Minos Alliance, city of Lamauros, 2:54pm.

Clank … . Clank … . Clank … .

The rhythmic hammering sound rhythmically resounded through the blazing heat in the town of Lamauros, where a very diverse assortment of cattle-headed creatures, as well as quadrupedal beings were milling around in a cycle known throughout all realities that held up conscious and sapient species … .

It was market day.

The loud calls of the merchants hawking their wares contrasted with the din of the potential customers that haggled with them about their prices—even occasionally hearing insults from both client and merchant thrown at each other or even to other sellers and customers—as if a battle was being waged in a free-for-all.

If you even squinted, you could occasionally see a griffon or centaur peddling their wares as well as small equines of black and white striped patterning, along with equines of several colors, there were even pegasus ponies with one or even both wings missing due to the harshness of the life at the plains.

Looking around you would also see that there were the Diamond Dogs peddling their ores and the Changelings offering their own produce of medications of different kinds for different ills derived from their … peculiar production methods, earning the ire of some Zebra trying to sell his herbal wares.

All of this, however, meant little to the one working in one of the many smithies within the small city of Lamauros, where the sound of the smith’s hammer pounding upon the metal laid against the anvil gave a rhythm to the affairs conducted inside.

He was, according to the minotaur folk that adopted him into their midst … a very strange kind of Minotaur.

His appearance was that of a male which looked like a shaved Diamond Dog. For his age, he visually looked to be in his late twenties for his own kind as he had confessed to them at one point in their interactions. He had long brown hair tied in a knot, leaving some of it to flail in the open with two locks appearing like antennae on his head; peach-toned skin naked to the eye in the parts not covered up by clothing. His build was that of a laborer, with muscles defining the strength his frame contained, and yet he was not overly musclebound as some of the minotaurs who also worked in a smithy as he did.

Where he worked, he had his arms encased in heavy, thick leather gauntlets which covered nearly all of his arm, reaching as far back as his elbows while he worked, protecting him from errant flying hot sparks and the heat of the glowing metal. He wore a thinner leather apron, which protected most of his chest, as well as heavy leather shorts which protected his pelvis and upper triceps under the apron. Woolen stockings covered his feet and reached about halfway up his calves, over which leather boots reached up against about a third way up his calves, thusly completing his smithing ensemble.

The gossip said that there was one minocow which saw him bathing in a natural waterfall nearby. According to her, by accident … the excuse that was not believed in the slightest by her friends. The story went, that he lacked a sheath, and wore a very large tattoo on his shapely, broad back.

All of this, nevertheless, paled to his discreet and silent demeanor, however, he would occasionally display emotions and attitudes which ranged from tough to gentle depending on who he talked to and how he was referred to.

His eyes, however, were the point that drew respect, if not outright intimidation in the otherwise collected individual … the irises were dark brown—with a spot of light brown and red in the blend, giving some unusual—and according to some that had tried to throw him out of town when no one was looking, almost predatory look. What unsettled these minotaurs who didn’t like the human, was how, despite his smaller size, there was a sort of presence that led them to feel intimidated—as if they were facing something truly dangerous and cold.

Despite all this—according to the minotaurs that welcomed him—he had one quality they found out was more than worth some weirdness from the “silent ape”.

He knew the blacksmithing occupation, in which he was setting up shop, too well … Even more so than the town of blacksmiths which had welcomed him into their midst.

After all, he has been teaching them all ever since he arrived at the town, several centuries ago.

Due to this peculiarity—this apparent immortality—and his skills with the forge, he was given an unofficial title by the local minotaur population: The Forge God.

And so, this individual simply focused his concentration on the hot metal object coming out of the forge … brows furrowing as he kept examining the piece with narrowed irises amidst the sparks—only to find an imperfection, or a difference in thickness—correcting the flaws hammering the piece down with strength against the anvil close by, barrels of water and oil at hand when he felt the need to quench the metal at its proper time, and barrels made of steel and glass, containing some very dangerous and noxious liquids which he liked to use for the treatment of his materials.

Naturally, those were kept sealed with locks and chains, to prevent any kind of disaster like last time … .

That had been quite a magical shitstorm … .

To this day, some of the oldest minotaurs still couldn’t stand the smell of boiled cabbage; and that had been the least of their worries at that time.

The rhythmic pounding of metal against metal continued, metal which was being beaten began taking shape, under the watchful vigil of the one wielding his hammer.

This blacksmith felt his sweatband fail to prevent the staunching of the flow of sweat on his forehead, thereby forcing him to briefly stop his work—and to remove his leather mitts—so he could cleanse his sweatband by submerging it in a bucket of water left covered in a corner for this very purpose. Once the sweatband was clean and feeling fresh from the cool water, he continued his work, reheating the piece before hammering blow after blow upon it, as if this one task was of the greatest importance.

The metal contorted, slowly taking the shape the blacksmith beat it into, this latest work which had been commissioned a day ago.

He was crafting the second piece of a set of horn adornments for a minocow who was being wooed by the most successful merchant in town.

The din of metal striking metal ceased … only for the blacksmith to change his hammer for a smaller, more rounded one—and resumed further shaping the metal with quick strikes, and heating it every now and then in order to keep it malleable.

This strange blacksmith wasn’t looked after for his skill in gold or silver, which he had expressed disdain for when asked in the past … . He was sought after his unusual skills in metal-forging and treatment, for he knew how to make a metal for every occasion, from multicolored steel that mimicked the rainbow … to a golden-hued metal of properties so unique, that were fit more of armor and weapons than for engagement jewelry, due to one quality that only gems and crystals possessed naturally: his golden-hued metal could be magically enhanced in a layered fashion, handling even the strain of contradicting spells—something which usually ended in disaster when using crystals, due to their inability to handle the strain placed upon them when having two contradicting spell matrices within the same crystal.

However, he forced himself to learn how to properly treat copper, gold, and silver—after all, alloys allowed for diversity and texture yet he cared not for their softness and brittleness when in the anvil. Then there was also the matter of everyday life, one that desired more than the golden-hued metal … which he barely made at this point in life.

The din of his work drowned all of the other noises around him until he stopped and examined his work so far, withstanding the heat coming from the coal-powered forge.

“Iron Ash! Iron Ash!” a young feminine voice abruptly shattered the momentary silence as the aforementioned kept inspecting his work, comparing it to its counterpart.

“Yes?” He answered, his voice in a calm, almost bored baritone as he turned his workpiece over and over, inspecting the thickness from the inside, ignoring the young one calling to him from the inner entry of the forge.

“Mom says you haven’t had anything to eat, so she sent me to fetch you!” The young one said with a high-pitched voice, as she stood up watching him work with her arms upon her hips, tapping her hoof impatiently as the fire of the forge’s workplace illuminated the young calf.

Iron Ash just kept inspecting his workpiece … until he gave a sigh, shaking his head as he carefully left the piece next to its sister for it to cool down.

“Thanks for fetching me, little one. I usually get engrossed when at work.” He said politely as he turned to meet her … by lowering his sight to meet the child’s, who reached him at the height of the higher limits of his abdomen.

Eyes bright and attentive sat framed in the head of a bovine—’and yet so much human in its facial features’—who was wearing a simple brown dress that covered her chest and upper legs, a leather belt with multi-colored metal threads weaving through it in the likeness of wild clouds, leaving her hooves on display.

Placed on her ears were simple hoop gold earrings—one on each ear, the earrings located near the base of her ears, just before the ear reconnected to the face, and a silver choker on her neck.

She tapped her hoof in a quick fashion, arms crossed and a cute glare that was directed at him.

He simply stared back.

After an increasingly awkward silence, the child broke in a giggle. “Iron Ash, how can you do that!? I can’t outstare you!” Then she turned serious as she added, “Besides, I’m not so little anymore. I’m almost fourteen!”

Without expressing any emotion, Iron Ash replied to her in a very deadpan tone “Of course you are.”

The young girl’s glare returned, yet there was a twinkle in her eyes as she replied to that “If you don’t come now, I’m getting Mom to drag your sorry carcass to the table.”

This drew a smile on Ash’s face, as he simply left his hammer on its place in a tool-rack nearby, and gently caressing the young girl’s hair, which was a surprisingly soft-textured, curly type, ginger hair as her fur was a light grey with brown. “I’m touched you want me to come for supper at the table—here I thought I was the monkey-wrench of the town.”

The young minocow snorted, her glare intensifying as she replied to him at first “That’s not funny, Ash.” Only to add in a much sadder tone, eyes starting to water “You are family … why would you say that? Everytaur knows you’re one of us … always have been.”

Ash simply smiled as they walked into the house, answering calmly “Maybe you find it offensive, and for that, I meant no harm. But I do it mostly because I like to make fun of myself.”

The child just stared at him as if he suddenly grew another head, before shaking herself and keeping her face furrowed in thought, simply moving back to whence she came, with the human in tow.

As they reached the dining room, brightly illuminated by the sunlight entering through an open window, a wooden table was already set with roasted meat, bread, some cucumbers and carrots and a large jar of beer in each place, she finally found it in her heart to say what she thought was wisdom for the ages.

“… I think you seriously need to get out more, great-grandpa.” She snorted again as they took their places, Iron Ash’s face carefully containing an amused look as she added: “Your sense of humor is in serious need of replacement—worse than that piece of armor that was sent here, that isn’t armor, that’s a bunch of rust masquerading as armor.”

Ash smirked in amusement, simply replying “Guilty as charged” as he took a sip of the ale waiting for him at his place while enjoying the company … and above all enjoying breaking the notion that he was some sort of a likable deity; or the notions most mortals ascribed to powerful immortals, for that matter.

‘After all … Who would believe in his right mind that a deity had such a crummy sense of humor?’ He thought to himself while taking a bite from the meat on his plate, ‘I am more of a deadpan snarker, if what I remember from that website I read so long ago is correct.’

Your sense of humor belongs in a grave, Ash
That’s praising him, and you know it
It would be if he had a sense of humor to begin with

Ash’s mood started to sour, as he internally cringed at his roommates’ commentary of his life.

‘Or should I call them soul-mates?’

He took another sip of his ale, hoping to dull their lively chatter.

‘How come I’m still sane?’

I named you my successor for that reason, my friend. It is impossible to rattle you … or nearly impossible, considering the evidence of what happened on that day

‘Damn it. I forgot they can hear me thinking!’

Ashley, you know better than that. You have living beings you can relate to! Make bridges! Throw ropes of communication! Learn and teach! Don’t be a storm crow at a party! I appreciate you keeping us company, but that lil’ girl is waiting for you to be … family

Ash sighed internally as he enjoyed his meal, raising an eyebrow as his table companion, a young minocow named Agria Jazeraint—a name he suggested to her parents when asked—which rose plenty of eyebrows since it broke with tradition.

Hardhorn’s grandpappy, on the other hand, had suggested Golden Plate, a traditional name for female calves.

They took his suggestion after he told them a tale from his homeworld … and the significance of the names he suggested.

“Long ago, in the world I was born into, there was a war that shook the nations. Heroes from both sides fighting one another for the sake of their kingdoms, where morality was going towards the path of total corruption and degradation, with few individuals looking towards what was good and right. Among these, there were individuals decided that which was right should be upheld at whatever the cost … some of them were knights that rose above all their brothers in arms in virtue and strength of character.”

‘Yes,’ he thought to himself while immersed in his mind. ‘I forgot the fact that they like their epic stories. If I didn’t know better, I would compare them to fans of those movies that I saw so long ago … The Lord of the Rings.’

His gaze became unfocused as he remembered that moment while sipping his drink.

“One among them was named Agrias Oaks, bodyguard of Princess Ovelia, and one of the Lionsguard. A Holy Knight with an unwavering sense of justice and capable of handling Holy magic and Light spells, joined forces to rescue her charge with one that sought to change the world for the better.”

“Tough, fair; both in mind and body ... and beautiful like a work of art that came out of the forge.” He had said when presented with the new-born calf, as customary of their kind, only for his eyes to soften as he let the baby grab one of his fingers. “I am not one that likes giving names lightly … only one that truly matches her beauty.”

Ashley’s mind went back further, his conscious self slightly hazed by both the heat of the air outside and the drink, as he reminisced how his adopted great-grandson met his spouse.

“So, your name is Hardhorn … correct?” Ash asked the minocow before him with an eyebrow raised, waving his hand in an inviting motion.

“Yes, Forge-Master Iron Ash … Copper Hardhorn, to be precise,” the minocow in front of him said, fiddling nervously under his stare.

He only eyed the large lady with the same facial expression—knowing she was a lady for the softer details when compared to a male—examining her … until he heard shuffling behind him.

‘Ah.’

“I’d like to ask, Hardhorn … why me? I thought the townstaurus here liked to keep things in the family.”

She fidgeted even more under the scrutinizing stare.

“Sir … If I may say so,” she started to say shyly, to which Iron Ash rotated his hand in a vertical circular motion, gesturing and encouraging her to go on, “everytaur knows that you welcome anyone, not caring much about tradition, but what matters to you is rather the skill, passion, and willingness to learn the knowledge and technique you have to offer the apprentices under your authority and care.”

Ash gave her a nod and looked at her expectantly.

She fidgeted further, going red in the fur of her face. “… I can’t butter it, can I?”

He shook his head with the same expression but internally felt extremely amused as he stared at her.

“… Um, well … Oh, fine!” She said exasperated, slightly despairing on her situation. “I am in love with your son! And he said I was welcome to come and try to become an apprentice like him, so we could be together!”

Well, well, well … so little Steel Resolve has been busy in his off-time, huh?

She stared at him—at first defiant … only for her resolve to start wavering under his unchanged expression.

“… Steel Resolve? I know you’re fidgeting behind the door. Come over, please.” Ash said in his same tone.

The door creaked, and a large minotaur stood out sheepishly, also red in the face.

“Grandfather … How did you know I was there?” He asked with a very smooth, bassy voice that exuded manliness.

Well, Ashley … He’s waiting for your answer?

“Secrets of the trade, Steel. Now … how about you introduce me to your friend here like you’re supposed to, hmm? Then we can talk about … accommodations.”

He was silenced out of the shock for a moment, only to look at Hardhorn—who was also shocked at Ash’s answer ... only for the two of them to grin widely—

And tackle him in a hug.

Still remember the cracking ribs to this day, my dear friend … Oh good old times! He-hee-he-hee!

Ash simply smiled slightly, eyes softening as he looked at Agria, who was too busy eating speedily to notice his look of serenity.

He got a smirk as he said: “Now ‘Gria, slow down your food-scarfing or you’ll—dammit, don’t choke!” He rose up quickly as the young girl started tapping her chest to swallow—only ending when she had a large gulp out of her mug.

He looked at her with an unamused face. “‘Gria … Do eat slower, that way you get to enjoy the meal more fully.”

She grinned sheepishly as she scratched her neck. “Sorry, great-grandpa …” only for her look to become mischievous “… But I was enjoying my meal! That’s why I couldn’t have enough in my mouth!”

Ash only looked at her seriously with an eyebrow raised … only for her to start giggling after fifteen seconds struggling to hold her look on his face.

He snorted in amusement, snickering a bit as he rubbed her head. “Got me there, ‘Gria—”

Ashley! Powerful magic is gathering around us! Quick! Get her out of the way!

He stopped suddenly as he felt a very familiar feeling starting to leach out of his body, Agria looking at him questioningly.

“Grandpa? Are you alright?” She asked—only for light to start gathering under their feet—and the makings of a magical matrix already in motion, runes, and drawings coming to life beneath their soles.

This shouldn’t be possible! This is our spell, flowing back to the caster!

The light being emitted from this matrix was going from hues of red and purple, the shape in its middle very familiar to him—towards colors of white and light blue, the glyph and rune work transforming into one he hadn’t seen in a long time.

This shifting drawing that was manifesting in the inside of the matrix made Ash worry a lot, causing him to move quickly as he tried to shove his grand-daughter out of the matrix. “We gotta move” Ash started saying, only to be cut off by the familiar feeling of instantaneous movement that dragged the two of them along for the ride … .

THREE DAYS AGO,

EQUESTRIA, PONYVILLE, CASTLE OF FRIENDSHIP; 2:56 a.m.

This castle has plenty of unused room—the new structure still largely unexplored, however, the castle’s library was now also used as the town’s library.

If anyone were to step in, the echoes of the hoofsteps would have betrayed their entry—for the entire place was grown out of some unknown crystalline material; rugs in several places, such as the castle’s hallways and communal rooms to keep hooves warm for whoever entered this place.

Inside one of the rooms that are in actual use … we can see a familiar dragon sleeping inside his basket, snuggling his blankets as he quietly snored … a box half-emptied of its contents: several gemstones of different colors and shapes next to his bed; a photograph with a white-coated and indigo-maned unicorn with diamonds in her flank and another one with a purple unicorn—both grinning in the direction of the photographer, resting on the top of a night-stand.

In another room, we can see the shape of a unicorn, light-lavender coat, and possessing a purple mane striped with aquamarine—snoring softly. Next to her, on a nightstand is a photograph of her mentor with her and her other friends, one of them a pegasus who was embracing a mismatched creature to the backdrop of a city made of crystals. On her face, a small smile can be seen, as her body further relaxes into a pleasant dream. On the vanity, there is a photograph of her with a bespectacled unicorn with an orange coat and red mane, looking shyly at the camera with her embracing him—both smiling at the photographer, the picture resting right beside a few perfume vials.

However, when we move towards another chamber close to theirs — this one with a purple star painted on the wooden doors, we can see a furnished bedchamber, within the confines of the bed—where all the sheets are already on the ground, and Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship, Element of Magic, Heroine of the Crown … and librarian of the town, stirred restlessly in her slumber—tossing and turning without waking up.

As the observer paid attention to the smaller details, we could see that the bed sheet beneath her is wet from the sweat, and her face is scrunched in a frown—teeth biting down in stress as if she were struggling with some fierce adversary … .

Only for her eyes to suddenly open in a snap, hooves shooting out wildly, all the while with her wailing loudly—abruptly waking up, a scream still coming out of her throat—tears flowing freely from her eyes, which started darting from one corner to the other of the large room … only for her to cease screaming and attempting in vain to strangle her sobs, grasping the fallen sheets with her hooves—only for them to fall down in her vain attempts at grasping onto them without her magic.

Which is why she was surprised when the door was blasted open with magic, and a dishevelled—and still half-asleep—unicorn entered in a rush, rapidly looking around the room in search of the assailant or group of assailants.

“Princess Twilight!? What happened?” she exclaimed as she saw the state of her mentor in the ways of friendship—and a friend herself as she approached her, placing a forehoof on her shoulder as her friend shook amidst half-choked sobs.

“It’s alright … You’re fine …” she reassured Twilight nervously as her mentor just leaned on her, eyes closed and tears still streaming down her face.

A long period of silence went by, and Starlight Glimmer didn’t have any idea as to why … .

Why was her friend and mentor wracked with nightmares this entire week?

Was it her fault this was happening?

“Twilight?” Starlight asked softly at the mare leaning on her shoulder, whose only answer was her wing tightening her grip on her. “It would be best if you contact Princess Luna about this nightmares, so she can help you rest.”

After a moment’s silence, she heard her friend’s cracked voice. “… Starlight, I have asked her from the start … they have only become clearer … more horrid …”

She rose an eyebrow in surprise, only to ask “If so … why the nightmares then?”

“… I don’t know anymore.”

Starlight started to think furiously … and said softly to her friend “Twilight, if it helps … you can tell me about them—if you don’t mind, that is. Perhaps there is something we haven’t realized yet.” She sighed, and added, “maybe even invite Princess Celestia and her sister along with our friends—they might be able to shed some light into this.”

“I don’t—” Twilight sniffed, “I don’t want to be a burden.”

Starlight hugged her tighter as she said: “What kind of friends we would be if we didn’t support and help you when you’re suffering?”

This drew a sniff … and a small smile from the purple alicorn.

“… That’s a good lesson actually, Starlight.”

“I’ll keep you company until Spike wakes up, then you can send the message.”

The alicorn simply nodded as she leaned on her friend and student, eager for Celestia’s sun to finally rise.

FRIENDSHIP CASTLE, 7:30 a.m.

After several hours had passed, and both teacher and student managed to at least rest a bit, Starlight quietly supporting her mentor and friend, they were greeted by a cheerful boyish voice.

“Good morning Twilight!” The young dragon said as he passed … only to return in a split second to the room he just passed. “Starlight? Good morning to you too, but … why are you in Twilight’s room?” He gasped as he saw his adoptive mother’s state, running towards her as he asked “Twilight! Not again!?”, his heart ached to see his mother suffering and he felt sympathy for his mother, suffering from these terrible nightmares as he jumped up to hug her, which she gleefully gave back.

She nuzzled him tenderly, saying softly “I’m sorry for making you worry, Spike.”

He just stared at her for a moment … until she asked “Um … Spike? Is everything okay?”

His face scrunched into a frown, and tapped her chest as he said “We are going to send a message to Luna, Twilight! It’s not possible that she’s been letting you have those nightmares after you asked her to guard your dreams”

The alicorn sighed as she said “Yes, Spike … we were waiting for you to wake up so we could write to her and Celestia a letter.”

The young dragon’s face softened up as he asked, half-scared if the answer would be worse than what he had in mind. “Twilight? ... How much worse have the nightmares gotten?”

She started shivering, her eyes closed tightly and her lips taut and thinned in a rictus of sorrow as crystalline tears appeared and streamed down her face.

He sighed again. “Don’t worry, Twilight. I’m certain that when we talk to Princess Luna everything will be made clear …” only to add with a conspiratorial tone: “Wanna come and have pancakes for breakfast?”

After writing a very short letter, which upon completion, Spike sent to Princess Luna and Princess Celestia via his dragonfire, the three went to the kitchen—Spike being too preoccupied with making pancakes; and Twilight and Starlight both in quiet, just waiting … for the reply and for breakfast.

It went on, that they ate in quiet, waiting for the other hoof-shoe to drop.

And it did happen that as the dragon was eating his last bite he burped a letter without warning on the table, leaving the poor drake nearly choking on his last bite.

As he struggled to swallow, with Starlight trying to tap him back into shape, Twilight opened the letter and started reading … .

My dear Twilight,
What you wrote us is disconcerting, since the nightmares you have been suffering have only gotten worse since the first time you asked my sister about it … We fear there is something worse at work than just mere ill dreams.
My sister and I did suffer something similar when Tirek started to move. With that precedent in mind, we will be arriving shortly, so you can tell us all the details you have gathered so far.
Be brave, my friend. We will find out what is happening … together.
Sincerely yours,
Celestia

She sighed in relief, folding the letter neatly as she sank down upon her haunches.

“Thank goodness they are coming … Spike! I need you to go to Sugarcube Corner!”

“On it, Twilight!”

To the young princess’s embarrassment, Celestia and Luna arrived while Spike was on the way to the bakery … and to her unraveling fear, the looks upon their faces betrayed them as they spoke.

“My dear Twilight, we left just as soon as your letter arrived,” Celestia stated softly as she nuzzled her former protegé.

“My friend, I am so sorry you have been suffering … But so far I’m unable to understand.” Luna said as she hugged Twilight, only to continue “I have been keeping watch over your dreams … and so far they have been calm.”

This drew the attention of Starlight, Twilight, and Celestia, all of whom turned their undivided attention to Princess Luna.

“But … but then that means … ?” Twilight blurted, too numb to properly elaborate a question.

“We fear that what you’ve been suffering are not the product of dreams—but warnings about some future event, Twilight,” Luna answered, trying to keep her voice steady.

“My dear Twilight … What we will ask of you will not be easy, but we are your friends and we want to help you through this terrible time … .” Celestia said kindly, only to continue with a change in tone “Please remember all you can about these … terrors, and tell us all you can about them.” Her eyes hardened as she added, “Every detail is important at this point, my friend—I ask that you leave nothing out, no matter what.”

Twilight’s face paled with the request … only to answer while shivering “I—I’ll do my best …” She cleared her throat nervously, only to mutter to herself while still shivering “I can do this … I can do this …”

After taking a few more breaths, she started narrating recollecting what she could remember of the dreams assailing her … .

In a very dark cave that nearly shines out of pure blackness, I can make out several cloaked figures, many of them carrying torches—the torchlight illuminating the columns lining this cavern, the columns appear to be carved out of some mysterious dark-hued crystals, and several others wriggling figures were being dragged forcefully by this cloaked figures … these prisoners turned out, to my surprise, ponies close to me, all of them with fear expressed upon their faces, their appearance was bloodied, many of them were missing wings, or their horns were broken or torn and their legs were hamstrung.

And I am there as well—bound, gagged, my wings ripped from their shoulder sockets—a bloody mess on my fur; my horn was cut off near the root, a trickle of blood streaming down from the removed horn wound and bleeding out upon my face, I was incapable of moving on my own accord, due to the tendons they cut in my legs ... my pain was not only constant but agonizing as well.

Pain became the constant surety in my life, that and the knowledge that further cruelties awaited my fellow ponies and me.

As I see around, I can see everypony in a situation equal to mine or worse. Those vicious monsters—they even dragged the Crusaders into this evil venture.

Celestia, Luna, Cadie, Shiny, Flurry Heart … they have received the same treatment as I had, my niece wailing in pain from the ripped wings and cut off horn—Cadie, and Shiny trying in vain to comfort her.

Mom … Dad … .

Starlight, Rainbow, Rarity, Applejack … Applejack can’t do anything as she tries in vain to move her legs, already hamstrung by a damnable knife.

Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy … Spike.

Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle … Scootaloo.

But to my horror, they even have Discord, who looks upon the scenes of cruelty and gore in a dazed look of disbelief, as if the events which were taking place was impossible on several levels. Discord appeared to be trapped in a very detailed and complicated trap of glass—chock-full of magical matrices of non-pony design, he appeared to be in very deep pain upon seeing the pain and cruelty done to Fluttershy and the rest of us, trying in vain to escape—fury unmasked when looking at our sadistic captors.

There were several cloaked individuals surrounding all of us, and several more making preparations in front of our eyes as if there wasn’t a care in the world. All of them chanting, magic of an unspeakable kind charging up in the air.

I can’t understand what they are saying, but they start dragging Spike to the middle of what I can see now is a magical summoning matrix, already coming to life—the magic coming out of it feels wicked—sick, perhaps even unholy.

I can only stare in despair as they bring some glowing odd-looking cutting implement to the task, while Spike continued trying to get away, even though it was in vain.

And as he tries to blow fire at them in anger, one of the cloaked figures squirted some liquid from a bottle at his throat, making him gag out—and for Spike’s horror, when he tried blowing fire he gagged, and puked blood mixed with the liquid he had inadvertently swallowed.

I can’t look anymore, yet one of the cloaked figures force me to watch as they start doing … unspeakable things to my son with that creepy knife, all the other ponies present watching in terror as he cries out in pain—muffled by the gag they placed in his snout shortly before.

… Until his cries die out as he died before our eyes.

The matrix glows brighter as his life bleeds out of his bleeding corpse, and with a bark, they start dragging each of my friends and family, one by one into the sacrificial center.

My heart being rent asunder as I watch them—

All of them looking at me—

Each and every one silently begging for me to help them somehow—as if I might obtain victory against their murderers, in spite of the daunting odds stacked against me! That our foes would either be converted, petrified, or slain as many of the powerful foes which my friends and I had faced; and won when Equestria was in peril. Nightmare Moon, Discord, Queen Chrysalis, Sombra, Tirek, Starlight Glimmer back when she hadn't found the magic of friendship; each one powerful and capable foes whom we either purged or cleansed of the wicked influence driving them to darkness, converted, slain or banished into Tartarus.

One of these … monsters brought forth what looks like the Crystal Heart—

—Only it looks … corrupted, as if Sombra himself had successfully achieved his goals, due to its blackened color, purple fire coming out of it.

In horror I see how they managed to capture the souls of my friends and family—shining balls of fire of different colors—which are fed into that Tainted Heart a moment after.

The bodies of my friends and family lying there, cold … pale and without their cutie marks.

And as they fed the last soul into the Tainted Heart I am dragged right in the middle—

—Where I can barely make out the face of a stallion looking at me smugly from underneath his cloak, the only words I can understand in this horrifying situation.

“You are unworthy of your power … worthless witch, so I’m making it my own. I will be king as it should have always been.” He says to me while wielding the unholy dagger close to my barrel—

“This monster delighted in prolonging my pain, hissing how I had failed to save my friends and family. What good did having a brilliant mind, or being a powerful mage get me if I couldn’t even save anyone! He whispered that I was an abomination, that I never should have been born! But he gloated that I would be useful at the end of my life, that I would help make him stronger, more powerful, and that he would correct the errors of biology and the natural order!” Twilight finished, tears flowing freely—matting the fur on her face— while her voice cracked over as she sniffled, trying to keep her composure and failing.

Up to that point, Starlight didn’t know exactly the nature of the terrors assaulting her friend; and listening to such a detailed and horrifying tale … this made her fur stand on end as she approached her, hugging her as she hiccuped from the crying.

Both celestial sisters looked at one another with seriousness, before approaching the now openly crying mare and wrapping her in a wing-hug.

Celestia started saying “… Twilight. Have you shared this with the other Element Bearers? Have you told Discord about these visions?”

As she hiccuped, Twilight answered with her voice cracking up “No I haven’t—not since I thought they were nightmares.”

Luna hesitated for an instant, only to gather courage and ask her friend “Do you remember the shape of the magic matrix? Perhaps a fraction of it?”

Twilight nodded shakily, answering “It looked weird, with symbols I have never seen before … but the central drawing was particularly odd …”

Silently, both sisters waved their forehooves in an inviting motion, while Starlight only listened intently. Her eyes were looking far away, lost in thought.

“… It was something similar to a very odd letter “t” with an “x” in the middle—like some sort of ridiculous sword.”

This drew a gasp from Celestia, drawing the attention of the other ponies to her—everyone present watching in morbid fascination as Celestia’s nearly white fur had just gone even paler.

“… Celestia?” Twilight asked her former mentor, a weird feeling forming in her gut as Celestia was wordlessly muttering something—eyes unseeing, open wide in open panic—only to snap back to attention when Luna nudged her with a wing.

“Yes, Twilight?” Celestia asked, a gentle smile plastered on her face, and yet still pale from that particular detail, acting as if she hadn’t entered into a panic.

“… Do you know that symbol?” The young princess asked her, eyes full of hope at finally knowing an answer to her troubles.

“I … I think you need to know, my friend.” Celestia started up carefully. “I witnessed the raw power of the one bearing that symbol … A master of dark magic, to the point where reality conformed to his will.”

“Dark magic?! Like King Sombra!?”

“No, Twilight … Sombra was nothing but a parlor trickster when compared to him.”

Twilight, Starlight, and Luna stared at her slack-jawed at her description of him.

Starlight started to shiver from the reaction that Princess Celestia had regarding that sigil … swallowing hard, she felt her body’s temperature drop, despite her body sweating, her eyes darted from Princess Celestia to Princess Luna, before settling on Twilight, and quickly shifting back to Princess Celestia. She nervously rubbed one forehoof over the lower leg of her other forehoof and shivered from what she was now learning about this adept in dark magic.

Her acting, though, went unnoticed ... as everypony present was staring at the solar diarch with rapt attention as she spoke out to them. “He literally is Dark Magic inside a physical form—and he calls himself The Warden of the Dark, and his command of dark magic is unlike anything I have ever seen.”

She waited for any question, but found that the ponies listening were too invested to bother asking questions; with that thought, she continued.

“He can take any shape—even though he favors a bipedal form, can materialize both armor and weapons crafted from eldritch materials out of thin air, and I’m afraid he’s far stronger than all four princesses’ magic and strength combined.” This brought a gasp from them as she said, despair slowly crawling into her voice. “I used to blame him for Luna’s corruption, but I have been corrected since the appearance of Nightmare Rarity and the discovery of the Nightmare Force.”

Her eyes glazed over, face momentarily showing her age, as she continued her story.

“I was unable to capture him, much less seal him … I’m afraid that in his hate against us he’s made a secret cult to take vengeance upon us ponies. Oh, and one last thing … and this is the most important one.”

She turned to meet everyone present, and after a moment’s silence, she added, “The first time we met him in our land, he was looking for someone that matched this description: a long creature, with mismatched antlers, part goat, part pony, part dragon and several mismatched limbs … he called him Galeas.”

Everyone present just turned their heads to one another, trying to grasp this surprising nugget of knowledge, as Luna kept her eyes flinty at the mention of the Warden’s involvement in this potential mess.

The one common thought in all of them was the unspoken question: This description matched somepony else they knew … but he called himself Discord. Could it be there was another draconequus around?

With this and several thoughts in mind, Twilight had enough presence of mind to reply “We can channel the power of the Elements of Harmony, the mightiest magical strength in the whole of Equus … through the Rainbow Power. Is he that powerful that he can overpower the Elements of Harmony?”

Somberly, Celestia replied to her with little emotion in her voice “Perhaps the power you and your friends have is a danger, and so he wants it out of the way—maybe there’s hope yet!” Celestia rose from her slump with a start, a smile starting to form in her face.

“Sister?” Luna inquired, not certain what Celestia was getting at.

“Gather your friends, Twilight … We are going to create a spell to procure a solution to this problem!” Celestia said with genuine relief.

PONYVILLE, CASTLE OF FRIENDSHIP; 10:34 p.m.
THE SAME DAY.

‘Things are going poorly,’ thought Twilight Sparkle as she saw the dishevelled state of both her mentor and her sister, scrolls full of writing crumpled upon the ground, discussing the procedure of how to use the link she and her friends had to the Tree of Harmony, while her friends were trying their best not to interrupt their discussion, all of them with tired looks on their faces.

She herself wasn’t faring any better if she was to judge her appearance by the state of her mane and fur, especially matted from her tears and bags under her eyes when she had to recount the horrors to her friends.

It warmed her heart though, how everypony jumped to hug her as she finished the horrible tale … but even so, she feared for them all.

And of them, Spike and Discord were especially worried.

‘I cannot blame them.’ She thought somberly. ‘So far Spike, despite his growth rate is a dragon, and common materials presented little threat to the drake. The dragon-breath nullifying potion is worth investigating … . I should ask Zecora and Dragon Lord Ember if they know anything that could block dragon breath and cause internal hemorrhaging.’

‘Discord … seemed unusually quiet—that in itself was worrying—but I think it went deeper than that … ’

‘I have a suspicion he also recognized the symbol if judging by the way he flinched when I diagrammed the symbol’s appearance is any indication.’

‘I am certain, however—since I have never seen him nearly going into tears ever since Tirek … and my recount’—especially the way those monsters in the shape of ponies used him as fuel—’seemed to have a serious impact in the otherwise unflappable and irreverent draconequus.’

‘The idea is simple—to call forth a guardian to counter this unexpected force of evil that is agglomerating as we speak.’ At this point, she sighed from sheer exhaustion. The execution, on the other hand …’

‘Our original plan at this point has this steps: We take advantage of our link to the Elements of Harmony as its avatar and our link to the Crystal Friendship Castle and its Map, and through it to the Tree of Harmony itself.’

‘But … we’ve hit a serious snag. It concerns me about both the power required to cast the spell and the vagueness of the spell’s programming matrix.’

“Sister, we have been at this for hours! The intricacy of this spell alone makes it impractical, and let’s not even dwell on the magic required, to even have a chance to make this work, even if all of us Alicorns are present!” Luna stated, mane frazzled, to her tired sister, who was looking both numb and dazed, from their wasted effort.

This comment shook Twilight’s attention back to her surroundings, to focus on Celestia herself, who shook her head as if it would clear her mind … from the cobwebs formed due to the strain. “Yes, it is true … Perhaps we should try tomorrow to brainstorm the elaboration of this spell …”

Turning to meet her dear friend and former student, she said with a sad smile “I guess we better get our rest for tomorrow … and thanks for your help, my dear friend.”

“Of course! How would I miss the chance to make a brand-new spell with the two of you to summon a helpful hoof to assist us?” Twilight tried to answer with some cheer despite her sorry physical state, only to ask much more nervously to her elders, then to her friends, “Celestia, Luna? Everypony? Would you like to spend the night here? I wouldn’t mind at all to have you here for the night.”

“Ah’m sure we’ll find an answer tomorrow, Twi … but I must get back home—I’m dog-gone tired, and everypony’s waiting for me,” Applejack reassured Twilight as she approached her friend, giving her a hug then looking at her in the eyes. “Twiligh’ … Ah'm sure we’ll get to the bottom of this.”

Twilight just smiled as all her friends said goodnight … and started to shiver at the prospect of suffering another terrifyingly horrible nightmare like the one she had last night—

“Twilight … would you mind if we stayed at your quarters keeping you company?” asked Luna with a serene-looking Celestia looking at her former student in expectation.

Her grin and squee was answer enough.

Later that night … inside Twilight’s chamber … .

Twilight was on her bed, flanked by Celestia and Luna, each of whom had one wing over her like a cover.

“Don’t worry, my friend. We will be here for you … now rest.” Luna said while starting up her dream-walking spell.

“I will join you soon enough, Twilight … . Are Spike and Starlight in their chambers?” Celestia inquired to her sister, whom simply nodded. “Alright … then let us rest, the wards will do the rest.”

With this said, her eyelids started to flutter, breathing becoming slow … rhythmic … restful.

Once the two sisters saw that she was in deep slumber, Luna turned her face to her sister.

“Celly, we must talk about the Warden of the Dark … and how you came to know so much about him after our … banishment.”

Celestia simply nodded, her tiredness showing off as she started speaking … .

“And also, how are the … preparations coming along?”

Celestia’s muzzle lost its practiced smile, dropping her head over the cushion with a sigh, eyes watering as she felt herself sag due to the stress.

At the same time the two sisters were talking, their young friend was elsewhere … far from the waking world.

‘Where am I?’ Thought Twilight Sparkle as she found herself in a room that resembled very closely a geode—colors glittering, transmitting light and various hues from one place to another, her reflection showing off in several facets of the growing crystals.

‘At least it isn’t the nightmare I have been having this past week.’ She reflected as she started moving softly on the carpet laid upon the floor—‘Wait, why’s there a carpet here?!’

With an interest in not finding out if the owner of the place was unfriendly, she started to move faster through the corridors, trying to find an exit to the place … .

‘This place looks familiar … where have I seen this layout before?’

As if directed by an outside force, she started moving in a particular direction … and her face scrunched up in confusion as she saw the doors to her bedroom right in front of her.

“Am I inside my home?” she asked herself, only to shake her head in confusion as she saw light and movement inside the chamber.

Using her forehoof, she gently opened the door and peeked inside—where she found a very nice-looking unicorn mare sitting next to a book, waiting for her to come inside.

Her memories immediately summoned the image of Fleur de Lis, a friend of Rarity through Fancy Pants. This mare, though—looked even more stylized, feminine. And yet—

This mare had a coat of a very light shade of coral, her mane contrasting with her coat with some aqua-like color and effect—the aquamarine hue of her mane became lighter in the parts exposed to light, and darkened the less light illuminated her tresses, like water from the sea in some of the paintings she has seen in her youth at the Canterlot Royal Museum of the Arts.

Eyes shining brightly with life, lavender irises greeting her silently.

Her cutie-mark, on the other hand … .

‘Why can’t I see her cutie mark?’

This mare that was waiting for her to enter, waved with her forehoof towards her in an inviting motion, along with moving her head towards herself.

Her gentle smile and very intelligent eyes shone gently in the crystalline room, as Twilight started to move closer in a very slow fashion.

As she got within range, the stranger quickly rose and went to her—hugging her tightly, nuzzling her affectionately afterward without saying anything as if she was an old friend. This pole-axed Twilight, who awkwardly returned the hug to this unicorn mare, only to hear the sound of a hoof patting a pillow close by.

Following her host’s example, she lowered onto the pillow—where she saw the cover of the book that her host was reading.

It involved the same symbol as that horrible spell.

As she started to rise while hyperventilating, Twilight felt a hoof on her shoulder—where she saw the serene face of the strange mare making motions with the other hoof in a placating notion.

The book floated towards them, whereupon the dream-mare shot it with a blast of magic, turning it into a really complex spell matrix … one that the young alicorn realized she could actually understand!

She was surprised when her friend took the floating matrix into her magic field and tapped her shoulder, raising herself and leaving through the door … where she stopped and turned to look back at her with an eyebrow raised and a grin.

Lifting herself precipitously, Twilight went to join her as she started trotting towards a particular destination.

As Twilight immediately recognized the throne room where the Cutie Map resided, the dream-mare made the motion of placing the matrix on top of it, where it disappeared.

“What? Couldn’t I keep it?” Twilight asked in disbelief, as her host simply smiled and the matrix appeared once more—only this time she transformed it back into the spellbook from earlier and handed it to her with a gentle and inviting motion.

Blushing profusely, Twilight smiled at her. “Thank you” the mare added before embracing the book to appease her voracious bibliophilic appetite.

The dream-pony simply gestured to the seats close by, a smile making her face shine in pleasure from the excitement of the purple alicorn, who sat down and started to read the book with ferocity … .

“Celly … I can’t access her dreamscape.” Luna commented to her sister, who was paying close attention to her student by now, who seemed relaxed and muttered incoherent words from time to time.

“At least she’s not suffering as she did during this past week, Lulu,” Celestia replied to her with a warm smile. “Let us discover what Twilight dreamed when morning comes, shall we?”

Luna just nodded with a faint smile as they made preparations for the morning to come.

FRIENDSHIP CASTLE, PONYVILLE. 5:30 a.m.

THE SECOND DAY.

What the two princesses did not expect was the sudden awakening of their friend, who opened her eyes with a snap and a smile on her face.

“I have an idea! Time’s a-wasting'! Let’s go!” Twilight chirped cheerfully as she scrambled from the bed in a rush, grabbing a quill, a bottle of ink, and several sheaves of parchment from their stand with her magic, running towards the corridor.

Shocked at the unusual behavior—that and the oddness of Twilight Sparkle not even saying good morning to either of them—they rose and followed their young companion with a brisk trot, noticing her change in behavior as they made their way to the library room.

“Oh my, you’ve certainly woken up cheerier than yesterday,” Celestia inquired politely as they moved towards the table.

“Oh yes, Princess—I mean Celestia. I had a dream with a very interesting spell—one I’ll write down while it's still fresh, and we’ll review it together!”

Unbeknownst to the purple alicorn, Celestia rose an eyebrow to her sister, which was answered with a quiet nod.

“We will keep you company in quiet so that your efforts are not in vain,” Luna stated with firm resolve as she went to a bookshelf and retrieved a couple of books, handing one over to her sister as they sat to read—or more like pretending to read while they listened to Twilight mutter to herself as she wrote down her impressions with celerity.

Two hours went by, as Twilight Sparkle went through the details of what she had put on paper, while her former mentor and her sister watched her discreetly—until she cried in joy “I’m done!” before rushing her sheaf of papers towards her fellow princesses.

As they examined it together, with Twilight pointing to any doubts they had or asking questions about certain properties and values … Celestia finally said to Twilight: “Let’s see … from the way I understand it, this spell is like a filter for a more complex interaction with another spell—judging by its interweavings, I must suspect a tracking spell of some kind.”

Celestia started muttering quietly to herself, as she reviewed the sheaf of notes, scribblings, drawings and arcane symbols that littered the pages … only for her smile to turn more wanly. “It is very complex, and yet … quite delicate, like a lattice of jewelry. How do you intend to use it, my faithful student?”

“Oh! According to my dream, this should interact flawlessly with the Cutie Map! However … I still don’t understand how is this spell supposed to help me.” Twilight said, eyebrows frowning in concentration. “What do you think, though? Is it worth trying?” Her eyes opened and turned to her former mentor, and asked with uncertainty: “Princess?”

Twilight noticed how the two sisters exchanged glances, and Luna inquired with some delicacy: “My friend, would you share with us your dream? We—I mean I couldn’t enter it last night.”

Twilight’s eyebrows shot upwards, wings flaring involuntarily as she squeaked “You couldn’t enter!? How!?”

To her surprise, both Celestia and Luna made placating motions with their forehooves as Luna asked back “Please, don’t fret. You had a good night’s rest. If anything, that dream managed to help you in your repose.”

“But right now, we are dealing with a strange spell that interacts with perhaps one of the most important magical artifacts of Equestria, one which is linked to the Tree of Harmony itself.” Luna’s face turned grim as she asked again, much more curtly this time: “Will you share your dream with us?”

Taken aback, the young princess nodded at once; and started telling what she remembered of the dream … .

An hour went by, in the blink of an eye, as Twilight described what she had seen inside her dream, all concerning both the mare in her dream and her knowledge of magic.

“… and that’s how I learned this spell.” Twilight finished her telling, only for her ears to fold back, voice quivering as she asked: “did I do right in receiving that present?”

The two princesses looked at each other awkwardly—until Celestia stated “There are events unfolding, my dear friend … we’d be remiss to not try at least, though whether this assistance is a blessing or curse, I do not know.” At this point, she smiled weakly. “But what matters most is what you believe, Twilight. Do you trust the pony who taught you this spell, or is this a trap designed to harm, discourage, or otherwise destroy us? No matter your choice, we will support you. Just remember …” She sighed, remembering a bad time of her life, when she disregarded a warning in the middle of a wedding, “Trust your instincts.”

Twilight scrunched her muzzle in deep thought, trotting from one place to another in a circular circuit … .

After what felt like an eternity to the two royal sisters, their young friend cleared her throat to draw their attention.

“Let’s try it … so far we have seen nothing dangerous from this odd spell. Perhaps we’re being helped … ?”

Celestia and Luna looked at one another, nodding in understanding.

“Very well, Twilight. Let us cast the spell—!” Luna started, only to be interrupted by Twilight.

“Uh … Luna? I think it best if I do it on my own … familiarity with the spell and such. But just in case … can you stay with me?” She turned to Celestia, and added “You too? I hope that this spell doesn’t do anything bad, but I would feel far more comfortable if you and Princess Luna were present, should something bad actually happen.’” Celestia simply nodded in understanding, a neutral face as the three princesses went to the Cutie Map.

‘I have the nagging suspicion that the spell will only work if it comes from me … .’ Twilight mused to herself as they walked in silence.

They stood before the Cutie Map table, two Equestrian princesses waiting for Twilight to cast her spell.

‘Well, here goes nothing.’ Twilight thought as she started weaving the spell matrix over the table, where it started to physically take shape.

As she focused on her work, she heard two gasps from behind her—which drew her tension to an all-new high, since in the middle of the matrix the sword-like shape was being formed, and overimposed on it a stylized drawing of the Tree of Harmony—making it look like a sword-like shape with the Tree itself as the handle and melding to become part of the blade.

‘Why is this spell taking on a symbolic shape? I’ve never seen anything like this before!’

The matrix increased in complexity, the arcane symbols, equations, and links interweaving as her strength started to feel sapped due to the effort.

‘Almost there … .’ Twilight thought to herself as she scrunched up in the effort, her horn flaring repeatedly as she finished the details of the spell, which by now showed up as a very complex drawing in mid-air—just like the dream.

As she finished the last detail, her magic snapped shut—startling her and causing the visualized spell to fall on the Map, where it started to meld with it.

The table stood still as if nothing had happened a moment ago.

“… Mayhaps it required more power?” Luna inquired politely, only for a flash of light to cause her to rear back in surprise, while her sister and friend covered their eyes with their wings, as the table flashed repeatedly.

The blinding light stopped as suddenly as it appeared … only for the Map’s magical display to start acting up in a bizarre manner.

Cautiously getting closer, the three princesses watched the scene unfold before their very eyes:

Several cutie-marks started to light up in the map, some as far away as the Crystal Empire, though most of them were located in Ponyville, the three ponies watching as some mysterious force drew the bearers of the cutie marks towards the castle, as if gathering them to the same place.

Twilight heard some sudden breath intakes as she felt the pulsation of her cutie mark answering the call on the Map, and as she turned she saw that her fellow princesses’ marks were also pulsating.

A buzzing sound turned her attention to the map, where some icons that she had never seen before started to appear along with several cutie marks that she recognized.

Her friends' cutie marks, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Cadance, Shiny, her parent’s marks, Sunburst … Flash Sentry? A purple sphere with green fire? A mismatched orb? A wing and horn next to Cadance, Shiny, and Sunburst?

All of them were inexorably being called to the castle—the icons of the cutie marks outside Ponyville were being shown gathering in the castle, then moving together into … .

‘No.’

‘No, it can’t be.’

‘Why is the map gathering them all together, only to move towards the Castle of the Two Sisters?’

‘What is the meaning of this gathering? Weren’t all of them in danger?’

Her answer came shortly, as a very familiar symbol appeared at their destination: A crystal tree with six different gemstones on its branches, and all of the cutie marks gathered close to it.

The motions repeated themselves, as if in a loop.

Celestia said aloud what the other two were reflecting in deep thought.

“Uh. So that’s why it was a tracking spell.” She then grabbed a scroll, quill, and ink, writing a quick message that she sent to its intended recipient—only to repeat the action with other parchments a few more times.

“Twilight? I think it best if we were to get ready to receive visitors here.” Celestia suggested as her former student just stared wide-eyed at the map’s repeating holographic display.

As Twilight nodded and moved to prepare the castle’s guest rooms for the guests she was now expecting, Celestia muttered quietly, “After all … there is a storm coming.”

Tears started to fall as she said quietly, unconcerned with her sister’s presence “And I couldn’t do anything to stop it from happening.” Eyes closed, she whispered, “I’m so sorry, my friend.”

FRIENDSHIP CASTLE, PONYVILLE. 8:30 p.m.

THE SAME DAY.

‘To say that the ambiance was full of tension was like stating that Discord was slightly random. Why, you ask? Most of us knew at this point that the Map’s behavior had a deep relation with that nightmare-turned-warning issue which I had been suffering from, and those that didn’t know anything yet would soon know why they were summoned. Unfortunately, Discord was missing, but we knew he would appear to aid us at the proper time.’

‘I am so not looking forward to telling my nightmarish vision to my parents, and Shiny and Caddy … .’

‘The same could also be said about me telling Flash Sentry about this … I really, really don’t want to.’

‘Thankfully, all our attention was drawn towards Princess Celestia, who cleared her throat before starting.’

‘Thank you, Princess.’ I whispered within my mind, as I was surrounded by friends and family.

“Welcome everypony, and thank for coming in such short notice—there’s a situation developing that all of you need to be informed of,” She announced in a loud and clear voice.

“Before the incident with Tirek, both I and my sister suffered from visions of the consequences of his freedom, and sought to remedy that … with sad results at that time.”

“However, we are more concerned with some … developments that are occurring outside our scope of influence—events that involve all of us present.” After seeing that everyone present was paying attention to her, she continued.

“We are under the threat of a new adversary … one whom I never thought I’d live to see again. And it is our belief that he fears the power of the Element Bearers here present, as well as the rulers of the Crystal Empire.” At this point, I realized that she was looking at me—sadness in her eyes—before going on further.

“And yet there’s hope, for it is our belief that the one that provided us with the visions of Tirek, as well as others in the long past is aiding us in our time of need.” She waited for the expected interruption, only to receive none, whereupon she continued.

“This adversary seems intent in slaying all of us present for his own purposes, and we will not allow him to succeed! That’s why we’re all here!” She opened her wings, making a swiping motion with her forehoof as she finished, “We believe that by tomorrow morning, we will be in the position to change the visions of death and defeat at the hooves of this monster into a future of hope, peace, harmony, and friendship!”

I felt myself smile warmly at her encouraging speech.

‘After all … hope is what I need most right now.’

“Between the four of us, and with the aid of everypony present, we will seek to summon a hero to aid us to turn this tide of evil back to whence it came!” Celestia finished with a decisive stomp of her raised hoof over the crystal floor.

After a moment of awkward silence, Sunburst asked “Summon a hero? Aren’t you all … like … very powerful both individually and as a team?”

This time, it was Luna who answered.

“Yes, if this were a normal foe … we could fight him together.” At this, she turned to her sister. “Sister, while I only saw him once … you fought him and lived. Would you tell everypony here what kind of adversary we’re facing, an adversary which compels us to summon the help of an outsider to counter him?”

‘Fought him … and lived? Wasn’t it more in the lines of ‘Banished,’ ‘Imprisoned,’ or ‘Sealed in Tartarus,’ with her emerging from the fight victorious?’

As I turned to see her, I could see how she was visibly shivering, ears splayed backward, sweat matting her fur as she seemed to be whispering to herself “I can do it … I can speak about him …”

‘Oh sweet Equus, if his existence is causing her such stress … .’

Nodding to herself, as if affirming her resolve, Celestia started narrating … .

Author's Note

Welcome to the first release of what I believe will be a sixteen-chapter story, of which my goal is to stick to a limit of words about nine thousand, with a little more or less if needed be.

It is an exercise to grease the wheels of my mind, while providing a good story to the best of my ability.

I thank you, dear reader, for giving this story a chance, and I hope to see your comments and feedback concerning the choices in narrative, fidelity to characterization from the characters, plus the way it was handled overall.

May I see you next time, in the next release.

This release was edited by AuthorGenesis, be sure to check on his work too!

Addendum 8/10/2018: Passed it through another time with Grammarly, and used the quote button for formatting purposes.