Chapter 1: Future nightmare
The massive Crystal doors opened up slowly, showing just how big and heavy they were. It would certainly make anypony awe in it's magnificent dwarfing abilities but i was too busy to do so for i had an even more important reason to be there than to stare at doors. I was to be attending a royal submit here in the Crystal Empire. The first royal duty i had to perform since my conversion to an Alicorn that isn't just mundane chores like showing up and smiling.
This was a day that all the Royals of Canterlot, the Dukes and the Barons and of course the Princesses were to meet for a discussion of where Equestria was heading in the future in terms of various fields such as Economy and what not. The ability to have a say in that was only for royals and now i was one.
That would be nice if i wasn't so nervous. My stomach was churning and felt like somepony let loose a jackhammer inside.
"Don't screw up. Don't screw up." I kept telling myself.
I felt the dread of embarrassing myself loom up from the recesses of my mind which i banished it to, which obviously didn't work out so well. I kept chanting those words in my head like a horribly catchy song just to calm myself. I was shaken out of my trance when i felt a hoof on my shoulder.
"Are ya alright Twilight? You're acting jumpier than a turkey on thanksgiving."
Applejack asked while holding my shoulder, her voice tinged with worry.
"It's nothing. I'm just worried that's all. I mean, we are meeting all the royals of Equestria today and with me being a new princess and all, i don't want them to think i'm not up to the task."
Applejack opened her mouth to respond but was cutoff by Rainbow Dash.
"Come on. You fought King Sombra and Discord. You probably did more stuff than any of those ponies ever did for Equestria." She said, hooves stretched out wide in front of her in shock.
Maybe i already proved myself? I did defeat Discord and Sombra ... then again, i didn't really defeat Discord on my own and i even gave up halfway while fighting him and Sombra ... don't even get me started on whether or not i think i defeated Sombra. I dropped my head low in realization.
"It's not like that. I have to show that i can rule a kingdom and make decisions that benefits all the ponies of Equestria, not just that my friends and i can beat up a couple of washed up villains." I uttered.
All the thoughts swimming in my head were getting to me, i wanted to scream in frustration and almost did if not for a voice i heard.
"I wouldn't call defeating Discord and Sombra a small feat." A calming voice uttered.
My head shot up from my previous drooping posture. I began looking around for the source of that familiar voice. It didn't take long to realize that standing right infront of me was Princess Celestia. I was so busy with my thoughts i hadn't noticed that we were already inside the Crystal Empire's meeting chamber. She smiled down at me with her usual soothing demeanor. I beamed at her. It was funny to me that the only pony i could really show my true self to was the most powerful pony in Equestria.
I cranked my head around to see if the meeting was underway but all i could see were Princess Cadence and Princess Luna speaking with a few dignitaries, judging from the clothes, probably from Saddle Arabia or Irein.
"I have a bit of bad news. The submit has been postponed. Baron Von Hoof has run into some trouble in his town. For now, i believe you lot best get some rest." Celestia said with a reassuring tone.
We bowed to Celestia before leaving to our rooms. It was getting late, Luna had already raised the moon. When we all reached the intersection where out rooms met, we split up. Everypony slept in pairs with exception of Rarity as she opted to sleep alone, didn't want any of our snoring waking her up from her beauty sleep. After pulling an eager Spike away from Rarity's room. we all said our good nights and went to bed.
"Is that all ... you got?!" those words felt like they were spoken by somepony in pain.
Wait. What? It sounded like Applejack's voice! Why is she in my room and more importantly, is she in pain?! I immediately opened up my eyes to see what was going on but what i saw was not Applejack, more precisely, it wasn't even the bedroom. I was in some sort of ring, like an arena of some kind and it had two ... things fighting each other in the center. I was so confused. I looked around and saw that at the sides were seats filled up with the same things, watching the two fight. I turned my attention back to the two combatants. One was on the floor at one end of the arena and the other was standing at another side.
My thoughts were mainly focused on how to get out of wherever i was but i couldn't help looking at the two. What if it was a new species of some sort or even a secret experiment? I finally stopped all forms of thinking when i felt a rumble from beneath my hooves. it was shaky at first but slowly it kept on growing till it was a full blown earthquake.
"All students please hold onto your seats. One of the Accolades is about to perform a dangerous move. I advise you to hide under your seats if need be."
A voice boomed and resonated across the area.
It sounded familiar but there was no time to ponder and guess who it was, there was an earthquake and i'm in the epicenter of it! I kept looking around for any shelter as the ground increased in it's violent shaking. Not a single one in sight. Oh boy. This is not going to end well. This is going to end ... badly.
"You ready for this?" It was said by that "Accolade" who was about to use it's dangerous, probably-gonna-kill-me, move.
"Here comes the Buccaneer Blaze."
Wait what? The Buccaneer Blaze? Tha- I was cut short when a giant ball of light exploded from the Accolade. Growing in size and engulfing everything, including me. The sound of it almost blew my eardrums out. All my senses were gone. The light blinded me, all i saw was white now. My ears were filled up by a loud hum, like from a electrical generator. I closed my eyes, hoping to make it all go away. The sound grew louder and louder, nearer and nearer, the light more and more intense to the point where closing my eyes made little difference. I was already in the center of it.
"I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead." I squealed as i ducked and held my head, thinking that would protect me somehow. Up or down, left or right, it didn't matter where i went. Everywhere was blinding white and with my ears invaded with sound, i was like a blind man in a club. I was tired of it. I kept my eyes closed tight. Goodbye world, goodbye girls.
SMASH!!
What was that? That was loud. Very loud. So loud that for some reason it actually stopped the intense hum that threatened to turn me deaf ... and also stopped the light? Did my childhood skill of closing my eyes until the boogeymare went away really work or was that sound the one that saved me?
I slowly opened my eyes again. I was back in my room. What was that?! That was one crazy nightmare. It felt so real, i thought i was a goner for sure. I laid in my bed, drenched with cold sweat, not going back to sleep for awhile to let the fear and shock of that experience run it's course as i was still shaking. I needed a drink. I got up to use the bathroom when i came face to face with a hooded pony, holding my Element of Harmony!
END OF CHAPTER 1
Chapter 2: The Disdain of Another Reality
Silence.
Awkward silence.
I just sat there puzzled, staring at the hooded pony who was doing the same in stunned quietude, my Element of Harmony bobbing up and down as it levitated beside the mare. Who is this? A thief? I was unsure how to act in such a situation. After that quiet confusion however, it was evident that it would not matter for the hooded pony turned with a quick movement and zipped out of the room, my crown in tow.
"Hey! Stop!" I screamed, thinking it'd actually work for once when i needed it to.
I leapt off my bed with frantic urgency and began tailing the thief. I followed the hooded pony out my bedroom and into the hallways, our hooves pounding the crystal floors which began resonating throughout the kingdom. It served as a useful wake-up call. Applejack peeked her head out a crack of her door to check the ensuing commotion and was rewarded with a fall backwards onto the floor as the hooded pony raced past her, inches from crashing.
"What in Equestria is going on in here?" Applejack cried out while fumbling back onto her hooves.
What in Equestria IS going on here? I wake up from a nightmare to find a pony stealing my crown. It's just a string of unfortunate events unfolding one after another.
"It's a thief trying to steal my Element!" I shouted as loud as i could, not wanting to risk losing my target but also wanting to ensure my message was clear as i continued on without looking back.
My message was well received, in just a few minutes, the girls joined me on my hunt. We were nearing the end of the hallway which would lead us to the stairwell. As the hooded pony passed the entrance to the stairwell the mare, without hesitation, ascended it. As the pony did so, the cloak jumped up from the sudden turn and revealed what laid underneath. Slender hind legs and a small stature, a female. Finally, some form of identity. Actually, she also had another identifying feature, her foolishness, the upper level of this castle didn't have any windows and housed only a few rooms which were also as bare. She trapped herself inside with no exit.
We followed her and ascended as well. We snaked the corner like a train, not breaking our organized line. As we galloped through the doorway at the top of the stairwell, what awaited us was just as i predicted. The upper level was a skeleton. No lavish paintings like the ones that adorned the walls of lower levels. No fine pottery that usually decorated the sides of the walkways to be seen anywhere and strangely, the place wasn't even crystal. Replacing them were brown walls that were covered in layers of neglected dust, large cobwebs that decorated the walls like murals and air so stale it felt like i was breathing in rusty nails. From the entrance i could see the thieving pony leaping into one of the room found at the end of the small hallway. I stopped the group in front of it, it would be unwise to walk into a cage with a cornered animal carelessly lest a hoof or worse meets you as soon as you walk in. We had to proceed with caution. As i strutted slowly towards the doors, i noticed it was incredibly dirty, it had a layer of dust that was left alone for so long that it began solidifying into a sticky brown adhesive like substance. I normally wouldn't have even touched it with a fifty-foot stick but this was an emergency and what had to be done had to be done. With a steeled mind and a swift motion, i rammed my hooves on the doors, aggressively flinging them wide open. As they slammed against the decaying walls of the room within and let down a cloud of dust that was hanging from the ceiling, i was taken aback from what the sight.
A mirror. A large mirror was sitting in the center of the room. The hooded pony stood on two and with her other empty hooves, laid one casually on the mirror's edge, leaning her entire weight on it, causing it to tilt to one side, while the other held my crown precariously, twirling it around like a hula hoop. The room wasn't as empty as the outside would lead you to believe but it sure wasn't in any better state. The room was circular with it's sides lined with dilapidated wooden bookshelves that were rotting and broken. They were hanging on it's last hinges, snapped by the weight of the books they were holding up and the few that survived were creaking under the pressure, heading towards where their inevitable end. The books themselves fared no better than their supports, black and decaying was what became of the leather covers, from the few that laid opened(that were probably the products from the fall after time halved their flooring) i could tell that they had not been perused since the day Princess Luna was sent to the moon as they were dyed a filthy yellow. I so eagerly wanted to save these books, to restore what knowledge they held within them but i knew this wasn't the time for sidetracking but even so, i couldn't help but fidget as my motherly instincts tried to take over.
"Twilight Sparkle. I have heard whispers and ramblings of your oh so glorious deeds. Defeater of Discord. Cleanser of Changelings. Slayer of King Sombra. Celestia even made you wonderful stained glass windows to remind you every time you visited." The hooded pony proclaimed in a jeering yet vexed tone, her face was the embodiment of arrogance.
A light emanated from the shadows of her hood, the light extended to cover her entire headpiece before lifting it off. She was a Unicorn. Her mane was long and laid across her neck which drooped down at one side. It was streaked with red and yellow and was glossy and smooth. Her skin was a light brown, beige almost. If we weren't about to be locked in a battle i might have actually complimented her. She was beautiful. This froze us in place. We didn't know how to react to such a sudden change of ... atmosphere. She sounded like she had the tables turned. As if we were the ones who walked into her trap. A sense of dread started to loom within me, a horrible feeling was boiling in my stomach.
"Oh wait. It wasn't just you was it? The five of you helped didn't you? Especially the dragon. If it wasn't for him you would be rattling the chain on your shackle in King Sombra's dungeon right now wouldn't you?" She exclaimed, this time mockingly sweet. "You take all glory from your friends and judging from the way you look right now, i'm guessing you took the spoils as well didn't you?" She waved a condescending hoof towards my wings.
I was steaming. How dare she steal MY crown in the middle of night, make me run around the castle to get her and then accuse me of such treachery. My previous feelings of dread were turned to blazing anger, my pot was boiling and it was fueled by rage. I would never ever do that to my friends. Ever. The fact that she let that thoughtless lie slip out from her mouth was enough to make me hate this cretin with every fiber of my being, I've never hated anypony with this much resentment in my life. She could be on fire right now and i wouldn't even spit on her to put it out. My hooves were shaking with fury, they were ready to pounce, ready to attack. They wanted to act with malicious intent but i had to forced them to back down. You're supposed to be the good pony. You're supposed to be the good pony.
"Have you really done anything worth the title of Princess? Princesshood isn't just about winning battles and taking rewards. All of your victories were results of others actions. I know, I've heard. Discord was your friends, i heard you even gave up midway and needed Princess Celestia to send you letters. Chrysalis was Shining Armor and Princess Cadence, they needed to step in when you failed to get the Elements of Harmony. King Sombra was your dragon and yet you're the one being blessed with Princesshood. Celestia was a fool for giving you princesshood when you rely on the abilities of your comrades and dumb luck to secure victories." She continued. Her entire speech tinged with vexation and joy. She truly believed i deserved this verbal lashing and even felt a sense of justice in it.
My face twitched with anger.
Hers cracked a grin.
"Twilight did her best and we are all happy to help. We are proud of her." Fluttershy injected sternly. Not a single strand of hesitation or fear.
"Yeah. You weren't there so you wouldn't know what she needed to do!." Pinkie Pie added, angrily stabbing her hoof at the trespasser.
My friends! My heart stopped it's rage fueled pounding as i let the lullaby sooth me. The thought of my friends always having my back made me humbled, loved even. They would never allow me to be cornered by lies.
The beige pony laughed. Like a maniac. She raised her head to face the ceiling and continued her inane giggling. It echoed throughout the room. The reverberating of the sounds created a disorienting cacophony that assaulted my ears. I shut my eyes in pain and annoyance, it was like rubbing a rusty fork across a dinner plate. She raised a hoof up to cover her eyes in disbelief before lowering it to a soft chuckle which devolved into silence.
"I see you ponies are as intelligent as doorknobs when it comes to these things. You have chosen suitable subordinates Twilight Sparkle. They don't question you." She retorted, finally finding the words after calming herself. "What a pitiable bunch. Being taken advantage of without even knowing. I on the otherhoof will not let this go unpunished" She sneered.
"ENOUGH!" That was it. My rage came back to me like a painful forgotten memory, following it were a flurry of emotion that would leave even the gentlest mare in Equestria trembling. No one badmouths my friends. "This ends here."
"Yeah. How about we end this with the old fashion hoofticuffs." Rainbow Dash cried out, raising her hooves in a threatening gesture.
"I'm not nearly as barbaric but purple pony there is right. It does end here." she uttered almost in a whisper.
She casually strutted to the front of the mirror and taunted me.
"It's funny. Even alone, i managed to come this far. I guess your servants aren't as great as i thought they were, they couldn't even catch a single thief. They are useless after all. Dumb luck served you well in the past."
She waved her hoof in a mocking manner, as if begging me to jump towards her and rip her to shreds and in that instant, i accepted her challenge. I smashed my hooves against the ground and launched myself towards her like a cannonball, a cloud of dust erupting up as i did. I knew she had something in mind if i tried to take her but i was willing to take the gamble. She was a fishermare, waiting for me to take her bait and for some reason i was a willing prey, i'd pull her whole boat down if i needed to.
"Twilight Darling! Don't let her bide you into a brawl! You don't know what tricks she has!" Rarity screamed to me, trying to shake me out of my fervor.
I was too far gone to hear anything. It was one thing to insult me but my friends is a line you shouldn't even think about crossing. The only thing in my mind was to shut her up and since words were clearly ineffective, i'd do it physically. I neared the mirror. I slammed my hind legs backwards, lifting myself off the ground and sending me barreling towards the offender. I was like an arrow and like an arrow i wasn't going to stop until i hit my target.
"THEY AREN'T SERVANTS!" I roared as i continued speeding towards her.
She stared straight into my eyes. In that fleeting period, in midair, i could see that not a single particle in her body was afraid of me, even as we were about to clash. She had that "all according to the plan" look in her eyes, a conniving look. One that belonged on the face of a fox about to eat it's prey. I should be the one who's holding the power and yet, it felt like our roles were switched. In the next instant, she showed me why.
She leaned back and fell straight through mirror behind her. It was impossible. My anger suddenly dispersed and in it's place was fear and confusion. A knot formed in my stomach, i was fine with being a fish on a hook, a fishermare might not be able to reel in his catch but this was different, i was a rodent being lowered into a Viper's pit. The mirror engulfed her body, it looked like she was falling into a pool of liquid and in a flash, it swallowed her whole. I looked straight into the mirror and saw my reflection. My face was constricted with fear and regret. Why was i so stupid? To let my emotions be my ruler? To let them control me? There was no point questioning myself. My route has been set and it's destination is wherever that mirror leads. As my head entered the pool, i could see nothing but blackness. It was empty. As it continued sucking me into unknown, i felt my consciousness fading. I felt my body turning light as air as my thoughts thinned out. My head began to empty it's contents, wherever they went were not of my concern.. My eyes slowly shut. My weightless body drifting in the infinite void.
"This one is not going to see the light of day for a long time."
I heard a murmur.
My mind was gone.
I went to sleep.
