Prologue
Twilight took another labored breath, and leveled her gaze with the figure in the mirror. The damp air around her was thick with the scent of mildew and musk - hidden rooms served their purpose, that of which wasn’t to please the sense of smell.
“What do you mean, I’m not you? I’m your reflection. You flung open the doors of my home, seeking what you thought would be your truest self. Well, congratulations, you’ve succeeded. You must think you’re so special - bearer of the Element of Magic, the leader of your friends, if not the rest of Equestria… But when it boils down to it, you really are nothing.”
“You’re WRONG!” Twilight screamed into her reflection, burning tears slipping down the sides of her face. Her horn roared to life with magic, only to be extinguished when the spell she had planned to cast fell apart.
“Am I, though? You aren’t important - your friends haven’t even begun to wonder where their precious friend has gone - they don’t miss you, and they never will. ” The figure grinned horribly out into Twilight’s face, pure hatred emanating from within the being.
“You. Are. Wrong.” Twilight repeated, this time sinking to the floor, the words weakly slipping out of her mouth and falling flat. Her weeping became more prominent, as despair spread through her system, like ink through water.
All across Equestria, every pony and creature stopped in their tracks. There was a darkness in the air, a chilling feeling that resonated with the very being of all who felt it. There was a presence of evil - an atmosphere of shattered hope.
The masses continued on, all wondering what had happened to produce such a prominent feeling, but none did anything about it, none had any idea what darkness had been loosed upon them.
3 days earlier...
“Alright. This time, try to search deeper. Yes, it’s ok if you can’t see it yet, but to become a leader, you must know yourself,” Celestia calmly stated as she coached Twilight. The balcony doors were propped open, and a slight breeze rustled the feathers of the two alicorns currently within the room.
They had been at it for days, Celestia attempting to explain the excruciatingly complex spell to Twilight, and Twilight coming breathtakingly close and failing each time. Twilight’s frustration was becoming more and more obvious with each try, as even an alicorn has her limits.
Twilight’s horn glowed once more, and with closed eyes she cast the spell, her mind ablaze with lucid thought. She reached out into her consciousness, grasping for the deepest thoughts and feelings within herself, sifting through the deep.
Then, it stopped.
She was forced to reverse, some extraordinary force expelling her probing from further entry.
“No!” She yelled, collapsing to the floor. She was crying now, covering her face with her hooves. “I’ll never be a real princess. I’ll never be a leader!” She continued to sob.
After a few moments, Celestia stretched a comforting wing across Twilight’s back, her gaze resting on her young student.
“You’ll get it. It’s just going to take some time - and I’ll be right here until you do.”
Celestia gave a warm smile, and Twilight took a few deep breaths before rising to her hooves, wiping the tears from her eyes. She shuddered a bit from the slight chill that the breeze brought, and shook her mane back into place.
“I think we’re done for today. Go get some rest, be with your friends - you can come back tomorrow and try again.” Celestia walked Twilight to the door, and slowly shut it behind her, the large door closing with a resonant boom.
~~~
Twilight walked down the hall, ignoring the unwavering stares of the guards that she passed on her left and right.
A small voice tickled the back of her mind, causing her to slow to a stop. She slowly looked left, then right, looking for its source, to no avail. The voice didn’t stop. She looked to her left and right again, but still could not pinpoint where the voice had originated from.
Then she felt it - a small pull towards a dark hallway to her right. It was an enticing feeling, like there was something unknown calling to her, calling her name. Offering her secrets of which had never been told, had never been heard. To reveal her innermost being.
Twilight…
She stood entranced in the middle of the vaulted hallway, listening for further promptings from the voice. The pull became overwhelming, and she took a step towards the hallway. Then another, and another. She walked over into the shadows, still dazed by the mysterious voice pressing into her mind.
She continued down the hallway, her pace not slowing down. As the voice pounding in her mind reached a climax, she halted at a door.
It was twisted black steel, encrusted with many crimson rubies. The metal itself emanated a certain darkness, but Twilight paid no heed to this. Her attention was focused on the voice speaking from within the room beyond, to the voice beckoning her inside.
She reached out a hoof, slowly raising it towards the handle.
“Twilight! Stop! We forbid you to open that door!” Luna cried out, rushing to Twilight and shoving her away from the door before she could move any further.
Twilight immediately snapped out of her trance, shaking her head in confusion. She stared up at Luna, who was standing above her, staring right back.
She wasn’t happy.
She lifted Twilight in her magic and trotted out of the hallway. She placed Twilight on her hooves in the main area, and gave a simple "Follow us."
They travelled through the castle for a time, taking turns and going up stairs until they were in a place Twilight recognized as Luna's private chambers. They walked into the room, and Luna shut the door behind them, with a similar sound to the one that Celstia's door made.
"What were you thinking? You could have been killed! That door has been off - limits for centuries!" Luna asked, the disdain clearly shown in the expression plastered across her face.
"I didn't know! How could I have known? I've been around for how long, and I've never even heard about that door, let alone seen it!" Twilight spouted, in a futile attempt to defend herself.
"Well, you know better than to snoop around in things that aren't yours. We've given you permission to view the archives, and to come and visit when you like, but you must ask before going anywhere else - there's simply too much you wouldn't understand hidden within these walls." Luna made a gesture to the castle around her.
"I'm sorry. I won't do it again." Twilight looked to her hooves.
"Thank you. And promise us that you will never, ever touch that door again. Are we clear?" Luna raised an inquisitive eyebrow, waiting for a response from Twilight.
"Yes. I'll stay away from the door." Twilight shifted nervously, the memory of the voice calling to her sending chills down her spine.
"Good. Now, we have some other matters to attend to, and you were on your way home, am I correct?" Luna asked, getting up from the bed and trotting over to her window.
"Yes. I'll be on my way!" Twilight said, walking over to the door.
"Wait one moment. I'm sending you with a guard - he will stay with you until you reach the entrance. Do you understand?" Luna didn't look back from the window.
"Yes, Luna." Was the only response Twilight gave.
"Good. He should be here any second now."
Luna's horn glowed, and there was a sudden knock at the door.
"Princess Luna, you called?" Came a slightly gruff voice from outside of the door, obviously that of a guard.
"Yes, Archus. Please escort Princess Twilight to the entrance." Luna's horn glowed once more, and the door opened, allowing for the guard visible confirmation of what she was asking.
"Yes, ma'am."
Twilight trotted out into the hallway with Archus, and as they exited the room, the door shut behind them.
As they travelled past the darkened hallway, Twilight could hear the faint echo of the voice calling her again. She ignored it, shoving it out of her mind and increasing her pace. Archus sped up to match, and they continued to the entrance of the castle.
The shadows within the hallway reached out a little further, as if to say that they weren't finished with Twilight yet. Then they slipped through the cracks in the door back into the shadows beyond.
