The Spirits of Forest and Tree

Chapters

Chapter 1: The pony of misfortune.
Chapter 2: Misfortune for all
Chapter 3: Getting the gang back together
Chapter 4: Just a preview
Chapter 5: The loss of my only friend
Chapter 6: The four spirits of the seasons
Chapter 7: Friends again...but at what cost?
Chapter 8:: Sweetie Belle's awakening
Chapter 9: The final battle
Final chapter: A wish for the future

Chapter 1: The pony of misfortune.

It was a beautiful spring day. Twilight and her friends, as well as the Cutie Mark Crusaders, were just hanging around enjoying themselves without any particular goal in mind.

Pinkie Pie pointed out something of interest to her. It was a fortunetelling shop, with a sign asking if any had the courage to enter.

Following Pinkie Pie, all of them entered the tent.

The shop was set up in typical fashion. On the table in the middle of the tent was a crystal ball, with cushions to sit on. There was a figure covered with a shawl, face in shadow with a hood upon their face. Candles were lit in several areas, giving the tent a grim atmosphere.

“Greetings, dearies,” came the voice from the elderly sounding mare. “Hath thou come to have thy fortune told today?”

“Sure!” said Pinkie. “Sounds fun.”

Twilight rolled her eyes slightly. She still had her skepticism of the supposed magic of fortunetelling. She had been forced to accept that Pinkie Pie was beyond explanation sometimes, but she had no reason to believe that fortunetelling was actually a real magic.

“I must warn thee, child. Few have what it takes to stand before me. I am not like thee, of a cute, fluffy pink and cheer. I go by the moniker of the 'Pony of Misfortune.' Why is that? Because I only prophesize of the bad things to come in the future. Fate can be a scary thing to some. Doth any of thou have the courage to see the fate of a future misery?” She let out a cackling laugh that sent shivers up some of their spines.

“This is pointless,” remarked Twilight. “Who would want to see that? Let’s go, girls.”

As she went to leave the mare commented, “I understand. I guess there isn’t a single brave one among you.” She let out another cackle. “I don’t blame thee for that.”

Rainbow Dash started to walk out too, but then hesitated, looking back and forth between the exit and the mare. Letting out a growl she flew a few feet and sat down in front of the table.

“Rainbow Dash!” cried out Twilight.

“I’m not afraid of anything!” Rainbow Dash responded indignantly. “Do your worst.”

The old mare laughed again. “I am impressed with your courage. I wonder what the world has in store for you. When you feel ready place your hooves upon the ball and let your future be known.”

“And just how much is this going to cost?” asked Twilight, annoyed.

“Nothing,” she responded. “I never claimed to be a noble mare. I enjoy seeing people’s reactions. It’s worth doing it for free just to see their faces contort in misery.”

“Hmph!” Rainbow Dash scoffed as she placed her hooves on the ball. “You won’t get much enjoyment from me, then. Your dumb predictions won’t scare me.”

“So you say, dearie.”

Her horn began glowing red, revealing her face. The ball turned a bright white as she began muttering an incantation, “Oh, ball of fate. Show me what lies ahead. The pain and the agony, the hurt and despair. Illuminate for us the fear and discomfort of this one’s future. LET US SEE!” At her last words the glow from the ball became greater, and an image appeared upon it. “I will increase the size so all of them might see and hear as well.”

The image floated up into the air, blocking the face of the mare as it expanded.

In the scene that began playing it showed Rainbow Dash flying around Ghastly Gorge. She turned around and was flying backwards when they heard her voice begin speaking. “Come on, kid! Try and keep up. How much do I have to hold back for you?”

“S-sorry, Big Sis,” came a panting voice, and a weary looking Scootaloo appeared. “I’m still trying to master this thing.”

Scootaloo instantly rushed forward. “Cool! If this is really the future it means I am going to fly. This is awesome! I don’t see what’s so terrible about this future.”

She got her answer a few seconds later. Rainbow Dash, from not paying attention, crashed into the edge of the canyon. A big rock slide occurred, engulfing her and knocking her to the ground.

Scootaloo cried out her name, rushing to the ground and throwing rocks out of the way until she uncovered her idol. Rainbow Dash was shaking in pain, her wings looking out of place and various bruises and cuts covered her body. She rushed Rainbow Dash to the hospital.

The memory skipped a little further ahead, to Rainbow Dash in a hospital bed and all of her friends around her. A doctor came up to her, putting an x-ray on the board. “I’m sorry, Ms. Dash, but as you can plainly see your wing muscles are completely destroyed. There is no recovery for this. We only have one choice. Those wings of yours have to be completely amputated. You’re never going to fly again.”

The glow and the image faded to nothingness. Rainbow Dash was stock still, not even breathing, seemingly beyond a response.

“Oh my,” said the old fortuneteller. “It seems a grim fate awaits you. I have to say, your reaction is glorious.” She let out a few laughs.

Twilight slammed her hooves on the table. “Oh, will you cut it out! All of this is ridiculous. No one can tell the future. This is all a big joke. I refuse to believe this!”

The mare pulled back her hood and began laughing uproariously, her creepy demeanor fading away. “Can’t put anything past you, can I, young alicorn? Of course it’s just a joke. Nothing but a prank. I can’t believe how many people fall for it.” She wiped away a tear that had formed from her laughter.

Rainbow Dash started panting as she began sucking in oxygen. She let out a nervous laugh. “Y-yeah. I… I knew it all the time.”

“Well, thanks for the good times. Come back again soon if you want me to have some more fun.”

As they left for real this time Twilight scolded her friend. “Serves you right, Rainbow Dash. I told you not to do that. You got all worked up for nothing.”

Rainbow Dash was still looking really troubled.

“What’s wrong?” asked Scootaloo. “It was all fake, right?”

“I… I’m not sure,” responded Rainbow Dash.

“Why not?” asked Rarity.

“Because it felt real. I can see myself acting like that. Also, think about it. I’ve never seen that mare before in my life. So how could she know that I’ve been giving Scootaloo flying lessons or what I’m like?”

Applejack’s eyebrow rose. “Y’know… you’ve got a good point.”

“Scootaloo may have been nearby when we walked in but she couldn’t possibly know our relationship of calling each other sisters, nor that I practice by Ghastly Gorge.” Rainbow threw a hoof to her face, “What if it is true? What if I’m never going to fly again?”

“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight said sternly. “Knock it off now. Just because you’re too busy focusing on your own abilities sometimes doesn’t mean that no one else has noticed you and Scootaloo around town. There are plenty of explanations for why she could know that stuff about you. She said herself it was only a bad joke designed to get a reaction out of ponies.”

“But even if it was only a joke that doesn’t mean it CAN’T happen. I already had one accident at Ghastly Gorge before when I had that contest to find a pet. I was only caught by one feather, but it could happen again. I can’t take that chance. What if the next time it IS worse? I can’t lose my wings! I’d die if I could never become a Wonderbolt. This is bad! What do I do?”

“What can you do? We’re going to prove her prediction wrong, right now!”

“What do you mean?”

“Let’s go to Ghastly Gorge right now. If anything happens to threaten you I’ll just use my magic to keep you out of danger. You want to tell me you’re that much a coward that you’d just accept that future she predicted? Don’t surrender to fate. Make your own fate. And if you need help all of us will help you.”

Rainbow Dash sighed. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Let’s go.”

Chapter 2: Misfortune for all

Twilight carefully watched Rainbow Dash as she flew around, coaching Scootaloo on how to use her wings properly. Scootaloo wasn’t as skilled as she was in the vision, but she could at least get off the ground for a time. It wasn’t perfect. She could only seem to fly for around ten seconds or so at a time before she lost control of her wing tempo and fell down to the ground.

Rainbow Dash tried to just focus on Scootaloo so she wouldn’t give in to her fear, but she found herself being overly careful. Her heart kept racing every time she flew too near to the sides of the gorge.

Twilight thought things were going well. It had been about a half-hour. She got a surprise when she heard a voice behind her.

“So this is your answer, is it?”

Twilight spun around quickly, seeing the fortuneteller standing there.

“What are you doing here?” asked Fluttershy.

“Yeah,” said Applejack.

“Why would you follow us all the way here?” asked Twilight.

“Because I wanted to know,” she responded.

“To… know? To know what?”

“What she would choose to do.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I do have a purpose beyond just scaring ponies. I want to see how they react to fear. Fear and courage are but two opposite sides of the same coin. Power comes not just from physical strength but also from mental and emotional strength. If one doesn’t possess the last two then they only possess brute strength and are given to despair when that power is shown to be insignificant to a greater power.

"On the other hand, one will never be listened to properly if they have no physical strength with which to stand up properly for their ideals. I seek those who have all three. Your friend up there clearly didn’t have all those requirements. She gave in to fear, and thus has a storm cloud hovering over her, just waiting to rain down upon her. If one considers themselves a slave to fate they will give up when told something is hopeless. She believed in my prediction and would have given up entirely if you hadn’t encouraged her to do this. She has promise, but at current she is not fit for the new world.”

“What in the hay are you babblin’ about?” asked Applejack.

“A new world?” asked Twilight.

“Correct,” said the mare. “Things will be changing in the near future. A great change is on the horizon, and nothing can stop it. This change will not be pleasant for some, but it is all for the best. After all, who could hate a world in which there are no weaklings and everyone is strong and can stand up for their own beliefs?

“But I may be getting ahead of myself. There will be time for that later. I would like to test you, young alicorn. You interest me. You may be worthy of being a teacher in the remade Equestria.”

“And what does that mean?”

Her horn began glowing as she lifted her crystal ball. “Do you have the courage to touch it and see your future? You’re a princess, and all your friends will follow along with whatever you say, will they not? So let me see if you actually have the integrity to stand by your word.

"You say my power is fake. Thus, you have absolutely nothing to fear by watching what it shows, since it is not real. Or… will you admit you lied and refuse to see because you’re afraid? What example will you send to your friends and thus to your eventual subjects if you can’t show you can keep to your own words?”

Twilight looked with annoyance at the smug expression on her face. “I don’t have to prove anything to you. You come over her spouting nonsense, following us all the way out here, simply to try to convince me of something ridiculous? Just get out of here. I have work to do.”

“You know, it’s not just what you choose to do, but also what you choose not to do, that has an influence on those around you. If someone attacked a friend of yours and you did nothing to prevent it you would still influence those who looked after. It sets an example and precedent as a ruler that you’re not up to the task. Thus, why should they, as those lower than you, make any effort themselves if their ruler is not willing to do the same? And what about the children as well? The children that are easily influenced may believe it’s fine to be apathetic.”

Twilight sighed heavily and rolled her eyes. “Fine. If it will make you shut up I’ll prove that I’m not afraid of you.”

“You sure about this, Twilight?” asked Fluttershy.

“She does have a point. I don’t have to accept her words, but my life is not just mine, especially as a princess. Even though I personally don’t have any interest in her words, I cannot deny that the way I act and the decisions I make will influence those around me.

"So fine. I’ll walk into your 'trap.' Show me what my supposed future holds.” Walking forward she placed her hoof on the crystal ball.

Out of the ball came another projection. This time it showed a depressed looking Twilight awkwardly standing outside a set of double doors. The voice of Princess Celestia called out, “Enter.”

Twilight opened the doors and walked into Celestia’s throne room. She was looking everywhere except for the princess who stood at the end of the room. When she at last made it to the bottom of the steps leading to the throne she finally looked up towards Celestia. Her voice coming out as just above a whisper she sputtered out, “Y-you wanted to see me, Princess?”

Celestia did not look happy. “In this case I would say I’d rather not see you. I can hardly believe the utter irresponsibility you have shown recently. I trusted you to be able to handle Ponyville. I expected great things of you. WHAT HAPPENED?”

Twilight shuddered as Celestia used the Royal Canterlot Voice. “I… I don’t know. I did my best. I tried so hard but I wasn’t able to stop it.”

“Obviously this was all a giant mistake. Your friends are all miserable, and Ponyville right on its heels.” Jumping out of her throne she landed in front of Twilight, who backed away from her a few steps. “Clearly, the mistake was mine for ever making you a princess in the first place and trusting you to be able to handle it at such a young age. You’re clearly unworthy of your title and the wings you gained. Tomorrow you will be properly disbarred for all to see. Maybe when you actually grow up a little you can show your face in front of me again. Not get out of my sight until I can give you your punishment properly.”

Twilight looked shamefaced at the ground, tears falling down her eyes. “Yes, Princess Celestia.” She turned and began slowly walking out of the room.

The mare looked with interest to see what Twilight’s reaction would be.

Twilight only gazed at her exasperatingly. “So, is that it? I disappoint everyone and lose my title? I know without a doubt that at times I disappoint my friends, and times when Princess Celestia is disappointed in me, but I can’t see things happening the way you say it will.

“So are you satisfied now? What were you trying to prove with this little stunt?”

The mare could see that despite Twilight's words her body language was telling a different story. Her words were genuine in that she meant what she said, but she wasn’t completely unaffected. She did have some fear of what she had seen, but she wasn’t letting it dictate her actions. “You truly are worthy of your crown. You are what I hoped you would be. Soon the time will come when all ponies will be like you. The time is quickly coming. Don’t fret, though. Your power will play a vital role in the new age. For now, though, you are still bound to the old world. That is a shame, as you must live with the consequences.”

Her horn glowed brighter as she pulled the crystal ball back. “Aren’t you supposed to be keeping an eye on your friend in the sky? You wouldn’t want her to get hurt, would you?”

“Hmmm?” Twilight spun around to see a rockslide beginning to occur in the direction Rainbow Dash was heading in. She was flying backwards, trying to encourage Scootaloo.

Rainbow Dash had relaxed enough to focus more on Scootaloo, as she had confidence Twilight would get her out of trouble if something happened. She heard the sound of collapsing rock and looked up in panic. There were too many to avoid them.

Scootaloo screamed out “Rainbow Dash!” The barrage of rocks had gotten her. “No! No, no, no! It can’t be true! I won’t let it be true!” She rushed down towards the pile of rocks, beginning to throw them out of the way. “Where is she?”

Twilight was panting. “That was way too close.” She had only just managed to teleport Rainbow Dash out of the way before the rocks hit her. “Over here, Scootaloo!”

Rainbow’s heart was beating hard in her chest. It had nearly happened. She had lost focus on the threat, doing exactly like she had done in the vision, flying backwards and talking to Scootaloo. She had nearly had a horrific accident that could have cost her her wings… or her life.

“Hey!” cried out Applejack as she felt something bump her. Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie followed in complaint. All of them had gotten distracted from watching Rainbow Dash.

The fortuneteller had touched the other four of them with the crystal ball.

Four videos began playing simultaneously for the four ponies remaining.

Applejack saw herself on the farm, bucking apples with Applebloom. Just like usual, whenever she would kick a tree Applebloom would be under it with a basket, waiting to catch the ones that fell. The two of them were having a blast, laughing away as they enjoyed their chores. They went to a pretty big tree, and Applejack gave it a mighty buck.

She suddenly heard a cracking sound. She looked curiously at the tree, and her eyes went wide as the tree suddenly tipped over with another loud cracking noise, crushing Applebloom beneath it.

The memory moved ahead to Applejack standing over the grave sobbing as she placed her hot on top of it. “I’m so sorry, Mom and Dad. I promised I’d keep Applebloom safe for you. I failed. I failed! Forgive me!”

Fluttershy saw herself going shopping in the marketplace for her animal friends. Things went well. She had enough bits to get all of them the food they liked best. She had even managed to score some free carrots for Angel Bunny. The shopkeeper was going to throw them out since she had gotten a whole new shipment of fresh carrots. She was all smiles as she returned home. “Hello, all my little friends. I have lunch for all of you.” All her critter friends; the bear, badgers, mice, squirrels, cats, and bunnies were cheering and chattering away.

She gave each of them their food, filling up their bowls as they began eating eagerly.

She called over Angel Bunny. “Come here, you. I got you your favorite.” He hopped over, grabbing the carrot from her and munching down greedily on it.

“Now, now, silly. Don’t eat it so fast or you’ll choke.” He just rolled his eyes at her and kept eating. When he was done he hopped over and jumped onto her back, nuzzling her face. “I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

After a short time he began coughing. “Oh, Angel. Are you okay?” His coughing got worse, and he suddenly fell off her back onto the floor. His face was blue, and he was covering his throat. He began sputtering for breath. “Angel!” She cried out, picking him up. “What’s wrong?”

His breathing became short, and his eyes were half-lidded as he shuddered and suddenly became still. “Angel! No! Wake up!” Tears began coming down her eyes.

She found out that the carrots she had gotten for free had been grown with an unsafe pesticide that had gotten into the mix. The memory skipped over to her trying to walk through town and getting accused of being an animal killer, a statement that horrified her. Half the people she walked by looked at her as a monster. Eventually she gave up and just ran home crying. She sat down in front of his grave and just sobbed.

Rarity’s showed her messing up a big order. She had cracked under the strain of trying to get all her outfits done on time and, in her fatigue, had messed up the last of them. After she had a night of rest she rushed to deliver them. As she showed each of them off she got a look of awe and delight from her client, but as she took out the last of them and saw how shoddy they looked the clients face turned from delight to disgust. The client accused her of trying to take the easy way out and demanding full price for a few pieces of slipshod work.

Because of the clients influence word quickly got out and business quickly slowed down to the point that no one wanted to shop at her boutique anymore.

Pinkie Pie’s showed another pony coming to town who was an even bigger party planner than her. He arrived in spectacular fashion, proclaiming his superiority and eagerly accepted her challenge of seeing who was better. In all ways he dominated her. His jokes were funnier, his treats were tastier, his party skills trumped her own. Even her very own friends began getting wrapped up in his talent. In the end she saw that she was no longer worthy of living at Sugarcube Corner, and left Ponyville to return back to her rock farm.

The fortuneteller laughed as she returned the crystal ball to herself. “So I have seen, so it shall be. This fate will come to pass, though you may try your best to avoid it. Is there any hope for you? Only you can decide what you’re going to do from here on out. Will you lose yourself, of find yourself? The choice is up to you.” With a sinister laugh her magic engulfed her as she glided into the air and then disappeared with a poof, leaving the other ponies in stunned silence.

Author's Note

Agh. I've had this story in mind for a while, and now two of the misfortunes(Pinkie's and Rarity's) have sorta been shown in episodes in season 4, so it looks like I'm copying it now.

Chapter 3: Getting the gang back together

Twilight was lying on her bed, a frown upon her face. Following the mare’s disappearance all of them had just sorta split apart. She had tried to reassure them that it was all fake, but she hadn’t been able to convince them. What was most troubling to her was that, in a way, one of her predictions was already coming true: the one for her. Her friends were all miserable. Pinkie Pie was a critical element in the town’s happiness. She had seen that during the whole cutie mark switch fiasco. And in the end, as a princess and living in Ponyville, she had a responsibility to both her friends and her town.

Could it really be true? Could she actually be stripped of her title as a result of failing her friends? It certainly seemed that way at the moment. She had been the one who hadn’t just stuck to her guns and refused to play along with that fortuneteller. All the same, there was something off about her. She had forced her powers on unwilling ponies who hadn’t agreed. What was her game? And what was all this talk of a new world?

Her train of thought was interrupted by the sudden appearance of a plate of milk and cookies on a tray in front of her. Spike looked over at her awkwardly. “I… I thought you might like something to cheer you up. You’ve just been sitting there looking miserable for the past twenty minutes.” He crawled up onto the bed. “What’s going on, Twilight?”

Twilight sighed, giving Spike a quick hug. “Thanks, Spike. I needed that.”

He smiled. “No problem.”

“Let me ask you something, Spike. Do you believe that the future can be changed?”

Spike’s face clenched in thought for a bit. “I don’t think so. You remember that whole thing where you went on a panic when Future Twilight came to warn you not to worry about the future but she wasn’t able to get the whole message to you in time? You spent the whole week trying to avoid a disaster, only to find out there was never a disaster coming in the first place. Then you tried to go back in time and tell yourself that, only to fail to do so. Both as Present Twilight and as Future Twilight the same events happened.”

“Hmmm. You’re right. If the future is set then it means that no matter what I do it won’t change what’s already set in stone.” Her face lit up. “Spike, you’re a genius!”

“I am?”

“Yes! I need you to send a letter to Princess Celestia right now. If I can prove even one of her predictions as entirely false then it means her entire scheme will fall apart.”

“What predictions? What are you talking about?”

“I’ll tell you later. This has to be done now.”

“Alright, then.” He hopped off the bed and left the room, returning shortly with a piece of parchment and a quill. “Ready when you are.”

“Dear Princess Celestia… I, Princess Twilight Sparkle, have a serious situation on my hooves. I believe Ponyville may be in danger. I am not free to give details at the moment, but for the time being I am hereby resigning as princess.”

Spike stopped writing, not sure he had heard that correctly. “Come again?”

“Write it, Spike. I am abdicating my role as princess. Once you send it I’m going to head out.”

He finished writing down the words before blowing his magical fire on it to send it to the princess. “So what’s all this about?”

“We met a mare who was a fortuneteller. She claimed to be able to see the future of other pony’s misfortunes. She predicted a lot of terrible things for my friends. That Rainbow Dash would lose her wings in a flying accident, that Fluttershy would accidently kill Angel Bunny by feeding him a poisoned carrot, and I myself was told that I would fail as a princess and Celestia would officially abolish me for failing to keep the town happy and healthy.

“The vision she showed me can only come to pass if I am indeed a princess. If I quit right now that means it is completely, one hundred percent impossible for her vision to go the way it was presented, and thus that I have either changed the future, or her power wasn’t real to begin with.”

“I get it. If you can prove either of those things then it means they don’t have to be scared of the predictions, because either it was fake and won’t happen, or that it doesn’t have to happen exactly the way it was shown.”

“Right! I should go now.”

“What about your snack?”

Twilight let out a little snicker. “Fine.” She picked up a cookie and ate it before downing some milk. “Mmm. These are good as usual. If you were a pony I’m sure you’d get a cookie making cutie mark.”

“Why, thank you. I do have a few talents.”

“I’d love to sample some more, but I need to cheer my friends up first. I won’t let that future come to pass for any of them. I swear it on my title of… um…” Twilight laughed again. “Right. Not a princess. I swear it on my duty as a good friend.”

With that she flew out the window.

Fluttershy was walking around with a heavy heart. She had taken the longest route possible to get to her house. Now that she was here she wished she had never arrived. She felt like she was having trouble breathing. She thought she couldn’t feel worse, but as she opened the door she saw her little Angel hopping towards her. She let out a heavy breath, trying not to cry.

Angel could see Fluttershy looked upset, but he couldn’t understand why. Chattering in his bunny way he asked her what was wrong. She lay down on the ground and just began sobbing, which really troubled him. He and Fluttershy had their disagreements and he knew he could be stubborn sometimes, but he really did love his master. He hopped over to her and put a comforting paw over her, trying to wipe away her tears.

Fluttershy grabbed Angel, giving him a strong hug. “I love you, Angel Bunny,” she sputtered out. “I love you so much.” Standing up she carried him outside, and placed him in a cage. She heard his chittering protests, asking her what was going on. “It’s… it’s because I love you so much that I’ll never let that happen to you. I don’t ever want to hurt you.”

Angel strained to get out of the cage as they walked, not understanding what was going on. She had never put him in a cage before.

Soon enough they reached Ponyville Market. She slowed down her pace as she saw the pony she was looking for. He was someone that sold pets. She strained to keep her voice steady as started talking to him. “Excuse me, sir?”

“Yes?” he replied, a big grin on his face. “Can I interest you in a pet today? Cat, dog, bird… I’ve got it all.”

“Do you accept… donations?” She looked down towards the cage, and couldn’t suppress a shuddering breath. Her heart was beginning to race and she felt like she was going to start sobbing again.

“Hey, now. I understand. Sometimes the responsibility of owning a pet can become overwhelming. But I assure you I’ll take excellent care of your little bunny.”

Angel’s eyes went wide, disbelieving what Fluttershy was saying. She was going to sell him? Why would she do that? This had to be a mistake…or a joke. She…she…

He began slamming into the edges of the cages, going crazy as he tried to get out.

Fluttershy closed her eyes tight as she placed the cage on the counter. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry!” Tears began running down her eyes. “I don’t want to do this, but it’s for your own safety.” She began walking away without turning back. She knew if she did she might change her mind, and thus doom Angel to death.

Angel cried out to her, one of his paws coming out of the cage and waving frantically.

“Fluttershy!” came a sudden voice from above.

“T-Twilight,” said Fluttershy, wiping away a few of her tears. “What are you doing here?”

“Stopping you from making a huge mistake.” Using her magic she opened the cage, to Angel’s great relief. He hopped over to her and snuggled into her mane, giving Fluttershy a glare.

“Twilight, what are you doing? This has to be done!”

“No, it doesn’t! Her power is a fake.”

“That’s what you keep saying, but how do you know that?”

“Because I’ve already proven it.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ll explain in a moment.” Levitating Angel in front of her she said, “Don’t be upset with her, Angel Bunny. She was told that something very bad would happen to both you and her if she kept you. A fortuneteller said that she would feed you a poisoned carrot on accident and you would die, and that ponies would think she did it on purpose and call her an animal killer. She was only trying to protect you. She wasn’t trying to abandon you. Can you forgive her?” She levitated him in front of Fluttershy.

He avoided her eyes for a bit, then moved his paws toward her.

Fluttershy picked him up, beginning to cry again, but without the sadness that had threatened to crush her. “I’m sorry,” she said again. “I love you. I didn’t want to see you hurt.” Looking up to Twilight she asked, “So what do you mean that you proved it?”

“I resigned my role as princess.”

Fluttershy gasped. “You WHAT?”

“Talking with Spike, he reminded me of the incident where I was visited by my future self. I saw from when I later went back in time that my conversation went exactly as it had in the past and the future. Thus, the future is set and cannot be changed. If I quit as a princess then it only follows that Princess Celestia cannot possibly fire me from the position. Thus, it means her power cannot truly see the future.”

“I… I guess you’re right. That means Angel will be safe. I love all of my animals, but I love Angel the most.” Angel let out a little happy squeal, holding tighter to her. “Losing one of my animals due to my own carelessness is my biggest fear.”

“For now let’s just find the rest of our friends. We can’t just leave things as they are.”

They headed over to Carousel Boutique next. They saw Rarity was trying to create a dress, but she kept pausing, and double-checking things. She was really doubting her skill.

“Rarity,” called out Fluttershy.

She looked up from her work, a heavy look on her face. “Yes, girls? I’m… I’m trying to create. But what if I mess up and never get another client again? My reputation will be ruined if I screw up any important orders. I live my life trying to improve the fashion scene and do my best. I can’t afford even a single screw up or I might never get a second chance. Fashion means too much to me to lose it. It’s my biggest fear.”

“Hmmm,” Twilight mumbled thoughtfully, an eyebrow going up. “Aha!” she called out, stars twinkling in her eyes. “That’s it!”

“What’s it?” asked Rarity.

“I get it now!” she said smugly. “That’s what she was aiming for.”

“What do you mean?” asked Fluttershy.

“The both of you said the same thing, and those are the key words. 'Biggest fear.' What she showed us in those 'visions of the future' was nothing more than the biggest fears in our hearts. Rainbow Dash loves flying more than anything, so losing her wings would be her greatest fear. Applejack loves her family more than anything, so being responsible in some way for the death of one is her biggest fear. Rarity, you and Pinkie Pie pride yourselves on being the best at your pursuits, so messing up or having someone upstage you at it are your biggest fears. Fluttershy loves taking care of animals, and so like Applejack would hate to be in some way responsible for one getting hurt or killed. And as for me, that vision showed a combination of fears: of disappointing Princess Celestia, letting down my friends and the town, and losing my title due to ineptitude.

“What makes all of these fears so devastating is the fact that they’re suppressed in our daily lives. We all know that the possibility of mistakes is there, no matter how much time passes. I can’t ever say I’ll never make a big mistake that will lead to me getting fired in the future, or that Rainbow Dash won’t get into some kind of flying accident that will cause her to be crippled in her ability to fly. That’s why everyone is taking this so hard, and why they believed in her power.”

“So… you’re saying it’s a big sham?” asked Rarity.

“Exactly.”

“Twilight resigned as princess,” said Fluttershy. “She wanted to prove her power was fake.”

“I see.” Rarity let out a deep breath. “Well, this changes everything. It’s no longer a certainty, but only a possibility. Let’s go share the good news.”

“Right!” Twilight nodded in agreement.

The three of them left Carousel Boutique and headed to Sugarcube Corner, and convinced Pinkie Pie.

They found Rainbow Dash after a good amount of searching. She was flying up in the air and seemed to be constantly looking up into the sky to make sure nothing was going to fall down on her. She got pretty ticked when she was told the truth of the matter. She couldn’t believe she had fell into the hype and believed that fake.

When the five of them arrived at Sweet Apple Acres they found a crying Apple Bloom inside. Big Mac was trying to reassure her.

“What’s wrong, Apple Bloom?” asked Twilight.

She turned to the five of them, saying, “A-Applejack said she ain’t coming back. She’s too afraid of hurting me. She said she’s going to move back into Manehatten with her aunt and uncle. I tried to get her to stay, b-b-but she wouldn’t listen to me.”

“Don’t worry, Apple Bloom. We’ll get her back. We found out that her power is fake.”

“Oh, that’s good. Please bring my sister back to me.”

“We will.”

They all rushed to the Ponyville train station. They found Applejack standing there, her head down and looking thoroughly miserable.

Twilight explained what she had found out, but Applejack wasn’t moved.

“It doesn’t matter, Twilight,” said Applejack. “Even if her power is only to see into our memories and pull out what we’re most afraid of it doesn’t change anything.”

“Yes, it does. It changes everything! It goes from being a certainty to only a possibility, and that distinction is everything.”

“Just save it, Twilight. I’m leavin’. I won’t break my promise to my parents.”

A train pulled into the station, the doors opening.

“Applejack… we need you. I didn’t know that you could be such a coward.”

Applejack stopped walking, turning her head around and looking mad. “Don’t act like ya know how I feel.”

“You think by leaving you’ll be protecting Apple Bloom? If you promised your parents that you’d care for her then you’ll be breaking that promise by saying you won’t return. She’s already devastated and heartbroken back at the farm. The fact is that accidents happen, and there’s nothing we can do about that except apologize. If you want to run away from your problems then go ahead. We can’t stop you. But it’s completely unworthy of your title of most dependable of ponies. You’ll be leaving both your sister and your friends behind, both of whom need you. Can you honestly say that you can live with that for the rest of your life?”

A loudspeaker called out, “Final boarding for Manehatten. Repeat, final boarding for Manehatten.”

Applejack looked towards the train, then back to her friends, then back at the train. She let out a sigh, turning around. “There’s one more train for Manehatten today. If ya kin absolutely prove ta me her power is fake then I’ll stay. Otherwise, I’m going to leave on the next train, which is two hours from now.”

“Fine then.”

“So what’s next?” asked Applejack as the train pulled away and they started walking through town.

“We have to find that fraud. She’s the one with the answers.”

A familiar cackling laugh assaulted them. “No need to go searching. I’m right here.” The old fortuneteller appeared in front of them, a smug smile on her face.

Chapter 4: Just a preview

Twilight looked with disgust at the old mare. “What are you doing here?”

“I was correct,” she responded. “You really are different. I’ve been observing all of you, and you seem to be the only one who was willing to truly face your fears. You figured it out so nicely, and inspired all of your friends into courage. Truly remarkable. You really do merit a place in the world of the future.”

“You keep talking the same nonsense. What are you talking about? What was the point of all this?”

“I wanted to see what you would do with the knowledge of what terrified you the most brought to the forefront. All of you in your own way tried to defy that future by distancing yourselves from what was shown, but you, alicorn, were the only one who remained resolute to the end. You didn’t give in to fear, you pushed through despite your fear. That is the emblem of true courage.

“The time is quickly coming where your services will be invaluable. You place your faith and trust in your friends and your princesses, never once thinking that a far stronger power can exist and that neither will protect you from it. The complacent attitudes of ponies will dissipate, and all will slowly come to know their own fears and terrors. Those that are not able to handle it will be thrown aside until they can gather the necessary strength.

"This will be a world where only the strong reign, and the weak will slowly fade away into nothingness or grow stronger themselves. The mistakes of the past will not be repeated. That is my true duty in my profession. I am to show them a vision of their most deep-rooted painful fears, and bring it to the forefront. Soon, it will no longer be by choice that they see.” She let out her grating laugh.

“ENOUGH!” screamed Twilight. “Princess of not, I will not stand idly by while you boldly claim to seek not only to usurp the princesses, but torment all of the citizens of Equestria.” Her horn began glowing with her rage, and she shot a powerful blast at the mare.

She only stood there shocked for a moment before jumping out of the way. The spell hit the pouch holding her crystal ball, and it began rolling away. “Hee hee hee. You’re a feisty one, alicorn. Would you like to play? Give it your best shot.” Twilight’s horn flashed for a moment, and then faded. “Come on now. Don’t just stand there. I want to have me some fun.”

“Fine, then,” she replied, before fading away like mist.

“Gotcha!” came her voice from another direction.

This blast was a direct hit, and went right through her, though once her magic faded there was no hole, and she didn’t react like she was in pain.

The old mare looked towards Twilight. “You’re going to have to do better than that. Surely you should know better than to call out your position. I’ll give you credit for that illusion of you, but you ruined your chance at a sneak attack. Would you care to try again?”

The mare didn’t even try to fight back. She did the bare minimum of avoiding attacks, but even when she was hit the same thing happened every time. There was no damage done.

Twilight knew what she had to do. If a regular attack wouldn’t work then she had to take her by surprise. If she had the ability to make herself intangible then the only way to get her would be if she wasn’t using her power when she was hit.

Storing up magic, and altering the nature of the blast, she fired. It passed right through the mare as expected.

“Don’t you ever learn? You’ll never beat me by repeating the same moves over and over. I thought you’d at least be smarter than that.”

Twilight smirked. “Maybe I am.”

The blast she fired bounced off of several surfaces before hitting the mare in the side. “Huh. A reflecting spell," she said with mild interest as the blast went through her. "Better than I thought, but ultimately still use-AHH!”

She suddenly cried out in pain as they heard the sound of breaking glass. She looked panic-stricken as she turned towards where the spell had landed. The crystal ball had two giant holes in it, and was slowly cracking. “Ahh! No!” A dark smoke began pouring out of her body.

She let out a deranged sounding laugh. “I give the battle to you, alicorn. I don’t properly exist in this world. I am only a creation of my master and his power. In order to maintain a physical form I need a physical object to bind myself to. Namely, my crystal ball.”

A big grin came to her face as her body began turning black and smoky as well. “I had fun while it lasted, but this is only a temporary victory. This was just a preview of the events to come. I hope you can maintain your attitude in the days to come. Soon everything you know will be different. And only then will Equestria be led in the right direction.” As the last of her body faded away with her insane cackling the crystal ball shattered into a million pieces.

Twilight wasn’t quite sure how to react at first. None of them were. Before they could even think much on it they heard a familiar voice calling out, “Twilight!”

Spike came running up the group of them, panting away. “I… I have… an important… message.” Bending over and gasping he tried to get his breathing under control. After a short time, when his breathing was almost back to normal, he continued, “I’ve been looking all over the place for you. Princess Celestia sent me an important message for you. She said she wants you to come to Canterlot immediately. There’s something really important she needs to discuss with you personally. Supposed to be some kind of trouble.”

Twilight looked at the remains of the crystal ball, hearing the words of the old mare. “This is just a preview of the events to come.” What had happened here, and the trouble that was brewing in Canterlot… they were interconnected in some way. There was a powerful force that was planning to overthrow Celestia and Luna, and seemingly rule by fear. She wouldn’t let that happen.

“Tell her that I’m settling an issue here in Ponyville at the moment, but I’ll come over after that. It shouldn’t take more than an hour to get to Canterlot.”

“Alright, Twilight. I’m on it.”

As Spike took off she looked towards her friends. “There is something big about to happen. Something bad. Man, only a month after that whole incident where Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were captured by the plunder seeds, and now something else wants to attack us. Applejack, I think you should go to your sister. She needs you now. In fact, I think all of you should head to Sweet Apple Acres for now. Hopefully Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle will be there too. I’d like for all of you to stick together in case I need you.”

“Right!” came the unanimous reply.

“Alright, then. I’m heading out. I hope I’ll see you soon.”

Unfurling her wings she took to the sky, racing off towards Canterlot.

Chapter 5: The loss of my only friend

When Twilight arrived at Canterlot she used the spell Celestia had taught her to get through the barrier. Heading towards the ground she landed, taking in oxygen. The royal guards saluted her as one of them said, “Good day, ma’am. They’re expecting you.”

Twilight bowed her head as she walked through the castle until she reached the double doors of the throne room. When she opened them she gasped in surprise, before a determined look came to her face. If she had had any doubts before about the seriousness of the situation they were now all gone.

In the throne room was, of course, Princess Celestia. However, Princess Luna was also there, along with Princess Cadence, her brother Shining Armor, and, incredibly, Discord.

Seeing a group of the most powerful and influential ponies in Equestria was, in some way, comforting, but it only added to her stress overall of thinking of the reason there would be a need for this much power to be concentrated in one place.

Princess Celestia walked up to her, giving her a quick bow. “Hello, Twilight. I’m glad you’re here.”

“What’s going on?”

“Something bad, Twili,” answered Shining Armor.

“Very bad,” added in Cadence.

“Ever since the Summer Sun Celebration I’ve been having a bad feeling," said Celestia. "I know we restored the Tree of Harmony to full strength, but it seems it was too little, too late.”

“What do you mean?” asked Twilight.

“Come with me for a second.” She took Twilight over to one of the windows that overlooked Ponyville. “I want you to look at the Everfree Forest, and tell me if you feel anything.”

Twilight looked curiously out towards the forest, but felt nothing. “What am I supposed to be feeling?”

“Try not to look for something in particular. Just let your thoughts go still.”

Twilight continued just looking at the forest, trying to figure out what the big deal was. She had been to the forest many times. Sure, there had been some troubles at times, but it had lost its mystery and the air of fear it used to hold as they had explored it more.

Suddenly, without any warning, her heart started racing. She began panting as she felt terror eclipse every part of her being, filling her with a fear greater than anything she had ever known. Emanating out of the forest was a feeling of utter darkness and despair. How had she not noticed it before?

She felt like her air was being choked off in the sensation. Suddenly Celestia was in front of her, pulling her head up. The sensation passed out of her, but she could still feel herself sweating. “Princess, what IS that?” she asked, her voice cracking.

“I don’t know for sure. The Everfree Forest is a bit of an unknown element, even to me and my sister. The forest was always a little 'off', even in the time we lived in the castle. The Tree of Harmony, as well as the Elements of Harmony, were part of a legend passed down from long ago. It has been around much longer than us.

"I believe the forest may be being influenced by a dark force. The Tree of Harmony may have been intended to keep that force sealed away. Thus, when the tree nearly died from us taking away the elements that powered it, as well as Discords plunder seeds sucking away what magic was left, it may have led to that force escaping. I don’t know whether the tree is still intact, but we need to head to the Everfree Forest and make sure that its power is still functional. Since we do not have the Elements of Harmony to aid us I decided that there is more power in numbers. If we can get our hooves on the elements then we’d be in a better position to fight whatever is in there.”

“I have to tell you something as well. I just came off a situation that I believe is related to this.”

Everyone listened curiously as Twilight told them about the self-proclaimed Pony of Misfortune.

At the end Discord started laughing. “Aw, Twilight. Why did you have to do a thing like that? She sounds like she was a sweet old lady.”

“It’s not funny, Discord. She terrified all my friends.”

“Oh, lighten up. She sounds like my kind of friend.”

Celestia sighed. “Just ignore him, Twilight. Part of the reason I wanted you to reform Discord was precisely for a situation like this, where his power would come in handy. But of course you know that he wasn’t going to just offer his power for free, especially since we no longer have the elements to keep him under control.”

“That’s right,” he said joyously. “I enjoy chaos, but if you goodie-goodies got overrun then I wouldn’t get to have as much fun watching you squirm. After all, only I should rule over you if it comes down to it. So I offered my services on the condition that I get to do whatever entertains me for the duration of our trip. Annnnnnddd, I suppose, since you’re going to be bringing her along as the element of kindness, that it’s a little bit for Fluttershy’s safety as well.”

Twilight looked toward Discord with bemusement. She was surprised that he would actually admit that. She could have sworn, though he still had a comical grin on his face, that she had heard just a touch of protectiveness in his voice.

Shining Armor walked over to her. “Twili, this will be the first time we’ve worked together side by side to protect Equestria. Let’s do our best.”

“Same to you, BBBFF.” Looking past her brother she added, “And you, my sister-in-law/best foalsitter ever.”

“Ugh!” cried out Discord. “Can we cut the sappy stuff? Or I might just change my mind.” A brain appeared in his hands, then poofed into a different size with a mouth sticking out its tongue and spitting in disgust.

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Alright, Discord. Let’s just take care of this matter so that you can go back to your alone time. But you won’t make many friends with that attitude.”

“Meeee?” he asked innocently, a halo appearing over his head. “Why is it my fault? I just like different things than you. You want me to compromise for you and be all 'orderly,' but you won’t compromise for me and let out your inner chaos. I hardly think THAT’S fair if one friend always has to have it their way. Wouldn’t you agree, Twilight?” With long girly eyelashes he winked at her a few times.

“Well, maybe we can see if we can find a proper outlet for your need to be chaotic. In fact, if we’re going to be fighting such a powerful enemy I think I’d be willing to concede to you that you should be as chaotic as you like and show off how powerful you are. How does that sound?”

Turning into a toaster there was a ding followed by him as a piece of toast with Discords facial features, saying, “Done and done! You heard her folks. I’m going to have a blast.” Discord exploded into a bunch of body parts before reassembling himself. “Well, gather around everyone. I’ll teleport us all to Ponyville.”

Each of them snuggled close around Discord, and with a poof they all vanished.

With startled exclamations they all fell to the ground. “Oops,” said Discord with a laugh. “I seem to have landed just a few feet too high.”

Twilight just gave him a deadpan look as she got back up. She knew he had done it on purpose. Letting out a breath she let it go. “We need to head to Sweet Apple Acres. All my friends should be there.”

A few minutes later they arrived at the barn. When Twilight opened the door she was glad to see all of them there.

“Twilight!” called out Rainbow Dash. “That was fast. Did you…” She suddenly stopped as the rest of them came in.

“Oh, my,” said Fluttershy.

All of them began bowing. “No time for that!” Twilight said. “We have a battle to fight.”

“What’s goin’ on?” asked Applejack.

“The source of the darkness that spawned that evil fortuneteller is coming from the Everfree Forest. We believe that following the tree’s near destruction a dark force that was sealed inside managed to escape. What exactly it is capable of I don’t know, but when I looked at the forest and felt the waves of darkness emanating from it I completely froze up. Something is in there, and it’s going to take every one of us to stop it.”

“You got it!” said Pinkie Pie. “We’ll beat that monster.”

Discord began laughing again. “Ah, this should be good. The frilly ponies versus an unknown monster. This should be hilarious. Hoo hoo hoo.”

Rarity looked suspiciously at him. “How do we know you’re not behind this again?”

Discord stopped laughing for a moment, an eyebrow raised, but then just got lost in laugher again. “Me? That’s a good one.”

“Oh, like you weren’t lying to us the last time about not knowing what was causing the trouble.”

“Hey, this time I actually am here to help. It’s not like I’m here just to laugh when you have to beg me for my help because you weak little ponies can’t do anything without your magic necklaces. Really, Celestia, even after being sealed away for one thousand years you still couldn’t beat me? I guess someone got a little too comfortable on her throne.”

A miniature Celestia appeared on a throne. With a cutely distorted voice it said, “I am so lazy I’ll send my student to fight the creature even I couldn’t defeat alone. What a great move. Hee hee!”

Celestia ignored him. She wasn’t going to let his words get to her. Twilight found it hard to follow suit, but she kept her mouth shut. She didn’t want to indulge him either.

The mini-Celestia spoke up again. “Come on, Luna. Give me a hoof here. What a tough crowd.”

Discord gasped as Fluttershy came forward, reared up, and smashed the toy under her hooves. “That’s enough!” she said angrily. “This is not a joke! There are many ponies in danger! I thought I was going to kill Angel Bunny unless I sold him away. I trusted you. I believed in you when nobody else would, and you betrayed me again! That’s it. I’ve had it! Our friendship is OVER!” She said the last word with contempt, furious tears coming down her closed eyes.

Discord looked horrified and genuinely hurt. He couldn’t even muster up a response right away with one of his usual smart-aleck answers. He just stood there and blinked, swallowing roughly. “H-hey,” he responded, sounding contrite. He was sounding serious for the first time. “C-come on. You don’t really mean that. You’re the element of kindness. You would never just cut me off from you.”

“You broke my heart and went behind my back, acting like my friend. Even after what I said you still are continuing in your plans to overthrow Equestria? By releasing this ancient monster and destroying the Tree of Harmony?”

“WHAT?” asked Discord. “I have nothing to do with that. I promise.”

“And you act like we can trust your word. Even I have my limits.”

Discord poofed next to her. “I really mean it this time.” When she turned away he poofed to the other side. “I’m really, truly being serious.” She turned away from him again. “Come on, Fluttershy. I know I lied about the seeds but I knew you guys would be able to win. That was my last trick for getting rid of the old leadership.”

Fluttershy turned just her head to him and asked, “Why should I believe you this time?”

“What if… what if I prove it?”

Fluttershy gave him an exasperated look before turning her body to match her head. “Oh, this should be good,” she said sarcastically.

“Think about it. The Elements of Harmony have been shown to be far more powerful than me, right? Despite all my power they were able to easily seal me away into stone. Their power was so strong it took one thousand years before the power of the Tree of Harmony faded enough for the seeds to begin attacking the tree. After you six returned the elements the tree returned to full power. So how could it be possible for me to have anything to do with this latest threat? How could I overpower the tree when I couldn’t overpower the elements?”

With a hopeful look he said, “So that’s enough, isn’t it? That proves me innocent, doesn’t it?”

Fluttershy rolled her eyes. “Even if you couldn’t stop the tree in its current state that doesn’t mean you weren’t buying time for this monster to escape from the forest.”

Discord’s mouth opened and closed a few times. Again, he seemed to be out of things to say.

Though Twilight absolutely hated to admit it, she couldn’t help but feel bad for Discord. He actually looked like he was going to cry. If he wasn’t pulling pranks and looking that distraught she found it hard to believe that he was messing around anymore. With a sigh she said “As much as I can’t believe I’m saying this, I actually believe Discord.”

Fluttershy gave Twilight the evil eye, like she had just been betrayed. “So now you want to believe this liar?”

“Discord values his friendship with you. We know that much. If he was really that interested in destroying Equestria or ruling over it all he would have to do was exactly what he had been doing when he was first released from the stone. Without the Elements of Harmony we can’t possibly beat him. That being the case, why go to the trouble of releasing some being when they might not have the same agenda of playing pranks that he does?

“Besides that, Discord seems genuinely apologetic. He agreed to help us out on this quest. If he’s really against us here that would mean he would have to throw away his friendship to you, something he isn’t willing to do.”

“See? See?” Discord popped up in front of her. “Even Twilight, the smartest princess ever, agrees with me. So we’re friends again, right?”

Fluttershy just glared at him for a while. “Ooookayyyyy. I’ll see how you act on this mission. If you prove yourself of use in defeating this creature and protecting the citizens of Equestria then I’ll accept that you’re telling the truth, and I’ll renew our friendship.”

“Oh, thank you, Fluttershy. I promise you won’t regret it. I’m on the job.” A helmet appeared on his head. "Nothing is going to hurt you on my watch. I promise that.”

With a little less anger she said, “I hope so. I’m giving you one last chance, Discord. Don’t ruin it.”

With the matter settled the eleven of them started to leave. A voice suddenly rang out. “Hey! What about us?”asked Apple Bloom.

“Y’all are ta stay here!” Applejack said sternly. “We don’t need no more trouble.”

“But what if you don’t come back?” asked Sweetie Belle.

“Yeah," said Scootaloo. "We want to come along, just in case.”

“Absolutely not!” Rarity said strongly. “This is not an amusement park visit. This is a big battle.”

“She’s right, kid,” said Rainbow Dash. “You’re not there yet.”

All three of them gave puppy dog eyes, but their sisters weren’t moved.

Princess Luna surveyed them, then said, “You may come along with us.” This was met with outcry from their older sisters. Luna settled them down before saying, “We can see it. No matter what you say to them they will come along anyway. They’ll just do it in secret. Far better for them to be in the middle of the group where we can protect the children, than for them to hang behind and get attacked by something we shall not be able to protect them from. We do not need any unnecessary injuries. I’m sure you agree that you don’t want to see your sisters hurt?”

All three of them looked annoyed, but they knew that Luna was right. The three of them wouldn’t be able to help themselves. They would follow along without a thought to their own safety and likely get themselves into trouble. So, with great reluctance, they agreed to bring the girls along.

“Now, y’all better stick right by us and don’t leave our sides no matter what," said Applejack. "Ya got that?”

“Yes, Applejack,” they responded in unison.

Now a group of fourteen they walked towards the Everfree Forest. Along the way Discord was still doing all he could to get back in Fluttershy’s good books. He kept poofing fans and waving them to keep her cool, or trying to shine her hoof. She just ignored him.

When they entered the forest Twilight looked around. Though she had been afraid before when she was far away she didn’t feel nearly as afraid now that she had all her friends with her. And with Discord on his best behavior so as not to lose Fluttershy’s friendship she felt a real hope for victory, even if they didn’t have the elements yet.

They had only been walking for a minute when they heard the sinister cry of a crow. Its proportions were out of whack, and it was wearing a crystal upon a necklace. Twilight thought it looked just like the one the fortuneteller had. Was it another creation of this dark force? Taking aim she fired at the crystal, but the bird quickly flew out the way with a caw, and began racing off in the direction they were heading.

The bird landed by a dark being cloaked in shadow, and let out a cry. “I see,” the being said in a deep voice. “They are on their way. I knew they would come. Maybe the future of this world is going to come much faster than I expected. Let’s just see what happens."

Chapter 6: The four spirits of the seasons

As the gang walked through the forest they kept looking around to make sure they weren’t about to be attacked.

“I don’t know about you,” started Applejack, “but I just feel like we’re not welcome here.”

“I know what you mean,” answered Rarity. “This place feels more menacing with every step we take.”

“I think that crow was another creation,” said Twilight. “And it was headed in the same direction we are. So I guess it’s safe to say whatever is over there is near the Tree of Harmony.”

“That would seem to be the most likely scenario,” said Celestia. “We have to be prepared. Make sure you don’t make any risky moves. So long as we don’t know what we’re dealing with we should play it safe until we can get our hooves on the elements.”

“I agree with Celestia!” Discord said loudly with a completely sincere voice.

Fluttershy let out a breath that pushed her mane away for a moment. She could see he was just trying to suck up to her so she’d forgive him. Both Twilight and Discord had brought up good points that steered toward his innocence, but she wasn’t going to accept it until she saw for herself what he did when they got to the tree.

Despite the heavy feeling as they walked through the forest they met no opposition. They kept on their guard as they neared the old castle of the Royal Sisters. Each of them walked down the stairs slowly towards the cave that held the Tree of Harmony, half-expecting something to jump out at any moment.

When they arrived in the cave they stopped near the entrance. The Tree of Harmony seemed like it was fine, but there appeared to be a kind of haze around it, slightly blocking it from their view.

“What is that?” asked Fluttershy. “It looks like mist.”

“Surrounding the tree,” said Cadence. “This must be the reason that things have been getting out of control.”

“But look!” said Luna, pointing around. “All six of the Elements of Harmony are still inside the tree. Does that mean this creature is more powerful than even the Tree of Harmony?”

“I don’t know, my sister,” said Celestia. “However, this doesn’t bode well. Let’s see if we can get the Elements out. We shall need them to triumph.”

As they walked further into the cave they heard a deep voice call out, “Greetings, all.” From behind the tree came what looked like a pony, but was clearly not normal. Its body only seemed to be a shadowy outline that took the shape of a pony. It was a third taller than Celestia and Luna, with a horn and wings. Like the Royal Sisters manes, his mane flowed like theirs, but it was much more active, encompassing his entire body like a roaring fire.

All of them got into battle ready positions. “Who are you?” cried out Twilight.

“Easy there,” he responded. “I’m not here to fight with you all.”

“A likely story. If you’re not here to make trouble then I suppose you’re going to claim that you’re not the one who placed a spell on the Tree of Harmony?” Her horn started glowing as her eyes sparkled with anger. “Or the one who sent that Pony of Misfortune to torment me and my friends and the other citizens of Equestria?”

“Twilight!” Celestia said sharply. “Calm yourself.” Lowering her voice she continued, “We don’t have the elements yet. We need to wait for the right opportunity. If you provoke him now it might lead us all to our doom.”

Twilight heard what Celestia said, but her rage was drowning out her logical side.

The shadow pony sighed. “Are you sure you want to get into it right here? If you attack me I’ll be forced to defend myself, and it would be a tragedy if the children were to be caught in the crossfire, would it not?”

Applejack gasped, jumping in front of Applebloom. “Twilight!” she said desperately. “Please! Stop!” His voice had held no hint of a threat, but she wasn’t willing to take any chances.

Twilight let out an angry grunt, the glow from her horn fading out. “So then what do you want, if not to fight? What makes you think you can do things like this? What was all this garbage about a new world?”

“Well, I think we should start with the niceties, don’t you? As a ruler you have to set a good example for others. I am Shadow Blaze. I used to go by another name and form way back when, when I was called Inferno Blaze. However, I am no longer that being. I have evolved past that.”

With gritted teeth Twilight muttered, “Twilight Sparkle.” The rest of them introduced themselves as well, being cautious of this unknown element.

“I wish to chat with you, Twilight. Just you. Because you have intrigued me.”

“I’m not going anywhere alone with you!”

“I’m not asking you to go anywhere with me. I’m just saying I want this conversation to be between you and me.”

“Why?”

“Because if you ever hope to be a competent leader you’re going to have to be able to make difficult decisions, and that only comes from discourse and knowledge. I know you gave up your post to inspire your friends, but you want to tell me you’re not going to reinstate yourself once this matter is settled? Besides that, you won’t ever know the truth of the matter unless you are willing to put your anger aside and listen. I am most curious to hear what you have to say. Going from your memories you seem to be extremely intelligent.”

Twilight glared at him for a while, before moving ahead of the group and sitting down like him. “So go on. Let’s talk.”

“Tell me, Twilight? What do you think of the ponies of this land? Do you not find them to be weak and uninspired? They get a cutie mark, and are content with their lot in life until the end. They accomplish goals, but ultimately they spend their lives weak.”

“Everyone can be weak sometimes. I am no exception. What’s your point? What is your goal?”

“Why don’t you tell me? What did you learn from your experience today?”

Twilight closed her eyes in thought, all the while wanting to blast that monster where he stood. He didn’t seem nearly as tough up close and visible than his essence had been from afar. “That Pony of Misfortune came to us and told us that your plan was to show as many ponies as possible their worst fears, and that you wanted to create a new world without the weak. She also said something about the mistakes of the past not being repeated. Making a correlation between those statements you think by terrifying ponies you’ll cause a mistake that happened to you in your past to be prevented in the present.”

“You’ve pretty much nailed it down.”

“Well, your plan is stupid! Nothing good can come from what you’re doing. From what she also said you’re planning to make a world where only perfection and brute force will reign. You think you’re so powerful, but what do you really know? You’re evil! Isn’t that why you were sealed into this forest in the first place?”

“Twilight… you cannot understand because you have not experienced true despair. I want us all to be partners in this venture.”

“And if I say no? What then? Are you going to just kill us all right here?”

“Twilight, I want to improve this world that has grown soft with peace. What Discord says was accurate. Despite a gap of one thousand years Discord was still just as unbeatable for Celestia and Luna a few months ago as he was back when he first came to power.”

Twilight looked confused. “How can you know all this?”

The crow from before landed on his nose. “I have 'friends' all over the place. The whispers of the land reach me even sealed away. I don’t know everything that goes on, but I know enough. What would you do without your precious Elements of Harmony? The sheer fact that you use them only shows how weak you are.

"The Elements are simply a borrowed power. Since you know you have access to a great power you don’t believe you have to strive towards anything greater, since your crutch will always be there when you need it. And then what happened when Discord escaped? He hid the Elements until he could break all of you from their power. The only thing that granted you victory back then was Celestia reminding you of the lessons of the past, which restored your hope for things.

"Do you still want to claim you know what strength is? You ponies rely too much on your friendship and forget the strength of the individual.” His horn began glowing.

Twilight jumped up backwards away from him, getting into an attack stance. A red-orange glow was in the air, and several objects materialized. With another glow a gap in the haze of the Tree of Harmony appeared, and the Elements of Harmony came out before the mist covered the hole back up. He attached the Elements into the necklaces and crown, and placed each Element with its respective wielder. “When you touched the crystal ball earlier I also got a peek at all of your memories of the six of you. I believe this was how it was back then.”

Twilight looked even more confused now as she tapped her hoof to the Element of Magic. Why would he just give them the Elements of Harmony? Was he really that unafraid? Or was he just not that smart?

“Look what is going on right here. All six of you have your precious Elements, but Twilight is in the front. If something happened to Twilight all the other five elements would be useless. That’s their biggest weakness. If just one of the element users is taken out or is not awash in their respective aspect of themselves then they have no power. It’s all just a showcasing of weakness. You should know that. After all, you experienced it yourself when you fought him.”

Twilight looked down at the ground. “It is true that losing only one element makes the whole set useless, but that’s why we have friends: To stand up for each other and keep them safe. Discord only triumphed at the beginning because he brainwashed all of them. Otherwise they never would have given in to him.”

“Ah, but that’s all it takes, isn’t it? If there is a power greater than yours then you have to concede to the greater power. But what if there was no greater power than you, because all had the same power? That is the world I seek to create.”

Twilight glared at him again. “Coming back to that, what you’re proposing is still wrong. How is torturing ponies supposed to make them stronger?”

“Because it is only through trials and tribulations that one gains strength of mind and does not allow others to conquer them. What about the Windigo’s? They nearly destroyed your world because there was no one strong enough to beat them. The power of one strong being cannot be compared to a group of weaklings clustered together.”

“You keep saying the same sort of nonsense as your servant. I’m not going to ever accept what you’re proposing. You’re as good as mud on my hoof to me.”

He frowned at her, her eyes narrowing. “I see…”

Celestia tensed up as Shadow Blaze’s presence began increasing. Ducking behind her sister she cast a spell to talk telepathically to Twilight. “Twilight, even though we have the Elements now you would still do better not to provoke him. We do not know what he is capable of so try to continue to keep him talking for now.”

Shadow Blaze stood up. “Twilight Sparkle, like I told you before you do not understand the agony of true despair. That is why you cannot comprehend what I’m saying. On the other hoof, I have experienced it, and back in my time it was a successful measure. My friends and I found that out the hard way back in our infancy. Of course to a being like you that would be only a few years, but fpr a timeless being like myself it was a few hundred years.”

Twilight stood up too. “Why were you sealed in the Everfree Forest? And what is this 'true despair' you keep talking of, that makes you think what you’re doing is right?”

“You wish to know? I can tell you. Maybe that will help you to understand why this is a necessary measure. I really would rather have us all cooperate together than fight with you.” Closing his eyes he gazed back into his past. “A few thousand years ago we had a purpose.”

“We?”

“Yes. My friends and me. Before the Windigo’s, Discord, King Sombra, and the Changelings, there was a creature unlike anything we’d ever seen. There were four of us back then. Each of us embodied an element of nature, as well as one of the four seasons. Our sole responsibility was changing the seasons. We were properly immortal.

"As I said before, back then I was known as Inferno Blaze. I took care of the summer heat. My opposite number was Aqua Sapphire, who was like the most beautiful sparkling spring. And there was also Terra Rockslide, who embodied the hardness of the ground during Winter. And finally Tornado Breeze, who brought forth the fall when the air begins to grow cold.

“Of course you know well from your little Hearth’s Warming Eve pageant that back then the three races were split apart, but further even before that the three races had almost no interaction whatsoever. In that time we also took care of the rising of the sun and the moon. All the important things we were entrusted with.

"Though I do not know who it was, it feels like we were created for others, as I can still remember the strongest decree we were never to break. We were told to leave the pony world be except for our jobs. We were not to involve ourselves in the affairs of ponies, but only to watch out for each other. We all had fun and enjoyed ourselves, not needing anyone else or any sustenance to survive, playing without a care in the world. But… of course you well know that that can never last. Sooner or later something always comes up to ruin that happy, blissful time.

“A creature came into the world. How and why it came to be we never found out, but it had powers beyond anything this world had experienced at the time. It was little more than a living grudge just looking for something to vent its anger on. It could well have been a unicorn who gave themselves over to hate and immoral desires. Or it could have been something else entirely. At the time unicorn magic wasn’t anything special, since there were no books of spells to learn from.

“Ponies began being invaded by this creature and, one after another, villages were all but destroyed, the inhabitants nearly all killed. It did have at least a measure of intelligence. It seemed to allow some victims to run for sport, and chase after them as they fled, or to let them go to spread the word of its latest conquest.

For almost six months we were aware of this monster. But we had been ordered not to interfere in the affairs of ponies, and, thusly, we did nothing but continued our jobs. However, we were still troubled by all the slaughter. Our play time became less and less frequent, as we became awash in the pain of the ponies we were to look after. If things had kept going as they were, the entire pony world would have been destroyed, and thus we would no longer have any one to do our job for.

“When our hearts could no longer take it we made the choice to defeat this being. Trading our immortal, spiritual bodies we came down from our perch of perfection and adopted regular pony bodies so we could properly interact with the world. We were going to fight together, and defeat this creature together. At that time I was the weakest of the four, but I was also bold and cocky. I was sure I could do anything, so long as my friends were beside me.”

Twilight couldn’t see it yet. The way he was talking reminded her so much of how she felt about her own friends. What had happened that made him so angry and jaded?

“It took us one full day to arrive, tracing its magical energy. When we finally saw it for real it looked like nothing more than a shadowy giant of death. It was in the shape of a pony, and the size of a tree. We called out to it, each of us shooting at it with our magic. Our power caused it to cry out in pain, leaving four marks in its flesh. It turned to us then, determined to snuff out these beings who had finally stood up to it.

“The battle began, and we each did our best to take it down. However, though we had managed to damage it when we took it by surprise, it proved to be a lot more formidable with its guard up. We could barely cause more than glancing blows. Despite its size it was still quite fast, and its magic blasts encompassed a large range.

“For over two hours the four of us dodged, ducked, and avoided attacks, taking injuries here and there. It struck at me, knocking me to the ground. It fired one of its gigantic blasts at me, and I saw my life flash before my eyes. I couldn’t get out of the way in time. I closed my eyes, not wanting to see my end. The next thing I heard was a painful scream.”

Shadow Blaze groaned, a touch of despair creeping into his voice. “When I opened my eyes I saw Tornado Breeze in front of me, looking all but dead. She had taken the attack meant for me, and she was barely able to get out her goodbyes before she passed out of this world. By giving up her spiritual immortality she was dead for good. There was no coming back.

“In a fit of rage I charged the monster, dodging out of its newest attack, and blasted it with everything I had. I took out a good chunk of one of its hooves with that, burning it off. I thought that it would be in too much pain to attack, and I let my guard down so I could mourn for a short while. However, it was not nearly as fragile as I thought, and once again I had to be protected by one of my friends who took an attack for me. This time it was Terra Rockslide. He was lost that day as well.

“At that point I was beyond rage and hurt. Two friends had given up their lives for me, and we were no closer to killing it than we had been at the beginning. I felt so empty I sat there doing nothing, just waiting for it to finish me off. Aqua Sapphire got me out of danger, rushing away. She knew we couldn’t win. It didn’t want to let us go. Aqua Sapphire tried to block his last attack with a tree and a few houses, but it only diminished the force of the blow. She got hit as well.

“She was badly injured, but she wasn’t dead yet. Picking her up I desired only to save her. And just as another attack was about to hit me I invented the teleportation spell, getting us both out of there. We couldn’t return to our home anymore. Once we broke the rules we were no longer permitted to go back.

“We escaped to a village far away from the one that monster was attacking, and, with the help of a village of earth ponies, began nursing her back to health. However, I didn’t know how long that would take. I didn’t have the time to wait around for her to get all better. This being had to be stopped, at all costs. So I ran away.

“I traveled all around, training my mind and scouring what books there were on battle strategies and magic, the one or two that were around back then. I experimented, I learned, I raged, I hurt. I forged myself into a being of unmatched power, never wanting to let anything hurt those I cared for again. A whole year had passed by, and I felt I was finally ready.

I knew this time I was going to be all alone. I wasn’t about to let my last friend get killed in such a risky battle. When I met that thing again I didn’t play around. I took it by surprise like before, using the fullness and totality of my power. I was brutal. I used the strongest spells I had. I showed it no mercy. And this time there was a completely different outcome than before. When it tried shooting its magic at me I would open up portals to direct it back at itself. When it tried using its body to attack I would respond with my powerful flames, melting it. Who I was back then was nothing compared to what I had become. I saw that all it had going for it was its size and endurance. It, itself, was actually pretty straightforward.

“When I had weakened it to the point of death I continued onward. This creature had caused too many deaths, important ones to me and all the loved ones who had been lost in their own battles against it. I turned it into nothing more than a pile of mush. When I was done… I felt such a feeling of satisfaction. At the same time, I began feeling the loss of my friends once again…

“It took me some time, but I did manage to find Aqua Sapphire again. She was injured. Apparently shortly before I had gone after him she had tried to do the same. This time I helped her heal, glad she was still alive. I had been so afraid the whole time that she wasn’t going to still be there by the time I had grown strong enough to fight.

“After she had recovered we thanked the town and went on our way. We didn’t really know what to talk about. Things just didn’t feel right without our other two friends. We had been together so long that we didn’t know what to do without them.

“I began thinking about many things. What was going to happen the next time a being attacked? Could any of them handle it? We four had been special, gifted with far more magical energy than a regular unicorn could ever muster. But ponies had to be able to defend themselves.” Anger became prominent in his voice as he continued, “It had been their fault my friends were killed. If they hadn’t been so darn weak we would never have had to get involved.

"I saw that the answer I had in mind when I first went off to battle was worthless. Depending on my friends had not given us the ability to prevail. I had been so caught up in the thought of being protected that it made me reckless. It was only after I had gone off on my own and truly grew into my talents that I had been able to prevail myself against a monster the four of us together couldn’t beat.

“Aqua Sapphire saw my rage. She heard my words. She thought she knew better than me, but she hadn’t experienced what I had. She had only had to watch. I had been the one who had suffered that year, knowing that it had been my utter contemptible weakness that had caused us to lose, and them to die to protect me.

“She didn’t know. She didn’t understand. She kept trying to tell me to give up on these feelings of rage and responsibility. She told me that none of us had been able to win back then, so it was all equally our responsibility for failing. Every one of her words just made me angrier and angrier. How could she not understand what needed to be done? Ponies had to become stronger and deal with their own problems instead of just relying on the strong. I hadn’t understood that until the problem had been forced upon me and I had to learn it.

“As I looked at her I saw that she was no longer my true friend. She had been colored with weakness by staying with those regular ponies, the ones who were not special and privileged like us. The wickedness of that crime, of forcing two of us to die for their inability to save themselves from disaster, would be on their heads for the rest of their lives.

"I would not allow them to wallow in their weakness any more. I would show them what true strength was. I would show them all! Starting with her. I looked over at my former friend, and I knew it was time to wake her up from the fetters of the regular, and teach her the way I had been taught, so she too could grow strong. My horn began to glow for my new enemy…"

Chapter 7: Friends again...but at what cost?

All of them reacted with disgust. “You … you…” Twilight was shaking with so much fury she couldn’t finish her sentence.

Celestia looked furious. “You attacked your best and only remaining friend?”

“How could you?” asked Luna angrily.

“After everything you had been through together,” added in Cadence.

The three Cutie Mark Crusaders looked over at each other. They couldn’t ever imagine doing that to each other, no matter what the situation.

Rainbow Dash flew up into the air. “You think it’s showing loyalty to a friend to attack them? You’re disgusting!”

Shadow Blaze didn’t react to their outbursts. “Be more careful with what you say, or the past may meet up with the present, and that will bring disaster upon you.”

Even Discord looked displeased. “I know you’re mad at me, Fluttershy, but I hope you know I would never attack you.”

Fluttershy was quiet for a moment, but then said, “I know.”

Shadow Blaze walked forward a bit, making the rest of them back up. “That’s quite enough from all of you. As I said to you before, my method was successful. Of course, Aqua Sapphire never quite grasped the reason I attacked her. She was so certain that the monsters aura had somehow made its way to me... that I had 'inherited' its evil. So basically I was just that monster in a smaller form.

“I took over a few villages, pushing them to their limits to get them to overcome how shamefully weak they all were. I saw gradual improvement over the next month, before Aqua Sapphire presented herself in front of me again. She tried to talk me down and get me to stop what I was doing, but I knew what I was doing was right. I told her if she wanted me to stop then she was going to have to make me stop.

“Though reluctant, she engaged me in battle. She was much stronger than before, but still far from a proper match for me, so I beat her again.

“I went to a new town, and started work on them, threatening the old one to keep up the standards I had set. Two months later she showed up again. Once more she had far accelerated her skills. It was wonderful. She really had grown quite strong, but still fell short of my standard, and so I beat her again.

“Over and over she showed herself before me, and each time she showed remarkable growth. She would always try to talk to me during battle, but I had no interest in the words of a weakling. With every battle, where she would call my way of doing things into question, she did not realize she was only proving me right. Her growth was a direct result of her hurt and pains and trials, and she gained it by working alone and forging herself into a new, stronger being each time.

“There finally came the day when she said to me that she could no longer allow me to go on as I was. She believed her old friend was dead, that the monster I killed was a small issue compared to the monster in my heart. She still didn’t comprehend what I was doing all of this for. Rage and anger was a big part of it, but I also wanted ponies to be able to stand up on their own hooves without simply relying on someone stronger to do their dirty work for them.

“She took me by surprise in that battle. It seems she had finally thrown her hesitation aside and resolved to kill me. It was a long and protracted battle, and I admit I was arrogant about winning. Imagine my surprise when she dodged out of the way of my best spell and took me down. I came to the point where I was too injured to move. She was almost at that point too.

"She stood over me, ready to deliver the final blow. I laughed, remembering all the mock battles we used to have back when the four of us were around. She had been better than me then. I said to her, 'Just like old times, huh?' Just like that, her resolve vanished. Her anger vanished. She looked scared and hurt. And without a word she ran away.

“Though I trained hard for the next month before I tried to start my reign over again, she had always been better than me at learning things quickly.

“In time she became the queen of the land. She took on the sole role of changing the seasons and raising the sun and moon. Every time I showed up somewhere a pony would call out for her, and a little while later she would come to fight me. I couldn’t best her no matter how hard I trained. Countless times we clashed, but despite her great magical strength she still had one great weakness: she wasn’t willing to kill me. Each time she won she wouldn’t even try to tie me up or negate my magic. She would just leave me defeated wherever we battled.

“Eventually, even she realized how demoralizing my existence was to the ponies of the land. She still couldn’t bring herself to kill me, so she did all she could to prepare for the future. She created the Elements of Harmony and the Tree of Harmony, emblazoned with her life force, to give ponies a piece of her power so they could stand up to evil they couldn’t fight themselves. And she was responsible, thought I didn’t know it at the time, for the creation of you two, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.”

The two of them gasped.

“That was why you were born Alicorns instead of being transformed like Cadence and Twilight. She needed a symbol of strength in pony form like us to be a beacon to the people. It would take a long time for you to grow into your power, but that was all so one day you could take care of the sun and the moon. During the time of your Hearths Warming Eve you were simply not strong enough yet.

“With that she defeated me one last time. Like a coward she wouldn’t do the right thing with her title and eliminate a threat to the kingdom. She sealed me into the Everfree Forest, implanting herself into the Tree of Harmony to keep watch over me and keep me sealed away forevermore.

“Now I’m free, and I’m never going to be sealed away again. I have you to thank for that, Discord. You’ve been a great help.”

Fluttershy scowled at him, making Discord flinch. “Hey, I was never trying to release you. I didn’t even know about you.”

“If you hadn’t forced the Royal Sisters to remove the Elements of Harmony from the tree and then plant those seeds to suck its power away I might never have escaped. Now that I’ve got my body back I’m repressing her influence for a change. It feels great.”

He smiled down at them as he said, “Well, now that you know the truth I’m sure you can appreciate the magnitude of what I’m attempting. You heard yourself that pushing her into a corner forced her to grow into my equal and then surpass me. And it’s the same for all of you. My aim in showing you your fears was to get you to realize how weak you really are and grow stronger from it. If you are solely fearful you will never grow into your best self. Wouldn’t you agree?”

Twilight was shaking hard, her horn sporadically glowing as she tried to keep herself under control. “You are sick! You attacked your friend so many times, and you’re so deluded that you can’t even realize why she kept sparing your life? It’s because she didn’t want you to die. She wanted to see you return to the you that you used to be.

"I said it before and I’m saying it again right now: I will NEVER accept what you’re doing! You are pure evil who has twisted the desires of your friends solely for power and a big name for yourself. There is absolutely nothing righteous in what you’re doing.”

Shadow Blaze’s horn lit up slightly, all degrees of civility and joviality gone. “So that is your final answer? Even now, after I’ve shown you the truth, are you still too blind to realize the significance of what I’ve told you? You are the worst kind. You are as blind as she was.

"I guess just talking won’t open your eyes, will it? Well, you’re going to accept the righteousness of my mission whether you like it or not. The weak must be eliminated or grow stronger trying. Let me prove that right now.”

Fluttershy let out a frightened exclamation as she was bathed in a magical aura and lifted into the air. His horn glowed brighter as he shot a big blast of energy at her.

Though all the alicorn’s horns began glowing they weren’t in time. There was a big explosion followed shortly after by a thud and a big cloud of smoke.

“I did warn you,” said Shadow Blaze, “that if you weren’t careful the past would catch up the present, didn’t I?”

“He didn’t,” said Twilight with wide-eyed horror, her legs feeling weak. “Fluttershy…”

They suddenly heard the sound of coughing, and out of the cloud of dust Fluttershy emerged, looking none the worse for wear.

Shadow Blaze looked questioningly at the pony. “How could she possibly be unharmed after that?”

“Fluttershy!” cried out Twilight, a few tears coming down her eyes. “You’re alive!”

“I am?” she responded, sounding confused. “But how?” As the dust faded away Fluttershy let out a loud gasp as she saw the body of Discord on the ground, a large wound on his back. “Discord? You… you saved me?”

Discord looked up at her, her eyes half-closed. He let out a weak laugh. “My… my body just moved on its own. I… I couldn’t let my only friend die. So… does this qualify as being of use?”

“H-huh?”

“Y-you said… if I proved myself useful on this trip… that we could be friends again.”

Tears began welling up in Fluttershy’s eyes as she looked down at her savior. “Y-yes. We ARE friends again. Thank you, Discord.”

“I... I’m… so… glad. I know I caused a lot of trouble… for you, but… thank you for be-believing in me.” A tear came down his face. Struggling, he lifted one claw and snapped it, and a piece of paper appeared. It was like a living slideshow that had exaggerated caricatures of Discord picking up Fluttershy and hugging her, with the words “best friends” appearing up top every time it reached the end.

Fluttershy could only watch helplessly, the tears now beginning to flow freely as she just looked at him.

“Please… Fluttershy. You… have to… stay alive. Win… for… me… friend.” Discord let out a final breath and his eyes closed. As his life faded and his magic ceased the slideshow suddenly stopped on the paper, and all Fluttershy felt was hurt and pain. He had done something for her that she never would have expected, and she had doubted him and yelled at him. He had been innocent, and she hadn’t even wanted to let him explain his side.

She began sobbing over him as each of the other ponies was swept up in her pain as well. They never in a million years thought that Discord would go that far for anyone. He had proven his friendship without a shadow of a doubt.

Shadow Blaze spoke up again with a bit of distaste. “So the strong protected the weak and died for it. Sheesh. I guess this means the past truly did meet the present.”

Fluttershy looked up from her place over Discord’s body, tears still flowing but now she was glaring at him with all the hatred she could muster, her body shaking with her passion. “You shut your mouth! You’re just a heartless monster. I hate you!” She looked down at Discord’s body as she stood up. “I WILL win for you, and for Equestria.

“Girls! Help me out. We’re taking him down!” Her element began glowing, waiting for the light of the others.

“Right!” cried out Rarity.

“Let’s do it!” said Pinkie Pie.

“Right behind ya!” said Applejack.

“He’s going down!” said Rainbow Dash.

“You got that right!” said Twilight.

Each of their five elements began powering up as well.

Shadow Blaze looked over at them with interest. “Aren’t you the element of kindness, Fluttershy? Can you really use your elements power to its full effect with hatred?”

“It’s a kindness to take you out, so that no one else has to suffer because of you,” Fluttershy responded.

“Oh, well. I didn’t want to fight with all of you but I’ll indulge you. Maybe then you’ll truly understand the reality of this world.”

“All of us will join in too,” Celestia said strongly. “While some of what you said is correct, if this is the way you will treat all who do not see it your way then we will never agree.”

“I’m here, my sister.” said Luna, standing next to her.

Cadance and Shining Armor agreed, the two of them next to each other as well as they charged up their power.

An almost childlike glee was on Shadowblaze’s features. “To think that I’d have the honor of fighting all of you together. Show me what the ponies of the present are capable of. Let’s see who is right.” A strong glow came from his horn as he waited for all of them.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders stood off to the side, watching in awe at the battle that was about to commence. “So, they’re going to win, right?” asked Sweetie Belle, looking over at her sister.

“Of… of course!” said Scootaloo strongly. “Rainbow Dash is with them. Right now every one of the strongest magic users around is here.”

“He… he just seems so confident,” said Apple Bloom. “He ain’t scared at all.”

Scootaloo did feel a sense of dread deep down that she was trying to squash. “Think about it. The Elements of Harmony alone have been enough to beat every foe they’ve had to use them on, right? Now they have three alicorns and the captain of the royal guard. How could they possibly lose?”

“B-but… if they do…” Sweetie Belle looked uncertainly between the two opposing forces. “If they lose then Equestria is doomed. No one will be able to beat him.”

The three groups of the elements bearers, husband and wife, and the royal sisters had finished powering up, as well as Shadow Blaze. The two forces all shot their powers toward each other. They met in an explosive wave of air.

Chapter 8:: Sweetie Belle's awakening

Shadowblaze was at first smug as the powers collided, but his look changed to surprise as he saw he was losing ground. Their power was coming closer and closer to him. “Unbelievable. I can’t believe that they were able to muster this much power. Ponies from the present are far stronger working together than I thought.”

Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo cheered. “See, I told you!” said Scootaloo.

The ball of energy had nearly reached Shadow Blaze. “Yes, they are stronger than I thought…,” The grin came back to his lips, “But not nearly strong enough.”

The cheering of the children was suddenly cut short as Shadow Blaze’s horn began glowing stronger, and the advancement of the ball stopped in its tracks.

“Come… on…,” Fluttershy said, focusing her hardest. “Just a… little… bit… more.”

“A little bit?” asked Shadow Blaze. “You’re not even in my league. Let me show you the difference between a loser and an elite.” The glow from his horn exploded, and the ball was swiftly heading back in their direction.

Though they each did their best to oppose it, they couldn’t get back any of the ground they were losing. All their eyes went wide as they realized how hopeless it was. His spell broke through theirs, splitting up and hitting each one of them individually.

Each one of the ten went flying in different directions, hitting a tree and falling to the ground, unmoving.

Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle were each crying as they ran over to their respective sisters.

“A-Applejack,” Apple Bloom said, her voice filled with despair as she bent over her sister. “Y-you p-p-promised you’d always be there. I already lost mom and dad. I CAN’T lose you too.”

“Rarity,” said Sweetie Belle. “You can’t die here. You still have to become a world renowned fashion designer.”

“Rainbow Dash!” cried out Scootaloo, tears streaming down her eyes. “You’re way too tough. You’re not supposed to lose to ANYONE. Please get up!”

“Now, now,” said the voice of Shadow Blaze, levitating the three fillies in front of him. Each of them was clearly terrified out of their minds being so close to him. “There’s no need to cry. None of them are dead. As soon as I broke through their spell I restrained its power as much as I could. It wasn’t easy though.

"I just needed them to learn the lesson I had to teach them. It doesn’t matter how many weaklings band together. They shouldn’t challenge the ultimate power. Although… I will give credit where credit is due. I thought that fifty percent of my power would be more than sufficient. I can’t believe I had to use eighty percent.

“Sometimes things just have to be learned the hard way. They thought that by banding together it would give them the strength to defeat me, even though with my story I made it clear that relying on others instead of yourself only leads to trouble.

"The ten strongest in the entire world attempted to beat me, and they were entirely unsuccessful. After witnessing the truth with your own eyes I’m sure even you children will have to accept the truth. The power of friendship is nothing compared to the strength of the confident individual in themselves. Wouldn’t you agree?”

Each of the three had their heads down, hopelessness beginning to creep into their veins. It was useless. They were far too outclassed. “WHAT DO YOU WANT?” screamed Scootaloo.

“I’ve already told you what I want. I want to create a world of power and strength, where ponies like Fluttershy do not exist. All can speak up for themselves in an assertive way, and no one will be taken advantage of because they will not take it. The timid and the fearful will be cast out.

"Without painful struggles one can never grow. Ponies have gotten far too used to their simple life of carefree worries. That needs to change. The first biggest change needs to be to cut off this extreme reliance on each other. The first law I will enact is the reseparation of the three races back into three. Places like Ponyville where all three races live will be cut off from the pegasi and the unicorns.”

“W-what?” asked Apple Bloom, horror crossing her features.

“That’s crazy!” said Scootaloo.

“No one is going to go along with that,” said Sweetie Belle.

“Oh, yes, they will,” responded Shadow Blaze. “They will because I am the strongest, and thus I have the ability to make the rules as I see fit.”

“But splitting apart the races will cause the Windigo’s to come back and destroy Equestria like they almost did before.”

“Ah, yes. Your silly little Hearth’s Warming Eve tradition. Even if the Windigo’s return I will simply destroy them. After all, if a single unicorn was able to defeat those things then surely I, as a much stronger being, can do so as well. The point is for the races to learn to think for themselves again.”

“B-but,” started Scootaloo, “what about our friends? I don’t want to lose Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle.”

“That feeling of loss you’re experiencing in your heart is the voice of your utter weakness. You’re using your friends as a pillar to lift you up, instead of putting in any effort to create your own pillar to base your life around. When you grow stronger you’ll laugh at how dependent you were on them.”

“And what about the children?” asked Apple Bloom in disgust. “The Cakes are earth ponies who have pegasus and unicorn twins. Would you separate the babies from their parents?”

“It is an unfortunate circumstance, but my rules are absolute. If their kind had stayed within their race when they conceived this would not be an issue here, would it?”

“W-what?” Pinkie Pie said weakly, her heart burning as she struggled to rise. She wouldn’t let that happen to the twins. Try though she might she couldn’t get herself to move. It just hurt too much.

“What you’re thinking and planning to do is wrong!” yelled out Sweetie Belle. “How could you think what you’re doing is right?”

Shadow Blaze glanced at the fillies, a bored expression on his face. “I have already explained my reasons enough times. Maybe I was wrong. I guess their brainwashing was just too strong for you to see the truth. You should really be more respectful to me.

"If you want to continue to be so openly defiant then I will give you an ultimatum right now. I won’t be as kind to you as to the others. Either you curb your attitudes right now and submit to my new rule, or I will destroy you utterly.”

All three of them flinched, backing up from him. The three of them huddled. “What do we do?” asked Apple Bloom.

“We… we don’t really have a choice here.” responded Sweetie Belle.

“But if we give up then… then we’ll probably never see each other again for the rest of our lives,” said Scootaloo, a tear coming down her eyes. “I wouldn’t be able to take that.”

“He said he had to use eighty percent of his power to win. So maybe that means he’s weak and almost out of power. We might have a shot if we work together. We’ll split up and attack him from different directions.”

“I love my sister and my family,” started Apple Bloom, “but a life without you guys just wouldn’t be worth livin’.”

“Right! For the good of Equestria we have to do this!”

“Then let’s do it!” said Scootaloo.

The three of them broke up, each of them a foot apart as they charged at him.

Shadow Blaze sighed, shaking his head. “Fools, every one of them. No matter how much I try to explain to them the futility they just don’t get it.”

As they neared him his horn glowed as shadowy tentacles grew out of his body, each of them grabbing one of the girls. The tentacles went up into the air before slamming into the ground. This repeated several times before he suddenly stopped, bringing the three of them back in front of him.

Each of them felt like their heads were spinning. “Do you get it yet? Your power is nothing. Let me try this again. YOUR… POWER… IS… NOTHING! NOTHING! You are all weak little brats who can’t even understand how pathetic you are. This is your absolute last chance. Surrender or I will crush the life out of you.” The three of them cried out in pain as the constraining tentacles began squeezing tighter.

Each of them were facing one another. Sweetie Belle’s vision was blurry, feeling a sense of nausea and having trouble breathing from the continuous squeezing. ‘Scootaloo… Apple Bloom,’ she thought.

Rarity groaned. “S-Sweetie Belle.” She tried to get up, but her attempts were just as unsuccessful as Pinkie Pie’s.

‘Rarity… everyone. Everyone is going to die, and I couldn’t do anything to help. I can’t take it.’ A faint glow came from her horn. ‘My friends… my family.’ Straining with the little strength she had she reached out her hooves to Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. ‘I… I won’t let them die. I won’t let them die! I WON’T LET THEM DIE! I won’t EVER give up on my friendship with my friends, because my friends are my life.’

Both of them forced their hooves out to her too. ‘The Windigo’s were defeated by the power of friendship. Only by the power of togetherness can we unlock our true strength. Alicorn’s are the perfect example of the strength one can gain by combining the three races together. I won’t let the peace of this world be ruined by him. If I don’t do something now I’m going to lose everyone. I won’t have it! Friends, family, Equestria… I will protect them all!’

As Sweetie Belle’s hooves met with Scootaloo and Apple Bloom’s her heart went ablaze. Her horn burst with an incredible green light, a magical aura surrounding her. Her aura extended past her and also encircled Applebloom and Scootaloo. With a determined look she concentrated, and pushed against the tentacles restraining them. When they slipped out and landed on the ground Sweetie Belle fired an enormous blast of magical energy towards him.

At first Shadow Blaze only looked with mild amusement as he created a magical shield. A shocked look came to his face as he started being pushed back. The shield began cracking, and as he flew backwards and crashed into a tree it shattered entirely, her blast obliterating the tree behind him.

“S-Sweetie Belle…” Rarity could hardly believe what she had just seen. Her sister’s magic was incredible.

“Wow…,” Scootaloo said, her eyes wide.

“Yeah…,” said Apple Bloom. “Where did all that come from?”

Sweetie Belle looked with contempt at the fading dust cloud. She knew that alone wouldn’t defeat him. She needed all of them. She placed a hoof on each of her friends. “Stay behind me. I swear on my life I will not let any of you get hurt anymore.

"He is wrong. He’s wrong about everything. The three races only work at their best when they’re together. Your love and bond with me give strength to my heart. This power is not mine alone. It’s the power of hearts working together for the same goal. A power far greater than anything he can understand. The same way that Clover the Clever did what hundreds of unicorns did not, I too have the lessons of friendship and how good it feels in my heart.”

Shadow Blaze stumbled forward, looking genuinely amused and surprised. He was actually in pain. ‘That little unicorn brat,’ he thought. ‘That level of magic was comparable to an alicorn. How could she possibly have that much strength hidden within her?’

He started laughing. “Well, that was fun! I admit you got me good. I underestimated you a little bit because you’re a child. I guess I should face you with the respect you deserve.”

“I won’t let you hurt my friends! Not a single one!” Sweetie Belle said angrily.

“Heh! If you say so. Time to die!” He shot a large blast towards her.

“Move!” Apple Bloom said, trying to pull her out of the way.

“No!” she responded, the aura swirling powerfully around her as her horn glowed an even brighter green than before, to the point it was almost pure white.

His blast met her shield. She closed her eyes, thinking of all the hearts she had lending her strength. Now she had to lend it back.

His spell split her shield into many pieces, each one heading towards everyone else there.

Shadow Blaze smirked. He had missed the little unicorn imp but all the rest of them were done. It showed her right for talking so smug. His grin quickly faded as he looked around confusedly. Where were all the explosions? Each one of them had been hit, but it didn’t seem to be doing anything.

“Everyone!” Sweetie Belle cried out. “Now is the time to get up and fight! When our hearts are as one we can win. Of course we couldn’t win before. Fighting with revenge or hatred in our hearts won’t give us the most power. Fighting for each other and our friendship is how we can become as strong as we can be.

"My connection with my friends helped me to power up, now all of you need to rise and fight once again. That’s the best thing about friendship. There’s always more willing to help towards a good cause, so if ten wasn’t working then we’ll just have to try thirteen!”

Rarity felt strange. She had felt his spell hit her, but instead of killing her she actually felt some strength returning to her. She let out a little laugh. “Well said, Sweetie Belle. I can feel the fire of your heart.” She wasn’t completely healed, but she didn’t feel as helpless as before. She felt her fatigue washing away as she began forcing herself up.

Fluttershy was almost up when she began falling down. Twilight used herself as a block, but she only succeeded in almost falling down again herself. Applejack managed to sturdy the other two of them.

One by one each of them struggled to get up, emboldened by Sweetie Belle’s speech.

Shadow Blaze couldn’t fathom what was happening. How were all of them getting up? His spell should have destroyed all of them. His eyes suddenly went wide. ‘No!’ he growled in his mind. ‘That damn brat! How can she be defying my expectations so much? When my spell met hers she shattered her spell intentionally, because she changed the energy of my spell from a destructive magic to a healing magic. I can’t believe how much skill she’s capable of.’

He began laughing, a deranged sounding laugh that caught all of their attentions. “So, what now?” he asked. “Yes, all of you managed to stand up, but you’re clearly not in any shape to fight me. Do you really think the addition of a single unicorn filly is going to change the outcome if we go at it again? All you’re going to do is rely on your borrowed powers again. It’s hopeless for you. Just give it up!”

Twilight used her hoof to remove the crown holding the Element of Magic. She threw it on the ground in front of her. “You’re right. This is a borrowed power, and it keeps us from accessing the entirety of our true strength because we expect it to do all the work for us. I’ll fight using a power that is entirely mine: the fire of my heart.”

“Same here,” said Rainbow Dash, her knees going weak for a second as she removed her necklace and threw it next to the other element. The rest of the other four followed suit.

That only made Shadow Blaze laugh some more. “That is hilarious. You finally realize the truth, and you throw away the only things that might allow you to win? Only one of your other friends is a unicorn. The earth ponies and the pegasi’s involvement will mean nothing in a contest of magic.”

“I can tell you one thing,” Twilight panted, still not feeling one hundred percent. “There is one thing you were wrong about.”

“Oh, and what’s that?”

“You said earlier that Fluttershy is the weakest of us. That’s why you tried to kill her before to illustrate the point. In actuality it’s the opposite. Out of all of us here Fluttershy has more courage than any of us.”

“And how do you figure that?”

“It’s easy for a pony like Rainbow Dash to do dangerous and risky things because she has absolute faith in herself and her abilities. It takes a lot more courage and depth to do something you’re terrified of, crying inside the whole while, than to simply have no fear of anything. But there is one more thing.

“Fluttershy, can I borrow one of your memories?”

“Y-yes,” she responded.

Twilights horn glowed, and Fluttershy’s memory appeared in the space before him, of the time Discord corrupted her.

“Fluttershy, looks like you’ve been left behind by your so-called friends,” said Discord, taking the form of a butterfly.

“Oh, no. I’m certain they’re doing their best to find me.”

“Well, it must be so upsetting to know how weak and helpless they think you are.”

“Not at all. I am weak and helpless, and I appreciate their understanding.”

The memory faded away. Fluttershy was crying a bit, because it only reminded her of Discord’s sacrifice.

Shadow Blaze looked at Twilight with a blank expression. “Okay, so what was that supposed to mean? You’re saying she’s strong and brave because she’s weak and helpless? That memory only harmed your case.”

“It’s the exact opposite!” Twilight snarled. “Fluttershy is not afraid to admit her flaws. Even more so she can admit them openly without contempt or shame. So often we become overwhelmed by only showing others the positive side and hiding everything negative that we can let it stop us from asking for help. And that in turn stops us from using our full power if we’re always holding something back.

“Let’s try it right now, and see if it works, hmm?” Twilight sighed and closed her eyes. She was surprised at how difficult the words seemed to be to form. Finally she managed to say, “I am weak and helpless. I let my pride of being Celestia’s student stop me from making friends for the longest time. I never have the courage to stand up to her most of the time, and I obsess too much with earning her approval.” She let out another deep breath, actually feeling better from getting it out.

Luna spoke up next, surprising all of them. “I am weak and helpless. I let my jealously and anger overtake me. Instead of talking to my sister and trying to work out a compromise of some sort I gave in to my feelings and became overcome by dark forces.”

“Sister…,” Celestia said, looking over at Luna. “I am weak and helpless. I failed to notice the degree to which my sister was being overtaken by those feelings, and I chose to seal her away for a thousand years instead of trying to find another way.”

Rarity spoke up next. “I am weak and helpless. Though I pride myself on generosity I can also be quite vain and think more of what benefits me than helping others.”

Next was Applejack. “I am weak and helpless. I let my pride get in the way of asking for help at times. During applebuck season I could have had everything settled so quick if I had only asked my friends for some assistance.”

Rainbow Dash struggled the most with the exercise. It was two words she never, ever wanted to associate with herself, but… she also knew that was why it was so important to say them. “I… I am… I am weak and helpless. I also let my pride get in the way of things. Too often I’ll act like everything is fine even when it’s not, because I favor my image as being tough too much. I’m… afraid some times that if I show weakness I won’t be popular anymore.”

The rest of them continued on, Shining Armor and Cadence about their failures during the Changeling invasion, Pinkie Pie of her easily shattered trust and irrational fears, and the three crusaders of their fears of never getting their cutie marks and of not matching up to their older sisters.

Though each of them struggled with letting out some of their biggest fears there was no denying it helped them inside.

Shadow Blaze was watching them with a strange expression on his face. He seemed legitimately confused. “Why? Why do this? What difference does it make? Why hold onto each other like this when you know it won’t make any difference?”

Fluttershy walked forward a few steps in front of the rest, a few tears coming down her eyes. “Because none of us are like you. We all do everything together with harmony in our hearts. Like Sweetie Belle said, it was only natural that we lost to you, because all of us were fighting for the wrong reasons, and thus stunted our own ability.

"Hearing all of their words, of revealing all the things that they usually keep hidden from the world, it made me realize something. We are all one pony inside. Each of us possesses in our hearts a power far stronger than the Elements of Harmony: we possess the power of unity. No matter what the danger, we live and die as one. Each of us wouldn’t hesitate for an instant to throw our lives away for each of the others.

"I would never abandon my friends to save myself. They give courage to my heart even when I’m scared. I know in my heart that most of the time I am weak and helpless. I make progress here and there, but at times I feel like I’m just the burden of the group. But even when I feel like I have nothing important to bring to the table I have friends who encourage me to be the best I can be.

“I no longer hate you. Really… I feel sorry for you.”

Shadow Blaze’s eyes instantly narrowed. “Excuse me?”

“You let the death of your friends ruin you. You ignored what they sacrificed for you and stopped trusting others. You attacked your best friend to try to bring her down to your level. You’ve lost the nobleness of your goal of helping others for the sake of your own pride and ego. You claim that you’re doing this for them, so that no more have to experience the pain of that loss, but you forced that pain upon me as a demonstration without a second thought.

"What you do now is no longer for them, but for yourself.” More tears came down her eyes as the last of her bitterness faded and her heart saw him as a pained soul. “For that I truly do feel sorry for you. I wish for just a moment you could truly understand what you have become.”

Anger crossed his features. “You… don’t you… how dare you… talking down… like you know…” He started shaking, his horn began glowing, but then it stopped, and his expression went blank. This sudden change of temper disarmed them, making them feel wary. “Fine, then.” he said calmly.

“Fine?”

“I have done all I can to help you understand. It seems every one of you is determined to be my enemy until the end. So I’ll try what you were talking about before, about admitting weakness and abandoning pride.”

Rainbow Dash scoffed. “Don’t tell me after all your big talk you’re suddenly going to say you’re weak.”

“I was weak… back then when I understood nothing. But I’ll grant your wish. I will throw away my pride. All thirteen of you… I will give you one final chance. Both of us will not give up on our positions no matter what. That is clear to me now. So let’s put the matter to rest once and for all.

"Which is stronger… the power of ponies coming together, or the power of a single strong heart? I will use my complete power and hold absolutely nothing back. If you claim that my way is wrong then prove it to me. You couldn’t beat me before even with your elements and the ten of you working together. You think that simply adding in one unicorn will offset the difference in power now that you’ve thrown away your elements? Show me what you can do.

“I will give you five minutes. Do whatever you have to and prepare yourself. Do what you must and show me your maximum power.” With that he sat down on the ground and closed his eyes.

Chapter 9: The final battle

The thirteen ponies spent their time talking with one another and asking each other for assistance. Though each of them already knew they were going to be working together it was a further proof of their lesson from before about giving up pride and admitting weakness.

Shadow Blaze stood, saying, “Time is up.”

Each of them turned toward him.

Applejack took her hat and placed it on Apple Bloom’s head. “I’m really glad you came along with me today. This could be our last roundup, sis. Let’s make it a good one!”

“You know it!!” Apple Bloom responded with a determined look.

Scootaloo said to Rainbow Dash, “We still have a lot of flying lessons ahead of us. I know you don’t like to break your word, so we absolutely can’t lose here.”

“Right! I won’t lose now that I have you by my side.”

Scootaloo smiled.

Rarity looked over at Sweetie Belle. “You impressed me so much today, little sister. You awakened our hearts and taught us something we were on the verge of losing. I said that I’d never be sisterless again, so I have to protect you with all I have.”

“Same here!” Sweetie Belle responded. “I promised to protect all of you, and I won’t go back on my word.”

Cadance and Shining Armor shared an embrace, kissing each other.

Twilight stood in front of Celestia and Luna. “I still have too many lessons to learn and lessons to teach to die here. We will win.” The two sisters nodded.

The thirteen of them got into position. They stood side by side in a big line, with a random mixture of a pegasus, unicorn, and earth pony between alicorns. Sweetie Belle was in a group with Fluttershy and Applejack; Scootaloo with Rarity and Pinkie Pie; Apple Bloom with Shining Armor and Rainbow Dash.

Shadow Blaze looked at their line-up. “This is odd. I figured you would want to be with the one’s you’re closest to.”

Twilight smiled. “It doesn’t matter how we’re arranged. Our differences are insignificant so long as our hearts are as one. All of us, despite what our likes and dislikes are, and how much we relate to one another, will always come together for a common cause. How do you think that a single unicorn was able to defeat the Windigo’s? The coming together of the three races created a new magic unlike any the world has seen before and hasn’t been seen since.”

She smiled down at the unicorn filly near her. “Well, except for Sweetie Belle. The light of friendship will always burn in our hearts, and there’s nothing you can do to stop it.”

“We’ll see…” Shadow Blaze’s horn began glowing intensely. “Let’s get this over with. Is your way right, or is mine?”

The horns of the alicorns and unicorns began glowing. All of their bodies began floating, covered by a magical rainbow aura. The bodies of the thirteen moved until they were in shape of a heart, holding onto one another. Each of them only had one goal in mind: the preservation of Equestria. For that, its biggest threat had to be removed. It wasn’t out of hatred or revenge they were fighting for, but for the sake of each other. The glow from them became brighter and brighter.

“The shape of a heart.” Shadow Blaze let out a little chuckle. “You are really determined to keep this charade of symbolism going on until the very end, aren’t you? I’m ready for you.”

The glow and intensity from both groups grew stronger and stronger, becoming nearly blinding to the surrounding area. Both of them shot their blasts towards each other. As they met up there was a mini-explosion that forced dust and air to blow around it. The nexus of the energy streams grew larger and larger in the middle until they could barely see each other.

“What… no… this is impossible…” Shadow Blaze couldn’t believe it. He was using his full power, and their own power was exactly equal to his. “How could you bunch of losers match my power?”

“How many times do we have to tell you?” said Applejack. “The power of friendship will always come through in the end.”

Sweetie Belle spoke up. “You said that all we were adding in exchange for giving up the elements was just a unicorn. But you’re wrong. We also gained a pegasus and an earth pony. We added a full set of pony races to our side.”

“So are you going to take back what you said?” asked Rainbow Dash. “I guess we’re not so weak and helpless after all... when we all work together.”

Shadow Blaze growled in anger. “N-no! I won’t accept this! Don’t act like you’ve won. All it will take is for one of you to relax in the slightest. My power is far greater than yours. You’re weakened. Your bodies will give out before mine.”

Time passed, each of them pushing their every thought and being into maintaining their spells and trying to obtain victory.

“Five minutes. They’ve been opposing me for over five minutes. How?”

Rarity said, “You just don’t get it, do you? This power isn’t born of just us, but of all the ponies we strive to protect.”

“Think about it for a second, Shadow Blaze,” said Pinkie Pie. “Why are you struggling against us right now?”

“What?” he responded, sounding confused.

Raising her voice she said, “I said, WHY ARE YOU STRUGGLING?”

Fluttershy spoke up now, her voice calm as she voiced the simple truth. “Your power and our power are equal. If one of us relaxes we’ll lose. But why struggle at all? Just think about how different things would be in this situation… if you only had even a single friend by your side to help you out.”

Their side of the power ball advanced a bit toward him. “S-shut up! I don’t need anyone else.”

“Aqua Sapphire was as strong as you. Think about how much easier it would have been to beat us… if just one pony was by your side. That’s the beauty of friendship. When things go wrong, and you fall, there is always someone there to help lift you up. If the power you have isn’t enough you can always find someone else to help out, just like Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Apple Bloom did. On the other hoof… what do you have at the end of the day?”

“N-no! No! Stop it! Shut up!” Shadow Blaze actually sounded afraid as the power ball continued advancing toward him. “I’m… losing… ground!”

“If you had only walked down the path of helping others for the right reasons… then you would still have your friend right by your side.”

Shadow Blaze was feeling a bit of terror, an emotion he hadn’t experienced since that first big battle all those eons ago. ‘I’m going to… lose? Me? Could it really be possible? Was I… wrong… this whole time?’ As doubt assaulted him the ball of power came at him faster. ‘Aqua Sapphire…’ For a moment he saw her in his thoughts, the smile she used to give only to him when she would look after him. ‘I’m… sorry…’

His power broke completely as he ceased resisting altogether as he was consumed by the magical energy.

The power of the thirteen slowly faded as they landed back on the ground. Each of them glanced at the others happily, then as one collapsed onto the ground.

“Man… I’m… exhausted,” panted Rainbow Dash.

“I can’t… move a… muscle,” said Fluttershy.

“We cannot remember the last time we have felt so weary,” added in Luna.

“But we won,” said Celestia.

“And Equestria is safe once again,” said Twilight.

All of them were at the point of nodding off, utterly drained from the battle.

Their relief was short lived. A group of timberwolves had come to investigate. They began letting out howls.

Twilight aimed her horn, but when she concentrated she couldn’t feel any magic inside her at all. She was too worn out. The others had the same issue.

As the timberwolves approached they each made an attempt to rise or use magic but were unsuccessful.

Rainbow Dash gave a humorless laugh, a strange smile on her face from the ridiculousness of it all. “You’ve gotta be kidding me. We defeat the most powerful being in the world… and then get killed by these small timers?”

There was a sudden brilliant flash of light erupting from the Tree of Harmony. The timberwolves howled in displeasure before suddenly leaving the area. The light left the confines of the tree, approaching the area where they were all laying. It enveloped all of them in its glow.

Each of them suddenly felt reinvigorated, full of energy and healed of their wounds as if they hadn’t battled at all. They got up on their hooves, marveling at the phenomenon.

The light retreated a short distance from them before fading away, leaving a being in its wake.

None of them had to ask who the being was. Twilight bowed in respect. “Aqua Sapphire,” she said in reverence. “Thank you for this gift.”

Aqua Sapphire, like Shadow Blaze, appeared not to be a full pony. She was a deep crystalline blue, almost without substance as she looked like she was made of water. Her body flowed like a current of water. When she spoke her voice was calm and placid like a deep lake. “Nay, child. It is I who owe a debt to you.” She bowed down in return.

When she returned to her normal position she said, “You defied all odds and completely surprised me in your victory. I was afraid you weren’t going to succeed. I wasn’t able to assume my true form and battle him when he escaped. He used his power to keep me confined. And then once he removed the elements my power fell still further. It took everything I had to keep his power from spreading outside the forest.

“I have acted as the guardian of this forest for a long time, attempting to keep him confined so he wouldn’t be able to ruin the world as he tried to before.”

Tears began running down her face, and her body began flowing faster, like a rough wave crashing up against the shore. “Even though it was necessary I was really and truly hoping that one day he would see the folly of his actions. That was why I sealed him away.

"I was a terrible ruler. I had so many opportunities to kill him and save him from going down a darker path that way, but I could not bring myself to. Even despite all the evil acts he committed… I never stopped thinking of him as a friend.

“I tried to turn my eyes away from the truth. I tried to blame it on the defeat of the evil creature that almost destroyed the world. I thought its evil will had just transferred to another pony, or he had been possessed. I couldn't accept the truth for a long time. When I ran out of excuses and finally saw the truth…I still could not bring myself to deal the final blow. So I took the coward’s way out. I sealed him away along with myself, hoping that one day he would realize what he was doing was wrong, but it wasn’t successful.

“In the end… I finally figured out what he was really and truly trying to do.”

“And what was that?” asked Celestia.

“He was trying to change a lie into the truth and a truth into a lie, so he could get away from himself.”

“What do you mean?” asked Cadance.

“In that battle two of our dear friends sacrificed themselves to save him. He lived, but he was racked with guilt. He felt that everything was his fault. He thought that he should have been stronger.

"Even after achieving revenge all he was left with was a sense of emptiness and guilt. He felt he was going to break under his feelings. His plan of forcing everyone to become strong was nothing more than a displacement of responsibility. If he could prove that everyone could become almost infinitely stronger, but by themselves with no help from anyone, then he would prove that friendship and relying on others was a joke, and that only by relying on oneself could one succeed. That, in turn, would change the circumstances regarding their deaths. It would absolve him of all responsibility. They would be the fools that had been too worried about caring for others.”

Rainbow Dash looked furious. “You don’t have to be the element of loyalty to feel rage at that. So his friends threw their lives down for him, and then he wanted to spit on their memory by making it out to be all their fault? Some gratitude.”

“I don’t deny you your feelings, Rainbow Dash, as your fury is righteously placed, but you cannot fully understand the pain of having someone die for you. I don’t fully understand it either. He was drowning under his feelings of guilt and shame, and he couldn’t be convinced that we simply hadn’t had enough power at the time. I was unable to help him as his friend. In fact, listening to him today I saw that I only made his feelings stronger. I was too worried about other ponies getting caught in the crossfire, and thus I always fought him alone. I helped prove, in his mind, that his philosophy was correct.”

She looked out upon the thirteen ponies. “You have shown me your courage and power. You succeeded where I failed because you weren’t afraid to work together to win, and thus you helped disprove his theory, to the point where he had to accept the truth.” Looking up to the sky she continued, “In time, without his dark essence pervading this place, the Everfree Forest will return to normal, and thus lose its corruption of the creatures within and its self-manipulation of weather.

“I feel so weak. I wanted so bad for him to rejoin the side of right. But I guess that’s over now. He was irredeemable.”

“That is incorrect,” said Celestia.

Aqua Sapphire looked down at the princess. “Why do you believe so?”

“Simply because he lost. Our powers were perfectly equal. Accounting for only raw power, we were at a draw. What settled this contest was getting to him emotionally. We shook him up with our words, to the point that he stopped resisting altogether at the end. Even if it was only for a moment in time, I am certain that just before he was destroyed he realized how much evil he had been responsible for, and that he had been incorrect in his actions.”

“I suppose you’re right. The purpose of the Tree of Harmony was to keep him safely constrained, and to leave behind a portion of my power in case of an emergency. It has served its purpose. I have grown tired of living in a tree.”

“Then don’t!” said Scootaloo excitedly. “You’re free now.”

She smiled down at the filly for a moment, but it quickly faded. “Life without my friends holds no meaning to me, especially after such a long time of living in pain. Forgive me my final act of selfishness. Before I go I will at least try to repay some of my debt to you.” She raised her hoof and pointed. “You. The unicorn child.”

“Um, yes?” Sweetie Belle responded.

“Please come forward.” Sweetie Belle walked forward until she was almost right in front of her. “It was your inspirational words that helped rouse everyone else to continue fighting, and thus ultimately the victory of this day rests squarely on your shoulders. As a reward for your victory, I shall grant you one wish.”

Final chapter: A wish for the future

Sweetie Belle looked up at Aqua Sapphire in wonder. Had she really just heard that correctly? “You’re going to give me a wish?”

She nodded. “Correct.”

“I can have anything I want?” Another nod. “Um… um…could you turn us all into alicorns?”

A reserved look came to her face. “I could…”

“Or tell us exactly what our cutie marks will be?”

“Yes. So... is either of those your wish?”

Sweetie Belle responded easily, “Nah! I was just testing. A big part of our victory was about how our differences can actually bring us closer together and give us more strength. To make us all the same would be an insult. I know I’m young and dumb, but I’m not that dumb. And it would take all the fun out of things if you just told me what my cutie mark would be.”

Sweetie Belle looked thoughtfully at the ground, trying to decide on a wish. When absolutely anything was promised to you if you asked it was hard to find something that didn’t seem way too small for it.

After a few minutes she turned around to the others. “I can’t decide. I know that she decided to let me make a wish because I helped inspire you all, but I couldn’t have won by myself. None of us could have. We all worked together, so I say we should all have a say in this.”

“Are you sure, Sweetie Belle?” asked Rarity. “You don’t have to do that. She chose you, after all.”

“I’m sure!” Sweetie Belle responded cheerily.

Celestia settled down onto the ground and closed her eyes. “I’ve lived long enough that the only things I ever wish for is the safety of my family, friends, and the lands I rule over. That was accomplished with his defeat, thus I have nothing I need now.”

Luna sat down next to Celestia. “Agreed, Sister.”

Cadance joined in, also agreeing with that assessment.

Twilight looked between the two groups, unsure which one to go with. Because she was a princess should she also sit herself out of the decision process and just be happy with a well-earned victory? In the end she decided to be a part of the wish-suggesters. She soon found that she had no better luck than Sweetie Belle coming up with a really meaningful wish. Everything she could come up with was either selfish or petty.

Fluttershy looked around at everyone, seeing their indecisiveness. As she went to say something Scootaloo spoke up. “I have a wish.”

“Yes?” replied Aqua Sapphire.

“I know that it’s kinda selfish, but I’d like to be able to fly. It’s something that has been on my mind so much in the past few months. I’m not asking for a ton of skill. I want to earn it myself. I just… I’m tired of never knowing if I’m ever going to be able to succeed at getting off the ground.”

“Well, we have one idea. Does anyone else wish to throw in another?”

Fluttershy was looking around again. “I have a question.”

“Yes?”

“This wish. Do you actually mean we can wish for anything? Even something that would be impossible for a regular alicorn or unicorn?”

“As the chosen four of nature our powers were immune from the regular magical restrictions. Thus, yes, anything you can think of or imagine is at your disposal.”

Fluttershy looked ready to start hyperventilating she felt so relieved. “T-then I have a wish.” Tears were streaming down her eyes.

“Fluttershy… why are ya crying?” asked Applejack.

“B-because I’m scared that you guys won’t agree. Scootaloo has a good wish, but this is the most important wish we could ever make.”

Pinkie Pie walked up to her and nuzzled her. “Then go ahead and ask, silly. We’ll take a vote.”

“My wish… I… I wish… I want to bring Discord back to life!” Looks of shock and surprise followed her statement. “Scootaloo flying is a maybe right now, but if we don’t do anything Discord will definitely stay dead. He sacrificed his life to save mine. Should I turn my back on him now that I have a chance to return the favor and save his life? Wasn’t the lesson all of us learned today that we should never abandon our friends? Will we abandon him now for our own selfish pursuits?” Fluttershy looked to be on the edge of a nervous breakdown.

Scootaloo looked down at the ground. “Let’s vote then. Everyone who agrees with Fluttershy’s idea raise your hoof.” She raised her own hoof right after that. Each of the rest of them, almost at the same time, raised their hooves in turn.

Fluttershy fell to the floor and began sobbing, her feelings overwhelming her. She could have her friend back. She didn’t have to live with the guilt for the rest of her life.

Rarity smiled as she walked over, helping pull Fluttershy up and hugging her. “There, there, Darling. It’s okay.”

When she settled down she wiped her face, a big grin on her face. “Thank you.”

“No problem.”

Aqua Sapphire had a serene look on her face. “You passed my final test. I hoped you might.”

“Final test?” asked Twilight.

Fluttershy looked crushed. “You mean that whole wish thing was a lie?”

“No,” she responded. “It was not a lie. I made an offer to you and I intend to keep it. However, I had to see what you would do when offered ultimate power, and you proved yourselves more than capable.

"Sweetie Belle didn’t selfishly hog the wish. She willingly chose to share it with all of you. And each of you seemed to struggle with finding something worthwhile to use it on. In the end you settled on a gift for a friend. The greatest gift of all. Watching all of you... it gives me hope for the future.

"Though there will always be trials, and at times you may get into disagreements, your ability to bond together is impressive. I’m actually a little jealous. I think the fire of your hearts has touched me as well.” Her horn began glowing, and the six jewels of the elements came toward her, entering her body.

She flew up into the air, her magical energy creating a giant sphere around her that extended almost twenty feet in all directions.

“W-whoa…,” muttered Sweetie Belle.

“What power!” stated Cadance.

“The Elements of Harmony were originally pieces of her own power,” Twilight responded. “And if she was also stronger than Shadow Blaze it’s not that surprising.”

Aqua Sapphire said, “I see bright times ahead for this land. Although I will no longer be here once my spell is done there is nothing to fear. All of you have shown me there is nothing you cannot accomplish when you work together. The Elements of Harmony were created for the purpose of teaching others to come together in friendship. You no longer need the elements. Your power will be enough on its own.

“I entrust the future to you. Goodbye.”

The energy around her contracted, and then shot down towards the ground, engulfing Discord's body.

The glow slowly faded. There was a groan, and Discords eyes opened.

Fluttershy’s eyes opened wide with joy as she squealed with glee. “Discord!” she cried out in happiness, running over to him and jumping at him as he started to rise. “You’re alive! You’re alive!” She nuzzled him repeatedly like a cat. “I’m so glad!”

Discord looked around, trying to figure out what was going on. “Fluttershy?”

She looked up at him. “Yes?”

He was starting to remember what had been going on. “You were attacked.”

“Yes, but you saved me.” Her entire being was awash with delight. “We managed to beat that guy, because I had you to help me. You’re an amazing friend.” She nuzzled him some more, just so relieved he was alive.

Discord looked around surprised as all of them began clapping their hooves for him.

“Thank you, Discord,” said Twilight. “You really proved yourself back there. You did something totally unselfish for a change.”

Discord was feeling weird. Fluttershy’s continuing affectionate actions and their words, as well as his knowledge of what he himself had done, was beginning to make him feel… moved. With a touch of hesitation he began petting the kitten on his lap. “You’re alive and well. I’m… happy.” And for what was the first time in his life he felt a tear come down his eyes. Not out of laughter at others, but simply because he was just so relieved she was okay.

Celestia walked forward. “Even though I wanted Fluttershy to help redeem you, I certainly never thought you would go that far. You have done Equestria an exemplary service. I think your actions are deserving of being etched in our history. I also can’t believe I would ever be saying these words, but I will document your heroism upon one of the windows in my throne room.”

“You hear that, Discord?” Fluttershy said, snuggled in close to him and practically purring as he continued petting her. “You’re a hero! I’m so proud of you!”

“I am? I… I am.” With a snap of his claw a bunch of confetti rained down upon the area. His heart was soaring for one of the few times in his life. “Well, let’s get out of here while you tell me all about what happened after I got hit.” With a poof he disappeared, reappearing mini-sized and wrapping himself around Fluttershy’s neck like a scarf. “I hear Discord’s are in fashion this year.”

Fluttershy laughed as she patted Discord’s head.

As they went to leave Twilight took one last look at the Tree of Harmony. It was quickly losing its luster and beginning to wilt. They no longer had the elements as a safeguard. From now on they would have to keep the lesson they had learned today of relying completely on each other for true strength.

On the other hoof, as she looked around at the forest she could see that some of the creepiness factor was also disappearing. The feeling of oppression and unwelcomeness that had pervaded her every trip there was fading. In time the Everfree Forest would be safe for habitation again.

The next day there was a huge gathering in Canterlot for an important celebration of recognition.

Every pony was definitely shocked that Discord, the one who had nearly destroyed their world with chaos, was actually a hero who had willingly given his life to protect someone else. When Celestia was done explaining the events of the previous day all the ponies clapped.

“Go on, Discord,” said Fluttershy, giving him a gentle push. “Say something.”

Discord walked forward, addressing the group. “Greetings, everypony. Thank you all for your support. It is a most glorious day because my dear friend Fluttershy is unharmed as a result of my actions.” Fluttershy blushed, a smile on her face.

“I have to say I’ve never felt this way before. I’m feeling so emotional I might just cry.”

Their thoughts of being touched rapidly faded as his tears erupted into a waterfall that got everyone listening soaking wet.

Fluttershy sputtered, shaking some of the moisture off. “Discord!” she called out sternly.

Discord shrugged, an innocent playfulness on his face. Old habits die hard.