To Escape Fate

by unbounded

Rating: teen
Tags: Twilight Sparkle, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Adventure, Human
Length: 14707

Twilight meets a strange mare who talks of strange phenomena occurring once she eventually ceases to be. But when Twilight did not heed the warnings, something arrived.

Deep inside the dangerous forests in the country of Qin. There was a small mountain village called Nanshan. Four boys from the village find an artifact that changes their lives and many others forever.

While in Canterlot, Twilight is a week away from graduating and meets a mare who cannot speak. The mare writes to her and tells her that she is ill and needs help. Twilight tries, but eventually ends up unable to retrieve the medicine in time. Days later, strange things happen when an unusual magical energy brings something to Equestria that didn't belong.

Published 2019-08-13 20:50:01 UTC
Last updated 2019-12-16 20:49:46 UTC

Prologue-

The room was coated in a somber silence as the Emperor and his generals sat down. The Emperor was not afraid to break the silence.

"If we are going to have to destroy one of our cities, Nanshan. Its location is benificial to set up the attack on the northern tribes. due to it being right next to the various northern clans, normally this would be a bad move. However, the population is at its lowest in history." said the Emperor.

The Lieutenent general got out of his seat. "You can't be serious! We need to think about the citizens! Where will they go? There's no towns for many miles!" The lieutenant general said.

"It would ruin the ambush of the enemy if the civilians found out. It might be bad if there happened to be anyone who could be a spy. We also may need to investigate the unnatural occurence many years back causing most of the city to disappear." the Emperor said calmly. The Lieutenant general opened his mouth to speak.

"I recommend that you watch your words Lieutenant," said the Emperor. "I'm feeling merciful today, Lieutenant you will be stationed at Nanshan with your General and you will commence the attack after your arrival,"

"No way am I-" the lieutenant went silent. The Emperor got up and in the blink of an eye, the Lieutenant general's head had been removed from the rest of his body and was now in the hands of the Emperor.

"I admit there might be a lot of innocent lives lost if this works out. But it is for the good of Qin. This year will not be my last year of rule. Make sure this meeting doesn't go public, chancellor Zhou,"

"Your wish is my command. You wish for the Lieutenent's heir get sent there before we arrive I assume? We do need to dispose of him after all." The Emperor nodded.

There was a boy outside of the door listening to the conversation. He had purple hair that completely contrasted the rest of his appearance. He had grey eyes completely dull of color or interest or anything really. They were just empty.

The boy's name was Fan Fei. Despite what he just heard his father or the Emperor saying, he still had no emotions being displayed whatsoever.

Fan heard footsteps coming toward the large door. He darted across the long hallway with speed and precision. He hid himself around the corner right as the door opened. Only one set of footsteps could be heard stepping out.

Fan casually walked into the room as if he had just got there. He saw his father walking down the hall, in uniform.

"Yo," Fan said with the minimum amount of emotion. His father also known as the Grand chancellor turned the corner and looked over to him, and smiled.

"Guess what!"

"What?"

"We are moving to the city of Nanshan!" He said overethusiastically. Fan groaned.

"That run down city? No way, this isn't the city you remember. Barely a hundred people live in that ghost city. Especially since most people from the city disappeared mysteriously 20 years ago,"

"Doesn't matter to me! All that means is cheaper rent!"

"Whatever old man. It was getting boring here anyways," the general glared at his son.

"Didn't I teach you not to talk back? Or is it you want to go back to the 'Dark Place'?" Fan showed no signs of fear despite knowing that his fathers wrath was not something he desired.

"Whatever, I'll go." His father glared at him but otherwise stopped with the threat. He started walking away, once his back was turned Fan shivered in fear of that room.

The rising sun cast a shadow across the city of Nanshan. A small boy with bright blue eyes that were full of life jumped up from the floor. He ran his hand through his jet black hair. His name is Jingzi, and he lives at his parent's restaurant.

Jingzi ran full speed into the kitchen and saw his mother cooking for some early customers. "I'll be back Mom!" he shouted as he ran out the door.

"That boy. He grows up too fast, its kind of worrysome dont you think?" his mother said. Jingzi's mother had a look of warmth in her eyes.

"Yeah. He didn't even know it was his 13th birthday today." said his father.

Jingzi ran to the food shopping area. As he ran by one of the mostly empty shops he stole an apple.

"Hey kid get back here!" Shouted the shopkeeper.

"I'll pay you back!" Jingzi shouted back. The shopkeeper sighed like he usually did.

"Damn kid, he could just ask for the food!" he said sadly. "Its not like I get many customers anyway." he picked up an apple and started eating.

Jingzi threw what was left of the apple into the alleyway next to the school. He arrived at the school courtyard moments later. The school was devoid of life and there were no adults to teach at the school. Only a couple of kids including Jingzi attended the school.

"You're early Jingzi. What's up!" said Jingzis friend. He looked over to his friend that shouted his name. His name was Ling. His eyes landed on the boy. He had long black hair that was tied up at the top, so it hung behind his head. The most noticeable part about him was his dark red eyes. That and the fact that he was a couple of years older than Jingzi.

"What's up Ling? We playing tag again?" Ling shook his head.

"No, we can do that later. Today we could do something different,"

"Aw, I was really looking forward to tag-" Ling suddenly cut him off.

"Aren't you sick of tag, its boring and we have played it for like the last week. We're doing hide and seek and that's final!" Jingzi's smile came back almost immediately after.

"Don't tease me like that! I mean it's no tag but it sounds fun!" Ling chuckled. Jingzi stopped in his tracks. "Umm. Who's that over there Ling?" There was a boy with purple hair and grey eyes sitting against the school wall with his eyes closed. He sort of looked like a corpse, unmoving and not blinking. Jingzi reached his finger out to poke the boy.

"What are you doing? No, don't poke him!" Ling slapped Jingzi's hand out of the air. Jingzi stepped to the side and foolishly reached out to poke the boy. The boy suddenly grabbed his hand out of the air, his gaze now focused on him. Jingzi jumped in shock but the kid wouldn't let go.

"We were wondering if you wanted to play Hide and Seek?" said Jingzi nervously. The strange boy let go of Jingzi's hand.

"Fine."

"No, it's ok if you don't wanna," said Jingzi. There was an awkward silence, the boy covered his eyes and started counting to thirty.

"I mean, I was gonna seek but suit yourself!" Ling shouted as he ran away fast.

"15,16," echoed the voice of the strange boy. Jingzi ran inside the school and climbed up the stairs to the library. I'm gonna have to hide in here for now. Ling probably took my hiding spot I used yesterday. Jingzi thought to himself.

"Yo," said a familiar voice. Jingzi looked down at the white haired, purple eyed boy. It was his only other friend Wei, coincidentally also the only other person at the school. He closed a book that was in his hands. He looked up at Jingzi. Wei was a year older than him.

"Wei? Why hide here? Surely there are better places to hide," Wei frowned.

"I know, but I'm confident in this spot," Wei said. Jingzi faltered a little, not being too committed to having Wei change spots due to how stubborn he can be.

"Well, whatever. It doesn't matter much," Wei dug a book out of his bag. He had trouble getting it out at first but it popped out eventually.

"Here," Wei handed a book to Jingzi. He eyed it curiously.

"What is this?" Wei closed his bag. The book was massive.

"A gift." Jingzi looked at him happily.

"Thanks! I'll read every word!" Wei looked at Jingzi.

"There's only a few pages with words on them. I just needed to get rid of the book. It used to be my dad's, before he became a traitor and died around a year ago." Jingzi looked down at the book.

"Your father is dead? Why haven't you told me?" Jingzi put the book under his shoulder. He paced around the library with a neutral expression on his face. Wei sighed and pulled another book out of his bag.

"It wasn't that important, though he was Lieutenant general before he died. It wouldn't have mattered much if he was alive. So, you looking for a book or what?" Jingzi shook his head.

"Your weird sometimes, oh well, I'm bored," He noticed a book with a strange name. The Second World. What a strange title. He looked at the spot where the authors name should be, but it was empty. He was about to pull the book off the shelf when there were footsteps in the hallway.

No! I won't make it out of the door in time! Jingzi looked back at Wei, he had a rope is his hand. "See ya!" Wei jumped out the window.

Jingzi looked out the window and saw Wei swing and land on a building and cut the rope after he got on it. He stuck his tongue out at Jingzi. "You jerk, get back here!"

Jingzi jumped out of the window and hoped it was a soft landing on the ground below. He hit the ground and rolled. Then he got back up and ran around the corner. That was epic! Jingzi's inner celebration came to a halt when Ling suddenly came crashing down on top of him.

"Owww," Jingzi mumbled as he dusted himself off. Ling scrambled to his feet and grabbed Jingzi by the arm.

"Hurry! We have to run." Ling said in a rush.

"Why? What's going on?" Jingzi said in a confused voice.

"Just follow me." Jingzi shrugged his shoulders. This isn't something Ling normally does in hide and seek. Then again we don't play it much, strange. Maybe it's a new strategy? He thought as Ling let go of his arm.

"You must suck at hide and seek, cuz' you can't stick to any spots!" Jingzi said jokingly. Trying to lighten the mood.

"Shut up and run," said Ling. The grin on Jingzi's face faded away.

They turned to the next street corner. Jingzi asked what was in his mind."Is something wrong? Usually you laugh at my comments," Ling suddenly stopped. He wasnt looking at him but he was looking down at the street ahead of him with a look of horror on his face. Jingzi turned his head to look in front to him.

A mutilated corpse lied down in the middle of the street. When Jingzi saw it he dropped his book and threw up inside his mouth. What the hell! This can't be real! What in the world is going on! The sight was so sudden that Jingzi had not time to prepare himself. Ling noticed Jingzi had stopped and hunched over.

"Hurry up! We have to go!" Jingzi looked at Ling.

"But that person is dead!" Jingzi said in a panic.

"We arent though! We will be if we stay here! But if we run, we will live! I want to live!" Ling ran away without warning.

"Wait!" Jingzi shouted as he ran to catch up with Ling who had just ran around the next corner. But it was too late, when he turned the corner Ling was gone.

Jingzi ran into another alleyway, he froze. The strange boy with purple hair and grey eyes was standing upright while being covered in blood. What's that weird kid doing here? Jingzi looked down and saw a body. The person was definitely from Qin's military due to his uniform.

"You! What are you doing here!" The boy shouted at Jingzi.

"You killed him?" Jingzi said in a voice tinted with fear. The boy wasn't looking directly at him for some reason.

"Get away, now!" Jingzi couldn't move. The boy charged at him. Jingzi ran away into a different alleyway at the last moment. A guard slashed the air where Jingzi was standing moments ago. The strange boy ran deeper into the alleyway before he was seen by the guard.

Jingzi caught up with Ling as he ran out of the village gates. Little did the two of them know that somebody was following them.

"What in the world is going on Ling?" Jingzi asked while they ran. Ling stared into Jingzi's blue eyes with his red eyes. He turned his gaze back to the path he was running on.

"I don't know that much about it, but all I know is that the guards decided to attack the village,"

"The guards? How do you know-"

"They came into the school with their blades out, they were carrying some stuff into the place, and I barely got out before I ran into you," Jingzi started to breath heavily. No way... Aren't the guard of the country supposed to protect us? Jingzi thought to himself as he rejected the thought.

"Then I saw the ground on the other side of the school corpses! There was blood on the ground!" His eyes narrowed. "I don't know what happened to the rest of the village on that side, all I wanted to do was run!"

Jingzi was ready to break down and start crying, but he bit his lip to try and focus on the pain. The bite drew blood from his lip. Ling looked oved and could have swon he saw Jingzi's eyes change to red, he stopped and started panting for air. Ling looked over and saw that the boys eyes were the same blue as before.

"Why are you stopping? We barely even moved," said Jingzi. Ling looked at Jingzi with annoyance. Jingzi ran in place.

"Easy for you to say, you haven't even broke a sweat yet freak!" Ling was right, despite the fact Jingzi consistently ran pretty fast, all while holding some massive book under his shoulder, he still had not broken a sweat but he didn't feel fatigued either. Ling fell unconscious.

"I havent?" Jingzi ran in place. He wiped his head and found it dry.

Suddenly a guard jumped out of a nearby bush and charged at Ling. The guard's blade stopped right in front of his face.

Ling remained untouched as the guard coughed up blood and crumpled to the ground.

"You were following us, weren't you? We dont want to die yet!" Jingzi asked the boy who was standing behind the guard with a bloodied sword. The boy dropped the sword.

"It looked like it would be fun, but I guess it wasn't. How boring."

"Wait! Why did you save us? We aren't next, are we?"

"He wasn't following my personal rules, so I decided to kill him." He said with a matter of fact tone.

"Are they trying kill you as well?"

"Just follow me alright, I know a safe place to 'hide'." Fan picked up Ling and started running up into the forest.

"Normally I wouldnt trust you but, we arent dead yet so I guess I will." Jingzi thought as he followed Fan up the mountain forest.

"You know, we never learned your name? What is it?" Jingzi asked Fan almost ignoring his situation entirely.

"My name is Fan Fei." He said. Jingzi was hoping for a more emotional response, but Fan's face was devoid of expression.

"You don't have to tell me, it's just your name." Jingzi said jokingly. The silence that came after was uncomfortable to Jingzi since he was usually so loud around the rest of the village. But he kept his mouth shut and followed nervously.

The sun started setting on the horizon. The group of boys ran up the mountain to in hopes of finding the place Fan talked about.

"Where am I! Who are you? Is this where I repent for my sins!" Ling said as he awoke.

"Yeah this could be the place where we repent for our sins, depends on how Fan Fei is feeling though." Jingzi said in response, a shiver running down his spine.

"Yeah, this is the place." Fan said. Ling snapped a tree branch above the tree entrance when he got off of Fan's shoulder. Ling approached Jingzi questioningly.

"Why arent we dead yet?" Ling asked Jingzi.

"I don't really know, but we can't escape from him. He might kill us both." Said Jingzi, revealing how nervous he was.

The group of 3 boys advanced into the cave. The Jingzi turned around to look at Fan, his Purple hair draped across the left side of his face.

"Fan, shouldn't you be in front to give directions?" Ling asked. Fan looked back to the entrance of the cave. Then turned to face Ling before speaking.

"No, just go straight in it for now." Fan scratched his head and turned back to avoid eye contact.

Jingzi looked right back at Fan with an confused look in his blue eyes, the look broadly contrasted Fan's emotionless light grey eyes. Ling took notice of the confrontation, but didn't say anything.

"C'mon Fan! That makes no sense!" Fan looked back to Jingzi. His light blue eyes seemed to glow, even in the dark cave. Fan was annoyed at his urge to ask questions.

"Jingzi, now's not the time. Where I stand doesn't matter right now." Ling said as he glared back at the two boys who could not seem to get along.

"You sure-" Jingzi was cut off.

"You're right. It is strange, he might be planning something." Whispered Ling. They started to walk further in, with the only light source being the torch that Fan held in his hand. He had been dragging his hands against the wall, he came across claw marks on the wall.

"Do you believe in monsters?" Ling asked the two boys to distract them from each other.

"No." Fan said with nothing interesting in his voice. He had blank look on his face as he said it.

"I believe in monsters. My grandma told me monsters existed, and she hasnt lied to me before. She would lie to my parents sometimes though. At least before she died, now she cant lie to me at least!" Jingzi chuckled. He recalled the memories of his grandmother and frowned.

"I believe in monsters, they could be anything, anywhere, or even anyone!" said Ling ominously.

"Why do you believe in them though?" Jingzi asked Ling. He turned around and coughed in his hand.

"Um, it's a bit embarrassing, but it's because I read it in a book once." Ling had a gloomy look on his face when Jingzi started cracking up.

Ling's hand hit a gap between the walls. The light of the torch disappeared from behind him. The light disappeared? Whats going on? Ling turned around and nobody was there. "Where are you!" he shouted into the tunnels. He was met with was a deafening silence. Looking into the second path, he could not measure how deep it was with no light assisting him whatsoever. Ling turned around. This could be my chance to escape. He was met with a dead end. This wasn't here before, what's going on? Ling looked at the two tunnels ahead of him and decided that he was going down the new tunnel that he had discovered moments prior.

After walking down the path He started to see a light in the tunnel. "Guys! Is that you!" he shouted at the light. He ran down the cave to the light, but it was a dead end.What! A dead end? He continued to walk forwards. That's when he noticed something strange about the light.

"The light is coming from the ground?" Ling walked up to the light and saw that the ground was in fact, not the light source. There was a hole in the ground where the light was coming from. He looked down the hole.

There was a crumbling sound below him. Shortly after, the ground seemingly disappeared beneath his feet. He tried to grab onto something, lucky for him water was at the bottom of the pit which gave him a decent landing.

Ling swam upwards, he broke the surface of the water and gasped for air. He opened his eyes. The cave had a torch on the wall burning a blue flame. It didn't seem to have any heat or smoke coming from it.

Ling touched the flame to check for any signs of heat, he felt no heat whatsoever. What? I should be burned by a flame that size. Ling looked over to the center of the room.

There was a skull made out of some sort of shiny yellow mettalic material, it didn't look human. The skull was too small to be human. What is this? Fan got a closer look at the skull, it had writing on it that he could not read. He looked at the engravings closer.

Ling saw something he could read, it was a date written in the language of the ancestors. It was a simple date that he could easily recognize. 500 R.H.? This thing is 200 years old! I can only read the date. I don't think I would be able to translate it with my current level of knowledge.

Ling grabbed the skull to see if there was text on the back of it that was obstructed from view. Immediately he got a headache. I have a bad feeling about this.

"What? Ling's not in front of us anymore?" Fan said with a confused look on his face.

"Ling's gone!" Fan said to himself, his eyes widened in panic.

"Jingzi, where is Ling!" Fan asked. Jingzi looked around only to realize that Ling was nowhere in sight.

"Maybe he's just out of sight from us?" Jingzi said, not sure how to respond.

"He could be dead-" Fan said.

"Dead? It's a bit irrational to make such a claim so early." Jingzi said, not trusting Fan's judgement. "Wait, look around us Fan! We weren't here before! Where are we?"

They were not in the tunnel anymore. They were in a strange room that was mostly round on all sides with no entrances or exits on the walls around them. There was a hole in the ceiling with natural light flowing through.

Fan immediately looked around for an exit, he even knocked on the floor and walls. Unfortunately it was all solid rock.

"NOOO!" Jingzi cried as he hit the ground, his mood taking a complete 180. "This makes no sense! How are we even here!"

"Let's calm down, I'll look for a way out. You just do, whatever it is that you do."

Jingzi mood slowly got calmer. He dropped a book from his left hand. What the? A book? It can't be, I got rid of this book a while ago. He opened up the book, anything was better than waiting and doing nothing.

The book had a simple title. The Untapped Potential of Spirit. Oh yeah, Wei gave me this back in the city! And his dad is dead. I wonder if it relates to what happened back at the city. Jingzi opened up the book. The first page was empty. He moved the page, it was stiff like cardboard.

Jingzi tried to tear the first page but it wouldn't budge. He stopped trying to tear pages out and turned the page. The next page was also empty. He checked the next few pages and they were empty as well. There was finally some text on the tenth page.

There are two types of people in the world. The talented, and the non-talented. The talented are physically stronger and faster than the non-talented. The non-talented are the majority of people. Some are born with this special talent. I call it spirit. Each spirit manifests as some sort of energy that can be controlled based off of some sort of primal instinct. Every person's spirit has a unique power which can be almost anything you can think of... The text abruptly ended at the top of the page.

Wei looked up at the heavily clouded sky above him. The wind throwing his white hair into an unkempt mess. "A storm is coming? Damn, I need to find them before the rain covers their tracks." Wei was currently following the group's footprints which had led him deep into the uphill mountain forests. Rain started pouring down and the tracks disappeared. He saw a hole in the mountain further uphill. Wait, a cave? Did they go in? He could hear the ear splitting thunder that was above his head.

As Wei approached, he looked around the cave and found a broken tree branch above the cave. Wait, this tree branch makes it seem like they walked uphill further. This will make it difficult for me to help those two, Fan Fei is not a foe I want to have. Did they know I would be tracking them? No. that’s impossible. But I am gonna go with my gut, was it the cave, or uphill. As Wei focused on the decision he started walking. He started running up the hill, knowing that now was not the time to be indecisive.

After running up the hill for a couple of minutes Wei found himself over a flat plane of land. It was covered in tall grass, so tall that he couldn't see very far in front of him. He idly walked forward to see if he could find anything leading to his friend Jingzis location. All the sudden, he lost control of his footing due to the rain. Wei suddenly fell into darkness. Suddenly, he saw a bright flash of light before he fell into unconsciousness.

Jingzi kept flipping through the book when it started raining outside. He threw the book down in anger, as it was the only thing keeping him from boredom, and now it was soaking wet. A noise could be heard from the top of the cave. Suddenly there was a bright flash of light before he fell unconscious.

Fan sat in the corner of the room with a contemplative look in his eyes. He heard a noise from the top of the room and snapped his attention to the noise. He saw the rain pouring down through the hole in the ceiling. He looked down at Jingzi unexpectedly threw the now soaking wet book at the wall of the room. Fan didn't expect Jingzi to have an angry side too him. Suddenly a bolt of lightning came out of nowhere and hit the soaking wet book on the ground. The entire room lit up and then Fan was knocked unconscious from an unknown force.

Ling walked around the cave trying to get the right angle of light to see the skull better with when his foot got stuck on something and he started to fall. He fell, but the skull took the impact of the fall. It shattered on impact, suddenly a burst of light came out of the skull before everything went black.

Chapter One- Illness

In the capital city of Canterlot, country Equestria, two weeks before the events of "Friendship Is Magic"

Twilight was looking around the classroom because they were in silent study time and she was bored. Twilight, as to not be called on by the teacher. She looked around the room and watched as a fellow student was struggling on holding her pencil with her magic. The classmate dropped the pencil by accident.

Why is she struggling to hold the pencil with magic, it's such a simple thing to do, How in Equestria would she get into this academy with magic at this level. Twilight picked up the pencil for the mare because she was struggling to get it off the ground. At a closer look at the mare, Twilight took note of her light red coat and crimson-colored mane. Her cutie mark was a white cross on a red background. The mare made eye contact and nodded as to say thanks, she didn’t seem to want to talk to the teacher at the moment.

In the hallway to the eating hall, the same classmate coughed up blood. Twilight couldn’t say anything to the mare that day. For some reason, the school seemed to prevent her from seeking any more information about the matter. At home, Twilight lied in bed wondering if anything was happening to the classmate of hers. Was there anything wrong, how can I help that mare. No... I shouldn't be thinking about her. She's probably fine,

"Twilight! Twilight!" Twilight groggily got up from bed yet the small purple dragon continued. "Twili-"

"WHAT SPIKE!" Twilight shouted, causing the small green and purple baby dragon to jump up in shock.

"Well, you received a letter from Princess Celestia!" A letter from Celestia at this time? Why would I get a letter now of all times? Twilight picked up the letter and read it.

Dear Twilight,

This is not Princess Celestia, but I need your help.

Your classmate, Rosemary Cross.

What? Maybe it's that mare from class yesterday... I have to find her.

Twilight waited at the entrance of the school for the mare. She couldn't find the mare. She talked to her colleagues about it and they didn't know who she was either. Twilight looked over and saw some of the people that helped out the mare earlier. "Hi, can you help me find somepony named Rosemary Cross?" The stallion looked at her confused.

"Sorry, but I've never heard of her," Twilight was confused, how could he have never heard of her. She must have not been very social. I can relate at times. The school bell rang, the noise it created echoed along the courtyard of the school.

Twilight walked to her class and saw Princess Celestia waiting at her desk for the class to start. "Oh, you're early, are you ready to learn today's lesson once more?" Twilight anxiously trotted in circles because had something more important to ask the Princess.

"Princess? Do you know the student Rosemary Cross?" All that returned was a blank stare from the Princess.

"No, are they a friend of yours?" said the princess.

"I'm not sure... Never mind, Sorry I asked, Princess," She doesn't know her? But she knows everypony in the school. Does she even go here?

The class started filling up with everyone. The last pony entered the room, that mare was, in fact, the one with the white cross cutie mark. The mare was walking towards Twilight. Next thing she knew the mare was at her desk. She pulled out a piece of paper and quill and started to write on the paper.

Twilight watched as the mare write down a letter.

I am Rosemary Cross.

You might be wondering why I am writing instead of talking, and why you did not know my name prior to this occasion. The short answer is because I'm mute, trust me, you don't wanna know the long answer. There is not much time left for me due to a sickness that I have been affected by, so I need help. The sickness is not an infectious one so do not fret. I need you to go to a shop on the outskirts of Canterlot on the west wall, they sell a certain medicine that can cure me. I do not know the location of the shop, but the drug is only sold there due to it being a rare pharmaceutical medicine.

I should be at the Canterlot hospital when you return. At the moment, I don't have any available allies to help me out of my current predicament.

Twilight picked up the quill and started to write back to Rosemary.

Why should I ally with you? I don't even know you. Who are you anyway?

Rosemary picked up the quill and responded.

I am fully aware of the fact that you can refuse. But remember this, if something were to happen that would negatively affect me or my allies, I suspect that strange things will occur. If you do decide you would like to cooperate, we will do our best to make sure the strange phenomena do not occur. I should have at minimum a week before I succumb to the illness

Rosemary carefully put down the quill in the ink jar that was on the desk. Twilight took a deep breath before picking up the quill again with her magic. She carefully debated her words before writing them on the paper.

I will help, after all, I am Princess Celestia's protege. When do you need me to go?

Twilight handed the quill back to Rosemary.

Preferably, as soon as possible. I fear that as soon as I kick the bucket the spell that I cast will lose effect.

Rosemary Cross took the quill and put it in her saddlebags. Her steps as she exited the room felt silenced, nobody noticed, not even Twilight noticed until she really thought about it. Nobody except for Twilight even acknowledged the presence of the mare in the classroom that day. She was like a ghost, solely appearing to fulfill a single mission. It was worrisome, so much so that Twilight had chills run down her mane.

The ringing of the bell echoed throughout the school. Twilight was in no rush to get the medicine for the mare. But she didn't want to know what would happen if she shouldn't. She walked along the outskirts of the city along the west wall, not finding any type of shop that fit the description.

Some time later, Twilight came across a store that had no buildings surrounding it, the store looked unkempt and messy on the outside. There was no writing on the building to indicate what it might be. Twilight trotted inside the building. She was met with the sight of hundreds of glass containers lining the walls containing various liquids and physical substances.

There was a middle-aged pony at a desk at the back of the room. The stallion seemed to be sleeping. Twilight approached the desk that the stallion resided in. "Ahem." There was no response from the pony.

"AHEM," Twilight said louder this time, yet still no response from the colt. Twilight raised her hoof and punched the stallion. He woke up instantly and started hysterically shouting.

"Sorry boss! I know I shouldn't sleep but we haven't had customers in forever- Oh wait, are you a customer?" Twilight nodded her head.

"Do you sell medicine here?" The colt put on some round glasses.

"Yes we sell medicine, I usually don't get many customers anymore due to all the sophisticated magic here. What brings you here? You look rather healthy yourself."

"Thanks?"

"What type of medicine do you need?" Wait a second. Rosemary didn't tell me what type of medicine she needed. I'm sure I can make an educated guess about what she wanted.

"Umm, I don't know the exact type. But I need something for an illness that isn't contagious and is pretty rare." Twilight said.

The shopkeeper smiled. "I think I know what you're talking about, but sadly we are out of the medicine," said the shopkeeper.

"What can I do to get the medicine?" Twilight asked. The stallion tapped his head in thought.

"I tell you what kid if you can get the flower I need, I'll make you the medicine. The flower is small and purple, you will know it when you see it," he said.

"Do you promise?" The shopkeeper nodded his head.

"If you can get one of those flowers I will have the ingredients to make the medicine that you need," the stallion said with a grin.

Twilight found herself at the entrance of the Everfree forest. There was a sign at the entrance of the cave, it said, Warning, dangerous magical creatures ahead. Proceed with caution.

Twilight gulped in nervousness. But she knew that she was a good enough magic-user to hold off any monster she came across. She trotted inside the forest. She thought back to what the colt had said before she left.

"You do know that this illness comes from a spell right?" Twilight turned around. "Really? What type of spell difficulty is it categorized as?" Asked Twilight. "It's a triple S tier spell." He said nervously. "Seriously? Spells in that tier can take a decade to use each one at the minimum for normal unicorns!" "This spell takes even longer to learn. On average it can take 50 years." "Whoever cast this forbidden spell must have been extremely talented to pull off a spell like this. Yet also very old and capable of advanced magic. Do you know who this might have come from?" Twilight shook her head.

"I don't know where it could have come from... All I know is that I need to save someone who is in danger." Twilight said with the sound of resolve in her voice.

"Ok but first let me tell you about the flower, it's strange in the fact that it seems to cancel out magic when within three inches of a pony. You should find it relatively close to the entrance of the everfree forest."

Twilight felt some sort of presence beside her. She turned to the side and saw a small purple flower. It was emitting a small purple aura around itself. She plucked the flower and started walking back. Well, that was easy. She thought to herself.

Twilight heard a noise behind her. It was a low growling sound that she did not want to look at. She turned her head and saw a chimera ready to swing at her. She jumped, barely dodging the claw swinging at her. She ran as fast as she could away, surprisingly the chimera didn't pursue any further. It just disappeared into the canopy.

Twilight was exhausted from running all the way back out of the forest. She was so tired that she reckoned she could fall asleep right on the spot. Color started to fade from her vision until she only saw the color black. Twilight laid on the floor of twigs and leaves below her.

Chapter Two- Unexpected

The feeling of cold water was splashed onto Twilight's face. She woke up immediately. She looked around and saw the familiar face of the stallion who managed the pharmacy.

"How long was I asleep?" Twilight asked the pony.

"I'm not sure, you might wanna worry about getting home, it's dark out." Said the stallion. Twilight reached into her saddlebag and pulled out the strange purple flower.

"I got the flower, can you make the medicine?" Twilight asked.

"I don't break my promises, it should be made done by tomorrow so try and come by during the day." Said the pony. "Be careful on your way back!" He said.

Twilight cast a simple teleport spell and arrived back at her home in a flash. She found Spike sound asleep in his bed. She tried not to make much of a disturbance as she went to her desk to study.

The alarm on Twilight's desk woke her up from as she slept on the desk. Did I fall asleep while studying again? She got up and got ready for school like she usually did. Spike was in the kitchen making something to eat. She went out to the kitchen table and got a plate out.

"You were out late last night, Twilight, did you go somewhere?" Spike said, trying to pry some details out of Twilight. She sighed.

"It's nothing Spike, I just uh, went for a walk. Yeah, a walk," Twilight lied. I can't tell Spike about this right now, I'll tell him when its over. "Mmm, the food was great Spike. I got to go to class, I don't wanna be late!" She started to activate the teleportation spell. With a flash she disappeared.

"School doesn't start for another hour though." Spike said sadly.

Twilight arrived at the pharmacy with a flash. There was the middle aged stallion at the desk, sound asleep. He woke up this time surprisingly.

"You want the medicine I assume?" Asked the shopkeeper. Twilight nodded her head. "It's right here, gimme a sec," The old pony reached into the desk and pulled out a small vial with a blue liquid inside. She tried to grab the vial with her magic but failed. She picked it up with her hoof and put it in her left saddlebag. She didn't want to talk at the moment. She tried the teleportation spell. Oh yeah, this flower cancels magic. She awkwardly walked out of the door to the medicine store and started walking.

General Canterlot hospital was mostly empty other than the staff at the desk. Twilight walked up to the staff. "Hi, can i see a patient? The patients name is Rosemary Cross,"

The nurse's eyes widened with shock. But they went back to calm after a moment of regaining composure, except now there was a tinge of sadness. She went over to talk to the other nurses, all with a distressed look on her face. Twilight thought she heard one of them say 'are you sure' to the nurse. The nurse nodded her head and walked over to Twilight with her eyes being cast in shadow. "I apologize to inform you that her condition had worsened terminally recently. She had unexpected heart failure and passed away peacefully," said the nurse. She looked away with a tinge of guilt in her eyes, with a something clearly causing her pain internally.

"That's wrong! She shouldn't have passed so soon, I was ahead of schedule, I have the medicine she needs. It's too early, this is all wrong!" Twilight said. I did everything perfectly, why would this happen now? She thought.

The lights flickered. A loud bang shook the building. The lightbulbs around the room cracked and fizzled. "What's going on? The backup generator should be on right now," This was a mistake right? I shouldnt be too late, something is wrong. Twilight walked backwards, she hit the wall behind her and jumped. She turned around and ran to the hospital doors and ran as fast as she could out of them.

Once outside, Twilight noticed that there wasn't a cloud in the sky anywhere she looked. But there was a strange feel around the place. What is this senesation, its definitely magic but it feels different. suddenly everythign went back to normal, she couldnt feel the strange magic anymore. I should head to the Academy. I wonder what that magic was, thought Twilight

All the way up in the palace the powerful type of magic was able to be felt all the way across Equestria. Celestia knew the magic from somewhere from long ago. Human magic? she thought. But that magic was banned long ago. Humans aren't allowed to be in this nation due tot the treaty. She finished setting the sun under the horizon. I'm going to talk to the humans about this.

This magic, now that I think about it, feels like magic from 500 moons ago, when the humans first arrived on the continent to the west. No, that's impossible. Humans shouldn't be able to cast that spell themselves. This might be trouble. "Royal Guard Chief," Princess Celestia called out. One of the guards in the room turned around and bowed. "Bring me some of my diplomats. I'll have them check out the issue at the human colonies equestrian embassy."

Twilight tried to initiate the teleportation spell. She felt nothing in her horn. Oh yeah. This was the medicine I need to give her, I failed though, she thought. A shadow overcast her eyes as she picked up the medicine.

Twilight threw the medicine down onto the cobbled streets. The glass from the bottle shattered to thousands of razer sharp pieces of glass. The liquid from the container turned the cobble it landed on pitch black.

Twilight recited the teleportation spell in her mind before it activated and she teleported to the front of the academy. There were some people at the gate that had been there for a while. She walked by them in a state of anger, sadness, and confusion. But she kept her feelings to herself like she always did. A unicorn mare approached her. She looked up and saw it was one of the people that usually talked to her, Moondancer. Also along with some of her friends.

"I was going to invite you to my party later this week, but I saw you looking pretty down and I just-" Moondancer was cut down by a short, yet blunt response from Twilight.

"No, I'm good," she said quietly.

"It would mean a lot to me if you showed up. Please," begged Moondancer. Twilight distantly heard the bell to the school start ringing. She got up and tried walking to class, but her path was blocked by a particularly stubborn mare.

Moondancer handed Twilight a flyer. "This is for in case you reconsider," she said before running to class. Her friends looked at Twilight with a sad look, as if she was letting them down somehow.

Twilight picked the flyer up in her magic before crushing it up and dropping it on the cobbled streets, then she walked into the academy with a slow and somber pace, awaiting the end of the day.

Twilight watched the graduation ceremony with distant eyes, mentally exhausted from the events that had occured a week ago, also from the stressful final exams which she did.

It was the final day at the academy and the graduation ceremony was still going. A crumpled ball of paper was carried to her from the wind. Twilight picked up the crumpled up ball of paper in her magic. What's this? she thought. She opened it up and found that it was the invitation she threw away a week ago. She was about to throw it away when she started to feel bad for Moondancer. Maybe I should go, I haven't been talking to her lately. I finished my book during lunch so I probably won't have much to do. I've never really been to a party before so I may as well check it out. It would be a waste to not go... wouldnt it?

Princess Celestia fliped the pages of her calender.Nightmare Moon is going to arrive tommorow night, my disciple should be able to take her down. I'll call her up to me when the graduation ceremony ends. More concerning is that there have been no messages from my ambassadors- A green flame appeared in the air, revealing a letter with the signature equestrian diplomatic crest. It was dirty and looked like it had been through something rough. She opened up the letter and found it blank. I have a bad feeling about this. Maybe things wont go so smoothly...

Chapter Three- Moonlit Skies

Fan stumbled into the room after being shoved by the member of the guard. There was no windows, or light at all in the room. He pounded on the cell door to no avail. There was a bathroom and plenty of food and water that arrived when he asked, but he could not bear the silence and the loneliness. Eventually, he felt nothing at all.

Light suddenly flooded Fan's eyes, immediately waking him up. He opened his eyes, looking for anything resembling a threat. There was nothing in his immediate surroundings. What he did notice was an equine creature standing next to him. It seemed to have a yellow coat and pink mane.

"Are you alright? Poor thing, are you hurt?" Said the pink maned pony. Fan took a deep breath. It's ok, it probably another hallucination like normal. It's probably another hallucination from the trauma, this is perfectly normal, He thought to himself.

"Where am I?" Fan asked. The pink maned equine creature tilted its head.

"You can speak? Do you have a name? What kind of creature are you, my name is Fluttershy by the way." Responded the creature now identified as Fluttershy.

"Where am I?" Fan repeated to the creature. Maybe this creature is hard of hearing? Not sure.

"Umm, what do you mean?" Fluttershy said oblivious to the question. Fan narrowed his gaze.

"You are at the outskirts of the Everfree forest." Fluttershy said nonchalantly, as if Fan should have already known.

"Are there any towns nearby?" Fan asked. I've never seen this Everfree thing on any maps, perhaps I'm in the north with the various nomadic clans.

"We're close to Ponyville," said Fluttershy. I've never heard of it, but that makes sense because I've never been here before, Fan thought. I'll ask what country I'm in, maybe I'll find out where I am,

"What country is this?" said Fan. A look of confusion appeared in Fluttershy's unnaturally large eyes, then worry.

"Did you hit your head on the fall? Everypony knows that this is Equestria," said Fluttershy. Wait, what? I know that I sometimes suffer visual hallucinations from the battlefields, but nothing auditory. Wait, did she just say everypony? Ok, I should calm down. I'll ask another question.

"I have a question," Fluttershy nodded her head, then she cowered back behind her mane. "Do you know of the country Qin?"

Fluttershy shook her head. "No, I'm not sure I've heard of it." she said.

"This can't be real. Am I dreaming?" Fan said. He pinched his arm, drawing some blood in the process. He winced in pain. Wait, pain? Auditory hallucinations and pain? Could it be that this isn't a-

Fan's train of thought was cut off by a different source of pain in his left leg. He looked down at his leg and saw Fluttershy running her fore-hoof over it. Fan's leg was swollen and red, also covered in cuts.

"Umm, I hope you don't mind me asking... Is that natural?" Fluttershy asked. Fan stopped and hoped everything crazy would stop happening. Fan started to crawl away from the pony with his arms. Suddenly she pulled out a strange vial containing some sort of liquid, with a needle on the bottom of the vial.

"This will only take a second, it will ease the pain." What is she- The needle was stabbed into his leg. That was the last thing he remembered before going unconscious.

Fan woke up in a room, or at least he assumed it was a room. His leg still hurt, but it was significantly less painful than before. He opened his eyes and took in his immediate surroundings. It seemed he was laying on the floor in some sort of building. He moved his body, there was some weakness in his body, still tired from the strange liquid used on his leg.

Fan sat up to get a better glimpse of his surroundings. There were animals all around him, but they were cowering away from him so he did not register them as a threat just yet. He jumped to his feet, his left foot stung once the impact of the floor came but it was at a level of pain that he could manage.

Fan looked down at his leg and noticed it wrapped in some sort of cloth. Though, he could still pinpoint the locations of the cuts. Strangely, they felt less severe than before.

From the corner of his eye, Fan noticed the animals clear a path for a certain yellow equine creature. Fan got into a defensive fighting stance.

"What did you do to me?" Fan said defensively, but there was not much emotion. Fluttershy backed up a few meters.

"I used a narcotic to bring you back to my home to help you." Fluttershy said sincerely. This did not seem to satisfy Fan, as he got more into his defensive stance.

"Why did you help me?" asked Fan. Fluttershy opened her mouth to respond, but paused briefly in fear.

"I wanted to help you, because I like helping animals, and..." Fluttershy stopped mid sentence. She shifted her gaze away from Fan, avoiding eye contact. It doesn't fell like she's lying, but yet I feel something is still... off.

Fan got out of his fighting stance. Fluttershy backed away, back into the room she came from. Moments later, she came back out holding a tray with various of fruits and vegetables. Fan did not recognize a single one of them.

Naturally, Fan stayed away from the unfamiliar food for the time being. He walked out the door, not one to stay in one place for too long. His leg surpisingly hurt less the longer he walked. Outside of the house was a small creek, which he drank from as soon as he saw it.

He got up from the creek and crossed the bridge, only to hear the voice of Fluttershy behind him.

"Your leg hasn't gotten better yet, maybe stay longer?" Fluttershy said. Fan shook his head.

"I can't." Fan said.

"Why?"

"I need information." Fan's face showed no signs of change, it remained without emotion.

"Oh, well I can help out you need it." Fluttershy said, getting quieter the further into the sentence she went. Fan shook his head to refuse.

"There is no more you can do for me." Fan walked forwards, passing the pony that stood in his way. He stopped right before he passed.

"Why do you really keep all these animals? I don't think you were telling the truth back then. What's the real reason that you care for these creatures?" Fluttershy hid back in her mane.

"I don't know what you're-" Fluttershy was cut off.

"Liar." Fan said. Fluttershy's pupils shrunk. Her eyes started to water a little. The words that came from her mouth were quite unexpected to Fan Fei.

"When I was wandering the outside of the forest, I saw you. Your leg was injured and... I wanted to help you. I went to check on you when you woke up." Fluttershy paused and became eerily calm.

"The way you spoke. You sounded so lost and confused. I pitied you. Yes. That's why I keep all these animals, I pity them. They would have nowhere to go without me. But, that's fine. I enjoy being with them." Fluttershy stopped, on the verge of tears once more. Fan had a strange look on his eyes, Fluttershy couldn't quite place what emotion was displayed in his eyes.

"You are too kind. I have a feeling that trait will be your downfall." Fan left. Or at least Fluttershy thought he did. One moment he was right there, but the next moment... he was gone.

"What was that strange creature? I've never seen anything like it." Was all Fluttershy could say about the events that had unfolded before her.

Ling opened his eyes. He found himself in a meadow of flowers. He looked around the area, there was a forest behind him and when he looked in front of him he saw an awfully colorful bird flying in the distance, it looked as if it was slowly flying towards him.

Yeah, can I get a different dream. Ling thought to himself. He fell back down onto the ground and closed his eyes. When he opened his eyes nothing around him changed. Except the bird was starting to look more like a horse. It was getting rather close. It was so close that he reached out to it.

"Oh, it's just you rainbow horse bird inside my dream." Ling patted the creature on the head and laughed like something was really funny. The creature stopped for a moment, before kicking Ling in the face. "Hey! That hurt-" Ling's thoughts interrupted what he was saying. Wait... It hurts? That means that... this isn't a dream! He thought.

"I'm not a horse bird! I'm a pony!" Said the pony. I've never seen a pony like that! Ling's pupils widened in horror.

"You can speak? But what even are you?" Ling said, trying sound calm, but his heart was racing. He backed away slowly, with a reasonable fear of the unknown. Especially after realizing it probably wasn't a dream.

"Ha! You don't know about me? Rainbow Dash? Fastest flyer in Equestria right here!" The mare said with arrogance. ...In Equestria? Where am I? Ling thought. The creature was waiting for a response but he just sat there dumbfounded. Eventually he came to his senses and had an idea.

"Oh yeah, well I'm Ling! The fastest run away-er you'll never meet, oh hey what's that behind you?" Ling said, looking over Rainbow Dash's shoulder. While turning around she spoke.

"That makes no sense! I just met you and your saying-" Rainbow Dash turned around, and saw Ling running to the forest out in the distance. "Hey! Get back here!" She started flying over immediately.

"I've got to find some people to make sure I'm not going crazy! I'm the most sane person I know! Though that's not really saying much..." He told himself. Ling turned around and saw the rainbow maned Pegasus speedily decreasing the distance between the two of them.

"Ha! You sure are pretty slow for the fastest uh... whatever you are!" Rainbow Dash boasted. She was about to knock Ling over when suddenly, he jumped away at the last moment. The sudden change in direction was surprising for Rainbow Dash as she tried to turn but lost most of her momentum attempting it.

This bought some time for Ling to run some more, but not much. Rainbow Dash seemed to be recovering faster than he anticipated. He eyed the forest with an idea in mind. The forest! I can escape there! Looking behind himself he saw the afterimages of a rainbow rapidly coming at him. Never mind the forest! I wont make it if I continue at this rate, I need to dodge!

Ling jumped to his left in hopes of evading the equine creature. He turned around and saw that it had anticipated his move this time. Crap! Ling thought to himself. The strike that came from the creature caused him to be disoriented and in pain.

"Sorry!" Rainbow Dash said suddenly and stopped. "I kind of just want to know about why your running," She said.

"What do you mean sorry? Aren't you going to eat me?" Ling said, confused about the shift in tone. He got to his feet but didn't move once he was standing.

"Eat you?! Why under Celestia's sun would I eat you? What are you talking about, I'm a pony! Not some creature from the Everfree like you." So, she's not going to eat me? "Why did you come out of there? Is it because the clouds move on their own? Or are the beasts in there so violent you had to run away? Tell me! Hey, are you even listening?" Ling was staring off into the distance of the sky.

Ah, where am I again? Whatever, this is really weird, I hope I'm dreaming. It's so pretty out here. Ling's train of thought was interrupted by a hoof on his shoulder.

"Oh, you're still here." Ling said, a dull look strung across his face. She looked irritated, but nonetheless continued on with her speaking.

"You see the forest, right?" Rainbow Dash asked. Ling was starting to lose focus again. I'm talking to a talking pony, what has my life come to be since that day- She shook Ling's shoulder, redirecting his attention to her. She gave a disapproving look at him.

"Yeah, what about it?" Ling had no idea about anything that would be concerning that forest considering he'd never seen it before.

"What's it like in there? Most creatures from the Everfree would have attacked me without a second thought. But, you ran away from me, not trying to attack me at all, what's your deal?"

"Oh, I don't know." Ling said, avoiding the question.

"C'mon you have to know something!" Oh god she thinks I came from the forest, what do I say. He sat there and thought of what to say for a moment before finally speaking.

"The thing is, its a real scary place in there. Its also so spooky and mysterious that I dont even know myself!" Ling said in a matter of fact tone.

"C'mon tell me, I'll keep it a secret!" Rainbow Dash kept on pushing forwards.

"It can't be helped, it's just that mysterious I guess!" Ling said on a whim.

"Aw come on! Do you at least know where in the Everfree are you from?" She asked, ignorant to Ling's lies.

"No, I mean that I'm not from there, or over there. Or anywhere in there. I don't know where I am. Or where I'm from!" This response was true. There was a moment of silence between the two of them. At least before she broke out laughing.

"Hey, I'm serious!" Ling said. Rainbow Dash continued laughing.

"Oh that funny, you got me! My name is Rainbow Dash! Future wonderbolt, and future fastest flyer in Equestria!" She held out her fore-hoof.

"We already introduced each other, what are you doing?" She continued to hold out her fore hoof and Ling started to feel weird.

"Aw c'mon, it was a joke! Whatever, I'll see you tomorrow! Gotta go and do my job, you and I are going to be good friends!" She turned around and was about to fly off, but Ling spoke.

"Why would I be your friend, I just met you! I don't even know what's going on!" Rainbow Dash turned around and spoke as well.

"I like you because you're funny, therefore your my friend, Ling. Or should I call you hairless monkey!" Ling looked at the Pegasus that was now fading into the distance.

Only one thought crossed his mind. Just who is she calling a hairless monkey!

Ling's stomach grumbled. This didn't surprise him much, it probably the most normal thing he's thought about in a while. Wait a minute, I don't even know where I am! How will I get water? There should be some way to find food, maybe there was something in the books I've read.

Ling thought back to anything he had read recently. ...The Warrior, no that was fiction. Damn, why is it that I've only read fiction recently. His attempts to remember from books was futile.

Then finally he remembered something. "Oh yeah, someone told me when there are plants, there is water somewhere nearby!" He looked around him, instantly noticing the greenery of the forest. I guess it's decided, though they also did tell me no to eat anything I don't recognize.

Ling turned around, and walked into the forest. He was a bit nervous when he first walked in but it got easier to move inside the farther on he walked. He had a growing feeling of unease building up in his chest, but he kept walking forwards.

Ling heard the sound of an animal nearby. Maybe I could catch that creature and use it as food? No, food is good but if I don't drink water I'll dry up like a apple that's left uneaten too long. He did his best to avoid the creature for now, even turning his head away from the source of the noise.

When he turned his head he started to hear a sound. That sound, it sounds familiar. He ran towards the sound and eventually had no doubt of what the sound was. It's, a river! Calling the small creek of water before him a river was an exaggeration, but he was so thirsty he could care less.

After drinking for a bit, Ling started to cough and spit the water out of his mouth. What the?! This is disgusting, I can't believe I just drank it. He decided to drink a little more, just in case.

When Ling lifted his head he saw quite a stunning sight. Standing on top of the hill ahead of him was a tall, magnificent castle. It looked like something out of the fiction that he read in the books of the empty school he used to go to.

Ling could not contain his excitement, he ran up the hill too see the castle. Turns out, it was not as magnificent as he anticipated. It was not as wide as he expected, and looked to be in disrepair. It was still stunningly tall though.

Ling leaned down, and picked up a pebble. He threw the pebble at the ancient structure. Seconds later, it bounced off the building harmlessly, not surprising. He looked around himself, not noticing any creatures or security of any kind. Still, he felt nervous around the structure. It just creeped him out for some reason that he couldn't quite place.

The sun was no longer visible in the sky, it had been a while since it had fallen past the horizon. Ling rolled onto his back and looked up at the night sky. It's nighttime already, I must have lost track of the time. The moon looked strange to Ling for some reason, but everything else looked pretty normal. The moon was already high in the sky, apparently it had been nighttime for a while now.

Ling had never remembered the stars being so vibrant. It was like a painting, he just didn't want to look away.

But then, Ling heard the strangest sound he had ever heard. It was like a terrified scream, but with a low pitches rumbling undertone.

Ling looked away from the stars, and turned to the source of the noise. He didn't think that the source of the noise would be more terrifying than the noise. That expectation was shattered at the sight of a creature several feet tall. It had the body of a feline, but the tail of a scorpion and a bat's wings.

Ling had never ran as fast running away when running from the creature than he had ever ran in his life, not even when escaping from Nanshan did he run so fast. He ran to the door of the castle without hesitation. It didn't budge when he tried pushing or pulling it open.

The thumping of the creature's paws could be felt approaching him. Ling ran to the wall and started climbing as fast as he could. A few feet up he lost his grip on the brick wall.

Ling scrambled to get his footing back, luckily, he was able to get a grip at the last moment. There was an impact against the wall that he had not anticipated. Apparently the creature had hit the wall below him. He lost his grip once more.

Is this It? I worked so hard. Is this what I get.

No, this won't be the end, I refuse.

The creature had its claw swinging towards Ling, he dodged in the air, avoiding the the claws. He used it's head as a footstool, and he jumped back up the wall. This time all the way to the top.

The building did not have a roof in some parts, so he jumped inside through a rather large one nearby. The drop wasn't too high but he felt the impact down in his legs. Surprisingly there were banners on the wall despite the age of the place. He walked up to one and felt it. It feels old, but familiar. He rubbed his hand down it for a minute. Is this silk? He thought.

Suddenly, Ling felt some type of tugging from behind him. It wasn't physical though, it didn't feel like normal. It feels like I'm being pulled back, but pushed forwards at the same time. He thought about the sensation. He turned around and found the source of the energy.

There, in the middle of the room was a bright blue ball, made out of a strange material. The more Ling looked at the anomaly the more it started to look less like a ball and more like an equine shape. A trail from the direction of the sky was flowing into the orb.

Ling was mystified at the strange sight. But he shook his head a few times, he felt as if he was in a trance. He backed away from the sight, acidentally tripping and falling down. There was a door to his left, he scrambled to his feet and opened up the door. Immediately he opened it up and went inside.

Inside the room was a hallway, it was quite dusty inside but mostly avoided by nature, that is if you disregarded the tree growing through it. Despite the stillness of the room, Ling doubted he'd get a good night's rest in there. The strange tugging sensation disappeared from his body, it was replaced by a new sensation.

Ling was not alone. There was a voice heard from the other side of the door.

"It really has been a thousand years! It is good to be back." Whatever was speaking sure sounded happy. I wonder what's going on? Maybe it's another pony. Ling thought. He reached out to pull open the door but he hesitated. What if it's not? He stopped his hand. Maybe, I will listen a little longer. He thought.

Ling was about to lean onto the door when a thought popped into his head. I probably don't wanna lean on this really old door- He tried to stop himself from leaning on it, but it was too late.

There was a snap of the door coming loose from its place on the wall. Then, there was a crash of Ling coming loose from the ground and hitting the ground once again, and landing on top of the door. He looked up and saw a very peculiar looking pony. It had wings like the pony from earlier but it also had a horn on its head. Its mane looked like the midnight sky.

"Umm, pardon the intrusion." Ling said with a sheepish smile on his face. He pointed down the hall and picked up the door, putting it back on and walked into the room awkwardly going back in.

"Halt! Who dares to step foot in my castle?" Ling felt all of his limbs paralyzed as he was dragged back to the throne room of the castle by some mysterious force.

"Well? Answer me!" Said the unknown mare. Ling just responded, there was fear in his voice.

"I thought the place was abandoned! I didn't know you lived here. My name is Ling, what's yours?" He was surprisingly calm during this exchange of words, but there was still fear in his voice.

"What creature are you anyways, you are no pony. Nonetheless, you do not know my name? Has everpony forgotten about I?" Ling just stared at her.

"I'm don't actually know where I am, I'm a human. Also, can you let me go now?" Ling said impatiently.

"Silence! I shall inspire fear in the hearts of Equestria once more! My name is Nightmare Moon! Bringer of the eternal night!" Ling just paused before trying to respond. Before he could, he felt the strange force push him against the back of the throne. The force holding him down only held down his arms and legs now.

There was a moment of silence in the room. Many questions ran through Ling's head. What is going on? Why is this happening to me? That horse must be a bad one if it's treating me like this! He tried moving but his arms and legs seemed to be frozen. He was able to move his face and neck though.

There was a cracking noise behind him, and suddenly he felt the presence of another being. There was no other evidence to back this feeling though, he could not see or hear a sound from whatever was there.

"My magic... It's no use." Ling turned his head to the noise. Someone else is here? the unknown voice continued speaking.

"I forgive you sister. As I did long ago, all that matters is that the real you comes back to me." Ling bit his lip to delay his response. A strange thought came into his head. Who is this person? He kept his mouth shut, at least for the time being that is. There was another crackling sound, this time a voice came that he recognized from before.

"Its been a while, sister. This task should be simple, correct?" The voice was that of Nightmare Moon.

"You are not my sister, Nightmare Moon. Though, I am glad you remembered those messages I sent to the you many moons ago. I assume it's a yes to the deal then?" The unknown voice said. Ling still did not recognize the second voice. But that didn't matter.

"Fine, if they succeed I guarantee that it will be painless for you." Said the second voice. Painless? What does she mean? Ling thought to himself.

"Fine, my life is a small price if it will make sure that my people are safe." The response was much quieter and mellow compared to when Nightmare Moon was talking earlier.

"Have you abolished those unjust laws that I fought against?" There was a silence. Ling was confused.

"It truly is a shame. When the time comes, make it quick, Celestia." Ling sensed malice with the last part spoken to the other individual, who was now identified as Celestia. The mysterious force gripping Ling's arms and legs disappeared. I can move?

There was a silence as Ling fell face first onto the floor. He grunted in pain.

Ling said to nobody in particular.

"Is somepony there? Get out if here! It's dangerous!" Said Celestia.Ling was very confused about the sudden behavior change.

Ling was about to walk out from behind the throne, but was met with a strange feeling of intimidation. This feeling, it feels dangerous. He thought to himself.

Ling looked around and noticed a small hole in the wall next to him. He took the effort to climb in through the small opening. It took quite a bit of effort, but eventually he had removed himself from inside of the building and was now outside of it.

On top of the thick, cobblestone walls of the ancient castle, Ling looked around his surroundings. There was not much to see except for trees. After seeing the view another time he made up his mind. The thought of the strange creature ran through his mind. I guess I'll stay up here for now.

Ling looked up to the sky and saw a tower of the castle, it seemed to be higher than the rest of the roof. A grin seemed to creep it's way onto his face. While the concept excited him, he couldn't help but think about the risk involved. Is the view really worth climbing this tower? I've only climbed trees and small buildings back in Nanshan village. The more he thought, the more discouraged he felt about it.

Ling yawned. He must have been tired considering how strange the day had been for him. Tears welled up in his eyes as he started to think about the day before. My home... I want to go back. It can't be taken away from me like my old home, right? They didn't take my friend? Not him, he's my new family, right? Then why are they all gone? Family sticks with you, right? He paused for a moment.

Ling considered the worst. What if I can never go back and see my new family? He rejected the thought all together. No, that will not happen...

Right?

Ling wiped the tears out of his eyes. He looked up the tower and thought to himself something. A grin seemed to find its way back into his expression. What do I have to lose. I'll climb.

The tower looked less sturdy than he thought now that he was at the foot of it. He still didn't hesitate to start climbing. The foothills on the tower were loose but he didn't care.

Eventually, Ling reached the top. He looked at the area around him. Wow! It's so pretty from up here! Thought Ling. The view was quite the sight to behold, he could see the forest for many miles.

It was quite the sensation to feel, the majestic landscape was nothing like anything Ling had ever seen. A smile was on his face, and tears in his eyes. I wish you would have stayed with me mother, little brother, Jingzi. But, I'm going to have to be all alone now...

In the distance, Ling saw something. It looked odd to him. It didn't look natural at all.The realization about what it was dawned on him. It's a town! Maybe I can ask the people there how I can get back home!

The smile left his face. Oh yeah, I have nothing left to go back to... Ling dangled one of his feet over the side of the tower. I bet nobody would ever find out if I fell from this tower. There was a sad look in his eyes. No, I need to push forwards. Like when I lost mother.

Ling stopped dangling his foot over the edge. He started to climb back down from the tower. Apparently, he wasn't very careful with his descent. The brick he was holding onto broke off the tower.

As Ling fell time seemed to slow. Yet he still fell at a rapid rate. Well, that's too bad. He thought.

Ling's body rotated midair to see the wall of the castle below him. He would hit it in a short moment now.

There was a strange feeling that Ling felt, it was the same feeling as the one he felt before. He had stopped right above the wall. The feeling disappeared after a couple of moments. He landed on the wall with a thud, but was otherwise unharmed.

Ling knew who did this. But that didn't matter. "Why?" He asked the figure behind him, he assumed it was Nightmare Moon.

"I don't want any more creatures getting hurt."

"Why? Aren't you supposed to be the feared ruler of the night?" Questioned Ling.

"I am, it's just-" Nightmare Moon was cut off.

"Then why don't I fear you? Who are you really?" Ling questioned.

Nightmare Moon was silent to Ling's sudden outburst.

"What's your deal? You had no reason to do that, but you just couldn't mind your own business." Said Ling angrily.

"You have to live, it's wrong not too. You shouldn't end up like me," Nightmare Moon said.

"That's not a good reason," said Ling.

"I'm just like you." Nightmare Moon said. There was silence in the forest around them.

"You aren't. You don't have much time left. Do you?" Ling said to Nightmare Moon.

Nightmare Moon sat down on the roof behind Ling. Or at least he thought she did, he didn't look behind him.

"You have more time left. Don't rush it, live for yourself." She said. Within the blink of an eye, Nightmare Moon was gone. Or maybe she was never there to begin with. Ling didn't know, he didn't look and see.

Ling, now laying down on what was remaining of the thick walls of the castle, decided to get some rest.

Suddenly, there was a loud burst of noise below him. The castle creaked and rumbled in stress. Ling awoke, immediately getting himself up. He had slept a sleepless night. But, he had slept nonetheless. Proving his suspicion from earlier correct. So this reality, it really isn't a fake?

Ling got up to look at what was happening inside. It was now still in the night as evident by the moon up in the sky. He started to hear voices in the building. Hesitantly, he looked inside.

Looking inside he could tell that Ling did not have the best angle, but from what he could see there were 6 ponies closest to him, they each were different colors from each other. Each with horns or wings or neither at all. He did not really pay much attention to them at the moment.

Ling looked across the room to Nightmare Moon and saw another figure in the corner of the room, the figure shone brightly, even in the darkness of the room. Celestia had a coat as white as snow and a mane swaying with a non-existent breeze. She was staring intently at Nightmare Moon. Nobody acknowledged her presence in the room.

Nightmare Moon apparently was giving some sort of speech, Ling really was not listening to her empty words, or the words of the 6 ponies on the floor below him. The only thing he saw was the emotion that was behind the false persona of emotion that Nightmare Moon displayed.

Ling saw the fear in her eyes. He noticed the 6 ponies, now all had crowns on their heads. Their eyes were glowing white. He looked back at Nightmare Moon and realized his misconception. The emotion seemed not to be fear, it was acceptance.

The 6 ponies floated off the ground, which surprised Ling for a moment. Suddenly, a beam of light came out of each of the 6 crowns on the ponies heads. They fired into the direction of Nightmare Moon.

Ling was able to see behind the beam of light, though nobody else seemed to see it happen. But, what happened to Nightmare Moon was horrific thing. She was disintegrated before his very eyes. The images of what was happening had burned into his mind, and his legs just wouldn't work, he could not move his body. He wanted to run. Even though he was not restrained, he was paralyzed. He had never been this scared.

Once Nightmare Moon was nothing but ashes, something strange happened. The ashes seemed to reform themselves. It was slow, eventually somethings started to take shape. It was the form of something similar yet completely new to see.

Ling backed up to the edge of the wall. With a swift leap he was off of it. He landed on the ground with an unpleasant thud. He felt pain in his leg.

This is nothing, thought Ling. He started to run into the forest. He didn't know where to go, but he knew his destination.

If only his travels were that simple.

Ling slowed down, something was in his way. In front of him now was a ravine that seemed to have no bottom. The other side of the cliff was quite a distance away. There was an old bridge that hung off the side of the ravine, unconnected to the other side. Unfortunately, this left him in quite the predicament considering that his salvation laid beyond the place.

Ling grit his teeth, already mad about what he had to do. He leaped into the air, attempting to get as much distance as possible. He grabbed onto the rope of the bridge off the side of the ravine, his hands slid down it, causing his palms intense pain.

Looking down, Ling realized how close he was to falling into the abyss below him. Only a couple of feet of rope were below him. He climbed up, eventually getting to the top of the dismantled rope bridge, the ravine caused him to think back to when he was saved by Nightmare Moon.

The sun rose from the horizon, flooding the landscape in a golden glow. Ling had anger in his eyes, he slammed the ground in frustration.

"Damn it! You idiot Nightmare Moon! Why would you want me to live!" He shouted into the distance.

"You didn't even have the motivation to save yourself. That's not fair! You have way more to live for than me, so why?" He shouted into the ravine.

Ling ran into the forest, eventually finding some shelter under a small overhang. Despite it being daytime, he decided to get some sleep. He had some reconsidering to do.

Jingzi was awake but something felt off about his body. It felt as if he wasn't really there, wherever he was. He just didn't feel whole. What is this place, I'm on ground but I do not feel myself on any solid surface. There is no light around me either.

"Where am I?" Jingzi asked himself in awe. He looked around, there really was nothing to see but darkness in the area in front of him.

"The great in-between is where you reside, Jingzi." Said an unknown voice from behind. Jingzi had not expected a response, he looked around himself and laid his eyes upon a strange being indeed. It did not create any comprehensible shapes to him, and the shapes he recognized changed form around the creature every passing moment.

"How do you know my name?" Jingzi asked it.

"I can comprehend the basic identity of travelers who come and go, I doubt you will remember this conversation until a long time after you arrive. Though it's not impossible." Jingzi looked at the thing.

"What are you?" Jingzi asked it.

"In your realm I am called Chen Chengda. But, I have a name that is used among those that remember me. That name is 'the king of curses'. What I am as an entity is what you would call a god," said the king of curses.

"Its not going to be long before your destination. Most gods who have the same job as I give gifts to those who travel through the in between. It's mandatory to do so. But to be honest, I hate you," the king of curses paused. Jingzi looked at him and pointed his finger.

"You hate me! Well who are you to hate me, a crappy god! That's what you are!" Jingzi shouted furiously at the shapeless being. The king of curses chuckled.

"I hate most humans, you included. But I admit, you have given me quite the interesting time in this journey. Here is a 'gift'," the king of curses had an area of his body make a comprehensive shape, it shaped into that of a human hand. The fingers aligned in a strange way so that the middle finger was on the thumb. In an instant it slipped off his thumb, hitting his palm all in one quick motion. It made an unfamiliar clapping sound to Jingzi. There was no change in the environment around him or any new objects. Where's the gift? He said he would give one!

"The gift that us gods give you was never ours, it was always yours and always will be yours. We simply awaken the spirit and develop it. Though the methods of development vary for each god. The way I develop the spirit tends to be seen as a curse. When a spirit is developed, it can change a person physically and or mentally, though the change will usually take a good few months to fully manifest. However some changes will be immediately noticeable. Usually, it can manifest as something physical. Though it doesn't always be physical. Losing the item or items is very difficult, as they are tied to your fate and your spirit." Explained the king of curses.

"What is fate?" Jingzi asked curiously. The king of curses laughed heavily.

"I explained all of that and that's what you are concerned with? You are pretty interesting, young mortal. Fate is something inescapable that is tied to every living and non-living being. I regretfully have to inform you it is time, your window to leave has come."

Jingzis surroundings shifted around him, revealing a swirling vortex where the king of curses once stood. The moment he saw it, his body stopped listening to him as he walked into it. He didn't stop moving until there was nothing but pitch black in all directions.