Friendship is Magic

I took my time walking to school the next morning.  I had thought that what had occurred with the spirit fragment the night before was a dream.  That changed when Celeste called me right after I had woken up.

“That was not a dream, Twilie,” Celeste had said. “You really did speak with the spirit fragment of Celestia and travel to another dimension.  But I'll explain how another time.”  Celeste shook her long shaggy hair out of her eyes and smiled.  “I'm dying to know: how did your first day of school go?  Did you make any new friends?”

I rolled my eyes.  Again with the friendship. “Celeste, I know how important it is that I make friends, but you know that I'm not the most sociable girl.”

“Did you talk to anyone, at least?”

“Well, I did meet this one girl, Pinkie, but she was really tiring to be around.  She couldn't stop laughing and wouldn't leave me alone.”  Even I thought that sounded a little whiny.

“Twilight, honey, you should never reject somebody who genuinely wants to be your friend.  Especially if they want to make you happy.”

I sighed and nodded. “Okay.  I'll try.”

“Good girl.  Now, I have to go, but use the headband again tonight.  Celestia will teach you to how to manipulate your spiritual energy.  In the meantime, I'll read through the book I found in the ruins.  The one you have is a copy.  It's an archaic language and I've really only translated the title.  I'll send you more as I translate it into something you can read.  As far as I can tell, it contains spells you can use once you master your magic.”

I wondered if I could actually use magic as I rounded the corner and the front gate of the school came into sight.  And right there, waiting for me at the gate, was Pinkie.

I let out a quiet groan.  I was tired from my meeting with Celestia and I didn't think I could deal with Pinkie’s babbling today.  I sneaked around behind her, trying to be as quiet as possible.  Fortunately, the noise from the students in the courtyard masked my own.

“It's getting late,” Pinkie muttered to herself. “School's going to start soon and Twilight's not here.  I wonder where she could be.”

I knew it.  She was looking for me.

As soon as I felt I was at a safe distance, I bolted.  I broke into a sprint and fled for the doors.  I was moving so fast that I almost didn't notice the tall powerfully-built blonde in my path.  I locked up my legs, trying to stop as quickly as possible.  I half-expected her to step aside or, at least, turn to face me.  She didn't even flinch.

“Sorry.  I didn't notice you,” I apologized.

The blonde gave a noncommittal grunt.  I blinked.  She hadn't even looked up from her book.  Maybe she hadn't heard me.  I blinked as I took in her appearance.  She looked familiar.  I realized she was the girl who had knocked over that Rainbow girl yesterday.

I donned my best smile and held out my hand. “Hi.  My name is Twilight Sparkle and I—”

“Don't care,” the blonde replied before walking away.

“That was rude,” I grumbled. “Who is that?  What's her deal?”

“That's Applejack. We have a few classes together.  She just moved into the district last month.  She doesn't speak to anybody so nobody knows why she's always so serious.”

I nearly leaped from my skin as Pinkie appeared right next to me. “Where did you come from?”

Pinkie giggled. “Silly, I was standing right out front.  I have no idea how you could have missed me.”

“Yeah.  I guess I was just distracted or something.”  I let out my own nervous laugh.

It seems Pinkie could sense my mood or something.  She was quieter than usual, which really wasn't saying much, and she seemed somewhat reserved.  Apparently something was bothering her, but, since I didn't know her that well, I thought I would give her some space and let her approach me if she wanted my help.

As we were walking from the school that evening, Pinkie fished a lollipop from her bag. “You want one?”  she offered as she unwrapped the sweet.

“No, thanks.”

“Are you sure?  I have plenty.”  She opened her school bag and displayed a number of the candies.

“Now I know why you're so hyper.”

We continued to walk in silence for a moment before Pinkie spoke again.

“Do you mind if I ask you a question?”

“Not at all.”

“Do I bother you?”

The question caught me unawares.  I was so sure that Pinkie lived in her own little world and only joined us here in reality for a visit. “Why do you ask?”

Her ever-present smile faded slightly and her entire composure sagged, as if somebody had let a little bit of air out. “It's just that...sometimes, people don't like to be around me.  They say it's because of my personality.”

“Really?  I thought you'd have lots of friends.  Anyways, if they don't like your personality, why don't you change it?”

Pinkie giggled softly. “Because it's who I am.  I like to be happy and to laugh and I want others to be laughing and happy too.”

Suddenly, I remembered Celeste's words from this morning: never reject somebody who genuinely wants to be your friend. Especially if they want to make you happy.  I threw an arm around Pinkie's shoulders and squeezed. “You don't bother me, Pinkie.  I've never been very sociable and it's hard for me.  That's all.  It's not your fault at all.”

Her mood improved instantly as her grin returned, bigger than ever.  “Thanks, Twilight.  Oh, can I stay at your house tonight?  I have a super-hard problem that I need your help with.”

I was startled a bit by the question. “What?  Tonight?”  I was supposed to meet with Princess Celestia again, but I know Celeste wanted me to make friends. I smiled. “Sure.  Why not?”

Pinkie let out a squeal and she wrapped her arms around me and squeezed.  I swear I heard my spine pop in several places.

x----x

“Mom!”  I called out as Pinkie and I entered the apartment.  “Dad!  Are you here?  I've brought a fri...a classmate.”

Spike wandered in from the living room. “They went shopping, Twi.  They should be back later.”

I rolled my eyes. “I swear, you'd think we lived alone.  Pinkie, this is my brother Spike.”

Pinkie immediately grabbed him in a death hug. “Oh my gosh!  He's so cute!  How are you?”

“F...fine.”  He groaned as he squirmed in her arms.

I grabbed her wrists and pried her arms open, allowing him to slip away.

Pinkie had the decency to look embarrassed. “Sorry. I can get a little overenthusiastic.”

“I noticed.  C'mon, let's go to my room and talk.”

“Can I use your computer?”  Spike asked.

I sighed and rolled my eyes. “I guess.”

I took a seat in the office chair while Pinkie perched on the bed, her legs folded over the foot board.  Spike sat with his back to both of us, my laptop open on his lap, reading through his FanFiction account.

“Okay, Pinkie, what's the problem?  Math?”

She shook her head. “Nope, I'm super-good at math.”

“English, then?”

“Nuh-uh.”

“Science?”

“Nopey-dopey.”

“History?”

“No.”

“What, then?”

“I need help picking the music for your party.  I was thinking about getting that girl, Vinyl, from school.   She's really good.”

“I haven't met her,” I replied.

“You're planning a party for Twilight?” asked Spike, looking up.

Pinkie leaned her head back and arched her back to face my brother. “Yep.”

“Can I come?”

Pinkie giggled. “Sure.  The more the merrier.”

I let out an annoyed growl.  I had passed up learning magic from Celestia for this?

A chill passed through me and I shivered.  “Is anybody else chilly?”

Neither Pinkie nor Spike moved.

“Hello?”

Their expressions were frozen, their bodies were stiff.  I grabbed Pinkie's legs and tried to push them down but only succeeded in pushing myself up.

“What is this?”

The world around me seemed to flicker.  I was weightless for a moment before I found myself outside.  I looked around, taking in my surroundings, and recognized where I was.  This was a park not too far from the apartment.  Pinkie and I had passed it on our way home.

“How did I get here?”

“Good evening.”

I looked up and saw a young woman with dark skin and midnight blue hair perched on a trellis above me.

“Who are you?” I asked.

The woman smiled in a way that sent a chill down my spine. “I have many names.  You may call me Luna.  I sensed your aura.  Your spiritual energy has recently awakened.”

“I don't know what you're talking about,”  I replied nervously.

“Fine, I'll put it in layman's terms.  I knew you'd be the only one not affected by my paralysis spell.  This is only possible if your spiritual energy has been recently awoken.  I know you're a Bearer of an Element of Harmony.”

I looked away.  “I don't know what you're talking about.”

Luna smirked. “Obviously your Element isn't Honesty.  I can tell your aura was recently awoken.  That's only possible if it was triggered by someone...or something.”

I thought back to the headband that transported me to the dimension where Celestia resided.

“Only the Element Bearers are able to control their spiritual energy without prior preparation.”

“So...you're an Element Bearer as well?”

Luna's smirk widened as she was surrounded by a shimmering blue aura.  Dark wings spread from her back as she lifted into the air. “Insolent child!  I am far greater than any mere Element Bearer.  I am the reincarnation of the Alicorn Princess, Luna!”

x----x

In Twilight's closet, inside of a brown cardboard box, one of the Element gems began to glow.  A mark, the shape of a blue balloon, began to glow in sympathy right over Pinkie's “Third Eye.”

Pinkie blinked and straightened.  She looked around as she hopped off of the bed. “Twilight?  Where'd you go?” She turned to Spike. “Where's your sister?” She bent low to inspect the motionless, still-grinning boy.  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of light. “What was that?”

x----x

“If you know about the Elements, then you must know about Celestia,”  I pointed out.

“Celestia?  What do you know of her?”

“My sister, Celeste, is her reincarnation.”

Luna's eyes narrowed. “Where is she?”

“I don't really know.  She doesn't live here in the city.”

“Oh, what a shame.  I really wanted to meet her.”  Luna's hands closed into fists and began to glow. “So that I might harvest her sacred spiritual energy.  Unfortunately, I'll have to settle for yours, Element Bearer.”

I stood, frozen, as a massive ball of crackling energy grew over her head, feeding from the magical flow from her hands.  She lowered the ball, took careful aim, and released it.

Pinkie grabbed me in a flying tackle, sending us both to safety as the energy ball slammed into the ground, digging a crater before it dissipated.

“Pinkie, you saved my life!”

Pinkie sat up and scowled. “You're mean, Twilight.  You ran off to play with your friend and didn't even invite me or Spike.”

Play?  Was she really that dense?  “Does it look like we're playing?  She's trying to kill me!”

“Kill?  That doesn't sound very fun at all.”

“Really?”  I shot back. “You don't say.”

Pinkie patted my head. “Don't worry.  Your Auntie Pinkie Pie's gonna take care of this.”  She stood and marched over to Luna. “Excuse me.  Could you not kill Twilight?  She's my friend and I would feel really bad if she got hurt.”

Luna's eyes widened as she took Pinkie in.  Those dark eyes narrowed and her sadistic grin returned as comprehension dawned.  Without warning, she flung out a hand, casting a tendril of magic to wrap around Pinkie's neck.  Pinkie let out a strangled cry, gripping the tendril and pulling as it tightened.

“No!”  I screamed as I leaped to my feet and sprinted to Pinkie.  Luna's gaze shifted to me and she levitated Pinkie and flung her at me.  The impact knocked the wind out of me and we both flew a short distance before slamming into the dirt.  As gently as possible, I pushed her off of me and rolled her over.  She didn't appear to be hurt but she was unconscious and she let out a groan as I lifted her up and pulled her into a protective embrace.

“Why are you doing this?”  I cried up to Luna.  “We've never done anything to you.”

“Foolish girl.  Can you not see that she is also an Element Bearer?”

I looked down at the ridiculously pink-haired girl cradled in my arms.  This girl had gone out of her way to make me feel comfortable, to welcome me when no one else had even taken notice, and risked her life to save mine without asking anything in return.  To think, she was a Bearer of an Element of Harmony.

“She is more connected with her Element than you are,” Luna explained. “For that reason, and that alone, I will harvest her energy before I take yours.”

“No!”  I yelled. “She was the only one who approached me.  The only one who spoke to me.”  My expression twisted into a terrible snarl as I rose to my feet. “Pinkie is my friend!  I won't let you hurt her!”

A sudden sensation overwhelmed me as the magic I had barely been aware of exploded throughout my entire being.  I was aware of everything.  I could sense the auras of magic around me from the trees, the birds, and Pinkie.  And I could sense Luna's magic.  On my wrists appeared a pair of jeweled bracelets, one a dark royal purple and the other a bright pink.  I felt the weight of a helm settle on my brow, the purple unicorn horn just visible to me as it jutted out above my eyes.  The arms enclosed my ears and wrapped around the back of my head.  I suddenly felt stronger, tougher, more powerful.

“Interesting,” Luna murmured as she gazed down at me. “I never expected you to be able to harness your powers so quickly.  Face me, girl, and show me what you can really do.”