It Has All Gone Wrong
The book shattered against the wall, launching frozen slivers into the walls all about. Twilight screamed, both in fear and in rage as the slivers flew around her, many coming too close for comfort. She ducked her head, a surge of magic surrounding her, and teleported to the upper level of her bedroom, or what was left of it. With another roar of rage, Discord grabbed another book and threw it at her, this time the book was a boiling mass of acid, that Twilight sidestepped to avoid. It connected with what little remained of the wall behind her and burned right through. She turned, growling through her gritted teeth. The hole that Discord had blown through her wall was huge. Not to mention he had literally ripped the roof off of the library! Quickly, she turned back to him. His rage was uncontrollable. It was clear that what little sense he had to begin with was gone, and his brilliant mind now nothing more a rolling fire of fury. Teleporting again, to avoid another book, she was overcome by a brief wave of terrible grief. She knew full well why he had gone on this rampage. And she knew full well why he had come straight for her.
Fluttershy was dead. And he blamed her.
He let out another roar, and her blood froze; literally. For just a moment, she was unable to move, but given that his magic was unfocused and uncontrolled, it lasted only for a moment. The floor beneath him caved as though some great meteor had struck it, and the walls bent and buckled, with one of them giving way and blowing out entirely. She had to get out of here. But how could she escape him? With that much power, where could she run? Then an idea came to her. Perhaps if she could get word to the Princess!
Thing was though, he wasn't wrong.
She faced his back, and he seemed for a moment to be unsure where she had gone. Taking the chance, she teleported for the doorway leading down, and then bolted down with all the speed she had.
It had been an accident, mostly.
Arriving at the bottom floor, she saw that the ceiling was on the brink of collapsing. It bent very low, with the lowest part having hit the bust in the center of the room, breaking its ears off.
“TWILIGHT!!” He bellowed. The ceiling suddenly melted away, and Discord dropped through, landing heavy on the floor. Too heavy, as it suddenly buckled and gave way sending floor boards and Discord tumbling into the floor below. She made for the door.
Twilight knew it had been dangerous. She had even known how dangerous, but still...
As she burst through the door, she yelled at the top of her lungs. “RUN! EVERYPONY RUN!” The ponies who had stopped in their tracks to watch, did just that. It did not take long for panic to spread through the town (it never did, for widespread panic seemed to be a talent this town had). Twilight herself ran towards Rarity's shop, ducking in between building to try and stay hidden. She glanced back as she made her way out of one alleyway and into another. Her treehouse had been sent flying through the air and had landed, more like had been speared into, another home. Before she lost sight, she saw another home explode and a third one thrown into yet another house.
It wasn't fully her fault, but she was the one to blame...
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She made her way quickly through town. Not knowing which way she had gone, Discord was annlighting everything he could reach. She was terrified to think what would happen when he came to his senses. For now, all he could do was tear buildings apart. Once he got his mind back together, there may well be no stopping him.
Rarity's door began to open, with Rarity herself stepping out with a look of worry and confusion. “RARITY!” Twilight shouted, “GET INSIDE, NOW!” She almost rammed her as she charged inside the building, but missed as Rarity stepped out of the way.
“What in the name of...” she began.
“Discord's on a rampage! We've got to find Spike, I've got to find Spike!” she shouted as she began running in and out of rooms shouting his name.
Rarity's jaw dropped. “Wha-Why? What happened?” Her look of shock began to blend into a look of fear, for she remembered that they no longer had the Elements to keep him in check.
Twilight turned to her, “Don't you remember? Flut-” she didn't know. Then she remembered. None of them knew.
It had only happened just a few hours ago.
“Rarity,” she almost choked on the words, “Fluttershy's dead.”
*******
Rainbow was beside herself. Applejack simply sat quietly. Rarity still hadn't recovered from the shock and stood there, her eyes in the distance. Pinkie was somber. She sat there, looking at Twilight, with big eyes. Her face was surprisingly blank, her emotions unreadable. Spike was almost too young to understand, but he too was simply in shock. He wondered over to Twilight's leg and hugged it. Then he began to cry into her.
“How did it happen?” Pinkie asked, her voice as unreadable as her face.
Twilight swallowed her tears. She looked about the room. It was an underground storage room that Granny Smith used from time to time. Here, they hoped they could hide from the wrath of Discord until they could come up with a plan. Normally, it was dark, musky, and full of old things. While the last two were still true, the darkness was broken by the soft glow of Twilight's horn.
“Do you remember how I mentioned earlier today that I had begun to do research on the various fowl of Equestria?” Pinkie said nothing. “Well, remember how Fluttershy was there, picking up some sweets for some of her animals?” Had the moment not been so grim, Twilight would have pondered what kind of animal she would need to go to Sugarcube to pick up sweets for. As it was, it had just so happened to be one of those occasional moments (and sweet they were) when most of them happened to bump into each other at the same place. On this occasion, Applejack and Rarity had been the only ones not present.
“Anyway, she had overheard me and asked if she could help. I was just joking but, I said only if she knew of any really interesting ones. She said she knew of a Roc that lived quite a ways away.” She shook her head, the tears starting to break through her eyes. “I should have never said anything...” her voice trailed off as she closed her eyes, trying to hold back her grief. She paused for several moments.
“I knew it was too dangerous, even for her. I said no. I didn't want her to risk confronting a Roc. She told me that it would be alright, for she knew it. She said that she could get a feather for me...” again she trailed off.
She turned to look at Rainbow. At this point, Rainbow had said that Fluttershy should go for something bigger. She had said that she should go for its egg. Fluttershy had objected, saying that she would never do such an awful thing. Rainbow had insisted, saying that just a feather was lame, but an egg would be awesome. Plus, she had added, it wasn't like Twilight was gonna keep it. Twilight had sat there, unsure how to feel. On the one hoof, she never wanted her to go near any sort of creature that was so dangerous. On the other, the chance to study a Roc egg in pony was too good to pass up. Wisdom gave way to desire. She had nodded, and asked her if it would be too much to ask. Fluttershy had started to speak quietly, but Pinkie Pie had interrupted her with the idea of having a Roc Egg Research And Returning party. Rainbow had agreed, and finally, Fluttershy looked a Twilight. There was pause at she thought about it. Then she nodded. Fluttershy had sighed, and quietly agreed.
All she had to do was say no, and Fluttershy would still be...
From the other's point of view, Twilight had gone quite for several moments. She just simply kept looking at Rainbow Dash. Finally, after what seemed like hours almost, she spoke up again. “...but anyway, she left after that. I was worried, so I decided to follow her, to be safe.” The dam broke as the tears began. She continued to talk...
******
Being a good guy was so boring! It really annoyed Discord that he had to deal with it day in and day out. How all of these goody-goody ponies did it all the time was beyond him. He sat about as bored as could be on his new cow-cloud. Sure the cow complained a bit about being nearly 3 times its normal size, and it didn't much like being that high up in the air, but Discord found the bovine to be quite comfy. Besides, it's not like he was actually hurting it or anything. He was just using to drift about enjoying the lovley day the pegasai had made. Ug. It sickened him. It looked much better when it was pink. Much like Fluttershy's mane. His gaze lazily followed her as she appeared in view and flew some distance over him. The warm feeling came back to him. Oh, right. That's why he dealt with this nonsense. That whole friends thing. It was actually rather nice. He smiled as he saw his one and only real friend fly overhead. Then he caught sight of 'Princess Twilight Sparkle' flying some distance behind her. He raised an eyebrow. It wasn't usual for her to leave that stuffy library of hers. And given the direction the two of them where headed, he guessed that they were off to do something interesting. Now then, to ask Twilight, or to ask Fluttershy? Well, as much as he loved to torment the 'Princess', he was more in the mood to talk to his dear friend Fluttershy. He'd have to loose the cow though...
“Helloooo Fluttershy!” He said with a wide grin.
“Oh, Hello Discord.” came the friendly response.
From the ground far below them came an angry moo. Fluttershy bent her head down to see an angry cow shaking it's hoof in the air at them.
“Oh, don't mind her!” Discord said with a dismissive gesture. “Her ego is just feeling a little inflated, that's all!”
Fluttshy had a concerned look on her face, but said nothing.
“So, what brings my dear Fluttershy and Princess Twilight herself out this way?” He asked, his face ever covered with a wide grin.
“Huh?” Came Fluttershy's surprised response.
“Oh? You didn't know? Why, just look behind you!” Discord said as he began to backstroke through the air.
Glancing back, she seemed surprised to see Twilight following her. Waving at her and putting on a big smile, she slowed down. “Well Discord,” she started, “You see, Twilight is doing some research on the feathered fowl of Equestria. And I'm helping by getting a Roc's egg for her to study.”
One of Discord's eyebrows shot up. “A Roc's egg you say?”
“Oh yes. Well, she wanted a feather, but Rainbow Dash suggested that I should grab an egg, and Twilight said it was ok. Though I'm awfully nervous about this. Rocs are powerful creatures, and fiercely protective of their eggs, even more so than most birds!”
Discord looked at her with an almost bored look, then looked back at Twilight, who was catching up...hesitantly. “So, let me get this straight. Twilight Sparkle there,” he said as he pointed back at her, and a little fluffy pig cloud version of her appeared in front of his finger, “wants to study birds.” The little pig grew a beak and began squawking. “You said,” and another little figure appeared, this one of Fluttershy, but a bit more flattering and closer to the original. “you wanted to help, so you offered to get a Roc's feather. But then Rainbow Dash,” a third figure popped up, this one looking like a rainbow colored chicken with googly eyes (and squawking even more then Twilight), “Said you should go for the egg, and the Princess here,” the piggy took a bow, then a little tiara that been on its head fell off, “Though that this was a great idea sent you to collect a giant chicken egg. That sound about right?” The Figures began frantically trying to grab the tiara as it began bouncing about in the air around the figures. Needless to say, they had little success.
“A Roc is not a chicken!” Fluttershy said somewhat defensively. “It's a massive eagle. It's wings are bigger than a house and its talons are big enough to carry 2 cows in each claw! Not only that, it's one of the fastest birds in the world, and it can stay airborne for years on end! And its egg is almost 2 stories tall. And each female Roc lays only one egg at a time. Nopony really knows how long they live for, not only that...” she began firing off of fact after another about the dumb things. Discord knew Rocs well. Well, well enough anyway. They made for poor conversationalists, and they had no sense of humor. Especially when it came to their nests and egg. Thinking about it, he was curious to see how she was going to carry it back with her. It was big enough for her to live in. Rolling his eyes he glanced back behind them to check on the Princess's progress. He was mildly impressed to she that she had basically caught up with them, and was listening intently to Fluttershy ramble on. At least until she realized he was looking at her, at which point she glared at him, and he simply smiled back.
“Fluttershy,” Discord interrupted, “Her Majesty, Princess Twilight Sparkle has arrived and seen fit to grace us with her presence!” he said as he stood up, still high in the air mind you, and took a deep bow. The little figures, who had been bouncing about and making fools of themselves also stopped to bow, with the tiara (which had been rescued) falling off once more. Twilight looked at the figures with confusion at first, but then with annoyance as it dawned on her what they were.
“Huh? Oh! Hi Twilight!” Fluttershy smiled as she turned to look at her.
“Hey Fluttershy.” Twilight said, trying to ignore the fact that her cloud piggy double was imitating her, save it hammed it up a bit. “I was thinking about this. And I don't want you to do this by yourself. This is way too dangerous.”
“I'll be alright.” Fluttershy responded, her figure standing up and puffing out its chest. “I'm sure the Roc will be ok with it if we borrow the egg for just a little bit.” Her figure began to shine like the sun, and the other two figures had to shield their eyes from her glory.
“Discord!” Twilight shouted.
“What?” he responded innocently.
She just shook her head again. “Listen Fluttershy, I don't want you to do this alone. Please let me come with you.” her figure fell to its knees, and began begging to the unbridled glory that was Fluttershy.
“DISCORD!” She bellowed once more.
With a roll of his eyes, and a wave of his hand, the figures all disappeared. Well, all save Twilight's. That one popped like a balloon.
“Well, if you really want, I guess that's ok...” she responded.
Twilight gave a sigh of relief. If this Roc was nearly as dangerous as Fluttershy was letting on, then she wanted to be there to help her. Not that she doubted her abilities to communicate with dangerous animals, or to be able to handle herself around them. She was just worried that this would turn out to be a bad idea, or worse, that she might get hurt. But she was sure she was just worrying a bit too much...
********
“Twilight...” AJ started. “I...” she couldn't finish.
Twilight too could barely hold it in as well. But now was not the time to fall apart. Discord was on a rampage, and even the walls around them began to change in subtle, yet chaotic ways. It was clear that he was getting a better grip on his mind.
“Listen, we've got to find a way to stop Discord. Now that the elements are gone, and...” she couldn't bring herself to mention that Fluttershy was as well, “...we need to figure something out! But I don't know what to do!” now the tears began to flow freely. The memory of what had happened, the feeling of helplessness that now began to crush her, it was all too much to bear.
Spike, who was now sobbing heavily, suddenly took a step back as his head jerked up. His mouth popped open, and scroll shrouded in green fire fell down in front of Twilight. Barely able to focus, she picked it up, and unrolled it. It was a simple letter.
Twilight. My sister and I are enroute. We will do what we can, but you and your friends must figure out what to do to stop him. We will buy you as much time as possible.
She starred at it in disbelief. She had hoped that Celestia would have been able to offer some advice, or guidance, or something!
“What does it say?” asked Pinkie Pie, her voice still void of emotion.
“Only that Celestia and Luna are on their way to buy us time. They said that we had to figure out how to stop him.”
“BUT HOW!?!” Bellowed Rainbow Dash through her tears, “FLUTTERSHY IS DEAD AND IT'S YOUR FAULT TWILIGHT!!” Her eyes suddenly became very dangerous.
Twilight was taken aback. Those words, true as they were, stabbed her like a knife. Though, perhaps, it was the truth of them that made them all the sharper. She opened her mouth to speak,
“Rainbow! We all know she wouln't never hurt her! At least, not on purpose...” AJ said standing up, almost as if getting ready to tackle Rainbow.
Rainbow turned to AJ, “IT DOESN'T CHANGE A THING! SHE'S DEAD! AND IT WAS TWILIGHT'S FAULT!” She screamed in her face, clearly forgetting that it was her idea for Fluttershy to go for the egg.
“AND WHAT'S GONNA HAPPIN' TO US IF WE DON'T CALM DOWN?!?” AJ shouted back, the two of them slamming their foreheads together with a loud thunk.
“She's...gone...” Rarity simply trailed off.
Twilight looked at her friends, at least, as best as she could. The guilt began to come crashing down on her, as she began to shake. Though she had been sitting, her legs began to give out, and she found herself without the strength to stay sitting up. Slowly crumpling to the floor, and curling up into a tight ball, she simply sat there, crying, and unmoving.
Spike went back to her side, and began shaking her, trying to get her to respond. Be began calling her name, and as he did so, his voice became louder and more desperate each time he said it.
And thus was the scene before Pinkie Pie. Rainbow Dash and AJ screaming at each other, Rarity standing motionless in shock, and Twilight curled up into a trembling ball with Spike beginning to enter hysterics. Now that she had a moment to let it sink in, she began to move. The news had hit her hard. Harder than anything else she had ever heard. But unlike her friends, she had a very different reaction.
Hers was to take action.
She walked over to Rarity, and gently sat her down. Next, she made her way over to Rainbow and Applejack, who's tempers had almost reach the point of blows. She raised her front hooves and placed each of them on their backs. The two turned to look at her, both furious. They eyes they saw were not the empty ones that she had eailer. Her eyes now had a look of patience and love. It caught both of them off-guard, but after a moment, their anger diffused. She then sat them down as well. Finally, she made her way over to Twilight. Placing a gentle hoof on her head, she gave it a nudge. Twilight looked up, and Spike cheered. Pinkie Pie looked at her with eyes of determination. “Twilight.” she said, her voice calm, steady, but with an air of surprising authority. “I know you can figure this out. I know you know what we have to do. Come on Twilight, stand up, and think.”
Twilight was stunned. She had no idea Pinkie had this in her. But she was right. Standing, she looked at her and gave her a small smile. Then she looked around the small cellar at the others. All were looking back at her, expectation in their eyes. “Thank you Pinkie. You are right, we need to think about this.”
She shook her head. “No Twilight. You know the answer. It's in here.” She said, picking up one hoof and poking Twilight's head. “And this can make it happen.” She said poking her horn.
“Pinkie, I don't under-” she began.
“Don't you remember? The library? Starswirl's collection? Next Tuesday?” Pinkie's face was a mixture of serious and playful reminder.
Twilight furrowed her brow trying to remember what Pinkie was talking about. Then it hit her!
******
The blow sent her flying back into the cliff beside the nest. She slid to the ground, little eggs dancing about her head for a moment. Twilight had not expected that the Roc's wings could hit so hard. Discord was simply beside himself. Standing up, and shaking her head. Twilight looked at Fluttershy. “I thought you said she was ok with it!” she shouted.
Fluttershy, who was now perched on the giant eagle's shoulder got a horrified look on her face. “She said she was!” she shouted back. Then looking at the massive head, “You said it would be ok! Why did you hit her like that?!” She almost shouted at it. The Roc looked at her coolly, then pointed one massive wing where Twilight had just been standing moments before. Fluttershy looked, and saw the spot had become filled with tiny Twis with little devil horns dancing about (there were even a few pitchforks for good measure.). Well, some of them were still there. Most begun to fly over to where the original had landed. “Oh...” she said, “I think it might have to do with those...” she pointed at them. As if suddenly caught in the act, they all suddenly stood at attention attempting to act as innocently as possible. Twilight blinked.
“DISCORD!!” She yelled, startling Fluttershy and making the Roc look down at her.
“What?” Came his voice.
“I could have gotten hurt!” Her face turned red.
The tiny Twis began swarming together, and melting into one another, until they all became their true master. “Oh posh! You look fine to me. And besides, you looked like you needed some help, so I called for a few hoofmaidens to provide assistance. Wasn't that just thoughtful of me?” A large grin spread across his face.
“Now Discord, you mustn’t upset the Roc. She's a very caring mother and just wants to protect her egg. I've had to do a lot of talking with her to get her to agree to let Twilight borrow it for a little while.” The Roc turned its massive head to look at her. “Provided of course I never take my eyes off of it for even a moment.” She added quickly and with a small smile, shrinking away from its eyes.
He let out an exasperated sigh. “Fine! We'll do this your way.” Throwing his arms up, he made his way over the side of the cliff, and leaned on the rock wall.
The nest itself was huge. The area it covered was almost as big as the grounds surrounding Fluttershy's cottage. Impressive, especially considering that the spot had been carved out of the side of a mountain. Part of the nest's edge was nestled up against part of the mountain. The rest hugged the edge. Beyond that was a long fall, hundreds of hooves long ending with hard packed dirt.
It was such a long fall.
Breathing her frustration out, Twilight made for the egg again. The thing was huge. It was even bigger then she had anticipated. Slowly she approached it. She didn't want to startle the Roc again. She wrapped the massive egg in her magic. The idea was simple. She was going to teleport the egg, Fluttershy, and herself, directly into the library. It would take a moment or two, this was a big target she was moving.
“Goodness Twilight! You're taking forever!” Discord's face suddenly appeared on the egg, his huge eyes looking right at Twilight. This startled her, causing her to rear back and loose control of the spell she was forming. The egg began to wobble violently, and the Roc let out a mighty screech. Fluttershy tried to talk to it, to calm it down, but it threw her violently off. She tumbled over and over again in the air until she managed to right herself. Twilight let out a cry of alarm, and Discord's eyes rolled to the top of the egg, then popped off into his eye sockets as he appeared on top of it. He raised a hand to snap his fingers. “Hey! You can't treat my Fluttershy that wa-” he began. However, all of them had underestimated the speed of the creature as it clocked Discord clean in the head with a massive wing as it took flight. The impact send his head spiraling off into the wall leaving his body tumbling about trying to regain its balance. The Roc took a sharp turn in the air, and headed directly for Fluttershy. Twilight, thinking quickly, let out a quick beam of magic to stun the creature.
It did nothing. She had hit it square in the head, but either the spell was too little, or Rocs had some form of magical resistance she did not know about. What that did however, was get its attention. Banking much more sharply than a creature of that size should be able to, it turned and flew directly for Twilight. Panicking, she let out another blast, this one much more powerful.
The Roc dodged it, and the beam hit Fluttershy. She dropped like a rock. Twilight let out a scream of horror as she mustered the power to teleport down to her. But again, the Roc's speed was great then she had expected, and it grabbed her with one massive talon, causing her concentration to break. With a mighty throw, it tossed her directly into Discord, who was just now getting his head on straight. She hit him in the chest, knocking the wind out of both of them. Finally, fed up with all of this, Discord stood up, and with one angry gesture said, “Cook!” The Roc twitched, burst into flames, and then crashed into the mountain side and tumbled down to the ground below, letting out a mighty death cry. Twilight, winded, and unable to think, tried to struggle to the edge of the nest. She had to get to Fluttershy! Discord, however, simply walked over to her and picked her up. “Where did Fluttershy run off to this time?” he asked, mildly annoyed.
Twilight, nearly beside herself with panic began faliing, trying to talk. “F...SHY...HURT...FALLING!!” She tried to point with a hoof. Discord, with a raised eyebrow, popped over to the spot Twilight was pointing at.
Twilight let out a scream.
But it was not enough to cover the sickening sound of Fluttershy hitting the ground.
Discord paused for a moment, looking off in the distance, as if expecting to see Fluttershy flying away. Then he froze. His head slowly turned down as he looked below him. Letting go of Twilight, he let out a cry as he flew down to her. Twilight also began to fall, however, her spell from earlier was finally coming to completion.
“Fl...Fluttershy...” Discord said, holding her. Her body broken and her eyes devoid of life. She was dead.
Fluttershy was dead.
“AND IT'S YOUR FAULT TWILIGHT SPARKLE!!!” Roared Discord, the sound shattering the ground around him. The last thing she saw before the spell sent her back to the library was Discord carefully picking up Fluttershy, looking up at her, tears flowing down his face, and the very face of death itself burning in his eyes...
*******
The ground above them suddenly quaked, and the ceiling cracked.
“No! That...that cannot be right! That must be wrong somehow!” Rarity objected.
“Rair, if it's a chance to save Fluttershy, we gotta take it!” Applejack said.
“Not to mention we gotta stop Discord!” Shouted Rainbow.
“But...to go back in time...that just seems...” Rarity trailed off.
“Listen Rarity. I don't know if this will work, but we have to try! The Sisters can't hold back Discord for long, and without the Elements, no one can stop him!” Almost as if on cue, a loud thud came from above their heads. What followed was a shout that sounded like Celestia's voice, followed by a massive impact in the same spot. “Come on! We don't have anymore time!” And with that Twilight stood in the middle of them and began to concentrate. “Once we get to the Starswirl section of the Royal Library, we need to split up and look for anything that has to do with time! We need to hurry!” Another loud impact hit above their heads, causing part of the ceiling to collapse. They got close, and with a flash, they were gone.
*******
For Twilight, teleportaion was a normal feeling. She had done it many times by this point. However, her friends were not so used to it. When they arrived, she was fine, they were not. Disoriented, and slightly nauseous, they didn't spot the retinue of guards who apparently were waiting for them.
“Your Highness!” One shouted as they all bowed. “Princess Celestia told us you would arrive here. We have strict instructions to escort you and your friends. Please, your highness, follow us.”
Twilight was a bit surprised. But then again, she should have guessed that Celestia would have known what she would try to do. “Y-yes. Of course. Lead the way.” Giving themselves a moment to get their act together, the 5 friends followed the guard deeper into the library. “But why would we need an escort?” She asked.
“I'm sure as your Highness knows, there is a section of the Library that is forbidden to all but Royalty and the highest level of Unicorn.” The guard said.
“Yes, I am aware of it. I've been in it several times since my coronation. I don't understand why The Princess would think I would need an escort to it. Besides, I've been all over that place, nothing is there that would help.” She said, shaking her head.
“Forgive me your Highness, but that is not the place we are going. Rather, it is near it. It is Princess Luna's personal collection. Only she and those she allows are allowed in.” The guard said as the group turned a corner. There were almost 20 guards here. And Twilight knew this group well. This group was the Elite Unicorn Corps, or a part of it. She hadn't realized that until just now. Suddenly, she got a sick feeling in her stomach.
“I see. So we've been granted access I take it?” She said, trying to hold back the growing feeling of dread inside of her.
“No your Highness. Neither you or your friends, but her personal guards have been. They will hold the door for you so you and your friends can pass in.” He said, picking up his pace.
“What? Why?” Twilight almost demanded, trying to keep pace.
“To keep Discord out!” He shouted over the sound of their racing hooves as the entire group had now broken into a full gallop.
That didn't make any sense! How could-
Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sounds of explosions all around her as the books, the selves, and even walls themselves suddenly came alive and began throwing themselves at the group. Smaller books became bombs, bigger ones became mouths, and bigger yet became monsters. The Guard surrounded the 5 friends in a tight defensive circle, 3 of their number already being lost.
Their horns glowing in unison, they formed a bubble around the group. Not a moment later, several Pegasai flew in with spears in hoof. With little more then a few gestures, the commanders of the two units now involved in the fight began giving orders. The Pegasai Acting as a spearhead to carve a way through the mass of wood and stone, with the Unicorns acting as a shield to keep the 5 from harm.
“What's the EPA for the EEPU?” The commanding Unicorn shouted to the Pegasai commander.
“About 1 minute!” She shouted back as she speared a book-turned-monster.
“Blast! Alright, Hold it steady! We'll halt and hold down until the EEPU arrive!” And at that, the Unicorns stopped marching, and tightened their circle. “Your highness, if you could lend us your assistance please!” He asked taking a quick look at Twilight, as another book kamikazed right in front of his face. The barrier held, but he winched all the same.
“Of course!” Twilight shouted as she focused her magic on the barrier.
“Hold on a second! I wanna help out too!” Shouted Rainbow, as she speed to leave the bubble.
“Hold on there part-” Applejack began, reaching out for Rainbow's tail, but stopped at she colided with the barrier and bounced off and onto the ground.
“What gives!?” she demanded, rubbing her head.
“Rainbow Dash, Darling, are you alright?!” Rarity asked.
“Yeah, I'm fine! But what gives buddy!?” She asked, shooting the commander a look.
“I am sorry Ms. Dash, but I have strict orders to get all of you to that door, and I cannot allow any of you into combat!” As he said this, one of the bookshelves reached into the barrier, grabbed one of the guards, and yanked him out. The Guard, acting quickly, hit the case with a blast of magic, splintering it to peaces. But, he was not swift enough to save himself from a book that came flying out of the wreckage.
“Don't look!” Shouted another one of the guards. In response, they all looked away, but they could still hear the sounds of his death cry.
The hole was quickly patched, but the barrier as a whole was weakening. The Pegasai were proving effective at keeping the hoard back, but even their speed and ferocity was no match against the vast numbers of monsters now assaulting them. Too many were breaking through.
One of the far walls burst open, and in the massive hole stood several massive ponies. Covered head to hoof in heavy armor, they looked like walking tanks. Without a word they charged forward, directly into the fray. They slammed aside anything in their path, only stopping to give a full-on kick to move something that was too big or strong to simply push out of the way.
“Finally!” Shouted both commanders. The massive ponies moved to join the Unicorns in the center of the melee, and almost without words, all three groups began moving in unison forward.
At this point, Twilight could no longer even see where they were headed. She just had to trust that the commander knew where he was going. The noise of battle began to intensify as the creatures attacking them began to mutate into even more horrific forms. Twilight could only guess what that meant. He was coming.
“Almost there!” Came a loud and booming voice. Twilight had not heard this one yet, and assumed it came from one of the large ponies.
Then, all at once, the barrier dropped, and the unicorns picked up their weapons. “Go your highness! We've arrived at a hallway! It ends at a window of perpetual night! Go and do not look back!” And with that, several guards stepped to the side, allowing Twilight and her friends the ability to leave.
Not wasting a moment, Pinkie Pie zipped ahead of the group through the opening, much to the surprise of everypony else. The other 4 were not far behind.
As they ran their way down the hall, the sounds of combat became distant. It was not a large hallway. Only wide enough to allow two ponies to go down at a time, and barely enough room for a pegasai to fly over them. It also turned left and right, and it seemed to be made of an ancient stone. The floors were slightly dusty, and the air was somewhat stale. Either Luna didn't go this way very often, or she used a different means of getting to her personal library.
As they rounded the last bend, and the sounds of combat all but fading away completely, they saw at the end an elegant door set in a simple stone wall. The door looked to be made of ebony and obsidian. There was no handle on it, nor were there any hinges as well. The door was perfectly symmetrical, and there seemed to be no way to open it. The door was topped in a domed fashion, and in the center of the door was what looked like a window. Through this window showed the night sky. It showed the stars moving about, with other objects floating in all directions. It was memorizing.
Panting, AJ spoke up. “What in tarnation? How we supposed to git into there?”
“Perhaps,” gasped Rarity, “we simply knock?”
“Ooooh! Look at all the pretty stars!” Commented Pinkie Pie, who wasn't tired at all.
Twilght made her way to the front of the group (which involved lots of squeezing and shoving, as there wasn't a lot of room), and approached the door. As she got near it, she could feel the presence of powerful magic. Stepping closer, she reached out to touch it. She paused. Then she, and everypony else, backed up several steps as two figures began to emerge from the window. Their figures where surrounded by what seemed to be the night sky, almost as if they had been wrapped in Luna's mane when they stepped out onto the ground. But their basic shapes suggested that they were ponies. The two figures looked at each other, then at the group.
“Princess?” One of them spoke rather curtly.
“Uh...” Twilight was still somewhat uncomfortable being called that. “Yes? I am Princess Twilight.”
The two figures looked to each other again, nodded, then bowed. “Princess Luna hath told us of thine coming. Upon us, hath she charged, 'When Twilight and her friends doth come upon thee, and lo, they come quickly, thou art to show unto them my door, and thou art to pass them through it. Tarry not, but make haste!'” As they spoke the night sky that shrouded their figures began to melt away, back into the window behind them. It was a pair of Luna's personal guard.
“Huh? Come again?” Rainbow Dash pipped up.
“They mean that Luna told them that we were coming to and let us through the door.” Twilight explained.
“And what a lovely door it is!” Exclaimed Rarity.
“Come, Princess Twilight, gather unto thee thine friends and come nigh unto the door. Behold, we shall open the portal, and lo, into shalt thou pass. But be warned, into the mind of another shalt thou pass, stay straight, and loose not thine way and thout shalt surly find thine way.” The two stepped to the side, and knocked on the door. In response, the window began to grow until it filled the whole doorway. Then, down the center, a thin line of light appeared, which began to widen. Twilight assumed that the light was the door opening, and stepped forward, her friends close behind. The line of light grew until it too filled the door way, filling the dim hallway with a bright glow. Taking a breath, Twilight stepped into the light.
As the last of them stepped through, the guards closed the door. They themselves made to go back to their posts, but stopped suddenly when they heard running down the hall. They turned to the sound to see an exhausted, and very battle damaged earth pony round the corner. Heavy, ragged breaths coming from its mouth, it spoke: “They are not here. Did they make it though?” The two guards nodded. “Good. What few of us are left are pulling out. But...he is coming...” the massive figure collapsed. The two guards approached to help, but stopped. A small tendril snaked its way along the wall, to the pony's side, and touched it. The pony flinched, and the two guards looked on in horror as the royal colors of its uniform all turned to gray. They took several steps back as the figure stood. “Huh,” it mused as it slowly got to its feet, “I feel...strange.” It looked at the two guards. “You know what?” It said, a red glow coming from its eyes, “I never liked those stupid ears of yours anyway!” And with a shout, it charged the two of them at full speed.
*********
As Twilight stepped through, she found herself in a small, empty chamber. It was dome in shape, and the wall and floor seemed to be made of the same ebony/obsidian mix as the door. Looking around, she noticed that the chamber had no doors, no windows, or any thing at all for that matter. In fact, the only source of light was the doorway her friends were stepping through.
“So, uh, I don't get it.” AJ said as she looked around.
“Neither do I.” Responded Twilight.
As the last of them stepped through, who happened to be Rarity, the doorway closed and they found themselves in complete darkness. It came so suddenly, that all of them let out a startled cry. “Hold on! I got this!” a few sparks lit the air, then a soft glow came from Twilight's horn, lighting the chamber. It was big enough for all of them, but that was about it. Looking around, Twilight suddenly filled a bit of painic. Where was Spike? “Spike! Spike! Where are you?!” She shot her head back and forth.
“I'm here.” cam a small voice. All five of them turned to see where it came from. Standing in a daze, he was off to the side.
“Oh Spike!” Twilight said as she made her way over to him. She reached out her foreleg and gave him a hug. “I'm so glad you're alright.”
The other 4 looked at each other and started to cry. They had made it out of that madness. Somehow, they were safe. With tears in their eyes, they all began to embrace each other. Then they remembered; There was one missing.
Rainbow Dash broke into open sobbing. Fluttershy's loss had seemed to hit her the hardest. Pinkie Pie held her close, gently patting her on the back.
For several moments there was not a word spoken.
“Twilight?” Pinkie Pie finally said, “What do we do now?”
Twilight finally let go of Spike and stood up, looking around. “I'm not sure.” She had to think. Why would Princess Luna have a chamber like this.
Rarity looked around, and despite the heavy mood, said: “What a gloomy place. You'd think for a Princess of the night, Princess Luna's personal library would have some mood lighting, or some decoration, or at least some books.”
Mood lighting? Decoration? Wait. Now that she thought about it, why was this room so empty? There had to be a reason. He mind drifted back to what the guard had said. 'Into the mind of another...' Then it clicked!
“Hold on everypony! I think I understand!” And with that the light went out.
“Uh, sugercube, what ya do that for?” AJ said, sounding slightly nervous.
“'Into the mind of another'! That's what the guard said! And I realized that there must be a reason there's nothing in this room! I bet that this is where Luna goes when she goes into the dreams of other ponies! And I'd be willing to bet she keeps it empty so that she can empty her mind!” It made sense to her at least. She figured that dream hopping took a lot of focus, and if Luna could be in a place where there were no distractions, then she could keep that focus for as long as she needed!
“Empty your mind? Are you serious?” Rainbow said, pulling herself together somewhat. “I don't even know what that means!”
Almost ignoring her, Twilight began to focus. She had to clear her thoughts. “Listen. Try and empty your minds. Try not to think about anything.”
“But, that's impossible!” protested Spike.
“Not quite Spike. If it's hard for you, try and focus on how dark it is. Don't think about how scary it is, because we're right here with you. But thinking about that. Try and push all of your other thoughts out of your mind.”
“Alright, I'll try...” said Spike.
As the group began to focus, the air around them seemed to thin out. The stale air began to become replaced with a gentle breeze. Stars began appearing around them, and the floor suddenly gave way. The whole scene around them suddenly changed as they found themselves floating in the air, high above a castle. It was night, and at first, they didn't recognize it. It was large, and it reminded them of Canterlot Castle, but it was different. The building itself seemed to be of an older style, and surrounding the castle were many homes, all of which looked to be old as well. Well, the buildings themselves looked new enough, but Twilight knew they were all ancient in their design. It was clear that wherever they were, or whenever they were, it was a long time ago.
Then it dawned on her. They were looking at-
“The Castle of the Royal Sisters!” came Rarity's surprised shout.
A collective gasp of surprise came from all of them. They had only ever seen it as a ruin, and it was was, looking almost as it had been built yesterday.
“But...but how? Their castle has been abandoned for hundreds of years!” Twilight said.
“Didn't ya say somthin' about bein in another pony's mind Twilight?” AJ asked. “Perhaps that's what it is. Maybe we're in somepony's head or somthin'.” The thought didn't sit well with her.
“In...somepony's MIND?!” Rarity gasped. “But who's!?”
“I'm not sure, but I can gu-” Twilght began.
“Oooohhh! Pretty!” Pinkie Pie interrupted. Twilight looked at her with a somewhat annoyed look.
“What is it Pinkie?” She said.
She pointed a pink hoof down at a balcony. “There's a pony singing right there! And she sounds pretty!”
Looking down, the group could see a lone figure standing there. Now that Pinkie had pointed it out, they could now hear the figure singing. Squinting her eyes a bit, Twilight took a closer look. Was that...?
Almost in answer to her question, the dark figure spread out a pair of dark, yet majestic wings and took flight. Down it swooped and into the city beyond the castle walls.
Luna?
Were they supposed to follow her? Twilight wasn't sure.
“Say, are we supposed to go after her?” Rainbow asked.
“I'm...not sure.”
“You know what I think? I think all those old books would be in fantastic shape!” Pipped up Pinkie.
“Huh?” responded two or three confused ponies.
“Wait...” Said Spike. “I think I get what she sayin'! Twilight!” She turned her head to look at him. “I bet that Luna's private library would be in perfect shape right now! I mean, sure the books in the ruins were alright, but not all of them made it right? I'd bet Pinkie's right and all of her books would be in perfect shape right now!”
“That's brilliant Spike!” said Twilight. “Let's go!” and with that, they headed down.
Landing on the balcony where Luna had just flew from, the group made their way in. As they entered the room, Rarity let out a gasp.
“Now, THIS is more of what I was expecting!” She said, with stars in her eyes. The room was fit for a Princess. Granted, the Royal Sisters were never ones for ostentatious décor, but there was no doubt that is was the bedroom of royalty. Infact, the whole group was impressed. The only ones who were not awed by the room were Twilight and Spike.
“Focus girls! We've got to find her personal library.” Looking about she noticed two doors. Both were closed.
Just about then a heavy book fell on her head.
“Ow! Who did that!?” She asked, turning round to look at the group. All she got was shrugs in reply. She stared at Applejack.
“I have no idea. An't one of us.” She said.
Grunting in frustration, she looked down. The book had landed open, and tucked between the pages was a note. Curious. She picked up the note and looked at it.
“The unseen door” was all it said. She turned it around. Nothing on the backside. She turned it back. She didn't recognize-wait. No, she did recognize the hoofwriting. But where from? She couldn't quite bring it to mind. Looking down at the book, she saw that it was open to a list. It would seem this book was a catalog of some kind.
“What's up Twi?” AJ asked.
“I'm not sure. This book had a note in it. But it doesn't say much” She floated it over to her friends to look at. They each took a look and Twilight turned her attention to the book on the floor. It seemed to be a list of books by titles, and it seemed to be opened to the 'I' section. I? Was there a reason for that?
“'The unseen door'? That doesn't say much...” Rarity remarked, turning it over to look at the back.
“Yeah, kinda useless if you ask me.” Rainbow said.
Unseen door. Why would a note like that be in a catalog like this? And was it placed where it was on purpose?
“Anyway, which door is it Twilight?” Rainbow asked.
Then it hit her. The unseen door! Or, a hidden door! Probably hidden by...
“Ah ha! Illusions, an Illustrated Guide! That's why that note was in the 'I' section!” Twilight said, a note of victory in her voice.
“Come again?” AJ said, raising an eyebrow.
“Neither door is what we want! The door we want, is hidden with an illusion! That's what the note meant!” She said as she began looking about the room. Where would one hide a hidden door?
“Well that's dumb! Why not just say it?” Said Rainbow.
“My guess?” Said twilight as she focused on the area between the two doors. Yes, she was sure it was there. “Because something's in there that Luna wanted to keep hidden, or at least safe.” Closing her eyes, she began probing about between the doors with her magic. At first, she didn't sense or feel anything. Not surprising. She imagined that this was Alicorn magic she had to deal with here after all.
So, tightening her focus, she tried a bit harder. There! She could feel it, but very faintly. Whatever was here, Luna really didn't want anypony to find it. Still, she had, and now it was just a matter of time until she undid the spell. Working slowly, she started to undo the spell.
“You do not have time for that.” came a voice in her head. She didn't recognize it.
“Who...?” she started to think back, but suddenly she felt a surge of power, and the illusion crumbled before the onslaught.
A collective 'woah' came from the others as the area between the two doors suddenly turned to smoke and vanished, revealing a third door. This one simple, wooden, and uninteresting. Twilight too was surprised. Who, or what, was that? Shaking her head, she figured that she would have to figure it all out later. Walking up to the door, she placed a hoof on it. It swung open easily.
“Are you sure this is a good idea Twilight? Perhaps there is a reason Princess Luna wanted to keep this hidden.” Rarity cautioned.
“We've come this far. And we all know what's at stake. We can't afford to hesitate any longer.” And with that, Twilight walked right in, and tripped over several books. Looking up, she saw that she was in a large room, completely covered in books. Towers of books made walls and archways. Books made pathways between them and there were even glowing books that hovered about in place here and there. Twilight's heart stopped for a moment. It had been so long since she's seen so many books...
“Excuse me!” Pinkie's words cut into her thoughts (good thing too, because Twilight suddenly realized he had started to drool slightly). Turing to look at her, she realized that she was not talking to her, but one of the glowing books. “Can you show us where the Starswirl stuff is?” The book bounced a bit in the air, then opened and flipped it pages. It stopped, and hovered a bit closer to Pinkie. “Not the personal letters silly! The stuff about time travel!”
Wait? What did she just say? “Hold on Pinkie!” Twilight scrambled to her hooves. “What about personal letters?”
“Huh? Oh! This book says that the Princess kept all her and Starswirl's letters to each other in the back, near the romance section. But that,” turning back to the book she continued, “isn't what we're looking for! Where's the stuff about time travel?” She asked again. The book closed itself, bounced again, then flipped open to the same spot. Rolling her eyes Pinkie looked back at Twilight and shrugged.
Wait, Luna and Starswirl knew each other? Personally? She walked up to the book. “Could you show where these letters are?” The book flipped open to the back, showing a small map of the room. The map enlarged itself and a small 'x' showed up at the entrance. Then from it small dashes forming what seemed to be a trail mazed its way through the maze of walls to an area in the back left where another 'x' showed up. Intrigued, Twilight pondered for a moment the idea of trying to take the book to add to her own library, but decided against it. “Thank you very much.” She said. The book bowed in reply then shut.
Twilight turned and headed down the path that the book had indicated. As they passed under the first arch. Twilight turned to Pinkie, “How did you know about that book?”
“I didn't!” came the cheery reply.
It always drove Twilight a little crazy when Pinkie did things like that, but she learned long ago to not question it too much. As they made their way, she occasionally stopped to ask other books for directions. Though it only took them a few minutes to get there, it felt like much longer.
When they did get there, they were a little surprised. Rather then books, there sat a large chest. It was easily twice as long as Big Mac and wide enough for him to fit in, if not almost two of him. Around the chest were plenty of books, and as advertised, there was what appeared to be a romance section off the right of the massive chest. The chest also happened to have a massive pad lock on it.
Idly, AJ reached over and grabbed one of the romance novels and flipped it open to a page. She scanned, then blushed as her eyes reached a section of the page. Clearing her throat she shut the book and put it back. Getting a mischievous grin on her face, Rarity spoke up: “Find something interesting Applejack?”
“Ah, uh, never been much of one for kissin' scenes...it's all.” She said sheepishly as she turned to head to avoid eye contact.
“Oh?” Rartiy grabbed the book AJ had and flipped open to the same page. “Let's see...they look into each other's eyes...uh huh...magic in the air...right right...fire in the fireplace popped and crackled...I love you, I love you too...” Rarity was going in an almost bored voice. “Let's see...let's skip ahead a bit...and...Oh here we are!” she paused a moment as she read a bit more intensely. “Awww...that's such a sweet scene! AJ, I had no idea you had such fine taste in romance novels!” AJ's blush deepened and she opened her mouth.
“That's nothin'!” Rainbow said. “You should see the collection she keeps at her house!” AJ turned to her with an angry look.
“Wait, Really?!? Applejack! You and I must simply get together and swap some our books! You have wonderful taste indeed!” Rarity said, clearly excited.
“It's not that big of a deal...” AJ grumbled. “Can we please get back ta what we were doin'? Please?”
“Oh alright, Applejack, but this isn't the last we'll speak of this!” Rarity said. Rainbow simply got a massive grin on her face as AJ hid hers behind her hat.
A solid click told them that Twilight had finished opening the lock. Turning their attention to the chest, they saw Twilight opening it.
There must have been hundreds, if not thousands of them. Letters of almost every shape and size. All of them neatly tucked in, and sorted. The chest was almost a tiny library itself. There were little dividers poking up every now and then with writing on them. Some said things like, Research, another said Romatic, others still said memoirs. There were many sections, and Twilight's jaw hit the floor. On the inside surface of the top of the chest were written these words: “To my love of the night, I give you this final gift. May these letters give you peace in the brightest hours of the day...”
Starswirl...Luna? What?! Twilight could barely contain herself. There was so much history here! Not to mention research notes, love letters, and who knows what else! Then a thought came to her. If they were indeed inside of Luna's mind, or perhaps, even a dream of hers, how would she know if any of this was accurate? For all she knew, Luna's mind could have conjured this whole thing up as a fantasy. Still, it was clear that both Luna and Celestia had sent them here, and something else was helping as well. Fighting her overpowering desire to start reading through them, she instead began scanning for anything related to time travel.
“Romance” came that voice once more. Twilight looked up. Where was it coming from? Still, she looked back down, and began leafing through the section labeled 'Love Letters/Romance'. Whoever sorted this went the extra mile, as not only were the letters in their original envelopes, but a few simple words had been jotted down to describe their contents on the front. She paused at words like 'heartbreak', 'alone', 'Sombra'. Wait, Sombra? She paused a moment at that letter, but moved on. Finally, she found one that simply nothing written on it at all. This was strange. She opened it, and gasped.
“What is it?” Somepony asked, but Twilight had no idea who. She was too stunned to even reply.
Spike walked over and picked up the fallen letter and began to read it out loud. “Twilight. The complete version of my spell is hidden on the backside of this letter. Use it wisely. -Beard” Then he paused. “Wait, what?!” He dropped it in disbelief. “T-Twilight...did that say what I think it just said?”
“Yes Spike. It did. But how...?” She looked down at the letter. As she did, she saw writing begin to appear on the backside. Picking it up. She looked at it. Sure enough. It was the same spelled she had cast some time ago, but a much more complete version. Could it be that he was alive...? She would have to investigate that later. There was something else that needed to be done first. Looking it over, she saw that it wouldn't be too hard to cast, given that they were only going back a few hours. After all, all she had to do was go back and stop Fluttershy from leaving Ponyville, right? “Alright girls, I think I've got it. Let's get out of here.”
As that last word left her mouth, the letter in her had burst into flame, and the whole library around them began to creak and groan.
“Twilight...” came a deep and sinister voice. There was no mistaking that voice. It was Discord.
“RUN!” She screamed, and the whole group booked it. Weaving as fast as they could, the towers and walls began to crumble, and some of the books began to grow appendages and stumble after them.
“Twilight...” came the voice again, this time louder and closer. The time for careful navigation was over. Leveling her horn, she blasted a hole in a wall of books.
“This way!” She darted through the hole, and blasted another one and another, and another.
“TWILIGHT!” Came the booming voice. It shook the walls, cracking them and it caused part of the roof to collapse. Finally, they reached door and plowed their way out and into the bedroom. Well, it used to be a bedroom anyway. What it was now was little more then a small realm of chaos. Not wanting to stop and admire the scenery, the group made its way to the balcony, and then jumped. As they did so, they took flight, and the tower behind them began to move. Slowly at first, but it began to pick up speed. They flew upwards towards the sky, as they heard the sounds of the tower coming to life. Looking back, Twilight saw arms popping out of the sides of it, and a tail coming out from the bottom of it. It was Discord. Granted, he was having difficulty forming, but there was no mistaking it. “TWILGGGGGHT!” Came his mighty voice, leveling the city around him and reducing almost everything to dust. Haltingly, the tower-turned Discord began to take flight after them.
“Head for those clouds!” Shouted Rainbow. “We can lose him there, just stick close to me!” Banking sharply to her right, she made directly for it. The others followed right after her, sicking as close as they could.
They reached the cloud, though it split in two the moment they touched it. Behind it however, hovered Princess Luna.
“THOU MAY HAVE BROKEN OUR BODY, BUT THOU SHALL NOT BREAK OUR MIND.” She bellowed as her eyes glowed with power. In response, the clouds in the sky shot down and wrapped themselves around Discord, pinning him to the ground. Turning to Twilight, Luna spoke: “Twilight, We do not know what you will find when you leave Our chamber, but thou must cast the spell as quickly as possible, for We cannot hold him here in Our mind for long. Now go, and save us all!” And with that her eyes glowed once more and her world faded from view. The last thing they saw, was Discord tearing off the clouds, and flying straight for Luna.
**********
The door spit them out with little ceremony, creating a nice pile of ponies with a baby dragon on top. Moaning, and trying to escape the pile of pony pain, they all shuffled about until they all stood on their own hooves. The first thing they noticed was the still figure of one of the night guards. The second was the fact that there was no longer a hallway in front of them. Rather, they saw the grand courtyard of Canterlot castle before them. And it was filled with ponies. Half of them gray, and half of them not, all of them fighting. The buildings themselves were also alive and were both helping and hindering the battle. Closing her eyes to focus, and to try and block out all sound, she spoke softly. “I need all of you to stand next to me. We all need to be touching for this to work.” She said as she focused. Her magic began to surround them, and they began to fade.
“Is that so?” came a voice, and as they vanished, Twilight saw a clawed finger reach out of the door, and touch her horn...
********
Breathing her frustration out, Twilight made for the egg again. The thing was huge. It was even bigger then she had anticipated. Slowly she approached it. She didn't want to startle the Roc again. She wrapped the massive egg in her magic. The idea was simple. She was going to teleport the egg, Fluttershy, and herself, directly into the library. It would take a moment or two, this was a big target she was moving.
“Goodness Twilight! You're taking for-” His words were suddenly interrupted by the sudden appearance of a second Twilight and several of her friends on top of the egg.
Twilight's eyes grew large as she suddenly found herself looking at herself. “What in the-” she had started.
“NOT THIS TIME!” Shouted the new Twilight as she let out a mighty stun blast, hitting herself in the face. She watched as her bast self flew back and landed on the ground. She knew she was going to feel that one later, but she knew she could not afford to have herself delay herself. Turning around, she looked at a rather surprised Fluttershy. She choked on a few tears. “Fluttershy, get over here! We don't have time to fully explain! HURRY!”
Fluttershy, still a bit shell socked about what had just happened sat there on the Roc's shoulder. Though it was surprisingly calm about all of this.
“ARG! COME ON!” Rainbow shouted. She bolted to her, grabbed her, and dragged her back to the egg.
“Wait, what, huh, what's going on?!?” She stammered.
“Spell's about to end! Hold on!” Twilight shouted.
“Perfect...Enjoy a bit of vengeance, my dear Twilight!” came a rather sinister voice from below them. With huge eyes, they all looked down. The grinning face of Discord looked back at them from the surface of the egg. “How nice of myself to send myself a message, via you my dear Twilight, about what you did! Granted, you did come back and try to make it right, but punishment,” he put quite a bit of emphasis on that word, “must still be had!” And with that, he reached up with a claw, and reached for Twilight's horn.
“No!” Shouted Fluttershy, “Don't do it!”
He paused for a moment. Then with a sudden jerk, he grabbed her horn. “YOU'VE EARNED THIS PRINCESS! ENJOY YOUR PUNISHMENT!” He laughed as suddenly a massive serge of magic entered Twilight's body.
“No Discord. Punishment is yours...” came a commanding voice. And the world around Twilight went dark.
******
When she came to, she was lying in a field. A nice summer's sun hung in the sky, warming her belly. She stretched out and realized that she wasn't alone. Looking over to see who her hoof bumped into, she was relieved to see it was Fluttershy, who seemed to be alive and well. Breathing a sigh of relief. She looked back up at the sky. What a gorgeous night it was.
Wait...
She blinked. The sun was high in the sky, warming her once again, save the part where suddenly she realized she was freezing. Blinking again it was suddenly sunrise as a major heatwave rolled in. Then, with out warning, the grass about her uprooted, and began to serenade her with a majestic opera.
This wasn't good. She quickly stood up and looked around. Chaos. Chaos everywhere. Discord had won. She looked over to Fluttershy, who seemed to be slowly coming to her feet. At least they had her now. At least...wait...where was everypony else?
********
Applejack and Rainbow Dash opened their eyes. Looking around, they saw nothing but snow. “What in tarnation...?” she asked.
“Where are we?” Asked Rainbow. “I'm gonna take a look.” She said, and took off. Getting up a bit higher, she took a look around. Snow as far as the eye could see. “I got nothin!” She shouted back down.
“Well that an't good.” Remarked AJ as Dash landed. “What do we do now?”
Dash shrugged. “I don't know. Let's see if we can find the others, perhaps they're not too far away.”
“Good thinkin' RD.” AJ said as they headed off in a direction.
They walked for what seemed like a good half an hour, with Dash occasionally flying up to get a better look, before she spotted something. It was half buried in the snow, but it wasn't too far off. “Hey, I see something!” She shouted.
It was a chain. An iron chain. Heavy, well built, it was clearly made to pull or handle something strong. Not far from it, they found something else. It looked like a heavy collar. “What the? Who needs chains like these, out in the middle of a snowy place like this?” Asked AJ.
Dash thought for a moment. “The only place I know of that was in the middle of a snowy nowhere was the Crystal Empire...”
They looked at each other. The Crystal Empire.
********
Twilight and Fluttershy wondered for a good while. Outside of the chaos around them, there was little to see. There were no buildings in sight anywhere. And it was hard to identify where they were due to the landscape changing every few moments. The local flora and fauna didn't help much either. She didn't recognize most of them, and the few she did were too busy prancing about to make out any important details.
“Ugg!” she gunted, “I wish SOMETHING would sit still for just a moment! That way I could at least figure out where were!”
Fluttershy looked up. “Oh, I'm sorry...” she apologized.
Annoyed, Twilight looked at her. “For what?” she snapped.
“Well...um..it's just that...well...I know these animals. Or rather, I don't know them personally, but I recognize them.
She never ceased to amaze Twilight. “Oh. Well, that makes it a bit easier. Where are we?” she asked.
“Well, that's just the thing Twilight. It looks like we're not far from Ponyville but...” she trialed off.
“But what?” she inqiured.
“Well, the problem is that can't be possible see that bird over there?” She asked.
“You mean the one doing the hula with a small fish?” She said flatly.
“Yeah. If I'm not mistaken, that's a Mauritian Duck. But...” she trailed off again.
“Go on.”
“The last reported sighting of it was...well...over 1,000 years ago...”
1,000 years ago.
Then it hit her. Discord hadn't won. Rather, they had been sent back. Back 1,000 years. To the reign of Discord himself...
END OF CHAPTER ONE
