Chapter 1: Seeking Memories
A bipedal figure walked through a forgotten town of bones and lost souls. Alone, the figure took slow steps as they looked from side to side, seeing nothing more than lifeless bodies and left remains. The unforgiving light from the eerie red sky shone down on the figure.
When the light wasn’t casting shadows all along the character, it was revealed to be a pony. A pony that stood bipedal, but each hoofstep never faltered. Her hooded cape fluttered in the soft breeze that swept through the town. The only thing that kept her cape on her body were her open wings, expanding from carefully cut holes in her cape. Although she was a young mare, looking at her flank it lacked a cutie-mark.
She pulled off her hood to better look around at the decimated town, her sad, purple eyes gazing towards the destruction that lay before her, as she had to fight back the tears that threatened to come. Her long, magenta mane hung over her left eye and she pushed it away with one of her hooves. Most buildings were halfway burnt down or falling apart; the rest remained in ruins, unattended for what seemed to be eons. The mare felt like crying from the sight of memories having been destroyed, but she rubbed her eyes somehow hoping to stop the tears from flowing.
The mare started to walk through the town on her hind legs, lifting small clouds of dust into the air with each step. She gloomily looked at a large, old tree that seemed to be home to somepony long ago. The vines grew from the ground and covered the entire lower half of the house, blocking the door and penetrating the house through some of the broken windows. She shook her head, dismissing it from her mind, continuing on. All of the buildings matched each other in damage and abandonment.
She kept walking up the road until she reached the broken gates of an apple farm. The mare crawled through a break in the gate and walked up a dirt trail, passing a barn that was falling apart, and reaching back deep into the apple trees. She went off the trail until she decided to verge off of the path, and walked into an open clearing with only one tree in the middle. A tree house rested on its branches, the mare looking at it warily as she noticed that it looked different from the rest of the town; this tree house was being tended to.
She quietly climbed up the steps to the tree house, and crouched down as she stepped in through the door. The room was different than what she remembered it to be. The old podium was there still, but there was a round wooden table in the center that she had never seen before. She hadn’t seen the small furnace in there before, either. Why there was one in the tree house to begin with she wasn’t sure.
She gazed around the room and something suddenly caught her eye and, for the first time in a long while, made her smile. A picture frame hung on the wall, portraying three young fillies, all without their cutie-marks. She took the picture off of the wall and looked at it closely. A single tear rolled down her cheek as she reminisced in old, faded memories. Without thinking twice, she took the picture out of the frame, delicately folding it before stuffing it into one of her pouches on her belt.
“I see you have found what you were looking for,” a voice said, looming from the doorway. Without hesitation, the mare turned around to see a pony in a long, worn out robe that covered most of her body, including her face.
“Who are you?” that mare asking in anticipation; she didn’t look like she would put up a fight, but she couldn’t be sure.
“You may call me Madam, young one,” the pony said, walking over to the table, not caring about the mare’s defensive demeanor. “I assume that this used to be your home once a long time ago?” Madam asked, looking towards where the picture once was. The cloaked mare nodded apprehensively, cautious of the older pony. “Well, I’m sorry that I have intruded into your home, but this is where I have lived for a while now.” Madam reached into her coat, making the mare reach back for her sword to prepare herself if she presented a weapon from under it; Madam, however, only brought out a few herbs, making Loo relax her grip. She then looked in a cupboard and brought out a large bottle of water, and started to pour it into a pot.
“Would you like some tea Ms…?” Madam clued the mare into telling her name, but the mare hesitated to do so and, after a few moments in thought, the mare answered.
“Loo. They call me Loo,” she said finally, relinquishing her defensive stance. “And I would love some, thank you,” Loo accepted apprehensively, sitting down at the table and letting her fears of the Madam wash away a bit.
“Loo? It is an unusual name for a pony,” she stated. Loo didn’t say anything else about it, instead turning her attention from Madam to look around the tree house once again. Madam placed the pot of tea onto the furnace.
“Tell me, Loo, when did you start walking upright? You also carry a sword; what for?” Madam asked, breaking Loo from her sudden daze. “It is quite peculiar after all.”
“And what’s with all the questions?” Loo snapped, but Madam showed no change in mood or mind set. Loo caught herself afterwards though. “I mean… It’s not something I talk about.”
“Ah, young mare, your mind is filled with doors you wish to keep locked after somepony has entered without a single knock,” Madam said. “It is alright; you do not have to share.”
“Don’t speak to me in riddles,” Loo snapped yet again, but she caught herself, retreating from the harsh demeanor. Again, Madam showed no signs of emotional change. “Sorry.”
“I suppose you do not wish to tell me why you are here either?” Madam asked, and Loo thought about it for a moment. She was apprehensive to answer, but by now she knew that Madam meant no harm.
“Well I was just looking for something,” Loo merely stated.
“And I assume you have found what you were looking for?” Madam asked, raising one brow to the upright mare, but Loo showed no change in her demeanor to say one way or the other. Madam looked over to the empty picture frame, and although Loo couldn’t see her facial expressions, she guessed that Madam seemed somewhat sorrowful. “I know how you feel,” she said. “Sometimes memories are not enough to sooth one’s aches. You come searching for the other inhabitants of your home?” she asked, and Loo slowly nodded.
“They’re gone now, though. I knew they wouldn’t be here… I just hoped… maybe…”
“It is alright, young one,” Madam said, putting a hoof up to Loo’s mouth to shush her, acknowledging a bit of gloom in Loo’s voice. She left her to her thoughts when she heard the whistle coming from the kettle. She retrieved the pot carefully with a mitten, and started to pour the tea into a couple of cups she had brought out from the cupboard, placing one in front of Loo and picking up the other with her hoof.
“Do you know what happened to this place? I mean… All I know is that nobody lives here anymore. It seems that no one has for a while now,” Loo said, gesturing with her forehoof to the silence and emptiness around her.
Madam took a careful sip from her tea, deciding it was still too hot. She put it down, giving it a few blows allowing strands of vapor to escape before she answered Loo’s question.
“The damage to Ponyville looks to be something that happened long, long ago, but this is not the case. Ponyville was thriving with life only a few months ago, and the tragedy happened only about a week before the sky turned red. A stallion with a large group of soldiers behind him rode into town, and they raided homes looking for something; something important.”
“What were they looking for?” Loo asked. Madam blew on the tea a few more times before taking another sip of it, deciding it had cooled enough before continuing the story.
“They were looking for the Elements of Harmony. They first raided the home of the Princess’ prized student, but she was able to escape with her advanced knowledge of magic. She grouped up with the rest of the Elements of Harmony and their families left Ponyville swiftly, knowing that they wouldn’t be able to fight off the entire army.”
“But why is the town destroyed?” Loo asked, pointing out of the window where the faint view of the broken barn was. Madam nodded at Loo’s question, as if predicting Loo would ask.
“The stallion’s rage brought on a power that not even the Princesses might have possessed. He brought natural disasters for several days and nights onto Ponyville, before riding towards Canterlot, his armor following closely behind him. By the time the disasters had stopped, the inhabitants of Ponyville were either dead or had fled to other cities in Equestria. Everypony thought that the Princesses would put an end to the turmoil, but they soon found out that both had disappeared,” Madam said, taking another sip of her tea.
“And that was the day when the sky turned red,” Loo added to Madam’s tale, to which Madam merely nodded. “But what happened to the stallion?”
“I don’t know,” she said, shaking her head dejectedly. Loo sighed, and took a sip of her tea to relax herself before continuing.
“What happened to the Apple family after they fled?”
“I don’t know.”
“What happened to Rarity? Rainbow Dash? Twilight?”
“I don’t know.”
“What happened to… Applebloom… and Sweetie Belle?” Loo asked, with a glimmer of hope in her voice. Silence filled the room, with not a single word from Madam being said, indicating to Loo the same answer: she didn’t know. Loo stood up, leaving the untouched cup on the table.
“Thank you for the tea, Madam, but I can’t stay,” Loo said.
“Don’t be so quick, young one; you haven’t even taken a sip of your tea. And where do you intend to go?” Loo didn’t answer Madam at first, but the hesitation already gave away the answer.
“I… I don’t know.” Madam nodded slowly again.
“Then maybe you should stay until you do. It is alright, Loo. Do not be afraid of overstaying your welcome. This is your home after all, is it not?” Madam asked, getting up from where she was sitting and placing a careful hoof on Loo’s shoulder. “Do you have another home you could return to?” Madam asked, but Loo knew that it was a rhetorical question; she already knew the answer. Loo reluctantly sat down, and took another sip of tea.
***
“Applebloom! Sweetie Belle! It’s time for supper!” Rarity called out from the cottage. “Now where did those two go?” she wondered, placing a thoughtful hoof to her chin.. “The food is getting cold.”
“We’ll just keep it on the stove for ‘em,” Applejack said, walking up next to Rarity. “Who knows what them fillies are doin’.”
“Sweetie Belle asked me not to call her a filly anymore,” Rarity said suddenly, the comment prompting Applejack to snicker. They decided to go back into the cottage, seeing as it was getting a bit cold outside.
“Those two may be grown up, but they still act like fillies,” Applejack said, rolling her eyes from remembering things they had done in the past. “Besides, callin’ them fillies makes me believe Ah’m still young,” she added, her happy smile turning to a bitter one.
“Oh darling, you’re still young,” Rarity assured her -and possibly herself- waving a hoof for emphasis.
“Oh, yes, very young.” They both turned around to see Fluttershy smiling warmly at them. The trio was startled when they heard a loud voice calling from above them.
“Would ya’ll quiet down? Ah’m trying to sleep.” Big Macintosh called from his bedroom upstairs.
“Sorry!” they all yelled back up to him.
“So… Applebloom and Sweetie Belle?” Fluttershy asked worryingly.
***
“Shouldn’t we be getting home soon?” Sweetie Belle asked, the young mare running with a hang glider on her back.
“We’ll be fine,” Applebloom said, jumping off of a cliff with her hang glider. Sweetie Belle followed after her.
“This may not be our cutie-marks, but this was fun when we last did it!” Applebloom yelled over to Sweetie Belle as the wind hit their faces, ruffling their coats as they soared through the air. Sweetie Belle just nodded in reply.
“Applebloom! Sweetie Belle!” They heard a faint sound from far off into the forest of trees they were flying over. “Time for supper!”
“Aw man,” Applebloom rolled her eyes and grunted in frustration. She shifted her body down and started to glide along the forest’s canopy, Sweetie Belle following closely behind. “Can’t we have one afternoon to ourselves and our hang gliders?”
“I suppose not,” Sweetie Belle said as they flew over the trees, heading towards the voice they heard a bit aways. Soon enough they came over a clearing in the trees where a cottage was. They landed perfectly on the ground, running with their hang gliders to prevent a sudden stop and slowed down. While they were landing Applejack came outside after spotting them through the window.
“Ah, there ya’ fillies are,” Applejack said. “Come on inside; dinner is on the stove for ya,” she said.
“Were you girls… hang gliding?” Rarity said, poking her head out the door. “And it looks like you made them yourselves. Didn’t I tell you two those kind of things are dangerous?”
Applebloom rolled her eyes once again. “Yeah, yeah. We kno-” Suddenly, without warning, the ground started to shake, and the loud noise of something shattering followed by a voice screaming in pain filled the air. After a moment or so the echoing sounds dissipated and the ground stopped quaking, but once it was done the sky grew a darker shade of red. All of the mares looked up at the sky in awe.
“What… just happened?” Sweetie Belle asked, but they couldn’t answer her question, not knowing themselves.
“Whatever it was, it didn’t sound good,” Applejack said staring wide-eyed into the forest before her trying to find the source of the noise.
“I concur…” Rarity continued to look up at the sky. “What a hideous color.”
“Like it wasn’t ‘hideous’ before?” Applejack retorted.
“Whatever it was… it wasn’t good,” Fluttershy said, bringing the attention back to the phenomenon that had just occurred.
None of them could place what had happened, and after a while they had to put aside the occurrence when they heard Big Macintosh coughing immensely.
“I’ll… go get ‘im some water,” Applejack said, as they all returned inside after her.
***
The moon had risen to the peak of the sky, even without the lunar princess to guide it there. The night was without a single star, and the sky was pitch black besides the radiance from the moon’s glimmer.
A stallion in a black robe walked up the hill to the cottage where the mares and their sick stallion resided. He cautiously looked around, making sure no one had followed him, as he knocked on the door and took a step back, waiting for an answer. He heard a rustling from inside of the cottage, but it quickly subsided. The stallion knocked on the door again, and heard a groan. He waited, and soon an orange mare opened the door.
“What do ya’ll want in the middle of the night?”Applejack asked, her tired eyes blinking slowly.
“I apologize for disturbing you at this hour, Lady Honesty, but I have urgent news for you and the other Elements,” he said, not wasting a moment for small talk. “I request audience with the other elements whom are present. May I come in?” he asked. Applejack took a second to yawn.
“Yeah… sure… whatever.” The stallion took the invitation inside, and once the door was shut he lowered his hood, revealing his snow white coat. “You said somethin’ bout the others?”
“Yes, please, I request audience with all of you. Even the ones who aren’t Elements; anypony that you trust.” They were both quiet for a moment until Applejack took in a deep breath.
“Everypony wake up!” she yelled. “We got some urgent news! Or somethin’…” Applejack yawned. The stallion took a moment to calm himself after the startling loud voice.
“That really wasn’t necessary,” he said, sitting down on his haunches as they waited for everypony to come down the stairs. In a few moments they were all present except for Big Macintosh, who was too sick to move, and Rarity, who had insisted that she looked ‘presentable’ before introducing herself to a guest.
“She’ll be a while,” Applebloom said. “Why don’t you just tell us what this is all about?”
“I need all of the Elements that are present to hear this,” the stallion said. Applebloom sighed, wanting to go back to bed.
“Why couldn’t this wait until morning? I’m really tired,” Sweetie Belle groggily said as she rubbed her eyes.
“I apologize, young lady, for the intrusion at this late hour, but it was the only time I could come.”
“I’m sure whatever he has to say is worth it,” Fluttershy assured. Sweetie Belle simply yawned in reply.
“Alright! I’m ready!” Rarity came down the stairs looking like she had woken up from the best night of sleep of her life; obviously she had prepared herself to look that way. “Now, what is it you have for us this evening, Mr…”
“My name is not important, Lady Generosity. What is important is the fact that you are all in danger.”
“Danger?” everypony echoed.
“What kind of danger?” Fluttershy asked, starting to shake.
“Do not fret, Lady Kindness; that is what I’m here to prevent, and if all goes as I plan there will be no reason for you to shake. Did you all hear the cry that shot through the sky late last afternoon?” he asked, prompting everypony to nod. “It was the cry of Lady Loyalty,” he added grimly.
“Rainbow Dash?” Rarity presumed with a gasp. The stallion nodded, leaving the room in a state of gloom and anxiety. “How do you know?”
“That is not important. What is important is that I fear that Lady Loyalty has suffered a fate worse than death. A fate that only bearers of the Elements may face, and one you all have faced once before, but to a greater degree.” No pony asked a single question, but listened intently in fear of missing a single word.
“I know of the occurrences of Discord’s ways and how he caused the Elements to fall prey to the ways of chaos and disharmony. He corrupted your pure souls, but your elements were not truly lost. It was Lady Magic that brought back the life to your elements. What has happened to Lady Loyatly just late afternoon is I fear is to the same effect, but her element is now truly lost.”
“What do you mean… lost?” Fluttershy asked.
“Her element has shattered along with her very soul. If I am correct, she is no longer the bearer of the Element of Loyalty, and with it she has lost what made her Rainbow Dash. I know not what she is truly like now, but I know she is in a constant state of turmoil, much like the Element of Laughter was.”
“Pinkie too?” Rarity gasped.
“Was it not apparent? She has not been heard from since your escape from Ponyville. I know not of both of their locations, or what has happened to them. All I know is my theories of the happenings to the Elements cannot be far from the truth. The scream of one who is in true pain echoed through the sky. It was not a physical pain that she cried out against, but one that reached her inner core. The shattering was of the Element, and the shaking of the ground is…” He took a moment to collect his thoughts. “Well, I do not know what it represented. All I know is that it could not be good.”
“And the sky?” Fluttershy asked, but the stallion shook his head.
“All I know is that you are not safe anywhere, but do not fret; I do believe your saviors stand within this very room.” The stallion pointed down at the floor for emphasis and looked over to Applebloom and Sweetie Belle. “I presume that both of you are sisters of the Elements?” he asked, and they both nodded. “Just as I suspected.”
“Are ya’ll saying that these fillies are supposed to do somethin’ about all of this?” Applejack asked. The stallion was hesitant to answer.
“Applejack! I ain’t a filly anymore!” Applebloom retorted. “Ah’m a big pony now.”
“Ah just don’t think that it’s safe for you to be ‘saving all of Equestria’. Are ya sure, mister?” Applejack said.
“I know not for certain,” he said. “But if the other Elements had no sisters…” He contemplated the thought.
“I don’t think any of them had siblings.” Rarity said. “What about brothers?”
“No brothers; it must be sisters, that I know for sure,” he concluded. “That means they are the two that are supposed to be your saviors,” he said, pointing at Applebloom and Sweetie Belle. “Yet there is a problem.”
“What problem is that?” Fluttershy asked.
“There should be a third,” he said. “From what I recall from the ancient scroll, they tell of three heroes who will destroy all evil with… something.” The stallion tapped his forehead with the last word in frustration. “The scrolls didn’t say what it was. They only said it was the ‘Broken Key’; what that truly is I do not know. What I do know however is that there should be a third.”
Applebloom and Sweetie Belle looked at each other, their eyes telling each other they knew the answer.
“Do you think…?” Applebloom said, and Sweetie Belle hesitated to say anything.
“Scootaloo…”
“You know of the third?” The white stallion took a step forward and stuck his head closer to them to emphasize the question. “Well… Where is she?” Applebloom and Sweetie Belle looked at each other with eyes that suggested uncertainty.
“We… We don’t know,” Sweetie Belle said.
“Now hold on just a second!” Rarity exclaimed, cutting into the conversation. “I don’t know what they have to do to be our ‘saviors’, but I’m sure it’s not something safe. How can you expect these fillies to do this?”
“Lady Generosity, I know ‘tis a hard idea to fathom, but there is no time to discover other methods to keep the elements safe,” he assured her.
“It’s okay, Rarity,” Applebloom said. “If we need to do this to keep ya’ll safe then I say we do it, right Sweetie Belle?”
“Right.” Sweetie Belle nodded in agreement.
“But…” Applejack began, but couldn’t come up with the words.
“It’s alright, big sis, we’ll be okay,” Applebloom assured.
“Lady Honesty and Lady Generosity, I know it is hard to let go of your kin, but your safety, and possibly the fate of Equestria, lies in their hooves,”
“Are you certain?” Rarity said, but the stallion was hesitant to answer.
“I am certain. I cannot reveal my sources, and that is not important,” the stallion said.
“Then how can we be so sure that ya’ll are being truthful?” Applejack asked with a stern look on her face.
“I believe him,” Fluttershy said. “Why else would he come and tell us about these things? Why would he warn us?”Applejack pondered this for a few moments.
“I believe him, too,” Rarity spoke up in the silence.
“Well, if ya’ll believe him, then so do I,” Applejack smiled at her friends, whom smiled back.
“Please understand, Lady Honesty,” the stallion began, “there are some things that I cannot reveal. The matter at hand, however, is where Scootaloo is.”
“Well, we haven’t seen Scootaloo... for years,” Applebloom said. Sweetie Belle nodded in agreement.
“She ran away one day when she got frustrated that she couldn’t get her cutie-mark, when both of us had ours for a while...” Sweetie Belle trailed off. “We searched for her, but she was gone. We got all of Ponyville to search, but we never found her.” The room was quiet for a few moments.
“But don’t worry… We’ll find her,” Applebloom assured him. “We failed searching for her years ago, but... we won’t this time.”
“Then do be swift, as I fear the perpetrator against Lady Loyalty will not stray from his rampage any time soon. Find Scootaloo and come back here. I will return once all of you are here. That is all I can tell you. I apologize; I have nothing more on the matter until all of the heroes are present.”
“It’s alright,” Rarity said. “Thank you for warning us.” The stallion nodded.
“I must be off,” he said, walking towards the door before a lantern floated in front of it.
“Please take this. It is dark and cold outside,” Rarity said, the stallion taking it in his hoof.
“Thank you, Lady Generosity. I see that you fit your Element well. May we meet again.”
“Wait, but how will you know when we’re all here?” Sweetie Belle asked. The stallion looked back at her as he reached for the door, smiling.
“Do not worry, I will know.” With those last words he lit the lantern and left the cottage.
“What now?” Applejack asked. Applebloom hesitated to answer, thinking for a moment on the question.
“I guess in the morning… we look for Scootaloo,” Applebloom said. Everypony agreed, even though Rarity and Applejack were reluctant to accept it. None the less, they all went back to bed after coming to an agreement.
The stallion had left the cottage, but waited until the lights in the cottage went out and no rustling was heard, making sure they did not chase after him to ask him anything else. He blew out the lantern and left it on the porch, disappearing into the night.
Proofreaders for this chapter: Lucefudu, Kayeka, Mist, and Letedwend
Twilight’s ears perked by the sound of her bedroom door opening. She wearily opened her eyes to find one of the many servants standing there in the doorway.
“Ms. Sparkle, the king has demanded you come to the throne room immediately,” he said, leaving to allow Twilight to fully wake up.
She looked around her room like she did every morning, noticing its empty spaces. Her room only had a bed and a bookshelf with only a few books that she would read at night. She dreaded the room almost as much as the rest of this place; a place that used to be her joy, but now only brought fear and anguish for her.
Twilight yawned, stretching as she got out of her bed, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, and leaving the room. Whilst she waited a bit for the drowsiness to leave her completely her eyes fell onto the newly painted walls, the once alabaster, glowing, magical walls were now a deathly shade of grey. Every day she would forget a little bit more about what had used to be underneath that paint. Unwilling to linger on it, she dismissed it from her mind and started to head up to the throne room. She walked past many hallways and doors before she stood before the large doors into the throne room.
She approached the large doors, and waited for the guards to open them for her. Their horns glowed despite their unchanging stature as the large, maple doors opened, granting her entrance. She stepped inside the throne room. Her hoofsteps reverberated against the marble floors and echoed through the large chamber. She couldn't help but to look at the windows which, unlike the rest of the changed castle, she could never get used to. All of the stain glass windows were broken, even the one that had depicted her and her friends defeating Nightmare Moon and Discord so long ago.
“You stare at those old windows too much, Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight turned her attention to a unique stallion sitting upon the royal throne, swishing a cup of red wine in his armored hoof. She had always wondered why the stallion bothered to consume anything. After all, this particular member of ‘royalty’ wasn’t organic, or so it seemed. Twilight had wondered what exactly made up this stallion. His form was that of some red energy, which was only a faint outline of a pony. What made his pony form complete was the pony armor pieces grafted to the energy. Even his full helmet lacked any type of eyes, which Twilight found quite frightening.
“And you drink too much wine, Infra Black,” Twilight said, turning her attention back to the windows.
“Have you been studying hard, Twilight?” the armored stallion asked. He took a sip of wine, ignoring Twilight’s statement, as the wine went from his mouthpiece into the energy that made up his body, burning up within it. “I’m not granting you life for free.”
“I haven’t found anything yet,” Twilight said, as she turned her gaze was away from him. Upon hearing her words the armored stallion threw up his hooves in frustration, dropping the glass of wine to the ground, the glass shattering on the marble floor.
“Bah!” he roared. “Either it is you who are useless, or it is that damned Star-Swirl wing that is of waste.”
“I assure you, Infra Black, it is neither,” Twilight retorted. A servant rushed from Infra Black’s side to clean up the mess.
“You’ve performed the time travel spell before. Why is it so difficult to figure out a permanent method?” he argued.
Twilight turned her gaze away from him, both from lacking an answer for him and still unable to look the empty eye sockets in his helmet straight on.
“You already rule Equestria, Infra Black. Why is it so important to go to another time?” she asked.
The stallion to roll his non-existent eyes. “Is it not obvious?” he asked, anticipating an answer from her, but Twilight offered none. “Why not have a rule since the beginning? Why not establish a kingdom from the beginning of time, and be remembered as the ruler of the world since its birth? I could rule Old Equestria when it still thrived, and create a new world based upon my design.”
Twilight pondered the thought of it. She wondered if Infra Black would have turned the world into what it was now: a desolate land where everyone lived in fear and oppression, where the sky was never joyous, and where the weather always felt terrible with blazing infernos or unforgiving plagues. Infra Black never explained anything other than matters that were directly related to Twilight’s work. There were still many questions unanswered, important questions as to what he did with the princesses, and what he planned to do with his current ruling. There were other questions she wanted the answers to. ‘Where did he come from?’ and ‘what is he made of, and the true extent of his power?’
“There is no time to stare off into the distance, Twilight Sparkle. You must get to work.”
“Maybe I should be allowed a few extra hours of sleep before I do,” Twilight said with a yawn. “You woke me up early.”
“It gives you more time to work through the day, so no, you will not be allowed more sleep. You are not in a position to demand. You whine and complain about how you don’t get enough food or sleep; it is quite annoying. You are lucky that your mind is brilliant, or else I would have slain you already. ” He stressed his words, his non-existent glaring at her. “Like I did to Rainbow Dash.”
That last sentence rang in Twilight’s mind, and she finally drove up the courage to look the frightening stallion straight into his eyes, taking a step toward him.
“What do you mean by that?” she asked, trying to keep calm, even though her mind was assuming the worst from the blatant statement.
The stallion gave a small chuckle. “Don’t worry, she’s not actually dead.” He leaned forward in his throne in anticipation for his next statement. “But she might as well be.” The mouth of his helmet twisted to give a large grin, seeing as Twilight’s legs were shaking.
“What… What did you do to her, Black?!” she yelled, ignoring the fear growing in her mind. He laughed, sitting back in his throne, making Twilight more infuriated. “Why would you hurt somepony like Rainbow Dash? What’s the purpose?”
“Why don’t you just get back to work, Twilight?” Infra waved a hoof for her to shoo.
Suddenly, a servant entered the door, her face flustered.
“Your majesty, I have something urgent to tell you,” she said, taking a moment to catch her breath, showing that she had ran a distance to get there quickly.
“Well?” Infra Black asked impatiently. “If it’s so urgent then there should be no time to catch your breath.”
“It’s that stallion, sire,” she said bleakly, “the one with the white fur; a royal guard spotted him in the forest near Manehattan early this morning.”
Infra Black put a hoof to his chin in thought. “Well?” The armored stallion tapped his hooves on the throne. “Did the guard catch him?”
The servant shook her head. “He ran away when he realized he was spotted; the guard couldn’t catch him.”
“Such incompetent fools in the Royal Guard…” he scoffed. “He has returned. It is of no doubt that he is training a hero.” He tapped his other hoof on his throne, thinking to himself.
Twilight was delighted by this theory, but she had to know for sure. “How can you be so sure?” Twilight said, interrupting his thoughts. “Who is this stallion?”
“It is none of your concern, Twilight Sparkle. I don’t have time for your questions. With this new development there may not be much time. Now, be off with you!” he roared, the energy that made up his body creating a large spark that quickly vanished, but it was enough to make Twilight bolt for the door in fear.
***
Twilight whipped the sweat from her brow; she had been working very hard trying to find any traces of Star-Swirl the Bearded’s time spell in any of his scrolls or books, but it was to no avail. The only thing she could find regarding time travel.
She found books and scrolls that explained transformation spells, healing spells, strength spells, flying spells, and many others. She had flipped through most of the books, unraveled all the scrolls, and even checked for clues on the hourglass in the middle of the wing. She found almost every spell that could be fathomed, but time travel spells seemed to be non-existent. Even if she were to find a book on time travel it; most likely wouldn’t do much good. The books that she had found on these different spells only explained what they did and some basics on performing them, but not enough to have any substantial or lasting results.
“This is getting me nowhere,” she muttered to herself. She hoped that maybe Future Twilight would come back to her and tell her where to look, saving her from this unnerving search for the answer, but that seemed unlikely. It also seemed that time was not on her side at all, seeing as she didn’t seem to have much left before Infra Black’s anger would grow large enough to... She tried not to think of the possibilities.
She realized that this wing was not the place to look, but where could she?
“Twilight?” She heard a voice from the doorway. She turned back in her chair to see who it was; it was an older royal guard, one that she knew quite well. He took a few steps inside before closing the door behind him, speaking as he did so. “Have you been able to find anything?” he asked.
“No, I haven’t,” she said. “Did Infra Black tell you to come and ask me?”
“No, I was just… worried is all,” he said, walking slowly up to Twilight, who met his eyes. “He seems to be losing his patience lately. I’ve known you ever since you were born, and it would be a shame if I outlived you,” he said, shaking his head at the thought.
“Well, I’m not exactly a filly anymore, either.” She gave a small chuckle, but turned back around in her chair to stare upon the pile of open books on her desk. “But you’re right; there isn’t much time.” They both were quiet for a few moments as Twilight stared at the books, lost in thought. The royal guard looked at her with concerned eyes, but was unable to offer any solace.
“Do you know what I had planned to do during this time when I was younger?” she asked, her head hanging low, the royal guard again said nothing. “I had planned to maybe get married; have a few foals…” she said. A few tears started to flow down her cheek. “To live in Ponyville, forever, with my closest friends.
“But then no stallion came my way, so I had to be content with my friends, who were my family already, so it didn’t matter too much at that point.”
“But now I don’t know where any of them are. I have no idea if they’re still alive or not. As far as I know Pinkie and Rainbow Dash are dead, or close to it, but I’ve heard nothing about the others.” The guard put a hoof on her shoulder as he listened to her, feeling her body quiver with sorrow. “And instead of looking for them I’m stuck in this damned castle doing what I did before I had friends: just study, study, study.” She raised her hoof in defiance, her sorrowful voice turning grim and wrathful. “But I don’t want to sit here and study like I was when I was just a filly. I want to go out there and be with my friends.”
The room went quiet, and soon the royal guard turned Twilight’s chair around, embracing her, who hugged him back, crying into his shoulder.
“One day you’ll find your family again, Twilight,” he assured her, rubbing her back to comfort her. “I know you. You’re strong in mind, and pure of heart. You’ll find a way out of this; we all will.” Twilight let go of him, whipping the tears from her eyes.
“I guess I should get back to work,” she said as she let go of him, whipping the tears from her eyes. The royal guard nodded, turning from her and leaving the room. Sniffling from her recent outcry of emotions, Twilight sat in the silence of the room thinking about what to do next. She put a thoughtful hoof to her chin before coming up with an idea, sniffling from her recent outcry of emotions. “Maybe in order to find something about time travel you have to look back into time itself.”
***
Infra Black stood on the balcony of the highest tower of the castle. The cool breeze of the night seemed to extinguish the fire of his mane, but it would quickly sprout back up from the crown of his helmet. He looked out onto the city of Canterlot, watching as ponies walked around the night.
“It seems that the night is more inviting to the ponies than the day,” he spoke to himself quietly. “The night is still as they remember it, just as if Luna still controlled the sky’s ways. Soon enough they’ll only remember it as I who had moved the celestial bodies, rather than those accursed sisters.”
He decided to take a peek into the telescope, watching as a mother and her filly walked through the streets of Canterlot with smiles on their faces.
“These smiles still brought on from the night disgust my very soul, but still I allow them to have their happiness,” he thought, scoffing at the thought.
“And why is that?” A voice came from behind him, prompting him to turn to see where the voice was coming from. A stallion in a robe sat on the side of the balcony’s walls, only his head was revealed, which was white as snow.
“Timestone,” Infra Black addressed him nonchalantly, as if unsurprised by his presence. “Why is it that you’re here? Why do you still haunt my thoughts? Why is it you haunt my dreams and reek havoc through Equestria?” he asked, shaking his head, trying to escape the thoughts that filled his mind.
“Because you’ve yet to see the faces of those who will destroy you,” the robed stallion said, his voice level.
“I’ve already destroyed two of the Elements, Timestone, and I hold another captured. I have already prevented the heroes from using their powers against me.”
“The Elements of Harmony have already fulfilled their duties by defeating Discord and Nightmare Moon, Infra Black. It is time for new heroes to take their place.” Timestone smiled.
“And why would you tell me this?” Infra Black asked, as the energy within his body flustered. “Why not let me walk down the wrong path? Why not let me go after someone else while the real heroes stab me in the back?”
“Because I want you to return Lady Loyalty and Lady Laughter to their former states,” Timestone said, dropping from the wall to approach Infra Black, staring into the eye sockets of his helmet. “What benefits you to have them now that you know they mean nothing?”
“And what does it benefit me to return them?” Infra Black turned his back to him, putting his hooves up on the wall and looking down at the courtyard below that had a statue of the six mares that held the Elements. “Is it not that you trick me? There is no way for me to know if your words are truth. Even if they were, their Elements may be of use somehow.”
“Whatever you set out to seek with the Elements will be beyond your control. That I can assure you of,” Timestone said, putting his hood up with his hoof.
“Bah, what do you know?!” The energy within Infra Black’s armor flustered as he slammed his hooves on the wall.. He turned back to Timestone, but he was gone. He looked back over the balcony and saw the robed stallion running off through the Canterlot Gardens and into the darkness of the night. “Run, Timestone, but there is no place for you to hide. I know I won’t be able to catch you; that would be too simple. I was a fool before for thinking I could, but now I fear that you already know where each of my pieces will move on this board.”
***
Twilight browsed the archives of the Canterlot Library. She had read every book there, but there was a wing that used to be forbidden to enter under Celestia’s rule because of how old some of the books and scrolls were; they simply couldn’t be touched in fear of the history being lost to time’s toll on the items. She headed from the normal library into this wing
Twilight tried to be as careful as she could with the scrolls and books she picked up, seeing that they could crumble with the slightest slip of hoof. Some were interesting, but she realized they had no connection to what she needed. She had carefully flipped through pages of books that were mostly journals or accounts of specific pieces of history. All of it she decided was unimportant to her cause, until she came across one particular passage in an old archeologist’s journal.
I’ve found it; at long last I have found the cave that I’ve searched long and wide for. The mountains that separate Old Equestria from New are where this ancient passage of time has awaited me since its creation. It doesn’t look as to if I will be able to enter any further though, as within this cave is what appears to be a door. Beyond this door I know are the secrets of time itself, but I lack the key.
Three pedestals with stairs up to the top of them stand before the door. One has a symbol of a violin, another a treble sign, and the pedestal in the middle holds no sign, but instead on top of it there is a hole that I assume is the actual key.
The door itself is has a picture of an hourglass to represent time, but at one corner of it there is what appears to be a music score. I don’t know what any of this means, but what I do know is that I can’t open this door. Regardless, research will continue, and I will bring many others to examine this door. One day we will open it, if not now, then sometime later, and possibly into the far future. I only hope I’m alive to see what’s behind this door.
Twilight pondered on the entry, which was the last one regarding the subject. She assumed that he had gone elsewhere to discover new things, since she only skimmed the rest of the book and didn’t take time to really read it.
“This door,” she thought out loud, “it may lead us to an answer.” She put the journal back in its place on the shelves, making sure to be careful with the other books. Starting to make her way out of the library, she thought about what exactly she would tell Infra Black. She didn’t want to tell him about something that may be a step to his goal, but she couldn’t anger him anymore.
She stopped in her tracks before the library door when she came to the question she had been forcefully keeping out of her mind: Was she willing to die for the sake of Equestria? She weighed all of her options. Equestria was already in turmoil, but she feared that it would be in even worse condition if he were to rule the world from the very start.
The door hadn’t been opened yet, she thought, or if it was then nothing was really behind it. Perhaps Infra Black would become frustrated enough to just give up and be content with his current reign. If there was something behind the door and they found a way to open it, then she would be solely responsible for the demise of Equestria’s entire history. It would be her fault and hers alone.
She took in a deep breath, deciding that she just wouldn’t tell him. She was willing to die for Equestria, she decided. She didn’t have to die right now though, right? “I just won’t tell him I found anything yet.”
“And how would that benefit you, Twilight Sparkle?” The sudden voice echoing through the seemingly empty library made Twilight jump. She recognized the voice, gulping in fear that her assumption was correct. She turned around to see Infra Black sitting atop one of the bookshelves. His soulless eyes pierced her very soul, and she became engulfed in fear.
“Were you… watching me?” she asked, her legs starting to shake from the sudden adrenaline rush that shot through her.
“I have servants watching your every move, Twilight Sparkle, so that this wouldn’t happen. One came to me when she saw you get really into one of those dusty, old books.” Infra Black appeared to take in a deep breath. “You’re ‘strong in mind’, and ‘pure of heart’.” He laughed at the words he quoted, but then returned to his steady demeanor. “It’s not too late to have a family, Twilight. If you give me what I want I’d be willing to let you free to do as you wish. I can even make you as powerful as you wish to be, Twilight.”.
She shook her head. “I won’t let you deceive me, Infra Black,” she said, taking a few steps back, but soon driving up the courage to defy him, standing her ground with a determined look on her face. “I’d rather die before I let you have what you want.”
Infra Black began to laugh. “Oh, I won’t let you have the sweet embrace of death, Twilight Sparkle, not now that you have something I need.”
“What do you mean?” Twilight asked, focusing on Infra Black as he came down off of the bookshelf, taking slow steps towards her. Twilight backed up with every step he took. “Don’t come near me!” she yelled. Infra Black ignored her. Twilight bumped into the wall behind her, then realized she was cornered. She took in a deep breath as she started to charge her magic. She shot a beam of magic towards him, but when it hit one of his armor pieces a bit of the energy that made up his body repaired and regenerated it. Infra Black approached her, and when he was very close to her he let out a loud roar.
The energy of Infra Black’s body started to spread from his form onto Twilight, engulfing her inside of it. Twilight let out a scream, but no one came to her aid. She struggled, but it was of no use. She felt herself being drained. Her happiness, her hope, and her very soul felt like they were disappearing. She looked at her body which was nearly completely covered, watching as her mane turned from her vibrant purple to a shade of gray. When the energy subsided and returned intoInfra Black, Twilight laid on the ground hopelessly. She said not a word, only staring at the ground before her.
“Now we have something to bargain with, Twilight Sparkle.” Infra Black reached his hooves under her front legs and brought her up to her feet, where she only stared at the ground. “I will give you your Element back if you tell me what you know.”
Twilight hesitated to answer, but the growing pain within her heart made the resistance harder to bear. She decided to look around the library, but she saw no happiness in the books like she had only minutes ago. She felt like there was nothing for her anymore.
She wanted to die. It was a horrible feeling. She was no longer strong in mind or pure of heart. She wasn’t anything anymore, and now the information she held felt like a worthy price for her Element back.
“There’s…There’s a cave between New and Old Equestria,” she said, making Infra Black nod with delight. “In the cave there’s a door that has an hourglass on it. I think behind it may have the answer. That’s all I know.”
“Was it really that hard, Twilight Sparkle?” He laughed before turning away from her and making his way for the door.
“Wait!” she called to him. “My Element? Please, let me have it back!” She quivered, a few tears coming to her eyes.
“After I find what I want, Twilight Sparkle, you will have it.”
“But you said-”
“After I have what I want,” he repeated, and with no other words he left the library, Twilight watching as the door closed shut behind him. The sound echoed through the silent library making Twilight more aware of the fact that she was alone. Agonizing sobs escaped her throat as the primal fear started to take over. Without her Element, Twilight was nothing, and the realization made her hug her legs with her fore-hooves in sorrow as tears streamed down her cheeks.
Chapter Proofread by Lucefudu and Letedwend
