Open the box, it's won't bite
-Everfree Forest, Equestria, 1004 AN-
Twilight Sparkle, former student of Princess Celestia, now stood in front of the Tree of Harmony, looking at the Box of Harmony.
"Okay, come on Twilight, you can do this, just... Celestia dammit why is this so hard, I just need to open the box." she facehoofed, levitating the Keys of Friendship far off to the side.
Something inside of her was holding her back, fear? Anxiety? What? All she was doing was opening a box.
She breathed in and out, in and out, in and out.
Twilight wished her friends were here, but they had declined, they didn't want to deal with the Box of Harmony at the moment.
Once again she brought the Keys of Friendship in close, looking at each of them.
The Key of Selflessness, the key form of the Element of Generosity.
The Key of Unity, the key form of the Element of Loyalty.
The Key of Authenticity, the key form of the Element of Honesty.
The Key of Joy, the key form of the Element of Laughter.
The Key of Caring, the key form of the Element of Kindness.
The Key of... well she wasn't sure about the last one.
The Box of Harmony gleamed with power, the keys were brought in close.
"Ugh, I just need to do this, I just need to *stomp* fucking do this." she didn't like cursing, but it helped her get back on track.
Twilight felt like she had to turn back, but she couldn't turn back now, not after her friends went through all of those incidents and hardships to get the keys in the first place!
As much as her sudden anxiety tried, it couldn't keep her from stepping closer.
The alicorn felt herself sweating, and not from the heat or any exertion, it was from fear.
Once again the fear returned, but was it fear of the unknown, or fear of the possibilities?
"The Elements of Harmony, I know you will forgive me if this is wrong." she put the keys into the holes.
Every fiber of her being was screaming at her to stop, to turn around, run away, and don't look back, don't ever look back, but she barely managed to suppress the urges, she needed to do this!
She gripped the keys in her telekinesis, one by one, they turned, eliciting bright rays of light from the keyholes.
Twilight braced for impact, when the last, unidentified key turned, the light stopped.
"Whew," she sighed, watching the small plate on the top of the box open up, elevating a piece of yellow paper up out of the box before sealing the top again.
"Huh?" Twilight levitated over the paper, it had words on it, so she read them.
Congratulations to: Twilight Sparkle
You have once again risen to the challenge and have now opened the Box of Harmony, again, congratulations, you did it! Yay!
Unfortunately, the bad changes you have undergone during the last three years (reducing yourself to theft, magical charms, lying, among other chaotic things) have outweighed the good changes you have undergone (saving Equestria many times, banishing darkness many times, defeating Discord, god of chaos, and reforming the aforementioned god, even ascending high enough to be worthy of being a princess).
This imbalance can not be accepted by the powers that be, if we were to allow you to continue as you are, it would throw off the balance of the world and destroy Harmony completely, and Harmony would stay destroyed until the day that you were to die.
Do not fret, for the Spirits of Harmony, they are kind, generous, and honest, so they have decided to give you another chance.
You will be sent forward, to the past, to make amends for your transgressions.
Sorry, but since you didn't do it right, you have to do it over, say goodbye to your friends, your crown, and your achievements, because you're about to lose everything you have.
See you at the exact same time, exact same place, exact same year, again.
This is for your inability to leave well-enough alone.
Sincerely, The Spirits of Harmony.
The top half of the box slid off of the bottom, releasing awe-inspiring amounts of magical energy that swirls and coalesced and made a storm of power that threatened to tear the cave to pieces, to escape and rend the sky asunder, to destroy everything.
"What? No, no no no no no no no no no no no, this... this doesn't make sense, this can't be happening." Twilight panicked, how had she come so far, only to be turned back at the end?
What was going to happen? She dared to look into the eye of the storm, and she saw something that horrified her.
She saw herself... but different
On a grassy hill... alone.
Laying under a tree... near a river.
Reading a book... Ye Olde Myths ande Legendes.
In Canterlot... three years ago.
As a unicorn... with no friends.
"No no no no no NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" she screamed as she was slowly, yet forcibly dragged into the portal.
She tried to fly away, but she couldn't get off the ground, she tried to teleport away, but her horn wasn't working.
She knew what was happening, she was going to be sent back in time. The voices and fears in her head were trying to protect her.
But she didn't listen.
Her mind was being wiped of memories, this was bad, this was bad, this was very not good!
She screamed, it was her last resort.
"NOOOOO-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa..." and she fell away.
Fell away, away, away.
Back to do it all over again.
-Canterlot, Equestria, 1000 AN-
Twilight Sparkle, student of Princess Celestia, laid on her favorite reading spot, reading Ye Olde Myths ande Legendes.
The babbling of the small river next to the hill filled in the soundless void between the times when she read out loud. Some ponies would have brought friends with them, maybe had a picnic, or been in a book-club, but not Twilight.
No, she didn't need friends, they weren't important, and never would be.
"...she raised the sun AND moon each and every day, and Harmony has been maintained in Equestria for generations since," she read, about to turn the page to continue, but something was nagging at her.
Something odd, a curiosity that spurred her into a certain direction.
"Hmm..." she hummed, thinking hard.
The wind blew gently, a result of Princess Celestia's sun, it was the middle of the day, though tomorrow was the Summer Sun Celebration.
"The Elements of Harmony, I know I've heard of those somewhere." she tapped her chin, looking up into the sky.
The unicorn swore she could see the glimmer of golden regalia, the glittering of gems, heard the ruffling of feathers and giggles of a familiar voice, almost the same as her own, it was odd.
"But where?" she asked, standing up.
It was time to head to the library.
Maybe write to Celestia about this 'Nightmare Moon' business.
Who knows? Maybe she would get to go on a journey to fix things.
Again.
Author's Note
And there you have it, my first one-shot (I'm a bit excited)
Hope all of my readers enjoyed it, and if you did, please leave a comment or a like or both, that would be appreciated.
P1 signing off.
*bzhoo~*
