Wavering Magic

"White Mane…"  Doctor Whooves read from a dusty old tome.  Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Cadence all stood around the table, with the exception of Applejack who sat in her wheelchair.

"White what now?"  Pinkie quizzed, but was stopped by Rarity who gave her a hush.

"According to legend,"  Doctor Whooves continued, "White Mane was the first king of Equestria, and the first alicorn stallion to set foot here."  He turned the page, which showed a diagram of six jewels surrounding a large stallion.

"I recognize this!"  Cadence proclaimed, "These are the elements of harmony, the ones you girls used to stop Discord and return Night Mare Moon to her old self. "  She went on, "But why are they here?"

"According to this book, White Mane created the elements of harmony to serve as a means of protection for his family.  He gave each one to a specific pony, the element of generosity he gave to his wife, whose name I can't seem to find here.  He gave the element of honesty to…"  Doctor Whooves began.

"Well, who'd he give the others to?"  Applejack asked.

"This is Celestia's father."  He looked down at the book.  "He gave Celestia the element of honesty, the element of kindness to Luna, the element of loyalty to a pony by the name of Dawnstar, and the element of laughter to—Discord?!"  He looked up in shock, as did everyone else.

"Are you tellin' me Discord was a pony once?"  Applejack blurted out.  "No way!"

"Not a pony per se, but Discord was one of us once."  A familiar voice came from behind them at the doorway of the Canterlot library.  Her white coat and flowing mane stood out in the darkness of their surroundings.

"Princess Celestia."  The group of ponies bowed their heads in unison.

"Please read on, good Doctor."  Doctor Whooves raised up and looked over at the book again.

"The last element, the element of Magic, he gave to Star Swirl the Bearded, just before his death.  Is that right, Princess?"  Doctor Whooves looked up at Celestia.

Celestia sighed, "Not exactly, this book doesn't tell what really happened.  I suspect Star Swirl had something to do with this."  She chuckled.  "Dawnstar was supposed to be the next ruler of Equestria, not I."  Everyone looked at her with shock.

"However, tragedy struck when he was killed in the Everfree forest, and my father had never forgiven himself for it."  She began.  "He went mad, and out of anger he set a curse on the land and the ponies who murdered my brother.  Unfortunately, his anger extended beyond that of a parent losing a child, he had lost his only male heir to the throne, and out of hatred he ended the reign of kings and plunged Equestria into madness."   The library remained silent, save for the story Princess Celestia told them.  The other ponies still stood, listening intently.

"But then, who defeated White Mane?"  Rarity finally asked, breaking the silence of the other ponies.

"Many ponies stood against him, armies were raised, a rebellion formed, all led by two ponies.  Star Swirl being one of them.  The other being a mare I only knew as Blazewing.  For ten days they waged war on the castle in Canterlot, more and more ponies losing their lives every day.  Until White Mane met Star Swirl and Blazewing on the battlefield, I had very little memory of what happened.  They say for twenty-four hours the trio fought constantly, each blow shattering the castle around them, until finally Blazewing fell.  Heartbroken and enraged at the loss of his friend, Star Swirl summoned the power of his element, Magic, and using the last of his remaining life, blasted White Mane out of existence, and into the void between life and death."

"The last I ever heard from Star Swirl was when he came to me after the battle, barely alive.  He gave me a crown and five necklaces, which he told me would house the power of the elements.  He also told me that should I ever meet his heir, that he or she would become my personal apprentice.  I think I now understand who Twilight really is."

Doctor Whooves closed the book and placed it back on the pile of tomes he had collected from the shelf.  "So Twilight is Star Swirl's legacy after all."  He smiled.  "I always knew she was something special."

Shining Armor pushed Twilight's wheelchair through the double doors of Pony Joe's Doughnut Shop, accompanied by Derpy.

"Twilight Sparkle, haven't seen you in a long time."  Pony Joe smiled.  "Oh, what happened to you, kid?"  Joe frowned when he realized Twilight's scar and her wheelchair.  Twilight Sparkle sat upright in her chair and tried to pick herself up out of it.

"Just a little banged up, I'll be fine."  She grinned.  "Can I get the usual?"

"You bet, two doughnuts coming up.  That'll be three bits."  He said, grabbing a tray from under the counter.

"I got this, little sis."  Shining Armor produced three coins from his pocket and gave them to Joe, who placed them inside the register.

"Mr.  Joe!  One muffin, please!"  Derpy raced to the counter and smiled, nearly knocking Pony Joe over.  Pony Joe opened the register.

"Two bits, Derpy."  Derpy Hooves frowned and turned to Twilight and Shining Armor.

"Mister Armor, can I borrow some money?  Doctor has my bag."  She pleaded.  Shining Armor sighed and produced another two bits from his pockets and levitated them over to Pony Joe.  Derpy grinned and joined them at the table.

"So Twily, what did the doctor say about what happened?  You were collapsed on the ground bleeding pretty bad from your horn and your mouth."  Twilight placed her hoof on her chest and looked up at her horn.

"He said that the spell I used was too strong for my body, that the concussion from the impact caused my body to collapse in on itself at the moment of release.  From the look of the x-rays, I cracked my skull right at the base of my horn, and one of my ribs scratched the surface of my heart and nearly punctured it."  She looked down at her hooves, fear in her eyes.

"He said I was lucky to be alive."  She said in barely above a whisper.

Shining Armor, with concern in his eyes, sat closer to her.  "Do you remember that night, a few years ago?  When you passed your entrance exam and the creature came after us?"  He recalled.

"Yeah, I've had that dream every night before my birthday since."

"And every year, before your birthday, we've had your party away from Canterlot.  Princess Celestia was furious when she found out you were here, you know."  He said with disdain.

"She was?"  Twilight asked in fear.

Shining Armor nodded.  "She gave us the order to escort you out of Canterlot as soon as you could walk on your own."  Twilight hit her hoof on the table in anger.

"Stop treating me like a little filly!"  She screamed.  "I don't believe in whatever this thing is, so stop freaking out!"  Shining Armor slapped his hoof over her mouth, cutting her off.

"Would you listen to yourself?  Is this how my sister is going to act when her life is in danger?  Act like nothing's wrong?"  You almost died, Twilight, and I don't want to see that happen again.  In fact, I'm the one who requested this from Celestia, so if you're going to be mad at anyone, be mad at me."  Shining Armor immediately regretted his words when Twilight's eyes filled with tears, instantly turning from anger to sadness.

"Twily."  Shining Armor began.  "You're my little sister, you have so much to lose, and you have so many people who love you.  Rainbow Dash wouldn't leave your side until the doctors had to force her out to revive you.  Why do you want to stay so badly?"

"Because-"  Twilight began, in between sobs, "Rarity worked so hard on this party.  Her, Pinkie, Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack, they all worked really hard and I didn't want it all to go to waste.  I know it seems selfish, but we weren't the only ones who were going to have fun.  Fancy Pants sunk a lot of money into this, and all our family and friends were going to be there, and-"  Shining Armor stopped her with a hug.

"I understand how important this is to you, to everypony, but wouldn't they rather see you stay alive?"  He asked her, to which she nodded sadly.

"I'll tell you what.  We'll station some guards outside the place to make sure nothing bad happens.  Have the party, and then right after we go straight back to Ponyville.  Agreed?"  Shining Armor said.

"Agreed."  Twilight smiled and nodded.

"Hooray!"  Derpy Hooves added, pointing towards the door to the kitchen.

"Fresh doughnuts, and a muffin.  Enjoy."  He set the tray on the table and walked back behind the counter.  "By the way, Twilight."  Pony Joe turned around.  "Be more careful, ok?"

"I will."  Twilight smiled and bit into her pastry.  The door slammed open as two guards ran in, almost completely out of breath.

"Captain, you're needed on the street corner outside the palace, right now."  The older one gasped.

"What's happened, sir?"  Shining Armor stood up.

"It's that new restaurant, the Shining Mare, sir.  It's-"  He gasped, kneeling down on his forelegs.

"It's on fire, sir!"