7. Twilight Sparkle II

Twilight Sparkle

Celestia's tale of Ronia had pondered her, since they imprisoned Adoranz. Twilight had been told along with her friends, about this other world. There were no books in Equestria about Ronia, so researching it was impossible.

She had been outside of her castle for some time now; she needed fresh air. A simple stroll no less, but she had to get her mind off of things. It is possible some of her friends could be anywhere, so she thought it best to look for them.

She had been passing by many random ponies, on her way to see where her friends may be. Most of them were shopping in markets, buying food, flowers, or other random things.

Well, She thought contentedly, Things seem to be normal.

Absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. The skies were crystal clear; no clouds in sight. She figured Rainbow Dash must have cleared it all. Through taking in the town's view close to Sugercube Corners, she saw two ponies that were "a little" out of the ordinary. One was a beige stallion with a blonde mane and tail. The same one she saw the other day with the shuriken cutie mark. He had blue eyes she realized. The pony walking beside him was even more unusual.

What in-?

The other pony was another stallion, but she had not seen one with bat-like wings. He had a grey-ish purple coat, blackish medium length mane and tail, and icy blue cat-like eyes. He also had tufts on his ears. His cutie mark was a longsword. His appearance reminded her of Luna's guards. Could he be one of them?

She had paid no further attention to them. She had her friends on her mind, she should not be distracted by those two stallions. Why they are here was not her concern. She thought about going to the Carousel Boutique first, to see if Rarity was there.

In spite of what she tried to accomplish, Twilight Sparkle could not stop thinking about Ronia, the sabrathanian Adoranz, and the fact that he--among many others--have entered her world somehow. It also kept reminding her of the fair, when they came to kidnap innocent lives. It had plagued her mind since that fateful day.

Then she thought about something else... The ball-like mechanism.

That contraption, she thought, was Pinkie right? Did it come from Ronia, as well?

She would have gone down to where the fairgrounds were, but the workers had already been packed up now. It's also a possibility they took the object with them. Or...

Unless the sabrathanians must have taken it with them. She speculated, It had to have been theirs, since a machine like that was never created in Equestria!

She had put the thought aside. She was almost there, she could see the boutique in the distance. She quickened her pace to a trot, as she got closer. In no time she was where she needed to be.

*Knocks on door*

It did not take long for Rarity to answer.

"Oh, Twilight!" Rarity greeted, "Is there something wrong?"

"No Rarity," Twilight replied, "Just wanted to see an old friend."

"Well thank goodness. I thought something was amiss." Rarity gestured to come in.

When inside, Twilight was keen to ask about the previous events.

"Rarity, what are your thoughts on what had transpired? What Celestia told us the other day, I mean?"

Rarity gave her a concerned look.

"Well..." She started, "I am not surprised that there is another world. What I am surprised of, is that its inhabitants are trying to kill us!"

"Celestia also told us about the alliance with the ronians, the sabrathanians are their enemies; as much as they are ours."

"I suppose your right," Rarity sighed, "though I don't see how we can prevent them from coming back."

That was something Twilight forgot to think over: a way to keep them from entering. Should more of the sabrathanians come to Equestria, the consequences would be catastrophic.

"They entered Equestria through a portal," She explained, "using dark magic. I don't think I have a spell to seal them off."

"Didn't the princess also explained that they 'sealed' the way to Ronia?"

"Unless..." Twilight came up with an idea.

"Unless, what?" Rarity asked, noticeably confused.

"We need to get to Canterlot, immediately." She felt it unnecessary to tell Rarity at the moment.

"Whaaat?!" She exclaimed, "But we were just there not a few days ago!'

"I have to ask Celestia of something." Twilight said calmly. "The fate of Equestria rests in our hooves, Rarity."

"What in the wide world of Equestria do have to ask her, Twilight?"

She wanted to wait to tell her; as well as the rest of her friends. She had to gather up her friends, get to Canterlot, and then tell them. But it was mainly for Princess Celestia to hear.

"I'll explain later."

Twilight and Rarity spent almost an hour gathering up their friends. She had hurried to find them as soon as possible. Rarity asked a few times about what they needed to ask the princess, but she did not want to tell her yet.

Once they found everypony, she gathered them close to her castle. All of her friends looked genuinely puzzled.

"Twilight," Applejack demanded, "why in tarnation did you gather us here for?"

"Is something wrong?" Fluttershy asked, concerned

"No, nothing is wrong," She reassured them, "but I have got an idea. I don't know if it will work, but I have to try."

"Just tell us the plan, Twilight!" Rainbow Dash said impatiently and added, "If it has anything to do with kickin' major flank, I'm in!"

"Yeah," Pinkie joined in, "What's the plan?"

She had to tell them. "I have to ask Princess Celestia to..." She was a little afraid to say it.

"To do what, Twi?" Applejack asked, "What does she have to do?"

*sigh*

Twilight's confidence had built up.

"...to open the portal to Ronia."

"WHAT?!!!" They said in unison. Their mouths gaped, and eyes widened.

She thought it was crazy too, but there was more to her plan. There was a legitimate reason, and she was about to explain.

"T-Twilight." Rarity stammered for moment, "You do realize that is preposterous?!"

"Not necessarily." She then started to explain, "Princess Celestia closed the portal to Ronia, to prevent Sabrathan from entering. But now he has followers who can enter Equestria, using dark magic somehow-"

"And it's a good idea to open the portal, why?" Rainbow interrupted.

She groaned, but continued. "So I could speak with the emperor. I could act as an ambassador for Celestia. I will tell him of our problem, and hopefully he would know what to do."

They all looked at one another, unsure of what to make of it. She was not sure if they were keen on her idea. They have helped her defeat many threats in the past, but was a little different.

"I don't think she would agree, Twilight." Rarity doubted. "Considering what those monsters have done, I don't believe Celestia would even consider it."

*faint flapping*

Rainbow Dash had been hovering in the air, Twilight noticed she heard it too. Looking up, she saw a what looked like a chariot in the distance, with guards pulling it. The chariot seemed too small for Princess Celestia to ride. They were also riding relatively fast.

Who is that? She wondered.

As they got closer, she had a better view of them. Two white pegasus guards were pulling the chariot. The pony riding in the chariot was a red unicorn stallion wearing purple armor.

"Captain Astral Mark?!" Twilight could not believe it.

The two white guards landed the chariot carefully. As they did, Captain Astral Mark got himself out of the chariot in a swift, weighty leap. He had grown a short dark grey beard. His deadpan expression intimidated her--sort of. He approached her very briskly.

"Princess Twilight Sparkle." He greeted respectively in a deep voice, "I apologize for the inconvenience milady, but her majesty Princess Celestia requests your presence."

I did not expect that.

"Princess Celestia sent you? Well what a coincidence!" She then said cheerfully, "My friends and I were just about to head over there ourselves."

"I'm afraid not." He said sternly.

"What?"

"This chariot cannot hold all of you at once." He told them, "I only have two guards here, and this chariot can seat about three, myself included."

It made sense. She knew four guards can carry Princess Celestia on her chariot, but two could only hold so much weight.

"That means... I can only come by myself." She said dejectedly.

"Not necessarily." He reassured her, "I said this chariot can hold up to at least three ponies. Her highness told me you could only bring one other pony, preferably one who can fly."

She was puzzled by that. Out of all the friends she can bring, she can only bring one who can fly. She wondered why that is.

"Fluttershy?" She turned to her friends, "Will you accompany me?"

"Um... Uh... No." She had said quietly, "I... I think I will sit this one out." That only left one more option.

"I'll go!" Rainbow Dash volunteered and went over to Twilight, "If your gonna need a good flier, you gotta have me around!"

The captain had showed an interested expression, "Rainbow Dash? The princess has talked about your exploits on some occasion."

"Awesome!" Dash said proudly.

"But wait," Twilight demanded, "Why can I only bring a pegasus?"

"I do not question the princess's methods," He told her with dignity, "She gave me an order, and I must obey."

"I understand."

Without another word she walked over to the chariot, and got in. She was then followed by Astral Mark who sat in the middle, to control the guards. Rainbow Dash then sat in the only available seat.

"Right." He said dignified. "There is no time to waste."

Twilight had a sad expression on her face as she looked at her friends. Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were all disappointed too. Turning her head, she noticed that even Rainbow Dash looked despondent.

"Don't worry guys," She tried her best to sound reassuring, "I'll be fine. I'm not sure what Celestia wants me to do, but regardless, I will do as I am asked."

"We were supposed to go together!!!" Pinkie shouted despairingly.

"We'll be back," Rainbow Dash said confidently, "I guarantee it!"

*Ahem*

Astral Mark cleared his throat and said slightly aggravated, "We cannot delay! I have no time for long goodbyes."

His horn glowed gold, like his eyes and cutie mark. He used his magic to lift the reins.

"HYAH" He shouted as he whipped with the reins.

The pegasus guards ran in appropriate direction, away from her castle and friends. They sprinted hard to gain momentum, then they had spread out their wings and flapped brusquely. In a short amount of time, they were already in the air flying over the town below. Even though both Twilight and Rainbow Dash can fly on their own, they could not fly as far as Canterlot.

She stared longingly at her castle behind the chariot. Having to leave without the rest of her friends was not easy for her, especially for what they had been through together. She believed this to be a greater challenge then what she previously faced, because she was doing it without all of them.

"Hey, Twi?" The voice came from Rainbow Dash.

"Yes?" Twilight turned to Rainbow Dash. She still thought about her friends.

"I'm not sure why Celestia would need another pony who could fly, but it sounds awesome!"

Astral Mark had cleared his throat again, "Princess Twilight?"

"Yes, captain?" She answered, not knowing what to expect.

"I knew your brother once," His voice sounded smooth and not as harsh as he was explaining, "I was once a standard guard with him for a few years. I had been sent off to the badlands when your brother became captain of the guard, to an outpost along the border. I improved in rank when I was there, training harder to become a better soldier. It was not until sometime after he married Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and became co-ruler of the Crystal Empire, when I was sent back to Canterlot to be in his former place."

"Hmm," Twilight was interested, "I did not see you at my coronation."

"That was because I didn't come back until after Lord Tirek was defeated."

I guess that makes sense. Afterwords they kept quiet. There was probably more to him than she knew, but she did not want to bother him.

The trip was not as long as she expected. She could already see the mountainside spires. Rainbow Dash had been napping, so she poked her side to wake her. Evidently she startled her.

"Huh?" Rainbow Dash yawned.

"We're here, Rainbow Dash." She told her.

"Oh. Ha, I must have dozed off."

Twilight felt as if something was underneath the chariot. As they were about to land, something dark shot out from beneath it.

"AAHH!" Whatever it was it startled her.

"What is it, princess?" The captain asked, concerned.

She would have been embarrassed to tell them, for they most likely would not believe her. "Uh... Nothing." She fibbed, "Just... Probably a bird or something."

Rainbow Dash raised a brow, obviously knowing she lied. They landed nice and smoothly, on a platform just outside the castle. There were other chariots like this one, parked in a long row. The platform was located behind the castle.

"All right," The captain said, "That went nicely. And not a moment sooner."

Rainbow dash zipped into the air at once. The captain gestured to help her down, she acquiesced and got down gently.

"Hey hey, Captain!" A voice called.

Twilight turned to where she heard it. It was the bat-like pony from earlier.

"Oh, no." The captain said, annoyed.

"So," The bat pony was talking to the captain, "What's going on, Astral Mark?"

"Typical business as usual." The captain was visibly not pleased to see him. "Speaking of, where is Jolly? Isn't he supposed to be with you?"

"He wanted to stay behind, sir." The bat pony stood respectively, "I'm here to report to Princess Luna, that the area of Ponyville has been secured."

"Secured?" Rainbow Dash said, puzzled.

The bat pony turned to Rainbow Dash's direction, and his icy blue eyes widened. "Oh, uh..." He started nervously, "Well... my comrade and I have been scouting Ponyville making sure there isn't any more of those sabrathanians, or any other threat in general."

"Say," Rainbow dash then complemented, "you're pretty cool looking. What are you?"

"Really? Uh, I mean," He stuttered for a moment and said confidently, "I am a bat pony."

"A bat pony? Awesome!"

She noticed his face was red from blushing.

"Blackblade," The captain then introduced them, "This is Princess Twilight Sparkle of Ponyville, and her friend Rainbow Dash."

"Princess Rain-, I mean, Princess Twilight," He stuttered, face still blushing, "Pleased to meet your acquaintance. A-a-and pleased to meet you, Miss Rainbow Dash."

The captain stifled a laugh. "Blackblade is a capable swordspony in battle," he mused, whispering to Twilight, "But put him with a mare, and he's practically useless!"

"Blackblade? Now that's an awesome name!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, complementing further.

"Really?" He said incredulously, and continued to stutter, "W-well I got to go report to Luna now." He flew as fast as lightning.

She was just about as amused as the captain. Rainbow landed next to them.

"Now we really have no time to waste," He rushed them, "Come on."

They ran towards the entrance. Captain Astral Mark ran ahead of them. The guards recognized them, and opened the large two doors. Twilight had never remembered what the rear of the castle looked like, but now she did. Inside was a large hall as expected, and she noticed something else...

"Princess Celestia!" She exclaimed, as she witnessed the white alicorn, her mane flowing with bright color.

"Twilight, thank goodness you're here," She said relieved, "I have something very important to ask of you."

"Whoa!" Rainbow Dash joined her shock, "Did not expect that."

The captain went to the princess's side and reported, "I did as you asked of me."

"Very good of you, Astral Mark," She then dismissed him.

The captain then rushed down the hall, possibly to his immediate post. The princess then motioned a hoof for them to come with her. They followed her, coming across a winding staircase. Twilight and Rainbow Dash continued to follow her as she climbed the staircase. She might have been here before, but she could not remember. Celestia and Twilight were walking up the stairs, while Rainbow Dash just hovered over them.

It took a rather long time before they finally made it up. Right before them was a long corridor with doors mostly on the right hoof side. The floor was checkered like the rest of the castle. Celestia started walking down the corridor, with Twilight and Rainbow Dash beside her.

They eventually came to a door at the end of the hall. The door was a very dark brown, the door knob was gilded. What stood out was the carving; a strange marking possibly from an unknown language. Celestia lit her horn with a very light gold aura, and revealed what looked like an enchanted lock with chains around it; it was invisible at first.

"What is this?" Twilight asked, but there was no answer.

*Magic chains rattling*

The chains dissolved in thin air, the lock shrunk and disappeared. Twilight has never seen anything like it. The door had then opened a little by itself, creaking loudly. Celestia had then used her magic to open it all the way.

Behind the door was a dark room with almost nothing in it. There were not any light switches, so this room must be older then she thought. The light from outside the room lit the dark room a little. The tiles on the floor were much darker then the ones outside the room, even the walls were a darker shade of color. But the light outside illuminated a little more then just the room...

"What?" she said wondrously, "A mirror?"

"Yes, Twilight," Princess Celestia informed her, "It is a mirror. This is the Gilded Mirror."

The mirror's rectangular frame was indeed gilded, with engravings of runes or some unknown language; like the door. The mirror showed the reflections of the three of them and what was behind them. The mirror was around Celestia's height.

"This reminds me of the mirror that took me to Canterlot High." Twilight went to touch the mirror; the glass felt solid though. "What was it you wanted me to do?"

"Twilight," The princess sighed, "What I am about to ask you, may be asking for too much..."

"You're going to open the portal to Ronia?" She asked.

"I'm going t-, wait... how did you know?"

"That was something I wanted ask you," Twilight explained, "It wasn't until you unlocked that door when I realized, this is what you were about to ask of me."

Celestia seemed confused for a moment, but shrugged it off, "I see."

"Yeah, Twilight told us her plan," Rainbow Dash commented, "She said something about being your ambassador or something."

"Hmm..." It seemed as though her plan was the same as hers. It had to have been sheer coincidence.

"The mirror is solid." She investigated.

"Well it is a mirror." Rainbow said, stating the obvious.

Celestia's horn started to glow. "That is because it is sealed off." her magic flowed around the frame, "This was how my sister and I entered Ronia."

The rune-like engravings started to glow from Celestia's aura. The mirror then began to ripple like the surface of water. The reflection from the mirror became distorted. Rainbow Dash was visibly shocked, her mouth gaping wide.

"There," Celestia said after a pause, "The portal is open."

"Wwoooowwww." They both said in awe.

"Twilight," Celestia had turned to face her, "You are to speak of our 'problems' to the emperor."

"All right," She said readily, "Where will I find him?"

"He lives in a tall tower, with tall spires around its roof like a crown."

"Got it!" Rainbow Dash said confidently

Twilight just then remembered something, "Wait, why could only I and a pegasus enter?"

"Well," She started, "Anypony can enter, it's just... I'm not sure where the exit gate is located. You are an alicorn, Twilight, you have wings as do pegasi. I did not want to risk the possibility of falling from a dangerous height."

"What?!!!" She was definitely not prepared for this.

"Alrighty then!" Rainbow Dash was unafraid.

"Now go!" She told them, "tell the emperor, he'll know what to do."

"Wait!!!"

Celestia turned around, shocked at the sound of the voice. Twilight turned as well...

"Blackblade?" Twilight did not expect to see him.

"Permission to speak?" He asked Celestia.

"Granted."

"Your sister told me to accompany Princess Twilight, a-a-and Miss Rainbow Dash." Blackblade started blushing when he said Dash's name.

"Luna? Very well, Blackblade," She accepted, "protect the princess with your life."

"I will do as I must!" He saluted.

Twilight was bewildered, "Luna sent you?"

"Of coarse! She cares about your life as much Celestia does."

Celestia started to rush them, "Go, now!"

Twilight took a deep breath, and entered. The viscous fluid of the glass felt cool over her entire body, from her face, wings, all the way down to the tip of her tail. And then she felt something pulling her in.

She viewed a bright blue sky. Gravity pulled her down much faster then she anticipated. She could not hear Rainbow Dash, or Blackblade who were behind her. She tried to flap her wings, but she could not control herself. Soon enough, all she could see was darkness.

What happened? Then the thought came to her, Am... am I... dead?

If she had died, all of what she had been through... would have been in vain. All she saw was complete and utter darkness. Nopony would have had any books on the afterlife, who was perfectly sane. It was so dark she could not see herself. For the first time, she felt completely alone.

"Can you hear me?" A voice called.

She could not answer.

"Can you hear me?" The voice repeated.

Hope. Hope had come to her. She was not dead, she knew. Her eyes had opened up; her sight blurred for a moment, a few voices echoed. When she regained her vision, she saw Rainbow Dash and Blackblade both with worried looks on their faces.

"Ooohhh," She groaned, it felt as if she had a migraine, "What happened?" She also realized she was lying down on something soft and plush.

Surrounding Rainbow and Blackblade, were tall, winged, heavily armored beings. Each of them had a consistent color scheme of armor, metallic nonetheless. One of them had bent down over her, and stared at her with green orbs for eyes through his faded gold helm.

"Are you alright?" His voice sounded comforting in her ears; it was the same voice that called to her.

"I..." She said weakly, "I think so. What happened?"

"When we entered through the portal," It was Blackblade who explained, "We were probably hundreds of thousands of feet in the air. Miss Rainbow Dash and I were trying to tell you to flap your wings and fly, but you didn't seem to hear us."

"You must have been disoriented from the height." The one with green eyes said, "You are lucky we saw you fall, otherwise death would have come to you all the quicker."

"Are you..." She started to ask. "...Are you Ronians?"

The armored beings looked at each other. Even though the helmets covered their faces, their eyes conveyed emotion; in this case, confusion. The one with green eyes blinked for a moment.

"Yes." Was all he said. She understood right away.

She looked around and noticed she was in a maroon colored room, with gold fleur de lis along the walls. The curtains were gilded as well. The bed she was lying down on was also red and gold. There were a lot of strange objects in the room, many that she had never seen before; some very ornate. But there were many familiar things as well, like a table with chairs, a writing desk, shelves with many books.

"Where are we?" She asked one of them.

"The west tower." The one with green eyes answered, "The guest bedroom."

"I gotta say, this is pretty cozy." Blackblade commented on the room.

"Hey Blackblade?" Rainbow Dash went over to Blackblade.

"Yes, Miss Rainbow Dash?"

"Why do you keep calling me 'miss'?" She had asked, suspicious.

Blackblade's face blushed redder then before. "I was only being respectful," he told her nervously, "it's like how we address Celestia or Luna as: Princess, or your highness, or your majesty. An act of courtesy."

"Ha," A ronian chuckled, "I've never known an odd creature like yourself, would know anything about manners!"

She saw he tried to take that as a complement. She counted at least five ronians in the room; including the one with green eyes. There was a door in the front of the room, with a gilded knob.

*Door creaking open*

"I swear, if I have another cup of--" a voice complained.

When the door opened, a silver armored ronian appeared. He stood surprised for a moment. His eyes were a pale color. He turned his head from right to left. It seemed as if he had no idea what to make of this.

"Lord Seris!" The one with green eyes stood straight.

"And you are...?" The silver ronian, Lord Seris, looked at him questionably.

"Gadreel, milord." He bowed before him.

"Please pray tell, what you are doing here?"

"Forgive me, if you do not believe me, milord," Gadreel began, "But these ponies have fallen from the sky. I and my fellow knights have saved them."

"Interesting." By the tone in his voice, he did not sound intrigued. He turned to Twilight, "How did you get here, in Ronia?"

"The Gilded Mirror," She answered and added, "My lord."

His eyes widened in horror, "Why have you come?!"

"I came as an ambassador for Princess Celestia, my lord, to speak with the emperor."

"Well, now is not the appropriate time." Lord Seris told her, "You see, the emperor; my uncle, is a bit too drunk to be seeing anybody."

"Please, Lord Seris," She got out of the bed unsteadily and begged, "I must see him. The fate of my world rests on my hooves!"

He looked down to her, with a defeated expression in his eyes. "I will see to him, when he is sobered."

"Thank you. How long will it take?" She waited for an answer.

He only sighed once more. "Most likely by morning, but I can't make any promises. For the moment I suggest resting here for the night."

Twilight would have been disappointed by that, but she was already pretty tired as it is so she did not complain. Lord Seris waved his hand, and four of the knights left. Gadreel lingered a bit longer before he left.

"Seriously?" Rainbow Dash then yawned loudly.

"Well I guess that's not so bad." Blackblade said to himself.

She then realized how late it really was. Twilight looked out the window close to the red and gold bed. Outside, dusk was already upon them. She then hopped onto the mattress, and rested on it most comfortably. Rainbow Dash went to rest on a chair that matched the color of the room. Blackblade curled himself up on a large rug that took up most of the room.

It did not take long for Rainbow Dash to fall asleep. Blackblade seemed a bit uncomfortable, tossing and turning. She was very eager to tell the emperor of the invasion, and wanted nothing more then a moment of peace. She felt as if this would be her one and only time of peace.

Celestia give me strength! She pleaded, I hope they will understand how many lives are at stake.