Where the Earth and Sun Cross
By Para125
Editor and Chief: Ponylicking808
Prologue
“Soon… but not yet…” said Celestia as she protested.
“Then how do you expect her to really grow to her full potential?” explained a voice back.
“But she already learned so much! Can’t we wait for her to learn more about who she is first?” Celestia reasoned.
“You’ve been stalling this for far too long, Celestia… If you don’t send her soon, then you remember how Luna got out of control…”
“Yes I do. Fine then, I’ll go and explain this to Twilight tomorrow.” Celestia replied. “I’ll make preparations for her arrival… Good bye then…”
Silence and thoughts overwhelmed Celestia as she awoke from her bed in a veil of moonlight.
“Sister? Sister are you alright?” Yelled a voice from the balcony.
“Yes Luna… I’m fine.”
“I hope you know I saw that dream you just had. Should I call Cadence for assistance?”
“No don’t be troubled… I can do this on my own. I’ll be gone for now. You know how long the trip can be. I’ll just make an impromptu visit to Ponyville.”
“Okay.” said Luna as she laughed to herself.
“What’s so funny?” questioned Celestia.
“Well I… I just remembered your first time going to train with him.” Replied Princess Luna as she prepared to take off into the night again.
“Hey at least I went to train!” said Celestia as she blushed looking down at the floor.
“Surree, you just take care now sister, don’t get caught up in anything again.” said Luna before she left.
“Yeah… not this time…” mumbled Celestia. “It’s been so long.” Celestia said as she looked toward the stars. She stared as she tried to keep back all of her memories she wished she had forgotten. “Well no helping that now.” Celestia said sluggishly.
She stumbled up, grabbed a scroll, and immediately began to write.
Dear Princess Twilight Sparkle,
I know it is unexpected, and I do not wish to alarm you.
But I will be arriving at Ponyville tomorrow as early as I can.
Do not prepare. Do not notify anypony. This will be of upmost importance.
I understand you may be busy at the time, but please listen to me.
You will have to leave Ponyville for quite sometime.
I know you will understand my reasoning.
Please forgive me if I have caused any disturbances.
Sincerely,
Princess Celestia
“Thank you…” whispered the voice from Celestia’s dream.“
My pleasure…” replied Celestia as she sighed and prepared herself for another journey.
Chapter 1
“Wake up, Twilight! Hurry!” yelled Spike.
“Spike…? What are you doing up so early?” I asked.
“It’s Celestia! She wrote a letter explaining everything!” Spike said as he threw a scroll at my face.
“Ow! C’mon, Spike!”
“Sorry, Twilight…”
I got up out of bed and grabbed the note Princess Celestia had written for me.
“What could’ve made her write something so early in the morning?” I questioned myself.
Slowly I opened the letter and read its contents.
“Oh my… Spike! Spike we need to make sure she’s welcomed properly! Oh my gosh I don’t know what she’s even coming for“
“Twilight! Calm down. Just breathe and come downstairs.”
“Okay spike… But all my preparation equipment is upstairs and-“
“Good morning, Twilight!” said Celestia as she stood proudly in the library.
“Oh my, Celestia!” as we bowed to each other. “Celestia what are you doing here so early? And what do you mean I’ll be going? I don’t understand what’s happening, Princess.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll explain everything on the way there.”
“On the way to where?!” I exclaimed, still confused at my situation.
“Twilight… Just trust me. Okay?”
“Okay… I will.” I said as I calmed my nerves.
“Alright.” said Celestia interrupting my train of thought. “Just get into the bubble outside.” Celestia explained.
“What?”
“The bubble. It’s right here.” Celestia led me outside and pointed to a magical bubble I had never seen before.
“Just… step into it?”
“Yes, like this.” Celestia said. I watched as she smoothly merged into the floating bubble.
“Well… okay” I thought to myself as I followed her movements. As soon as we were both inside the bubble, it shot up into the air and flew faster through the sky than even Rainbow Dash ever has.
“Wow, I’ve never heard of anything like this happening before.” I said to Celestia.
“I know, Twilight… and again I’m sorry for being such a burden but… This is something that you have to do. And I’m sure you have a lot of questions, so ask them now before we arrive.”
“Okay, well who’ll take care of my house and Spike when I’m gone?”
“He knows enough now, he can handle himself and your house.”
“Okay… Well now where are we going?”
“To meet a very special pony.”
“Why? I’m in a giant bubble speeding through the skies past everything I’ve ever known, you need to answer me more clearly Princess…”
“Okay you’re right I’m sorry, Twilight. But right now we’re heading straight for the Hidden Isles. An-“
“Wait a minute, the Hidden Isles? Those were only written and recorded from old Pony legends; we have no proof of it existing! And even if it was real, wouldn’t there be a magical spell protecting it from any intruders?”
“Yes.” replied Celestia “We’re going to meet a very important Pony over there. He protects those Isles, and trust me, it’s a very real place.”
“Then what’s so important about us going there?”
“No, Twilight it’s important that YOU go there. And don’t worry, you’ll see what’s so important when you get there.”
“… What’s this ponies name?”
“His honorary name is Prince Terra. Although I am not too sure what his birth name is…”
“Prince? So he’s like… a male alicorn?”
“Very much so my young, Twilight. His duty is to train all new and growing alicorns to help them reach their full potential. And that is why you must go to him.”
“I feel like I’ve read about some pony like that before.”
“Maybe you have, but only in the oldest of recorded books is he ever mentioned, and is still only referred to as a legend. He is the protector of our planet, and only leaves his home when every pony is in great peril.” explained Celestia
“That seems reasonable.” I said. “I just feel like there needs to be a more bare explanation. It’s as if though I have something unanswered.” I continued.
“Just wait and enjoy the view Twilight… You should get some rest, the trip will be very long.” replied Celestia.
“Ok, I sure hope you’re right.” I said. Just then I looked through the clear surface of the bubble, towards the orange rising sky and slowly drifted to sleep.
Chapter 2
“Twilight? Twilight we’ve just about made it there.” A hazy voice said to me.
“Huh? What’s going on?” I slowly stumbled back onto my feet.
“Where is it, Princess?”
“Right in front of us, you have to open your eyes first.”
As soon as I heard Princess Celestia’s voice, I looked up and saw an island so large it could basically be considered a continent.
“Gosh Princess, that looks a bit too big to be an Island…” I stated.
I noticed everything. It was remarkably bigger than Equestria I know that much. But one of the two Islands seemed to be divided into three parts. With the north western side of the island being a dense forest biome, separated from the middle part of the island by a large mountain range. The southeastern side of the island was also separated from the middle by a large mountain range. This side of the Island on the other hand had all kinds of biomes; it seemed to be as though Rarity had control of the weather again. The middle strip of the island seemed to be the most beautiful yet most simplistic part. Just a flat field with two rivers running along the edges seeming to separate it from the mountain ranges surrounding it.
“Well I hope you enjoy it. You’ll be here for a while.” said Celestia interrupting my admiration of the island.
“Hey what’s that island off the coast?” I asked as I noticed it.
“Terra didn’t actually tell me in a straight forward way, maybe he’ll tell you, Twilight.”
“Yeah, if we even get along.” Suddenly the speeding bubble started to slow down through the sky in the upper atmosphere above the island.
“So did you enjoy your ride Twilight?”
“I have no idea, I just slept through the whole journey. What about you, Princess?” I asked as I looked up at her with a smile.
“I don’t know either. I slept too!” Celestia responded as we both chuckled.
As we floated gently down to the island, I saw that the mountain ranges were much bigger than I had previously calculated in my head with the mountains being hundreds of miles above the ground.
“Just don’t be nervous, Twilight. Okay?”
“Okay, Princess, I’ve got this under control.” I replied trying to keep my hooves from shaking.
We touched the ground just as the sun began to touch the seemingly endless horizon. I was about to touch the grass right before Celestia pulled me back into the bubble.
“What’s going on, Princess?” I asked with a confused look on my face
“I just want to let you know that… um… well the grass is really nice so don’t eat too much okay?” Celestia said as she was trying to hold something back.
“Uh are you okay, Princess? You don’t seem right.”
“It’s okay, Twilight, I just… I don’t want to rush in okay?”
“Perfectly understandable, Princess!” I responded.
We both stepped onto the grass and felt a slow cool breeze roll from the mountains that were miles away. On the other hand the, Princess was right, I couldn’t help but take a couple mouthfuls of grass before looking around. An old log cabin with a chimney stood proudly in front of us, coupled by a large tree. A sweet smell of cooking food came from within the house. Soon Celestia took the lead and began to walk up the porch leading to the front entrance of the house and I followed. We were both nervous as we sat in front of a large oak wood door, being much taller than even Celestia.
“Where is he, Princess? Wasn’t he expecting us to be here?”
“I know exactly what he’s doing, Twilight. Can’t you hear him singing?” Celestia replied.
I listened carefully to a faint voice singing in another language, the voice coming from the other side of the old cabin.
“He sounds… really amazing actually…” I muttered softly.
“I know…” Celestia commented with a little smirk on her face.
“Terra! You know we’re here! C’mon we don’t have all day!” Celestia yelled with a big grin, as though they were old friends.
A gleeful laugh came as you could hear a pony, a big one in fact, slowly lumber over towards the door we stood at.
“Good god, Celestia it’s been far too long since I’ve heard your voice in real life!” Said the ominous pony.
I watched in amazement as the door opened slowly in front of us, only to see a male alicorn tower above us. He stood a good foot above Celestia (including horn length). As my eyes adjusted to the brightly lit interior of the house, I looked up and saw both Celestia and this new pony both lock onto each other’s eyes with the grandest smiles I could ever imagine. Prince Terra had a flawless brown coat and a smoky black mane. His cutie mark was a symbol of our planet, guarded by two crossed swords. His hooves gleamed with their natural crystal material. The two royal alicorns continued to gleam at each other for a couple more seconds before I decided to make myself noticed.
“Ahem…” I coughed.
“Oh! Um, Terra, this is Princess Twilight. Princess Twilight this is Prince Terra.” said Celestia as she got on all four of her legs to bow down.
I followed as Celestia did and then I said, “It’s a great honor to meet you, Prince Terra.”
“Well it’s very nice to acquaint myself with you as well, Princess Twilight Sparkle.” His calm voice replied.
Celestia and I both got up and looked at each other.
“Well I really must be going then.” Celestia said reluctantly.
“Whoah whoah whoah, c’mon. You mean you don’t want to eat dinner with us?” interrupted Prince Terra.
“No… I really must be going back to Equestria. Besides, I never got to eat dinner with my parents did I?” responded Celestia.
“Well… then I mean I guess.” replied Terra. “So should I get the… Sky Zoomer 5000 up and running again?” said Terra as he laughed at himself.
“Terra! I called it that once! I can’t believe you even remembered that!” Celestia said as she turned her head and blushed.
“Okay you’re right, forgive me, Celestia. I’ll see you soon then.”
“You too, Terra.” I watched as Celestia embraced Terra and rested her head gently on his body for a couple seconds before she slowly returned back into the bubble and flew slowly away back the way we came.
“So, Prince Terra, where should we begin?” I said as I watched him slowly stare at Celestia departing with a disappointed look in his face.
“Oh well… I should probably show you around first.” He said as he trotted back into his log cabin.
I slowly entered and stepped onto the old wooden flooring, and hear the wood creak with every step. We walk through a bright hallway and into his living room. The hallway and living room are lined with pictures and him of all his previous students, but notably none of Celestia or Luna. His living room is brightly lit with hoof-made furniture decorating every part of his house. There were also endless passageways of doors, but I wasn’t too sure where any of them went. We walked into the connected kitchen where he had been preparing a meal for three.
“I know it’s not anything big… but I love what I have.” He stated proudly.
“I’d expect more for a legendary hero such as yourself but… it is really nice.” I replied.
We walked out side next to the tree looming over his cabin.
“My favorite student and I planted this tree to teach her about patients. It’s around nine hundred and fifty years old give or take a hundred years.” He said as he slowly admired its beauty.
“Hey, Terra? What’s that scribbled on the side?” I asked as I pointed to a scribble on the side of the tree.
“Oh don’t worry, that was from a training accident.” As he made sure I didn’t touch it.
“Okay let’s go eat some dinner then.” He said as he smiled at me and began to return to his house again.
We both sat on his chairs made for alicorns and began to eat.
“So what’s it like living by yourself here all of the time?” I said trying to spark a conversation.
“It does get pretty lonely, trust me. However I can handle it, it’s very relaxing having this whole place to myself.”
“So can you explain to me what the other parts of this island are like?”
“Well I’m sure you’ve noticed that I lived in the very center, and if you look out the window it’s just a field. The heavily forested area to the northwest is just where I get materials from, and the bi-polar southeastern side of the islands is where I experiment with weather and land. But heed my warning; never go to either of these two sides without me. It’s far too dangerous for new alicorns to go alone.” He said getting slightly serious at the ending.
“Well you can trust me, Prince, I can handle everything!” I happily replied.
“Well this should go swimmingly then. I’m gonna head up to bed early tonight, Twilight. We got a big day ahead of us. You can stay up, just be prepared.”
“Sure thing, and hey which room do I sleep in?” “The one right across from mine, here follow me.” I put my dishes in the sink as I followed him up the flight of stairs in the living room.
We walked into a dark hallway until he opened a door and said “Here make yourself at home. Just don’t come into my room, understood?”
“Sure thing, Prince.”
“Thanks. Goodnight then, Twilight.” He said as he quickly shut the door behind him.
“Wow” I thought to myself. “He’s not very talkative. It must just be from the bubble ride he conjured up for us.”
As I sat on my bed, I was remarked at how greatly he had prepared this room for me. Pictures of ponies performing magic lined the walls next to a small bookshelf filled with books I had well… already read. Some scrapbooks sat idly in the corners of the bookshelf and I concluded that I should look at them later. I lay back onto the bed I was sitting on top of and looked carefully at the ceiling. Scribbled very lightly in the corner were the words “Celestia was here :)” I giggled to my self. Well at least I know where Celestia’s room was when she trained here. I put the lights out with a little bit of magic, and slowly fell asleep to the soft embrace of Luna’s light.
Chapter 3
I woke up to the sound of waves crashing on the sand with Terra’s face right in front of mine.
“Ahhhh!” I screamed
“Good morning.”
“Where… Where are we?” I asked.
“We’re at the beach.”
“I see that, but why are we at the beach?”
“For your training of course dear, Twilight.”
“Oh, okay. Then what are we doing?” I asked with excitement.
“We’re going to be working on your physical and combat strength.”
“I thought I was coming here to work on magic.” “
Yes you are. However if you really want to fulfill your true potential in magic your body must be able to handle all the magic surging through out your body.”
“So basically for me to muster up more power my body needs more strength so it can handle more?”
“Yes. Then after this part of the training you will be able run faster, fly faster, hit harder, and more importantly you body will be able to handle more.” He explained to me.
“Alright. Let’s get this show on the road.” I said with excitement, not knowing what was ahead of me.
Then everyday after that I would wake up in another random place with him right in front of me and he would train me past my physical boundaries to the point where I couldn’t even crawl, and each day getting increasingly strenuous. After one week of training and him carrying me back to the little log cabin; my physical, mental, and emotional drive started to break down.
“AHHH! Why am I even doing this! This is getting me nowhere!” I screamed to myself in my room
“Twilight, come downstairs for dinner.” Terra said from the kitchen.
“(sigh) Coming…” I replied.
I came out of my room and walked to the kitchen with a sour look on my face.
“What’s wrong?” Terra asked me.
“Oh, nothing in particular.” I replied.
We both sat at his nicely set kitchen table. He took a minute to thank the food as usual and we began to eat.
“Hey Terra?” I asked.
“Yes?”
“Can I talk to you about something kind of serious?”
“You know… maybe later, Twilight. I’m very tired, and I know you are too.”
“Oh… Sure thing, Terra” I said with disappointment.
I looked up to see his face, I saw him thinking about it but he never said anything. We ended dinner a slight bit more quietly than usual, but I started to head up the stairs before I heard Terra.
“Wait Twilight.” Terra said,
“Yes?”
“Let’s have that talk.”
“Okay.” I replied.
We walk over to the living room and I sat on the couch across from Terra. It was very quiet for a while.
“So how was your day?” Terra asked me.
“I don’t know. How do you think my day was?” I responded.
“You know why you’re here, and you know why I am here.”
“I know but you’re making me do all these things that aren’t even helping me improve my physical performance or…”
“Enough.” He interrupted.
He looked out the window and mumbled, “Good there’s still a lot of light out.” To himself, “Follow me.” He said.
“Okay.” I replied nervously.
I followed him outside where he teleported us to the mountains.
“Watch me. This is what I want you to learn.” He stated.
I watched him spread his wings as his horn glowed faintly. All of a sudden I saw a mountain from the other side of the valley begin to float towards us.
“You will know true focus.” He said and then I observed as the mountain began to compress until it was the size of merely a pebble.
“Catch this!” He shouted at me.
Immediately after he shouted to me, he dropped it and I focused all the energy I had on that one pebble, but I couldn’t levitate it for the life of me. I watched it fall as though it were playing in slow motion and the second it hit the ground a huge crater formed from that one measly pebble.
“No matter how you look at it, that pebble is a mountain.” He said calmly
“How is that-?” I struggled to ask under my heavy breath.
“You should know what I did.” He said as he picked up the pebble lifted it high into the air and turned it back into a mountain. “This is true power that can only be achieved through the hard training of both body and mind.” He stated wisely as he put the mountain back where it began.
“How… how did you do that?” I asked in astonishment.
“I just told you. Through very hard training of both the body and the mind; no need to be surprised you possess the potential to wield this kind of power.” He told me.
“I have that kind of power?”
“No not right now, but you do have the potential to have that kind of power and even more.” He said.
“More?” I asked.
“A lot more. Now c’mon, I’ll show you more things tomorrow. We need to rest first though.” He came closer to me and we again teleported back to his cozy little log cabin.
“Night Twilight.”
“Night Terra…” I softly whispered as he tucked me back into bed.
The next day I woke up on a boat in the middle of the sea with Terra’s face right in front of mine yet again.
“Okay why are we on a boat?” I asked while I stretched.
“To catch some fish.” He replied.
“Ponies don’t eat fish.”
“I eat fish.”
“(sigh) Fine then it’s not like I know where we are any way.” So we waited on a boat in the middle of the ocean for hours on end.
“How long is this going to take?” I screamed losing my patience.
“As long as it takes.” He replied.
“Are there even any fish in this ocean?” I said.
“Haha! Nope.”
“Then why are we even out here?!”
“So I can show you this.” He stood up.
“What are you doing?” I said.
“You’ll see.” He said with a little grin on his face.
After that I felt this strange rumbling beneath my hooves and the boat with us started to float.
“What are you doing?!” I yelled.
“Look under the boat.” He said. “This is also true power.” He continued.
I saw the ocean split completely in two all the way down to the bottom and it split beyond the horizon.
“How do you do all these things?” I questioned in awe.
“Well I’ve only shown you two things, but no matter what I show you the answer will always be the same. Through hard training of both body and mind will you be able to wield this kind of power.” He said, and even though he’s shown me all these amazing things I get the feeling that he can perform even more amazing feats.
The very next day I woke up in an empty field with Terra right in front of my face again.
“Good morning, Twilight.” He said.
“Good morning.” I replied.
“So what are you showing me today?” I continued.
“Look to the west.” He said.
“Seems like a storm is coming.” I said.
“Exactly.”
“But what does a storm have to do with what you’re going to show me today?”
“Just be patient dear, Twilight and believe in the power you have in those wings.” He said.
So we waited until the storm was completely covering us and it was one of the worst storms I have ever seen and there was not a speck of blue to be seen in the sky.
“Now watch.” He said as he gradually extended his wings until a shadow was casted over me. “These are the true wings of an alicorn.” He pronounced, and with a single flap of his wings he shot into air and within an instant he created a sonic rainboom as he cleared the skies of every cloud.
All I could do was watch in pure amazement as I saw the massive storm dissipate into nothing.
“Do you now understand the true power of an alicorn?” He asked me, all I could do was nod with my jaw touching the ground below me.
“Well you shouldn’t. That power is not the true power of an alicorn and now that you are an alicorn you can achieve power far greater than this.” He turned away expecting me to follow him.
“Are you ready to go yet Princess Twilight? It’s a beautiful day to train but I think you can rest today.” I said nothing in return. “Twilight? Heellllooooo? Twilight?” He urged me to respond.
I just store at the sky.
“You know, Prince Terra… Every princess must see just how far they can go…”
“What are you suggesting, Twilight?” He questioned as he started to eat some corn he stored in his food bag.
“This is what I’m suggesting!” I dug my hooves into the ground, extended my wings, and focused.
“Don’t screw up.” He commented as he continued to nibble on his food.
I felt only energy rushing through my body as I looked up and envisioned myself going faster than even Terra and Rainbow Dash.
“I’ll show you focus!” I let the energy in my wings unleash and before I knew it, I was hundreds of feet in the air.
“Focus… Focus…” I thought to my self. Suddenly, as I was about to hit my maximum velocity… my left wing cramped. I couldn’t help but spiral left towards the southern side of the island. I heard Terra call for me right before I blacked out,
“Twilight! I can find you! But first, you must find yourself!” He shouted to me.
Just then, I slowly closed my eyes and prepared for the worst.
Author's Note
I can realize that this first part seems to be as though it's going by faster and not informative/detailed as it should be. But I wanted to see what the community would think of it at first, this is my first fanfic too. But if this get's positive reviews then you can expect more detailed, longer, and intriguing chapters to come. Mahalo friends.
Part II
Chapter 4
No words can describe the disappointment, the abhorrence, and overall anguish I have with my self. I’m trying to remember everything I’ve ever worked for, everything I’ve ever put my whole body, soul, and mind into. Why couldn’t it have worked when I REALLY needed to prove my worth for once? I open my eyes to reveal a new type of scenery to myself. I have no idea how long I’ve been out but I just hope that I have enough time to get back to Terra before too long. I seemed to have landed in a forest… of some sorts. I can tell I’ve been out for a while because the beams of light from the rising sun hit my face as I look to my side.
“At least I don’t have any pony breathing down my face now…” I try to get up using my wings. “AHHHH!” I screamed in pain as I felt that my cramped wing was still recovering from my little incident.
I decided at this point that an understanding of my surroundings would be of use to me. I stand up using my legs, slowly keeping my balance. I shook my body as dirt from my coat and mane flew out and created a cloud of dust around me. Suddenly I felt a slight drizzle fall onto my head… and then some snow… and then back to sunshine. It came from the clearing in the trees above me, most likely caused by my plummet down.
“That only means I could be on one part of the island.” I stated as I gazed into the bright orange sky. “I must be in the rapid weather changing part of the island. Of all places… I hope there aren’t any surprises here.”
“Don’t worry… You can’t learn without surprises now can you ma’am? Haha!” A deep mysterious voice shook the ground I stood on as I grabbed a tree, trying to keep my self from falling.
“Who’s there!? This isn’t funny if it’s you Terra!” I shouted as I span in circles… “That couldn’t have been Terra though… Terra’s voice is way more different”
I looked around and basked in the sunlight as a cool breeze swept through the trees. I continued to trot through the forest as I paced my self with the crunch of the leaves below me. As I wandered aimlessly through a vast number of trees, I couldn’t get my failure out of my head. How could that have happened? That cramp just didn’t feel… natural. Even more, what does Terra expect me to learn from this… this… place? I stopped at the edge of the forest, this whole time I’ve been standing on a mountain and I watched in awe as I saw another plain, just as large as the one Terra lived on. Except all at once there was snow, thunder, sunshine, and rain all throughout the plain.
“Well… that’s not how I’m gonna get back to Terra.” I frowned a little and looked down the only path I had left. It led around the mountain, towards the end of the island, and led straight into a dense heavy fog.
I sighed and decided that I couldn’t get anywhere in the shape that I was in. I looked behind me to the small forest I had just navigated through. Strange, I just so happened to fall into this small of a forest on the mountain there was on this side of the island.
“Well aren’t I lucky?” I thought to myself, bringing my mood up just a little.
I reluctantly headed down the path into the fog, and tried to keep myself on the thin walkway. I stumbled over rocks and roots that protruded from the sides of the mountain. The fog was dense to the point where I could only see the hoof in front of me. I kept my one good wing touching the side of the trail to make sure I was going the right way. After dangerously trotting down this unfamiliar mountain, something broke the deathly silence. It was the sounds of things tumbling… like boulders and trees falling from above me.
“That can’t be the sound of anything good.” I closed one eye and looked up at the scaling mountain wall above me. A few rocks and pieces of dirt hit me on my forehead.
“Move!” The strange voice from earlier yelled.
It shook the mountain yet again and as I began to sprint, a boulder just barley missed my tail and I felt a rush of adrenaline surge through my legs as I sped ahead. A non-stop barrage of trees, roots, and boulders crashed only inches behind me. Every time I thought that I was going to get ahead, a root sticking out of the side of the mountain would block my way, forcing me to crawl or jump over it. My shrieks of terror were to of no avail as I began to run out of energy. Soon the fog started to thin out, and as I made a sharp turn, a boulder the size of two houses blocked me from getting through. With out any hesitation I sprinted faster than I did before.
“Don’t even think about stopping me!” I shouted as I came closer and closer to the towering rock.
I focused on the rock, just as I had before when I tried to show up Terra. And then I realized at that moment, I wasn’t going to fail again. My horn glowed as brightly as it could. And at that very moment, I turned the boulder into the size of a measly pebble. I slowed down shortly after I passed the would-be boulder. I looked up and noticed that all the other debris that would have fallen on me, were also compressed by my power. The sounds of the crashing debris had suddenly halted behind me. I walked to the pebble that I had first meant to compress and looked down at it.
“YES! I did it!” I put a big smile on my face, realizing my victory over nature.
I looked around and realized that I had already reached the bottom of the mountain. The fog was thinned and there weren’t any strange weather occurrences here either. I walked down to the bottom of the path and read a small sign. “Welcome to the town of Revelations. Population: You”
“Well this seems promising.” I thought to myself as I looked around with a slight feeling of creepiness.
I spotted an aged dirt road leading further into the fog. With natural instincts and with it being the only way to go, I followed it. I continued to walk, and at this point, the fog was dispersed almost completely and the sunshine warmed my body as I stood in the center of the pathway. I inspected my surroundings and humbled myself with what I saw. The clouds in the sky seemed to float in place, and flowed with the wind as it slowly crept over the land. To the sides of me, were endless fields much like on Terra’s part of the island, except the fields were not made of grass, but of wheat ready to be sowed. I slowed my pace, allowing myself to absorb as much beauty from my scenery as I could. Eventually, I saw a speck on the horizon. I hastened my pace in an attempt to see what it was. A small town with a couple of houses rested quietly on the side of the road, shrouded slightly by another veil of mist. I approached the entrance of the town and looked at all of the houses… or well just one. It was labeled as a “Guest House.” I walked inside and looked around. It was a small square house, with only room. It seemed to have been left alone for a long time, with their being burnt out lanterns hanging from the ceiling, but no cobwebs or dirt in any part of the house… In the middle of the house sat a bed, just a bed. My tired body urged me to quickly fall onto the bed. I made a mental note of things to do in the morning. 1) Find out what to do. 2) Make more mental notes. I pulled the heavy sheets over my body as I looked out the window. The golden fields slowly waved in the wind as I lay my head down and succumbed to my weariness.
Chapter 5
“As the stars of infinity begin to fade. And the humble light of one exalted power shall rise. Light slowly this world of unawaken darkness. Awaken Twilight!”
I jumped out of bed. I untangled the sheets from my mane and crept over to the window. I looked out searching for a voice, and saw only the endless fields leading back to the mountain.
“Must’ve been that voice from before…” I said making condensation on the windowpane.
I yawned and looked around the room again. I found to my surprise, fire place in the corner of the room, fully lit and heating the house. I couldn’t recall exactly if it was there before I came into the house or if it was even lit, but I let the mystery stay a mystery. I wrapped the blanket that was on the bed around my body, making extra precautions when I wrapped my damaged wing. I pulled the door of the house open slowly and stepped out into the fresh morning, and pleasant smell of the wheat. I adjusted my eyes to the bronze sky and noticed something spectacular. Looming over the whole town were colossal effigies of various ponies whom some I have recognized. I looked up towards the first effigy, which seemed to be about 50 feet tall; it was a marble carving of Princess Cadence standing next to Shining Armor. In front of the statue stood a small cabin lined with flowers along the edges, and a well sitting in the front.
“That’s weird… Shining Armor shouldn’t have trained with Terra.” I thought to myself.
The second statue was of an Alicorn looking towards the sky, with its wings fully extended. With cracks along the edges, it was old but still stood proudly with a smile on its face. I walked over to the base of this statue and read the details embedded into the pedestal.
“Lovely are the flowers that bloom from the snow. A ruler to forever lead his people with a smile. Welcome to a new life where lives are like endless sticks of candles. Never forgotten for his optimism. King Don, a name we are forever indebted to.”
“Another king of ancient legend. I never expected Terra to have trained King Don.” I thought to myself in modesty.
I continued past two more broken effigies where the remains seemed to have covered their descriptions. I turned back to the previous effigy out of pure curiosity. I stepped onto the pedestal and tried to remove as much of the debris as I could to see the description. I jumped down to see more and eagerly began to read what was embedded into the marble.
“Some promises may not always be kept. The promise of potential and control can also sometimes fail. Remember the power of darkness and never let it take hold. Sadly we lower our heads in remembrance of Queen Cr-“ The rest of the description was chipped off.
Without a word of doubt, I knew who this Queen was and I continued on with my walk. The next memorial without a doubt was one of the tallest ones I have seen. I smiled as I looked up at a stupefying statue of Celestia. Her front legs were touching the ground, as her hind legs seemed to still be descending towards the ground. Her wings were fully extended as her face looked proudly towards the horizon. Her hair was carefully woven of dyed threads and ropes, giving the effect of her hair continuing to flow in an everlasting wind. I walked in joy and happiness as I approached her statue. I looked up and could only stare as the sunlight gleamed off her artificial coat. It stood above me a solid eighty feet tall. I stood on the pedestal and touched the body of the effigy. I was amazed when I first touched it. I used a spell to confirm my thoughts… and I was correct. The body was made of pure and solid platinum. Her giant hooves wore the highest grades of gold along with her chest piece. Her crown and chest piece were decorated with actual amethysts jewels.
“Whoah… I could’ve guessed she was one of Terra’s best students but… I never knew she was this significant!” I immediately stepped off of the pedestal trying not to touch the actual statue.
I saw the embedment written in obsidian and got as close as I could to read.
“Life is dark. We all need someone to light it up.”
“Such a simple description for such a… magnificent piece of art.” I tried to make my sentence short trying to make my self as quiet as I could.
I heard a slight humming coming from the inside of the cabin near Celestia’s statue. I walked carefully toward the sound. The house, like mine, was empty. A single music player stood in the middle of the room, playing an infinite loop of one song. The song was a piano playing a gleeful melody as two voices hummed and laughed. I enjoy the music for a couple seconds more before powering it down and packing the recording CD away. I open the door to the front of the cabin and turn to my side. I walk slowly to it as I realize it’s the largest statue by far, and the most surprising one. Three familiar figures stand next to each other with faces ready for action. The figure on the far left is none other than Star Swirl the Bearded lifting his hat preparing his magical horn. The middle figure was the strong, proud, but yet modest Terra. What surprised me the most was the figure to the far right. It stood proudly with a shield and sword in hand ready to protect his friends. It took me a second to realize it, but it was none other than Discord.
“Discord?” My face turned confused and baffled. “Of all possible people… What’s Discord even doing with Terra?”
I walked toward the plaque hoping to find some answers on his appearance on the statue. I stepped carefully towards the old statue, hoping to find some answers written on the steel plaque. I attempted to read it but unfortunately, it was written in some other language that I have never seen before. In astonishment that I did not know this language, I scrambled over the rest of the pedestal looking for something I else I could possibly decipher. I found only three other readable materials, one on the base leg of each pony and… Draconequus. I started with Star Swirl the Bearded; I walked up to the plaque, laid down and began to read.
“Strength is not strange nor fake, not unique or uncommon. It is found within the fighting spirit of every living creature. The gate to this castle of power is through the will of only those who were born knowing to do so. May this be your eternal birthright son of Dusk.” I sat up satisfied with what I read and continued on to Terra’s plaque. Again I approached and began to read his plaque.
“So alone.”
“What??” I closed my eyes and rattled my head. I opened my eyes to make sure they weren’t deceiving me.
“O Father of our Planet, O Keeper of Time, bring back the things that stray from the path of harmony. Let there be no left or right, but only one. Where the Earth and Sun cross, you will be there. Sitting atop the highest of summits. Voyaging the Islands of Time. Be still, for he shall be there. Making mountains in to nothing but gravel. Stand for us exalted one. And defend us with your most trustworthy advocates. Forever locked in the fight against evil.” I stared at his modest wooden plaque.
“I wonder who makes the statements…” I pondered to myself. I turned towards Discords plaque as I it sat in the shade of Terra’s figure. I trotted over to the plaque and stood over it and looked closely and was surprised by the words written on the tablet.
“Son of Dawn. Mind of many. Lend us your thoughts to protect that which is right. Guardian of peace and harmony. Your job is unyielding and demanding. Light forward the new day of discovery and living. And from the new ashes of the stretched horizon, rise again. Keep safe the knowledge of our lives Discord. And do not let them be corrupt. Do not fear the Holiest.”
“Guardian of peace and harmony? Yeah right. Discord is nothing like that, nor could he have ever been something like that.” Confused, I trotted back to my cabin thinking about all of the things I read, totally ignoring the other statues.
My hunger caught up to me. My stomach grumbled as I looked up at the mid-morning sun. I ran into the fields of wheat and took a bushel of everything I could make bread with and took it back into my house. I opened my cabin door and took my blanket off when I felt the warm radiation of the fireplace. I took bowls that were situated neatly next to the fireplace and began to slowly grind the wheat into flower. I left it on the ground as I searched the cabin for water.
“Ah wait, I forgot about the well outside Cadence’s cabin.” I thought foolishly to myself. I walked to the well in front of Cadence’s cabin and drew up a bucketful of sparkling water. I put it on the ground, drank a mouthful and took the water back to my cabin.
“I know how to make bread… but I’ve never actually done this…”
That was the day I learned how to not make bread.
∞∞∞
“Ugh… My head… What was in that bread?” My head pounded as I slowly lifted it off of the cold floor. The warm embrace of the fire had faded and I lay alone in a dark cabin. Then it hit me. A rare type of wheat was the culprit.
“The infamous Hia moi known to be only grown now in the rarest parts of the world due to its extreme effects of making ponies unconscious and giving some ponies hallucinations.” I stated to myself looking at my remainder of Hia.
I kicked the rest of the wheat into the ashes of my fire. Awake and not hungry, I wrapped the blanket around myself and stepped outside. The deathly silence returned to my awareness and I could hear nothing but the gravel beneath my hooves. The world had been made easily visible due to the light of the galaxy. I headed down the road back to the mountain, as I seemed to be walking next to fields of stars.
Chapter 6
“I think for once in my life… I actually miss Terra.” I thought to myself as I looked toward the starry night sky.
I seemed to have seen the faces of my friends in Ponyville connected by the stars and constellations. A tear rolled slowly down my cheek as I longed to be with my friends in Ponyville. I shook my head knowing that I’ll see them soon if I can get this over with quickly.
“C’mon Twilight, this is all you. Do it for your friends.” I urged myself in motivation.
I picked up my pace and moved faster toward the mountain.
*Crack!
“Hey! Who’s there!?” I snapped on my hind legs and readied my magic.
A small changeling emerged from the field of wheat. It had a somber expression plastered onto its face. It looked up toward my face and locked onto my eyes. Its dull blue eyes lighted up into a bright neon color. It looked different from other changelings. For one difference, it wasn’t ugly like the ones I had seen at Canterlot. In fact, it was actually kind of cute. Its legs did not have any holes, the fangs were much smaller, and its wings weren’t bug-like. I lowered my body thinking it was of no harm. It approached with caution and seemed to take a liking to me. I nudged it away to see what it would do, but it just crawled onto my back. I sighed and decided that a companion would be nice to have with me. Its horn glowed as I looked at it, and the changeling seemed to have noticed my damaged wing and was trying to heal it.
“You’re pretty smart aren’t you? Well you’re not bothering me so… feel free to tag along for the ride I guess.” I said as it nodded in approval.
I stopped on the side of the path after 5 minutes of walking to make sure the village didn’t escape my sight. I tried to move my wing to see if the changeling had made any progress. My wing moved more but still had light pains here and there.
“How long have you been here?” I asked it hoping for a response. It looked at me but only fluttered its wings. “Oh yeah… you can’t talk… I think I’ll call you Hia, since I found you in the fields.”
It kept concentrating on my wing. I felt comfort in my new friend as my loneliness quickly faded away, and I was thinking that if a Changeling could live here without being detected then there must be other things that lurk around in the shadows of the night.
After a few minutes of stargazing, my theory sounded to be correct. Behind me I heard large stomps of a monstrous creature behind me in the wheat fields. My curiosity was commanding me to check exactly what that creature was; my mind on the other hand was afraid and told me to run. But my legs locked in place as soon as I saw Hia cowering from what it saw. The steps got closer to me as I shut my eyes with fear. I felt it’s monstrous breath. It exhaled and covered my whole body with warm air. Without a thought I span around ready to fight, but saw that my foe must have been invisible. I looked up and down but only saw a faintly off colored sky. I walked forward and heard the loud voice I had heard before.
“Trial by night let the constellations have a painless end for you!”
By pure instinct I immediately rolled to the side. I barley dodged a behemoth paw from crushing me. I looked up to identify my aggressor. My heart dropped. A fuming ursa major towered above me, and I seemed to be a trouble to it. With my slightly recovered wing, I flew back toward the mountain to create distance between me and the ursa major.
“This isn’t going to end well…” I muttered with helplessness.
Swifter than I had expected the ursa major swiped its paw at me, pushing me back even further. I recovered in mid-air and lit up the night sky as I flew back towards the ursa major. I glanced back at Hia and gave him a signal. With a confused look on his face, he raised his eyebrows as I levitated him with my magic.
“GO H.I.A. (Happiness Into Ascension) MISSILE! FLY!” I shouted as I flung my new friend with kamikaze intentions.
I watched as his hooves and tail fluttered about the air in a panic. With a tear in my eye, I watched my new friend fly through the night sky into the Ursa Major. And then my horn shined as I shot another volley of magic toward my new weapon. I covered Hia in a force field as he reached the impact point.
“Three… Two… One…”
A light exploded from the center of the Ursa Major and I felt victorious on this Island for once. The light slowly faded as I searched around for the remains of the impact. Hia approached me from under a pile of rubble with a disputed look on his face.
“Oh lighten up Hia, it was all for a good cause.” I said with a mocking smile on my face.
With the same face Hia had on before, his face dropped as he looked over my side.
“What is it?” I pondered.
I looked behind me to see the Ursa Major with no injuries of any kind on his body. It slammed its paw into the ground and made me to lose my balance. I lay helplessly on the cold rocky path. My victory was only my false hope; I couldn’t help but try and get back up. I surged all the energy I could into my horn yet again, and looked up towards my enemy. Before I could try and fight yet again, a voice bellowed from behind me.
“You’ve fought well Twilight. You have done more than what I could have expected from you, it seems as though you have almost found yourself. Silver rays of morning and dusk; send this predator of the night sky back to where it came! Light Volley!”
Before I knew it, giant bolts of light were striking the Ursa Major with tremendous force and brought it rapidly into submission. When I opened my eyes there was not a trace of the Ursa Major. Not a paw print, not a hair, not even a piece of gravel was moved. I looked behind me to finally see who this mysterious figure was.
The mountain that I landed on before was hovering above the ground on four powerful legs and the path that I had descended was the head of a powerful dragon. Its back and spine was made from solid bulky tree roots. His blue neon eyes almost store into my soul. I observed the dragon in complete awe as it lifted its head.
“What… what kind of dragon are you?” I said in amazement
“I… I am an earth dragon. I have given up my abilities to fly in order to grow bigger, live longer, and be more powerful in general than other dragons. I am the founder of this island. I created it to be a paradise to my kind. But unfortunately, I am one of the last of the fabled earth dragons still alive today.” He said proudly
“Well can you tell me how to get out of here? You know Terra, correct?” I asked trying not to provoke my new acquaintance.
“Indeed.”
“He said he’d help me once I have found myself… here I guess. And since you said I’ve found myself, can’t you get him to help me?”
“Haha! I said almost!” The tremendous creature gawked at me.
“What do you mean almost?”
“I meant this Twilight!” The dragon yelled as it opened its mouth and I saw energy from everything around us being gathered into his mouth.
Quickly, I sprung into action as I flew full speed towards the dragon. My body wanted to fall apart, but I had to continue on. I thought of all my friends.
“I will never fail.” I shouted with a battle cry. I looked up and plotted my whole course of action within a second
The dragon shot beams of energy and light into my direction as I skillfully dodged each shot.
“Brilliant! But you have not won yet young Twilight!”
The dragon’s tail, that just happened to be the road I’ve been walking on the whole time, flew into the air and hit me underneath my body. My wing cramped up as I plummeted towards the feet of the dragon.
“If you have found your self then you will save yourself!” He said with seriousness
My barley functioning neck slowly lifted up as my eyes opened I saw the foot of the dragon looming above my body. I stood up preparing myself for the worst; my whole body was in complete pain as struggled to hold myself up. I looked up at my challenger as I prepared to speak.
“I think you mean… you need to save yourself.” At that very moment the foot of the dragon plunged toward my body.
My eyes were closed. It was dark. But I was not dead. I opened my eyes to see what had happened. The giant foot that once threatened to destroy me was now struggling to crush me. My wings, now fully extended, grasped the bottom of the dragon’s foot with ease. My glory and pride rose from the gut of my stomach to my mouth.
“I did it! Hahaha! Yes! Terra is going to be so surprised! Even Celestia! And all of my friends back in Ponyville! It feels like I-“
“Indeed I am Twilight” A familiar voice cut me off.
I stretched my head toward the backside of my body slowly. My friend Hia, was not a changeling at all in fact Hia was actually Terra the whole time in the form of a changeling.
“Terra? What are you doing here? Why were you in the form of a changeling? Why didn’t you try to help me? If you hadn’t noticed I almost died just now!”
“Sheesh calm sown Twilight, I think we need to work on your patience when we get back. Cause I mean I guess it’s nice to see you too; and Tibul could you please move your leg? Twilight is losing focus on her wings.” He asked the dragon kindly.
“I told you not to call me that name Terra…” Terra shot the dragon a serious look.
“As you wish Terra…” The dragon said as he removed the pressure of his foot he put on my body.
“C’mon Twilight, let’s head back to the cabin.” Terra said as though nothing happened.
“Oh no no no no. You’re explaining some things to me right now Terra.” I demanded.
“Sure, when we get back.” He began to charge up a spell with his horn.
“I’m just… not going to argue anymore.” I slowly approached Terra’s proximity.
The dragon that had been helping me but also tried to kill me, waved good-bye before Terra teleported us. Before I knew it, we were back in the house with a cake waiting for me on the dining room table. I read the words Terra put on the cake.
“Good Job… That’s all I get?” I grumbled to Terra.
“Well of course… Would some questions lighten your mood?” He said with his head tilted.
“Sure I guess.” I began to think to myself.
“I’m going to guess you’re wondering why that part of the island exists huh?” He started off
“Well yes obviously, and what was all that dragon stuff about?”
“Well the dragon, whose name is Tibul, is my pet dragon. He created this magical island, and I protect it.”
“And the whole reason why it exists?”
“Because I always send my students there to do a major portion of their training. Their ability to learn about tr-“
“Wait, you didn’t send me there. My wing cramped up while I was trying to do what you did.” I cut him off.
“Oh yeah you didn’t cramp up. I broke your wing in mid air. You were far ahead in training than I expected Twilight, I needed to make sure that you didn’t get ahead of yourself.”
“…You broke my wing?”
“Precisely.”
“Why would you do that?? Do you know what I had to go through?”
“I positively am Twilight. But it’s a very major part of training you know.”
“Ohhhhh my gosh. You really are crazy aren’t you Terra? You can’t just be breaking any ponies wings just because they’re learning fast! It’s illogical!”
“It’s completely logical. You need to be able to learn and remember who you really are even when you are at the lowest points in your life. You’d fall and never be able to get up in the future if you didn’t do what you just did right now.”
My emotion calmed by just a bit.
“Okay… So… what were those effigies for?”
“I will explain that sometime soon. During the next course of your training, the mental stage!”
“Ugh… fine.” I sighed from the lack of cooperation.
“Well hey this is a beautiful cake! Let’s eat some shall we?” Terra tried to cheer me up as he lifted half of the cake off the table and shoved it into my face.
“Oops.” He muttered with a crackle.
Without Terra noticing, I picked up the other half of the cake and shoved it into his face. I fell back on a chair behind me and began to laugh.
Slowly into the night we cleaned up and talked about what he’s been doing since I’ve been away. The soft echoes of our laughter lingered in the valley as we both slowly strayed into sleep from our restless days and night
Author's Note
Honestly I made this Part short on purpose. You'll all understand soon enough. Mahalo again for continuing to read ;)
Haha sorry guys, I don't know why it cut off as they got back. I put was originally supposed to be there back.
