Truth Behind Harmony

Celestia carried Twilight on her back as she limped her way to Town hall, where everypony was gathering the injured due to the hospital being overflow with wounded. Luna followed behind, her face a mask of rage and grief as she carried her beloved Fluttershy. The others were being carried by Celestia’s sisters, Ixen and Siren taking up the rear and keeping an eye on the skies. After they got inside they placed the six elements inside the mayor’s office, Luna beginning to try and heal their wounds as Celestia turned to the rest of her sisters.

“What the hell was that,” said Fantasia with a grimace, using a bit of her fire breath to burn shut one of Siren’s wounds. “She never had that kind of power when we faced her before, that bitches power has grown.”

“No it has not,” stated Mercury; her recently restored body now scared anew as she glared at Fantasia. “She has always had the power, the only reason she never used it is because she never had to, hell she didn’t need to use it now. This entire thing was…”

“Sister!”

Celestia and the others turned to look at Luna, and the reason for her distress became clear. The elements bearers were still injured; Luna’s magic seemed to not have touched their wounds. Celestia was about to speak when the sound of screaming came to their ears, and they turned to see the doors to the mayor’s office burst open, revealing a large kirin male that they all recognized as Discord. But he no longer looked like the mutated creature who had massacred Canterlot all those years ago, now he was returned to his natural state, looking at each of them with fear in his eyes.

“Where is she,” he breathed out, barely managing to speak the words aloud. Luna pointed at one of the prone forms and Discord walked over to her, kneeling down as tears began to fall from his eyes onto Pinkie’s pink cheek. This seemed to bring the small mare back to the world, who looked up at Discords face, not really believing her eyes. “Di…Disey?”

He nodded, pulling her into a gentle embrace, which she could only feel partially due to part of her body being completely numb. She didn’t know how he was here and she honestly didn’t care, he was here now, and he was real.

Discord looked up toward his mother, not really seeing the others as he spoke.

“She…their…”

“We know my child, and Luna has already tried to heal their wounds but…they appear irreversible,” said Ixen, looking crestfallen.

“That’s not entirely true,” said a voice, causing everypony to turn and see Eris walking in, one of her forelegs horribly mangled, but otherwise she looked fine, for she too had returned to normal. She stumbled toward them, Luna catching her as she began healing her injuries.

“What are you talking about Eris,” asked Celestia, the desperation evident in her voice as she moved in front of her.

“Twelve stars will be born, six from the dark, six from the light, born from two mothers of creation. Six stars shall awaken, brought together by the hoof of the dark mother, and the dark mother shall mark the other six stars with her magic, forcing the oldest of the light mother to awaken them before their time.”

Celestia pondered it for a moment while Luna continued heeling Eris’s wounds. Twelve stars, six of the dark and six of the light. The dark stars she could surmise as the ponies she had seen this night, the ponies that she had used distract her while she dealt with Twilight and her friends. The stars of light most likely spoke of Twilight and her friends, and the dark mother was most likely Discordia herself, which would make the oldest of the light mother…

“No.”

Eris sighed, expecting the reaction. She opened her mouth to speak, but then another voice interrupted her.

“Let me speak to her child.”

Celestia and the sisters froze; Celestia turning toward the source of the voice in disbelief. For there, standing within the doorway and looking as transparent as ever, was her mother Harmonia.

“Mo…mother?”

“Come here my child,” said the regal alicorn, beckoning toward her with a hoof. Celestia got up and flung herself into her mother’s forelegs, Harmonia crying as she held her. The others held back, not even daring to come forth, but then Harmonia gestured to them as well. The others sprinted forth, and even Luna ran forward to embrace her.

“I have missed you all…so much,” said Harmonia, tears falling from her eyes as she looked at them all. Then she noticed a face was missing, and she pulled away, a question forming in her eyes before she spoke it. “Where is she…where is my Marmora?”

The looks on their faces said it all to her, and the tears that fell from her eyes turned from those of happiness to those of sorrow. “When,” she asked; her voice breaking as she turned toward Celestia.

“She died a thousand years ago…after I banished Luna to the moon.”

Harmonia closed her eyes, whispering a silent curse under her breath before looking back at Celestia, “I shall grieve for her latter, right now you must help these mares.”

“But…mother; I can’t force this on them…not now.”

“Celestia you must,” said Harmonia, turning her gaze to the mares who held her most precious of gifts. “Celestia this must happen, I know you don’t want to do this to them, but it must be done for the safety of the world, too much of what I have done and what must be done hinges on their survival.”

“But…but I…”

“Celestia,” said Harmonia, grabbing the mare and looking at her with a sad smile. “I know this is hard, but it must be done.”

She then turned her Celestia till she was facing Twilight, and whispered gently into her ear, “If not for the world, do it for her.”

That was all it took, Celestia rising to her hooves and walking over to the six, motioning for Discord to move away. Her horn lit up, and she felt her mother begin to channel her magic through her, turning her magical aura from gold to blue. The magic enveloped the six ponies, and as it surrounded them, Celestia and Harmonia both spoke.

“One breath in this moment.”

Twilight slowly awoke, finding herself in a very unfamiliar place. She rose to her hooves, noticing that the others were with her as well, all of them looking bright and healthy, as though the damage Discordia had inflicted never happened. Twilight looked around then, noticing that the place seemed to be made of stars, hundreds of them, all scattered, but most forming into a platform to hold them up.

“Twilight, where are we,” asked Fluttershy, looking around nervously as she spoke.

“I…I don’t know…I have never seen any place like this before.”

The looked around, some moving out to see how far it went, but then everypony froze when a voice sounded from behind them.

“You have finally made it.”

Everypony turned to see seven large alicorn mares walking toward them, seven alicorn mares they all knew from the visions Eris had shared with them days earlier. Each of the alicorns walked over to their respective wielders, two of them walking around Pinkie Pie.

“Hm,” said the pink one with the poofy mane and tail as she looked at Pinkie Pie, “are you sure this is our holder sister?”

“I am sure sister,” said the pink one with straight mane and tail, “I mean just look at her, she has your cute and bubbly mane. And-” she said, reaching into Pinkie’s tail and pulling out the party cannon, “I believe we only have let one other use this before am I right?”

“Hey,” said Pinkie, grabbing the cannon and shoving it into her mane, “how the hay did you know how to do that?”

“We know a lot of things about you Pinkamena Dian Pie,” said the two pink alicorns in a singsong tone, “for we are the Gemini Twins, or as you call us the Element of Laughter.”

The others alicorns each introduced themselves in turn. First was Virgo, Element of Generosity, then Libra, Element of Kindness, then Sagittarius, Element of Loyalty, then Leo, Element of Honesty, and finally Aquarius, Element of Magic.

“Long have we waited for this day,” said Aquarius, gazing at Twilight with a smile on her face. “The day when we finally become one with you and awaken you to your true selves, as it was always meant to be.”

“Wha…what are you talking about.”

Aquarius looked confused for a moment, and then shook her head knowingly, laughing at herself. “I see, you have been sent here before the proper time, so I shall explain. Each and every one of you possesses a drop of alicorn blood, the same drop of alicorn blood that was given to the first of your ancestors. This blood has the potential to merge us together like the sisters are merged with their beasts, and in so doing turn you into alicorns like them.”

Twilight and the others stared at them, the shock on their faces confirming Aquarius’s suspicions. “Two of you I know will have no trouble with this decision, as you are already immortal blood due to joining with the princesses,”

She nodded her head to Twilight and Fluttershy, before turning to look at the others and speaking. “But you four,” she said to Pinkie and the rest, “you are not of the immortal blood, and therefore your choice is much harder. If you accept this gift from us, you will become divine alicorns, severed from the chains of mortality and cursed to live for all eternity, watching those you love, and those you care for die around you. I know we can’t force you to do this…but it is either this, or death.”

“Death, what do yah mean by death,” asked Applejack.

“Can’t you feel it Applejack,” asked Leo, her green eyes staring into Applejacks. “Your confrontation with the dark mother has left harmful magic on you, harmful magic that is slowly killing you. If you do not become divine alicorns, the magic will destroy you, and you will die.”

“But…but…” started Rarity, looking scared. “That doesn’t leave us with any other option, we have to…”

“No you don’t,” cut in Virgo, “Rarity immortality is as much a gift as it is a curse. Some of the divines, including Celestia herself longed wished for death because of the pain and anguish they experienced. Even we have wished for our own end, because sometimes we just couldn’t stand the eternity of waiting. What I am trying to say with this is that we are not giving you these options so that you might live, we are giving you these options so that if you choose, you may die.”

Every one stared at the alicorns, surprise evident at the statement Virgo had made. While the other four turned to talk to each other, Twilight looked at Aquarius, questions flooding her mind.

“There’s so much I want to ask you,” said Twilight, staring up at the creature before her.

“I know sister,” said Aquarius, hugging the mare close. “And there is much I wish to tell, but until the decision is made, much of what I have to say I must withhold.”

Twilight nodded, turning back and waiting for the others to finish talking. After what seemed like hours they finally walked back over to them, Applejack stepping forth with a look of determination on her face.

“We…we know it will be hard, but we know that if we chose to die…other will die because of that choice, and ah know ah for one can’t live with that on mah conscience. We’re ready to accept our destiny, we chose life.”

Aquarius nodded, “Then stand before your respective elements, and then we shall begin.”

Everypony got into position, and then the elements horns started to glow. They were bathed in mystical energy, and as it wrapped itself around them, they began hearing voices inside their heads. They didn’t know why, but they knew that these words needed to be spoken, and so they opened their mouths, speaking the words along with the Elements of Harmony.

“One breathe in this moment,

We’ll stay till we’re chosen, and through it all.

With our eyes wide open,

We’ll fight till were broken, we’ll rise and fall.”

“Go on, go on come on, go on go on dive in,

Go on go on go higher, we’ll rise and fall”

“We rise and fall, we rise and fall.

With our eyes wide open,

We’ll fight till were broken, we rise and fall.'

'With our eyes wide, with our eyes wide, with our eyes wide, with our eyes wide,

With our eyes wide open, we’ll rise and fall!”

Everypony in the mayor’s office watched apprehensively as the mares began to glow, and then started to back up as energy began to swirl around them, lifting them off the floor. Energy rippled around them, causing there forms to begin to twist and reform as rainbow light wrapped around them. The light slowly wrapped around each of the mares, transforming them before exploding out from them, temporarily blinding everypony in the room.

When the light dissipated, Celestia and the others gasped, for standing where the former young mares were, stood six majestic alicorns, each clad in golden regalia that held the symbol of their power.

The true Elements of Harmony had finally awakened.