and yes. I’ll definitely go with you.” I was surprised at the confidence in my voice, as were Dash and Apps judging by the looks on their faces.

I giggled, and waited until the ponies had given any spare visors back.

There were none, and there were still many ponies inside who didn’t have a visor.

“Ponies! I think everypony should get a fair shot at these, but we need ponies who can help more than anything, as well as to get children to their families! Anypony who has a visor, please help the guard out. Anypony who doesn’t want to do that, please pass your visors up so that we can get the foals to Town Hall!” Rainbow shouted to the crowd as ponies started grumbling. A fire lit in each pony’s eyes as those who could help went forward to the guards to ask to help, and those who wouldn’t gave their visors to the guard who came in earlier.

Speaking of which…

“I’m terribly sorry, but what was your name?” I asked her.

“Name’s Electric Burst, nice to meet you.” She said with a cocky grin that reminded me of Rainbow, but kindness in her eyes reminding me of Twilight.

“Fluttershy, and likewise.” I smiled.

We exited Sugarcube Corner, and the visors made everything seem dark blue. But they did their jobs, so it was a small price to pay. What surprised Electric and I, however, was a semi sphere of magic that was reflecting light. It was large enough for a small group of ponies, but the look that Electric and I shared confirmed that this was a medium group of small ponies.

“Fluttershy?” came a harmonious, high pitched voice from inside the semi sphere. It could only be Sweetie Belle, but she definitely didn’t have enough experience or magic to fuel the sphere.

“Y-yes Sweetie?” I called back.

“This is really, really tiring. Is there any room in Sugarcube Corner for us?”

“... No. Sorry. But there is room at Town Hall, and we have some visors for you all that should do your job for you.” I offered.

“This isn’t a normal shield, it’s pass through. Had to be, otherwise we couldn’t have made it this far.” She explained.

We walked in, and it turned out that all the ponies had a hoof on another’s barrel, leading to Sweetie.

“This was actually Diamond Tiara’s idea, and Ms. Cheerilee approved it.” Applebloom explained.

That the any of the CMC was giving credit to Diamond Tiara was surprising, as they had quite the rivalry. It had to be true.

“Well, I got the idea from watching her cast magic, so…” Diamond Tiara responded.

This shocked me quite a bit.

“I’d like to speak with you two later. For now, everypony take a visor and head to Town Hall.” I turned to the schoolteacher. “Cheery, can you get them there and come back to inform the parents?” I asked pleadingly.

She gave a smile and responded with “Of course Fluttershy. Couldn’t very well leave them to cause havoc in the hall for too long!”

There was a chorus of “Heeey”s from the fillies and colts, and Cheery and I giggled.

The sun stopped blinking suddenly, and it moved to where it was supposed to have been this time of day. The guards were all worried, I could tell.

As suddenly as it stopped, a light bathed Ponyville, penetrating even the densest of curtains. Anypony without a visor was blinded, though they were told it would pass. I was one of those ponies.

It was honestly kind of ironic. I had all the colors of the rainbow on me, but I wasn’t able to see when I truly needed my sight.

“Hey, why can’t I cast any healing spells?”

“Wait, you can’t either? I thought it was just me!”

“What’s going on?!”

A chorus of voices followed, screaming uncertainty and fear.

These foals, I swear.

“STOP!!!” I shouted louder than I had ever before. I might not have been able to see, but I could feel the stares of all the ponies in the room. “Panicking is not going to do anything! What we need to do is take stock of our situation, and figure out what we need to do next. Those who can see, guide those who can’t over to me, and we’ll figure out a buddy system. Applejack?” I called out.

“Here. Whatcha need me ta do?” She called out in her usual country accent.

“You, along with any earth pony here who isn’t blinded, go around and try to figure out what happened with the magic situation.” I heard her grunt affirmatively, then heard shuffling from her direction. “Guards, we’re gonna need your help.” I called out to them.

I must have rallied even them, cause Split Sword, the leader of the division sent here, called out.

“What can we do, Ms. Dash?”

“I need you all to get in contact with the Princesses, figure out what happened with the sun. I also need you guys to patrol the Everfree, as monsters might be going crazy or decide that they should strike when we’re weak. Pinkie! Pinkie?”

I heard her call from somewhere upstairs. “Sorry Dashie, I’m kinda blinded. I should be good in a couple minutes, but I definitely can’t move around right now!”

Great. The only pony who can race around like nopony’s business and she’s blinded. Go figure.

“When you’re able to see again, can you get Discord to help? I’d ask Flutters to do it, but she’s not here, and probably out in the open.” I called up to her.

“Okie dokie loke!” She shouted from the second floor.

I heard shuffling around me as I was given a buddy.

“So, I’ll assume this is awkward for the both of us?” I heard an amused stallion with the barest hint of a country accent. So faint that it was nearly nonexistent.

“Filthy Rich?” I asked out to the pony leading me into the Cakes’ basement.

“That’s my name. Don’t overuse it now, okay?”

I sighed. “Yes, a little awkward.”

“So, how is Scootaloo doing?” He asked suddenly. My face must have contorted into surprise, as his next remark was “Yes, I know that my daughter is bullying Scootaloo’s friends, but I play no part in that. Spoiled Rich, my wife-to-be only because of Tiara, undermines any attempt I’ve made to dissuade her of that sort of thing. I root for those fillies, honestly.”

“Wow. I didn’t come to you about Diamond Tiara cause I thought you didn’t care. Sorry for making assumptions like that…” I trailed off, feeling guilty.

“I am a businesspony, and many forget that that is only my job. My purpose is to be a parent, not to ruin Tiara’s life by allowing her to push everypony away from her before she gets to know them.” he said irritably, though his irritation wasn’t directed at me.

I smiled. “Rich, I’d like to ask you a favor. It’s fine if you decline.”

“How big is this favor?” he asked, amused.

“I… I want to ask you to let me help you with branding. I can fly around with saddlebags that have your company logo on them or something.”

“If this is… repayment, or something of the sorts, then I refuse.”

“It’s more of a gift, from one friend to another. I do feel bad, but I think mentioning your wares to the Wonderbolts, asking them if I can get them in on spreading your business, is something I could do regardless.” I explained.

I waited a second for his response, and he finally followed up with “Sorry, forgot you were blinded for a second. Yes, I think that’s acceptable. But I can’t just allow you to do something like that, so I think I’ll make you a deal. Fifteen bits for every hour you spend showcasing stunts, like you do during Wonderbolt conventions in Cloudsdale, when you have the logo on your body, and large enough to see before hoof.” He bargained with me.

A chance to get some extra bitage and help out a new friend? Score!

With that settled, I not-so-patiently waited for my vision to come back in the meantime.

It had been several hours, during which Rich and I made smalltalk about what I would wear during stunts. We had whittled down the ideas to an outsourced, aerodynamic flight suit and a scarf of some kind. I was leaning towards the suit, but Rich said that they would have to split the cost evenly. As I wouldn’t dream of asking Rarity to be put out of her livelihood, I knew we would have to pay.

With Rares, the price might be hefty, but the material and how it fits its purpose will be optimal. It would NOT be cheap though. Although she could probably get the material somewhere or make it herself, that kind of rubber is still relatively difficult to manufacture due to how toxic the fumes from the machines that make it can get. Princess Celestia, Luna, and Cadance had all agreed that the toxicity would far outweigh the potential benefits.

Rich was practically begging for the scarf, as the design could be etched on multiple times, so that it was visible at every angle. The only downside would be that I might have to run my mane through it so as to showcase the thing. Otherwise, it would be overshadowed by my rainbow locks.

Things were looking up, at least somewhat!

My plan didn’t work, but it didn’t succeed either. The barriers were strained, but they were still intact. I needed SOMETHING to push the physical barrier over its limit. I had already tried going faster and faster, even breaking Dash’s speed record by a multitude of tens by now, but it was to no use. I was about to give up, when the finale of her out-of-control spinning took place.

Dash used the spinning to her advantage, by twisting it into momentum that would push her parallel to the ground, thus using all the kinetic energy to fuel her flight.

When I get back, I’ve got to thank Dash for rubbing off on me the way she did!

I twisted, getting ready to pulverise the barrier, when it simply… vanished.

The core was spinning out of control, but an aura returned it to normal as soon as it had spun itself halfway out of the sun. I used my newfound freedom to teleport and ‘fly’ to Equus.

Even outside of the high-energy environment, I still flew much faster than I should have, by thousands of times. My only visual cue of this was Equus getting closer and closer, much larger than it would have gotten unless I had been going 400 times faster than a sonic rainboom.

Then it became that small dot in the distance again, blocked to me by hundreds of millions, if not billions, of kilometers. I flew at a steady pace once again, hoping this was a mirage.

It wasn’t, evidenced by how I continued to do the same flight path dozens of times.

I was tired, a little hungry, anxious over what Celestia could have banished me for, and ready to just… end it.

This stress fuelled a spell I didn’t even know I had been casting, as a bright light filled my vision, and all magic within several lightyears was separated and barred from use from all beings. I could sense that even Discord couldn’t mess with the spell that severed magic, though the spell from earlierwas his doing. I teleported him, wherever he was hiding, to Celestia’s castle.

And then teleported the rest of the way there using the pent up magic that was floating in front of me.

2.6: Return?

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I sped towards the blue, green, and tan marble at speeds that would make Rainbow jealous, all for one goal.

I am going to kill you Celestia. I’ll kill you, then resurrect you to get what answers I want, then kill you again…

I won’t kill you, but I will certainly give you a stern talking to…

Am I too nice?

As I sped towards the ball life before me, I felt something… off. It had to do with how much magic was being used in the world below me, and I couldn’t shake the feeling as if I had done something very, very wrong.

Either way, I sped towards my planet, both in search for my friends and the answers I sought.

As I neared, the sense of wrongness felt worse, and I realized why I felt off after I made it to the moon.

“There’s no magic here… but how?” I tried to say, forgetting I was in an empty vacuum.

Okay, think. What do I know? I thought as I circled the planet, trying to find a fix to the major issue at hand.

Things I know:

I accidentally used every thaum of magic within the Sol system, at least.
Many ponies were probably using magic, or at least within sight of the sky when I set that explosion off.
Whatever spell I cast does not seem to have the same effect on me or, from what I can feel, Celestia or Luna.

Though that was all the information I had, I could work with it.

All magic comes from a dimension parallel and perpendicular to our own. Every thaum of energy spent gets sent there, and eventually ends back up in the universe when interacted with by an organism. By themselves, ponies and griffons will bounce back steadily from the sudden erasure of magic, unless they were cut from said dimension during my… episode.

Alicorns and certain artifacts can touch into this realm to gather magic, from what Celestia has told me. It’s how she moves the sun on a day to day basis, getting energy based on how much hope is in the world.

There’s also magic geysers, where the Thaumatic Plane intersects briefly with our world. Hopefully those are still up, otherwise power generators are going to shut down.

The Elements of Harmony and Tree of Harmony use feedback loops to construct huge spell constructs out of small amounts of ‘loans’ from this dimension., kind of like a rubber ball that bounces back harder every time it hits something. They release all of that magic into the universe, saturating it with more magic and harmony each time they are used. While my friends and I can no longer use the Elements, we can still call upon the abilities they contain.

If I’m correct, between Cele- wait… Celestia gains magic based on Hope. In turn, the less hope creatures feel, the less magic she gets. I just caused a magical blackout.

…

Buck.

So… to do: fix magic, imbue hope so Celestia can still move the sun, and find answers I’m looking for.

I couldn’t feel my magic anymore, which was a touch concerning. See, most ponies don’t realize the feeling of their bodies interacting with the Thaumatic Plane, but real speedsters like me have to feel it. We have to be able to draw from it at a moment’s notice and use it to our advantage when stunt flying, that way we still have enough magic to protect ourselves from crashes by wrapping ourselves in any magic we have in our stores.

And I couldn’t feel the Plane.

Combined with the fact that I couldn’t see and the ponies I had spurred were going crazy, and I felt very helpless. A feeling I always hated, that haunted me when I got my Cutie Mark.

Very few ponies that weren’t Earth Ponies were freaking out. Even all three of the Flower Trio were freaking out.

My eyesight started coming back when I heard frantic shrieking from the second floor of the Sugarcube Corner.

“Why can’t I hear you Gummy!?”

At this, I could feel all the heads in the room point towards the crazed mare.

As helpless as I felt, I couldn’t help but chuckle at Pinkie’s zaniness.

“Rich, can you lead me to the castle?” I asked.

“You’re going to the castle? Can you get Princess Twilight out of her castle? She’s been there for over a week now! We need her help!” somepony I couldn’t remember the voice of asked from behind me.

“I… Sure. If I run into her in the castle, I’ll tell her that there’s a problem. I’m sure she’ll fix it in no time once she’s aware.” I lied. I put on my best smile, not being able to see, and reassured them. I heard a collective sigh of relief.

Then heard a teleport behind me.

“Fair Rainbow Dash, you must- are you blinded too?! Gah, my luck!” Luna’s voice piped up from the side of me. I heard a lot of nervous shuffling, scraping against the wood of the floor. “Either way, I must take you to the castle. We need your… expertise with your connection to the Thaumatic Plane. Will you help?” She asked. To those who didn’t know her, she was calm and straightforward.

We had written to each other after the first Nightmare Night, exchanging prank ideas and telling each other of our exploits. We had talked during Cadance’s wedding and after we had raced several times.

Even if she said she was holding back, there’s no way she could have ever gone faster than she had during that race.

To me, I could hear a hint of desperation. A pinch of sadness and confusion. I nodded my head and smirked.

“I can’t fly, for obvious reasons, so can you help me out?” I asked seriously.

A teleport later and I was in Twilight’s castle. Specifically one of her bathrooms.

Puking my brains out.

“Princess, I am one for high speeds, but really? That was…” Just thinking about what she had just put me though made me retch again. I hoped I had gotten everything into the toilet I was currently leaning on.

“I simply forgot that you were unused to such methods of transportation and was in a rush to get here.” She whined. It was a faint whine, more of a bored lecture, but I could hear the hint.

I also heard her scraping her hoof on the floor. It was either an attack, which was quite ridiculous, or she was simply embarrassed.

I felt somewhat better after puking into the abused toilet bowl, but knew that I had to help.

“So, Princess, how’d ya manage to teleport during the magic blackout?” I asked curiously.

“The three tribes draw magic directly from the Thaumatic Realm, and in quantifiable amounts. Alicorns don’t. We draw magic based on certain emotions, which is why Celestia can raise the sun, and I the moon. Whatever severed your contact with the Thaumatic Realm can’t cut ours.” Seeing my face contort in confusion, Princess Luna continued. “Think of it like this: Is it easier to cut water or stone with scissors?”

“Stone, obviously… oh… you’re water.” I said dumbly.

The Princess nodded. “Though it is possible for me to draw less magic than you, I can also draw much more than you. It all depends on where I gather my strength from.”

“So, you said that you needed my help?”

“Yes, my sister cannot use magic, and I was wondering if you could help her find her source of power.” Luna stated

I put a hoof to my face in thought. It seemed that there was one major problem with the Princess’s request.

“Well, from what you’ve said, it could be anything. How did you figure out yours?” I started to break down the problem. Twilight had helped me figure out how I process things, I just had to take things a step further. I was mostly stalling while trying to figure out a game plan, though.

“My sister and I found out shortly after our defeat of Discord. As our ponies slept after the final confrontation some thousand years ago, they were filled with aspiration. That, of course, meant that they had hope, but they also dreamt for the first time after Discord’s reign. Our own magic was enhanced, and that is when Celestia first raised the sun, and I first lowered the moon.” the Princess reminisced. She had a slight smile on her face, which was washed off as her expression shifted into a somber one.

I nudged the Princess… Luna with my barrel. “Luna, I know she will be fine. Even IF she’s having difficulty with things, everything will change. Your sister will grow stronger, and you will support each other.” I gave a grin. “So, let’s go over to her, yeah?”

Luna seemed to stare in shock as I used her name instead of her title, but I could tell it wasn’t bad. She was genuinely happy, if a little surprised. I was surprised myself.

We rounded the corner, crystals only lit by the magic lights embedded in the walls.

“Hey Luna, why isn’t this castle blinding us? It doesn’t even look like anything’s changed!” I said in awe as I raised my head to look at the raised ceiling.

She pointed a hoof at her horn. “I simply cast a spell that would slow the light.” I wrinkled an eyebrow. “I can’t explain what I did without potentially boring you. To summarize, I cast a spell that increased the amount of time that elapses inside the bubble. This means that not as much light can come into the bubble.” I ‘oh’ed at that.

We turned several corners and trotted up a flight of stairs when I felt a tingling sensation in my wings. It was the same pins and needles feeling as when they fell asleep, but it was different.

I flapped my wings to test them, and was sent headfirst into one of the archways. I wasn’t able to even blink as I rocketed towards the pillar of crystal.

As soon as my impromptu catapulting had ended, I sighed in relief.

Celestia, am I lucky that I have natural resistance when I hit something going that fast.

“Are you okay, fair Rainbow Dash?” Luna called up, uncertainty tainting her voice..

“Yeah. Just have to- rrgh- pull myself out.” I called down as I pulled my front left hoof out of the crystal. “Phew… wait. I flew.”

Luna must have realized that at the same time I did. She galloped down the hallways, and I was only barely able to keep up with her with the enhancement to my magic.

Luna finally stopped in front of a door. I had looked around the castle several times after it sprung up out of nowhere as a favor to Twilight. She and Spike had needed help mapping the place out, and I came across this particular hallway several times. It was close to the throne room, and was a couple of turns away from the library. If somepony went forward and to the left, they would find the staircase that led to almost every floor in the place. There were four floors below it and three above it, the fourth below being a basement with exotic plants. There were also windows I could fit through on the stairwell, which let me speed up and around the castle as I got measurements for Twi.

And there was never a door here. In fact, I’d believe that the space in the wall led to a direct drop out of the castle. Granted it was in the center, but there was a hole through the center of the castle, just large enough for me to speed through when Twilight called us to her castle to catch up and offer relief to some of the townspeople.

“When was this ever here?” I asked aloud.

“Terra grew it out of the tree.” Luna said matter-of-factly.

I nodded at first, but then gaped at her.

Luna continued into the room, oblivious of, or perhaps amused by, my reaction. She led me into the room, and I saw a sparsely decorated room. There were two chairs, a bed, a desk, and a table. That was nothing on the size of the room.

“How is it so big? I thought the space this took up was smaller!” I said in awe.

An alicorn with a brown coat and a green mane and tail spoke up from the bed.

I couldn’t understand her, and luna sighed exasperatedly as the figure turned to her with pleading eyes.

“Well, the tree has Thaumatic residue, and churns out magic faster than a fire geyser from the Apploosan Territory. So she took a little bit of it to power a spell that rewrites gravity and physics so that the room is on the side of the wall, while looking like it’s straight”

I must have looked dumbfounded, as Luna piped up once more.

“She made reality think that the room is on the side of the castle, while still being straight up and down from the door.” she deadpanned.

“Wait-one-second-ima-check-something-out!” I shouted as I raced to the nearest open window.

My house was, thankfully, parked close to the castle. I loved using the castle as an alarm of sorts, as the sunlight refracting over the cloud bedroom would not let me sleep. Anchoring clouds was a chore, but it was worth having the view and convenience.

As I shot through my house, tearing apart walls that plopped together again after I went through them, I thought about what would be enough.

A pan? Nah, that won’t make enough noise over time, plus I might damage it… my clock? Easy to set up, hard to turn off. Eh, I’ll just go with it.

And thus, I raced into my storage room, grabbed a rainbow alarm clock, and raced towards the castle once more.

This clock is cliche, even for my tastes. Wonder why I haven’t replaced it yet…

Shooting over the rounded tree, I found the pit that I had used so often hidden under a large spire. The spire was held up by four stairwells, and continued up to the top of the castle. At the peak was a six sided star surrounded by five smaller stars, just like Twi’s Cutie Mark.

The pit was indeed clogged up like the brown alicorn said…

I’ve gotta figure out her name…

I wound the alarm clock to thirty seconds before my alarm, as it was easier to change the time than the alarm, set it down flat on the top of the room, and raced back through the castle to the strange room.

I got there far sooner than I set the alarm, and let the barrage of questions begin.

“Where did you go in such a hurry?” Luna asked unprompted.

“I flew over to my house to get something, next?” I said. I was slightly out of breath, but the speed I flew at was still slower than I could have gone.

Can’t have my house falling apart again after doing a Sonic Rainboom… That would be so embarrassing!

“Why?” the brown alicorn asked.

“To get an alarm clock to figure something out.” I paused before saying next, as I still had to figure out the mare’s name. “By the way, what’s your name?” I asked her. “Sorry that I didn’t ask that earlier.” I said sheepishly.

“Ma-ee naim ees Terra. And eet ees no-oo ish-oo.” The mare got out. I was reminded of Zecora’s accent, though it was different from her Zebrican accent. It sounded like she knew how the words should sound, but couldn’t figure out what to emphasize.

“I’m Rainbow Dash, fastest pegasus in Equestria, nice to meet you!” I said with a hoof offered and a cocky grin.

A ringing came from one of the walls of the room, the wall closest to the door. It was the alarm clock I had set. I went closer to the wall with wide eyes.

“This. Is. So. AWSOME!” I shouted with a hoof in the air.

I heard chuckling behind me as I sped out of the room to return and reset the clock. When I entered the room for the third time that day, I saw Luna and Terra with paddleballes in their magic. The former smirked at me as I entered the room, while the latter was laughing already.

I couldn’t help but chuckle at the harmless yet humorous prank.

“So, Luna said I could help with your trait. I can’t help as much as I’d like, but I can say that something in the castle returned my magic to me.” I explained what happened to all the ponies outside to Terra.

Terra was about to start speaking when Luna interrupted her. “I’ll act as translator this one time, sister.”

Terra nodded. For some reason, my wings felt… weird. Like their equivalent of overindulging on cake and sweets.

Terra said something, and Luna translated while Terra spoke.

“So, in other words, there is this huge pocket of magic near the castle, but almost nothing in Ponyville and the rest of the country?”

I nodded. “There was enough that Luna and Celestia were able to teleport twice when everypony was panicked and dreary, that’s for sure.”

“Could it have something to do with the Tree of Harmony that makes up the castle?”

“I didn’t feel the same boost from my house, and it’s not too far from the castle. So the castle might not be putting out magic, but something in the castle, close to the center is.” I reasoned.

“Could it be coming from the tip, kind of like a... Sister, she won’t understand that reference. Ponies of this age don’t know about that…” Luna trailed off. “Though yes, that is what it sounds like.”

My wings felt so in tune with the air around me, I couldn’t tell where they ended and the air started.

After several seconds of Terra talking with Luna in a strange language, Luna turned to me.

“She requests that you fly around the Castle, recording how drained you get in major rooms. I’d recommend the spire, library, throne room, and main gate.” Luna said. I nodded and flew off.

I felt lighter than normal. Much. I sped into a wall, which did not treat me well. Even though I had the high speed impact resistance shield of magic around me.

It was to my shock that when I went to wipe my brow, there was a speck of blood on the hoof that took the brunt of the impact. It didn’t feel broken, but it was definitely bad.

Shaking off the unease that spread through me, I flew out the window with the notebook in tow to the rooms Luna had recommended.

As I neared the star at the top of the castle, I found that I didn’t feel any more energetic than normal. In fact, I was surprised to feel emptiness around me. I could feel something from deep in the castle, but nothing towards the outer layers of the castle.

Going to the Library confirmed what I felt, as I felt a pull that took me closer in. It seemed that there was a huge amount of magic coming from further in the castle.

The throne room felt more saturated, but not to the level that Luna and Terra had told me to look for.

Then I went past Terra’s hallway and facehoofed.

“Hey guys? It’s coming from in the room.” I called in as I entered.

Luna looked at me with worry. “Is your hoof okay, Rainbow? You look hurt!”

I looked down at the spots of blood on my hoof. “I crashed when flying out a window. No biggie, didn’t even feel it.” Unicorns and Earth ponies couldn’t sense how the shield would automatically react to how fast a pegasus was going, but I thought they would understand as alicorns.

“Terra, sister, you need to calm down. You’ve not actually used your wings yet, you would understand her flippance if you calm down and think rationally about what Celestia has told you about flying.” Luna said in a monotone voice, the kind of voice that just screamed how tired Luna actually was.

I felt the pins in my wing again.

“I think it’s gotta be one of you two, cause I feel a huge amount of magic here.” I told them once more.

Luna looked at her sister. “Terra, leave the room. As neither you nor I can feel what you speak of. If you can no longer feel it, then Terra must be giving it off. Or, at the very least, one of her possessions.”

Terra left the room. I could only assume she started wandering around, because the magic I felt before weakened greatly until I wasn’t able to feel the magic hotspot at all.

Luna looked at me expectantly, and I started walking out of the room once more.

“Terra!” I shouted into the mostly empty hallways. “We’ve figured out the source of the magic!”

Terra rounded a corner past a hallway that led to the kitchen connected to the throne room, walking at a leisurely pace. She motioned for me to get on with an explanation.

“I’ve figured out that you’re the center of the magic-dense zone, and we need to talk about what that means.

With alicorns like you and Luna, I’ve noticed that you don’t really have a magic cap, or at the very least it changes based on the mood of ponies around you. They feel inspired, Luna gets power. It makes sense that you wouldn’t notice, but you are putting out a lot of magic. I don’t really understand why you needed help getting your magic back when you have so much…” I trailed off.

She looked at me confused and started speaking in that broken Equuish that she spoke earlier. What she said boiled down to ‘But I can’t use magic, nor sense any around me to use. I honestly don’t know what you are talking about, friend…’

After translating what she had said, which took a minute longer than I would have liked, I raced out of the castle once more.

Whereas before I was headed for my cloud house, which was nearby, this time I was headed for Ponyville. It was far enough away that I had to pace myself, especially with the cargo I was planning on grabbing.

I had gotten into the town’s outskirts, when a pink and purple blur shot past me, racing to the castle.

The hay? Well, Luna’s there, so she can probably take on whatever monster that purple blur was. I need to get Pinkie.

As if I had summoned her, the pink party pony ran towards me, used her party cannon, and jumped over me. When I looked behind me, she had a pair of pink horns on her head. They were devil horns, and obviously fake.

“You mortal! Why hast thou summoned-eth MEEEEE?!” She shouted with a straight face.

I couldn’t help but collapse on the floor, laughing my flank off.

I finally finished teleporting around the country, shouting to everypony to cease magic usage before the wave of magic I sensed came barreling through. It payed off having a teleportation range based on the sun, so I was more efficient than most unicorns would be when traveling via lumomancy.

I made my final stop at Ponyville, as my sisters were still there. Luna had already warned the town, but I had to comfort Terra best I could until Thaumatic energy wove its way back into the universe via geysers and pressure differences. I could only hope that it would come back soon, lest…

Not a good habit to let my mind wander that way…

I could rest assured that my magic wouldn’t interfere with Equus’s sun’s gravity, so Equus’s orbit would likely simulate the orbit of said star around Equus. But my mind turned to things that I would not allow any conscious rational thought on, lest I go mad with worry. Luna would understand why I would be worried, but ponies still didn’t know that I wasn’t just moving the sun with magic…

I was fuelling it as well.

It started after Discord’s reign, as the laws of the universe were still… shaky. I had to magically move the star around Equus or face disastrous climate change. The sun had also lost many of its atoms, as Discord’s magic both fuelled it and made sure it would not run on fusion.

It had to be run on magic power. So much that it was, and still is, the largest magically fuelled construct in the known universe. The unicorns of old couldn’t even budge it, they only fuelled its insatiable appetite. I was lucky that I had stored so much magic inside it. It would certainly last several weeks, while my sister and I found a solution.

At least that’s what I thought would happen. As it turns out, fate had different plans.

“<Ah, sister, you can finally join us.>” Terra spoke with a nervous smile, one caused by the fourth alicorn in the room. Who was currently looking my way with a sickeningly sweet smile.

On a positive note, it would seem that Terra was exuding magic at a rapid pace, allowing me to charge the sun once more.

I sighed as I finally turned to Twilight. I did so with my motherly smile, though I’m sure everyone could see that it was laced with a kind of nervousness that bespoke just how much trouble I was in.

Well, time to see what my graduated student has to say.

And then a purple magic enveloped me and dragged me towards the throne room.

2.7: Understanding

View Online

All of Ponyville could hear the Twi’s yelling, even though she was probably deep inside of her castle, and even though there was a mighty long distance between it and the town. Ah could tell, as Ah was at th’ other end of town, disassemblin’ my apple cart.

Just because Twilight Sparkle is back doesn’t mean she hasn’t forgiven you for leaving her. Just like during the royal wedding, you didn’t speak up in time!

Consarn it! Leave me alone! I didn’t abandon her, and I most certainly spoke up! There was nothing I could have done!

Yes… that is all of reality though, is it not? One unfortunate event after the next.

Stop!

Your parents deaths, then-

Stop it now!

-you and your brother being forced to tend the farm and abandon school...

I said… thought?... to stop that!

And now, there’s a voice in your head reminding you of all these things, and you still can’t stop it. What next? Your-

I SAID STOP TALKIN’ YA RAT BADGER!!

-sister being taken away? Or your brother? Celestia knows your Granny isn’t doing so well,-

please

-and that you aren’t going to get through this being HONEST with yourself of all things…

just… just stop

So why stick to these morals? Why continue poisoning yourself with your past and your pain?

ah… ah don’ know…

“Applejack, you okay? You look like you haven’t slept in a while…” A concerned Rose Luck asked.

“Ahm… fine. What can ah help you with?” I asked in the most cheerful tone ah could muster.

“...” Rose Luck was silent. Normally ah would just think that she was being paranoid, but I couldn’t put her concern off my hooves.

“Ah’ll be fine… jus working through some things…” I trailed off, a little less cheerful.

She sighed, then asked “Can I have two apples and give you some advice?” I hoofed over the apples, and she gave me my 6 bits for them.

“Sure sugarcube, what kinda advice?” I curiously asked.

Like she’d be able to help anyways…

Shut it. She’s tryna help, an’ ah think ah should let her.

“Well, talk to Fluttershy or Pinkie. One of those two might cheer you up!” she said with enthusiasm.

Not a bad idea. Might not be the best time, but I can ask after we welcome Twi back.

If she decides to stay…

Consarn it you rat -*

My castle was, regrettably, not enough of a source of magic for me to throttle my ex-mentor. Even though she knew she could probably escape, she sat at the other end of the table in the throne room.

I had moved all the chairs besides my own and Spike’s, even though he was elsewhere at the moment. It comforted me knowing that the castle had planned for my Number One Assistant to live here. Celestia was sitting on the bare, crystal floor, and looking nervous as all Tartarus.

It was the slightest details that gave it away. She wasn’t sweating, nor was she jittering or any of the other nervous habits a pony might have shown.

She was sitting perfectly still, with that motherly smile of hers muted, not moving except to breathe and readjust to stave off her legs going to sleep.

We had been sitting like this for thirty minutes. I had yelled at the white alicorn for fifteen minutes straight for locking me in the sun, but she hadn’t even defended herself once. We were just sitting there staring at each other, when I decided to start speaking again.

“All of this, though… I already yelled at you for betraying me, for hiding things so menial, and for ‘getting rid of the only pony who has an iota of an idea of what’s going on’ shtick you’ve pulled, but that wasn’t all.” I paused, waiting for a response. When she didn’t give any indication to continue, verbal or nonverbal, I sighed. “Celestia, you betrayed my trust, avoided my questions, and sent me away. Even with the knowledge of all the signs on how you flinch, I don’t see one speck of discomfort at knowing that you let me down. That you let my friends down.” I paused again. “Do… Do you care, Celestia? I understand that I caused a major disaster, but I was stressed out because you locked me in the sun. Because you sent Discord after me…” I trailed off.

At this, my fellow Princess’s brow creased. Not her subtle crease, or her ‘I’ll ignore what you just said for the sake of peace’ crease. A genuine crease that caused her eyebrows to scrunch up and convey total and utter confusion.

“I never-” She started. At least before the one being I would have paid to be stuck in a dunk tank for the next couple years showed up.

“I-huff-huff-made it to the huff show! Now, where was huff-huff Twilight when she was tearing you a good one?” He said in an overblown manner, pointing at Celestia at the end. I noticed how out of breath he was, and questioned how he even got here.

I teleported him to Canterlot, took away magic, AND HE STILL MAKES IT HERE?!?!

Then I remembered who put me through the ‘Never Ending Flight of Stressful Antics’ (patent pending).

Even with what little magic I had, I could most certainly keep him and Celestia here.

I tugged his ear with my magic.

“Owwww!” he whined like a child, and took on a posh accent. “Mother! That hurts me so!”

Then I turned towards him. I must have scared him, as his color literally oozed off of him, leaving him looking like a children’s coloring book.

He also gulped. There was that.

I won’t really harm either of them, that would just be cruel. No, I’m going to do something worse.

And when it came to immortals like these two, there was only one thing that would be able to get through their thick skulls.

Then I heard four familiar voices down the hallway. Looking back, I noticed that the door was slightly ajar, and browned somewhat for some reason. More so than before, even.

“Sigh… What am I going to do… Well, best focus on the positive!”

We were all surprised when a purple projectile came out of the room we were headed for, even if we headed there reluctantly.

“Giiiiiiiiirls!” the projectile shouted while galloping at us. It sounded excited and happy, which was a relief. I thought she’d be mad, though I mentally beat myself for thinking that.

Least the egghead’s okay.

One group hug later where she was wrapped around us all, and Fluttershy broke the happy silence.

“Um… Twilight… why does Discord look like he’s about to faint?” the animal caregiver asked, concerned for her friend.

“... I might have looked at him like a lunatic…” Twilight said sheepishly.

I gaped, and I’m sure that Twilight was filing my expression under ‘future revenge for pranks’.

“Wait-wait-wait. You’re telling me that YOU of all ponies… yelled and threatened both your MENTOR and the god of chaos?” I said incredulously.

"Not a God!" Discord yelled from the other end of the hall exasperatedly.

Twilight still looked sheepish, and began to blush. Applejack phased out, but my attention was pulled by Fluttershy.

“Twilight, when’s the last time you slept? Or ate? Fluttershy asked cautiously.

“... I haven’t eaten all week, and I didn’t sleep before my banishment for… “ Twilight trailed off. Then her face contorted from sheepish blushing to a glare. It wasn’t pointed at us, but at Princess Celestia and Luna. They had come out of the room, The solar Princess looking… paler than usual.

“Twi… ya don’ blame us for what-” Applejack started to say, but Twilight snapped out of her glare with eyes of concern that were pointed at us.

“Girls, of course I don’t blame any of you. There wasn’t anything you girls could have done…” She looked a bit resigned as she trailed off. “Sigh… Rainbow, if it weren’t for watching you stunt fly, I probably wouldn’t have gotten out of the sun so quickly…” She looked at me while she said this, and I beamed.

She didn’t look too happy knowing that I had rubbed off on her like that, though.

“What did you do?” I asked eagerly. I had to know what crazy stunt she pulled.

“The bright light you were subjected to is my fault.” She looked sheepish once more. “I basically flew around the core of the sun, making a hurricane out of the plasma and magic. When that didn’t work, I… copied a move that Dash used to strain the barrier and break it.”

“Ooh! Which one? Was it a-”

“No, Rainbow Dash, it was not a Sonic Rainboom. I’ve told you several times, I might have the raw magic to do one but I don’t have the experience you have.” Twilight interrupted in a monotone voice that she used when trying to downplay how amused she was. “You were spinning out of control after a corkscrew, since you hit one fetlock on a cloud by mistake. You used the spinning to both right yourself and glide to safety.” Twilight explained.

I hoof-pumped at the thought of such a feat being done by an ameteur.

It sounds like a simple thing to do, and for her it was probably easier since her center of balance wasn’t being thrown around. But going the speeds she claims to have gone counters that thought, and, on top of that, she’s also a novice!

Fluttershy and Pinkie were the only ones other than me to look impressed, and Pinks was only because I explained each stunt and how difficult it was to her after I showcased them. Part of our special deal: She would lay off the pies, and I would explain stunts to her.

Blehg… pie…

“Are ya sure you’re alrigh’ there, sugarcube?” Applejack piped up as Twilight continued to glare at the solar Princess.

Twilight sighed. “I want to talk with you all about what I found, but first I have to deal with some things. Namely, Discord’s antics, Equus’s magic problem, and…” Twilight trailed off as Terra came around the corner. Twilight ran over to Terra, who ran to her as well.

They spoke to each other excitedly in the same gibberish that Terra was speaking, and Princess Celestia looked shocked.

“Girls, I’m going to ask you to wait in my library for a bit. I need to talk with Terra!” Twilight exclaimed as she pushed Terra into the throne room, closing and, presumably, locking the door behind her.

At the others’ discomfort, Luna told us “She’s probably fanfillying over the heaps of knowledge that Terra has.” As she followed my gaze to Pinkie bouncing up and down, she added “And yes, Pinkie, you can give her a party. But it has to be after she is used to this day and age.” Pinkie calmed after hearing that, but only somewhat.

“Well, let’s head off to the library. We wouldn’t want to seem rude!” Rarity said as she started walking towards where she thought the library was.

“Um, Rares?” I piped up.

“Yes, darling?”

“That’s the wrong way. The library is off that way.” I said while pointing down a hallway leading to the stairs.

Rarity looked somewhat flushed as she began walking the way I had pointed.

“Of course dear, just testing you!” She said.

We all chuckled, though it was in good spirits, as Rarity pouted in the back of our little party.

“<-Wow… that’s… just wow…>” I said to Terra. “<I understand why you couldn't show me everything, it’s probably for the best. But about the threat you said that you were holding back…>” I trailed off.

“<The threat I was holding back… they were an old friend. I couldn’t bear if I harmed them, and they attacked me when I was at my weakest.>” Terra said to me. She was a bit energetic, obviously a symptom of having another who could understand her easily.

I squeed at the thought of how I was meeting and chatting with the creator of the Tree of Harmony, and the Elements by extension.

I’m still not too sure about why we shared memories the way we did. But if what I saw is true, I need to show her compassion.

Not that I wouldn’t anyways, but I’ve got to figure out how to help her.

But I also had the implications of what she was saying to mull over.

“<Yes, the Windigo. The original ice spirit in the Hearth Warming Tale… that’s most troubling.>” I said.

It turned out that the language Terra spoke was vastly different to modern Equuish in the sounds required and the tone for different moods. Her tone shifted to similar tells as Equuish, but there was always a… a small hint in the body language that could be watched, or a subtle inflection in voice near the end. I was meaning to sound reassuring, but I sounded morose.

Is it really impossible to lie about emotions in this language? I find that hard to believe...

“<Don’t worry, Twilight Sparkle. You already have the tools to find and purify their souls, you just have to do it.>” Terra said with a smile. The worry in her voice betrayed it, though. “<About the magic crisis, I’d believe I can help.>” At my gesture to continue, she obliged. “<It would require us to introduce technology that’s a little too high to be manufactured, but I can create geysers of magic. Perhaps in the solar system, so as to not poison Equus with magic.>” Terra explained.

I put a hoof to my muzzle in thought.

“<That would be a good idea, but we need you here. Just by being here, you’re replenishing the nearby magic. Without you, our only defence against the creatures of the Everfree, as well as certain other races when they realize who’s responsible for the blackout, will be Celestia and Luna. And their power is going to be diminished because of what I did…>”

Terra scooped me up into a hug. She might have been centuries older than me, but her size was still the same as mine. “<You are NOT at fault, Twilight. You were stressed out before this whole mess, and we can still fix it. Nopony was really harmed, just some that are scared.>” She nudged me in a calming fashion. “<And I think you can help them with that.>”

I smiled, a smile of both hope and regret. “<Okay… I think I can do what you were talking about with the geysers. Give me the schematics for the machine you told me about and I’ll set off to fix things.>” Before Terra could object to my loss of magic, I added “<And I can get magic from the surroundings. As long as I go to geysers on our moon, I can set up more geysers there.>”

At this, Terra’s eyes widened. “<No! Don’t set up any on the moon!>” At my shocked reaction, she added “<The machine is likely to malfunction. You should make geysers around our planet. From what I’ve heard, Equus is mostly stationary, so it should work…>”

“From what you’ve hear-” I started to say, questioning Terra’s knowledge.

Before I could get any answers, however, Discord came into the throne room.

“Leaving so soon, Sparkle? But what about your, ickh, friends?” Discord spoke up.

I didn’t glare. I didn’t give him a threat with a stare. I was just… done. I think I had a look that conveyed that, as Discord quickly bowed like he was in a Neighponese comic and left with the door closed.

“<Pumpkin does have a point, Twilight....>” Terra pointed out.

“Why did you call him Pumpkin?” I asked. As I was shocked by what she called Discord, I reverted to common Equuish.

“<... Oops?>” Terra squeaked.

I had decided to wander through the castle. There were a multitude of creatures that lived here, though Twilight seemed to be at peace with them. There were mice, most of whom lived in corridors behind the walls, birds of all kinds that flew in and out of the attic, and plenty of ants. The ants were somewhat of a nuisance to Twilight, which was why I had given them a stern lecture on when it was okay to take food. Twilight seemed to give them all the food she had leftover, which was a huge help on her part.

It was nice to see that she cared about the animals as much as I did.

The corridors and attic space needed cleaning, to which the animals picked up after themselves. They and Twilight coexisted, and I could have moved in had it not been for the animals who had to stay near my cottage.

All of it was odd, as I couldn’t see why the Tree would do something like this for the animals. At least until I thought of the elements of Rarity and I.

Generosity and Kindness. You wanted to give to the creatures who might have lost their homes, and you wanted to give those that came a place to stay. That’s… sweet!

I walked down several flights of stairs, taking my time while doing so, before I came across a square of rooms that were vibrant.

There was, of course, the library that spanned multiple floors. Twilight’s favorite rooms besides the kitchens.

Even if the only reason she likes the kitchens is because of the coffee machines...

As I walked along those hallways, I took note of the changes in color. The side of the library was every shade of purple imaginable, whereas going further up or down resulted in the crystals taking shades of blue instead.

Further along, there was a room that seemed sturdy enough to take Rainbow’s failed stunts. The crystal in these rooms were softer, and they felt like padding. They were solid, but knocking on them didn’t hurt my hoof in the slightest. This room was every shade of red, and a brazen red could be found throughout the room. It looked like a mishmash of red, but was still pleasing to the eye.

The corner where the ‘gym’ of sorts and library intersected had deep pinks, pinks that I’ll admit I lost myself in for a while. There was a hallway leading to a stairwell right between the two rooms as well.

On the same hallway were some kitchens, which were adorned with shades of orange. They were just as calming as the library, but in a different way. They were… they were like coming home after a long day and seeing Angel Bunny, my pet. The library was calming because it welcomed me somewhere new.

I didn’t look at the wall intersecting the gym and kitchen, but I would have guessed it was yellow.

I continued to a vast, empty room and the flight of stairs between the kitchen and said room. They looked the ideal place to heal the injured, with magic seeming to flow out of the walls in a comforting hug. The crystals here were green. It initially confused me, until I remembered Twilight talking about how one of the elements was green before it bonded with us.

The greens reminded me of trees and life. They were melded with blues in such a way that made me feel like I was in a forest. There were browns as well, but browns reminiscent of bark and dirt. It was relaxing.

I closed the forest green doors, and continued to the next room, sure that there would be a room designed for Pinkie next.

What I wasn’t expecting in the slightest was a ballroom. Pinkie’s parties tended to feel like the party pony who made them. They were ‘the antithesis of those formal, stuffy parties those ponies at Canterlot put on’, as said by Pinkie herself.

But looking closer, into the room, there was ample space above to put things like streamers. And the shades of blue in the room made me giggle a little, though I looked around to make sure nobody heard. There were oceans of blue in the room, shaded just right to be open and friendly without being overbearing..

Then there was another purple room. While I thought that the library was purple, I was clearly wrong. The boldness of the purples in the next room put the library’s magentas and purples to shame. There were wide windows making natural light, and plenty of room for Rarity to work.

But as I closed the door to the final room, another door caught my eyes. It was in the center, and it looked… incomplete somehow. The door itself was only halfway done, and it had a rainbow of colors wrapping around it like lights on a Hearth’s Warming tree.

That’s… weird. I would have thought that Twilight would be the center, if anything.

Before I could think too hard about it, I was pulled away from my thoughts by a white alicorn tapping me on the barrel.

When I looked over to her, I jumped. I thought I was alone, after all.

“Fluttershy, can… can I have your advice?” Princess Celestia asked. I must have looked nervous, because she said “Don’t worry Fluttershy. I’m… I just want help. I don’t know what to do, what the kindest thing TO do is.” Her voice was forlorn, and her expression grim.

I can’t be nervous. Being nervous will scare her away.

“Before I ask you what you want advice on, Princess, why don’t we go into one the kitchen and make some tea?” I asked. I still sounded nervous, but it was mixed in with kindness and warmth.

At the Princess’s affirmative nod, we walked into the kitchen, prepared the tea- Lavender was all that Twilight had- and poured the tea into two cups.

At first, I started setting us up at opposite ends of the round table, but I set us up next to each other as I saw the Princess’s face.

“Fluttershy,” the Princess started after a small bout of silence, “I don’t know what to do.”

“Finding the right thing to do can be hard sometimes, Princess. But talking about it to a friend makes it easier sometimes.” I offered.

She sighed, then continued with reluctance. “If I want to protect what I’ve built, I can’t allow Twilight to release some… old friends of mine. But if I don’t release them, they might break out and wreak havoc. And I couldn’t live with the results either way. They are… angry for some things that happened long in the past.”

“Well, if Discord is anything to go by, then kindness will go a long way. Bring them back, and show them friendship once more.” I said.

“It’s… not that simple, Ms. Shy-”

“J-just Fluttershy, your Majesty…”

She turned to me with a smile, which morphed into a frown once more. “Fluttershy… How can I risk the happiness of my subjects, my student and her friends most importantly, if I let them out?”

“Is that why you put Twilight into the sun? To make sure she wasn’t… influenced?” I asked in confusion.

“...Partially. As much as I want her happiness, I couldn’t bear it if she brought war and devastation by bringing… several things back. I don’t think she could live with herself, either. I knew that she had shared memories with Terra, and hadn’t the time to tell her how dangerous the knowledge was. Is, in fact.” Celestia explained.

I sat in thought for a couple of seconds.

“If your bringing these friends back leads to pain, then you might think it best not to free them. I thought that sheltering the Breezies was kind, but I found that the kindest decision is sometimes the worst. Sometimes, you must be cruel to be kind.” At the Princess’s confused face, I continued. “It does seem a bit counterintuitive, but think of it like this: if I hadn’t kicked the Breezies out of my home, what might have happened to them?” I asked.

“Well, the Breezies are a frail species, designed only for the harsh conditions of their valley and nothing more. Their valley is rampant with magic, so they might have died not having that magic to draw from.” Celestia said deep in though.

“So, by doing the kindest thing in the long term, I had to do what seemed like the cruellest in the short term. With these friends you mentioned, think. Really think about what they would likely do if you were kind enough to them, and what they would do if you kept them the way they are.” I advised. I had an inkling of an idea on who the friends she was talking about were, but no way to verify it.

Celesita still looks sad, but it’s different now…

It’s… resigned.

What did I just do?

2.8: Beginnings?

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The others had left the room, and Honesty was weaker than she was earlier. She was ripe for the picking, if I could just get that… purple?... alicorn away.

How will you counter me this time? You don’t have your precious elements, and I will rip the others apart with her, Celestia.

Princess Celestia had left, leaving me to my thoughts and I hoped that she wouldn’t do something she might regret. Again.

I sighed and sipped my tea, which was almost empty.

I know it seems bad, but please don’t do something that will get us all hurt. I couldn’t bear to watch my friends get hurt like that again. They need time to heal.

There was a window, allowing me to see all the way out to Sweet Apple Acres. The trees were lush, and I could see Ponyville if I tilted my head the right way..

As I sat watching and listening to the birds outside, I finished my tea. There was a drop or two left in the cup as I put it in the sink, leaving the bottom darkened slightly.

I walked back through the castle. Through the silence I could hear the chirping of the birds and the squeaking of the mice in the walls, and it relaxed me.

Whatever the Princess does, it will work out in the end.

As I rounded the last corner that would lead me to the throne room, I noticed the same browning in the crystalline structure of the castle.

I wonder if Apps knows what might be wrong with it. Even without knowledge of the tree itself, she should be able to figure out what it’s lacking. I thought to myself as the door opened.

Discord was in the corner, glaring at Terra. Terra was smiling nervously as Twilight paced the room.

“I know you can’t tell me everything, but thanks for the hint, Terra. Now, I need you to start on that machine, otherwise I won’t be able to fix the-” She paused as she turned around and saw me. “-Fluttershy! Sorry for running out on you… I was just excited...” Twilight started, sounding remorseful.

Before she could start, I butted in. “Twilight, I think you had the right idea. You’re able to wrap your head around such complicated ideas that… I just know that whatever plans you make it will be worth the time you spend.” I reassured her.

Twilight smiled. “Terra mentioned that you had helped her with her… speaking issues. Fluttershy?” Twilight asked hesitantly.

“Yes, Twilight?”

“I… I might need to leave for a while to fix something.” she said, but then quickly added “It’ll be a while, as I need Terra to make a couple things for me, but I will have to be gone from here for a while…” She looked conflicted about what to say next.

“Twilight, know that whatever you do, you’ll have our support. Even if you are gone for a year, we will wait for you.” I said with a smile.

“Ohnono! I won’t be gone for that long! At most, maybe a month or two.” she rushed.

“Then we’ll wait. For now, can we go back to the girls to catch up?” I asked. I put on my most reassuring smile as I said this, hopeful she would be able to reassure Apps.

Twilight nodded and smiled, eyes watery. As she left the room, Terra decided to follow her. Discord was still pouting, though he came when I looked at him with pleading eyes.

We were heading out the double doors of the throne room as Princess Celestia came in. Needless to say, it was a dogpile as hooves and horns poked, and wings and tails wound together.

“O-oh dear…” I stammered out. I could hear Terra silently giggling, and Celestia had a small smile on.

That’s good. At least she’s been cheered up.

Twilight seemed exasperated at how jumbled we were, but even she looked like she had to stop herself from laughing. Discord was… silent.

Wait… I see brown, white, purple, and yellow coats, but where’s…

“Hey Fluttershy, could you try moving a little to your left so I can move my right hoof?” Twilight said, snapping out of my worries.

I followed, and we worked together to untangle ourselves. Discord was not in the pileup, vanishing for whatever reason.

“Princess Celestia, is Discord okay? He seemed…” I struggled to find the right words.

“He’s probably just… recovering from certain revelations. Perhaps he’s still guilty about betraying us to Tirek a few weeks ago. Either way, I’m sure he’ll work it out.” Celestia said with a smile.

I could tell the smile was fake not because I was Pinkie, who practically studied smiling for most of her life, or like Applejack, who could taste a fake smile a kilometer away, but because her eyes still conveyed sadness and regret.

I hugged her, and pulled Twilight to the side.

“Twilight, whatever you need to do to fix the magic needs to wait. It might not seem as important, but I get the feeling that we’re going to need you the next few weeks, if not months.” I whispered to her gently. I tried my best to convey that I would support her decision while also pleading her to change it.

Twilight closed her eyes and steadied her breathing.

“Fluttershy, I’ve thought of every way I could to stay, but Terra and I might end up having to go together. I said that I would be able to just teleport around, but I underestimated the amount of magic I would need. Now that I think about it, both of us will have to go.” At my sad smile, she continued. I’d love to stay. But Luna and Celestia have to deal with the nobility and panic before it spreads too far, which only leaves Terra and I. So, knowing that she can’t use the magic she’s emitting, I need to go with her to help her.” my book-smart friend explained.

I scrunched my eyebrows in thought when she said that Terra needed her help.

“What’s out there that needs you to go?” I asked fearfully.

“... It would be better for you not to know. Either way, Terra will need some protection and mobility, which I can give her. So even though I’ll be gone for a bit, I will come back. If not for you, then to seek answers.”

I nodded understandingly, and she turned to let me lead her to the others.

I just hope that they are still able to stand when you come back...

I watched AJ pace around one of the tables. She was so lost in thought that I couldn’t get her attention, though I only called her a few times before giving up.

Pinkie was reading a cookbook, probably browsing through the snacks section, with Rarity pointing at the recipes and making comments. I was lying on a cloud above them, probably around the fifth floor of the open library.

Heh… Twi’d never let me in her old library with a cloud out of fear of water damage. At least this castle has enchantments that keep the books from getting damaged.

Twilight had found this out after she had forgotten to close a window in the library during a storm. The storm was to counter the effects of the drought that Tirek had caused by absorbing all the pegasus magic. It was also to loosen the soil that had hardened slightly since earth ponies couldn’t till the earth or help anything grow.

Though, I had to admit that Canterlot had it the worst by far. Their city nearly crumbled several times due to both Tirek’s rampage and how he siphoned some of the magic holding the city up.

It was a little known fact outside of Canterlot, but a large chunk of the city was built on a slab that had enchantments to decrease the weight of the stone floor and increase the strength of the beams holding it up. Tirek siphoning ambient magic, along with the innate magic of the four pony tribes, meant that the city became unstable and nopony could fix it.

Pretty lucky that they had been one of the last stops for him, otherwise more might have kicked the bucket. I morbidly thought as I stretched out on my pillowy cloud.

I started napping, and had some action-filled dreams too, when I was awoken by a minor shock spell.

It wasn’t painful enough to send me flying off my cloud, but it was enough to get me up.

“Hey! Rainbow!” I heard the egghead call from below me. She was with Flutters, and Pinks and Rarity were where they were before.

“Yeah?” I called down, lowering myself slowly.

“You know the rules! No! Clouds!”

“Your books won’t be damaged, Sparkle. I don’t see why-” I was cut off by a shock that was mildly stronger than the one she had administered before. This one felt like those joy buzzers Pinkie and I had used on each other as pranks.

I yelped and threw the cloud at the ceiling, where there was an open window. The cloud floated out and away, while I dove down to Twilight to…

I feel like I should be doing something…

Eh. Probably nothing.

“Hey egghead! How you been?” I asked, ignoring the fake glare she was sending my way.

Her glare turned into a devious smile that made me nervous.

Then all of the girls and I were teleported onto a bed -probably in Twilight’s room- with all of us laughing like foals.

Pinkie was snorting, Rarity was doing her best to hide her mirth, and even Applejack was giggling a little bit.

Good to see she’s not so far off that she’s not able to enjoy the moment. I thought with relief.

Twilight jumped in the middle of the impromptu ring, and we all hugged. Sappy as it might have been, I was happy to see Twilight back as much as the others were.

“T-Twilight?” Fluttershy piped up.

“Yeah?” She said with a smile wide enough to rival Pinkie’s.

“Could you, Applejack, and I talk alone for a little bit?” When Twilight began to respond, this time with a somewhat slightly muted smile, Fluttershy interrupted her with “I know you want to catch up, but there’s something important-”

Twilight put a hoof on Fluttershy’s barrel, an understanding smile adorning her face. “Fluttershy, if there’s something that you think is important, it’s okay to ask. I assume that it is something... “ Twilight paused, eyes darting around. It looked like she had forgotten a word. I could tell because it was a look in the eyes I had had often. “Ah! Private?” She said the first part in hushed surprise, and the last in the same calming tone she used prior.

Fluttershy nodded.

“Girls, I hate to ask, but can I see what Fluttershy and AJ need? I’d love to catch up with you all, but I have a feeling it is important.” Twilight turned to the others.

Looking around at the others, I saw a consensus that the three deserved a bit of privacy. I was, of course, understanding that I couldn’t be in the room, but something about AJ’s bags under her eyes and Fluttershy’s growing worry put me on edge.

I looked at Twilight. “Call us if anything happens, okay?” I said more than asked. I just hoped that my gut was wrong.

We sat on the other side of the door. Or, rather I sat. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were playing something.

At least they’re not playing pranks! I thought, remembering the bouquet they set outside my door with powder in it.

I sighed at the thought of my hair being undone by their antics, but had to admit it was a clever joke.

Looking at the two, I began wondering why they never took their friendship to the next level. They seemed so alike, after all.

“Rainbow Dash, Pinkie dear, could I ask you two a question?” I called out to the rambunctious mares.

A pink blur raced over to me and booped me on the nose. I blinked, still trying to process that she had booped me, as Rainbow dash grabbed a cloud from somewhere.

“Shoot.” Rainbow said.

I can’t blame her for being uncouth. It’s simply in her nature. Though she would look good in one of those dresses… perhaps I can arrange a ponyquin about her size so I can test out a new dress.

Before my mind could clutter with the gift for Rainbow Dash, I shelved the thought for later.

“While watching you two, I came to wonder why the two of you never became an item. I mean, you both are so alike, no?” By the end of my question, the two looked uncomfortable. “If you’d rather not say, or it’s just because it would hamper with our dynamic, I understand.” I said firmly.

“We tried, though it was several years before we met Twilight. One of the reasons Dashie was so nervous around me was because of the month or two we tried dating…” Pinkie trailed off, seemingly lost for words.

“We… sigh. I want to figure out how to say this without seeming offensive or dim, so hold on.” Rainbow lay on her back, flicking hooves back and forth in uneven rhythms. After a moment of silence, she finally spoke up.

“Pink and I stand for quite similar things, element-wise. She inspires others to be better and brighter through being… well, Pinkie. Then there’s me. I inspire others to be the best, but only by helping. Loyalty isn’t kind in anything but its duty. It isn’t cheerful, besides the victories keeping its friends happy. Even back then we were like that, and we got into arguments because I couldn’t see things from her perspective. And I… I said something I regret. I regretted it from the moment it came out of my mouth. It still haunts me, and I don’t know if us being in a relationship would work.” Rainbow said somberly. She averted her eyes at the end out of shame.

Pinkie put a hoof on the back of her barrel, rubbing it softly. She had a soft smile, even though she must have been reminded of something terrible.

“If I might ask, what-” I began to ask, but was cut off.

“I swore I wouldn’t say anything to anypony.” Rainbow said. Pinkie looked side to side, seemingly afraid.

An emotion most unusual on the peppy pink pony’s face.

“I was actually going to ask what the argument was about.” I said with an apologetic smile towards Pinkie.

“Oh. You’ll think it was dumb…” Rainbow trailed off. “Every time I think about it, I remember just how dumb I was with how it started.”

“Nonsense. Now, remember that I don’t wish to pry. If you don’t want to say, don’t. But know that I won’t judge you based on a long past mistake, darling.” I said with a small smile.

“Sigh. It was after a long day of kicking clouds, and I had several new recruits. I was manager, even then, because of the raw power and skill I had. Pinkie saw me training them, having them take on challenges that were past their level. I encouraged them, and it was for good reason I did that, but Pinkie thought I was hazing them.

I tried explaining that I was prepping them, then evening out the work after they figured out how to do what they needed. She still thought that the others should have helped. They were elsewhere, divvied up into made-up divisions to buck clouds.

The three or four that I was training were moving clouds to and from the everfree to build up endurance. If I didn’t do that, they wouldn’t be able to take on some of the worse storms that crop up around Ponyville from time to time. If they didn’t have the power or endurance, they could have lost their lives fighting a tornado or wildfire. The clouds there are harder to move, being made of an untamed magic from the Everfree, so it definitely wore them down quite a bit. We argued and… I exploded. Simple as that.” Rainbow explained.

Pinkie looked sad that her friend was sad, and quickly dragged Rainbow out of the conversation by booping the prismatic mare’s nose and shouting “YOU’RE IT!!”

Their antics continued, seemingly undeterred by what Rainbow Dash had confessed.

Those poor dears… Well, I think it all worked out in the end!

It was optimistic to think, but Pinkie and Rainbow had gotten to talking again at least. Maybe they would look past their differences and try anew?

If that time comes, I do hope they clue us in. I have no doubt that Rainbow would think it “uncool” to have her friends doting over her and her marefriend.

I smiled and resumed examining the crystal of the castle. I liked how it gleamed, but was unsure of how to get material from it without damaging the tree.

Perhaps there’s …

“So, you’ve been hearing a voice that has been trying to do what Discord did when he returned the first time?” Twilight summed up from across the table she summoned for us to have tea on.

Flavor ain’t bad. Not a tea drinker maself, but wouldn’t mind if ah had this every now and again.

Tea? Please. It’s a drug you ponies self-administer to make yourselves feel in control. You. Are. Not. You will never be in control of what happens, and that will haunt you when you lose your friends. Your family. I should know, Apple.

Even if that’s whas goin’ on here, ah need to talk with ‘em. Tell em the truth. And YOU are outa line, mister.

Least ah could tell it was a masculine voice tha’ seemed to be hauntin’ me. One I’d never heard before, and hoped never to hear again.

“Twilight, what are you thinking about?” Flutters asked, snapping me out of a stupor I wasn’t aware that I was in.

I noticed Twilight had closed her eyes. I could see her eyes movement below the eyelid, and she was clearly deep in thought.

“This might be one of Celestia’s, Luna’s, or Terra’s original students.” She finally let out.

‘Shy and ah cocked our heads.

“Original? How long ago was that?” Fluttershy asked.

Twilight was silent.

“I’d like to answer that, but I can’t.” Before we could argue, she cut us off. “Again, I want to answer. But I’ve made a deal with an… entity… that I wouldn’t tell any of you their names or anything about them. I know it’s hypocritical of me, but I can do other things. Though I can't give you information, I can still help..”

Lying and holding secrets like her mentor. The APPLE doesn’t fall far from the TREE now does it APPLEjack. And, if that’s the case then your sister… well, I don’t envy her fate. Nor your brother's.

Ah could practically feel the face of whatever was speakin’ grin maliciously.

“Applejack, you feel cold.” ‘Shy said worriedly. “Are… are you okay?”

I stepped back from the table, feeling my eyes burning and panic setting in.

Ah… can’t think bout that jus yet. Ah need to hold out. Fer them. Jus… keep… it….

Then my world exploded with cyan and white.

A boom came from the other room, and boy was I shaking like crazy. I had jitters all over my body, but not like the one when I predicted the doozy.

This wasn’t a new set of jitters either. It was one I had felt constantly throughout my childhood.

Ignoring Rarity and Dashie, I barged in to find… snow?

Looking around, I felt like I was in that novel, The Lion, the Queen, and the Wardrobe of the Narnia series. But deep inside the transformed room, I could feel something that made my chilled skin tingle with anticipation and dread.

Dashie and Rarity came in behind me, but I couldn’t focus on them. I needed to get to the others.

I began running through where the room had been moments ago, and was reminded that I couldn’t shimmy space like I usually did.

So, guess I’ve gotta lean on my other skills. Baking and engineering.

As I ran, I bucked a snowball above me as hard as I could. As the snow was relatively flat, I didn’t have to worry about running into anything. I watched the snowball fly while running, and it hit an invisible barrier in the sky, about the height of Twilight's old tree if I trusted my Pinkie-ness.

Okay. So, Twilight must have put up this room to stop Applejack from exploding ice magic or something and now they’re trying to defuse the bomb.

Running through the snow, my only guide was the feeling of dread. It led me right to Twilight, who was straining to cast a spell of some kind.

Beside her was Fluttershy, who was ramming into a blue ball of ice.

Well, she was trying to ram it, but she wasn’t really hurting it per se. It was like a nudge on a mountain, but she was still trying.

I reached into my mane, hoping that that still worked. I grabbed out a cupcake.

Wait wait wait. It works, but not what I need?! CURSE YOU SHARP CURRENT’S LAW!!

Bonus Chapter 1: Magic types

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Twilight stepped up to an oversized chalkboard. The chalkboard shifted colors every few seconds, changing to every color of the rainbow.

It took a second, but she was in a place full of countless of those.

“So, I presume you would like to hear more about our world, yes?” She asked nobody in particular.

At least, that’s what it seemed like.

“Look, here you don’t have to be scared of being found out, and I’ll forget you’re even here when it’s not my turn to lecture.” She spoke to you.

Yep.

It is indeed one of these

Twilight seemed satisfied as the rift that allowed you to watch and hear her moves slightly closer to the chalkboard. On the chalkboard is a bunch of boxes with writing in them*1.

“Magic, the crux of our civilizations. Yet a vague and arbitrary idea when groups of humans try to make universal laws. So, let’s get a couple things about magic straight, shall we?

Now, the most basic form of magic is the thaum. It’s comparable to the atom-” She cut off for a second while a whimsical Pink Pony whispered something in her ear “And yes, we have magic to detect what you call the ‘Elements of the Periodic Table’. just as atoms build molecules, different types of thaums combine with each other to form compound magic.

Unicorns were not the first to find out about the thaum. It was actually a pair of Earth Pony scientists who made a wager. One blew up half of a mountain to find the thaum, and the other accidentally made a kind of sunscreen

Magic has different forms depending on its elemental signature. The 8 that we know of are Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Death, Life, Order, and Chaos.

The four basic elements, you humans have an idea of. Fire is heat, though it can sometimes manifest as pure energy. Air works the same way. Water is all forms, though blood control is both illegal and a form of Life magic. Earth magic works with metal, earth, and gems, but dabbles into shadow magic.

Now, I hear your heads turning, as how could chaos and order really fit into this idea?

Well, Chaos and order often have similar effects in creatures, even with their opposing nature. One causes awareness of events, enhancing cause-and-effect reasoning. This has to added benefit of allowing ponies like Pinkie-” A party pony jumps through a window, with the window intact, and waves, “to time things just right.”

“That’s partly how my Pinkie Sense works!” the pink party pony said, pausing the performance. Said pony then jumped out of the window and ran off.

“Yep.” The purple scholar deadpanned.

“Anyhow, Chaos magic is, well, random and chaotic. With some ponies, it allows them to grasp others better, in other situations it allows the understanding of complex equations that even I have difficulty with.

You might think that death is some sort of terrible element, one that is shunned, but it really isn’t. On top of being a natural element that nopony has control over, it is a natural element. Necromancy isn’t all that can be achieved, there’s also Spirimancy and Shadowmancy. Magic study of spirits and shadows, respectively. There are earth ponies with death, and they can become stronger by taking some of the magic from the life around them. Besides some predators, Death magic isn’t all that dangerous.

Now the Griffons, that’s a different story. They are able to consume the souls of the recently departed to both further their lifespans and gain more magical strength. It’s unethical unless in times of war, but it’s an ability they have. Dragons, likewise, can travel vast distances via Shadowmancy. It’s unclear what else they can do, as dragons are generally one of the four base elements.

Life magic isn’t just what it sounds like. Yes it allows the subtle and not-so-subtle control of plants and fauna, but it also gives way to Lumomancy, or light magic. It can give immunity or resistance to poison, and allow creatures to imbue others with magic to strengthen them.

Having two opposite types of magic is especially rare, especially if they are the only two elements in their Thaumatic Profile. Having all four of the basic elements or sub-elements is even rarer, so rare it has happened two or three times in RECORDED HISTORY.

If any have any questions of magic, please ask!"

Bonus Chapter 2: Magic through a Tomato

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Once again, a screen floats down and looks upon the world of Equus. This time, however, it seems to be looking down on Ponyville from a nearby hill. Twilight is standing on the hill, horn alight with magic, as she writes the names of the eight elements on the board in a circle. Fire is on the top, Earth the left, Water the bottom, and Air the right. Between Fire and Air is Chaos, Water and Earth Order. Between Earth and Fire is Death, opposite of it is Life. In the middle, with lines stretching out to each of the elements, lies one word: Teleportation.

“After last time, you might be wondering the minute differences between the types of magic, so I thought I would demonstrate the differences through something each type of magic has in common. That is, teleportation.

What do we know about magic thus far? All kinds of magic are made of Thaums, yes, but how are they influenced to make spells, and how do they influence the kinds of spells that can be made?

Well, as Teleportation is a universal spell, I can show you different types of teleportation.

First is displacement teleportation, which is a type of Air magic. It works by focusing on a place and switching where they are in the fabric of the universe. This is not the only type of teleportation capable of this, but it is, by far, the most efficient. By switching where the universe perceives me, my only limit is how precisely I can cast, and knowing the distance which I have to teleport.

It is for this reason that I was not able to teleport out of the cave, As I didn’t know how far I was from the service, I didn’t know how far I needed to teleport. Too much and I could have fallen out of the sky in exhaustion. Too low and I could have gotten fused with the earth around me.”

Twilight draws an image of a pony in a circle with a double sided arrow leading to another circle to the right of the word ‘Air’.

“Earth magic, on the other hoof, allows you to phase through most solid objects as long as you have enough magic to phase through them. It’s the equivalent of making yourself invisible to the universe. It, of course, has its limits. If you don’t have enough magic to make it to somewhere open, you could fuse with the earth. It is also horribly inefficient in comparison to Air teleportation.

Ponies do use this type of magic, though usually only with large objects that have massive amounts of thaumatic energy stored inside. Our train systems, for example, use this instead of tunnels, to phase the train and passengers through mountains that would make travel to Appleoosa or the Crystal Empire impossible.

The Canterlot railway was built before said storage could be made, however. It was generally agreed that the system they had, while inefficient, gave sightseers and tourists something to look at, so the tunnels remain.”

To the left of earth, Twilight draws a black box with a pony silhouette on both sides, an arrow connecting them.

“Fire teleportation is something you all have seen before. It’s how Spike delivers his letters! The way it works is that there is a system of mail that revolves around the burning of letters and mail, transporting it through the two fires. Spike is a little special, as he’s able to send letters without the need of a middlemare, but only to Celestia’s room. He and her room’s fire are connected by magic, and has been since he asked us to cast the spell on him.

Ponies have been capable of using fire to teleport themselves without the need of a middlemare since Starswirl came up with the equations to do so some nine hundred years ago. The way the spell works is it connects the realm of Equestria to a thaumatic equivalent to a ‘fire realm’, and one can see a certain amount of flames from this realm. The amount they can see depends on the distance they can see, which is determined by how much magic they initially put into the spell.

This is the fastest way of teleportation, though it is less efficient than simply swapping locations, as the user momentarily slows time until they choose their location. It is possible that they get stuck if they wait too long, but it is so unheard of that a pony with the knowledge and skill to teleport would be dumb enough to stay too long. There are just too many warnings, like the degradation of fires able to be viewed.”

Above Fire, Twilight draws two flames, an arrow between the flames, and a pony walking through the flames.

“Water is similar to fire in the sense that it speeds up time, but it technically isn’t teleportation. The user of Water-style teleportation fuses with the water and speeds up to points even Rainbow Dash couldn’t comprehend, then emerges in a new location. Most casters gain an intimate knowledge of everything in the water at a certain range. This is the least efficient teleportation technique by far, but the one that old navies used to use to get the drop on enemy ships.”

Professor Sparkle then draws a pony liquifying in one location, then solidifying in another below ‘Water’

“Life and Death are intimately close in their teleportation methods. Life allows one to teleport through the roots of any plant or fungus. It allows one to travel miles along fungal roots, but is almost as inefficient as Water teleportation in casting power required. Life also allows ponies to teleport using light if they are powerful enough. Anywhere there is light, they can both duck into and emerge to teleport, similar to Fire teleportation. Death allows one to teleport through Shadows, similar to Life teleportation, or through paths that spirits make. The former is only exceeded in efficiency by Air teleportation, and the latter restricts the user to spirits’ whims.”

Next to Death, she draws a moon casting a shadow on a pony silhouette and shaky lines traveling every which way.

Below Life, she draws the sun casting light on a pony silhouette, as well as a pony walking through one tree and emerging from another.

“Teleportation through Order and Chaos are both tricky, as one requires absolute precision, while the other hasn’t been done successfully since Luna’s banishment. Luna has supplied me with the knowledge that it requires one to be free of emotion, as one stray thought can send a pony off course. Luna has told me that it feels like being everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

Order, while requiring a precision even I can’t reach yet, is powerful enough to move planets and stars with ease. It requires the use of runes and magic circles that are so condensed that they risk tearing themselves apart if even one thaum is out of place. This is how the Unicorns might have moved the sun before Celestia, but that is only speculation. This is also capable of causing permanent wormholes that stay relative to gravitational objects, but testing for that is inconclusive.”

Next to chaos, she draws a pony that seems to be fading away, and by order she draws three runes.

“The runes I drew represent ‘Order’, ‘Balance’, and ‘Chaos’, in that order. They are the building blocks of Order’s teleportation spell.” Twilight adds.

“Well, today’s lecture is over. Hopefully the author decides to write more on the actual chapter, and not introduce everything in our world via me. I mean, my throat is starting to feel a little sore just from this lecture!”

Hope, Imagination, Magic, and Love

by MuffinPonyPoser

Normalcy

Pandemonium

The Door

Transparent Deception

Separation

2.6: Return?

2.7: Understanding

2.8: Beginnings?

Bonus Chapter 1: Magic types

Bonus Chapter 2: Magic through a Tomato