Twilight of the Idols

Chapters

I. The Sound of Silence
II. You're off the Edge of the Map
III. Here There Be Monsters
Prologue

I. The Sound of Silence

I. The Sound of Silence

They had shambled out of the forest, shivering, silent and disorganized. Though the sky was clear and blue, none of them could feel any warmth from the sun. Their hearts were cold and empty. Whether it was sleep deprivation or loss, it didn’t matter: they were cold and numb. Nopony had spoken the whole walk home. Even the Everfree forest (at least what was left it and hadn’t been bombed out by the marring of the world) had been as silent as grave.

Ponyville at least hummed with some activity. Ponies here and there tried to patch up their damaged homes, or find other refuge from the cold. Even with the scale of the devastation, though, they remained blissfully unaware of what had really happened. And nopony, Twlight least of all, had the heart to tell them.

Victory had never been so bittersweet. The six adventurers parted wordlessly, and headed for their respective homes. Twilight found the library more or less intact. Spike excitedly greeted her at the door, but his chipper died upon seeing the melancholy look on Twilight’s face. “Twilight…what happened?” he asked.

In truth, no words needed to be said. The look on Twilight’s face, and her posture, said everything that needed to be said. Talking without speaking would have to do for now. She brushed past him, and buried herself under the covers in her bedroom. She then cried herself to sleep.

Her dreams were haunted by her failure; Discord would trick her over and over again, and each time she’d see the same face of unbridled madness, as the world ripped itself apart. It was being so totally outwitted that ate at her. Twilight had prided herself on her intelligence, and her quick thinking. And yet, she had ignored every sign and every pang of doubt. She played directly into Discord’s hand, and he had won. The Elements were gone, and so was Celestia.

That was the worst part: that she had failed her mentor and friend so thoroughly. Celestia had trusted her with something so important, and she still blew it. Now everyone would pay the price. Because the worst was still to come.

Twilight awoke with a start. She felt clammy, dripping with cold sweat, and disorientated. The memory of the nightmares slowly evaporated. “I’m in Ponyville…” she said to herself, not caring if anyone was listening. She felt an overwhelming sense of urgency. She bolted to the window, looking out to see the slowly setting sun of a later winter afternoon. Any urge she had to go back to sleep died. She had a job to do.

She bathed quickly, ignoring her hunger. After bathing, she quickly threw on a scarf, and dashed out the door.

Gathering the rest of her friends took some coaxing. Everyone was exhausted by the ordeal, and no one had gotten quite enough rest. Rainbow Dash in particular took quite a bit of “convincing” to get out of bed. Nevertheless, she assembled them all back at the library in short order, along with Spike.

The sun set, all on its own; chased across the sky by the rising of the moon. As dusk swept across Ponyville, the six settled in front of the fireplace in the library. Twilight and Spike prepared hot cocoa for the group as they sleepily kibitzed with one another. It was entirely idle chit-chat, and though they all pretended it was out of tiredness, the real reason they were speaking without talking was the feeling of emptiness and defeat in all their hearts.

Twilight Sparkle finally broke the ice, as she settled in nearest to the fire. “Girls…we need to talk about last night.”

Rainbow Dash groaned, “What’s there to talk about, egghead? We got suckered into Discord’s plan, and now the princesses are gone, probably forever.” Trying to change the subject didn’t help though. Dash’s heart was on her sleeve.

“Dash,” Twilight soothed, “I know you feel guilty about what happened…that you feel like you betrayed Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. We all do. I lost a mentor and a best friend. But I know that she wouldn’t want me to blame myself.”

“Yeah, I reckon you’re right about that, Twilight,” Applejack drawled. “Dash, you have to remember, it was Discord who was guilty. It was his plan, after all. We may have played into it, but what else could we have done? I mean, it’s like Twilight said going into this: we simply couldn’t do nothing. Sure, our plan backfired…”

“And quite spectacularly, I might add,” Rarity interrupted.

They all shuddered, remembering their front row seats to the end of the world. “As I was saying,” Applejack continued, glaring at Rarity, “It may have backfired, but we really had no choice but to confront him. We didn’t have the means to stop him without the Elements of Harmony, and there was no way anypony could have known, least of all us, that he could have sabotaged them.”

“I guess you’re right, AJ.” Rainbow Dashed smiled. Applejack could always talk sense to her, whether she was feeling down in the dumps, or if her ego was getting the better of her. “And, I have to admit, Celestia and Luna looked sooooo awesome!”

Fluttershy looked up from her half-finished cocoa, nervously checking everypony else to make sure she wasn’t butting into the conversation or cutting anypony off before she replied. “Well… I suppose I have to agree. I mean, at first I was frightened by them when they appeared. Especially Luna, since she looked so much like Nightmare Moon. But they were friendly to us, and they stopped Discord.”

“Stopped him effortlessly,” Pinkie Pie replied with unusual solemnity. “I guess I always took it for granted that they raised the sun and the moon, but until now I never really stopped to think just how much of an effort that would be. And even then, they were holding back so much of their power. We got a glimpse of just how powerful they really were.” She smiled a big bright grin, “I guess that really was something special to see. Like a Sonic Rainboom.”

They all nodded in agreement. “Oh my goodness!” Rarity suddenly exclaimed.

“What is it?” Fluttershy asked.

“I could kick myself for not thinking about this until now,” she said, dramatically placing her hoof on her forehead. “Are we not the only ponies who actually know what went on? I certainly didn’t have the heart or the sense to tell anypony in Ponyville why a star almost flattened the whole town, or why the world was crumbling down around them. I’ll bet the people back in Canterlot are all panicking because they can’t find either of the princesses. She’s been gone all of last night, and all of today. I’m sure she has court duties, and her absence will be noted.”

“That’s actually why I gathered everypony here, Rarity.” Twilight let herself smile about her diligence and foresight before continuing. “I already worked some of the details out with Spike. We’re going to have to go to Canterlot, and inform Celestia’s Privy Council about what happened to her. But first, there’s some things we need to find out. And they’re all in the Canterlot castle.”

“Like what?” Dash quipped as she sprawled out on the hardwood floor.

“Luna said that the answers to all my questions would be in her and Celestia’s private quarters. I suppose it makes sense that they’d prepare for an eventuality like this. And I have a lot of questions.”

Rarity nodded in agreement. “Yes. There were some things that Celestia said that I just didn’t understand. I would really like to know more about them. Like when she spoke of ‘the six of us’: she certainly wasn’t talking about us. I’m guessing she means herself, Luna, and four others. Maybe they know of a way to bring her back.”

“Exactly!” Twilight shouted excitedly, “See girls, all hope isn’t lost. We just need to sit down and think through problems some times.” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes at that comment, but Twilight continued, pretending she didn’t notice. “I’ve booked an overnight train for us to get to Canterlot. It took a bit of negotiating, but when I told the manager of the local train station that I was Celestia’s personal student, and that I had important news for Canterlot about the disturbances, he quickly decided to pull in some favors and make it happen.”

“I must say, you’ve really outdone yourself, darling. When do we leave?”

“From what the manager said, it’ll be about two hours from now before we can leave. Pack well; I don’t know how long we’ll be staying. Spike has agreed to help take care of any things you girls might need done while we’re gone, like taking care of pets and such.”

The train that had been prepared for them was admittedly spartan. The locomotive sported a single passenger car and a caboose, and they were lucky to have any blankets for the beds in the car. But it was all that was necessary for the special trip to Canterlot. The light load would help it plow through the thick snows laid by the developing blizzard on the path between Canterlot and Ponyville.

The journey started off uneventfully. And once the heater in the sleeper car got going, and the temperature became comfortable, the six ponies decided to turn in, still tired from the all-nighter and the battle with Discord. Twilight snuggled into her bunk, gazing out the frosty window at the bright full moon. It felt strange leaving for Canterlot knowing that she wouldn’t be visiting her mentor. Strange and depressing. Unlike when she stumbled into Ponyville that morning in a groggy daze, she couldn’t count on just passing out quickly and mercifully to spare her from her nagging thoughts. She dwelt on her loss, and couldn’t escape the bombardment of what-ifs and if-onlys, as she refought the battle against Discord over and over again in her head.

“How many times do I have feel the Elements of Harmony shattering?” she asked herself, “How many times must I feel the heartbreak of the corruption of the magic? Or the look on Discord’s face when the world was falling down around him?” She didn’t answer her questions. Nor could she. That wasn’t the only thing that bothered her though.

Though she didn’t want to admit it to anyone, seeing Celestia at her full power and all her burning vengeance had frightened Twilight Sparkle to her very core.

Twilight had always known that Celestia was powerful; far more powerful than Twilight could have ever hoped to become. But nothing could have prepared her for seeing her kind, nurturing mentor after the destruction of the Elements of Harmony had unsealed all of her raw power. Enough to shake the very pillars of the earth, and unmake the fabric of existence by accident.

Twilight had remembered reading about the old gods of the old pony civilizations. The war gods of the pegasi tribes were still remembered faintly in legends of great deeds from the ancient past. The unicorn’s old gods of dreams and prophecy were occasionally borrowed in literature, and it wasn’t uncommon for a unicorn family to name their son or daughter after one. The humble earth ponies’ psychopomp, and the stories of her leading the departed to the endless green pastures of paradise were mostly forgotten, but she was still occasionally invoked to remind a proud pony of their mortality. Some of the cities and towns across Equestria were named after the gods and goddesses of old Equestria, before the reign of Discord.

It chilled Twilight to the bone to think that her mentor, a mare she considered almost a second mother, was a goddess far more powerful than the any of the old legends. Or that Luna must have been just as powerful as Celestia.

Twilight rolled over, looking away from the moon that reminded her of Luna, and all the opportunities she had missed to spend more time with and learn more about Luna. She wept there, for how the world went, and how the lives that passed touched her heart. Then she finally drifted to sleep.

Twilight found herself in her old study in the Canterlot castle. It was dark outside, and the light of brightly shining stars poured in through the great window. As she came to her senses, she was captivated by the star fields. For a long while, she just sat there gazing at the stars in wonderment, not even thinking to use her telescope. She was enthralled enough without the use of any additional magnification.

“They are quite lovely, are they not?” a familiar voice asked from behind her.

Twilight quickly snapped out of her stupor, spinning around to see if her mind was paying tricks on her.

Sure enough, Luna was sitting there on the throw pillows in the lounge below the observatory, examining the contents of Twilight’s bookshelves.

“Luna!” Twilight cried ecstatically, racing down the stairs to Luna’s side. She nuzzled Luna affectionately, which Luna gladly returned. Luna’s mane felt like a cool summer night’s breeze as it brushed across her face. “It’s so good to see you again.”

A sudden realization hit Twilight. Her spirits fell and a knot formed in her stomach. “This isn’t real,” she said gravely. “I’m dreaming aren’t I? You’re only a dream. It’s pity, I guess.”

“I must say thou art faster than most in realizing it,” Luna chuckled, “Some never do. Of course thou art dreaming. But that does not mean this isn’t real.”

“I don’t—”

“Hush, my little pony. Just let me illuminate thee. When I say that it is never only a dream, I mean exactly that. The tapestry of dreams is as real as anything else. It is not the pallid shadow of the waking world, least of all when I am involved.”

Twilight cocked an eyebrow, clearly confused.

“Am I not the princess of the night, the fair moon that watches over ponies as they sleep? The world of dreams is as much mine home as the night sky.”

Twilight sighed in frustration, “Look, I’d like to believe it. I really would. But dreams a fickle thing, and I almost never remember my dreams when I wake up. And I also know that dreams are deceptive. When we sleep, the judgmental faculties of our brains shut off, and we lose the ability to tell the difference between fact and fantasy.”

“Of course we do. Though I find it quite amusing that thou art so passionately and so clearly arguing why thou can’t judge fact from fancy. I cannot convince thee, Twilight, that I am real. I know better than anyone how hard it is to communicate with ponies in their dreams. But I did not come to thee to try to tell thee anything. I came because thou art my friend. Perhaps my only friend, apart from my sister. Thou comforted me when I was alone and hurt, Twilight Sparkle. Thou alone tried to treat me as thy friend, and share fun and good cheer with me. Now I must do the same for thee. I have visited thy dream to comfort thee while in pain, because thou art my friend, and I suffer when I see thee suffer.”

There was a long pause before Twilight responded. “W-was it that obvious?”

“Yes. Not to everypony, but to thy friends, thou art an open book.” Luna hugged Twilight Sparkle close, squeezing the violet unicorn tightly to herself. Twilight squeezed back, and started sobbing.

“There-there, Twilight,” Luna cooed, “just let it all out. I promise, it will make thee feel better in the morning.”

“I’m so sorry, Luna,” Twilight cried. “We failed you. We failed you both. Now the whole world has lost you, all because Discord tricked us!”

“No. Ye failed no one, Twilight Sparkle. Please, make sure all of thy friends know this. Ye all fought bravely, above and beyond the call of duty. Ye did all that could be done, and saved Equestria from suffering another one of Discord’s reigns. Do not blame your selves for the destruction of the Elements of Harmony, nor for our exile from the mortal plane.”

Twilight felt her sorrow melting away. She didn’t care if it really was Luna or not. It felt real enough. Whether it was Luna herself telling her this, or her own subconscious, it didn’t matter it still was true.

“Thank you,” Twilight replied, enjoying Luna’s warm embrace. “If it really is you, please tell Princess Celestia that I miss her, and that I love her.”

“I will, Twilight Sparkle. Though she already knows it, she will want to hear it anyway. And she misses you too. Unfortunately, we cannot be here to guide you through the troubles you will face. But I cannot tell you how proud we are of you all. We are proud of the mares ye have grown up to be, and we trust you to do what is right, for each other and all of Equestria.

They sat by each other in silence for a while on the throw pillows. Twilight curled up against Luna’s side, and Luna wrapped her wing around the smaller mare, holding her close. Finally, after what seemed like a blissful eternity, Twilight asked, “I’m not going to remember any of this when I wake up, am I?”

“No, my little pony, thou won’t. But thou will feel better. But it’s time to wake up now, Twilight Sparkle…”

“Time to wake up, Twilight Sparkle!”

“Ugh… five more minutes,” Twilight groaned, trying to place a name to the voice trying to wake her. It wasn’t Luna anymore, it was…Pinkie Pie. But why was she thinking about Luna? That didn’t make any sense. There was a dim memory of the shadowy alicorn, but it disappeared as soon as she rolled over.

“Twilight, you silly sleepy-head, get up!” Pinkie cried, more enthusiastically than before. “We’re almost to Canterlot. Get up! We’ve got a big day ahead of us!”

After a moment of contemplation, Twilight finally crawled out from under the covers, and greeted the bright new morning. She stretched, feeling the warmth of the sun filtering through the windows. She felt calm and refreshed, and far less troubled than she had the previous night. She smiled, declaring, “Oh wow, it’s amazing what a good night’s sleep can do for you!”

Author’s Note: Early modern English is hard to do properly, and I’d like to pre-emptively apologize for any confusion on the part of the reader.

II. You're off the Edge of the Map

Twilight of the Idols

II. You’re off the Edge of the Map

Canterlot had always been the shining city on a hill for Equestria, with its elegant marble palaces and shining crystal spires. It was the regal princess of Equestrian cities. But when the six friends disembarked at the central station, it looked like that princess had been on a three day long bender.

“Good heavens!” Rarity strutted to a higher vantage point, steadying herself on collapsed marble column so she could look over the wall at Canterlot castle. “This… this is just dreadful,” was all she could manage. There were plumes of smoke all around the city. Ash and soot had marred many of the great temple faces and elegant estates of the Canterlot gentry. The bright marble and alabaster were now as black as sackcloth.

The orderly streets were now mazes of debris and people’s belongings hastily evacuated from their homes in the earthquakes that came before. Ponies scurried about, slowly beginning to clean up the mess. Weather ponies appeared to be preparing quite the downpour, to knock out the rest of the fires and perhaps wash away some of the ash.

“How many…” Fluttershy started to ask. She glanced left and right nervously, as though it were taboo to ask what everyone was thinking. “How many ponies do you think…died?”

There was a dreadful silence, while everyone contemplated the question. Applejack finally responded. “Too many,” was all she could say.

Twilight hadn’t felt this down and defeated before ever. Not even seeing Celestia leave, or when she was at the nadir of recovering the Elements of Harmony from Discord’s first reawakening. It was one thing to hurt her, or to attack her friends. But bringing so many innocent ponies into it was simply unforgivable. She hated the feeling of powerlessness she’d had. But slowly her sadness turned to anger. Good; anger gave her focus and a purpose. After grinding her teeth, thinking about what she’d do to Discord if she ever caught him in this plane again, she began trotting forward from the train platform. “Girls: we’ve got a job to do,” she said, “I don’t think you can help me much searching through the Princesses notes. But you can help the people of Canterlot.”

“I think I can see where you’re going with this, sugarcube,” said Applejack. “There’s bound to be a lot of wrecked building. I’ll help the rescue crews, while Fluttershy can help tend to the wounded.”

Fluttershy nodded, and trotted off behind Applejack.

“I’ll see if those weather ponies need some first class help,” said Rainbow Dash.

“Pinkie and I will go see if we can organize some provisions for those who’ve lost their homes,” said Rarity. Pinkie Pie nodded, bouncing along after the alabaster mare.

A surge of pride swelled up in Twilight’s chest. It was great to see their zeal in helping others. Whenever she was down, it was something that could drive her forward. “Stay safe girls,” she called out to them as they went their separate paths.

Finding her way to the palace proved to be an ordeal. The streets of Canterlot were turned into a maze by the fires, collapsed buildings, and rubble barricades. Still, Twilight pressed on, and just as the downpour started, she was climbing the last steps to the palace main gate. The normal guard detail seemed to be vacant.

“They’ve got better things to do then guard an empty palace,” Twilight said to herself. She felt a little bit guilty entering the palace without checking in or at least informing someone of her presence. She may have been Celestia’s protégé, but rules were rules. They probably wouldn’t mind this time.

What immediately struck her was just how dark the palace was. Normally, its interior was brightly lit, either by torch or by great skylights. But the skylights were covered with soot, and the torches had long gone out. Just enough light filtered in to give the interior a dusky appearance, like a perpetual evening twilight. Otherwise, it seemed to have fared well. The glazed marble floors were mostly unblemished, though many of the tapestries and painting that adorned the walls had fallen into heaps on the floor. The palace was remarkably sturdy.

Twilight slowed to a canter as she entered the great hall. She was out of breath and panting from the run and stairclimb to the palace. “I figure I can stop here for a bit…and catch my breath.”

She heard a wizened voice call out, presumably at her. “Young lady, are you lost?”

The voice was some ways away, but steadily moving closer. “Don’t worry, I won’t harm you.” He said.

Twilight pulled her ears back in embarrassment. She felt like she had her hand caught in the cookie jar. She could hear his hoofs clacking on the marble floor now. The stranger soon rounded a corner, and came into view.

“Good heavens! Twilight Sparkle, is that you dear?”

Seeing the stately old earth pony brought a flash of recognition. “Old Rook! I’m so glad to see you!”

Twilight rushed over to nuzzle with him, but she quickly caught herself. She wasn’t a little filly anymore, this would have been improper.

He hugged her anyway. Rook was, as he put it, a bit over the hill. His tan coat had lost its luster with age, and his mane and beard had long since turned gray, but he still looked fairly spry and dignified in his court uniform; a dark blue single-breasted coat with a stand collar, and gold oakleaf embroidery across the chest as well as on the collar and cuffs.

She felt safe in his embrace ever since she was first apprenticed to the Princess. This was no different. He felt like a grandfather, in many ways.

“It’s been a long time, my lady,” he said. “So what can I do for you? I’m afraid if you’ve come to visit your mentor, she’s indisposed.” He looked around cautiously, as though he were looking out for any eavesdroppers. Twilight noticed quite immediately.

“Understand, what I am about to tell you is a state secret. You are not—”

“I already know, Rook. Don’t worry about it,” she interrupted, “The Princess sent me a letter the night before last. We were to meet her in the Everfree Forest to confront Discord and recover the Elements of Harmony.” She wordlessly ushered for the both of them to retreat further into the palace. It might have been paranoid, but it wouldn’t be a good idea to take any sort of risk of what she was about to say to get out. It could cause a panic; the last thing Canterlot or anywhere else in Equestria needed right now.

They took cover in a secluded alcove, and Twilight continued. “Discord had managed to best both of the Princesses before we could arrive. My friends and I fought him, and managed to recover the Elements of Harmony.”

Twilight stopped for a minute, her stomach bunching up in knots as she tried to tell the rest of the story. “But somehow, that was his plan. The Elements were corrupted by Discord. When we activated them, they became wildly unstable, and they were destroyed.”

Old Rook recoiled in shock upon hearing this. It didn’t seem possible, but in all the years he had known Twilight, he’d never known her to lie. Especially about something this great. Before she continued, he cut in. “My word! I must inform the Privy Council immediately, this is a terrible disaster!”

“Wait! It gets worse. I’m still searching for answers myself, but the Princess told me something that…well…rocked my world.”

Rook raised an eyebrow out of confusion and curiosity.

“Oh right, the earthquake, yeah” she said, feeling a bit sheepish. “I’m still trying to make sense of all that she told me. Princess Celestia said that she and others forged the Elements of Harmony an eon ago, pouring much of their collective power into the artifacts. She said that they world couldn’t support their magic otherwise, it needed special artifacts to keep the world from tearing itself apart in her presence. So when the Elements were destroyed, these catastrophes started.”

“But they stopped. Twilight dear, what are you getting at?”

“The Princesses are gone. They said they had to leave, and they didn’t know if they ever would be able to come back. So much of it still doesn’t make sense, which is why I came here. Princess Luna said I might be able to find more answers and a solution by searching the Princesses’ private chambers.”

There was a pregnant pause. Old Rook apparently didn’t even notice the part about the young mare asking for total access to the most secluded centers of the Equestrian government. He was still stuck on the “the Princesses are gone” part.

“I beg your pardon...”

“They’re gone Rook. They had to leave this world entirely. I don’t know where they went, they didn’t say. But they’re gone, and I have to find out a way to bring them back.”

Rook felt a crushing burden fall onto his shoulders. He’d served faithfully on Princess Celestia’s Privy Council for almost the past twenty years. The son of a cobbler, he was one of the few commoners on the Privy Council. This made his elevation to First Lord of the Treasury—the de facto head of Her Majesty’s Government—five years ago quite the slap in the face to the Canterlot gentry. And now the weight of the world was on his shoulders. In all his years of service, he’d never once imagined that the Princess wouldn’t be there. He had known with absolute certainty that she’d still be ruling long after he was dead. Now he’d have to lead the people of Equestria through this time of crisis.

“I think I’m going to faint…” was all he could manage.

Twilight helped the old pony steady on his legs. Soon, his overwhelming sense of duty took over. He pulled a keychain from his pocket, and handed it to Twilight. “Go Twilight, find what you need. I have a succession crisis to deal with.” He trotted off, smiling back at Twilight as he left.

Twilight smiled back at him, and then rushed upstairs to the Princesses’ royal chambers. In all the years she’d been in and out of the palace, she’d never actually been in the princesses’ private chambers. She didn’t know what to expect.

There was a large gilded door at the top of the stairs, adorned with a mural of the two princesses raising the sun and the moon. There was small keyhole about eye level directly in the center. The golden key that Rook had given her slipped in without any trouble. As she turned the key, the whole door began to glow with magic, opening to reveal an antechamber. Twilight crossed the threshold, itching with nervous energy. On the right side of the room, there was smaller door, made of solid jade adorned with a golden sun. On the left, there was another door, carved from black obsidian decorated with a silver moon.

“Okay, which one first?” she said to herself. “I know I should go to Celestia’s room first, but I don’t think I’m ready. But if I’m going to find what I needed, it’s probably in there. Hardest one first, that way it will be all downhill from there.” The peptalk seemed to calm her nerves. She casually strolled over to the solar door. Twilight nearly jumped out of her skin when it opened automatically as she approached it.

After cursing her jitters, she entered her mentor’s private chambers.

“What…what a mess!”

Celestia’s room had a certain lived in quality, to say the least. There were papers and books strewn about the entire room. The bookshelves that covered the walls were full, and the surplus of books spilled out into great stacks spread around the edges of the room, piled on sofas and coffee tables, or left haphazardly on the felt rugs.

There were some tea and coffee cups scattered across various sitting areas, and a couple small plates that had presumably been used for pastries of some sort.

The only part of the room that didn’t seem messy was the desk, which seemed to be neatly organized. So Twilight rummaged through it first, destroying the lonely island of organization in the room. She didn’t really find anything there, except for some state documents, some writing supplies, and some reference dictionaries for Old Ponyish.

Twilight spread her search, tearing through the legions of books in the room, tossing them carelessly into piles when she found them to be irrelevant. Her frustration mounted, and she found herself interrogating the books as she examined them.

“Record of the Lotus War? Nope!” The thick tome bounced off a pile of discarded books as she moved to the next. “Hmm… Principia Magus? Seems irrelevant. Critique of Critical Criticism Against Brony Bower and Company?” Twilight nearly had an aneurysm reading that one. “Starswhirl’s beard, that is the worst title I have ever heard!”

That particular volume was not set aside lightly. It was thrown with great force. Twilight continued sorting through a thousand years of different scholarly works for almost half an hour. Finally, wiping the sweat from brow, she sat back on her haunches, her ears pulled back in defeat.

“Oh for the love of…I’m never going to find what I’m looking for!” she cried.

Just then, she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. Perched by itself on an almost empty shelf on the bookcase, there was a purple leather book that bore Twilight’s cutie mark on the cover. Twilight quickly snatched it, opening it to read the first pages.

My Dear Student Twilight Sparkle,

If you’re reading this, then I am no longer with you. I truly never wished for you to have to see this, and I’d much rather have answered all the questions you must have in person, rather than have to have you find it out after whatever cataclysm has separated us.

If I am gone, that means Equestria will be in peril. Remember, my student, that I have the utmost faith in you and your abilities. There is no one in this world I’d rather trust my legacy to than you.

Twilight teared up reading it, trying to keep her tears from staining the book. She noticed that some of the next lines had been whited out and written over. The note in the margin explained that the book had originally prepared before Princess Luna had been returned. Twilight took a moment to compose herself, and then continued reading.

I’m sure that you have so many questions right now. And truth be told, I probably do not have all the answers. This is why I have entrusted my dear sister to help me prepare for this contingency. I had originally intended for you to read this book in its entirety as my last will and testament, but I’ve found after my sister’s return that my own recollections of the past were not as complete as I had hoped. Nor were they as objective as I would have liked. So, rather than have you read this, I’d much rather you hold onto it as a keepsake.

Luna, if you haven’t already learned, is the master of dreams. With this magic, we’ve created a way for us to show you, rather than tell you, what you need to see. You’ll find a crystal orb in Luna’s chambers, right near the stellarium. Touch your horn to it, and you’ll have your answers.

This is hard to write. I don’t want to think about leaving you. But always remember this, my little pony: I love you as though you were my own daughter.

Your dearest friend,

Celestia

Twilight sat for a moment, just staring at the last few words, tears streaming down her cheeks. After having a good cry, she found the resolve to get up, and go see just what the princesses had in store for her.

The door to Luna’s chambers owned automatically as well. The contrast inside, though, was literally night and day. The dark blues and violets of Luna’s chambers were a stark contrast to the warm, earthy colors of Celestia’s. Luna’s room was also the picture of orderly efficiency. Nothing, not even the slightest book or scroll was out of place.

The center of the main room was dominated by a great stellarium. It was a curious clockwork contraption, unlike anything Twilight had ever seen before. It’s gears and pinions continued to spin inexorably, powered by some unseen force, tracking the movements of the major celestial bodies. Just as the letter had said, there was a dark blue crystal orb sitting on a desk beneath the slowly circling orbits of the stellarium.

Twilight eagerly trotted over, and touched her horn to it without a moment’s hesitation. There was no time like the present.

The orb suddenly glowed with dark purple magic, and soon Twilight felt the warm glow of the magic wrap around herself. It was soothing, almost familiar, so Twilight suppressed her urge to panic. She just went with the flow as best as she could. Both she and the crystal levitated, and lazily floated over to a collection of fluffy cushions in the corner of the room. After settling down into the cloudlike bed, Twilight felt her eyes get heavy. She finally stopped resisting, and soon she fell deep into dream.

When she came to, Twilight found herself standing in a lush green field. The sky was dark, and a cool summer night’s breeze gently rustled the shoulder high grass around her. The smell of salt was in the air, so she couldn’t be too far from an ocean.

She breathed in the fresh air, enjoying the view of the rolling hills, and the subtle song of the rolling surf on a beach perhaps just over the next hill. This was a good place. Then she noticed the sky.

“It’s… it’s all wrong!” she said. She pranced around nervously, looking for familiar constellations, or nebula. But the worst was that there was no moon. She’d never seen a night sky without a moon before. Nor had she seen the stars shine so bright. The night sky was alien.

Twilight heard a rustle in the grass behind her. Startled, she spun around. She recognized the figure instantly.

“Princess Luna?” she said, finally allowing herself to breathe a sigh of relief.

“No, my little pony, I’m afraid not. I’m just a ghost of the pony you know. Think of me as a recording. I’m here to guide you through these memories.”

“Oh,” Twilight said disappointed, “Well, I guess that’s kind of a bummer. What had you planned to show me?”

“The nightmares of the past. I can offer you nothing more or less.” Luna then pointed up at the sky. There were brilliant red streaks, screaming across the night sky. They were larger and brighter than most shooting stars, and they seemed to only get larger and brighter as they streamed towards the horizon. They looked strangely beautiful though, and hardly harmful.

When the first one touched the horizon, there was a flash brighter than sunrise. As it dimmed, a red-orange ball of churning magic was revealed. A wave seemed to emanate out from it, rolling across the open grassland at incredible speed. When it reached her finally, it nearly knocked Twilight off her feet. After the loud bang of the shockwave, the air was filled with a roaring sound.

More of those shooting stars touched down all around her. Though she was many kilometers away, each one shook the earth, and filled the sky with a burning roar. Twilight huddled down on her belly, her hooves clamped on her ears to protect from the noise.

“What the hell is going on!?” she shouted, too scared to realize she was breaking her normal politeness.

“The destruction of our homeworld,” Luna replied, as the roar of the destruction slowly quieted.

Twilight soon found herself pulled upwards off the ground at great speed. No, an optical illusion. The ground was falling away from her while she remained stationary. The strange planet stopped receding, leaving Twilight and the Luna recording standing in a position where they could see the whole of the planet. The destruction seemed universal.

“Your home? What do you mean? I thought Equestria was your home.”

“Celestia and I are not from your world. We were refugees, fleeing across the cosmos. The six of us left our homeworld just in time. We broke through the barriers erected by the forces of Chaos, and hoped others would follow in our wake. Instead, we watched helplessly as our world burned.”

The Luna recording seemed to choke up a bit. “Sorry, ‘tis difficult to give thee this memory. Sometimes we slip back into the old grammar when we lose focus.”

Twilight could only nod her head dumbly.

“We were young, headstrong and reckless, and now we were the last of our kind.”

The view soon departed from the blackened cinder of a world. It now centered on six alicorns, sitting around in a circle on a barely habitable plane. They all looked to be no older than their late teens, yet they all had the same thousand-yard stare. They seemed more like shell-shocked veterans than adolescents.

Twilight quickly recognized two of them. Celestia and Luna were sitting close together, each trying to put on a brave face to comfort her sister. Honestly, it didn’t seem to be working.

Luna continued to narrate. “The tan filly with the leaf cutie mark is Gaia. She had been Celestia’s dearest friend in our youth.”

Twilight nodded, watching as Gaia went over to nuzzle with Celestia, as though a hug could ease that kind of pain. Another pony stood watch upon a rocky outcropping, gazing up at the stars. Her coat was a dull gray, which contrasted sharply with her coal-black mane and tail. Though she looked at the sky forlorn, her blue eyes seemed full of life. She soon turned back towards the rest of the group, and rushed over to comfort the other two.

“That one is Azrael,” Luna continued, seeming to notice where Twilight Sparkle’s attention was focused. “Her cutie mark is a naval chronometer.”

“I was just about to ask that,” Twilight remarked, not taking her attention off the memory playing out before her.

“The colt she’s trying to joke and play with is Lupercal. He always tried to be brave and strong, but I deep down he was the one who was hit the hardest by this.”

The red colt seemed to hide it quite well. His buddy, an orange yellow mare with a red starburst pattern cutie mark, was dozing off beside him, while he whispered for Azrael to keep quiet. “The last one is Lillith. She’s a bit of a trickster, but she’s always been loyal to her friends.”

“Our race had been powerful, and greatly skilled in magic. But our hubris led to our downfall, as we were torn apart by power struggles, letting new demonic enemies slip past our defenses from the warp. Though we didn’t know it yet, our people had entrusted us with the legacy of their magic. As we went from world to world like vagabonds, never staying in once place for long, our power grew. Occasionally, we had to fight, but we learned to be good at that. As we honed our skills, and strengthened our magic, we tried to stay out of the rest of the universe’s way. We would bide our time until we could either fight back, or be secure enough to settle down on a world that wouldn’t be so inhospitable to us.”

Twilight’s dream vision showed her hundreds of different worlds as Luna spoke. She had never imagined that the cosmos could be so diverse. All the twinkling stars looked the same, but up close they were all so unique.

“Finally, though, we found that we could not ignore the universe forever. One morning, we all felt a powerful psionic call echoing through the warp. It was a cry of pain and distress, and a subconscious call for help we simply couldn’t ignore. We had always tried to stay away from lesser creatures and avoid interfering with them. But this was too much for us to just walk away from. So we followed the emanations to its source. That is when we found Equestria.”

Twilight gasped at what she saw. She instantly recognized the utter chaos that had engulfed the entirety of the world. It was a dark time in pony history, only dimly remembered until Discord had awoken again.

“We first came to Equestria over one thousand years ago,” Luna said mournfully, “We found, though, as we pierced the veil of your world that we had grown far too powerful for any world to support us for long. Discord’s long reign had already badly damaged the foundations of the Equestrian plane. It wouldn’t be long before the cancer spread elsewhere. We knew we had to fight him directly.”

The six alicorns were adults now. As they stared down at the world in chaos below, they burned with righteous anger and magical zeal. They set about their plans, working diligently on the surface of a small planetoid on the edge of space. They seemed to be forging something, under the watchful direction of the gruff stallion Lupercal.

Twilight was intensely curious. This was a part of the history of her people that had long since been lost. “So…why was this part of our history hidden from us?” she asked, not taking her focus off the visions before her.

“All in due time, my little pony.”

The six alicorns in the vision soon each began pouring immense amounts of magic into the devices they had been working on. When the mana storm ceased, Twilight finally recognized the fruits of their labor.

“It’s the Elements of Harmony! They look nothing like I remember, but they seem to function the same way.”

“Good observation,” said Luna. “We decided to turn our magic towards order. We sealed away much of powers into the Elements of Harmony, which would stabilize Equestria, and weaken the grip that Discord had on reality. As long as we held the Elements, and were in tune to this purpose, we could use our vast powers safely, without threatening the fabric of the universe.”

The six alicorns soon descended to Equestria like avenging angels. As they stretched for their might, the skies began to clear. Harmony would return to Equestria.

“Discord didn’t go down without a fight, though. We had to wage bloody war on him, and tragically many ponies in his thrall opposed us. Discord and the lesser chaos gods in his thrall were empowered by the worship and fear of the mortal ponies they lorded over. It took several long years before we could assemble a host of allies strong enough to assault his capital.”

Luna spoke softly as she narrated the scenes of war, carnage and devastation that played out before her, as though she felt ashamed or guilty for her part in this. The younger Luna, and indeed all the rest of the alicorns in the visions didn’t seem to share this concern. Now in the thick of battle herself, Twilight ran frightened to cover, while arrows and magical blasts whizzed about the battlefield.

“Relax, Twilight. These ghosts can’t hurt you.”

Luna’s comforting didn’t help. The screams of the dying and the smell of charred flesh made Twilight want to vomit. Somehow she managed to keep her breakfast down. Twilight cautiously peered out from behind the overturned carriage. She saw the younger Luna, clad in her dark blue nightmare armor, engaged in a magical clash with a chimera. Not Discord himself, but probably a lesser chaos god. After a short struggle, she slew the creature. She smiled, relishing its defeat, before moving onto the next foe.

“Y-you’re not catching me at my best,” the older Luna said while she stood behind Twilight. She was clearly embarrassed at the folly of her younger self. She sighed heavily, “I was always so sure, so right about everything back then. I couldn’t see the larger picture. None of us could. Since my return, many of speculated of my character, thinking me timid for not appearing to others or holding court like my sister. If only they knew the truth: I hide from them out of shame, not fear.

“Celestia has had a thousand years to adapt to peace. But at this point, none of us had ever known anything other than war and strife.” Luna paused for a moment to collect herself. “Twilight Sparkle, what I’m about to show you next is going to shock and horrify you.”

Twilight stared back incredulously. Did Luna really think this wasn’t shocking and horrifying to her?

The scene soon shifted to Discord himself being turned to stone by the alicorns’ magic, channeled with the Elements of Harmony. They had fought the final battle alone, lest some lesser being be harmed in the crossfire. As they stood in a circle around the statue, they began talking about what would have to come next.

Celestia spoke first. “We’ve come too far to go back,” she said, her voice cold and emotionless. “These lesser creatures here are infants. They need our guidance and our strength, lest they turn upon one another as spoilt children.”

“Do mine ears deceive, or hast thou laidst claim to rule o’er these mortals?” Luna said, scowling at her sister’s presumption. “We have already been worshipped as gods by some among them. Perhaps the adulation hath gone to thy head, sister.”

“I can sympathize, Luna,” Azrael replied, “But wherefore did we come to this world? Clearly, we came to make things better for these mortals. Thou hast felt their cries as keenly as I. What else have we but to give them our guidance?”

“Forget not that our own people hath been consumed by chaos. Lest these poor creatures suffer that fate, we must gift our wisdom to the three tribes,” said Lupercal. “We must teach them to learn from our hubris.”

“I have not forgotten, friend. Have ye forgotten that it was our people’s own vanity that led them astray?” said Luna. It was hard for Luna to tell if her anger was righteous or self-righteous. “I know of no greater vainglory then making thee another’s master.”

“Thou speakest of vainglory, yet thy own pride is great!” said Gaia. Twilight could immediately tell that such outbursts were uncharacteristic of her. “We have always worked together, wherefore art thou so obstinate?”

Luna seemed wounded by her accusation. “Dost thou beggar my loyalty, Gaia? Very well, if it be put to a vote, I shall obey. I have said my piece.”

They put it to a simple show of hooves. Celestia, Gaia, Lupercal and Azrael immediately voted in favor of the idea. Lillith reluctantly raised her hoof eventually, as though she felt she was betraying Luna.

Luna herself stormed off in a huff at her defeat. She waited on the edge of the field, while the other five discussed dividing the duties and how they would announce it to the world. Gaia would rule over the plants and lesser animals, teaching the ponies to care for them, and how to manage the world’s ecology in harmony. Azrael would be in charge of domestic administration, teaching the ponies how to manage their towns, bring joy to the living and comfort the dying. Lupercal was given dominion over industry, and would teach the lesser tribes to make machines and magic that would bring abundance, and how to share that abundance fairly. Lillith would teach the ponies law, and how to administer it honestly and justly. Celestia, as the first among equals, would preside over the day, and take on the herculean take of bringing order back to the cycles of day by raising the sun. Luna would preside over the night, raising the moon to shine brightly over the sleeping ponies.

The older Luna started narrating again, as the six alicorns separated. “For a time, everything seemed to work out. We took our roles as their immortal guardians seriously, and for the next few generations, things went smoothly. We rebuilt the world ravaged by war and chaos, and brought some measure of peace and prosperity to the land. Twilight, if you don’t want to see the next chapter, I understand completely.”

“Luna, please, I need to know.”

“If you insist…”

The scene of the happily rebuilding ponies faded away. It was night now, and the young Luna was sitting on a balcony in the old castle in the middle of the Everfree Forest of present day. The thousand plus year old structure was new in the vision, and surrounded by rolling green fields, interspersed with small well groomed forests. The young Luna sat, looking out across the sleeping ponies. She seemed sad and lonely, yet too proud to admit it to anyone except herself.

“At first, I threw myself into my duties. I told myself that the loneliness and isolation that came with being the lady of the night were duties that only I had the strength to bear. But it still ate at me. At first, the job was simple benign neglect, and I watched over the night unseen by any of them. We had banned the worshipping of us as gods back when we took over. But it proved to be resilient, and soon I found out that the others were quietly encouraging it after we had lifted the ban as ‘unnecessary’. It felt like a betrayal of everything we stood for. I still stood with them, because they still were my friends, and had the best interests of everyone at heart.

“But as time went by, that became harder. The ponies came to know and fear me. Rather than respecting me for watching over them while they slept, they blamed me for what went bump in the night. Slowly, I became bitter, not just towards them, but towards my sister and our friends. I was enraged that they coddled their superstitions, and even drew nourishment from it. They kept them ignorant and weak, while I did their dirty work to keep their precious little pets safe.”

Luna spoke with shame. She was on the verge of tears, reliving her mistakes again. Even though Twilight knew it was just a shadow, she still hugged Luna out of instinct, watching the tragedy unfold before her eyes.

“I let my experiences make me hard and unkind, and I was too proud to do anything constructive about my grievances. Instead, I let them fester. I simultaneously despised the lesser ponies, yet considered myself their champion, and the one who would free them from the despicable condition that they had been placed in.

“The worst part was that I was right about so much, yet oh so wrong about others. The bitterness turned to hate, and it poisoned my soul. I became convinced that overthrowing my friends would be the lesser ponies’ only salvation. I longed to purge the world of vice and sin, and I saw corruption everywhere…except within myself. The others were opening the door to the return of chaos, and the same cataclysm that had befallen our own people. Because my self-righteousness was unassailable, I could not see that I had become the doom that I had been struggling against.”

The amulet of loyalty around the younger Luna’s neck soon turned gray, and fell off her neck. Luna stared down at the world hate and vengeance in her eyes. With a flash of black magic, she donned her nightmare battle form. She roared at the top of her lungs into the night sky, “If all you can see is a monster, then I’ll show you a monster!”

The moon stopped in the sky as Nightmare Moon took flight.

“I flew off to gather forces, both among ponies as well as the other magical creatures of Equestria. There is one thing you must understand, Twilight: I am responsible for everything you are about to see. What you’re going to see is going to shock you. I can make no excuses for my actions. I let myself be consumed by Nightmare Moon.”

Twilight could only nod. As Nightmare Moon gathered her armies in the opening days of the Long Night, the rest of Equestria descended into panic. The five rulers were paralyzed by indecision about how to face Luna’s gathering force. No one could have ever imagined that element of loyalty and prelate of truth could fall so far.

“Lillith decided to take matters into her own hands,” Luna said mournfully. “She tried to confront me, to talk some sense into me. But I could not hear it. Your histories of this event only record that I was a cackling, cartoonishly evil tyrant, driven mad by jealousy. As though I were the type of villain who tied maidens to railroad tracks for the jollies. But the truth is far worse, and it’s why honesty from a friend could not stop me.”

A feeling of dread filled Twilight as she watched the orange alicorn met with Nightmare Moon alone; trying to convince her that it wasn’t too late to turn back as passionately as she could.

“I remained 'righteous', but self-righteous. I continued to rule and order things for 'good', and the benefit of my subjects according to my wisdom. This is why I was the worst tyrant imaginable. I wasn’t a robber baron or a mad queen; my justice had simply lost its compassion. A mad queen’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, her cupidity may at some point be sated, and since she dimly knows at least that she is doing wrong she may someday repent. But someone who mistakes her own cruelty, lust for power, and fear for the mandate of justice will torment others indefinitely because she does so with the approval of her own conscience. I thought myself a dark messiah to right the wrongs done to me and others.”

Lillith’s sobs fell on deaf ears: their argument soon came to blows, and as the two goddesses clashed, the whole world shook beneath them. But she as great as she was, Lillith was simply no match for Nightmare Moon, empowered by rage and the taint of discord. Nightmare Moon struck down the pale alicorn, leaving her lying broken and bleeding in a crater. Nightmare casually cantered over to her, ready to deliver the finishing blow.

“I…I still love you, my friend,” Lillith cried, “And I forgive you.”

Nightmare Moon thrust her magical blade through the fallen pony’s heart. She seemed confused at the tears that were in her eyes. It was as though she couldn’t even acknowledge her own emotions anymore. In spite of everything, Lillith had a look of peace on her face as she closed her eyes forever. Soon, her body glowed with brilliant light, transforming into pure magic, and then disappeared in a flurry of white feathers.

“I betrayed and murdered my best friend…”

Scenes from the ensuing war flashed before them. The world was ravaged yet again by battle as ponies were once again forced to take up arms. One by one, the other alicorns fell to Nightmare Moon. The plants and crops began to die as the night wore on for weeks, until finally Nightmare Moon’s armies were laying siege to Canterlot. Celestia sat alone upon her golden throne, clad in her golden battle armor.

She contemplated her next move, wondering what had caused her sister to fall so far. As the sound of the siege engines grew closer, and the castle’s magical defense crumpled, Celestia summoned up all her courage. She strode out of the throne room, dismissing her guards. They would tend to the walls elsewhere. She would face her sister alone.

The loyalists cheered in the streets upon seeing their mighty sovereign gallop towards the battlements. She ordered the gate open, and trotted out in front of the battlements alone, ordering it closed behind her. She was wearing the element of magic proudly, and its golden halo forced all but the strongest of Nightmare Moon’s champions to shrink back.

“We would face Nightmare Moon alone!” she called out in the deafening official voice now known as the Royal Canterlot voice. “This battle is between us. Ye shall cease all attacks upon Canterlot lest we destroy you.”

Nightmare Moon soon stepped to the fore, staring down her elder sister dispassionately. “It is good of thee to come, sister. Thou might spare thy subjects a terrible slaughter if thou would abdicate and welcome the new order.”

Celestia’s anger only burned brighter. Her flaming mane whipped in the wind as she scowled at her sister. “Of all my friends, why thee? Thou wast stronger than this!”

“I am stronger than thou could ever imagine. I can feel the universe tremble at my approach; even the Lords of Chaos cower at my name!”

“No one will remember thee, traitor!” cursed Celestia. She launched her attack, charging headlong at Nightmare Moon, brandishing her magic as a burning greatsword. Nightmare Moon met her charge with her own shadowy blade, and the two alicorns clashed through the air, each trying to get the upper hand.

The two opposing armies each cheered on their champion while the world shook from their battle. After a few minutes of dead heat, Celestia missed a crucial parry. Nightmare Moon’s duskblade cut deep into Celestia’s golden armor, and the magical force of the attack sent her careening down to the ground, creating a decent crater with her impact.

Nightmare Moon hovered down over Celestia while she cradled the wound, struggling to stand. “Pathetic!” Nightmare shouted, “Thou wast great once, before guilt and doubt addled thy will; before they rendered judgment upon these mortals, before thou murdered the innocent and the guilty all in one stroke! Thou weak, sorry fool! How must it feel to have slain millions, to have betrayed thy own blood!?”

Celestia staggered to her hooves, raising her blade to defend. “Thou art right, sister. I did betray them, just as I betrayed thee.” With her admission catching Nightmare off guard, she pressed her attack, pushing the black alicorn back, stunning her followers to silence.

“Then why dost thou persist?”

“Because I have failed thee. I will not let thee make a greater error, sister, because I love thee, and I am truly sorry.”

The duel continued unabated in between their verbal jabs. Celestia seemed to have taken the advantage now. Nightmare could only look back in stunned silence.

Tears were streaming down Celestia’s cheeks as she fought on. “I once thought myself just, Luna. I told myself that the innocents who we purged along with the guilty died so that equidae could live, and that I had ended their suffering. But I was wrong, Luna, so wrong! Thou art committing the same sins as I. It is my fault, because thou counseled me against my vanity, yet I ignored thee. I was angry, and I shut thee out of my life. I wanted not to hear what thou said. So I let my sister sulk alone in the night. I wronged thee greatly, sister. But I also cannot allow you to magnify my mistakes.”

“Thou art trying to trick me!” accused Nightmare Moon.

“No, dear sister, I am not. Can’t thou see the damage that thy night is bringing? The air is chilled, the trees and grass are dying. Soon, the ponies will be too. I beg thee, stop this madness! Let us resolve this with words, like two loving sisters ought?”

Celestia was tiring. Even before the wound she received, Nightmare Moon was considerably stronger than her. The gash sapped her strength and stamina, and soon her attacks faltered. Nightmare Moon regained the upperhoof, and soon she sent Celestia careening through the brown trees, scattering their leaves upon the ground.

“It is too late for words, dear sister,” said Nightmare Moon as she approached the dazed champion of ponykind.

Celestia shook off her confusion, and slowly rose to her feet. “I’m sorry sister,” she said, “but thou leavest me with no choice. I hope that we can meet again one day, whether this works for not. I will not yield to thee, nor can I permit this night to continue. Know this, sister: I would have died to spare thee this agony.”

Her halo began to glow as bright as the dawn, as she summoned up all of her magic. Nightmare Moon continued to advance undeterred by her sister’s last minute gambit. The element of magic glowed as Celestia slowly levitated off the ground. She didn’t know if this desperate act would work, if she could activate an Element of Harmony now that they were marred by betrayal and death, but she had to try, even if the magic drain killed her. After what seemed like a short eternity, the Element of Magic fired, sending a stream of golden magic straight at Nightmare Moon.

It over whelmed her defenses, sending her hurtling into the night sky. The ray of magic continued until it struck the moon, imprisoning Nightmare in it. As the spell ended, Celestia’s halo dimmed and failed. Her armor faded to gray, as did the Element of Magic, and the fell to the ground. The fire wet out in her mane and tail. She slumped to the ground in exhaustion, though she allowed herself a small sigh of contentment upon seeing the moon begin to move across the sky again, along with Nightmare Moon’s forces scattering in a total rout.

“I have lost the magic of friendship because I have lost my best friend,” she said to herself as she fell unconscious with exhaustion.”

Twilight Sparkle found herself waking up as the vision finished. Luna’s voice echoed in her head as she woke, telling her to stay strong. Her eyes slowly cracked open as she started to stir, feeling the luxuriously soft pillows of Luna’s room. She got up quickly, almost in a panic.

It was nightfall by now. The crystal ball was set on the pillows next to her, broken in two. Inside the hollow crystal there was a note. It was a list of authors and book titles, and where they might be found, so that Twilight could fill in the details. She didn’t recognize a single title or author among the list; it was knowledge not meant to be seen.

She pocketed the list quickly, setting it in her saddlebag along with the book that Celestia had prepared for her. She cantered out of the palace, heading towards Old Rook’s residence to inform him of the news.

The city seemed different than before as she ran through the streets. While clean up wasn’t done, there were a whole lot more guards out on the streets, along with armed unicorns wearing a strange uniform she didn’t recognize. They looked like brown business shirts with ties, but they had strange armbands and what looked like rank badges on them. As she cantered by them nervously, they stared back at her somewhat menacingly before invariably muttering something like “It’s another unicorn, let her pass.”

This was most odd. She decided to quicken her pace towards Rook’s house. When she arrived, she found the door left ajar. Worried, she let herself in, calling out to see if anyone was home. She heard a friendly voice from upstairs and went up to investigate.

She found Old Rook upstairs, packing his bags. “Um… what’s going on?” she asked.

“Well, my dear, it appears that I’ve been sacked! Well, that’s what they’ll call it. It’s actually more like a sort of coup d’état”

Author’s Notes

That turned out to be a bit longer than I expected. I thought I'd give a few notes about some artistic liberties I took. This fanfic will deal with a bit of political intrigue as well, so I figured I'd explain some choices I made about the Equestrian government. It impresses me to be less of a benevolent autocracy, and more like a mother knows best kind of constitutional monarchy, where Celestia delegates powers to a mix of appointed and elected advisers. I modeled the system off the British constitutional system post-Glorious Revolution, but before the rise of parliamentary democracy. The Privy Council is basically like a cabinet, and consists of appointed individuals, usually nobles, who run various government functions in lieu of Celestia directly running it.

Old Rook, I figured would have a name a bit like Granny Smith; he's called Old Rook now because he's old, just like Granny Smith is called that because of her age and the fact that she's the family matriarch. I see him as sort of the best of 19th century British gentlemen put in pony form :P

The book titles that Twilight are some references to anime, science, and philosophy respectively. Don't worry if you don't get them.

I think I've also set a new record for creating the most posthumous characters in a single chapter. I hope you enjoyed my reinterpretation of what little has actually been revealed about Equestria's past and mythology. Anyway, see you around! :)

III. Here There Be Monsters

Twilight of the Idols

III. Here There Be Monsters

“But even if the most laudatory of motivations be assumed, the fact remains that the coup d'etat is a deliberately illegal act of the gravest kind and strikes at the highest level of law and order in society...”

~John Newbold Harzard

A silent stillness befell the room. Both Twilight and Rook had dropped everything for the moment. Rook waited patiently to give his junior counterpart time to process what was going on. Twilight, on the other hand, really couldn’t believe what she was hearing. It might as well have gone in one ear and out the other. Coups were just things that didn’t happen in Equestria, at least not since Nightmare Moon’s attempt over a thousand years ago. Sure they occasionally happened in some far away land not under Celestia’s direct control; but here in Canterlot? That was literally unthinkable. “Could you run that by me again?” was about all she could manage.

“A coup d’état: French, meaning ‘strike of state’. The sudden, illegal deposition of a government. Also called a putsch or an overthrow—”

“I know what a coup is, Rook. I’m not a filly. You mean to tell me that someponies have overthrown the government?”

“I’m afraid I do, dear. They’ve been planning this a while now, at least since the crisis began, perhaps even longer. There’s always been a faction in parliament, particularly in the Commons, who have never been satisfied with the status quo. They’ve had allies in the military, the guard and the civil service. While I don’t know if they were actually plotting against Celestia herself, or if they were just preparing to take advantage of her eventual absence, I never imagined they’d be so bold.”

It really hit Twilight now. She’d been just two preoccupied to see what was going on right in front of her nose. The ponies in the strange uniforms, the absence of the usual nightly hustle in the city: it was all staring her in the face and yet she didn’t even think much about it until Rook spelled it out to her.

“Why would anypony do such a thing?”

“They want things to be run their way. Why else? I don’t think even you appreciate just how important Princess Celestia was to the administration of the state. All the power we had was delegated to us directly from her office, and she could have taken it back at any moment. She let the nobles and the growing bourgeoisie play at governing, and occasionally gave them what they wanted. Who knows? She might have even been trying to slowly prepare for something like this happening. But the fact remains is that when she disappeared, there was a tremendous power vacuum. So they decided to fill it.”

“What do we do about it?” she asked.

Rook snorted a bit, as though he found the question humorous. “Absolutely nothing, my dear! Because they’re got the military thoroughly under their control, and given the events of late, they have the perfect opportunity to declare a state of emergency, and do whatever they want. What we are doing is packing our things, and quitting the capital lest Prince Blueblood decides he’s feeling less generous towards his political adversaries.”

“What? You’re just going to let them win?” she shouted. Her anger was making her hair stand on end, and unconsciously stamp her hooves.

“Letting does not have anything to do with it. I’m sorry Twilight Sparkle, but there isn’t really anything we can do. It’s the ‘Golden Rule’, my little pony: the pony that has the gold makes the rules. Right now, they’ve got the money and the soldiers to make sure everyone toes the line.”

A sudden chill went down Twilight’s spine. She needed to find her friends now. “Omigosh…I’ve got to go, before they get hurt…or worse!” She charged out his door, into the sooty evening air.

“Before who gets hurt?” he yelled after her.

“My friends!” she shouted back before running off into the night.

Tracking down her herd of friends was somewhat like the exercise of herding cats. But eventually, after considerable begging, pleading, cajoling and threatening, Twilight managed to get them all under the same roof for debriefing.

Rook’s flat was a fairly spacious studio apartment in one of the newer quarters of the city. The multi-level building was rather sturdy, built out of burgundy-red brick that seemed to whether the soot and ash blowing around Canterlot quite well. The interior was decorated well, with modern plaster walls painted vibrant colors and adorned with an assortment of antique tapestries and landscape paintings. Rook’s flat was on the first floor, rather near the exit. While it was in a bit of a state from the earth quakes and other events, it had been a fairly orderly apartment.

The living room was well furnished, with oversized felt chairs by the fireplace, and spacious bookshelves along the walls. The lacquered wood trim was balanced by the earthy tones of the plaster, which seemed to faintly glow under the light from the ornate brass oil lamps decked around the interior.

Since the details of the recent events were still fuzzy to her, Twilight had Rook explain the situation. Twilight summed up telling the girls about the messages Celestia had left them, and how the princesses were counting on them to be leaders in these dark times. This not only meant hunting down some rare, presumably banned books, but also resisting the new regime.

Applejack was the first to speak up. “So let me get this straight: you’re telling me that some fancy-schmancy ponies have taken over now that Princess Celestia is…gone. They sacked this here feller and now that they’re in charge, they aim to run things here in Canterlot the way they want. And Twilight here wants us to do something about it.”

Twilight nodded, glad that someone seemed to understand how important this was.

Or not. “Well, if that’s the case, then I really don’t see why it’s any of my business. Let ‘em do what they want. I didn’t sign up to be a rebel, Twilight. If you want to do something, I ain’t gonna stop y’all. But I have a life in Ponyville that I need to get back to. Sweet Apple Acres ain’t gonna run itself, sugarcube. We’re in bad enough straights as it is, and with this calamity I’m gonna need to be home to make sure it doesn’t run into the ground. My family’s livelihood is at stake here. I’m sorry Twi, I really am.”

A uncomfortable silence filled the smoky air. Twilight fidgeted nervously, not sure if she’d been totally out of line for even asking. She felt a little stupid really, not even once thinking about the lives her friends would have to leave behind, or the duties that would be left undone.

Rarity had been nodding in silent agreement while Applejack spoke. After a few uncomfortable glances, reading everyone else’s reactions, she spoke up too. “As much as it pains me, dear, I have to agree with Applejack. I would really like to help, but I am really not cut out to be an outlaw. I have a business that I need to run, and a little sister who’d be terribly lost without me. I have a livelihood to think about, and a future career. Plus, what is little old me going to do about this? You know how I hate politics, right dear?”

So that was two gone. Twilight was starting to feel a little bit irritated. This was a big problem, and yet personal lives seemed to be more important to everyone. While she stewed, Rook decided to go about packing his things again. He’d seen this kind of audience many times before, and the looks on their faces and their body language said it all: “I’m sorry, but I can’t help you.”

Fluttershy was about to speak up, but Twilight cut her off. “It’s okay…okay. I’m sorry I asked. I can see you girls have more important things to worry about. I might have asked too much of you, but I can’t go back. This is too important. You’re going to have to go back to Ponyville without me.”

Pinkie Pie seemed unusually level headed. “Twilight, you don’t needed to be judgmental about it. I really don’t think you realize the kind of danger you’re signing yourself up for. If you were to get hurt or jailed, I’d be really upset. I don’t want that to happen to you. Maybe you should reconsider. You’re like family to us, and you belong in Ponyville.”

Twilight felt abandoned, almost betrayed. Everyone was against her, and now she was shivering with frustration as tears began to well up in her eyes. “Just forget I asked!” she cried, “Just, just go back to Ponyville. Go back where it’s safe! I’m not going back, I have a job I need to do…the princesses are counting on me.” Twilight bolted out of the living room, into the open door of the guest bedroom. She desperately fought back the tears and sobs as she slammed the door behind her.

The rest of the ponies, feeling upset at Twilight’s display but still vindicated, began shuffling out of the house. Rook lingered a moment, telling Twilight she was welcome to stay here as long as she needed but that it would be safer to leave. He gathered his luggage, and left. Just like all of the other ponies…her friends…had.

Well, all except one. There was a rapping at the guest room door, followed by a perky voice asking, “Hey, Twi, you alright? Can I come in?”

Not waiting for her answer, Rainbow Dash walked in, stopping for a moment just beyond the threshold. Twilight was laying down on the guest bed, her face buried in her hooves while she silently wept. “Twi…it hurts just to look at you when you’re hurting like this,” said Rainbow Dash.

Dash flopped down on the bed right beside Twilight, nestling up against her crying friend. She sat their silently for a few moments, just staring a head at the wall while she wrapped her wing around Twilight and gently hugged her with it. Dash’s blue feathers blended seamlessly with Twilight’s lavender coat in the shadows of the unlit room. “Hey, you gonna be okay, Twi?” Dash whispered.

“Why?” Twilight asked. It was the first question on her mind. “Why did you stay, Dash? Don’t you have more important things to be doing?”

“More important than a friend? Never. Especially when she’s been hurt. I know this is really important to you, and I think I understand a bit why you’re so concerned. That’s why I’m going with you.”

Twilight unburied her tear-streaked face from her hooves, looking at into her friend’s cerise eyes. Dash only smiled back at her, and hugged her tighter. The hug from Dash’s wing was surprisingly firm, and she felt quite comforted as Dash stroked her shoulder with the smooth primary feathers. “Ar-are you sure? You heard what they said…it’s dangerous, and I don’t know how long it will take for us to find what we need. Doesn’t the Weather Patrol need you?”

“Bah, the Weather Patrol can go hang. This is more important. This is where I need to be: at my friend’s side, saving the world! Besides, I’m not the Element of Loyalty for nothing, am I?”

Twilight chuckled a bit, in spite of herself. Dash’s spirit was invigorating. “Dash, don’t you remember?” Twilight continued, trying not to make light of the situation, “The Elements of Harmony were destroyed. We’re just ordinary ponies now, you and I.”

“So? I see no reason to stop being loyal to my friends just because some old piece of junk stopped working. I know you’re concerned for me, but you’re not gonna be rid of me that easily. Besides, we’re far from ordinary ponies.

Twilight laughed again as the sadness started to melt away. “Well, I know you’re no ordinary Pegasus. You’re the fastest flier in Equestria, and the inventor of the modern Sonic Rainboom. But I’m just an ordinary unicorn. I don’t know what I can do at this point.”

“Twi, please,” Rainbow said, her tone suddenly serious, “You shouldn’t sell yourself short. You’re an amazing and loyal friend, and you’re also the smartest, most talented unicorn I’ve ever known. If anyone is spectacular here, it’s you.”

Twilight laughed a bit, feeling uneasy from the praise. Rainbow continued, undaunted. “Don’t laugh, girl, I’m being serious. You really are amazing, and it hurts when I see that you can’t realize that about yourself.” Rainbow nuzzled her affectionately. “I mean it Twi,” she whispered, “I love ya, girl. I’d trust you with my life. That’s why I’m going with you.”

Twilight hugged the cyan mare back, “I love you too, Dash. I’m glad you’re coming with me.”

The two curled up for the night, hoping to get an early start for tomorrow’s journey. They didn’t have a clue in the world where they needed to go, and all the leads they had were slim. But it was enough to start, as long as there was a friend along for the ride.

Author’s Notes

Shorter chapter this time. But this felt like a natural break, so it’s ended right here. Hopefully, I’ll get the next one finished quicker to compensate.

A few signposts: the rest of the Mane Six are NOT disappearing from the fic. They still have their own journey ahead of them, and it will, at least for the near term, take many of them on wildly separate routes. Future chapters will focus on the POV of one group of ponies at a time. And pretty soon we’re going to start running into some of the listed characters who haven’t played a part in the story yet.

I’m sure this chapter will provoke the question, so I’ll pre-empt it: I am undecided about any romance/shipping in the story, and I’d like your feedback on it. If I do decide to write it in where it feels appropriate, it won’t be the main focus of the plot.

Political intrigue will start to play a role in the plot as well. Prepare for a deluge of historical in-jokes and parallels. :P

Prologue

Twilight of the Idols

Prologue

Nothing made any sense. Not this time. Twilight Sparkle knew Discord was involved; it simply couldn't be a coincidence that he had broken free of his bonds at the same time the Elements of Harmony went missing. “Unngh,” she growled as she ran full gallop through the black winter night to gather her friends. “This doesn't make any sense! He's been loose for over a day, but there's no sign of him! No chocolate rain, no roads made of soap, no nothing!”

The strain of trying to talk through her confusion while running wore her down, and by the time she burst into Rarity's house for her first stop, she was panting and out of breath. “Rarity...” she said between ragged breaths, “Elements...gone! Discord!...need...stop...”

Rarity had been hemming a new dress when Twilight staggered into her study. She immediately dropped what she was doing, and rushed over to see what was the matter. “Good heavens, Twilight, you're quite a mess! Sit down and catch your breath, I'll get you a towel and some water—we can't have you catching a cold in this weather.”

With scarcely a pause, she thrust Twilight into her leather swivel chair, and dashed off. The chair had barely stopped swiveling by the time Rarity returned, fluffy lavender towel in hand. Still in a daze from the sudden revolution, Twilight was unable to protest Rarity towelling her off.

“Well, I suppose I'll have to fix your mane after I'm done,” Rarity said, practically singing at the thought. “You must take better care of your beautiful coat in this snowy weather, Twilight.”

“No, you don't understand,” Twilight protested, muffled under the towel.

“I'm afraid I do darling,”

“No!” Twilight shouted, shoving Rarity off. “Listen, the Princess needs our help. Discord has escaped, and the Elements are missing.”

“Again? Well, why didn't you say so, darling?”

Twilight rolled her eyes. She continued explaining, as she batted away Rarity's attempts to fix the tangled poof that her mane had become. “Princess Celestia just sent me a letter with the news. He's been loose for almost a day, and she thinks he's taken the Elements of Harmony. But the really odd part is that there's nothing out of the ordinary going on. Whatever he's scheming, we need to get the group together and find him.”

“You mean...go out there? In that blizzard?”

Twilight sighed heavily. It was going to be a long night.

They all gathered at the Library, huddling together with hot cocoa near the fire while Twilight explained their predicament. To Twilight's surprise, Rainbow Dash didn't interrupt, though she was the first to comment when the exposition was finished.

“So let me get this straight,” the tomboyish pegasus said, “Discord has excaped, but he's not causing trouble? So what's the big deal then? Why can't it wait til' tomorrow morning when, you know, it isn't cold and dark outside?”

“I-it's really dark and scary out there,” Flutteryshy meekly agreed.

Applejack interrupted: “Now hold yer horses, girls! If the Princess sent Twilight running around this time o' night, then it must be important. If nothing else, we need to form a search party--”

“Oooh, party? I love parties, they're like my favorite thing in the whole darn world but I guess I've never heard of a search party but it sounds like fun don't you agree? Golly, I'd love to try a new type of party, just like trying new cupcakes—ooh my favorite is bubblegum flavored frosting—hey, do you think the Princess would like to try new cupca--”

“Pinkie! Focus!” Twilight shouted, cutting off her hyperactive friend. “I know it's rough, and we don't have a lot to go on, but we have to try.”

Rainbow Dash nodded, her hoof over Pinkie's mouth. “I suppose you're right. It is our duty to the Princess, even though the weather is horrible out there.”

“Remind me, sugarcube: who exactly is in charge of the weather 'round here?” said Applejack.

“S-shut up!”

Twilight wasted no time rummaging through the bookcase, while her two tomboyish friends scuffled around on the floor. As she shuffled through the shelves, she quietly talked to herself. “Let's see. We just need to figure out where Discord is hiding. I should have a book around here somewhere that can give me a clue.”

“Um, Twilight?” Spike interrupted from up in the loft, “Have you tried reading your mail?”

Twilight sighed, preparing to lecture her number one assistant. “Don't be silly Spike, why would a book on the Age of Dissonance be in my mail?”

Spike ran down the stairs, over to the shelving ladder Twilight had perched herself on top of while sorting through the musty old books on the top shelf. He climbed up after her, earning a look of terror from Fluttershy for ignoring the boldly printed “One pony at a time” warning on the ladder. He thrust a rolled up parchment into her face, “Just read it.”

She slid down the ladder after Spike, unrolling the the parchment in a purple glow of magic. She cleared her throat before reading it. “Dear Twilight Sparkle: Oh it's so wonderful to write to you, being turned to stone just is dreadfully drab, you see. I thought, to celebrate my release, we could have a bit of fun. So I decided I'd run off with those wonderful little trinkets you and Celestia seem to adore. If you're up for a challenge, come meet me at the castle ruins in the middle of the Everfree Forest. Signed, DisQuord...huh, that's a funny spelling.”

There was an uncomfortable silence while the group processed what they'd just heard. Finally, Rarity spoke up, “Well, darling, I'd hate to be someone to make more work for us, but doesn't this sound a little bit too...straight-forward. Especially considering who's involved?”

“That's probably true, but we can't afford not to go,” Twilight said, discarding Discord's letter. “Spike, take a letter. Tell Princess Celestia to meet us there. And bring Princess Luna with her as well. We can't take any chances on this one, since it's probably a trap.”

“Already on it!” Spike saluted, then scribbled away on the letter.

“Girls, get some warm clothes and traveling gear, and meet back here in twenty. We've got a job to do!”

Travelling through the Everfree Forest was a daunting task, even in the daytime A cold, moonless night in the dead of winter was a journey through nightmare itself. The six ponies huddled close together as they trudged through the driven snow, shivering under heavy cloaks. Thankfully, the snowfall was little more than a dusting, and the wind was low, so the lanterns they carried could burn a small aura of light and safety in the black night.

As they soldiered on, they would occasionally hear sounds beyond the reach of the lantern’s light; an unearthly howl, the rustling of something moving through the thickets just off the path, or even whispering. Each time, they would hurriedly suppress Fluttershy’s panicked reaction, douse the lantern light, and huddle together silently in the utter darkness behind one of Twilight’s magic barriers. They’d wait, quiet as the grave, listening for any sound of danger, usually for five minutes, but sometimes up to fifteen, before Twilight would declare that the coast was clear.

Naturally, the journey was long and terrifying, as they crossed forests of demons and meadows of monsters. They finally reached the ruins of the castle just before dawn’s first light. When they arrived, a pale glow was emanating from the keep’s windows and doors. Torches, perhaps. Or maybe even something more sinister. Regardless, it was clearly inhabited, and that meant that this probably wasn’t just a wild goose chase.

Rainbow Dash was the first to speak up. “Okay, now what?” she sighed in frustration. They all nodded in agreement: taking on a mad god was the last thing six sleep deprived ponies would want to do.

“I don’t know. I guess we improvise, like last time,” Twilight replied.

Rarity huffed, “Need I remind you what happened last time?”

“I’m sorry, everypony, but it’s not like there’s a book on how to deal with a chaos god, bent on wreaking havoc. But if you really want a plan, here’s Twilight Sparkles’ Super Awesome Plan to Defeat Discord: Step One, get the Elements of Harmony Back. Step Two, turn Discord into stone again.” Twilight paused for dramatic effect, “Any questions.”

“Nope,” the rest of the ponies replied.

“Well, I guess there’s no time like the present!” Rainbow Dash shouted, her bravado barely covering up the dread she was feeling, before taking off towards the castle. The rest of the herd followed, galloping towards the open gate.

As they crossed the portcullis, Twilight halted suddenly. “Girls! Stop!” she cried.

The rest skidded to a halt, hooves scraping frost from the stone walkway. Pinkie was the first to reply: “What is it?”

“There’s just something wrong about this. I mean, look. Except for the the fact that there’s burning torches lighting up the place, it’s absolutely no different from the last time we were here.” Twilight paced uncomfortably as she laid out her concerns, occasionally stopping to paw at the ground nervously. “Besides those torches, there’s literally no sign that anypony’s been here, let alone Discord. At all. Not a single hoof print in the snow except our own. This feels like a trap.”

“Sure, I know it seems strange, but what choice do we have?” Apple jack drawled, shivering under her cloak. “I’m all for continuing cautiously, but we can’t tarry too long.”

“And what about the princesses?” Rarity remarked, looking uneasily up at the moonless sky. “Shouldn’t they have met us here? They could travel far faster than we could hope to, and they aren’t here!”

“Do you think they went in ahead of us?” Fluttershy replied.

Twilight nodded hopefully, and began trotting forward, “Even if it is a trap, I guess we have to spring it. Everypony, please be careful!”

She cautiously probed forward, occasionally poking a suspicious floorstone, or statue, to make sure it wasn’t some sort of trap mechanism like out of one of the Daring Doo books. Sensing no immediate danger, she nodded, and the rest of the herd moved forward. As they crossed into the vestibule, the portcullis suddenly slammed downward with a loud clang, and the great iron banded oak doors of the keep swung shut, all on their own.

Fluttershy let out a squeak, hiding behind Rainbow Dash. Applejack huffed angrily, and bucked at the keep’s great door with all her might. But for all her practiced strength, the massive doors scarcely budged, as though they were barred from the other side. “Ah tarnation!” she shouted, kicking the door again, more out of frustration than anything.

“Save your strength!” Twilight cried, “I can feel a powerful abjuration spell on the door…it has the same feel as Discord’s other magic. I’d venture that he’s waiting for us, and he wants us to move forward and confront him.”

“What about the windows?” Rainbow Dash asked. She hovered up to an open window, cautiously placing a hoof forward to see if she could reach through the opening. Instead, her hoof met an invisible barrier. “Ah, horseapples!”

“Ladies, it appears that the only way is forward,” Rarity said, pressing forward with élan more typical of the French Foreign Legion than a fashion designer. “Camarades, I believe the great hall is this way!”

Twilight smiled, in spite of the grave situation. She and her friends weren’t a group of scared fillies anymore. They had found the courage to move forward, even in the face of great danger, when duty called.

And so they marched on, past the vestibule, through a small labyrinth of defensive passages, into the great hall. It was brightly lit, with blazing torches ringing the entire room, and burning candles in the chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. But aside from the stained glass windows, and the burning lights, it was seemingly empty.

Twilight huffed with frustration. Where was Discord? Why was he leading them along by the nose like this. Then she noticed a glimmer from the far end of the great hall, on the throne dais. Could it be…yes! The Elements of Harmony, shining in the golden light of the torches, were neatly arranged on the dais, waiting to be recovered.

“Something isn’t right,” Applejack muttered.

Twilight bolted off towards the dais anyway. If there was even the smallest chance that Discord had made a mistake, leaving the Elements unattended at the wrong moment, she had to take it.

“Wait, Twilight, don’t!” Rarity shouted to no avail. Twilight galloped onwards to the prize. This could be settled once and for all.

But when she got within an arms’ length of the dais, the room itself began to stretch around her. Space warped, stretching the last few inches before she could reach the Elements onward and onward. Twilight doubled her efforts, and poured all of her strength into galloping as fast as she could, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get any closer. She’d been tricked.

Space suddenly snapped back like a rubber band, catapulting Twilight back across the great hall, knocking over her friends like bowling pins. Twilight was seeing stars, but she still dizzily drug herself back on her hooves, wobbling back and forth as she tried to steady herself.

There was a bright flash of light directly in front of her, followed by a thunderclap. Discord stood directly in front of Twilight, smirking maniacally. “Oh, Twilight!” he gushed, “Did you really think I’d make it that easy?”

The six ponies collected themselves as best they could and formed up on Twilight with hoof and horn ready to fight. “What did you do with the princesses?” Rainbow Dash demanded, scratching the ground anxiously with her hoof, preparing to charge.

“Oh, they’re around. And I must say, it took quite a bit of effort to subdue them. But don’t worry your pretty little heads about them; I have them tucked away safely in my knick-knack drawer.” Discord’s bones popped menacingly as he stretched his limbs and neck. “Oh I must say, being frozen in place for that long is quite agonizing. Perhaps I’ll treat you to it!”

As he flexed, the world around him seemed to bend. Twilight Sparkle swallowed hard. This was going to be quite the fight, and there wouldn’t be any easy way around it. Discord was angry, and as dangerous as a wounded manticore. This time, there would be no thorn to pull out of the paw. “Anypony have any bright ideas?” she asked, shifting nervously.

“Ooh! Ooh!” Pinkie cried, bouncing up and down with nervous energy. “I’ve got a plan! Ready?”

They all nodded.

“Ready?”

They nodded again, a bit frustrated.

“Get him!” she cried, charging towards Discord with reckless abandon. Rainbow Dash and Applejack didn’t need to be told twice; they followed after without hesitation. Rarity and Twilight soon followed, while Fluttershy took up the rear.

Rarity’s horn glowed softly for a second, followed by a brilliant flash of light brighter than the midday sun. Discord’s hastily donned sunglasses protected him from being dazed. “I wear my sunglasses at night,” he tunelessly sang, as he started to fumble around in the dark for the ponies charging at him.

Twilight enchanted the lengths of chain holding a chandelier above Discord. They strained under the violet glow of her magic, and soon pulled free from the ceiling. The chandelier fell, guided by Twilight’s magic, striking Discord over the head, sliding down his body like a hoop. Twilight quickly wrapped the chains round him, binding his arms and legs before welding them together, tightly shackling the mad god.

Pinkie rushed forward, grabbing both of his legs tightly. Applejack then delivered the mightiest kick she’d ever kicked, square to his kneecaps. His legs started to buckle, and he tried to struggle against, but Pinkie held him firmly in place.

Rainbow Dash circled him, beating her wings as hard as she could to build up speed, before crashing square into his chest. He doubled over, collapsing onto his back, while the five ponies mobbed him, trying to subdue him.

Discord let out a great roar. The chains holding glowed with magic for a moment, before the iron links turned into gummy worms. The chandelier frayed into thousands of hay strands. Before they could react, a wave of dark energy hit them. Like a great torrent, it hurled the five of them to the far wall of the great all, dashing them against the hard stone. The red miasma of dark magic coiled around them, paralyzing them.

Twilight tried resisting the coils of magic, but each movement was pure agony. She could hear some muffled sobbing, and Rainbow Dash muttering “Ah, horse apples.”

Rarity tried resisting the magic with her own, to some success. She wrestled with the tendrils. As she finally started to get the upperhand, she cried, “’Get him!?’ That was your whole plan, huh?”

“Hey, it would have worked too, if—“

“Now’s really not the time, girls!” Applejack shouted, as she struggled against the magical strands that were hogtying her.

“Oh my little ponies,” Discord mused, as he got up, brushing off the pair of parachute pants he was suddenly wearing. “You should know that you can’t touch this.” He stalked towards his helpless opponents while they continued to struggle against his magic. “Hmm… I could have sworn there were six of you…”

A yellow and pink blur whizzed past him, stopping between him and the five helpless ponies. She stared back at Discord as angrily as she could, clutching the Elements of Harmony close to her. She was panting and out of breath, but she still managed to shout, “Leave them alone!”

The six artifacts she was clutching tightly started glowing, while Discord summoned all his strength to not whither under Fluttershy’s stare.

The bright light from the Elements started to dissolve the red magic coils on the other five. They quickly jumped to Fluttershy’s side, each pony’s artifact levitating towards her. The artifacts continued to gather magical energy, and with each pulse of bright light from them, Discord unconsciously took a step back.

“Looks like you underestimated the magic of friendship, again,” Twilight taunted.

“Oh well. Looks like you got me again. You may fire when ready, Gridley,” Discord muttered sheepishly, as a blindfold popped into existence over his eyes, along with a lit cigarette in his mouth.

The six ponies began lifting into the air, as the nexus of energy continued to build. Just when it was about to fire, an awful sensation of dread, mixed with nervous skin crawling, washed over Twilight. Something…something was wrong. She felt the crown on her forehead crack.

Her heart sank. The musical tone of the magic was marred with a terrible dissonant chord, turning into a cacophony of ugliness. The energy buildup began boiling out of control, writhing with chaos. And then all six of the elements shattered.

A blinding wave of incredible power exploded outwards from the six ponies, nearly leveling the building. It shattered all of the stain glass windows, and blew out the torches as if they were mere matches, before it spread across the Everfree Forest, shattering whole stands of the forest into kindling.

The castle shook with the tremendous release, the walls buckling under the strain. The remaining chandeliers all fell, smashing into the stone floor like iron meteors. The six ponies, though, were dazed but otherwise unhurt. Well, not physically hurt. Twilight could swear that she felt her heart break when the Elements shattered. She felt empty inside as she struggled to stand, still woozy from the experience.

No, that wasn’t it, she realized as her head began to clear. The ground was still shaking.

“W-what’s going on?” Pinkie cried in terror, as the castle started to shake itself to pieces. She dodged a falling stone block, as the ceiling of the great hall started to cave in.

Twilight cast a shield around herself and her friends, as they huddled close. They watched the stone rain bounce of Twilight’s shield for what seemed like hours, as Twilight poured every last ounce of strength she could into the barrier. Finally, the collapse finished. But the shaking remained.

The tapestry of the sky was boiling, with stars winking in and out of view. The sun and moon were locked in place, frozen just above the horizon.

Discord moved closer to the six petrified ponies, lording over them with a sadistic grin. “Looks like I win this time. Chaos reigns, and there’s nothing you ponies can do about it.”

“B-but how… the Elements…they should have—“ Twilight tried to stammer out, before Discord cut her off.

“The Elements,” he laughed, “Were corrupted with Chaos by yours truly. And really, you should have seen the look on your faces when you realized that your deus ex machina wouldn’t save you this time. Honestly, it was priceless. Almost worth being locked away in stone for a millennia. And guess what’s the best part? This is my world now!”

His world. Such a strange idea. But he was wrong; Twilight could feel it in her gut. The stars were falling towards Equestria, impacting in great craters all around them. Mountains were falling while fire from the depths of the world shot out from the ground in great jets. The lakes and streams nearby were boiling, and the earthquakes continued to intensify.

“Your world?!” Twilight shot back angrily. She poked him in the belly with her horn. “Look around you, you fool! This world is destroying itself!”

“Yes! Exhilarating, isn’t it?”

Twilight was shocked. They all were shocked. No one, not even her, had expected the Discord would stoop so low, that he could be this malevolent.

“The chaos is delicious, isn’t it? And best of all: I win! And nopony can stop me.”

Just when she was about to despair, Twilight heard a familiar voice. “Care to make a bet on that?” Two sets of chains started coiling around Discord, to his shock and surprise. One set was blinding white, wreathed in orange flames. The other was pitch black, surrounded by dark blue shadows. They cinched tight around him, padlocking together.

Princess Celestia hovered down in front of Discord, placing herself between her terrified student and the bewildered chaos god. “What? Pony got your tongue?” she mocked him.

Twilight rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn’t just seeing things. It was Celestia, alright. But she looked different. Her once pastel mane and tail were now roaring orange-red flames, as bright as the sun. The feathers of her wings were now golden and metallic, and as sharp as a razor on the edge. It matched the old gold color of her coat. She also wore armor: a glistening gold helm and breastplate.

Each beat of her wings blasted the room with burning hot air. And for the first time, Twilight saw abject terror in Discord’s eyes. And unbridled rage in her mentor’s.

A shadowy alicorn touched down behind Discord. For a moment, Twilight feared that it was Nightmare Moon. But the shadowy alicorn didn’t glare or sneer at her. Instead, she smiled at Twilight, setting her at ease.

“B-but—” Discord stammered.

Celestia cut him off sternly. “I suppose you’re wondering just what’s going on. After all, you thought you had my sister and I under lock and key. Well, here’s a little secret,” she said in almost a whisper, directly into his ear.

“The Elements were made with alicorn magic, asshole!” She shouted at the top of her lungs directly into his ear. “And when you destroyed them, the magic that created them returned to us! You might have been able to deal with me when most of my power was poured into the Elements of Harmony. But now that you’ve decided to tangle with this alicorn, you get the horns!”

“Sister, what shall we do with him?” Luna said, clipped and regal as always. “Whatever it is, decide quickly. The skein of this planet’s life is running short.”

Celestia’s horn burned with white-hot light. The glow spread to Discord, and though he struggled against his chains to resist it, he was powerless before her wrath. Then he disappeared in a blaze of blinding lightning, as gone as the thunder. With his disappearance, the chaos unleashed upon Equestria dulled slightly, but nonetheless continued. The world was still coming about at the seams.

“Where did you he go?” Twilight asked, still intimidated by Celestia’s new form.

“Don’t be frightened, my little ponies,” Celestia cooed. She tried her best to look as unintimidating as is possible for a terrifying sun goddess. Celestia smiled warmly at Twilight and her friends. “Discord has been banished far beyond the stars. But, I’m afraid that our troubles are not over.”

“I don’t understand, Princess. If he’s gone, then why hasn’t this madness stopped?” As if to punctuate her words, a mountain on the horizon uprooted from the earth, levitating upwards before shaking apart.

“Discord wasn’t the cause of this damage. We are. My sister and I, that is.”

It just didn’t compute. Twilight fell to her haunches, dumbfounded. “W-what?” was all she could manage. There were gasps of shock from the other ponies, and mutterings of disbelief.

“I don’t have time to explain fully. The Elements of Harmony were created by the six of us to bring balance to this world,” Celestia replied with melancholy, as if she were dredging up old memories she’d have rather forgotten.

“I-I don’t understand. Six of you?”

“Just listen, Twilight! We’ve already stayed too long as it is!” Luna interrupted.

“The Elements of Harmony,” Celestia continued, “were forged from our magic and life force. They were made to strengthen and harmonize the weave of this plane. Without their power, our magic was simply too great. It upends the fabric of the universe, tearing it apart. Doubly so when we are at full power. This world cannot support us. We destroy it by our very presence. We have no means to rebuild them. Not just Luna and I.”

“Which is why we must leave you, and this realm, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna interjected. “It pains me greatly. I was only just getting to now thee. Thy friends have brought magic back into my life. You have reminded me of what I fought to protect so long ago, and had forgotten. But for your sakes, we must leave.”

“Leave? But you…you can’t! I still have so much to learn. I-I’m not ready to lose you,” Twilight cried, the tears streaming down her cheeks.

Rainbow Dash fought back the tears. Celestia had always been there. She’d been there when her grandmother was a filly, and until this moment, Rainbow Dash assumed she’d still be watching over Equestria long after her own death. But now there would be no one to watch over her. Or anyone else. “How do we go on. We’ll be alone, lost without you!”

Rarity nodded in silent agreement. Fluttershy comforted Pinkie as best as she could, but they were basically both crying into each other’s shoulders.

“I think I understand,” Applejack remarked. “But I wish it didn’t have to be this way.”

“We all do,” said Twilight.

“I know,” Celestia replied, tearing up as well. “But I’ll always be with you, in your hearts. I love you all. And that’s why we have to leave. But we’ll be as near as we can be.”

A scintillating blue portal opened. Twilight tried to see what was beyond the event horizon, but it was just incomprehensible, like staring into an endless void of everything and nothing. Tears were streaming down Celestia’s cheek as she started to step through. “Will I ever see you again?” Twilight called out.

“I don’t know, Twilight. But I will try with every ounce of my strength to make it happen. G-Goodbye…” The word almost stuck in her throat. But she managed to say it, because it had to be said, not because it was easy to say. And then she was gone.

“Twilight Sparkle,” Luna said as she stepped to the portal. “I’m going to miss thee. But unfortunately, I must leave thee with bad news. And a task. I will not lie: our absence will not bode well for ponykind. I do not envy the times you all shall be living in. Thy friends will bear the burden with thee, but it will not be easy.

“Ponies have long lived in the shadow of an immortal god-empress. Though they may not call her that yet, that is what my sister has been for them for over a thousand years. Though she hath let them manage their own affairs as much as possible, ponies have always known that an immortal, all-seeing mother was watching over them, waiting to set them right if they failed. But now we are gone, and all the ponies: earth pony, pegasus and unicorn alike, have been abandoned to their freedom. They will not take the transition well. Please! Help your friends, and your people, through these dark times. Growing out of your infancy will not be easy.

“Oh, and one more item: In our private quarters in the Canterlot palace, thou shall find everything thou needst to understand the history Celestia spoke of. And maybe, if we are lucky, a means for us to one day return. Fare thee well, friend.”

Luna stepped through the portal, barely hiding her own tears. The portal closed, and the madness around them stopped. And then, for the first time in anyone’s life, the sun rose on its own. But the heart of the world had been removed.