Author's Note

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Recursion

In the center of Ponyville stood a black spiral tower. A diameter of barely two yards, it reached farther into the sky than the eye could see. Ponies whose path it crossed would pause as they got close, taking a step to the side to move around it, never once aware of their own actions. It had been sheer coincidence, perhaps luck that she had found it, over a decade after moving here. She examined it until she found an entrance, a part of the wall that gave in as she pushed against it with great force. But the first step inside brought with it the tower’s darkness. As she turned around, she found herself on the other side of the door, and that was the last thing Twilight ever saw.

In the center of Ponyville, shrouded in eternal night, stood a black spiral tower. It had taken her a month to find it, standing impossibly tall, with walls darker than her night had ever been. But she could not be fooled. It stood in her realm, and just like everything else, it was hers. A stream of dark purple circled the tower’s base, finding the entrance and pushing it open. There was no fear in her heart as she stepped through the hole, but there soon was terror as she used her remainaing senses to explore the interior, and that terror was the last thing Luna ever felt.

In the center of the Chaos Capital of the world stood a black spiral tower. It was at once cast in darkness, and at once bathed in sunlight, but nothing could ever change the blackness of its walls. It had taken him a day to find it; him, who was the the most powerful being in the universe, who could move celestial bodies like toys, deform the world and its life at his will, who was only ever defeated because he chose to give his opponents a chance, while ensuring that no defeat was ever permanent. Staying hidden that long was remarkable, and so he gave the tower a special treatment. With a snap of his talons it turned upside down, into a pink and twirling supplier of delicious chaos, leaking ice cream from its tip. Only it didn’t. It remained black and static and whole, defying his will, a feat which ought to be impossible. Sensing true curiosity, that had been missing from his life for centuries, he pushed the door open, bending his long body to fit through. He tried to summon a piece of the sun, but all he managed was a faint red glow, illuminating a spiraling staircase leading up into the darkness. Soon in his ascend did he feel afraid, an emotion that was entirely novel to him, perhaps forgotten, perhaps never felt before, and it was this fear that was the last thing Discord ever felt.

In the center of Ponyville stood a black spiral tower. The town around it had existed for roughly one and a half centuries, but despite her countless visits, Celestia hadn’t found it until now. With careful steps she rounded its base, quickly spotting the entrance. But as she pushed it open, something gave her pause. Seventeen thousand, nine hundred and seventy-four years she had lived; three hundred and eleven days and just over eighteen hours. All by herself she had founded the world, had brought the sun and moon into existence, and had sparked life to give it all purpose. Now she took hasty steps backwards, almost stumbling as she lit her horn again to shut the entrance, spreading her wings wide and fleeing from this place as fast she could. No more than a day later, a royal decree informed the local mare that everyone was to move within a month. They’d be given all the assistance they required, and plenty of compensation to boot. Never before had the residents of this small town been given such an order, but although no shortage of anger, tears, and confusion was caused by the request, in the end no-one dared refusing the princess. As the deadline came around, not a single life was left in Ponyville, and soon after, all area within four hundred yards of a certain point was permanently banned from access.

And in the center of an abandoned land, surrounded by ruins, stood a black spiral tower.