Friendship is Magic

My name is Twilight Sparkle.  My parents, my little brother, Spike, and I just recently moved to the beautiful town of Ponyville.  Spike and I aren't the only children, but Celeste, my older sister, and Shining, my older brother, no longer live with us. Shining is a captain in the Army, while Celeste is an accomplished archeologist, searching the world for ancient relics.

When my parents were planning on moving from our hometown of Canterlot, it was Celeste who suggested Ponyville, citing the low crime rate and excellent education system.  Celeste and I are very close and video chat at least once a week.  Lately, she's been pushing me to not spend so much time with my nose buried in “dusty old books” and to make some friends.

And so that is how I got to where I find myself today, standing just outside the front gate of Ponyville Secondary School.  I wish I could say I was excited, but I'd be lying.  I rather preferred to keep my head down, go to class, and spend my free time in the library, but Celeste wanted me to make friends, and when she wanted something, she could be persistent.  As my dad would say, she was as bad as a terrier with a rat in its mouth.  I suppose that's what makes her such a good archeologist.

With a sigh, I stepped through the gate and into the school's courtyard, where kids of all ages, sizes, and features were milling about, socializing before the first bell.  Idly, I wondered which would want to be my friends.  This was my first year here.  I didn't feel confident enough to start socializing right away and I knew it would be a while before I did.  Oh well, Celeste would just have to wait.

A rather energetic girl with ridiculously pink hair bounded past me, humming merrily as she skipped across the courtyard but stopped and turned suddenly when she noticed me.  She leaned in close, forcing me to lean away, as she studied me.

“Er...hello?”  I tried.

The girl gasped so suddenly and deeply that I was afraid she'd suck the air from my lungs.  She gripped my hand and began to shake it wildly, bouncing with excitement as she did so.  Obviously, she was too excited to notice how tight her grip was, or, for that matter, my discomfort.

“Oh my gosh, are you new here?  Of course you're new here.  I don't know you and I know everybody at this school!  My name's Pinkie Pie. What's yours?”

The girl spoke so quickly that I only understood about a third of what she said, but I caught enough to understand what she wanted. “My name is Twilight Sparkle.”

Immediately, my hand was seized for another round of ferocious shaking. “Ooooo, nice to meet you, Twilight.  Welcome to Ponyville.  I'm sure we'll be good friends in no time at all.  Oh, I know.  I'm gonna throw a big ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party for you at my house this weekend.  Oh, it'll be so much fun and I'll invite everybody.  Won't that be nice?  Eh?  Eh?”

I bit my lip nervously. “Sure, I guess.  But, I don't really like loud parties.  I much prefer nice quiet places.”

Pinkie giggled as if I just told a joke. “That's silly.  What kind of party would you have in a quiet place?  A boring kind, that's what.  I Pinkie Promise, Twilight, that, with this party, you'll make lots of friends and won't be a sad and lonely girl with no friends, but a happy one with so many friends you won't have time for them all.”

Does she ever stop talking, I wondered to myself.

I caught movement out of the corner of my eye and glanced up just in time to see a rainbow-colored streak bowl right through Pinkie and I and skid to a stop a short distance away.  The streak was a tiny athletic girl with shaggy hair of rainbow hues.

“Yes!”  the girl crowed. “I did it!  Finally, I made it to school on time!”

I picked myself up from the ground and helped Pinkie to her feet.  “Why don't you watch where you're going?”  I growled at the rainbow-haired girl, who was arrogantly buffing her nails against her yellow uniform vest.

The girl paused in her impromptu manicure to spare me a glance before flicking her hand in a shooing gesture. “Be quiet, little girl.”

“Little?  Look who's talking, short stuff.”

It was rainbow-hair's turn to get knocked down as a tall, powerfully-built blonde wearing a stetson hat slammed into her, strode across her back, and continued on without breaking her pace or looking up from the book she was reading.

“Comin' through,” the blonde muttered as she continued on.

Rainbow-hair jumped back to her feet. “Why don't you watch where you're going?” she screamed at the blonde's back, saying what I just said nearly word for word.

The blonde turned and lowered her book.  For a moment, I feared a scuffle that Rainbow-hair had no hope of winning, but the blonde merely shielded her eyes with a hand and squinted, pointedly looking everywhere except at Rainbow-hair.  Finally, she frowned in feigned confusion, grunted, and returned to her book as she resumed her trek to the door.  “Nobody there,” she muttered to herself.

Rainbow-hair was incensed at this. “Nobody? Why I...you...when I...how dare you?”

She was immediately shoved aside again as a girl with short chestnut hair bellowed, “Make way for our class president, Rarity!”

A glamorous girl with long, deep purple hair strode confidently across the courtyard, accompanied by an entourage of at least half a dozen others.  The girl was obviously very popular and took a great deal of pride in her appearance.  The scarf wrapped over her shoulders and trailing out behind her matched her hair perfectly.  The bracelet on her left wrist matched her earrings, and her makeup was tastefully applied, noticeable but not heavy.

She clapped her hands twice, getting the attention of everyone in the courtyard. “Everyone, come now.  It's time for school.  Let's all have a glorious day here at Ponyville Secondary.”

“Who's that?” I asked

“That's Rarity Belle.  She's the class president and one of the most popular girls in school.  She's really into fashion.”

“I noticed,” I muttered as Rarity strode past, a pleasant scent of lavender trailing in her wake.

“What are you doing down there, Rainbow?”

I turned to find a willowy girl with soft, pinkish-white hair standing next to me.  Her sudden appearance startled me as I hadn't noticed her approach.  She gave me a shy glance and mumbled an apology before returning her attention to the appropriately named Rainbow.

“Nothing.  Absolutely nothing, Fluttershy,” Rainbow said as she picked herself up and dusted off her uniform skirt.

“C'mon.  Let's get to class.”

“Oh, um...okay.”

This was one shy girl.

Pinkie tugged on my blouse sleeve as the bell rang. “See you in class, Twilight.”

“Pinkie, wait for me!”

x----x

I opened the door to my apartment—well, my parents' apartment—and trudged in with a sigh.  Pinkie had spent the entire day with me and, to be honest, I had found her constant babbling to be a bit tiring.  It was all I could do to get away from her during my walk home so that I could have some peace and quiet.  I was seriously beginning to doubt whether or not I even wanted her as a friend.

I opened the door to my bedroom and stopped short. “Spike?”

My brother, in all of his dorky, irritating glory, was sitting in my room, at my desk, in my chair, at my computer.  He leaned back. “H-hey, Twi.”

“Why are you in my room?”  I growled.

Spike grabbed a brown cardboard box. “I was dropping this off.  You got a package from Celeste.”

I let out a girlish squeal of excitement. “Yay!  It came!”

Celeste was in the habit of sending any interesting, but unimportant artifacts and souvenirs she happened to come across in her travels, to me.  I had a wide collection of rubbings from ancient temple walls, small gems gathered from the interiors of sarcophagi, and even a short sword that, according to Celeste, was carried by one of Columbus's men on their journey to the New World.

“You were expecting this?”  Spike asked.

“Celeste emailed me last week to let me know she had sent it.  She figured it would arrive by today.”  My eyes narrowed as I glared at my brother. “You didn't open it, did you?”

“No way!”  he cried, holding up his hands in surrender.  “Look, the tape hasn't been cut.  It's still sealed and everything.”

I saw that he was telling the truth.  The tape had not been cut.  Spike had moved from the desk chair and was sitting next to me on the bed.

“You may leave now,”  I told him.

“Sure thing.  Just as soon as I see what's inside the box Celeste sent.”

“Spike?”

“Yeah, Twi?”

“GET OUT OF MY ROOM!”

x------x

I decided to take a shower and change out of my uniform before opening the package.  I made sure to lock it in my closet to keep Spike out of it.  Lead me not into temptation and all that.  Luckily for him, he hadn't been able to get at it.  I took the package out and, with a letter opener, slit the tape.  Resting just under a layer of packing peanuts was a book.

“I love books.”  I turned it over and read the spine aloud. “The Magic of Harmony.  What is this?”  Under the book was a circular wooden mold and, set in the mold were six small gems.  Each gem was set in a different shape: a star burst, a diamond, a bolt of lightning, a balloon, an apple, and a butterfly.  Paper rustled and I turned the mold over to find a note taped to the back: For you and your friends.  – C.

“No friends yet, sis,” I muttered.  When had Celeste gotten onto this friendship kick of hers?

I could see the edge of something purple just beneath another layer of packing.  Curious, I reached in to find a purple headband decorated with a unicorn's horn.

“How cute.”  Granted, at fourteen, I was getting to be a bit old for such things, but Celeste had been thoughtful enough to send it to me and I was touched.  This, too, had a note on it: Wear so you may know its secrets - C.

What was with Celeste and these notes?

I lowered the band onto my head and glanced at my reflection in the mirror on the door.  The plum color perfectly matched my nightgown, along with a sizable portion of my preferred wardrobe.  There was no denying it was adorable.

I felt something suddenly swell up within me, something I hadn't even known was there before.  A bright light flashed and my vision went dark.

When I awoke, I was lying on my side.  An opaque mist swirled around me through air that was neither cold nor hot.  I pushed myself up on my arms, trying to see if there was anything familiar nearby.  There was nothing.  The mist stretched in all directions, into a gray darkness that surrounded my immediate location.  At first, I thought Spike had hidden me somewhere in the apartment in a poor excuse of a prank, but that idea evaporated the moment I remembered that we didn't own a fog machine, nor did we have a space this large in the apartment.

“H-hello?” I called out. “Is anybody out there?”

There was a sharp noise that sounded familiar, but I couldn't quite place it.  Finally, I realized that the sound I was hearing was the clopping of hooves, and they were coming closer.

A pony slowly materialized from the mist.  She was tall, taller than me, and her mane and tail seemed to flow with iridescent pinks, greens, and blues.  Her coat was whiter than snow, and her massive white wings extended before flapping, giving off a low thump and stirring the mist, as if she wished to show off.

From her shoes to her crown, she was decorated in gold, giving her a regal appearance.  When she was fully revealed, I noticed the long white horn that jutted from her forehead.  This gave me a sense of trepidation, but the look in her eyes belied that, an expression I could only describe as...kindness.

“Ooh, pretty,”  I gasped as I rolled to my knees.  The pony stopped right before me, a mere arm's-length away, and lowered herself to my height, settling onto the ground.

“Aren't you beautiful,”  I whispered in awe as I tentatively raised my hand and began stroking her velvety soft muzzle.  The pony's eyes closed lazily and she nickered in pleasure.  “What are you?”

“I am a piece of a spirit bound to the horn you wear.  I belong to the alicorn Celestia,”  the pony replied.

With a gasp, I pulled my hand back.  This pony had spoken.  Ponies couldn't speak.  It went against the laws of nature.  I wondered if something had been in the cafeteria food I had for lunch.  Was there some sort of mold growing back in the school's kitchens?  Should I tell somebody?  Who would I tell?  Rarity?  The school board?  The health department?

The pony smiled warmly. “Do not worry, Twilight Sparkle.  You have nothing to fear from me.  I am here to help you.”

“Help me with what?”

“Reaching your full potential,” the pony replied mysteriously.

I blinked. “I'm not sure I follow.”

“Then I shall explain. There are a myriad of alternate dimensions. One of these is the realm of Equestria.  It was realm inhabited by magical ponies, creatures of mythology, and other enlightened beings.  This spirit's host, Celestia, ruled over them alongside her sister, Luna.  Celestia ruled the day while Luna's charge was the night.  Together, they created perfect Harmony.  Unfortunately, that is all this piece knows regarding that era.”

“That's it?”  I asked.

“As I said before, I am merely a tiny piece of Celestia's spirit, bound to the horn you now possess.”

I touched the toy tiara...horn...still sitting on my head.  My fingers brushed the warm plastic that no longer felt like plastic.  It was hard and warm, like bone.

“I don't understand,” I finally said. “Why me?  Why are you telling me this?”

“You possess the spirit of one of the Elements of Harmony.  It allowed me to reach out to you.”

“Elements of Harmony?”

“A force of great power composed of six essences:  Honesty, Generosity, Laughter, Kindness, Loyalty, and yours, Magic.  These Elements were used to bring an end to the reign of the Chaotic One, a creature of mischief, misery, and evil.  This is why I've appeared to you, Twilight Sparkle. You've been chosen to protect your world from a terrible menace.”

“I...what?!  Surely you're kidding.  I can't be some mighty defender of an entire planet.  I'm only fourteen.  I eat too much pie and worry about school assignments and get zits.  There's got to be somebody better than me.”  I grabbed the horn and tried to pull it off but it was stuck tight.  In fact, pulling on the horn actually hurt. A lot.

“You're right,” the pony replied. “You can't do it alone.  Six jewels were present with your horn, were they not?”

I nodded.

“Excellent.  These six jewels represent the Elements themselves.  One is for you, Magic Bearer, while the other five belong to the Bearers of Honesty, Loyalty, Laughter, Kindness, and Generosity.  Your task is to find those in possession of the spirits of those Elements.”

“But why are we the ones who must protect the world?”

The pony sighed. “Only the real Celestia knows.  Centuries ago, she sent them into this world along with two prophecies.”

“Prophecies?”

“'On the blood moon, she who will exact the vengeance of the exiled princess will return.'  However, it is the second prophecy that holds the most significance:  'To forewarn the coming of the Harbinger of Chaos, Hate, and Discord, Night will devour the Day and the Sun and Moon shall become one.  All that he sets his eyes upon will fall to despair and Disharmony.'  After giving these two prophecies, the Princess Celestia vanished, to be reborn in this world as a human.”

“And which human would Princess Celestia be reborn as?”

“The one who retrieved the Elements from their place of rest.”

But it was Celeste who extracted the jewels from the old ruins.  It was Celeste who sent them to me, along with the horn and book.  My eyes widened as the realization struck me.  It was Celeste.  She was Celestia's reincarnation.

My head began to pound as the horn began to glow.  I pressed my hands to my eyes as my knees buckled and I sank to the ground.

“Remember.” The pony's voice was distant now. “You and you alone must be the one to discover the other five Element Bearers.”

“No, Celestia, don't leave!  I have so many more questions!”

“'No, Celestia, don't leave'?  Even your dreams are weird.”

My headache vanished as my eyes snapped open.  I stared up at the ceiling of my bedroom, lying on my back on my bed.  I turned my head to see my dorky brother sitting, once again, in my office chair with a dorky grin on his face.  Had the little creep been watching me sleep?

Ewww!

“GET OUT OF MY ROOM!”

x----x

The young woman stared north, silhouetted against the rising moon.  Her dark skin shone brightly in the moonlight and her light-blue hair fluttered in the breeze.

“Soon,” she said softly. “Soon, I shall exact my vengeance on those who shunned me in my past life.  Soon, they shall feel my wrath.  Especially you, Celestia.”