In Ponyville.
Looking at the chaos before him, Ye Ziji let out a deep sigh.
He rapidly weighed the pros and cons in his mind.
Charging blindly into the Everfree Forest to search for Twilight Sparkle and the others without any leads would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.
The forest was full of danger.
With his magic depleted and carrying an easily startled Fluttershy, it would not be a wise move.
In comparison, stabilizing the ponies in Ponyville was far more important.
At the very least, they had resources, information, and available ponies here.
If Twilight Sparkle and the others failed, this place could serve as a fallback supply base.
*Oh well,* he decided.
*Let’s deal with the immediate problem first.*
Turning around, he gently patted the back of the still-trembling Fluttershy with his hoof, comforting her, “Fluttershy, we need to calm these panicked ponies first. Panic is far more terrifying than any enemy.”
Fluttershy looked up, her tear-filled eyes wide with bewilderment.
But Ye Ziji’s steady voice acted like a soothing balm, calming her chaotic thoughts a little.
“Is there a mayor here?” Ye Ziji asked.
“We need to find the pony in charge.”
“The… Mayor?” Fluttershy thought for a moment, then pointed toward the most ornately decorated building in the center of the plaza.
“She… she should be in the Town Hall. That was where the celebration party to welcome Princess Celestia was supposed to be held.”
Ye Ziji nodded.
Keeping close to Fluttershy, he walked toward the Town Hall, pushing through the panicked crowd of ponies.
The building’s large doors stood wide open, and the interior was in an even worse state than the outside.
Elaborately decorated banquet tables were flipped on their sides, cakes and pastries trampled beyond recognition.
The banners welcoming the Princess had been torn from the walls, hanging limply on one side.
Several ponies were shivering inside, looking as if they had experienced something truly terrifying.
After searching around, they found the Mayor of Ponyville in a messy corner of the room.
An older Earth Pony, she was currently sitting on the floor in a daze, her gray mane a disheveled mess, her face stained with tears and despair.
“Mayor?” Fluttershy called out tentatively.
The Mayor snapped her head up.
Seeing Fluttershy, she seemed to find an outlet for her grief, instantly breaking down into loud sobs.
“Fluttershy! It’s you! Oh, it’s terrible! Everything is ruined!”
She babbled incoherently.
“That—that black monster! Nightmare Moon! She made the sun disappear! And then… then Princess Celestia… the Princess is gone too!” This chapter is updated first at g.com.
Clutching her mane, the Mayor shook her head in agony.
“I tried to get everyone to calm down, but no pony would listen to me! They all ran… The Summer Sun Celebration is ruined, everything is ruined!”
“Princess Celestia… is gone?!”
This news was like a bolt of lightning from the blue, striking Fluttershy instantly.
To her, the Princess was an eternal presence like the sun, the very cornerstone of Equestria’s order and peace.
The disappearance of Princess Celestia shattered the last line of her psychological defense.
Her body began to tremble, tears pouring uncontrollably as she fell into an even deeper state of panic than the Mayor.
Just as Fluttershy was about to be consumed by fear, a hoof gently pressed onto her shoulder.
“Don’t worry.”
Ye Ziji’s voice was not loud, but it was exceptionally clear, carrying a soothing power that could calm any pony’s heart.
“Trust me, it will be alright. Everything will be resolved!”
He looked directly into Fluttershy’s terrified eyes, his gaze steady, without a single trace of panic.
This composure seemed entirely out of place in such chaotic surroundings, but because of that, it was highly contagious.
Fluttershy’s trembling gradually subsided.
She stared blankly at the pony before her, as if catching a glimmer of light in the darkness.
Having comforted Fluttershy, Ye Ziji turned his gaze to the still-collapsing Mayor.
He said to Fluttershy, “Fluttershy, now is not the time to be afraid! First, help me get the Mayor to calm down. Then, the three of us will figure out a way to soothe the other ponies.”
He gave Fluttershy a clear task, an immediate goal she could focus on.
This gave her a foothold to stand on amidst her panic.
She took a deep breath, wiped away her tears, and nodded heavily.
Stepping forward, she began trying to comfort the sobbing Mayor with her gentle, albeit slightly trembling, voice, which had at least lost its panic.
Bolstered by Ye Ziji’s encouragement, Fluttershy summoned the greatest courage she had ever mustered in her life.
She approached the still-sobbing Mayor, gently placing her hoof on the Mayor’s shoulder, just as Ye Ziji had done.
“Mayor, Ye Ziji is right… now is not the time to be afraid. Right now—right now is when Ponyville needs you most. We all need you!”
Saying this, she half-supported and half-guided the Mayor out of the dark corner, enabling her to see through the open doors to her citizens running about like headless chickens outside.
Looking at those familiar faces, now contorted with fear and panic, the Mayor’s heart twinged.
Her sense of duty as the town leader cleared her panicked mind slightly.
Indeed, for her citizens, she could not fall apart.
“But what—what should I do?” She looked blankly at Fluttershy, her voice filled with helplessness.
“The Princess is gone, I don’t know what to do…”
Hearing the Mayor’s helpless inquiry, the courage Fluttershy had just summoned suddenly sputtered out.
Just then, he walked over from a pile of overturned decorations.
Pushing aside a few streamers with his hoof, he found several glittering ornamental gems that were originally meant to adorn the celebration party in honor of Princess Celestia.
He placed the gems on the floor in front of him, arranging them in a small circle.
“Mayor, may I borrow these?”
Then, looking directly into the Mayor’s helpless eyes, he continued, “You don’t need to know exactly what to do.” His voice was clear and powerful as he went on, “You just need to do what you’ve always done. During every blizzard, every disaster, and every time the ponies panicked, what did you do?”
“You stood up and told everyone what they could do. Right now, what everyone needs is just a voice—a voice telling them what to do. Giving them any task is better than letting this chaos continue!”
His words acted like a key, instantly unlocking the Mayor’s blocked thoughts.
Yes, she didn’t need to come up with a perfect solution right away.
She just needed to stand up, make herself heard, and fulfill her duty as the Mayor to soothe her citizens.
*Sigh,* Ye Ziji sighed inwardly.
*It really has been a long time since I used this old method.
If my magic weren’t depleted, I wouldn’t need to consume gems as a medium just to summon wind elements for communication and assistance.*
He hesitated no longer.
Closing his eyes, he focused his mind, trying to squeeze the last few remaining drops of magic from his parched magical lake bed.
Soon, the tip of his horn glowed with a faint light once more.
“In the name of the wind, come to my side.”
Along with his low chant, those few precious drops of magic were channeled into the gems on the floor.
With a soft *crack*, the beautiful gems instantly crumbled into a handful of glittering powder.
Immediately afterward, an invisible but distinctly palpable whirlwind rose from the floor of the Town Hall.
It did not mess up any of the surroundings; it merely swirled and spiraled gently and obediently around Ye Ziji, letting out a soft whirring sound.
It was like a docile pet responding to its master’s call.
Fluttershy and the Mayor were astonished.
They had never seen such magic, which seemed to materialize the invisible wind and communicate with it.
Ye Ziji did not explain.
Extending a hoof toward the Mayor, he commanded the swirling wind, “Go. Help her carry her voice to every corner of Ponyville, to the ears of every single pony.”
The whirlwind seemed to understand his words, letting out a cheerful hum.
It then dispersed into countless microscopic currents of air, wrapping around the Mayor.
They caused her no discomfort, gently enveloping her as they waited for her to speak.
In no time, a natural amplifier covering the entire town was ready.
Everything was prepared, waiting only for the Mayor’s voice.