Elements of the Past

Chapter One: Magic

One hundred forty-nine years, eleven months, and three weeks later.

Bookworm awoke with a jolt. He shook his head, and looked around the room. It was the same room he always woke up in nowadays, and the same nightmare he'd always had nowadays. He got out of his bed, and passed into the bathroom. He looked in the mirror. As usual, the nightmare had been entirely correct once again. The whole truth was laid bare for him for about the billionth time; he was an earth pony. He'd never be as fast as a pegasus, or as powerful as a unicorn. For some, this was a source of pride. For Bookworm, it was a curse. Around half of his ancestors had been unicorns, another third pegasi, and the small portion remaining, earth ponies. Why couldn't he be magical like any of them? It would certainly serve him better. With a name like Bookworm, not much else was going for him, either.

Bookworm was, as his name implied, a very heavy reader. Since he learned how, his favorite--and only--regular pastime was reading. From this reading came a significant amount of factual knowledge, the likes of which nearly no pony his age--or even a few years older--could match. Or at least, that was what he thought. This was his only real accomplishment, his book-smartness, and the reason for that was the fact that he had nothing else to do. Another brutal fact of life crossed his mind; he had no friends.

It was a shame, to be sure, but why bother with others when you can learn about the past? His attention turned to his recently-aquired dwelling. It was an old place, and a place of historic value, a place of the past. He lived in Ponyville's library. How he had come to own it, exactly, he didn't really know; the deed had come in the mail a short while after he was ready to move out of his parents' house and find a place of his own. The convenience was startling, and for Bookworm, it was exciting. Not only did he have a home, and a decently-sized one at that, he lived in the very place that the mare that had wielded the Element of Magic had lived, almost a century ago.

Magic. Magic was something he really, really wished he had. It was pretty much the only thing he wanted. Bookworm the earth pony, with no magic to speak of, really wanted magic. He'd looked at spells, he'd looked into almost every possible nook or cranny of literature on such matters, but it was all fairy tales or other useless junk. He wouldn't find magic by just sitting around reading about it, but what else could he do? Well, there was witchcraft, but that form of 'magic' was debunked by empirical analysis decades ago. It was hopeless, the same conclusion he always reached, every single morning. It was unpleasant to have such facts shoved into one's mind all the time, especially in the form of that stupid nightmare. It didn't matter right now, though. His savings weren't going to last forever, and he needed a job. He lived alone, so it was reasonable to assume that only a few bits a day would keep him from starving.

Getting a job was his only priority of the day. The rest of it would probably be taken by reading, as usual. The library's supply of books was immense, plenty enough to keep him busy for years. He had considered running the library as such--a library--but that took too much paperwork for his taste, and some of the books could be lost. The newspaper would have job postings. The stallion went to the door, noticing the newspaper just outside. He picked it up in his mouth. As he did so, a shadow covered the stallion, causing him to look upward.

Bookworm jumped backward and dropped the newspaper at the sight. Standing just outside his door was a relatively small, but still frighteningly large, purple dragon, with a greenish-white underbelly. It didn't look threatening, but frightening nonetheless. It was unusual for any creature other than a pony to appear in Ponyville, and a dragon had never before come to his door. Fighting an instinct to run or cower, Bookworm stood straight. After all, it was only polite.

"Hello," the dragon said in a somewhat-deep voice. "Sorry to surprise you. I'm Spike. Are you Bookworm?"

"Yes, I am," the stallion replied. "Spike..." Something was familiar about that name. "You're Spike! You were Twilight Sparkle's assistant! You used to live here."

"A really long time ago, yes, I lived here. May I come in?"

"Sure, sure. Make yourself at home."

Bookworm stepped aside, allowing the dragon entry. He looked around, as though inspecting the place.

"I see you haven't done much with the place."

Bookworm shook his head. "No, I haven't. Now, If you'd pardon my asking, why would you be here? You're kind of an important dragon, assistant to the Princess and all." He wasn't a good speaker. It probably came from his lack of interaction as a colt, or something.

"Yes, of course. Bookworm, do you know why you're here?"

"Here?" Bookworm gestured widely with his hoof to indicate the library. "I live here."

"Do you know why you live here?"

Bookworm shook his head again. "Come to think of it, I don't. Somepony dropped the deed in our mailbox some time ago." He brought his hoof to his chin. "Was that you?"

"It was. You see, Bookworm, there's something important I must tell you," Spike answered, his tone changing to a more urgent one.

"I'm listening," the stallion replied.

"Listen well, then. You are aware of the nearing one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of Nightmare Moon's defeat at the hooves of the Elements of Harmony, I trust?"

"Yes, I'd taken note of that."

"Good. Now, what I'll tell you now must remain a secret, by Celestia's order. Do you understand that?"

Bookworm cocked an eyebrow. "Certainly, I do, but... what is the nature of this secret, and why are you telling me? In fact, why don't you explain to me what's going on and why?"

"I plan to. Bookworm, you are the heir to the Element of Magic. Twilight Sparkle was your great-great-grandmother."

Bookworm frowned and furrowed his brow, deep in thought. After a few moments, he had formulated his response. "Spike, that's impossible, you must know that. I'm an earth pony, not a unicorn, or even a pegasus. I haven't got any magic to speak of, I can't wield the Element of Magic."

Spike continued without any change in inflection or expression. He had apparently expected that response. "I think you'll be proven wrong on that. And besides, the Princess and I need your help, regardless of whether you think you're up to it or not. Nightmare Moon is going to be returning to Equestria next week, during the Summer Sun Celebration. All we need you to do is come with me to find those others who have inherited an Element. If I recall correctly, the closest one is here in Ponyville, the Element of... Generosity." Spike shifted uncomfortably as he said the last word.

"Hold on a second. Why can't you contact one of my cousins, or my brother? He's a unicorn. Most of them are unicorns, and they'd have the same genes as me, I'm sure."

"Bookworm, the Princess has been tracking those eligible, and you are the only one capable of wielding the Element of Magic. Maybe you aren't right now, but you're our only option."

"So what you're telling me is that I am the Element of Magic, that there are five other heirs to the Elements scattered throughout Equestria, that you and I have to gather them all up to stop Nightmare Moon from plunging the world into eternal darkness, and that there is only one pony capable of holding each Element, which means that I must go?"

"That's right."

Bookworm sighed. "Why didn't the Princess just summon us all to Canterlot? That would have been so much simpler."

"I don't know, exactly, but you must know how Twilight Sparkle first met the other Elements of Harmony, right?"

Bookworm again brought a hoof to his chin. The bearers of the Elements had come together when a crisis loomed, becoming unified as friends, a force of Harmony. So he had to fulfill the role of Twilight Sparkle, who had brought them all together... to repeat history. It might have been far-fetched, but it just might work. Besides, he didn't have much to lose. He nodded slowly.

Spike smiled. "Then you have some idea of why the Princess wants this done this way. Will you need time to prepare? We don't have a lot of time, the Princess wants a few days of leeway before the Summer Sun Celebration."

"Leeway? What for?"

"I believe you know the answer to that. May I suggest that you start packing?"

"Right, right." Bookworm went to assemble what he might need. There wasn't much in the form of trinkets or anything he planned to take, so he focussed on a few things. He put a few apples, a pouch of bits, and a pair of books in his saddlebag before putting it over his back. Coming back to the door, he found that Spike was still waiting there. Well, of course he was, where would he have gone?

Spike really hoped this would work out. With his suspicion that Bookworm didn't think he could bear the Element of Magic confirmed, he really hoped that the Princess' plan could still work. What if the others didn't think they could bear their Element either? What if they couldn't become friends, and the Elements wouldn't work, as they hadn't with Discord the first time they'd tried to take him down? He had voiced all of these concerns to Celestia before, but she had told him not to worry, that she had taken precautions. Spike really hoped she did, because if this did not work, then Equestria would be done for.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked the dull blue-grey earth pony stallion he'd just met, noticing for the first time his cutie mark, a brown book surrounded by purple sparkles. A number of things about this stallion reminded him of his lost friend, and it brought back many memories. It had been far too long, more than fifty years, since he had a friend like Twilight. He fought back the memories and tears that wanted nothing else than to come out. It was time to focus, not the time to be sentimental.

"I think so. Where are we headed first?" the stallion asked him.

Another place to bring back memories was their destination. They were bound for the Carousel Boutique. Out the door the pair went, down the streets of Ponyville. Such a creature as a dragon appearing in the streets of the ever-growing city such as this were uncommon, and ponies' gazes could be felt by the two as they went.

"So, why is this all such a secret?" Bookworm said, trying to start a conversation. Ponyville wasn't a place known for eavesdropping, and who would eavesdrop on a being as large as he? Spike decided not to dismiss the question until it was entirely safe.

"Well, the Princess is trying to lull Nightmare Moon into a false sense of security so that the Elements of Harmony, which she will think no longer exist, can take her by surprise when she came along."

"I didn't know that I was related to Twilight Sparkle, my parents never said anything about that." Bookworm's tone was a slightly-accusatory one.

"I know that you feel a little betrayed, but the Princess had to take every precaution, so that only she and I would know who could hold the Elements of Harmony this time. You see, the way the Princess made it so that you--and the other five ponies we're looking for--could wield the Elements is a closely-guarded secret. Nightmare Moon, hopefully, does not know about it."

"But how will Nightmare Moon return? If I recall correctly from my books, Princess Luna doesn't feel any sort of anger for the ponies of Equestria anymore. In what form could she possibly return?" Bookworm had a point, and Spike's own answer to that question made even him uneasy.

"We don't know that."

"Huh," the stallion replied, flatly.

Carousel Boutique was close now, a sign that read 'open' was clearly visible from the outside. The pony and dragon approached the door. Bookworm looked at Spike, and he simply nodded. He opened the door, and they both stepped inside. It was time to recruit the new Element of Generosity to their cause.