(Arden's POV)

This is too good. Arden mused while looking at the faces of his companions. The sheer shock of watching Izzy pretend to be a woodpecker and cut a tree down to size with her horn alone was astonishing. Then came the crowning moment, when the tree went down and perfectly connected both ends of the ravine. Izzy turned around to let out a simple.

"Ta-da!" She cheered with a soft voice and a wide smile.

"So, how about we get going?" Arden proposed without batting an eye. His usual mood had returned a couple of days after his first crash, which was also a reason for their slower pace. The rest of the group didn't answer. They forced their mouths shut before following Arden across the makeshift bridge. "It should take one day at best for us to get to Izzy's cottage."

The group didn't talk much after that. There was an eerie feeling after the events of Arden's mood change. They wouldn't outright say it, but something was bothering them. Arden had taken notice but thought it best not to question it since it was related to him. Therefore, they would worry about him if they noticed him being weary. Arden helped them set up camp once nightfall came.

Adding to the change in everyone's behavior, other things also felt different. The world seemed to be changing. The grass and flowers felt livelier. Even the stars and the moon looked brighter than before. Once everyone went asleep, Arden got up and went to take a seat by the edge of the cliff where they had set their camp.

It doesn't hurt to take a peek, right? Arden concluded while pulling out the horn. I can't be around something that goes crazy whenever it wants. Is there a rune or a switch in here? Arden pondered while inspecting the surface of the horn.

The crystal looked smooth. But upon closer inspection, there were carvings on its side. They looked like vines climbing on the side of a three. And they all seemed to sprout from the ruby attached to the base of the horn.

"Whatcha doing?"

"Gah!" Arden exclaimed while nearly dropping the horn.

Grabbing the horn before it slipped into the cliff, Arden turned around with a flustered expression before bumping his nose with Izzy's.

"I was trying to see if this thing had any means of triggering the magic manually, rather than the thing setting off on its own."

"Oh. Did you find anything?"

"Nope. It's just a carved crystal."

"That's a shame."

"Yep."

There was a brief moment of silence. Arden sat at the edge with his legs dangling while Izzy stood beside him staring at the horizon.

"You're not going to do that thing again, right?"

"Which one? I made a lot of dumb decisions thus far."

"Your eyes."

"It's the trick up my sleeve. But it is not a reliable one. Honestly, it was a gamble to even use it back at the castle."

"That's not what I mean."

"So, what do you mean?"

"It's dangerous."

"Of course it is. I spread myself across a lot of ponies."

"I mean the magic."

"Huh?"

Arden turned to look at Izzy, who had crouched down and hugged her knees. She seemed to regret saying her mind, but not the message behind it as she bit her lip.

"We are going through all of this to bring back the magic. But, what if it is better to leave it sealed? I mean, look at what magic did to you."

"Yeah, because I'm using magic in a world where magic is almost dead."

"But look at how magic influenced the pegasus. You using magic brought everyone together. What if someone else used magic to tear everyone apart?"

"We'll just beat them."

"And if they are stronger?"

"We get stronger ourselves."

"And if you get hurt?"

"Part of the job."

"And if we get hurt."

Arden opened his mouth but halted his answer.

"I just don't want any of our friends getting hurt."

"If push comes to shove, I'll be the only one in the line of fire, I'm focusing everything on me after all."

"But that's exactly what I don't want to happen!" Izzy cried out before lunging at Arden, causing them to be precariously close to falling off the ridge. "Let's just pretend we didn't find the crystal. Let's play that it was destroyed. Please?" Izzy begged while pressing her head against Arden's chest.

"I wouldn't want anything less. To stay together like this. But, if we stop, everyone might die. This is a world born from magic, if you take it away, there won't be anything left of it."

"At least we will be together. And everyone will be fine."

"But without a future."

"A short time well-lived is better than a long time of misery!"

"What if we don't get either?"

"How can you be certain?"

"How can any of us be certain?!"

Both grew silent as Arden's voice echoed through the empty fields. Izzy looked scared of him. Arden got up with the horn in his hands. He looked at the thing and then back at Izzy. His grip tightened as he looked back at his choices and their repercussions. Turning his head towards the campfire, everyone had woken up and were staring back at the two of them.

What am I even doing? Arden mused while seeing the disheartened faces of his companions. His grip tightened before turning around and preparing to throw the horn away from the camp in a fit of rage. WHAT AM I EVEN DOING RIGHT NOW!?

"Don't do it!" Arden heard as his body froze.

"Who said that?!" Arden exclaimed while searching his surroundings. However, what he sees is not the camp. His surroundings are gone. All that is left is a starry road as if he is walking on a bridge of light. Looking down at the horn, Arden sees that the object is glowing once more. "I'm starting to get sick of this thing."

"Dear, that could be crafted into such a lovely accessory. Fashionable and functional."

"Who is even talking? You're different from the first."

"Magic is coming back and the first thing you think of is making accessories? Wake up, Rarity!"

"Another one."

"Don't mind them, Sugar cube. What you need to be worrying about is that horn."

"How many of you are there?"

"Double the number of crystals you're looking for!"

"Six. Wait. That's the number of ponies back at Sunny's house. She had some dolls."

"Yes, we are six in total."

"Can you please step out? I don't know where to look," Arden said in a defeated tone.

"You just need to see me," Said a voice by Arden's side.

Nearly jumping at the sudden appearance, Arden fell on his rear as he laid eyes on the newcomer. A unicorn with wings wearing a velvet dress stood by him. She was way taller than anyone he had seen so far. Her form was nearing a see-through state, almost as if she was fading, and her mane seemed to have stars shining from within it. She looked tired and quite sad. Arden squinted his eyes as his memories went back to Sunny's house once more.

"Ok. You're that pony. The one that was drawn in the Vitruvian style back in the lighthouse."

"Not my best work."

"I have to ask. Are my little ponies ready to get their magic back?"

Arden stared at her for a few seconds. That phrasing was weird. Wait. No way.

"YOU!" Arden exclaimed while getting up and pointing an accusatory finger at the figure that flinched at it. "You're the cause of this mess?!"

"There was no other choice. Someone instigated the different races into attacking each other."

"And this was the solution?! To just make every ounce of magic disappear."

"Not disappear. I simply sealed it until harmony among the races was a possibility once more."

"Did you even try? Seriously. Did you try? Have you seen the state of the world? Did you even see what the hell happened to the races after you took their magic away? Because whatever it is you did, it wasn't instantaneous! They went into a bloody war! They have myths about how each of the other races is some kind of multi-headed monster!"

"I SAW ALL OF IT!" Cried the figure as she fell to her knees and buried her hands on her face. She stood at eye level with Arden while in that stance. "All we fought for was gone. I had to do something before further damage was done."

Arden clenched his fists while looking at the crying figure before him. He wanted to yell. He wanted to scold her for not intervening in the situation earlier. They had magic for crying out loud, scrying the culprit should not have been such a hard thing to do. Even more so if this pony was powerful enough to seal ALL magic away. However, the more he looked at the crying figure, the more he saw the disheartened Sunny he had seen before reaching Zephyr Heights. His frustration grew as he crushed the crystal horn further. His hands started to hurt as they pressed against the crystal horn.

"God damn it!" Arden cursed before he started swinging the horn around and took a few steps away from the figure. "Someone tosses me here. I try to help the first thing I see. Suddenly I am pulling swords off the fucking ground, running away from panicking villages, and spearheading an effort for peace. I had made my mind, but the further I got from the ponies I convinced the more I wavered. I don't believe in the things I preached. I believed in what those ponies believed, and here I am scolding someone that took action. WHY AM I SO FUCKING PATHETIC!?" He ranted before falling to his knees. This time, however, he was the one crying as his vision blurred.

"Your resolve might not have been your own. But your actions were. More often than not, a ruler must act on the will of their subjects. However, there are times in which a ruler's will must be enforced. The ponies sought conflict against the wishes and teachings of my pupil. She did what she could to save as many as she could."

"As for you. You chose to help. Your resolve came from the desire of those around you. Seeing as they lacked the planning and the means to seek their desires on their own, you led them towards it. Had the thought of seeking peace and union not been in their hearts, they would not have been reached by your words or actions."

"You may have been driven by a sudden feeling of love. But it was not directed at these that walk along you. Your love was directed at this world. The more you saw it, the more it hurts to witness how much everyone within it was suffering. You made a hasty decision when taking those ponies as lovers. They love what you did and who you are. But their feelings are making your resolve waver. Your heart is attuned to theirs. That is your nature. But you cannot allow yourself to be overwritten by the emotions of those around you."

"What?" Arden mumbled as his vision became blurrier.

"Oh, you are no fun. Finally, someone stirs up things and now they are breaking down. What is it with you royals and putting everything on one pony's shoulders?"

"My feelings are being overwritten by those around me?" Arden questioned as he felt the tears falling on his hands.

"Yes. It is rather easy for us with the ability to connect to the emotions and hearts of those around us to not see it. Surrounding ourselves with those that reinforce our feelings, we lose ourselves in their visions distorting our own. You love this world. You love magic. You love the potential and the story of this world. But, you bound yourself to those ponies in an attempt to reassure them, while failing to notice that you created a two-way road. These feelings, the wavering resolve, the uncertainty, all of it comes from those around you."

"Then, what? Just ignore their feelings and keep walking forward?"

"Through your actions, you shook the resolve of others. All of it without relying on your ability to connect. You did what they wanted and brought about change. You created a cult in Zephyr Heights by abusing your power. But you planted the seeds of uncertainty in both Bridlewood and Maritime Bay. These seeds were hastily forced to sprout in Zephyr Heights, hence the overwhelming support. But you have not seen, what has transpired after you left."

Raising his head, Arden sought the one that was speaking. A white mare sat at the edge of the bridge, she wore a golden dress and was about the same height as the lavender mare he had seen before. Arden crawled toward her with haste and looked over the edge of the bridge.

"Are we sure this will work?"

"I don't know. But, that unicorn made a point."

"What if it all goes to shit and we have another war?"

"At least we will have tried. We can't keep hiding like this."

"Nothing ventured nothing gained?"

"You could say that."

"Do you think that unicorn made us so, brash? We were going crazy here with the entire idea."

"Maybe. But he let us go. I mean, if he wanted to brainwash us to just do all of that, why would he leave?"

"Fair point. Maybe his goal was to give us a push to try. I mean, I knew our town was built on top of some old city. And I always wondered why we knew of the other races' cities but never did anything about it."

"They were more passionate about it when we left," Arden said while wiping the tears.

"What you did has altered their view on things. The process you had hastened is now receding into what it should have been. But the change is made. Uncertainty holds them from going overboard and grants them a hint of reservation when dealing with something so alien to them a few days ago. You changed them, even after your abuse reverted. It is not wrong to want to understand. But to anchor others into your emotions and point of view is not a good choice. This time, it didn't backfire. But you could have paved the way for war."

"Yeah. You slipped up bad there, kid. But here is the thing, who doesn't? Your friends also made a big slip up there. I mean, they are undermining your mission. You did everything they wanted to do and now they want you to stop. That's not how this works. It's supposed to be a give-and-take thing. I second Izzy's worry about the return of magic while that brat is out there. However, I also see that things are not looking up if they remain like this."

"Who are you? All of you," Arden inquired as he sat at the edge of the bridge and took a look around himself.

Ten creatures stood around him. Four ponies with wings and horns and unnatural heights, five ponies that fit the base races he had met thus far, and one amalgamation of animal bits. This last one was way more visible than the nearly transparent ponies around him.

"For now, we are echoes of the past, save for one of us who watches over the land in the dark. This is our resting place while magic remains sealed. If magic were to return, maybe we could meet one day."

"How am I supposed to do this?" Arden asked while placing his free hand over his chest. "I can make the connections. But I don't know how to sever them."

"It's ok. I'll show you how," Arden heard as the pink-winged unicorn extended her hand and rested it on his cheek. "It is as simple as saying Goodbye. But it also hurts just as much."

"Saying, goodbye?" Arden whispered while looking into the mare's eyes. Instinctively, Arden gripped his chest as the realization hit him.

"Yeah. Yeah. Sad sappy display. Now, listen here, colt. That thing you have belonged to me. And I do things as I please. That thing will allow you to do as you please if your will is your own. So, it's been firing off because you're a mess of desires from a bunch of different ponies. Thankfully, you had someone wanting to meet the past with you."

"So, this thing fired off, because of the connections?"

"I just said that."

"But-" Arden started before a gust of wind struck his face from the front washing away all of the images around him.

He was back at the camp. His arm was still raised as he aimed to throw the horn away.

"Arden?" He heard from Izzy as she tugged on his clothes.

Looking down at Izzy, Arden felt something running down his cheek. A smile crept up on his muzzle as he let out a sad chuckle. Turning around, he walked toward camp and began packing his things. He double-checked everything including the rations for the trip.

One more time. Please, let me see. Arden thought as the clarity of his desire manifested with the horn's glow. Once more the light from his friend's chests laid bare before him. However, he did not focus on the lights coming from them. He shifted his focus to search for a connection. Something that linked him and his friends.

It took a few seconds, but as he searched, Arden found two types of strands connecting him to them. One looked like a solidly built rope, while the other looked like a feeble flowy bunch of strings badly woven together. Arden felt something on his back. Looking over his shoulder, Arden saw a gigantic chain leading toward the sky. It then split into two, one that led to the woods, and one that led to the mountains.

"I have to sever this," Arden mumbled as he turns his attention to the delicate threads on his chest. Arden was about to grab one of the threads before he heard something cracking. Arden's eyes widened before darting toward the horn in his hands. The object seemed to be ready to crack.

More often than not, we are met with crossroads in our lives.
Power can cause change, it can bring forth a necessity of choice.
This time is no different, dearest reader.

Allow me to ask you this, how powerful is Discord?
He, who could alter reality with a single snap of his fingers, could control everything within the limits of his imagination.
Time was no different.

Allow me to explain what you are about to witness.
From a single point in time, we shall fracture the path into three.
But due to the horn's powers, these possibilities are all occurring at the same time.
These are not possibilities. They are concrete events that are all happening at the same time.

For the sake of your comprehension, I shall make it so, that you will meet each event separately.
But for the sake of piecing together what truly happened, I recommend that you picture a screen split into three, and each part of the screen is playing these events simultaneously.

The path for a future: Severance

Hastily turning to the threads connected to his heart, Arden used each of his fingers to grab one of the threads. His heart felt as if it was being torn apart. His eyes teared up as he grunted in pain. Arden felt himself fading, his mind slowly going dark as he tried to pull the threads apart.

"You can't break! You need to keep going! Wake up! WAKE UP!"

Gritting his teeth, Arden grabbed his threads tighter. A wave of sadness and regret struck him as the voices of his friends melded into a mess of thoughts assaulting him. They weren't trying to, but they were making it so much harder to sever the bond. Arden felt his grip loosen up as their thoughts chipped away at his resolve.

"It hurts, but your connection is still there. You're breaking a forced bond. Don't give in. If you break, their future is lost! You're saying Goodbye to the gilded chains that are forcing you to stay together. You can forge something stronger!"

Gripping the horn tighter. Arden rejected the thoughts storming his mind. Arden opened his mouth while taking a deep breath. He then screamed his lungs out before pulling the threads with all his might as they snapped.

The magic from the horn faded as Arden fell to his knees with his eyes filled with tears. Arden raised his head and found Izzy on her knees in front of him with a worried expression. Smiling at her, Arden whispered.

"See you soon. I'll be counting on you, Izzy. Get them to the village," Arden said as he thought of what he wanted the horn to do, and disappeared from the campsite.

The Path to the past: Alternate

Hastily turning to the threads connected to his heart, Arden used each of his fingers to grab one of the threads. His heart felt as if it was being torn apart. His eyes teared up as he grunted in pain. Arden felt himself fading, his mind slowly going dark as he tried to pull the threads apart.

"You can't break! You need to keep going! Wake up! WAKE UP!"

Gritting his teeth, Arden grabbed his threads tighter. A wave of sadness and regret struck him as the voices of his friends melded into a mess of thoughts assaulting him. They weren't trying to, but they were making it so much harder to sever the bond. Arden felt his grip loosen up as their thoughts chipped away at his resolve.

"It hurts, but your connection is still there. You're breaking a forced bond. Don't give in. If you break, their future is lost! You're saying Goodbye to the gilded chains that are forcing you to stay together. You can forge something stronger!"

Gripping the horn tighter. Arden rejected the thoughts storming his mind. Arden opened his mouth while taking a deep breath. He then screamed his lungs out before pulling the threads with all his might. However, the pain turned out to be too much as he fell to his knees panting in pain. The horn vibrated in his hands as the spell continued to storm his mind with the feelings of his friends.

Arden raised his head and saw Izzy before him. Her emotions flooded his heart and soul. All the pain, the regret, and the fear of what would happen from that moment on.

"Arden, Arden you need to stop!" Izzy begged as the horn's cracks expanded further as light leaked from the horn. Arden felt his mouth moving as no sound escaped his lips.

"FOUND YOU! YOU WEREN'T MEANT TO BE HERE! DO NOT MEDDLE IN THE STORIES YOU WERE NEVER MEANT TO SEE!"

Suddenly, the horn burst into a cluster of thorns that impaled Arden's chest. Arden didn't feel a thing as his vision went dark. The last thing his eyes saw were the bodies of his friends impaled by the thorns coming from a tear where the horn used to be.

All of the bodies were dragged into the tear until they floated before a red-maned mare. Arden's body withered and crumbled to ash.

"Damn it. I need to find another him," She grumbled while using her magic to grab the ashes and imbued them with magic. The glittering remains floated away as the mare left the corpses of the ponies floating in the void.

The ashes led her to a street where another version of Arden wandered the streets during the day. Altering her form into that of a human teenager, the mare brought forth the sword meant for him to wield, a sword meant to protect him from nightmares and help him in his quest. She had to make sure he would stay in place. So, using her magic, she created a group of humans to chase the sword. Wrapping it like a package, she rushed the distracted Arden.

"Catch!" The teenager said while he forced the package on Arden and ran away like a maniac.

"What the?" Arden asked as he held the package, it was heavy.

The mare slipped in between the cracks of reality before looking back at her target.

"HEY! GIVE THAT BACK!" A bunch of guys yelled at Arden when they saw him holding the pack. He looked at the thing and then back at them. The mare watched as this version of Arden made mention of giving the sword back.

Closing her fist, the mare struck the image of the ground beneath Arden, causing it to crack as if it was made of glass. Arden fell through the ground and into Equestria.

"There. Everything is now in place," The mare said with a content smile before turning back to her void.

The Path to the past: Fractured

Hastily turning to the threads connected to his heart, Arden used each of his fingers to grab one of the threads. His heart felt as if it was being torn apart. His eyes teared up as he grunted in pain. Arden felt himself fading, his mind slowly going dark as he tried to pull the threads apart.

"You can't break! You need to keep going! Wake up! WAKE UP!"

Gritting his teeth, Arden grabbed his threads tighter. A wave of sadness and regret struck him as the voices of his friends melded into a mess of thoughts assaulting him. They weren't trying to, but they were making it so much harder to sever the bond. Arden felt his grip loosen up as their thoughts chipped away at his resolve.

"It hurts, but your connection is still there. You're breaking a forced bond. Don't give in. If you break, their future is lost! You're saying Goodbye to the gilded chains that are forcing you to stay together. You can forge something stronger!"

Gripping the horn tighter. Arden rejected the thoughts storming his mind. Arden opened his mouth while taking a deep breath. He then screamed his lungs out before pulling the threads with all his might. However, the pain turned out to be too much as he fell to his knees panting in pain. The horn vibrated in his hands as the spell continued to storm his mind with the feelings of his friends.

Arden raised his head and saw Izzy before him. Her emotions flooded his heart and soul. All the pain, the regret, and the fear of what would happen from that moment on.

"Arden, Arden you need to stop!" Izzy begged as the horn's cracks expanded further as light leaked from the horn. Arden felt his mouth moving as no sound escaped his lips.

"FOUND YOU! YOU WEREN'T MEANT TO BE HERE! DO NOT MEDDLE IN THE STORIES YOU WERE NEVER MEANT TO SEE!"

Suddenly, the horn burst into a cluster of thorns that impaled Arden's chest. Using what little power Arden had left, he grabbed the threads and pulled his friends closer. There was a series of gasps before Arden managed to regain consciousness. He could see two other versions of himself mirrored in the energy beams emanating from the horn. One of them broke the threads and disappeared, the other died and was exchanged for someone else that resembled his younger self.

"How dare you!?" The voice from before screamed at him. It was the same voice from the bus, the woman that had offered him a deal. "It wasn't enough to meddle in a time you weren't meant to exist in, but you assimilated them?! How far have you fallen!?"

"YOU WENCH!" Arden called out while waving the horn around to free himself from the unseen attacker.

The thorns recoiled before spreading to perform an attack from multiple directions. Arden swung the horn with its erratic energy beams around, this managed to fend off a few of the attackers. However, it was not enough as Arden felt his body being slashed, mangled, and restrained by the thorns. Arden's grip on the horn tightened as the tendrils sunk into his body. This pushed the horn's integrity beyond its limits, and the crystal shattered. However, it didn't disperse. The shards embedded themselves into Arden's body. This made a bright blue light emanating from his chest appear. The tendrils stopped their movements when this happened.

"So, there is still a part of you that can be salvaged," The voice said before two more tendrils lunged from the dark into Arden's chest. He could feel something being ripped apart from him, they were taking away something important. It had to stop, it could not be allowed to continue. "Pure and bright. A small piece untouched by the hearts of others. This time, your heart will be strengthened before it can tap into others. ARGH!"

Arden watched as the tendrils violently recoiled and a small orb of light came out of his chest. Both of the tendrils were missing a piece. One was lodged onto the orb, the other was attached to Arden's chest.

"More resilient and defiant than I first assumed. Without this, however, you will perish," The voice said before tossing Arden to the side. Arden witnessed the tendrils manipulating and altering the fragment of him that had been removed. "When the time is right, you will return to be part of this world. Hopefully, you will retain the form I have gifted your other part. But I cannot guarantee that. Although, with a purer core, you might skip a few steps. And without the original, you may look deformed. But you will remain with the same heart. Filled with wonder, and willing to help those you hold dear. Just in case, let's connect you to her. Yes, when the time comes she will be your guardian, just as you will be hers."

However, as he slowly drifted away, incoherent sounds and screams filled his mind. Ghastly echoes of several creatures suffering tore away at his heart. They sounded so different, but, somehow, they felt familiar.

It was the voice of his friends. They were calling from within. They needed his help. If that creature was willing to tear him apart, what would it do to the ones he had established connections to? What horrid things would they do to them? No, the right question would be what horrid things was it doing to them at that very moment? They were crying out, screaming for help, and maybe approaching death.

Raising his arm Arden reached for the creature as it slowly started to fade. His voice sounded different from before. But he was certain of what he had to do. He knew the oath he had for that creature. An oath to return. Even as his senses abandoned him, his mind screamed while his soul and what was left of his heart willed him enough strength to state his promise.

"One day, I will set things right. One day, I'll return. And I will bring everyone back."

The vision of the thorns faded, and a blurry visage of grassy fields and trees stood before him. His head throbbed and his back felt as if his flesh had been torn apart by bones springing from his shoulder blades.

"Sister, they may have lost their mind."

"It would seem so, Luna."

And from this point on,
Three stories are woven by the rift

One setting forth a future,
Rebuilding what was once lost.

One setting forth the path for an old tale,
Where a pair of eyes gave hope of meeting those lost to the dark.

And one setting the path for two fragments touched by death,
A path where two fragments exposed to the magic created by bonds were forged by the nature of their connections.
Two halves coexisting in the same timeline but direct opposition to each other.

Our bonds influence our hearts, they are magic.
His eyes shall return to the land, different in body and skill, but familiar all the same.
And his heart shall reach for a bright future along with the ones he wishes to protect.

Return to life, tale once lost.
Return to life, magic once lost.
Return to life, connections once lost.

Do not allow the oath to come true.

I beg of you.

Arden, Arden, and Unnamed child born from a fragment, I beg of you, fight. Stand up and break the vile creature that I have wrought.

A pony with a broken heart, destined to be king, but tormented by my actions that took the ones he held closest to his heart.

Please, save them.

Author's Note

Ok, I'll try and stop worrying about chapter length and start worrying about when I feel the chapter is done.

thank you for waiting. And, yes there are stories with other titles connected to this.