Author's Note

Hey, everyone! I hope you've enjoyed the story! Tomorrow, I'm gonna post the final chapter (and then do a comedic one chapter follow-up), but I truly hope that this has been an interesting tale. For those of you who read the first one, thank you for tuning in once again. For those of you who've only read this story, thank you as well. Now, it's time to see...well...where cutie marks come from.

A Magic Gift

My veins bulged. I had never been so angry. I screamed at the top of my lungs and finally broke free of my position astride the battlefield. I stormed across the bloodstained stones and leapt at Dystopia, hurling her off of Twilight and stabbing her over and over with my horn. The curses I called down upon her were terrifying, and I shocked myself with how angry I was. Her blood flowed, but every successive strike caused a perverse sense of pleasure to run through me. I was a vengeful father, reigning down hell upon the pony who had dared to harm my little princess.

Suddenly, I felt a strong pair of hooves pull me back. I shrieked and tried to get away. “LET ME AT THE BITCH!” I yelled, not realizing that small ears were still present, “LET ME AT HER! SHE TOOK DIAMOND FROM ME! SHE TOOK HER! SHE TOOK MY LITTLE FILLY AWAY! LET ME AT HER! LET ME AT HER!”

“Stony, stop!” An urgent voice sounded, “you don’t want to stoop to her level, do you?”

I stopped struggling as I recognized Twilight’s sweet voice. I turned and gazed upon her battered face and collapsed into her embrace. There was nothing to do now but cry as our filly’s body rested peacefully beside us. Our tears were many, yet they did nothing to take away the heartache. For the first time in my life, I considered suicide, although those thoughts were brushed away by the remembrance of my new son. He would still need a good father and mother to guide him through life, even if he no longer had a sister.

“She took our baby girl…” I choked out.

“I know,” Twilight sobbed, “and this hurts worse than Applejack and Rainbow Dash’s deaths put together. Our sweet filly…gone!”

“I’ll never get to…to…”

I couldn’t finish. My mind flooded with so many things I would never get to experience. I’d never get to guide her through her school years. I’d never get to watch her proudly graduate from Twilight’s School of Magic. I’d never get to take part in her wedding, and see her loving eyes grace the stallion she wanted for a mate. But the thing that hurt the most was the recognition that I would never get to see her grow up.

In our despair and heartbreak, we didn’t notice Dystopia rise behind us. Blood dripped from every pore as she hobbled on her three remaining legs. “Now…” she said, “…allow me to push you through the open gate so you might join your daughter in death.” She raised her horn, and we turned and held each other as we realized that this could be it. But suddenly a magic blast rang forth from somewhere, striking Dystopia back and shielding us from her violence.

Then, from out of thin air, a beautiful cloud of magic descended. It lighted softly, dropping off what appeared to be the spirit of a small filly. Now, I’ve never believed in the paranormal, but in my desolation and desperation I begged it to be Diamond’s ghost. But as the filly turned, my heart sank. “It’s not her…” I said.

“If you were looking for the dearly departed, I am not she,” the filly said in a soothing voice, “but perhaps I can alleviate your problem.”

She turned and fired a magic blast at Dystopia. “Arise, Mountain Mist,” she said kindly, “for you are not worthy of death. You have been found to be a pony with an excellent heart and a wonderful spirit. You shall not die, but you shall live out the rest of your days in service to your fellow pony. For that…is the lot in life I chose for you.”

As we watched, the dark and evil Dystopia melted into the ether, and in her place stood a very beautiful young mare. She had a bright green coat, with a mane of the purest turquoise. I assumed that this was Mountain Mist, and my thoughts were confirmed when Celestia and Luna burst into radiant smiles. They ran forward and grasped their sister. “Oh, Mountain Mist!” Celestia cried with happiness, “how we’ve missed you!”

“I’ve missed you, too!” Mountain said as the tears came, “every single moment I was trapped inside Dystopia, I missed you. The evil forces of greed and avarice took over my heart and transformed me.”

“Just like me,” Luna said, “but I’ll tell you that story later.”

“Oh, I don’t care, it’s just so wonderful to see you after so many years!”

“Please…how did you keep yourself alive?” Celestia asked.

“I would have been dead had I remained Mountain Mist,” the unicorn responded, “but I was transformed into that wretched character, and her magic was what kept me alive. It rivaled that of yours, and I was given the same lifespan as an Alicorn. Essentially, I became an Alicorn without actually becoming an Alicorn.”

She then turned and looked at the destruction her hooves had wrought, and the dead filly that lay beside us. I could tell that her heart was back in the right place, and she stepped over to where we were and hugged both of us. “No words I say can erase what I did,” she said as she pulled back, “I shall take the shame to my grave for the crimes I committed as Dystopia. I despise every fire I set, and every death I caused. I was trying my hardest to come back, but the gates of life had been shut to me, and Dystopia ruled supreme in my heart. I allowed the avaricious seeds that were planted in my soul to germinate and grow into festering flowers of ugliness and evil. I hope…someday…you might be able to look upon me without anger, but for now, I would not blame you if you killed me right here and now.”

Twilight and I looked at each other, and we saw the deep pain in Mountain’s eyes. She was truly sorrowful and remorseful for everything she had done, and Twilight was the first to return her embrace. “I’ve learned a lot about friendship in my life,” my wife said as she winced from the pain of her wounds, “and one of the most important things…is to give everypony a second chance. I…forgive you, Mountain Mist.”

Twilight looked at me with longing eyes, begging me to do the right thing. I sighed and stepped to face my daughter’s killer. “Mountain, I can tell that, just as with Celestia and Daybreaker and Luna and Nightmare Moon, Dystopia wasn’t you. You would never wish harm upon anypony else, and that’s plain to see. I’m in terrible pain right now. I’m in the worst pain I’ve ever been in. I wanted to kill you in return for what you did, but…I can see now that…it wouldn’t solve anything. It would only brand me with the same murderous title. So…with that being said…I…forgive you as well.”

“I’m pleased to see that you all have recognized the spirit of friendship,” the filly’s spirit said as she glided to us, “and now, I’d like to introduce myself. My name is Gift.”

“Gift?” Twilight asked.

“Yes, and this is the first time in eons that I have made myself known to ponykind. But in this case, I felt it was necessary. I knew that Mountain was Dystopia’s greatest prisoner, but I also knew of her determination to free herself. When that did not happen, I had to intervene.”

“So…where are you from, Gift?” I asked.

“I’m from nowhere, and I’m from everywhere,” the filly said cryptically, “and I am always young, because I represent the spirit of pure friendship and innocence that wafts off of every last stone, tree, crevice, and pony in Equestria. I am also responsible for cutie marks, and the bestowing of special talents on ponies.”

Twilight and I looked at each other. This was an amazing discovery! Nopony had ever been able to explain cutie marks nor where they came from, but now we had an answer! This ancient filly was the bearer and distributor of the mysterious markings. This is a bittersweet moment, I told myself, here is the giver of talents…and I no longer have a daughter to be able to present to her. Diamond will never know her special talent.

“Not so fast,” the filly said. I looked up. Had she read my mind? “Yes,” she said, putting a hoof up, “I can read your mind. It’s part and parcel of being an extension of the Original Magic that has populated the universe since before the dawn of this world. Your daughter has shown the ultimate tenet of friendship, that of sacrifice and the putting of other ponies before one’s self. I am prepared to raise her to life once again, and bequeath her with her special talent. You might consider her a close friend, Mountain Mist, for her talent shall be closely connected with your own.”

With that, Gift weaved beautiful, wondrous magic over our filly and gently restored her. The awful, bleeding hole in her chest disappeared and new life flooded through her. She also received a cutie mark of somepony showing the true value of friendship by laying down their life to help somepony else. “You are sacrifice and love incarnate, my Diamond Sparkle,” Gift said as Diamond opened her eyes again, “and you must take your special talent and use it to better everypony’s life.”

Twilight looked as if she’d seen a ghost and then raced forward and threw her hooves around Diamond. She didn’t say anything, but wept tears of absolute joy. I was not far behind her, and we cradled our filly close, never willing to let her go ever again. “Oh, Diamond!” Twilight cried, “my precious little Diamond! I love you so much!”

“I love both of you equally as much,” Diamond said as tears poured down her face, “but when I saw Dystopia and her mean spirit attempting to destroy the very thing that Equestria was built upon, I had to disrupt her plans. I’m sorry you had to see me die, Mommy, but I’m so glad to be back!”

“I’m glad you’re back too, my sweet filly! I’m glad you’re back too!”