An Emerald Treasure
By: SilentBelle
Set four days after the events of Scion of Chaos.
Ponyville: a place that Sweetie Belle would always love and was certainly the first thing that came to mind when she considered the word 'home'. She looked out of the open window from her bedroom and sighed into the mid-summer's breeze. It was a sigh that spoke of the filly's discontent. If it's home, she wondered, then why does it have to feel so... different?
She was sitting upon her bed, atop a messy swath of sheets and covers. Glancing downward, she could see upon her end-table, a fractured half-heart-shaped emerald, which sat there glimmering. To her eyes, that glimmer was dim and lifeless, for it held none of the magic that it had before. In fact, the wood it was resting on held visibly more energy within its fibers than the emerald.
Beside the jewel, a golden chain that had once been a whole necklace had been gently placed. The old flower-shaped centerpiece had been lost a few days prior. Only once the filly had made it back to Ponyville had she noticed the damage the golden trinket had received. She figured it must have happened due to the large explosion of magic she had been near. Frankly, she was surprised that she had managed to hold onto the golden chain through it all. Now its damaged remains sat there with a very low glow of magic, the sight of it brought her back to that fateful day.
To put it simply, her journey had left her an inconsolable wreck. Such was the weight of the sadness she bore, it was so great that she couldn't even remember traveling back from Canterlot. The trip home had taken less than an hour, prior to which, she had been rejoined with her friends and sister, all of whom had followed her through the Everfree forest.
They had all rushed to the filly's side, where they found her, convulsing in tears and clutching a large, splintered emerald. Her friends had been ushered in by Rainbow Dash. During that time, Twilight had disappeared somewhere, but Sweetie Belle never found out over the next few days where she had gone. Not that the filly cared, it was better when the older unicorn had left.
She did remember her sister asking her what had happened, but Sweetie Belle hadn't been able to find the words to speak at the time. In their place, a stream of tears had flowed from the filly as she pulled herself tightly against her sister's rough coat. She found it strange, that when recalling that whole day, the only thing she really remembered with any clarity, following Discord's final display of magic, was how her sister's coat was blemished and scratched from traveling through the woods to Canterlot. The memory brought a sad smile to her face.
It had already been four days since her return, during which she had kept to herself in her bedroom, only seeing her sister when she brought up a meal for her to eat. Their parents weren't even around; they were still out on their summer-long vacation, but Sweetie Belle was more thankful than disappointed by the circumstance. While she loved her parents with all her heart, she knew that they just didn't take situations seriously enough, and she didn't want to have to deal with that, not right now.
Still, she thought to herself, four days is a long time to stay inside doing nothing. A new thought then sprung to her mind. I wonder why Apple Bloom and Scootaloo haven't come to see me yet. In fact, Rarity's the only other pony I've seen since I got back. I wonder if Rarity-
Her ears perked up a bit as they caught a note of her sister's voice on the breeze. She strained herself to make out what was being said.
“-don't believe that's a good idea,” Rarity's voice say mildly. It was evident that she was moving closer, with the way her voice seemed to be getting slightly louder. “I'll let her know that you want to see her, but she still needs to recover. It's only been a few days after all.”
“But it's very important,” a voice, which the filly quickly recognized as Twilight's, pleaded, “the princess-”
The voice brought a sour taste to the filly's mouth. It's her fault. the thought came unbidden while she listened as hard as she could. Try as she might, by sticking her head out the window as far as it would go while leaning on the sill, all she could hear was the soft buzz of the ambient magic calling out from her surroundings. Shoot, they must have turned the corner. With her curiosity now outweighing the general apathy that had caused her to be sighing into the breeze, she moved out of her room to see what her sister and Twilight were up to.
She caught sight of them out of the window at the top of the stairs. Thankfully, the pane of glass held very little in the way of an aura. Through the tinted veil caused by her magic perception, she could see Rarity was facing the other unicorn, giving her a stern gaze, and, judging by her sister's dramatic movements, she was giving Twilight an equal stern rebuttal.
This was the first time she had actually gotten a good look at Twilight since before she began to use her magic. The filly gulped as she spied upon the unicorn, she could see a vast glowing of magic from within her. It surprised her that nopony else could notice such a sight. It was akin to gazing at a full moon in the middle of the night, with her sister as a single bright star in comparison. Looking down at herself, Sweetie Belle realized that she didn't even glow as brightly as her sister did, let alone Twilight. It made her consider just how powerful a unicorn Twilight must be, to be able to command all that magic on a regular basis.
She watched in fascination and saw the glowing unicorn shake her head sadly, then let out what looked like a sigh before turning away and retreating back in the direction of the library.
'Princess'... The previous bit of dialogue stuck with her. I wonder what the princess has to do with all of this. And I wonder what she would look like. If Twilight looks as bright as the moon, then... maybe she looks like the sun?
Before she could ponder too much, she heard the front door open, and the sound of hoof-steps lightly gracing the surface of the hard wooden floors.
“Sweetie, dear,” her sister's graceful voice called up the stairs. “I made some lunch for you.”
“I'm coming, Sis!” she called back, and let her curiosity slide to the back of her mind. While trotting down the stairs, she realized just how little she had moved in the past few days, and she now felt that feeling of lethargy slowly dissipating, as if all she had needed to do was actually start moving around.
“Oh, Sweetie Belle,” her sister said in surprise. “You look a sight better than you did yesterday. Are you feeling much better, dear?”
“Yeah, I can't just stay in my room and sulk forever. So, what's for lunch? I'm starving.”
The older unicorn flashed her sister a smile and levitated a covered basket onto the table. She then quickly grabbed a plate from the cupboard. “Oh, just some sandwiches. Nothing too fancy.
Now that Sweetie Belle thought about it, this was the first time she recalled seeing her sister smile since she had gotten back to Ponyville. She had almost forgotten how refreshing of a feeling something as simple as a smile could be.
“Thanks, Sis!” Sweetie Belle was now smiling herself, and with a quick channeling of her own magic, she lifted one of the exquisitely crafted sandwiches and took a sizable bite out of it. “Mmm, you know how to make good sandwiches, Sis,” she said through a full mouth. “You even remembered to not add any mustard.”
“If only you could remember your manners,” she said with a light sigh, though her smile remained undiminished as she watched her sister.
The filly swallowed her rather large mouthful before responding. “Sorry, Rarity, it's just everything you make is so delicious. I'm jealous, I don't think I could ever make food as good as you.”
“Oh, that's nonsense, Sweetie. I am just as capable as anypony else, I just have an eye for detail, that's all. It is only a sandwich after all.”
“These aren't just any sandwiches,” the filly said grabbing another one with her magic. “They're my big sister's sandwiches. So they're extra delicious.”
Her sister's smile brightened at the praise.
There was a small lull in the conversation as Sweetie finished off her meal. Rarity had turned her head to gaze out the kitchen window and let out a small sigh.
“Huh?” Sweetie Belle perked up at the sound. “What's wrong, Sis?”
“Well, I suppose I was just thinking about how much you have grown up. You are using your own magic to eat your food and you even have your cutie mark now. You really do have a gift with magic it would seem. Why I remember when I was your age...” Rarity suddenly blinked and the bemused look slipped from her face as she realized what she had just said. With a nervous glance she noticed her sister's mood of contentment had visibly soured.
Sweetie Belle glanced back at her own cutie mark, almost surprised to see it there. It was a heart-shaped emerald, and just looking back on it she remembered, oh so poignantly, a sarcastic, mocking, and yet caring voice. She felt her vision blur at the memory, and a hollow ache fill her heart. She brought a fore-hoof to rest above her heart, but the dull pain remained inside. Scoddri.
“Will it ever stop hurting?” she asked quietly to her sister.
A moment of silence passed as the older mare tried to find the right words. “Perhaps not,” Rarity said sadly, almost biting back her own words as she said them. “But it will help to talk about it. And if you need somepony to talk to, Sweetie, you know you will always have me.”
“Thanks,” Sweetie Belle replied shakily. In the remaining silence, the filly slowly collected herself.
Rarity watched from across the table. If Sweetie had been looking up, she would have seen conflict apparent upon her sister's face. The older unicorn wanted, with all of her being, to go over and pull her sister close, and hug her tightly, but at the same time she did not see the little filly she once knew, but a young mare who was trying her best to stand up straight on her hooves. She knew her sister wanted to overcome this bout of grief with her own strength, so Rarity had decided to watch, unashamedly, as her little sister pulled herself out of her sadness.
“Rarity.” Sweetie Belle's soft call was the first to break the silence.
“Yes, what is it dear?”
“I heard, from my window, Twilight was outside. I don't know what you two were talking about, but what was she doing here?”
Worry quickly donned the elder sister's features. “Well-” she started, then sighed. “Sweetie, I will not lie to you about this. It's something you should know, and I told Twilight that I would be the one to let you know.”
Sweetie Belle nodded, her curiosity causing her to sit up straighter.
“Twilight wants to talk to you.”
The filly grimaced. Twilight. She could vividly remember the unicorn leaping forward and pulling the emerald heart away from Discord's statue. Moments later the statue had crumbled to dust and blew away upon the wind. Twilight destroyed him! And now she wants to talk to me? The thought nearly made her ill, though another thought was quick to follow. I'm just as responsible as Twilight. If it weren't for me, he would still be there.
“I don't want to talk to Twilight,” she said with a shake of her head.
“That's fine dear, I know you are angry at her for some reason, but I won't press you dear,” her sister replied reassuringly. “I told her that you would talk to her only when you are ready, and not a moment sooner.”
“But I can't sit around in here all day either. I need to get some fresh air.” She saw her sister's look of concern and quickly added her own assurance. “I promise I won't leave Ponyville. Trust me, Sis, I don't want to do any more traveling right now. It's just, the house is so confining.”
Rarity nodded and smiled gently at her sister's promise. “I do trust you Sweetie Belle,” she said with a nod. “Try to have a good time, enjoy the summer while it's still here.”
“Thanks Sis, you're the bestest big sister anypony could ever have!” The filly ran over to her sister and pulled her into a big hug. “I won't be gone for long.”
Rarity watched her sister leave through the front door. Only once the filly was out of sight did she let out a small sigh. “Am I doing enough? How do you keep your sister safe, yet give her the room to grow into who she's supposed to be?” she asked herself quietly, then shook her head curtly. “There's no point in dwelling on that now.” Walking over to the sink, she levitated the plate her sister had used, and decided that a bit of cleaning would keep her mind occupied from the plaguing thoughts of such unanswerable questions.
* * *
The spirit of summer still dwelt within the soothing breeze. Its warm breath stirred the tops of the trees, while the half-masked sky kept the harshest rays of sunlight from scorching the town. Around her, other ponies went about their business, whether it was enjoying a picnic or to playing in the park. The distant sounds of merriment reached her ears and mixed with the sounds of bird calls and crickets; it formed a rhythm to which the filly had soon lost herself.
Humming to herself, Sweetie Belle wasn't too certain where she wanted to go, but there was one thing she was certain of: she did not want to stand by idly on such a wonderful day. To her, through every single sense, it was a splendid summer's day. The ground was warm beneath her hooves, and the air smelled wonderfully fresh, but even deeper than that, she could feel the world around her in a way that she would never have dreamed of the last time she was in Ponyville. While she comprehended most of these feelings as sights, sounds and a sense of touching, there was more to it than that; she could intimately sense and understand her surroundings on a very basic level. This sensation left the filly in a state of rapture.
She had soon lost any sense of direction and let her hooves take her where they pleased. She even closed her eyes as she went, though she didn't have to worry about tripping, simply because she knew the world around her as readily as if she had her eyes opened.
She wandered around in that state for a while, a smile plastered to her lips, letting her thoughts dissipate, so she wouldn't have to think. She couldn't remember a moment when she had last been able to clear her mind in such a way, not in the past four days anyway. Even in her dreams she couldn't escape; they had been riddled with the images of bright magics, and a low chuckling voice, though that voice never spoke to her no matter how she begged him to. At least in this moment, she could finally escape the constant cycling of thoughts, and for once not have to think about magic, Discord, or even Twilight. To her, this walk became a small moment of peace, that had eluded her since that fateful day.
But as all rests are due to come to an end, so too was the filly's moment of tranquility. It shattered as a familiar voice reached her ears.
“But I'm so bored!” a distant voice proclaimed. “Why don't we just go and talk to her already?”
“Ah already told you. Applejack said that we weren't allowed ta talk ta her until Rarity says it's okay. Besides we got our hooves full at the moment. Quit yer complainin' and get back ta workin'.”
Sweetie Belle hadn't noticed where she was headed, but she now caught sight of the clubhouse, or what remained of it. The roof was missing, and two of the walls had burned down, although the floor looked surprisingly sturdy and the staircase leading up looked positively unblemished. She even noticed that some of the wood that made up the clubhouse was new; by the looks of it, the whole thing was in the process of being fixed up. The voices of her friends were coming from within the charred clubhouse.
Scootaloo, Apple Bloom! Excitement quickly began to form in her chest and she strode toward the steps which lead to the front door of the clubhouse. But just as she placed her hoof down upon the first stair, a budding fear bloomed within her mind. Sweat began to bead on her forehead, and a knot had suddenly formed in her throat.
I have my cutie mark. The realization stuck out in her mind, like the welt left in the wake of a bee's sting. It was a worry that she had never considered before. Sweetie Belle would be the first to admit that her mind had wondered at what order their squad of crusaders would get their cutie marks in, but she had always believed, right until the day that she had finally attained her own, that the Cutie Mark Crusaders would all be present whenever any of them got their cutie marks. I can't be a crusader anymore.
After a moment of inner-conflict, she managed to pull herself away from the staircase, and made up her mind to leave the other two fillies in peace. It saddened her greatly, but she was certain that it was for the best. She had let them down, the shame was too much for her to face. With her head hanging low, she plodded off in the direction from which she had just come.
“But why do I have to help with this? It's boring. I want to go hang out with Rainbow Dash, I haven't even had a chance to hang out with her since we got back. And we were making such good progress too...” Scootaloo complained, her voice becoming clearer as she moved closer to where the window had been. Her complaints were interrupted by her own gasp, and Sweetie Belle flinched at the sound. “Oh my gosh, it's Sweetie Belle! Apple Bloom she's right outside!
In the matter of seconds, the clubhouse door slammed open and two exuberant fillies practically tumbled down the stairs in their excitement to see their friend once again.
Sweetie Belle braced herself for the confrontation as she turned around to face her friends. No, she told herself, I can't run from them. I won't. Not this time.
But instead of turning to see faces of disappointment and betrayal, she saw only the excited eyes of her two friends, brimming with questions.
“Oh wow! Sweetie Belle, ya actually got yer cutie mark, that's amazin'! Tell us how ya did it. What's yer special talent? Is it singin'? That's what I always thought it would be. It looks so cool!”
“Sweetie! It's awesome to see you again. Sorry we didn't visit you. We really wanted to but Rainbow Dash and Applejack said we couldn't, but we were totally planning on going by and seeing you today anyway, even without Rarity's say-so.”
Her two friends blurted out their lines so fast and over each other, that Sweetie Belle couldn't even begin to untangle the web of questions and comments that they had just pelted her with. The one thing she managed to pull away in definite clarity was that her friends were still her friends. Her fear dissipated as quickly as it had formed, and with eyes glistening in happiness at this affirmation, she spread out two welcoming fore-hooves while her friends leaped forward in unison and tackled her to ground.
Their smiles were infectious. “I missed both of you too,” she replied in honesty. She then looked the yellow filly straight in her eyes, and Sweetie Belle's expression saddened slightly. “I'm sorry Apple Bloom, for what I did when I left. I didn't-I never wanted to do that. I'm sorry. And both of you, I'm sorry, I-I burned down the clubhouse and I ran away and left you alone. And-and-” she stuttered, and gulped at her nervousness. “I'm sorry I got my cutie mark without you.”
“Nah, Sweetie, Ah know ya didn't mean ta.”
“Yeah, it's not your fault. The clubhouse was an accident. And getting your cutie mark's a good thing. We're both proud of you.”
“Yeah,” Apple Bloom agreed. “Yer livin' proof that we ain't gonna be blank flanks forever.”
“Speaking of cutie marks...” the pegasus lead in and glanced at the earth pony, grinning as an unspoken cue.
“Tell us how you got your cutie mark!” the two of them shouted as one.
Sweetie Belle looked at her cutie mark with apprehension. She bit her lip as the memory come forth unbidden. Scoddri. “I...” she began, “don't know if I can.” Then other memories came to the forefront of her mind.
Images of summer days, the chill of the shadowed forest trees, the feel of fresh foliage beneath her hooves and the glow of magic. All the images and feelings were woven together by strings of raucous laughter. A sound that brought forth equal measures of embarrassment and pride. Embarrassment as she remembered her bumbling first attempts at using magic, which had often left her breathless and frustrated, while at the same time she felt pride for having overcome so much. To have escaped the diamond dogs and to have made it to Canterlot by herself, and in the end, to have made a teacher, a friend, and a mentor.
Even with the sadness of having lost him, when Sweetie Belle looked back at her cutie mark, she now felt her lips rise into a soft smile. So is that what Red Timber meant?
“Well, ya don't have ta if ya think it's too hard,” Apple Bloom said apologetically. Her voice bringing the white unicorn's mind back to the present.
“No,” Sweetie Belle interjected with a shake of her head. Her well-brushed mane bounced and only served to emphasize to the motion. “No, it's fine. I'll tell you. Let's just go inside the clubhouse, it's a long story, and I want you to be the first to hear it.”
* * *
“...so that's when I went to the statue of Discord, and suddenly, from within the stone, a large emerald came out.”
“Woah, what was it?”
“Good question, Scootaloo, that's exactly what I asked Discord. 'This is my element,' he had said, in an echoing voice, 'I want you to have it.'
“I didn't understand what he meant by that. Was it an element of harmony, like Sis and her friends all have, or what? But he did tell me one more thing, that this emerald was his being, and he was giving it to me.”
“So did ya take it?” Apple Bloom asked, a bit of skepticism coming into her voice, as if she couldn't really believe the story that her friend was telling her. It was only the fact that it was her friend, and no pony else, that was telling her this story, which had her still willing to consider it as possible.
“Of course she would. Who wouldn't take something as awesome as that?” Scootaloo piped up, grinning at the idea of having an element just like Rainbow Dash.
“I grabbed it with my magic,” Sweetie Belle continued, though a sadness filtered into her voice, “and I threw the emerald back at him. I told him I didn't want it. And when the element hit the statue, that's when weird stuff started to happen. Magic started sparking from the element and Discord's statue started cracking, but at the same time, Twilight jumped in the way. She had finally broken free from Discord's spell, and began casting magic of her own. The next thing I knew, the statue crumbled and the emerald crystal had shattered, landing right by my hooves. It must have happened then, my cutie mark appeared on my flank... and right afterward, that's when you showed up with the others.”
“Woah,” Scootaloo said breathlessly. “Why didn't you take the crystal when he offered it to you?”
A little nervous and guilty, the unicorn tried to think of some way to answer her friend. Up to this point she had told her friends truthfully about her journey and exploits, but she hadn't told them everything about it. She had been sure to leave out two particular facts. One of which was that she had heard Discord's voice in her mind through the entirety of the journey. As much as she loved her friends, she wasn't sure that she wanted to admit such a secret to them. If the filly had been quite frank with herself, she would have to admit that hearing voices in her head still seemed kind of creepy to her. The second fact that she withheld from her friends was that she could see the magic in a way that unicorns normally couldn't. She had merely described any actions that were derived from either of those points as lucky guesses or seeming like 'a good idea at the time'.
While the decision of withholding the information from her friends formed a bitter mark in her mind, she didn't regret it. For, had she decided to tell the whole story, she didn't even think she could do so properly. The more thought she had put into the situation, the more questions had begun surfacing in her mind, perplexing her. Her innate sense of curiosity was reaching a boiling point.
Why did Discord want me to take his element? Why did Twilight have to destroy him? Could I have stopped it? Was there anything else I could do? Did he really want to be destroyed? Why?
“Of course she didn't take the element,” Apple Bloom argued back at Scootaloo, The sound pulled Sweetie Belle momentarily back to attention. “Who would take the element from a fiend like Discord? It's a good thing Twilight was there to stop Discord, otherwise Sweetie would'a been in over her head.” She paused a moment and then looked at the unicorn in question. “No offense.”
Sweetie Belle just shook her head, though inside it burned to hear her friend supporting Twilight's decision. But I can't blame her for that, she told herself, Apple Bloom doesn't know the whole story. I wish I could tell her the whole story, I really do. Then she could see that it was Twilight who did the wrong thing. But I can't... not now. I still need to figure out exactly what happened, and why. If I don't, then won't I just be like Apple Bloom right now, saying her opinion without really knowing any better? I need to know, especially now that I realize just how much I don't know, and for that I need...
In the next moment she could see where her own line of logic was running and she nearly groaned at the conclusion she was drawing. She needed to know, and where was the only place in Ponyville where a pony could learn something like that? The library. And the only one pony who could possible help her answer those remaining questions? Twilight Sparkle.
“I guess that makes sense,” Scootaloo said, then her wings buzzed at her side as an idea came to her. “But what doesn't make sense is your cutie mark. What's your special talent anyway? I mean it's just a green heart, what's that supposed to mean?”
“Well, I think her special talent is magic. Ya know, since she went and did all that magic an' stuff.”
“But what's magic got to do with a green heart. Sweetie, is your special talent magic?”
The unicorn looked at her friends and smiled at their bickering. Their antics just had a beautiful blend of lightheartedness and irritation, the perfect mixture to free Sweetie Belle from dwelling too much upon her own internal problems. “I don't know,” she told them both honestly. “What I do know is that if it weren't for Sco-” she coughed in an attempt to amend her own slip-up, “Discord. If it weren't for him, I would never have gotten this cutie mark. It was because of his emerald element that I got it. So, I don't really know what my special talent is, I'm still trying to figure that out.”
“Even after you got your cutie mark, you still don't know?” Scootaloo asked, her wings drooping a bit.
“But, that's not necessarily a bad thing,” Apple Bloom mused out loud. “It means ya still have a good reason to go crusadin' with us. Maybe ya can find out what yer mark means as we keep tryin' ta get ours.”
“Of course,” Scootaloo added. “That makes perfect sense. We'll all be Cutie Mark Crusaders until we all have our cutie marks and figure out what our special talents really are. Such a good idea.”
An unmitigated smile blossomed upon Sweetie Belle's face as she looked at her friends and pulled them both together in a hug. “Thanks girls, you two are the best friends I could ever have.” In that moment she noticed the feeling that had been hanging over her since she had returned, suddenly melted away, like waking from a bad dream; it was that feeling which had her sighing into the breeze of an open window. She couldn't even remember why she had felt so at-odds with her situation in the first place.
“Say.” A thought occurred to Sweetie Belle. “Why were you two with the rest of the others following me through the woods? I couldn't imagine that Applejack or Rainbow Dash would have let either of you into the Everfree Forest.”
“Uh.” Scootaloo looked at Apple Bloom, a little apprehensively. “Yeah, that would be my idea,” the pegasus admitted. “It's just that Apple Bloom came over and told me the news first. She had said that you ran off into the Everfree and that she had tried to stop you... well you know what happened. Anyway, we decided that Rainbow Dash and the rest of them should all know, and of course we knew that they'd go into the forest to bring you back. So we asked if we could come. And of course they said 'no'. But when has that ever changed? They never let us go on any of their adventures," the filly muttered. “So anyway, we knew that they were preparing to head out and bring you back-”
“So then Scootaloo gets this 'great idea',” Apple Bloom interjected. “She says we should go out there and bring ya back ourselves, since we know ya best and all, so we'd know where ta look for ya. And if we left right away, you'd have had less time to get away. She also said we'd get some 'forest ranger' cutie marks.”
“Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time,” Scootaloo huffed.
“So we headed out inta the forest. It was dark 'n spooky like it normally is, but you were out there and we were determined ta bring ya back.”
“I wasn't scared,” Scootaloo said proudly.
“But you got us lost.”
“We didn't get lost, we were just taking a shortcut!”
“Yeah, sure,” Apple Bloom said dismissively and shook her head. “We definitely got lost. And before we knew it we were arguin' 'bout which way we should go.”
Sweetie Belle smiled at that, she knew her friends had a propensity for disagreement, though they both certainly enjoyed it. She figured that they usually argued for one of two reasons: either they were bored, or they were nervous. The crux of the problem usually lay with the fact that either could be as stubborn as the other, just for the sake of being stubborn. The unicorn could only just imagine how long the argument must have taken to settle.
“We never did finish arguing about the way we should go. Then outta nowhere, a light floated past some nearby trees. It was a nice soft light, and it made the trees more visible. It slowly began floating away from us, so we sprang after it.”
“Out of sheer curiosity, nothing else,” the orange pegasus added.
“Sure, Scootaloo, let's go with that,” Apple Bloom replied, with a roll of her eyes. “So we chased the light and before we knew it, we were at the edge of a swamp. It was dark and murky, even more than the rest of the forest. That's when the light disappeared, then we heard somethin' in the darkness in front of us. Risin' from the muddy waters we saw a creature. It looked kind like a shadowy crocodile, but it was bigger, but not as long. It also had red eyes. Those eyes were scary.”
“I didn't see them, I didn't look at its eyes.”
“So we ran away as fast as we could, away from it and the swamp. Mah heart was beatin' so fast, and the creature must have done somethin', cause everythin' went blank after that.”
“But not for me,” Scootaloo said proudly.
Sweetie Belle looked at her two friends, her avid curiosity was piqued. “What happened next? What about the monster? What was it?”
“Well...” Scootaloo began, taking the narrative reins from Apple Bloom. “We were running back through the forest, as fast as we could, but Apple Bloom was slowly falling behind. So I turned around to tell her to hurry up. That's when I saw Apple Blooms' eyes glow red for a second. Then, blam! She turned to stone even as she was running, and slid to a halt. Behind her, I heard the monster, it was still coming... and I ran away.”
The action obviously did not sit well with the pegasus. Apple Bloom smiled comfortingly at Scootaloo. “Don't worry 'bout it Scootaloo. Everythin' turned out alright, right?”
“Yeah I guess...” She hardly sounded convinced to Sweetie Belle's ears. “Well, regardless, I ran away and right into Rainbow Dash and the others. I quickly explained that Apple Bloom was in trouble and they all rushed in to help. Rainbow Dash charged forward and scared the monster away, then Twilight went over to Apple Bloom used her magic to break her out of the stone.”
“Once Ah was free,” the earth pony said, taking helm to the story once again, “the others were happy to see us for a minute, then they got all angry. Sis was all like: 'What were y'all thinkin' comin' into the forest on yer own like this?' And we tried to explain that we wanted to help an' find ya Sweetie Belle, but they weren't havin' it. They were 'bout to walk us all the way back, weren't it fer Twilight. She told 'em all that they should bring us along, cause they didn't have time if they wanted to catch up to ya.
“An' that's pretty much how we ended up goin' out an' followin' ya though the forest.”
“But that's enough stories for now,” Scootaloo interjected. “Why don't you show us some of the awesome magic that you learned Sweetie?”
“Oh, um, okay, I guess.” It had been the better half of a week since she had used her magic for anything other than levitation. “So, what do you want me to do?”
“Huh...” Scootaloo though for a minute. “Well... what can you do with magic?”
“Well...” the unicorn mused, “I haven't actually done that much beyond the basics. So maybe if you come up with good ideas, I can try and do them with my magic.”
“Awesome! Uh...” Scootaloo pondered for a moment. “How about fixing up the clubhouse?”
“Scootaloo! You just want her to do yer job for ya!" Apple Bloom piped up, then turned to the other filly to explain. "Ya see Sweetie, we were just workin' on fxin' the clubhouse, and we'd be happy for yer help and all....” she trailed off as a thought occurred to her and a look of doubt dawned on her face in the next moment. “I don't know if this is a good idea...”
“I know it burned down because of my magic,” Sweetie Belle responded, hoping to stave off her friend's worries. “But I still want to help anyway I can. I'm better at using my magic than when I started, I won't cause another fire I promise.”
“That's not what Ah was worried about,” Apple Bloom said. “Remember the talent show?”
Sweetie Belle certainly did remember that show. They had all worked so hard, only to get laughed at. And she specifically remembered trying to make all the props and costumes, all of which had ended in disaster.
The white unicorn swallowed nervously, she knew stuff like this wasn't her special talent, or even anything that she would ever be considered good at, however she was dead-set on helping her friends with the repairs to the clubhouse. “Don't worry Apple Bloom, I'll be really careful, and I'll make sure to follow your instructions.”
“Alright,” Apple Bloom responded. “Just make sure ta stop if ya feel like yer messin' up. Alright crusaders, break's over. Time ta rebuild our clubhouse!”
Scootaloo let out a sigh. “Alright, let's get this over with.”
The Cutie Mark Crusaders got to work on their construction. Sweetie Belle decided to use her magic to levitate the supplies up to the clubhouse so her friends didn't have to carry them up. She figured this way Apple Bloom wouldn't have to keep an eye on her; the yellow filly had her hooves full just keeping Scootaloo's abundant energy focused on the task at hoof.
It was after half an hour that Sweetie Belle felt her magic almost completely used up. She was sweating and panting, but she had managed to bring up every last bit of the supplies, small bundles at a time, just light enough that she could carry them reliably. There were: bolts, nuts, hammers, nails, screws, planks. Everything.
Once she had done that, she looked to a nearby tree, and more specifically, at the magic that dwelt within its leaves. She then sneaked a glance at her friends to make sure they weren't looking. In the next moment, she focused on the tree's leaves and pulled at their energy, siphoning it in through her horn. She noticed the effects immediately. She saw her own inner glow of energy come back to normal from its dimmed out state, and she didn't feel nearly as tired as she had only moment's ago. All that marked what she had done was the distant falling of a few dozen dried up leaves.
Out of curiosity, she focused on her friends and compared their magical auras to her own. She couldn't help but feel the tiniest bit jealous. Both Scootaloo and Apple Bloom glowed brighter than she. The pegasus had a purple colour within her, with strands of orange running through it, like lightning coursing through a storm cloud. While the earth pony had a solid orange glow that reminded Sweetie Belle of a well-stoked campfire. She couldn't tell which of the duo glowed brighter. Scootaloo seemed to carry a constantly spiking and buzzing energy, while Apple Bloom's was solid and deep.
She looked down at her comparatively dimmer emerald glow with a frown. But she immediately reprimanded herself. I shouldn't be jealous of them, they don't even know anything about their own magic. She dove back into the task at hoof, pushing the stray thoughts from her mind. She wasn't about to sit back an watch her friends do all the work while she speculated about the differences of their auras. Grabbing a hammer with her magic, the unicorn stepped into the fray, looking to Apple Bloom for direction.
* * *
Most of the afternoon passed by to the sounds of three friends trying their best to accomplish what they set out to do. While there had been a few hiccups; Scootaloo had hammered with some screws instead of nails, and Sweetie Belle had managed to mix up the buckets of paint that they were using. Though, in both events, Apple Bloom had managed to catch them before too much damage could be done.
Stepping back from their afternoon's hard work, the three fillies viewed their accomplishment.
“I think it looks pretty good,” Sweetie Belle said, smiling.
“Yeah, we did great.”
“Well, it's not done yet. We still gotta finish off the roof and everything, but we can do that tomorrow. It's not supposed ta rain, is it Scootaloo?”
“Nah, not tomorrow,” the pegasus said, suddenly beaming. “Rainbow Dash is gonna start up my flying lessons again. Pretty soon, I'm gonna be the next best young flier!”
“Well, ya gotta learn how ta fly first,” the yellow filly teased.
“Why you-”
“C'mon girls, don't fight, we did great today,” Sweetie Belle interjected. “I don't know about you, but I'm tired, I think I've had enough house-building for one day, it was fun though.”
“Yeah, I'll say,” Scootaloo added while stretching a kink out in her back.
“Well, it sure is commin' along,” Apple Bloom said, tightening her pink bow. “Let's finish it up tomorrow Sweetie, and Scootaloo, you come by after yer done hangin' out with Rainbow.” Her two friends nodded, and the yellow filly looked to sun. “Darn, if Ah don't head back soon, Ah'm not gonna get any supper. I think that's pretty much all for today. See y'all tomorrow.”
They said their goodbyes to their fellow crusader and Sweetie Belle watched Apple Bloom disappear into the nearby vegetation that served to seclude the clubhouse from the rest of the farm.
“Hey, Sweetie Belle,” Scootaloo said, almost nervously. With a feeling of concern, Sweetie Belle turned to look at her friend. She was surprised to see the pegasus with such a serious look on her face. “Look, I just want to say, I'm really glad you're back.” In a quick movement, Scootaloo reached out and pulled her into a hug.
Sweetie Belle felt something damp upon her shoulder. Is she crying? Sweetie Belle thought in incredulity. This was Scootaloo, the toughest pony she knew, she wasn't scared of anything. Whether it was physical pain or horror stories, her friend never flinched and always laughed it off. Why are you crying? “Scootaloo...”
“I'm sorry,” the pegasus whispered, ashamed of her tears, but she pulled the embrace tighter. “It's just... I was so scared. After I saw what had happened to Apple Bloom, in the woods, I thought about how easy it would have been for you to have never come back. It made me so scared.” She pulled away and looked Sweetie Belle in the eyes. “Please,” she said, her own violet eyes glistening in the late afternoon sunlight, but beneath that, their depths looked almost haunted. “Promise me you won't run off like that again. Back then, I thought I had lost both of you.”
Sweetie Belle blinked back her own tears. “I promise,” she said, though the words seemed to lack the strength to assuage her troubled friend's fears.
The two shared a moment of silence amidst the half-finished clubhouse. For a moment,neither of them spoke. Sweetie Belle was quite unsure about how to proceed. It was like the friend in front of her was a completely different pony from who she used to be, and her heart cried out to help the pegasus. But how can I help her? Can words be enough? What can I say?
“Please,” Scootaloo said quietly, breaking the silence. “Please don't tell anyone else about this. You're the only one I could tell...”
Those begging eyes drew her in and seemed to hold the entirety of her being for a timeless moment, her heart felt as though it had migrated to her throat. Trying to swallow the uncomfortable feeling, Sweetie Belle made her decision.
“Scootaloo, I know how hard it must have been to tell me,” she began, gently pushing her friend a little away from her, making sure to gaze right into her eyes. “I really do. So let me share a secret with you too. That way we can guard each other's secrets, so neither of us will have to be sorry.”
“A secret?” her friend muttered, blinking her eyes and standing herself up straighter. “What kind of secret?”
“Well... you know that story that I told you earlier today? Well, I left out some parts, but you have to promise not to tell anyone else.”
Scootaloo nodded, with a serious expression upon her face. It was a face that told Sweetie Belle, with certainty, that her secrets would be safe, safer even than they were with herself. That sight, lowered the tension that she hadn't noticed building in her. She let out a sigh and began to tell her biggest secret.
“I didn't tell you about why I really left Ponyville. I told you that I left to save Twilight, but I never explained the whole story to you. It's because I can do something very different from other unicorns. And honsestly, I'm scared Scootaloo, scared of what you might think of me. Take a look at that tree there,” she said turning to a relatively small elm tree with numerous green leaves upon its branches. She saw their individual auras glowing brightly, almost as though they were in the sunlight. She reached forth with a tendril of her magic and grabbed at those leaves. One at a time they turned brownish and shriveled up. Scootaloo gasped as she watched. “This is what I was doing to Twilight, I was stealing her magic. But I didn't know what it was at the time, nor how to control it. I just knew it was dangerous.”
“So that's why you ran. That makes a lot more sense...”
“Yeah, and I can see the magic, even though nopony else can. It's in everything Scootaloo. In the trees, rocks, wood, you and me. It makes the world look so beautiful. But it also scares me. I think that they might call me crazy if they find out. And that's not even all, there's something else. Now, this is going to sound crazy... Well, crazier,” she amended. “So just let me finish telling you before you ask anything about it.”
The pegasus simple nodded solemnly, looking prepared.
“I was hearing a voice,” Sweetie Belle admitted quietly, almost a whisper. “The voice said I could call him 'Scoddri'. He said he could teach me a bit about magic, and he did... but I ended up burning down the clubhouse. After I woke up, the voice was gone, and then Twilight performed the ritual like I had mentioned before. It was then that I started draining Twilight's magic, I didn't want to, but I felt her flowing into me. I was scared, scared of myself, terrified, and that's when I heard Scoddri's voice again. He was kind of mean about the whole thing, but his words kept me from panicking too much and I formed the plan to escape before I could do too much harm to Twilight.
“After running into the forest, the voice was all I had as company. He even helped save me from the owlbear. He shouted at me to move, if he hadn't, I'd have been a goner. As we traveled, he kept giving me more tips and taught me how to use my magic and the magic of the world around me... he called it 'chaos magic'.
“He was a really good teacher, I learned a lot in those few days of travel, but all the while I was scared. After all, I was talking to a voice in my head. I think he must have known that it was scaring me, so he told me that he could direct me to meet him, face to face. So of course I was happy that I would get to meet the voice who saved me time and time again.
“He led me to Canterlot, and right to the Sculpture Gardens. The voice had been Discord all along. I was scared for a moment when I found out, but then I realized that this wasn't just Discord, the spirit of evil and chaos, it was also Scoddri, my friend and teacher. And that's why I didn't take his element when he offered it to me, because if I did, I knew he would be gone. So instead, I threw it back at him. That almost freed him from his statue I think, but Twilight interfered and he was destroyed.
“It hurt,” she admitted, tears coming to her eyes. Her friend seemed to remain pensive in her gaze while she listened, though she could make out an empathetic sheen in those violet eyes. “It was like seeing you or Apple Bloom disappear in front of me, and knowing I'd never see you again. I'll never hear him again, Scootaloo. Never again. That's what I see every time I look at my cutie mark, I remember Scoddri, and what he meant to me. I miss him!”
In the quickest of motions, the pegasus pulled her friend into a another firm embrace. “It's okay Sweetie, I'm here. You'll always have me.”
“You don't think I'm crazy?” she asked, almost begged.
“Well, I think you're crazy for running away from us in the beginning, but no, Sweetie, I believe you.”
A minute passed by before the fillies separated.
“So... Discord wasn't that bad of a guy, then?” Scootaloo asked. “Must have been weird to have heard his voice in your head for all those days.”
“No, he wasn't that bad once you got used to him,” the white filly replied earnestly. “But he was kind of mean, and rude, and laughed at me, and made fun of me...”
“Sounds kind of like a bully.”
“But he also made me smile, and helped me out when it really mattered. And I'll always remember that kind side of him. My friend, Scoddri.”
“Sweetie,” Scootaloo called out in a suddenly nervous voice. “Um, sorry for all that stuff a few minutes ago, and thanks for telling me the truth, it means a lot to me.”
“No, don't be sorry, Scootaloo. It's better to share our secrets, I just had to tell someone, or those thoughts were going to eat me up... so... I guess I know how you felt.” Sweetie Belle let a genuine smile form upon her lips. “You're welcome, Scootaloo.”
Scootaloo responded with a smile of her own. “You're welcome too, Sweetie.” Looking much happier than she did only moments before, the pegasus took a look at the sky. “Oh, geez, I gotta go or I'm gonna miss supper.”
The two friends bid farewell, and Sweetie Belle watched the pegasus quickly zip out of sight on her scooter.
She focused inward and considered for a moment. She didn't feel hungry, there was something else that she needed to do, a small knot of worry which had been looming in the back of her mind since she had arrived back in Ponyville. Twilight Sparkle... I need to talk to her, she admitted to herself, though the thought was accompanied by a feeling of anger.
* * *
Standing outside the library, Sweetie Belle swallowed nervously and then raised a hoof and knocked gently upon the door. A few seconds passed as she stood alone with a sense of foreboding. Eventually she turned from the doorway, telling herself that nopony was home. A feeling of superficial relief settled upon her and she cherished that moment, even if it brought forth an equal amount of shame.
Like a balloon being popped by a pin, Spike's voice punctured the silence, and her feeling of foreboding seemingly doubled in strength.
“I”m coming, I'm coming...” his mildly irritated drawl filtered through the oaken library door. She turned around in time to see the door open inward. The purple dragon poked his head out and gave her a cursory glance. “Oh, hi Sweetie Belle, Twilight thought you might come some time today. Come in.” He beckoned to the filly, and she complied.
Entering the room, she was suddenly reminded of being in that underground cavern with the diamond dogs. Sweetie Belle let out a small shudder as she pushed that thought from her mind. “Ever since you all came back from Canterlot, she's been reading books almost non-stop.” Spike continued talking, not taking notice of her discomfort. “She won't even come down for meals, I have to bring them to her myself. And don't even get me started on the books. If I clean them up when she's gone for an hour, five minutes after she comes back, she has them all off their shelves again. It's getting ridiculous.”
The small dragon waddled over to a door and opened it, to reveal the staircase leading to the upper section of the library. They could both hear distant sounds echoing down from the floor above. “She's upstairs,” he pointed, then turned to leave. “I'm going to make some supper, I'll bring it up soon.”
She watched Spike retreat to the kitchen. Taking a moment to brace herself, she donned as stoic a mask as she could muster and walked up the stairs. As she climbed up the stairs she could hear the noise getting more distinct.
First she could hear Twilight pacing around in an even rhythm, and then she could make out her muttering. At the top of the staircase, her eyes took in the scene before her. The lavender unicorn shone brightly from her own inner magic reserves, nearly blinding the filly. She was pacing in nearly perfect circles and reading a book that she levitated before her. All around her were books that seemed to have been discarded in an unthoughtful manner.
“No,” the mare said to herself as she read through the pages. “Nothing in this one either... Then how could she have done it?” Twilight tossed that book into the heaps of others around her. “It would have only worked if she was either a master, if she used a ritual, or if she had helped build the wall in the first place.” She let out an irritated moan. “It doesn't make sense, she's just a filly. How can I explain this in my report to Prin-”
“Twilight!” Sweetie Belle called. Normally she didn't interrupt other ponies if she could avoid it. But listening to the other unicorn had felt like a mounting pressure building upon her. She had to get this over with.
“Ah!” Twilight shouted in surprise and jumped nearly two feet off the ground. “Sweetie Belle, what are you doing up here?!”
The filly was about to snap back with a retort of her own, but she was quickly interrupted by the mare.
“Wait, this is a good thing! Sweetie Belle, I've been trying to figure out how you did that magic back in Canterlot, but none of my books have been able to point out anything that would have worked. So, how did you do it? Destroying that wall-”
“Twilight!” Sweetie Belle shouted, her anger seeping through into her voice. It caught the other unicorn's attention and stopping her short. “Look, Twilight, I know you want to know what I did, or rather how I did it. But I want to know something too, so I came to offer you a deal.”
Twilight gave the filly a frown, but nodded, willing to hear her through.
“First thing: I'll tell you about my magic and what I did, as best as I can, but before that, you have to promise me something. I want you to teach me about magic, I need to know what I could have done differently." I don't want to end up in that situation again. If I was better with magic, I could have done something. "And the second thing: I want you to tell me something. Why did you destroy Discord?” The filly's voice had turned to a cool anger by the end of that sentence.
“Sweetie,” Twilight replied sternly, frowning at the filly before her. “Discord was coming back, I had to stop him. If I didn't, the whole world would have been at stake. We couldn't afford to let him break out again. I did what I had to do, and I'd do it again if I had to.”
“But why not let him out? Was he really so bad?”
“Yes, he was that bad. Out of everything I have ever seen or faced, he was the closest to bringing the world to ruin. He had Equestria as his plaything for a short while. He abused his powers, and ultimately, I know he would do so again. That's just who he was. All he ever wanted was to be better than others and to prove it. He would have moved to pull the world back under his reign of chaos the moment he was out of that statue. I had to stop him.”
“But how do you know that?” Sweetie Belle retorted in anger. “How do you know that he would do that? What if he had changed?
“Sweetie.” The older unicorn looked her in the eyes, giving her a measuring gaze. “I don't know what he might have said to you, but he was a trickster through and through. He would have had you release him, all the while, you would be thinking that what you were doing was right. And that's why he's so dangerous, because you don't even realize you're just a puppet upon his string until it's too late.”
“But-”
“No, Sweetie Belle. I won't argue this point further. I made my choice and I believe that it was in the best interests of Equestria.”
Sweetie Belle gave her a hard glare, but kept her silence.
“But that's a topic we can agree not to discuss for now,” Twilight said in a measured tone. “What we should discuss is the offer that you made me. You are only willing to tell me about your how you used your magic if I agree to teach you more about magic, is that right?” The small unicorn gave a curt nod. “Alright, I promise to give you lessons in magic Sweetie Belle. From what I've seen, you already have that inquisitive drive to seek the unknown. Although it might end up being more than you bargained for, it'll require a lot of reading.”
Sweetie Belle gulped inwardly at the thought of what the older unicorn might make her read, but she had made up her mind, and she would follow through with the decision. “Alright, it's a deal.”
* * *
Twilight Sparkle looked into those emerald eyes, the determination she saw within surprised her as well as something else. Was it hate? Anger? And maybe something beyond that, she felt it in her gut when she looked at her very first student. There was definitely a special quality about Sweetie Belle, though she couldn't quite put her hoof on it. It would warrant study, and perhaps over time she could assuage that anger she saw in her eyes. “Yes, it's deal.”
“Good,” the filly said curtly. “Then I'll show you something with my magic, since it's easier than explaining it. Especially because I don't know exactly why it works the way it does.” Turning to one of the windows, she motioned the older unicorn over and lifted the latch opening it to a warm sunset. “This is the easiest way to show you what I can do with my magic.”
Twilight's frowned in curiosity and pulled out a piece of parchment, quill and ink, with the intent to write her observations down.
Sweetie Belle performed the same trick that she had shown Scootaloo less than an hour ago. Twilight elicited a gasp and she scratched away furiously with her quill.
“What was that? It looked like some of the minor effects of an 'Advanced Mana Manipulation' ritual, but you didn't have to spend half an hour preparing it... that's amazing. Quick, tell me how you do it, as best you can. This could be a magical breakthrough!”
“Well, I'll try.” Sweetie Belle managed a small smile.
Just what are you doing with your magic Sweetie? I'll get to the bottom of this.
* * *
Sweetie Belle did her best to tell the other unicorn how her magic worked, though she never brought up Discord as she did so. As far as the filly was concerned, she'd be happy never bringing up his name again when talking to her new mentor. I'll never be able to convince her, and I'll never be convinced that there wasn't a better way for it all to have happened.
Twilight had questioned the filly on all the aspects of her magic and more. Sweetie Belle had never believed that there could be so many things that the mare wanted to know, or how even half the answers she gave would be in any way useful.
Unfortunately, the older unicorn would often use terms that made absolutely no sense to the filly, so she often came up with short and, seemingly un-fulfilling answers. Twilight eventually noticed that the filly was growing weary so she decided to call it a day, and they shared supper with Spike.
After the meal, Twilight gave Sweetie Belle a book: 'Cornerstones of Magic: The Abridged Version'. She told her to read through it by next Friday, claiming that it would clear up some of the gaps in context. And then on Friday, the two would have their first official session as student and mentor. With book in tow, the filly was sent on her way.
* * *
By the light of the moon, she made her way through the mostly-vacant streets of Ponyville and back to her house. She was surprised to see that a light was glowing from inside.
“Rarity?” she called out tentatively as she opened the door with her magic. How strange, she thought to herself. It still feels a little weird to be able to open doors like that, but I love it. The feeling almost made her giddy.
“Oh, Sweetie, darling. You're home.”
Her sister was sitting at the kitchen table. She was sipping at one of her favourite drinks. Sweetie Belle recalled trying a sample of the vintage once, but she had spat it out the next instant, much to her sister's chagrin. She never did quite understand why her sister would like to drink it, perhaps it was the deep scarlet colour, which looked very neat when it was poured into a crystal glass.
“Hi, Sis. What are you still doing over here?”
“Oh, just having some alone-time, to mull things over. That, and I wanted to give you this.” With a light-blue glow, Rarity brought forth a bundle of dark green silk, tied with silver lace. “I just wanted to give you something special, as a reminder that I'll always be here for you. A sort of welcome-home gift, as it were.”
A present? The sight of the wrapped gift, pulled Sweetie Belle out of her weariness. “Oh what is it, Sis? Can I open it?”
“Of course, Sweetie,” Rarity said as she grabbed the bundle in her own magic and gently depositing it before the young unicorn.
Sweetie Belle scrutinized the gift. The wrapping was precise, and the tying of the lace was beautiful, as she had come to expect from her sister. It almost looked too beautiful to open... Almost. Concentrating for a moment, she tugged at the delicate knot with her magic. After a moment, she had managed to work out the knot and she began to slowly unfold the wrapping, trying to do so as gently as she could, so as not to damage the beautiful fabric.
Beneath the folds of the deep green silk, she caught a glint of gold. Smoothly, she pulled the trinket free from the fabric and held the familiar chain in her hooves. It was the golden necklace she had brought back from Canterlot, though it was no longer just a broken chain. It had been polished to a gleam, and, as its centerpiece, her half-heart shaped jewel had been affixed. An emerald treasure.
Warm tears caught in the corner of her eyes as she picked up the amulet and fit it around her neck. It fell snugly into place, like a loved one's embrace. Lifting her head up high, and straightening her posture, she wore it in the same way that she wore her cutie mark: Proudly, as a memento.
End of An Emerald Treasure
