Senseless Writings

The three lost ponies were each standing in front of an area of darkness. It was similar to a barrier but had a loose form as it shifted around like smoke and didn't actually block them from entering. Once they entered the area they were to face a trial in order to reach the crystal inside. The only hope they now have is to destroy the crystals to break free from the strange world they were trapped in.

Ace was standing in front of the darkness, reluctant to go in. He himself was a bit of a coward at most times, but could push himself for his friends. After mustering up some strength he forced his way into the darkness in the hope it would be a simple trial that he could just fly through.

Darkness. At first it was just an endless sea of darkness that one would easily get lost in. Perhaps because it was simply darkness and not the timeless void, it was not as scary as he thought it would be. Before he knew what was happening however the smoke swirled around through the air and soon color became visible. Not just color, but objects came to life as a magnificent city was being created around him. Homes that looked like the rich lived in dotted the landscape along with beautiful yet no doubt expensive scenery and even a royal castle.

It was like a dream come true, and that is what scared him the most. This world before him was one that he had always dreamed of living in one day. It was no doubt one of his deepest desires laid out right before him. The city itself was empty, but he could feel it just from the landscape itself. To him it was as if his heart itself was just poured out into his surroundings.

Confused and still scared, Ace was surprised by some steps in the distance. As he turned to look at who was coming, he then became even more confused and scared then he was before. The one before him was unmistakable with his light green body and dark green hair. It was without a doubt himself. He was notably different however in the fact darkness filled his eye and gave him a dark aura.

"What? Myself? I don't...What?"

"Why are you so surprised?" The dark Ace asked with an unsettling tone in his voice.

"Is this not what you have always dreamed of? To live a relaxing life in luxury and beauty?"

"It is, but I can't stay. I need to get to the crystal so we can all get back to the real world."

"But can you really trust them?"

"They are my friends. I trust them just as they trust me."

"You could use that couldn't you? Having their trust, you can use it to your advantage if it ever starts looking bad for you."

"You mean sell them out? I don't plan on betraying my friends."

"But how long will they remain your friends? The trust they have in you is already thin as it is. Should you really continue to trust them when they can't even trust you?"

"Even if it is small, I won't betray their trust."

"Even if it would mean obtaining this? If betraying a small amount of trust is all it takes to fulfill your dreams, why not take it?"

"I may be greedy, but even I value my pride in my trust."

"Such delusions are only holding you back. All of your dreams can be obtained at such a small cost, yet you simply throw it away for pride."

"I understand it now. So this is what the trial is. As expected from darkness. You try to worm your way into our hearts to destroy us from inside."

"I only speak the truth. Will you really continue to blind yourself with such delusions of pride? Is this not only what your heart truly wants?"

"My heart might want it, but not at costs like that. I will obtain my future with my own shortcuts, not petty ones like this."

Ace became clear in his standing, and before he knew it the world had once again started to fade as it reverted into the dark smoke it was before. Soon after the smoke began to clear as a light started to shine through the darkness. When the darkness was gone he was back in the crystal world, but with a shining crystal floating before him. It was not like the other crystals and shined a bright light as its power seeped into his heart.

(This is the crystal holding this world together? But it just doesn't seem right. The light in this crystal feels almost holy. How can I destroy something with such a pure feeling? I...don't have a choice. It's for my friends, so we may escape this world of darkness.)

Thunder was standing in front of the darkness in front of him with a bright light shining from his eyes. This was his duty he owed to get him and his friends out of this world of crystals and darkness. He prepared himself for any kind of fight that may have awaited him from inside. No matter what the trial was, he would be determined to pass it without backing down once. Would his strength and passion save him from this trial though?

As he submerged into the black smoke all he could see was darkness. He held no fear for it however, although he may have held some fear for the kind of timeless darkness the void had showed him once before. He was prepared for any kind of challenge that this darkness would throw to try and stop him from reaching the crystal.

The darkness began to swirl and form around him as a world was being created before his very eyes. This was not any normal kind of world; it was a place he recognized in a way. A large doorway to a magnificent castle stood before him as the land nearby reached its ends. Mist began to fill the area a bit and if he was to go to any of those ends he would likely be greeted with the sight of clouds below him.

"Isn't this the Castle of Legends?"

The Castle of Legends was a magnificent castle that settled on a floating island high in the sky. It originally comes from the book "The Quest for Truth" where the main hero battled inside it's halls against many of Equestria's legends. A place like this Thunder could only ever dream of visiting if it truly existed. It almost got his hopes up as to what he would be fighting for this trial.

As he entered the castle and made his way down the large hallway he could feel his challenge would be in the main room which held a giant sphere of energy in the center of the roof. From the story this sphere was what brought the souls of the legends and bound them to the castle. When he reached this room, he was a bit stumped at what he saw.

"It's...me?"

"Not what you were expecting? Well this is the Castle of Legends after all." The dark Thunder had stated with a rather unsettling tone.

"I was hoping for something closer to a battle against a legend."

"Of course, you simply want to become a legend right?"

"In a way I suppose, but I have a feeling we are talking about different things."

"There is nothing different about it. You simply have to use your power to become a legend!"

"Then I will have faith and bring my friends back so I can do just that."

"But with such great power you don't really need them do you? You can easily obtain the goal of legend with your power alone. In fact, isn't it their fault you are stuck here in the first place? If you simply went alone, you never would have been stuck in this mess."

"Maybe so, but if I don't have allies to rely on, my weaknesses will drag me down as well."

"You have more than enough power to overcome your weaknesses. Having them will also stop you from the trials that will make you a legend. Remember how just recently Winter had knocked you out to avoid a fight? That fight could have made you a legend. [Thunder, destroyed the changeling army and its queen.] Is a nice story for a legend isn't it?"

"Others would have been hurt as well. My rage boils to fast at times and I need her to set me straight."

"You don't really need something like that. Others get hurt? Why should you care if it means you can finally become a legend."

"I don't need shortcuts like that to become a legend. I will become the kind of legend I want even if it is taking the long way. I won't let something like you poison my heart."

With his heart set and his decision unchanged the world around him began to fade and over time the black smoke began to disappear as well. The sphere of energy in the ceiling fell as it's light turned into a pure white beam that formed into a crystal. Its brilliant light reached his very soul as he stared at it in awe.

"This is what I have to destroy? It doesn't feel right, but I must save my friends."

Winter was standing in front of the darkness that was supposedly guarding the crystal. She was worried about what kind of trial was inside, but figured with her casual pace and rational thinking she would be able to find a simple solution. She gathered her strength and was ready to take on whatever challenges awaited her.

As she stepped into the dark smoke she could only see darkness. It didn't really remind her of the void however but was still enough to make her worry of what kind of trial would lurk inside it. Soon a world started to form around her as color and objects filled her view. Soon a familiar maze of metal was ready to greet her.

Clockworks rang through the distance and machines whose functions have been long forgotten created this city of metal. The inside of the Thunder Towers were truly amazing and frightening at the same time. Its power is no longer measurable since its owners passing, but still left a sense that they were made for something on a great scale.

"Such a familiar place I've wound up in. Am I supposed to fight another changeling?"

Winter almost couldn't hear the steps with the clockworks ringing about, but once she focused her hearing on it she could only think of one pony with a pace such as this. With a bit of a confused mind she turned to see exactly what she expected right in front of her.

"Well this isn't what I expected."

"Plenty of unexpected things happen in your life. Or maybe you secretly planned going on a grand adventure when you grew up?"

"That's one dark aura you got on you. Even your eyes are filled with darkness."

"Does it really make me any different from you? Our hearts are actually the same."

"I somehow doubt that with the way you talk and imply things. I don't have time to talk with myself anyway. I need to find the crystal."

"Yes, you need to find that crystal in order to escape and continue your journey correct?"

"Exactly. I don't plan to stick around in this strange world. I just want to get this over with so I can go home."

"So you lie to not only your friends but yourself?"

"I don't remember lying to my friends let alone myself."

"Then why haven't you told them the truth about the towers?"

"...it's useless for us at this current point. We don't really need it yet anyway."

"Yet another lie slipping from your mouth. You even lie to yourself about your own goals."

"My goal is to get this adventure over with so I can go home."

"If that was the case then why are we standing in this tower? Even you can tell this is what your heart really desires."

"What use would I have for a tower I can't even use?"

"It's not what you can use you want, it what you don't know. You have heard plenty of stories about your grandfather yet you could always tell half of them were spun with a web of lies simply to cover up the truth. It's always been about the truth, the truth behind these towers and his story."

"I might be curious about the truth but I doubt it's something I would go so far out of my way for."

"No...of course it isn't. That's why you lie to them, to use them. You knew from the start Thunder would want to adventure towards the towers one day. So you waited, and fed the silly idea slowly until he became determined."

"I would never manipulate my friends like that."

"Yet the first map you took from your house was the one marking the locations of the Thunder Towers. You knew he was planning on dragging you to them."

"I might have known he thought of it, and would be happy I got a benefit from the adventure, but I would have gone with him even if it wasn't to the Thunder Towers."

"Yet another lie? You would have gone with him anyway only because you knew it would eventually lead into the towers. Even now you deny you are still manipulating them even though you plan to go further then they wanted. Your true goal after all is the outlands right? There is little truth to be found in the towers in Equestria. You simply plan to feed them the idea that the towers in the outlands are important, so you can go and look for your truth."

"I wouldn't manipulate them to do something so dangerous. I know the truth lies in the outlands, but I would never fool them into thinking we had to go into them."

"You hide so many secrets, yet claim the purest of intentions. You seek the truth yet you do so by spinning your own lies. What will you do when you find the truth? How many more lies do you plan to spin in order to find it?"

"I already told you that I don't have any plans to manipulate them. I don't need to listen to you, I already know what I want."

Winter closed off her heart and would no longer listen to what the darkness had to say. Soon the world around her crumbled as it reverted back into the black smoke it original was. As the scene was nearly destroyed, the dark Winter left only a few worlds for the frightened Winter.

"The seeds of doubt have already been planted. All they need is time to sprout."

The world of darkness had disappeared and the crystal Winter was looking for was now in front of her shining a bright and holy light. The crystal world was soon to meet its end and bring them back into their world. All Winter had to do was destroy the crystal and have hope in her friends.

"What an annoying looking crystal. It makes me feel wrong just standing in front of it."

The final words she had heard from her dark self still echoed both in her head, and even more so in her heart. She had no time for it now though, she had to destroy the crystal and save them all from being stranded in such a horrible world filled with darkness. As she destroyed the crystal, she had only one fear left, and that was because to go back they likely had to cross the void again, leaving another scar from the already traumatized experience.

The spirit of darkness that used to be a king stood high on top of his palace of crystals. He saw as the darkness faded and the light from the newly exposed crystals dimmed out. The world was going to collapse soon and would send them all back into their world. His plans after so long were finally in motion.

"Finally, after so long this prison will be destroyed and I will be free. Nothing, I won't let anything stop me from claiming the world that was supposed to be mine. Finally I will be able to spread darkness once more.

Once the others had left on their paths to darkness the king had taken out a crown that was hidden away in the castle. The crown was made of a strange metal but contained crystal just like the one formed in this world, the same kind that was mined up back in the crystal caves. These crystals however glowed brightly with the magic that was enchanted into them.

"The day has come, and my rein will continue."