It's A Magical Life

Luna had dismissed the town assembly, assuring them all that the grim situation happening henceforth would be resolved soon. With a final “Good Night, everypony,” Luna walked on over to the front door, instructing Angie to follow her.

The majority of the crowd knew Luna wasn’t speaking with a full truth in her words, but they disbanded nonetheless, chatting among each other. Everypony had their own opinion on what was to happen to Angie: some believed that she was just desperately seeking attention from Luna, and was about to be punished as a result; others thought she was really on to something, and all they could do was rely on their blind hopes. One thing was for certain though: nopony was sleeping that night. How could they?

Angie had her head hung the entire time she was standing near Luna; she couldn’t bear to look at the crowd or gaze into Luna’s eyes again. The braveness and confidence she had felt at the time of her sudden epiphany in the park was reduced to sheer anxiety. Fleeting questions still ran through her mind, running into each other. One of her biggest ones was concerning the sudden reaction Luna had to Angie explaining the pony radiating light in her dream. Nopony was able to give off that kind of light without magic. Given what Luna told everypony earlier in the assembly, everything beneath the clouds was stripped of magic. Not even alicorn magic, the most powerful form of magic known to ponykind, had any effect. Angie’s insides throbbed horribly when she thought of the Princesses flying down to Dragon Cave to investigate, only to find that there was absolutely nothing there. All hope would be lost, and Angie would be held responsible for wasting the Princesses’ time.

Angie attempted to speak to Luna, mustering up as much confidence as possible, but Luna simply raised a hoof to silence Angie’s words, telling her to wait for her elder sister to arrive for questions. With no other choice, Angie stood silently by The Front Door, where Luna was gazing into the gray abyss below. The flames of fury that were once dancing in Luna’s eyes were extinguished, somehow replaced by a look of excitement. The only true smile in The Magic Sanctum spread across her face.

If it had been at any other time, Angie would have spent this quiet period in solitude with Luna to ask her all the questions she had wanted to ask her since she was reunited with her elder sister. Here she was, alone with the riser of the moon and stars herself, yet she couldn’t say a single word. Discussing Luna’s various adventures down in Equestria below or her wisdom about life didn’t seem to be appropriate at the moment. Angie, instead, stood quietly behind Luna, awaiting the soon arrival of Princess Celestia.

Almost like Luna had read her mind, however, she turned to Angie. Angie, who still had her eyes facing the ground, felt Luna’s eyes gazing upon her and looked up uncertainly. Angie quickly averted her gaze, still not daring to look into those intimidating, blue-green eyes.

“Magic is a mysterious subject, Miss Angelica,” Luna said wisely to Angie. “In all my escapades of Equestria, both land and sky, I have grown to learn a great deal about its virtually infinite uses. Magic can mend injuries—” Luna’s horn glowed suddenly “—that have struck one physically or even mentally.” Angie’s eyes darted towards Luna’s back leg, which had just glowed just as suddenly as her horn. The glow, which was radiating a very light purple, soon faltered, revealing Luna’s midnight colored leg once more. Luna stomped the leg once, clearly showing Angie that her injured leg had been fully mended. Angie took in the words Luna had just said, still gazing at the leg.

“Emotional injuries, however, are a different story. One cannot simply cast a spell and mend a broken heart or a troubled soul. Not even the magic both my sister and I possess, power above all ponykind, can cure something as deep as emotional anguish.” Angie, saw Luna’s smile falter a bit. She was undoubtedly thinking about the ponies on the land below beneath the storm. Noticing that Angie was looking at her again, she regained the smile and continued.

“What was felt tonight here in the Sanctum, Miss Angelica, was a…different form of magic. Seeing everypony stand just a little bit closer to their friends and families in the face of turmoil was endearing, but when I saw ponies who were complete strangers to one another unite like brothers and sisters, I felt pure pride. Friendship…kindness…love…this is the kind of power not even The Abscission itself has complete control over. Celestia knows a great deal more about this sorcery than I do, which is why I have summoned her here tonight.”

Angie already knew all this herself, but she felt, too, a sense of pride in her fellow alicorns when Luna mentioned it. Luna had referred to them all as just ponies instead of strictly alicorns, which puzzled Angie. Were the ponies down in Equestria really that much like her kind, alicorns? Thinking of the suffering and confusion that was probably felt within everypony down on the ground, Angie wondered if they were also uniting in the same way. There had to be millions and millions of ponies down there…surely Princess Celestia had taught them too!

Princess Luna looked straight into Angie’s eyes and whispered something too inaudible for Angie to hear. She then walked on over to her and put her front leg around her shoulder, like she was her second sister. Angie felt goosebumps run down her back, making her legs glued to the clouds beneath her like cement. Instead of feeling anxious, however, she suddenly felt calm, like Luna had just passed some sort of comforting magic through her into Angie. Angie was still too shy to look up at Luna, but she tried her best to not act like Luna’s sudden embrace was a shock. Angie just stood there, her legs trembling slightly, looking seriously at the Front Door to mask her nervousness.

The rumbling from below started up again, although it wasn’t powerful enough to shake the ground like it had before. Luna took no notice of the disturbance, but Angie shifted slightly in surprise. She felt Luna’s grasp tighten slightly.

Hurry up, Celestia! Angie screamed inside her head, closing her eyes. It was only a matter of hours before the entire land of Equestria was engulfed by the storm. The recurring thought of Absissa ruling Equestria stabbed at Angie’s stomach like a needle. She quickly withdrew the thought and tried her very hardest just to focus on the comfort Luna has transferred to her moments ago.

Silent as an owl, yet fast as a Wonderbolt, the great white wings of Princess Celestia could be seen becoming steadily closer in the horizon. Angie suddenly felt like she had just gotten out of sleeping in a pigpen. Hastily trying to straighten her mane with a free hoof and giving herself a quick look-over, her heart stopped as she saw Celestia land over the threshold of the Front Door. She was now in the company of the two rulers of Equestria, a feat her friends would surely be jealous of once she was able to speak with them again. Angie couldn’t help but feel a second’s worth of sheer excitement.

Luna hastily let go of Angie and galloped towards her big sister, who didn’t even give Angie a passing glance. They gave each other a sisterly hug and parted. Celestia didn’t seem nearly as pleased to see Angie as was to see her, but Angie knew she must have been under a lot of stress. Celestia’s eyes were bloodshot and she wasn’t wearing her usual necklace and crown. Her mane was still as normal as ever, dry as a feather like she had just flown up on a warm summer’s day. It was like seeing a celebrity in their own home, where all the makeup and fancy style didn’t matter. Angie’s heart throbbed for her, knowing what she had been facing over the last three days. The Princess has undoubtedly been searching endlessly, without sleep, for over three days trying to locate Absissa and bring her down.

Princess Celestia sighed deeply and began talking to Luna in hushed tones, so Angie wasn’t able to hear. Luna looked over at Angie several times seriously, looking right into her eyes. Angie sure hoped Celestia believed what Luna was telling her. After all, if Luna, who was newly returned to her good state, believed her wholeheartedly, then surely Celestia would. Everyone knew of the generosity and gentleness of Princess Celestia, but it was still unsettling to see her standing merely twenty feet away, as forlorn as she was.

Angie felt another rush of comfort as she noticed Celestia’s mouth forming into a smile, Luna copying the same expression. Finally, after about five minutes they stopped talking and started towards Angie.

“Please excuse my rudeness, Miss Angelica,” said Celestia, in her soothing voice. “My conversation with my sister was urgent and of uttermost importance.” Angie nodded hastily, ensuring the Princess that she didn’t mind in the slightest. Celestia continued, “Luna has informed me of a premonition you have experienced recently, which I have no inclination to question. I don’t think you realize the importance of your actions that have come forth tonight.” Angie felt embarrassed, but smiled up at the Princess.

“I have little more words to bequeath upon you here, Miss Angelica. Our business lies elsewhere, in the confines of Sanctum Hall.” She motioned one of her legs behind Angie, where the Overseer and her executives had fled earlier.

Luna took off from the ground, flying away toward the Hall. Angie followed her. Soon, Celestia was in the air as well. Angie felt liked she was being escorted by pony police. It was all moving so fast...

"Sanctum Hall?" thought Angie, confused, as she flew through the warm night sky. Why did Celestia want to go there? She was hoping she could talk right then and there, below the changing colors of the night sky. It was much like a magnificent dream she had many months ago, where she was told she was going to vacation with them down in Canterlot for an entire summer. The two Princesses were riding in a chariot, beckoning Angie to step in and ride with them. Before she could, however, the dream had gone up in a cloud of invisible smoke.

Impossibly fast, they landed a half-mile away in front of Sanctum Hall, which was guarded by the same wall of surly alicorn crowd control officers. Their huge shadows rose above the thick crystal walls of the building. The officers all bowed as the Princesses walked nearer to the building in the lamplight. The same officer who had talked to Angie previously greeted her by name, which Angie completely ignored. Celestia hurried them all inside.

“Thank you, gentlecolts!” chimed Princess Celestia as she walked through the doorway.

Angie had never been in Sanctum Hall after hours. It was sort of eerie, as spacious and dark as it was at this time of night. Even the ever-burning purple flames in the chandeliers didn’t help much in making the place feel any more inviting. Princess Celestia’s soothing voice broke the short silence the three of them experienced after they had closed the door.

“Miss Angelica, I know you are questioning why Luna and I have brought you here tonight. Please refrain from asking questions pertaining to our intentions until we reach the Great Portal, where we require your assistance. We will be meeting your Overseeing alicorn, Carol Majoris. She awaits our presence at the far end of this building.”

Celestia gave Luna the cue to move again. The three alicorns galloped silently through the eerie shadows of the lobby and made their way through the double doorway leading to the long, winding passageway of the west wing. Angie had no time to speculate about the meaning of where they were going, for everything was moving much too quickly to allow her to think, but she knew for a fact where they were heading.

Angie had no idea how late in the evening it was, but she could feel sleepiness trying to combat her as she and the Princesses flew down the hallway. It would almost be better to fly rather than run, for running seemed to by far deplete Angie’s energy the fastest. Still, though, she pressed on, trying her absolute hardest to show the princesses she was no ordinary pony, and could take on anything.

Almost immediately after thinking this, Luna rose off the ground into flight. Angie looked over her shoulder and saw Princess Celestia nod at her, instructing her to do the same.

Yep. They could read minds.

Soon, all three of them were rocketing down the long, winding corridor just as Angie had done earlier that day. The many portraits and doors flashed by them on either side. As wide as the corridor was, Princess Celestia’s wingspan was nearly the width of the hall. It was amazing how coordinated she was for such a majestic alicorn.

“We have wings for a reason you know!” shouted Luna from the front. Celestia giggled appreciatively behind Angie, who couldn’t help but smile as well. The whole situation of her and the Princesses flying together…it was incredible. Everything still felt so surreal, from simply flying through Sanctum Hall at night, to having a personal conversation with the rulers of Equestria. Maybe if it weren’t for the fact she felt so tired and anxious, Angie would have been the happiest alicorn in the Sanctum.

Almost too quick for Angie’s liking, they reached the end of the hallway where the heavy black door stood. Two of the biggest alicorns Angie had ever seen in her life stood on either side. The inky black figures dipped their heads in respect for the princesses but gave Angie a peculiar look, much like the Overseer had given her earlier. After a hesitated second, the alicorn on the right wrenched open the heavy door with absolutely no effort. Luna and Celestia ushered Angie through the door like bodyguards, both giving a word of thanks to the officers.

The door closed slowly with a heavy thud. The sound echoed unnaturally throughout the huge, dark space that made up the Great Portal room. The only light in the room came from the large horseshoe-shaped arch at the back of the room, the Great Portal itself. Angie and the Princesses walked on over to a number of shadows that were standing in front of the Great Portal, chatting amongst one another in rather solemn tones. They turned around at the sound of the echo expectantly and bowed as usual in the princesses’ company.

Two of the shadows, who Angie had briefly recognized through her sleepy eyes, were the two executives that always traveled with the Overseer in her escorts. The Overseer raised a hoof in farewell to them as they took off towards the small black door of the Great Portal room.

“So…,” started the Overseer, just like she said earlier that day to Angie. Unlike Angie, she was wide awake, ready to take on the night’s unfolding events. She had a look of forced determination on her face, unsuccessfully hiding the fear Angie could also see.

“Yes,” said Celestia with a full nod.

Luna glanced at Angie and copied Celestia. “Yes.”

The Overseer scanned Angie for a moment, sizing her up.

“Alright,” said the Overseer in a deep sigh. “Although even I do not understand why you have decided to choose Miss Angelica of all ponies, I have no choice but to simply accept your decision, Celestia.”

“Carol, I do believe you know perfectly well why Miss Angelica was selected her this evening. Somewhere in the confines of her subconscious, she has been shown a premonition, which I do believe she presented before you earlier today,” said Celestia with a smile.

The Overseer nodded, looking away to show Celestia was right, but she didn’t want to accept she had made a mistake.

Celestia shifted her head towards Angie, who was trying her very hardest to look fully awake. “Miss Angelica, the time has come. Come with me.”

Angie, slowly but not at all surely, followed Celestia towards the great arch of the Great Portal. When they stopped in front of the arch, Angie finally took notice of what was portrayed on the screen.

In the Portal they saw a slanted, top-down view of the Sanctum and the unnatural grey clouds below. To anypony other than an alicorn, all that would have been visible was a vast area of colors, swirling about like wisps of smoke, illuminated by moonlight. Looking down upon the spacious expanse of the Sanctum below threw shivers down Angie’s spine; the thousand foot tower in the center of the Sanctum was truly an incredible sight to behold in all its glory. Tens of thousands of windows were still illuminated, housing the nervous alicorns who were still in their homes wide awake. A ways away, the giant clock tower could be seen rising above the sparsely lit buildings. Angie couldn’t see what time it was on the clock, but she guessed it was somewhere close to eleven o’clock. From the moment Luna appeared over through the Front Door, up until now, days could have gone by—maybe even weeks. All time was lost in the uproar that had recently occurred.

The epic cloud arches that connected with the thousand foot tower were gently lit with the colors in the night sky, shifting slowly like thick fog. At the base of the arches were the outskirts of the Sanctum, where alicorns were forbidden to venture. Somewhere out there, near one of those bases, loomed the home of Abssisa the Almighty, which was still being searched by police and scientists alike. Tirelessly, they were on a mission looking for a solution as to how Absissa managed to travel to Canterlot and back. So far, after nearly four days, they were unsuccessful.

Angie suddenly felt fully awake. A rush of excitement now filled her veins, replacing the anxiety in her mind. After all these months of looking close up at foliage, landforms and sea life under the oceans, seeing a panned-out view of the Magic Sanctum was like a splash of cold water.

The Overseer’s spiraling horn suddenly lit up, causing the image inside the portal to turn fuzzy. Angie, mildly annoyed at the sudden disappearance of the breathtaking scene, turned her head towards the Overseer to hear her chanting something. Her head and mane were thrown back, staring unblinkingly at the top of the Great Portal.

“A mare of overseeing which stands before thee

Commands thy secrets to be shown unto me

For with this knowledge I hope to acquire

Will solely be used to educate and inspire”

A clear, crystal lamp at the top of the Great Portal immediately lit up, turning on all the other machines in the entire room. The image in the portal became clear again, now able to be used by anypony in the room with their alicorn magic.

It was Luna’s turn to use magic. A slow whirling sound came from her horn, striking the image on the portal and causing it to start moving. Within just a few seconds, the Magic Sanctum was completely gone from view. The image then got steadily darker, plummeting through the grey clouds that hung over Equestria.

Soon, a great expanse of water could be seen far below the bottom of the clouds. Tiny little islands Angie had never seen before in the portal dotted the expanse of water like lost ships at sea. For one horrible moment, Angie thought the land was already covered in water, but then she realized it was impossible for this to happen just yet, even though a sheer downpour was going on. Angie heard Celestia mutter something about the Griffin Sea, which Angie assumed was what the area of water was named.

Angie assumed Luna was using the islands as some sort of map, because Luna’s eyes scanned the islands for one brief moment, then shot down in a completely different direction. A sheet of purplish grey water was all around the soaring image, falling almost sideways in the great winds that were undoubtedly blowing. The portal made no sound apart from the low humming noise it always made when the light was turned on. Watching Luna causing the image to twist and turn like rapids in a river, the scene was like watching a film on fast forward.

The image now flying sideways, the Griffin Sea turned into rolling green hills. Angie, still stuck on the thought of the Griffin Sea, felt a horrible stab in her stomach, thinking of all the creatures stranded on the islands. It was only a matter of time before they were all underwater…

The elevation of the land became steadily higher and higher, until mountains were visible. The image suddenly stopping near a particularly high mountain with snow still around the summit, Luna scanned the landscape again. Although they were still miles in the sky, Luna seemed like she found what she was looking for far off in the distance. Once again, the image shifted, heading towards the location fast as a sonic rainboom.

Rain and snow appeared on the screen off and on as the altitudes kept changing. Angie found herself feeling slightly sick from the great speed the image was flying, so she decided to talk to the Overseer as an excuse.

“Um, excuse me, Mrs. Majoris,” Angie said quietly to the Overseer, whose eyes were transfixed on the image. Without looking or saying anything to Angie, she nodded her head to show she was listening.

“I really am sorry about today, ma’am.” Angie said to her, referring to being late for work earlier that day.

“You shouldn’t be,” she replied, still watching the portal. “You have no need to apologize…to anypony.”

The Overseer looked like she was going to cry. Was she actually sorry for firing her from her job? If she was, then Angie didn’t see why she needed to act all emotional over it…losing her job wasn’t that big of a deal…

But then Angie looked once again into the portal, which had come to a halt at last.

There, plainly inside the horseshoe-shaped image that made up the Great Portal, was Dragon Cave, exactly like what she had been seeing in her dream for so long. The constant rain had eroded some of the edge of the cliffs. Evil, red lightning flashes illuminated the cave repeatedly, which was full of abandoned treasure. All the gold and silver was undoubtedly left behind by a dragon, which had probably been out hunting when the storm hit. The poor dragon had probably been grounded by a lightning strike, simply trying to make the way back to its home.

Nopony in the room could speak.

Luna moved the image one last time with her magic, moving much slower than before. She aimed towards the cave, finding what she was looking for at last. As the image entered the cave, the enchanted lightning flashes got dimmer and dimmer. Soon they had moved so far in the cave, the flashes were as dim as another light, which shone towards the back of the cave.

A stream of smoke could be seen through the darkness. As the glow grew brighter, Angie noticed the glow was coming from a fire. It was impossible to find dry firewood outside in this weather. There was also no magic or dragons around to create the fire themselves. So whoever was tending to the fire had to be quite a resourceful creature.

Could this be the sun-like pony Angie had dreamed about? Angie had her hooves held up to her face in anxiety, hoping with all her might her dream wasn’t a lie.

As the voyage of the Magic Portal’s journey reached its end of travel, Angie finally saw the true form of who was tending to the fire.

A filly, no older than Angie herself, was sitting on the cold, rocky ground, staring into the blazing fire. She was nothing but a mere earth pony, her pretty blonde mane covering her hornless head. Angie had expected to see a large, powerful, sentinel-like creature by the fire, its huge shadow cast over the walls of the cave. What was even worse was the pony herself didn’t even have a strong expression. Instead, her face wore the single most defeated expression Angie had ever seen in her life.

The pony, who was still awake, was a warm shade of orange, with eyes the exact same color as Angie—emerald green. She would have been quite a pretty pony if it weren’t for the fact she seemed to totally have let herself go. Her blonde mane was plastered to her neck, like she had been standing in the rain all day and didn’t bother to dry it off. Her tail, the same color, was split several different ways and full of dirt from the floor of the cave. She had dried mud on her face, along with several more spots on her body, which was rather thin. Even worse, her eyes were among the most hauntingly poignant pools of despair one could imagine. She looked as though she had lost everything and didn’t know what to do with herself. They were full of misery and fear, bloodshot from probably lack of sleep. Tears had long stopped flowing down her face.

The fire was built inside a cocoa-colored cowboy hat, which had holes of all sizes burned through it like Swiss cheese in the course of the flames. Angie knew the hat probably belonged to the pony. A small pile of dry wood the earth pony had probably found within the cave itself were all that was keeping the fire going. The pony had probably not have arrived in that spot more than an hour ago.

Angie had no idea why this earth pony was all by herself out this late at night…in the rain…in a time like this. Somepony just had to help her…

She turned to Celestia, who was trying to take in the devastation of the pony she saw before her. Everypony in the room were thinking the exact same thing as Angie.

“The Spirit of Honesty may not look like much, but she is absolutely essential to why I have brought you here today, Miss Angelica,” said Celestia, keeping her eyes glued to the portal like the Overseer.

Angie took a double take. The Spirit of Honesty? Wait…she had heard that term before. She was one of the ponies who helped rescue Princess Celestia a couple years ago from Luna, who was once Nightmare Moon. But the Spirit of Honesty couldn’t have been this pony they were seeing in the portal. Nopony with a noble spirit that powerful would have wound up in a state like hers. Unless…

Princess Celestia now gave her full attention to Angie, who was prepared at last for the onslaught of questions. Angie felt weak in her knees again at her piercing eyes.

“Your majesty,” Angie began quickly, “Are you sure this is the same pony that possessed the Spirit of Honesty? From the Elements of Harmony? What did that evil mare do to her—?”

“I understand you have many questions to ask me, Miss Angelica, but please slow down,” said Celestia. “I know without a shadow of a doubt this is the Spirit of Honesty, for I have seen her face many times, along with the other Spirits. She has been a valuable asset, not only for the Elements of Harmony’s sake, but for the ponies all around her. One of my most faithful and trustable students, Twilight Sparkle, has written me quite a few letters concerning the good deeds The Spirit of Honesty has done. But her downfall had nothing to do with the Abscission—”

“Hold on, Celestia, what are you trying to say?” Luna said suddenly, approaching the two of them, confused herself. “She has a family and friends that love her and a destiny she knows by heart—”

“Luna, let me finish,” interrupted Celestia calmly. “Time is of rarity at the moment. You have not been the reader of the letters my pupil Twilight Sparkle has been sending me since last September. The Spirit of Honesty, who everyone knows as Applejack in Equestria, has been down on her luck for the past several months. She has refused the company of her friends and the community down in the town of Ponyville has seemed to rise up against her. The farm which she has been running for years has encountered serious financial instability, and Applejack took all the blame on herself. All the pressure that weighed down upon her was simply too much for her to handle, so she has fled into the wilderness. Twilight Sparkle predicts she is trying to flee toward where some of her family resides in Manehattan. One can only hope my pupil is correct. One can only hope she isn’t trying to do…something else.”

Celestia paused for a moment and spoke again. “Her family and friends do indeed love her as much as they ever did, but poor Applejack has let the delusions of depression overtake her mind. She needs somepony to find her and get rid of these delusions. She needs to be put back on her hooves or else the Elements of Harmony will be incomplete. The Elements of Harmony cannot unite when one Spirit is missing.”

Celestia sighed deeply and said finally, “Applejack needs the Spirit of Hope, Miss Angelica. And that Spirit is you.”

Angie understood everything now, but she didn’t feel at the least bit relieved. She backed away slowly from Celestia, who was looking at Angelica expectantly.

“Y-you can’t be serious, your majesty,” stammered Angie, almost laughing at the fact. “Why is it up to…me? There is no Spirit of Hope…”

The Overseer, who Angie expected to have run over to her and protect her like a disapproving mother, turned her back to them, clearly knowing the discussion wasn’t her place.

“Angelica the Articulate,” said Luna, walking up to Angie, who was still backing away uncertainly. “You, like all alicorns in the Magic Sanctum, were given a name extension when you were nine years old. Celestia gave you that name because she knew what she could see within you. She visited you personally because of your future. Please don’t doubt my elder sister.”

As Angie continued to back away from Luna, she recalled the moment perfectly, like the many years that had passed since then had been but a couple weeks. Oh her ninth birthday, Princess Celestia had made a special appearance just for her. Coming of age alicorns received a personal, hoof-written letter on special parchment from Celestia herself, containing their life's purpose. Through the special kind of magic the letter possessed, the same epiphany-like feeling ponies down in Equestria felt when they got their cutie marks was also felt inside the Sanctum alicorns. Cutie mark magic didn't exist in the Magic Sanctum due to ancient enchantments. Celestia, who may have been wrong a select few times in the past about certain things, had never led a Sanctum alicorn down the wrong path once. Because of this, the process had never changed.

The parchment the letter was made out of was an extremely rare and precious mineral called epistone, which was said to be more valuable than any other material known in the universe. Nothing besides Celestia’s special letters was known to contain the element. But even as incredible as the scrolls of parchment were, nothing compared to being visited by the ruler of Equestria, and given their personal epistone letter by Celestia’s own voice.

As Angie recalled the experience, she could almost feel the warm and nostalgic rays of sunshine that filled the room on the day Celestia had appeared for the first time in her presence. She had been at school, staring off into space like had always done when class got a bit too boring, when Celestia had appeared in the room, requesting to visit with Angie privately for a short while. As she got out of her seat and passed the jealous classmates, she beheld the euphoria an overly excited child always felt. Oh how happy she was that day…

Angie reached the back wall of the room. The brief moment of peace she was feeling evaporated instantly the moment she touched the cold crystal-like material that formed the wall.

Angie tried to move along the wall, in an attempt to flee from Luna’s advancing steps but she was shocked when Luna’s horn suddenly lit up and forced Angie up on the wall. Angie was now completely motionless, only able to move the muscles in her face. She closed her eyes and waited for Luna to speak, for Angie was too scared to utter a single word.

“Luna...,” Angie heard Celestia say warningly from the other side of the room.

Ignoring her, Luna starting speaking to Angie in a hiss-like whisper, “You are much more powerful than you wish to believe, Miss Angelica. You will assist us tonight.”

The whispering bugged Angie’s ears, like she was receiving some form of torture. She always hated how some ponies were able to whisper that way.

“But the Abscission…I will die out there…I saw what happened to you two…”

“Petty injuries, Miss Angelica. Do not concern your pretty little head over something as trivial as this. You will not die. Do I have your word, Miss Angelica?”

“W-what word—”

“We don’t have time for games, filly,” hissed Luna, her voice becoming more and more agitated.

“I’m s-sorry! I can’t think s-straight—I know what you mean—but I told you…I can’t...” Angie was crippling under Luna’s stabbing stare, which she was now forced to look at. Luna had made all the nerves in Angie’s body paralyzed.

“Why not?” Luna said at a more audible tone.

Angie hesitated, trying to sum up the right words.

“I won’t know what to say or how to help her—”

“You are the Spirit of Hope, Miss Angelica! Yes you will!” exclaimed Luna, even louder. Angie was becoming angry too, although she was still afraid to raise her voice.

“There are only six Spirits, not seven—”

“Don’t try and give me a magic lesson, Miss Angelica. I know all about the Spirits and how many there are.”

Angie’s anger was rising as well. “You obviously didn’t two years ago when all of them defeated you, your Majesty.”

Luna laughed loudly, causing the hair on Angie’s mane to ripple and stand up at the same time. She knew that laugh…

“You have some sheer nerve to speak to me in that way and in that tone, Miss Angelica,” said Luna, her voice different than usual.

Angie felt the force pressing against her body tighten, now starting to hurt her. Her anger was replaced by fear again as she noticed Luna was baring her teeth. The smile she wore was definitely not a kind one.

“Luna!” shouted Celestia, warning her sister for a second time. “Release Miss Angelica this instant!”

“You’re too soft with her, Celestia. Leave us be,” spat Luna impatiently.

In a much smaller voice, Angie responded to Luna, “I am no Spirit…I am too weak to be a Spirit—”

This was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

“YOU—ARE—AN—ALICORN!” exploded Luna in her Nightmare Moon voice. “YOU ARE NOT WEAK!”

Angie winced at the great power of Luna’s voice. Angie’s mane was whipped back against the wall like she has just been blasted with a tornado. All the air in her stomach had been knocked out of her like she had just been punched. The Overseer nearly jumped out of her skin and turned back around to face the commotion that was going on.

“LUNA THE NIGHT-BRINGER!” thundered Celestia, shooting out her great wings in frustration. The image of Applejack in the great portal vanished instantly, as well as all the power in the room, which was now dark. Celestia’s voice, which was even more powerful than Luna’s, shook the ground and caused the Overseer to fall to the ground. Luna turned her head sharply around and jumped away from Angie, who was still shaking after the ground had stopped moving. The two guard alicorns outside the door stuck their heads in curiously. The light from the hallway seeped into the room, being the one of only three light sources in the room; the other two were from Celestia and Luna, whose eyes were both illuminated like flashlights. They were staring at each other intently. Angie assumed they were probably now having a telepathic battle, determining who should keep their mouths shut.

Angie was still there, stuck to the wall like super glue, literally not able to move a muscle, her head aching from the two consecutive blasts she had received. She could still feel the temperature of the room, which felt like it had just shot up at least forty degrees after Celestia had lost her temper. This made Angie grasp the fact that her snide remark with Luna was a stupid thing to do.

The lights in the room came back on, along with the other machine and the Great Portal. Applejack was now sleeping, curled up as close to the fire as she could manage. The pitiful flames burned weakly; no longer able to burn holes through her hat. Luna, too, was looking rather small, as she seemed to be losing the mental brawl with her sister. Her ears drooped and she looked away from Celestia embarrassingly. The room was starting to cool off back to its normal temperature as Celestia’s expression softened.

The Overseer got back on her hooves and gave Angie a worried glance, wanting to help her out but not daring to interfere with the Princesses.

Luna seemed to be done being told off by her sister, for the room was now completely back to normal and Celestia was perfectly calm again. Luna left Celestia and galloped over to Angie, unfastening her from the wall immediately with her magic. Angie nearly collapsed when she landed on her hooves, trying to get herself used to feeling everything again. She put her leg around Angie apologetically and whispered, “Are you alright, dear?”

Everything in Angie’s body seemed to be working alright, so she nodded, “Yeah.” Although Angie was rather taken aback by Luna’s hostility, she forgave her. After a thousand years of being banished in the moon, Luna’s temper was still easy to set off. Angie made a mental note never to do anything as foolish as to activate Nightmare Moon mode ever again.

The two of them approached Celestia again, who took Angie by the leg and led her over to the portal. She also questioned Angie on her well-being, who assured she was fine.

“Just be warned,” said Celestia in a disapproving undertone, “If you ever manage to lead my sister to shouting tones again while I’m away, you will be in trouble. She may have been at fault, but she’s still a Princess, the Riser of the Moon and Stars, and my sister, so she should therefore be treated with respect. Understood?”

“Yes, your majesty,” said Angie ashamedly. “Look…I apologize about that—”

“No harm was done,” assured Celestia with a small smile. “Now then—allow me to appropriately teach you about our mission.”

“An indefinite amount of years ago, the six Elements of Harmony were created by an unknown source or creature. The six Elements, which you know to be Laughter, Generosity, Honesty, Kindness, Loyalty and Magic, could be unified to create the most powerful magic known to ponykind. With them, capable ponies down in Equestria could harness the energy within the Elements to do away with evil and iniquity. But even before these six elements, there existed just one other.

“Shortly after the fall of Discord, many centuries ago, I created the Magic Sanctum. My wish was to give a home to all the alicorns that had seen the horrors of the abuse of magic; what waste it had lay upon Equestria. These alicorns would be kept safe, under the protection and jurisdiction of Luna and I. I do not wish to seem slow to trust my fellow alicorns, but after Discord...I could not risk something parallel to his rule to happen again. Our magic is too dangerous in the unpracticed hoof. One can only shudder at the thought if time and space itself relied in the hooves of an alicorn, unwary of his or her actions."

Angie intervened, “But surely there are other alicorns out there in Equestria somewhere? You and Luna can't be the only alicorns still in Equestria...can you?”

Celestia sighed. "Yes, Miss Angelica. There are other alicorns out there. But releasing that information to the general public would be almost as catastrophic as allowing free use of our magic. The alicorns in Equestria are all a part of the Royal Family, who have made immense contributions to ponykind. Making sixty-thousand ponies feel like they aren't good enough to be welcomed into our family is just something I haven't been able to do. Therefore, nopony in the Sanctum knows more alicorns besides Luna and I exist outside the Sanctum. If they were to find out, there would be disorder; utter chaos. Rather than see my lie has been used for a greater good, they would run rampant with their alicorn magic and tear reality apart."

Angie said nothing.

Understanding Angie’s silence, Celestia continued, “Because of this great potential danger, now you understand why my strict rule upon alicorn magic in the Sanctum exists. Unfortunately, I have failed to grasp the harsh reality that eventually, a pony with the thickest of skulls would rise up against this rule. Forerunner of Equestria I may be, I could not fully prepare for such an event. So, therefore, all we can turn our heads toward to is that one other element. The element that history has never classified as a true Spirit, for one has always assumed it lies in everypony. Hope.”

Angie said nothing. It all made sense. Although a bit unsubtly put, hope was the most valuable quality she knew.

“Its power is something beyond even I can understand, but I know of the potential it brings about in everypony. Very few refer to hope as a Spirit, for only those very few have the shadow of an idea of its limitless stamina. Impossible situations that seemed foolhardy become sensible; a dark forest becomes navigational by a sudden source of light. When I saw this Spirit so strongly within you back when you were a filly, I made a point to speak to you myself, rather than an elaborate epistone letter. I was certain I had found a new holder of the Spirit. One who could harness its true energy to someday do great things. It's saddening how much ponies take hope with a grain of salt these days...”

Celestia put her hoof on Angie’s shoulder appreciatively. She felt the warm touch flow through her body much like Luna’s did. Angie put Celestia’s words into perspective and responded:

“Alright, I’ll do it.”

Princess Celestia smiled. “Will you now? Tell me why.”

Angie, without thinking any of this through, responded quietly, “Because Applejack needs me—Equestria needs her—the Elements are incomplete—”

“Action...,” rasped a voice.

Angie stared trance-like at the portal. “Because somepony has got to do something, and that somepony is me.”

Celestia closed her eyes and made one, slow nod. Then her long horn glowed a mysterious, sparkling orange light, causing the image in the portal to swirl like a whirlpool.

“What is the reason for this, Celestia,” questioned Luna, appearing alongside Angie. Angie, too was confused. Shouldn’t they be leaving now?

“In order for Angelica to fully understand her mission, she must know Applejack’s influence that has been made throughout Equestria over her life. I am manipulating the portal to perform a sort of rewind, back when Appljeack was a small filly. If you would, Luna, please do something about the time.”

Luna’s horn lit up as well, flashing a dark, purple light every other second. Sound waves, too low for Angie to hear, were pulsing all around her. Waves of the dark purple light from Luna’s horn were visible, slowly disappearing through all the walls of the room. She was slowing time inside the Sanctum.

“It is potentially catastrophic to twist time, Angelica,” said Luna seriously. Real time must be maintained in sky and ground or else actions requiring a timely manner would be impractical. Because of a problem on this grand of a scale, there is no other option but to allow us a bit of time. I am slowing the flow of time to a one to three thousand ratio. In other words, almost every hour in the Sanctum will be of just one second in Equestria.”

“Carol!” called Celestia, her horn glowing as bright as ever. The Overseer hurried over.

“Slow me down, please!” said Celestia.

Now the Overseer’s horn was glowing, a sparkling blue. The whirlpool in the portal began to decrease to a slow ripple.

Quicker than Angie would have expected, all at once their horns stopped glowing and the endeavor was complete. The image inside the portal was sharpening, the aspects becoming more distinguishable. Angie could make out trees; a few seconds later a wooden fence; then finally, a large red barn.

A red pony, slightly older than a colt, was walking along the fence, talking to a tiny Applejack, not yet adorned by a cowboy hat. The image, unlike before, was now producing sound, and Angie could hear their voices. They had strong southern accents, but she could understand them perfectly well.

“Welcome to Sweet Apple Acres, Angelica,” said Celestia.