The Prophecy of Sweetest Belle

by FaelaArts

Rating: teen
Tags: Adventure, Princess Celestia, Dark, Sweetie Belle, Twilight Sparkle, Main 6, Princess Luna, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 20964

A prophecy fortells the end of Equestria, and Sweetie Belle is the cause.

When the sweetest belle has green eyes, the world shall meet its untimely demise.
An ancient prophecy foretells that if the 'Sweetest Belle' has green eyes, she will bring the world to ruin. Rarity refuses to believe that her Sweetie Belle is the one the prophecy foretells. However when Sweetie Belle begins to display the signs Celestia, Luna, and Cadence warned her to look out for, Rarity has to decide if she should let her sister die to save Equestria or protect her sister from harm. And if Sweetie Belle finally finds out what they have in store for her, Rarity dreads what actions her little sister will take.

Published 2013-04-01 14:40:01 UTC
Last updated 2013-10-25 09:05:00 UTC

Wrong Channel

A group of ponies sat in the throne room of Canterlot as the sun swept through the windows. Half of the room was shrouded in darkness and the other half in light. Amidst it all was a purple Alicorn who walked back and forth in extreme agitation. Eyes unfocused, she tried to comprehend what she had just heard.

“Y-You can’t be serious. This can’t be right!” Twilight’s hair, normally neatly cropped and easily kept in her style, was starting to spike up, one hair at a time.

In one corner of the room, Twilight’s five friends recovered from the shock. Rainbow Dash stayed hovering, half-stuck in a motion to fly away. Applejack held her hat over her head, hiding her emotions so she could stay strong in front of her friends. Fluttershy was shaking in fear and her innocent face was broken by silent horror as she half turned away. Pinkie Pie simply stood there, mouth opening and closing, as if she was trying to think of a joke that would clear the atmosphere. There was also Cadence, sitting to the side of the two princesses Celestia and Luna.

Finally, there was Rarity. Her face was covered by her long and lustrous mane, attempting to appear completely devoid of any emotion to the outward eyes. Her tail hung limp and her ears were pinned back. Despite her efforts, tears silently rolled down her cheeks and fell to the hard stone floor.

“I’m afraid so Twilight. I wish there really was another way.” Celestia stepped forward, her broad wings flaring briefly to illuminate the darkness. Pure white fur covered her, and yet: even in the light of the sun sprinkling through the windows, it was obvious she was paler than normal.

“There must be another way, Celestia! We’re not murderers!” Twilight turned to face her mentor, her face stuck between her desire to protect her loved ones and her moral code.

Celestia’s face held a sincere sadness.

This time, it was Luna who stepped forward. “We have explored all other routes. It cannot be any other way.” Her coat was a midnight blue, mane sparkling like the night sky. However even her mane lacked its normal lustre, as if a dawn was draining the colour.

Twilight fought desperately over what decision was right. Eventually, with tears cascading down her face, she collapsed to the floor and heaved a final sigh. After attempting to collect herself, Twilight dragged herself towards her friends. “I’m so sorry, Rarity.” Twilight’s voice held a finality about it. Rarity didn’t move and her face still hidden behind her hair. But a small puddle had formed on the ground at her front hooves.

“My darling Sweetie Belle is not this ‘Sweetest Belle’ and nothing you say will convince me my sister is going to cause the destruction of the world.” All eyes turned to Rarity as she flicked her hair out of her face, revealing a serious and stern gaze under the tears still streaming down her cheeks. Rarity's resolve seemed to give Twilight new energy. Twilight picked herself up, wiped her own tears away and walked over to her friends. Her mane came back into place as she turned to face her mentor, Luna, and Cadence.

Luna’s voice travelled softly through the room. “All signs point to your sister. However, we called you here to warn you at this early stage, not to act. As much as I love your sister, we have to sacrifice one for the many if this indeed is true,”

Rarity nodded, her face stern and unyielding.

“It won’t come to that. Sweetie Belle is not going to destroy the world. I stake my life’s work on it.”

Sweetie Belle hummed happily as she went about her task of cleaning up the road that led to her sister’s Boutique. She had not been asked to, of course, but she felt it was her duty to make her sister’s life easier by not having to worry about getting rocks in her hooves. Finishing up, she turned around to marvel at the spotless path, only to frown at the sight of a single pebble in the middle of the road.

“Pesky pebble, why are you being so mean to me?” Trying to brush it off the path, she found it was stuck, and even a good kick with her hoof would not dislodge it. Glancing upward at her horn, she sighed in dismay. It would be so easy if she could just do a levitation spell. However, no matter how many times she tried it, magic just seemed to slip away from her.

“Dumb rock! You’re going down.” Closing her eyes, Sweetie concentrated. Her tongue stuck out as she tried to focus on the part of herself that directed magic. Her horn sparked and slowly a weak aura began to build up around the tip, slowly making its way down her horn. When the aura stopped halfway down, Sweetie tried to grab the pebble with her magic like Twilight had shown her.

The magic flew slowly from her horn and wrapped around the pebble. Sweetie Belle clenched her teeth when she felt the spell flicker but forgot that her tongue was out and bit herself. She ignored the taste of blood in favor of focusing on moving that pebble. She had never felt so close to moving anything before and wasn’t going to give up now.

Her magic took hold of the pebble and ever so slowly it rose into the air.

“Sweetie Belle, what in Equestria are you doing?” Concentration lost, her horn sparked once and failed. When she opened her eyes, she was struck by a wave of pain. Rarity tutted her sister and gently pushed her towards the boutique so she could put some ice on the bit tongue.

“Oh come on, Rarity! I was so close!”

“Of course dear, but why on such an dirty rock? Why not try a brush instead?” Sweetie groaned and headed inside. She failed to notice Rarity quickly glance to the mentioned rock. There was a small indent where it had obviously been permanently implanted into the road, however now the rock was next to the indent instead of inside it.

Think nothing of it, Rarity; she is your little sister, it’s good her magic is growing in strength. Rarity quickly swept the rock off the road before heading inside after her sister.

“So Rarity, did the biggest and bestest sister bring me back anything?” Rarity chuckled in response and brought a small box into the room.

“It’s a magic practice kit. It helps you learn to use your magic.” As Rarity held up the box, Sweetie Belle squealed in joy and dove for it. Only for Rarity to levitate it out of reach. “On one condition,” demanded Rarity. Sweetie Belle nodded enthusiastically. “Next weekend we go on a two day spa extravaganza in Canterlot. I’ve already purchased the tickets and I am so looking forward to taking my dear little sister along.” Rarity’s demand normally would have made Sweetie Belle groan. But with Rarity holding all the cards, she gave in without a fight.

“Okay, okay, now can I have it?” Sweetie Belle begged, but Rarity held off. After getting visual confirmation that she agreed to the demands, she gave the box to Sweetie Belle. Sweetie snatched up the box and ran towards her room, causing Rarity to chuckle.

“It’s going to be nice to have a weekend doing something we both can enjoy.” With Sweetie appeased, she headed into the kitchen to start on dinner.

“Most unicorns start using magic at an early age, even without realising it. Sometimes it can be a simple change of eye colour to match their parents or levitating an object in anger. Most fillies and colts experience their magic key so quickly that it’s instantly forgotten. Hence their difficulty to call it up unless in danger.

“Some unicorns can access this easily, others through practice. However, as they begin to learn their magic, it grows stronger. So even if a filly or colt is having problems finding their key, there are ways to help them learn how to use it - like training wheels. This is called a channel.

“Normally, the channel is the horn. But in extremely rare cases where the magic isn’t flowing to the horn fast enough, a different part of their body can be used to better access their key. There are also outside channels, but they are much harder to—blagh this guy doesn’t shut up!” Turning the pages, Sweetie Belle moved onto the actual exercises, looking at the pendent that had been included with the book.

“Ok step one is…Find your magic channel. This crystal is a magic detector. Touch it to different parts of your body until your find the point it glows strongest. Common channel locations are: hooves, heart, mouth, nose, ears, and in one case; eyes.” Sweetie placed the book down and held the crystal in a hoof, noting how it had a very faint glow. Tossing it between her hooves, she noticed how her right front hoof had a stronger glow.

Pulling the crystal near her horn, she saw it light up; nearly twice as bright as before. It dimmed as she put it on her nose, mouth, heart, and ears. Finally, she closed one eye, and walking towards the mirror, she held the crystal on her closed eye.

Sweetie was nearly blinded when the crystal’s glow flared up several times brighter than it had on her horn. With a surprised shriek, she stumbled backwards. The choice became obvious as she blinked the stars out of her eyes.

“Okay, so I can call magic better out of my eyes? Oooh does that mean I will be able to shoot magic beams from them!?” Sweetie heard Rarity call her down for dinner but chose to ignore it in favor of skipping to the book’s chapter on eyes. However, the chapter was little more a single page at the end - as if it had been added as an afterthought.

“To use your magic, focus like you would in using your horn but use your eyes instead. These two are connected, so if you are able to even cause sparks with your horn, you have the mark of a…gifted magi!” Sweetie grew excited and ignored a second dinner call from Rarity as she stepped away from the book and put the crystal around her neck.

Staring at the book, she tried to work out how she focused her magic on her horn and realised it was more a direction of thought more than anything else. So as her eyes narrowed, she ignored the horn on her head, glared at the book and willed her magic to levitate it. There was a brief moment where it went towards her horn. But after a few failed attempts, she managed to channel the magic into her eyes, which began to glow a bright green.

Sweetie Belle barely noticed footsteps and knocking at her door as the magic rushed to her command. The book rose into the air and eventually reached the ceiling. Done with mere levitation, she began attempting to move it around but strained under the multitasking skills she required for it.

“SWEETIE BELLE, STOP!” Rarity’s panicked voice sounded from the door. Sweetie blinked and as she gazed in her sister’s direction, her eyes returned to normal and the book fell to the floor.

“Sister, look! I did it!” Sweetie was so proud of herself that she barely noticed the brief moment when Rarity’s face was struck with fear before she was smiling warmly again.

“I am very proud of you, Sweetie, but it’s time for dinner.” Sweetie Belle found she was absolutely starving. Forgetting about the crystal around her neck, she dashed down to eat.

Rarity gazed around the room, and her face grew sick with worry.
“Magic always tells the truth, malevolent eyes hidden by youth.”

Just an ordinary day

Sweetie Belle paced the clubhouse, various objects around her in their cluttered space. Her friends were taking forever to arrive. Around her neck her crystal hung, swaying as she moved about the clubhouse. As if summoned by her impatience, two sets of hoof-steps could be heard approaching. Sweetie Belle watched the earth pony and pegasus, both mere fillies, and both her age, as they entered their shared clubhouse.

“So, Sweetie Belle, what’s this amazing thing you wanted to show us?” The orange pegasus filly with purple hair rolled her eyes as she spoke, but waited patiently. Apple Bloom, the earth pony with the yellow fur and red mane and a neat little bow on the back of her head, looked around enthusiastically.

After glancing about the room quickly for something the right size, Sweetie Belle directed her friends’ attention to the other side of the room. Button, a small teddy bear with a button-replacement nose and the club’s official mascot, lay in the opposite corner of the clubhouse. The other two fillies paid close attention as Sweetie Belle’s tail swished and her eyes focused on Button.

Her eyes began to glow bright green and the bear lifted into the air. It was shaky at first, but soon it steadied and hung in the air for a few moments before she gently put it back on the ground. Her eyes faded back to normal as she dispelled her concentration. Before she fully recovered from the sudden fatigue, she was slammed into the floor with the force of her friends' excited hugs.

“Girls, give me a chance to recover first!” she cried out while her friends playfully held her prisoner.

“No, you are our prisoner, oh powerful, eye-glowy unicorn!” Scootaloo spoke, immediately assuming character. Apple Bloom brought out two rubber swords—courtesy of a certain Nightmare Night pirate—and they held Sweetie Belle at sword point.

“Yah will share tha secret for tha meaning of eternal cutie marks!” Apple Bloom demanded. Her eyes glinted furiously in the light, this was a filly ready to kill with a rubber toy.

Sweetie Belle put her hoof to her forehead, faking dismay just as Rarity did, “Nooo, I cannot share my secrets or I will have to turn you to-err-stone!”

Scootaloo collapsed to the ground and cried, “Noooooooooo!”

Seeing her captors distracted, the powerful glowy unicorn quickly made her move. She ducked under the sword and tackled Apple Bloom to the floor, stealing the sword. Brandishing it, she held Apple Bloom hostage, and turned her eyes evilly to Scootaloo.

“Surrender or she dies!” Sweetie Belle raised her head and laughed evilly, thunder crashing behind her dramatically. Of course, this was all in their minds, but they ignored that fact.

Scootaloo cried out in horror, her wings flaring in shock. Sighing and lowering her head, she dropped the sword as her wings went limp, “You win, oh magical one.” With their fun done, Sweetie Belle dropped the sword and fell to the floor in a fit of giggles, quickly followed by the others. Eventually their laughter petered out, and they smiled at the ceiling.

“Seriously though, Sweetie Belle, that’s so awesome! You’re one step closer to being like Twilight.” Despite the fact they were great friends with Twilight, they all paused before shuddering at Scootaloo's comment. Sweetie Belle sat up, followed quickly by her friends and smiled happily.

“Anyway, isn’t this great? I owe it all to this crystal I’m wearing.” Pointing to it, she gained both the crusaders attention. Apple Bloom was the first to pick it up, holding it close enough she wouldn’t strangle Sweetie Belle. On her touch, it glowed brightly, and she dropped it in shock.

“Whoa, why’d it do that?” Apple Bloom exclaimed in response.

Sweetie Belle mused for a moment, before shrugging. “I dunno, I thought it only worked for unicorns. It helps us find this thing called a channel. ‘Parently a horn’s the normal channel, but I’ve got very special eyes.” She giggled.

Tossing the crystal between her hooves, Apple Bloom noticed her front legs glowed strongest, while her eyes barely glowed at all.

“Let me try,” Scootaloo spoke, and when she was the crystal, it glowed in her hoof, but nowhere near as bright as Bloom’s had. Acting on impulse, she held it to her wing and they all flinched at the bright glare that came from it.

“Wow that’s amazing!” said Apple Bloom. “We should find out what it means. Where do we find the information?”

Sweetie Belle went to search her bags and frowned when she saw her book wasn’t in there, “It must have fallen out at Rarity’s. Let’s head there and go find it.” With their day planned out, they headed toward the Scoots-mobile. Scootaloo brought the Scooter, and the small cart was the mobile.

“To Rarity!”

“I’m really sorry darling, but I’m sure Twilight will have it fixed soon.” They had arrived at the boutique and were sitting calmly at the kitchen table eating forgiveness-cookies that Rarity had baked. When the elder unicorn had accidentally spilled coffee over Sweetie’s magic book, Sweetie had been furious. But as Sweetie Belle bit into one of the sweet treats, and her anger had quickly faded.

“Mmph, these are soo good!” Sweetie Belle loved her sister’s cookies. They dug in, and Rarity was instantly forgiven. The mare breathed a sigh of relief. After they finished, they began to discuss their next strategy to solve the mystery.

“Let’s go ask Twilight, she’s such an egghead that she’d know,” Scootaloo suggested. The other two nodded in agreement.

“Thanks for the cookies, Rarity, we’ll be off.” Before Rarity could object, they had vanished out the door. Rolling her eyes, she began cleaning up the hurricane of mess they always left in their wake.

“You want to know about what, now?” Twilight was busy re-cataloging her re-cataloging system. Of course, this meant she had to take down every single book and figure out the possible combinations.

“Rarity melted my book, remember you’re going to try and fix it?” Sweetie Belle spoke up, impatient to know what her crystal was doing. Twilight flinched, but recovered quickly, her wings holding stacks of books as she held them out.

“Oh of course, sorry, it’s still being fixed. Why don’t you tell me what you want to know about from the book, instead?” Sweetie Belle shared a glance with the other two. They knew going into such territory was getting close to the dangerous lecture. They weighed the risks and decided curiosity would not be averted.

“Well okay, thanks, Twilight. We want to know about channels for magic.” Twilight flinched as Sweetie Belle spoke, but managed to keep herself from making any further movements. With her face hidden from the view of the three fillies as, it began to grow sick with concern.

“Well, unicorns normally use horns, but there have or been cases of other parts having a stronger connection to their magic. Of course other ponies have different common magic points and-“

“Wait, other ponies have magic?” Sweetie Belle interrupted. Twilight turned her head and closed her wings, dropping all of the books she had been holding in them to the floor. A muffled yelp escaped her lips.

“It’s a different kind of magic, but they do have magic. Take earth ponies for example. Usually their magical channels are their hooves, and what kind of magic they use is based on their talent. For example, Applejack had very good stamina and strength, but is a bit heavy-hoofed and would not be at home in a Canterlot opera theatre. However if an earth pony was…for example, a user of an instrument. They would need to be able to pluck the music from the instrument, which would mean they would need to be more calm and sure of their movements, thus lacking in the strength department.” Twilight paused, letting the fillies absorb the information.

“Take Pinkie Pie, just before my ascension. She couldn’t keep the apple farm running before because her channel is different from Applejacks. I’m not sure where Pinkie’s channel is, but you get the general idea.

“As for Pegasi, while their talent helps direct their magic more prominently, all Pegasi eventually gain enough magic to fly. Of course, if they are one of the rare cases where their channel is located differently, or is more developed than they are, sometimes the pony can have problems calling upon that magic.” All three fillies rolled their eyes, glad it had only been a small lecture. Quietly discussing the information, all three had something to be excited to discuss.

“My channel is my wings; that means I’m going to fly someday!”

“Ah'm gonna be good at something to do with mah hooves!”

“I’m gonna be good at ah-Uhm…” Sweetie Belle trailed off, her two friends gazing to her.

“Uhh, something to do with my eyes?” she questioned. The other two nodded, and she smiled. They all embraced, happy to know a little more about themselves, it would definitely help with finding their cutie marks. Suddenly Apple Bloom noticed the time.

“Ah shoot, ah'm late, mah sister is gonna kill me. Gotta go, bye,” she spoke, dashing out the door with a quick wave.

Scootaloo glanced to the sky to check the time and saw Rainbow Dash fly past. The filly bounced once and hovered from the ground for a moment. “I’m gonna go too, Sweetie Belle. I want to tell Dash what we've just found out.” Before Sweetie could do more than raise her hoof to wave goodbye, Scootaloo was gone.

Stretching, Sweetie Belle smiled at Twilight who was staring at her strangely.

“Is something wrong?” she asked.

Twilight blinked in reply before smiling and shaking her head, “Absolutely nothing, but do you mind if I walk you home? I’d like to have a talk with Rarity.” Sweetie Belle shook her head, and bounced out the door. Twilight following behind.

“I’ll be back soon, Spike.” Buried under a pile of books near where Twilight had been standing, a dragon growled in reply. She would pay for this, in emeralds, which she had hidden away so he wouldn’t spoil himself.

“Sweetie Belle, would you mind being a dear and going upstairs to play for a while? Twilight and I need to talk.” Rarity was quick to tell Sweetie Belle to scoot unless she needed something.

Sweetie nodded at Rarity’s request and exited the kitchen, leaving the other two alone. As soon as they were certain she was gone, they began to talk quietly.

“Rarity, she’s displayed the first sign, hasn’t she?” Twilight spoke in a hushed tone.

“Twilight, give it a few more days, please. It’s too soon to be sure it’s her. My sister is not Sweetest Belle. It’s merely coincidence.” Rarity glanced nervously around the room, hoping Twilight would agree with her.

“Alright,” Twilight relented, “but if she displays the next line, we’re going to have to act. The prophecy is something we can’t stop once it reaches the point of no return.”

Unknown to them, Sweetie Belle had been listening in the entire time by pressing her ear to the wall and frowning as her sister and Twilight spoke. First sign, what's going on? This wasn’t about her birthday present or a secret gift. She had hidden expecting that, not this. Her eyes widened and she backed away, sneaking up the stairs.

Entering her room, she began to silently freak out with the door closed, running in place rapidly and glancing around with constricted pupils. What was this, a prophecy? Sweetest Belle, First sign? It made no sense. What had she done wrong? She needed someone to ask, but if Twilight and Rarity knew, odds were the others did too. What about her friends, would they know who to turn to?

“Okay, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom will be easy to find. So, let’s go ask her, she’ll know what to do.” Satisfied she had a plan; she walked down the stairs and poked her head in.

“Going to see Apple Bloom be back by curfew!” She spoke in a rush and dashed out the door before anyone could object. A smile spread across her face, she still had it.

Back in the kitchen, Rarity rolled her eyes, turning back to Twilight.

“Just remember what the next line is,” Rarity frowned as Twilight spoke, and Twilight growled and opened her mouth to recite the line.

“‘Black and White will meet with green to tell my words to ears so keen’. ” Rarity felt a chill go through her body, the words finally sinking in.

“Right,” was all Twilight said in response.

Twilight nodded, “We can’t let Sweetie Belle see Zecora.”

On the other side of town, two ponies quietly began to puzzle over what Sweetie Belle had heard.

“Well if we can’t go to our sisters…we could try Zecora, she’s good with all that mumbo-jumbo stuff.” Apple Bloom spoke, frowning.

Sweetie jumped up and down. “Apple Bloom, you’re a genius.” They embraced, and peered into the Everfree Forest with grim determination.

“Let’s go, we want ta get home 'fore it gets dark. When Applejack notices ah'm gone Ah'll get in trouble for skipping chores, but this is so much more interesting!”

Black and White

Twisted trunks loomed over the two minuscule fillies as they gently walked along the cold dirt path. The leaves blocked out all sunlight and they had difficulty even seeing their hooves as they scuffed the dirt. Tree roots reached for their legs along the path, silently cursing as their hooves guided them out of its reach. Gnarled holes formed faces in the trunks, all snarling at the two fillies. Leaves gently fell down, silent and helpless.

The two fillies crouched low to the ground as they walked with their eyes darting about the darkness.A snap sounded to their right, the two fillies jumped, and a squeak came out of one.

The small glowing green moss that crept over the path was a beacon in the darkness. However, sometimes the glow would fade or cease completely. The two fillies would clutch each other, shuddering until, slithering out of the darkness, the glow would return. They were assured of their safety as long as they could see the path. But believing that sometime the glow might not return, the fillies quickened their pace.

Zecora had made a pact with the forest for the thin trail of safety the two fillies were following. They did not know if the monsters around them would accept the pact the and they were afraid to find out. As they made their way through the near-darkness, a blue glowing plant began to appear. At the sight of it, Apple Bloom’s shoulders slumped from alert to slightly wary and her legs picked up the pace again. Realizing they were nearly there, her concerned eyes became filled with hope.

The path curled around and they finally arrived. The green glow faded as a brighter source of light scared away the shadows; the ramshackle roof and wooden walls hiding the warmth inside away from the prying eyes of the forest. It lurked around the light, afraid to approach, but wary enough to continue to lurk. It wasn’t hungry for the warmth cradled inside its nest just yet, but one day it might be.

The dull thudding of Apple Bloom knocking struck through the silence. Hearing a branch snapping, the two fillies glanced behind them. As they turned, a shadow flew past a break in the trees. They began to edge close to the door.

“Apple Bloom, did you see that?” Apple Bloom nodded, not speaking at they both shivered. Another crack, as their heads turned toward the sound and were rewarded with another glimpse of the shadow. They were now pressed against the door, hearts thudding in fear. The shadow appeared, avoiding the blue flowers and moving toward the path that led to them. Fear, and darkness, made it impossible to tell what the shape was. They turned their backs for a moment to try the door but it was locked. The creature had taken their lapse in concentration as permission to get even closer. The fillies pinned themselves on the door and whimpered.

“Zecora open tha door!” Apple Bloom shouted, the fear making her voice sound very loud in this forest. The shadow inched closer, and closer and closer and finally—

“Argh!” Sweetie Belle fell backwards as the door opened inwards. Apple Bloom joined in, falling next to her. They quickly jumped up, eyes darting to where the shadow had been. However, all that could be seen was the light from the open door. The shadow was gone. They hesitantly turned to face Zecora.

“My dearest Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom, I was not expecting you this soon.” Zecora moved aside to let the two fillies inside, closing the door behind them. The house was cluttered with masks depicting various expressions of fear and a boiling caldron in the middle. But it was warm, safe and they were relieved as they were shown to a seat near the head of the caldron.

“Sorry fer intrudin' on ya, Zecora, but Sweetie Belle wanted ta ask ya some questions and Ah had ta show her how ta get here.” Zecora smiled gently as Apple Bloom spoke, and brought two cups over to the fillies. They both sipped away at the drinks, not questioning what their contents were.

“'I am sure your intentions are pure and true. But shirking work will have consequences for you.” Apple Bloom wilted and glanced downward at Zecora’s words.

'Ah know Ah'll be scolded by mah big sis, but Ah couldn't leave Sweetie Belle ta walk here all 'lone.” Zecora nodded, and Apple Bloom watched her from the edge of her vision, avoiding looking straight at Zecora.

“I believe, dear Apple Bloom, leaving now will stop her gloom.” Apple Bloom’s head snapped to rapt attention at her words, leaping to her hooves in hope.

“Yah mean if I leave now I won’t get scolded at all?” Her hope was obvious, and Sweetie Belle giggled. Zecora gave a nod, a smile falling onto her face at Apple Bloom’s simple fears. The filly then turned to talk face to face with Sweetie Belle.

“Ah'm sorry ta leave ya like this, but ya know the way back now, and it's less scary comin' back”

“No worries Apple Bloom.” She cursed her high pitched squeak at the beginning of the sentence. Sweetie Belle gulped down her fears at having to go back alone. Of course, she was scared, but she also didn’t want her friend to get in trouble for helping her.

“I'll be sure to tell you what happens tomorrow.” They embraced, sharing a moment of friendship before separating, Apple Bloom heading for the door.

“If ya get scared, Ah'm sure Zecora'll be happy ta escort ya. Okay bye.”

Sweetie Belle waved goodbye to Apple Bloom as she opened the door. The warmth swept out of the room as she closed it behind her. Sweetie Belle assumed, due to her friend’s confidence that she took this trip regularly. She never even once considered her friend might get seriously hurt.

“So-Uhm…Is it okay if I ask a few questions, Zecora?”

Zecora paused in the pouring of her own drink at the filly’s words, and put the jug down. She walked over and sat down next to Sweetie Belle. The zebra looking into the unicorn's eyes and nodding once.

“Well I was listening on my sister and Twilight talking; I know I shouldn’t have been but…Well they mentioned some kind of prophecy, a ‘first sign’ and someone called the ‘Sweetest Belle.’ And I don’t want to ask them because they obviously don’t want me to know about it, so I thought I would come and ask you.” Despite her quick glances away from the zebra’s eyes staring at her as she spoke, she managed to get it all out without a single squeak or stutter.

Zecora blinked, and turned away for a moment, deep in thought, before turning back.

“Your sister and her friends have much to fear, but that is also why I am here. I can tell you the truth, which you seek, but once you hear it you must not freak. Let me first finish my tale, then if you wish you may wail.”

Sweetie Belle felt she should have been insulted by Zecora’s words, but she could also sense Zecora was speaking from experience, so she gave a hesitant nod. The filly was certain that the zebra knew what Rarity was hiding.

Zecora leaned back, her eyes closing as she entered a trancelike state and sat motionless. For a moment, Sweetie thought she was meant to do something. But then Zecora’s eyes opened, appearing as pitch black holes in the skull of an otherwise lively face. She reeled back in response, but didn’t get up or move away. Zecora began to speak, her voice hauntingly hollow.

“When the sweetest belle has green eyes, the world shall meet its untimely demise.
“Magic always tells the truth, malevolent eyes hidden by youth.
“Black and White will meet with green, to tell my words to ears so keen.”

Sweetie Belle felt a chill go up her spine and her mind went blank for a moment before coming back online. So this Sweetest Belle, who would cause the end of the world, had some kind of magic eyes and would meet with someone Black and White to hear these words? Suddenly it all clicked, and her mouth hung open in shock.

Her eyes were magic. That magic had been hidden by her youthful inexperience. She had met with Zecora, who was Black and White, and she had green eyes. She wasn’t the Sweetest Belle, but she was Sweetie Belle.

Could she…No, it couldn’t be true. She barely noticed Zecora come out of her trance. Sweetie Belle opened her mouth, and prepared to stand up to utterly freak out, and remembered what Zecora said. Her eyes met the zebra’s, and she held off freaking out until she finished, as promised. Zecora nodded in approval, and began to speak.

“There is more prophecy, that much is true, but that is something I cannot tell you. I can only see what has been, I cannot tell more to ears so keen. If you are this Sweetest Belle, do not fear the day, that fate decides to come and take you away. We still have two options you see, to save you from this destiny. However futile I feel it to be, I will help my Sweetest little filly.”

Sweetie Belle took a moment to absorb what Zecora said; it took a certain amount of skill to read her rhymes. From what she could fathom, Zecora could only say what had come true of this prophecy, not the full thing. If she is Sweetest Belle, there were two ways to stop this prophecy from happening. And Zecora was willing to help her. Now that Zecora was finished, she had something very important to do.

“WHAT THE HECK!? Oh my god! I can’t be this Sweetest Belle! This can’t be true! I’m not going to destroy the world! I have no reason to why would I want to-this can’t be right why the hell does it have to be me this can’t be true I am just a small filly with special eyes. It CAN’T be me tell me it’s not me Zecora!” Pausing to catch her breath, she allowed Zecora time to answer.

“I fear you have reason to feel very blue, because this prophecy is very true.” Standing up Sweetie Belle began to run in place at Zecora’s, glancing around rapidly for some way this could be wrong.

“Nonono this can’t be right, I can’t put up with such a fright.” She stopped running and blinked, wait, that wasn’t what she had thought. “How do you know you can protect me from danger? I want to know how much you will wager.” That didn’t quite sound right to her, there was something wrong, she should defer.

“I wager my life for your protecting, you will survive the mistake we are correcting.” Zecora continued settling the filly down, waiting for her to stop being such a clown. Sweetie Belle was so distraught at this, why did things have to be so amiss?

“Ok, panicking won’t stop this prophecy. Where are we going to in such secrecy?”

“We are looking for a special key to stop fate from acting so angrily.” Zecora replied. “This is a journey for two alone, taking you very far away from home.” Sweetie Belle sighed in sadness. There was one more question in this madness.

“Ok I have one last thing to ask. What are the two options? You described one task.”

“The first is death, which we will not do. The second is an adventure for me and you.” Sweetie Belle paused at her notes, this adventure sounded very remote. If she agreed to this quest, leaving her friends and family was probably the test.

“Zecora I have something to say, you know if that’s okay. Is the rhyme thing you do, able to be caught from contact with you?” Zecora laughed at the little filly, she was being very silly.

“Only for a moment in time, will you be forced to rhyme. I do this more for my own fun, I can stop-“ Zecora saw the filly nod and give a look that was quite odd, “-okay, it is done.”

“Are you sure it is done? I’m not very good at rhyming.” Sweetie exhaled in relief when she realized she could speak normally again. Zecora chuckled and waited for the filly to continue. “So wait, what option is my sister going to take if it turns out I am Sweetest Belle?”

Zecora put her drink down and sighed. “Your sister and friends only have one; let Sweetest Belle be killed by the sun.” A chill swept through the house as Zecora spoke, a howl sounded in the distance and Sweetie shuddered. Raising her head, she shook it boldly.

“You lie! My sister would never stoop to such measures! I’m her little sister! How would you know this? Sure, we may fight, and she might make me her slave sometimes but we still love each other! You said it yourself; you can’t see the future. How do you know that is their only option when you have said we have two?” Sweetie was quaking in fear and fury.

“I may not see all the future just as you said, but knowing the past can also show what is ahead.” Sweetie didn’t believe this, she could not believe this. It went against everything she knew about her sister, the generous Rarity.

“I don’t believe you! I’m going home, you can keep your stupid prophecy and stupid plans; I trust my sister!” Sweetie stood up and began storming toward the door.

“As you wish, you may leave. I will be here when you choose to believe. If you ever end up running for your life, come to me and I will save you from strife.” Sweetie rolled her eyes and walked out the door. SHE WAS NOT LISTENING NOPE NOT AT ALL. Opening the door, she paused to hear Zecora’s last words, before snorting again and leaving the zebra alone to her false words.

“Remember Sweetest when you leave, you have never spoken to me.”

The attack

Sweetie kicked a rock as she walked away, grumbling angrily at Zecora. Her thoughts continued to circle around themselves. First, she would try to find evidence that would prove she wasn’t this ‘Sweetest Belle.’ After failing that, she would try to find ways she could avoid fulfilling this prophecy. However, since she didn’t know the entire thing, she couldn’t stop it by doing the opposite thing. Then, she would try to rationalise her sister would never kill her, no matter the circumstances. The last one was easy to believe, but hard to back up. Zecora had just explained the last two days in four sentences.

It was then, as the cottage vanished around the bend in the path and she only had the glow of the moss once more that she remembered where she was. She lowered her head from the trees' baleful glare and her short, quick footsteps echoed through the forest. A loud crack caused her to jolt upright. The forest was silent except for her startled breath and pounding heart, both of which sounded too loud to her ears. She stood there for a while, unmoving, as her eyes scanned her surroundings desperately. After a moment had passed, she worked up the nerve to continue walking down the path. She couldn't help but cautiously peer beyond every tree she passed, wondering if something lurked in their shadowy recesses.

Her hoof falls were the only things that made a sound. They played a haunting dirge as they echoed into the depths of the forest. As she continued walking, eventually another sound echoed back alongside her own. It sounded like a scraping of some sort. She paused, tilting her head to try to find the location, eyes flicking around as she tried to look everywhere at once. She had to get out of here, but the sound came first. After a few moments she finally located it, it was coming from further down the path. Hesitantly, she took a single step, and then another. As she walked, the sounds became louder, slowly growing in volume until she eventually was able to distinguish what they were. It was something whimpering, and something growling in reply.

“S-Stay ‘way from me…” Sweetie Belle’s heart leapt into her mouth, and pushed her into motion. Turning her eyes off the path and taking a few steps inside, as fast a fear would allow, her eyes widened as her scream split the night. She cut it off a moment later, fear commanding her to be silent.

The shadow was back, but now she could make out some of its form. It had a pony's head, chest and forelegs of a manticore and vaguely equine hindquarters. The beast towered over her, even bigger than most stallions. It raised its head when she screamed, ears flicking back in pain, before running into the woods.

She then turned to look where it had been standing, and once again, she screamed as she saw a second shadow was her wounded friend, “Apple bloom!”

Apple Bloom opened one wary eye, and tried to smile through the pain. Dashing over, she then was consumed by the sight of blood. She was still for a few moments, before a dry cough from Apple Bloom broke her attention. She was hurt, badly at that. Sweetie Belle didn’t have the luxury of time to freeze up. She whimpered and forced herself to look at the injuries.

There was a very bad gash along her stomach, and that was where most of the blood was coming from. However one leg was bent awkwardly, stuck in a root. It had scratches along it too. Her hair and tail was badly matted, and she was filthy.

Forcing herself to keep calm consumed all of Sweetie Belle’s concentration. It was all she could do to force her eyes away from the blood. She slowly and, in an almost mechanical manner, locked her eyes with Apple Bloom's face. Her friend was scared, and relieved, but her expressions were slowly melting away as she began to grow less aware of her surroundings.

“Sweetie Belle? What’s going on? Why are you so sad?” Sweetie Belle sniffed at the faint words, and gently touched Apple Bloom’s nuzzle with her hoof. It twitched weakly.

“Heey…that tickles…” she whispered as her eyes closed and a soft sigh escaped from her lips.

Sweetie Belle blinked, tears beginning to flow again from her eyes, “Apple Bloom wake up!” Her stricken voice reached the injured filly, and Apple Bloom opened her eyes.

“Why, what’s wrong, can it wait until later I’m…so…sleepy.” Her eyes began to close again, but Sweetie Belle lurched forward and gently shook her awake. Glancing around rapidly she could only think of one thing to keep the filly awake.

“Tell me about our day today. Your sister wants to know what we got up to today!” Apple Bloom groaned at her words and then gave a nerve racking cough before settling down and talking.

“Well…ohkay…Sweetie Belle called us to tha clubhouse for…” as she spoke Sweetie Belle glanced around frantically for something to use to carry her. She needed to get her out of here. She could drag Apple Bloom but that would do more harm than good. She could try running for help, but what if the monster came back? She needed something else but what was there?

“And…And…then…we…” Apple Bloom’s voice faded into the darkness and Sweetie returned her worried gaze back to her. She tried rocking her again, but got no reaction. She was…so still.

“NO!” her anguished cry resounded along the path, tears streaming down her eyes. Closing them, she sobbed in open fear of not knowing what to do. She glanced down to the green moss and thought of Zecora, and suddenly a desperate idea sprung into her mind.

“O-Okay Apple Bloom hold on, I-I’ll get us out of here.” Sweetie Belle wiped away her tears and steeled herself.

“Apple Bloom is not going to die! I will save her!” Sweetie Belle felt her fear start to ebb away, replaced by steadfast resolve. Closing her eyes, she breathed in deeply, then released. She paused, and then leaned down and focused her eyes on Apple Bloom.

“Levitate!” she ordered her magic, voice brimming with a metallic tone as it flowed up toward her eyes, they began to glow. Apple Bloom was surrounded by their glow, shaky at first but gradually strengthening. Sweetie Belle felt sweat drip down her forehead, and almost felt the spell break.

“Nononono!” Her voice, filled with anguish began to rise in volume as she strained to increase the magic flow and continue the spell. Her hair began to whip around in an unknown wind, and she began to buckle under the immense weight of the spell.

And then, Apple Bloom began to rise slowly from the ground. Sweetie Belle grunted and gasped for breath as she held the spell together. Pain lanced through her eyes and she cried out, but managed to maintain the spell. Then, with Apple Bloom in tow, she took her first step.

“Aaahow” she moaned in absolute shock, and understood why Twilight was normally still while casting powerful spells. The magic hurt with each step she took and she felt her own energy bleeding away, as surely as Apple Bloom was. She nearly lost the strands of the spell, her eyes half closing before she forced them back open. Pausing, she gasped for breath for a few moments and then refocused her concentration. Through sheer willpower, she took a second step.

“Are ya sure they went in here Twilight?” Twilight glared at Applejack, who glanced toward the Everfree, avoiding her gaze. Rarity ignored them both, her concerned gaze was only on the path as they waited at the edge.

“If they aren’t, the others will find them.” Applejack sighed, glancing to Rarity. She could feel her guilt over this entire situation racking through her body again. She hated what this was doing to Rarity.

“Light,” Rarity spoke, and both turned to look at the forest. Indeed, a bright green light had rounded the corner and was heading toward them slowly. It was far too bright to make out any forms, so they waited until it got to the edge, and paused before approaching.

“Sweetie Belle?” Rarity was the first to approach the dimming light. When it vanished completely, two forms were visible.

“No,” Twilight whispered, gazing in horror at the scene before her. A tired filly was gasping for breath, another filly behind her looking nearly dead.

“S-Save A-Apple Blooom…” Sweetie Belle spoke before collapsing, immediately unconscious. Rarity rushed to her sister and stopped her from falling to the dirt. She was utterly exhausted, but unharmed. Applejack had already rushed to her sister.

“Apple Bloom!” Her anguish cry reached all the way into the forest, where a Zebra turned her head towards the path leading away from her house. This Zebra knew the two fillies would live, and that their sisters would be rushing them to the hospital as she spoke. Stirring her tea she sipped it and mused silently.

“All who help this bell of death, will be harmed but won’t lose their breath.”

The Hospital

As Sweetie Belle slowly became aware of her surroundings, her first thought was that she was tired. After a moment her body twitched automatically and she winced in pain. With that pain her mind slowly pushed aside its own weariness in favour for lucidity and Sweetie began to remember what happened just as her ears began working again.

“The doctor says Apple Bloom is lucky to be alive, and she’s going to take a week or two to fully recover.” Sweetie’s ear twitched as she recognised it was Twilight talking. Her body complained, but she ignored it for the moment. The pain was very dull and very ignorable.

“Ah’m so glad, ah know what the prophecy says an all but I was still worried about ma lil sis.” Sweetie took a moment again to connect this voice to Applejack. She wondered why they were being so open about discussing the prophecy, considering how much trouble she had gone through to get the information. She hoped it wasn’t because secrecy didn’t matter anymore.

“So Twilight, what are you going to do about my sister? Even I can’t deny—Even I can’t deny that she is fulfilling the prophecy.” Sweetie felt her heart give a worried thud. Rarity sounded so sad, so defeated. Sweetie Began trying to open her eyes.

“The patient is waking up,” an unfamiliar voice spoke from beside her. Sweetie nearly jumped out of her skin. Opening her eyes, she was greeted by a shot of pain and promptly closed them again. From the brief glimpse she had gotten, Sweetie gathered she was surrounded by curtains and a nurse was beside her. She heard the curtain open and close. Sweetie tried opening her eyes once more. This time, she was slightly more successful.

Five concerned faces greeted her and she managed a weary smile. This seemed to alleviate their worries. The nurse stood up and left, leaving them alone.

“Rrrity.” Sweetie slurred as pain lanced through her body. Rarity walked over with a gentle smile and held Sweetie’s hoof in her own.

“Shhh, don’t rush it. You used too much magic at once, you’re going to be sore for a good few days, darling.” Sweetie Belle nodded softly at Rarity’s words, stopped trying to talk and simply enjoyed the peace of the moment. However, soon ponies began getting bored.

“Look it’s great you aren’t dead and all but I need to get out and fly. I don’t like hospitals.” All heads turned to Rainbow Dash, who glanced away sheepishly under the sudden stares.

“That’s a good idea. We need to let Sweetie Belle rest.” Rarity gently stood up after speaking, and kissed Sweetie on the forehead before joining her friends. Sweetie decided to try speaking again.

“Apple boom,” she slurred slightly more coherently than a few moments ago. They all understood what she wanted to know at the least. Twilight stepped forward, wearing her saddlebags for some reason, and glanced backward towards her friends.

“Listen, you all go ahead. I need to talk to Sweetie Belle anyway.” Twilight’s words caused Rarity to break out into a look of pure worry and fear, before she clenched her eyes and turned away.

“I…I understand Twilight. I’ll be right outside.” The fear was infectious, and Sweetie Belle could hear the sadness in Rarity’s voice, she wanted to cry. The rest followed Rarity out, and then it was just Twilight and Sweetie Belle.

Sweetie Belle sized up Twilight, her face was a mask, but she didn’t feel like she was planning to threaten Sweetie’s life. Their eyes locked and Twilight frowned.

“So, you know.” Twilight got straight to the point, and Sweetie Belle cringed at the harsh tone that emanated from her mouth. It was almost as if Twilight was angry at her. But that was impossible, it wasn’t Sweetie’s fault.

“Is Bloom okay?” Sweetie asked, quite happy that she could speak properly again. The pain was starting to fade as well.

“We got lucky. Apple Bloom is going to be fine.”

Sweetie Belle gave a sigh of relief. Twilight was anything but a liar, and it was so good to get some good news. With that weight of worrying for Apple Bloom off her shoulders, focussing on the current conversation would be much easier. “Yeah, but I only know up to…I think it was ‘black and white will meet with green.’ Twilight, am I really the one in this prophecy? I just want to go back to being a crusader with Bloom and Scoots.” Her sadness was evident, and Twilight’s face wavered, and she turned and looked away.

“I…” she sighed in response after trailing off. Sweetie Belle waited for Twilight to continue. She turned around, her face having regained composure, and nodded. “Yes Sweetie Belle, there is no other option. You are this ‘Sweetest Belle’ that will destroy the world.” Twilight’s worlds left Sweetie stunned, as if she had been slapped in the face. There is no other option? That can’t be right, there had to be a way she just couldn’t be. “The only way to save the world is to kill you.”

Twilight’s words filled Sweetie with ice. It was such a simple statement said as if she’d over-rationalised it to a single point. Knowing Twilight, she had done this so she would not be able hesitate later, when it would be important. Sweetie Belle didn’t understand, her head hurt just trying to understand how Twilight could talk so calmly about killing somepony. What could cause Twilight to abandon her morals so entirely?

Oh, that’s right. Sweetie Belle had forgotten the fact she was apparently going to destroy the world.

“But Zecora says there’s another way! She said if I go on a journey with her we can stop the prophecy from happening!” Sweetie saw Twilight’s eyes dilate as she spoke, hopefully in surprise.

Twilight lurched forward, grabbing the end of the bed with her hooves and flaring her wings in palpable fear, “NO!”

Sweetie Belle jumped in surprise and stamped her hoof, speaking angrily, “Well why not?” Twilight opened her mouth as if to say something in response to Sweetie’s question, and then abruptly shut it.

“I...can’t tell you...” she muttered under her breath.

Sweetie Belle was about to retort but paused for a moment in confusion. “Why not?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“The prophet used the last of his magic to place a spell upon the world so that even if we know why, we can’t tell the person whom the prophecy is about. This means we can’t tell you certain things.” Twilight’s face lowered and she gazed at the floor and heaved a sigh.

Sweetie Belle paused, blinked and tilted her head in absolute confusion. Sweetie didn’t understand, it made no sense starting from ‘oh by the way you’re going to destroy the world.’ “But we’re talking about it right now! How can we be talking about it if you said the spell doesn’t allow it?”

“For some reason the spell allows anypony who knows it to talk about it, but only if it has already come true.” Twilight gave another sigh, glancing around the room. Sweetie Belle blinked, and gave another confused nod. Zecora has said something similar, it was very strange.

“So what can I ask?” Sweetie Belle was tired of the secrecy.

Twilight grimaced at her question, and then mused silently for a moment, “I can’t answer about the prophecy. But if you want information on any other subject I know about, I can answer you.” Twilight finished speaking and waited patiently for questions.

Sweetie Belle paused and thought about what to ask for a moment. So she couldn’t ask about the prophecy or about what would happen, but she could ask about what had already happened. There were two main things she wanted to know in that case. Three if she counted a very important question she would ask after she was done getting what she could from Twilight.

But where should she start? The magic book or the forest creature... It would probably be better to start with the shorter questions first. That way she could get them out of the way.

“Okay, well, Apple Bloom was attacked by some creature in the forest.” Sweetie Belle quickly went on to describe it, Twilight nodding as she talked about it.

“It sounds like a Leucrota. It’s not normally seen around these parts, it comes from where Zecora originates. Then again it is the Everfree so I can’t give you conclusive evidence to say they wouldn’t be there.” Twilight waited patiently for her next question, Sweetie Belle muse for a moment again.

“I didn’t get to finish reading my magic book. When can I have that back?” Sweetie belle watched Twilight opening her saddlebags and pulling out the book Sweetie Belle had just talked about.

“Here, there’s no point holding it from you now.” Sweetie watched Twilight place it on the desk beside the bed, and then return to gazing at her. There were two last questions to ask now.

“When are you planning on killing me and how come you could shout no when you said you can’t give away what happens in the future?”

Twilight reared back in surprise and shock. “But-I-No I-How?” Twilight went over the conversation and realised she HAD given it away. But how it shouldn’t be possible unless... She returned to looking to Sweetie Belle.

“Ask me a question about the future,” demanded Twilight.

Sweetie Belle tilted her head, but said, “Will I see an adult dragon?”

“Yes!” She gasped in shock. Sweetie Belle began to understand, and her face broke out into hope.

“Will he be a nice dragon?” Twilight turned to look at her and broke out into a smile of pure joy.

“YES!” Twilight darted into her bag and quickly pulled out paper and quill and wrote something down and floated it over to Sweetie Belle.

“Here read this,” she said, pressing it into Sweetie’s face. Picking it up in a sore hoof, she frowned, and tilted her head.

“It’s just scribbles,” Sweetie Belle replied. Twilight blinked, brought the paper over and glanced at it, and blinked again.

“It seems I can’t tell you what questions to ask, you have to choose the right ones.” She folded the paper up and slipped it into the book.

“You might as well keep it. It may come in handy,” finished Twilight. Sweetie Belle nodded, and saw Twilight was preparing to leave, and stopped her, a frown creasing her face.

“You haven’t answered my question. When are you going to ‘kill me’?” Twilight flinched, face turned away and curtain half open. There was a moment of silence, before she answered and left without another word.

“Three days from now, when you are discharged from the hospital. We will be escorting you to Celestia. I’m sorry.”

—This is called a channel.

Normally, the channel is the horn. But in extremely rare cases where the magic isn’t flowing to the horn fast enough, a different part of their body can be used to better access their key. There are also outside channels, but they are much harder to call upon, due to it needing three times the focus to pull off. It requires the user to focus on their channel, and instead of directing it toward their body parts, direct it toward a certain object. One well known example is Discord, who has mastered the use of channeling. Normally accompanied by a snapping of the fingers, we do not know the extent of his powers, nor of the extent he can control channels. Discord could also control other pony's channels, thus able to reverse their personalities if he so wished.

Other ponies can do this as well, but only Alicorns are known to have the endurance and power to perform such action alone. A group can normally accomplish this feat with some degree of difficulty. One such example is the moving of the sun and moon. The group unifies their magic to turn the group into a huge channel, and then sends their channel to the sun and use it’s own channel to move it. The amount of energy required to get to it is astronomical, but possible to reach with enough ponies. Once there, it is a simple matter to ask the sun to move using the vast energy available to it.

Of course, this is something only a master of the craft can accomplish, and it is not covered in this book how to do such actions. This book is only to help fillies and colts learn how to call their magic, and thus strengthen it enough that they can call the magic to their horn once it is strong enough.

Excercise 1:
Finding your magic channel.

Author's Note

I am so unhappy with this chapter, but I've held off submitting long enough.
I'm sorry for the blatant tell,

Before the storm

Rarity was busy. She had to make all these clothes in a very short timespan. Luckily for her she had no other projects she was working on, and she managed to complete them in just twenty-four hours. All the while, she had to mentally force herself not to think of her sister, even when reminded of the little things she had done inside the boutique kept her fresh in Rarity’s mind.. The hardest part had been when she had finished the clothes, and realised she would have to wait a few hours for anypony to be up. Rarity found it hard to keep herself from glancing toward the hospital, or reorganising her objects.

“Rarity, you in there? The lights are on.” Rarity snapped out of her melancholy, she realised someone had been knocking politely for the past five minutes. Pulling herself together, she walked toward the door and opened it to greet Twilight.

“My my, you are certainly up early.” Rarity noticed she and Twilight had matching bags under their eyes and they shared a quick, sad smile.

“Listen Rarity… I was wondering if you would allow me to cast a spell on you, as an experiment. It won’t harm you in any way, but I won’t force you to let me use it.” Even in her tired, and sadness filled body, Rarity couldn’t help but notice the guilt enveloping Twilight’s body. Her suspicions are aroused.

“Only if you don’t mind telling me what the spell will do beforehand.” Twilight flinched, and Rarity’s suspicion grew.

“It’s to…” she trailed off, and then looked Rarity in the eyes.

“It’s to help ease some of the burden of what we are about to do.” Rarity felt her suspicions fly out the window, and felt a little silly for suspecting Twilight. She was a good friend, and she didn’t deserve to be looked at under a microscope. And truth be told, she wanted some help to ease this burden they were sharing. She didn’t want her sister to die, there had to be a way around it. If this spell would help her think a little clearer, she would welcome it.

“Have you already cast it on the others?” she asked, and Twilight nodded.

“You’re the last one, barring myself.” Rarity nodded, as if accepting that.

“Alright dear, but on one condition. You cast the spell you just mentioned on yourself too.” Twilight nodded at Rarity’s request, and began charging her horn. Rarity closed her eyes in preparation. As the spell began to take effect she heard Twilight speak and opened her eyes in shock.

“Please forgive me Rarity, most of all.” The spell hit, and for a brief moment Rarity realised what the spell was trying to do and tried to fight it, tears streaming down her face. And then Twilight upped the magic, and the spell took full effect.

“No…” Rarity whispered as she collapsed as the spell finished. Twilight quickly went around the rooms and levitated anything and everything that was related to Sweetie Belle. Glancing around one more time, she saw the clothes for Rarity’s latest client, and wondered at the peculiar design before heading outside and closing the door behind her. Rarity opened her eyes a second later, and rubbed her head as a fierce migraine hit her.

“Oh my, my head hurts,” she muttered, glancing around her Boutique. For some reason it felt a little different from earlier, but she couldn’t quite place it. Heading into the kitchen, she saw a shopping list and frowned.

“What a strange list of items, what reason would I have for some rope?” She scrunched it up and tossed it into the bin before making a cup of coffee, and took a gentle sip. She sighed in bliss.

“I do not know what it is about today, but I feel as if I’ve forgotten something important. Something sad…” she trailed off and mused on it a little more. Shrugging a bit, she decided to see if she had any orders to fill today. Walking out and up to her room where her list was kept, she passed a completely bare room and frowned.

“I could have sworn something was inside there. Oh well, it mustn’t be important.” Trotting by, she levitated the door open and pulled over the list, giving her room a quick once-over to see the current project and what had been recently finished.

“Strange, there’s one order here with five circles around it for importance. And the order is already finished even though it was the most recent addition.” Walking over to the order, she noticed how familiar they were and frowned.

“The name, the order, the note, the room…Something is missing. Something named…” trying to remember it, she trailed off. Growling, she glanced to the form again, and frowned at the name she was having trouble reading.

“Swee—teee—belle?” She mused for a moment over the name, her headache coming on stronger and stronger until, just like that, the wall around her memory shattered.

“Sweetie Belle!” All at once her memories rushed back, and so did her grief at the current situation and the knowledge of what the shopping list, clothes, and blank room meant.

“Twilight tried to wipe my memory!” Rarity was angry, and conflicted. She knew Twilight had only been trying to help, and she had asked first but the act was self explanatory! And what’s more, she was no closer to finding a solution to her problem.

“I’ll...Just have to ask them.” Rarity walked back into the kitchen and retrieved the shopping list and hid it in her saddlebags as she levitated them onto her back. Heading out the door, she made a beeline for Applejack farm.

“Howdy Rarity, you sure are up this early normally aren’t ya?” Rarity had found Applejack about to go bucking apples, so she wouldn’t have to go searching the fields, thankfully.

“Yes dear, I was wondering if I could ask a question if possible.” After Rarity finished speaking, Applejack put down what she was carrying, and paid full attention to Rarity.

“If you had to choose between Apple Bloom and the world, what would you pick?” Applejack paused, and considered it carefully.

“That’s a tough one. Well…Honestly the obvious option is the world an’ all. But deep down, I would still pick mah sister.” Applejack seemed uncomfortable about the question, and her own answer. Rarity smiled, and thanked Applejack before leaving. Ever honest, Rarity was starting to understand what choice she would have to make.

“Who would I pick? My friends or the world?” Rainbow Dash had been sleeping on a cloud on Rarity’s way to Fluttershy, so it was the perfect chance to ask.

“I love the world as much as the next pony, but I would never abandon my friends, never again.” Rarity was puzzled what Rainbow meant by ‘never again’ but chalked it up to something to do with Loyalty. She thanked Rainbow Dash, and continued on.

“I-Is there n-no way to choose both?” Fluttershy, ever the optimist was the first to ask that question, and with a heavy heart Rarity shook her head in answer.

“We-Well I-I could never chose one or the other. B-But if it was at a-a very dangerous pl-place I wo-would probably go with m-my friends.” Rarity nodded, and comforted Fluttershy, who had started crying at the imagination of having to be in such a situation.

Entering Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie Pie was manning the desk and Rarity was glad.

“Well Hi! Rarity, what brings you here this early birdy in the morning?” Rarity chuckled, feeling as if she had just drank a whole cup of coffee just from being around Pinkie Pie.

“I was wondering if I would ask you a quick question my dear.” Pinkie Pie leapt over the counter and stood barely a millimetre from Rarity.

“Oooh, okay! But only if you promise to try my new SUPER DUPER QUADRA CUPCAKE!” Rarity chuckled, and agreed, pulling out her purse in preparation for an expensive answer.

“If you had to choose between the world and us, your friends who would you-“ Pinkie Pie cut Rarity off, and answered without hesitation.

“My friends of course! the world has lotsa ponies but I could never give up my old friends for the sake of new friends. NOW TRY MY CUPCAKE!”

Exiting the store after a long, and expensive, candy binge, Rarity felt a certain acceptance in her heart. She knew what to do.

Rarity walked toward the hospital, saddlebags filled with items. She heaved a heart-wrenching sigh, and gazed up at the moon. Tonight was the last chance she would have to speak with her sister before it was time to take her to Celestia. Walking indoors, she reminisced on the times she had had with her sister.

“Rarity?” spoke the voice she had been missing all this time, and Rarity forced herself not to try or leap towards her sister in open joy to be seeing her. Instead she approached, casual but not cold.

“Sweetie Belle, I want to ask you a question.” Rarity watched her sister close the book she had been reading, and pay full attention to her.

“Do you believe Zecora is telling the truth about a way to stop the Prophecy?” Rarity wanted to ensure this was what Sweetie Belle truthfully wanted to do. Sweetie Belle nodded gravely, fierce determination in her eyes. Rarity could see she was not fully recovered yet, but she would walk fine.

Rarity felt the tears come again, and closed her eyes before just letting them flow. Reaching behind her she pulled the saddlebags off her back and placed them on the bed beside her sister, before turning away.

“Then go, I love you too much to let you die.”

It took a few moments for Sweetie Belle to be able to stand, tears of honest joy and sadness flowing from her face. She leapt off the bed, and hugged her sister, who quickly turned to hold her sister one last time.

“I love you sis, I’ll find a way to stop the world from dying or whatever this prophecy is saying. Don’t forget about me.” Sweetie Belle wanted to stay there in her sister’s embrace forever, but they both knew they didn’t have nearly enough time to be selfish, not anymore.

“Be strong, and come back one day.” They separated at Rarity’s words, and Sweetie Belle put on the saddlebags, a bit too big for her, but enchanted so as to be light enough for her to carry, and also so as to stay on her back. They each embraced one last time, and Sweetie Belle began to head for the door.

“I’ll be back Rarity.” Sweetie spared one last look back at Rarity, before walking out of the hospital and towards the woods. Rarity’s legs gave way and she collapsed on to the bed and openly sobbed. The book forgotten on the bedside table.

Sweetie Belle cast one final glance over her shoulder before disappearing into the false light of predawn.

“Please be safe.”

We're looking for a box.

The faint dawn lit the path in front of Sweetie Belle as she sighed. Walking through the silent, almost dead town brought memories of her time in Ponyville into her head. Was she really going to destroy the world? She didn’t want to, that was for sure. Her only hope laid with Zecora. And if she was honest, it wasn’t as much hope as she liked.

Rarity didn’t believe Zecora, but had decided to let Sweetie Belle go. Killing her would have been too much for Rarity. Sweetie Belle wouldn't let the prophecy stop her, no matter what it said. She knew she wouldn't hurt anypony. But even so, her doubt ate away at her resolve, and each step seemed to take longer and longer as she finally reached the edge of the town, and stopped.

“I-I can’t do it” her quiet voice broke the unnatural silence, and her head fell and tears began streaming. She tried to convince herself to go, to move, to hope. But with every attempt, she was rebuked by that same thought: She was going to destroy the world. Added to that was her sister's own doubt that Zecora could even help her.

“Sweetie Belle?” Jerking out of her thoughts, she flinched, realising the voice had come from behind her. With sweat beading her face, she turned around to see who it was.

“Oh, Scootaloo, you scared me. But why are you here?” She breathed a sigh of relief, she was still safe for the moment.

“I was going to Rainbow Dash’s house, so I could catch her the moment she woke up.” Scootaloo raised an eyebrow, before rubbing her eyes and giving a yawn.

“I see, that makes sense.” Sweetie Belle glanced back toward the forest, and bit her lip in hesitation.

“So Sweetie Belle, you're out finally. They wouldn’t let me come and see you or Apple Bloom,” she spoke, another yawn leaving her mouth before she folded her wings and gave a warm smile.

“Really? I didn’t know Scoots. And I gotta say, I’m glad I get to see you before I go.” Even after just a few moments of seeing Scootaloo, her fears had fluttered to the back of her head, and a small smile broke out on her face.

Scootaloo frowned and tilted her head. “Go? Are you going somewhere, Sweetie Belle? And by yourself?”

Sweetie Belle glanced toward the woods, and sighed. Her eyes constricted and she turned away as her fears came back in full force, forcing herself not to cry.

“I have to go Scootaloo. I’m meeting Zecora and we’re going to try and stop something really bad from happening.” Sweetie Belle almost wanted to ask Scootaloo to come along. But she couldn’t, they were going far and she wasn’t going to drag Scootaloo into this mess.

Wings flaring, Scootaloo replied, “Wait right here, I will be five minutes.” Sweetie Belle raised her hoof in protest, but Scootaloo had already left.

“But…I don’t have five minutes,” she whispered, glancing to the sky as it began to light up. Twilight would be up soon, if not already. And if they caught her, everything would be over.

One minute later Scootaloo returned, saddlebags full of items and a determined expression on her face.

“Scoot-“ Sweetie Belle began, holding a hoof to speak up and say Scootaloo couldn’t come.

Scootaloo cut her off, voice stern and unyielding, “No matter what you say or do, I am coming with you.” Her voice was a little nervous, and Sweetie Belle quickly thought of a counter argument.

“But what about your parents, surely they would be worried?”

Scootaloo jerked slightly, and rubbed the back of her head, “Don’t worry, they won’t be worried about me. But we should get going right? Or the really bad thing might happen without us?” Scootaloo glanced to the forest, and began jogging in that direction.

“Scoots, please, I don’t want to hurt you like I hurt Apple Bloom, ” she begged. Scootaloo didn’t even pause. Walking after her friend, Sweetie Belle glanced back to the town one final time.

“Aright Scoots, just promise me something.” Catching up to her friend, Sweetie Belle noticed Scootaloo slow down to a walk. She gave Sweetie Belle a wary glance at the coming proposition

“If something happens to me, I want you to run away. Okay? Run back to town and tell Rarity what happened.” Sweetie Belle tried to hide her tears by glancing away.

Scootaloo’s face flushed with concern, and she nodded, “Ok Sweetie Belle, I promise.”

After an uneventful trek through the forest, Sweetie Belle knocked on the door of Zecora’s hut. The sun had risen finally, and it wouldn’t be long before Twilight began tracking Sweetie down.

“I was waiting for you to arrive, we must hurry now if we are to survive.” Zecora had her saddles full to the brim with objects, and Sweetie Belle noticed that her hut was almost barren. Excluding some of the nonessential items.

“Uh, ok then. lets go Scoots.” Scootaloo nodded, raising an eyebrow but not saying anything. Zecora barely glanced in their direction.

“This way, do not stray, and we may indeed survive this day.” As they went into the forest, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo had some trouble clearing obstacles Zecora merely walked over. However, every time they fell behind, Zecora would pause and let them catch up.

“So why are we ouch! going through the Everfree Zecora?” Sweetie Belle was the first to open her mouth, and tripped over as a result. Scootaloo could hover over most obstacles, seeming to hop like Pinkie Pie did all the time. However, weighed down by her bags, Sweetie Belle wasn’t having such luck.

“We must go to the ruins of the moon, then find the map to save us from doom.” With that said, she continued walking. Eventually the woods ended, and they made it onto a rough, dirt path and Zecora allowed them to take a quick break.

“I’m starting to regret deciding to come with you” Scootaloo muttered.

Puffing, she replied, “I’m starting to regret coming with me.” They both shared a chuckle, and recovered their strength. Scootaloo got her breath back quicker than Sweetie Belle, who was still recovering from her injuries. Eventually though, they continued on down the trail, over a river, over a bridge, and eventually they arrived at the castle.

It was pretty ruined, and Sweetie Belle wondered how old it was. Dusty glass lay scattered in places, pillars lay crumbled. In one of the rooms, one could easily see some kind of pedestal with six platforms.

“Split up and search around, shout off once it is found. It is square, and in disrepair. It is about the size of your head, and will show us the way ahead.” So they began looking around the old ruins for some kind of square thing around the size of their heads.

“Hey Sweetie Belle, I know I decided to come on this and everything, but what exactly are we doing again?” Scootaloo didn’t really understand what they were doing all this for, Sweetie Belle should have the answers.

Sweetie Belle paused in her searching, and realised Scootaloo didn’t know about the situation, “Well, apparently I’m going to destroy the world...And well, there’s this, prophecy. Twilight and the others were about to kill me and, well this is kinda the only way it that will save the world which doesn’t, well, result in my death.” Sweetie Belle gave a chuckle, trying to pass the entire situation off as something lighthearted.

Scootaloo narrowed her eyes, but didn’t comment on it for a moment. Of course she could tell her friend was thinking deeply about this problem, so it wasn’t something should could pass off as a joke.

“Haha, well talk about a convoluted story, eh Sweetie?” They both pretended to laugh. Both pretended the situation wasn’t as serious in any shape or form, and they went back to work.

Sweetie Belle headed into the underground cellar near a podium that had six stands, all empty. Looking around, there were a lot of old artefacts. She soon found a square object with very detailed magic carvings on it, covered in moss. Putting her hoof on it, she peered at them, and wondered what they said.

“Maybe magic is the answer…” she mused, calling upon her magic, making her eyes glow. She bathed it in a weak magic field, and tried to cast a weak spell with the intention of ‘translate.’ There was a brief moment where the square glowed, and suddenly she was flung backward, smashing into a nearby wall, becoming momentarily winded.

After she got her breath back, she saw Zecora walk down the stairs and make her way toward the square.

“Sorry Zecora, I should have called before trying something.” Sweetie Belle hadn’t thought that far ahead. She had seen the box, and just gone to try to open it impulsively.

Zecora glanced at her, before turning around and kicking the stone with her back legs, breaking it in two. Standing up, Sweetie came over and saw what had been encased in it. Picking it up, she frowned and glanced over it.

“It’s a mirror.” Sweetie Belle glanced to Zecora, who shook her head.

“It is indeed the block we want, but it has not what we have sought.”

Holding the item in her hoof, Sweetie replied, “can I keep it?” Zecora nodded, walking back up the stairs. Looking through the items more, she found a few strange items that held specific properties. She found this weird phial that was hovering, a bug that was singing, and even some kind of magical claw.

After some time, her ear flickered as she heard Scootaloo cry out in help and her heart leapt to her throat. Turning she quickly cantered upstairs and glanced around for Scootaloo. Finding her laying down, she walked over and quickly looked for any injuries. Finding a bump on the back of the head, all Sweetie Belle had time to think about was that someone had knocked Scootaloo out. As soon as this thought was finished, the world began to swirl around her and she felt herself go limp. Darkness followed soon after.

Sweetie Belle lurched back into awareness and found herself bound in some kind of green magic, and she was jostled each time the magic would move up and down. It reminded her of a boat on some large waves. Forcing herself to remember what happened, she jerked herself into an upright position and was relieved to see both Scootaloo and Zecora uninjured. However her saddlebags were not on her back, and as she glanced around for them, they were in a different bubble of magic, she got her first look at what had captured her.

They were black insectoid creatures. And they seemed pleased with their catch. Being the only one awake at the moment, Sweetie Belle felt herself being separated from her friends, and inspected. She shuddered as she felt their magic creep across her skin, probing and prodding her.

Gazing around, she noticed she had no idea where they were. Even the trees looked different, all either dead or dying. She opened her mouth to ask where she was.

“Where are we? Where are you taking us?” The creature glanced to her, and then returned to ignoring her. She glanced around once more, seeking some sort of distinct feature in the landscape, to give her a clue.

Eventually, a structure as black as night, perfectly hidden by trees, came into view as they entered the clearing. She couldn’t help but gawk slightly at the many holes that covered it. It reminded her of a bee’s nest.

Entering it, she wondered why Zecora and Scootaloo hadn’t awoken yet, and she frowned with concern before paying more attention to the area around her. There were some green cocoons around the place, filled with ponies of different sizes and shapes. They seemed to be sleeping, and Sweetie Belle felt a chill up her spine.

The insects activated their wings and they rose to the higher sections of the hive. Entering a room much larger than the tunnels, Sweetie Belle realised just what these things were.

“So this is the latest batch, but why is that one awake?” Her voice was deep, and dark, her hair a dark green, her crown the same colour as her skin, and went well with her large bug-like wings. She was a changeling.

“She awoke on the way here. She seems to have some level of tolerance to our regular spells, Queen Chrysalis.” Sweetie Belle glanced to the one that spoke and wondered why it had waited until now to speak.

“I see…Take her to be processed, put the others in containment.” With a wave of her hoof, she dismissed the changelings. As they left Sweetie glanced back at her, and their eyes met for a moment, she quickly glanced away before her fear became evident.

“Wait!” The queen’s voice rang through the room, and the two changelings paused, and turned.

“Leave her with me.” Her voice was absolute authority, and yet they each glanced to each other in puzzlement before obeying. Sweetie Belle felt herself lurch toward the queen, before being snagged by a much stronger magic. She watched forlornly as both her friends, and her items from Rarity were taken away.

“So…What is this strange energy I sense from you…?” As the Queen spoke, she swung Sweetie Belle around and looked straight into her eyes. Shying away, she tried to turn her head and avoid meeting the queen’s gaze. However the magic was too strong for her to move against.

The queen watched her antics with amusement, “I shall take this strange energy for myself. Prepare to die little filly.” Sweetie Belle only had time to widen her eyes as the Queen lowered her horn and smirked. Opening her mouth to scream, Sweetie Belle could only watch as the Queen thrust her horn straight into Sweetie’s chest.

Suddenly greeted with darkness, Sweetie Belle could only scream, eyes filling with tears. Where was she? Why was everything dark? She didn’t want to die. She wanted to live! She wanted to see her sister. Scootaloo, she had to protect Scootaloo from the situation Sweetie had gotten her into. Had she died? No that was impossible, this couldn’t be death! There must be more than darkness in death!

Curling into a ball, she began to sob openly to the darkness. The world would be saved, but she was no longer in it. This couldn’t be the end of her journey, killed so easily. It wasn’t fair!

Eventually, she ended up calming down and raised her head, gazing into the darkness. With a big breath, she forced herself to think calmly for a moment.

Opening her mouth, she tried to speak. No sound came out, it seemed she was both blind and deaf, or it was a silent nothingness. Next she carefully felt her body, and horn, realising she was still in her body. There was no hole, but she could hear no heartbeat.

Do you want to live, knowing that your death means the world will be safe?

Sweetie Belle flinched as a voice spoke inside her head. Tears streaming down her face as she looked towards where the ground would be, she wanted to say no. As much as she wanted to live, she didn’t want to destroy the world, especially Rarity.

What if there was a way…To save the world?

Jerking upright again, she felt a sprinkle of hope hit her heart. Could it be? Was there a way she could be alive, and the world be safe?

Yes…

It was strange, the voice seemed almost hesitant to answer. She tossed the thought aside, feeling a resurgence of hope. There was a way, an absolute way, to save the world. But who was this voice?

You’ll know by the end of your little adventure.

There was a slight chuckle at the end, and she puzzled at that. Who was it that was talking to her? How could she trust the voice?

You can’t, but I’m telling you both the truth and what you want to hear.

Sweetie Belle knew she would have to trust the voice, but she had two final questions. Her body was yearning to go back, she could get everything she wanted! Things could go back to normal! But she wanted to know why this voice was helping her, and how she was going to get back. Death was permanent wasn’t it?

For any other pony, it would be. However you have a...very special energy. As for what I get out of it. Hrm, telling you would spoil the fun. Either way, you already had the power to return, I’m just…giving you a push.

Sweetie Belle wanted to ask what the voice meant by she ‘already had the power’, but she doubted she wanted to know the answers.

Oh you are an amusing one, so full of questions, and so very curious. But enough talk, we are wasting precious time. I do hope you don’t mind me borrowing some of your ‘special energy’ in return for teaching you about this. Trust me dear, it will be put to good use.

Sweetie Belle didn’t really have a choice, she had to return. She had unfinished business and couldn’t leave her friends like that. She nodded, and waited for the voice to tell her how.

Now that’s a good filly. It is fairly simple, cast a spell and say ‘I want to live.’

Sweetie Belle frowned, but decided to obey. Calling forth her magic she formulated a small spell, causing her eyes to glow in the darkness. With the new light, she realised it was more gray than anything.

Casting it, she spoke, “I want to live.” It sailed off into the darkness, and she frowned.

Come now my dear, surely you can put more effort into it than that? It doesn’t sound like you want to live that badly

Frowning she concentrated again, this time focusing on her desire to return to the world.

“I want to live,” she spoke, casting it and feeling the spell resist the air around her slightly and dissipate. The voice didn’t reply, and it didn’t need to. Sweetie Belle growled and put all her energy into the spell, eyes glowing brighter than ever before, and she began to cry with the strain of holding the spell. Putting all her energy into it, she closed her eyes tightly and screamed to the heavens.

“I want to LIVE!” Sweetie Belle screamed, her magic tightly clamped around something in front of her. She felt the object shatter in her magic, opening her eyes as her magic faded to nothing. The first thing she saw was the Queen jerked back in shock, her magic vanishing. Falling to the floor, Sweetie Belle grunted and stood up, taking gasping breaths of air. Sweetie Belle groped her chest, and was relieved to find it whole.

“You should be d-dead!” The Queen’s shaking voice made her raise her head, and see the fear in her eyes, along with the now broken horn that was oozing green ichor. Thinking quickly, she smirked and stood up tall. Betting on the fact she could bluff a hurt empath.

“If you don’t want this entire hive to be destroyed, you will let me and my companions go, this is your only warning.” Sweetie Belle saw the anger flare briefly in the Queen’s eyes, and quickly began charging magic that wouldn’t actually do anything other than hopefully frighten the Queen. The fear returned and the Queen turned away and growled in frustration.

“Guards!” Two changelings burst into the room, horns flaring to life with magic. They prepared to fire as soon as they saw the state of their queen.

“Wait, don’t. Let her and her two companions go.” The guards threw each other puzzled glances, and one even opened his mouth to speak.

“Just do it you fools!” The guards blinked, and immediately dashed away to carry out her orders. After a minute they returned with her friends, and her saddlebags in tow. Glancing toward the Queen, she raised her head and walked calmly to her friends who had begun to wake up.

“Sweetie Belle? W-What happened?” Scootaloo was the first to rise, rubbing her eyes and sitting up. Seeing herself surrounded by weird creatures, she immediately took a defensive stance.

“Calm down Scootaloo, they wouldn’t dare hurt us.” At Sweetie Belle’s words, Scootaloo glanced in her direction, and hesitantly relaxed her posture. Zecora rose next, and gazed around.

“Questions can wait for later, lets get out of here,” Sweetie Belle spoke, giving them a quick glance. Zecora nodded once, and Scootaloo followed suit. Turning back to the Queen, she raised an eyebrow.

“Ok fine, guards escort them to the exit!” growled the Queen, her voice strained under the pressure, wanting the thing in front of her gone. The guards bowed, and obeyed the order.

Arriving at the exit, Sweetie Belle was relieved to see the forest, even if unfamiliar. Pausing, she frowned as she realised she didn’t know where to go.

“Do not worry Sweetie Belle, I know this path very well,” rhymed Zecora, and she took the lead as she led them into the forest. Falling into place, Sweetie Belle realised something had changed from her time in that blackness. She felt as light as a feather, in fact she was almost easily keeping pace with Zecora.

Eventually, the sun set and they made camp. Scootaloo heaved a yawn, heading into the tent she, Zecora and Sweetie Belle would be sharing. Her sleeping bag was warm, but she didn’t fall asleep just yet. Turning to gaze to Sweetie Belle, she glanced quickly to Zecora as the zebra walked in and headed straight to her bed.

“So Sweetie Belle, what happened?” Scootaloo saw Sweetie Belle flinch, and her eyes narrowed. Sweetie Belle was currently going through the items her sister had given her. There were items such as rope, emergency food, a first aid kit, clothing, and other such essentials. There was also of course the mirror she had found earlier included. She was currently packing everything back in, but she forced herself to speak, voice shaking slightly.

“I-I kinda died…A-And somehow came back to life…” she whispered. Scootaloo’s wings jerked upright in shock, and she opened her mouth to ask how.

“T-The Queen s-stabbed me and I went somewhere really dark. B-But there was this nice voice that showed me how to get out A-and apparently I s-scared the queen enough we could escape.” Sweetie Belle felt all the emotion that she had bottled up during that time, trying to appear confident and unafraid. Somehow it had worked but she had been so scared at that time.

Leaping over, Scootaloo gave Sweetie Belle a hug, “It’s ok SB, what matters is it’s over now.” They stayed up for a little longer, but eventually Scootaloo went to sleep as well.

Giving a yawn Sweetie Belle finished packing everything but the mirror into the bag. Picking it up she gazed at it’s surface and puzzled at how gray it was. Giving it a wipe and a spit-shine didn’t seem to do anything.

Tapping it gently, she listened to the dull thunking sound it gave, and peered at it closely. Seeing the surface stir, something began to appear. As she learned back a bit, it seemed to be clearing up, she tapped it a few more times and waited for it to clear up more. A darker blob was separating from the background, and she frowned. It didn’t look like a face it looked like an entire pony.

’Aah!’ spoke a voice from her mind, and the pony shape darted out of view. Puzzled, she leaned in and tried to glance around the corners of the mirror but didn’t get any results. Feeling a bit annoyed, she tapped it a few more times. Once again, she was rewarded as a face peeked in from the bottom of the mirror.

’H-Hello?’ spoke the voice, finally coming into view. The unicorn mare was a pale gray in colour with a sparkling silver mane and tail. Her eyes were definitely her most striking feature, a bright green. Sweetie Belle didn’t have time to ask questions, because the mare was quick to continue speaking.

’Oh, it’s you! It’s finally you!’ The relief in the mare’s voice was evident, which puzzled Sweetie Belle.

“Wait, who do you think I am?” It was a pathetic question, but Sweetie Belle was a little caught off guard. Her friends stirred, but slept on.

’Oh forgive my manners. I’m Allusya, and you are my master!’

Lesson Number 1

Lesson Number 1

Sweetie Belle had tried for nearly an hour to get any further information out of the mirror. However, every question she asked the mirror would simply say, ‘I was not given that knowledge upon my creation.’ It was insanely frustrating, and Sweetie Belle eventually bid the mare goodnight, and slipped into her sleeping bag. She would tell the others in the morning about the strange mirror.

Closing her eyes, she breathed out and relaxed for the first time since she had listened in on her sister’s conversation. If she had known it would have such dire consequences, she would have never done it in the first place.

But the voice said there was a way to save everyone, and she had to trust it. Her mind slowly became more muddled, and she slipped casually into the embrace of sleep.

“Sweetie Belle, Zecora says it’s time to wake up.”

Eyes flickering open, Sweetie Belle was greeted by the orange face of Scootaloo. She groaned and turned away, gently bopping the mare’s head in a weak attempt to get a few more minutes shuteye. A sigh escaped her friends lips, and suddenly she felt two hooves gently rest on her sides.

“I will give you one warning Sweetie Belle, because we are friends after all.” Scootaloo’s warning fell on deaf ears, as Sweetie Belle bopped her on the head again, grumbling and saying something about Scootaloo's own sleeping habits. It was then that a funny feeling started where the hooves were, it was then she remembered her fatal weakness.

“NOOO! Stop it! Ahahaha sorry! Sorry stop please!” Scootaloo’s attack was merciless, and she was soon reduced to a ball of laughter, unable to even beg for mercy. Eventually, after Scoots had decided Sweetie had paid the price, she was released from the holds of the orange tickle monster.

Sitting up, Sweetie Belle saw Zecora packing up the supplies, she also spotted the two hay sandwiches that had been left out for her and Scootaloo. Sitting up, she stifled a yawn and glared at Scootaloo. The one time she had played Truth or Dare, and had decided to pick truth. Now she was paying for it

“Oh yeah, Zecora the mirror I found speaks.” Sweetie dove into her bags and pulled out the mirror, satisfied to see Allusya was already out and about. Zecora walked over and gazed at the mirror, Scootaloo tapped the surface.

“Wow, how’d she even get in there?” Scoots stopped tapping, and frowned as the mare began shouting, but made no sound.

“Uhm…pardon?” Scootaloo asked the mirror, confused. The mare shouted at Scootaloo more, and once again she couldn’t hear a thing. Glancing to Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo shrugged at her frown. Sweetie Belle seemed just as confused as Scootaloo.

“She said to stop hitting on her.” Sweetie Belle didn’t understand why Scoots couldn’t hear it, and she glanced to Zecora for answers.

“This is the Mirrors Bane my little filly’s, no one can hear what she alone shares. Except for you, my green eyed- Oh, there’s my shoe.” Zecora pulled up the edge of Sweetie Belle’s sleeping bag, revealing a shoe made for climbing up cliffs, or soccer. The two fillies blinked, and decided to ignore what had just happened.

“So only I can hear her, why’s that?” Sweetie Belle hadn’t thought much of it earlier, but Allusya was talking to her via same method the voice in that greyness had been. Maybe they were connected.

“Ask her, transfer.” Zecora’s rhymes was normally full of useful information. However when she spoke smaller sentences it always made for confusing conversations. Sweetie Belle turned back to the mirror.

“Uh, Allusya…Why can only I hear you?” Sweetie Belle felt a small shiver pass through her body, and Allusya smiled at her.

’You can hear me because you are my master.’

“Uhh, but what does that mean? What does being your ‘master’ mean?” Sweetie Belle wasn’t sure who was more confusing at this point, Zecora or Allusya. Allusya giggled, moving to the side to Sweetie could see her own face.

’I am here to train the one with green eyes. And as you can see, you have green eyes. This is further proven by the fact you can hear me, master.’

“Wait, train me? Train me how?” Her confusion grew more intense as each answer she received. Why did adults have to speak in riddles?

’I was told by my creator to teach you magic beyond compare, and be a map to guide you to your destination.’

Sweetie Belle blinked, “Wait, teach me magic? A map to my destination?” Allusya nodded, smiling cheerfully.

“Did my ears ring true? She has a map for you?” Zecora’s voice cut off Sweetie’s questions, and she turned and gave a hesitant nod.

“This is most excellent indeed, this is what we need to proceed. Ask her the path we must take, and hurry before it is far too late.” Frowning, Sweetie Belle hesitantly turned her head and repeated Zecora’s question.

’I can’t give you detailed directions in my current state, but for now you need only head south.’ Sweetie Belle repeated Allusya’s directions.

“In that case, pick up the pace.” Zecora ushered both fillies out of the tent, bags in tow, and packed up the tent. Putting on her own bags, she handed Sweetie Belle hers. Having nowhere else to put her, Sweetie Belle put her in the saddlebags on her back. Scootaloo grinned, bouncing around with newfound energy.

“Well, lets go, no point in letting the day go to waste.” Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes, and Zecora gave a small nod. In cases where rhyming would only confuse the fillies, she had taken to being silent.

“Day 2 of our race against fate or whatever it is you’re running from Bells-Er I mean Sweetie Belle!” Scootaloo hurried ahead, catching up to Zecora.

Scoots words caused Sweetie Belle to pause mid step. Scoots had never called her that before. Blinking, she realised she was falling behind, and quickly started running to catch up.

“Yep, Ah reckon they were definitely ‘ere. But Ah’m sure there’s three here Twilight, not two.” Applejack took a step back to let Twilight look at the tracks. She wouldn’t be able to read them, but she should be able to see the three distinct tracks in the dirt.

“But then why do their tracks end shortly down the road, did something catch them?” Twilight turned her gaze to the ruined castle, and frowned.

Fluttershy’s quiet call caught her attention, and the others paused to listen, “O-One of the squirrels said C-Changelings frequent by here. T-They gave me direction to the h-hive.” Fluttershy bowed her head and turned away, she disliked when her friends gave her sudden attention.

“Damnit, already? Lead the way Fluttershy, we need to get there as soon as possible. Rarity what are you doing?”

Rarity jumped out of her skin and looked to Twilight, “Uuh, nothing dear Twilight. I was just thinking of a new line of fashion, jungle vine style!” Rarity quickly launched into more details of how she would implement it, and Twilight grew bored and began walking in the direction Fluttershy pointed.

Rarity inwardly sighed, that had been close. If Twilight had seen her fear and worry there, she might have realised Rarity remembered who her sister was. The others might not remember, but she was certain if she timed it right she could convince them Twilight was in the wrong.

Oh how she missed her sister.

The sun was making its descent by the time they slowed to a stop. Sweetie Belle noticed how tired Scoots looked, and realised she barely felt fatigued at all. Zecora began preparing the tent, sending Scoots to get firewood and telling Sweetie to talk to the mirror to find out more ‘information’. Pulling out the mirror, she decided to start with an obvious one.

“So Allusya, what kinda magic can you teach me?”

’Very well, let’s begin your first lesson. I want you to call upon your magic, focusing on the mirror.’

Closing her eyes, Sweetie Belle focused and called upon her magic. It came willingly, and she then focused it on the mirror, feeling it wrap around it. It kinda tickled, her body.

’Now, pull with your magic.’

Sweetie Belle frowned, but obeyed and began pulling with her magic. She felt it resist her tug, but as she concentrated more something began to slowly slip out of the mirror. Suddenly, the magic jerked to a stop, and Sweetie was pushed backwards, sliding a few feet before managing to recover and stand up.

The mirror was hovering in the air, a green aura surrounding it. Suddenly, the mirror grew huge and turned upside down, looking almost like a portal. Sweetie could only watch as an unknown wind picked up, and a gray hoof stepped out of the mirror, followed by the rest of the pony. The mirror, finished with it’s duty, fell to the ground and was picked up by the mare who had been entombed within it.

Her coat was gray, but it shone in the dawn and seemed to glow, the silver mane sparkled like stars. Opening her striking green eyes, Allusya gave a warm smile to Sweetie Belle, and held out the mirror.

“It is so nice to have a physical body once more. Please keep that mirror with you at all times, otherwise my link to this place will vanish and I will once again be trapped in the mirror.” Her voice was soft, but it held a hard tone to it. Sweetie Belle obeyed mutely, shocked and confused by the sudden appearance of the mare.

“How?” Sweetie Belle managed to speak.

Allusya smiled once more and began to respond.“ The first spell you had to cast had to be one to bring me here. This way, I can teach you more complicated spells that required being able to use more than one limb.” Allusya glanced to the tent as Zecora walked out and looked to her.

“Our party has become one more, I packed for three ponies not four.”

Convergence.

“Levitation is all about reducing the effect of gravity on a pony. Pegasi utilise this most efficiently, however most unicorns can pull off simple levitation. It is easier on non-living objects due to the fact their weight doesn’t shift.” Allusya was walking with them, looking as if she was a filly and on her very first camping trip. However even as exited as she was, she was able to teach Sweetie Belle the basics of magic.

“So I just use the same idea behind the spell before, except instead of pulling outwards, I pull up?” Sweetie Belle was trying to understand Allusya as she spoke, but a lot of it flew over her head and hit the ground behind them.

“Essentially, when we stop for rest this afternoon I will show you how to use your magic to make your horn a focal point. That way your eyes won’t glow with magic every time you cast a spell. It will mean your spells will be weaker while using the method, but I’m sure it will come in handy should we need to go into a pony society. I can even-” Allusya smiled as a bird flew up high in the sky, her voice soft spoken and constant.

“Come on Sweetie Belle, could you turn her voice off or something?” Scootaloo nudged in next to Sweetie, whispering under her breath. They were both getting headaches from all this magic talk. It was almost like Twilight was walking with them. Sweetie Belle winced, she had forgotten for a moment Twilight wanted to kill her.

“It is time for a break, let us eat, get a plate.” Zecora paused when they reached a river. To one side the edge of a cliff could be seen. She began pulling out various herbs and grasses so she could brew up a decent sandwich. Sweetie Belle turned her gaze on the cliff, and as she walked toward it the view nearly took her breath away.

Right below them, the river cascaded over the cliff and into a large pool of water, large even from this high up. The river then snaked onward, heading towards a convergence where two rivers connected, the forest around them lush and vibrant with the water source nearby. Looking to where the second river came from, she was surprised to see that in the far distance, Canterlot could be seen, the river passing through the countryside’s many twists and turns to meet her river at the crossroad. Where the two met, a large pond had formed, before it transformed into one fast-flowing river that headed north. If she looked careful past some rocky ridges, she could even see Ponyville to the northeast.

“Everything looks so small.” Sweetie Belle sighed as she looked at it all, knowing if she ever cleared her name, things would never be the same. She doubted she would ever trust Twilight again, that’s for sure.

“Thinking of home?” It was Scootaloo, who joined her looking down from the cliff. They both sighed, Scootaloo shivering as a stray breeze passed by them.

“You know, I wonder if Rainbow Dash noticed me gone…” Scootaloo gave a sad sigh, and Sweetie put a leg around Scootaloo. They both knew Dash was not known for her awareness.

“Come on you two, lunch time for you.” At the sound of Zecora’s voice, Scootaloo turned and headed straight for the food, all thoughts immediately forgotten. Sweetie Bell smiled and watched Scootaloo dig in, pausing to glance back at the landscape. Allusya raised her head to look at Sweetie Belle, and her eyes narrowed.

Turning to go and eat, Sweetie Belle caught Allusya looking at her, and frowned as she stood up, opening her mouth to say something. Sweetie glanced down, and her eyes widened at the sight of the cliff crumbling beneath her. Raising her head, she saw Allusya reach for her, the other two dropping their meals and running for her.

The cliff rose above her as a hoof fell out of reach, and her mouth opened up as a cry escaped her mouth. Allusya quickly leapt off after her, Scootaloo about to follow if not for Zecora holding her back. Sweetie Belle saw all this as everything slowed to a crawl around her, and the water below beckoned her.

“Bells!” Scoots anguished cry reached her ears above the wind rushing around her, and she looked up to the face of Allusya. In her hand was the mirror from her bag, and Sweetie reached out to touch it, her senses dulled by the ground coming towards her. Allusya and the mirror vanished as her hoof brushed it’s surface, and she finally saw the tear stained face of Scoots.

Sweetie glanced to the ground, finally able to make out some features. She would land in the water, however there were multiple sharp rocks hidden under the waves. Sweetie realised she was going to die.

Sweetie Belle fell into the water, a rock stabbing her directly through the chest before she was washed downstream, and everything turned grey once more.

The sound of loud music erupted beside her, rendering her deaf in mere seconds. Plugging in her earplugs, she rubbed her face and sat up, giving a tired yawn. Opening her eyes, the pale grey mare with black hair gazed about the room, her eyes finally falling on the source of the noise.

“It’s the birthday of Tavi and the house rocks today, we will throw this roof up and all cry out ‘hey’. So listen here Tavi through this tired old routine, I can do this until the clock reaches fourteen!” The mare who was the cause of the sound had bright blue hair and a white coat. Even through the earplugs, the sound of her voice was only just at bearable levels.

Octavia stood up and turned off the mixer, ignoring the pout from Vinyl. Heading downstairs, she saw her coffee waiting for her, as it had been since the first day Vinyl had moved in here. She made herself one, and took a long drink.

“Vinyl, I told you yesterday, for my birthday I just want peace and quiet.” Octavia looked her friend square in the pouty face, her stern gaze slowly breaking under pressure. Giving a sigh, she sat down and pulled the earplugs from her ears and grabbed the paper. Opening it, she began to read. Vinyl took that as a sign of defeat.

“I know Tavi, but I just HAD to celebrate your biggest bestest day in style. I even got Pinke Pie to set up a party for you, even though she won’t be here for it. I gotta say that mare knows how to throw a party, even when she can’t be there to supervise.” Vinyl saw Tavi had stopped listening, and reached for her headphones, and plugged them in. Listening to no less than four songs, she waited for Tavi to finish.

“Vinyl, you know I have the recital tonight, I have to leave for Canterlot in an hour.” Tavi put the paper down, taking another sip of coffee. Vinl gasped in shock, and flailed in the air, causing her seat to topple backwards.

“I knooow Tavi! That’s why I scheduled it for tomorrow! I just wish you didn’t have to spend your bestest day playing to some boring fancy smucks! Let alone that guy you have to double with, what’s his name? Namby Pamby?” Vinyl stood up and picked the chair back up, heading toward the kitchen to do the dishes. Contrary to popular belief, she did not clean them with wubs. However she certainly listened to wubs while doing it.

“It’s Fanci Danci Vinyl and you know it. He is a famous musician and I am honoured to be joining him in a musical duet.” Tavi glared at Vinyl, before rolling her eyes as the mare began to sway in time to the music. Vinyl was already in her own world.

“I’ll be off then Vinyl, see you tomorrow.” Tavi stood up, and gave a wave to Vinyl, who waved in return, a smirk on her face. As she exited the door with her Cello, she knew when she returned she would be blasted with Vinyl’s favourite songs well into the night. A small smile filtered onto her face as she headed for the train station.

Tavi stood outside, marvelling the moon as she looked over the banister on her floor in the hotel. Below her, the waterfall that came from Canterlot joined with the river below, sending it down the mountain and toward another river, where the two met before running off together north.

In the room with her was Fanci Danci, a bright yellow unicorn with a mastery in music matching her own refined skills. Their songs had melted together, and the crowd had loved them. However as they moved onto solo performances, it was obvious to both of them who the crowd preferred.

A knock on the door, Tavi turned and headed inside as Fanci answered it. Tavi paused at the door as she saw three large earth ponies enter, and a smile fall on Fanci’s face. He turned on her, and she could only cry out in alarm as her Cello case was picked up by the brutes.

“I am the better musician! Or at least I will be with your instrument destroyed.” Fanci ordered the brutes to push her aside, and they pulled out her Cello and it’s bow, the tool used to bring music out of her Cello, and brought it to the balcony. They held it over the edge as Fanci smirked at her.

“Nooo!” Tavi’s anguished cry split the night as she dashed for her Cello, watching the colt release it. For a brief moment her mind thought she should stop, knowing she wouldn’t make it in time. But she ignored it, knowing she had to get it back. It had been a gift from Vinyl, who had built it herself. Tavi would not accept another Cello, except that one.

All four ponies could only widen their eyes as Tavi leapt up onto the railing as her Cello fell out of reach, and dived down right after it. Her arms wrapped around it and the bow, and she closed her eyes as tears sprung unbidden to her face.

“I’m sorry Vinyl, I won’t be home in time for my party.”

Tavi awoke with a gasp, her hands quickly checking her Cello and bow for any signs of damage. With a relief, she realised they were only waterlogged, and would recover. Gazing around, she realised she had drifted very far before hitting land. She was at the intersection of the two rivers as the formed into one, and headed north.

Standing up, she brushed the grime and dirt off her body slightly and straightened her hair as best she could. Placing her bow on her Cello so she could carry them both at once, she moved away from the shoreline before gently placing it on the ground. With that done, she looked around.

There wasn’t much to see from where she was, and if it wasn’t for Canterlot in the distance she would think she was completely lost. Tavi was obviously somewhere around Equestria, but she had very little navigation skills. In short, she was lost.

“Aaah!” A voice shouted nearby, and she flinched. Walking around the bend, she saw a filly had washed up slightly further downriver from her. The filly was covered in muck and grime, but seemed to be clear of any blood, just like Tavi. It was hard to even tell what colour the filly was, even as she began to try and brush the crusted grime off her.

“Ok, you’re still alive, that’s what maters.” The filly was talking to herself as if she was relieved, however that quickly vanished as she turned and spotted Tavi looking at her. The filly braced for a fight.

“Who are you and what do you want!” The filly demanded to know what Tavi wanted, and Tavi nodded to say she would reply.

“I don’t want anything. I’m lost and I’m not entirely sure my exact location.” Tavi walked toward the water and quickly dipped into the shallow water, washing herself and revealing her coat to the filly. Tavi watched as the filly relaxed and did the same. It was only then that Tavi realised this was the sister of Rarity, Sweetie Belle.

“Sweetie Belle?” Tavi asked, seeing her flinch in response. Sweetie nodded, and continued cleaning herself off. Tavi followed her example.

“I’m Octavia, I live in Ponyville with a pony named Vinyl.” Tavi finished washing herself to reasonable cleanness, and exited the water to sit on the grass and dry off.

“I know, I’ve seen you around before…” Sweetie Belle was hesitant to talk to Octavia, but she didn’t sense any ill will. Finishing her own washing off, she joined Octavia on the grass to dry off in the warm sun. Both ponies were silent, both wanting to ask a question but not knowing how to start.

“So what are you doing all the way out from Ponyville? Last I heard you were in the hospital.” Tavi looked to the filly, and saw the bags under the eyes. Whatever had happened, it had been a few days since the filly had had a good night’s rest.

“I uh, I’m on a journey for something. It’s kinda top secret. What happened to you?” Sweetie tried to dodge the question, hoping Tavi didn’t notice.

“A musician I was working with threw my Cello off of Canterlot. It was a-It was a gift and I jumped off after it without thinking.” Tavi saw Sweetie blink at her, before chuckling. Tavi smiled and let herself chuckle slightly as well, it was a little funny now that she thought about it.

“Well according to what direction Canterlot is, Ponyville should be West of here.” Sweetie pointed in the direction of Ponyville, unaware she suddenly had an uncanny sense of direction. Tavi stood up with a smile, stretching and looking in the direction she had mentioned.

“Thank you for the directions Sweetie Belle, I’ll just go and grab my Cello from around the corner and be on my way then. Are you sure you’ll be okay on your own?” Tavi didn’t like leaving Sweetie Belle on her own, but the filly obviously knew what she was doing.

“Yeah I’ll be fine, I think. Let me get it for you, I just learned levitation and want to test it out.” Without asking permission, Sweetie Belle’s eyes flared up and she swiftly reached for the object that was irregularly shaped. Pulling it around the corner, she grinned and gently placed it beside Octavia. Blinking her eyes back to normal, she looked up in pride to see pure shock on Tavi’s face.

“You-You just used magic from your eyes!” Tavi took a step back, her foot touching her Cello. Sweetie Belle flinched, and took a few steps back, cowering before Tavi.

“I’m sorry I’m sorry please don’t kill me!” Sweetie Belle closed her eyes as tears caused by her fear of death sprung unhindered to her face. Tavi blinked in shock, and quickly took a step forward.

“Kill you, why would I do that?” Tavi saw the tear-stained filly look at her with pure fear, taking a few more steps back.

“Because I’m Sweetie Belle! Because I’m apparently going to cause the end of the word and you want to stop me from doing that!” Sweetie Belle returned to cowering, and Tavi could only watch in shock. So by top secret, the filly had meant ‘If I told you, you would probably want to kill me.’ Tavi walked over and leant down, pulling Sweetie’s hooves away from her face and looking into the filly’s scared eyes.

“Are you going to destroy the world?” Tavi saw the question had an immediate effect on Sweetie. Her eyes misted over, and she clenched them closed and dived into Tavi’s arms, and began sobbing openly.

“No, I-I don’t want to destroy the world!” Sweetie Belle sobbed openly, confused and feeling alone. She couldn’t talk to Scoots, how would she explain to her that her idol wanted to kill her best friend? Zecora offered no comfort either, only there to give her the third option. Tavi hugged Sweetie, letting the mare release some of her frustration into her pale grey coat. Eventually, the sobbing subsided, and Sweetie Belle pulled back.

“T-Thank you…” She glanced downward, realising she had just confided in someone she didn’t really know. Tavi smiled and put a hoof on Sweetie’s shoulder.

“You know, I don’t think you will destroy the world either.” Tavi saw Sweetie’s face break open into a slight smile, and felt one appear on her face too.

“I don’t understand how it is possible you will be the destroyer of everything. Who said that?” Tavi looked at Sweetie as she flinched, and gave a sigh.

“Twilight said that Princess Celestia and Luna are positive of it.” Sweetie sniffed, rubbing her nose to get rid of the snot.

“Celestia? You can’t be serious.” Tavi’s scepticism was obvious, but eventually she sighed. There was obviously something a little different about Sweetie. But she couldn’t just abandon her, she was surprised Rarity and Twilight could. Tavi sighed and glanced in the direction of Ponyville, Vinyl was going to kill her for going on an adventure without her.

“I’ll come with you Sweetie. I couldn’t leave you all alone after hearing all that.” Tavi gently hugged Sweetie, who could only smile in relief. Sweetie didn’t want to be alone, and she was so glad Tavi believed her about it. This was better than she could have ever hoped for.

“So, which way?”

Author's Note

My proofreaders have abandoned me. I'm looking for someone new, who isn't' afraid of really really long absences.