Time is relative to the person that wields it. It contorts and shapes itself to the manipulator. No matter how mad or how sane that being is. No matter how twisted or pure that being is.
This is the law of time. The one law that Concord has to keep him from going insane. Repeating those lines over and over again, trying with every fibre of his being to keep the dark whispers from consuming him. For so long he resisted their seductive whispers but they kept on growing in strength when he could do nothing to increase his power. No Warps. No enchantments. And no Starswirl. No, the mortality of death had taken that pony long ago. And it pained Concord, that his one and only friend died and he was not there to see him till the end. He felt his demise and he was thrilled that he merely died of old age. Though it did not quell the stinging pain in his eyes.
Concord sat proud and stern with his mismatched draconequus body in a meditative stance. The body, head and arms of a dragon serpent and the hooves and tail of a pony. He was not as mismatched as most draconequus, making him an outcast amongst his people. Concord opened his eyes and revealed bright emerald eyes that were set out far and pierced through the veil of sleep and his mind remained open. He was now in the Dreamscape. The dark whispers pierced through his defenses and he felt his mind shrink and grow dark. Filling with visions of power and darkness. A cruel smile spread across his lips as he said with a gruff and deep voice, "And all the world, shall fall beneath the iron claws of time itself."
Discord released a sigh of appreciation and hope for the future. Staring long at the beauty of Luna's night, the beauty of which no one could imitate. Not even himself. Stars and comets blasting across the endless void of space, the only thing that made him feel at home. The endless and chaotic void of the darkness that lied beyond the mortal barriers of Equestria. He was a firm believer that they could quite possibly be able to break that barrier soon. He had distant faith in the ponies of Equestria, they were smart when they needed to and were strong when asked of them. Like a large colony of ants, always ready to stand by each other no matter who they were. Which was why it was originally so difficult for him to plant his chaotic seeds and rule for nearly a thousand years. Discord shook his head gently and looked back up at the stars of the night sky.
He remained content with the warm feelings he had inside. He had won the friendship and favor of most of the Elements of Harmony and hoped to continue to gain their gratitude. He felt privileged to have such good friends. A prospect he can never get used to, but one that is welcome. That night was a night for everypony to celebrate. Tirek was banished once again and he had gained the friendship of Twilight and most of the others. He could still feel reluctance around Rainbow Dash and Applejack but he knew that with time they would come to accept him for who he was. Discord had to admit he was a bit of a pain in the ass sometimes, but that's all apart of his charm. Most of the time he was just trying to be helpful even though it appeared he was not. He offered his help to Twilight when she was finding answers at the castle. Discord shivered at the fact if she did not figure it out without his help. But he reassured himself, Twilight was the smartest pony he knew she likely would have figured it out but would have taken longer to figure it out. Time being the relative thing that it was.
Time. That was something that he had an infinite amount of, all thanks to his brother Concord. He was not always Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony, he was once a noble draconequus royal with his brother. When the Changelings all but destroyed their empire and nearly destroyed them until they discovered the Elements of harmony and the Seeds of Chaos. Concord originally wanted to take the seeds but Discord refused to see his brother in such an evil state. So Concord and Discord changed the Changelings into insectial beings like they were and cast them far away.
Concord. His name literally meaning harmony, it was through him that harmony could be achieved, as well as chaos. Discord lowered his gaze as he rested his claw and paw against the railing on the balcony of one of Twilight's towers. The second largest tower to be exact. Concord was a pony that could not be compared to any other. Not only a brother but a friend. The kindest being in existence, except for Fluttershy. Everything to expect out of a brother.
"You can do yourself good if you join the rest of us in celebration. You could use more friends." Discord recognised that timeless and ageless voice. He turned and saw Princess Celestia leaning agains the threshold of the balcony. She wore a bright white and gold sundress that accented her curves very well. Her pink eyes filled with warm hearted happiness and joy, but well hidden behind a wall of nobility and stern standing hooves. Her ethereal mane and tail billowing even though the wind had died down. Her pristine alabaster white coat seemed to glow and glisten in the pale moonlight.
Discord managed a smile and added nonchalantly, "Good advice coming from one who teaches friendship."
Discord turned back to staring off into the distance, seeing the countryside of Equestria slowly begin to let themselves fall under a slumber until the lively rays of the sun would raise and awaken them once more. All it did was continue to remember his brother, which made it all the more painful to think about. He stared down low and he felt a hoof on his shoulder and Celestia asked in a sympathetic tone, "Discord. You're not yourself, are you okay?"
Discord kept his gaze away from hers and he said, "What would you do if time was actually relative to beings like us?"
"What?"
"Like," Discord flicked a pebble from his claw and it flew through the air and watched as it turned into a bird, "If our lifelines changed, how would you react?"
Discord moved his gaze to her and she thought for a few moments, the question catching her completely off guard. Celestia clenched her brow and responded, "Scared and confused at first, I guess but...where is this suddenly coming from?"
Discord answered, "I've just been thinking lately-"
"About your brother?" Celestia asked picking up on some of the context clues. A nod from Discord confirmed his feelings to her at that moment. And she asked, "Why?"
"I've hurt a lot of ponies Celestia. Too many and too numerous to count. Your parents for instance. And you. Everypony that seems to be around me just seems to get hurt. I just don't want to become the monster I used to be." Discord answered with a sullen look.
Celestia said sharply, "You can't blame yourself for what you did in the past. If you dwell then you'll only destroy yourself and some of the others around you. I do not hold my parent's death's in your hooves Discord, you are willing to feel guilt from your actions. This means that you are a good pony underneath."
She turned his head with her hoof and he stared directly into her starry eyes. Tapping her hoof on Discord's heart when she said 'good pony underneath.' Discord looked down at the hoof and felt the tender hoof press softly against his chest. Of all the ponies that forgave him for the countless things that he has done, it was the one that he hurt the most. He tore apart her world so many times. Kept her prisoner for so many years and still she is willing to move past all that. He pushed her away so many times, and for what? Joy? Broken confidence?
His soul and hearted felt one and melded together, warming his insides. He never felt like this around any other pony, never before had he felt something so strong. A feeling towards somepony else that was that strong. He rested a claw on her hoof and looked back at her. No pain or regret in her eyes. Only pure blissfulness, sending waves of electricity through him. Discord pulled both his hands behind her and pulled her in close and he promised staring down into her eyes, "I will never hurt you again."
She seemed blissful and she leaned up and she pressed her lips gently against his. Discord accepted the kiss and for a few seconds they stood there in the curtain of stars, sharing each other's mutual feeling of a strong friendship, becoming so much more than that. And for the first time in two thousand years he felt something he thought he could never feel again. Love.
Celestia pulled back and stared directly at him with the same eyes and whispered, "I know you will."
Discord smiled and pulled her in closer and felt the warmth increase. If he was going to get any warmer he was sure he would start sweating. Celestia wrapped her hooves over his neck and he rested his claw and paw on her lower back. Discord could feel Celestia's lips curl into a smile and she said, "That was beautiful Discord."
Discord chuckled and said, "Well don't get used to it."
She stifled a similar giggle as they stopped hugging. Concern and shock spread across her face and she moved a hoof to her mouth and said, "Oh my..."
Discord was confused he said, "What is there something on my face?"
Celestia managed to choke out, "Your eyes their...crying blood."
Discord moved his eagle claw to his eye and dabbed it on his cheek and looked and saw his claw had some blood on it and he did feel it running down his cheeks. Dabbing more on his other claw from his other cheek he said, "Well would you look at that..."
Celestia's jaw dropped open and she said, "How can you be so PC about this? This is not normal Discord."
Discord felt a sharp pain twist his stomach and he fell to the ground. It was similar to the feeling he felt when there was a magical disturbance. It was unlike anything he had felt before. The power that suddenly appeared it...it could change the fabric of the universe given the opportunity. Discord felt really cold and Celestia lifted him up and he said to himself, "What can carry so much power? Who can carry that much power?"
Celestia asked in a worried tone, "What? Is there a disturbance?"
Discord gripped his stomach that felt as though it was going to tear itself apart. He gritted, "It's not a disturbance...It's an upheaval. And it is getting closer."
Twilight had seen more than enough parties for anypony to be sickened, the constant patrons of the same ponies, most of the same decorations, the food was consistent, and the games were all in all the same aside from some minor rule changes and different names. The music was the same songs on repeat, making it easier to drown out through concentrated talking. This would make the third party in the past two weeks. Yet, Twilight could never shake the feeling of having an overall good time. Parties came and went and were held with guests of honor for more than a few times. But she always felt like priority in Pinkie's parties. As a matter of fact, everypony was priority in Pinkie's parties.
Pinkie held conviction that Twilight could not believe when it came to planning the perfect party, with little room for error. Her way of planning was chaotic and sometimes it was a little hard to follow but it made sense and it could get the job done with different results. Though she has never seen an unsatisfied patron at Pinkie's parties, so she received no complaints. However, two weekends in a row of parties and one could say that Twilight ran herself ragged, or perhaps that was the magical exhaustion talking to her. Her mind was somewhat hurting from the amount of magic she had harbored just hours ago.
It was an alien feeling, having that much power inside of her. Especially when she had to raise and lower the sun and moon, and interfere with the magical love waves that the citizens of Equestria gave off, making her pivotal in every single relationship on Equestria. Twilight did not know how they could do it. It was at that moment a thought struck Twilight. All three had pivotal jobs and sources of mana to control, the moon and sun and the love waves. Which begged the question, what source of mana would she control?
Was there a large source of all powerful mana that Twilight had to seize control of? Was it a magical object that allowed her to fluctuate the magic waves given off by ponies? Was it a collective of books that taught her how to manipulate the cosmos into order of the universe? Too many questions flooded the forefront of her mind, causing her headache to spike in pain. Twilight gasped at the sudden rise in pain and moved a hoof over the area. Twilight took one last pull from her cup of punch and set the cup back down with in audible clink.
She looked around the main hall of her new crystal castle. The walls, ceiling, and floors was all made of crystal. Bright blue, like an aquamarine color. The bright facets glowing and glistening in the dead light of night, moonlight almost causing her crystal castle to glow. Pale light illuminating the floors and rooms of the castle. Giving it natural lighting even in the dead of night, a magical property that she should look into. But there was something off about owning this castle. Yes it was her new home but it just felt rushed, like it shouldn't belong to her. The Castle of Shadows, felt more like home to her. It held that old feeling of wonder like Golden Oaks did, the smell of oak and paper. The cold drafts wafting from cracks in the side boards. It gave the place personality, her new home just felt too...perfect. Too much fit for a princess.
Twilight muttered to herself, "Here's to making the best of a bad situation."
She downed the other cup of punch in a manner of seconds, the citrus bubbly punch having a little kick to it burning as it went down her throat. Not an alcoholic kick, a spicy kick. She got different things from lands far and wide, how she had the bits to do so Twilight would not ask. She always thought of it as her being on a need to know basis, and at that moment she did not want to know. Taking another cup of punch she downed that one, throwing the cup aside on the table.
"Maybe you need something a bit stronger." Came the always happy and cheerful tone of her old foal sitter, Princess Cadence. A bright pink mare with a tall slender build, fitting for a petite princess such as herself. But she was not fooling anypony, Twilight knew well enough that all alicorns had a certain level of heightened strength, surpassing that of an earth pony's. The many contours of her body were long and well detailed, maintaining a good figure to keep up a public image. Her mane braided back quickly but well groomed, tri-colored and accenting well with the rest of her body, yellow purple and a light pink. Her wings slowly fading from pink to lilac as it reached the tip. and her pink eyes filled with jubilation and happiness.
Twilight smiled as a familiar warm and friendly feeling rose within her as she was around Cadence. She did not know what it was but she just had this aura about her that always told her that she was a friendly and kind pony. Twilight exchanged waving a cup and moving the punch ladel to fill it once more, "I have too much of a headache to have anything containing alcohol."
There was no alcohol in the punch because there was fillies around, as a matter of fact everypony was around. Filling the main hall nearly to the brim with ponies almost unable to make out the various decorations set up for the party. Confetti, streamers, banners, and balloons clinging tightly to the ceiling.
Twilight glanced back over at Cadence and asked taking a light sip of her punch before asking her, "Cadence, I have a question."
"Shoot."
"Do all alicorns go through physical changes?" Twilight asked keeping each other's attention the music all but completely disappearing, "Like getting taller and thinner?"
Cadence thought for a second briefly looking away to think until finally she returned her gaze to Twilight with a slight twitch of her tail, "Not all. Arcanus alicorns like Celestia, as you can notice, grow very tall and very quickly. Arcanus Alicorns being tall and strong for purposes of protecting and giving off powerful spells but at greater exhaustion to the user. While Magnus Alicorns are slightly taller than normal ponies, preferring speed over endurance with quick casting spells."
"So which one do you think I would be?" Twilight asked. She briefly read up on the certain subject, 'Alicorns: An Informative Study' by Princess Cadence, only taking a few notes. It was a large book and begged Twilight to wonder how Cadence knew so much about alicorns. She knew that it was not through genetics or overall power level. Like most things in the life of a pony, it was solely determined by their cutie mark. If a pony had a flower cutie mark it would likely transform into a Magnus Alicorn. If a pony had apples for a cutie mark, that pony would most likely turn into an Arcanus Alicorn. Therefore it was not random but not particularly specific either.
returning from her contemplative and studious stare Cadence answered before guzzling down a cup of punch, "Neither. You would likely be a Maximus Alicorn."
"Maximus?"
"Yes," Cadence coughed at the amount of hot sauce that was put into the punch calming her senses quickly, "A Maximus is a combination of the two. The strength and magical power of an Arcanus, with the height slightly mixed in. Along with the Magnus speed and agility. think about it Twilight, you are the first pony Celestia takes in as a personal student after a thousands years, and when you take the entrance exam at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns you nearly tore that place apart. Both magically and physically. Although, I find it a little strange. You should have begun growing and changing by now."
Twilight raised an eyebrow in surprise, "Really?"
"More than half way down with the transformation I would expect." Cadence downed another cup and cringed at the spiciness of the punch. Twilight slightly giggled at this prospect. Cadence has never been one to handle anything above mild tasting, yet she could hold more alcohol than Twilight. She did not know whether or not that was because she was around it more or if she just had a natural resistance to drunkenness.
Twilight stopped suddenly and listened carefully, the music abruptly stopped and the lights seemed to increase. Twilight looked around to find the reason for the intrusion on their fun. Twilight turned and saw Celestia, holding a limping Discord in one hoof and a limping Luna in the other though Luna looked to be in better shape than Discord. He looked pale and blood stained his mouth as it dripped from his nose. He clenched his stomach hard and appeared beyond any medical healing. Twilight looked to her friends and they rushed to Discord and Luna's side. The only rushing to Discord's was Pinkie and Fluttershy.
Luna looked a paler shade of midnight and her eyes glowed dark green. Twilight would have suspected Changeling magic but they were gone and no changelings were in sight. She did however feel a deep and reverberating rumble in the form of magic. It shook Twilight's senses and she fell to her hooves as she got up to assist with her friends. She looked up and saw Celestia as she said, "Everypony! Get to safety now, there is danger coming! Go!"
There was a mix of worry and fear in her stoic and commanding voice, something only Twilight could pick up. Celestia gave Luna over to her three friends and started to tend to Discord. Twilight took the time to cast a spell to dispel the magic being worked on her senses. The disorienting spell making it hard to cast. Her horn erupted in an aura of magic and the audible sound rising high in her ringing ears. She cast hard and concentrated at the spell and tried to pry the spell away a the roots. She clenched every muscle in her face to uproot the spell but she could not. She put more kick into her dispel and finally dispelled, her body covered in sweat and her headache increasing.
Twilight went and stepped towards her mentor but stopped dead in her tracks as she heard a deep and booming voice command, "There is no safety from the jaws of time!"
Twilight looked to Discord as he said, "That voice...I know that voice."
Discord trailed off seemingly lost in his words and unable to speak.The voice was so gruff and so powerful, that she felt as if the voice could crush her by the weight of his words. The dark cursed words sending shivers up her spine, she was very close to Discord and she stepped forward to inquire about the voice above but she was cut short as the earth shook itself. The ground erupting and the castle exploding up.
BOOM!
Twilight was blasted back a few feet and slammed into a large chunk of the ceiling, her back wrenching in pain and almost refusing her to move, she fell limp to the floor some debris landing on her half conscious form. Twilight struggled as she turned her head to see the destruction of her new home. Perfect or not this was her home and a large portion of it was missing. A large hole erupted in the side of the castle. Dust and debris rained down initially upon them. Twilight struggled as she tried to stand on her hooves, her back tightening up and seizing as she leaned on her forehooves. A large cloud of dust concealed the hole briefly after the explosion and Twilight looked over just in time to see the owner of the voice.
Who stepped in was another draconequus but less mismatched than Discord. His long slim body was covered in a thin layer of pure bronze scales, with arms of dragons with sharp claws. he had legs of ponies attached to his long serpent body, the color matching bronze. At the end of his tail the tip of a pony's tail was there with the color of jet black. His eyes were a dark shade of emerald, coming out of the corners was black smoke. He held his claws open as he stepped through the curtain of smoke that now slowly began to dissipate.
Twilight looked to Discord as she grumbled the word, "Concord."
The powers that came off of him were too many to count. Shadow. Time. Energy. Space. To name only a few she could feel, the whole plethora of magic capabilities he could manipulate and master every single one. But the one that stood out the most was time. Twilight tried to keep her eyes open and not fall unconscious and she succeeded but her headache only seemed to increase. Standing before her now, she could sense it, was a villain. The dark cold blood she could sense underneath him. The cold dark soul that lied beneath. The shadows however seemed to evade and shrink with his every movement.
Twilight looked around and saw her friends all lying on the ground unconscious, Twilight breathing a breath of relief. They only suffered minimal amount of damage. Lying sprawled across the debris covered floor. Cadence lying a short distance away from Twilight, as she was lying in front of a large chunk of the ceiling that now lied behind her in the back of the room. Almost next to the far wall. The ground beneath her hooves were rigged and cracked. At the center of the room was Discord and the other princesses, to face this new threat head on.
Concord hovered to the ground gently clapping his claws together, a cruel smile was on his face throughout. The princesses and Discord did not share the same dark humor as him, staring at him with cold eyes. Concord opened his claws as the curtain of dust dissipated, his voice deep and almost shaking the room itself, "I expected more from the welcoming party. Three thousand years and not a single one of you is brave enough to raise a hoof to stop me? I thought you ponies were about harmony and balance?"
His words alone rose a fire beneath Twilight, she wanted so bad to stand and charge the pony but she did not have the strength to at the moment. Her movements were sluggish as she braced herself against the stone slab, with a grunt and a gasping breath. She slowly worked on a healing spell. The only one capable of standing in defiance against Concord was Discord. Discord clenched his fists and he stood tall and puffed his chest out. He stared down Concord with eyes like daggers and he said, "Concord. What is this...what have you done?"
Concord huffed, "What have I done? It seems that you are not as smart as I remembered."
Discord growled at that comment as Concord stepped closer to Discord.
"I have slept for three thousand years. All throughout maintaining what I desperately thought was how time needed to be. When only I was slowly turning myself into a monster. And the worst part is that I saw this coming. I knew this would happen ages ago, and I did nothing to stop it. Because I knew I could not stop it. So I embraced the shadows that tried to cling to me so long ago. I stared into the void only to find a pair of eyes staring back at me. And it was through this that I have come to a conclusion:
"Time is a relative thing, and is relative to the one who wields it. Take it from me dear brother, the cold void has a special place waiting for somepony as cold as you."
Discord clenched his eyes closed and he opened them back up revealing white hot orbs as he shouted, "Enough! Stop this madness Concord! You were the Grey Guardian, the Sentinel of Time and now look at you! You claim yourself reborn? All that you have done is let the shadows take hold of your mind. For far too long I had let the shadows take hold of my mind, but I was able to heal myself. Now I will do the same for you."
Fury overtook Discord as he opened his claw and paw and they erupted in bright red flames and he shot himself forward, blasting through the air. Heading straight towards Concord. Concord moved his footing and flicked his wrist, a large telekinetic pillar crashed into Discord and sent him flying towards the wall. As he flung towards the wall, Discord finished his spell and a ball of red hot flames spouted towards Concord. Crackling as it was sent through the air.
Concord opened his claw towards the ball of flames, the ball of flames dissipated and shrunk inside of Concord's claw, glowing green and then slowly dying. As the ball of flame dissipated Concord grumbled loudly, "Still naive little Discord. Always trying to find what was best, but only if you got something in return...no but as of lately you have been feeling something quite different haven't you? Love."
Twilight appeared confused, love? Discord? But who? Twilight looked and affirmed her question, it was Princess Celestia as she exchanged thin and fearful looks with one another. Luna seemed unwilling to accept defeat, rebellion and defiance filling her. Luna struggled as she stood up and growled, "I have heard enough of your heresy Concord."
The midnight princess stood up and flicked her head as she summoned forth a great amount of magical energy. Luna's horn glowed in a large torrent of energy and she willed the energy out releasing a blast of pure dark midnight magical energy wave. Shooting forth and threatening to tear Concord apart. Concord threw up his claws and absorbed the large arcanic blast. Concord dusted himself off and said, "I control the time waves? Do you honestly expect me not to have seen that?"
Concord opened his claws and clenched his knuckles close as if he was gripping a hand held ball. It glowed an emerald green and Luna had a similar mantra around her. Concord moved his arm in a wide half circle arc and Luna flung towards the wall. Twilight sensed Luna try to throw up a shield but she was not strong enough to keep back his magic. Twilight stopped casting her healing spell and before Luna would smash through the wall Twilight clenched her teeth together and casted a teleport spell. Intentionally grabbing Luna, unintentionally grabbing Celestia. Two flashes of violet magic erupted on both sides of Twilight. Concord looked and stared directly at her. Sharing cold stares with one another, trying to sense the other's move. Concord grumbled, "Enough of these games."
Concord seemed deep and contemplative a that moment, moving a studious gaze over everypony. He tapped his chin, a dark silence filling everything. Seemingly able to kill them all if not careful, the silence alone making Twilight wanting to succumb and go unconscious. Concord muttered something to himself and finally his gaze fell upon Cadence. He opened his claw that glowed green magical energy, Cadence slowly being pulled towards him. Twilight was gripped by fear and tried to grab Cadence's outstretched hooves but she missed. Tears stung as they threatened to come out of Twilight. As well as the princesses, but with his other hoof he slammed them all and held them against he slab of crystal behind them.
He levitated Cadence into his hand, gripping his claw to her mane. Grabbing a fistful of her mane. Tears ran down Cadence's cheeks and Concord bellowed, "The Princess of Love herself. How ironic."
Concord lifted her up to present her to others and proclaimed, "Watch as I take the one that is loved the most."
While keeping Twilight and the other two princesses braced against the wall, he summoned in his open claw a dagger. He lowered Cadence and she stared right at Twilight. Tears stinging in Twilight's eyes as she stared at Cadence, slowly they came out. Cadence mouthed the words, 'I love you all.' With those final words Cadence closed her eyes and Twilight screamed as Concord slit her throat, drawing it over the flesh beneath the chin and the top of the neck. Blood spilling out like a stream.
"NOOO!!!"
Everypony seemed distraught and somehow effected by Cadence dying before their eyes. Only proving Concord correct in her being the one that was loved the most. Discord slammed his claw on the ground and shouted, "Damn it Concord! This fight is between me and you, leave them out of this!"
Concord looked over his shoulder to his brother and said, "What fight? This is no fight Discord, a fight implies that there is some sort of resistance coming from you."
He moved his gaze over to Twilight and the remaining princesses. A cruel smile coming across his lips, Twilight could see that he was formulating something devious and sinister. Twilight wanted with all of her being to break the magic and charge towards the maniac who took away her sister. Fury like she could not believe overcame her, she could not accept Cadence's passing. He did not even gain anything from killing her. All it did was cause the other ponies in the room pain.
Concord finally said, "I know what I am going to do with you three. Consider yourselves, citizens of this time stream no longer."
Concord willed both of his hands and they glowed dark green, clapping them together causing magical sparks to spew out and cling to the floor then finally die down. Pulling them apart, they began to glow a dark bronze. The air around Twilight crackled with powerful magic and she felt herself being ripped away. Like her consciousness itself was being tore away and being placed somewhere else. Twilight's anger swelled and she tried to escape her magical bonds. She saw Despair set into Celestia and cold hearted fear grip Luna. Twilight's heart pained inside her chest. Twilight's vision slowly began to shift. Slowly but surely, all she could see was black as exhaustion overtook her. Cold darkness was all that awaited her as she succumbed to the sweet feeling of sleep. Her will to fight left her.
Time and space all but meaningless as blackness filled around Twilight. The ancient workings of a time travel spell, but it was much stronger and much more potent than a normal time travel spell. She read somewhere about time and how it affected ponies as well as hearing Concord mention something about time streams. Twilight then knew what was going to become of her and the princesses. Then the blackness swallowed her and she could hear nothing. Not the sound of the spell. Not the beat of her own heart. Not the feeling of Luna and Celestia near her. Just utter cold and bitter blackness. Seeing nothing but dark ebony shadows.
Author's Note
Bear with me you guys, I am very new to writing something like this so I ask you guys to please be patient with me. So there you have it, the beginning of something that I just had sudden inspiration for. Normally I do not have inspiration for something like this. So, there you go. I hope you guys enjoy this. I will say that the updates for this fic will take a long time considering it took me two days to write this, so be patient with the updates. That and I have other works to update, I might even put some of those on a brief break. Who knows, we'll see what happens. I hope you guys are wiling to wait and see what this fic has to offer
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See you guys next chapter
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~Sylus~
Curse of the Fallen Angel
There had been gentler ways to wake up. For one thing, waking up willingly. Another being asked to awaken by a friend or a family member. What was not a gentle way to wake up was being thrown across the ground and slamming into a dead tree. Not only did Luna skid across the ground which caused her to become bruised and cut, she then slammed into a dead tree breaking it in half. She grunted as she leaned on her hooves to stand up and attempted to stretch her back, a snap and a pop sounding loudly and the pain suddenly subsided. Luna stood up, still burning from the cuts and bruises along her injured frame, at least she was able to stand without fear of breaking something.
Luna breathed heavily, Luna did not remember Concord being so strong. He was always so calm and collected. So sweet and willing to help anypony in need. Whatever they faced, it was not Concord. It was something else, something much more sinister and cold hearted. Concord would never be able to take the life of an innocent pony. She had sensed a familiar dark energy beneath him, a shadow filled entity that sent cold shivers through Luna. It was the form of Nightmare Moon, the dreaded spirit that took over Luna. But what most ponies did not know was that Nightmare Moon was literally a part of her, born from her envy and nightmares.
Luna moved her head up, still breathing heavily. The air was dank and filled with smog and attempted to fill her lungs but it was useless considering she did not require air to breath being an alicorn. Dead trees and plants lied all over, littering the ground with tainted and decaying trees. The bark rotted and seemed to be soft in her hooves. The air around her was a dark green color, the sky blotted out by the pollution. Everything was dead, an empty feeling resided deep within Luna. Void, no sign of life to reassure herself that there were ponies that could help them escape.
The ground was grey and cracked, no life underneath her hooves. They were at the site of a great battle that tore apart the earth itself. Luna thought back to Twilight's battle with Tirek. They had destroyed a small fraction of the earth with their battle but this, this was absolute annihilation. Luna could not feel any mercy given or taken away from the dead that littered around them.
And that was just it, they were lying on the bodies of thousands of ponies. Reduced to absolute ashes. Luna scrapped a hoof over the ground and lifted her now grey dusted hoof closing her bright green eyes and whispered, "Ashes to ashes and dust to dust. As we were once raised from the soil, so shall we return one day."
Luna cupped her hoof and, releasing the dust away, she blew a magical wind forward. It was the words to a funeral rite of Equestria. Luna had known a significant amount of rites to the dead, rituals that allowed her to talk to the dead or even ask them to raise once more. It was not necromancy as necromancy forced the skeletons to wake, binding their wills to that of the revivalist. Many times ponies had nightmares of her raising an undead army and conquering all of Equestria. Something she was close to doing a thousand years ago. It still pained her to this day, letting her jealousy overcome her and cloud her judgment. She was so weak and naive back then, a lot of growth can fill somepony in the span of a thousand years. When faced with isolation, ponies tend to reflect on the poor decisions they have made in their life.
She remembered back to the grueling images that still plagued her nightmares, creatures of shadow preying upon the ponies of Equestria. They almost mirrored the images she had seen of a few minutes ago, after she had raised the moon she decided to start the Dreamscape. Allow ponies the escape of dreams, but she found something that was not particularly pleasant to see. Concord twisted it and malformed the Dreamscape into a ravaged hellscape. She felt her soul tear itself apart as she remembered the altercation between them,
The land and air was stained bright red, crimson like the blood of mortal ponies. Luna was no longer standing in her realm where she ruled forever and plentiful. She was standing in the shadow of that. The ground was broken and the debris was floating in the air. It was like a cruel nightmare that Luna could not wake up from. She set her eyes on quite possibly the one who is responsible for this. She stepped forward and threatened, "What is the meaning of thi-Concord? Concord is that you?"
Concord gave a smile and said, "Indeed. I have awakened...but not to your exact liking. I am not the same draconequus you knew before."
Luna glanced around the landscape and she finally asked with concern in her voice, noticing that his stance was not inviting, "What happened to you?"
Concord stepped forward, and with each step forward Luna mirrored back. She could tell that he was not the same, she could sense dark and ancient magic boiling beneath him, "I was sleeping for two thousand years. Do you know what that is like? Surely you got a taste of what that was like, with your one thousand year banishment. It is cold and unpleasant, especially so if you can hear the dark whispers of villains that your friends have slain."
Luna shook her head, "No they did not kill-"
"Tell King Sombra that," Concord said defensively, "Tell Queen Chrysalis that. Both of them did not go down with the merciful power of friendship, they died because of the magical output. And they went to me, so they could have their revenge. And Nightmare Moon trying so long ago, really it was her why I gave in."
Luna stepped back until she was brought to the edge. Concord stepped in far too close as he said, "For two thousand years I slept, and not once was I even mentioned to your little princess protege Twilight Sparkle. It was not even said that I created the Elements of Harmony and the Seeds of Chaos. Am I that insignificant to you? Am I that forgettable?"
Concord threw his claw forward, gripped Luna's throat and raised her in the air, gasping for air, "How soon can you forget the one that sacrificed so much to protect your nation, to protect you. Your nation would be nothing but a pile of ash if it was not for the actions of Discord and me. We deserve to rule, not you."
Concord moved his other claw to the side of her head as his hand radiated pale black magic and Luna felt something sift through her mind and her head began to burn and boil. Luna cried out in pain and Concord continued, "You are still a threat to your nation, whether you choose to believe it or not. You still have Nightmares hidden inside of you, they just don't know it yet. And you saw what happened when you did not destroy one, you allowed it to possess the element of generosity. But you will be a threat to the nation no longer, I will fix you."
Concord pressed his claws against her head, the pain increased and he continued, "On the light of the last day in Twelve weeks, you will feel the pain of holding so many nightmares beneath you. They will try and kill you. And they will hurt you. If you cannot control these nightmares by the final rising beams of light, then you will die."
Concord finished his spell, not only did he curse her but he also stole control of the Dreamscape as well. She felt a great weight lift from her mind, like she was missing something important. Luna pressed a hoof to the side of her head. She was not in control of the nightmares that lived inside of her and she could already feel them scratching and pressing out for release. Luna looked up as Concord stood tall above her and he said, "Sweet dreams, fallen angel."
Luna let an irritated breath come out of her nostrils as she reflected back on that. She could hear them, begging for Luna to release them. Pleading for mercy on their dark souls, hoping that Luna would end their existence quickly. But Luna could not listen to them, she ignored them with all her might pushing them far back into her mind. Even using a little bit of magic to push them back further. It was not an easy task now, keeping them at bay, and she knew that it would get harder as she approached her deadline. For they would only increase in power. It left her with a foul taste in her mouth, knowing that the Nightmares she has come to rely on so much were now going to slowly kill her. It left them on a time crunch, they needed to leave, and quickly.
She looked about the cold dead area around her, standing up on both hooves and looking around. Her eyes unable to see past a dense mist that seemed to come out of nowhere. She stepped hesitantly across the dead ground and went on in one direction. She lit her horn, the audible magical ping lighting up a small area giving her a larger range for her to see. She then cast a spell that allowed her to sense the magical energies of any nearby magical beings. A high pitched ping rang out from her horn and sent a magical wave in all directions. She continued on, waiting for a similar ping to ring out. She waited with a deep feeling in the pit of her stomach, fear of not knowing where Celestia and Twilight were. She swallowed back a lump in her throat and reassured herself, "It's okay Luna, we are sure they are fine."
The dead silence did nothing to comfort her however. Listening carefully to hear the tell tale ping of magical beings nearby. Her gaze sharp and focused on the ground that she could see, already her horn felt like it was a few pounds heavier like she had taken on an entire horde of Changelings. It was strange, normally she had a lot more magical stamina. It could have been the Nightmares that were interfering with her magic to escape. It was the only logical solution anyways, there was no other reason for her magic to go haywire like this.
Luna stepped over occasional rocks that jutted up and out of the ground. Some stained with blood that could have been centuries old, but something else caught her eyes as she continued on glancing over the dead tree stumps and logs. There were large craters in the ground, not like a catapult crater left behind by flying debris. The ground was not cracked, albeit very little damage, but had a thin coat of dust and ash. It was not a magical pulse discharge from an overactive unicorn, it would have been bigger and resin would have been left behind. Along with the remains of the pony that casted a more power spell than they had imagined. She could not sense whether it had any magical properties or not, it was just silent. She could sense that without even casting a spell, her eyes fixated on the many craters around her.
Smoke rose from a few of the craters, making the feeling in her stomach seem to grow. Goosebumps shot over her skin, putting her on edge. She was on strange ground, ground that was stained with either war or dark magic. Perhaps a mixture of both. The dead that lied there was too many to count. Half the size of the Equestrian population. Devastation on a much grander scale than Luna could imagine. Luna clenched as her wounds rose in greater pain, causing her to fall to her knees. As she sat there grunting in pain, wishing the pain to stop. She heard it.
Ping
A few seconds went by, her heart racing and on edge as she listened.
Ping
She breathed a painful sigh of relief, they were all right. She was slightly calmed by this fact, but beating loudly in her ears was her heart beat. She groaned at the pain once more, hunching over in hopes to stop the pain and bleeding. Her other cuts started to act up and begin to bleed once more. Her eyes stung as she cried out, "Celestia! Twilight!-Agh!"
Her words being cut short as they rose in pain once more, her breaths sharp and painful as she breathed in and out. She looked down at herself and lifted her hoof briefly from her stomach. Her hoof stained from the tip of her hoof to her elbow, it was stained crimson against her midnight coat, making it almost black. She looked down and saw she was stained with both dried and fresh blood as well as dust and ash. Dirt filling her coat, and the feeling of her having physical wounds making her mane crawl. She stopped breathing for a second. She raised her free hoof to her mane and ran it through. It was no longer ethereal, it was not the consistency of the night sky anymore and it did not billow. She combed her hoof through it once more, freeing some dirt from it as she did so. She held it in her hoof and looked at it. She saw it was a very very dark violet color, almost blue from the looks. But it was still dark violet. It suddenly made sense that she could take physical wounds, she was not immortal anymore. She was a mortal alicorn.
"Luna!" Luna looked over at the distressful call out of her name and saw something that made her heart stop. Celestia was stained and had a few cuts along her as well, her sundress ripped and torn away, her coat stained with dust and dirt. The once pure white coat was now almost a grey. There was distress in her pink eyes, filled with despair. Luna then looked to her mane and saw that it was long and a dark pink, telling Luna that she was mortal as well. Luna then looked to the sight that caused her to stop breathing, Twilight lying limp in Celestia's hooves. Her face empty and closed, all life seemed to be gone from Twilight. Anguish filled Luna as Celestia approached swiftly. Twilight was covered in dirt and dust as well, but with much more cuts and bruises than Celestia and Luna. Much more crimson than Luna and Celestia. Celestia said with the most even tone she could manage, "Are you alright?"
There was fear in her tone, any wielder of dark magic could sense it. Something she had never sensed in Celestia for centuries, there was not much that could make her so flustered or distraught. Considering Twilight was like a daughter to Celestia, this did not surprise Luna. Luna grunted, "I...mm...we are fine. We would ask the same of you, how is Twilight?"
She laid Twilight on the ground and crossed her hooves over Twilight's stomach, seemingly avoiding the question. Celestia knelt down next to Luna and put pressure on the wounds Luna could not put pressure on. Celestia looked over her little sister and stated distraughtly, "You are bleeding..."
Luna cracked a half smile and sarcastically said, "Yes...tell us something we don't know..."
Her voice trailed off as the pain rose once more, much harder this time. She almost keeled over from blood loss when Celestia caught her. Celestia said sharply, "Come on Luna! I need you! We need you, stay awake."
Luna felt twenty pounds heavier and shook her head, "We are trying...but...heal Twilight before me..."
Celestia looked at her sister that was now cradled into her lap and she shook her head with tears welling up in her eyes, "No, I can't. I have physically healed her wounds but something is wrong with her. She won't wake up, it's beyond my realm of magic."
Celestia accepted not to talk anymore and activated her magic, normally the golden aura of her magic filling Luna with a warm and friendly feeling. But not this time, the golden light felt cold and distant. She lowered her horn and it rested on Luna's own. She grunted once more in pain and Celestia clenched her teeth together, summoning forth all the magic she could. She felt warmth spread throughout her body, healing her wounds slightly. The bleeding stopped and Luna felt some of her strength return to her. Her breathing returned to her slightly, she opened her eyes and saw bright white light spreading over her skin and watched some of her wounds seal up on sight. The only ones that did not were the large ones across her stomach, shoulder, thigh, and forehooves. Luna looked and saw Celestia straining so hard that her nose started to bleed. Luna raised her hooves and stopped her sister from casting the healing spell. Luna said evenly with sympathy in her voice, "Easy sister. You need to save your strength."
Luna held her sisters head and let her gather herself again. Celestia shook her head and in between painful breaths she strained with sweat running down her brow, "No...I can't lose you Luna."
Luna swallowed hard and said, "And we need you Tia, Twilight and me. Don't hurt yourself trying to help us. Now what's wrong with Twilight?"
It took them a few hours to find a place to rest but find a place they did.
Celestia set Twilight down against a soft stone, resting her head on it like a pillow. Celestia cast a spell, summoning gauze to wrap around their wounds. Celestia gave one roll to Luna and the midnight princess began tending her wounds. There was a small pool of water at the center of an outcropping of jagged stones. Soaking the bandages in the icy cold water so clear that she could see the bottom of the pond, she wrapped the linen bandages tightly around her stomach and chest as well as her shoulder, left thigh, and her forehooves. The damp linen bandages cleaned her wounds and helped cool her down after trekking through the unrelenting heat. She cupped her hooves as she knelt next to the small pond in the center and dipped her cupped hooves into the water. She brought her hooves to her mouth and dipped her head back and felt the water fall into her mouth and she drank deep the crystal clear water. She felt the water spread through her body and felt her physical stamina recover slightly from the energy the water gave her. She looked over at Celestia and she wrapped gauze around Twilight as she did she explained, "When we came out of the spell, Twilight and I, we were flung over the edge of a cliff. I was able to stabilize myself in flight but Twilight went unconscious from magical exhaustion. I caught her but a large gust caught me off guard and we were sent into the cliff face."
Luna held an expressionless face as she tested the tightness of the bandages, paying close attention to Celestia's story. Not taking her eyes away from Twilight. She looked peaceful, yet distraught as well. The silent and pained breaths coming from the young filly all but filled her with an uneven feeling. Celestia paused wrapping all four hooves from the tip to the elbow or knee, winding them all tight. Luna listened carefully as she continued, "I grabbed Twilight and climbed the cliff face. Unable to fly because my wings were broken. Once I reached the top I healed both Twilight and I so that we might find you."
She finished wrapping her wounds and breathed heavily and wiped her brow from sweat. She looked over at Luna as they rested under the shade of a large pillar of pure stone. They felt the cool wrapping of shadows as the harsh sun remained behind the large pillar of stone, giving them half a day to find out where in the name of Tartarus they were. Luna released a sigh of frustration and kept on being knelt by the pond of icy water. She scooped her hoof in the pond and splashed her face with it. Another scoop and she ran it through her mane, wetting it down and made it less as frizzly. She combed her mane with her hooves and pulled it back in a ponytail, a few strands of her mane hanging over her cheeks, her peripheral vision opening up. Luna dropped her wrapped hooves and released another sigh.
She felt a mix of emotions as she let everything simmer down and paid attention to the events that had just transpired. Glancing over her environment briefly. They were still in the same dead forest but the mist had cleared and the green polluted sky made way for the sick looking sun. Luna rested a hoof on her propped up hind leg and asked in a melancholic tone, "How is she doing?"
Celestia finished wrapping up Twilight and now Twilight just lied there, resting calmly and peacefully. Celestia leaned back with a slight pull of her muscles. She hid it well, the feeling of fear. Luna knew it was there because Luna saw it only about two hours before. It finally sunk into her at last. She seemed a little distant in the way she carried herself. And heartbroken.
She answered looking at her former pupil, "She will live, thank the stars. But I still can't wake her."
Silence ensued between the two alicorn sisters. Neither one wanting to interrupt each other from mourning. Luna sat up, her movements more fluent and less sluggish unlike a few hours ago. She let her gaze fall as she remembered back to the events that transpired and she sniffled trying to keep herself from crying, "I can't believe she's gone Tia."
Celestia seemed to be in the same state and responded to her little sister, "I know..."
Celestia shook herself and trying to hide the pain in her voice she said, "Can you see what's wrong with Twilight while I wrap my wounds?"
She shook her sadness and wiped away tears that threatened to spill. Luna nodded and stood up. While her strength was back she still had little energy to lift herself off, as well as getting used to her bandages. She walked over to Twilight who was laid out on a stone a few feet away from the pond. She tucked both her back legs under her and sat on them, resting her hooves on Twilight's stomach. She was still warm and rose slightly with long breaths. She was still living, but she could not awaken. Luna cast a spell that caused a sharp pain to rise in her horn, not only was she suffering from magical exhaustion she as well was casting spells during the day. Her spells were not as strong as they would be if it was night and a lot less potent.
Luna rested her hooves on Twilight as her horn glowed a bright blue glow, one hoof on her chest and the other on her wrapped stomach. She took in deep breaths, gathering and sensing the energies inside of Twilight. Luna had a good guess of what it was that kept Twilight in a constant state of slumber.
How Luna managed the Dreamscape was through a way she called the 'Open Door' policy. Ponies could enter and exit as they saw fit, but they could not shape it or manipulate it like she could. While true, there were someponies who were given their talent as able to affect dreams. Most were gracious and left control to Luna, while others were not so friendly in which case Luna had to impose a threat to them. These ponies given the talent to manipulate dreams became known as Dreamweavers, capable of effecting sleeping ponies. Either to heal their minds and bodies or to refresh ponies magical outputs.
The Dreamscape had a direct relationship with the magical energies that are given off of ponies, the Dreamscape being in and of itself made from magic. It was a focal point that could combine the minds of different places and events in the mind of a pony and create their own reality within their minds. A purgatory or a bridge between worlds, as it was most often called, but for the sake of ponies everywhere it became known as the Dreamscape. Each pony formulating and creating their own space in the Dreamscape. Dreamweavers are capable of alternating the paths of dreams or the foundations of dreams, either changing their morale outcome or the message lying underneath. A powerful magic and tool indeed to wield and carry, which is why it is so rare. Those that are gracious enough to let the reigns of dreams to Luna become known as the Council of the Scape. Dedicating their lives to the Dreamscape and each council member becoming a part of the Dreamscape. Dreams of lust, dreams of freedom, dreams of fear, dreams of darkness, dreams of the future, etc. The Council controlling the many corners of the Dreamscape and relaying any problems to Luna and Luna answering immediately.
So, with this information Luna tried and entered Twilight's section of the Dreamscape. Twilight's corner was large and vast, spacious and holding packed in knowledge. Secrets held together by a very thin rope. But Luna looked underneath her corner and saw what was causing her to not being able to awaken. And just as Luna suspected, the door was closed. Concord changed the rules of the Dreamscape and made it so that ponies could enter but they could not escape freely. Luna clenched her brow and put forth more effort to try and open the door again. Her face clenching and her horn a small torrent of magic as it raged on and she tried with all of her might to push the door open and allow Twilight her freedom. She gritted her teeth, clenching them hard together, "Come on, open damn it!"
The door heaved slightly under Luna's great strength, Luna propping the door open and she felt Twilight's essence leave the Dreamscape. Luna had a feeling that this would not be the last time that she would have to do this. Leaving the Dreamscape she heard Concord echo in her mind, 'Your journey has only just begun, fallen angel.'
Luna released her muscles and she breathed heavily as she stopped her magic, leaning on a hoof to keep herself propped up and straight. She gathered her senses and shook her wits back to reality, she needed to keep herself from performing too much magic. Rubbing her head at the base of her horn she opened her eyes and saw Twilight breathing normally, her chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm. Luna pulled in a large breathe of air and stood up. She looked at Celestia who finished wrapping her back hooves and her thighs. She stood up and moved her hooves, getting used to the bandages. Celestia asked with a hopeful tone, "Is she awake?"
With another large breathe of air Luna answered, "Yes...should be another minute or two."
Celestia released a sigh of relief and sat down in the shade, resting her head back and closing her eyes. She set the roll of bandages down and grunted as she rested on her wings. Luna asked taking the roll of bandages in her hoof, "Sit up and turn around."
Celestia raised an eyebrow, "Why?"
All Luna said was, "Wings."
"Oh." Celestia said as she propped herself up with a grunt and turned around. Luna took the time and inspected her back. She had strong back muscles that supported her large wings quite well, her wing span being six feet across. Though when they folded up they seemed to shrink. But they were not folded up, they were covered in dirt and bruises, leaving brown wings rather than alabaster wings of white. Luna took a piece of the bandage and gently she began wrapping it around Celestia's wings. Celestia clenched her teeth at the pain, even with Luna's soft touch could not quell the pain in her wings. Luna focused her attention on wrapping her sister's wings, meticulously she wrapped them. Trying not to cause to much pain for Celestia. Celestia shifted slightly and Luna asked with a friendly tone, "Could you not move so much?"
"Sorry Luna." Her voice apologetic as she let Luna wrap her wings. Slowly she wrapped the bandages around tight on her wing. As she rolled the bandage tightly over Celestia's wing, Celestia took laboriously focused breaths. Trying to keep her mind off the pain. Wings were delicate in nature, and though Luna was no licensed physician, it took her no problem at all to figure out that she had fractured more than a few of her bones in her wings. Wing related injuries were a scary thing, the many bones that gave wings flexibility are very fragile and can break easily. Most wing related injuries end with permanently paralyzed wings. Luna hoped that this was not the case.
Luna finished wrapping Celestia's wing, the linen wrapped tight around her injured wing. Luna looked at the remaining amount of bandages and noticed there was only enough left for Celestia's other wing. As she began carefully wrapping around the other wing she asked, "How are you holding up?"
There was a moment of silence in the time it took to wrap Celestia's wing, clearly trying to avoid the pain and not wanting to think about everything else. That and Luna needed to see Celestia's face when she answered, it was hard to tell what Celestia's mood was half the time. Usually, Luna could measure how she was feeling with her look. Celestia always showed more emotion in her face than her voice. But when you knew her emotion, you knew her emotion. When Celestia is angry for instance, she made sure every pony knew it.
Once more she finished wrapping her other wing and she stood up and sat in front of Celestia, waiting for an answer. Her eyes were drawn to the ground, trying to stay out of contact with Luna's. Celestia released a sigh and replied, "As much as you would expect...I mean...we were just thwarted from our thrones Luna. Not to mention separated from all of our subjects and friends. The elements are divided so they cannot help...and..."
Celestia's voice trailed off, her eyes still low but her face told it all. That same brokenhearted feeling was there, showing in full colors on her face. Luna finished her broken sentence, "And you are worried about Discord."
Celestia looked over at her younger sister, with big eyes. Filled with worry and fear, an unfamiliar look that Celestia does not often show. She knew better than to show those feelings in front of her subjects. So paranoid and always thinking that somepony or something was going to take their birth right. Luna smiled and, leaning in, she rested her hoof on Celestia's shoulder and said, "You're a selfless pony, Tia. You always have been, but right now we need to worry about getting out of here."
Celestia, while not fully convinced, shouldered the thought and replied, "You're right Lulu...we have more pressing matters at the moment. Where exactly is here anyway?"
Celestia asked Luna, honestly knowing if Luna found out. Luna did not feel exactly where Concord put them. She rubbed her chin with her hoof, "We do not know exactly where we were sent. All that we know is he used the Dreamscape as a gateway."
"So we can use the Dreamscape to escape?" Celestia asked.
"Technically."
"Technically?"
"The Dreamscape is not the Time Waves," Luna explained, "All that we know is he somehow combined a portal with a time travel spell. It started in the Dreamscape, he spellspliced."
"Spellsplicing," Celestia uttered as her wing was finished wrapped, "I thought no pony was capable of doing that, especially that fast."
Celestia turned to meet Luna's eyes and Luna rubbed the back of her neck, "We are not an enthusiast of magic, we don't know exactly how spellsplicing works, but yes normally it would take days if not weeks to finish splicing."
Luna turned to Twilight as she lied out on the stone, Luna said keeping her eyes on the still sleeping mare, "Perhaps your former student can give us some insight into spellsplicing."
Celestia sat up and focused on Twilight, a ghost of a smile spread across her lips. Luna smiled at this and commented, "You have grown rather attached to Twilight Sparkle."
A warm smile spread across her lips as she responded, "She's like a daughter to me Luna, it started only as a teacher and student but I had no idea that I would grow to love Twilight this much. There's nothing in Equestria that would stop me from protecting her."
"But we thought-"
"No Luna," Celestia shook her head, suddenly her expression turning dark and dangerous, "My intentions changed. I was going to dispel it once we finished celebrating. I needed her to be in a good mood to do so."
"Hmm..." Luna was going to badger further on the subject until they heard Twilight stirring awake. Luna set her gaze on Twilight once more who sat up, rubbing her head with her hoof and moaning at the bruises and cuts. She did not look refreshed, as it usually happened with sleep, she appeared confused and irritated. There was clearly something that was on her mind.
Her eyes fluttered open and she groaned, "Ugh...what happened? All I remember is...Concord...and him casting a spell...and...Cadence."
Twilight's heart seemed to drop as her ears drooped at remembering the gruesome sight of Cadence's death. Luna stood up and sat down next to the new princess, draping her hoof over Twilight's shoulders, "You exceeded your magical limit. You passed out while Concord cast his spell. We do not know where we are, all that we know is that we are in a desert of some kind."
Twilight rubbed her eyes, no doubt shaking the exhaustion away. But nothing stopped her from looking disturbed at a thought. Clearly it could not wait as she looked to her former teacher, she did not have a friendly gaze as she asked, "Cadence said that it was strange that I had not grown into, at least, a mature alicorn. You wouldn't know anything about this would you?"
Celestia and Luna exchanged hurtful looks, Luna mouthed the words 'Tell her'. Celestia released a sigh, sauntering closer as she explained, "When I first took you in at your display of power, I did not know what to think. You were such an eager filly to learn, eager to know and remember the taste of power. I did not know what to do or to think, the magic that you commanded was unlike anything I had seen in years. More powerful than Starswirl in his prime, and you were only 8. I was scared."
Celestia sat next to Twilight but Twilight scooted away, clearly disturbed and angry at this new revelation. Celestia continued, "I feared that you would grow too powerful too fast so I implanted a magical wall, holding your powers in a concentrated holding cell in your mind. Then you grew into a mare so much more than I could imagine, I was going to take off the magical block after the party so that you might take the news a little bit better than now."
Twilight sat up fast and kept her back to Celestia. There was pain in her steps and when she spoke there was poison in her words as she hissed, "So all these years you thought me a threat because of the magic that I held. You thought of me as a threat to the safety of Equestria."
"Twilight I never wanted-"
"Stop!" Twilight shouted, "You have said enough. You did not trust me to keep control so you stunted me. You caused me to struggle so that you could ensure a future would not come to pass, which it likely wouldn't have."
Celestia was speechless, she seemed both hurt and confused at Twilight's outburst. Twilight released an agitated sigh, Luna was silent. She did not know who's side to take. Celestia had her reasons to take measurable precautions, yet Twilight did not deserve to live most of her life in a lie. Knowing that there was a certain point that she could reach and not grow anymore. Both parties were in fault, but Luna stayed silent letting them get it all out. Hoping the tension between the two of them will not last.
Celestia stood up and said in a comforting voice, "Twilight I did this so I could protect you-"
"Protect me!?" Twilight spun on her hooves, giving Celestia a threatening gaze causing Celestia take a few steps back, "Protect me from what!? You were the only one who was endangering me!"
Luna saw pain rise in Celestia, she was close to cracking now. Celestia tried to keep a calm tone but it faltered a few times as she said, "I did it to protect you from yourself."
Twilight scoffed, "No you stunted me so you can have reassurance of a future that was not even certain! And we both know what an effect a holding spell can have on somepony's memories. You could have killed me!"
Celestia snapped, "But I didn't!"
"There have been numerous occasions that you sent me on a task and my magic faltered unexpectedly! I thought it had something to do with me! When it was you all along!"
"All that I have done it has been for you! I have sacrificed so much for you, and this is my repayment for that sacrifice!"
"Oh that's rich. Sacrificing a whole two seconds out of your daily schedule to teach a stunted student!"
"Will you stop going back to that! How are you so short sighted that you can't see what I did for you!"
"Oh I'm short sighted!..."
Luna felt a pain strike her head suddenly, Luna raised a hoof to her head to try and ease the pain. She felt one of the Nightmares begin to rise and spur to take over Luna, her physical form shifted a little bit and almost turned into her Nightmare form. But she fought back and shoved back the Nightmare. It cried out in her head, 'Come on! Release me from this prison princess! Let me end their tension at once!'
A chorus of voices suddenly rose in her head and she felt rage rise deep within her. Fury like she could not believe rose inside of her. The many voices talking at once rose her irritation to a level that was nearly unbearable. She uttered to herself at the painful headache, "Enough..."
Kill them
End their tension right now. Release us.
Darkness has taken them, let's end their pitiful misery.
"ENOUGH!!!"
Luna shouted at the top of her lungs, her voice carrying over all the noise and silencing the wind itself. Magic rose through her veins and filled the crevices in her eyes. Shadows steamed and rolled onto her form, offering their strength. Her eyes shot open and they glowed the same pale light as the moon. She hunched over and opened her hooves threateningly, Celestia and Twilight looking towards Luna in fear. The shadows rippled and rolled off of her as her magically enhanced voice cried out, "Enough of the voices! We have heard enough! You will not be freed! Not now! Not ever! And your incessant bickering is not helping!"
Her voice was sharp and could cut through the air like a knife, it echoed with three other voices behind it as if to raise the already ear piercing volume of her voice. Luna had never felt so angry, so furious in all of her life. They were friends...no more than that...they had a relationship that so many wish they have. That Luna wished she had.
Her breaths were long and drawn out, she presented herself threateningly. Something she had been known to do countless times. IF there was one thing that Luna knew what to do, it was present herself accordingly. She saw the fear in their eyes and slowly Luna stopped invoking the powers of the nightmares that resided inside of her. Their voices finally silenced and pushed back into the farthest corners of her mind. A place where they could relish in the dead light. The wind picked back up and the air no longer crackled with her deadly dark magic, magic that she stole. Her breaths calmed and her eyes returned their normal hue, trying to calm her restless spirit. Her body drenched in sweat. There was always a cost at using dark magic and hers was, at that moment, her wounds deepening and bleeding with more intensity. She grunted and keeled over. Almost losing her balance against the boulder. She looked and saw her bandages begin to stain red and a very light tan, showing the amount of dirt that seeped in and the blood that was slowly leaking out.
Both Twilight and Celestia ignored each other and helped Luna back to her hooves. Once she was standing she shoved them away and growled, "I'm fine."
Celestia was hurt by her harsh words and responded, "Luna? Luna what's wrong?"
Luna brought herself to the edge of the outcropping, raised a few feet off the ground and looked out trying to ease her troubled mind. She had to tell them now, there was no use in hiding it from them. Groaning as the pain rose again. Twilight inquired, "Who won't you set free?"
Celestia was quicker to the punch and answered, "Luna is the protector of the night, goddess of the moon, and caretaker of the Dreamscape. But there is also something that ponies don't know about that is also her domain. Death. She controls the spirits that pass on into the afterlife. In the beginning it seemed like a trivial thing, but soon it became more taxing on her. Physically and mentally. She was rapidly decaying away, she was dying. These were more powerful wounds than even I could heal. So she sought the help of different sources and eventually found out that she could sustain herself if she burdened the Nightmares. Deadly spirits that birthed shadow itself, ponies that terrorized Equestria for centuries. Eventually Luna collected them all and she uses their dark magic to control the streams of death. These Nightmares strive on inner conflict."
Twilight looked to Luna who kept their back to them and asked, "Then what's the problem?"
Luna crossed her hooves and took in careful breaths, easing herself into explaining. Eventually she was able to find the words to explain, "Before we were taken here, I met Concord in the Dreamscape. He twisted it and made it into his own realm. Changed and contorted it. His final passing gift to me was the Curse of the Fallen Angel, as he seems to take a liking to calling me, where I have twelve weeks to keep the Nightmares in check or..."
Her words faltered and she choked on the last part of her sentence. Not wanting to burden their already troubled minds with further worry. Celestia stepped next to Luna and asked, "Or what?"
Luna closed her eyes and tore her head away and said, "Or...I...die."
"Luna..." Celestia offered a tender hoof and said, "I didn't know. I never would have brought this up had I known."
Luna looked harshly at Celestia with tears swelling in her eyes and growled, "Would you have ever brought it up until now?"
"Luna-"
"No!" Luna shouted, briefly flashing her nightmare form before she calmed herself and sniffled, "No...Celestia...just no...don't...You care too much for Twilight to have told her that until now. If it wasn't brought up now, it likely would have never been brought up."
Luna looked over at Twilight and said, "And you need to find it in your heart to forgive Celestia for what she did. She, in every definition of the word, raised you. You cannot live a life of constant hate, or it will destroy you. Trust me I know."
Luna wiped her eyes and gathered herself and drew in a few calming breaths before she asked, "Phew...okay...now what is our next move?"
There's Always A Bigger Fish...
The sight of it all seemed enough for Celestia. The endless trekking through the dead forest, healing wounds of Twilight and Luna, the dispute Twilight shared with Celestia, and the state of their affairs. Celestia looked around and saw that they had a rather good place to return to. A forward camp so to speak, until they can find at least somepony in the goddess forsaken wasteland. Celestia could feel the dead that they were standing on, it was faint and their whispers almost unable to be recognized, but they could be heard. Dark whispers that put Celestia slightly on edge.
Celestia crossed her hooves and stated, "Well we can't stay here, at least not for very long. Thought I doubt it very much, we would need to find at least somepony in this place."
She offered her gaze to Luna as she explained, "If we might be able to say something, we think that this was the sight of a most recent battle. At least that is what we can sense from the earth around us. If we are going to have any chance at finding anypony we are going to have to leave this place and this place is at least a thousand square miles. It will not be easy."
Celestia released a sigh of irritation and stated, "Then we have to move quickly."
"But we don't even know which direction to go?" Twilight said, "At least not during the day, I'm sure that both Luna and I could navigate the stars here so we know which direction to go."
"And I as well advise us not to fall asleep unless we really need to," Luna added, "Concord has changed the Dreamscape, once you enter it will be difficult to open but I can do it."
"Well what of the council members?" Celestia asked still keeping her eyes on her sister.
Luna shrugged her shoulders, "Even if I knew where they were they would hardly be any help, I would need two or three of them at my side at least. It would take me too long to find them, it seems that Concord thought this out very well."
Celestia had to give credit to the two thousand year old spirit of time. He separated the three princesses of Equestria from their homeland in who know's where, taken control of the Dreamscape, scattered the Council of the Scape, and holds Equestria in a titanic grip. And to make matters worse they had three months to escape or Luna would die. That is unless she can find a way to control them. This pressing for time put a damper on things, Celestia was not a fast learner. She preferred to master something over the course of many centuries. To be thrust into a situation where tensions are high with her former student and she missed Discord dearly, not only that but her favorite niece died. It all put so much pressure on her shoulders, without Twilight the elements of harmony are ineffective and the seeds of chaos were out of the question.
Celestia moved her gaze to Twilight as she asked, "Who is Concord anyways?"
They met gazes, filled with obvious tension but dare not say a word considering Luna's condition. Celestia explained, "Concord is the Spirit of Time, or at least he used to be. He protected the time waves as I protect the day and Luna protects the night. He is as well Discord's older brother. They were noble members of the Draconequus Empire that existed so long ago. They were just normal practitioners of magic when we first met them, it was only when Elmashul returned did things change. Elmashul was a dark god, ancient when the world was young. We could not defeat him normally, so Concord decided a few things. He had already ascended to the position of Spirit of Time and had enough magic that he could do a few things. He could make relics of masterful craft and power to protect Equestria. He created the Tree of Harmony."
Luna jumped in, offering Twilight's attention, "But in order to keep magical balance he needed to create something of chaos as well. He initially offered to sacrifice himself so that we had a chance to defeat him. But Discord offered himself instead and so created the Seeds of Chaos. The magic tainting Discord's mind and corrupting him into something awful. But, with the tree we were able to defeat Elmashul and protect Equestria once more."
Celestia offered everypony's attention as she looked downcast and said, "Yet, with every villain we stopped, seemed to go to him to drive him to this point."
Twilight saw the dour look on Celestia's face and, trying with all she could, offered her hoof in sympathy and said, "You can't pin this on yourself, if anypony is to blame it's me. They were my enemies, not yours."
Celestia could sense that she really still felt sour about their earlier argument, and it was that fact that Celestia stood back up straight and shrugged Twilight's hoof off her shoulder. They returned cold stares and Luna picked up on the feelings and said, "Perhaps we should move as soon as possible."
The air was not much better as it had been a few hours before. They rested for a good five minutes, long enough that neither of them slipped into the Dreamscape. But it was not enough for Twilight to fully rest her still stinging wounds. It seemed that they were much more permanent than her teacher had thought. The dust plains were soft against her hoof falls. She looked down and saw stained rags wrapped around her hooves, her chest, stomach, and shoulder. It seemed that they had sustained a lot of wounds, and she could feel the residual magic that affected them all.
As opposed to common public opinion she was not the princess of friendship, she was the princess of magic. Which offered her sense she never knew she had. She could sense magic by a few miles out, it just depended on whether or not she was paying attention. It was a subtle feeling in the back of her mind, but unmistakable if she was paying attention. And the magic that stained their minds and bodies was that of Concord's, it felt dark and ancient. Beyond compare of anything Twilight has felt thus far. But it seemed as though Luna had more of it staining her. She knew it had to deal with the curse that was on her. Twilight could not begin to understand what it feels like to have souls tearing apart your psyche every minute of every day. It was not even within her willingness to comprehend as she has already said to herself.
The dust was a dark ashy looking color, and the sky grey with large wisps of dark green, no sun peaking through the curtain of ash. Her gaze moved to the large swirls of green. They were not auroras, they would be much thinner and more wavy of they were auroras. She as well would have felt a sense of wonder looking at the large waves of celestial light. But these filled her with warning and alertness, it was odd. She decided to move her gaze away from anything but those strange waves of light. And looked over the dead looking wastes they were standing in. There were large plateaus that stood eerily quiet at their approach, large pillars of stone that stared blankly at her. Wherever they were, it was not Equestria. It could not have been. Equestria always felt alive and peaceful. This was a dead feeling.
But unfortunately her gaze set on something that she was not willing to look at, the back of her mentor's head. How could Celestia have done something so selfish? How could she be so short sighted that this would not have some sort of effect on her. Every time Twilight looked at her she thought of the countless times that her magic had suddenly failed her. And that handicap was still on her. Perhaps if Twilight could find the spell she could remove it and she could evolve her standing as an alicorn. Grow to her full height.
The crunching of the dry sand resounded to take over their ears. Twilight mades sure to put a locator spell where they were in case they needed to return. Though, she needed to avoid expending too much of her magic. Wherever they were, it was not pleasant and was not strong in magic like Equestria was. Equestria was practically bleeding it, magic was in so much abundance. Twilight kept her death staring gaze at her former teacher. The nerve of that mare.
They walked down some loose stones and the land opened up. Vast and sprawling was the dead desert. Grey ashes staining the ground. Rocks and boulders jagged stabbing upwards towards the sky. Spears stabbing into the sky above. It all filled Twilight with gloom and depression. Something that was not exactly new, Twilight had faced it before in the past and was not about to face it again. She tucked the feelings away and looked over the vast ashen plains. They stopped to see it in its dark majesty. Twilight heard Luna ask, "Can you feel that?"
Celestia nodded, "Yes, like a thousand screams all calling out for help all at once. A host of dead souls.
Celestia began trekking and lead the group down the hill, "Keep your guards up, Tartarus knows what creatures might reside on this planet."
Twilight shook her head and added, "Nothing too friendly, according to the climate nothing should be living in this pla-"
Twilight's words died in her throat as she heard an ear splitting roar that rumbled the ground and shook the earth around them. They all shot their heads around to see what was making that noise. Twilight looked around and with the daze of the shaking she barely made out the shape, but she turned around and saw a large lumbering beast charging towards them. It could not have been more than sixty feet tall, huge arms and short legs with little patched of fur. The rest was scale and it held a vicious mussel on its head, soulless eyes glued to the three appetizing ponies that was in its field of vision. From working with Fluttershy and her animals a few times she knew, she knew signs of aggression and signs of intimidation. This one showed intimidation. Jagged stones erupted out of the sides of its head and elbows, like it had once belonged to the landscape itself.
Now they all turned to see the lumbering beast and Luna proclaimed as it began to charge towards them, knocking down everything in its path, "Great, not even a day in this mysterious world and already we found the largest creature and it wants to kill us."
Celestia shouted, "Shut up and run!"
Author's Note
Long over due and a little short compared to the others I know, but just soak this in and wait for the next update.
