Terra took a breath. Before her was the walkway to the tower. She took a step forward, walking out from the shelter of the ceiling. Above her, there was daylight, but left, right, and everywhere beyond the castle, as far as she could see, it was darkness.

These were dark times...

Darkness was on the horizon, and Terra had no idea why. It was like night itself was coming her way. Terra frowned, not recalling anything being mentioned about the day/night cycle changing, it hadn't in many generations, if she recalled her history correctly. The animals had some idea what was going on, but they weren't saying anything.

Anything coherent anyway. Whatever this darkness was, it made them restless. Terra made way from the crowd of animals, and the other ponies trying to maintain order. She made way to a line of trees, a swarm of butterflies fleeing in the opposite direction. She briefly wished the perverse kept more active contact with the outside world, but the leader here was a traditionalist when it came to not brining technology near nature. She quickly made way to the end of rows of trees, seeing the world from the cliff she stood upon.

The Darkness was far closer than she thought. It was at the base of the mountain, and it was starting to climb. She caught a glimpse of something, at the forefront of the black, or was that a trick of the light? Whatever was happening, it was coming for her.

Something else had arrived. A shadow was cast over Terra, and she looked up, finding something else that was perhaps even more awe-inspiring. A machine larger than she'd ever imagined, a leviathan of the skies. With a roar, the metal behemoth unleashed streams of light-weapon's fire, upon the darkness.

“What the-?” Her vision briefly turned white, and then it was-she was somewhere else. If she had to guess, she was inside the behemoth. The animals had been pulled up too, including-oh nuts, Harold was scared! The large black bear swiped out, thankfully finding only air, before-the bear was still, suddenly shrouded in gold.

“Welcome aboard The Wellspring.” She turned to her left, an orange unicorn restraining the distressed bear with his magic, as around them other ponies made their own efforts to calm the hoard of beasts. “I'm Daybreak Flare. You?” Terra blinked, what exactly was going on?

“Terra Belle.”

Terra made way across the walkway, with not even a breeze for company. She turned her gaze to the sky, still blue, above the black. Systems that regulated and controlled the weather had long since been out of service. The sky was clear, not a cloud, not a thing-

Except that.

Terra kicked out a leg violently, the cube structure her hoof struck cracking under her force. She grabbed the stone, picking it up with a single hoof, sending it sky high. The Wraith did not move, nor react, remaining still as the cube of stone got closer and closer, reaching into the darkness.

The stone ceased to be.

With a primal war cry, Terra Belle broke off another cube of stone, launching it with force comparable to the cannons of old. Each one met the fate as the first, each simply ceased to be.

“Terra!” She stopped herself mid-launch, Daybreak's annoyance palpable. “Knock it off! You're just wasting time!”

“Not until I've hurt the freak!”

“If the Elements can be used as blunt weapons I'll let you break whatever bones you want, but right now get moving!”

She threw the stone, in vain, but it was better than not throwing it. She pressed on, trying not to think about if the Wraith was watching her or not. She turned her mind elsewhere.

Her mind, and her gaze. Sight Share Activated.

Half of Terra's vision was on the walkway before her, half was in the vault.

One had her complete attention.

In the ancient vault of Canterlot Castle, three ponies found themselves shrouded in history.

“Hey, guys?” Terra began. “What'd you find?”

Daybreak's answer came swiftly. “Relics, weapons, things the Sisters didn't want just anypony getting their hooves on.” His attention turned to the two with him. “Scope around. Look for anything that might be the Elements. Remember, they'll be grouped together. Swift, Blueblood, if you haven't found anything, get here. I want more hooves on deck. Terra, I want you to keep going. That tower contains something.”

Two flashes of light on the edge of the lens' vision were followed by the sights of Blueblood and Swift. Terra sped up her steps, her attention still on the place she was currently walking away from.

In Daybreak's vision, Terra saw something he was approaching, upon a pedestal, high above him. “Hey, is that a crown?”

“The crown of Canterlot.” Blueblood filled her vision briefly, him coming to a stop next to Daybreak. “It belonged to an ancient king, long before the sisters ruled. King Solaris was a tyrant, but he was as powerful as he was ruthless. He was unbeatable, but he went out on a siege against rebels one night. He was never seen again, and the crown was lost for eons. Nopony knows who did it, either. Legend's said this crown contained unique magic.”

“They said right,” began Daybreak, “this is what's casting the shield, but where it's drawing that kinda pow-?”

Daybreak's vision lowered, to the base of a pedestal, where something was contained in a glass case. A large, glowing white orb. Terra briefly cursed the fact that while sight was shared, what the lens showed the user was not. “This is the power source. This is what's powering the crown's shield.”

A glance through Blueblood's lens showed he was looking as well. “What is it?”

“I have no idea.”

“Can we use it?”

Daybreak shook his head. “It's too drained. I can't tell how long it'll last, just that it was a lot stronger once. I don't know how to recharge it, I don't even recognize this type of magic. Whoever crafted this was a very powerful sorcerer.” Daybreak chuckled. “Probably the Magic Element wielder of their day.”

“Speaking of powerful magicians, come check this out.” Swift was hovering before something encased in glass, a staff, with one odd feature...“This thing's got bells, like that Unicorn statue. This is his, right.”

“Star Swirl the Bearded. The mightiest of his era.” Daybreak couldn't help but be awed, at the prestige of the weapon before him. “I had to write a paper on him once, you wouldn't believe the things he pulled off. Honestly, if I had to name just one sorcerer who could take the Wraith on their own, it'd be him.”

Swift's brow raised “Him? But he was just a Unicorn.”

Daybreak chuckled. “Somepony forgot to tell him that.”

“He was the mightiest Unicorn to ever walk the land.” Blueblood glanced up at the staff too, he too sharing Daybreak's respect for its power, and that of its creator. “He could bring an army to a halt if they dared to challenge him.” Blueblood smirked “The Griffon's still hesitate to speak his name, well, before the Wraith showed up anyway. The common theory is he's the one who killed Solaris, though he never admitted to it, so I don't buy it. Star Swirl wasn't known for being subtle.” Daybreak chuckled at that.

If Swift was still listening, neither could tell, his sight was fixated on-“I'm just not getting the bells.”

“Legends say his mentor suggested he wear them.” Blueblood shrugged. “It's never been clear why.”

Swift poked the glass. “I'm just surprised his staff doesn't have a beard too.”

Blueblood actually snickered at that.

“Storm,” Terra switched to Daybreak's vision, which was focused on Storm, who was looking at some kind of pendant...“that thing's Dark Magic. Be careful not to touch it.”

Terra's vision suddenly went darker, she froze, quickly darting her head around. Oh, she'd just reached the tower. She took aim at a staircase, and continued walking, her lens showing-yeah, that was Swift's vision. What were “Power Ponies”?

“A comic? Well I'm not complain-”

“SWIFT! DON'T!”

“What? It's an enchanted one? I don't mind, they're always fun.”

Daybreak pulled Swift from the comic. “Too strong for a normal enchanted book. I'm guessing this one gained a mind of its own-it can happen. No touching.”

“Wait, maybe if we can get the Wraith to read it...”

“Leave the comic alone. Can't you read something more adult?”

Swift pointed in a seemingly random direction. “How about that one?”

Daybreak followed the hoof, finding a book with spikes on the front of it. “Yeah, don't touch that one either.”

“Geez, can't read comics, can't read books, what can I read?”

“My lips! Touch. Nothing. In fact, nopony touch anything in this room without my say-so. Actually, forget the say-so, don't touch anything!”

“Why not say 'don't look at anything' while you're at it?”

“In your case that might be a good idea.”

Terra watched, as her five comrades made way through the Vault. As she snapped through the lenses she was shown various sights. Daybreak was barely still more than a few seconds at a time. This vault, it made Terra really think about the current year, and how long Euqestira had been a country. The vault was filled with things that were weapons, and things that may or may not have not been weapons, such as the mirror Pearl was currently looking into. She flipped past Daybreak again, finding-okay, what was Blueblood looking at? He'd been there the last two times she'd seen through his eye.

“Terra to Blueblood; anypony home?”

“Yeah, I'm here.”

“What are those?”

“The sister's weapons.” and his reverent tone was back, she'd never get used to it. “Few could stand against them when they used these.” Blueblood raised his hoof, daring to touch the ancient weapon of Celestia the Radiant. “In times of old, Alicorns were referred as gods. A foolish notion, but when the sisters used their weapons, they fought like deities. They were beloved by their people, they were feared by all others. If they were here, they'd take the Wraith. They'd kill it, and that'd be the end of it.”

“They're not here, Blueblood,” Daybreak's tone was oddly cold, “we are. We're tasked with killing it.”

“Okay, I just don't get something,” Swift rose higher in the air, parting his hooves, looking around the vast, packed room. “All these artefacts, all this power. Why did we stop using it all?”

All eyes turned to Daybreak, who briefly cursed his chosen professions. “There was a time when Sorcery was the nerve-center of progress, in a more primitive time. Sorcery is not an easy field to study, it's complex, nuanced, and too unpredictable at times.” Daybreak reached up a hoof, pulling off his lens, glancing at it.

“Science isn't, science, and technology are predictable. And, worse so, it's easier. It can still be a pain, but it's so much easier, and it gave the world so many results, and it gave them consistently. When you can generate enough energy to fuel a country, and craft weapons to crack continents, what's so special about Sorcery?” He placed his lens back on, with a sigh. “We forgot our history, and generations passed with it becoming increasing obscure. We made our choice, and now it bites us in the plot. We were asking for this.”

“Okay,” Swift descended, “if you're finished being cynical, can we move on?”

“I'm not done,-”
“You never are.”
“-but yes, we can go. The Element's aren't here, either.” He turned, giving the room one last glance before walking to the door. “In the hooves of their true wielders some of these things could do real damage. In ours, they may as well be toys.” With that, Daybreak vanished in a flash.

Sight Share Deactivated

Terra blinked, and realized she's already reached the top of the tower, already made way to a chamber, a room much like the throne room, with windows of stained glass, but something was different here, one each window, there were no real backgrond details to see, just the ponies themselves. It hit her what this tower was, why it was important.

It was a memorial.

On every window, there was another figure, and Terra's gaze moved between them quickly, suddenly stopping when she saw familiar shades of violet. “That mare...”

“Terra,” Daybreak's voice pierced her mind. “what'd you find?” Oh, she'd thought out loud. The animals always said she should work on that.

“I'm the tower, it's like the throne roo-” Daybreak had suddenly appeared beside her. “It's a memorial I think.”

Daybreak was focused on the image of the mare before him, and the inscription beneath the glass. “Twilight Sparkle. So, that was her name.”

There was a sudden flash, followed by three more. Daybreak turned to find more ponies had come to visit. “And you're all here, why?”

Swfit grinned. “Big tower like this, gotta be important.” There was a sudden flashing in Swift's mane, him quickly extracting-“I think my Rune's dead.”

“Mine too.” Blueblood's was the same.
“Same.” As was Pearl's.

Daybreak rolled his eye. “And with everypony here you can't warp back anyway.”

“Not gonna send us off?” Swift cocked his head, as if not recognizing Daybreak all of a sudden.

Daybreak shrugged. “After the vault I'm willing to try anything. Search the room. There might be something hidden.”

Where and why one would hide something in a memorial, Terra had no idea. Still, she joined in the hunt. Her eyes trailed over a window quite close to Twilight's. It depicted a female unicorn, whose coat and mane kinda reminded Terra of Daybreak. She'd laugh if her name turned out to have a similar theme. She took a step back, following structures built into the walls, staircases spiralling up, to let one walk up the room, seeing every window, every face, every farewell in this tower of memories.

Swift took to the height of the room. “Anypony got an idea who all these are supposed to be?”

“The sisters lived a very long time,” Daybreak took one brief glance across the room “that long a stretch comes with a lot of goodbyes. These must be the ones they felt.”

With nothing to go on, the six got to work searching for an invisible needle in an undetectable haystack. Some turned their attention to the floor, hoping for a staircase waiting to be revealed. A certain Pegasus started thumping seemingly random bricks in the wall. Daybreak had raised his horn, a golden light shining like a lighthouse beacon, passing over anything and everything for a few moments.

Sight Share Activated

With visions shared, the six went on. Terra felt like she was walking in a circle, not so much in a literal way, but what she was doing. The castle was huge. Yes, they'd covered some considerable ground, but there was still much to go. Maybe there was a second guarded place that needed discovering? She turned her gaze across the room, discovering Pearl had stopped.

Pearl had stopped before a window without a pony. This window showed a large, and mighty dragon, with purple scales and green spikes. Pearl offered his particular image-a bow? A deep one at that, her muzzle was level with her hooves. Crystal Ponies had some traditions Terra did not begin to understand.

(Then again, in retrospect, it might have helped if she'd actually asked.)

Storm passed, and frequently glanced at the image of a mare with a magnificent pink mane, and bright pink coat, a mare Pearl seemed to recognize, her gaze turning in Storm's direction. “Why...” Swift got himself questioning glances, as he gazed up at-that was Star Swirl. Swift was grasping where a beard would be, if he had one. Terra soon walked past an interesting sight. The first window to contain a pair. A pink mare, and white stallion. Terra briefly wondered about all these ponies, how many of them faced something like this? Was this room of farewell's also a hall of heroes? Breaking out of her pondering, Terra discovered Daybreak was once again before Twilight's Sparkle's portrait, his form still.

As Terra shifted through lenses, she realized he wasn't the only one. One by one, ponies were coming to a stop.

Storm was standing before a unicorn with a near-white coat, and indigo mane. If a world had to sum her up, 'glamourous' would do it, down to the gems on her flank. Rarity.

Pearl was before an orange Earth pony with blonde mane, and apples upon her flank. Applejack.

Terra waited, and waited, but even after a minute, Swift didn't crack an alcohol-related joke. She'd be proud of him, but it was Swift, he probably just hadn't thought of it. Speaking of Swift, he stood before a pink earth pony, just pink Everything was pink, save the blue eyes. She was grinning widely, and Terra could have sworn she was looking back at her. Not Swift, her. Must have been the way she was painted into the glass. Pinkie Pie.

Blueblood had come before a rainbow-maned, blue-coated Pegasus. Rainbow Dash.

Terra came to a stop herself, before the image of a Pegasus with a pink mane, and yellow coat, butterflies on her flank, and a name that fit her expression quite well. Fluttershy

These six, they were in portraits in the throne room. They were a team, they were the ones the six of them were to succeed, as others had done before them. Perhaps everypony else realized this too, as for a moment, they all remained still, the visions of the six shared between them.

The moment passed.

Blueblood gave an annoyed sigh. “I don't think there's anything here, Daybreak.”

Daybreak frowned. “I'm inclined to agree.”

Swift shrugged. “Let's just be grateful we don't have more bad news.” With those choice words, the light of the sun began to waver. Swift paled. “I swear that wasn't me!”

Daybreak raised his horn, and with a flash, a screen was projected across the ceiling, showing the sky above. Darkness was surrounding the sun, like a snake set to devour the fiery orb. “It's going after the sun?!”

“Not surprising,” said Swift, “we know it's not afraid of getting a tan.”

Her suddenly snickering earned Storm a collective look. “Hey, that one was funny.”

Now was not the time for laugher, as the sunlight grew dimmer, darkness clawing its way into the light. Being able to stare directly in the sun, only on days like this were such things possible. The color of the sun grew deeper, and deeper, and-vanished. Darkness fell, covering Canterlot castle in a shroud of midnight.

Almost. A gentle white light remained, illuminating the castle. Daybreak smiled. “The shield, it must be registering any darkness as a danger. We're still safe, for now at least.”

They might have been, but the stars were not so lucky. One by one, they were going out, the dark sky was quickly becoming pure black.

“Guys....I think it might...” Swift gulped. “What it if it got it all? I mean, it all?”

What was the greater than the weight of that implication, was the fact that it was likely the case. “Then this is the world's final stand.” Daybreak stiffened his stance, resolute. “Our final stand. If we don't stop it here, it'll make its way across the universe.”

“Daybreak,” began a-clearly troubled Pearl, “you,”- she stopped for a moment, chewing on her words, carefully. “You never...explained something.” She briefly bit her lip, before pressing on.“We find the Elements, use the Elements, and beat the Wraith. We do all that... What's the plan, after?”

Daybreak blinked, slowly, as around the chamber reactions began, and continued. Blueblood's reaction was much the same as Daybreak's, he neither said nor did anything. Pearl kept her eyes on Daybreak, imploring for something. Swift and Storm exchanged a glance. Terra just blinked too, realizing that Pearl had made a point.

'After' the Wraith's defeat, was a topic Daybreak had not discussed. Daybreak took one last look across his band of misfit ponies, and spoke just three words.

“There isn't one.”

Had any though to do so, they'd have checked the Wraith hadn't already taken them. They couldn't even hear the sounds of breathing.

“We never did find out anything. The Wraith's power, I still don't know exactly what it does. I have no idea how it works, or how to affect it. Whatever happened to anything taken, I don't have the slightest idea, and it just took the sun. At this point, even if we do kill it, we'll freeze to death in pretty short order.” His gaze turned fierce, more so than anypony could remember seeing on him. “This is for revenge. Equestria is lost, there's no saving it, but we can make sure that thing goes into the darkness with it. If you're entertaining illusions about saving Equestria, saving the world, give them up now. And if after that, you got any guts left, use 'em, and let's make that abomination pay for its crimes. We can't undo what's been done, but we can stop it from going further. If you don't have any guts left, then give up and keel over, but I'm not giving up.”

Silence. For a moment, there was silence, silence after a perception had just been shattered, an illusion crushed, a hope rendered naught, under an absent sun.

Yet, even with the sun gone, a fire remained.

“I'm in.” Blueblood stopped the floor. “That thing took my father, my family, my country from me.”

Pearl began to walk, making way with Blueblood to the center of the room. “The Wraith took my home, my family, everything I knew from me. I'm in.”

“It's taken friends.” Storm followed suit. “I'm in.”

“It's taken too much.” Terra followed too. “I'm in.”

The five came together, a circle, almost. One remained absent. They looked across the room, finding Swift had not moved, not even reacted. He smiled. “Like I got anything else to do. Okay, okay, I'll join your crusade. I'm in.” He moved towards them, placing his own hoof with theirs. He looked across them all, smiling. “This is what connects us, isn't it?”

They all smiled, and nodded, their connection, their bond found.

“Revenge.”

Author's Note

Author's Notes:
I've given Terra a second/last name. Partly because her name felt lacking before, and partly because of the play on words Pinkie Pie would undoubtedly notice.