Following Star Swirl's Hoofsteps
Twilight paused and glanced at the distant storm clouds to her right. Lightning flashed, illuminating a small portion of the near black wall of water vapor. The storm was a haze, but she could see the trees swaying violently back and forth. In a flash, a tree burst into splinters.
She backed away from the cliff edge until she felt her tail brush against the rock wall. She was on an ancient abandoned road that still clung to the Platinum Mountain Range, or more commonly known as the Canterlot Mountains. Where this road once led had been long forgotten, but Twilight found some records that divulged the long forgotten location. It supposedly leads to an ancient library with knowledge of the times before the Princesses, and the histories of the lands before the Windigo Exodus.
Her first hint of the library was found in the works of Star Swirl the Bearded after her time travel episode. To unwind after all the stress she went through that week, she decided to stay in Canterlot a few days and do some light reading in the Star Swirl wing. While reading into his research of time travel, she found an incident he recorded during one of his tests.
“…I believed that I had the spell perfected. For a basic test, I cast it unto one of the clocks Double Dial supplied for me. It worked perfectly. The clock went forward exactly five minutes. Unfortunately, I overestimated my control over the Beta version of the spell, and made an amateur mistake. I cast it on my own self before I fine tuned it to work on living organisms. Though it worked as calculated for inanimate objects, the spell mutated as soon as I cast it upon my own self.
As soon as I finished the spell, darkness filled my vision and I could feel time bend around myself. (No flash occurred during the clock tests). Once I managed to get my bearings, I noticed I was no longer in my tower. I was where it used to stand as it was no longer standing. I missay, the tower had yet to be built. I found myself in the distant past.
I know this for I was standing before a green unicorn (name was never learned). The unicorn, in his shock, called for the armed forces and I was apprehended and caged. In said cage I overheard them speak of a Queen. Not Princess Celestia, but a Queen Silver. I traveled back in time long before we were forced to embark on the Windigo Exodus. The armed forces were to hold me until she returned from somewhere called the ‘the Vault of Origins’.
Luckily, I was wise enough to create a duration for my leaps through time.
Through this incident I must conclude that the spell currently is still too unstable for public knowledge. I must also note to research more on this ‘Vault of Origins’.
-Star Swirl March 15 32 Windigo Exodus”
Twilight hadn't paid much attention to the ‘Vault of Origins’ in this first note, but when she read some of Star Swirl’s later works a single footnote in his journal jumped out at her.
“…years of searching has led me to discover a page from one of Princess Platinum's ancestors, part of a personal journal in fact. It appears that Queen Silver part of an ancient line of unicorns that ruled the Unicorns before the Platinum line gained power. In the journal, It notes the ‘Vault of Origins’ I overheard during the time tests. Apparently, it is some sort of ancient library they discovered distantly to the south of our old homeland Unicornia. I am lead to believe this library is located somewhere in the new founded Equestria. I am also lead to believe that they used it to store all of the records of Pre-civilized Unicornia. Though location is not noted, it does state it is a day’s journey from the province of Canterlot, an ancient ruin we found at the bottom of a cliffside. I will do some exploring in the near future… I have been stuck in the tower for far too long.”
She had to find out more about this ‘Vault of Origins’. She delayed heading home and poured her time into reading the journals of Star Swirl, but couldn’t find any other references toward it. The closest thing she found to a hint of its location was Star Swirl going off to ‘explore’ somewhere to the east, but no records of the journey are stored and when he returned to his tower he didn’t mention anything of his trip.
Twilight grew frustrated and left the Star Swirl wing for the main part of the library. She searched for the missing page of the ancient Platinum’s journal that Star Swirl mentioned. Unfortunately, she also learned that it was one of the many pieces of history that was destroyed in the Canterlot Fire of 766. Annoyed, she tore through the library looking for records of ancient highways and cities. It was there that she found records of this trail, which was once an old road back during Star Swirl’s time, but was theoretically a busy highway during the time the three tribes of ponies merged together. She packed her bags and left Canterlot to find the ancient library, but forgot one thing: the trail curled around the mountains that bordered the Grimdark Forest.
The forest is similar to the Everfree forest, but has a history of dark and sinister ponies using it for unlawful acts. History dictates that the forest was spawned by Nightmare Moon when she attempted to hide from her sister. After her banishment, the forest grew wild and took over the Great Lakes of the Pony Tribe, where Chancellor Puddinghead was said to have claimed Equestria for the Pony tribe. It is now a forbidding place, darker and more uncontrolled than Everfree Forest, and rumored to have a thirst for the suffering of ponies.And it was brewing an enormous storm that was heading toward Twilight.
She broke her gaze from the wall of dark clouds and focused on the trail. Shrugging her saddlebags into a more comfortable position, she continued her journey down the crumbling ancient mountain path. No crevices or cracks scared the mountain wall, but the occasional faded marking showed her where she was.
As Twilight approached one of these markings, she pulled out her map to jot down her location. She was almost a mile away from some sort of outpost. Glancing at the storm, she calculated approximately how long it would be until it hit. If she picked up her pace slightly, she should be able to make it to the outpost a half hour before the storm hit, leaving her plenty of time to find a place to sit out the storm.
The wind grew harsher the closer she got to the outpost. After some time she had to stand right next to the wall to avoid being blown off the path. When she turned a corner and peered through the winds and she saw the top of the outpost in the distance. Pushing herself to move faster to make her way to safety.
Many agonizing minutes later, she managed to make it to the stone structure. It resembled a giant stone square, and a large portion of it hanging dangerously over the cliff edge. Arched windows dotted its walls and a single set of large doors filled up where the path intersected with the building.
Twilight hurried inside and breathed a sigh of relief to be out of the strong winds. She moved through the complex until she reached what she assumed was the old common room. Rotted wooden tables and chairs littered the floor, along with long strips of tattered fabric that Twilight theorized was once a rug. The designs and artwork that filled up the room was hidden by cobwebs and dust. An old fireplace stood in the middle of the chamber with a fire burning inside.
Dust flew into the air as she made her way into the ancient room. She froze in front of the fireplace in shock when she realized that there was no wood inside of it. The fire was a permanent fire enchantment anchored down inside the fireplace. It must have been burning for hundreds of years, if not thousands, and she was standing right next to it.
Her horn glowed and dust around the fireplace flew up into the air. It condensed into a large gray ball and flew up the chimney out of the building. Though she couldn’t feel the wind anymore, she could still hear their shrill cries attacking the walls of the outpost. The cracks of thunder and the striking of rain also managed to sound through the thick walls of the outpost, meaning she made it inside just in time.
Twilight sat down and pulled out her book and map. She noted on the map that the outpost was still standing strong. She then opened her book and began to write.
Dear Travel Log,
It seems like I underestimated the force of nature someplace like Grimdark Forest could conjure up. I was almost caught in an enormous storm (If am guessing correctly, the winds are close to 1500 wingpower by now). I managed to make it to an old outpost (Yew Outpost if I read the historical records correctly). Luckily it was still standing and I was able to find shelter inside. Seeing how powerful the storm is, I am glad I convinced Spike to go back to Ponyville with Pinkie. As helpful as he could be on this journey, I feel that it is too dangerous for him to handle.
As I made my way into the outpost, I found an amazing work of magic. A fireplace had been enchanted to hold a fire that had been burning for hundreds, if not thousands of years. If I am on the same path Star Swirl took when he went looking for the Vault of Origins, then I might be sitting in the same spot he sat eight hundred years ago. To think that we are both sharing the same fire centuries apart… It is a humbling feeling.
Tomorrow, I will continue down the highway and see if I can find something that resembles an ancient structure. If Star Swirl’s calculations are correct, I am only half a day away.
Until tomorrow,
-Twilight Sparkle June 1, 4 Luna Restored
Twilight placed her journal back in her saddlebag and pulled out her sleeping bag. She unrolled it and settled down to study the map. A few hours passed as she calculated how far she would need to travel to reach the ‘half day’ mark. Releasing an excited sigh, she curled up the map and placed it next to the journal. Inside the sleeping bag, she found a comfortable spot and sighed in contentment. Ignoring the sounds of the raging storm, she quickly drifted off to sleep as she watched the enchanted flames dance through the night air.
x.X.x
Twilight awoke to hear the loud rumbling of falling stone. Her heart was beating like a drum as she attempted to jump to her feet, only to collapse back onto the floor. The entire room was shaking violently, as if it were being held by a dragon and shaken like a Hearts and Hooves Day present. Dust fell through the cobwebs, revealing that the ‘sculptures’ Twilight observed earlier were actually large cracks splintering across the ceiling.
The room lurched, throwing Twilight into one of the ancient tables. The rotten wood cracked and collapsed underneath her. As suddenly as it began, the rumbling of the room came to a halt leaving an eerie silence in its stead. Releasing a groan, Twilight magically lifted the splinters of wood off and threw them away from her. Once they crashed onto the floor, she watched as they rolled across the room and slowly turned toward the corner of the far wall. Her eyes widened when it clicked in her mind what was occurring. She wobbled as she stood up and unsteadily made her way over to her supplies.
She quickly threw her sleeping bag into her saddlebag and moved as quickly as she could out of the tilted room. She rushed through the corridors until the front entrance came into view. Before she made it out again, a bright flash appeared outside the door followed by the deafening crack of thunder. Stone debris flew past the door and the world began to slowly slide by. Twilight stumbled and slammed into the wall as the hallway lurched forward.
She watched as the pathway slid from view and a terrible cracking, splitting sounded from around her. A fissure instantly appeared on the ceiling spreading down the hall. It quickly widened, opening the hall to the storm. With another deafening crack, the floor itself began to spread apart. Wind poured through the cracks and the rain beat against the purple unicorn. She stood frozen as the other half of the hallway began to crumble, large stone slabs breaking off of the tumbling complex and falling down the mountainside. Stone from the remaining part of the hallway was struck by debris carried by the wind. Sticks and twigs were starting to mercilessly pummel her, leaving small cuts along her fine purple coat.
Breaking her gaze from the crumbling complex, Twilight looked up. Dark clouds covered the sky with flashes of lightning breaking through at random intervals. She turned away from the storm and started to head toward where the exit used to stand. She needed to find new shelter and quickly if she was going to survive.
The hair on the back of her neck began to tingle, and she felt it begin to stand up. Her heart stopped as she realized what the feeling meant. Taking a deep breath, she bolted down the crumbling hallway and prayed to Celestia that she would be fast enough.
A bright flash and deafening crack of thunder lit up the sky, and Twilight felt the world burst into flame. Every muscle in her body locked up and she felt herself begin to fall. With a sickening crunch, her world went black.
x.X.x
Pain.
That is all that she knew. The world was nothing but pain.
She heard voices somewhere in the distance, but they were too quiet to make out anything they were saying. She groaned and pried her eyes open, but the world would not come into focus.
Her pain faded slightly leaving a numb feeling. The world began to spin and as she lost consciousness again.
x.X.x
Twilight slowly became aware of the conscious world. The first things that she heard were strange voices speaking near her.
“How is she doing, Red?” a deep voice droned.
“She will live, if that is what you want to know,” a second, higher pitched, voice replied. “But if you are looking for a functioning brain, then you should pray toward whatever you earth ponies pray to for a miracle.”
Twilight felt a warm heat to her right, along with the crackle of flames. Only it was too dark for a fire to be nearby. At least a little light should be visible if a fire was nearby. She attempted to turn over to get a better look at the fire except a burning pain flashed through her entire body as she began to move. She gasped and ceased all attempts at moving.
Hoofsteps rushed to her and some slight pressure was placed on her shoulder, not enough to ignite searing pain, but enough to cause her to be uncomfortable.
“Now now, stay down,” said the higher pitched voice. “You have been through quite a lot and need rest.”
“So she is conscious Doctor?” The deep voice asked.
“Yes she is Chancellor,” the Doctor replied, “but as I said, she needs rest. A lot of it…”
“What is going on?” Twilight croaked. Her mouth felt as dry as a desert… and slightly ashy. After a moment she felt a small pressure pushed against her lips. She opened her mouth and placed her it around a tiny tube and began to suck. Cool refreshing water flowed into her mouth and down her throat, and all too soon the tube was taken away.
“She will rest after I have spoken with her,” the Chancellor announced. “Now filly, I know you can speak, so you will answer my questions. Where are you from?”
Twilight opened her mouth to answer the Chancellor but was cut off by the Doctor. “Oh no you don’t!” he shouted. “You might rule this village, but in this center I am in charge!” Twilight heard hoofsteps stamp nearby. “This filly is injured and needs rest. She will get said rest until I deem her fit to leave. If you want to question her, then you will have to wait until I tell you she is fit to be questioned.”
“Now Doctor, I know you don’t actually mean to tell me you are willing to harbor a--”
“Any injured, regardless of who they follow, will be healed in this center. That is the oath I took before the elements themselves and one I will not break. In here is safe for anypony, and that includes those you call enemies!”
“Doctor…”
“What…” said Twilight, coughing before she could continue the question. Her mind was running at a hundred miles an hour. Chancellor? That is an office that had been disbanded for nearly six hundred years… and Enemies? Who in Equestria has enough hatred for somepony to call them an enemy?
“Don’t talk, filly. You need sleep. The medicine should be kicking in soon enough.” The squeaky voice of the Doctor soothed.
“What medici…” Before Twilight could finish her thought, the world began to spin again.
“Doctor! I will not--”
Consciousness flew away from Twilight once again.
x.X.x
Twilight awoke once again… but this time things felt a little clearer. Everything was still dark, but the fire’s heat was definitely coming from the right side again. The crackle seemed somewhat muffled… then she realized that she had blindfolds around her eyes.
She raised her hoof up to remove it, but gasped once again as the burning fire ignited throughout her foreleg. She quickly thrust the leg back onto the bed with a loud thump, only for the pain to intensify.
Letting out a whimper, she pulled her other foreleg around to cradle the injured one. The fiery pain ignited in her shoulder. With a cry Twilight ceased moving at all… it just hurt too much to do anything.
Hoofsteps rushing to her sounded and the heat from the fire disappeared. Twilight guessed that the pony, probably the Doctor, returned to her and was blocking the fire. A hoof began to probe around her body, rubbing a soothing cold paste around the burning sections.
“Don’t try and move unless you wish to break the scabs again.” The voice of the Doctor spoke to her. “And leave the bandages around your eyes alone if you wish to ever see again. You are very lucky to still be alive, and that is only because you managed to fall close enough to the village for somepony to get to you in time.” The rubbing stopped and she heard the sound of a lid get placed onto a jar. “Can you talk, filly?”
Twilight tried to say something but it came out as a croak. She coughed a few times and managed to mumble ‘yes’.
“Excellent!” Chirped the Doctor. “Do you have a name?”
Twilight attempted to say her name, but everything just came out as a cough. Taking notice, the Doctor stepped away for a few seconds and returned. A familiar pressure was placed on Twilight's lips, but she refused to open them remembering what happened the last time.
She heard chuckling from the Doctor, “Don’t worry little filly, there is no medicine in this batch of water. Drink up, Doctor’s orders.”
After some hesitation, Twilight opened her mouth and sucked on the tube again. Cool liquid flowed down her throat again and she sighed in relief.
She turned her head toward the Doctor, ignoring the minor pain that occurred. “Twilight…” she whispered.
“Twilight? That is a lovely name,” the Doctor said with a chuckle. “You may call me Doctor Red Vial. I am the one who saved your life, and will work on you until you are well again.” She heard him move away, and the shuffle of papers sounded in the far corner of the room. “Now I insist you lay there for the next day or two and let those scabs heal up. Getting struck by lightning and falling down a cliff tends to do a lot of damage to a pony.”
Twilight gulped. She knew she was struck by lightning, but falling off the ledge of the cliff… how did she survive? How could anypony survive a fall like that?
“How?” she asked.
“How what? How did I heal you? Or how did you survive?” the Doctor chuckled again. “To answer the first, I have healed you with the wisdom and knowledge of one who knows the land. You see, there are many plants and herbs with healing properties that a unicorn can only achieve through years of study; and if prepared correctly, these plants can heal some of the most severe wounds better than some of our most advanced spells.” He paused to take a breath. Twilight opened her mouth to clerify her question, but he interrupted her, “Your second question is one I cannot answer because I do not know. Before you go off and ask a storm of questions, I have a few for you.”
Twilight closed her mouth and managed a weak nod. “Good, you have already answered my first question, Miss Twilight, so here is my second: Where are you from?”
Twilight was silent for a moment to collect her thoughts. She traveled from Canterlot, but she resided in Ponyville… so which one should she tell this stallion. She owed him an answer because he saved her life, but she didn’t want to give him any false information either. She decided to do the easier and say where she traveled from.
“Can… Canterlot,” she whispered. Talking was beginning to get easier.
“Oh Canterlot! You know I have a cousin who resides there. It has a lovely view of Equestria, but a little too high for my tastes.” The Doctor chirped. “But enough of sentimentality, last question: Which side are you on?”
What side? What does he mean what side? “I’m not on… any sides…” Twilight managed to say without her voice cracking.
The Doctor was silent for a few seconds. “A gray cloak huh… I can’t blame you but you will have to choose a side someday. I will speak with the Chancellor to make sure he won’t call you an enemy straight out, but you will need to discuss everything with him once you are better.”
Confusion set in. What sides? Gray cloak? What is going on?
Twilight opened her mouth again to ask her questions, but before anything came out the room began to spin again. Panicking, she tried to sit up but her limbs wouldn’t move. She felt a sliver of drool start to slide down her cheek and heard the chuckling of the Doctor.
“Oh, and I lied. There was medication in that water, but it was watered down to create a slight delay.” She heard the Doctor’s hoofsteps fade as he walked away, “Thank you for your cooperation… Miss Twilight.”
The world faded as consciousness flew away from Twilight again.
x.X.x
The world was in a constant state of fading in and out. Whenever Twilight would finally manage to chain a few thoughts together the tube would be forced into her mouth and the world would spin away again. An eternity of this pattern repeated itself, until eventually Twilight managed to regain enough sense of self to realize what had been happening.
To avoid the nightmarish tube, she turned her head to the side. She prepared herself for the Doctor’s attack on her consciousness, but nothing happened. There were no sounds of hoofsteps and there was no tube… it was as if she was alone in her dark world. Silence reigned through the room, absent of the crackling flames, yet heat was still pounding against her side. Twilight concluded that the fire had died down and was now just a pile of embers. This means that either the building was now abandoned (which she highly doubted) or she woke up sometime during the night.
Twilight shifted her weight in an attempt to get more comfortable. Her skin felt sticky and slimy; she assumed it to be the ointment that the Doctor rubbed onto her… it felt as if she hadn’t taken a bath in weeks, which was a possibility; she didn’t know how long she had been under the anesthetics. Her pillow stuck to her mane, further proof that that she had been lying there for quite some time.
Her legs were feeling cramped as well… she recognized the symptoms of a muscle cramp building up. She had to move… but the Doctor told her she needed to stay still. But if she let the Charlie horse occur, her muscles would move on their own in their own painful manner, but the Doctor did warn her that moving might cause her healing wounds to reopen. The mental debate raged until the cramping intensified to the point that she either had to move willingly or the Charlie horse would force her to painfully flinch. Either way, she was going to feel a lot of pain. She took in a deep breath and braced herself for the return of the burning pain and lifted her leg.
She blinked when none of the previous pain occurred. Flexing her legs loosening the tension, Twilight sighed in relief when the warnings of the Charlie horse left her. However long she had been out, it was long enough for her wounds to heal enough for her to move without immediate pain.
The Doctor kept his word and healed her, but Twilight was weary of him. Even if he did heal her, he still knocked her out with some sort of drug for who knows how long. She concluded that she was not able to afford to trust him and needed to leave.
The unicorn shifted her weight and carefully slid off the bed. Her legs wobbled underneath her, but managed to hold her up. She summoned some magic and used it to place a shield around her so she can feel nearby objects. Immediately, she detected a small jut from the wall to her left: a table. She moved to the right until she detected indentation inside the wall, with what felt like rubble littering the bottom. A strong smell of smoke was around that section, so she concluded it must be the fireplace. The bed was just behind her and an opening was before her.
She made her way toward the opening as quietly as she could. Once outside, she did a small walk around the room. She guessed that she was in the middle of an office of some sort and snorted in annoyance. Of course she was in an office, this is a hospital.
Sneaking through the office, she made her way toward where she assumed was the front door. Once standing outside said door she placed her ear against it and listened in to see if anypony was near. It was quiet.
She smiled as she magicked open the door and stepped… into a wall. A groan escaped her and she probed the wall to find out it was shaped like a pony…
“Going somewhere Miss Twilight?” the shrill voice of the Doctor pierced through her.
“Oh… um… I….” stammered Twilight, “I have to go to the… um… little fillies room.” She forced a smile onto her face and mentally slapped herself at the poor excuse.
The Doctor chuckled quietly and placed his hoof on her shoulder. “Oh, is that all?” he asked, “For a second I was thinking you were trying to leave before you were discharged. But a good filly such as you would never think of doing something so… unintelligent, would she?”
Twilight could feel the cold sweat trickle down her neck. This stallion knew what she was doing and was teasing her about it. “Of course not Doctor. I might not be the smartest mare in the world, but I am certainly not… dumb.” She chuckled nervously.
“Capital!” he cheered. “Then I will show you the… what did you call it… little fillies room. Then it is off to bed. We will speak more in the morning.”
Twilight nodded and followed the stallion. She had to find a way to get back home, but for tonight she was trapped in the Doctor’s hospital.
x.X.x
“Now that we are settled in, let’s get down to business,” the Doctor stated.
Twilight sighed and shifted uncomfortably in her seat. The Doctor forced her awake earlier by stuffing the horrid tube down her throat again. She was terrified that he was trying to force her asleep again, until all of her sleepiness was drained out of her, literally. She nearly ran over the Doctor when she finished drinking the potion in an attempt to get to the bathroom. When she finished her business, the Doctor escorted her into the room that she attempted to escape from (it seems it was his personal office) and sat her down in one of the chairs.
“What is it you need?” Twilight hesitantly asked. She fidgeted with her hooves and tried to stare the Doctor in the eye, which was somewhat hard when your eyes were still blindfolded.
“Well, first order of business is your health. Are you feeling any pain, discomfort or irritation?”
Twilight groaned. As much as she loved learning about medicine and psychology, she absolutely hated being the patient. “I am feeling irritated that I have to keep my eyes covered. But other than that I just feel weak and stiff.”
Scribbling sounded in front of her. He was taking notes. “Stiffness and weakness are the side effects of prolonged bed rest without exercise.” The Doctor muttered.
“And whose fault is that?” Twilight grumbled to herself.
“You were a severe case.” Twilight stiffened realizing he heard her. “You had sixteen crushed/broken bones, and just as many fractures and cracks. Severe concussion, whiplash, and dislocation of upper shoulder. You lost enough blood that if your wounds reopened you were likely to die of blood loss. I had to force you to sleep due to you expressing confusion, and potential panic during our short discussion. Keeping you asleep during your healing process was the best choice.
“But you are not here to ask questions. You are here to answer them.” The Doctor grumbled. “Next question: How does your magic feel?”
“What do you mean?” Twilight asked. “My magic works perfectly. I was using it last night when I looked for the restroom.”
More scribbles. “Ah yes, last night. How did you find your way to my office? I know you are blindfolded, and you have informed me that your magic is working. What spell did you cast to navigate through the room?”
Twilight shook her head in confusion. Why did he want to know what spell she cast? That had nothing to do with her health. “I used a basic seer spell, one that will place an image in your mind, to get a basic feel of the room. Though I did alter the spell slightly so it would increase my sense of feeling instead of planting said image in my mind.”
Silence filled the room for a few seconds before she heard the Doctor release a breath. “Brilliant...” he whispered, “though dangerous. What would happen if your ‘feeling’ alteration backfired and destroyed your nerve network?”
Twilight shrugged. “That wouldn’t occur due to safeguards I placed up. If the spell would backfire as you claim, it would not attack the nervous system but instead hit a basic shield which would reflect it into the embers. There it would put out the remaining flames and I would be unharmed. The only repercussion that I would have is to go to sleep in a cold room.”
“Absolutely brilliant,” muttered the Doctor. Excited scribbles sounded in front of Twilight. “I can see you are well learned in the ways of magic. Where did you learn?”
“In Canterlot under my mentor. She is the best magic user in Equestria... I can only hope to one day become a fraction as good as her...” Twilight sighed. It was true, Princess Celestia is the best magic user in the realm. A smile crept onto Twilight's face as she remembered her mentor’s calming smile.
“I believe that you are well on your way, young filly,” chuckled the Doctor. “Now for my last question, this one is from the Chancellor: Who do you support, the Night Mare or the Solar Mare?”
“Um... the what?” asked Twilight. She cocked her head to the side in confusion. “I’m sorry, but I don’t know who either are... so I am for neither...”
“What!” gasped the Doctor. “How do you not know who the Night or Solar Mare’s are? They are arguably the two most powerful creatures on the face of Equestria! Those two usurpers took away the purpose of the unicorns when they took over raising and setting the sun and moon!” He ended with a growl.
Twilight’s mind was racing. Was this pony talking about Princess Celestia and Princess Luna? What did he mean by which side was she on?
“Um... What do you mean... usurpers?” she hesitantly asked.
“Right... you are probably too young to know.” sighed the Doctor. “You see, it was once the purpose of Unicorns to raise and lower the sun and moon. We have done so since the beginning of time, same as the pegasus controlled the weather and earth ponies tamed the ground. But the Solar Mare showed up one day with an extraordinary amount of strength. In fact, she was so strong that she managed to raise and lower the sun by herself, which used to be the job of thirteen of the most powerful unicorns working together. And she still have plenty of leftover power to out magick anypony who would challenge her.
“Queen Platinum was forced to adopt her into the royal family as to not be overthrown by this demi-god of a pony. Shortly after this Solar Mare showed up, the Night Mare did as well and took out the unicorns’ role in controlling the moon. She was also adopted into the royal family. It has been a few generations since that time, and they are now the ones ruling the kingdom. They refuse the title ‘Queen’ due to them being ‘adopted’ into the family and not rightful heirs, but they still rule as if they are the Queen.”
“Are their names... Celestia and Luna?” Twilight asked when the Doctor paused in his story.
“... Yes, filly. Those are their names,” The Doctor grimly growled. “So I will ask again, whose side in the war are you on, the Solar Mare of the Sun or the Night Mare of the Moon?
Vault of Origins
Chapter 2
Twilight sat in silence trying to process everything she heard. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were at war? It was absurd, but she was just asked which side she is on... And the Princess was ‘adopted’ a few generations ago? How is that possible if she has ruled Equestria for over a thousand years?
Star Swirl’s notes popped back into Twilight’s head... the time spell. She must have attempted to cast it to avoid the lightning, but the lightning must have struck before she finished the spell supercharging it and throwing her into the distant past, similar to what happened to Star Swirl during his experiments. Memory loss is a common side effect to being struck by lightning.
But if she was casting the time spell to get away from the lightning, then there was a high probability that she didn’t use the fail safe... which means she was stuck somewhere in the distant past. This stallion inquired which Alicorn sister she was siding with, so Twilight could safely assume that she was stranded sometime during the Nightmare War.
Twilight smiled to herself, realizing the solution to her predicament was quite easy. All she had to do was cast the time spell again and send herself back into the future. She gave the Doctor a nod.
“I’m sorry, but I cannot answer your question. I am very grateful for your help, but I have to leave now.” She gathered some aether energy and concentrated it at the point of her horn. She weaved the complex designs for the Time spell and locked it on the day the storm hit the outpost. Releasing the spell, the magical weave wrapped around her. She could feel the fabric of time and space warp around her until she felt her body fit into a tiny hole. The spell unraveled itself and she knew that she was home.
“Now that I’m back, I guess I should try and find my way back to Canterlot,” she muttered to herself.
“You are not going anywhere until I deem you fit to leave young filly,” the shrill voice of the Doctor pierced through Twilight. “If you were trying to dazzle me into thinking you are healthy enough to leave with a light show, then you are sadly mistake,” he grumbled the last part. “Now, back to the task at hand, what do you mean you cannot answer my question?”
Twilight’s heart raced and she felt a cold sweat on her brow. “Oh no! Did I bring the Doctor with me? This is bad, this is very bad!” she moaned. “I changed the past, which in turn changed my future... Did I just destroy Equestria as I know it? Oh dear sweet Celestia, what have I done!”
“Dear sweet Celestia?” the Doctor pondered. “Then it is safe to assume that you are a follower of the Solar Mare.” Twilight heard the stallion stand up.
“Wait!” she cried, jumping and grabbing hold of him. “You can’t leave! Not until I can fix everything.”
“I was required to inform the Chancellor your allegiance,” the Doctor stated sitting back down. “Though, I am curious what you are babbling about. Please explain yourself.”
Twilight sat back and took a couple deep breaths. “I know this will sound insane, but I am from the future,” she paused, waiting for an outburst. The Doctor was silent so she decided to continue. “I was traveling in search of an ancient library... but I got caught in a terrible storm. I was about to get struck by lightning, so I think I tried to cast Star Swirl’s time traveling spell to avoid it.”
“And you cast it too slow and you were struck anyway, correct?” the Doctor interrupted.
Twilight nodded. “Yes... at least that is what I think occured. I am not positive since I cannot remember doing any of it, but it is the most likely possibility.” Another pause. “I can’t tell you my allegiance because I can’t risk changing anything in the past... like the last time I used this spell...” She could feel blood rush to her face and knew she was blushing.
“Then this isn’t the first time you traveled through time?” the Doctor inquired.
“Um... no. But I need to send you back to your time before too much is changed.” Twilight began to gather aether.
“Send me where? We have not gone anywhere.”
The aether dispersed out of Twilight’s grasp. She gawked at the Doctor, not understanding what he said. “What do you mean we haven’t gone anywhere? My spell worked perfectly! We should be in the middle of the ruins of the Yew Outpost.”
“I’m sorry Miss Twilight, but we are still in my office. Though you were semi-accurate in your location. I bid you welcome you to the of village of Yew.” She heard papers shuffle together and a drawer open. “I need to do some paperwork right now. You can roam around if you wish, but I do not want you leaving the building.” she heard the door open, “Oh, and if anypony walks in, do not greet them, do not talk to them. In fact, if you hear any doors open, go to your room and close the door. I’ll take care of them. You are excused.”
“Wait! What do you mean we are still in your office?” Twilight stammered, “I cast my spell perfectly! It should have worked... Hold on a minute, I am going to try casting it again.” She reached for the aether but found it blocked. Something grabbed hold of Twilight and she felt herself lift off the ground. “Hey, what are you doing?”
“Have a relaxing day Miss Twilight... Doctor’s orders.”
The weave released her and she thumped onto the ground along with the sound of a slamming door right behind her.
x.X.x
Twilight paced back and forth in the lobby. Out of everything that had happened, one question constantly flashed in her head.
‘What did I do wrong?’
She was positive she cast the time spell correctly. Gathering the proper amount of aether and condensing it into a single point: check. Weaving it into the proper spell and casting it on herself: check. The fabric of space bending around her and carrying her through the timeline: check. Falling into her home time and landing in the ruins of Yew: not check.
What went wrong? Where in her list did she error?
She reached out for the aether again but the shield was still in place, though it did let her grab a trickle so she could weave her basic feeling spell. She probed around it trying to find a flaw so she could shatter the infuriating barrier, but alas she found none. Grumbling to herself, she plopped down onto the cold floor. She mentally pulled up all the notes and diagrams she could remember on Star Swirl’s research on time travel and began to analyze them.
The clock in the lobby ticked away as she probed through her mental library. Finding it difficult to keep her mind focused when recalling a large number of pages at once, she condensed her magic into a small point. She began copying the pages into the air by moving the small point through the air, leaving a trail of magical energy for her to probe and read like a braille book.
In a short time, she copied down and organized most of the notes she could remember. She read the ‘sheets’, pulling up each page to be sure she copied them down correctly. Nodding in satisfaction, she flipped to the first page and began to study.
Time ticked by as she re-read each page. Nothing looked to be out of the ordinary. Every stop she took fit perfectly in each of the notes she copied. Twilight even redid each calculation that Star Swirl calculated to fold the timestream so two points would come together. It all equaled out to the same outcome: She should be back in her home time right now.
“Everything was done perfectly! What went wrong...” she grumbled.
“I am sure somepony with a brilliant mind such as yours can figure it out,” a voice spoke behind her.
Twilight jumped up into the air and twirled around to face the Doctor. “How long have you been there?” she cried out.
“Long enough,” the Doctor said with a chuckle. “I was worried that the lightning strike addled your mind, making you believe you were from the future. Though, seeing you work with magic so masterfully, and being a student of magic myself, I cannot diagnose you until we have had a ‘proper’ examination.”
Twilight’s ears twitched at the Doctor’s last remark. “What do you mean by ‘examination’?” she asked.
“Nothing too straining,” he replied. “Just a chat.” A chair scooted across the floor and stopped in front of Twilight, “Please have a seat.”
Twilight glared at the doctor through her blindfolds and slowly sat in the offered seat. The sound of a another chair gritted through the room and stopped in front of her. She could hear pages shuffle and lower onto a table nearby. The Doctor released a soft sigh before he began speaking.
“Ah, it feels good to sit down,” he breathed in relief, “Now let’s begin.”
Twilight braced herself for the barrage of questions the Doctor was going to begin flinging at her. When they didn’t immediately come, she used the quiet to prepare a plan of escape if he attempted force another drug down her. Even if there was not much hope since he could use magic and she couldn’t, she would not go down without a fight.
The silence between them stretched for half a minute, then a full minute, then five minutes. Even if Twilight couldn’t see him, she could feel the Doctor’s stare trying pierce through her. At the ten minute mark, she could feel her defences begin to corrode from the Doctor’s unending attack. Twenty minutes passed, and the could feel her legs begin to tremble. She started to fidget and shift her position trying to get more comfortable so she could renew her defences, but the Doctor’s glare wouldn’t give her the chance. After a half hour Twilight groaned in defeat; she had to break the silence so the Doctor would stop.
She cleared her throat, “Sooo... what do you want to chat about?” she managed to croak, forcing a smile onto her face.
He didn’t reply. Twilight could swear his gaze intensified after she spoke. Her ears twitched and her tail snapped in irritation. “Well? Are you just going to sit there and say nothing? You wanted to chat and I am willing to talk now.” She straightened up as she spoke, “What do you want?”
She heard him shift slightly, but he still didn’t reply. She stood tall for a couple minutes, but soon the gaze pushed her back down. It felt as if the temperature in the room began to drop and Twilight started to shiver. She grabbed her tail and tried to find some comfort by stroking it.
Why was he not answering? He wanted to do this chat, but all he was doing was watching. Twilight rummaged through her mind looking for all the texts that related to ancient customs. Maybe she had to do something first. Should she offer tea? No, that was only if he was at her home and she was at his. Maybe she was supposed to find the topic to start? But what topic did he want to hear about? It wasn’t like she was able to tell him about her world, because that might mess up the space-time continuum, altering the future to an unrecognizable point. If she did that then she would cease to exist, but in doing that making it impossible for her to mistakenly come travel back in time to do the mistake to begin with. A cosmic paradox would form and destroy all of creation as they knew it.
Twilight whimpered slightly realizing how bad her situation was. She had to get home, but her magic was blocked and she was under the control of an ancient Doctor from who-knows-when. Not to mention the Doctor had a way of knocking her out whenever he wanted, and without her magic she was practically helpless. She could try and fight him off, but she was nowhere near fit enough to take out a stallion fully grown stallion.
With a sigh, she looked up toward the Doctor. She took in a breath to start talking to him when he released a loud snort. Twilight sat there with her mouth hanging open and strained her ears. The Doctor's breathing was steady with light, nasally snoring in between breaths. Her eye twitched when it clicked that he hadn’t been staring at her the entire time, but sleeping.
She quickly stood up, walked over toward him and turned around. With a quick thrust, she kicked one of the legs in his chair, causing it to crash onto the floor. The Doctor let out a pained yelp as he landed. With a satisfied snort, Twilight left to her room and slammed the door shut.
The Doctor sat on the floor trying to figure out what angered his patent. After a second he shrugged and muttered something about mares being mares. He trotted back into his office feeling strangely refreshed and decided to finish up some leftover paperwork and call it a night.
x.X.x
Twilight awoke by the sound of something breaking. She quickly cast her ‘feeling’ spell and crawled out of bed. There was a chill in the air, meaning the fire had burned out some time ago. Maybe she had slept through the night and it was morning now. She could hear someone yelling, but the words were too muffled to make out through the thick walls. Twilight crept up to the door and placed ear against it.
“I don’t care if you have not released her or not!” boomed a familiar deep voice, “She will tell me whose side she is on or she is going to-”
“You will not lay a hoof on a single strand of her hair, Chancellor!” shrieked the voice of the Doctor, “I have not deemed her healthy enough to be released. I have not even deemed her SANE much less healthy.”
“You are underestimating the gravity of the situation, Vial,” the Chancellor rumbled, “If you won’t release her to me, then I will be a visitor and talk to her myself.”
The sound of stomping hooves sounded throughout the other room. Twilight jumped back as they neared her door and she crawled to the far corner of the room. As she neared the corner, her blindfold got caught onto the nightstand and was pulled off. The door clicked, and a stream of light began to beam into the room. Twilight recoiled back as the light attacked her dilated eyes and she screamed in pain. After a second, Twilight peered through the offending light toward the doorway.
An enormous stallion stood in the doorway. Before Twilight could make out any details he began to glow and was lifted away. The door slammed shut and muffled shouting began again in earnest. Twilight quickly grabbed her blindfold and re-tied it around her eyes. She sat on the floor and waited. Seconds became minutes, and Twilight’s ears twitched as the argument continued.
Eventually, Twilight grew tired of of the waiting, and cautiously crawled toward the door and placed her ear on it again.
“I’ll give you until tomorrow at noon. If she has not announced the town whose side she is on, then I’ll assume she is a Solar emphasizer and will be treated as one.” The deep voice bellowed, followed by the sound of a slamming door.
She cautiously opened her door peeked out. She could feel the Doctor very close to her, less than a foot away from the door. His form quickly turned and looked in her direction.
“Get back in your room,” he growled.
Twilight took a step further into the lobby, “What just happened?” she asked.
The stallion snorted and his hoofsteps began, “Nothing for you to worry about,” he replied, “Now get back in your room.”
Twilight stood tall, “It is about me, so I am invole-”
A force grabbed a hold of Twilight and a glass tube was shoved against her lips. The Doctor’s hoofsteps stomped in front of Twilight. “Get back in your room before I put to to sleep and lock you in there!” he roared.
Twilight eeped and struggled in the Doctor’s telekinetic grip. The stallion released her and she plopped down onto the floor, but the vial was still pressed on her lips. Twilight leapt back into the room and quickly shut the door.
Inside, she ran to where the ashes of the fireplace was. Tears formed in her eyes, soaking into the blindfold. She collapsed onto the floor and cried. She wanted to go home, but she was lost somewhere in time. Her friends were not here to save her, Princess Celestia was not here to give her guidance, and she didn’t have her number one assistant to help her keep calm. In fact, nopony but Celestia were even born yet, and Celestia was too busy fighting her sister to help her student-to-be.
Twilight was alone... and she was helpless. All of her studying, her years of research in the magic of friendship, were useless.
She cried for a long time, but sleep eventually came and took her to dreams of a happier time when her friends were just a house away, and their laughter echoed throughout the streets.
