The sun rose ever so slowly, cresting the horizon at an almost languid pace and throwing the valley into a soft glow of sanguine colors. Subtle golds and muted reds mixed with the vivid greens of the forest and majestic purples of the mountains to create a vista that was absolutely breathe-taking. The sight had moved some to wax poetic and still others were simply left speechless, their words escaping them as they beheld the scene. But they all agreed on one thing: it was an absolutely beautiful thing to see.
In fact, it was one of the very reasons why the self-same valley was settled in the first place.
The township of Mareskow was not a large one; in fact it could hardly be considered a town at all. It was a small place, its population only a few hundred strong. It was the kind of place where everypony knew one another, and everypony was friendly. And for three ponies that stood in the center of the town, it was home.
They faced eastward, sitting side by side and sharing a silent and resolute demeanor as they watched the sun rise. They greedily drank in the sight as it unfolded around them. The bleak gray mists that clung to the streets early in the morning faded and dissipated, fleeing before the warming of the chill air and the invading light. The many thatched-roof buildings around them lost their night-time gray tinge as bright colors slowly bled into their frames, giving them a sense of vibrancy and life.
The three friends savored the moment; they knew that this might well be the last time they ever got to see it from their home.
The encroaching pall of sunlight inched its way ever forward, soon alighting upon the three friends and filling them with welcome warmth, although one felt it more keenly then the others. He sat front and center of their small triad, his face set in a blank and unblinking mask that effectively hid whatever inner machinations may have been running thought his mind. The only indication of his thoughts was the absent-minded way he ran a hoof back and forth along the large crescent-shaped scar on his cheek, something he did habitually whenever he was pondering something deeply. In truth his thoughts had been turning to darker and more sinister paths, much as they had been doing more and more often as of late, but thankfully before such worries could consume his mind the sharp sensation of morning's light snapped his focus back to the world around him.
The light fell upon the tip of his abnormally long and sharp horn first, as it was the highest point on his body, and continued down his sandy orange mane and fiery-red coat. When at last it reached his cutie-mark – single blade jutting from a blaze of golden flames – he let out an involuntary shudder. Given his special talent he was sensitive to even the slightest change of the temperature and the shock of the sun’s warmth after a night’s coldness was enough to send a jolt up his spine.
He took a moment to silently thank the light for the reprieve from his own dark thoughts before turning to face his two companions.
The first - a heavily built pegasus stallion with a cyan colored coat and midnight blue mane and tail - was not cause for too much worry. The pegasus was a fierce, tough and bold sort of pony, always able to handle whatever came his way in stride. As strange and incredible as recent events had been, he was the least likely of the three of them to be seriously affected.
His other friend – a slender earthpony mare of a demure disposition with a cream colored coat and chocolate brown mane and tail – had him far more concerned. In light of recent events he was surprised she was still holding together at all. He eyed her appraising, and when she noticed she offered a small but reassuring smile that put him at ease. She may have been tender at heart but once she set her mind to something there was no stopping her. And like she had told him earlier, this really was her place as well.
Truth be told he was glad to have her along. They had known each other nearly their entire lives and he was loathe to make such a journey without her comforting presence by his side. He looked both of his two friends in the eye before asking in a flat voice that was both soft and strong, "Seran, Terrikata, are you both sure about this? This whole thing is my fault, and you are my friends. I don’t want to drag you two in to something that might be dangerous because of my mistakes. And after all, once we leave there’s no turning back."
His older pegasus friend just scoffed at the warning before responding. "Cress, there's no way I'm going to back out now. There's too much at stake for me to let you go and do this on your own. We're friends after all, I can't just let you have all the adventure without me now can I?" He said, throwing on a casual smirk and exuding an air of confidence. The unicorn simply eyed his friend sceptically for a moment. The pegasus tensed slightly under the glare before admonishing his previous statement. "And besides," he said, the confident smirk he held being replaced by a more downcast expression, "this is personal now."
The red pony softened his gaze and nodded, accepting Seran's words and not pressing the issue any further. He turned to his other companion and raised an inquisitive eyebrow at her irritated expression. "What?" he asked, trying to determine the cause of her perturbence.
"You know I don't like it when you use my full name Crescent," she answered with a huff.
He chuckled lightly at her indignant reply before responding, "Alright, fine Terri. Just don't call me Crescent either, okay?"
She lost her perturbed expression and with a small smile said, "Okay Cress."
Cress felt somewhat more relaxed after their small back-and-forth, his mind welcoming the distraction of idle banter with friends over the alternative of dwelling on the unhappy events of late. He was also rather happy that no matter what, his friends would always be by his side.
Composing himself, he rose to his hooves and donned his own saddlebags, his friends following suit and doing the same. "Are you both ready?" he asked, to which they replied in the affirmative as Seran ruffled his feathers impatiently.
At that, they all set out southward, towards the city of Stalliongrad and Canterlot beyond. As they walked the solitary road Cress looked over his shoulder at the only town he had ever known one last time. "Goodbye," he whispered under his breath, the sound not even loud enough to make it to his own ears.
And so they marched onwards, toward their destiny. They were fully aware that they held the fate of the world in their hooves but little did they know - for better or for worse - nothing would ever be the same again.
All the world was darkness. Everything was nothing, a blank void of emptiness. An infinite expanse extended in every direction conceivable, and many that were not.
Twilight Sparkle floated in this not-place, alone and afraid. She felt a scream claw at her throat, but the frightened wail never reached her ears through the dark maelstrom of emptiness. How long she aimlessly wandered that null-space was not known to her; in that strange place time had lost all meaning and became an alien concept.
It was not indefinite however, as eventually she felt herself stop. The never-ending and expansive nothingness slowly became replaced with a dominating and immutable presence. It pressed in on her from all directions, suffocating her with the sheer force of its ancient and twisted will. The blank darkness lost its oppressiveness as two enormous blue, dragon-like eyes became known to her. They were great and monolithic, somehow filling the boundless space. They possessed a cool and silent rage, born of countless years of hate and suffering that seemed to burn her very soul. She felt infinitesimally small before their omnipotent gaze. They regarded her with an air of god-like superiority before speaking a single word that shook her very bones and almost ripped apart her very essence.
"SOON."
*~-/^-~*
Twilight returned to the waking world with enough abruptness to cause her to bolt upright in her bed and let out a surprised gasp. For a moment she just sat there, panting and in a cold sweat as the maniac thudding of her heart slowly returned to a normal pace. Once she had recovered from her fright she eased back into her soft bedding, gingerly rubbing her temples with her hooves and releasing an exasperated sigh upon spying the moon still high in the sky through her window.
“A week,” she thought to herself. “An entire week this has been going on!” And indeed, it had already been an entire week since she had begun waking in the middle of the night - always because of the same horrid dream. Shuddering, she pushed the all-too-vivid memories of said nightmare to an obscure corner of her mind.
Shutting her eyes tightly she willed the sweet embrace of a restful sleep to take her, but in the end it was a useless endeavor. As per usual, once she had awoken she could not easily return to unconsciousness. As exhausted and drained as she felt physically, her mind raced, many of her thoughts unfortunately turning to the source of her distress.
Not for the first time she found herself wondering just what her recurring nightmare really meant, or if there was truly any meaning at all. What truly bothered her though was just how different and vivid they were. All her life, whenever she tried to recall a dream it always eluded her, the details escaping like water between her hooves. The fact that she could vividly recall each and every minute subtlety of it now un-nerved her more than anything else, even more than those horrible eyes.
And the eyes were indeed horrible, even when awake just the thought of the sheer amount of hate in their gaze was enough to send a shiver up her spine. There was just something unfathomable about them that truly put her on edge. It just didn't seem possible to her that something could be so utterly consumed by the kind of dark emotion they exemplified. Not even Nightmare Moon, the very embodiment of Princess Luna's rage and jealousy, seemed to contain the pure malice that they had. It was a disturbing thought.
As she pondered these things her body began to grow restless, her limbs begging for movement even as her eyes took on a dull ache indicative of exhaustion. Knowing that simply fighting it would be a losing battle, she rolled out of her bed with a soft groan. Stepping carefully, so as not to make noise and accidentally wake her slumbering draconian assistant, she made her way past her bedroom door, down the stairs beyond and into the kitchen below.
Without even bothering to turn on the lights, she began to rummage around in her cabinets, using solely her memory of their contents to search for her prize, the one thing that could always put her mind at ease and body to rest. Upon finding what it was that she sought she gently lifted out the small paper box and set it on the large wooden table in the center of the room; simultaneously she filled a pot with water and set it on the stove to boil. Without missing a beat she turned around and began searching for her favorite mug -- a lumpy and misshapen clay affair that Spike had made for her and even fired himself back when he had first gotten his flame -- and set it on the table next to the un-marked box. She levitated two small tea bags out of the box and set them aside just as she heard the tell-tale whistle of steam emanate from the now boiling pot of water.
In a single practiced motion she turned off the stove, lifted over the pot of hot water to the table, poured said water into her mug and dropped in the tea bags to steep. After a moment's wait she levitated the mug to her muzzle, blowing away the steam and inhaling its intoxicating aroma. Mmm, she cooed internally as she felt a wan smile tug at the corner of her lips. Peaches and lavender, my favorite. I really should ask Zecora for the recipe next time I get some from her.
Gingerly, she took a tentative sip, careful not to scald her tongue. When she found that the hot liquid had cooled enough to be consumed safely she drank more eagerly, letting out a small sigh of content as she ingested the heavenly beverage. With every drop that slid down her throat she felt her body relax further and further and her fervent thoughts slow. By the time she had drained the entire cup she felt completely and entirely at ease, almost as if she were laying on a cloud. She felt her senses cloud over, as if she were surrounded by a thick fog, as hints of chamomile in her tea took effect.
Almost immediately her weariness caught up to her and consciousness finally began to take its leave of her, and far too quickly for her to resist it. She was asleep before her head hit the table. Thankfully, this time her sleep was devoid of the dreams that plagued her.
*~-/^-~*
“...light. Twi light. Twilight!”
Twilight was jerked to awareness by loud shouting of her name and a rather unpleasant jabbing of a claw into her side. In her surprise she tried to jump away from the source of her sudden discomfort, only to fall face-first onto the hardwood floor after having forgotten just where she was. Hearing barely contained laughter, she extracted herself from the heap of her own limbs and shot her assistant a glare that could peel paint. “Very funny Spike.”
He shut up immediately upon noticing the death-glare and began stammering an apology. Twilight just sighed and held up a hoof to cut him off, then began using it to rub the sleep from her eyes. “It’s fine Spike,” she said while stifling a yawn. “Just tell me why you woke me up so early.”
Relief flashed across his face as he realized she wasn’t angry at him before being replaced with an incredulous look. “Uh, you kind of fell asleep at the kitchen table. And it isn’t exactly early anymore either. Besides, the princess sent this earlier,” he explained as he revealed a small rolled-up scroll sealed with a golden sun insignia. Twilight took the message from him and broke the seal before furling it with a flick of telekinesis.
Dear Twilight Sparkle,
I hope this letter finds you well. I apologize for the infrequency of our recent correspondence, but both my sister and I have been simply far too busy managing the affairs of the state as well as preparation for the upcoming Harmonious Eclipse Event.
Twilight nodded. She had suspected that the upcoming celebration of Princess Luna’s return had been the reason behind their being so few letters between her and her mentor lately.
And it is because of this that I am in need of your assistance. Recently a traveling group of friends have arrived here in Canterlot, bearing a tale most interesting. If what they say is true - and I have little reason to doubt them - then the implications could be grave indeed.
But I suspect that there is more to this than there seems to be on the surface. This is indeed a delicate situation and normally I would see to it myself but as I mentioned previously I have far too much to do already. And in my absence you are the only one I trust to do the job correctly. And so I must ask you to come here, to Canterlot, and investigate.
I have already sent a chariot to escort you to the castle. It should arrive at noon. Please be ready by then.
~Signed, Princess Celestia of Equestria
Twilight read and reread the letter several time before the message finally sank in, along with a variety of other emotions. Most notable among them both anxiety and excitement. What could be so important a group of ponies that the princess needs me to personally come to Canterlot to look into them? She wondered with twinge of fear, before it was replaced with a bout of giddiness. And she only trusts me to do it! She almost began bouncing up and down with excitement at the thought that her mentor thought so highly of her.
Eager, she called out to her scaly assistant as she made her way up the stairs to her room to prepare. “It’s about 11:53, why?” he responded.
Twilight stopped in her tracks and stood stock still for just a moment before freaking out. “What!? Why didn’t wake me sooner!?”
Surprised by her sudden vehemence Spike fell from the ladder he was currently using to shelve books on the higher shelves before stammering an answer. “Y-you l-looked pretty tired and whenever I try to wake you up when you haven’t slept enough you always get angry and...”
Spike never got to finish his explanation as Twilight immediately rushed back up the stairs to hurriedly pack whatever provisions may have been necessary, all the while muttering expletives under her breath.
The princess’s letter had been somewhat vague and as a result Twilight had no real idea what exactly it was that she was going to be researching, and soon the air was filled with the clattering of metals, woods, and plastics as she decided to take the more prepared approach and packed a variety of devices of a scientific nature for the upcoming investigation. After a few minutes she had finally gotten her portable Thaumatic Energy Field Detection Device to fit into her saddle bags along with her other instruments when a loud knock sounded at the front door of the library.
“I’ll get it!” her reptilian assistant called up to her as he proceeded to answer the door. It was only a few seconds longer before he called up again, “Twilight! There are some royal guards here to see you!”
She swore silently under at having so little time to prepare before rushing downstairs while hurriedly running a brush through her mane to meet with what was most assuredly her escort to Canterlot.
When she reached the bottom of the stairs, just as she had surmised, at her door stood two stoic and identical looking pegasai in the light and sleek looking golden barding she recognized as belonging to Princess Celestia’s royal charioteers.
“Twilight Sparkle,” the one on the left said when they saw her, his expression remaining neutral, “we have instructions to escort you to Canterlot Castle. Please come with us.” Without bothering to make sure she was following them first they turned around in synchrony and walked away.
Twilight hurried after them, shouting over her shoulder as she did so, “Spike! Take care of the library while I’m away, alright? I shouldn’t be gone very long but if you need me just send a letter to Princess Celestia.”
The young drake attempted to inquire further just what it was that his surrogate mother was doing and where she was going but she was already out of earshot.
As Twilight climbed into the chariot both of the royal guards took off immediately, throwing her backwards into the red velvet of the vehicle’s seat. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Twilight sincerely hoped that the rest of this venture would be more pleasant.
*~-/^-~*
Despite the fact that it was the middle of the day the room in which the Princess of the Sun found herself was quite dark, thanks most in part to some very thick and opaque curtains that covered all of the windows and prevented any natural lighting. The room would have been entirely dark in fact, if it weren’t for a small fire that crackled lightly in a stone hearth against the wall furthest from the room’s single entrance. The small heat provided by a lit fire in a closed room would have been considered stifling to most ponies, but because of her nature Celestia was a bit more resistant and tolerant to un-comfortable temperatures than most. A knock sounded from the simple oaken door to the room, adding its noise to the gentle crackling of the fire and shuffling of papers in the otherwise quiet space.
“Enter,” Celestia said, not as much as looking up from the many notes and files upon the room’s only piece of furniture – a rather un-adorned mahogany desk. The door swung open silently on well-oiled hinges as the visitor made their way into the study.
“Sister,” Luna spoke softly, “why have thou locked thyself away in this room? Both thou and ourself still have many duties left to attend to.”
Upon hearing her sister’s voice and realizing who it was that had come calling Celestia finally removed her attention from the rather large pile of papers on her desk and regarded the Night Princess carefully before responding with a sigh. “It’s… It’s these newcomers. The traveling ponies. There’s something about them. Something I can’t quite put my hoof on. Their story is strange and as incredible as it is I have no reason to doubt them, but still…. I can’t shake the feeling that there’s more to them than meets the eye.”
“That does not quite answer our question dear sister; just what is it that thou hopes to accomplish by sealing thyself away in thy study?”
“Well, I couldn’t help but do a few tests and studies. What I found only seems to reinforce my strange suspicions.”
“And what, pray tell, is that?”
“Do you recall the strange medallion the one called Crescent had with him when he arrived?”
“Indeed we do.”
“I’m sure you noticed the strange magic coming from it. I couldn’t help but run a quick test or two. It was a magic unlike any other I’ve ever seen.” Celestia frowned in thought for a moment before continuing. “Well, perhaps that’s not quite true. There is one other magical artifact that bears a slight similarity. One that we are both quite familiar with. The Elements of Harmony.”
Both sisters were silent for a moment as Celestia’s words hung in the air. Luna was the first to speak.
“And what does thou think that means?”
With a sigh the older sister hung her head and admitted, “That’s just it. I don’t know.”
Luna was quiet for a moment before speaking again. “Thou hast already sent for thy faithful student to investigate this, hast thou not?”
“Yes,” Was the white mare’s simple response.
“Then what are thou so worried about?”
At this Celestia picked up her head to gaze inquisitively at the younger alicorn, prompting her to elaborate.
“If thy treasured pupil is truly all that thou claims her to be than surely she can discover the meaning behind this, can she not?”
A small smile graced Celestia’s features as she thought proudly of her pupil. “Yes. If anypony can solve this it would be her.”
Happy at talking at least a small amount of sense into her older sister Luna allowed a small smile to grace her lips as well. “So willst thou stop thy senseless worrying?”
“Certainly Luna,” Celestia said as she stood and strode past her sister and through the still open doorway. “Come Luna, I believe we still have quite a lot of work to do. The meeting with the griffon ambassadors is next, correct?”
Satisfied at having finally gotten the elder alicorn focused once again on the more important stately matters she hurried after her, so that they might parley with the griffons.
*~-/^-~*
In another room in the castle, not very from where the two Royal Sisters conversed, sat the cause of their worry and discussion. The three friends sat silently, simple enjoying each-others company without anything needing to be said. After a while the smallest of them, the earthpony mare, broke the silence, “Cress, you’re over-thinking things again.”
The red unicorn dropped his hoof from his cheek and without taking his eyes away from the small fire in front of him muttered a quiet, “Sorry.”
The brusque pegasus that completed their triad stared into the fire as well before speaking. “It still freaks me out how you can do that,” he said, pointing a hoof towards the small flame in front of his unicorn friend that burned heartlessly and without scorching the elegant red fabric.
The shaggy stallion eyed the ember for a moment longer before frowning slightly and snuffing it out with a hoof. “It freaks me out too Seran.”
“Then why do you keep doing it then?” the mare asked as she made herself comfortable on one of the rooms three canopy beds.
“Because I’m curious,” came the simple reply as Cress continued to stare at the miraculously un-blackened section of carpet that had been aflame.
Silence reigned amongst the room once again. It was broken but a moment later.
“Cress…” the winged pony ventured tentatively.
“Yes Seran?” he responded.
“Do you think they believe us? The Princesses I mean.”
Crescent was silent for a long moment before sighing deeply through his nose and answering, “I’m not sure Seran. I’m not sure. If somepony had told you everything we told them would you believe them?”
The blue pony sighed in resignation. “I guess I wouldn’t. But they have to though, they’re the Princesses! If they don’t do anything then Ni-“
Seran was unable to finish his sentence as Crescent suddenly lept up and silenced him by placing a hoof to his mouth. The puzzled and surprised look on the pegasus’ face was met with stern one on the face of his friend. “Hush!” Crescent admonished harshly as he looked carefully around the room. “You heard the Princesses. Don’t talk about it, you never know who might be listening.”
Smiling sheepishly, Seran whispered a small, “Sorry.”
Sighing and rubbing his temple to try and alleviate a developing headache the unicorn continued. “It’s ok. Just keep that in mind. That goes for you to Terri,” he said to both of his friends.
The cream-colored pony acknowledged him with only a wave of her hoof as she curled up on her bed, trying to get some much needed sleep, despite the hour.
As the red pony watched his friends he couldn’t stifle his yawn. “I think Terri has the right idea. I’m still pretty exhausted. I think I’ll sleep until we’re called for. You should probably think about getting some sleep too,” he said as he made his way to his own bed, falling asleep only a few minutes later.
The pegasus stood alone with his own thoughts for a small while before trotting over to the last un-occupied bed and join his two friends in slumber.