Author's Notes:

Whoo! Had some technical derpiculties with this one. Writing program crashed and it took me an hour to recover the data due to the file becoming corrupt due to crashing mid-save. Luckily I recovered everything in tact and finished the chapter!

Part 2 will be out soon!

“Tirek is set on possessing Alicorn magic. When he comes for us, we cannot have what he is looking for.” Luna said aloud in a firm yet confirming voice as she looked at Twilight.

Twilight looked at the three as a silence ensued between the four. The Alicorn wiped her eyes clean of tears, giving a soft sniffle as she did so, her expression now one of understanding. “I'm more than willing to do my part and give up my magic.” She said matter of factly.

A short silence once again ensued before Princess Luna spoke. “You misunderstand. Our magic cannot just disappear into thin air. Somepony must keep it safe.” She said as Princess Cadance walked up to Twilight and stood before her.

“That somepony is you, Twilight.” Cadance added at which point Twilight's expression became a mixture of shock and worry.

“Why me?” Twilight asked clearly not getting the clear picture of why it must be her who will be the one to take on this extremely important task.

“We do not believe that Tirek is aware that a fourth Alicorn princess exists in Equestria. If we transfer our magic to you, Tirek will not know where it has gone.” Princess Celestia explained.

“Um, are we all forgetting that Discord has joined forces with Tirek? He's most likely already told him about me!” Twilight exclaimed due to seeing the flaw in her former mentor's logic.

“I do not think that Discord will be providing Tirek with that information for sometime. If there is one thing I know about Discord, it is that he is not one to trust others easily. Much less one with a power equal to greater than his without some kind of proof presented to him that assures him that he will not be betrayed. It is during this time you must find a way to defeat Tirek.” Princess Celestia replied in a matter of fact tone.

“Do you understand what we're asking of you?” Cadance asked with a worried expression at her sister-in-law.

“Yes. It's just... I'm only now learning how to control my own Alicorn magic. To take on even more–“

“Twilight, you represent the Element of Magic. If there is anypony who can do this, it's you.” Cadance interrupted the lavender Alicorn in an attempt to give her sister-in-law a boost of confidence.

Twilight then looked down at the floor in deep reflection of Cadance's words.“Taking on this task will be one of the most difficult things I'll ever do, but with the help of my friends--”

“I'm sorry, Princess Twilight, but you must keep your new abilities a secret. I fear that your friends being aware of your new power could put them at great risk.” Princess Celestia interjected cutting off the Alicorn once again.

“How is keeping this a secret going to protect them?! As far as they all know, Discord is still on our side! If anything, keeping this a secret endangers them even more than before!” Twilight exclaimed with a glare at Celestia once again finding yet another flaw in her logic.

“Twilight, while I understand your concerns, if your friends were to be informed of the situation, how do you think they would react?” Celestia asked, her tone firm as she spoke.

“They would want to help me find Tirek and Discord so we can defeat them!” Twilight retorted with a glare.

“And with what pray tell?! The elements of harmony are resting within the tree of harmony and you have still yet to find any of the keys to the chest unless I am mistaken.” Princess Celestia replied with a mild glare.

“Much less do we know what the chest may contain. No doubt it must be something of significant importance to you and your friends but what, we do not know.” Luna chimed in.

“Furthermore, even if you were to obtain all six keys in a remarkably short time, there's no telling if the chest would contain the power needed to defeat Tirek in his current state, much less what his state would become if he were to come into possession of Alicorn magic.” Princess Celestia said and gave a soft sigh. “Now do you understand why you must keep this a secret from your friends, Twilight?”

Twilight's eyes narrowed with mistrust at her mentor upon hearing these final words. “Its always about secrets with you, isn't it?” She said, her voice carrying an air of anger within it as she spoke.

Upon hearing this, Princess Celestia gave a frustrated sigh. “Now is not the time to be dwelling upon the past! Tirek is most likely on his way here at this very moment! It is vital that we transfer our magic to you long before he arrives so you have a chance to escape without him or Discord sensing you.”

“I'm afraid I must agree with my sister on this matter, Twilight. Time is of the essence and we can ill afford to allow personal issues come between us and the survival of Equestria.” Luna added quickly.

Twilight glared at Celestia for a few moments longer before she hung her head low and sighed aloud. “You're right. This is the fate of Equestria that is hanging in the balance and I can't let my personal grudges get in the way of performing my duty as a princess of Equestria.” She said and raised her head to look at her former mentor once more. “No matter how well founded they may be.” She added, her voice once again carrying the air of anger it had earlier.

“Then we must begin at once.” Celestia said at which point all three Alicorns stood around Twilight and channeled magic into their horns...

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MEANWHILE...

As Discord watched Tirek drain the magic from his latest victims, the draconequus suddenly felt a great fluctuation in magic which caused him to seemingly wiggle about in place for a short time. “What? I didn't expect them to do that.” Discord muttered to himself aloud.

Tirek however overheard this mutter and gave a curious glance back at him. “Didn't expect them to do what?” He asked.

“Oh, I simply thought it curious that the ponies have not bothered to put up much more resistance., that's all.” Discord replied casually.

“Hmmph! These pathetic equines couldn't manage more than a whimper against me.” Tirek remarked without bothering to look back at Discord before he continued walking on.

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Fluttershy tossed out chicken feed for her pet chickens as she often did in the mornings. The Pegasus was just about to question why the sun hadn't risen yet when she saw Rarity running up to her. The first thing she noticed was that the Unicorn's mane was not its usual prim and proper form but rather, messy and unattended.

The unicorn ran up to the yellow Pegasus and took a few moments to catch her breath before she spoke.“Have you seen Spike?” Rarity asked breathlessly as she panted loudly.

“Why no, I haven't. Wasn't he with you?” Fluttershy inquired curiously.

“He was but...” Rarity began to say only to trail off as she bit her lower lip guiltily for a few moments before she sighed aloud.

“What happened to your mane?” Fluttershy asked curiously, unable to avoid asking the question any longer.

“Who cares what happened to my mane! Spike is out there somewhere and... it's all my fault.” Rarity snapped at the yellow Pegasus at first until she trailed off and said her final four words, sounding as if she was about ready to cry.

Fluttershy recoiled at first due to the unicorn's initial snap at her but upon hearing the rest of what she said, reached out a hoof and placed on Rarity's shoulder in a comforting manner. “Of course I'll help you find him.” She said softly as her friend started to cry softly where she stood.

“I've checked everywhere. I even checked Twilight's library to see if he was there.” Rarity explained and gave a soft sniffle as she wiped her nose with a hoof.

“I still don't understand why he would run away like this. What happened Rarity?” Fluttershy asked curiously as she two left the yellow Pegasus's property and began to head for town.

The unicorn was silent for a time before she stopped walking and lowered her head in shame. “I-I used him, Fluttershy...” she said softly as tears dripped from her cheeks to the ground.

“Used him? For what?” The Pegasus asked looking genuinely confused as to what she meant by these words.

Rarity then looked over to Fluttershy, her expression riddled with self-loathing and sadness. “You know very well what for.” She said before she turned her gaze from the yellow Pegasus and resumed staring at the ground.

“Oh...Oh!” Fluttershy said at first still not getting the big picture until she recalled the unicorn's tale during their sleepover at which point she blushed heavily. “Well...” Fluttershy began to say only to feel her words falter. The Pegasus really had no idea what to say about this.

Rarity stood in place for a little while longer before she resumed walking towards town. “We're wasting time. We simply must find Spike before he gets himself hurt or worse.” She said in a matter of fact tone at which point Fluttershy gave a short gallop to catch up with the Unicorn's pace which seemed to have quickened greatly now.

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Twilight walked into her house and sat down at her usual study desk as she let the recent events run through her mind and sighed heavily. “Scootaloo's my daughter...and my brother's the father.” Twilight said aloud and sighed.

The Alicorn then made a nervious expression as she looked to her left and picturing Shining Armor standing there. “Hey, Bro. You know that filly Scootaloo I've been tutoring? Well the funny thing is that she's actually my daughter and you're the father! Crazy world we live in huh?” She finished only to groan and slam her face into her study desk. “Just how does anypony tell their brother that they're the father of their sister's foal when they have no memory of it?!” She grumbled into the wooden surface which muffled her voice as she spoke.

“Who, who!” Owlowiscious exclaimed as if trying to tell the Alicorn something as he landed on her study desk.

Twilight snapped her face up seemingly ignoring the owl as she continued. “And just how am I supposed to tell Scootaloo that I'm her mother?!” She exclaimed, once again made a nervous expression, and looked to her left once more.

“Hey Scootaloo, ya know how you wanted me to find out if you were really related to your parents? Well guess what? Turns out I'm actually your mother and that makes you royalty! Whose your father you ask? Eh-heh, about that....” she said aloud before she once against slammed her face against the study desk with yet another audible groan into the wooden surface.

“Who, who!” Owlowiscious exclaimed putting even more effort into getting his master's attention now though Twilight continued to ignore him.

“I wouldn't even have to deal with this if her highness, hadn't blasted my memories to Tartarus and back!” The Alicorn exclaimed as she snapped her head up and slammed a hoof hard into her desk and unknowing to her shot an uncontrolled burst of magic into it which caused it to explode into splinters and wood in front of her

“Gah! Oh yeah, and lets not forget that she and the other two have entrusted me with so much magical power that I can barely control it!” She exclaimed with an annoyed expression as she attempted to reconstruct her study desk only for yet another uncontrolled burst of magic to blast the fragments to ashes before her eyes.

Upon witnessing this, the Alicorn slammed her hooves over her face and gave a loud and irritated groan as she hopped out of her chair, bucked it from behind her, huffed and puffed for a few minutes in frustration, finally took a deep breath, and let it out slowly which managed to calm her somewhat.

“WHO! WHO!” Owlowiscious literally shouted in front of the Alicorn's face which finally managed to grab her attention.

“What?!” Twilight roared in annoyance of the owls constant pestering only to notice the bird was pointing towards the window. “That's funny, the sun should be up by now...” Twilight remarked aloud in confusion until it clicked with her weary mind at which point her horn sparked with magic.

“The sun should be up by now!” She exclaimed in a panicked tone as she ran to the window and stared at the moon. “Come on Twilight, you can do this!” The Alicorn said aloud to herself as she channeled magic into her horn.

At first, it seemed as if the Alicorn had succeeded only for the sun to wobble and dart behind the hills and the moon wobble back into the skies. This continued for another three times until the sun finally wobbled into the sky and stayed in place.

“Whew! That's done.” Twilight remarked in a relieved tone and turned around. “Spike!” She called out only to get no reply. “That's odd, is he staying with Rarity?” Twilight thought to herself curiously only to twitch loudly as her horn sparked with magic.

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Applejack watched the sun wobble into the sky and remain place with a confused look. “Huh, would ya look at that, never seen the sun and moon do that before.” She remarked with a curious look then looked down to see more stallions standing in front of her house than the whole apple family she estimated but for the moment she rushed downstairs and opened the door.

“What in tarnation are y'all doin' here fore'?!” She exclaimed in annoyance.

“Is Rainbow Dash here?” One stallion asked.

“Yeah, we got this flier that she was having a party.” Another stallion chimed in.

“She what now?! Let me see this here flier!” Applejack exclaimed at which point a stallion handed her the flier.

Applejack's face upon seeing the flier filled to the brim with a deep blush and anger as she stared at the flier which depicted her fillyfriend baring all on the flier and stating a time and date for her party titled:

Without warning, Applejack slammed the door shut in the stallion's face, took a deep breath and...

The farm pony shouted at the top of her lungs. She didn't want to believe it but the proof was in her hooves and this tore it.

Rainbow Dash came from upstairs with a smile on her face only for it to vanish upon seeing Applejack's pissed off face. “Hey A-J, What's with the line of stallions outside?” She asked looking genuinely confused.

“Y'all should know! Yer' the one who arranged the whole thing!” Applejack exclaimed as she tossed the flier at Rainbow Dash's hooves.

Upon looking down art the flier, the cyan blue Pegasus's expression adored a deep blush as her ears folded before she looked back at her fillyfriend. “A-J you gotta believe me, I didn't arrange this!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed with a worried expression on her face.

“I'd like to believe ya Rainbow but that here photo of ya baring your teats and cherrybush for all to see is really hurtin yer case!” Applejack replied as she glared at Rainbow Dash.

“But I didn't make this flier! You gotta believe me!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, the desperation in her voice becoming more than apparent now.

“Then explain to me how that thar photo got on the flier.” Applejack replied as she sat on her rump and crossed her front legs as she continued to glare at the Pegasus.

“Its gotta be a fake! I'd never do this! Heck, I wouldn't even do this when I was on the market!” Rainbow Dash replied defensively as she gestured at the flier with her right hoof.

“So, ya mean to tell me that somepony somehow managed to capture your underside, posin' like this, splitin' yer' cherrybush down the middle with both hooves like some playfilly magazine star?” Applejack replied looking completely unconvinced.

“Of course not! You wouldn't catch me dead doing something like that!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed and sighed. “Look, I know this looks bad but you gotta believe me.” Her tone suddenly returning to its desperate state as she looked at her lover with pleading eyes.

“Ah wanna believe ya, Dash. Ah really do... but Ah don't.” Applejack replied as she closed her eyes, stood up, and turned away from Rainbow Dash. “Ah shoulda' known better than to think ya would jump over my side of the fence that easily.” Applejack said softly, her voice cracking as she spoke.

“Applejack... Please...” Rainbow Dash pleaded, tears now forming her eyes as she stared at her lover.

“We're done, Rainbow.” The farm pony said simply, opened the door, shoved the first few stallion's in the line to the side, and left the cyan blue Pegasus's sight before she could manage to utter a word to stop her...

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Shining Armor watched the sun finally wobble to the skies and remain their unknowing of the fact that two of his unicorn guards were floating up into the sky.

It was then that Discord appeared next to Shining Armor, his helmet on the draconequus's head instead of his. “Shining Armor, why, whatever are you doing here?” Discord quipped with a smirk.

The unicorn immediately jumped away from Discord and took an offensive stance. “Back off, traitor.” he said with a glare at the draconequus.

“The only one Discord betrayed was himself. Abandoning his true nature to make friends with weak-minded equines who offer him nothing!” Tirek's voice came from to the right of the unicorn at which point Shining Armor turned to face him and fired a beam of offensive magic at the creature only for Tirek to lift a single hand, catch the magic within it, proceed to throw it into his mouth, chewed it up, and swallowed with a light laugh.

Tirek then walked up to Shining Armor, grabbing him by the muzzle, opened his mouth, and proceeded to drain the unicorn of every ounce of magic he possessed.

Shining Armor's body collapsed to the floor before he managed to weakly look up to Discord. “How... could you... do this...?” He asked weakly before he passed out.

Discord looked upon the unicorn with a perplexed expression for a short time before Tirek placed an arm around him. “Why don't you go and have a little fun? I won't stand in your way.” Tirek said aloud with a smirk and walked away.

Unknown to Tirek however, Discord merely narrowed his eyes at the centaur as he walked towards the royal chambers...

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The door to the royal chambers was blasted off its hinges as Tirek trampled inside and stared at the three Alicorns with a victorious grin upon his face. He then walked up to Princess Celestia and attempting to drain her magic. It was then that his victorious grin vanished and was replaced with one of confusion as Celestia grinned back at him with a knowing look.

“What have you done?!” He exclaimed and tried to drain the other Alicorn's magic only for the same result to occur. “Where is your magic?!” He roared at the top of his lungs.

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The front door to Twilight's home was blasted off its hinges leaving the Alicorn staring in shock at the results of her merely attempting to open her front door with her magic. “I have to gain better control. I sure can't practice here.” She remarked aloud thoughtfully before she broke into a full gallop and took off from the ground.

“Waaaaah!” Twilight exclaimed at the top of her lungs as she blasted through the skies at Mach-Three, clearly unable to control the speed of her flight and leaving a streak in the color of her mane in her wake.

Rainbow Dash now laid on a cloud sobbing softly to herself. “Who would do this to us? Why didn't she believe me?” Rainbow Dash asked aloud between sniffles and sobs.

Suddenly, the cyan blue Pegasus was sent spinning in place comically as Twilight zipped past her, leaving her dazed for a short time until her sight managed to steady itself at which point she realized it was Twilight who in fact sped past her. “Whoa! Twilight?” She exclaimed in confusion and utter disbelief of the Alicorn's sheer speed.

It was at this exact moment that Fluttershy and Rarity were walking through Ponyville. “We've looked everywhere. Oh this is all my fault! I such a terrible pony!” Rarity exclaimed as she sobbed softly.

Fluttershy then laid a hoof on Rarity's shoulder. “Now, Now... I'm sure he'll turn up eventually.” She said comfortingly only for her and Rarity's attention to be yanked skyward as Twilight's voice cried out and see the Alicorn speeding a crossed the skies.

“What the-?!” Rarity exclaimed without thinking.

“Wow... I didn't know Twilight could fly that fast.” Fluttershy said aloud in amazement.

“Y'all saw that too right?” Applejack's voice called out which caused Rarity and Fluttershy to look to their left to see Applejack running up to the two.

“Wowie! Twilight's gotten really good at flying!” Pinkie Pie's voice exclaimed at which point the other three looked over to see Pinkie Pie standing there when she wasn't moments before.

“Is it just me or did Twilight sound less than happy with the results of her flight?” Rarity remarked curiously.

“Why do ya think Ah'm here? Ah saw her zippin' a crossed the skies and screamin' like she just got shot out of pumpkin launcher.”

“Oh my, you don't think she may be in some kind of trouble do you?” Fluttershy asked with a worried expression.

“Only one way to find out, come on everypony!” Applejack exclaimed and ran in the direction of Twilight's flight path followed closely by the other three.

About this time, Twilight was attempting to land on the ground only to hit it hard and dig up dirt as she skidded to a halt. “ohh...” Twilight remarked aloud as she stood up and rubbed her sore hindquarters. “That's going to leave a mark...” The Alicorn remarked with a wince as she stared at her hindquarters which looked bruised at the moment.

A few moments later, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash ran up to the Alicorn. Each one with a look of worry and concern adorned on their faces as they looked at her.

“Oh, my goodness, are you all right?” Fluttershy asked.

“Jumpin' junebugs, Twilight! When did you learn to fly that fast?” She asked as she watched the Alicorn twitch violently as if she was being shocked by electricity.

The Alicorn was now sweating profusely as she replied. “I must have caught a particularly strong breeze...” she began to say only to spontaneously teleport behind Rarity “or something.” She added after a moment.

“Must have been 'or something', because there wasn't any breeze up there.” Rainbow Dash remarked with an unsure expression towards the Alicorn as she walked past them.

“I don't know what happened, but I don't really have time to figure it out right now.” Twilight replied only to seize up as she felt a surge of magic zip through her body like electricity.

“Another visit to the Castle of the Two Sisters, I presume? We'd be more than happy to accompany you!” Rarity replied forcing a smile on her face as she spoke as did the others who stood next to each other smiling.

However Applejack's eyes found themselves looking over at Rainbow Dash and her smile vanished. “Maybe not all of us.” Applejack remarked bitterly at which point Rainbow Dash looked over at the farm pony, her smile vanishing as well.

“Not today!” Twilight exclaimed only to seize up again as yet another surge of magic zipped through her body like electricity. “Tirek may still be a threat. I need you all to stay here and encourage everypony to remain inside.” She added and made a motion to take off only to glance back at her wings and second-guess her decision by walking instead.

Once Twilight was out of sight, Applejack's expression became one of resentment as she turned about-face and began to walk away from the cyan blue Pegasus. “A-J... Come on, you can't still be mad at me can you?” Rainbow Dash said doing her best to not break into tears once again.

“Ah'm not mad, Rainbow. I'm hurt because of ya two-timin' me. Now if ya would kindly leave me alone, Ah'd appreciate it.” Applejack replied calmly before she continued to walk away, leaving the other three looking on in confusion of what had just transpired while Rainbow Dash fell to the ground and sobbed loudly while a certain stallion looked on from afar with a wicked grin upon his face...