Monument

by Equimorto

Rating: teen
Tags: Death, Alternate Universe, Twilight Sparkle, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Other, Mystery, Royal Guard, Suicide / Self Harm, Horror
Length: 7989

"What has been bound to earth must never be set free"

Canterlot; 05/11/994
A unicorn is dead.

Files, transcripts, fragments, articles, pictures and letters concerning Twilight Sparkle's disappearance and subsequent death, the events immediately related to it, and the lives and actions of the ponies whom the event drastically affected.

An entry into The Twilight Files Contest.

Prereading and cover art assistance courtesy of Reviewfilly.

Published 2022-08-07 23:40:00 UTC
Last updated 2022-08-07 23:40:00 UTC

Extract from the Canterlot Daily; Issue dated 06/11/994

Missing Unicorn Found Dead

As of yesterday, 06:37am, the body of formerly missing unicorn Twilight Sparkle has been found lifeless in the back alley behind the Knives & Beakers shop, n.26 Bluemoon Avenue. The shop was briefly closed down for investigation, then reopened shortly after, at around 01:43pm. Neither the Guard nor the deceased's family have so far agreed to an interview.

The unicorn, a 21 year old mare studying at the Royal Academy, was first reported missing on the 11th of last month by her roommates after failing to return to her dormitory the previous night. She was last seen the previous morning, reportedly heading for a visit to the Canterlot Spire in Reconciliation Park. Her roommates had at the time declared how her behaviour had not seemed "any weirder than usual".

The circumstances of her death remain a mystery. The Guard has put forth an official communicate stating that "the investigation will continue until all the available evidence has been found and analysed", but no official statement has been made regarding the time necessary. Witnesses on the scene, including the pony who first found the body and alerted the authorities, have stated that Twilight was found alongside what appeared to be a journal. They also reported that the mare showed visible, significant wounds.

Letter delivered to Detective O.G.'s apartment in date 08/11/994

Twilight Sparkle did not commit suicide. The Guard is withholding information from us. I fear for our safety if we were to try to push more than this. Together with this is an envelope with all official statements and newspaper clippings regarding the event, a copy of the last letter she sent us, and 200 bits. It's all the information we have. We're offering up to nine times as much if you can find the truth.

N.L.

Extract from Twilight Sparkle's diary; Entry dated 09/10/994

The memory spells work. I will be heading off tomorrow morning, and I will bring this journal with me to document my findings there. The others don't know anything about my plans, they think it's just a regular visit. They might worry if I don't come back by nighttime.

I don't know how much I'll find there, but I'll try to get out in time. I've checked the timetable today and the Spire officially closes not too long after sundown, but if I'm still inside by that point getting out through the security shouldn't be too much of an issue. I'd wager the guards don't know what's in there either.

I worry about being found out, but I have to get to the bottom of this. I risk getting kicked out of the Academy, but if I'm right it will have consequences. It might even get me an audience with the

I shouldn't fantasise like that. It's getting late and you need to wake up early tomorrow. Go to sleep, Twilight. Right. I should do that. Goodnight, me.

Fragment of a classified file recovered from the Royal Archives; Estimated to have been originally written in 473

The apparatus (fig.3) would then be brought over to the recipient (fig.4), properly immobilised and rendered unconscious (refer to chart.2). Installation of the apparatus begins once it is in position. As scales have been previously removed, crystal-lined blades are used to slice the relevant portions of skin, then to remove the flesh underneath. Automatic drainage systems are applied (fig.6) and the excess blood flow is blocked.

Once the situation is found stable, hollow drills are used to remove the relevant portions of the skull. Once the removal is complete, the apparatus is properly implanted into the recipient, and connected to the power source (fig.9). Magic is then allowed to flow from the power source through the apparatus.

Extract from Twilight Sparkle's diary; Entry dated 10/10/994

Got here early. Couldn't sleep well last night. Currently watching the guards from the other end of the park. They seem to be paying little attention. Makes sense. There's officially nothing valuable held inside the Spire, and I doubt anyone is planning to steal the entire monument. Vandalism is probably the only thing they have to worry about, and that's extremely rare here in Canterlot.

I have binoculars, my journal, my clock, enough food and water for the whole day. Bits. Probably more than would seem reasonable, but they could be useful if I need to bribe someone. Quill, of course. That endless ink model was worth everything I paid for it, I think at this point it's paid for itself already with how much I've used it. Shame they don't allow enchanted quills during tests.

The visit won't start for a while longer. I'll keep watch. Few ponies around, though more are coming in. I might take a walk to the fountain while I wait.

Picture cropped from a Canterlot Daily article about vandalism; Issue dated 17/02/943

Paper note found crumpled in a trash bin outside of Canterlot's Royal Library

15/11

Someone tried to break into the Archives tonight
The alarm didn't trigger. Nothing is missing
Get pictures and write a formal complaint
And tell someone to clean up the broken glass

S.S.

Extract from the automated recording of a conversation between Private Dust and Captain S******; Transcript dated 05/11/994

Extract from the automated recording of a conversation between Private Dust and Captain S******; Transcript dated 05/11/994

Did anyone else read the diary

No ma'am

Are you sure of that

Yes ma'am

Good
Give the diary to me
Dismissed

Captain if I may

What is it

The contents of the diary

Are classified information
I'm not allowed to look into them
Keep in mind this conversation is being recorded

Yes ma'am
What will happen to me ma'am

If you're lucky just a memory wipe
That's what the one who found her got
I imagine Twilight would have gotten the same if we'd gotten to her in time
Dismissed

Yes ma'am

Extract from Twilight Sparkle's diary; Entry dated 10/10/994

It opened. Now I just need to push the door.

The sound has gotten louder.

It's close to midnight. No one has come to check on me yet.

I'm going in.

Extract from Captain S******'s diary; Entry dated 09/11/994

Extract from Captain S******'s diary; Entry dated 09/11/994

I'm having nightmares lately. Ever since I was assigned to Twilight's case. I wish I'd never read what they allowed me to of what was in that diary. I see myself in a corridor, or maybe it's not a corridor, the walls don't reach the ceiling. It's dark. I feel like I know that place, but I don't remember ever being anywhere like it. I suppose that's how it is with dreams. The ground is shaking. No, it's like... I'm standing on something. The ground is alive. And there's... There's a picture there, in the room, something I want to look at. Last night I got to. I woke up screaming in cold sweat. It was the middle of the night. I still don't know what it looks like. I know I'll end up back there when I fall asleep. I made myself two coffees, but I know I'll end up there again tonight. It feels like it's pulling me in. At least I finally get a use out of this thing. Psychological benefits my flank, they just slashed the budget too far to afford us professional help.

At least I get to vent while I'm being paid. I might seek some help by myself. I wish I could just not have to deal with the nightmares, but I suppose this is what I get.

Extract from Detective Orange Gin's notebook; Entry dated 22/11/994

Timeline of Events

132 - Construction of Canterlot officially begins

278 - The Capital is officially moved to Canterlot

46X - Project Starcrown begins

483 - Project Starcrown is shut down

567 - Project Asylum begins

5XX - Project Asylum is officially shut down

603 - Project Asylum ends

639 - The building project for the Canterlot Spire is completed

658 - Preliminary work on the construction of the Canterlot Spire begins

978 - train crash

Extract from Twilight Sparkle's diary; Entry dated 10/10/994

It's not a monument. It's a prison.

Extract from the Canterlot Daily; Issue dated 02/12/994

Stunt, Suicide, or Something Else?

Yesterday, between 08:30pm and 09:00pm, multiple sources report seeing a pony climb up to the top of the Canterlot Spire in Reconciliation Park, then jumping off of it. Most reports agree that the pony appeared to be a unicorn, and some noted they were of above average stature. No official statements of any kind have been made regarding the event, and no traces of the pony have been found near the Spire nor anywhere else in the park.

Paper note found crumpled in a trash bin outside of Canterlot's Royal Library

25/11

I left crystal dust on the Archive's floor on purpose
Either someone's been breaking in, or we have rats wearing horseshoes
Call the Guards
I have no idea how they got past the security

S.S.

Extract from Twilight Sparkle's diary; Entry dated 11/10/994

The sound is deafening. I made makeshift earplugs with the sandwich wrappings, but it still left my ears ringing.

I thought I would go blind. There's a pillar inside the Spire, with a staircase around it. If my estimates are correct it goes down several units below ground. I don't know which direction I'm going in. I wish I'd brought a compass, but I feel like it wouldn't work here anyway.

The pillar sings. It vibrates. It emits light. It felt like staring at the Sun in the middle of a storm. I rushed down the stairs. I think I might have fallen. I don't remember.

The structure here is much bigger than I had anticipated. There are tunnels heading in multiple directions. At the bottom of the pillar is a large circular room, I counted at least eight of them departing from it. I picked the closest one. I had to get away. I still hear it.

Everything here is so tall. You could fit a two stories building in the tunnel, and it's a little wider than it is tall. It's square. There's light down here. I still hear the pillar.

I have enough food and water for another day. I'll keep exploring.

Extract from Detective Orange Gin's notebook; Entry dated 27/11/994

Found the remaining documentation on Project Starcrown. Too long to copy in full. Took pictures of the relevant parts.

Plan was to use live dragons as subjects. Can't figure out any of this math. Look into 'resonating crystal'.

Experiments went nowhere. Results were inconclusive. War never started and treaties were signed. Project abandoned. Something about incompatibility between 'dragon brainwaves' and 'pony-tuned spells'.

No evident connection to the Spire. Dead end? Look into the other project. Just need one more visit.

Dust on the floor. Couldn't avoid without triggering the alarm. They know I'm here.

Don't need the bits. Call the whole thing off?

She was almost my age. She still had her parents.

One more visit.

Portions of an advertising pamphlet for Reconciliation Park; Printed in 990

Come visit Reconciliation Park

The park was built soon after the capital was moved to Canterlot, to commemorate the Reconciliation at the end of the Five Year Civil War.

Centerpiece of the park is the Reconciliation Fountain. Commissioned by the Crown, it was officially inaugurated during the 300th anniversary of the Reconciliation. The fountain is decorated with intricate marble and metal sculptures, beautifully entwined to represent the harmony between the previously opposing factions, which persists to this day as Equestria proposers as a single, unified country.

The Canterlot Spire is the tallest building in the park.

Extract from Twilight Sparkle's diary; Entry dated 13/10/994

Food is gone. I haven't slept. The tunnels stretch out all the way across Canterlot, and they keep going down. I'm two layers deeper right now. I still hear it.

I haven't slept.

Extract from Captain S******'s diary; Entry dated 17/11/994

Extract from Captain S******'s diary; Entry dated 17/11/994

The nightmares won't stop. They're only getting worse. I'm considering taking a week off. I'm considering asking them to just wipe me like they did with Dust, but I don't think they would. I think I'm starting to remember the place I see in my dreams. I'm growing afraid of earthquakes. I don't know why. There are no earthquakes in Canterlot.

Extract from [redacted]'s journal; Entry date unknown

What the fuck have we done?

It's okay. It'll all be okay.

It won't. It won't.

We'll find a way.

What if we don't? Was it worth it?

Of course it was. Everyone would have died otherwise. It was the only choice we had.

Look at all this blood. Tell us the alternative would have been worse.

It would have. We know it would have. Look at all this blood. Imagine something worse. Something much, much worse. This was the only choice we had.

What if it's not enough? How long will it be good for? What if we don't find a way? We don't want to live through this again. Never again.

We'll find a way.

How can we be sure?

Look at what we've done. We can't let it go to waste. We need to be strong, or it will all have been for nothing. We need to keep going. We'll find a way.

Extract from Twilight Sparkle's diary; Entry dated 26/10/994

There's light all over here. I'm eleven layers deeper. It keeps me up. The walls are singing. It's like something is growing on them. Like glowing moss.

No food. No need for food. Repeated vomiting. My stomach hurt because I had nothing to eat.

I cut it off.

Extract from Captain S******'s diary; Entry dated 26/11/994

Extract from Captain S******'s diary; Entry dated 26/11/994

I remember that place. I remember that place.

I remember that place I remember that place I remember that place

Why?

Why why why whywhywhywhywhy

Why do I remember that place? Why have I been there before? When have I been there before? Why do I remember that place?

The walls don't get to the ceiling because they're not walls. They're shelves. Why have I walked those steps in my nightmares? Why have I seen that place before?

I'm scared. I've seen something I shouldn't have. I don't want to remember anymore. Why have I been there before?

Why have I been there before?

Extract from Twilight Sparkle's diary; Entry dated 07/11/994

It's not a prison. It's a tomb.

I've lost count of the layers. My legs don't hurt anymore. I don't feel my legs anymore.

I've seen it sleep. It's beautiful. I've looked into its skull.

The music of its dreams fills my mind. They kept it here. Dead. It's so beautiful. I could drown in it.

I see nothing but light. I have stared into eternity. I'm free.

Extract from the Manehattan Chronicle; Issue dated 29/11/994

Private Detective Found Dead

The body of Detective Orange Gin, 22, real name Applejack, has been found lifeless on the beach this morning by a group of tourists. Her head remains missing.

Copy of a classified file recovered from the Royal Archives; Originally written in 590

Project Asylum is to be officially, and only formally, shut down. All members unfit to further work on it, therefore the overwhelming majority of the current group, are to be replaced by equally skilled and currently sane new members. All salvageable members are to have their memory erased. All the unsalvageable ones are to be disposed of.

All previous directives regarding the project still apply, and all new members are to be informed of them. All further communication regarding the project is to pass exclusively through me and under my supervision until further notice. The project is to continue until its desired results are reached.

No mention of the project, be it the current ongoing iteration or the officially terminated one, is to be made in the presence of my sister until her mental situation has been found to have properly recovered.

Princess Luna

Extract from Twilight Sparkle's diary; Entry dated 03/11/1020

I have seen the life I could have had. I have seen the friends I could have made. I've seen a world where Shining was alive, where I became the Princess's student, where I became a hero. I have watched an entire lifetime before my eyes that could have been mine, and I have almost walked this world. I could see her there, walking through the crowd. Princess Twilight Sparkle. There's no Spire in this world.

I feel myself fading. The dream calls to me. The light will soon swallow me again. I'll miss these ponies, even though they were not friends of my own.

I feel myself forgetting. I can't tell the life I had apart from the one I watched. The song is telling me it'll soon be time for me to go home. It all seems so far ago.

It's not a gateway. It's a window. It was my prison. It won't be my tomb.

I'm leaving this life behind. I leave this Twilight happy. That's all I need to know.

The Spire is singing.

Classified file recovered from the Royal Archives; Written in 942

According to my research, Project Starcrown was initially nothing more than one of the dozens of questionable war-related projects that sprung up during the late 400s, when tensions arose between Equestria and the Dragonlands after the at the time new, still current Dragon Lord came into power, and it was feared a war would break out as a result. It was, like many of the projects like it, free of any regard for the value of life, and like most of its siblings it never produced any proper results, it was shut down when it became clear no war was going to happen, and everything about it was buried by the Crown to save face.

Unlike most of the secret projects at that time though, at some point newfound interest arose for this one. The original plan was, nevermind the absurdity of the starting conditions required, to implant a mind altering device into a captured dragon to use as a war vehicle. Utter nonsense from top to bottom, but I've seen crazier things proposed around that time.

What's interesting is what they were asking for the second time. It's been hard to find anything concrete besides the name, they hid this stuff a lot better and reportedly everyone who worked on it ended up insane or worse. But all the signs point to them wanting to build a bigger version of the same apparatus Starcrown was designing, or at least something equivalent to that. I don't have the slightest idea why they'd have wanted to do that. There's nothing big enough to stick something like that in, so they had to be planning to use it for something else. But if a crystal cylinder like those was inside the Spire, that would justify the size of the blocks as a way to dampen the overflow of magical radiation and keep the whole thing stable. But what do they need it for?

Captain S******'s suicide note; Dated 01/12/994

Captain S******'s suicide note; Dated 01/12/994

I have been to the room that's been haunting my nightmares again. I have read the entirety of Twilight Sparkle's diary. They'll come to erase my memory as soon as they find out. I won't give them the satisfaction. I won't allow them to make me a part of this again.

I know everything of what they did. I know the reasons behind the bloodbath of their staged five years war. I know of the battle that came before that, a thousand years ago. I know of every disgusting crime they committed through history in fear of wars that never came. I know of their secrets and of the death they have brought.

I know of the beast that sleeps below Canterlot. The lobotimised snake they built their capital on top of. The rotting chaos daemon whose carcass infests the tunnels below the city, spreading through them like a fungus. I've read Twilight's diary, every page of it. Its body is growing.

I know they were desperate. They were terrified. They knew the day would come when the snake would wake again. They knew they had not defeated it fully. They dug up one of the horrors we created when we feared a war and threw away lives and sanity at it until they got what they wanted. They drove a nail through the daemon's skull hoping that would put an end to it. That's what the Spire is. Nothing but a shell for the knife lodged in the beast's head, the same way the mountain is just a shell for its corpse. A hollow pretty lie to save appearances.

They're fools. It was not enough. Nothing of what they could do will ever be enough. The blood of five years' worth of sacrifices only kept the monster asleep so long, and a hundred more Spires couldn't kill it. One day it will wake again. Right now madness spills like a river from its wound. Twilight saw it. Twilight walked in it. She walked in the snake's light and heard the song of its dreams, and it drove her insane.

I found two things in the Archives that shouldn't have been there. Burn the first one if you want, if you can find it. I dare you to look at the second one.

One was a simple message. 'You've been here before'. My own hornwriting. I know why I saw that place in my dreams. This was not the first time I was there.

The second was a picture. I know why the dreams I've had of that place were all nightmares.

I have seen the face of the abomination whose sleeping body we walk on. I have looked into its eyes. I have seen the creature below Canterlot, the monster warping the endless tunnels under the city with its mere dreaming presence, I have witnessed the putrid horror we live our lives upon. I can sense its heart beat underneath my hooves.

Twilight found joy in the madness she fell in, drawn to the music of the daemon's soul. I have found only despair in this insanity. Yet I see more clearly than they ever could that furthering this death march towards the inevitable catastrophe that awaits us is the greatest madness of our kin. I have looked at Chaos and it has left a smouldering gash in my soul. I dare not envision the sea of agony that would swallow us all the day it once more arose.

I will not be here for the day the snake wakes, nor the one its rotten rancid infection spreads past the confines of its prison tomb and seeps into the thin cover of dirt we've thought could keep us safe from the horror. I will not be here to forget what I have learnt, to live on an ignorant over the deathless corpse of our world's sleeping demise. There are wounds of the mind no spell can cleanse, and I will not let them try. Think I'm insane if you want. One day the creature will rear its head again and your marble towers will crumble and your own nightmares will come to life. You will be there. What good will all your efforts have done you then?

Call me a coward if you want. My choice is made.

Sassy Saddles

Extract from Twilight Sparkle's diary; Entry dated 10/10/978

We went to Reconciliation Park today. I got to see the fountain. It was very big and very pretty. It's really tall and there's a statue of the Princesses on top and they look really cool. I wish I could meet the Princesses. When I grow up, I'm going to study really hard at the Royal Academy, and I'll become an important scientist and then I'll get to work for the Princesses and make Mum and Dad and Shining really proud.

Shining wasn't at the park today. Mum said he'd be back yesterday, but he didn't arrive. We got a letter instead. Mum and Dad looked really sad. They looked sad today too. They still haven't told me when Shining will get home, but they say they will tell me soon. They said we can go to the park again when he comes back. I want to go to the Spire with him. I've never been there, they don't let small ponies walk in on their own. I bet he would like it too. I hope he'll be home soon.

Plain sheet of paper containing a portion of the lyrics to the Official Equestrian Anthem; Found in the garbage outside Canterlot's School for Young Ponies the morning after a school play

Equestria, the lands we love
Great lands of harmony
Our flag does wave from high above
For everyone to see

Equestria, the heavens' home
For our rulers stand tall
And gift the world whole night and day
Each sundown and each dawn

Equestria, where chaos once roamed
Now crushed beneath our hooves
By princesses been sealed away
Nevermore to return

Equestria, vast lands of peace
Of great prosperity
Where every life is owed a place
And happiness and glee

Equestria, our freedom's lands
Where ponykind do roam
And may our triumph never end
Equestria, our home

Extract from Twilight Sparkle's diary; Entry dated 08/10/994

Today's trip to the library was uneventful. I've looked through everything in the public section that could be relevant to the subject, and my request to access the archives came back negative, as I was expecting.

I've booked a visit to the inside of the Spire overmorrow. Lessons haven't started yet, hopefully I'll be able to get to the bottom of this before that happens. I've looked into memory spells in case I'm caught trespassing, I will test them on Moon' and the others tomorrow just to be safe. I can't afford to be kicked out of the Academy for this.

Extract from the automated recording of a conversation between Captain S****** and [redacted]; Transcript dated 05/11/994

Extract from the automated recording of a conversation between Captain S****** and [redacted]; Transcript dated 05/11/994

She got what was coming to her
There's a reason those signs are there

With all due respect it's a mare's life we're talking about
Ponies will ask questions and they'll want answers

Give them answers
Provide the necessary portions of the journal if you have to
She did what she did to herself and she admitted as much
The official version will be insanity followed by suicide
You don't need anything else

Ponies will ask to see the entirety of the journal

That is classified information
The things she saw cannot be reported

I am aware that the info is classified
You won't even let me read the whole thing and you practically wiped everypony who touched it on its way in
But the point is that as far as the public knows there's not a chaosdamned thing that's supposed to be classified intel anywhere near the Spire
If we tell them we can't tell them ponies will get curious
Do you want more bodies to end up in that alley a month from now
Because that's how you get that

Very well
Make up a cover story
Radiation leaks could scare them and are something we can easily fake
Claim the contents of the journal are too graphic and you're withholding them out of respect
Turn the transcriber off

Ma'am I'm sorry I didn't mean to

Turn the transcriber off
It won't be necessary

Transcript of a popular Equestrian foals' rhyme and of highlighted passages referring to it; Taken from a copy of a Local History & Culture book published in 876

Round the Spire
Hear it sing
Round the ring
Round the ring

Down the Spire
See it sink
Ring a prayer

origin unclear

seems to have first appeared around the time of the Spire's construction

'singing' could refer to the intense sound produced by the combined magical efforts used to move the large blocks that make up the structure

foals might have wandered close to the building site while construction works were ongoing

possible corruption of an earlier rhyme about a tower, which could explain the second part

ponies will sometimes claim the Spire emits sound

the geological conditions of Reconciliation Park and the wider Canterlot area appear to be perfectly stable, and the structure is at no risk of sinking nor leaning

Extract from Twilight Sparkle's diary; Entry dated 10/10/994

It's almost nightfall. The locks here are tougher than I thought they would be, I guess that confirms my suspicions that they're hiding something. There are signs warning ponies not to come this way, even on the door itself. I bought extra food in the park and refilled my water, I should have enough for another day. I'm almost out of bits. One of the guards caught me trying to break through this door. I couldn't just wipe his memory, he'd run into me again on his next walk here. I used a spell and the money to convince him I'd bribed him and he'd agreed to not come here. He closed off the entire corridor, no one has come close since.

I can hear sound coming from beyond the door. It seems the Spire does sing, after all. I haven't cracked the lock yet, but I'm making progress. Slipping past security to get here wasn't hard, they're even lazier inside than they are outside. I hid in the bathroom to get away from the rest of the group as we were leaving, then ran behind a guard while he wasn't looking.

The guided tour was fine. Nothing I didn't already know, but it was nice to see the building up close, it's still an impressive feat of architectural engineering. A seemingly pointless one, but most ponies seem to not dwell on that. The souvenir shop was even more tacky than I could have imagined. I'll probably buy a Spire-themed hat for dad later. Shining would have loved one of those.

I'll get back to the lock now.

Extract from Twilight Sparkle's diary; Entry dated 17/08/994

Why is the Canterlot Spire built out of a small number of large blocks? They went out of their way to do it, but it makes no sense. It's not more structurally sound. It didn't make construction work more efficient, in fact I have seen reports from the time claiming it did the opposite. It's not a requirement for shape or aesthetic, there were other ways to achieve the same uniform look. Officially it's more or less an exercise in style, but that doesn't track. It doesn't line up with any architectural current of the time period, and the architect is a nobody. From what I could find it looks like he was just a stallion they called to supervise the works and so they could put his name on paperwork, but I doubt the project was even his considering everything else he worked on afterwards and before.

The official reason for its construction doesn't sit right with me either. It's meant to be a symbol of unity, and I guess that fits the theme of the park, but there's nothing about it that sets it apart from the Reconciliation Fountain, and if I have to add my opinion it's not any better looking or more impressive than that. It's not even taller than some of the other towers in Canterlot, and the plain white surface doesn't make it stand out. The only thing that's relevant about it is that it's the only actual building in Reconciliation Park. I'd brush it off as a tourist trap but it's run by the Crown, and money isn't something the government has ever had problems with.

I've got some time to kill. Classes at the Academy won't start back up for a few months and I'm already done with all my assignments. I'm entertaining the idea of doing some research on my own and maybe turning it into a report. We'll see if I can find enough material.

Fragment of a classified file recovered from the Royal Archives; Estimated to have been originally written in 567

All files relating to previously decommissioned Project Starcrown are to be copied and shared amongst the members of the project. Any attempt to share the information provided outside of the authorised ponies will result in removal from the project and subsequent mental cleansing. Any perceived attempt to share information will be treated equally, regardless of the certainty of the act. Copying or otherwise recording any part of the provided documents for personal reference is not permitted, and will be treated as a perceived attempt to share the information outside of the project. If it is found necessary, members of the project may not be allowed contact with the outside world for long stretches of time. Members of the project will agree to the possibility of undergoing mental cleansing once the project has concluded, and may voluntarily choose to do so. Members of the project will not be allowed to abandon their position of their own volition until the project has reached its conclusion. Further disciplinary measures may be adopted depending on the kind and severity of the transgressions any members of the project may commit.

Extract from Twilight Sparkle's diary; Entry dated 25/08/994

The Spire was officially opened in 698. Construction work began officially in 695, but multiple sources cite preliminary work being done starting from 693, and some mention measurements and soil tests being conducted as early as 687. I have found reports of even earlier works, back a whole fifteen years more, but it's near impossible to tell if any of it was really connected to the Spire. There may have been a previous project that was later abandoned and never publicly announced.

By all means it feels like they were rushing construction. Even just comparing the official records to those of any other building of similar size, they were overstaffing the construction site. There is no official data on work hours, but pictures from the time period seem to come in every kind. The ones taken in the morning are as full of workers as the ones taken during the evening, and I've even found a couple taken at night.

They took too long. With so many workers and that kind of schedule the building should have been finished in half the time. There are no reports of extraordinary weather events during the construction period and no reports of malfunctions in Canterlot's weather dome either. They were working non-stop in ideal conditions and the size of the construction materials doesn't justify the extra time. What took them so long? And why were they rushing construction when they could have had the opening coincide with the 700th anniversary of the Reconciliation?

Extract from Twilight Sparkle's diary; Entry dated 11/09/994

There is an inconsistency between the inner and outer measurements given for the Spire. It's a pretty subtle one, I'll give them that, it took me a while to notice. And it's hard to find any concrete data on it as well, I imagine anypony who ran into this would brush it off as either faulty measurements or communication errors or wrong guesses made by whoever wrote whatever they're reading. Most ponies don't bother looking at the exact measurements for a building, and most ponies don't go looking through multiple sources for it.

I went to the park myself and measured the outside by hoof. At a distance, I can't just walk up to the Spire and pull measuring tape across it, but I'm confident in my results. And my results say the official numbers are a lie. It took me a while to get to the bottom of things, but there's no doubt about it. There are doors on the inside of the Spire, supposedly connecting different rooms together, that only show up in some of the maps. Their presence and position pretty much confirm what's going on, and I found pictures that show they're really there.

The core of the Spire is hollow. The available maps of the inside make it look like the whole space is accounted for, but things don't line up properly, and the only way for them to is if there's an added empty space in the middle of the building. I hypothesise it's a square space about a couple of units wide, but it could easily be a circular space.

I still have not found an explanation for the space being absent from every map I've seen so far. I am considering requesting access to the Archives for further research, but I need to find a good excuse for that. For now I'll continue to dig through the library.

Note to Captain S******; Delivered in date 17/11/994

Note to Captain S******; Delivered in date 17/11/994

Train ticket from Manehattan to Canterlot dated 13/11/994 found torn apart in a trash bin outside the Central Station. Could be our mare.

Portions of Twilight Sparkle's medical report; Produced in date 05/11/994

Subject is confirmed dead.

Subject appears to have died within the last five hours, body does not yet present any signs of advanced decomposition.

Subject appears to have sustained heavy amounts of blood loss.

Large portions of the subject's digestive tract are missing. The stomach is completely absent. Most of the intestines are too. The skin and flesh located above the missing organs are equally missing. Signs indicate the removal was performed with a blade, potentially magic in nature. The wounds at the edges of the areas where tissue was removed appear to have fully healed and closed. The cuts appear jagged and imprecise, as if made up of a series of smaller ones rather than a continuous incision. Likely a sign of a lack of experience in the pony who performed them.

Subject's hooves appear to be worn out.

Subject's teeth present signs of acid erosion on the back, similar to those produced by repeated gastric reflux. Subject's teeth appear worn out from use. None are missing.

Subject's mane and tail appear to be longer than in the provided reference pictures. The ends appear to have been improperly, irregularly cut.

Subject's coat appears to have faded slightly when compared to the reference pictures.

Subject shows visible signs of sleep deprivation in her facial features.

Dried blood present inside subject's ears. Exams have confirmed it belongs to the subject herself.

Cause of death: Spontaneous internal severing of the connection between the brain and the spine.

Extract from Twilight Sparkle's diary; Entry dated 20/09/994

I'm not the first one to run into this. Of course I'm not the first one to run into this, someone else had to be able to figure out something was wrong. Now I know for sure something is hidden there.

I found a set of notes inside of a book in the library. By the looks of it no one ever opened it again after those were put there. Someone else was doing research on the Spire and they apparently got further than I did. I was honestly a little peeved when I found out about that. If I can find out who it was I might be able to see what else they found.

They mentioned something called Project Asylum, but they didn't go into detail. All I've been able to find is a document stating it was some secret government operation that was officially shut down, but nothing else. Everything about it seems to be in the Archives. I've put forth an official request for them, with a generic motivation of wanting to do research. Odds they'll allow me in without some written permission from someone above are slim even with my grades at the Academy, but it doesn't hurt to try.

The archivist looked at me weird when I mentioned Asylum. I don't think she meant to, but I noticed it, just for a moment. She's a unicorn, a little older than me. Sun-something I think, I didn't fully catch her name.

I'll take a few days to look into who might have written those notes. There's little left about the Spire I haven't read yet in the library, I don't think I'm likely to find my answers there. With how long it'll take my request to the Archives to get back to me I have plenty of time to look into both.

Extract from Twilight Sparkle's diary; Entry dated 25/09/994

When I first started looking into this, I did it out of fun. Something to pass the time. Of course I didn't ask for help. A report would have looked way less impressive if I got help. If there was an inconsistency in the Spire's maps then I wanted to be the one to find out about it and document it, and I wanted to do it by myself. It was a way to pass the time. And I wanted some hard evidence to bring up before I talked about it with anyone official. Even if they turned out to be already aware of it, I wanted a full list of all the different versions I could find of the measurements, so I could give it to them and have them all fixed.

Now I'm starting to be glad I didn't ask for help. I found the stallion who wrote those notes. I went to see his grave yesterday. 15/12/942. He was barely in his thirties. The papers said it was suicide. Looking at the autopsy, he killed himself by falling with his back on top of a knife. Twice. Looking at the Guard's reports, it seems like after that he got up and hid the knife, then cleaned after himself and went back to lie in the same spot, too.

The papers buried the whole thing. Maybe it really was an accident. Maybe every other source I've looked at is wrong. Maybe it's just a coincidence that he wrote he feared for his life in those notes.

I don't think his diary going missing is a coincidence though. He went to the Spire two days before he died. I found pictures of him in 943's Reconciliation Park advertisement booklet and I wager he paid to have those there. He had his diary with him. There's no mention of it in any sources I've found about his death. You don't ignore someone's diary if you think it's suicide.

Maybe I'm just paranoid. Maybe he was just paranoid and it's rubbing off on me. But things don't add up. I think he found something. He found something, and someone didn't want him to get that information out. Whatever it is he found, I'm going to find it too. 'The Spire is not a monument' he wrote in his notes. I'm going to keep quiet about this, at least until I'm sure of who I can trust. I think he might have talked too much.

There's another thing. I was wrong about the book. Someone else did open it between when he left it and when I found it. They signed as 'S.S.', I've wondered if it was the Archivist. 'Forget everything about this, for your own good' they said. Yet they left those notes there. I wonder if maybe they took away some of them. That might explain why some parts are unclear.

Extract from the automated recording of a conversation between Captain S****** and [redacted]; Transcript dated 05/11/994

Extract from the automated recording of a conversation between Captain S****** and [redacted]; Transcript dated 05/11/994

An innocent unicorn is dead
An innocent unicorn who did nothing wrong besides wandering off where she shouldn't have
We need to put a stop to this
If it's that easy for ponies to die there this needs to stop

Twilight Sparkle was an extraordinary unicorn
I will freely admit that had her qualities been identified sooner she may have been treated differently
Perhaps she would have been given a privileged position at the Academy
The point is that access to the areas she reached is all but easy
Weak though those locks may seem few ponies ever have existed with the talents necessary to get through the barriers she crossed
Similar accidents are unlikely to happen again within the next few decades

So you're just going to let it continue
You're just going to let innocents die

If you knew of the alternative you would not speak in such tones

Extract from Twilight Sparkle's diary; Entry dated 13/07/1000

I've been falling for years.

It's not a tomb. It's a gateway.

The things I have seen. I've seen rivers of stars flowing through time around me. I've seen ponykind rise from the mud of its primitive forms and climb onto greatness, and I've seen its great towers crumble and fall, over and over like in a thousand different mirrors, always different. I've seen the start and the end of the war. The true war. I've watched the gods struggle against the beast until they forced it into slumber, and the sacrifices they had to make to keep it so.

I've heard the thoughts of all those who have come here. All the ponies who've thrown themselves in this pit, consumed by the light and by their insanity. I've drank all their truths. I know every shape and surface and measure of this prison, this endless grave they believe they have trapped me in. I have envisioned every secret of their monument.

I have seen so much more. I have seen more than their minds could possibly have imagined. Knowledge so vast and dense it is not contained within me, and I am merely passing through it as it passes through me, scanning it. I have seen endless limitless possibilities unravelled before me in infinite reflections of reality, boundless repetitions and cycles and variations of existence all different all at the same time, and music and sound and spaces too vast for my thought to capture them and life, and death, and numbers beyond the scope our universe can fit.

I'm falling through infinity.

Extract from [redacted]'s journal; Entry date unknown

We should have run away. We should have run to the opposite ends of this world and never come back. We should never have fought in the first place.

It was the right thing to do. Think of all the lives we saved. Think of how many more will be saved. We had to stay. We had to keep watch. And now it is done. It is sealed. It is bound to this earth. We won.

You said the same thing when we wore our minds thin fighting the beast. You said the same thing when we poured our kin's blood in its maws to prolong its slumber. You know it will not last this time, sister. You know it will not.

It's over. The Spire is complete, the blade has been plunged to its skull. Nothing will ever set it free. Shed your fears. We are free.

You know that's not true. I know you must know. I have heard it sing, sister. The snake is not gone. It will never forgive us.

Let go of your nightmares. Our terror is over. We have defeated the demon, this time forever. No more sacrifices. No more blood. No more loss. I know you are scarred, but please, believe in me. Believe that we've finally made it. Let go. Let yourself heal. Our subjects will want to see you at the inauguration.

There shall be nothing to celebrate, though I shall attend it. I know you can hear it too, though you delude yourself into believing you do not. It's only a monument to our madness you've built. One day you will have to wake up from this dream. One day it will wake again too.