Even Harmony has an Opposite

Chapters

The Party
The Dark Cloud
The Diary
The Strike
The Everfree Trek
The Temple of Balance
The Trials
The Battle
Rage
The True Power of Magic
Who was it?
Triple P
The other side of Pinkie Pie
The Night
The Preludes of Chaos
The Encounter

The Party

The songs of the morning birds woke the unicorn. She turned her head to the window and saw brilliant sunlight shining through so brightly she had to cover her eyes. She yawned and rubbed her sleepy eyes. Her horn lit up in a pinkish aura as she climbed out of her bed. The comb on a nearby counter lit up and floated close by, and began to gently her mane. As soon as her mane was straight, she set the comb back onto the counter and took a glance in the mirror. Her hair was nice and orderly.

Satisfied, she called out, “Spike, I’m going for a walk! Watch the library while I’m gone, okay?” A young purple scaled dragon appeared around the corner and nodded. “Don’t worry Twilight! I’ll keep this place nice and tidy!” Twilight giggled at Spikes’ salute, and with that, left to go out.

It was a brilliant summers’ day, blue skies and cloudless for miles. A blue pegasus pony was flying around the sky doing all sorts of loops and rolls. Twilight gave a wave to catch the mares’ attention. The pegasus pony landed next to Twilight and tossed her rainbow mane to the side.

“Morning Twilight.” Twilight looked at the pegasus pony and smiled, ”Good morning Rainbow Dash. You did a beautiful job with the clouds today! They’re perfectly positioned!” Rainbow Dash smirked, ”You will not believe how often I don’t hear that! So, what’cha up to today?” Twilight turned back from the scenery and smiled, “Oh, nothing really, I was just going to go for a walk. Just a normal average everyd-”

A pink pony came out from between them. “Normal? How can things be normal when there’s a PARTY where everyone is INVITED?” Twilight turned to the pony. “Pinkie Pie, you really have to stop doing that.” Pinkie Pie turned to her. “Silly, why would I want to stop inviting ponies to parTAY? Its over at Applejacks’ barn right now!” And with that Pinkie Pie dashed off. Twilight and Rainbow Dash looked at each other. “Sounds like fun! Let’s go!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “I’ve nothing better to do, why not?” Twilight smiled a white smile and she made her way to Sweet Apple Acres.

Pinkie was not kidding when she said everyone was invited. The barn was not a very big building, but the population of Ponyville could fit under it’s roof. Twilight looked around. Streamers and balloons of all sorts and colors were around and under the rafters. Pinkie Pie approached Twilight, “Do you like it? I planned it myself!” She looked amazingly proud and satisfied. Twilight laughed, “You’ve really out done yourself this time!” There was a large disco ball hanging from the rafters throwing light everywhere. The white unicorn DJ P0N-3 had her own custom gold studded stand, and was spinning her beats out to the cheering crowd. The refreshment stand was headed by none other then professional baker Pony Joe and master chef Horte Cuisine. There was a variety of games and there was a large beach ball being bounced around.

A gorgeous white unicorn and an orange freckled pony walked up to her. “Hello Twilight, how are you this good day? Brilliant party I must say Pinkie.” Pinkie Pie grinned, “Thanks Rarity! How’s the punch Applejack?” The orange pony took a sip. “Ah’ve always been more of a cider pony, but this punch is amazin’ Pinkie!” Twilight looked around. “I guess Fluttershy didn’t come, did she?” Rarity shook her head. “Actually Twilight, Fluttershy is over there, talking with Pony Joe.” Twilight looked over to see the yellow pegasus talking to the large stallion in the bakers hat. Twilight giggled. ”I’m surprised she left her house, let alone come to a party.” Pinkie Pie smiled. “COME ON GIRLS! THIS PARTY ISN’T GONNA BE FUN WITHOUT US!” and they all joined the crowd.

The Dark Cloud

Twilight left the party with a huge grin and a light-head. She looked up to see a darkened sky. She chuckled and smiled, “That was definitely the longest party I’ve ever been to.” Just then another pony walked up to her with a confused look. “That can’t be right...” Twilight looked over. “Oh Mayor, you were there too? Look how late it is!” The mayor looked at her watch. “That’s just it, it’s seven at night.” “So?”, Twilight asked. The Mayor looked at her, “It’s the middle of the summer, it’s not supposed to get this dark this early.” Just then they heard a scream from right around town square. “Fluttershy?” Twilight and Mayor said in unison.

There was a large crowd around town hall when Twilight and the Mayor arrived. Twilight looked around and saw nothing of interest. Then the pony next to her tapped her and pointed skyward. She looked up and gasped. There, floating above town hall, was a black cloud of smoke. There were dark clouds swirling around it, along with six peculiar diamond shaped rocks floating in a circular orbit.

The Mayor turned to Twilight, “What IS that thing?” Twilight could not respond. She had never seen anything like that. Her horn lit up in an attempt at identification magic, but to no avail.

All of the sudden, Rainbow Dash appeared. “Hey! We're not supposed to have any clouds until next week!” and with that, she grabbed one of the strange floating rocks. Instantly three bolts of red lightning rained from the sky, striking the pegasus down to the ground in flames. Twilight gasped in horror and immediately ran to aid her. Rainbow Dash laid there unconscious, with some minor burns on her wings. Twilight turned to the dark cloud in a heavy rage.

“WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?” Twilight screamed. Suddenly, two bloody red eyes appeared from within the cloud, and a dark voice sounded from it’s core. “It does not matter who I am. What matters is, who do you think you are, speaking so boldly against me?” The eyes appeared to mock her. ”I have already struck down your friend, would you like me to strike you down as well?”

Twilight was about to respond when she noticed four figures racing towards her. Applejack was galloping along with Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Fluttershy. Fluttershy looked down on Rainbow Dash and tenderly lifted the burnt wings. “This is bad, we need to get her to the doctors quickly!”

Applejack turned her head towards the mysterious smoke. ”Ya have no right to be here, what ever ya are!” The dark cloud eyed the group suspiciously. “And what right do you have here?” the cloud questioned. “We reside here of course. And you’re not welcome here!” Rarity countered. A hollow laugh echoed from within the dark mass. “I wield the Preludes of Chaos! What power do you have against me?” Pinkie Pie was actually frowning. “We’re the Elements of Harmony, silly! How could you not know that?”

The red eyes blinked open in surprise. “The Elements of Harmony, eh? This is going to be easier then I thought!” Then the sky began to crackle with red electricity. Twilight and her friends gasped. Then lightning struck.

The Diary

The corridor led to a large room, fitting all the ponies in there. It was of a Gothic stone style, and there was moss growing from the gargoyles hanging overhead. In the center of the room was a small altar, encased in a light, magical glow. Celestia beckoned to Twilight. Twilight trotted up to the altar, and saw a large book on it. She looked at it. “It has no title.” Celestia nodded “That is because this is a dairy. This one in particular has recorded in it details of the very first encounter between the Elements of Harmony and the Preludes of Chaos.”

Twilight looked unsure as she opened the book to the page. She began reading:

The land has been ridden in war and bloodshed. I fear that I will never know peace. All the stallions are out at the borders, keeping the creatures of the night out from the city we love so dearly. The sun has not shone in a long time, the creatures have clouded the sky with darkness. Our supplies run low, we are not sure how much longer we can last against these creatures

Twilight looked up in fear and wonder. She gulped and turned the page:

Six figures came up to the city walls and instantly broke through our weak barricade and defeated our soldiers. I don’t know what they want from us, I have barely enough to keep me and my family alive. They came and went, destroying all the homes and structures with mysterious diamond stones. I almost lost you in such a devastating blast. All hope was lost. That was when I saw six ponies standing high in the rubbles. They too, carried stones of power, but those stones were different, glowing a bright white instead of the diamonds black purple. The dark ponies fired a blast that could level an apartment, but the one standing on the rubble simply blocked it with a raised hoof. Then a flash ensued, and suddenly, they were on fire, or more, burning with power, and wielded weapons. The darker six produced weapons from their dark aura.

Twilight could not continue in sheer awe and shock. Twilight cleared her throat and continued:

Words cannot described the next few minutes. The most I can say were brilliant flashes of color and black, sparks flew, and things were destroyed. When they stopped, they were covered in blood and sweat, breathing heavily. Both sides seemed evenly matched. Then both sides exploded in a brilliant color and darkness, and both rushed forward, at each other. The collision generated a brilliant rainbow colored explosion, followed by a brilliant flash of white. When I opened my eyes, I had to shut them again. It had been so long since I had seen the light of day. when I focused my eyes, there were six bodies on the ground. I recognized them as the six who stood up to the dark ones. I looked in the sky just in time to catch twelve small objects flying away.

Twilight looked up. She was shaking and small eyed. She gulped and looked at her friends. Each was as shocked as she was. She turned to Celestia. She had a sad look on her face.

“The only way for the Elements of Harmony to truly stand up to the Preludes of Chaos are for them to take their true form as a weapon.” Twilight closed her mouth and asked. “If what this says is true, how did you and Luna take down Discord? He wielded all the Preludes!” Celestia could not respond. “He was not in touch with all of the Preludes. Such is a difficult task.” Celestia spoke. “Although it is true that he wielded all six Preludes, It is near impossible to be truly in touch with all of them at once. That is the main reason that he was unable to overpower me and my sister.” Twilight was confused. “What about that time with Nightmare Moon? You were able to use all the Elements at once.” Celestia looked over at Princess Luna, and then back at Twilight. ”That does not mean that I was in touch with all of them. Only those with true connections with each Prelude or Element can use them to full potential.”

Twilight thought for a little while. “So that’s probably why there were six wielders of each Prelude and Element right? So that each pony specialized in that specific representation.” Celestia nodded. “Well, as far as I can tell, there is one of him and six of us.” Twilight looked at her beaming friends, except for Rainbow Dash. She was still grumpy after being knocked down. “We should be able to defeat him easily. It’s like that time with Discord.” Celestia smiled. “That maybe true, but just remember. This isn’t Discord we’re talking about.” Princess Luna spoke, “We hope that thou are sure about this. We are uncomfortable about his presence. It... disturbs us.”

The Strike

Twilight smiled, but just then a large explosion resounded throughout the castle. Princess Celestia turned her head in shock. “THE ELEMENTS!” Immediately they made off for the tower that held the Elements of Harmony. They arrived in time to see a black cloud fly off, leaving a large hole in the safe and an empty box. They all stared in disbelief. “GUYS! Look!” Pinkie Pie pointed a little off to the side. Everyone turned their head. On the floor there was a light gray scroll, bound with a blood red ribbon. Twilight went over and opened it.

You may have seen me leave with your Elements of Harmony. You may also be wondering why I would do as such. The claim of the pink one seemed unreal. The six ponies that claim to be the Elements of Harmony just didn’t fit. You are... weak, and probably unfitting of your title. I have taken the six Elements and returned them to where I believe they truly belong, The Temple of Balance. If you wish to find your precious Elements, pass the Trials of the Temple. And maybe then, I’ll see you as a worthy adversary.

When Twilight finished the message, it ignited itself in a burst of black fire. Twilight turned to Princess Celestia. She was pacing back and forth. Twilight looked at the Princess anxiously. “You know where this Temple of Balance is?” The Princess stopped and turned to Twilight. “Yes, I do, but the problem is not getting through the Temple. That I could trust you with easily. The trouble is getting to the Temple and back.” Twilight looked confused. “Why is that?” Celestia looked at her. “It is located at the very heart of the Everfree forest. Even further then the first palace me and my sister had.”

Futtershy had trouble comprehending this speech until she heard Everfree Forest. Twilight looked over to her. “Come on Fluttershy, there’s no need to panic. We’re all going together.” Princess Celestia nodded. “I will call for my fastest Guards to bring you to the edge of the Everfree. With the skys like this, they cannot go any further.” Twilight nodded. “Thank you Princess, we won’t let you down!” And with that, Twilight and the rest raced off to meet the Pegasi.

The Everfree Trek

The ride was a very short one, maybe that was for the better. All the six stood outside the forest, carrying saddlebags filled with provisions. Twilight looked around, ”Everypony ready?” Everyone nodded. “Okay then, let’s G-” Pinkie Pie interrupted. “HOLD ON A SECOND. I’m gonna to need a harmonica at the very least.” Rarity looked at Pinkie Pie with a confused expression. “Why in EQUESTRIA would you need a harmo... oh right. Parasprites.” Applejack held up her hoof. “Don’t you worry Pinkie, ah have mah banjo case you ever need it.” Pinkie Pie beamed. “Oh that’s even BETTER! Oki doki loki, we are READY!” and with that she left the girls coughing in a cloud of dust. Twilight groaned. “She better know where she’s going...”

The journey wasn’t that bad. Considering that they walked into three Manticore’s nests, tripped over four hydra tails, and startled just under ten parasprite colonies, everything was okay. “Twilight, where is this temple?” Rarity was lucky enough to avoid getting dirtied or ruffled during the adventure. “It should be right...oof!” Twilight ran into a stone face. She looked up, and the eyes of a dragon statue stared back at her. She yelped and jumped back a few feet. “Twilight, you really need to get out more.” Pinkie walked up to the statue and bopped it on the nose. “Pinkie Pie, what was-” Rainbow Dash was cut off by a deep rumbling. Everyone looked up to see the mountain face instantly transformed into a beautifully carved temple entrance .

Twilight gulped. She looked to her friends. They were trying hard to look supportive, but Twilight could still see them shaking. She couldn’t see Fluttershy at all. “Fluttershy, I know this may be a bit frightening, but please, we need you.” Fluttershy looked around from the far tree. “O-okay...” And together they walked into the temple.

The Temple of Balance

Not only was it dark in the temple, but it was eerily quiet. No pony spoke. The sound of their hoof steps echoed throughout the entire temple. The only reason they could see was because of a small torch that Twilight had lit up earlier. “Um...T-Twilight, d-do y-you think m-maybe we should y-you know, g-get out?” Fluttershy was drenched in her own sweat, and her eye were shrunken in fear. “You’re probably not the only one scared here, Fluttershy...” There was good reason, too. The corridor was extremely small, fitting only one pony from wall to wall.

“Oh look, unlit torches! Thank goodness!” They had suddenly enter a larger room. As Twilight went around the room lighting the torches, the group could see more and more of the room, and the more and more they were filled with fear and wonder. There were six pillars spaced evenly throughout the room. There was a statue of an alicorn with spread wings sitting on the pedestal facing the entrance. The stone had turned a brilliant mossy green, with carvings of large dragons and ponies. On the ceiling there was a carving of twelve ponies and twelve stones, six on one of two sides. “I’ve never seen anything like this before...” Twilight looked at the carvings. Then she looked to the ceiling. “...that carving probably explains the temple name.” Applejack looked at Twilight. “How’s that Twilight?” Pinkie Pie looked up. “There are six ponies on each side. One side has diamonds while the other has balls. It’s not that hard Applejack.” Pinkie Pie was smiling at Applejack. “One side obviously represents the Elements of Harmony and the other the Chaos thingamabobbers.” Twilight gaped. “I was about to say that.”

Rainbow Dash was hovering around the room. She ran her hoof against the wall. She flew up to the ceiling, then back down. “It’s a dead end. Now what?” All the ponies were lined up in a row right in front of the statue. “...There’s something strange about this statue...” Twilight started to inspect it. She examined it from head to toe. She rubbed her chin, then began to cast a few spells.

“Um, excuse me Twilight, but whatever are you doing?” Rarity was looking at Twilight, who was staring directly into the statues eyes. “...There’s nothing really special about the statue, there is no magical residue, and there are no joints or levers on it either.” She stepped back into line with the other girls. Then they all felt themselves fall a centimeter. “What was that?” Applejack looked down and at the hoofs of the others. They had made a small indent in the floor, like they had hit a switch.
“Aw, shoot.”

The alicorn’s eyes lit up. The group backed up a little bit. Then a voice emanated throughout the temple. “WHO GOES THERE.” Twilight felt a little bump from behind her. She yelped and looked back to find Fluttershy quaking in fear. She understood what it felt like to be scared too. Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to speak, but Twilight raised her hoof to stop her. “We, um, are the Elements of Harmony.” You could hear Twilight's voice shaking violently. The eyes flared again. Then a distant clanking could be heard.

A strange clear liquid poured onto the six. But instead of splashing and spreading out, it began to build itself up into a sphere, encasing each of them. They were shrieking, but eventually drowned out by the mysterious fluid. Twilight was screaming her lungs out, but suddenly realized she could breath with absolutely no problem or obstructions. She looked over to her friends, who looked like they were hollering for their lives. She signaled to them to breath normally and quit trying to shout. They then realized that they could breath normally and promptly calmed down.

The eyes of the alicorn statue flashed again. The liquid started turning a variety of colors, an array of the visible spectrum. “YOU SEEM IDEAL AS WIELDERS OF THE ELEMENTS OF HARMONY. PREPARE YOURSELVES.” Rainbow Dash looked over at Twilight with a questioning expression on her face. They suddenly began to slide down. Expressions of surprise and fear pasted itself onto their faces as they slid down into the darkness in silent fear.

The Trials

Applejack landed on her face in a small room. She looked up. It was a very empty room. The only thing noticeable was a large statue against the wall. She trotted up to the large statue. All of the sudden it started to move.

Rarity could only think about how she should have brought a comb and a hairdryer. The water had completely ruined her mane. She looked around. A small sparkle caught her eye. It was a heavy key, crafted from gold and studded a stunning pattern of obsidian and diamond. Rarity picked it up and continued down the corridor.

Fluttershy could not move for a whole minute. She was panic stricken and could not stop shuddering. When finally regained mobility, she looked around. It was a small room, no larger then her own living room. She looked over to see a door way in between two pegasus statues.

Pinkie Pie was in a dark room. She was feeling the wall until she bumped into an unlit torch. She was happy for a moment, until she realized she had nothing to light it with. She thought for a little bit, then had a brilliant idea. She cleared a bit of the floor away, and holding the torch like a match, struck the ground and successfully lit the torch. She nearly dropped it from what the torch revealed in the shadows.

Rainbow Dash was already speeding around the large expanse. The room was not really a room, more like an abandoned town. There were buildings made from stone, and each was complete with its own bathroom. Rainbow Dash was confused. Who would have the time to construct an entire establishment, not to mention underground? Then she heard the sound of crying, and flew off in that direction.

Twilight suddenly landed on a brightly lit platform. The liquid previously surrounding her had released itself and splashed outward. She looked around. It was a curved room. Not so much a room in the shape of a circle, but more like part of a larger circle. She looked around. There was a golden scale. It was off balance. On one side of the scale, there was a weight, and on the other, three rocks. On the pedestal beneath the scale there were strange carvings. “Balance the scale for five seconds, and the path will reveal itself.” Twilight looked at the scale. With an easy going look, she put all the rocks on one side of the scale. The rock side was still lighter then the weight side. Twilight was confused. “This can’t be possible...” and she began to examine the rocks one by one.

“I AM THE GUARDIAN OF THE PASSAGE.” Applejack jumped back a few feet. “TELL ME ONE STATEMENT. IF IT IS TRUE, I WILL BEHEAD YOU. IF IT IS FALSE, I WILL BLUDGEON YOU TO DEATH.” The statue promptly held up a blade and a club. Applejack began to sweat. Ah shoot. What kinda choices are those?

Rarity could hear the sound of arguing down the corridor. When she turned the corner, she saw a young colt and a young filly. The filly was crying, while the colt was talking to the filly. Rarity trotted up to the pair. “What is going on here?” The filly looked up to her. “He took my key. It opens my lunch box.” She promptly pointed to a small box at her side. “But I need this key to complete my collection.” and the colt promptly showcased to her a box filled with keys. There was a large array of keys, simple to complex, no design to keys that focused on design rather then purpose. “And besides, it might open that big door over there.” and pointed to a large door at the back of the hall.

Fluttershy walked up to the passage way. The wings of the statues instantly spread out, blocking her path, and she had a weird sense of deja-vu. The eyes of the statue turned to Fluttershy. “STATE YOUR BUSINESS.” Fluttershy went wide-eyed in fear. “Um..I was just...trying to um...meet up with some friends?” Fluttershy smiled an unsure smile. “WE ARE NOT AFFECTED BY YOUR CHARMS, GOOD MISS.” Fluttershy was confused for a little bit.

Pinkie Pie found herself staring back at four pairs of eyes. It was a large stone spider, larger then her own tub. It looked at her hungrily, if stone beings could do that. Pinkie Pie just stared. Then she fell over. The spider began to close in on her.

Rainbow Dash found a small filly crying in the corner of a house. She walked up to her. “What seems to be the problem?” The filly looked up to Rainbow Dash, and suddenly hugged her leg. “Oh it’s bad! The black guards took my mother to the king in the castle!” Rainbow Dash was shocked. “Let’s get your mother back!” and with that she set the filly onto her back and flew off.

Applejack could not figure out this puzzle. She had to say something and not DIE at the same time. Never been one for smarts, shoulda listened to Twilight. Coulda learned a thing or two from her... Maybe if ah... GOT IT! She looked to the statue with a semi-self-confident grin. Gotta get this right. Let one word slip up, and ah could be dead. She gulped, and spoke steadily.

“You will bludgeon me to death.” She immediately flinched, holding her hoof up between the statue and her. After a while she put her hoof down. The statue had shifted to one side of the room. Its eyes had stopped glowing, leaving a long hallway in front of her. With a sigh of relief, she started down the corridor.

Rarity looked at the colt with a confused look. “The poor child needs to eat! How could you be so selfish?” She reached for the key, only to have the colt pull back from her. “No way. I’m keeping it.” The filly let out a loud wail. Rarity thought for a moment, then started a slight smile. “There’s nothing I can do to get that key back now.” The colt nodded. ”It’s not leaving my hoof.” Rarity sighed a fake sigh. “So I suppose you don’t want my key. I mean, it’s nothing compared to yours.” and promptly pulled out the glittering key she had found earlier. The colt turned his eyes to the golden key, and the radiance of it reflected off his eyes. “But, I suppose it’s all for the better, that’s a heavy looking collection, don’t you think?” The colt shook his head. “That key will probably complete my collection,” and swiped at it. Rarity held it away from him. “Give the poor child her key back; everypony needs to eat.” The colt promptly dropped the wooden key and grabbed the golden key. Rarity nudged the wooden key back to the filly. “Here little one. Eat up!” The fillys face lit up, and using the key, opened her lunchbox. Rarity smiled, and turned to the door. How was she going to open it? When Rarity turned her head back to ask though, both the colt and the filly had disappeared, with wooden key lying on the floor. Rarity picked up the key, and tried it in the door. It fit like a hoof in a sock, and the door swung open.

Fluttershy was having trouble with the guards. She had tried everything. Begging, pleading, even tickling. She wasn’t sure why she thought that last one would work. Fluttershy was studying the guard pegasus. Then she notice their concentration was on a small portion of the back wall. There was a tiny glinting in it. Fluttershy looked at it. She began picking away at the wall. After a while she was able to gather a variety of valuable gems. The guards were looking directly at Fluttershy. She walked closer to them, and realized they were looking at the gems. Fluttershy was a little confused, and then it hit her. “How long have you been standing here?” “ The guard replied ”AS LONG AS REQUIRED”. Fluttershy covered her ears. “Are you allowed to move, other then to talk?” The statue spoke again, with a slight sigh to its voice. “NOT EVEN TO NOD.” Fluttershy winced. “I noticed you were looking at these gems. I was never one for gems...You want them?” The guard replied “YES, I WOULD APPRECIATE THAT.” Fluttershy flew up to each of the guards, and put one gem in their mouth. The statues removed their wings, and spoke again. “THANK YOU. WE WILL ALLOW YOUR PASSAGE.” Fluttershy walked along the long corridor, thinking only that she’d have trouble hearing her friends.

The spider was on top of Pinkie Pie when suddenly she burst into laughter. “Oh you look so silly I literally forgot how to laugh!” And fell to the floor in a roaring fit of laughter. The stone spider was confused and backed up from the strange sound that was coming from the pony. It hit the back wall. Pinkie Pie was laughing so hard, she did not even notice the room starting to shake. The wall behind the spider began to crack. The spider looked back in time to see the wall crash upon it. Pinkie Pie got up, wiping tears from her eyes when she saw the hole in the wall, with the long corridor behind it. “Oh? Thanks spidey!” and she hopped around the rubble and down the corridor, humming to herself.

Rainbow Dash followed the points of the young filly as she flew towards a large building in the center of town. Rainbow Dash burst through the doorway of the hall, attracting the attention of about twenty black ponies and two ponies on a high stand. The filly cried out. “MOMMY!”, but Rainbow Dash held her back. She spoke in a menacingly calm tone. “Release her mother.” The tall one with the crown laughed. “Who do you think you are, challenging MY authority? I do whatever I want in this town!” And promptly shoved the mare backward. “One last chance, tough guy.” Another laugh. “YOU AND WHAT ARMY?” Rainbow Dash extended her wings and nodded at them. “This army.” She disappeared for a second. The ruler was confused for a while. Then Rainbow Dash reappeared. Another fit of laughter. “What was THAT supposed to...” He stopped mid-sentence when he saw all of his pony guards fall on their sides. Rainbow Dash flew up to the ruler and looked him right in the face. He started sweating. “Hey, hey, hey. I’m sure we could negotiate something.” Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. ”I could give you my gold! uh...have some of my jewelry! You could even have my throne!” Rainbow Dash slapped the stallion with her hoof. “All I want is for you to release her.” She pointed to the mare in the hoof cuffs. He promptly unlocked the cuffs and ran screaming from the hall. The filly ran up to her mother, and they embraced each other in open arms and running tears. Rainbow Dash smiled. She turned to see that the throne had shifted to the side and had an opening where it was. She looked back to see the filly and her mother leave the hall. Satisfied, she went down into the darkness.

Twilight was still having trouble with the rocks and scale. “This is simply not possible. They told me to balance the scale. I have three rocks whose combined weight cannot compare to the weight on the other end! Hmm...” She thought long and hard. She looked at the weight. It was solid gold. She thought about gold, which led to her thinking about chemistry, which led her to think about alchemy and...

“The Alchemist Stone! Of course!” She was excited. “The Alchemist’s Stone is said to be able to turn normal rock into gold! Of course that’s not possible, but with the right materials...” Her horn lit up on her command, and the three stones levitated. “I could replicate such a prospect!” She took some bricks out from the wall and mixed it with the existing rocks. As she concentrated, the rocks spun faster and faster, turning a bright red and orange, spraying sparks everywhere. Twilight was still in the midst of concentration even when the rocks disappeared from view, leaving a faint red glow. Her face contorted in concentration while slowly, but gradually, a small speck of glittering dust appeared. It grew larger and larger until it was the same size and shape of the weight on the scale. Twilight promptly collapsed in exhaustion. She weakly got up, and picked up the new, glittering gold weight with her mouth, and dropped it on the scale. The scale balanced. Twilight waited, and right on time, the far wall fell into the floor. Twilight laughed weakly, and slowly trotted down the corridor.

They all entered at the same time. It was a large expanse of a room, which was not so much mossy, more dusty. Rarity was having trouble getting to the center of the room. Twilight was the first to speak. “You would not BELIEVE what I just did!” Applejack countered with a shaky voice. “Bet it wasn’t life threatening.” Pinkie Pie was too busy giggling at the memory of the giant spider. Rainbow Dash was smiling a proud smile. “I dropped those guys harder then anything I ever dropped! And I dropped a LOT of things!” After telling each other of their trials, they looked up to the center of the room. On a high pedestal, rested the Elements of Harmony. They all raced up to grab them. They were smiling up until the point where the Elements turned a dark gray. “Huh?” The girls said in unison. Sudden a black flame jumped off of Elements, quickly wrapping the girls in a twister of fire as they screamed their lungs out.

The Battle

In its place stood a powerful looking earth pony. It had the Preludes of Chaos incorporated into its’ pure obsidian black armor. The helmet had the same form of a dragons head, and the chest plate had winglike attachments on it. But the most intriguing part was, where the mane and tail were, instead was a flowing black flame. Then the pony opened its blood red eyes, and held up its hoof. Some of its mane came down to the hoof and swirled up. When the column of black flame broke up, a large obsidian blade, thrice as long as its wielder, with upward facing crescents placed onto the blade, complete with a blood red ruby on its hilt, appeared. Red lightning jumped back and forth across the length of the blade.

“You like it? Made it myself. I call it... The Crescent Wave.” He swung. Suddenly three crescent shaped blades of red energy blew out from the large sword. Twilight and her friends jumped out of the way as it exploded against the back wall. Twilight had an unhelpful look on her face. “Now what do we do?” Pinkie Pie perked up. “I think I know...” And she began to rub her amulet. Rarity looked over to her. “Pinkie Pie, I don’t know if this is a good time for shining your neck...” She was startled by a small movement behind Pinkie Pie.

Somehow, her shadow was peeling itself off of the floor. It was as if the shadow was pulling itself up from a deep pool. When it got up, the shadow looked similar to Pinkie Pie, except it’s mane was down. It was also holding two pairs of blades. A pair of chakrams, and a pair of katanas. Both had three balloon accessories hanging from the hilts. The shadow held out the chakrams to Pinkie Pie. “Thanks!” Pinkie Pie said, and grabbed the blades. She froze for a second, and shook her head. “Whoa. Brain blast! Let’s do this!” Pinkie Pie leaped forward, with the shadow following close behind.

Twilight knew that the only experience Pinkie had when wielding a blade was in a kitchen cutting up ingredients. So why was she so expertly swinging the blades around? Rainbow Dash stepped forward. “I still need to get him back. No pony messes with Rainbow Dash and gets away with it!” and she began to rub her amulet. The sky cracked. A single cloud floated down in front of Rainbow Dash. With the first lightning strike, a beautiful golden rod came down from the cloud. With a second strike, an iridescent blade shaped in the form of lightning grew from the cloud. When Rainbow Dash grabbed it, a brilliant thunder came from the sky, and Rainbow Dash launched herself with a brilliant swing of her new pole axe.

Twilight could not believe her eyes. She knew neither of them knew how to wield a weapon, and yet there they were, swinging blades as if they had done it their whole lives. The Obsidian Knight was busy blocking blows, but took the occasional slash. Whenever he swung out to strike, Pinkie Pies’ shadow blocked it as Pinkie Pie moved in for a counter. Rainbow Dash, despite wielding a heavy weapon, was swinging her pole axe almost as quickly as Pinkie’s daggers.

Twilight was pretty confident to where the fight was going until the Obsidian Knight blew them all back with a powerful swing. Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash slid backward, stopping next to Twilight, breathing heavily. Applejack stepped up. “Come on Rarity, let’s show’em what we’re made of!” And with that Applejack rubbed her amulet. Two great columns of earth burst from the ground. Applejack hit each with her front hooves, shattering both of them. When she drew her hooves back, they each had a heavy red gauntlet, with three apples cut into its design. Rarity rubbed her necklace. From the rubble of Applejack's columns came three glittering diamonds. They moved into a triangular shape. Two white beams of energy connected them, and a third string connected the far two, forming a bow. Rarity grasped it, and it glowed brightly.

The Obsidian Knight smirked. His mane grew again, landing next to him. The black fire curled up into a sphere. When it dissolved, there was another knight. This one was different though. It was a mare, wielding a twin blades.

With that, all four of them rushed forward. Applejack stopped shorted and pounded the ground with all her might. Three great pillars of rock exploded from the ground. The knight and the mare jumped away. The Obsidian Knight then met up with Rainbow Dash. They exchanged blows, with Rainbow Dash continuously backing up.

Pinkie Pie was fighting with the mare. Her blades moved like a blur as she spun around, stabbing wherever she could. But the mare was keeping up with her and her shadow easily. A well placed swing knocked Pinkie Pie back to Rarity’s hooves, where she’d been standing, holding her bow. She released the string, and a flaming arrow shot towards the mare. It dodged in time to avoid a magnificent explosion.

Rainbow Dash was out of breath. She could only block now. With one powerful swing, the Obsidian Knight knocked the weapon out of her hoof. He held the Crescent Blade up, only to get knocked in the face with Applejack's heavy gauntlet. He skidded back a few feet. When he looked up, there was the smallest fracture where the chin was. Applejack smirked. “Get your weapon RD, I’ll hold him off.” and with that, she dashed forward and unleashed a barrage of attacks that could rival the firing rate of a minigun.

Fluttershy was hiding behind Twilight the entire time, both paralyzed in sheer awe. They could not help but stare at their friends, fighting against their greatest foe. They were even more shocked that the foe could keep up so easily. Despite being two on one on each side, they could clearly be seen striking back and keeping good pace with the pair.

Then Twilight saw the Obsidian knight knock back Applejack and Rainbow Dash. The mare used some sort of concussive blast to knock Pinkie Pie back into Rarity. “I can’t take it anymore.” Fluttershy whispered, and rubbed her own necklace. Suddenly sunlight broke through the dark overhead clouds. A golden rod burst from the ground, and golden wings extended from the top. Three glass butterflies came and alighted atop the staff, floating gently above it. Fluttershy took an unsteady hold of it and she gained a new determination. She held her new staff up to the sun, and it reflected magical light onto her friends. Twilight watched as each of them stood up, with renewed energy. Fluttershy then swung her staff in a downward arc, sending an arrow of pure light towards the mare. The mare was too late, and the moment the light pierced her, she shattered into black dust.

The Obsidian Knight saw this. He stopped. The group readied their weapons. “Twilight, would you mind helping? This guy isn’t getting any easier.” Rainbow Dash looked over to her friend. It was true, she hadn’t done much to help out. So she tried rubbing her tiara. But nothing happened. “Twilight...” Applejack was sweating now. Loose rubble had begun to float around the Obsidian Knight. Twilight was confused. She was caught off guard by an explosion from the Knight’s direction. A large black and white aura had formed around him, and that could only mean he had gotten stronger.

Rarity ran her hoof along the frame of her bow while Fluttershy waved her staff in the air. When Rarity pulled the string back, there was an impossible amount of flaming arrows resting along the frame of the bow. Fluttershy pulled her staff backward, conjuring about a good five dozen golden arrows. Both of them let loose. A golden red shower rained down on the Knight. The Knight looked up, and instantly the arrows shattered. Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie rushed in through the golden red curtain of magic. Rainbow Dash brought her axe down with enough power to level a mountain. The Knight just put up his sword and blocked it. Applejack and Pinkie Pie were having trouble getting in close. The aura scorched them like the heat of blue flames.

Twilight was helplessly fiddling with her tiara. “Why isn’t it working?” Rainbow Dash called out “ANY DAY NOW TWILIGHT!” Twilight's’ face contorted in fear. The Knight remained untouched throughout this whole time. Rarity was running along the walls, firing several arrows at a time, to have them all hopelessly shatter before they could reach the knight. Fluttershy was doing her best to keep her friends active and replenished.

The Knights’ eye flashed, his aura disappeared for a split second. Then Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Pinkie Pie were blown backward. Rarity flew into Fluttershy, sending them both crashing into the floor. Twilight gasped and looked at her friends. They were weak, and Fluttershy was unconscious, unable to help the others. Something snapped inside of Twilight, and she turned to the Obsidian Knight in a fit of rage.

Rage

She closed her eyes. Her horn lit up. But it wasn’t a normal light purple. No, it was a dark, chaotic purple. Magic exploded from her horn, creating a purple black flower of energy from her head. When she opened her eyes, it glowed black as the night sky. The magic pouring from her horn fell to the ground and collected on her back. Two black spikes curled forward from her back. But they weren’t wings, they were more like the spines of a dragon. The wind blew greatly in front of her, blowing the mane from her face.

The Obsidian Knight frowned. “So this is the rage of the Element of Magic...” He held up his sword in preparation. Twilight looked at the knight. Her eyes narrowed, and then she disappeared. The Knights’ eyes narrowed and he spun around, just in time to block a jab from the great spiked arms of Twilight. Blade and spike became blur, as they exchanged strikes and blocks from each other. Sparks flew and bounced along the ground like marbles. The only sound heard was the sound of metal on metal.

Twilight was putting up a good fight, but she made no attempts to block. She took every cut from the blade, and somehow turned back, bloodstained and yet unfazed. The Knight stared at her, keeping good pace with every strike thrown. Time and time again, Twilight was knocked away. And every single time, she got back up and jumped back in.

Rainbow Dash was the first to recover from the blow. When she looked up, she saw Twilight battling against the Knight. She saw how battle-worn she was, and how she continued fighting despite it. “Twilight!” Rainbow Dash called out weakly. She struggled to get up, but ended up falling back down from the pain. Rainbow Dash looked back up, and noticed Twilights’ black eyes. “That’s not Twilight...”

The real battle was going on in Twilight’s mind. She was struggling with the new rage that had overtaken her. She was chained down by that dark presence her anger had created. She had no control over her own body, and was fighting the emotion in the dream scape of her mind. And she was losing. It had been bottled up for so long, and was not about to go down easily.

Twilight could not concentrate long enough to fight back. A darkness surrounded her. Then Twilight looked up to see a white light piercing through the darkness clouding her vision.

“Princess Celestia? How...?” Twilight looked up into the darkness of her mind and saw a light with the image of the princess. “I am speaking to you through a spell. What is going on?” Twilight responded uneasily, “My friends were fighting against the Preludes of Chaos, when I saw all of them fall at once. Then my mind was clouded in black.” The princess looked at her. “Stay where you are.” and the image left, only to return a few seconds later. “You let your rage get the best of you. Let me show you what your body is doing.” and the image tapped Twilight on her horn. Twilight had been brought back to a third person view of the battle. Her friends were recovering, and Fluttershy had woken up. When she turned to the Knight, she saw herself, but yet it wasn’t her. Her eyes glowed a dark black, and the black spines sprouting from her back were lethally sharp, enough to cut any pony into shreds in an instant.

But the worst part was, Twilight saw the way her dark form was fighting. It was wild and uncollected, striking as quickly as it possibly could. It looked to her it was not so much a fight, but a dance of desperation.

Twilight was brought back to her dream scape. “Your power is great Twilight, but you must learn to control, with or without the Elements.” Princess Celestia looked down at Twilight and gave a frown. “This is why Magic is both an Element and a Prelude. Learn to control your power, and it will certainly help.” With that, the image faded away. Twilight looked up. her dream scape was in a complete night state. “Time to change that...”

The True Power of Magic

“TWILIGHT!” Applejack hollered out. The Obsidian knight had knocked her back once again, and this time, she didn’t bounce back up. Pinkie Pie struggled to look over at Fluttershy, and she was still cold, though she was fidgeting. “Amazing what rage can do to a pony, yes?” The Knight spoke in his hollow voice. He raised his blade. “But now it is time to finish... what?”

Twilight had found the strength to stand back up. She flinched and staggered a little. She looked at the knight. “Wow, you really beat me up.” With that Twilight closed her eyes. The Element of Magic had been knocked far from her head long ago, but she wasn’t concerned with that.

Her horn had started glowing again. This time, it was its normal purple glow. The wind started blowing gently. The glow around her horn grew until it surrounded Twilight. Twilight's’ eyes opened, and they glowed a brilliant white. Her aura had grew brighter and whiter until the others had to shield their eyes from the light. They all felt an explosion, and they looked back at Twilight, and stared in awe.

Twilight had changed drastically in appearance. Her mane was streaming windblown and had turned completely white. The stripes of purple and pink now streaks of silver and gold. Her magic had turned to a brilliant white and concentrated to a great lance from her head. Her eyes no longer purple, but a brilliant gold, with white magic streaming from it like tears. But the most stunning transformation was on her back. The magic had collected to her back and from it extended two large beautiful white wings accented with a golden shine. Her very presence blew the dust and dirt away from her.

The Element of Magic flew from a far corner and propped itself on Twilight's head. Her white magic flickered, and the tiara sparked. Twilight flapped her majestic wings, flinging loose particles of raw magic onto the floor. White and gold swirled together to form a staff. Then from the sky descended a flaming comet. Twilight grabbed her staff and held it out. The meteor struck the staff, spinning it like a baton. When Twilight stopped it, there was a purple star shaped crystal with a glowing white core. It had five star bits floating around the star like moons to a planet.

The others watched in awe as Twilight held the staff up, and from it shot five balls of energy. Each one enveloped the wounded Elements, and gave a light flash. Energy had returned to them. Fluttershy had woken up and was already reaching for her staff.

Rainbow Dash was ready to leap forward, only to be blocked by Twilight’s staff. Rainbow Dash looked over to Twilight. “I can handle this Rainbow.” Rainbow Dash looked uneasily at her. “Did you see what he did to...” Twilight cut her off with a light giggle. “Just watch. I’ll let you know when I need you.” Rainbow Dash was shocked, but then began to smile, and backed off.

Twilight looked over to the knight. “Now, where were we?” She spun her staff, and it trailed a light purple aura. The Obsidian Knight burst yet again into a black aura, and held up his blade. Twilight held her staff down, and leaped forward, trailing white magic behind her. The Obsidian Knight burst forth, A comet surrounded in black flame.

Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity all looked at her battle. They had never seen Twilight partaking in any physical activity, and usually found her in her library, mixing chemicals and reading books. They were shocked at such strength her new form had given her. For every one blow that the Obsidian Knight threw at her, A parry and a counter strike awaited him. She was able to read through even the most complicated string of blows and dodge every single one, striking back only when she knew she could. Every time the Obsidian Knight jumped away to try and recover, Twilight pointed her staff, letting loose white chains that bound him, and brought him close, leaving Twilight plenty opportunity to strike many blows. Even Pinkie Pie, with her two blades and her shadow, could not string together their strikes so fluidly as Twilight could.

The Obsidian Knight managed to block one blow from Twilight and used the recoil to skid backwards. He was heavy with breath. Twilight was also breathing heavily. She could see how worn out the black knight was. “Alright girls. Formation! Don’t forget your weapons!” They lined up side by side, weapons held at ready. They looked at each other, and then back at the enemy, who was still catching his breath. Concentrating, all of the girls burst into a brilliant aura flame, one a different color of the rainbow. As one for all, and as all for one, they charged the knight.

The Obsidian Knight saw this and held his blade up to defend. But to his surprise, his blade shattered on contact, and he was blown back by their power. As each of the colors passed him, so each girl struck a blow. The Knight was knocked to his back. The girls circled back and struck him again, knocking him to the ground.

The girls circled upward, high into the sky. Then they charged downward, spiraling towards the Obsidian Knight. He looked up, gasped, then hung his head in defeat.

A great explosion ensued, A brilliant dome of color spread across the land, dissipating all the clouds that had darkened the sky, lighting up the sky with the brilliance of daylight.

When all that had cleared, the girls floated down and landed on the floor. They held up their weapons, and they dissolved into the air. Twilight’s white magic faded, restoring her dark mane, and Rarity rushed over to keep her from falling over. Twilight looked up weakly, “Thanks Rarity. That magic took a lot out of me.” Pinkie Pie suddenly shouted. ”LOOK GUYS! A hole in the floor!” They all looked over. Sure enough, a hole and a set of stairs had appeared in the floor of the ancient palace. Together, they walked down.

Who was it?

Twilight was able to walk on her own now, and she was walking through what looked like a dungeon. “Why would we be going to a dungeon?” She asked the others. They all shrugged. Suddenly, a white light flashed from down the hall. They rushed over to find Princess Celestia and Princess Luna in a cell. Princess Celestia was sitting down, unconscious. Princess Luna looked up. “Celestia spoke to Twilight through a spell. Such a spell is very hard on the caster...” Rainbow Dash unlocked the cell door. “How did you get in here?” Princess Luna frowned. “While you were in the temple, the Obsidian Knight confronted us, and bested us in combat. I woke up here, with Princess Celestia, in this dark cell.”

Princess Celestia stirred. “...Thank you my little ponies, you’ve saved this land once again.” She stood up uneasily, and Princess Luna aided her. “Let us see who is the wielder of the Preludes of Chaos.”

They got back up the stairs, and gasped. There, sitting amid the rubble, was a single earth pony. The Preludes of Chaos floated gently around him. Celestia leaned down to Twilight. “Why does he still exist?” Twilight smiled. “No pony deserves to die, despite how bad they’ve been. There seems to be a mercy factor in the Elements of Harmony.” Twilight walked up to the earth pony, Pinkie Pie close behind. He was staring into the sky, a bright blue cloudless sky. Twilight looked at him. He looked back at her. He was not a very big colt, only slightly taller then herself. His coat was like gold that lost its shine. His mane was worn longer then an average length for a colt, and was a dark brown. But his eyes. His eyes stood out the most. They were like Fluttershys’, cresting downward, as to cast a sad look onto his face,

“Hello, you must be?” Twilight held out her hoof in a friendly gesture. He gave a small smile, and shook her hoof. His reply confused her. “I’m surprised you don’t recognize me. I sure do.” Twilight looked at him strangely, then shock came across her face. Her mind raced back to her middle school. She was in Manehatten, not very far from Canterlot. She remember one student in her class that she was making fun of. Then suddenly it hit her. She looked back. Yes, it was him.

“Jester Klyde Cross?” Twilight was shocked. “You KNOW him?” Pinkie Pie said. “She KNOWS him?” Everyone else said.

“Its been too long, Twilight Sparkle. Sorry about what happened earlier...” He gestured towards the Preludes. “I guess I let the power get to my head.” Twilights’ jaw was hanging low. She shook her head and let a string of questions out. “How? When? WHAT?” Twilight was shocked beyond comprehension. Jester held up both of his hooves defensively. “Honestly, I don’t know either.” He looked back to the sky. “I guess I put myself in that position.”

Twilight recalled the Preludes of Chaos. Princess Celestia told her that they were Denial, Frustration, Paranoia, Greed, Indifference, and Magic. She looked at him. “How did you come by the Preludes?” He shrugged, “I was taking a walk through the Everfree forest when they came up to me.” Twilight was confused, then remembered that the Elements choose their wielders, and that the same must be for the Preludes. “Let me do something. It won’t hurt, I promise.”

He simply shrugged again. “Go ahead.” Twilight was surprised and yet expectant of his indifference. He had changed much since she last met him. She put her horn to the Preludes, and they froze. Then she put her horn on Jesters forehead, from which he recoiled a little in surprise. Twilight pulled back and looked at him.

She had just looked into his personality. What she found startled her. She had been a little mean to him when they were together, but his state of mind the very next year told her that he had already shrugged it off. But when she looked deeper, she found that that experience had sparked the idea that the world was out to get him. That explained the paranoia. He denied help even when he needed it the most, and was frustrated with his incapability to do anything. He was greedy for time spent with himself, and often strayed from a larger group. Self-contradictory in so many ways, it was puzzling how he could keep such a wide array of emotion inside. Twilight felt a mixture of wonder and pity, for despite all that bad inside him, he could still manage a smile.

Triple P

“So how’s it been Jester?” Twilight looked over to find Pinkie Pie conversing in good speech with him. “It could have been better.” Pinkie Pie just smiled. “Come on! You just went through the battle of a lifetime! You could teach me a thing or two!” Jester smiled. “Heheh. Probably not.” He picked up a piece of rubble, and swung it like a sword. It fell out of his hoof after a while.

“Wait. Pinkie Pie, you know him?” Twilight looked at her. Pinkie Pie looked at Twilight. “Yeah, of course I know him! A few years back, I threw several free-lance parties every where! I’d hang posters EVERYWHERE telling everyone about it. At first I didn’t get much reception, but after a while, ponies would leave town just to go!” Jester smiled. “I heard good things about the Triple P.” Twilight Sparkle smirked. ”Triple P?” Pinkie Pie grinned ear to ear. “Ponies everywhere started calling me that. ‘Pinkie Pie of the Party’ or something like that.” Jester smiled. “I was enjoying myself at one of Pinkie Pies’ parties. She came up to me.” Pinkie Pie looked back at Twilight, “He seemed kind of lonely back there, so I talked to him.” “We had a good talk over some drinks, Pinkie and I. After the party I volunteered to help clean up.” Jester looked over to Pinkie Pie. “I’ve never seen such a wild girl clean up so quickly.” Pinkie Pie gave a friendly pout. “Just because I throw parties doesn’t mean I’m not responsible.” She looked over to Jester. “Where’d you go? You just disappeared after that. I didn’t even get to say goodbye!” Jester chuckled a little guiltily. “I just left. I didn’t think that you’d actually cared whether I was there or not.” Pinkie Pie looked at him strangely. “Of COURSE I would care!”

Twilight cut in. “Jester, where have you been all this time? I never see you around!” Jester looked at Twilight. “That’s probably because you only ever resided in two places. Canterlot and Ponyville, both of which I’ve never been to before.” He turned to look at her friends, and then back at Twilight. “The last time I saw you was when you were going to defeat Nightmare Moon.” Twilight was shocked. “You were in the Everfree forest this whole time?” Jester nodded. “I know the place like the back of my hoof. You could have just made a short walk from the old palace and would have come across the statue anyway.” He laughed a little.

Jester turned back to Pinkie. “When was the last time you threw your amazing parties, Pinkie?” Twilight looked at Jester. “She’s been throwing at least two parties every month. I’m surprised you don’t hear about it. Then again, you were in a remote region at the time...” Pinkie Pie just looked at Twilight. “Come to think of it, I haven’t had such a big party in a while.” Twilight laughed. “We had just had one! Pinkie, you need to work on your memory.” Pinkie Pie shook her head. “I wasn’t kidding around when he said ponies from everywhere traveled just to get to my parties.” Jester looked at Pinkie Pie, then to Twilight. “You’ve never been to a Triple P party? You’re missing out.”

Twilight was confused yet again. Jester spoke up, “Pinkie Pie has how many parties did you say?” Twilight looked up. ”at least two a month, why?” Jester thought for a moment. ”and how many attend?” Twilight looked over her shoulder. “Just me and the girls over there.” Jester blinked, and chuckled again. ”You really never been to Pinkies real parties, have you?”

Pinkie Pie perked up. “This is PERFECT!” Twilight looked over. “What?” Pinkie turned to Twilight. “I’ve had one of those parties in every major settlement except Ponyville!” Then Pinkie frowned. “But it’s not big enough...” Twilight tilted her head. “The barn? It should be big enough.” Pinkie Pie shook her head. “If we were to use the barn, we would have to have about nine more barns.” Twilight shook her head. She turned to Jester. “From what I can tell, that’s about right.” Twilight gaped. A party of that magnitude couldn’t be possible, could it?

The rest of the group walked over. “Twilight, what are you guys talking about?” Rainbow Dash looked around the group. “Ever heard of Triple P?” Jester looked to the group. Rarity gasped. “Triple P? I haven’t heard that name in a while. Is she making a ‘comeback’, so to speak?” Jester smiled, and pointed to Pinkie Pie. “You’re looking at her, and yes she may be making a comeback.” Pinkie Pie beamed. Rarity gaped. “All this time, hearing wonderful things about the amazing Triple P, and I almost literally lived across the street from her!” Applejack caught her as she promptly fainted. Rainbow Dash gaped. “Triple P is PINKIE PIE? I should have known!” She gave an excited giggle. Pinkie Pie laughed out loud. “You really know how to keep undercover!” Pinkie Pie looked back up. “I’m planning a HUGE party here in Ponyville! I’m going to need all the help I can get!” Princess Celestia smiled. “I might actually have an excuse to help out.” Pinkie Pie let out a triumphant “YES” and started bouncing around.

The other side of Pinkie Pie

The next day was spent preparing for the party. Spike used his messenger flame to send invitation to other messenger dragons all over Equestria. Twilight went around town, overhearing many conversations while the resident ponies worked.

“Triple P is finally coming here! I’m so excited!”

“I heard she was here all along.”

“Maybe she needs a cool down?”

“Pish posh, I’ve been to one of her parties. That kind of pony does not ‘cool down’”

Twilight was surprised at all the feedback Pinkie Pie was receiving. She saw Princess Celestia over at the bakery. She rushed over to see a factory production of treats and goodies. And Pinkie was there, sampling each of them. “Pinkie! Those are for the guest!” Princess Celestia waved her over. “Pinkie Pie is quite the baker. I’ve never tasted such a perfect sweetness.” Celestia ate another cookie and wiped her mouth. “I’ve heard of the legendary Triple P, but I never imagined her to be Pinkie Pie. Maybe now I can see just how brilliantly planned these parties of hers are.”

Twilight headed back to her library. She found Spike sleeping in his little bed. Twilight smiled. Sending so many letters must be quite difficult, especially on such a young dragon. Then Twilight thought about her friendship reports. She took a scroll of paper, some ink and a quill. Dipping the quill into the ink well, she began writing.

Dear Princess Celestia,

Although things come and go in life, many things stay with you, and may end up causing problems for you in the present. Jester and I go a ways back, and even though we were on good terms, I said a few things I regretted later on. This mess could have been avoided If only I had watched my mouth. If anything stays with you, nothing stays longer than a bad statement.

Twilight paused. She could hear a distant voice. She set down her quill and went up the stairs. She could hear it more clearly now. She walked out to the balcony to find Jester sitting down. His eyes were closed, and he was singing quietly to himself.

Twilight just stood there and listened. He wasn’t the best of singers, but he was still quite skilled. Although there was no music, he could keep the beat of the song fairly well. Twilight heard songs from many famous singers, including Sapphire Shores.

“I thought you said you were out of the loop?” Twilight smiled as Jester turned back in surprise. “Oh, hello Twilight. I didn’t notice you.” Twilight smiled again. “When did you get up here?” Jester stood up. “This is the public library right? I just figured I could walk in.” Twilight shook her head. “Not really. You see, I LIVE here.” Jester looked behind Twilight. “That would explain the bed and the kitchen.”

Pinkie Pie floated up behind them on a small collection of balloons. “Hey guys! the parties almost ready!” Jester turned to Pinkie, then to the sky behind her. “Just in time too. You’re still famous.” and he pointed behind her. There was a large cluster of pegasi flying in from everywhere.

Pinkie Pie grinned. “Time to get my get-up on!” and she floated down. Jester and Twilight followed her back to her apartment a floor up from the bakery. Pinkie Pie opened up a closet and walked in. Various clothing flew out of the closet, landing in a heap at Twilights’ hooves. “Here they are!” There was a small rustling sound followed by some clinking. Then Pinkie Pie stepped out.

Rarity should have seen her. Pinkie Pie had a brilliant golden suit on. It glittered with interwoven silver strands. She was wearing a golden fedora of the same fashion. She had on a pair of shades with a bright yellow lenses. On her front hooves she wore glittering gold dress shoes. “All right. I’m READY! Could you get that big pink and gold box back there? Thanks!” And with that, Pinkie Pie trotted off. Twilight looked into the closet and looked at the large object. She sighed, and carried it with her magic. Jester looked at the box. It was literally twice as big as Twilight. He followed her to town square.

“HELLO everyone!” Pinkie Pie waved to a cheering crowd. “I MISSED YOU TOO! SHOW ME WHO’S READY TO PAAARRR-TAY!” The crowd roared and waved. Twilight came in with the big box and gaped at the crowd. The presence of ponies there could have occupied Ponyville three times over. “Oh hey, Twilight. Everyone SAY HI TO MY GIRL TWILIGHT!” The crowd roared in greeting. Twilight was blushing. “Twilight would you mind setting the box right over here?” Pinkie Pie bucked the podium away and indicated where it was. Twilight set it down, and made a big thump.

“Pinkie Pie, you rang me?” DJ-Pon3 walked up to the stage. “Oh hey DJ, you made it just in time!” and with that, bucked the box on its side. It folded out, revealing all sorts of speakers and wires. Once it settled down, Pinkie Pie walked over to her new turntable. “Hey DJ, wanna spin?” The DJ took off her shades and rubbed her bright red eyes. “Ho MAN Triple P, It’s been too long. How did I not know?” she smiled a cool smile. Pinkie Pie giggled, “Don’t worry DJ. Not a lot of ponies knew about me either.” She turned to the crowd. “LET’S SAY WE GET SOME MUSIC GOING! SHALL WE?” The crowd roared again in approval. “A’ight Triple P, lets make some magic.” a pair of discs appeared before the DJ. She put them onto the turntable. She adjusted her shades, and turned a few knobs. “LET’S GO!” And the music blared out from the speakers, literally blowing the crowd back.

The Night

Twilight could not believe her eyes. Pinkie Pie said it was a party, but she had seen entire carnivals smaller then this. Pinkie Pie was a master mind. She had organized so many events in one short afternoon. There were ponies racing around the Sweet Apple Acre Barn. She turned her head. Berry Punch had set up a small bar, and was pouring drinks for two ponies. They were surrounded by an excited crowd of younger ponies. Multitudes of empty shot glasses laid on top of the bar. Twilight pulled back in slight disgust.

She yawned. It had been almost two days since she had some sleep. Twilight headed towards the library to get some sleep. She opened the door to find Cheerilee reading to some fillies. The school teacher looked up and waved her over. “Hello, Twilight. Where are you going?” Twilight sighed. “I was going to try and get some sleep.” Cheerilee giggled. “Why would you do that? It’s a TRIPLE P party Twilight. You don’t wanna miss out.” Twilight smiled. “Yes I realize that, but I’m exhausted.” Cheerilee pointed out the window. “They’re giving away energy drinks over there at that stand. You should try it. It’s REALLY affective.” Twilight sighed. “I guess it couldn’t hurt to try...”

Twilight made her way over to the stand pointed out by Cheerilee. There was a relatively short line of ponies. Twilight looked at the ponies who had drunk the energy drink. They were skipping around like Pinkie Pie with an excited expression. She lined up the other ponies somewhat worried about the contents of the drink. When she got to the front of the line, she saw Zecora. “Zecora? You’re here too?” The zebra turned her head. “Anywhere else, I would not be. For this is a party, of Triple P.” She smiled. “You are tired, I can tell. I know just the brew, to make you well.” And she poured her a cup of the energy drink. “Leaves of the Poison Joke can empower. And I promise, will not make you sour.” Twilight was a little reluctant after the last incident with the Poison Joke, but she took a sip anyway.

Her eyes shot open, and she felt as if she was on top of the world. Twilight grinned. “Wow, Zecora, this is even better than coffee!” Zecora only smiled. “It is my own special recipe. The only one I would deny is Pinkie.” Twilight giggled a little bit, and handed over a few bits. Zecora shook her hoof. “For these, I will not charge a dime. For I cannot deny anyone a good time.” Twilight smiled. “Thanks Zecora!”, and waved as she left the stands.

Twilight could not believe the effects of the drink. She had not slept for two days, and yet she felt like she could go another week. “This must be what being Pinkie Pie is like.”, and she giggled a little. She spotted Jester over by the bar, chatting with Berry Punch. She walked over. “Hey Jester, how’s it going?” Twilight turned to Berry. “Good evening Berry, can I get some fruit punch?” Berry smiled. “Sure, just as soon as I get another round of shots for these guys over here.” She pointed over to a small crowd surrounding two stallions. They had droopy eyes, and shot glasses lay all over the ground and bar. “Drinking contests. Never really understood the point.” Jester was drinking a small glass of punch. The Preludes of Chaos had organized themselves to be a six piece necklace with a glowing string of black magic. “So how are you enjoying the party so far Twilight?” Twilight looked over at Jester. “I haven’t been able to try out most of the events yet, but it’s looking great!” Jester smiled. “I knew you were missing out.”

“Hey Twilight!” She turned her head to Rainbow Dash, who had approached from the barn. “What’s your name again?”, she said as she pointed to Jester. “I’m Jester. Nice to meet you.” He held out his hoof in greeting. Rainbow Dash promptly smacked him across the face. “Ow. What was that for?” Rainbow Dash pointed menacingly at Jester. “No pony messes with me and gets away with it.” She leaned in closer. “No pony.” Jester opened his mouth to speak, but turned to Twilight with a confused look on his face. “You may or may not remember, but you hit Rainbow Dash with lightning in your first encounter with her.” Jester scratched his head. “Well, I guess I deserved it. Sorry about that.” Rainbow Dash looked at him, tapping her chin. “I like you. It takes a lot to just brush it off like that.” Jester shrugged. Rainbow Dash smacked him again. Jester just sighed. “And what was that for?” Rainbow Dash chuckled. “Nothing, I just felt like it.” Jester groaned and shook his head.

Twilight couldn’t help but to notice she had not seen Pinkie Pie since her first appearance in front of the crowd. “Jester, do you have any idea where Pinkie Pie went?” Jester thought for a little bit. “I think she would be over by the bakers. Why don’t you go check?” Twilight nodded. “Alright, see you later! Don’t start any trouble!” and she walked off towards the bakery.

As Jester predicted, Pinkie Pie was at the bakers, making treats by the dozen. Applejack was there as well, baking apple pies that filled the whole building with a sweet aroma. “Wow girls, that smells delicious!” Pinkie Pie looked up. “Oh hey Twilight! What’cha doing here?” Twilight shrugged. “I thought you’d be outside participating in the event.” Pinkie Pie just shook her head. “Supply needs to keep up with demand, and the demand is HIGH for these treats!” She turned back to her batter. “By the way, how’s Jester doing?” Twilight smiled. “Rainbow Dash just got him back.” Pinkie Pie flinched. “Getting smacked across the face with a hoof? sounds painful.” Twilight shrugged again. “He took it better then anyone I’ve ever met. Like it was some dust on his shoulder.” Pinkie Pie giggled. “That’s my Jester! Never let’s anything ruin his day!” Applejack turned around. “Hey Twilight! Wanna try my apple pie? It’s a new recipe.” “Sure! I’d love to sample your new pie!” Applejack cut a small piece off with her knife. Twilight gave it a taste. “Wow Applejack, that’s some nice pie! What did you add?” Applejack chuckled. “Just a little brown sugar and some cinnamon.” Twilight looked at the pie. “Brilliant touch! Anyway, I have to get back with the others. Good luck!” Pinkie Pie and Applejack waved to Twilight as she left the bakery.

Twilight found Jester sitting at the top of a small hill, staring at the stars. “When did you get here?” Jester looked back at Twilight. “After Rainbow Dash left, I decided on coming here. Beautiful scenery, don’t you agree?” and he looked back. Twilight sat down next to him and turned to the scenery. It was a bright night, the moon was full and high in the sky. The stars blinked everywhere, and fireflies mingled in the soft glow. The white topped mountains were divided by the river that also ran through Ponyville, and perfectly complimented the dark trees of the Everfree Forest.

Twilight turned back to Jester to find him staring at the Preludes of Chaos. They orbited him as they emitted a mysterious white glow like that of the moon. Twilight smiled. Jester looked back at Twilight. “You think you could get your Element? Magic, right?” Twilight was confused at the request, but retrieved it anyway. Jester looked at Twilight. “Have you ever tried this?” Jester willed the Preludes into a shape, and red magic arced back and forth between the Preludes until it looked like a guitar. White magic arced back and forth along the neck of the magical instrument six times. Jester held it and strummed. It had the beautiful quality of a real guitar. Twilight looked at the new instrument, and back at her tiara. She smiled as she concentrated. Her tiara shattered, leaving behind the original Element of Harmony. Twilight gasped, but Jester calmly touched her shoulder. “Keep going, that happens.” Twilight looked back, and continued. The gold that had been the base of the Element of Harmony grew and collected to look like a small violin. Purple strings raced back and forth along the golden body. A purple rod appeared from the Element that topped the golden instrument. Twilight grasped both, and she pulled the rod back and forth along the strings. The sound echoed throughout the foot hills. Twilight played like she was born with it. Jester looked at Twilight, and Twilight looked at Jester. Jester played a few chords. Twilight joined in, and the symphony echoed throughout the foothills.

End

The Preludes of Chaos

When Twilight opened her eyes, she saw two alicorns, one a bright white and the other a midnight blue. The bright white one had erected a magical shield, while the other one recovered from a teleportation spell. “Princess Celestia! Princess Luna! What are you doing here?” Twilight exclaimed. The shield shattered and Princess Celestia exhaled sharply. “No time to explain. Not here. Luna!” She spoke in a quick and serious tone. Princess Luna opened her eyes again and a brilliant flash ensued.

Twilight opened her eyes again. They were in a large garden. She recognized it immediately as the royal garden in Canterlot. She looked around. She looked at her dazed and confused friends, at Princess Luna, tired out from such a long distance teleport spell, and at Princess Celestia. The white alicorn had a grave look on her face. “I sincerely hoped this day wouldn’t come...” She was mumbling to herself. Twilight couldn’t help it, and a stream of questions poured out. “Who was that? What was he talking about? Why are we here? Preludes of-” Celestia held up her hoof, and Twilight stopped. “Follow me, I’ll explain everything.” and Celestia walked towards the palace, with everyone else following close behind.

“Remember when I said that before me and my sister, Discord ruled Equestria?” Twilight nodded. How could she forget that gruesome incident? “Discord isn’t normally very powerful, but when he ascended the throne, he used a powerful set of items, known as the Preludes of Chaos.” Twilight reminisced. “The same thing that black cloud was talking about?” Celestia nodded. “Discord, being lord of Chaos, used it to spread his influence and rule.” Celestia turned a corner. ”The Preludes of Chaos are exactly what they sound like, the opposition of the Elements of Harmony. Like the Elements, there are six Preludes. They are Denial, Frustration, Paranoia, Greed, Indifference and Magic.” Twilight was confused. “I thought Magic was an Element of Harmony, the most powerful one, too. How could it be a Prelude of Chaos?” Celestia only shook her head. “That is the only reason the Preludes can be countered. Generally, the Preludes and the Elements are of the same power, but powerful magic lies on both sides, and magic is not one to take sides.”

Celestia stopped at the Royal Library. With her magic, she opened the doors to the library and went in, with the group following close behind. “There’s a reason why I told you never to touch this book, Twilight.” Celestia pointed at the book reading Harmony and Chaos, Good and Evil. Celestia pushed it inward, and a dull thud was heard. Suddenly, the bookshelf slid into the floor, leaving a small corridor in its place. Rarity gave an unsure glance at Twilight, but went in anyway. Rainbow Dash was recovering from the blast, and staggered in.

The Encounter

"Oh for Pete’s sake, girls would you quit that shouting?” Twilight stopped and looked around. She recognized that area as the old castle of the Princesses. She looked over and saw that black cloud again. The Preludes of Chaos were swirling around the cloud as they had always been. Twilight got a grip of herself. “Who are you?” The red eyes looked at her again. “Like I said before, It does not matter who I am. However YOU, I find very interesting.” The cloud floated up to her. “Impressive, passing the Trials of the Temple.” The cloud circled around the girls. “But the question remains. Can you USE them?” Twilight gulped. “Of course!”

The black cloud floated back to the platform. “Show me.” Twilight was struck off guard by such an attitude, but focused again. “Alright girls. Formation!” The girls lined up in a line. “Let’s show him what we’re made of!” They all closed their eyes. Energy began to radiate off the necklaces of the girls. Then brilliant columns of light shot up into the sky, and a brilliant rainbow of energy came rumbling towards the black cloud. The black cloud simply chuckled, and adjusted the orbit of the Preludes. The rainbow crashed down. But instead of inflicting a serious injury, the rainbow broke the moment it came in touch with Preludes, splashing outward and losing power like pouring water onto dirt.

Twilight was taken aback by the result. “How...?” The cloud laughed a dark laugh. “Did you not read the diary? Such a simple blast might deal with the likes of Discord and Nightmare Moon, but these are the Preludes of Chaos we’re talking about.” Then the cloud swirled into a twister, taking the Preludes in. Lightning flashed, and suddenly the cloud disappeared.