The Power of Potential

Morning in Ponyville commenced with a meeting in the library, with Pinkie Pie re-enacting her encounter with the mysterious mare. Books, quills, and parchment went everywhere as she bounced from one corner to another in her excitement.

“I’d never seen any pony move so fast!” squealed Pinkie Pie. Rainbow Dash glared at her. “And then she was like - poof - and then she had wings and then she took off like - whoosh!” She knocked over an inkwell.

“I just don’t get how she disappeared. It wasn't a fair race if you ask me,” Rainbow grumped. “I mean, maybe I could take it if she actually won a race fair and square, but she just totally dropped out of the sky.”

“Speaking of which, I believe I had a visit from this strange pony,” Rarity interjected. “She really must have dropped out of the sky to do as much damage as she did to my hedge. Quite startling, really. Only, she didn't have wings. She was a unicorn. Oh, yes, and she also tore her cloak just before she teleported. I took it into my shop for a better look, and really, I believe this is one fabric that I lack in my collection. It could be from Saddle Arabia for all I know.”

Applejack piped up. “Ah don’t know anythin’ about horns and wings, but Ah’ve caught her swipin’ apples from the trees on the edge of the south field. If she just asked me, Ah’d’ve gladly given her some. But stealin’, that don’t go over too well with the Apple family.”

Twilight was running after Pinkie Pie in an effort to save her freshly-organized shelves from total chaos and destruction, when Fluttershy unexpectedly spoke up. “A few days ago I saw smoke coming from the edge of the Everfree Forest. It didn't seem like it was spreading, so I asked some of my critter friends if they knew anything about it. Some squirrels told me it was campfire smoke coming from a cave. I wondered if that was where the new pony was staying, but I was too afraid to go find out.” She looked down and began scuffing the ground with her hoof.

“Let’s go check it out!” Rainbow Dash leaped in the air, wings extended, when she was unexpectedly stopped short with a yank on her tail.

“Slow down, sugar cube,” Applejack said through a mouthful of tail. “We still don’t know anythin’ about this pony. Twilight?”

All eyes turned toward Twilight. She was using her magic to balance a stack of books on the edge of a table while using her back leg to hold a figurine in place on a shelf. Pinkie Pie was giggling at an ink-covered Spike, who was looking very unimpressed with her. Twilight managed to put things back in place and thought.

“She seemed very mysterious. When she was in the library, she seemed really upset that I bothered her studying, but when she appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the room, she was injured and frightened. It’s like she had no choice but to let me help her, but she resented it all the same. I watched her horn disappear and she became like a regular Earth pony again.” Twilight turned thoughtful. “I suppose there’s nothing we can do except be friendly to her whenever we see her, but she clearly wants to be left alone. I guess we just wait and see what happens. In the meantime -” she glanced at Spike, still soaked in ink - “I need to give a baby dragon a bath.”

***

In an obscure tower in the Canterlot Castle, Princess Luna was looking through some old books on dreams. She had entered dreams before - with a fond smile she remembered Scootaloo - but this dream environment was too different for her to simply trot in blindly. It had been a long time since she had felt the need to consult references other than her own experience, so research was progressing rather slowly.

Hmm, moonstone gems are referred to quite often in this text. I wonder what they do...and what is this about blending magic? This book is even older than Equestria!

She frowned in concentration and used her horn to bring another stack of books closer. Parchment and quills were everywhere, and there was even an ink smudge on her nose. Unbeknownst to her, Princess Celestia watched her around the corner and smiled at her sister’s perseverance. She slipped away as quietly as she came, hoping for her sister’s success. As much as she wanted to help her, Celestia knew this was something Luna needed to do for herself.

***

Back in her cave, the strange white pony paced nervously. What had she gotten herself into? In the library, it seemed like the right thing to do to trust the purple unicorn, but now, she doubted herself. She had never permitted anypony to help her, and certainly never asked for it. Her…condition...made it impossible to mingle with regular ponies, and she found it easier to keep to herself. Now that she had actually interacted with the one pony who could possibly help her find what she was looking for, she was nervous. Perhaps she should sleep, and take comfort in the dreams...or maybe she should simply face the situation by marching straight to the library, purple librarian and all.

Thinking, she pulled a book out of her secret stash under a rock and went over her notes. She had kept a record of all the old pony tales she came across, especially the ones about Nightmare Moon or about the Elements of Harmony. However, from what she could tell, the Elements were all well and good and very powerful, but she needed older magic to solve her mysterious condition. The dreams told her so. She needed control over her aimless wandering in the dream world, as well as over her own body. It was only a year ago when things started to get really strange, but it felt like a lifetime ago.

It was time to face that annoyingly-inquisitive purple librarian and find some answers.