Author's Note

A wise man learns more from a fool than a fool can learn from a wise man.

XII

When my spell finished transporting all eleven of us, I hit the crest on my armor, making it fold back into the medallion around my neck.

“Come, we must be swift.” I say before hearing one of the ponies lose their dinner from the distance we traveled near instantaneously.

“Give us a few seconds… please.” Twilight says as she rubs Fluttershy’s back, trying to sooth her upset stomach.

“Twilight, I need you to summon the elements as soon as possible.” I say as I take a few deep breathes of my own to try and calm myself.

“Alright… here they… are.” She says before six loud pops, and flashes come from her horn, and surrounding area, as she teleports the elements of harmony to her.

Before she could do anything I levitate them to me, and place them on my person.

“Head home Twilight Sparkle.” I tell her as the elements flash onto my person. I hear Dream chuckle in the back of my head.

“What?! No, we won’t let you take the elements without taking us!” She shouts at me. I growl before looking to the three necromancers.

Before anyone could say anything else the elements make a shrieking sound, before pulsing with pure harmonic magic. My lunar magic was fine with this, but Dream’s was more aligned with chaos as dreams are rarely harmonic, and she was screaming in pain.

I screamed along with her, as she is a part of me now.

“GET THEM OFF ME!” I scream as I tear at the harmonic relics. Egress was the first to act, pulling the artifacts off of me without hesitation.

Once the last element was taken off I make a very heavy pulse with my magic to rid myself of the harmonic power that lingered.

“Never-*gasp*- let me… put those on… ever again.” I say breathing deeply as Dream Weaver, and I, recuperate from the torturous experience.

“Why did the elements hurt you?” Egress asks me with a silky, elderly voice before Twilight levitates the elements back to her, and her friends.

“The dark magic that I siphoned from my mother still resides inside me, and has become a part of me.” I say quietly. Her eyes widen before I lean against a nearby tree.

“Then, does that mean that… she is still alive?” She asks in a whisper, as to keep this from the others.

“Dream is still alive yes, but she is inside my head now, and she will be this way until I think of something better.” I say with my eyes narrowed before pushing off of the tree, and standing up right.

“We need to get going, I don’t care who goes, but let’s go.” I say before starting the long hike back to my now ancient home.
The necromancers stayed near me as I stepped over the shrubbery, and pushed through the vines that are in my path.

Egress was holding a quiet conversation with Kindness while Loyalty glides overhead looking for danger. Twilight and the rest of her friends followed me about three meters behind, have a fierce whispering conversation with each other.

I glanced into the forest every few minutes to spot any of the ruins that marked the ancient capitol city. I could see foundations, and sometimes a few withered buildings through the dense overgrowth.

“I should never have been turned to stone. I could have kept my home from falling into ruins like it is now.” I mutter quietly as we all exit into the clearing where my mother’s forgotten castle rests.

“Prince, I may be able to help the nymph live longer.” The elder necromancer tells me as I search for the way down the cliff that separated the forest from the castle grounds.

“Speak, as she doesn’t have long.” I tell him before spotting the stairs that led down into the ravine.

“I might be able to convert her into a Lunar Dryad if we don’t make it to the tree in time.” He tells me. I look over to the now elderly dryad before looking back to the elderly pony.

“You shall do that only as a last resort.” I tell him before looking over to the group that followed into this mess, “Let’s keep moving.” I called to them all before starting my way down the stairs that were carved from the Cliffside itself.

The ponies and nymph followed me down into the ravine before we all entered a cave. Right as we entered the natural sanctuary, Egress collapses. I run over to her, and pick her up.

“We are out of time, so we run, as it may be the only way to get to the tree soon enough!” I say slightly panicked before taking off with Egress now starting to age rapidly in my arms. The others caught up to me, and we started to run even harder.

After running for at least two hundred meters we came upon a dying crystalline tree.

“Dark unicorns, watch over her.” I tell my necromancers before gently laying Egress up against the smooth walls of the cave.

“Twilight, come with me.” I say to the lavender unicorn that was staring at Egress in worry. She and her five friends have to shake themselves from the dread they felt from looking at the elderly Sylvian.

As they neared me I looked over the tree, and see long black vines have wrapped around the tree’s trunk. When I looked closer I could see chaotic magic that only one being could have. One spirit of chaos that was locked away in stone.

“Twilight, I need you and your friends to hit the tree with the element’s power. This might be the only way to restore the tree’s health besides returning the elements to the tree.” I say as I back away from the six regalia wearing ponies.

“Alright, you heard him girls.” Twilight says as her friends gather together as the tree seems to pulse in pain. The elements seemed to reply with a similar pulse.

I watch as Twilight, and her friends started to power the elements, the necklaces glowing with the powers of harmony. The magic that was being summoned lifted the six ponies off of the ground as the elements glow brightens into a pure white.

Twilight’s eyes opened with white power flowing through them before the elements fired their magic at the tree. The beam of harmonic power was rainbow colored, and the tree absorbs it without any hesitation.

I hear what seems to be a large piece of glass shattering as the chaotic vines were burned away in the pure white power coursing through the tree.

‘(This is the power that hides inside the elements.)’ Dream says in awe. I didn’t reply, but instead just continued gazing at the massive amounts of magic being transferred into the Tree of Harmony.

The vines are completely gone, and the tree starts to shine when the elements stopped healing it. Twilight, and her friends are set back onto the ground before the elements flash, return to their white stone state, having used up the magic that was held inside.

The tree is shining a bright sky blue before it bears one fruit. The branch holding the piece of fruit stretches towards me before dropping the sparkling fruit next to me, and retreating back to its regular position.

“What in the wide world?” I ask as I look the crystalline fruit over.

The fruit was about the size of a dog house, and seemed to have a moving shape inside of it. The fruit also gleamed a deep purple, making me wonder the purpose of the offspring.

Before I could get distracted for much longer, Egress calls for me in her young angelic voice.

“Prince, come here.” I turned from the gleaming fruit. Egress was standing behind me, with a sweet smile. Her skin had returned to its soft and pristine condition. Her hair was once again long, smooth, and dark. The spark I’d seen in many dryads before had returned to her eyes.

“Egress, are you okay?” I ask her. Before I could ask anything more she does something unheard of for a dryad. She embraces me with both arms.

“Thank you Prince… I thank you.” She says to me, almost sounding on the verge of tears. I slowly return her embrace.

“If it wasn’t for you I would have perished.” She whispers in my ear before she pulls away. I let her go, as she would be furious at any contact she didn’t initiate.

“Ugh, I feel like I tried to make a star.” I hear Twilight say as she slowly comes to. The others follow in her wake. I chuckle at what Twilight had said before looking back at the large crystal fruit.

I attempted to wrap my magic around it, but my magic just slid right over the top of it, not being able to grasp it. I reach my hand out to it, and it brightens slightly.

(Be careful Prince, it is almost as if it is connected to you.) Dream whispers in my head. She seemed to be in shock at what had transpired just now.

I gently place my palm onto the fruit, and it glows a bright white. I tried to pull my hand away from the fruit, but it was stuck.

{Prince, leave your hand where it is. It feels warm, and happy.} Dreams sighs in my head. I blink a few times before closing my eyes, and placing my other hand onto the magic fruit.

Dream is right, it feels warm, happy, and like I was small again, and being held by mother.

I smile in bliss before I open my eyes, and look at my left wrist. Dream is missing.

[Dream?] I ask in my head. I was greeted with silence.

I look into the fruit, and see her inside of it at the center.

“Dream, why are you in there?” I ask in a whisper. A hand is placed on my shoulder, and I look to see who it is.
Egress was looking into the fruit as well with a gentle smile.

“Af̱tí̱ eínai xanagenniétai.” She says to me in her native tongue. I blink a few times before looking back to the fruit, and smiling. This is amazing, and rather welcome to me. It would have taken me years to find Dream a new physical body to live in, but this is even better.

“Póso kairó méchri na eínai ó̱rimo?” I ask the forest nymph. She shakes her head.

“Lift your hands when the fruit stops glowing.” She tells me in common speech. I nod before looking back into the fruit to see that Dream had taken the shape of a small foal curled into a ball.

“Elder necromancer, please come here.” I say as I gaze at Dream’s new form.

“What is it Prince?” The senior necrocorn asks.

“Can you, and your kin, teleport the others back to the palace before sending a large chariot to air lift me and this fruit to the palace?” I ask him. He blinks before nodding.

“Yes, but why just the others? Is there a reason?” He asks me.

“I can’t let go of this fruit until it stops glowing, and magic is redirected around it making it impossible to move by levitation or magic at all. I need a chariot to move it back to the palace.” I answer before the element bearers come near me.

“Prince, why did the tree bear a single fruit?” Twilight asks me.

“That is a good question, but it is one that I do not know the answer to.” I say before Fluttershy steps closer, and gazes into the fruit.

“Why is there somepony in there?” She asks me.

“Because they are in need of my help, and only I can give it. Do not worry for them, as they are safe, and healthy as long as I am here to keep them alive.” I say before I feel a pulse of magic from the fruit.

“Necromancers, please take the others back to the palace. I will be fine here until the chariot arrives.” I say as I look up from the fruit, and into the eyes of Egress.

“Tha milí̱soume metá na vrískomai sto paláti.” I say to her. She nods before moving next to the dark unicorns.

“I’ll see you all soon.” I say before the three necrocorns teleport back to the castle. I look back to my fruit, and smile as Dream Weaver twitches her new limbs.

“Soon we can speak again my Dream Weaver.” I say in a soft tone before laying my head on the fruit.