The Quest for Peace

by cAPSlOCK

Rating: everyone
Tags: Twilight Sparkle, Discord, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe, Adventure, Princess Celestia
Length: 6397

When Twilight discovers how to make advanced spells, she tries to make something capable of changing the world. But somebody doesn't want that.

Twilight receives unpublished works by Star Swirl the Bearded, and uses them to further her abilities. But there is somepony out there who doesn't want to see the world change, and will do anything to stop her.

Published 2014-01-24 17:30:04 UTC
Last updated 2014-01-29 00:35:42 UTC

Chapter 1

Twilight Sparkle skimmed through the pages of another book. She was in a trance of sorts, desperately seeking information. She had done it once, but she didn't know where to start!

She wanted to make a spell.

She had completed an unfinished spell - and that was what had given her her wings and made her an Alicorn and a Princess - but she didn't know the first thing about making an entire spell. She continued to skim pages, unaware of a baby dragon behind her. "Hey," Spike said.

"What is it Spike? I'm kind of busy"

"Princess Celestia sent this." He held a package that seemed too heavy for him to carry. It was almost bigger than him and he grunted as he hoisted the parcel on to Twilight's desk. The wood in the desk began to bow and Twilight picked up using magic and set it on the ground next to her. A package from Celestia? When she was Celestia's student, this kind of thing was normal, but she was no longer the Princess' apprentice, and she was surprised to see it. Especially since it was so large. She gave Spike a confused look and asked, "Do you know what it is?"

"No," he replied, "I'm just as confused as you."

Using a pair of scissors, Twilight carefully removed the tape on the top of the package and opened it. Inside were a bunch of old-looking notebooks and scrolls. Attached to the top was another piece of paper, only set apart from the rest by its age. This one was brand new. Twilight picked up the paper and recognized it right away: royal parchment. She read out loud:

Twilight,

As you are well aware, as of now, you are my equal, not my student. However, I know you are infatuated with magic and everything about it. I have sent one of my guards to my and Luna's old castle in the Everfree Forest to retrieve these. I hope they assist you in your quest for knowledge.

Sincerely,

Celestia

She dumped the contents of the package onto her floor and they fell to the ground, releasing a cloud of thick dust in the process. She coughed and used her magic to open a window and let it clear. When the air was clean, she piled the notebooks and scrolls and looked at the top. It was a notebook, ancient by the looks of it. She brushed some of the remaining dust off of the cover and was astonished as she saw the revealed words, hidden by the dust of a millennium:

THE JOURNAL OF STAR SWIRL THE BEARDED

Twilight gasped in awe and immediate picked the journal up and hugged it. She laughed, jumping up and down, jumping like her dear friend Pinkie Pie. She opened it, indifferent to the dust still trapped between the pages. In her excitement, she had forgotten the age of the notebook and ripped the cover right off the spine. That brought her back to her senses. She looked at the pile again, seeing the second notebook, and her excitement increased.

THE SECOND JOURNAL OF STAR SWIRL THE BEARDED

The closer she looked, she could see more words below the scratch writing. These were obviously letters, but not of an alphabet she knew. She separated the scrolls from the notebooks and quickly realized the purpose of each one. Each notebook was a different journal, one that Star Swirl had written when the previous had run out of pages. She was too entranced by the journals of her idol to notice the scrolls right away. She looked again at the notebook with the torn off cover and began to read...

But she didn’t know the words. Or the letters for that matter. She looked back at the cover she had displaced and began to compare the odd language on the pages to the one on the cover. A few of the letters matched, but this taught her nothing, other than the languages were the same. She quickly flipped through the book, looking for a translation, similar to the cover, but there was none. She began to think, Star Swirl’s magic is documented in the Canterlot library. Whatever was in these journals was better. More important. But she didn’t know how to read it. She sighed and dropped to the floor. She looked over to the pile of scrolls she had neglected and picked one up out of curiosity, assuming to find the same symbols of the forgotten language. She found pictures. Some were plants, others of strange rocks, others of ancient machines. Each one, however, did have the same language in the form of captions and jotted down notes. She looked at every scroll, hopefully finding something she COULD read. She didn’t, but she found something that surprised her; A picture of a blue flower. She had no idea what the captions said, but she didn’t need to. It was Poison Joke. There’s no way she could have mistaken it. Maybe, she thought, I have to return to the Everfree Forest to find my answers.

She filled her saddle bag with as much as she could comfortably carry – there was no way she’d take everything into the forest with her; there was far too much there. She bolted toward the door but was intercepted by Spike. “Going somewhere?” he asked.

“Yup, these books are in a language that I don’t know, and I want to search the Everfree Forest for hints.” She showed Spike the picture of the Poison Joke. “There’s only one place in Equestria where this plant grows, and I may just be able to find something I need to know there.”

“You might want to hit up the others then,” said Spike. “Remember the last time you were in that forest alone? Those flytrap things kept spitting that gas all over you, and the others had to save you. I want you to be safe. Even more so now that you’re royalty.”

“Alright then. I’m going. Don’t burn the library down.”

“You can count on me,” Spike replied, then sneezed. Green fire was expelled from his nostrils. “Heh heh… I think”.

Twilight left the library, and headed in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres to recruit her first partner.

Chapter 2

Twilight wandered down the road, unaware of her surroundings, preoccupied by the suspense and excitement from her impending studying. What brought her back to reality was bumping into somepony, and she heard a scream. “Oh my goodness!” Twilight cried, “Are you okay?” She looked at the pony she had collided with and it was none other than Rarity.

“Yes,” she responded, “But I don’t know if I can say the same for my dirty coat, or these,” She recovered her dropped saddle bag and opened it, revealing the many riches within it. Large gems, of all sorts of colors, some of the largest Twilight had seen. “Oh thank heavens. They’re safe. Anyway, it seems we were both a slight preoccupied. What has you so distracted? No, don’t tell me. Are you thinking about a handsome stallion that stole your heart? Well don’t worry, dear. Relationships are my-”

“No,” interrupted Twilight, “I have to learn about this.” She used magic to pull a book out of her saddle bag and opened it to a random page. Rarity appeared confused.

“What language is that?”

“I don’t know. I have a hunch that I can find out in the Everfree Forest. I was on my way to Sweet Apple Acres to ask Applejack if she wanted to tag along. I was going to stop by Carousel Boutique in a little bit.”

“I was just returning from Applejack’s. Her family is digging a reservoir for when the Pegasi get lazy and don’t water their trees with rain. She asked me if I wanted the search the dug out soil for those gems.”

“While you’re here, would you like to come with me?”

“Business has been rather slow,” Rarity replied, “I suppose I have no other matters to attend to. Let me return these gems to the Boutique and I will meet up with you later”

“Awesome! See ya, Rarity.”

“Would you like me to gather Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy for you? You seem to be in a hurry.”

“That would be great,” Twilight answered, “We’ll all meet up at Fluttershy’s cottage then. It’s close to the Everfree Forest.”

When Twilight found Applejack, she was taking a break from her work, sipping some cider with Apple Bloom and Big Macintosh. “Applejack,” Twilight asked, “Do you think you come to the Everfree Forest with me and the others?”

“What fer,” Applejack asked, “That forest ain’t a good place to be. Must be important”

Twilight held open a notebook from her bag. Applejack blinked and gave a blank expression. “I may not be the smartest pony ‘round here, but I reckon I’ve never seen those letters before. What’s that got to do with the forest?”

Twilight showed Applejack the Poison Joke. “Poison Joke only grows in the Everfree Forest. I think I may find something out about this language”

“Mmkay, but what’s so special ‘bout these books?”

“Celestia sent them to me. They’re journals by Star Swirl the Bearded.”

“Ain’t he the one that made that crazy spell that made all of our Cutie Marks change?”

“Yeah, and if I find out about his secrets, I could unlock some of the most powerful magic Equestria has ever seen.”

“Gee sugar cube,” said Applejack, “I’d sure love t’go, but this hole ain’t gonna dig itself.” That’s when Apple Bloom chimed in.

“You should pro’ly go, sis. You got the best lassoin’ skills in all of Equestria. You never know what’s livin’ in there. They might need you. We’ve got the diggin’ covered.”

“Eeyup,” comment Big Mac

“Then it’s settled,” Applejack decided, “Imma comin’ Twilight. You can count on me.”

All six friends wandered slowly into the Everfree forest, trying their hardest not to get the attention of the horrible creatures that resided there: Manticores, Timberwolves, Ursa Majors, and more. Each pony had had more than their fill of these creatures, and nopony wanted to experience it again.

“What exactly are we looking for, anyway?” Rainbow Dash asked. “The Everfree Forest is a big place. You weren’t just hoping to get lucky and come across something were you?” The truth was, that was exactly was Twilight was hoping for.

An animal of unknown identity growled in the distance. Even if it was the middle of the day, you couldn’t tell that in the Everfree Forest. The thick canopies casted seemingly endless shadows, and they were forced to use Twilight and Rarity’s horns for a source of light.

“Umm… Twilight…?” Fluttershy asked, “I um… agree with Rainbow. I don’t like it here, and if we’re walking around for nothing… I would rather be at home… if that’s ok… I mean.”

They approached a clearing and that was where Twilight collapsed. “I’m sorry,” she said, “I was too excited about learning this language that I didn’t really think about how.”

Footsteps were heard in the distance, and were getting louder. Fluttershy cowered behind Rainbow Dash, who, although she would never admit it, was paralyzed in fear. She wasn’t alone though. Applejack and Twilight were also motionless. Rarity fainted. The footsteps grew louder. The only other sound was a pathetic yelp by Fluttershy, barely audible. A silhouette came into sight, and everybody calmed down, except for Rarity, who was still out cold. It was the silhouette of a pony. Not a monster.

“Zecora!” Twilight yelled.

“Do not be afraid, A monster I’m not. But I would like to see those notebooks you brought.”

“How did you know about these?” Twilight inquired.

“While collecting things for homemade soup, I heard you talking with your group.”

“Oh. Well then, do you think you can help me.”

“There are many tongues that I speak. I would like to have a peek.” They returned to Zecora’s house in the forest and Twilight opened her saddle bag. She pulled out a scroll, the one with the Poison Joke.

“Poison Joke only grows here,” said Twilight, “I thought I may be able to find something out about this language. All of these books are written in it.” Zecora carefully observed every scroll, and then skimmed the books.

“This is the Alphabet of the Unicorn. It was spoken before we were born.”

“Can you tell us what everything says?” Twilight asked enthusiastically.

“I’m afraid this language, I don’t know. It was spoken millennia ago. These ancient alphabets are one of the things that time forgets. Not many know the retired tongue. But I’m sure you will find someone.”

Twilight frowned. She was so close! She would have to find somebody old enough to have known the language while it was spoken.

“Spike, take a letter”

Dear Celestia,

It appears the books you have sent me are written in the Alphabet of the Unicorn. I am incapable of deciphering what it says. If you or Luna knows this language, it would be much appreciated if you could help me with my studies.

Twilight

   It was the next day when Twilight received a response. She was searching the library for perhaps a lost book that could answer her questions. She hadn’t eaten slept, or bathed. Her obsession was beginning to worry Spike.

“Twilight!” Spike shouted, “It’s a letter from Princess Celestia!”

Twilight hastily took the letter from Spike and read it.

My Dearest Twilight

I give you my sincerest apologies for the confusion, but I’m afraid that language is one that I do not know. As royalty, my education as a child was limited to what I needed to know to be ruler someday. The type of magic I use to fulfill my duties of rising the sun were not recorded in that language. My curiosity, however, is peaked. Please inform me if you encounter anyone who can read this language.

Sincerely,

Celestia

Twilight went to sit down on her bed and sighed. “I just don’t know, Spike,” she said, “Who else is old enough to have learned that language?” Then a light bulb went off in Twilight’s head. “I think I know of somepony. Rather, some draconequus”

Chapter 3

Twilight ventured out into the town square, and her horn started to glow. This was the spell she had used to summon Discord when the Everfree Forest attacked. Discord had been unhappy that he was summoned without being notified beforehand, so she wasn’t sure how he was going to react now. A large flash of light blinded everyone in the area for a few seconds, and when their vision was restored, an old style telephone was sitting in front of her. Twilight rolled her eyes. She levitated the speaker piece to her ear and heard in a familiar voice, “This is your operator speaking. How may I direct your call?”

“Discord!” Twilight yelled, but before she could continue, the “operator” chimed in,

“Oh, come now, Twilight. Can’t I have a little fun?”

“Not right now!”

“Ugghh… fine. I’m transferring your call.”

The telephone began to glow, and changed its shape. What was the earpiece materialized into a head, with a crooked, cyan horn and a deer antler. The cord became his neck, and the base grew four mismatching legs, two different wings, and a tail.

“I thought I told you last time to give me warning before you zapped me here,” Discord said, irritated.

“Sorry,” responded Twilight, “But I need your help.”

Discord yawned, and stretched out. “I don’t know if I’m up for that. What have you done to help me?”

Twilight glared at Discord. “I’m the reason you’re not spending the day as Celestia’s lawn ornament.”

“Hmm… I suppose you do have a point. After all, what are friends for?”

Twilight rolled her eyes again. “I got these books and I think that you are old enough to have learned the language that they’re written in.”

When Twilight looked up, Discord was holding a walker, had glasses, and was covered in wrinkles. “I’m not that old,” he said, then changed back to his normal self. “Awww who am I kidding? Wait. Couldn’t you have asked Celestia? After all, she was the one that taught you everything, was she not?”

“I tried her. She never learned because royalty wasn’t expected to learn that kind of thing. She had to prepare for her duties.”

“Are you forgetting that I was once king of Equestria as well?” Discord asked, wearing a crown that he made appear out of nowhere. The crown grew wings, and flew from his head onto Twilight’s. “Though I admire the work you Alicorns have done, I have to say I liked Equestria better back when I was king.”

“Can you read it or not?” Twilight raised her voice impatiently.

“Whoa, whoa, calm down. I’ll take a look at your books.”

Twilight opened her saddle bag to see that her books were gone. She looked up at Discord, who was already skimming through the first journal.

“Before I begin let me just say that you need to take better care of your belongings,” Discord said, tossing the torn off cover of the first journal to Twilight. He flipped through the pages, showing a mock sense of focus and interest. “Well,” he said, “The Alphabet of the Unicorn. I haven’t seen this in years. He poofed back into the old man getup. “Why, back in my day, we-“

“Enough!” Twilight interrupted. “What does it say?”

“I personally think it would be easier to do this,” he made a scroll appear with the snap of his fingers.

“What’s this?” asked Twilight.

“It’s a translation. The Alphabet of the Unicorn is exactly that – an alphabet. It’s still English, same syntax, all of that. Unicorns years ago would use this to stop their magic from getting in the wrong hands, like mine.”

“Wow! Thanks Discord! You’re a real friend!” Discord rolled his eyes.

“Yes, I suppose I am. Now begone with you. I’m a busy draconequus.”

Twilight sprinted back to the library and shut the door. She locked herself in a small room with a desk and a lamp. She pinned the translation to the wall and began to read, starting with the first journal. She couldn’t wait to find out what was written.

A week passed, and Twilight hadn’t exited the room except to use the bathroom. When she was hungry, a sandwich or something else would levitate across the library into the slightly ajar doorway, and then the door would shut. Spike was beginning to worry about Twilight, and was about to leave to gather Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie to talk to Twilight when Twilight finally emerged from the small room. Her mane was matted and unkempt; her normally pearly white teeth were beginning to yellow from neglect.

“Twilight!” Spike cried, “I was worrying about you!”

“No need for that, Spike. Look!”

Twilight help up a notebook; this was not one of Star Swirl’s, it was brand new. Spike opened the cover and looked. Twilight had rewritten Star Swirl’s journals!

“Look on page 65,” Twilight said.

Spike flipped through the pages, stopping at the designated page, and he saw what the page contained.

THE FIFTEEN STEPS TO CREATING SPELLS

Spike smiled. “You can finally make whole spells now? That’s awesome Twilight!”

“Yeah, I know. Check this out!” She held up another notebook, and on the first page was written:

WORLD PEACE

Spike gasped. “Was this in the journals too?”

“No,” said Twilight. “I made this.”

“Well then, what are you waiting for? Use it!”

“I can’t yet. This spell is enormous.  It requires a way of amplifying my magic. I need to go to the Everfree Forest again. This time, I know what I’m going for. We’re going to borrow the Elements of Harmony.”

“You’ll be the most successful princess Equestria had ever had!”

“That’s not important to me,” Twilight reminded Spike, “We’ll put an end to all of the world problems!”

“Let’s go then! We gotta get the others if we’re going to need the Elements!”

Twilight’s first stop was at a small cloud hovering over Ponyville. “Hey, Rainbow Dash!”

“Hey there, Twilight!” Rainbow Dash yelled back, “Come on up.” Twilight had forgotten she could fly and muttered “duh” under her breath when Dash had said that.

“Better stay down here, Spike,” Twilight said, “Only ponies with wings can walk on clouds.” Twilight flew into Rainbow Dash’s small cloud home. Dash was sitting on a cloud sofa, with a plate with some scraps next to her and a half-empty glass of apple juice.

“What’s up, Twi?”

Twilight showed Rainbow Dash the contents of her notebook.

“A world peace spell? How come nobody thought of that? What are we waiting for? Let’s get the other four and be on our way!”

Minutes later, the two walked into Sugar Cube Corner. The Cakes were sitting in chair, each holding a baby.

“Princess Twilight! Rainbow Dash! What brings you two here?’ Mr. Cake asked while burping Pound.

“Is Pinkie Pie here?” Twilight asked.

“I’m afraid not,” Mr. Cake replied. “We sent her out for a few ingredients. You should be able to find her at the market.”

Twilight and Dash left the bakery and headed toward the town square.

“Okay,” said Twilight, “We’ll split up. Meet me back here in fifteen minutes.” Ten minutes passed and Twilight returned with Pinkie Pie. They waited a half hour for Rainbow Dash, but she never came. She turned to look at Pinkie and say something but…

She was gone without a word.

Chapter 4

Twilight didn’t worry too much. Rainbow Dash can be lazy when it comes to things that don’t involve flying; Pinkie Pie had the attention span of a Cocker Spaniel, and probably found a pretty butterfly and hopped after it. Had it been somepony like Applejack, maybe she would have been worried. She was just annoyed. She took flight, hovering over the town square to get a bird’s-eye view. She flew over the whole square, flapping her wings only to stop from falling, gliding the rest of the way with her lavender wings stretched out. After twenty minutes of pointless searching, she decided she needed help. She changed her course to Fluttershy’s cottage with a simple tilt of her body.

Meanwhile, Fluttershy sat in her cottage, attentively watching Angel, her rabbit, go on and on with futile charades. Angel was in a state of panic, and thus, was unable to communicate it through charades. Fluttershy was concerned, to say the least. “Um… Angel? I’m so sorry, but, you have to slow down. I can’t understand what you’re trying to tell me. And it seems important. Oh gosh, am I not trying hard enough? Sorry, Angel. Maybe Rarity will be able to figure it out.”

Rarity was supposed to visit, for she had a large order at Carousel, and needed a hoof. Fluttershy was the perfect candidate. Her sewing expertise would prove more than useful. But, Rarity was supposed to be at Fluttershy’s an hour ago. This worried Fluttershy. Rarity desired perfection, and was never late to anything by even a minute. Even if she had to wake up at four in the morning to style her mane, she would if it meant being punctual. That’s when it hit her. “Angel,” she said, “Did something happen to Rarity?” The bunny nodded and sighed in relief. Fluttershy was out the door without another word.

Fluttershy saw Twilight not even a minute after leaving her home. They stopped, hovering in midair.

“Fluttershy,” said Twilight, “I was just looking for you.”

“Same here. I wasn’t expecting to find you so easily.”

Twilight cut right to the chase. “I need your help finding Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie. They just kinda disappeared and you can help me do a flyover of Ponyville.”

“Oh, well, uh… I was also looking for somepony. Angel says Rarity is missing and I was supposed to help her with an order.”

“That’s weird. Maybe we’ll find her when we look for Dash and Pinkie.”

“I hope nothing bad happened to them…”

“I’m sure they’re fine,” said Twilight.

“Gee… I hope you’re right. If something happened to them, I don’t know what I’d do.”

“We’d better stick together, just to be safe,” Twilight suggested.

They searched Ponyville for hours on end, with no avail. During the search, Twilight had explained to Fluttershy about the spell, and that she needed the Elements to make it work.

“We should go see Applejack.” Fluttershy recommended, “If she’s alright, we have no need to worry about the others. But if she’s gone, too… something bad happened.”

The fly to Sweet Apple Acres was uneventful. Neither Twilight nor Fluttershy said a word. When they touched down in front of Applejack’s house, they heard blood-curdling screaming from inside. Twilight teleported into the house, there was no time for doors. What she saw made her jaw drop.

Applejack was wrestling… something. And losing. It had no definite shape, just a black blob with five or six protruding tentacles. Applejack was grunting, and trying to fight back. But it was too strong. Applebloom was cowering in the corner, screaming her lungs out; she was the source of the scream they had heard from outside.

Twilight’s shock and confusion paralyzed her. By the time she was able to move, it was too late. Applejack had lost the battle, she was grabbed by the tentacles and absorbed into the creature. The creature retreated through the floor, and was gone like nothing happened. Applebloom sat motionless in the corner. Tears fell from her traumatized face. She finally stood, and threw her front hooves around Twilight in an embrace. Twilight, however, had no way of assuaging the filly’s fears. She pulled Applebloom off of her and sat her down. Before she had a chance to say something, she realized something that filled her heart with dread.

She had left Fluttershy outside.

Her suspicions had been confirmed. There was nopony outside, other than Big Macintosh, who hadn’t heard any of the events that had just happened. Twilight flew off  without saying another word. She had to see Princess Celestia.

Twilight flew for an amount of time unknown to her. Her panic was prioritized over sense of time. The royal guards at the gates to the castle were unable to say a word or even comprehend who had flown through the door. A panicked Twilight entered the doors to Celestia’s throne room.

“Celestiayouhavetohelpme *inhale* allofmyfriendswerekidnappedandIneedtheElementsofHarmonyto-”

“Calm down, Twilight,” Princess Celestia interrupted, “Now tell me rationally and slowly what happened.” Twilight explained everything.

“I have an idea, though,” Twilight said, “You used all six Elements of Harmony to banish Nightmare Moon, right? Celestia nodded. “If you could wield the Elements, I could use my spell to make the world peaceful, and my friends will return.”

Celestia nodded again. The two alicorns fled the castle, into the now night sky, almost is if it were a warning to stay away from what was going to happen.

The flight to the Tree of Harmony was a short one. They had both been there before, and the destruction caused by the vines Discord had planted all those years ago made it an obvious landmark. They descended, not wasting any time with landings. The graceful and professional Princess Celestia had abandoned all efforts to be dainty and landed hard on the ground, picking up a cloud of dust. Twilight was worse. She crash-landed into the ground. She was fine, and stood up and brushed herself off.

Hey, Celestia,” Twilight said, “What are we waiting fo…”

Before Twilight could finish her sentence, she looked at the Tree of Harmony, and it silenced her. Where the Elements of Harmony once stood was now a black hole. Not a galaxy-eating super force. Just a hole. That was pitch black. It looked as if it led to another place in the word, like a portal.

“Princess Celestia,” Twilight was so shocked that her habitual method of addressing Celestia returned. “What is that?”

“There’s only one way to find out,” she replied.

Together, they flew into the portal, unsure of where it led, but they knew in their hearts that here was the place they’d find their answers.

Chapter 5

The portal led to an area that neither Twilight nor Celestia knew about. The area was pitch black, the darkness spreading in all directions, except for the hole that the two alicorns had entered through. The more they looked, they realized that despite the lack of light, and the infinite blackness that surrounded them, their vision was not impaired and they were able to see as if it were in broad daylight.

Twilight began to descend, and she felt her hooves touch something. She looked, and saw nothing. Just black. She learned that there was a definite ground; it was just unable to be seen. They wandered aimlesly, only to be stopped by the glow of something in the distance. The princesses changed their path toward the light, and as they approached, they could tell what was there.

The Tree of Harmony.

It was sitting there, in the middle of the infinite abyss, the only beacon in the seas of nothing. Celestia, using magic, removed the six gems carefully from the Tree. They all glowed, and formed a circle in front of Celestia. Each Element let out a thin rainbow that made its way to the next in the row, eventually forming a small rainbow ring. “Now, Twilight!” Celestia shouted.

Twilight rose, her horn glowing the brightest shade of magenta it ever had. A beam of pure light erupted from the aura, straight toward the ring. As the light hit the center, the Elements of Harmony reacted, creating a field of light that constantly expanded. That’s when they heard it. Five voices, all acting in sync.

“You aren’t going to get away with it that easily!”

Twilight turned, and her beam of light dissipated. Five figures stood together, all of them totally white. No faces, no color, just a group of white silhouettes, each wearing a necklace containing a gem of a different shade of gray. Their necklaces reacted to one another, and a monochrome rainbow began to form. That’s when it hit her. These were her friends. Those… things took them and turned them into this.

“That’s quite enough”

Everypony turned their heads and saw the face of the one responsible for all of this. The reason Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie were captured. Why the Tree of Harmony was in this strange zone. But it didn’t make sense.

Before the princesses was Discord.

Twilight was furious. “What did you to them?!”

“Don’t worry, Twilight,” said Discord, “They’re fine. If anything, they’re better than they were before.” He made the point to show off what he was wearing. Another necklace, this one with a gem as pitch black as the area they were in. “However, I refuse to let you use that spell. Behold, your friends and I have a little something special – The Elements of Disharmony!

“Disharmony?” Twilight gasped, “Where did you… How did you… WHAT?”

“Twilight!” Celestia chimed in, “Finish the spell.” Twilight’s horn one again gained the magnificent magenta aura and the light once again was magnified the Elements of Harmony. The field of light once again reappeared.

Twilight’s transformed friends gathered around Discord. “Allow me to introduce the group,” he said, “Applejack, with the Element of Deceit; Rarity, with the Element of Greed; Rainbow Dash, wielding the Element of Betrayal; Pinkie Pie, and her Element of Sorrow; Fluttershy, the Element of Cruelty, and last but not least, I, Discord, with the Element of Chaos!”

The monochrome rainbow reformed, with an added black stripe. Mirroring the Elements of Harmony, the Elements of Disharmony released a field of black. The two fields expanded, until they collided. Then, everything was still. Neither side budged an inch, and neither side continued to grow.

The conflict pushed on and on: Twilight, wanting peace, and Discord, wanting anything but. Both sides continued to put in all of their effort, until, simultaneously, Discord and Twilight collapsed.

When Twilight regained consciousness, she immediately jumped to her feet and made a futile attempt to retry her spell. Discord didn’t. He remained calm. Twilight didn’t like the look on his face. “He… he won,” Twilight said somberly. “I’ve failed.” Tears welled in her eyes. She was glad, her tears had impaired her vision to the point where she couldn’t see the damage Discord had done.

“Don’t get like that,” Discord said, “Look.”

Twilight ignored him and continued to cry. Now it was Celestia’s turn.

“Twilight! Look”

This calmed her down. She stood, and stared at what had grown where the fields had met.

It was a tree. It was larger than the Tree of Harmony, that was for sure. Each leaf had one of two different designs: Either a rainbow or completely gray. The different leaves were evenly scattered among the Tree, and Twilight realized, both the Elements of Harmony and Disharmony were part of the Tree.

“Mind explaining what’s going on?” Twilight asked.

“Certainly,” said Discord.

“The world is all about balance,” Discord started, “For example, when Nightmare Moon was banished, Celestia took the role of Luna, rather than eliminating that part of the job. Think of it this way, if nobody had anguish or sorrow, how would we know what happiness feels like?” Twilight nodded. “Right now, we are in the Chaos Zone, my home.” This is where the chaos that rules over Equestria is born: Every disease, death, famine, you name it. Alicorns originated in the Peace Zone, Similar to this, but rainbows everywhere… ugh… it makes me sick just thinking about it. Anyway, that’s where love, peace, yadda yadda yadda, you get it. Each Zone provides half of the world. Without one, the entire world would crumble. That spell of yours, it doesn’t create peace. It eliminates chaos. The spell would have destroyed the world had it succeeded. Also, I’m kinda the God of Chaos. That spell would have eliminated me from existence. I had to do everything in my power to stop you.”

Twilight shook her head. How could she have been so naïve? “What about the tree?”

“That tree is the Tree of Balance. It was created when the peace was matched by chaos, and they were united. Another identical Tree of Balance appeared in the Peace Zone. But here’s the kicker. By proving that your peace is equal to my chaos, you have verified your role. You are the goddess of peace, Twilight Sparkle.”

Twilight blinked, then again. Had she heard him right? “A… a GODDESS?”

Discord nodded. “Y’know, I can’t say I’m fond of this, seriousness has never been my favorite thing. But it’s true. Hey, what’re ya gonna do?” Discord chuckled and snapped his fingers. The white pony figures returned to their former selves. “Well, I must bid you farewell, the world isn’t going to instigate itself.” Twilight smiled. She and her friends approached the portal back to the Everfree Forest.

“Twilight,” Princess Celestia said, “I need a word.”

“You girls go on ahead,” Twilight called to her friends, “I’ll catch up. Now, what it is, Celestia?”

“I’m sorry. I should have seen this coming from the start. I didn’t think the consequences through.”

“It’s alright, really.”

“I hope you know what this all means. Before, you took the initiative to help others. Now, it is your job. Your destiny.”

“I don’t think I mind,” Twilight said, “After all, it seemed like my job before.”

Twilight reentered the Everfree Forest, and saw the world as she knew it. There were imperfections everywhere, but that kept the world the way it was. Though it seems like the greatest thing the world could see, world peace isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Twilight looked up at the moon, and saw a serpentine silhouette fly across it. Discord was out there bringing chaos to the world.

And she wouldn’t have it any other way.

Epilogue

A rebellion has brought Canterlot to its knees. Crime rates have increased tenfold. But to top it off, a small group of rebels had returned to their base after succeeding in their mission.

They had successfully assassinated the royal sisters.

Panic spread throughout the city as people learned of Celestia and Luna’s fates. Equestria had no ruler as of then. Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor are ruling the Crystal Empire. The royal guards knew what had to be done.

A train slowed to a stop at the station in Ponyville. The passersby had expected the routine tourists and loved one returning from business trips, but two stallions wearing regal armor had exited the train, and were headed for the library. A knock on the door brought Twilight’s muzzle out of her book. “Spike,” she called, “Can you get that?”

“Uhh… I think it’s for you.”

Twilight stood and walked to the door, where she saw Spike and the two royal guards.

“Princess Twilight,” one of the guards said, “I’m afraid we have some bad news. Luna and Celestia have been murdered by rebels in Canterlot.” Twilight’s eyes became foggy, and she sat down on the floor.

“I apologize for the shock, and I’m sure you’re not prepared, but Equestria needs a ruler, and you are the only viable candidate.”

Twilight stood, trying her best to present herself as calm. She was, after all, as of then, the most powerful mare in Equestria. She nodded and followed the guards back to the train.

“All hail Princess Twilight!”

Royal trumpets blared. The citizens cheered for their ruler. Twilight stood before them all, looking as professional as Celestia ever had. She looked at all of the ponies.

“I know that I am the only Alicorn that can rule Equestria right now.” She called to her followers. “But I can not rule alone. This job is too much for a single pony to handle. I am appointing a friend of mine to aid me and co-rule. Together we will keep Equestria in check, and only we can. A figure wearing a crown appeared next to her.

“All hail Princess Twilight AND Prince Discord!”