[AiE] Disharmony - Part 2

>You are Anonymous, a pretty cool guy, as said by... well, nobody. You just have a massive ego.
>Sweet Jesus that toast is amazing when it wants to be.
>Brekky out of the way, time to head to the library.
>It's always nice going for a walk through town.
>You still get a second look from all the local ponies, but that's only because you stand out.
>Not bad looks, mind… They always wave or say hi. Nobody is afraid or disgusted by your appearance, or treats you any different.
>They did at first, understandably so, but the attitude changed very quickly when they learnt that you were a friendly individual.
>You have Twilight to thank for that.
>Twilight and Fluttershy found you the night you arrived.
>They told you it was a rainy night, they’d seen a bright flash on the outskirts of Ponyville, went to investigate, and discovered you lying face down in the mud, unconscious.
>You woke up 4 days later, injured, confused and very grouchy.
>Under Princess Celestia's orders, Twilight and her friends were to look out for you while she searched for a way to send you back home.
>Unfortunately, after a couple months, she had made no progress. She held no knowledge of where you were from and how you came to this world.
>With regret, she had to put the task on hold, as it was keeping it from her duties.
>Princess Luna, on the other hand, actually had a theory behind it... a theory that you didn't understand a single bit of.
>Apparently it's possible that whatever it was that injured you and put you in such a comatose state could have left you dreaming hard and/or astral projecting, which then got intercepted by some cosmic bullshit and transported you to a random location of the universe which just happened to be Equestria or something... all of which was completely out of her control, of course.
>It hurts your head thinking about it.
>Regardless, your first few months here weren't terrible.
>Twilight was very hospitable… primarily due to the fact that she was studying you in secret.
>She thought it was secret, anyway… It was pretty obvious that she was attempting to take notes from across the room anytime you explained anything about yourself or your people.
>It bothered you, sure, but she wasn't just doing it for her own curiosity. You were a mysterious species in a world of intelligent ponies. Food and health were the first things on her mind.
>Rarity had generously offered to make you clothes, and actually delighted in the challenge of making new designs for something that wasn't a pony.
>Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Applejack helped in whatever way they could as well, but for the most part they just considered you someone new to hang out with. They were great company.
>All of this you appreciated. In fact, you'd probably be dead if it weren't for them.
>Fluttershy, on the other hand... That was a pony you couldn't figure out.
>She was friendly, sure, but there was something ‘extra’ about her that rubbed you the wrong way… sometimes literally.
>Apart from that, adapting to this world took a long time.
>No TV, no Internet, no electronics at all.
>Instead you read books and slept more.
>The constant social activity was something you appreciated, but you still had difficulty getting adjusted to the world around you.
>You were still homesick, and it made you an unpleasant individual at times.
>It was stressing to the ponies as well, especially Twilight. You both considered each other to be friends, but every once in a while, you’d have a random episode of anger and walk off to be alone.
>You noticed how upset it was making her that you wouldn't accept much of her help, despite how hard she tried, and you started feeling guilty about it.
>So, after a couple months of this behaviour, you decided to take a personal journey.
>3 months out in the world, doing nothing but exploring, camping, and surviving… General crap you probably wouldn't have done back home.
>You just needed a good amount of time alone to think and familiarize yourself with the world through experience rather than just reading about it.
>This, of course, concerned your friends because you were heading out into a strange new world as an alien visitor. They did at least respect your decision and let you do it, so long as you at least sent them a letter whenever you made it to a town.
>And it worked. 3 months out on your own. You went from town to town, city to city, forest to forest, anywhere in any direction you felt like.
>You both frightened and befriended the locals; some ponies would close their shops and hide at the sight of you while others would take a chance to talk to you, or see you trying to help.
>Some even let you do odd jobs for a few bits to buy supplies and food before you were on your way again.
>Sending letters back to Ponyville kind of escaped your mind whenever you made it to a town, so that never happened. You paid for that when you finally returned.
>You also hardened up significantly; survival was a factor when you ventured into the forests and caves, defending yourself from both the typical hazardous wildlife and also crazy Equestrian shit like Timberwolves, fearsome predators composed of animated wood.
>You occasionally found yourself among old ruins or temples that looked to have been abandoned for quite some time, so you took the time to go exploring them, just treating them as a tourist attraction with the hope of finding something cool to take home.
>Never did find anything worth mentioning, though perhaps that was due to the  thought that some of those places just gave off crazy vibes that you sort of wanted to go explore, but your gut told you not to.
>And that was that.
>3 months of being out in the world had helped you come to peace with the thought of not returning home, and you were just happy that you at least had some people - or ponies, rather -  in this world to call your friends.
>You returned to Ponyville, your home, with a renewed positive attitude towards life, and they were surprised, but very happy, that you returned.
>It turns out they thought you were dead after the first week since you never sent them that letter.
>Gotta love that confidence in you.
>Afterwards, you decided to start pulling your weight around town and began working.
>You never did work full-time; you simply rotated between helping Applejack and her family at Sweet Apple Acres with harvesting and farm work, and Pinkie and the Cakes at the bakery when they needed the extra help.
>Otherwise, you went and performed a bunch of the odd jobs around town like you had when you were out in the world.
>Construction and carpentry were popular choices. Hands and fingers tended to work better than hooves for those tasks.
>Eventually you managed to save enough money to stop taking up the spare room in the library and bought a place for yourself.
>Not a moment too soon, either. Twilight’s hijinks frequently transformed the seemingly peaceful library into a hazardous environment. Far too many magic experiments had gone wrong.
>Your current lifestyle makes for enjoyable living; can't really find much to complain about…
>…other than the increase of attention you've been getting from Fluttershy since you started living by yourself, that is.
>Turned out that the little 'extra' you couldn't figure out was an attraction towards you.
>You have no idea why; it's not as if you ever gave her any special treatment compared to the rest of your friends.
>You never flirted with her, you never took her out for a night… you've never even had lunch together without anyone else.
>And yet, she has this crazy idea that you two are supposed to spend the rest of your lives together.
>After continuously showing signs of not returning those feelings, she resorted to trying to make you fall in love with her... by guessing your fetish.
>Every day, every morning, as soon as you get out of bed, she's there with some crazy thought like maybe swinging from tree to tree in a loincloth while shouting at the top of her lungs was your fetish.
>It's more or less harmless, sometimes entertaining, so you just roll with it, hoping she'll get over it eventually.
>It's got to be soon. 2 years of failed attempts must have put the thought in her head that you're just not interested.
>Nothing personal, of course; you're just not into ponies.
>It's been nearly 3 years total and you've never even considered a cross-species relationship like that.
>She's relentless, though. She keeps at it with such determination.
>In a way, you admire her for it.
>In another way, it's pretty damn creepy.
>She’s still a lovely pony to befriend, but half the time it's just uncomfortable being around her.
>Everyone else says she's just trying to be friendly or to show her affection.
>They haven't seen the weird shit she pulls every morning.
>Speaking of, you didn't see her when you left the house... would she still be wearing that ridiculous costume in the library?
>Guess you'll find out now 'cause you just realised you're standing at the door. Daydreaming really passes the time.


>After knocking a few times, you're greeted by a little purple dragon who sounds as if he's trying to sweet talk you in.
>"M'lady, I bid you welcome to-"
>He stops mid-bow when he notices your shoes.
>That's gotta be embarrassing.
>"Ohhhhh, hey Anon, I was just, uhh... practicing the, umm... the new way I'm going to greet everyone in the Library!"
>Wut?
>Okay then, that's obviously bullshit, but you decide to let it pass.
"O-kaaay, I'm fine with a formal greeting, I guess, but please don't refer to me as a lady again."
>He chuckles to himself, probably thinking he nailed it.
>"What's up?"
"Not a lot. Just thought I'd come hang out."
>"Oh, that’s fine. Twilight's a little busy with everyone else, though; she's trying to do an experiment with the Elements of Harmony."
"Is that so? This should be interesting; I’ve always wanted to see them in action."
>He lets you pass and closes the door behind you.
>Standing in the middle of the room are Twilight, Pinkie, Rainbow, Applejack and Fluttershy… without her 'Squirrelmare' outfit.
>No Rarity. Guess that explains Spike’s greeting.
>Twilight has a notebook hovering in front of her, but lowers it when she sees you walk in.
>"Hello, Anon. What brings you here today?"
"Nothin', just thought I'd come hang out… but apparently you’re doing something with the magical friendship enforcers, so I'll go sit over there and watch."
>She gets an annoyed look on her face, clearly not caring for the term you used to describe the Elements.
>"They're called the Elements of Harmony, and they don't 'enforce' friendship, they take the magical form of the element we repres-"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, it was a joke, Twilight. I know what they are and what you do with them. I still want to watch you do whatever. It sounds awesome."
>You move across the room, grab a newspaper you see on the table and go to sit halfway up the stairs, flipping through the local news.
>Rainbow Dash comes over to sit near you.
>"It’s not that awesome today. All she wants to do is STUDY the magic. I nearly fell asleep as soon as she mentioned that word."
>Study it? It's magic, what is there to study? She knows all about magic.
>Hell, she's literally the Element of Magic.
>Fluttershy just sort of flutters over to lay on the step above, on her back with her head in your lap looking up at you.
>Moving the newspaper up to look at the sudden weight dangerously close to your privates, you see a yellow smile and teal eyes.
>Your question is kept short and to the point.
"Why?"
>Fluttershy’s response is just as concise.
>"Because comfort is important."
>What a load.
>Oh well… She's surrounded by friends, so it's not like she'll try and suggest anything or sneak a feel... hopefully.
>With a sigh, you turn your head back to Rainbow to get back on topic.
"What do you mean 'study'?"
>"Like, she wants to look at it for a while and write stuff down."
>That sure clears it up.
>You smack her softly on the head with your newspaper.
"I meant, why study it? It's magic, and she knows about magic."
>Applejack walks over to fill in what Rainbow clearly didn't care enough about to listen to.
>"She wants to see what kind'a magic the elements make. We only know that it's mighty powerful and comes from our good nature in what we represent, but she wants to know specific'ly what kind'a magic it is."
>Ah, that... makes a little more sense?
"Huh? It's magic. Magic is magic. What do you mean 'kind of magic'?"
>Applejack chuckles and pats your shoulder.
>"Don't worry, sugarcube, Ah' didn't understand it at first either."
>The hell is that supposed to mean?
>And why the pat on your shoulder? Is she implying you're stupid?
>"Magic isn't just a single force that you see on display from a regular Unicorn."
>Twilight is multitasking on looking through her notes while lecturing you.
>"It's a part of us that makes us what we are. The magic in all of us differs from each pony, like Pegasus ponies’ ability to influence the weather through the manipulation of clouds. They handle clouds as if they were pillows when they're just a mass of frozen crystals made of water suspended in the air. Anything else just passes through them like they were air, yet Pegasi construct entire cities on them. Haven't you ever wondered how Rainbow Dash spends so much time sleeping on them without flapping her wings?"
"Uhhh... no, not really."
>"It's the same for Earth ponies and their connection to the earth; they have natural talent in the practice of growing various flora. Unicorns just happen to possess the means to control magic on a higher level in a form of pure energy. It's not just one kind of magic, either; multiple forms of it exist. Arcane, Light, Dark, Nature… the list goes on. All can be harnessed and used by a Unicorn in some form or another, some with more proficiency than others.”
>You HAD to ask.
>You notice Applejack has sort of tuned out, Fluttershy is just kind of nervously looking around, Pinkie is hopping happily in place in her own little world and Rainbow Dash is fast asleep.
>You're attempting to process that onslaught of information you barely know anything about, blinking slowly.
>Twilight looks up and becomes annoyed by everyone's lack of interest.
>"It's like you don't even care how the world works!"
>Truth be told, she’s right on the money. Still, that's no reason to be rude.
"Well, you do kind of go on. Personally, it's hard for me to get invested in the subject because I don't have magic capabilities. It's a fictional concept where I'm from. Quite honestly, I can just chalk everything up to magic as a single category here."
>Twilight rolls her eyes and goes back to her notes.
>"It’s statements like that which leave me finding it difficult to believe your species has traveled to the moon."
"Hey! That's all science, not magic!"
>She looks back up at you with an eyebrow raised.
>"So you say, but how does most of your science even work? Such a thing would be a difficult task requiring tremendous amounts of resources and magic."
"Yeah, it was a difficult task, something planned over the course of years. It was just... technological progression... with science, and..."
>If you drag this out any longer, you might get an aneurysm.
"Argh! Look, I told you I'm no scientist. I barely even paid that much attention to the subject in school. Stop judging me. I don't know how it worked, we just did it!"
>She rolls her eyes again and moves over to the bookshelf.
>"Uh-huh. Maybe you should study a little on magic. Just because you personally don't use it doesn't mean you shouldn't learn about it. You may need to help somep0ny with it, or harness it with a tool someday."
>She levitates a bright pink book over to you and drops it on your leg, next to Fluttershy's head. You stare at it dumbly.
>The title reads 'Magic: What is it?', with the picture of 2 young Unicorns – a colt and a filly - looking at you and shrugging.
>It's a picture book. Any writing is just minor explanations on how fillies and colts start to use simple, basic magic.
"Are you seriously giving me a kid’s book?"
>Pinkie, Applejack and Fluttershy start giggling.
>Twilight appears to be rather proud of herself as she goes back to her table to resume rifling through notes.
>"Well, if you want to learn, you should start with the basics. It just seems embarrassing to have been living here for 3 years without knowing anything about it."
>Okay, fair enough; you SHOULD know some of this by now.
>Still, it’s kind of insulting that she'd recommend a book meant for small children.
"Well, I'm not reading that. I'd like to think my mind has advanced beyond preschool."
>She's about to respond, but a knock at the door grabs her attention.


>Without a word, Spike rushes over to the door. Judging from his concentrated expression, he appears to be mentally preparing himself.
>He opens the door and you spy Rarity framed in the entrance, smiling down at him.
>You scan the dragon’s features to gauge his reaction.
>...
>Yeah, he's just standing there with a dumb smile on his face.
>Rarity is still just standing there, glancing around the Library a bit before looking back at him.
>This is painful to watch.
>The longer he stands there looking at her, the harder it'll be to salvage.
>You decide to try and snap him out of it by taking a page of the newspaper you were holding and throwing it at him.
>The tap of paper on his head does manage to snap him out of it.
>"Ah! Uhh, good hello my Rarity! Please come in!"
>Yep, case in point.
>He slaps a hand to his face when he realises what he said.
>Rarity trots past him.
>"Why, thank you, Spikey-Wikey."
>She proceeds gracefully towards the table to meet with Twilight.
>Spike, however, walks over to you and heads to the top of the stairs, nudging your shoulder as he passes. You catch a few muttered words.
>"Wasted all my charm on you."
>Is that what that was?
"You sure did, Spike. You certainly know how to make someone feel special."
>He mumbles something and sits at the top of the stairs.
>Applejack starts moving over to the table to meet Rarity.
>"'Bout time ya' got here. We been waitin' all mornin'."
>Rarity levitates a green gem the size of your hand onto the table in front of Twilight.
>"I apologise, darling. I had such a difficult time finding the right gem for Twilight's experiment. Too many were too small or too big, too flashy or not flashy enough, simply not the quality worthy of an experiment such as this."
>Twilight examines the gem and scribbles something in her notebook.
>"Any gem of reasonable size would have done fine, Rarity. This will be perfect."
>Fluttershy gets off your lap and goes with Pinkie to gather around the table as well to look on.
>Twilight opens the case containing the Elements of Harmony and places each of them on their owner…
>…all save the red lightning bolt.
>Twilight glances over at the stairs with a mildly irritated expression.
>"Someone wake up Rainbow Dash, please."
>You nod happily and start folding up your newspaper.
>With a quick swat over the back of Rainbow Dash's head, she springs up with a yelp.
>"Hey! That's not how you wake a girl up!"
"Yeah, well, you fell asleep while Twilight was talking, so I think you had it coming."
>She mumbles something vaguely insulting towards you and proceeds over to the table.
>Twilight attaches the Element of Loyalty around the blue pegasus's neck and starts to explain.
>"Okay, so we know the Elements are a powerful source of magic, but I'd like to examine it in more detail rather than just taking little mental notes whenever we need to save the world."
>She picks up the gem with her magic aura and places it on the floor, moving the table away at the same time.
>"The plan is to simply focus a little beam of magic into the gem, hopefully without it being shattered, so I can study it."
>The other five ponies all nod, knowing what to do.
>You're just guessing that gems can be charged with magic or something.
>That’s probably why so many magical amulets and artifacts have jewels, gems and crystals in them. They store the magic like batteries.
>That's your simple explanation and understanding, anyway; it makes sense to you.
>You'd be perfectly happy just chalking it all up to magic in general, but noooo, Twilight had to go and stomp those thoughts away.
>Fuck her, you'll think what you want. It's just magic. Ain't gotta explain shit.
>The ponies position themselves in a wide circle around the gem.
>"Alright. Let's give this a shot."
>Twilight closes her eyes and her tiara starts glowing a dazzling white colour.
>The others do the same, their necklaces glowing as well.
>The atmosphere is certainly changing in the room; you can actually feel some kind of power radiating in the air.
>It’s kinda windy.
>The gem starts to float and spin in the air.
>It's strange to watch. Rainbow Dash had built up how awesome this looks, and all they've done is stand around and levitate a gem with wind that comes from nowhere.
>Then Twilight opens her eyes.
>Oh, wow…
>No pupils, no irises, just pure white light.
>Small, multi-coloured beams shoot out upwards from each of the Elements, twirl around each other and launch straight down into the gem in a rainbow blast.
>Well, not really a “blast”, more like... a 'paf'. Like a paintball.
>Guess Rainbow Dash was right when she said this wouldn't be quite as awesome.
>Then again, they're just filling a gem, so it's not like you could've expected much.
>The gem starts glowing with different colours as it spins, each angle changing its colour.
>The Elements start crackling with little jolts of purple energy.
>Twilight looks at Fluttershy's Element when she notices this, then quickly examines everyone else.
>They all have it. Purple crackles of what looks like electricity, getting bigger and linking each Element, hers included.
>"Wait, what?!"
>The others are startled by her words and open their eyes to see the same effect.
>"What the hay?!"
>"What's happening?!"
>"Twilight, what's wrong?!"
>Fluttershy starts screaming, and Rainbow Dash starts flapping her wings to try and escape the beam, but she doesn't seem to be moving.
>You're still enjoying the show, but you’re starting to get the feeling that something's not right.
>It's probably because they're freaking out.
>The purple light suddenly grows large enough that it engulfs them, blinding you and Spike on the stairs.
>Within the span of a few seconds, the light recedes and vanishes.
>You hear a clang and a crack, and what sounds like air slowly escaping a balloon.
>You open your eyes again to find that they're all gone.
>The gem is on the floor, slightly cracked, and the magic that was poured into it is slowly leaking out rainbow-coloured steam.
>You search your soul for something thought-provoking to voice.
"Uhh... what?"
>Spike immediately stands up and runs down the stairs.
>"What just happened?!"
>His voice sounds incredibly panicky, so that's confirmation that something is wrong.
>You make your way over to where they were.
"That wasn't supposed to happen?"
>"No! That's never happened before! They just vanished into thin air!"
>Oh, fuck you, magic!
"Well, what do we do? How do we get them back?!"
>"I don't know! I don't even know what went wrong! Nothing like that has ever happened with the Elements as far as I know!"
>That’s great news, you think sarcastically.
>You examine the ground for any evidence as to their whereabouts.
>It's clean. No residue, no burn marks, nothing.
>No trace of any of them anywhere except for the gem lying in the middle of the floor, still leaking rainbow steam.
>Spike is standing there, hands up to his face, breathing heavily, clearly freaking out.
>Better snap him out of it before he has a panic attack.
"Spike! Hey, Spike!"
>You snap your fingers in front of his face; this grabs his attention.
"Settle down! Don't assume the worst just because we don't know what happened!"
>He tries to breathe slower, folding his arms and glancing around the room. Eventually he’s calmed down enough to speak again.
>"What do we do?"
>…that's the big question. What DO you do?
>You don't know shit about magic.
>He probably knows a little, but clearly has no idea where to even start with this situation.
>Trying to think of who can help you, there's really only one pony that knows the Elements of Harmony the best, as well as the ponies attached to them.
>Given how panicked they all looked in those last moments, it is difficult to not assume the worst, so this is likely the best possible reason to turn to her.
"Spike, take a letter..."