Prologue - An everfree beginning
Death was not as painful as I imagined. As soon as I closed my eyes I felt the world shift around me. The noise of the machines was replaced with the chirping of birds and the harsh white light of the hospital was replaced with the warm light of the sun caressing my body.
As I opened my eyes the first thing I saw was the blue sky. Clouds were lazily drifting by and the sun was at its zenith. It was a wonderful day and it was then that I finally realized that I had died.
„What!? How is that even possible? Shouldn’t I be in heaven by now or something? Or is there no heaven and when we die we go to another world? Oh god! This sounds just like a fanfiction about reincarnation.“
In my panic I tried to stand up only to lose my balance and fall on my stomach. I tried to use my arms to get back up and it was then that I realized, that I had no hands, that I was encased in black chitin and that I had holes in my appendages. I was a changeling! That was when the panic really set in.
„Oh God! No! No! No! Nonononononon!!! This can’t be happening! I should be in the afterlife by now and not get thrown into equestria as a changeling! Why?! Oh god! Why?!“
After that panic attack I still needed a long time to calm down and to start thinking rationally again.
„Ok. Now that I have calmed down I should think of a plan. First I should see how I look. Then I should learn how to shapeshift. And lastly I should find out when in the series I am.“
With that Plan in mind I started looking myself over. I looked like a normal changeling. I had black chitin, green fins, sharp front teeth and a crooked horn.
Then I started to look around me. It seemed like I had landed in a clearing. The most cliche starting place in the fandom. And wouldn’t you know it, there was a pond there.
So I went over to the pond and looked into it. And surprise, surprise, a normal changeling looked back at me. I am actually glad that I wasn’t turned into a reformed changeling. The design for them is to colorful for my taste.
Now I had to learn how to shapeshift. So I decided to first try to use willpower and visualization as they are the most used methods for casting magic in the fanfictions that I read when I was still alive.
So I closed my eyes, imagined the form I would take and willed myself to turn into her. Suddenly I heard the telltale wosh of a changeling transforming and when I opened my eyes I saw Zecora staring back at me from the pond. I had the details down. From her cutie mark to her stripes. But I still needed to say something to see if I also got her voice.
„So it is true. To change your form you need will and fortitude.“ I said to myself in Zecoras voice.
Now I just had to find out how to turn back. So I decided to use the same method in reverse.
And with a wosh I was me again. Now that I could blend into the population it was time to find out when in the show I was. The easiest method to find this out was to look at the moon.
And so I decided to look around while I waited for the night.
I decided to head into a random direction and started walking. I was actually surprised how easy walking came to me. I thought, that walking as an equine would be much more difficult.
As I walked through the forest I decided to observe the flora and fauna in here. I saw many bushes and even some mint. It was then, that I saw a patch of blue flowers in a clearing.
They broke the monotony of green in the forest. That is why I decided to observe them more closely and just as I was about to step into them it hit me.
These were poison joke flowers! That meant that I was in the everfree forest! One of the most dangerous places in equestria and also the home for the castle of the two sisters. If I could find it I would know for sure when I am. But how could I find it? Just then I heared the chirping of birds and it reminded me of the fact, that I could fly now.
So I tried to buzz my wings and low and behold I slowly rose from the ground. Of course I was to scared to try to really fly and tried to move as little as possible while I ascended.
After a while I managed to hover above the treetops and saw the ruins of equestrias old capital in the east and Canterlot in the north. If I remembered Equestrias map right I should be in the middle of the everfree and west of me should be ghastly gorge. Not that I could check that out since I didn’t know how to turn around.
As soon as I was back on the ground I headed towards the ruins. I should see if the elements were still there and then I should head towards the library. As far as I knew the library was my best shot at gaining knowledge about magic and other probably by now classified themes.
It took a while, but eventually I arrived at the ruins. They were huge and much more intimidating in person. The stone of the castle looked truly ancient and was overgrown with moss and other plants. The towers were half caved in and the windows were nonexistent or broken.
I decided to find the front entrance to the castle and started to wander around the premise. When I found it I was surprised with how good the wooden doors were preserved. The hinges were rust free and the wood was only chipped in a few places. When I pushed them open they only groaned a little bit.
Behind the doors the castle foyer greeted me. The roof was completely gone and daylight shone on the dirty, free standing pillars and the dusty ground. Amidst this ruined room stood the pedestal that was supposed to hold the elements.
They were almost unrecognizable. Gone was the gold and the glitter, that I knew from the series. In their place was only round, grey stone. They looked pathetic in that state, even though I knew that this form was only temporary. At least I now knew that I was in the time period before the start of the show.
I decided to approach them, but as I neared them I felt something in the air around me change. The air felt like love somehow. How could air even feel like love? And then it hit me. I was a changeling, I fed on love. I was probably feeling the love that the elements passively radiate.
And then I realized, that I was hungry. How could I even eat? Could I eat normal food or was I stuck with only emotions?
With all these thoughts going through my head I decided that I needed to calm down and take a deep breath. But as I breathed in something unexpected happened, some of the love in the air entered my mouth and I suddenly felt nourished. I was passively feeding off the love that the elements radiated! I wouldn’t die of hunger out here! And the love wasn’t vanishing. I had found a food source, that I could use while I was out here.
After that realization I feed some more and then decided to head deeper into the castle. I walked around the pedestal and looked upon the ruined throne room. The thrones, even though they were damaged, were still very intimidating and regal. Celestias throne was made from pure gold with a cushion that was colored dark gold. And Lunas throne was made from silver with a dark blue cushion.
I could almost feel the power that Celestial and Luna must to have radiated when they sat on them. Why would Celestia even abandon this castle? She left so many things here, that she should have taken with her. I of course understood that bad memories could distress someone, but to abandon a whole castle and leave behind forbidden spells and personal journals seems a bit to dramatic.
After looking further around I saw, that two of the four doorways in here were collapsed. So I took the left one of the remaining two. I came out into a hallway with windows to the outside. On my left the hallway went around a corner and on my right it went on for a bit before turning right.
I decided to first walk down the left side of the hallway, since it was shorter one. After walking for a bit I reached the corner and turned right. There the hallway went a bit further before ending in a dead end. And at the end of that hallway I saw a staircase. I decided to take the staircase and after a bit the hallway around it crumbled away until the stairs were completely exposed to the outside world. I could see were the stairs were going now and I knew that place. It was the tower in which the Main six defeated Nightmare Moon.
At the end of the stairs stood a doorway. Its door was ravaged by time and seemed to have fallen from its hinges some time ago. Now it just laid in the room behind the doorway and was rotting away.
All over this room laid rotting chairs. They were thrown over and some were even broken. Whoever must have sat in them must have left in a hurry.
The only other doorway in this room was a set of winding stairs on my right. Since I couldn’t see anything else in this room I decided to take them. They had some windows on their left. They looked out over the ruins of this castle. From the size of the ruins alone this must have been an impressive view in the past.
The stairs ended in the room in which the Main six defeated Nightmare Moon. If was a big room with a high ceiling. The walls were made from a dark stone and gave the entire room a gloomy look. Giant collums lined the wall. Between them giant windows reached up towards the ceiling. And at the end of the room stood a raised dais with a dark throne on it and a giant window behind it.
This was probably Lunas court and downstairs was probably the waiting room for the petitioners. They probably fled when Luna turned into Nightmare Moon.
I walked further into the room. And as I neared the dais a door became visible to me. It was hidden in the shadows of the collums on the right side of the throne.
What could be in there? Was it her study or maybe her personal chambers? I decided to find out and walked over to the door. I pushed it open and saw a room behind it. The room had a window and blue painted walls. There was even a fireplace with a pile of wood and a giant pillow in front of it. Luna probably relaxed here between court sessions.
It would make a great base camp. The room was still pristine. The window and door were not broken. It was high up and would protect me from the monsters on the ground. It had a fireplace and a comfortable pillow. And it also had a great view of the castle.
I laid myself on the pillow and looked outside the window. It was then that I saw how much time had passed. The sun was setting and creating a spectacular lightshow. The red and orange hues of the sun were thrown over the castle. The windows reflected them and let the castle look like it was on fire. It was a truly special moment.
As the sun vanished behind the horizon stars and nebulae slowly became visible. It was beautiful. And then the moon rose up into the sky and took its place there. The light of the moon shown down upon the castle and made it look like a ruin from a scenic picture.
I could see the imprint of Luna on the moon. That meant that I was truly here before the start of the show. I would have to make plans for the future. But that could wait until tomorrow.
I was really sleepy.
I laid my head upon the pillow and closed my eyes. I truly was lucky to have been given this second chance. And with these thoughts running through my head I fell asleep.
Author's Note
I hope you had fun reading my story. Constructive criticism is appreciated.
See you later 
- Arcane Flower
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P. S. : Should I incorporate powerful spells in the library in the castle of the two sisters?
