The Lost Book of the Creator

Chapters

PROLOGUE: (Original One-Shot) History of the Ponyfolk
Chapter 1: A Normal Day... Gone Terribly Wrong (Edited 2015-02-06 05:38 EST)
Chapter 2: The Book Lives On (Edited 2015-02-10 23:17 EST)
Chapter 3: The First Item

PROLOGUE: (Original One-Shot) History of the Ponyfolk

“Now, who could that be?”

The rain was pouring down harshly, lightning striking every couple of seconds, the wind unceasing as gales ruffled leaves and threatened to upend any small animal that may still be left outside.

Obviously, Twilight didn’t expect anypony to be outside in such inclement weather, making the knock she heard on her door seem even more ominous. The purple mare slowly opened the door, catching a glimpse of a small figure in black as it scurried away, a streak of lightning illuminating the creature one last time before disappearing into the darkness.

As the unicorn debated over whether to chase after the figure, she noticed something new on her doorstep: a large rectangle of faded brown color – a book, she thought as she inspected the object, stepping back inside and shutting the door behind her.

The Book of the Creator. Hmm, why does that name sound so familiar…?

Suddenly, Twilight’s eyes grew to the size of oranges, her brain turning numb for just a second as she attempted to process what lay in her hooves.

THE BOOK OF THE CREATOR! But, all copies were supposedly destroyed in the Great Flame near the Beginning of Time!

Twilight quickly sat down in her favorite reading chair, the book squarely in her hooves, ready to open up to the first page–

“Twilight! Aren’t you going to prepare some dinner?”

“In a minute, Spike!” An exasperated Twilight pondered over whether she should fix up something to eat, but something about the book didn’t seem to let her, the tome having taken all of the mare’s attention in its hold.

Twilight prepared to open the first page, when all of a sudden the book’s pages began to flip rapidly, turning as if commanded by some internal force, all while the unicorn stared at it with a confused expression.

This much magic, in a book? How is this possible?

As if on cue, the book became completely still, frozen as it displayed two pages in weird lettering. The symbols themselves then began to morph, slowly but surely turning into the Equestrian language.

Twilight, captivated at the thought of reading such a weird book, directed her eyes to the very top of the page.

Chapter IV: Creation of the Ponyfolk

The Creator, seeing Her planet teeming with life, basked in the joy of Her creations, the small animals chittering happily, the griffons and the minotaurs casually strolling around, talking about something or even nothing at all.

Still, the Creator felt something was missing. A certain shape formed in Her mind, and to Her canvas She returned, wanting to create the masterpiece that plagued Her thoughts. But alas, the Paint of Life She was using had run out, only small amounts of the blackest of colors left.

Still, She painted and painted, rationing the one color she had by leaving some holes in her design. At last, the Paint had run out, but Her creation was complete: two small black beings, riddled with holes where the Paint was lacking, possessing four legs and four hooves, and having a heart as caring as the Creator Herself.

The figures leaped out of the page, bounding joyfully upon Her fields, perfect to the Creator in every way.

“But what shall they eat?” thought the Creator, not wanting Her new, perfect creations to starve. A thought came to Her, and so it became: the creatures, who She named the Ponyfolk, were to feed on emotions, growing stronger with the love they felt for each other.

And love each other they did, the Ponyfolk quickly growing in size and in number, never going hungry, surviving and flourishing by their own love.

As Twilight struggled to understand the meaning of what she had read, the book’s pages once again decided to flip, reaching closer to the end until it stopped on one page: The Fall of the Perfect Creation.

Twilight continued reading eagerly, no longer caring about her surroundings, completely lost in the sea of words that now faced her.

Chapter X: The Fall of the Perfect Creation

Alas, what is perfect never lasts, be it by some outside action or internal force. The Ponyfolk, having discovered they taste of the plants that grew bountifully, began to eat, and as they ate, their skin became colorful, their holed exterior slowly growing patches of fur.

From there arose the three types of Ponies, as they called themselves: the horned ones, the winged ones, and the bare ones, all covered in fur.

As fate would have it, though, unbeknownst to the Ponyfolk, the transformations were causing their life spans to gradually decrease.

The Creator witnessed this, and so She decided to take action. One night, the Creator appeared into an elder Ponyfolk’s dream, warning him of the cost of the transformation and assigning him the task of spreading the word.

But alas, most of the Ponyfolk, having never heard of this ‘Creator,’ ignored Her advice, the few who listened to the elder slowly being shunned from the rest as more of the Ponyfolk began to transform.

The Ponyfolk who had not transformed were now in a bind: though they thrived out of love, their numbers were slowly withering, the transformed Ponyfolk only directing negative emotions towards them, emotions that caused unhappiness among the Creations and shortened their lives.

As the last couple of the untransformed Ponyfolk began to wither away, they pleaded to the Creator for a chance to survive, a way to receive more love, a way to live.

And the Creator heard their pleas, providing them with invisible cloaks that stuck to their skin.

“Now, go to the other Ponyfolk, and wish to look like them, and so it shall be. May you find love enough to sustain yourselves, and any foals you may have shall be blessed with the same gift.”

And so the untransformed Ponyfolk, donning the name of ‘Changelings,’ blended in with the transformed. They received the love they so longed for and needed, and they prospered for a time.

Yet not all was good for long, for once the transformed Ponyfolk discovered the secret, they chased out the untransformed ones, denying them the love they needed to survive. The horned ones, the only Ponies that had retained their magical powers, spent years studying the Changelings and had finally found a way to locate them even when they were disguised. As more of the horned ones learned this spell, the Changelings were further pushed back.

The population of the untransformed dwindled yet again, what few remained seeking sanctuary in any place they could find, waiting for their Creator to help them, to save them from their destruction. Meanwhile, the Ponies built their own villages and towns, flourishing and unwilling to share with the Ponyfolk who still held their original form.

It is said that soon the Creator shall bring forth another Ponyfolk, one in the same design as the original, who will unite the untransformed and help them survive alongside the others.

Twilight simply gazed at those last words in shock, piecing together the jig-saw of ideas that floated around in her mind, reaching a disturbing conclusion she refused to accept.

“Spike! Quickly, send this book to the Princess!”

The Princess will be able to disprove the authenticity of this book. Somepony probably wrote this as a joke. Yeah, that’s right. Princess Celestia can tell me that this book is nonsense.

The words she had read were still etched into her mind, all the while Twilight rejecting their validity, but a part of her mind still held an inkling of a doubt.

…

What if what the book said is true?

What if we were the cause of all this all along?

Author's Note

So, yeah, an origin story for the changelings. Now I have to get back to my other stories :twilightsheepish:

Chapter 1: A Normal Day... Gone Terribly Wrong (Edited 2015-02-06 05:38 EST)

A normal day was all Twilight hoped for, one in which the entire town was free of parasprites, unplagued by chaos, safe from any evil from the depths of Tartarus.

Just one normal day.

And so far, her hope remained intact. Nothing had seemed out of the ordinary during the morning, and in the afternoon, she had been able to read through the entire seventh volume of An Abridged History of Equestria in peace. Granted, there was a large lightning storm taking place just outside, partly due to the previous lack of scheduled storms, but Twilight kept convincing herself that nothing would go wrong.

Today, everything will be just fine. No need to worry, Twilight.

Princess Celestia’s letter was still etched into Twilight’s mind. Relations between the ponies and the changelings had slowly deteriorated; Queen Chrysalis was unwilling to budge, but the Princess sought a way to please both of them. According to the letter, Queen Chrysalis would not relinquish demands for control of the Crystal Empire, and the Princess feared that war would be imminent.

As much as it pains me to do so, I ask for you and your friends’ assistance, should war be the ultimate option. You six may be the only ones who can help me defeat the darkness that is these changelings.

Twilight shuddered upon the simple thought of that word: war. She knew she couldn’t abandon the Princess in her time of need.

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK

“Huh? Who could that be?”

The rain was already pouring down harshly. Jagged streaks of lightning struck every couple of seconds; the wind was unceasing as gales ruffled leaves and threatened to upend small animals still outside.

Obviously, Twilight expected no one to be out in such inclement weather, making the hasty knocks on her door seem more ominous. Twilight slowly opened the door, and she managed to catch a glimpse of a small figure in black as it scurried away. A streak of lightning illuminated it for a brief second before it seemingly vanished into the darkness..

As she debated over whether or not to chase after the figure, Twilight noticed something new on her doorstep. At first, she could only see a large, faded brown rectangle— a book, she mentally remarked as she inspected it further, completely forgetting about the creature who had left it. A gust of cold wind prompted her to step back inside, where she could easily discern the title of the tome.

The Book of the Creator. Hmm, why does that name sound so familiar…?

Suddenly, Twilight’s eyes grew to the size of oranges, her brain turning numb for just a second as she attempted to process what lay in her hooves.

THE BOOK OF THE CREATOR! But all copies were supposedly destroyed in the Great Flame near the beginning of time!

Twilight quickly sat down in her favorite reading chair, the book squarely in her hooves, ready to open up to the first page–

“Twilight! When are you going to make dinner? My stomach’s rumbling!”

“In a minute, Spike!”

An exasperated Twilight pondered over whether or not to prepare food, but something about the book didn’t seem to let her, having taken her full attention. She prepared to open the first page, when all of a sudden, as if commanded by a massive internal force, the pages rapidly flipped on their own. Twilight stared at the object in bewilderment.

This much magic? In a book? How is this possible?

As if on cue, the book became completely still, frozen as it displayed two pages in strange lettering. The symbols then began to morph, slowly contorting into the familiar curves and corners of the Equestrian alphabet. The thought of reading such a strange book captivated Twilight, who directed her eyes to the very top of the page.

Chapter IV: Creation of the Ponyfolk

The Creator, seeing Her planet teeming with life, basked in the joy of Her creations. The small animals chittered happily, the griffons and the minotaurs gleefully strolled around, conversing about issues of substance or even nothing at all.

Still, the Creator felt something was missing. A certain shape formed in Her mind, and to Her canvas She returned to create the masterpiece plaguing Her thoughts.

Alas, the Paint of Life She was nearly depleted, and only the most miniscule amounts of the blackest and greenest of colors remained. Still, She painted and painted, rationing the colors by leaving holes in her design.

At last, the Paint had run out, but Her final creations were complete: two small black beings, riddled with holes where the Paint was lacking, who possessed four legs, four hooves, and a heart as caring as the Creator’s. The figures leapt out of the page, bounding joyfully upon Her fields; to the Creator, they were perfect exactly the way they were.

“But what shall they eat?” asked the Creator, not wanting Her new creations to starve. A sudden thought came to Her, and so it became: the creatures, who She named the Ponyfolk, were to feed on emotions, growing stronger with the love they felt for one another.

And love each other they did. The Ponyfolk quickly grew in size and in number, never hungry, flourishing by their own love.

As Twilight struggled to understand the meaning of what she had read, the book’s pages interrupted her thoughts as they flipped once more to a certain page: The Fall of the Perfect Creation. Twilight continued eagerly, now completely carefree of her surroundings. She lost herself in the sea of words facing her.

Chapter X: The Fall of the Perfect Creation

Alas, this perfection would not last. The curious Ponyfolk discovered they taste of the plants that grew bountifully, and as they ate, their skin became colorful. Slowly, their holed exteriors grew patches of hair, and from there arose the three types of Ponies, as they called themselves: the horned ones, the winged ones, and the bare ones, all covered in hair.

As fate would have it, though, unbeknownst to the Ponyfolk, the transformations were gradually decreasing their lifespans. The Creator witnessed this and decided to take action; one night, She appeared in an elder Ponyfolk’s dream, warning him of the cost of the transformation and assigning him the task of spreading the word.

Alas, most of the Ponyfolk, having never heard of this ‘Creator,’ ignored the elder. The few who listened were slowly shunned from the rest as more of the Ponyfolk transformed.

The Ponyfolk who had not transformed were gradually caught in a bind: though they survived out of love, their numbers were slowly dwindling. From the untransformed, they received nothing but negativity, negative emotions that only shortened their lives.

As the last two of the untransformed Ponyfolk began to wither, they pleaded with the Creator for a chance to survive, a way to receive more love, a way to stay alive.

And the Creator heard their pleas, providing them with invisible cloaks that stuck to their skin.

“Now, go to the other Ponyfolk. Wish to look like them, and so it shall be. May you find love enough to sustain yourselves, and any foals you have shall be blessed with the same gift.”

And so the untransformed Ponyfolk, donning the name of ‘Changelings,’ blended in with the transformed. They received the love they so longed for and needed, and, for a time, they prospered.

But even this peace would not last, for once the transformed Ponyfolk discovered the secret, they ostracized the untransformed, denying them the love they needed to survive. The horned ones, the only transformed who had retained their conscious control over magic, spent years studying the Changelings and finally discovered a way to locate them, even when they were disguised. As more of the horned ones learned this spell, the Changelings were pushed further back.

The population of the untransformed dwindled yet again. What few remained sought sanctuary in the corners and crevices of the world, waiting for their Creator to help them, to save them from destruction. The ponies, meanwhile, built their own villages and towns, flourishing and unwilling to share with the Ponyfolk who held their original form.

In time, the word Changeling would be forgotten among the transformed, and the spell to locate the untransformed was lost to the passage of time, though instructions still exist in this Book.

It is said that soon the Creator shall bring forth another Ponyfolk, one in the same design as the original, who will unite the untransformed and renew their hope for survival.

Twilight simply gazed at those last words in shock, piecing together the jigsaw of ideas that floated around in her mind until she reached a disturbing conclusion that she refused to accept.

Is this true? Could we have been the cause of this all along?

…

Well, there’s only one way to find out for sure.

“Spike! Come down here for a second! I want to send a book to the Princess!”

Princess Celestia should be able to verify this book’s authenticity.

Seconds passed, no response emanating from the room above.

“Spike? Did you hear me? Can you come down for a second, please?”

Again, no reply.

Hmm… That’s strange.

Twilight slowly ascended the stairs, pondering over whether Spike could have fallen asleep or not, before she noticed the door to her bedroom.

Weird. Spike never closes that door.

And then she heard steps. Soft steps, as if muffled by a barrier. The sounds could not have been made by a dragon’s feet; to Twilight, the sounded much more like hoofsteps.

Preparing for the worst, Twilight began to charge her horn.

Intruders? In a library? My friends would never enter through the bedroom. Either they love books as much as I do, or they’re looking for something.

The next seconds extended into hours, or so it seemed. She reached the bedroom’s entrance and slowly turned the handle, inching the door open as carefully as possible— at least, until she noticed Spike tied up with a rope, a magic bind clamping his jaws shut.

And I was hoping today would be normal.

Catching sight of Twilight, Spike concentrated all of his dragonfire in his mouth and heated up the bind, destroying it in less than a second. “Twilight, look out behind you!”

Instantly, a figure shot up behind her at incredible speed, attempting to grab Twilight in a choke hold and silence her. Unfortunately for him, this pony in black had failed to notice her glowing, from which a small beam shot out and launched him towards the opposite wall with tremendous force.

Twilight quickly galloped towards Spike and tried to cut the rope that held him prisoner, but another figure knocked her down to the floor. Escaping its limbs and scrambling to her hooves, she inspected her surroundings and searched for more of those hidden foes, backing away inch by inch as she recognized how hopeless it would be to tackle them all at once.

There’s three of them! I can’t do this; I’m outnumbered.

Hastily, she began to summon more magic in hopes of preparing a teleportation spell, but a strange prickling sensation indicated the futility of her action. Twilight fixed her gaze on the pony to the right and confirmed her fears.

He’s summoned a magic barrier. No magic can get in or out.

Unable to formulate another plan, she did what any other pony in her situation would do.

“ANYPONY OUT THERE! HELP! BRING THE PRINCESS OR RAINBOW DASH OR PINKIE PIE OR APP–”

No more could she scream as a red bind encircled her muzzle. Two of the cloaked ponies rushed over to her. In desperation, Twilight summoned some more of her magic and chucked one of them towards the other. Perhaps luck was on her side, for the force of the impact was enough to send all both of them barrelling towards the pony in the back. At the point of collision, one of the captors inadvertently let loose a small missile of magic, streaming right past Twilight and exiting through the window, cracking it into millions of minute fragments. That was when she realized it.

Of course, I broke his concentration! The barrier’s down!

Her horn began to glow, and noticing Spike’s condition, proceeded to burn the rope that held the dragon in place. However, before she could prepare the teleportations spell, before the other three ponies could charge for their next attack, another cloaked equine suddenly burst in, proudly displaying some rectangular object.

“Come on guys! I found the book!”

Twilight did not hesitate and levitated the Book of the Creator towards her, for some reason feeling as if it were her duty to protect it. The magic was slowly building up, the bright, powerful glow already atop her horn…

But she noticed too late that something was tunneling wildly through the broken window right behind them.

THUMP

Meanwhile…

“I can’t believe I got stuck with stray cloud duty.”

Rainbow Dash had finished packing a small gray cloud in with the rest, kicking it with full force to add to the downpour.

“Well, I guess that’s the last one! But why do I always get stuck with these types of jobs? I’m fast enough t—”

Rainbow scowled as she caught herself thinking aloud once again, secretly glad that nopony else was around. That was when she heard it. Compared to the thundering below her, it was barely audible, but to be a weather pony, perfect hearing was a must.

She heard it once more.

A cry for help.

Her name.

Huh? That sounded like… like Twilight!

After only a couple seconds of flight, Rainbow dashed in the direction of the voice, but before she could fly any closer, a small arc of magic blazed through the air and struck her squarely on the underside of her wing

OW!

The pain quickly spread throughout her entire left appendage, and soon Rainbow Dash could no longer control it as she careened towards the ground…

She blacked out as soon as she landed… on top of a surprised unicorn and her assistant.

Uggghhhhh…

Twilight groggily awoke. Her first attempt at rising proved fruitless; a rope bound her to the back of a chair and restricted the movement of her head. Her range was still enough, though, to spot two other figures in the same situation.

“Rainbow Dash! Spike! Are you okay?”

The loud yell gave Twilight an idea:

I can talk now!

“ANYPONY! HEEEEELLLLLLP!!!!””

“It’s no use.” One of the ponies in black approached the trio, his eyes as black and soulless as his cloak. “The barrier is now soundproof; we don’t want a repeat incident, Miss Twilight Sparkle. And don’t even think of using magic, or we may be required to use force.”

Who is this pony? I haven’t met him in my life! What does he want with me and my friends?

“Oh, my apologies, I haven’t introduced myself. You can call me Death Hoof; I doubt you need an explanation of my special talent, right, Miss Sparkle?” The captor levitated a small box towards himself and sat down. “Now, enough with the pleasantries. It seems you’ve come into possession of this magnificent piece of work.” One of the cloaked ponies approached with the Book of the Creator in his telekinetic hold. “It’s really such a shame I have to destroy it.”

Twilight struggled against the bind, unable to comprehend why anypony would want to destroy a book. “No! Stop! Why are you doing this?”

“I suppose there’s no real harm in telling you. Our contractor is paying us a hefty sum to have this book destroyed, so here we are, to do just that.”

Facing his companions, Death Hoof uttered only one word.

“Ready.”

The two remaining figures slowly approached; one held a jagged dagger in his mouth while the other a small dish filled with some unknown white powder. Death Hoof suddenly charged up and fired an incineration spell at the plate. The fire turned green as it consumed the substance, and a pungent aroma quickly filled the room. The armed pony suddenly took the dagger out and pricked his hoof, slowly letting the blood trickle down onto the flame and turning it a deep crimson as Death Hoof spoke once again.

“You see, this book contains information that could subvert the coming war, and our contractor wouldn’t like that. Because of the magic in this book, however, the only way to destroy it is with a special fire, blood…” The cloaked unicorn leaned dangerously close to the purple mare. “And a unique incantation. That is why we need you, Miss Sparkle.”

Hearing the way he pronounced her name, the way each syllable seemed to drip with disdain, made Twilight grow queasy, but the unicorn holding the book would not give her another chance to think about it: he threw the object onto the mare’s lap, front cover face-down. “The spell is in Ancient Equestrian, a language we know that you know. Read the inscription there and cast the spell.”

Twilight mustered up the last of her courage and stared directly into those cold eyes, unwilling to budge.

“No. I have to bring this book to Princess Celestia. With it, we may be able to stop the war between ponies and changelings! We can prevent the… the deaths of… Why are you laughing!”

Death Hoof’s companions were on the verge of crying… but from laughter.

“Ahem!” Death glared at the others, who quickly muted themselves, and looked back at Twilight.

“You know what? I think that’s a good idea— no, a great idea. We should let you send it to the Princess.” The unicorn leaned forward even more, his head right next to Twilight’s as he spoke that one sentence, the one question that completely bewildered the mare.

“Who do you think contracted us?”

The entirety of space-time stopped. Twilight processed his sentence millions of times, but each time mentally denied that the Princess was involved. Still, a small ounce of doubt began to seep in as she remembered those rumors of Princess Celestia killing changelings at will, even if they supposedly posed no threat...

Oh what am I thinking? Those are just rumors! No, she wouldn’t want war. Not when so many ponies could die…

“You’re lying! She would never want war to break out!”

“Deny it if you want,” Death Hoof continued as he distanced himself a little from Twilight. “To tell you the truth, I don’t really care if you believe me or not, but right now, I want you to cast that spell…”

One of his companions quickly dashed towards the Rainbow, pressed a dagger directly on her throat.

“... or Jack Knife here will have a chance to show off his talent.”

Twilight stared in horror at the scene before her, her sight anchored at the point of contact. A small trickle of blood descended down Rainbow’s neck as the weapon slowly, but surely, dug deeper.

“B-But you said my magic wouldn’t w—”

“Oh, no need to worry about that. This magic comes straight from the book. Any creature who can read it can cast the spell. Now, I don’t want to be here any longer than I have to. After all, time is running out for your little friend there.”

Twilight’s eyes disconnected from the image of her best friend, and she tried her best to hold back the tears clouding her vision.

“F-fine, I’ll do it.”

“Well then, let’s see it.”

Blinking rapidly to clear up her eyes, Twilight fixed them onto the incantation that lay before her.

“O creator huius libri, da mihi potestatem ut disperdere quod quas tu fecisti.”

Suddenly, the book began to tremble while a white, rapidly intensifying light engulfed it…

And soon, more words began to appear. Unexpectedly, Twilight felt the urge to continue, as if something inside her were unwilling to let her rest until those words were uttered.

“Et excite custos liber!”

The book flew out of her lap and spun in the air violently. The unicorn holding the flaming dish slowly levitated it towards the artifact, and as soon as the two items touched, the entire display exploded into a chaotic swirl of color and magic. All the ponies in the library were knocked back as a pile of ash replaced the artifact. The dish once in a levitation hold dropped to the floor and shattered noisily.

This time, Twilight wasted no time. She tried once… twice…

And on the third try, her levitation hold caught one of the dish shards. The magic barrier was down. Now all she had to do was cut herself f—

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Instinctively, Twilight threw the shard at the Death Hoof, who winced in pain as it struck his left cheek. Unfortunately for her, two of his companions had already reached her, and they had already placed Spike and Rainbow upright. She charged up a magical beam...

And found she could no longer shoot it.

Why? Why isn’t it working?

Death Hoof simply smiled as he placed Twilight upright and facing her two friends, knowing full well that his job was complete. From that angle, she spotted the reason for her failed attempt at magic: the unicorn in the back had his glowing horn towards her.

He must be restricting my magic somehow!

Her thoughts were cut short as she noticed Death’s short nod to Jack Knife, who deftly pulled out a crooked dagger…

And thrust it into Rainbow’s chest.

Twilight’s entire world shattered with just that. In many other situations, it had been possible for her and her friends to die, but seeing it happen now, that one simple stab that could take life away… Such an image would not be erased from her mind anytime soon, and words as well as magic failed her in this time of need.

“Don’t worry. Even if you hadn’t pulled that little stunt, it still would’ve happened. I can’t just leave you with all that information I told you, now, can I?”

Jack Knife pulled out another weapon— this time, a small, foldable knife— from his sack and approached the dragon. Spike squirmed in vain, and Twilight stared in utter shock, knowing she was unable to stop the horror that would befall her favorite assistant…

CRASH

Multiple green blasts of magic later, all of the captors were lying on the ground, struggling in their new constricting binds. As Twilight’s eyes followed the path of the beams, she spotted the creature who had subdued the assailants. It was a changeling, but that was not what surprised her: it was the same creature who had left the book at her library.

“I’m sorry for all the trouble I or the book may have caused.” The changeling rapidly unfastened the ropes, though Twilight was still too stunned to help. “Quickly, I’ll teleport you away. Don’t worry about those other ponies, I’ll handle it. Take this sack, it should help you along your journey. I’m sorry again for the large task I must bestow upon you. I beg you, protect the book as long as you can.”

With that, the changeling charged a large amount of magic on his horn.

“B-But the book was already d—”

One blinding flash later, Twilight, Spike and Rainbow Dash were gone.

“—estroyed!”

But Twilight was no longer in her library. As she recovered from her disorientation, she recognized the ominous darkness of the Everfree Forest and reasoned that she was not far from Fluttershy’s house. Her eyes still held tears, but for that one second, Twilight did not know why.

Her memory began to take hold, however, when she saw Spike lying unconscious in front of her.

“Spike! Are you okay?”

COUGH COUGH

Twilight rapidly turned her head at the sound and noticed the multi-colored mane of a fallen pegasus. Her coat was stained in red, and a blade protruded from her chest.

“RAINBOW DASH!”

Twilight bolted towards her fallen comrade and placed a hoof on the handle, but after attempting unsuccessfully to take the blade out, she began to panic.

“Don’t worry, Rainbow, I’ll find a way to take it out.”

But to Rainbow Dash, the outcome seemed inevitable.

“Stop, Twilight, it’s not going to help.”

COUGH

“Come on, Rainbow Dash, you can make it! I can get Fluttershy and we can s–”

The unicorn was stopped by a blue, sweaty hoof grappled tightly around hers.

“No, Twilight, just… just stay with me for a moment, okay?”

“B-But I c—”

“Please?”

Twilight sat down next to her, deciding not to leave her in this time of need.

“Hey Twilight, r-remember when I was in the hospital that one time, and you t-tried to calm me down? When you gave me that awesome b-book?”

“I remember, Rainbow. You wouldn’t stop thinking about your wings.”

The tears in Twilight’s eyes had quelled a bit as she fondly thought back to those days of old. They seemed so far away, and the pit in her heart grew ever so slightly.

“And h-how about that one time when you helped me with m-my stunts? Too bad I won’t b-be able to fl—”

COUGH COUGH

The oceans could compare to the rivers gushing from both ponies’ eyes. The final moment of their friendship was nigh: no more would they participate in adventures, no more would Rainbow ask Twilight for help with one of her stunts, no more…

No, I can’t let it end like this.

“I guess it’s the end of the line for me. I-I only w-wish I could have b-b-been a bet-t-ter friend…”

Rainbow Dash struggled to move her other hoof, placing it in Twilight’s as she spoke:

“Thanks for all the memories, T-T-Twilight. Thank you for b-b-being my f-friend.”

The hoof began to feel limp, the last breath of life ready to escape from Rainbow Dash, the pony who would stick by her friends until the end…

Until now.

…

I WON’T let it end like this!

“NO! I WON’T LET YOU DIE! HANG IN THERE, RAINBOW! YOU WERE ALWAYS A FIGHTER, SO FIGHT WITH ME NOW!”

Twilight summoned all her magic onto her horn, digging into the depths of her being to summon the largest healing spell she had ever attempted. Small scratches on the pegasus’s body slowly disappeared; a bruise on her head dissipated ever so slightly as the magic engulfed the pegasus. A warm light emanated from the blade’s point of contact…

But it was not enough.

No, I can’t let her die! She shouldn’t have to die this way. I don’t want to lose one of my friends. Please, body and soul, give me all your power!

I don’t care if I die. Just please, let her live! Use my entire life force if you have to!

Please… heal Rainbow Dash.

…

“I understand.”

An unknown voice spoke in Twilight’s mind, but at this point the unicorn was unquestioning in her state of despair.

“I shall lend you my power.”

All of a sudden, the amount of magic pouring into Rainbow Dash increased twenty-fold. The pegasus elevated five hoof lengths as Twilight’s eyes turned light green; vibrant ribbons of multicolored hues surrounded Rainbow in a cocoon, and in only thirty seconds, the dagger was out of the body. Twilight’s magic mended all of Rainbow’s damaged organs at an astounding rate…

Until the spell was finally complete. Rainbow Dash floated down as Twilight struggled to stay on her hooves…

And blacked out soon after.

Author's Note

UPDATE: This chapter was edited recently, so some minor changes may be present.

EDIT: I completely forgot to include translations for the spells (or, at least, what they are supposed to mean)!

"O creator huius libri, da mihi potestatem ut disperdere quod quas tu fecisti, et excite custos liber!": Oh, creator of this book, give me the power to destroy that which thou hast made, and awake the guardian of the book!

Well, here's the update! This is officially the first chapter. Anyone who has read the one-shot can attest that I changed pretty much nothing; I just added a story around it.

BTW, if anyone knows Latin, I would greatly appreciate any suggestions in fixing those phrases (I don't speak Latin, but I like using it for spells :twilightsheepish: )

Any other comments welcomed! :twilightsmile:

Chapter 2: The Book Lives On (Edited 2015-02-10 23:17 EST)

“Are you certain that the book was destroyed?”

“Of course, Your Majesty! After we ‘persuaded’ Twilight Sparkle to read the incantation, we burned the book, just like you asked.”

“Is sh—” Princess Celestia caught herself before proceeding. “Never mind. She cast the spell, that’s what matters.”

Another of the other figures agreed.

“Yes, I even remember the incantation! It was ‘O creator huius libri, da mihi potestatem ut disperdere quod quas tu fecisti.’ I don’t know what it means, though.”

“That does sound like the incantation to destroy the book—”

“Oh, and she said one more thing too! It was, um… yeah, it was ‘Et excite custos liber!’”

The Princess stared at him blankly for a second, and the pony who spoke suddenly found himself in a magical bind. Slowly, painfully, the ropes squeezed his torso and appendages as he struggled.

“DO YOU MEAN TO TELL ME TWILIGHT SAID THAT LAST PART AS WELL?”

“Y-yes…” he heaved as his face slowly turned blue. The magic quickly disappeared, leaving the pony gasping for breath and his companions nervously backing away.

“Well… You all may leave. Your services are no longer required. My guards outside will compensate you for your actions.”

“O-Of course, Your Majesty.” The four ponies hastily scurried out of the throne room as the Princess of the Sun pondered.

I guess I’ll have to pay a visit to Ponyville.

A haze of colors, muffled sounds, a strange, sweet aroma lingering in the air.

That was all that Twilight’s senses could process as she attempted to rise from the merciless grasp of fatigue. Eyelids heavy and muscles stiff, she took notice of the green softness she lay on. The color was so familiar, something that lingered in the back of her mind.

It was nice to know that her instincts were still working, though.

CLAP

A large thunderbolt struck nearby, and the unexpected noise reverberated throughout Twilight’s body. Her mind jolted awake as she sprung up in fright, but she was not quick enough to stop from falling muzzle-first onto the floor.

Ooowwwww…

Rubbing her jaw vigorously, she inspected the image before her: the comfy couch in which she had lain, a simple lamp, and… a small white rabbit?

Huh?

Wait, why am I at Fluttershy’s?

Her brain cruelly divulged information of the past hours, replaying every scene with unrelenting speed, yet emphasizing every small detail: the mysterious creature, the book, the captors, the knife, Rainb–

CLAP

Twilight almost leapt in fright again, but she managed to subdue her instincts in time.

And then she heard it.

EEEP!

That’s Fluttershy!

Without hesitation, ignoring the pain and the lightheadedness, Twilight rushed towards the scream. The image of her assaulters still fresh in her memory, she prepared for the worst. Bounding up the stairs with lightning speed, Twilight slammed the door onto the floor, and before her eyes sat a yellow pegasus in a corner, cringing in fear.

Odd, there’s nopony else here.

“Fluttershy, are you okay?”

“I-I-I’m fine. It’s just that the l-lightning scared me.” A smidgen of shame worked its way onto Fluttershy’s expression, but it hastily vanished as she recognized who stood before her.

“Twilight, what are you doing? You should be resting! Come on, down you go!” With newfound strength, Fluttershy began pushing Twilight out of the bedroom and down the stairs.

“B-But I h—”

“No, Twilight, you shouldn’t be ramming into doors like that, not in your condition! When I found you, Spike, and Rainbow Dash, all of you were uncon—”

“RAINBOW DASH! WHERE IS SHE?” Twilight forced Fluttershy to stop as she turned around and looked her straight in the eye.

“WHERE IS SHE? IS SHE ALRIGHT? TELL ME!”

“Sh-Sh-She’s in the g-guest bedroom, right next to mine. B-b-but you shouldn’t w—”

Without another thought, Twilight bolted past the stuttering pony and reached the desired room in less than three seconds. This time the purple mare remembered she had magic: she slammed the door open with a powerful purple beam.

“Hmm… Just five more minutes…”

There, on the bed in front of her, lay a fluffy tangle of fur; a couple sheets fell off as it stirred. A smile as wide as Pinkie’s arose from the corners of Twilight’s mouth as immeasurable joy welled up from the depths of her heart.

She’s alright!

In an instant, Twilight was squeezing her in the tightest hug that she could muster. It was enough to pull Rainbow out of the clutches of her dreams.

“Wha-What’s going on?”

Her mind still clouded, Rainbow Dash froze at the contact. Five seconds of pure warmth passed through her fur until she noticed what was happening. Her first instinct was to escape from what was confining her, but as she started to squirm, she noticed who was holding her…

And the small tears streaming down her muzzle.

“Twilight, what’s wrong?”

“You’re okay. Rainbow, y-you’re okay.” Twilight could not stop her voice from cracking as teardrops began to dribble down her face— tears of joy, of relief.

Only then did Rainbow Dash remember the happenings of hours past: crashing into Twilight, being tied to a chair, receiving the cold, sharp end of a knife…

And Rainbow melted into the hug, truly grateful for the chance to continue breathing, to continue flying… to continue living.

“I’m here, Twilight, and I’m not going anywhere. You can count on that.”

Rainbow took in all the warmth, the joy… A single tear streamed down her muzzle, regardless of how much she tried to contain her emotions. Even the weather seemed gleeful, the weather ponies having already cleared up all the clouds to give way to the warm, shining sun. Such a perfect day for flying: the pegasus resisted the urge to launch off her bed and zoom out the window. Right now, a Sonic Rainboom could wait, especially when her friend needed her by her side.

Still, Rainbow didn’t understand one thing.

“Hey Twilight,” she began, slowly straightening herself up. “How did you save me? I thought I was done for!”

“I… I don’t really know. I remember wishing it from the bottom of my heart, and then there was this flash of light, and the next thing I know I’m waking up here!”

“Then allow me to explain. Forgive me, but I will need to borrow some more of your magic.”

“Wait, what did you say?”

“I didn’t say anything, Twilight.” Rainbow eyed Twilight suspiciously, unsure of what to make of her question.

“Then wh—”

All of a sudden, Twilight felt her horn tingle slightly. A small amount of magic began seeping at first, but it rapidly grew into a fount of mana as the purple aura condensed in front of the two ponies. The magic slowly morphed into a creature with legs of grayish shades, a flowing cape of shimmering blue and silver… and a face that Twilight would recognize anywhere, even if only from books older than Granny Smith.

“S-Starswirl?”

“I am not Starswirl,” a feminine voice replied.

Rainbow Dash struggling to contain her laughter at the unexpected mismatch as the figure continued talking.

“I have taken a form that you recognize to establish better communication. If you prefer, I can choose a form of one much closer to you.”

Not one second later, Rainbow lost her composure.

“BWA-HA-HA-HA-HA!”

The sound of her joy cut through the peaceful atmosphere as she fell off the bed and slammed her hooves onto the wooden floor.

“Eep!”

Nobody had noticed Fluttershy open the door before the spectacle. She had wanted to check up on Rainbow Dash, but once she walked in, she witnessed the entire display from the doorway, frozen in awe and fear, hooves glued and motionless. The only thing that could have restored her was exactly what Dash provided: a scare.

“Fluttershy!”

Twilight quickly summoned a small amount of magic to stop the pegasus from crashing to the ground, though strangely, she felt more drained than usual.

She really has to remember her wings… and she could probably cut down on some food, too!

In that split second, another swirl of colorful magic arose and wrapped the new pony in an ethereal cocoon of light. Twilight briskly turned around and beheld a different figure in Starswirl’s place— another pony, and an alicorn at that, colored in the most cheerful and lovely hues of pinks.

“I have decided to change into this form, the pony whom you call ‘Princess Cadance.’ I have seen that memories of her bring you immense joy.”

Twilight almost fainted at the sight, still unsure of how to process what stood before her. She fought the urge to step forward and hug this pony, for she knew it was not really Cadance. It was but an image, a façade, an illusion…

Or maybe she’s a changeling?

Mentally, Twilight prepared to attack.

“I can assure you I am not a changeling. It pains me that you hold such anger and hatred for them, even after what you have read and after one of them saved your life.”

Wait, how did she know what I was thinking?

And those passages… Were they the truth?

“As for the first question, I am bound to you until I retake my place in the Book. I am able to use your magic and share your thoughts, and likewise, you are able to do the same with mine. As for the second, only the truth may be written in the Book.”

“Woah, woah, woah. What in the hay is going on here?” Rainbow Dash had been shifting her gaze back and forth between the shape-shifting figure and Twilight, unable to understand what she believed was a one-sided conversation.

“Forgive me for ignoring you, Rainbow Dash. I was simply answering Twilight’s questions.”

“But she didn’t even ask you anything! And how do you know my name?” At that point, Rainbow was only a hoof’s length away from this ‘Princess Cadence,’ eyeing her warily.

“I shall explain in one moment. Twilight, is it okay if Fluttershy hears this, too?”

“I… I guess so?” Twilight’s brain was still toiling at making sense of all this new information.

“Very well. I shall start with my real name. I am the Guardian of the Book of the Creator. I have held many names in the past, but you may call me whatever you wish.”

The Guardian bowed down to Twilight and continued.

“When you spoke those last words, before the Book was destroyed, you awoke me from my slumber. You see, the Book can only hold the words, but it is I who holds the knowledge. With regards to my magic, I am adept in many spells, and as a collector of facts, I read the thoughts of anyone in close proximity. In addition, I am able to take the physical form of any creature on this world.

“There is one catch, however. When you invoked my power to heal Rainbow Dash, you used a large portion of my energy, as well as your own. The cost of using my magic to such an extent is that the caster’s own spirit suffers, cutting down years of her life. To use the power the Creator had bestowed upon me to save your friend, I am sorry to say it cost you fifty-three years, eight months, two weeks, five days, and twenty-one hours of your life.”

“What?” Rainbow couldn’t believe her ears. “B-But she doesn’t look a day over twenty!”

“That is why I said her spirit,” the Guardian explained before turning back to a slightly blushing Twilight. “You have noticed that levitating Fluttershy was not as easy as the last time you held another pony. When you opened that door, did you notice how it did not fly off, given the amount of magic you thought you used?”

Twilight stood there in amazement; her jaw hung open as she corroborated the events.

So that’s why…

“It doesn’t matter to me. I did what I had to do to save my friend, and I would do it again in a heartbeat.” Twilight looked over to Rainbow without a single regret. Rainbow, however, failed to return her gaze, for inside, her sadness and guilt had begun to build.

“Please, Guardian, there has to be a way to help Twilight’s spirit heal! I’ll do anything, I swear!” Rainbow’s eyes beheld fiery determination as she spoke without wavering. The Guardian hesitated a bit, as if choosing the right words to say.

“There is only one way. As Guardian of the Book of the Creator, now that there is no Book, I am only able to exist until my magic depletes, which could be anywhere from a few days to a few years, depending on how much power I use. My true objective, however, is to recreate the Book, and for that I will need your help.” The room began to shift around the four ponies as small swirls of color swirled by.

“I ask for your help in finding three things: a feather from the Almighty Griffon, hair of a draconequus, and the All-Seeing Crystal.” The strands of color united into distinct images with a golden glow, emphasized by the darkness that now stood in place of the room.

Fluttershy briskly rushed over to Twilight’s side and almost toppled her over. After a second, Twilight understood.

“Excuse me, Guardian?” Twilight asked. “Can you show us without the darkness, please?”

“Oh, absolutely. I’m so sorry, Fluttershy.” The surroundings once again began to swirl, taking the familiar form of Fluttershy’s guest room.

“These items are somewhat hard to obtain, but they are absolute necessities to recreate the Book. Oh, and of course, a book cover and a page. Though I am sure we have that taken care of. Fluttershy, would you please go down and bring Twilight the knapsack that you found next to her?”

“Oh, s-sure, Miss Guardian.” With that, she hurried out of the room. The Guardian waited until she was out of earshot, and the room once again became dark.

“I did not want Fluttershy to hear this,” the Guardian stated, “for reasons that you will clearly see. The truth is, Twilight, that you are dying. Normally, I can stay in a host for two years without any adverse effects, but the amount of magic I used to help Rainbow Dash was immense. If I continue to stay in your mind and body, I am afraid you will die in one month, perhaps two at best.”

Rainbow Dash was about to interject, but the Guardian simply stuck out a hoof in her direction.

“Quiet, please. There is not much time before Fluttershy returns.

“There is a way to save you, Twilight, but both of you must listen. If the book is completed with the All-Seeing Crystal, I will have access to all the information in this world. I will also be able to access my direct link with the Creator, and with it, I could restore those fifty years and reverse any adverse effects of using my magic. It is now your decision if you wish to tell Fluttershy.”

The scenery reverted to its original condition a second before Fluttershy entered with a small sack.

“Thank you, Fluttershy.” The Guardian levitated the sack with her magic (or, more accurately, Twilight’s magic) and pulled out a small book cover displaying tinges of mahogany and burgundy.

“The Book’s previous master, cautious as he was, was able to make the cover from sacred Sagetree wood, and also the paper from the clouds of the Northeast.”

She took out a small piece of paper, the perfect size for a page to string onto the binding.

“As for why you are here, it was the Book’s previous master who saved you from your captors by teleporting you to the entrance of the Everfree Forest. Before you blacked out, I sensed Fluttershy nearby, so I briefly teleported you all to her.”

“Oh, so that’s why you appeared right next to me,” Fluttershy commented. “One moment, all I saw was grass, and then I turned my head and you popped up.”

“Now,” the Guardian continued, “there is something of grave importance I must tell you. My past owner had been following leads to the All-Seeing Crystal, and it seems that my deepest concern was right.

“The one who possesses the crystal is the one and only Nefarius Celestia.”

“Nefarius?” The three ponies held their expressions in shock.

“You can’t mean… our Princess Celestia?” Twilight’s question was met with a silent nod.

“Yes, that is her. The ‘Princess Celestia’ you know is not who she seems to be. The name, she chose herself. She cares little for changelings and has always held a bitter hatred towards them. There used to be hundreds of copies of Books of the Creator in the Creator’s Library, protected by a group of changelings, but still available to all. One day, one of the Books of the Creator had finished cataloguing information for the day when Nefarius broke into the forbidden section of the Library. She took the All-Seeing Crystal and used it along with the Book’s power to turn herself into an almost immortal alicorn. She sought the power to destroy the changelings, and her plans were meant to be secret. However, as she continued to look through the tome, she noticed that her thoughts, her plans had already been recorded in the books.”

The Guardian shuddered at the next thought.

“The Book I was in was being repaired, so I was absent when it happened. But I still felt it, the massive disturbance in magical energy. She killed the changelings that guarded the Books and destroyed all the copies… or so she thought. Afterwards, she traveled from one village to the next, weeding out the changelings and destroying them, spreading vicious lies about their true nature.”

“No, that can’t be right!”

Twilight did not want to accept it, but her mind once again drifted to that one comment from her previous captor. “It can’t be true. Princess Celestia is a benevolent ruler! She would never do something as awful as that!”

“Benevolent only to the ‘Transformed Ponyfolk.’ I have heard that a war may be brewing between the ponies and the changelings. Would you like to know something else I learned as my previous master traveled? The changelings do not want war— not after the Canterlot fiasco. The negotiation meetings were never for achieving a compromise; It was Nefarius’s way to appear ‘benevolent’ to her subjects.”

“No, you must be lying, stop lying! And stop calling her that! She’s Princess Celestia!” Twilight’s eyes had turned red with anger as small droplets began to mist her vision.

“I am sorry, Twilight, but it is the truth.” The Guardian slowly walked over to the unicorn and placed a wing over her. The soft feathers, the soothing touch slowly calmed her down, as if Princess Cadence were truly beside her. “I wish I could say I was lying, but Nef— Princess Celestia hates these changelings with a passion, and she will continue to destroy them…

“No matter what the cost.”

The Guardian’s ears suddenly perked up.

“We have company. Fluttershy, if they ask about us, tell them you do not know our location.”

In an instant, Twilight’s horn began to glow as the Guardian cast one more spell. A strange tingling sensation enveloped Rainbow, Twilight, and the Guardian, and it took a couple seconds for the unicorn to understand.

“This… This is an invisibility spell! I haven’t even mastered it yet!” Twilight was more and more astounded at the raw power and knowledge this other being possessed, but all her surprise transformed into confusion as she heard Fluttershy open the door.

“P-P-Princess Celestia!”

The Guardian’s face paled slightly, and with more concentration, she cast another spell that slightly warped the air around her and her comrades.

“This is now more than an invisibility spell. It is made up of five layers that make it almost impossible for any creature to see us. They can still hear us, however, as I do not wish to use more magic for a sound barrier.”

The Guardian had already noticed that Twilight’s store of magical energy was steadily depleting; the spell would probably last for only a minute or two before she would have to resort to the power of the Creator.

“T-T-Twilight and Rainbow Dash? They’re gone? W-Where could they be?”

Fluttershy tried her hardest to act astonished, but small beads of perspiration threatened to betray her act.

“Is it alright if I come inside for a while? I’m afraid I haven’t eaten any breakfast yet.”

“Oh, of c-course, Princess!”

The ponies upstairs only heard the door closing and two sets of hoofsteps pacing somewhere below them.

And then, another sound broke through the tense air.

CRASH

“Let me help you, Fluttershy,” Princess Celestia offered as she stopped two more plates from striking the tiles. She soon began rearranging the rest of the dishes into a neat stack.

“Oh, thank you, Princess. I haven’t had much sleep because, you know, the storm had scared some of my animals.”

“Oh, no problem at all.”

“Here, I still have some muffins! You’re welcome to as many as you like.”

“Why, thank you very much! I’m sure they’ll be delicious!”

Fluttershy smiled sheepishly, silently scolding herself for her actions. Meanwhile, only one room upstairs, the Guardian developed a small grimace as she pondered.

Why is she withholding? By now she would have sca—

Oh, no!

Hastily, the Guardrian dropped all the spells and erected another barrier. On its light green surface, small lines traced around odd shapes, almost as if a pony were dragging a hoof in the sand. After a couple of seconds, the movement stopped, and the Guardian lowered the spell.

I should have known that she would check the entire house for other magical entities!

Twilight began to feel dizzy; Rainbow Dash leaned her body towards her to interrupt the fall.

“I am using too much of your magic, Twilight. I will try not to use any more.”

Twilight shook her head from side to side, attempting to clear her head, when she noticed something familiar in the far corner of the room. There lay a small creature of green and purple; a small bandage adorned its arm, and its scales glistened in the morning rays that shone from the open window.

“SPI–”

Rainbow Dash hastily stuck a hoof in Twilight’s mouth, effectively silencing her, but the damage had been dealth.

“Did you hear something, Fluttershy?” the Princess asked as she finished her third muffin.

“Oh… It’s… It’s probably one of my animals. Here, do you want some more t–”

A quick trip and a splash later, Fluttershy found herself in the Princess’s levitation hold.

“Fluttershy, you should be more careful! Is something wrong?”

“NO, oh, no, no, no, of course not. How could anything be wrong on such a sunny morning?”

Fluttershy mentally facehoofed as she wiped up the spill she had caused.

Above the kitchen, everybody stood in dead silence, holding their breaths as they waited. Knowing that talking would not have been the brightest idea, Twilight decided to communicate mentally with the being sharing her mind.

Maybe the princess can help us! I mean, I’m sure that if she heard the whole story, she would help us recreate the book to help me recover! She w—

No, the Guardian responded. She sent killers to take care of the book; she will not have anything spoil her plan now, especially not something as all-knowing as the Book of the Creator. Trust me, it is best that she not see you. She most likely already knows you possess the knowledge of the Book.

Twilight lowered her head in defeat.

Great, I’m dying, I have to go on a journey to find mystical artifacts to reconstruct a book, and I can’t even ask for help from Princess Celestia. Even worse, I have to hide from her, one of the most powerful beings on the planet. How could this get any worse?

TWILIGHT, NO! DON’T THINK THAT!

Alas, the Guardian’s response came too late; at just that second, a small feather had entered from the window. It slowly, peacefully glided down and landed on Spike’s nose.

“Ah… Ah… Ah…”

Silence, complete and utter silence.

See, it was no big d—

AH-CHOOOOOO!

The Guardian glared at Twilight, but she quickly tensed as she felt a large magical surge.

“We have to go! Forgive me, Twilight.”

One blinding flash later, the only living creature left in the room was Princess Celestia, who was staring inquisitively at the orange feather as it floated down onto a small bed of blankets.

“Princess Celestia, where did you go?”

A second later, the princess reappeared in the kitchen.

“I thought I heard something upstairs, but it was nothing.”

“Oh. By the way, Princess, i-if you don’t mind me asking, why are you looking for Twilight and Rainbow Dash?”

Princess Celestia’s expression hardened:

“They stole a powerful artifact from me, and I have to stop them before they cause chaos. I am going to ask you to gather all your friends and have them meet me back here.

We will have plenty to talk about.”

“Twilight! Twilight, wake up! It’s been two hours already!”

Hmmmm…

“TWILIGHT!”

“Ah, I’m up, I’m up!” Twilight woke with a start. The unsettling sensation of standing in a swirling vortex slowly passed as her eyes began to recognize shapes from the haze of colors before her.

“Spike?” Twilight’s eyes dramatically grew in size as she picked up the dragon and held him close.

“Spike, you’re all right!”

“Yeah, I’m fine, Twilight. Can you stop squishing me?” Spike’s cheeks had become an even darker shade of purple as he struggled to breathe. Fortunately, Twilight released him in an instant when she noticed it.

“Okay, first things first. What just happened?”

“I teleported you, Spike, and Rainbow Dash out of Fluttershy’s house.”

The Guardian was resting on a small chair, one that Twilight recognized instantly.

“Unfortunately, in that small amount of time, the only place I could think of was the library. Let’s get some supplies and leave before any others come by to investigate.”

Twilight blinked, processing each sentence word by word until she agreed. “Okay, Spike, get my emergency kit and my emergency emergency kit.”

“You have an emergency emergency kit?” Rainbow Dash stared at Twilight in disbelief as Spike hurried over to the far bookcase.

“Of course, in case something happens to the emergency kit!”

“Bu–”

“Shhh!” interjected the Guardian. “Someone approaches.”

The door to the library opened to reveal two guards, dressed regally in golden armor. Luckily, the invisibility spell was already cast, hiding the three ponies from their view.

“So, who are we supposed to find again?”

“For the last time, Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash. You know, the purple one and the one with the rainbow mane? Celestia wishes to speak with them.”

“Right, yeah, but I don’t see anypony here!”

“Ughhh… Go check upstairs, I’ll check down here. Just use that spell or else you’ll take too much time. We’re already behind.”

Why did I have to get stuck with him?

“Fine, fine, fine.”

I am sorry, Twilight, but I will have to use more of the Creator’s magic if they cast another spell like Celestia’s.

The guard on the first floor started charging up magic in his horn. A small yellow ball emerged from the tip, sparkling a bit as he closed his eyes. He prepared to cast the searching spell…

“Hey, look, the purple one’s over there!”

The other guard bounded down the stairs, knocking into the first guard and messing up his concentration. His magic slowly began to dissipate, but it did not matter to him at the moment.

“Where? Where did you see her?”

“Right outside! Come on!”

The two guards hurried outside and slammed the door behind them. Almost a full minute passed before anybody dared to speak, but eventually, the Guardian dropped the invisibility spell.

“What was that all about?” Twilight received her answer almost instantly as a small green flash appeared right beside her. In a second, another figure popped up, a certain pony…

Who looked exactly like Twilight?

The figure quickly removed his camouflage to display a black, chitinous skin under a gray cape of sorts.

“It’s you! I thought you died back then, with the other ponies!”

“I did say I could handle them. Your name is ‘Twilight,’ I presume? The guards over there were calling that out as they chased me.

“Anyway, nice to meet you under better circumstances. My name is Cloak Stealth, and I have very important information. I was there when Nefari—”

“Um, Cloak, would you mind just calling her Celestia?” Twilight interjected. The changeling looked up and, noticing the mild anger in her eyes, accepted her request.

“I was there when Celestia almost caught you. I stayed for a bit longer, and it seems that the plot has thickened. You are now wanted for stealing something called the ‘Chaos Crystal,’ and there are signs posted all around town offering a reward for your capture.”

“What? But-But I don’t even know what this ‘Chaos Crystal’ is!”

“It is an extremely powerful device,” responded the Guardian. “It gives the wielder ‘Chaos Magic,’ which is akin to the Creator’s magic, only demonic. It is very hard to control, and it usually consumes the creature who desires to use it.”

“Okay, yeah, great, now we all know what that crystal thingy is,” Rainbow cut in. “But what are we supposed to do now? Just hide from everypony?”

Something about the changeling made Rainbow Dash uneasy, but she chose to ignore it for the time being.

“Well, just now, Nef— Celestia was back at a yellow pegasus’s house talking to a bunch of other ponies. Perhaps they are your friends? If so, you may want to inform them of your situation. Friends are a necessity when on these types of journeys.”

“Then let’s do that, Cloak,” Twilight replied. “And we’ll walk there. I think the invisibility spell uses much less magic than teleportation.”

“I agree,” the Guardian replied as she started the spell.

Twilight, however, suddenly furrowed her brow in thought.

“You know, Miss Guardian, if you don’t mind me asking, what’s your real name?”

“I do not have one,” the Guardian replied. “I am given a name by my master, and so when my master changes, so does my name. What do you wish to call me?”

Twilight hesitated a bit before responding.

“Do you mind if I call you Hope? Your voice kind of reminds me of someone I used to know in Canterlot: Hope Evergreen.”

“Of course, Twilight. My new name shall be Hope. In fact, I may be able to change into her form.”

Another flash of rainbow colors later, a smaller unicorn with a similar pink coat replaced the previous figure of Princess Cadence. This mare looked slightly younger than Twilight, and her mane streaked with silver lines and rosy hues.

“Hey, how come you never told us about this ‘Hope Evergreen’ before?” an annoyed Rainbow inquired. “I thought you told us everything about your past in Canterlot!”

“I’ll explain later. Right now, we have to go to Fluttershy’s house. Our friends are probably still there.”

After checking outside for guards, the group began to exit the library. They were almost halfway out when something in the back of Rainbow’s mind prompted her to stop.

“Hey, doesn’t it seem like we’re forgetting something?”

“Guys, where are you going? I’ve got the kits right here.” Everybody turned to face the voice, surprised to see two huge suitcases teetering on Spike’s small claws.

Rainbow Dash fought the urge to laugh at Spike’s predicament.

“Those are the emergency kits? How are we going to carry them?”

“Watch this.” Twilight charged up more magical energy, after which she shot one beam at the kits. The cases began to shimmer with light as they slowly shrunk down to the size of ink bottles.

“See? Now we can bring them along anywh–”

Twilight winced in pain; her legs suddenly turned to jelly, unable to support her body as she fell onto her side.

“Twilight, you should not overexert yourself! Your magic is already weak as it is!” Hope rushed over to her side and rolled her back on her stomach. Stretching out a foreleg, she helped Twilight rise. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, no, I’m fine,” replied Twilight, who was still struggling to keep her balance.

“If you desire, we could rest here f—”

“No, Hope, I’m fine. We need see my friends.

“Oh! Before I forget, it might be a good idea to bring these.” Twilight was about to use some more of her magic when Hope broke her concentration.

“No magic. Cloak, will you assist her, please?”

“Of course. What do you need, Twilight?”

“There’s a small lever over by that bookcase. I need you to pull it and bring me the book that pops out.”

Cloak pulled the device, and the sound of many cogs turning and magical locks unsealing filled the air as what appeared to be a sizable dictionary arose from the ground. He levitated it towards the purple mare, who quickly touched her horn to the cover. Silver and gold letters began to glow, spiralling around the point of contact until an audible click was heard. Twilight opened up the front cover to reveal six items: the most powerful weapon in Equestria.

“Are those… the Elements of the Creator?” No words could describe Hope’s expression: wonder, excitement, perhaps even a hint of nostalgia?

“Well, we call them the Elements of Harmony.”

Twilight placed the regalia in the same sack she carried. After the book was returned to its hiding place, everybody exited the library in unison, protected from straying eyes by the invisibility spell.

“Yeah, they’re pretty awesome! We used them to defeat Nightmare Moon and Discord… That is, before we reformed him.”

As soon as Rainbow Dash uttered that second name, Hope froze in her tracks. That one name had never changed throughout the years.

“Discord? The Embodiment of Chaos, the Culmination of Corruption? You reformed him?” She could not believe her ears. The one beast that had caused the Creator so many problems, so many that She had to concentrate the Harmony of the world into those Elements to stop it… and they reformed him?

Lost in her thoughts, Hope followed closely behind as Twilight and Rainbow Dash led the way.

“So, Cloak, how do I know you’re not gonna just sell us out?”

“You really don’t trust changelings, do you, Rainbow Dash? Although I don’t blame you, given the interactions you’ve had with my kind. Ask Twilight to tell you what she read in the Book I left her. I doubt you’ll trust a word I say, though I did rescue you.”

“You teleported me out instead of healing me, and…

“Wait, you gave her the book?” Rainbow’s anger was vigorously rising as she glared at Cloak. Her eyes turned fiery, the air around her sizzling with tension.

“It was you the whole time! You gave her the book that caused this entire problem in the first place! Because of you, Twilight had to lose most of her life to fix me up!”

Rainbow’s guilt once again began to resurface as she remembered how helpless she had been, how Twilight had sacrificed almost her entire life to save her. She longed to pummel the changeling into the ground, strike him with her hooves, make him pay for bringing such a terrible fate upon her friend.

Luckily, before Rainbow Dash could speak again, the group reached the house in question.

“We can enter. I do not sense Celestia’s magic,” Hope reassured, motioning towards the door with a single hoof.

Well, here goes.

Before Twilight could knock on the door, it suddenly opened. An overactive ball of fur quickly shot out and almost tackled Hope. Luckily, her instincts kicked in almost instantaneously, and she held the unknown object in a strong levitation hold. Unfortunately, the fright caused Hope to drop the invisibility spell.

Twilight, quickly, get in! I lost the invisibility spell!

Twilight nodded and ushered everypony else inside, until only Hope and the other creature remained. The pink unicorn dropped her levitation spell and set the creature down, for the first time noticing that it had actually been…

Another pony, just as pink as her?

“Hi! I’m Pinkie Pie! And I haven’t seen you before, so that means you must be new here! I have to show you all around Ponyville and take you to see Sugarcube Corner and Sweet Apple Acres and Ponyville L–”

“Pinkie, NOT NOW!” Twilight levitated both pink figures inside, locking the door behind them and silently hoping that nopony spotted them. Once again, she had used up quite a bit of magic, but instead of feeling the fatigue, she experienced a certain warmth emanating from her horn. As she looked up, she noticed Cloak’s own horn right next to hers; a small green aura surrounded both appendages as she began feeling stronger, more alert, more awake.

“There, that should be enough.” Cloak slowly pulled back, staggering a bit as he sat down.

“Wow. Thank you so much, Cloak, but you didn’t need to do that! Now your own magic is low!”

“Don’t worry about me. You are the one who will have to tell them everything.”

Cloak pointed to the four other mares, whose expressions ranged from surprise to worry, from fear to joy, as they beheld the newcomers.

“Well guys, I think I have a bit of explaining to do.”

“You sure do, Twilight, ‘cause Ah sure as hay don’t know why you brought a changeling over here.”

Twilight sighed.

Oh, this is going to be fun.

Author's Note

Second Chapter! Comments appreciated, especially if my characters start becoming a bit too OP or OOC.
Maybe I should finally get a pre-reader. :twilightsheepish:

Chapter 3: The First Item

On a small desk in front of her lay a crystalline structure almost as wide as a hoof. A minute translucent gem was affixed to its center, flaunting its perfection as if mocking the rest of the world.

Such a powerful item…

And I still don’t know how to use it effectively.

The figure sat down in her chair, lost in the sea of her own thoughts.

Oh, I should have kept one of the Books. I could have just placed the crystal on its cover to access its power.

SLAM

The sound of hooves crashing down on wood reverberated throughout the still air, scaring the guards near the door.

Gah! I could have looked up how to use it in one of the Books, too!

As she grew angrier at her own folly, a sharp pain near her horn stopped her cold. Her eyes glossed over for a few seconds as she slowly calmed down. The tall pony then rose and began to pace back and forth, recalling all of her subjects’ failed attempts at extracting its power, reminiscing on the huge explosion she had caused when feeding it half of her magic.

I wonder if Twilight could figure it out.

Suddenly, a small smile crept in, growing ever so slightly as she pondered on this new sinister plan.

Maybe I can do just that.

After all, she will need all the help she can get if she wants to finish the Book, and with it I may finally be able to destroy all those pesky creatures!

“Bring me Prisoner 25, please.”

One of the guards quickly exited as the other shut the door quietly.

“Excuse me, Your Highness, is everything alright?”

“Everything is completely fi—”

The pony raised a hoof to her horn as an intense pain surged from the tip to the base. The wince did not go unnoticed.

“Your Highness! I will bring a doctor right aw—”

“You shall do no such thing! I am fine, and you will refrain from any more comments about my health!”

“But—”

And there it was, the look that had once convinced the ruler of the Griffon Kingdom to back down from his plan to invade Equestria all those years ago. Yet, for some reason, the guard at the receiving end noticed something in her eyes…

Is it anger? Fear? Hatred? Something feels off…

His thoughts were abruptly cut off as the other guard brought in another pony-like figure, her rugged black body riddled with holes and scars.

“As you requested, Princess.”

“Thank you.”

A small sneer upon her face, the princess addressed the prisoner.

“Hello, changeling. I have a task for you. Perhaps, if you succeed, I may consider keeping you alive.”

The creature nodded silently, her will having been broken so many months ago. Her mind drifted back to the year before: the constant lashings, the daily torture… She could not afford to waste this opportunity from her captor.

“Good. And remember…”

The golden collar around the changeling’s neck began to tighten, cutting off her breathing as she struggled against her binds. Her eyes widened to the size of melons as she gazed into those cold, purplish-green irises.

“If you double-cross me, I will put you in more pain than you can possibly imagine.”

It all escalated so quickly.

“Guys… This is Cloak Stealth. He helped save me from some ponies that wanted to kill me.”

The introduction had started off well, but then Rainbow Dash’s comment…

“Yeah, and he’s also the one who brought them to her, too!”

It didn’t take long for tensions to grow as the changeling and the other Element Bearers exchanged glances— or, more accurately, as Twilight’s friends stared at him in disbelief. Twilight attempted to quell the anger (and, in Fluttershy’s case, the fear), and for the most part it seemed to be working.

“What’s this about him bringing those ponies to kill you?”

“That’s in the past, Applejack, and it wasn’t intentional. You can trust him.

“I trust him.”

Rainbow, however, could not clear her mind: that one sentence she had spoken had reminded her of the events of not too long ago.

As she remembered, the same thoughts repeated over and over in the back of her skull.

You couldn’t protect your friend.

So much for the Element of Loyalty.

You’re a failure.

You’re useless.

The sentences resounded throughout her brain, impairing her judgment, driving her almost to the breaking point…

I can’t be a failure…

Can I?

The walls seemed to close in on her, the shadows seeping in as her mind refused to move on…

But no one noticed. Everyone was too preoccupied with the changeling…

And as fickle as fate was, even though she had drowned out everyone else from the start, she somehow heard him speak.

“No, it’s okay, Twilight. I’ll tell them myself.

“What Rainbow Dash said is true: I did bring this upon her, and I am very sorry for it. I have already asked for her forgiveness, and I can only hope that she will consider it.”

“And of course I for—”

“AAARRRGGHH!”

Rainbow barrelled towards the unsuspecting changeling, hooves extended in rage as they connected with his jaw. Maybe, had Cloak’s magic not been depleted, he may have stood a small chance at defense.

CRASH

The changeling flew backwards, slamming into a small bookcase with a resounding thud. Rainbow Dash continued to rocket forward, not giving him a chance to breathe as she lay punch after punch onto his weakened body.

“IT’S ALL YOUR FAULT!”

Shock filled her friends’ faces as they witnessed the spectacle, and all stood completely motionless… except for Twilight.

“RAINBOW, STOP!” Dash continued to whack the empty air as a purple aura forced her back.

“It’s all your fault! Because of you, I almost died! Because of you, Twilight is going to die in a month!” Her anger had been unleashed, watering eyes blurring her vision as the unending guilt crept up.

She had been unable to help her friend.

Twilight had sacrificed herself to save her.

“RAINBOW DASH, STOP THAT R—”

As Twilight glared at Rainbow, however, the view of her friend’s teary eyes halted any further scolding.

“R-Rainbow, w-what…”

“It’s all your fault, it’s all…”

And the pegasus could do nothing more than break down. The drops kept streaming down her muzzle; her brain could not move past her anger, her guilt…

“I couldn’t protect her…”

She ignored everyone around her, unable to contain her emotions any longer. Her entire body went limp as she emptied out her soul. She finally acknowledged her heart’s deepest pain, her one true fear: her inability to protect the ones she cared about.

“It’s all my fault.”

It’s all my fault Twilight’s like this.

I’m useless.

The rivers flowed endlessly with no attempts made to close the floodgates— when suddenly a strange warmth surrounded her body.

“Shhh… Rainbow, it’s okay. I don’t blame you for anything.” Twilight stared directly into those teary eyes, speaking from the bottom of her heart.

“I would never blame you, and you shouldn’t blame yourself, either.

“I’m lucky to have you as a friend.”

She pulled the crying pony closer to her, her hooves welcomed by the mottled mess of fur. Seconds, minutes, hours… time was unquantifiable for the two as they held the embrace. Rainbow finally let go of all the suffering as the voices in her head dissolved into nothingness. The rivers of tears slowly dissipated into streams and later into trickles as she basked in the comfort of her friend’s hug.

Meanwhile, Cloak slowly rose, staggering mildly as he attempted to keep his balance. After a quick self-inspection, he began to wince from the multiple bruises he sported.

Wow, I must be out of practice. And to think I come from a line of protectors…

“Oh, you poor thing!” Fluttershy, awoken from her shock’s paralytic hold, hastily forgot about her fear of changelings and rushed to the kitchen. She returned in no more than two seconds with a small vial and some bandages.

“Now, don’t move. This may sting a bit.” Expertly, the pink-maned pegasus opened the vial and poured a jelly-like substance on each of the changeling’s wounds. In response, he shut his eyes, the heat emanating from the potion almost unbearable as his cuts and bruises began to sizzle.

“There, now, I’m almost done.” In mere seconds, she dressed each bruise in fresh bandages as the pain slowly faded. “See, wasn’t that quick?”

Cloak forced his eyelids open, and the sight he beheld was unlike any other.

Those light blue eyes…

He had seen them from afar a couple of times before, but up close it was a completely different matter.

Those caring eyes, the small twinkle in the corner…

For that single second, he could see into her soul, and the kindness that it emanated was unfathomable…

And it was worse for Fluttershy. As she stared back into his pale green irises, she couldn’t help but notice how his eyes were different from those of the changelings that she encountered in Canterlot. Those windows to the soul held a caring disposition and a tremendous sadness, as if he had been forced to carry the weight of all Equestria. Somehow, she felt safe simply looking at them, but something inside her stirred, wanting to alleviate the pain he must have suffered in the past.

It was as if for just a second, they connected.

And then, each one recognized what the other was doing. They both pulled back as they tried to control their small blushes.

“Cloak, let me help you.” Hope suddenly walked up to him and released a small amount of magic on his body. Though his healing rate increased exponentially, it was nowhere near enough to fix him up completely. “I wish I could do more, but I can’t risk Twilight falling unconscious again.”

“It’s no problem, Viol– I mean, Hope.”

Seeing that Rainbow Dash had calmed down considerably, Twilight slowly broke the embrace as she signaled to the rest of the ponies. Before she could speak, though…

GRUMBLE

The purple mare sheepishly lowered her head as she placed a hoof on her stomach.

“Maybe we should get something to eat, first.”

After the first round of daisy sandwiches, Twilight began to explain every little detail. Afterwards, Hope filled in any small patches she might have left out. Aside from the occasional gasp and amazed stares— and Rarity’s faint when she heard how long Twilight had left to live— the mares stayed completely silent. As soon as Hope finished, though, Applejack quickly proceeded to point out just a couple of inconsistencies.

“Wait. If you’re this ‘Guardian,’ then why didn’t you protect the Book from being destroyed in the first place?”

“I cannot take a physical form when I am in the book. Only if the book is destroyed can I do so, but after that, I can change into any creature I wish. The only downside is that my presence is dependent on the magic my master possesses, be it base spiritual magic or high-level unicorn magic.”

“Any creature?”

After a string of colorful flashes, Hope transformed from her unicorn form to a majestic griffon, wings extended to display bright feathers longer than those of the average pony. In less than a second, her form turned to that of a rugged donkey, weather-worn (but clearly muscular) and a bit taller than Twilight. Another blinding light later, a squirrel now occupied her place; the animal was so cute that Fluttershy had to fight the urge to pick it up and hold it close to her. A second later, Hope was back to the unicorn form she had taken at Twilight’s behest. All the ponies stared slack-jawed at the marvelous display, barely able to find the words to express their astonishment.

“Ah gotta admit… that was very fancy.” After regaining her composure and a tip of her hat, Applejack continued.

“Ahem. So, you’re telling us that our Princess ‘Nefarius’ Celestia is actually evil. Then how come she was able to use the Elements of Harmony against Nightmare Moon? That doesn’t make sense.”

“I never said she was completely evil, and the Elements of the Creator, which you call the ‘Elements of Harmony,’ can be used by any creature, no matter how much evil is present in the spirit. It is simply a tool, which can be used as a weapon when necessary.” Everyone gaped at the pink unicorn, astounded at the thought.

“So somepony as dreadful as Sombra could use them to take over all of Equestria? He could enslave everypony and force us to work in those dirty, dank mines?” Rarity’s interjection almost drove every pony into a panic— at least until the Guardian rose a hoof to calm them down.

“Sombra was such an unfortunate soul: he held the power to protect the Crystal Empire from all threats, except for the one in his heart. He could have used the Elements, but not to further his goals. The Elements require a pure, ‘good’ objective, a wish from the bottom of one’s heart. Naturally, it works best if the wielder’s heart is completely pure. That is why Celestia could not cleanse Nightmare Moon when she used them a thousand years ago, but you six did.”

I probably should not tell them about that one time, though…

“Okay, then, but how do you explain the Princess wanting to kill Twilight? That doesn’t seem like something she’d do.”

“That… I do not know, but something tells me it is linked to the prophecy Twilight read.”

“The Creator shall bring forth another Ponyfolk, one in the same design as the original, who will unite the untransformed and help them survive alongside the others.” Twilight had memorized that line as soon as she had laid eyes upon it, not yet knowing whether or not this ‘Ponyfolk’ had already arrived.

“Yes, but there is still more to it.” Hope closed her eyes as she turned to face the rest of the Bearers.

“Such Power, such Grace, such Harmony
In one it could not be contained.
When the hex realize the True Form,
Eternal Peace shall be gained.”

Her voice resounded throughout the room; a chill creeped up the spines of the others as the words dug deep into their brains.

“Unfortunately, I do not know what it means. With the All-Seeing Crystal, however, I may be able to find out. More importantly for you, Twilight, the Book also talked about a certain unicorn who would protect this ‘savior’ and help her reach the Temple of Knowledge, where she can establish the peace. That may be why Celestia is looking for you.”

“But what makes this Book so special? The ponies who want to destroy it act like it’s some kind of weapon or something. Doesn’t it just record what happens in the world? Ah don’t understand it.”

“What is the most powerful weapon in existence, if not the truth? I am sure you should know that, being the wielder of the Element of Honesty. Equally important is that the Book holds a direct link with the Creator. If it is completed with the All-Seeing Crystal, then the pony who holds the book can access a power matched only by the Elements of Harmony.”

At that, Applejack was about to speak, but she stopped herself and pondered deeply as she let everything sink in. The other ponies murmured amongst themselves as Twilight communicated with Hope through her thoughts.

The Book really holds that much power?

Hope nodded. Yes, so it is of great importance that the Book, after its completion, be stored someplace where no evil creature can get it.

Twilight furrowed her brow. But where could we store it? I don’t think it would be safe here, especially if Princess Celestia keeps looking for it.

Before Hope could continue, the other ponies voiced their own thoughts.

“Well then,” Applejack began, “it’s agreed. We’re all going with you!”

“I’m sorry, but we can’t have that,” Cloak responded in a strained voice. “Since Nef– Celestia already talked to you guys, you will have to stay here so she doesn’t get too suspicious.”

“Ah disagree. We have to stick together if we want to help Twilight!”

“Excuse me, may I say something? If you don’t mind.” Fluttershy’s voice was barely audible, but loud enough to bring everybody’s attention to her.

“As much as I would like to go… um… I have to stay to take care of the animals. A-a-and Cloak, too. His bruises will need time to heal, at least a couple weeks, and he can’t go to a hospital here.”

At this, everybody directed their gaze at the brash pegasus, who simply held her head down in shame.

“And Rarity, Applejack… You guys have to take care of Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. I couldn’t pry you away from them for my sake. Besides, we also need some ponies here to keep track of what the princess is doing.

“Pinkie, I think I could use your help on the trip, though.” Pinkie’s expression brightened rapidly as she took this chance to interject.

“You want me to go with you to spread joy to the other ponies and creatures you encounter on your travels so that you can later get information out of them? And you want me to use my Pinkie Sense so I can warn you of any dangers up ahead?”

“And also so you can tell us what other ponies are planning, of course!” Twilight reciprocated her smile, but her expression suddenly turned much more serious as past events replayed in her mind.

“Rainbow Dash, I think you should stay back. Only a couple hours ago, you almost d–”

“No, I’m going with you, and that’s final!” Rainbow Dash peered directly into the purple unicorn’s eyes; her own irises were painted with unending stubbornness as she reiterated her intentions. “I will go with you to the ends of the world, and I will help you heal!”

The air grew still as the rest stared in awe at Dash. However, Twilight’s mouth could not help but curl up slightly as she acceded.

“I don’t know why I thought you would stay behind.”

“Of course,” Hope interjected, “you all can help us with our journey, even if you stay here.” She rose from the table and addressed the small dragon at the opposite end.

“Spike is your name, correct? I understand that you can send messages to Princess Celestia via dragon flame. Tell me, is she the only pony you can send to?”

Spike cleared his throat, spewing multiple pieces of gems all around the table.

“Oh, sorry. Um… I can send a message to anyone, but the other pony would have to know the spell to receive it.”

“Hmm… Can you pass me a piece of paper and a quill, Fluttershy?”

“Of course, Miss Guardian.”

“Please, just call me Hope.”

“Oh, of course, Miss Hope.”

A couple seconds later, Fluttershy returned with the items, rushing past Cloak as her tail ran across his back by accident. The changeling blushed brightly, though luckily the response went by unnoticed…

Or so he thought.

Rarity quickly made a mental note of his reaction before shifting her attention back to Hope.

“Okay, Spike, I need you to go up to the guest room. Holler down when you are there.”

As Twilight’s assistant ran briskly up the stairs, Hope began writing on the paper. At first, the squiggles held the fluid characters of Ancient Equestrian, but she later scratched it out and switched to Modern Equestrian as she remembered the era she was in.

“I’m ready!” a voice called down from above.

“Okay, let’s see, then.”

Both Twilight’s and Hope’s horns began to glow, at first a dull white but later morphing into a vivid green. In a flash, the paper levitated and disappeared from sight, leaving small sparkles in its place.

“Now, let’s wait a couple seconds.”

The whole crowd stared expectantly at the spot that had once held the message. Seconds slowly ticked away as nothing of interest happened.

“Maybe it didn’t wo—”

In an instant, both purple and pink horns shone brightly as the same paper, albeit with more scribbles, reappeared in front of the duo.

Spike slid down the stair’s railing, landing gracefully on his feet as he addressed the Guardian.

“So, did it work?”

“Absolutely! It is a simple spell from the original Ponyfolk.”

Everybody but Twilight and Cloak wore blank expressions as they failed to understand the reference.

“You know, maybe you should stick to using ‘changeling’ around them.”

“I agree, Twilight.” Hope then turned to face the ponies who would be staying in Ponyville. “Okay, with this, we will keep in contact. If anything suspicious happens here, no matter how small, have Spike send us a message, okay? Anyways, we should get going.”

“You’re leaving right now? But it’s so soon!”

“Rarity, the longer we wait, the less time we have to complete the Book and heal Twilight. Now, Spike, make sure you are well rested before sending any messages. We will be a long distance away from here, and you will need much more energy to keep in contact.”

Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash stayed by Twilight’s side as the Hope continued. “I cannot take you guys to get the hair of a draconequus yet because that would mean traversing across the globe, and Twilight doesn’t have enough magic for that yet. We may be able to teleport a quarter of the way to the Griffon Kingd–”

“Wait! Um, can’t we just ask Discord for one of his hairs?” Fluttershy pointed at the crown sticking out from Twilight’s pack. “We can use the Elements to bring him here, right?”

“Of course! We’ll get the hair from him! Why didn’t I think of that before?”

“Um, that may not be such a g—”

Unfortunately for Hope, her clamor fell on deaf ears as Twilight and the rest of her friends galloped out of the house. Each pony put on her respective Element and arranged herself in Fluttershy’s yard.

“Okay, guys, let’s go!”

“But wait a moment!” Hope tried in vain to stop them, a sense of fear arising from her very core.

Maybe he won’t recognize me. After all, it was such a long time ago, and I do have a different form now. And he is reformed… supposedly. Sure, I think we’ll get along just fine.

As she attempted to calm herself down, the Bearers, connected by warm lights of rainbow colors, aimed their Elements towards the center of their circle. A minute ball of magical energy slowly expanded as more and more light flowed into it. The ground below them vibrated, trembling from the massive accumulation of magic.

“Just a little more…”

The sphere continued to grow as small sparkles began to shoot out. Another flash later, a small couch materialized below them. On it, a familiar draconequus was munching on rainbow-colored popcorn as he began to complain.

“You know, a little warning would be nice once in a while. I’m missing my favorite show!”

“Favorite show?”

“You know, the one about the hairless apes spreading chaos everywhere? No? It’s a really good show. Now then, how may I assist you this lovely eve–”

Discord suddenly froze, his nostrils flaring as he turned towards that one pink unicorn.

Oh no.

Faster than any of the ponies could blink, the Bringer of Chaos accumulated a dense amount of chaotic magic in his paw and flung it at Hope, who barely evaded it. The ground she was standing on was not so lucky. Chunks of earth splattered everywhere, the impact producing a deep crater.

“YOU! YOU SHALL PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID TO ME!”

Once more, Discord began to call upon his own brand of energy as Hope galloped on, dodging shot after shot.

“Discord, what are you doing?” Fluttershy had recovered from the initial shock of watching her friend try to eliminate a harmless pony, and she was about to fly up to him until she noticed the dark flames in his eyes.

“Discord, please stop!”

The draconequus would not listen to Fluttershy’s plea as all the other ponies watched in horror. Fortunately, Twilight had enough sense to put up a shield to protect those frozen in place.

“Guys, come on! Let’s charge up the Elements!” The other ponies paid her no heed, and the scene before them was only growing more violent. The ground was soon peppered with holes as more and more chaotic magic stripped the land of its natural beauty.

“Rarity, Rainbow Dash! Snap out of it!” Finally, after a not-so-gentle push forward, each pony began to get in formation…

At least, each pony except for Fluttershy.

“No, I don’t want to turn him back into stone!”

“We have no choice, Fluttershy! Can’t you see all the destruction he’s causing? At this rate, all of Ponyville will be d—”

Sh-shoot the Elements at me. Hope attempted to keep the link to Twilight strong enough to communicate, but her unpredictable movements were clearly straining her. Beads of sweat were trickling down her muzzle, and her movements were getting slower and slower

Don’t worry, Twilight. I have a plan. And you can— ungh— you can tell Fluttershy it won’t harm Discord in any way.

Are you sure? Twilight responded, and soon Hope’s plan became evident as the information traveled across the link. Alright, I’ll do it.

“Fluttershy, we’re not going to use the Elements for that.” Twilight continued as the Bearer of Kindness slowly descended in front of her.

“You have to trust me. Nothing bad will happen to him. Okay? You have my word.”

“O… Okay, Twilight.” Fluttershy reluctantly joined the others as the familiar white aura enshrouded the Bearers.

Meanwhile, another chaotic blast shot from Discord’s paw, only inches away from hitting Hope. Her communication with Twilight had left her with little chance of dodging…

Then, out of nowhere, Cloak pushed her away at the last instant. The magic grazed his body, leaving a small, jagged scar on his back.

“YOU SHALL NOT INTERFERE, CHANGELING!”

Discord’s right arm grew dramatically in size as he prepared to bring down his paw on Cloak. The changeling, knowing he would not be able to escape in time, created a small shield around the unicorn as he prepared himself for the excruciating pain to follow…

Quickly, do it now, Twilight!

Hope pushed Cloak backwards, making him release his hold on the shield as the Harmony Beam traveled across the air and made contact with her horn.

Suddenly, Discord found himself encased in a sphere of translucent magic as Hope’s horn glowed brightly from the surge of energy. His paw continued its descent, but as soon as it struck the cage, he yowled in pain and pulled his appendage back. With an even darker aura surrounding him, he began to shoot out volley after volley of chaotic magic.

So this is his true power, Twilight thought. She winced every time a shot hit the cage… but the spell stayed strong. It soon became clear that Discord did not hold the power to break this prison, but he would have kept trying had not Hope grown to a tremendous size, almost as large as himself.

“DISCORD! YOU WILL STOP THIS MADNESS! I NOW POSSESS THE POWER OF THE ELEMENTS, AND YOU WILL BEHAVE YOURSELF BEFORE ME!”

Bolts of harmony magic began to strike the draconequus as his anger grew, but his chaotic power seemed to be diminishing. Beam after beam after beam of chaotic magic dissipated as soon as he shot it out. After a tense minute, his dark aura slowly faded as he gave up. The cage quickly disappeared, leaving in its place a defeated Discord.

“Okay, Discord,” Applejack responded, still a bit dazed from using her Element. “What the hay was that all about?”

“I can explain that.” Hope walked towards them, a grave expression upon her face as she returned to her original size. “You see, Discord is almost as old as the Creator Herself, and many millions of years ago, a great battle was fought between them. The Creator possessed the power of creation, but Discord possessed the art of chaotic manipulation, and for a while, all hope was lost…”

Discord began to chortle as he began to remember the terror he had caused all those years ago. Everyone shot him a warning glare as Hope continued.

“Until I was created. The truth is, I am the guardian of the very first, the original Book of the Creator, and my purpose was to gain as much information about him to destroy him. I found out that large amounts of Harmony would impair him, so that is what was written in the Book. With my help, the Creator forged the Elements of Harmony… but with them held an unprecedented cost.

“The Creator used the last of Her power to charge them, so she no longer held the power to walk upon this world. She had t—”

BOOM

A sudden chaotic blast struck the spot where Hope had stood. Discord began to dance with joy at his success…

At least, until he noticed the harmony barrier around Hope. The attack had literally disintegrated upon contact with the shield.

And to say Hope was angry was an understatement.

Once again, the cage took form as Hope continued to draw magic from the Elements.

“DID YOU REALLY THINK I WOULD LEAVE MY GUARD DOWN, DISCORD? YOU WILL BEHAVE YOURSELF OR YOU WILL FACE A FATE WORSE THAN BEING IMPRISONED IN STONE!

“Now, where was I? Ah, yes. The Creator could no longer walk on this world, so she had to confide in one of her friends, an original Ponyfolk who had stayed by her side since she appeared in what is now Equestria. It was she who used the Elements and imprisoned Discord the first time.”

Everypony’s jaw hung less than a hooflength from the ground, including Discord’s— though his attempt at lightening the mood proved to be less than fruitful.

“What? Can’t blame one for trying.”

Wait. Hope, why didn’t you just disappear inside me when Discord started attacking you? Twilight shot her a bewildered look, waiting for a response.

Twilight, returning to your body and exiting afterwards would take up too much of your energy. Right now, our focus is to complete the Book so I can heal you completely. Hope suddenly dissolved the cage around Discord and subtly signaled to Cloak, who slowly sneaked away.

“Oh, that reminds me! Discord, we were wondering if we could borrow some of your hair!”

“Let me guess: the Book was destroyed, and now you’re trying to recreate it? I’m sorry, Twilight, but I’m not going to help the one being who led to my imprisonment.”

“But Discord,” Fluttershy pleaded, “we really need your help with this!”

“Aww, you really need my help! Well, why didn’t you say so? Let me think about it again, then… Nope, my answer is still no.”

“But Discord, Twilight isn’t going to live much longer unless the Book is completed!” Fluttershy struggled to keep her eyes from watering at the thought of Twilight’s death.

“Hmm… So you want me to save one of the Bearers of the Elements, one of the ponies who cast me into stone not so long ago…

“I have a better idea. I think I’ll just wait until she’s gone, and then nopony can imprison me anymore!”

“B-b-but–”

“That’s where you are wrong, Discord.” Hope slowly approached the draconequus, her gaze pointed squarely at his face. “These Elements can be used by any creature, so even if she dies, you can still be imprisoned.

“Oh, and thank you.” A smirk slowly formed on her face.

“Thank you for whAAA!”

Cloak quickly tumbled down, using what little magic he had left to levitate a couple strands of hair towards Hope, who stuffed them into the sack the changeling had left with Twilight.

“You… tricked me! Nobody tricks the Trickster himself!”

He prepared to strike, but he stopped in mid-incantation as he looked over to the other six ponies, who were again in formation.

“What were you about to do, Discord?” Hope’s voice made a chill run through his spine as he sighed.

“Nothing, Guardian. I was just going to congratulate him on such a fine job.”

She raised an eyebrow, not buying his act.

“You know what, I think I hear the Princess asking for me. Toodles!”

With one final snap, the draconequus disappeared from view. While the other ponies sighed in relief, Hope instantly dreaded the encounter as a new thought scurried into her mind.

“If Princess Celestia were to find out why Discord was summoned…”

“Don’t worry, Hope,” Twilight replied, wrapping a hoof around the pink unicorn to reassure her. “If I know Discord, he won’t go crying to her about what happened, not in a million years.”

“If you say so…”

“Well, at least we got the hairs,” commented Cloak. “That’s one less thing t–ungh.”

The changeling promptly fell down, no longer having the strength to keep himself up.

“Oh, dear!” Fluttershy hastily flew down and helped him up, having him lean on her for support.

“You really shouldn’t have gone through with this. You barely have enough energy to stay alive, and your wounds are opening up again!”

As the winged pony scolded the changeling, she led him back to the cottage with everyone else following suit. While Fluttershy redressed his wounds and took Cloak up to the guest room, Hope began to ponder about the Elements of Harmony.

“So, you are the wielders of the Elements, correct? It’s strange, but normally, when a creature of pure heart aligns with one or more of the Elements, the artifact leaves a much larger imprint in the creature’s soul. Did you ponies conjure the initiation spell?”

“The what, now?” Applejack looked as dumbfounded as every other pony; even Twilight didn’t know what the Guardian was talking about.

“That makes sense, then. You see, even though the Elements can be used by any creature, if one has a pure heart, the creature can ‘attune’ herself to one or more of the Elements, like you guys have, but with magic. When this happens, the power of the Elements is transferred from the artifacts to the wielder. The artifacts then become useless since all of their power is now inside the Bearer, and the power stays there for the rest of the Bearer’s life.”

“So that’s why in the old stories, nopony actually wore the necklaces!” Twilight’s eyes brightened as she felt every one of her bedtime stories suddenly click into place, now having an explanation.

“Exactly. If the initiation spell had been cast, then the wielder would hold the power whether or not she wore the devices. And luckily for you, I can cast that spell.”

“Okay, what’d I miss?” Fluttershy joined up with the rest.

“We’re going to get rid of the Elements,” Hope replied calmly, eliciting a quiet ‘eep’ from the yellow pegasus.

“How do we know that spell won’t do anything weird to us?” Rainbow was quite wary of “getting rid” of the strongest weapon they possessed.

“Trust me. By casting it, it will unite your soul with the actual power of the Element. Also, if Twilight does it, it will restore some of her magic and possibly give her more time to live.”

“Then why didn’t you say so? Come on, let’s go help Twilight!” Rainbow Dash was the first to put on her necklace, the others following suit until only the purple mare was left.

Now, Twilight, you might feel a little woozy after the spell, and I won’t lie to you; you will probably experience a lot of pain because of your condition.

The mare simply nodded, placing the crown on her head as she signaled to Hope.

“I shall begin. Repeat after me.

“O creatorem mundi…”

“O creatorem mundi…”

“…liga infinitus concordia ad mea anima…”

“…liga infinitus concordia ad mea anima…”

“…et da mihi potestatem superare tenebrae.”

“…et da mihi potestatem superare tenebrae.”

“Now, each pony must call out her own element.”

“Laughter!”

“Loyalty!”

“Honesty!”

“Generosity!”

“Um… Kindness.”

Everypony shifted their gazes towards Twilight as she uttered that final decisive word.

“MAGIC!”

The entire room exploded in rainbow light as the Elements began to pulse with energy. The gems glowed brighter and brighter as a cocoon of magic engulfed every Bearer.

Ugggghhhhh!

Come on, Twilight, you can do it. Just deep breaths…

A burning sensation emerged from her very soul, spears of intense heat striking through her core as the pain intensified with each passing second…

Every Bearer’s Element suddenly unlatched, falling to the ground as the cocoon broke. Each pony was wrapped in a white aura, pulsing with magic as it slowly disappeared.

“I feel… so energized! I could probably do a Sonic Rainboom at take-off!”

“Now, don’t go overusing your power,” Hope warned. “Each one of you now carries the magic of the Elements inside your soul, so you can all perform magic, even if you’re not a unicorn. Go on, try it, Applejack. Think about something you want to do— something small, of course— and watch the results.”

“O-Okay, then. Let’s see, here.” The farmer looked around for a small object and noticed one of Spike’s uneaten gems lying on the far end of the table. She concentrated entirely on the jewel, letting everything else fade away… and she began to feel something tugging deep within her. Small beads of sweat began to slide down her muzzle, and after a couple seconds…

“Applejack, I think you should stop bef—”

Hope was cut off as the gem suddenly levitated, rising from the table about half a hooflength…

Before it promptly fell back down.

Oh, and before Applejack fell to the floor.

Silence.

No sounds arose from any of the ponies as Applejack quickly picked herself up, panting from overexertion.

“Ummm… did Ah… just… do that?”

As if the Bearers hadn’t had enough surprises that day.

“You certainly did, but I thought I told you to do something small. Levitating something from such a long distance… Since this harmony magic is new to your soul, you have to give it some time for it to grow. Only then will all of you be able to perform more powerful spells with it. Just make sure that Celestia doesn’t find out.

“Now, Twilight, how do you feel?”

The purple unicorn didn’t respond as she continued analyzing herself, astounded by her findings.

This power…

It’s immense! I can feel the warmth, the joy, the raw energy flowing through me, the m–

“Hey, Twilight, are you okay?” Rainbow Dash’s hoof made contact with the unicorn’s shoulder. The touch was so unexpected that Twilight leapt in surprise and sent out a concentrated beam of magic towards the couch, incinerating it in an instant.

“Wha… What just happened?”

“Well, just look what you did!” Hope pointed towards the flame. Twilight immediately apologized as she helped Fluttershy douse the fire.

“That’s the power that’s inside me… inside all of us?”

The Guardian nodded. “Also, because of the added magic, I think you’ve also elongated your life. By my analysis, you should last at least three months!”

“That doesn’t exactly make things much better,” Rarity interjected. “I still say we should all go with you.”

“Rarity, we already went over this. Don’t worry. With Pinkie, Rainbow, and Hope, we’ll be just fine.”

“And don’t forget,” Pinkie Pie added, “We’ll be sending you Partygrams from all of our travels and maybe even cakes and other s–”

“Pinkie, you really have to learn to calm down.”

“I know, but this new power inside me just makes me g-g-giddy!” Not a moment later, the pink pony was bouncing all around the cottage, popping out behind every wall faster than one could say ‘ponyfeathers.’

Um, Twilight… do you think it may have been a bad idea to give her that power?

Twilight simply shrugged.

That’s Pinkie Pie for you.

“Okay, before I forget, I want to give you guys at least one lesson in your new magic. I want you to close your eyes. Feel the power that flows inside you. Forget about everything else except for my voice…”

The six Bearers did as they were instructed, and soon each could feel a wave of energy, an accumulation of magic..

“Now, imagine containing that power, making it invisible, hiding it from everyone…

“Take a deep breath, and open your eyes.”

As the ponies opened their eyes slowly, Hope cast a spell around the room as her horn glowed brightly.

“Okay, by doing that, you have camouflaged your magic. A simple searching spell will only indicate the amount of base magic you possess, so any guard that comes by should not notice your newly-acquired harmony magic. Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack… remember to do this before you leave your houses and when there is anybody else nearby. Celestia could have guards patrolling outside, and you do not want anybody noticing a difference in your magical capabilities. Understood?”

“We understand, Hope.”

“Alright. Anyway, we should be leaving for the Griffon Kingdom now. I think we’ll walk there for the first half of the trip. That should give Twilight time to get accustomed to the harmony magic enough to survive a long-distance teleportation.”

Well, that makes me feel much better, the purple mare thought as she looked over to her friends.

“I’ll be going with you guys, too. I can help by sn–”

“Oh, no you don’t, mister! You have to go back up and rest!” Fluttershy began to push the changeling back up the stairs.

“If you keep getting out of bed, your wounds will never heal. How can you expect to get better…”

The ponies below attempted to stifle their laughter as they witnessed the scene. In just a quick moment, however, the gravity of the entire scenario made itself clear in their minds as Fluttershy returned.

“So, I will be leaving Spike here. We’ll be sending messages through him.” Twilight was about to continue, but the dragon heard the talk and immediately sighed.

“But I wanted to go with you! I can help fight off hordes of evil beings, save you from the darkness that creeps up behind the b–”

“Spike, you’re too y–”

Don’t worry, Twilight. I got this.

“But Spike, we need you here because who else is going to protect Twilight’s friends? Your new job is to protect them, including Rarity, from anything that will harm them. What do you think? Will you be their knight in shining armor?”

As soon as Hope mentioned the white unicorn, the young dragon’s resolve shattered as he gladly accepted his new position.

“Absolutely, Miss Hope. I understand.”

“Oh, but Spike can’t go back to the library! The Princess can’t know that he’s still here, or she could negate his magic! If that happened, he wouldn’t be able to receive or send messages! Or even worse, she could redirect all the messages to Canterlot!” Twilight began to panic as she went through possibility after possibility, her judgment so clouded she failed to consider the most obvious choice.

“Um, Twilight, I can stay at one of their places, maybe even Rarity’s.”

At this, the white mare shifted her gaze, not wanting to seem rude by denying him a place to stay but clearly uncomfortable about the prospect of the dragon living under her roof. Luckily, Fluttershy noticed her discomfort.

“Don’t worry, Twilight. Spike can stay here and help me with the animals. I can also take care of Owlowiscious for you until you get back.”

“Oh, of course! Thank you, Fluttershy! And don’t worry, guys, we’ll be back soon! I’ll make sure to send a letter every night!” Twilight turned to face Rainbow and Pinkie. “You guys ready?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be!”

“Oooh, let me just get my party cannon!” Pinkie turned a corner and rolled out a colorful piece of equipment, miraculously stuffing it into her bag. Out of all the ponies, however, Cloak was the only one who was surprised at the scene.

“Cloak, what did I tell you about moving around?” Fluttershy’s eyes met his again, but this time he no longer felt the kindness in her soul. Instead, his entire body stood rigid, his brain releasing command of his muscles as they tensed up. His blood froze in an instant, his mouth dry, his thoughts wiped clean as he felt his entire soul cower before the sight…

Before the power of The Stare. It did not matter that Fluttershy was barely using her gift— and unintentionally, at that. It was enough to make him flee, had he been able to control his legs.

What is this power? I’ve heard rumors of the ancient changeling magic, the eyes that peer into the soul, but nothing like this!

He stayed completely frozen until, after what seemed like days, Fluttershy blinked. Regaining his strength, the changeling quickly ran back upstairs with a speed rivaling even Rainbow’s. Fluttershy rapidly followed with a fresh stack of bandages in hoof.

“O-kay…

“Well, I guess we’ll be going now, guys.” Twilight turned to her friends, attempting to keep a happy tone in her voice.

Rarity and Applejack gave the traveling group the largest hug they could muster, small tears in their eyes as they came to terms with the fact that they would not see them for at least a month, if what Hope had said was true.

“Remember to write, darling. We’ll be waiting every night to read your letters.”

Later, Spike joined in, wrapping his arms around Twilight’s foreleg as he struggled to keep his emotions in.

“Come back quickly, okay? Owlowiscious and I will be here waiting for you.”

No sooner had he let go when Fluttershy had once again returned. Her watery eyes clouded her vision as she slowly walked towards Twilight, Rainbow, and Pinkie.

“I’m going to miss you all, even if you’re only gone for a little while.” The heartfelt hugs followed, resulting in teary eyes all around (even for Rainbow Dash, though she would not admit it).

“Don’t worry, Fluttershy, and everypony else. We’ll be back before you know it.”

With one last wave, Hope started the invisibility spell as the group walked out of the cottage and set out for their next destination:

The Griffon Kingdom.

Author's Note

EDIT: Again, I forgot the translations! Sorry! :twilightsheepish:

"O creatorem mundi, liga infinitus concordia ad mea anima, et da mihi potestatem superare tenebrae.": Oh, creator of the world, bind infinite harmony to my soul, and provide me with the power to overcome the darkness.

The adventure is on! And how could that changeling in the beginning possibly be related?

The Bearers now have magic, but those left behind in Ponyville can't let anybody find out. I'm sure they'll be able to keep it a secret... right?

As for the others... they are going to need the magic if they want to survive, that's for sure.