Unforeseen Consequences - What everypony desires the most

>The afternoon went fast. You, your mothers, and even Moonlight and Aegia who joined, later on, had a nice dinner together. Apparently, they had to pacify a pack of hydras that were released by a bunch of King Sombra’s cultist.
> Originally, they had planned on taking things slow and toy with the cultist, but once they learned about the changeling’s threat, well…
>They didn’t go into much detail just that those cultists, in particular, are not going to be making evil plans anytime soon. You, in turn, told them everything about what you witnessed at the prison but more importantly, everything about Thorax.
>You were nervous at first, expecting a similar reaction to what you got at the Crystal Empire, but your mothers… they believed you like they totally believed you about Thorax being a nice guy.
>Their reason was that they had total confidence in your word and judgment, so if you were sure that Thorax was good, then he was good for them. Moonlight believed you too, her reason being a little different though.
>Her exact words were “Little dude, I come from Hollow Shades. I ain’t a stranger when it comes to bad guys turning good, heck my childhood friend was a frickin’ ghost. Besides, I know who you royals are. I have seen Luna making friends with all sort of creatures, Princess Celestia here was the one who said Discord could be reformed and look at the guy now! Seriously little dude, if you say that changeling fella ain’t bad then that’s because he ain’t. Now shut up and eat your cucumber sandwich, I don’t want my daughter to worry about you not being healthy. ”
>After that, you went to sleep… and woke up tightly hugged by your two mothers who decided to spend the night with you. Not that it bothered you, far from it. This was the very definition of paradise.

>Sadly, after they woke up. Your moms told you that they had to go and see Moon Dancer to check upon her progress on those scrolls. So you had to take your breakfast alone, waiting for someone to come.
>But no one came; it was just a plain, boring, lonely breakfast. Aww c’mon Eris, Discord. Where are you guys? Life DOES get boring without you.
>At the very least, your moms told you that you could go and see what the big fuss about the scrolls was. Well, it was more like a passive-aggressive remark. Your mom Celestia told you that it would be such a shame if you missed out on this major opportunity to advance in your studies of the magical arts.
>So after finishing your breakfast and helping the kitchen staff a little with cleaning the dishes and the royal dinner. You went straight to Luna’s study, where Moon Dancer, your moms and possibly Twilight and Starlight were gathered to unravel the mystery about the scrolls.
>When you got there though, you felt surprised that Twilight and Glimmer were waiting outside Luna’s study. The former was looking frustrated while the later was trying to calm her friend down.
>”I get what you’re saying Starlight, but is still frustrating that even when the prince gave you his pardon, you are still being treated like a criminal. It’s not fair!”
>”Twilight, please.” Starlight placed a hoof on her shoulders “I know you are frustrated but think about it.” Glimmer sighed heavily as she lowered her head in shame “I did a lot of horrible things. I basically enslaved the town and tried to brainwash a little colt… the princesses and everypony else are already doing more than what I deserve. Honestly, I don’t think I could gather the strength to even see the prince to the eye right now.”
>You decided to spoke up, holding a little smug smirk.

“Having another panic attack? I thought we had been over this, but I mean, if you are feeling so insecure that you can’t face me… what do you say if I ask Discord to give you another pep talk? Maybe that will put you back in shape.
>”Anon!” Starlight yelled. She gave you an awkward smile but wasn’t really looking at you “H-how nice to see you! Ehm… how was your trip to the empire? W-Well, I know it wasn’t really trip. But, eh… did you find Thorax?”
>”Well hello there Anon!” Twilight greeted you with a smile “I’m sorry for not staying with you, but y’know. I was so eager to meet Starlight that I couldn’t help myself.” Twilight then poked your chest and wiggled her eyebrows “That said, a little bird told me that yesterday you had some serious learning fun!”
>You laughed awkwardly and tried to hid the blush that had appeared in your cheeks
“W-Well, it was really nothing. I-I only learned how to shot a beam!”
>”What?” Twilight gasped in shock “Anon, do you realize what it takes to cast such an advanced spell?! That’s not an easy feat for a foal of your age or anypony else for that matter! Isn’t that right, Starlight?”
>”Y-Yeah!” Starlight nervously nodded still not looking at you “Congratulations my prince!”
>You chuckled as you pointed to yourself
“What are you looking at, Motley? I’m down here and I why are you calling me like that? Did you forget my name or something? I’m Anon. A-N-O-N.”
>”Motley?” Twilight asked Starlight with a confused tone “Where did that come fro- Oh!” She gasped and happily clapped her hooves “Starlight, why did you never tell me?!”
>”Ehh…” Starlight tilted her head “Tell you what, exactly?”

>Twilight’s smile grew wider and wider “That the two of you two are so close now that you even gave nicknames to the other! Oooh, Starlight!” She then hugged the pink unicorn “I’m so proud of you!”
>”No, Twilight, you got it all wrong.” Starlight broke the hug. She then looked away “M-Motley is my nickname, but it wasn’t Anon who gave it to me.”
>Twilight raised an eyebrow, looking concerned about her friend’s words ”If it wasn’t him, then who?”
>”Eris…”
>”O-Oh” Twilight cringed when she heard that name, but tried to quickly regain her composure “Then what about Anon?”
>”He saved me from the prison but…” Starlight sighed “I didn’t deserve that, and I certainly don’t deserve to talk to the colt I tried to brainwash and steal his cutie mark after that failed”
>You rubbed your temples and rolled your eyes. Heavens please give you patience. This mare is more melodramatic than a filly that lost her toy.
>”I don’t feel like I even deserve to be here.” Starlight sniffled “I’m nothing but a monster and yet everypony is being so nice to me. I-I only deserve to be locked up in a stinky cell.”
“Oh, for the love of science! Will you please stop with that “woe is me” attitude?! You’re starting to get on my nerves, Glimmer. Seriously, Twilight is right just shut up and enjoy this second chance”
>”O-Okay…” Glimmer placed her hoof on her lips, thinking about something. She then finally looked at you and asked: “So… does that means that we are friends now?”
“Well.”
>You looked away for a moment then gave Starlight a more serious, yet smug look
“Listen Glimmer, I’m not gonna lie because that’s simply not my style. You still give me the creeps and when I heard that you were staying at the castle, I did get nervous about it.”
>”O-Oh…” Starlight lowered her head in disappointment
>”Anon, please!” Twilight protested “Why won’t you give Starlight the same chance that you gave to Thorax? She is also trying her best to amend for the things she made in the past!”

>”N-no” Starlight interrupted her friend by shaking her head “Don’t blame him. I did try to force him into that horrible ideology I used to have. I took advantage of his fears. It is normal that he-“
>You rolled your eyes and interrupted Starlight with a wry smile
“Didn’t I tell you to drop the sappy attitude? You don’t want me to call Discord, do you? And more importantly, didn’t your parents teach you any manners? It is awfully rude to interrupt someone before he finishes what he has to say.”
>Both mares looked at each other and then at you, replying at the same time with surprise in their voices “huh?”
>You snickered at their surprise and gently shrugged
“Come on, is obvious that I’m not ditching Glimmer. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have talked to you in the first place.”
>Starlight turned to Twilight and asked with a confused tone “Is it bad that I don’t understand what Anon is talking about?”
>”No, not at all.” Twilight shook her head “I’m the same when it comes to Princess Celestia and every time that happens it’s because she has a master plan, something that will ultimately save the say. And considering Anon is a lot like his mother” She then turned to you with a confident smile on her face and winked “Then I’m sure that he has something wonderful in mind”
>You blushed and laughed nervously… dang, it Twilight! Then you cleared your throat and regained your composure.
“I wouldn’t go as far as to call it a master plan; this is more like a compromise. Listen Glimmer, I just need a little time, but as long as you continue to prove that you have left your weirdo ways, I’ll be more than willing to us becoming friends… even when you still have that mane style.”
> Starlight nodded ”Alright, it’s a deal then! I will prove to you and everypony else that I’m not evil anymore!” Then she touched her mane. “But, is my mane that bad?”
“That would be putting it lightly. Seriously mate, ask Twilight to lend you some bits so you can get a stylist or something”

>”Well.” Twilight tapped her chin “It’s not the grandiose plan that I expected buuut” she sighed in relief and shrugged “This is much better than a cold shoulder, and I’m glad that you didn’t close your heart to accept a new friendship. Anyways Anon, you were going to Princess Luna’s study, right?”
>You nodded
“That is correct. I assume that you weren’t allowed to be inside, right?”
>”Ugh, yeah. Moon Dancer said that she couldn’t focus if Starlight was in the same room as her, so the princesses asked us to wait outside.” Twilight head and ears dropped “I really wanted to see what that spell did”
>”Yeah…” Starlight sighed in disappointment “Me too, you don’t see often a spell as rare as that one”
“Is it really that cool? W-Wait, you know what? Don’t tell me, I want it to be a surprise. That said, I propose you another deal. I will tell you everything about the spell after we’re done here or my moms tell me to go to my room because it turned out to be too dangerous. In exchange, how about…”
>You tapped your chin. What could you even ask for? One is an ex-convict with a bad hairdo and the other is the hottest mare alive… besides Miss Rarity of course. Hmm.
“I have to admit. I don’t know what to ask. So what if we scrap the deal part and call it a little favor?”
>”Nope! Can’t do” Starlight shook her head decisively
“What, why not?!”
>Starlight looked at you with determination as she stomped her hoof on the ground “I have to prove that I’m good, remember? That means I MUST give something in return!”
“Yeah, I know… I just said that. But seriously Starlight, it’s fine. I don’t need-“
>”Ah, ah ah!” Starlight held her hoof to interrupt you “I just thought on something you will like” A smirk appeared on her face “Since you are a little prodigy at magic, how about I teach you a spell that will allow you to fly like a Pegasus?”
“You’re really taking this to the- wait, did you say what I think you said?”

>”Mhm!” Starlight nodded “What do you say, deal?” she extended her hoof to you
>OH MAN! First, you learned how to shot frickin’ lasers and now this?! Hooray!
“Alright Glimmer! You got yourself a deal!”
>After you shook hooves, Starlight giggled to you. “I’m glad that you like magic just as much as I do. Twilight says that is important to establish a common ground when making a new friendship. Eh” she then glanced nervously at her friend “You said that, right?”
>Twilight rolled her eyes as she let out a chuckle “Yes, yes I did. Now what do you say if we get some slushies from the royal kitchen while we wait for Anon?”
>”I would love that… but what’s a slushie?”
>Twilight walked past you, while trying to contain her laughter “Oh Starlight, you still have so much to learn. Come, I’m sure you will love them.”
>You waved the two mares goodbye and entered your mom Luna’s study.
>This was by far the most impressive room in the castle. It was as almost as big as the throne room. The thing that always got you was the fact that the study was basically divided in two.
>The first half which was closer to the door had this star pattern decorating the walls and ceiling and a super thick navy blue carpet on the floor. Big bookshelves with thick, old books and drawers holding different types of artifacts and mementos of many eras were placed along the walls.
>The other half was a complete made out of ivory. There weren’t any walls there, just pillars with big windows in between them. Said windows also had something special going on for them. While you could see a beautiful garden through them, the reality was that it was nothing but an illusion created by powerful magic.
>What really was behind those windows was a small replica of the Everfree forest, one that your mom made for her manticore pet Wind Rider.

>But even with that, this part of the room used to be so empty so… lonely. It used to contain just a simple wooden desk with a very humble chair and nothing more. But that was months ago, when you were new in Equestria.
>Now? Now it was filled with little photos of your family hanging on the pillars. Floral decorations here and there, and every single little gift that you have given to her, from musical boxes to simple paperweights.
>And it was in this part of the study where Moon Dancer and your mothers were gathered. A medium sized chalkboard with lots of glyphs written on the far side of the room.
>”I’m not sure that I still can’t wrap around my head that something like this spell can even exist, especially since it wasn’t crafted by our old mentor.” Luna was lying on top of the desk, looking anxiously at the chalkboard.
>”I agree with you, my dear sister” Celestia was resting against one of the pillars, her front hooves crossed and was frowning “This type of reality-bending, whacky spells were the forte of Starswirl, but the way it’s documented. It’ so different from him, so pragmatic and yet, even more, cryptic than anything he ever did. I’m surprised that Ms. Dancer was able to unravel its secrets in only one Okay so
>Moon Dancer was standing at the right side of the chalkboard. She smiled and gave your moms a courteous bow “Thanks for your kind words, your highness. I did my very best to translate these glyphs. But what do you say if I explain again what the spell does?”
>”And why would we do such thing?” Luna raised an eyebrow and replied with a little annoyance “We have already gone through every detail. The remaining task for us to do is to cast the spell on a small scale before we archive it.”

>Celestia replied by giving her sister a smirk “Yes, we know already how the spell works and what it hypothetically does. But our son has no idea what we’re talking about.” She then turned to you, still holding that smirk “Good morning my dear. Did you enjoy your conversation with Starlight?”
>”A-Anon?!” Luna gasped “When did you come in?!”
>You gave your moms an awkward smile and waved to them
“I just came in but didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to interrupt you, and err… how did you know that I just talked with Starlight?”
>”Because you just told me, and because Twilight’s complains suddenly stopped.” Celestia shrugged and motioned you to come to her side “But let’s put that to a side. Why don’t you take a seat so we can fill you in?”
>When you sat right by your mom Celestia, she unfolded her wing and pulled you closer. Then she placed her hoof on you. “Whenever you’re ready, Ms. Dancer”
>”Right.” Moon Dancer nodded and adjusted her glasses. She then looked at you and asked “Before I go into details, let me ask you something. What do you see written on the chalkboard?”
>You leaned forward a bit and adjusted your little glasses to give a thorough inspection to the chalkboard.
“Well… it is obvious that they are glyphs. Some of them like the ones used for magical variables, triggers and puppet spells I can understand with no problem whatsoever, but a lot of them... and by that I mean the majority of these glyphs, are things that I’ve never seen before. Tell me Glasses, did you suddenly decide to create your own glyph system or did you suddenly got into graffiti? Because I gotta say- Agh!”
>You mom Celestia gave you a bonk on the head to shut you up, then she motioned Moon Dancer to continue with the lesson

>Moon Dancer adjusted her glasses and nodded. “Thank you, your highness” She then looked at you “Anon, what I’m trying to say is that this spell is written in several different glyph systems. But it doesn’t stop there, the glyphs do not follow the grammatical rules of their systems, they are scattered at random creating a new one.”
“Before I say the obvious, lemme say something even more obvious. Glasses, I know that I tease you a whole lot, but if you really were able to translate that nonsense in only one night then… wow, seriously I knew you were super intelligent but this is taking it to a whole new level”
>Honestly, you knew folks who would have took years to do what Moon Dancer did in ONE. FRICKIN’. NIGHT!
>”That’s just what happens when you’re inspired and have a whole of coffee… a whoooole lot…” Moon Dancer smiled as a little blush appeared on her cheeks “But thank you, Anon. I really liked working with this spell”
“Yeah, no kidding, anyways, eh… back to business, I guess. The other obvious thing I wanted to say is that the scrolls must have been written this way because the spell is too powerful, dangerous, or both”
>Moon Dancer tapped her chin and readjusted her glasses before answering you “We don’t know if the spell is dangerous.” She then glanced at the chalkboard with a somber look “. What we know though, is that based on its complexity this is most surely an incredibly powerful spell.”
“So… we don’t know what it does?”
>Moon Dancer slowly nodded “That’ correct, the specific function of the spell is never mentioned in any of the scrolls. The only clue we have is that the sentence “To get back what everypony desires the most…” is mentioned several times.”
“I-I have a bad feeling about this… how about if we lock the spell in some safe and throw the key away. O-Or here’s a better idea! What if we burn it and forget this happened?”

>Luna got up from her desk and flew where Moon Dancer was ”As much as I would like to do what you are suggesting, I’m afraid that we can’t do that yet, my child”
“B-But, why? What if we end up summoning a creature from the far end of reality to eat us all or what if the spell transforms us into a bunch of slimy creatures, or what if”
>Celestia shushed you by gently caressing your mane as she replied with a warm tone “Because just as it’s possible for the spell to be dangerous, there’s also the chance that it can be beneficial to all of our subjects. That is why we will be casting the spell on scale that is small enough to make it harmless, but big enough to give us a clear idea of what its function might be”
>Okay, so it’s a little experiment, almost like reverse engineering. This can’t go wrong, right? You did the same stuff back in your old life, when the AOSR made you reverse engineer a bunch of missiles that they stole from Lockheed.
>It sure was fun to dismantle that missile while being completely wasted… good times. And this will be even better since you have your moms and your favorite teacher with you.
>Yeah! You were getting pumped yo! This will be awesome because magic is awesome yo!
“Alright! I’m sold on this! Tell me what I have to do and I’ll do it!”
>”You will stand on the other side of the windows with Moon Dancer while we cast the spell” Luna replied as she started to draw a big circle on the floor
“What?! C’mon! Lemme help with this!”
>”I’m sorry my dear. But this type of spell is a tad too advanced for you, and remember, there’s also the possibility that it might be dangerous. We would never forgive ourselves if something happened to you ” Celestia said with an apologetic tone as she handled you a pair of red goggles.
“Hey, are these my goggles? How did you find them?”

>Your mom Celestia shrugged “They were on your tea table. Now, go and wait until we tell you that it’s safe to come in. Please, I know that you don’t like to be left out but do it for your poor mothers.”
>You sighed as you took out your glasses and put on the goggles.
“Fiiiiiine! But just because it’s for you”
>Man, Cherrywood should have worked a lot on these. They were super comfy and even when they were red, you could still see with no problem whatsoever.
>Your mom Luna opened the magical gate that led to the “real” garden and once you and Moon Dancer were on the other side, she closed it off.
>Not a word was said when your moms started to prepare the spell. The anticipation and anxiety was too high as you watched them drawing a bunch of stuff in the circle that your mom Luna did.
>They walked to the opposite end of the circle and their horns lit up with their magical auras. At first, everything seemed fine, the circle was glowing with a rainbow light… but it didn’t take long before everything took a horrible, horrible turn.
>After the rainbow light died out, a purple mist starting to cover the entire room and soon after that, it started to specifically envelop your mothers. They tried to fight it back but before they could do anything, the mist solidified around them, creating a pair of weird looking cocoons.
“No… no, no, no, no, no, no!”
>You didn’t think it twice. You charged up a lot of magic and released it in a compact manner as Moon Dancer had taught you.
*Krakoom*
>Several shots landed all over the windows, causing explosions that were big enough for Moon Dancer to cast a spell so she could protect you and her from the blast radius. Lots of smoke covered your field vision, and you felt like you hurt your neck.
>But you didn’t care, you teleported outside Moon Dancer’s shield and using your magic, you dispelled the smoke.
“If this is a joke, it is not funny at all, mate.”

>The windows completely held up your attacks, there wasn’t even the most miniscule scratch on them. To make things even worse, the cocoons were much bigger now… and they looked even thicker.
>A feeling of dread started to take over you as you slammed your hooved against the windows and yelled
“Moms! Moms! Please, you have to fight back! Please!”
>But you got no answer… no… oh heavens no.
>You dropped to the ground, and curled up in a ball. You started to tear up and hyper ventilate, you felt powerless, useless, completely idiotic for not anticipating that something horrible like this would happen.
>That is, until Moon Dancer jumped in front of you and yelled “Anon, look out!” casting a very powerful looking shield immediately after she said those words.
>You looked up and saw that the cocoon started to crack up, the same rainbow light from before was coming from inside it, and then…
*BOOOOM*
>It exploded with enough force to shatter the windows, but thank heavens that Moon Dancer’s shield held up.
>Again, the place was covered in smoke and silence reigned.
>Moon Dancer dispelled the shield and looked around “A-Anon… we have to look for help… whatever that spell was-“
>You quickly shook your head and stomped your hoof on the ground
“No! Not until I find my mothers! T-They were inside that thing, remember? We can’t leave without them.”
>”Anon…” Moon Dancer sighed “I know you’re worried, but you have to understand. If they got hurt… we are no medics. We have to find for somepony who can aid Princess Luna and Celestia and-”

>But Moon Dancer got suddenly interrupted by a young, female and squeaky voice that came out from the mist ”Hey! Are you talking about us? You must be talking about us if you are saying our names. That is rude you know? Talking about somepony behind her back, I mean.”
>”Yeah… a-and they were saying that we were… hurt, I think? Sis, why would somepony say something so horrible about us?” Someone else replied back, just like the first voice, this one was definitely female and young… just not as squeaky.
>”I dunno sis, but whoever those meanies are, they gotta apologize!” the squeaky voice said with slight anger.
>You slowly put your goggles on your head and put your glasses back on to see better. You squint your eyes and saw two shadowy figures inside the purple mist, they were… fillies?
>That was your best deduction based on their size, shape… and voices…
>You felt hesitant to say any word… but you had to, you MUST.
“Who… who are you?”
>”What kind of silly question is that?!” The two figures stepped out of the mist, revealing two fillies. Both were alicorns, and both looked exactly like… like “I’m Celestia and she’s Luna, and you…” t-the filly? Was she really Celestia? She tilted her head and looked at you with curious eyes “W-Who are you?”