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As they walked, Spike drifted back to where Celestia was walking along with Luna. "There is one thing with all this that confuses me, Princess." He said, "They said the Elements were in the Ruins, but it seems to me that that would be a really foolish place to leave such powerful magical artifacts. I mean, Tomb Raiders with a taste for stone orbs could have made off with some of them in the last thousand years and doomed us all."

Celestia looked to make sure none of the younger ponies were in earshot. "Confidentially, Spike, those orbs were not actually the Elements." She said, "In fact, the jewelry the girls have now are not the Elements either. The Elements of Harmony lie within the Ponies themselves, but they needed a physical symbol to believe they had them."

Spike's eyes widened slightly. "So Twilight made the Necklaces as a Symbol of the Elements, without knowing she was doing it?" he asked incredulously, "What about the orbs Nightmare Moon smashed?"

Celestia chuckled. "That was such an ugly statue." She said with a grin. "I left it because I honestly did not like it. I thought it was hilarious that Twilight mistook the orbs for the Elements. It seems to have worked well though."

Spike sighed. "So they don't actually need the Necklaces and crown to use the Elements?" he asked.

Celestia looked at him. "No, they don't," she replied, "but I don't want them to use the Elements too often, because I don't want them too reliant on them. Because of this, I am letting them think the Jewelry is necessary to use the Elements, and I am taking them with me to Canterlot." She fixed him with a look. "I trust you will keep this a secret?"

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7530886/3/