Author's Note

Chapter Six Recap:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NV4pMArFkSnMPA7n7xv4ptLIDRuVYSfE3a3mNlruYrs/edit?usp=sharing

The Vision

Twilight Sparkle suddenly jerks awake. She inhales sharply, looking around at her surroundings to see if she was someplace unfamiliar, and perhaps even in danger. But she isn't. She’s in her own room, sitting in her own bed. Her breathing steadies and her eyes sag once more, staring down at the covers held over her.

The princess starts her day normally, getting dressed and brushing her teeth. Her blank gaze stays fixated on the mirror as she does so, bathroom door hanging open to a quiet, empty hall.

* * *

A choir of young foals sing cheerfully out in the sunlit Canterlot gardens. “The fire of friendship lives in our hearts, as long as it burns we cannot drift apart!”

Princess Celestia stands atop the short stairway leading into the grass, smiling brightly at the school children’s heartfelt presentation. Their teacher stands to the side as well, smiling just the same but with an unmistakable nervousness in her eyes, as she mouths the lyrics along with the foals.

“...laughter and singing will see us through!”

Twilight Sparkle arrives at the scene in a rush to greet her mentor, but stops and waits patiently to the side once she notices the commotion. Princess Celestia remains engaged with the act, not even noticing her young cohort. But Princess Luna—who stands beside her sister with sagging eyes and much shorter smile—notices Twilight almost immediately. The young alicorn waves to Luna, who nods back with a worrying look of concern.

“...our circle of friends will be to the very eeeeeeend!”

The young choir finishes to a round of light applause, and Princess Celestia’s gleeful praise. “Oh, that was just wonderful! Thank you all very much!”

Princess Twilight’s smile fades as a concerned Luna quietly steps away to talk with her. “Twilight Sparkle. Do you have a moment to speak privately?”

Twilight’s mouth hangs ajar while she considers her response. “I uh—yeah, sure. I can do that. Is… everything alright?”

“Everything is fine.” Luna is quick to answer, though it does little to dispel Twilight’s worrying. “There is simply a matter we must discuss.”

Twilight again gets hung up in a lull, unsure of what to say. Before she finds it, the group of children out in the garden suddenly burst into celebration, and the still smiling Princess Celestia steps away to join her corulers.

“Good morning, Princess Twilight.” She says. “Did you catch the class’s lovely performance just now?”

Luna looks to the floor with an impatient frown, as Twilight stumbles over her response. “Yes. Well—I just arrived near the end of it; but it was very nice!”

Princess Celestia smiles wider at her graduated pupil, next looking over to the quiet alicorn on her left. Luna acknowledges the glance with a weak nod.

“Sister. Do you think the young Princess Twilight and I could have a moment to speak?”

“Oh!” Celestia springs back a little. “Of course.”

“It will only take a few minutes.”

Princess Celestia nods, looking back and forth between the two younger mares. “Very well. If you need my input on anything… well, you know where to find me!”

With their final goodbyes, Celestia departs from the other two, and heads back to join the class out in the garden. Princess Luna wastes little time motioning with her head at the opposite direction. “Walk with me?” She asks of Twilight.

Once the two have gone some distance from the gardens, and now find themselves trotting along the castle wall, Princess Luna decides that it’s finally time to talk.

“I have to first admit something, Twilight Sparkle. Something I hope you won’t find too… distressing.”

Twilight follows the mare closely at her side, staring intently while she waits. “What is it?” She asks.

Luna glances over, as the sunny fields and distance mountains of Equestria stretch out behind her. “My sister asked a favor of me recently. To dreamwalk with you, without your knowing.”

Princess Twilight looks down at her hooves, traipsing over the white stone beneath them. “Oh.” She responds softly. “...How long has that been happening?”

“Quite some time.” Luna nonchalantly admits. “Not long after Spike’s passing.”

A stillness grows between the pair. The gentle clopping of their hooves plays percussion for the choir of birds chirping around them. That, and the distant, unintelligible conversations of Celestia and the young students still in the gardens.

“...Why are you telling me this?” Twilight finally asks.

“Because—” Princess Luna ends their walk prematurely, glancing at the gardens in the distance before looking back down at Twilight. “—I need you to understand that I had reason to be their last night, in your dream.” The younger alicorn stares up, eyes creasing like she’d done something wrong. “And I need to hear—in your own words—what you saw.”

Princess Twilight stares with her mouth agape. “I—I don’t understand…” She manages to say. “Am I going to be in trouble for something?”

“Please,” Luna responds in a cool, direct tone. “just explain to me what you saw, as you can best remember.”

The distant conversations of the young students draw Twilight’s attention away for a moment. She can just make out Celestia’s long, flowing mane, the pastel colors glowing brightly in the sun. “Very well…” She starts as she turns her head back around. “As well as I can remember…”

Luna straightens her pose and prepares to listen, eyes laser focused on the younger mare. “It was farmland, I was in. Rows and rows of crops around me, stretching much wider than the fields of Sweet Apple Acres. It was… corn, I think. The crops. And there were ponies there too, but—not like us, not…” Luna’s gaze tightens a little more as she watches Twilight try to describe it. “...they didn’t look ‘alive’, they didn’t look—sentient. They were animals. I knew it the moment I looked into their eyes, they—” She shakes her head. “...they had no idea why they were there. And there were others there with them, other—creatures. I had never seen anything like it; they walked upright, and had strange hairless bodies… And they’d arrived in a loud, metal carriage. The whole thing unnerved me. I didn’t want to be seen, I wanted to hide in the crop fields—but I couldn’t move.”

There’s a small gap in Twilight’s story that Luna doesn’t hesitate to use. “You were watching these creatures from your own perspective?”

Twilight nods silently. “I was so frightened… I just wanted to run.”

A warm breeze picks up, rustling both of their feathers and sliding pedals from the garden across the ground. Princess Luna finally breaks her stare with Twilight, looking out toward the vast Equestrian landscape beyond the wall. There her distant gaze remains, even as Twilight’s soft voice calls out from behind.

“Does… any of that mean anything to you?”

Luna blinks, and starts to turn her head around but stops before reaching even halfway. “...We should speak with my sister.”

* * *

The council chambers are eerily quiet. With the curtains closed, light hangs in the air in dim, dusty patches, a single slice of pure sunshine emitting from a gap in one set of the curtains, over a window on the wall furthest away from the ponies. This thin line of bright light divides those at the table, Princess Celestia in her usual spot at the head, flanked on her left by her sister Luna, and then finally Dominus Temporis. Twilight Sparkle sits to her right, violet hooves up on the table where the slit of light crosses over them.

“Can I offer you anything to drink?” Celestia calmly asks the young alicorn.

Twilight looks up, shakes her head slowly, then parts her lips. “What is going on?” She asks.

Princess Celestia slides her own forehoof along the table, connecting it gently with Twilight’s. “Twilight… what you saw—I’m sure by now you’ve realized that it was hardly a meaningless dream. There’s a tremendous weight that those images carry, and I don’t know how they came to you, I don’t know why you saw those things—” The princess pauses briefly, and looks over to the two cohorts on her left. “—but, I think we can all agree, this is a sign we’d be wise not to ignore.”

Twilight, brow arched and sick with worry, leans in far enough to block the line of sunlight with her muzzle. “But what does it mean?”

Princess Celestia stares down at their hooves on the table. Twilight’s looks small enough to be owned by a foal, when compared to her own ivory hoof that presses against it. “...There was another species, long ago. Not like pony, diamond dog, or griffon-folk. These creatures were different. They had no contact with magic, but their genius was unmatched. And sometime long before Equestria was ever founded, a time long before my sister and me, these ‘humans’—birthed us.”

There’s a flinch in Twilight’s eye during Celestia’s explanation. She looks around at the other two, faces equally serious, then back to Princess Celestia. “...‘Humans’?” She asks back to her. “Is… this some kind of prank?”

“No.” Celestia answers plainly. “I assure you, this is quite real.”

The youngest alicorn narrows her eyes and shakes her head once more, pulling her hooves back to her side of the sunlight. “How—why has nothing ever once been mentioned about this in the hundreds of thousands of books that’ve been published?”

“This is no coincidence.” Luna responds, with her entrance into the conversation.

Princess Celestia turns toward her, then quickly returns her gaze to Twilight and offers a simple nods. “She’s right. There has been a deliberate effort to conceal this information.”

Twilight’s face scrunches up with confusion while she leans in to respond. “Why?”

Celestia takes longer to answer this time. Her gaze briefly passes over the other members of the council, before settling back on the young princess. “That answer is… complicated.” Before she can expand, Twilight slides back away from the table and shakes her head. “These creatures were extraordinary in many ways, but in others, they were far behind the unified culture Equestria represents. Trust me, Twilight Sparkle, some history is better off forgotten.”

Twilight opens her mouth to respond, but is interrupted by the sound of a hoof knocking on the door behind her. Everypony in the room turns to look, Celestia announcing their presence. “You may enter.”

The door swings open slowly, revealing a thin unicorn stallion standing behind it. “The High Council is gathered downstairs, Princess Celestia.”

Celestia flaps her wings and stands up from the table. “Thank you. I will be down in just a moment.”

Twilight Sparkle watches her mentor walk confidently past her and to the stairwell, mouth still agape and likely primed to ask a hundred more questions. Princess Luna follows her sister as well, leaving only Twilight and the amber dragon Dominus sitting at the table.

“Forgive me, Twilight. I know you too well to imagine that your curiosity has been sated, but I must attend to this. We will return in just a short moment.” She steps aside and allows Luna to pass through first, then leaves Twilight with naught but a small smile and nod.

The door clicks and seals out any more answers, at least for the time being. The chair under Twilight creaks as she turns back around and exhales, forehooves spread out on the table, and blurry reflection staring back at her.

“Are you a frequent dreamer, Princess Twilight?”

The alicorn’s eyes narrow a smidge, and she looks up at Dominus confused further still. “Huh?”

Dominus Temporis leans in with one scaly arm resting on the table. “Do you often remember your dreams from the night prior, and is it usually with this much clarity?”

Twilight blinks a few times while thinking on the question. “Sure, I guess. I mean… I don’t know. In the mornings, I do.” A realization dawns on the young princess shortly after her answer, and she looks up to Dominus with a renewed curiosity. “Hey, you had to have seen all of this, right?” A smirk grows on the dragon’s muzzle. “Is this… for real? Is Canterlot going to reveal this to everypony?”

Dominus chuckles with elderly sounding breath. “You know I can’t divulge that sort of information.”

Disappointed, Twilight drops her head and looks away. “...Right.” She responds softly. Taking another look across the table, Twilight gets a good glance at the dragon smiling back at her. His rugged scales and dark, twisting horns create a rather imposing image. Had she not known Dominus, the sight of him might have been rather frightening. But Twilight knew him quite well, and the truth was that Dominus Temporis was one of the friendliest creatures in all of Canterlot. “...Is that why you asked me about my dreams? Is that how you see things?”

The crooked smile on the dragon grows a little wider. “Oh no, my magic operates quite differently. I suppose the best comparison to make with them would be to memories.”

“Memories?” Twilight asks, curiosity growing.

“That’s right. You see, I have ‘normal’ memories like everypony else, but my mind also captures memories of events that haven’t yet passed. You might say that my memory is… ignorant of time.”

The young princess scrunches her face up in thought. “Doesn’t that… get confusing for you?”

Dominus hesitates for a moment, and the smile retracts just a hair. “Absolutely.”

As Twilight’s curiosity grows, Dominus takes a moment to shift forward in his seat, and place his folded claws down onto the table. “There’s a legend about another… ‘unique’ dragon like me, having lived far to the West, many years past now. His ability quickly earned him a leadership role over his village—The Baron of Whitesand, I believe his title was. He chose to rewrite fate with his power, mostly in the interest of military conquest, and defense of his throne. He was untouchable because of it, always outmaneuvering the enemy and striking down would-be assassins with complete decisiveness. He believed himself to be a god; and his enemies and followers alike had little reason to doubt that. But as he tapped deeper into that well of premonitions, insanity began to take him into its clutches… The more the young baron peered further into the future, the more his understanding of the past and present regressed. He began to forget strategies, names, dates, his own language—even the faces of his only two children. Everything, replaced with visions of death, and a barren, lifeless void—that stretched endlessly over the cosmos.”

At this point, Twilight’s curiosity had begun to sour under a newfound sense of dread. Dominus notices the shaken look in her wide eyes, and seeks to repair some of the damage with another chuckle and one final thought. “...Or so the legend goes, anyway.”

For a moment after, Twilight Sparkle is unable to even imagine a response. When it does come to her, she replies with a quiet tone and a frozen gaze. “...I suppose I’m thankful my magic is rather different, then…”

Shortly after Twilight finishes, hoofsteps can be heard outside of the door. The dragon’s familiar grin returns. “‘Your magic’ may quite literally be the first of its kind, Princess Twilight.”

Confused and still a little scared, the young alicorn silently peers back at Dominus, her lips parting slowly as she struggles to respond.

She doesn’t have to. The door behind her suddenly swings open with Celestia’s magic, causing Twilight to spin around and watch as The High Council files in. Princess Celestia is standing there to the side, one wing open and a hoof outstretched to welcome everypony. She smiles as warmly as she always did, like everything was under control, and that a solution would be found to all problems. It was a practice that Twilight still struggles with.

* * *

The marble halls of Castle Canterlot create a resounding percussion, as Celestia and Twilight walk down them together. The elder princess walks with a strong, noble stride; quite contrasting with Twilight’s nervous shuffle.

“Have you eaten yet today?” Celestia spontaneously asks.

Twilight lifts her head toward the ivory alicorn, her expression asking ‘what?’ well before her mouth gets the chance to.

“Are you hungry? We can take a little break and visit the cafe, if you like.”

Now on the same page, Twilight stares back down to the long corridor ahead of them. “No. I’m fine, thank you.”

The two grow silent once more. The pair of their hoofsteps are the sole noise in the hall, until curiously, one stops. Twilight notices the other princess is no longer at her side, looking both ways before turning around completely. There Celestia stands alone, staring at a rather large painting on the wall. “This should be close enough.” She says.

Twilight had gotten quite used to hearing things that didn’t make sense to her, today. She wanders back to Celestia’s side, joining her in inspecting the painted canvas. There were quite a few hung along the long hall, mounted between ornate archways and unlit torches. Princess Twilight doesn’t notice anything particularly unique about the art they stood before now. It’s a simple scene of Canterlot Mountain in the center of a violet evening sky, though master crafted as it may be.

“Stay close to me, Twilight.”

The young princess does as she’s told, standing less than a wing away from Celestia. Gold waves of magic begin to swirl around the two of them, growing brighter and louder with an almost musical tone, before it all vanishes in an instant. Along with the two mares.

A flash of light, and the two make a reappearance in another room. A much larger hall, leading one direction and with only one doorway. There’s soft red carpet underhoof, and hanging braziers that light the cathedral-like ceilings above. There are even what appear to be vines and flowers growing along the pillars and walls, despite there not being a single window in the hall.

Twilight’s staring finally moves away from the massive room and over to her mentor. “...Where are we?” She asks.

Celestia tilts her head down toward her smaller coruler. “We’re quite a ways beneath Canterlot.” She replies nonchalantly. “Come along, it’s not much further now.”

She heads off down the hall as Twilight follows cautiously behind. A million questions likely swirling around her mind, not at all helped by them reaching the end of the hall and entering into another massive chamber; this one dark, and exceptionally more ancient looking. The ponies cross a great stone bridge, endless darkness looming in the shaft above them, and Twilight much too frightened to step anywhere near the edge of the bridge to peer below. The cavernous room creates a low-pitched hum, occasionally accompanied by distant, otherworldly whistling noises. And at the end of the ancient crossing is a single doorway, open, and what appears to be daylight pouring in from it.

“I should warn, your magic will not work down here.” Celestia says.

Twilight had already been falling a bit behind, but now she can’t help but stop herself completely. Princess Celestia quickly notices, stopping her own walk forward and turning around. She was in the light of the doorway now, a warm glow outlining her silhouette while Twilight remains painted in tones of midnight blue. There’s a massive stone globe hanging over the doorway too, Twilight notices, the outlines of continents etched into it.

“Are you feeling alright?” Celestia asks.

Princess Twilight exhales, shaking her head ever so slightly. “What are we doing?” Her voice is pained, and pleading for an answer. “I mean, you’ve told me practically nothing! And now we’re—beneath Canterlot, in some… ancient, hidden place?”

“Twilight…” Celestia is able to briefly interject.

“And this is all because of some dream I randomly had? If I hadn’t had that dream, were you ever planning on telling me about this place? And why hide the fact that you were dreamwalking me? How many more secrets are you keeping from me?” She asks with desperation in her eyes and voice, wings involuntarily coming unfurled.

Another strange whistle echoes throughout the chamber as Celestia steps further away from the door, and closer to Twilight. “I know that this is all quite overwhelming for you. This is one of the reasons it’s remained a secret for so long. Do you remember the day of your alicornation? Can you imagine the additional stress you would’ve had to bear, if you were to walk these halls for the first time only months or weeks after?”

Twilight remains quiet. Her head shakes only just noticeably, then she stares up at her mentor like her heart was on the verge of breaking. “...You didn’t trust me.” She responds softly.

Princess Celestia tilts her head up and creases her eyes in a rare display of emotion. “Twilight Sparkle.” She begins, with a mother-like tone. “I’ve had nothing but faith in you.” Her hoofsteps resonate as she walks along the cold stone, and kneels down in front of Twilight so that she can speak with a soft, intimate voice. “I’ve never once doubted your strength, or your intelligence, your courage; but the issue before us now goes well beyond the two of us and our relationship… it’s…” Celestia peers down at the ancient architecture beneath their hooves, and her gentle smile suddenly returns. She looks back up and stares directly into Twilight’s eyes. “Why don’t I just show you, hmm? Some things simply can not be put into words.”

The younger princess looks up, eyes still misty but understanding enough to nod in agreeance. She keeps her head up and facing toward the light, as Celestia stands up quietly and starts to walk side-by-side with her. The matriarch’s great wing reaches out, and covers over Twilight’s back as if to guide her. As if to guide a foal, on her first day of school. They walk along the bridge until both enter into the shaft of light, and Twilight stares upward at the stone globe as they pass under it. It’s curious, the globe’s design. At this distance Twilight could be sure that the continents on it were not in any order that she recognizes.

The doorway passes by the two mares, and an odd warmth greets both of them. Twilight still had her eyes peering upward as they entered, but instead of a high ceiling, or an endless black pit like the last room featured, in this one, she finds a clear blue sky. White clouds drift lazily along the peaceful canvas, and strange white streaks form along the distant background. Twilight nearly stumbles over with her gaze held upright for so long.

“...What… is…” Is all she manages to ask, eyes finally drifting downward and noticing more massive stone walls, and not open fields like the blue sky seems to hang over. The grandiose, intricate pillars and walls that reach upward fade into an impossible view of the heavens, like two realities had collided with one another.

“It’s an illusion.” Celestia calmly explains. She’d noticed Twilight’s enraptured pose, and furthers her explanation with a bit of a playful smirk. “Not magic. Not like we know it, anyway.”

Twilight is fixated on the ‘sky’, eyes only coming down after both mares had walked a good distance into the massive room. She couldn’t be sure, but Twilight imagined this place to be a quite a bit larger than the princess’s throne room, even. Grand pillars reach up to meet the enchanting ceiling, and root themselves in a bluish, translucent floor. The smooth surface beneath the mares almost appears to be a body of water—frozen in time, rather than ice.

The first room that Celestia leads Twilight into is one covered in darkness. The majestic glow of the main chamber spills into this much smaller area, and provides just enough light to reveal Twilight’s curious eyes as she steps through the open doorway. Once both ponies are inside, new sources of light slowly come to life, and expose the ancient contents of the room.

Unlike the previous chamber, most of this area is filled with more typical furnishings. Wooden cabinets, floorboards, soft carpet and dull, warm lights. The centerpiece, however, is anything but typical.

Twilight staggers forward as her breath is taken away, eyes fixated on the display in a large glass case. Behind the spotless glass resides a skeleton—upright, like a diamond dog or dragon—but with Twilight’s anatomical understanding, neither of those creatures left this behind. She was staring at the bones of a human.

“I…” The young princess says meagerly. She looks over her shoulder at Celestia, who stands confidently behind her with a simple smile. A small, understanding, unmoving smile.

Twilight, not nearly as composed, turns back around to face the creature’s remains, gazing up at them with a single tear growing in her eye. The figure looks to be about six feet tall, complex finger bones leaving no mystery about their means of physical contact, flat face and short tailbone—it was unmistakable. These were the beings in Twilight’s dream.

“I know you’d like to spend much more time here.” Twilight spins around as her mentor suddenly speaks. “But there is something else that I imagine you’d be quite interested in seeing.”

The two mares leave the room shortly after, with Celestia taking the lead. She crosses to the opposite side of the main hall with Twilight, the young princess getting another opportunity to admire the massive chamber while thoughts of the previous discovery no doubt fill her head.

Celestia leads Twilight through another open doorway, and into another dark room. Similarly to the first, this one also takes the initiative when the two wanderers enter, and begins to slowly reveal itself with warm lights. This is also where the similarities with the other room end.

Twilight was standing in a cavernous, multi-leveled library. Towering rows of bookshelves surround the circular room on every side, a wide, grand staircase leading the ponies down into the center of the chamber—a marble pit with another unfamiliar depiction of Earth—and opposite of another, smaller set of stairs that lead to a raised and extended area of the room. This spot is filled with cushioned benches, large pillows, low tables, and immense floor-to-ceiling windows, their fogged glass painted with the calming shades of an overcast sky, and the shadows of raindrops sliding down them. Another trick, Celestia was sure to explain.

Princess Twilight begins her first steps down the stairs while admiring the room around her, mouth left completely agape. There are small lanterns scattered throughout the library, providing a warm, orange light that contrasts softly with the pleasant blues of the windows and high ceiling. Statues, no doubt of historical human figures, surround the comparatively small ponies that traipse through these ancient halls.

“Impressive, is it not?” Celestia asks. Before she can manage a response, Twilight does a slow spin around, looking high above herself to only just now realize the dome ceiling had been painting with glowing, detailed depictions of the stars and planets.

“It’s… Incredible…” Celestia simply smiles, remaining quiet while her star pupil becomes overjoyed. “I mean—there must be… tens of thousands of books in here!”

“Hundreds of thousands, actually.” Corrects Celestia.

Twilight stares in amazement at her mentor, eyes glimmering with the eagerness to test that fact for herself. “Hundreds of thousands…” She murmurs.

“I’ve no doubt you can already imagine yourself delving into what knowledge is offered here, but—sadly, I must divert your attention one final time, Twilight Sparkle.” The young mare in question looks up with child-like heartbreak in her eyes, to which Celestia cannot help but chuckle lightly in response. “Please, do not misunderstand; you’ll have plenty of opportunities to visit these archives. But for today, there’s one last thing I’d like you to see.”

True to her word, Princess Celestia leads Twilight through the vast, silent chambers once more, right to an archway at the end of the main hall. If this were the Canterlot throne room, the two of them would be walking right past the thrones themselves.

The wild excitement Twilight carries with her gives way to confusion as the lights in the new room come on slowly. They focus on two objects exclusively: a large, black stone tablet with gold text inscribed upon it, and a peculiar blue crystal hovering above—and a small measure behind—the stone. The crystal is held in a strange pillar of light, foreign magic to Twilight, if it even is magic. Mist rolls around the floating object, and pours downward until it pools on the floor and gently spreads, dissipating before it can reach the mares’ hooves.

Twilight takes cautious steps forward, more attention drawn to the stone tablet as its details become clearer. “‘The Coalition of Earth… A Message to Our Successors…’” With her brow furrowed, Twilight pauses her narration and turns to look back at Celestia. “It’s in Ponish?”

“It’s their language. We merely adopted it.” Celestia calmly explains.

Twilight Sparkle turns her head back around so that she can read over the remaining text with eager eyes.

“For many, many years, mankind had remained the sole form of intelligent life on this planet. It is time for us to pass that torch onward.

Many of us have often fantasized about the possibility of creating life—a perfect machine to solve all of the universe’s problems. But in the end, it was decided, perfection is not what this universe needs. Just as we have been given the opportunity to succeed and fail at our own deliberation, we have decided that it is what’s right to allow the same for you. Not perfect; natural. You are free. As every living thing has ever deserved to be.

We have made mistakes. You will too; what’s important is that you learn from them. Do not toil over petty differences from one another as we have for so long, and never be fearful of new ideas. Take the knowledge and stories we have provided you with, and do with them what you please.

This is your time, now. You owe us nothing.”

Once finished reading, the young princess shakes her head slowly, and continues to simply stare onward at the ancient text. “...They sound… remorseful…”

Celestia draws her attention to the back of Twilight’s neck. “They certainly had things to be remorseful of.”

“They were gods…” Twilight spins around now, so that she can speak to the elder alicorn directly. “They created us, they created… life. Is that not what…?”

“I’m surprised to hear you say that, Twilight Sparkle. Having seen your research, I mean.”

There’s a quiet scoff from Twilight. “My research didn’t account for any of this.” She turns once more, gazing at the mysterious black obelisk. “Whatever their origins, they elevated themselves with the creation of living, sentient beings…” Her eyes drift down beneath the eligible portion of text, to the paragraphs of characters below it that Twilight doesn’t recognize. “I mean, ponies are going to worship these creatures! They’ll pray to them, doubt their existence…” As she drifts off, the princess turns her head far enough back around so that Celestia can see her profile. “...they’ll fear them.”

“Perhaps it’s more obvious to you now why this was kept secret.” Princess Celestia is quick to respond.

Twilight’s expression grows gravely serious. “None of that changes the facts. I think I deserve to know about stuff like this, they—” She prods a hoof out into the open air. “—deserve to know about this. I mean, haven’t I done enough to prove to you that you can trust me?”

“I’ve told you, I have—”

“You haven’t shown me.” Twilight quickly interjects. Now holding Celestia’s attention firmly, she looks around the foreign chambers while continuing. “Would I have known about any of this… if I didn’t have that dream?”

Celestia’s gaze tightens. “In time.” She stares unflinchingly at the other mare, before nodding slowly. “Yes, I would have showed you.”

Twilight hangs her head and sighs. “I’m sorry.” She looks sheepishly up at her mentor, apologetic eyes behind her dark purple bangs. “I don’t mean to accuse you. It’s just—a lot to process…” She turns to face the crystal, floating on a bed of mist just beyond the obelisk. “Is that what’s holding the humans’ information?” She asks.

“Everything they left us.” Princess Celestia responds confidently. She watches the reflection of the crystal in young Twilight’s eyes, kneeling down close so that she can observe it with her. The only source of light in the room dangles right overtop the stone tablet and crystal, leaving whatever walls are outside of its glow to be swallowed by the outer darkness. The darkness is so great, and the light so direct, that the two mares seem to stand alone on a floating platform in the room, backs turned to the surrounding void.

Celestia glances over at Twilight, who appears to still be entranced by the ancient relic before them. The elder alicorn smiles a little, before expanded a wing to gently cover Twilight’s back. “You know, it was no accident that I chose you as my star pupil.” The warm comment is finally enough to draw Twilight’s eyes away, and instead focus them on the mare next to her. “I knew from the very beginning that you would grow to accomplish many things. Your pursuit of discovery is unmatched, and the care and guidance you’ve given to each of your friends has proven to me that you have what it takes to be a great leader.”

The ethereal hum of the crystal’s light is drowned out for Princess Twilight, as her mentor lowers herself further, and speaks nearly muzzle-to-muzzle with her. “I know things have been hard. And undoubtedly, this—” Celestia points a hoof to the obelisk. “—will make things harder. But it is also destiny; this is our destiny… and I want you right by my side as we face it. As The Element of Magic, as The Princess of Friendship—as a leader.”

Twilight’s attentive eyes stay locked on Celestia, as she rests an ivory hoof right against Twilight’s. “...I have never once lost faith in you, Twilight Sparkle. I ask now… will you keep your faith in me?”

Twilight Sparkle stares into her mentor’s iridescent, magenta eyes, a warm and caring smile still resting below them. Twilight looks down at their hooves before responding, long ivory leg extending out to touch her own forehoof. She glances back up to meet Celestia’s gaze, and nods slowly. “...Of course.”

The soft wing cover over Twilight finally releases, as the two turn to embrace one another in a hug. Twilight holds her forelegs snugly around Celestia’s chest, the Princess of the Sun craning her neck over and across Twilight’s shoulders. Princess Twilight closes her eyes, and listens to the strange hum of the artifact next to them.

* * *

A heavy sigh preludes the young alicorn’s return to consciousness. Her eyelids peel back slowly, head spinning as she groggily inspects her surroundings.

“Don’t push yourself too hard,” A male voice to Twilight’s side calls out. “you’re probably still gonna be a little sore.”

Twilight winces, dragging herself up in her seat despite the immense sense of weight. “Where am I?” She asks in a labored voice.

The diamond dog to her left looks over. “South of Ponyville. Get settled in, we’re going to be out here for a while.”

Finally regaining clear vision, Twilight props herself up against the door behind her as she scowls at the creature across from her. “Who are you?” She asks.

The diamond dog turns once more toward the young princess, quickly scanning over her condition, then facing ahead again. “My name is Cave.”

Twilight starts to finally look away from the creature’s scarred face, and instead inspect her surroundings. The first thing that draws her eye is a small metal object—the grip of a revolver, by the look of it—nestled under the diamond dog’s chair and sticking out between his legs. Twilight’s eyes next follow along the seat itself, shaped in a manner she’d never seen used for carriages. Similarly, the dry landscape passing by in the surrounding windows seems to slip away at a speed much faster than she’d ever been used to, and after finally pulling herself up all the way in her seat, it becomes clear to Twilight that there are no ponies at all pulling the vehicle.

“This is… man-made...” She utters slowly.

Cave keeps his eyes on the land ahead of them while responding. “Well, this one isn’t… but it is their design.”

Twilight winces suddenly, hoof shooting out to rest against her horn. There she can feel the shape of a strange band—two actually, as she starts to feel higher up the bone.

“I’m sorry, Princess. You won’t be able to use your magic for a while.”

The mare on the other side of the car ceases her prodding for a moment, eyes again honing in on the silver grip under the seat. “...Are you going to kill me?” She asks.

Cave looks over, follows the pony’s eyes and then looks back up to the path ahead after noticing the gun. “That would be a tremendous waste.”

Twilight’s chest heaves as she inhales sharply. She glances back behind the seats, noticing a stockpile of rattling jugs. Some are filled with water, most are filled with a very dark liquid. “Then where are you taking me?”

Cave begins to rub his thumb against the wheel he keeps a steady grip on it. “I’m not entirely sure telling you will do any good, nor do you have any reason to even believe me.” The bound alicorn huffs lightly while resting back into her seat. “...But you should know—you’re apart of something big, Princess Twilight. I needed to intervene before Canterlot and Celestia had sunk their hooks too far in you.”

“What does Celestia have to do with this?” Twilight retorts, with narrowed eyes.

There’s another look shared between the two of them, before Cave quickly breaks away and once again stares ahead. “She was your mentor, correct? She was the one that brought you to Ponyville? ...She’s been grooming you for almost your entire life, now—”

“—It wasn’t grooming. She was there for guidance, nothing more.”

“My point is, Celestia is a mare who’s never done anything she hadn’t planned for.” The diamond dog glances up to the small mirror above them before continuing. “She’s a schemer and a liar—” He claims with a growling tone. “—and that much I can prove to you…”

Twilight Sparkle’s breathing increases only just noticeably, and her wings strain against their makeshift binds. She pivots her head around to finally watch the land ahead of them, and the bleak, vacant desert on the horizon suddenly seems to sprawl beyond imagining.