"Twilight, I understand you're feeling anxious, but please, calm down for a moment."
Aurora kept pace with the fast-moving Twilight Sparkle.
This poor kid truly believed that Equestria was facing an existential crisis; her anxiety was nearly reaching the level she had experienced while preparing for the School for Gifted Unicorns entrance exam.
Come to think of it, is a pony's anxiety actually quite relaxed?
However, Equestria was indeed facing a crisis, though it didn't quite qualify as an existential threat—it was, at most, a restoration.
"Aurora, why aren't you nervous at all? Don't you believe in the prophecy either?"
Twilight Sparkle felt confused and helpless in an atmosphere where, despite the end of the world being tomorrow, everyone was more relaxed than the last, leaving her as the only one feeling tense.
"How could you say that? I believe; I believe completely."
That said, Aurora remained as calm and composed as ever.
"I just don't think it's a bad thing. Think about it: once Princess Luna returns, won't there be two princesses guarding the kingdom? Our Equestria is thriving, you know."
Although Aurora's words sounded like good news, to Twilight Sparkle's ears, they carried a hint of sarcasm.
"Are you sure it will be two, and not one replacing the other?"
"...Hard to say."
Having been imprisoned for a thousand years, no pony knew how Princess Luna had spent that time; it was only natural for her to throw a tantrum, and that was just a blessing Celestia had to endure as a sister.
"Aurora, now is not the time for jokes."
Twilight Sparkle had grown somewhat accustomed to her Second Senior Sister's mysterious sense of relaxation at all times, so she didn't take her strange remarks to heart.
"We need to tell our friends in Ponyville so they can prepare in advance. And we should finish this inspection work while we're at it."
Twilight Sparkle looked back at Spike, signaling him to read the checklist.
Princess Celestia sending Twilight Sparkle to Ponyville for an official inspection of the Summer Sun Celebration was merely an excuse, which was evident from the checklist that would allow her to perfectly encounter the other members of the M6.
"Isn't that Pinkie Pie?"
Just as Spike was planning to sneak off to check the decorations at the celebration site, he spotted Pinkie Pie walking toward them.
"Pinkie Pie! What a coincidence meeting you here! Listen, I need your help—"
"Hey! Pinkie Pie, did you know? I have some incredible news! Twilight is moving to Ponyville, and she'll be staying at the Golden Oak Library."
Before Twilight Sparkle could finish, Aurora suddenly interrupted her.
Upon hearing this, Pinkie Pie froze for a moment, then let out an inexplicable, high-pitched shriek before rocketing into the air, vanishing before the others could even react.
"Did you do that on purpose?"
Twilight Sparkle glared at Aurora with some annoyance.
"Sorry, I just wanted to test something."
Without making excuses or denying it, Aurora admitted that she had been deliberately careless; she simply wanted to see how Pinkie Pie would react to the news, given that she already knew Twilight Sparkle.
To ensure Twilight Sparkle didn't think she was belittling her concerns, Aurora decided to offer her some insider information.
"Relax, Twilight. Actually, I have done some research on the elements of harmony..."
"Really?!"
Upon hearing anything related to the elements of harmony, Twilight Sparkle pounced on Aurora like a starving tiger, her face full of hunger for new knowledge.
Her talent for making expressive faces was starting to show.
"Uh..."
Although Aurora enjoyed cuddling with ponies, this was a bit too close for comfort, and not very dignified.
"Oh, sorry..."
Twilight Sparkle realized she had lost her composure, gave an awkward laugh, stood back up, and resumed the posture of a good student.
"However, don't get your hopes up too high; the information I can give you is quite limited."
To prevent Twilight Sparkle from getting too excited, Aurora managed her expectations.
While exploring the princesses' Old Castle, Aurora had discovered the five orbs representing the elements of harmony. As she had expected, before being activated by the Magic of Friendship, they were nothing more than five round stones.
To study these five stones, Aurora had even brought them to the tree of harmony to see if any wondrous magical reaction would occur.
Yes, Aurora had found the tree of harmony. She now knew where the colors she had seen on her Junior Sister came from, and was even more certain that The Grand Princess taking Twilight Sparkle as an apprentice had been a long-planned scheme.
There was just one thing that surprised Aurora: the tree wasn't as bright as she had imagined.
But after a moment's thought, it made sense.
The elements of harmony were essentially the batteries for the tree of harmony; they had been borrowed by the two princesses over a thousand years ago to subdue Discord and had never been returned.
Even without its batteries, it had managed to suppress the Everfree Forest for over a millennium, all while being constantly drained by countless Star-Absorbing Vine seeds. Its endurance was perhaps only slightly inferior to a lotus candle on a birthday cake.
When Aurora removed her glasses, she saw countless dense, tiny rootlets attached to the tree of harmony. They had taken root there, draining the tree's magic day after day, year after year.
Seeing this, Aurora felt her scalp tingle; it was as if she could already foresee the disaster that Equestria would face in the future.
The outcome of Discord ruling the world was so terrible that even Aurora couldn't accept it.
As the only existing creation of Discord, Aurora had dug up some of the shallower Star-Absorbing Vine seeds to take with her as material for researching Chaos Magic, temporarily storing them at Zecora's home.
The seeds of the Star-Absorbing Vine required the magic of the tree of harmony to suppress their growth, so to prevent them from germinating, Aurora had to keep them within the bounds of the Everfree Forest.
As for the five elements of harmony, nothing happened when Aurora placed them with the tree of harmony, nor did any other anomalies occur. Returning empty-handed, Aurora had to put them back where she found them.
It really wasn't her specialized weapon; it felt awkward holding it in her hooves.
Aurora shared what she knew with Twilight Sparkle, carefully selecting what to disclose and omitting the parts about the Star-Absorbing Vines.
Twilight Sparkle was currently just a fledgling trainee in the Magic of Friendship; if Nightmare Moon alone could make her this nervous, Aurora worried that telling her about even more terrifying crises waiting for her would shatter her resolve.
"The elements of harmony... they're actually just stones, and there are only five of them...?"
Although she had never seen the elements of harmony with her own eyes, Twilight Sparkle trusted Aurora's judgment on magic implicitly.
"Then have you tried using sparks to activate them?"
Aurora didn't reply, merely watching Twilight Sparkle in silence. This let her know that Aurora had likely tried every method, including sparks, but simply couldn't do it.
"Twilight, the most powerful magic in the world can be seen as the manifestation of beautiful qualities in the form of magic, such as the various spirits represented by the elements of harmony."
Aurora patted Twilight Sparkle's head, which had drooped in frustration.
Although she couldn't directly interfere with Twilight Sparkle's choices or growth, she could still give her some hints, both openly and subtly.
"It is not powerful magic that creates these beautiful qualities, but rather, these beautiful qualities themselves possess incredible power."
------------------------
I've posted 70+ chapters in advance on Patreon.
Webnovel updates will still be daily, as usual.
It might not seem tempting right now but who knows what the future holds?
[email protected]/SolyuraMT
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"