First Harvest, year 4 of Equestria's Reign

It's been a very trying four years after helping found the nation of Equestria with the other two pony races, and in those four years, I have only grown older, and none the wiser. My protegè, Starswirl, assures me it is nothing more than the stresses of running a country. However, I feel that is not the case. Lately, I've been having these dreams-

The rest of the passage had been illegible and unintelligent ravings, as if the beginnings of madness were seeping through the pages themselves. Though, if one understood Elder Speech, such as Celestia, you would be able to see more of a split in personality than the ravings of a madmare. The Alicorn read on, deciphering the second language:

The World Speaks Through Me, And Tells Me Of Creation. Two God-like Beings Shall Appear, One Clad In White And Bears The Sun's Wrath. The Other, The First Sign Of Endings...

The passage ended in the journal. Noticing the oil lantern dying slowly within the vault she found herself in, Celestia cast a small wisp of light, illuminating the dank, dark, and cramped pit she sat in. The only desk down here was currently buried in open tomes, scrolls, and journals, such as the one she was reading.

Winter's Ending Wrap-Up, year 18 of Equestria's Reign

It seems my pupil has finally sprouted his own metaphorical wings of courage and ventured off to find what he called the Pillars of Equestria, though I doubt such a myth exists. If it did, I'm guessing the Other Me would have written about it. I'm still having visions, most vague and uneventful. One was of a young filly, not unlike my Starswirl, who showed great magical potential. In those visions, I was seeing through the eyes of one of the deities my Other Self had prophesized. It was unclear what it meant, but I had an inkling it would not be with my lifetime...

Alas, no need to worry about the What-Will-Be, it is only important I focus on the What-is. Today the two deities I...I mean, the Other Me, Predicted. Now it is finally time to see if these visions are true, or if I really am just getting too old...

It ended there, the next dozens of pages just repeating the same words, line after line, almost in a chant. The word, however, sent chills down the alicorn's spine as she glanced the pages: Nightmare.

Day 85? No, that was the last entry, wasn't it? Day 365 of The Sisters' Rule

New Year's day. One year since they arrived. One year, since my prediction was accurate, among others, albeit mundane compared to the Other One's first prediction. Celestia, the one filled with brightness, called it 'Cognitive Dissonance'- a term I had never heard before. She explained it well enough in the end though, I suppose...

Essentially, I am a Sage. The first (and possibly last) to exist here. When I asked her what she meant, Celestia simply chuckled. She had not a clue, but she knew it to be correct. The knowledge she seemed to possess was very similar to my predictions, she told me in confidence. *in Elder Speech* We Were Not The Only Ones Touched, It Seemed...

...

...

...I wish I could understand that infernal writing! For the visions, it wasn't as hard making guesses, but with something writ, I am as helpless as ever. What unnerves me even more is the fact the Other Me is now blending with my current thoughts- She IT no longer needs to wait for my conscious mind to slip away.

Celestia remembered that year. The New Year's Eve- the very first one. Still, she was amazed Clover the Clever kept this secret for so long... Shaking her head of such thoughts, she continued:

Day 18,250 of Celestia's Rule

80 years... 80. Years. That's how long it has been since the two deities first showed. My predictions have stopped, and in my old age, I no longer wish to argue with my own mind on whether or not it was a separate personality or something else possessing me. I no longer speak what I and Celestia have come to call Elder Speech, and can only translate to words upon quill to paper. I know I can still tap into the powers that my prophecies come from with a spell of my pupil's design, though I cannot ask him directly. Today was the day I predicted his utter disappearance. My Sight never fails and now, I mourn for Starswirl the Bearded.

... A silly name, isn't it? Much kinder than what Luna called herself before banishment thirty years ago. It was the only time my Prophecy was defied, and I fear the misguided twisting of fate Celestia has accomplished may have brought upon doom to Equestria, nay, the entire world.

She stopped, taking more notes in one of the many scrolls scattered, before continuing. At some point, the entry was scribbled away, most likely in defiance to the one she predicted would try to read it. Finding some legible writing, she continued, only to gasp at the next passage- it was directly addressed to her:

I no longer need to mark the day

I do this in defiance of you, Celestia. Your days are numbered, starting from the time your eyes first read this. I warned you of the consequences of defying powers beyond our control or understanding. This is my final prediction, my final prophecy. I used my pupil's spell, though at great cost. My body has finally caught up with my age. One hundred and thirty years I have sat on this plane of existence, and all of it was dashed away from an incomplete spell. Ironic, isn't it? That my student is responsible for creation as well as destruction? You must be proud of your student, as am I of mine.

...Enough stalling. I condemn you to your fate, for there is no escaping it this time.

From the ashes of Nightmares marks the First of Four; a Tear shall appear, numbering Two of Four; The Third Sign, A horse, bound to serve its master shall ride out and bring it's namesake to all lands in it's path; The Fourth Sign, elusive, even to my sight, lest Fate be ignored again...

Following these great catastrophes, my last and most powerful Prophecy will reign true, and you will suffer for defying Creation itself. The Pale Rider comes for you and you alone, but if you are to defy his masters again, the world will end in fire...

Death is coming... For You.

She couldn't believe it. She won't. After everything she has accomplished because of that one moment, she set out to defy Fate once more. It was why Celestia was down here, in the most hidden, deepest, darkest vault: She needed to do research on her enemy, but found nothing. Not even the wealth of knowledge she contained within her own mind told her how to cheat Death itself. If only Starswirl were here...

CAW!

"Yah!" The Alicorn jumped at the sudden sound. Looking around, she noticed a small raven perched upon a nearby bookshelf, when suddenly she realized something: there should be no way a raven made it down here.

"Who are you?!" She held the bird within her golden aura. It was a fruitless venture however, as the feathered fiend vanished in a purple smoke.

Suddenly, An eerie cackle echoed through the vault before a disembodied voice began to speak. "There's no need for violence, I come with a gift." Appearing from the same smoke, a gangly bipedal creature, dressed within a feathered robe appeared.

"And who might you be?" She eyed the figure skeptically. "You're human, given your appearance, so there should be no reason why you're here."

"Yes, and no." He chuckled, bursting into a murder of crows before appearing behind the mare. "Many call me Crowfather, and as I said before, I come bearing gifts-" waving his hand over the table Celestia had her research on, he summoned a small book. "This contains the secrets of the one you seek."

Jumping at the opportunity, she greedily reached for the book, only for it to disappear with a flick of the wrist from Crowfather. "What do you want?" She calmly spoke, facing him.

"Wise indeed!" He chuckled. "As you can see, I am bound to this infernal necklace." He lifted up an eerie charm, glowing with a sickly pale green. She also could have sworn there were voices whispering from it. "In exchange for a simple binding spell from the Sage you are reading from, I will provide you with what you seek." Now she understood why some of the passages were erased: it was to hinder the Crowfather from learning that spell.

"I don't mean to be the bearer of bad news, but Clover the Clever erased all knowledge of that, it seems."

"Tsk, tsk." With another flick of his wrist, Celestia came plummeting towards his face at impossible speeds, completely out of her control. "You know the spell, Celestia. Your name was uttered by the damned, and I think it's time you tell me the spell."

"I-I don't know what you're talking ab-"

"Nightmare." He lifted the scroll with that same word scrawled everywhere upon it, and practically pressed it into the alicorn's face. "You used a spell to stop it. I need to know it." He grinned sinisterly, holding out his hand. "Do we have a deal?"

Given the situation, she had no choice but to agree. Celestia had no idea how powerful this "Crowfather" was, and was intent on not finding out. Shaking his hand, she teleported a scroll and hovered it in midair for him to take. Snatching it with feverish need, he summoned the book from earlier on her writing desk in return. "The deed is done. My friend Dust will keep you company until your battle ends. I am curious." He cackled maniacally before dispersing one last time in a murder of crows.

Had she made a deal with the Devil? Only time will tell...

Author's Note

Sends chills down the spine, huh?

Well either way, hope you enjoy it so far.