Contingency Plans Original

My name is Twilight Sparkle. A few months ago, I was sent to live here in Ponyville to study the magic of friendship by my mentor, Princess Celestia. Though I was initially reluctant, I met five wonderful ponies who I hope will be my lifelong friends. Together we defeated Nightmare Moon and saved Equestria, by uncovering the six long lost Elements of Harmony. Afterwards we won countless battles, defeating foes like Discord, Queen Chrysalis and King Sombra, by staying true to our elements and using the magic of love and friendship. Though we eventually had to give up the physical elements to restore Harmony, each of us still has the spirit and power of our element inside us.  Most recently, my five friends and I united against Tirek and imprisoned him in Tartarus once again.

However during that battle, I said something that I didn't realize the gravity of until later. "I carry within me the most powerful magic of all!" Sure enough, that rang true and even with all the magic in Equestria at his disposal, Tirek was not able to defeat us. After the initial celebration at my newly granted castle, I was left alone with some time to reflect. During that time, a dark thought crossed my mind. We had "the most powerful magic of all" at our disposal, so powerful that nothing could defeat it. My friends and I used that magic for good, to restore order and bring peace. But the future is uncertain. What if, one day, we used that power for evil?

There are many ways this could happen. Discord was able to hypnotize my friends during out first encounter to behave the opposite of their true selves. The elements didn't work with their new personalities of course, but in the future a cleverer or more sinister opponent may not hesitate to simply make us his or her servants, and force us to use our magic against innocents. Alternatively, an enemy might threaten to hurt someone we love, and force us to use the magic of the elements for malevolent purposes. But the third possibility scares me most of all. What if one or all of us willingly turned to evil, and abused our power? The words of Princess Luna after the dark water incident come to mind: If we were evil and worked together... there was no doubt we'd be unstoppable.

I cannot bear the possibility that Equestria could be left defenseless if it's protectors turned on it. Therefore, with painstaking study and effort, I have compiled a series of secret contingency plans to neutralize each of the most powerful ponies in Equestria, should any of them turn evil, by choice or through mind control. This was not an easy decision to come to, as it violates the trust of many I love and care about. However it must be done, if the good of Equestria is to be insured.

In the event of myself becoming a threat, I have left a series of coded instructions with my friends so that they may find these plans if the need arises. If you are reading this now, and it is our darkest hour... I hope you understand why this had to be done.

Twilight Sparkle