Chapters Once there was morning...
Just one mistake. Twilight sat in the darkness and banged her head against the wall. It was wet and the sound of dripping water filled her ears. The stone was cool and the cold dampness ate into her fur. Her cell was laying deep in the ground in the earth's womb. She could hear faint whispers, the rustling of chains, sobs and a few cries for food, that died out as soon as they broke through the silence.
Just one mistake. She had underestimated Nightmare Moon. Sometimes a brief difference could be fatal for the future. Twilight should know that by now. Starlight Glimmer had proven it enough for her. Starlight Glimmer. Already the name made her furrow her brow in anger. This was all her fault.
Starlight had altered Starswirl's spell and used it to travel through time and change the past. Twilight of course had followed her with Spike. Only to get stopped by her own stubbornness and narrow-mindedness. Again and again she felt her failure, which pulled her back into a present, that was not her own.
An equestrian war against King Sombra. The takeover of the changelings. And now this! Eternal night and Equestria was ruled by Nightmare Moon. This Nightmare Moon had shown a great interest in Twilight's time spell. And I fool tried to use that interest for myself.
She had thought, she could trick the dark mare. Use her powers to get passed the Timberwolves and back to the map. Well until her plan had worked smoothly and perfectly. But then Twilight had underestimated Nightmare's speed.
She remembered standing on the map of Equestria, her horn already flaring, about to cast the spell, that would pull her and Spike back into the past, back into safety, when another spell had hit her. A cyan beam, which had burned like ice on her coat. It had caused a small explosion, which had flung her and Spike from the table in separate directions.
The guards had taken the chance and captured them. And the parchment role was gone. Probably stuck somewhere in the bushes. Just one mistake. Twilight could curse her own foolishness. She angrily hammered her head against the wall. Spike had been brought into another place. Twilight still heard Rainbow Dash's order as she bellowed: “No, not that one! The dragon comes with me!” In her ears her own cry of despair rang and when she closed her eyes, she saw Spike struggling as he was pulled away from her.
Sure there had been times where they had been apart, but Twilight had always known, where Spike was. Not now. Not in this world. He could be anywhere and the servants of Nightmare Moon could do anything with him. Twilight was not scared for herself. She had handled many different situations in her time as Princess and even before. She could defend herself. Spike could not.
He was a child! A little baby dragon. He had not had the power and strength of a fully grown dragon yet. It was even unsure if he could ever have that. But now Spike was as defenseless as a puppy. The thought made Twilight's heart ache with worry. She had to save him. She had to get out of here! She had to get back to the map and find the parchment role. Starlight Glimmer could not win.
Whom are you even kidding, Twilight?! Groaning, the purple Alicorn placed her head between her hooves as she laid down. You are in a dungeon! In Nightmare Moon's castle. You do not know anything about this world. It had bothered her in every single time line she had been by now. This nagging question as soon as she had realized the change: What had happen here? Sure, she could tell why. It was because of the stopped Rainboom, thus resulting in her and her friend's never coming together, but what way the butterfly effect had taken was a mystery to her.
In front of her cell door stood a guard. The violet dark armor did not hide the flashes of cyan fur on the legs, neck and ears. The helmet had a crescent moon stamped into it and its shape reminded Twilight of an eagle. The pony had a purple tail, stylized to fit with the armor. She wore small, rugged looking horseshoes.
“He, pssst”, hissed Twilight, “How did you got into the service of the Princess?” She needed more information. And this was an opportunity to get them. Rainbow Dash turned her head. Her rubycoloured eyes glared at her with content and a harshness that felt unfamiliar to the Rainbow Twilight knew.
“The Princess has given us strict orders not to talk with the prisoners”, she snarled, “Besides why is this even your business? Why do you care? Where have you been? Under a rock? Your naivety is surprising.”
Twilight sighted and shook her head. “Listen, Rainbow”, she responded and lifted a hoof, “I have not been under a rock.” This sharp, cynical treatment screamed for bits of sarcasm in her answer. “I told you already. I am from another time line.” Her eyes glowed and she smiled. “In my world there is no eternal night. Instead we have day and night. You do remember how sunlight looks like, right? We do not even have a sole ruler. Instead Princess Celestia rules with her sister Princess Luna, who arose from Nightmare Moon's ashes. They are kind and benevolent rulers. And we are best friends. Together with Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack and Fluttershy we found the Elements of Harmony and defeated Nightmare Moon.”
Twilight smiled, but Rainbow remained suspicious. The purple Alicorn got nervous. Maybe I went a bit too far. She had to admit: Her word choice sounded cheesy. But still couldn't Rainbow Dash imagine such a world? Would she not wish to live in such a place?
“This is a child's fantasy.” Rainbow Dash pulled of her helmet and clamped it under her arm. She had a shorter mane then Twilight's Rainbow Dash. Only a thine line of multicoloured hair, running down her neck. “Our kingdom is a nocturnal one and it will always remain this way. What you are saying, is dangerous, pony. Princess Celestia deserved, what she got. And the Elements of Harmony...they are old folklore, nothing more.”
“But wouldn't it be nice to see the light of day again?” Twilight closed her eyes and concentrated herself. She was not that good with creating light on her horn like Celestia. But still the Alicorn managed to create a minor sun on the tip of her horn. It casted its bright and warm light in the dungeons and made the particles in the air shimmer.
“Isn't that much friendlier and nicer?”, asked Twilight and smiled.
However, Rainbow Dash reacted more negatively. Pressing a hoof over her eyes she shouted: “Snap it out! It hurts my eyes!” Shocked at the harsh reaction, Twilight followed the example. The small ball of light vanished as fast as it had appeared.
Squinting her eyes, Twilight gazed at Rainbow and realized something interesting. Her pupils were narrow and started to wide as it became darker. Her face spoke of anger as she jabbed her hoof at Twilight. “What do you think you were doing there?”, she shouted, “It is against the law to speak about the day or even wishing its light back. Anypony who does that gets executed! Don't you know that?”
Panting, Rainbow Dash glared at Twilight, who fell silent and lowered her glance. Rubbing her hooves against one another, she responded hesitant: “I did not know that. I am sorry.” She had gone too fast with that one. How was she suppose to gain Rainbow's trust with such a behavior?
The Pegasus' ears twitched as they heard steps, coming down the hall. Rainbow glared at Twilight, before she placed her helmet back on her head. The remaining guards sprang to attitude. Rainbow Dash stretched her shoulders and lifted her chin and Twilight did not need to ask who the mare was, which was coming down the hallway.
Once there was morning...
Nightmare Moon's coat was darker then Celestia's, despite having a similar size. It stood in a strong contrast to the Moon in the mare's name. Still, Twilight did not have to ask how she came by her name. She felt her darkness like a shadow on her fur and for a short moment the Alicorn felt her fear increasing rapidly.
Keep it together, Twilight. Keep it together! You can do this! She had faced Nightmare Moon before. Blimey, she had fought changelings, went through Sombra's mind-trapping spells and had defeated Tirek. So why was she so scared? Maybe because here were no friends to back her up. There were no Elements of Harmony. Twilight had almost forgotten how it felt to be forced to rely on yourself.
Nightmare Moon was wearing a helmet, which covered her face partly and smoothly. Her chest piece shaped partly like a mixture of spikes and the crescent moon and her long horseshoes gleamed in the dark room like liquid silver. Her shivering mane and tail shimmered blue and glittered as if the night sky itself had lend its mistress a few parts of itself.
Nightmare slowly walked down the hall and stopped before Twilight Sparkle. She was moving slowly and calmly how you probably can only do it if you own half the world. Turning her head, her cyan eyes glared down on Rainbow Dash. “Leave me alone with her, Captain”, she ordered quietly.
Rainbow saluted stiffly. It was hard to read her face with that helmet. Twilight searched in the ruby red eyes for empathy and the friendship she knew so well, but there was nothing. Rainbow turned around and left and Twilight followed her friend's purple tail, until she could no longer see her.
“You gave everything and you lost”, whispered Nightmare Moon. Her dragon-like eyes followed the Alicorn's movement.
“Equestria has lost”, responded Twilight merely. She was so tired. How would Nightmare kill her? With a spell? With a blast of lightning? With some kind of curse?
“How can you be so grumpy?”, asked Nightmare and lifted a brow, “My kingdom is blossoming under my rule. I never had a greater reign.”
“But it is not right”, responded Twilight.
“What?”
“It is not right”, repeated Twilight and looked up. She furrowed her brow. “As a filly I loved to watch the night sky. I am actually pretty good at astronomy. But still, the night is not meant to be eternal. Just like day is not supposed to be. They are a pair, working off each other. If you have not both, you have no balance, no harmony.”
“No balance?!”, repeated Nightmare Moon. Her body shook violently and a crackling sound escaped her throats. Twilight narrowed her eyes. Did the dark mare have a fit? It took her a few seconds to realize that the shadowy Alicorn was laughing.
“Hahahahahaha!” Nightmare's head snapped upwards and her mouth widened, revealing the white, catlike fangs. Even her eyes narrowed like the one of a cat, that was about to purr. “No balance!” Nightmare stopped in her laughter and her eyes widened. “Don't make me laugh! Why do you regard my nocturnal reign as something bad? It has maintained itself over the time and lasts since four years by now. My subjects have changed their behavior and no longer long for the blinding light of day. I feed them with the same food, they used to have in the tyranny of my sister. No balance and harmony? I would not say so.”
She pushed her head forwards. “However, it seems like you know it a different way”, Nightmare Moon stated, “If it is true, what you say, and you do come from a different time. Which leads me to the point, why I am actually here. You did not really thought, you could trick me, did you? So it is up to you, if you want to make this easy for me and you or unnecessarily difficult: Will you reveal to me the source of your time magic?”
Twilight did not responded. Instead she demanded to know: “Where is Spike?” Nightmare smiled and looked like she had to swallow a chuckle. “Your dragon friend?”, she said, “Funny, you mention him. Do not worry: He is in good hands and taken care off. However” – her eyes narrowed and she grinned mischievously – “your response might change that.”
Twilight gulped. What to do, Twilight? She still did not know, where Spike was. And how would somepony like Nightmare Moon understand the phrase taken care off. She could only hope, he was still in the castle. However was it worth to tell Nightmare about the scroll? She could bring a factor in the game, which had unforeseen consequences.
Curse you, Starlight Glimmer. Why did you have to alter Starlight's spell? Without her none of that would be real. And if Twilight showed Nightmare the scroll, she could use it too. What would change, when another pony altered time even before Starlight? This could lead to the extinction of every pony.
Besides Twilight had to acknowledge that she did not really know, how this spell worked. Sure, it brought you back to a certain part in time, but the Alicorn had never chosen that part. She knew, whenever she used the scroll, she was brought back to the exact same place at the exact same time. But this most certainly was not the only thing the scroll could do. Starlight had stated it herself: “Sorry to disappoint you, but I created that spell to send myself back in time. So even when you cast it, I'll still get send back here.”
Adding Nightmare Moon to this time triangle would not only make it difficult for her to stop Starlight, it could endanger all of Equestria. As if it is not already endangered enough. She simply could not reveal to Nightmare Moon where the scroll was. Let alone, that she needed one.
Did Celestia ever had such a problem? Weighing the safety of many against the safety of one? Twilight suddenly could imagine pretty well, how Celestia must have felt when she decided to use the Elements of Harmony against her sister. The similarity was striking as Twilight knew what her next words would be.
“I am waiting”, whispered Nightmare and put her head aside.
Twilight looked into the mischievous eyes. Her brow furrowed and she said: “No.”
“What?”, snapped the Alicorn.
“I said no”, responded Twilight once more, “I won't let you endanger my world. Be glad with what you have.”
A sharp intake of the breath. Nightmare snarled: “You dare to resist me. You dare to reject my command, despite knowing that your action will have great impact on your friend's mental health?” Her eyes turned into glowing slits. Her wings unfolded and she stamped on the ground with her hoof. “Reveal to me the source of this time magic! Now!”
But Twilight remained irrevocable. Her ears were folded back as she said once more: “No, I won't.” Nightmare bared her teeth in an angry growl and for a short moment the purple Alicorn feared her opponent might slash her throat in anger. But then Nightmare Moon regained her composer.
“Fine”, she responded, her lips hardly moving, “Be it that way. But I will get, what I want. I can wait. Believe me, I can be very patient. I waited a thousand years for my return. I can wait.” Nightmare gave her a glare Twilight could not read as she turned around to leave. “Unlike you and your friend.”
Once there was morning...
So, that was the last one. Pleased, Rarity released the carpet from her magical grip and let it fall elegantly down the wall. It depicted Nightmare Moon's chest, head and wings. She was embracing the moon with them. Behind her the circle of her moon could be seen. From a dead eye to a bright, white orb.
Rarity was very pleased with how everything had turned out. These new designs made the castle look as beautiful as usual. The Castle of the Two Sisters, now more commonly known as the Castle of Shadows, depicted the power and glory of Nightmare Moon and her night. It was unshakeable like the mare, who was ruling Equestria with laws so cruel that most bandits preferred being goodie two-shoes then robbing anything at all.
And yet this Waking Period had been pretty eventful. Rarity still remembered her surprise as this purple unicorn with wings appeared and called her by her name. The mistress had taken a high interest in that time travel thing. If it was true and not the ridiculous fantasy of a tourist. Prancing the Princess was something one should avoid.
“Had a long Period, eh?” The jingle of metal shoes. Rarity turned her head. She was wearing her uniform. A purple vest, which almost covered her cyan blouse. A few indigo pearls were sticked into it. Her purple mane was knotted properly just like her tail. She only wore horse slippers on her front hooves unlike the Pegasus in front of here, who wear guard shoes.
The Pegasus wore her purple helmet, which had the characteristic eagle head appearance. A blue, dragon like eye was encased in her chest plate. The armor covered her chest and flanks and even her tail was purple. Only the legs and neck showed bits of cyan fur.
“Greetings, Captain Dash”, said Rarity and signified a bow.
“Please, Rarity”, responded Rainbow Dash and pulled off her helmet, revealing her short, colorful mane and the ruby eyes. She placed the helmet on the floor and laid a hoof on it. “You know, you do not have to be so formal, when we are alone. Or would you prepare it if I called you Mademoiselle Rarity?”
Her nose wrinkled as she laughed. “No, that is unnecessary.” Rarity sighted. “Yes, my Period was eventful, but yours seemed even more”, she responded, “It had been eventful this night. I have seen the mistress' face, when she asked me to bring her her afternoon tea. She looked like she wanted to tear me apart.” Putting her ears back, Rarity demanded to know: “Rainbow, what happened there?”
Rainbow snorted angrily and knocked on her helmet, while she gave her answer: “That winged unicorn, Twilight Twinkle or however she is called, tried to trick the Princess. You see, we went deep into the forest and found this awkward, crystallized table. I guess some kind of map were on it too, however I stood in the background, guarding this dragon, so I cannot say for sure.
Well, Twilight decided to play heroine and held some sort of fancy mini-speech, in which she said, she and her friends found the Elements in her world and defeated the Princess.” Rainbow shook her head and grumbled: “Complete bullshit, if you ask me. We all know that the Elements of Harmony are nothing more then folklore.”
Rarity blinked thoughtfully. “Maybe not in her world”, she whispered and waved a hoof, “But go on.”
“Okay”, responded Rainbow Dash and gazed upwards, “Where was I? Oh, right. That Twilight caught our mistress off guard and used her confusion to first free the dragon and then teleport herself on the table. Then she tried to use some fancy spell, but before she could do it, Princess Moon hit her with a beam straight in the chest.
Both—dragon and winged unicorn—got flung from that table. I snatched Twilight at her wing before she could get up.” Rainbow Dash sounded proud and closed her eyes for a brief time, before she continued: “Well, Nightmare Moon ordered us to get back to the castle. There we locked Twilight Twinkle in one of the dungeon cells and brought the dragon in the chamber in the tower.”
Rarity's face changed from cool to partly disgusted and pitiful. “Ewww, it will probably have its fun there, don't you think? That dragon cub won't stand a chance.” Rainbow scratched her helmet and responded: “Only if Twilight does not negotiate. That has been the mistress' order.”
Rarity nodded. “And did she negotiate?”
Rainbow blew out some air. Scratching her ear, she mumbled: “Doubt that she will. That pony talked with me, before the mistress came. Can you believe it? She bragged about the sun!”
Rarity gasped. Doesn't she know the law?! Nopony ever mentioned the sun again, the last one that had done so now wore a skin of stone. Just as nopony dared to mention the lost Princess, the reason this castle used to be called Castle of the two Sisters. Now it only served one sister as her home. And that Alicorn pretends like she has no sister.
Rarity shook her head. “That is crazy”, she called, “That Twilight Twinkle does not know what she is doing.”
“My words”, growled Rainbow Dash, “Seriously I've heard that she has not really treated Nightmare Moon with respect either. If she is as cheeky as her dragon friend, she could get her tongue cut out or worse.”
Rainbow took her helmet and placed it back on her head. “That pony is living in a fairy-tale world”, she grumbled, “But this is the reality here. The sooner she wakes up the better.” Rarity nodded. She shivered. This pony really was brave. Or extremely foolish. Perhaps both.
“Did you come here because of a reason?”, asked the unicorn mare.
The Pegasus nodded. “Yes”, she responded. “The mistress told me, if Twilight does not negotiate, you should bring it into the dragon's cell.”
Rarity bite her lips. “Why do I have to do it?”, she asked whining and angrily, “Can't someone of the guards do it?”
Rainbow softly laid a hoof on her shoulder. “You know, that it follows you more. It will allow you to catch it. You are the only pony after the mistress that has accomplished this.” Rarity curled her lips. And I sometimes wish I had not done it. I am a supervisor! And not a... hunter or whatever.
Rainbow Dash smiled at her and looked at the clock. “Well”, the Captain said, “If you do not mind, I better go to the Guard's chambers. The Sleeping Period starts soon and tomorrow I have to supervise the mine. You better bring it into the dragon's cell, before you take your rest as well. Good night, Rarity.”
She touched her friend's nose as the Pegasus went past her. “Good night, Rainbow Dash.”
***
The basket was white as bone and swung in her maw as Rarity climbed up the stairs. In its slits purplish black fog twisted and twitched. It sometimes tried to slip out of them, but whenever Rarity made a soft purring sound the thing remained in the box. It was strange that it reacted to her. After all it was Nightmare Moon's pet and still it felt attached to Rarity as well.
Sometimes I wish it didn't. Sighting, Rarity climbed up the stairs to Spike's chamber. His cell was located in a small, blackish tower which was standing almost isolated on the other side of the castle. Most visitors did not really know what was happening to prisoners in the tower but many tales had been woven around it. From unspeakable torture, to wolves, that eat you alive, to experiments. Nothing could be farer from the truth.
The stair case wiggled itself around the core of the tower and ended at a large, iron door. Rarity carefully dropped the basket. Its convict hissed impatiently, sensing its prey behind the door. Well, let's get this over with. The keys jingled as Rarity took them out of her pocket. Being the supervisor of the castle she had keys to almost every room in the castle. Even this one.
Jabbing the key in the rusty lock, Rarity forced the door open. It moaned as she pushed herself against it with the basket in her maw. A little bit of light was shed in the room. There was only a small barred window on the opposite wall and a gully for the waste water to run away. The air stank from the buckets, filled with the waste. Rarity wrinkled her nose once more.
The dragon was sitting on the bench next to the door. He looked up and his face brightened. “Rarity!”, Spike called. He still seemed to be happy to see her, despite the fact that she had shown clear disgust towards him. Spike climbed from the bench and walked towards her. “Do you bring me my dinner?”, he asked hopefully.
Rarity sighted. If it had been just that. Her ears twitched as she placed the basket on the floor. Without responding to his question, the unicorn mare unlocked its tiny door. Purple mist floated out of it and began to grow. Rarity quickly stepped backwards, out of the cell. She slammed the door and yet as the loud bang trailed off the scream of terror and fear cut through the air like a dagger of sound.
I am sorry, small one. But orders are orders. Her face was dull as Rarity locked the door again. Shooing the key in her pocket, she hurried down the stairs and only stopped when she was outside of the tower. The cold night air welcomed her lounges and Rarity sighted in relief.
Clenching her hoof towards her chest, Rarity looked up into the sky. The moon swam between the clouds and on its silver surface she could see the imprints of an unicorn's head. Rarity made a small circle with six lines in front of her chest. In folklore this sign was there to rid oneself off evil.
“Please”, Rarity whispered, “Celestia, if you can hear me, please let this end soon.” She turned her glance away from the moon and hurried towards the larger part of the castle, to her chambers, to get some rest. Although she knew it would be hard to find sleep during this Period.
Once there was morning...
Twilight had no idea how long she had slept. Be it short or long, her slumber got interrupted by a sharp shout: “Wake up, Twilight Twinkle!” Rubbing her head, Twilight sat up with a groan. She had not slept that well. The ground was hard and uncomfortable and the only mattress the prisoners had were patches of hay they had to scratch to a large pile to sleep on.
“First off”, Twilight grumbled as she looked at Rainbow Dash, who stood before her cell, “my name is Twilight Sparkle , not Twinkle. Second off, is it already morning?” She realized how hard it was for her to measure the time without the sun to guide her and give her orientation.
“The Waking Period has already begun”, responded Rainbow. She was fumbling for a pair of keys. Jabbing them in the lock she worked on opening the door.
Twilight took a few steps backwards. She could only move slowly because of the chains around her ankles. “Where is Spike?”, she asked once more.
The Alicorn had not only slept badly because of the room's conditions but also because she had been sick with worry. She still was. Twilight and Spike had never ever been separate since she had hatched him out of his egg. Now was the very first time they actually were. And from their experience in the Crystal Empire Twilight knew that Spike's greatest fear was being replaced and separated from Twilight. He must die a thousand deaths.
Rainbow Dash pushed the door open and entered her cell. “I am not authorized to give you this information”, she revealed and opened her saddle back. Twilight spotted several chains and rings in it. Before she even had the chance to protest or ask what was going on, Rainbow Dash forced the weird rack on her body.
The rack was made out of two large rings. One wrapped itself around her hips, the other stuck on her neck. Between these two rings were two small chains, forming an X across her back, thus preventing her from opening her wings. A longer and thicker chain came out of the neck-ring and landed in Rainbow's hoof.
“Now get out”, the Pegasus said, “It is time for you to work.”
“Work?”, asked Twilight in confusion.
She slowly followed Rainbow out of her cell. In the dull light of the dungeon's corridor she saw other guards, pushing out other prisoners. They all wore the weird rings (if they were pegasi), anti-magic collars (the unicorns) or only a simple ring and chains at the hooves (if they happened to be earth ponies). The guards chained them together, thus forming two lines with the ponies forming a pair.
Twilight was standing next to a large unicorn, whose fur was greyish and smelled of dust. His blue eyes looked depressed and dull. The long group of prisoners started to move and Twilight, being chained to it, had no other choice then trotting along.
What is going on? Twilight looked over the prisoners. They all looked like shadows of their former self, exhausted, tired and dirty. Some mumbled “food” or "water", but most of them remained silent. The way they moved told Twilight that this seemed to be a routine for them. And Rainbow Dash had mentioned work.
Will Nightmare force us into slave labor like Sombra? Twilight gagged in fear. She had only known one villain that did such a thing. King Sombra, who had enslaved the Crystal Ponies. But Luna would never do such a thing! Or would she? This was Nightmare Moon they were talking about! Twilight only knew that she wanted eternal night and had tried to kill Celestia.
In her world she had failed thanks to the Elements of Harmony, but this was not her world. Therefor Twilight could hardly draw any comparison. Think, Twilight! What do you know from your very first visit in Nightmare Moon's castle? The kingdom was at peace, no one could deny that. No war, no hiding in the forest, no chaos. And the ponies all seemed to be loyal to a certain extant. In fact Rarity's statement on viewing the castle indicated that it was common for Nightmare Moon to have visitors, even the peasantry.
But what had made the ponies become so loyal? After all Nightmare Moon had clearly overthrown Celestia and banished her to the moon. Twilight had no idea. But from the large chain of ponies she could tell that not everypony was in Nightmare's good graces. What had they done to end here? And what were they forced to do?
They had left the castle and now followed a path through the Everfree Forest. Twilight remembered her encounter with the Timberwolves and became rather anxious. She might have faced many threads in her life before and as a Princess but the wooden wolves always were special and tricky.
Twilight now understood why several guards were surrounding the prisoners. They all had long spears in their hooves, which had strange blue glowing tips. They did not only guarded the prisoners but also fought of potential attackers.
“Rainbow”, called Twilight, “Where are we going?”
The flapping of wings. Rainbow Dash swooped down to her. She jabbed a hoof at Twilight and snarled: “That is Captain Dash to you, prisoner. And where we are going? Well, you will find out soon enough.” With a snort Rainbow flapped her wings and settled down on the top again.
The group stopped. Twilight stretched her neck to get a glimpse of several rocks and a dark cage. Why are we here? They are not planning to execute us there, do they? Twilight felt her sweat running down her neck in fear. No! Nightmare Moon would not do something so gross, would she?
The purple Alicorn stumbled as the line walked into the cave. It was dark first and the only sound Twilight could hear was a weird hammering. Then a guard enlightened a stinky, smoky oil lamp. In the sickly light Twilight saw that the prisoners were slowly walking towards a table, where another guard seemed to do something, before they walked to a wall and... seemed to beat their heads against it?
What is the meaning of this? Twilight furrowed a brow in confusion and scratched her chin. She would have loved to ask but a sharp tough on the chain reminded her that she was chained to the other prisoners and hurried to catch up. The line now moved towards the table and Twilight thought she saw the guard jamming something in the pony's maw.
And before Twilight knew it she got pushed to the front of the line. The guard pony - a grumpy looking Bat Pony – took a small pebble and tried to slam it in her maw. Twilight angrily refused. “Take the stone!”, snarled the guard. The Alicorn shook her head. She would not get herself humiliated in front of these dark creatures.
The guard looked like he wanted to jam the stone in her maw nonetheless for a short time. Then he smirked wickedly and placed the stone back. “Fine. Then you will work without the stone.” Twilight thought about some smart answer she could give, but a sharp push of the chain made her stumble towards the next wall.
It was a dark, rough wall. Twilight eyed it with itching eyes and tried to figure out what was demanded. How did this ugly rock had anything to do with work? “Dig!” Rainbow Dash's shout made her look up. The Pegasus was soaring briefly under the cave's ceiling. Her spear prickled and she looked around with critical eyes. “Start digging!”
Are you kidding me? Twilight looked at the wall and her jaw dropped. How were the ponies suppose to dig? She lifted her hooves, but realized that the chains were trimmed in a way that did not allowed her to use them for digging. Now she understood why everypony had to take a stone as soon as they entered this cave.
It also explained the strange clicking sounds. The ponies were all standing on several spots of the cave. They had risen themselves to their hind legs and now used the stones (which were apparently harder then the wall) like hammers. Still Twilight could not tell what use this had. What was so special about this cave? Where there gems in it? Minerals? Was this a mine?
Twilight had been doing nothing for so long that Rainbow Dash suddenly swooped down and jabbed the spear in her side. Electricity burned itself through her flesh and made her mane bristle. Twilight howled in pain and wanted to jump upwards in instinct.
“Dig!”, bellowed Rainbow Dash and pushed her head close to the wall.
“I don't have a stone”, whispered Twilight. She whimpered as the Pegasus slammed her face against the stone. Her nose cracked open and bled.
“Then you will dig without.” A swooping of wings and the Pegasus flew back to her spot near the ceiling.
Twilight glared at Rainbow, before she turned her attention towards the wall once more. Her stomach turned over as she understood what the general forced her to do. Shaking and lips trembling, Twilight opened her maw and dogged her teeth into the rock. It tasted awful. Her teeth seemed to crunch under the sore surface but with a great amount of effort the Alicorn was able to break apart a small piece of stone.
She gulped and spat it out at once. Uaarghhh, I will never be able to watch Maud, smashing a rock, again without having this taste in my mouth. Twilight digged her teeth into the rock. She had to use her head like a hammer so each contact with the stone made her jaws ring. Her eyes were shut and tears trembled between her lids. The dust ran in her throat and made her cough.
Twilight lost any sense for time. She digged her teeth into the stone. The surface (or her teeth) cracked. Blood landed in her mouth. Twilight digged her teeth into the stone. The cave was dark and her ears ring in the rhythm of the hammering of the other ponies that were digging for whoknewwhat.
And I thought Sombra is the one with the slave labor. Twilight felt the anger build up inside her every time she jabbed her jaw in the stone. She had heard about the grey unicorn that had enslaved a whole population. Blimey, she had even fought him!
Then why was Nightmare Moon doing this? It had such a cruel hypocrisy to itself. The nation was loyal to the dark mare. They were forced to loyalty, unless they wanted to end up in this cave in the middle of the Everfree Forest, digging for a needle in a hay sack.
Twilight stopped after almost an hour. She felt the sweat dripping down her nose. Her throat burned and her chest hurt. This labor was horribly exhausting. Panting the Alicorn casted a look at her working partner. It was the dusty unicorn, to whom she had been chained.This cannot be. This time panting because of excitement and a dark foreshadowing, Twilight threw a glance at the colt's cutiemark. A blue shield with a purple star in it.
“Shining Armor!”, Twilight shouted in surprise.
The colt turned his head. He spat the stone into his name. “That is my name”, he responded, “What do you want?”
Her color rose and Twilight feebled through her mane. “Ehm, I...I….”, she stammered. His dull expression brightened and he tilted his head aside.
“That is strange”, mumbled Shining, “You remind me off my little sister, Twilight Sparkle. However she does not have wings.”
Twilight laughed nervously. “Awful coincidence, right?”, she asked, “Ehm, how is Twilight doing, if I may ask? You see, I am not from here and I got captured because of something really silly.”
Shining blinked in confusion and surprise. Twilight felt the corner's of her mouth aching from the smile she held with great force. She hoped to get him talk. Tell him, what had happened with her in this world. And why was Shining down here? Where was the BBBFF, she once knew so well? How did he got in this prison?
Shining picked up his stone and started his work again. For a short moment he said nothing. Then his tired and sad voice filled Twilight's ears: “My little sister failed the exam for Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. She was very sad and was sure to be a failure. Twilight locked herself in her bedroom and focused on her studies more then anyone. She hardly goes out anymore.” Shining sighted in regret and kicked a few nuggets around. “You have to picture her as a silent, socially awkward, small, sickly unicorn, that hardly can leave her nose out of books.”
Twilight's ears fell down and a deep sorrow painted itself on her face. Oh, no! In her mind she could easily imagine herself. This was not the life she had ever wanted. This was not what she wanted for anyone. It felt like Moondancer all over again. However did this Twilight even knew Moondancer? From what Shining Armor had said, she had never made it into Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. So she probably was all alone.
Twilight asked: “What happened when Nightmare Moon took over?”
Shining Armor glared at her. “Seriously do you know anything about this place?”, he snarled as if it was obvious what happened.
The Alicorn responded: “I said it before. I am not from here. Could you enlighten me on the past events? Please?”
Shining lowered his head. When he finally spoke it felt like he was dragging the words from afar: “We, the guards, learned about Nightmare Moon the year she was about to return. Celestia explained to us that we had to do everything in our power to keep the Summer Sun Celebration safe. We doubled the guards and prepared ourselves for whatever might appear.
We all were stunned by shock when Nightmare Moon finally revealed herself. The common ponies all panicked and of course we attacked in thigh formation to overpower her. However a bunch of unicorns against one Alicorn is a lost cause. My brave soldiers and I got struck by lightning. It was very painful and numbed us. We were like paralyzed.”
Twilight had no trouble picturing this event. She had seen what Nightmare Moon could do with her own eyes. And during her Summer Sun Celebration there had only been three guards! How painful must it have been for six or even more? And Shining Armor had been under them. Twilight was sure her brother too in this world was Captain of the Royal Guard. After all the loss of the Rainboom only affected her and her friends' life. And later all of Equestria, she thought with gritted teeth.
“Go on”, she asked of Shining Armor and the white stallion continued his tale.
“When Nightmare Moon announced that the night would last forever, Princess Celestia appeared out of nowhere. She explained that Nightmare Moon could not do this as it would destroy the balance of the life and world. Nightmare Moon however would not listen. She said she had waited too long for this moment and nopony, not even the great Celestia herself, could stop her. That's when she attacked the Solar Princess.”
Shining's eyes widened at the memory and his voice shook: “It was hard to see what was happening. The fight was vicious. Nightmare Moon and Celestia were flying above our heads and hunted one another with magical beams. They moved so fast that we could hardly follow. And then there was a bright flash of light” – he coughed – “and like spilled ink the darkness spread itself across the sky. And in the blackness we saw the moon and on its silver surface Celestia's face.”
His voice died and tears ran down his cheek. Oh no! Starlight Glimmer, what have you done? That mare had ruined countless lives with one action. Each and every future or in this case presence had left deep marks in its habitants. Twilight pressed her head against Shining Armor's neck and hugged him. Tears dropped down her snout. “I am so sorry”, she whispered.
How could she ever make that right? Twilight had promised Applejack whom she had met in a future where Equestria raged in a war with King Sombra that she would set things right. But how was she supposed to set things right? She was stuck in one of these futures for Celestia's sake! The parchment role was probably rotting somewhere in the forest. If the wolves had not found and eaten it.
Don't think that, Twilight! You will find a way! You have always found a way. With the help of her friends. However it did not mean that she could not make friends in this world. Celestia had thought it her in her probably first lesson: It was never too late to make friends.
The bashing of wings. “No chit chat here!”, shouted Rainbow Dash. She stabbed the strange spear in Twilight's and Shining's sides. Both howled in pain and rose to their hind legs. The tips were loaded with electricity. “Now continue digging!”, snarled Rainbow at both. Her ruby eyes glowed through the helmet. “The gems for Princess Moon do not find themselves. Just like the building material does not find itself.”
Shining Armor sighted reluctantly and picked up his stone. The rhytmic hammering sound filled Twilight's ears. She too had no other choice then starting to digg. Her lips already started to bleed as she bite into the stone again and again. And while the pain numbed her maw, her eyes narrowed in anger. If this was what her future looked like then she wanted no part of it!
