The RCC Volume One: The Fall of Harmony

Twilight returned to her quarters that evening with Opteris in tow, her mind running circles around itself. The entire trip was spent in silence save for the echo of their hooves on the tiled floors, reverberating high into the polished marble walls. Or rather...it would have been silent had she not been what felt like mentally warring with herself most of the way. By the time they'd reached her bed chambers again, Twilight Sparkle was almost beside herself with both worry and excitement over the possibility of the prospect before her.

There was just so much to do in five days. She'd need to make a checklist for the checklist in and of itself to be absolutely certain that nothing had been left out.

If she was going to be traveling for this endeavor, Twilight would need to have supplies put together for not just herself, but an entire Royal Expedition of sorts. She most certainly would not be left outside the castle without a cadre of both Solar and Lunar guards. They would need provisions, tents and the like. There was her own provisions to think about as well, not to leave out any extra supplies she might need. Quills, inkwells, parchment; all of it had to be taken into account right down to the last inch of extra thread for use in emergency sewing kits.

Carriages would have to be sequestered and weather proofed if they were going into the frozen north-lands beyond the Crystal Empire, or down south into the Badlands.

"Princess? You seem troubled...is there any way I may be of assistance?"

Twilight held at the door to her chambers, a hoof upon it as though to make her way inside. She turned her head to the Lunar Guard beside her, seeing a touch of genuine worry on his face.

"No, I'm all right." She nodded, a settled smile crossing her lips at his concern.

She brushed the door to her room open and stepped inside, bidding the guard a good night. As she shut the heavy mahogany portal and levitated her regalia to its pillows once more, Twilight scanned the room; finding all of the things necessary to begin preparation in and of itself would be a challenge. Notes and textbooks were strewn everywhere an empty space could be found. Half written formulas and sections of studies lie scattered in a chaotic mess that Discord himself would've been proud of.

'Where is that dragon when I need him the most?' She frowned momentarily. She thought of her young assistant, whom was most likely on an errand at the moment; if Twilight knew the Princesses as well as she hoped.

Spike had found himself much more busy, now that they had returned to the Palace. Even though it was much the same as from before they'd moved to Ponyville, life in the Palace continued to provide daily challenges that even Twilight herself found difficult to keep up with.

She felt herself smiling once again as she envisioned her assistant running pell-mell around the room, attempting to keep up with her while she dictated notes or a letter. Just the mental image of him began to clear her mind; bringing focus to a night that had seemed thus far to be content to leave her in a shambles.

Giving herself a mental smack to the muzzle, Twilight set about cleaning a workspace on her desk before unrolling a new piece of parchment and getting to work.

~D.W.~

Morning had already come by the time the initial checklist had been finished. Twilight, groggy though she was; stared down at it in deep thought as though it were a demon from the pits of Tartaurus, ready to jump at her and claw her already aching eyes from their sockets.

Spike had wandered in some time during the night; when, Twilight couldn't be exactly sure. The poor dragon had just about passed out the second his head had touched the lush cushion in the large basket he now called a bed. Twilight tore her gaze from the list just long enough to catch a glimpse of his sleeping form. No doubt, she thought, that there were dreams of a certain white unicorn mare swimming through that head of his.

She chuckled inwardly at the thought before moving for the door. Outside, she could hear Opteris being relieved by her Day Watch. Twilight cracked the door open to see Blu-Shift and Goldenrod taking their places on either side of the doorway.

"Good morning." She called lightly, causing the two guards to spin immediately on the spot and salute.

"Good morning, Your Highness," the replied in such unison as to be one voice alone.

Twilight dipped her head lightly; a sign that the two stallions could be at ease.

"Would you please be kind enough to inform Princess Celestia that I will not be joining her for breakfast? It has been a late night and I'm only now just heading to bed." She asked, a sheepish expression crawling across her muzzle. It wouldn't have been the first time she'd found herself making such a request since returning to the Palace.

"Of course Milady. I shall make haste at once." Goldenrod bowed curtly. In an instant, the unicorn was gone in a flash of light.

With a small smile as Blu-Shift returned his attention to the hallway before them, Twilight ducked her head back inside her room and shut the door. Outside, the sun was already beginning its climb up past the lower peaks of Mount Canterhorn. She had indeed spent much more time awake than she'd thought. At least though; much had been accomplished that night. She would have Spike send the requisition forms they'd need out when she again woke. Climbing up onto the mattress of her bed after shuttering the curtains of the windows felt like it had taken way more energy than it should have, but Twilight soon found herself nestled in the comforting warmth of the down-laden blankets that had been calling to her all night.

Only there was a problem.

Tired as she was, Twilight found she couldn't sleep. Something felt off...and it would not stop nagging the back of her mind, no matter how many times she turned or tossed on the bed. Finally, she sat up, got off the bed and took a deep breath.

Focusing her energies, Twilight began running through her mind all of the previous preparations she'd laid out that evening. The list criss-crossed her mind back and forth for a few moments before she voided that out. No...it wasn't the list. There was something else. An almost tangible feeling biting at the edges of her consciousness.

Pacing back and forth hadn't seemed to help any either...and only exacerbated a small dragon's slumbering temper when she accidentally woke Spike. With a sheepish grin, she stopped her back-and-forth motion across her room long enough to hear Spike snoring once again.

When at last she ran out of things to check and or double check...Twilight slumped to the floor in exasperation. There was nothing she had overlooked. The list was as perfect as it was going to get. The preparations would begin when she woke again. The guards that she'd chosen for the task would be well more than sufficient. She hadn't overlooked anything.

Until Twilight's eyes settled on the little stone that rested next to her regalia pillows.

Twilight stood up and walked quietly over to it, scrutinizing the little dragon-forged gemstone. Deep within it, a tiny blue spark of light could be seen flickering in and out of existence; like a fire trying to relight itself.

Checking around herself to be sure there were no other ponies present...just in case; Twilight grasped the memory stone in her magic.

There was a sound like that of a cannon that shattered the peaceful silence of the room as a bright flash, almost blinding to look at, was set off from within the stone. She dropped it immediately, rubbing her eyes to clear the spots that had just erupted.

"What in Equestria..." she pondered aloud, turning to see Spike still snoring away as if nothing had happened. Amazingly enough, the stone was still reacting though now, the small spark inside the stone was lit into what appeared to be a tiny flame. Poking it with a hoof, Twilight found it still cool to the touch. "What are you?"

The stone remained silent, its interior burning away happily in the dim light of the room.

This only raised more questions.

Twilight attempted to pick it up again with her magic. This time however, there was no blinding flash. No explosive concussion of sound. Just the light tinkling of her levitation spell and the merry flickering of the stone's light. Looking over to her somewhat cluttered desk, Twilight began moving for it to start documenting her findings...only to halt dead in her tracks when the light in the stone began to flicker and die out.

"No no no!" She cried, attempting to relight it by feeding magic into it. All that earned her was a burning sensation in her horn that pierced her skull with enough pain to split her concentration. The stone clattered to the floor and rolled across it, coming to rest not too far away. As she massaged her aching forehead, Twilight turned and caught a glimpse of the stone's fire...now burning furiously inside of its gem-encasement.

The flame had turned from a light blue to a deep violet now, and was sparking wildly, nearly filling the entire stone as if it were completely hollow. Twilight watched the rolling flame patterns for a moment longer before approaching, just to be sure that it wasn't going to shatter the stone. Lightly, she bumped it with a hoof. As it rolled away from her, the flames increased even further, growing into a white-purple inferno inside the little stone. Yet it still remained cool when she again touched it.

It was then after looking up to see where it was rolling that she realized just what was happening.

"A stone forged in dragon-fire..." She pondered aloud once more as she looked directly ahead. The stone was mere inches away from the slumbering Spike now.

Lifting it up carefully in her magical grip, Twilight continued to edge the stone further and further towards Spike, watching intently as the flames inside continued to burn with a fiercer passion than before. When it was but mere millimeters away from touching him, there was no telling the stone had originally been blue in hue by the intensity of the light washing out from inside it now.

A knock echoed from the door to her bedchamber at that moment, and her focus was lost again. The stone dropped as she turned around to open the door. But the door never opened. At least...Twilight would never see it open.

The instant the dropped artefact touched the young dragon's body, there was another resounding boom. This one however was different, as it was tangible enough to knock ornaments from her shelves. Twilight would not see this happen either though; for the second that the boom hit...Twilight's world went black.

~D.W.~

"You there, Pony!"

The mare groaned in something of a pained way.

"Do you require assistance?"

Twilight felt an odd presence press against her barrel while another was assumed to be checking one of her forelegs for injury, given the tone of the voice.

"I say...are you all right, Little Pony?"

Finally having the strength and sense of presence enough to do so, Twilight opened her eyes slowly. She immediately shut them again when the searing rays of the sun blinded her once more. With a scathing hiss, she covered her head with the fore-hoof that wasn't pinned underneath her.

"What dost thou think?"

"It appears to be one of the denizens of Dream Valley. Quickly, go and alert His Highness. She may be injured severely."

The sound of some very strange hoof beats leading away down a stone floor met Twilight's ears as she struggled to regain some form of valid consciousness amidst a heavy pulsing in her ears and the pain that seemed intent on wracking her every nerve ending.

Slowly, Twilight tried opening her shielded eyes again, finding the light to still be harsh but manageable. As she removed her hoof from in front of her eyes, the world began to gradually come into focus.

She found herself lying in a crumpled heap atop a cold stone floor. Taking in her surroundings, she was definitely in a castle of some kind, though none that she was familiar with. Red banners with odd symbols, intelligible to her, hung on either side of wide open windows in the castle walls with recently outed braziers standing at regular intervals around the room. She continued to scan around her for a moment longer before turning her attention to the odd feeling against her barrel...and the one whom was causing it.

Twilight nearly jumped out of her skin in shock at what knelt next to her.

There, in clothing that would've made Rarity drool, was some kind of simian shape. It was adorned in a bright blue tunic with a golden embroidered design that stretched across the front, with brown pants of some sort, a thick yet ornate leather belt and gloves made of some type of leather as well. A short, but well kept mane of auburn red hung down off the sides of its head and bangs, curling near the tips.

But what finally drew Twilight's attention was the gleaming hilt of a sword just barely tucked out of sight around behind its back.

Skittering back from that, Twilight found her rump soon meeting a wall, to which she continued to try and back her way into. This thing...whatever it was...had been too close for comfort. She immediately tried to erect a force field between her and the ape-creature...but found that her magic had been severely weakened. Not even the barest fraction of her previous power remained. At most...she might have enough for levitation of small objects...maybe one or two short teleports. But nothing else. She was left at the mercy of whatever it was that stood before her.

"No...no need to fear, friend. We art not thine enemy, nor wilt any harm come to thou." The creature spoke in a decidedly female voice. Surprisingly, she was able to understand it.

The strange thing reached out to touch her once more, causing Twilight to once again scoot away from it. She didn't know what the thing was, nor whether or not its words were sincere. After all, one didn't carry a sword for no reason.

"Please...calm down. Thou art safe, Little Pony."

"Who are you?" Twilight had finally managed to find her tongue. "Where am I?"

The other gave her a quizzical look with its flat-muzzled face, one eyebrow cocked. There was an obvious shock to its expression, if Twilight had ever seen one.

"Why, thou art in the Castle of Midnight. We are of the Prince's personal guard. Our name is Aries. And thou art?" It replied in what was becoming increasingly familiar as Olde Equestrian.

"I am Prin..." Twilight began, only to halt her train of thought. If these things knew she was a Princess...would that change their disposition to her? It was beginning to seem likely that they were friendly for now. If they knew they had foal-napped royalty though...but how couldn't they know? Twilight shook her head to clear it of these thoughts before thinking better of her reply. "Twilight. Twilight Sparkle."

The other actually smiled this time.

"Well met, Twilight Sparkle of Dream Valley."

Twilight hesitantly took a step forward, further examining the creature. Getting a better look provided much more detail about it, being able to note now that underneath the tunic, the thing wore a chain mail vest and metal plate guards over its shoulders. Also now visible on deeper inspection was a jeweled diadem barely hiding beneath the bangs of its mane.

"Forgive me for asking...but where did you say...?" She asked, still studying the strangeness.

"Oh...forgive us. Art thou not of Dream Valley? Tis where most Little Ponies live...we were not aware of other enclaves elsewhere." Aries frowned hesitantly.

"No no...it's all right. I'm not quite sure what's going on at the moment here, but something...Wait. What did you call me?"

"Art thou also not of the Little Ponies?"

Twilight listened in carefully to its speech, picking up on the Little part. This Aries had used it multiple times now. And where was this Dream Valley? She'd never heard of it. Come to think of it...just what was Aries...; and how did she arrive here in this...Castle of Midnight?

That would be as far as her mind allowed her to go though, before a sudden swimming in her head caught Twilight off guard as she lost her balance, tumbling forward a bit. She felt herself being caught up by the forearms of Aries as the world world around her blanked out again.

~D.W.~

When Twilight came to once more, she was lying atop what had to have been the least comfortable bed she'd ever slept in. Her neck was cramped, as were her back. She couldn't see anything anymore save the stars casting a dim light through more small, glass-less windows in the walls. Attempting to spark her horn, Twilight cast a bit of illumination to the room before finding a candle and a strange device on the bedside table next to her head. With little thought to her actions, Twilight attempted to light the candle with magic, only to have her head pulsate in pain. The light spell faded quickly as she gripped her throbbing skull in her hooves, trying to calm it down. It would definitely be some time before she attempted anything too difficult with her magic.

Reigniting her horn, Twilight picked up the small device that lay next to the candle. It was what appeared to be a flint stone and a metal wheel. The flint was pressed into the wooden holder, while the wheel hovered just above it on an axle. The two stones were made to spark off of one another it seemed. With a hoof on the wheel, Twilight held the sparker over the candle in her magic and pressed down on the wheel, swiping backward to strike sparks over the candle wick. It took a few tries, but soon, the candle caught and burned to life.

Trading the sparker for the candle in her magical aura, Twilight surveyed the room. There was little else outside of the bed and night stand; only a single wardrobe stood across the room from her, next to a decent sized mirror. A single doorway led out of the room into what was presumably, given her last location, into the rest of this Castle of Midnight.

Decidedly against staying put where she was any longer than necessary, Twilight removed herself from the bed and made to exit the room, when something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. Making for the Mirror, Twilight gasped and backpedaled away from it when she caught her reflection.

The mare that had met Twilight's gaze when she looked into the reflective surface was not Twilight. Daring to step forward again, Twilight looked into the aged glass.

Staring back at her was a pink mare with a silvery mane. She still had a horn...but lacked the wings that were supposed to be nestled carefully against her sides. Her mane itself reminded Twilight more of her mother's, that soft, pale white with a violet streak running through it from the cow-lick in her scalp in a straight line down the back of her neck...and to the tip of her bangs. Her Cutie Mark was also much different; being six five-pointed purple stars arranged in a pentagon with one in the center; instead of the seven stars she'd known almost all of her life.

"How is she?", came a muffled voice from outside the door.

"The pony is sleeping soundly, Sire. The physician is not entirely sure...but she seems to be in fair health. On another interesting note...it seems she is able to speak our tongue, even if a bit bastardized."

There was a short silence.

"Shall I wake her, My Lord?"

"Nay. We shalt do so our-self. Step aside, friend."

As Twilight turned to face the door, yet another of the strange creatures entered. This one though, was wearing the obvious trappings of royal bearing. A crown of gold and jewels sat atop his short cropped, dirty brown mane. A red cape, speckled with black dots in the white fringing hung gracefully from his powerful shoulders. What might have been a pure silken tunic wrapped his upper torso, while his legs were dressed in a fine black set of leggings, topped with oddly patterned...and even stranger; billowy shorts. His shoes were also of high note, being polished to a glossy shine.

"Ah...We see thou art awake, little one." He spoke in a strong, but soft spoken tone.

Twilight now only realized just how small she was compared to these creatures. Aries from before had been knelt down and hunched over, true. But to see one standing at full height was like looking up at Princess Celestia...but still somehow taller. By height and build alone, Twilight was vaguely reminded of Discord...a thought that gave her more than just a moments pause.

"Yes...sir." Twilight managed to get out.

The tall creature strode easily into the room. Confident, but without the pompous, powerful nature she might have expected just by looking at it.

"How dost thou feel...Twilight; We believe thy name was?" It asked...though she was unsure just by the voice if it was male or female. Considering she'd heard mention of a Prince before...Twilight assumed it would be safe to stick to male pronouns.

Twilight rubbed the sore and aching horn on her forehead for a moment, but found it didn't hurt as much as before.

"I am tired. But I am more confused as to where I am and how I got here."

The other put a hand to its chin in thought as he gazed upon her.

"That indeed is a good question, young pony. How thou came to be in Our castle is of considerable mystery. Art thou an emissary sent by the Ponies of Dream Valley?" He asked.

"No sir...er...sorry. Your Highness?" Twilight ventured, still not sure if he was nobility or strict royalty.

"Ah yes...where art Our manners? We art Prince Scorpio, of the Castle Midnight. We bid thee welcome to Our home, Twilight." He stood and introduced himself with a bow befitting the welcoming of other royalty, ironically. "But if thou art not an emissary...then thou surely art here for a reason? We do not oft receive visitors from Dream Valley."

Dream Valley. Twilight had heard that name so many times since waking in this strange world that she decided to run with it. If it would help her figure out just where she was; then she would play along.

"Tell Us...how is it that thou comest to speak Our tongue so...well?" He paused at that last word; Twilight having remembered hearing of her so-called 'bastardization' of their language.

"I've always spoken like this, Your Highness. It is common Equestrian. Everypony where I'm from knows how to speak it."

That gave the Prince pause.

"Thou sayeth this is...common in Dream Valley? When We were last made aware...the Little Ponies were not properly capable of fully speaking Our tongue."

And like that, Twilight found the first flaw in her current plan.

'Think Twilight. Improvise. You can do this. Here are two cultures obviously at some sort of odds...Put those diplomacy studies to good use!'

"We ah...have been learning over the years to...better facilitate the language so we could further open...relations with your people?" She tried. 'Come on...even Applejack could've done better than that.' She mentally scolded herself.

The Prince seemed to take her words in for a moment as if considering the lie behind them. However, much to Twilight's great relief, he seemed to accept her answer without too much more thought.

"Well, this is wonderful news indeed. Had We known of this development, We would have re-established contact sooner. But this still leaves to question...why hast thou come to Our castle, young Twilight?"

Twilight thought about this for a moment before remembering the memory stone. Panic immediately gripped her as she searched for it...but felt a small tap against her chest. There, wound in a tight corded string being worn as a necklace...was the talon shaped talisman. She gingerly put a hoof under it to raise it to eye level, staring at the silent, blue gem.

"I think it has something to do with this." She scrutinized the stone for any sign of the fire that had been raging inside of it before, but could find none.

"A piece of jewelery?"

Twilight slowly shook her head.

"Not entirely. I'm not quite sure how to explain it...but I think this stone brought me here, your Highness." Her brain could come to no other logical conclusion at that point.

"It is possessed of magic powers then, We would presume?" The Prince knelt down and eyed it carefully, casting Twilight a questioning gaze.

"It is...though of what kind, I've been told little." Twilight replied before catching herself. She couldn't be telling these strange creatures about the stone. What if they weren't as benevolent as they were appearing? Too many risky factors. But...enough information had already been let loose. There was no changing that now. Just damage control.

Prince Scorpio stood up and backed away from the stone slowly, clasping his hands behind his back as he turned and began to pace the room. Twilight could almost feel what he was thinking now, though she could still only guess. What came next was of something of a shock, considering the weight of her previous revelation.

"Well then, Lady Twilight. If thou art not here as an emissary of thy Ponies, but as a researcher of strange artefacts...We wouldst still welcome thee to stay until thou art fully recovered from thine ordeal. It is obvious to Our eyes that thou hast suffered for thine pursuit of knowledge...a feeling We art all too familiar with." A dark look crossed his features for the barest of moments as he stopped to stare out one of the windows. It was quickly replaced however, with one of a jovial nature. "Thou art indeed familiar with Captain Aries, yes?"

Twilight nodded.

"She was the one who found me, right?"

The Prince smiled in return.

"It is good to see thy memory is in fact intact and not shattered. Yes...twas the Captain whom discovered thee. She wilt be thy personal guardian while thou recovers. If thou shouldst need anything...thou may makest her aware of thine needs and they shalt be attended to, as a guest of Our castle." He extended his arms. "Emissary or no, We welcome you into Our castle with open arms in a sign of trust and good faith...so that the Little Ponies wouldst come to know of Us as friends."

~D.W.~

The next few days were spent resting and recuperating in newly assigned quarters. They were much more comfortable than those she'd first awoken in, no doubt. But regardless of how well she was fed or how much sleep she attained...her magic was only being restored in minor amounts. Levitation and teleportation once again came with relative ease, considering their typical drain on her powers. It was becoming less and less straining just to be able to regularly use her magic; and all though she was most concerned about the lack of her full capabilities being restored...at least the partial restoration was a good sign. It meant she would hopefully recover all of her lost talents in time.

She had also been able to learn a great deal about the creatures that had taken her in during her convalescence. They called themselves Human, and had a naming system similar to that of the Ponies. They boasted quite the long and rich history...if a violent one. Compared to Equestrian civilization as Twilight knew it, the Humans were a race bathed in bloody conflict over such trivial things as land, wealth and power. While Equestria had seen similar conflict in the past, there had never been anything so brutal as some of the stories that Captain Aries had described.

When she at last felt ready to explore, Twilight was given a tour of the castle by Aries, with whom she was beginning to build a very upstanding rapport. Things about the castle...and the surrounding countryside, however, began to stand out to her attention, when closer attention was paid to the details.

"And you say this is the highest mountain peak in the area?" Twilight asked as they stood atop one of the castle's tower battlements. She

"Aye, aside from the Purple Mountains, which are currently obstructed from view in the north. Tis from this point that one can look out and see all of the Shire's lands and estates for a great many leagues. Tis also why it makes for the perfect location for the Prince's castle. From here, His Highness has the ability to not only see incoming invaders; but he can also keep a watchful eye on all of his peoples. The Prince is a very caring soul, there canst be any doubt on this matter." Aries smiled down at the unicorn.

"Then may I ask..." Twilight pointed to a tall mountain in the western horizon, covered in smoke. "...what do you call that mountain there?"

Aries' face took on a grim look of despondency.

"That be the Volcano of Gloom. Tis the home of peoples most vile. Those that would use their evil black sorceries for the most heinous of crimes."

"You mean that there are humans like you who can perform magic?"

Aries looked down at Twilight with a softened expression...but it was attempting to hide one of revulsion.

"While thy Unicorn powers are what one would deem true magic, these foul people use conjuration and spells that bring about the most horrid of atrocities." Aries crossed her arms and spat on the ground before returning her gaze to the smoking mountain. "Sorcerers. Spell Weavers. Witches all; and be they damned, I say."

Twilight cringed at the expletive, but did not miss the connotations of the Captain's words.

"I'm sorry if I've brought up anything...bad."

"Nay, Lady Twilight. Thou may hast reminded me of some old wounds. But tis their memory that lives to serve as my shield against them." The Captain's eyes lingered on the mountain for a moment longer before she tore them away.

"So then..." Twilight fumbled, looking for a way to change the topic when she spied something out across the valley to the south of the castle. There, nestled at the edge of an expansive forest on the opposite side of a river, sitting atop one of the larger hills in the valley; Twilight caught sight of a smaller fortress-like structure. In the fading light of day, she could just make out colorful shapes running all across the nearby landscape.

"Art thou missing thy home, Milady?" Aries spoke up.

A bit startled by the question, Twilight looked up to Aries for a moment. The human's face held one of tender sympathy. For a moment, Twilight did think of Canterlot. Of Ponyville and her friends. But this would be a time to gather valuable information, if a forming theory in her head was correct. She sighed, returning her gaze to the fortress in the distance. "Tell me, Captain. What do you know of Dream Valley?"

Aries crossed her arms and leaned on one of the crenelations of the turret, also looking down at the valley fortress.

"Thy Little Ponies are something of a mystery to me. I have oft wanted to visit...but being unable to properly commune with thine people has left us little choice in the matter. Twas quite a shock when thou began speaking English. We had feared that we might never hear the language spoken by another race again after our arrival here."

"That's right...you mentioned something about your people not originally being from this world." Twilight put a hoof to her chin in thought. That would definitely require some further investigation if the answers were not forth coming.

"Tis believed that we came to this pristine paradise through a large and ornate golden gateway in the high mountains, from lands beyond this place. The location of the fabled door and the name of our homeland is lost now; it has been some time since any have thought about such things. But that...I do know." Aries paused for a moment. "Tell me, Lady Twilight; dost thou believe that thy pony brethren hold enough competence in our language that such a visit would be soon possible?"

Twilight cringed at that inside, keeping her exterior as calm as possible.

"Being of the more...academic mind, I'm probably the most well spoken there is. But I might say that it may be possible...soon?" She had no idea on how to confirm this...or whether it was even possible or not. However; Twilight also did not either need to accidentally crush her own fabrication, nor the Captain's hopes. These seemed like genuinely good people and she believed that had they ever visited Equestria; they would be welcomed as friends much the way the Humans had so willingly welcomed Twilight.

"Tis good to hear." She smiled. "My only other concern of thy ponies is one that I'm sure is well known to thyself."

"What is that?" Twilight asked.

"To be frank; one thing that has always puzzled me..." Aries began, "...is how such delicate creatures like thyself, meaning no offense Milady, manage to survive and thrive beside such an ill-foreboding place as the dark forest."

That definitely caught Twilight's attention.

"How do you mean?"

Aries gave a look that was almost one of complete disbelief as she spun to face Twilight, an accusing finger pointing in the direction of the valley below.

"Surely thou dost not jest? The forest there, just beyond Dream Valley. Tis such a wicked place full of as many atrocities as the Volcano of Gloom!"

Twilight propped her forelegs up and over the parapets of the tower they stood upon, staring down at where the captain had designated. There, beyond the regular looking oaks and pines of the treeline surrounding the small fortress...there existed another line where the trees themselves seemed to grow more sinister and dark.

As if tainted by evil.

Twilight gulped.

'Okay Twilight. I know what this looks like. But this isn't Equestria. There's no way that could be the same place...'

There would be no way to know without further exploring into it. For the time being, regardless of whether or not it truly was...it was the last place Twilight wanted to go. Especially with her magic not up to par.

"Yes...it's a horrible place. Fortunately though...the things that live there tend to stay there." Twilight wiped at her forehead, thankful that what she spoke was true enough; at least where she came from.

"Thou dost not suffer under its foreboding will?"

"No. Things that reside in the dark like to stay in the dark. Coming into the light is a lot harder for them than getting by where they're more at home."

Hopping back down to all fours, Twilight turned tail on the despicable sight and cantered uneasily to the center of the tower where she stood for a moment or two, trying to collect herself. A light chilled breeze kicked up as she stared down at the wooden floor beneath her, almost enough to distract her from the hand that was carefully placed on her shoulder.

"I would guess that thou hast had some experience with such things?" Aries asked.

Twilight nodded, trying to quell the memory of her encounter with a cockatrice and her subsequent temporary petrification.

'If Fluttershy hadn't dealt with it...I might still be there...'

"There are things in the world beyond imagination. Creatures frightening and powerful enough to put even the bravest pony in their place. Things that can end you with a single glare."

Twilight felt the hand on her shoulder shudder as she spoke.

Aries stepped forward, kneeling down to unlatch the doorway back into the tower. "Shall we retire for the night, Lady Twilight? The hour grows late and the sun sinks quickly. It will be cold before long."

Twilight nodded.

"Yes. Let's get inside and have something warm for dinner. It will help to take our minds off of these things." She moved forward, gingerly setting hoof down upon the first step. Together, Twilight and the Captain made their way back inside the castle to the dining hall.

The whole trip back though, Twilight's mind had begun churning. A lot of things were beginning to add up...just from geographic locations. The Volcano of Gloom, this dark forest, the fortress in Dream Valley. And Castle Midnight itself, settled upon the highest mountain in the valley.

As impossible as the likelihood of it being the same was...It was beginning to remind her a lot of home.