Author's Note

Hi there; it's me, Fireflower here once more with an electric feel ready with a new chapter of ACE on the way: suffice to say, the past chapters from before were by far a strong note for y'all, serving as a taste of what's to come later on as I write them all right at my fingertips.

As usual, My Little Pony, or rather Friendship Is Magic, including its settings and characters belong to Lauren Faust and Hasbro; however, this concept of my fanfic still belongs to me so I will say this one time only: please do not steal this story or I will sue.

That being said, I want to say thanks again for putting up with my story this month so far, especially if you been reading the prequels as well since years ago: I honestly wished that I could have done this sooner, let alone finish it; what's funny is that had I done so in half the allotted time, I would've surprised y'all with another story on the same month, albeit on New Years' Eve but I digress.

Pyrite

If there were at least one thing worth noticing straightaway, then it would be the sheer fact in which the forces of uncertainty were strong with the dark side. Having said that, it didn’t mean visibility itself was reduced to complete nothingness; still, the probability of danger was greater than zero all the same herein. Not only that, there were gentle breezes being close to comfort anyone whom would cross paths, assuming that someone was inside the otherwise jet–black void.

Then, without so much as any kind of warning whatsoever, some buzzing birthed the baseless boundaries, resonating about amongst the atmosphere before subsiding almost instantaneously. As if on cue, a trail of lights started to appear from nowhere, each with their own colors starting to illuminate the background they’d now been suspended upon all the livelong day so to speak. Everywhere they’d went, the most predominate colors found were but only the fifty shades of gray resting about with their own jagged edges and the like, stalactites and stalagmites no less. While there were plenty of rocks to and fro, an abundance of crystals were also discovered as is, each with their variances in shapes, sizes, and shades as they’d all shined about all the while.

Stuck in the middle of it all was a lonely woman lying on the ground amongst the illuminated caverns to no end in sight whatsoever so to speak. She’d possessed some skin that was shining about like ivory, riddled with a few cuts and bruises having already made their way throughout and in. The lonely woman’s minted, spiky hair curling past her neckline were already adorned by only a single pearl diadem bearing a trio of jaded flowers. Adorning most of her entire body was a gold dress with a moderate crimson sash matching her slippers; in addition, she wore fuchsia pearls too.

“Huh, guys… is anyone out there: Minuette… Twinkleshine… Lemon Hearts… Moondancer… Twilight… Bon–Bon… Shining Armor… Princess Cadance… Princess Celestia…?” a small dainty voice escaped from the lonely woman, frantic enough as it were but otherwise too quiet to be picked up by any other lifeform within the premises, if at all.

Irregardless, the sounds of silence where were ruling the stony lonesome yet elegantly bejeweled environment had felt their unchallenged reign come to an end when another voice spoken to her, “good day, Cankerworms, here with today’s weather: mostly cloudy with a one hundred precent chance of you kowtowing to the Queen; this is Cheng Kowtow reminding you all to kowtow…!”

“What the…” the lonely woman gasped, her eyelids flying open in an instant to unleash a static electricity of blue within, only to survey the grounded terrain afore her, “where on Equestria is this place: what is it; where are my friends?!”

“Greetings, Lyra Heartstrings…!” a different voice abaft herself spoke, prompting the corporeal target to turn around and find a bloodcurdling sight.

Found to be plastered on an enormous crystalline screen was a lonely individual peering out at where the eponymous listener currently stood. In all fairness, not much was said about the minty woman’s onlooker; after all, compared to her attire, the latter was obscured by a black cloak. Nevertheless, she could see a patch of pale white nearby the edges of the viewer’s bloody scarlet edges radiating about with all of its obscurity.

Lyra was at a loss of words initially before summoning whatever strength within her to exclaim almost straightaway, “who the fuck are you?!”

“As you can see, my name is not important nor is my identity so to speak…” the minty woman’s onlooker had calmly answered, much to her growing chagrin as far as it could’ve been seen, “what is important, however, is the sad drag of a story that happens to be your life, past and present at large no less. In under the past two and a half decades of your life, you’d eaten the same food, dressed the same clothes, sat in front of the same kind: you were just that kind of girl but then one day you go and get lost in the chaos; you couldn’t even be original about the route you’d taken. Nobody’s complained about it at the time and nobody’s complaining now or ever, if at all: I, like a small few every single day, was dying of boredom anyway; but, guess what…? Some will be coming back and they’ll be bringing their new toys with them, which brings us to you: Lyra Heartstrings, what you are standing in are the caves underneath your fair city, once home to the avaricious and ambitious wishing to claim the jewels found deep within now a forgotten underworld stripped bare like the cadaver of a once fair and joyful bride from afar. At least, that’s how the story went or was supposed to go: whereas you and many of your neighbors of this once proud city and beyond had went on with their lives, liberties, pursuit of happiness, equalities, and the like alongside those lacking in at least any of them thereof, the invaders and infiltrators alike surveyed every nook and cranny within your humble abode. Out of many of these places within and beyond Equestria’s capital, the caverns were one of them; in this case, it’d been safe to suggest, if at all, they would serve as a prison for those whom would dare to interfere with their plans: of course, all which could be said is that there was only one so far. Sadly, it would seem that, aside from both friends and neighbors, you were amongst the deceived: the fair bride and princess you’d seen slain before your eyes was neither fair nor of noble blood, at least in the eyes of your rulers; it was Queen Chrysalis, ruler of the Changelings, a race of shapeshifters known as the innate masters of disguise, copying their subjects perfectly. Even though she’d been able to mimic Mi Amore Cadenza in her entirety, she couldn’t adopt her true personality, if at all: the kind and fair soul whom bore witness to the beauty in everything, including her chosen true love of her life and his dear sister; although Chrysalis had deceived the both of them as well as their friends and families with her facade, she couldn’t deceive them all. While many such as yourself excused her mistakes on account of the stress of fighting the war and losing many of your compeers before and after, only one saw through them and took matters into his own hands: a man by the name of Mercury Promenade, a guest such as yourself, sought to end her charade by any means necessary, even risking the lives of many, including Celestia.”

“You don’t think I know that: I’d already remember what happened next when that bastard killed her, for Celestia’s sake; besides, I would’ve rather wished he’d haven’t done that shit at all…!” she’d said strongly in a stern structure so to speak, clutching her torso in the process with her left hand all the while.

The viewer was unnerved by Lyra’s interjection yet had showed her the decency to reply freely nevertheless, “true, though it’s mostly certain the threat of having Equestria becoming subjugated by them would’ve still happened had he not done so, especially given their powers and abilities as is; of course, bombing the false princess’ wedding wasn’t his first option. In the months leading up to it, he’d been known as one of the many rank–and–file subjects observant to the news thereof; unlike Twilight whom was deceived due to her injuries sustained, Mercury was quick on the take, serving as her assigned bodyguard even when the dust had settled for a while. Of course, for only a vast majority of the time he’d spent, it was with the real Cadance alone: every second spent with her was more than just a job but rather a learning experience regarding her life and connections with the family she was going to marry into; speaking of which, the only commonality they’d shared was growing up without parents in their youths. Aside from that, they were both different as the night and day in which the princesses had once ruled over separately as well as equally unlike the societies underneath them now and then: she was a local highborn loved by many for her talents and personality whereas he was just only a commoner from another land, hated despite his similarities. Of course, all the respect Mercury had for Cadance went out the window the day she was replaced, or rather kidnapped by Chrysalis’ troops while stepping in as a replacement; even though no one else knew about it, strangers or loved ones alike, he’d paid attention long enough to see the differences between the true princess and the false queen. It also didn’t help that Luna had to be away on this day just to repair ties with the other nations, leaving her sister all alone with the psychopath masquerading as their niece whom they’d sworn to know and love; not even Twilight, whom looked up to her as a sister rather than a sitter, could use her intelligence to comprehend the reality of the real Cadance. Either way, the scholar’s pursuit were what had ironically led to her near death in Ponyville, left to burn in a fire destroying the library she’d once called home, all to save a friend from a heinously grim fate; if anything, had things gone much smoother by comparison, it would be safe to say she would’ve came to the same conclusion as Mercury did. Anyways, his requests to delay the wedding, though sound enough on the account of the preceding war, were denied by Shining Armor’s family as well, not too surprising since everyone was too busy to see beyond their gates of horn and ivory or even exhausted to be burdened with a probability of being attacked in their own home; even his protection was woefully inadequate. Speaking of which, Mercury’s attack had done little, if at all, to deter Black Queen’s horde from mounting an offensive on Canterlot: originally, they were supposed to attack on her signal alone, revealing her true form before all the spectators, however, with Chrysalis dead, the changelings succumbed to both confusion and delay, despite laying waste to the community and its people.”

“So all this time we’ve been lied to by an invader whom somehow snuck in, despite our efforts?!” the minty onlooker had screamed, her face currently becoming as red–hot as a bloody habanero overall, “no wonder why everything went to shit: all started going down the pipe the second Golden Oaks burned…!”

“Even worse, some of the soldiers under her beck and call took the time to take their anger out on the populace: raping women, killing me, torturing the young and old alike in a fit of waywardness following her very death; you were amongst many whom had succumbed to it…” the shrouded individual nodded and spoke to her plain as day so to speak of.

It was at this point Lyra felt her anger subside, the visage within becoming paler than her skin as she’d heard the wind drone on; additionally, she’d started to shiver about as the hems of her dress fluttered around against both of her legs whilst struggling, “how in Tartarus does he know about it all: I’d barely said a word about this to anyone else; was he spying on me since then…?”

“The fate these changelings had inflicted upon you were cruel and insensitive, especially given how they’d treated you as is…” the ambiguous individual had sighed, watching as the minty onlooker attempted to remain firm and flexible against the oxygen, “even when you were already at your most vulnerable, all they’d seen inside you was an object to be passed around like a doll. It wouldn’t have mattered if their queen had been exposed or not, since it’s clear that they’d have attacked the Crown and Country: these blackguards were determined to tear each and every fiber of this capital apart until there was nothing left of its own face; even now, there are some like them hiding amongst fellow Equestria further away, awaiting further orders that will never come. Regardless of the outcome, Chrysalis would’ve suffered all the same, be if from a bomb or by the weight of her slaves’ allies; after all, Twilight was more than capable of seeing through deception even more optimally in other worlds much like this one: her studies in magic had allow her time to prepare as she’d done on the day of the Summer Sun Celebration years ago. Either way, the world beneath your home was once your friend’s prison, only to be freed with the help of the true princess Cadance herself, thanks to their mutual bond, something Chrysalis lacked; considering your friendship between you and Twilight, it would be safe to suggest that even you can escape this forsaken oubliette to the home you’d both whence came from anyway. Keep in mind, this escape, should you choose to attempt, will not be easy for if you fail, you’ll suffer the same fate like the real Princess Mi Amore Cadenza had done, alone and abandoned by all, including her usurper Chrysalis; with that said, considering how you’d been amongst the many whom had forgotten the caverns, there will be clues to provide you a way back to home. Survival will be resting with the lights but not all of them will be so useful to you, even with their innate de facto neutrality: the environs will be brimming with all sorts of dangers, hidden and otherwise, and choices for you to pick, right and wrong; even though you’ll be allowed to reconsider, sometimes the option to backtrack will become forfeit, irregardless of your will.”

“If that’s the case, why me: Twilight would’ve made a greater chance of getting out of here instead of me; come to think of it, where’s Bon–Bon is all this…?” she’d cerebrated, her indignation subsiding yet still strongly afore her singular viewer as the heat was fading away from her entire body with each and every second.

The ambiguous individual had wasted no time in speaking to Lyra all the same, apathetic to her growing condition so to speak of, “and so, here you are, chosen by fate to serve as a proxy of your friend in this very exercise to test your skillsets; the choice is yours, Lyra: either rise up and conquer the uncertainty within yourself or wither and die like the true Mi Amore Cadenza…”

Afterwards, the image fizzled out into the crystalline nothingness, leaving the minty onlooker alone again naturally in a rather grim reality. With all the bits and pieces entailed to herself, she’d been presented with an environment bereft of both amenities and companies so to speak. Even the recent message Lyra had listened to, courtesy of the announcer Kowtow, did her little favors, if any, when it’d came to information. Despite this, the minty woman was most unnerved by the singular viewer: aside from the latter’s attire, summarization alone wasn’t enough.

“Okay, Lyra, you were there on the day when our teacher taught us all geology; although, it’d been nice if we’d known of it…” she’d said to herself, taking a deep breath while facing the trail of lights hung up on their side as the cold was starting to set in, “if this happens to be part of Canterlot, then the least we could’ve been able to do is have a map of the underground ready. Oh, how I hate these kind of days, trapped alone and underneath the city you and your friends called home, much less the capital no less: where’s Twilight and her friends when you need them now?!”

Lyra had no other choice but to go follow that pathway; after all, irregardless of the vague clues provided, she understood better not to stay here any longer. Taking a first trot forward, the lonely woman felt the photons radiating from their territory now bathing her body while pointing out the damages sustained. Thereon, she could feel comforted by the fact that the trail in question was devoid of any dangers so to speak; besides, the ambiguous individual said so well.

It wasn’t long until the very lights behind had become a distant memory; in Lyra’s frontal point of view were at least five in different colors than before: yellow, ivory, blue, crème, and purple. These happened to serve as the divergent paths provided for the lonely woman, each just as ambiguous like her previous viewer but more colorful as far as she can see them all straightaway. Of course, she was firmly aware of the fact they were serving as the choices in question for her to pick alone: like what had been told to her, they possessed outcomes should she ever reach one.

When I was just a lassie, I found it rather silly
To see how many other people I could meet
I had my books to read, didn’t know that I
would ever need
other people to make my life complete

A maidenly voice lilted from the far–right pathway; the purple lights on that end synchronizing with the tones therein.

Edging towards the sound of music itself no less, Lyra commented, “that’s Twilight’s voice; maybe she’s here…”

But there was one boy that I cared for
I knew he would be there for me
My big brother, best friend forever
Like two peas in a pod, we did everything together

The lonely woman heard again as she’d made her selection, walking along the vivid trail at once

He taught me how to fly a kite, best friend forever!
We never had a single fight; we did everything together!
We shared our hopes, we shared our dreams
I miss him more than I realized
It seems…

“Is she talking about Princess Cadance’s groom, Shining Armor…?” Lyra had ruminated about in nervousness supersaturated.

It was at this point the lonely woman heard a quintet of girlish sounds join in with the singing, bearing the same quality as her:

Your big brother,
best friend forever
Like two peas in a pod,
You did everything together
And though he’s, oh, so far away
I hoped that he would stay
My big brother best friend
Forever…
Forever…

The primordial vocalist sang as Lyra could now see the path ahead of her almost at an end as is

He was my big brother, best friend
Forever…
And now, we’ll never do anything
Together…

Just as the aria concluded, the lonely woman came across five more paths like before: this time, the colors provided were now consisting of cyan, pink, white, orange, and yellow; likewise, she’d needed to make a decision for the sake of progression.

“Alright then, it seems that you’d gotten right the first time, like before; it’s just like the entrance exam – the beginning’s always the easiest: you just need to stay alive and find the exit, every cave has a way out…” Lyra had heaved as her heartbeat started to stabilize soon enough, quickly catching her breath while studying them all.

As the lonely woman was doing so, another song began, this time coming from the flowery lights between the metallic pathways:

My name is Pinkie Pie
And I am here to say
I’m gonna make you smile,
And I will brighten up your day
It doesn’t matter now
If you are sad or blue
Cause cheering up my friends
Is just what Pinkie’s here to do

“I know her voice already; Minuette had told me about her: she’s the Bearer of Laughter living it up in Ponyville of all places…” Lyra had whispered softly as all of the lights alternated between dimming and brightening about slowly around herself no less, “maybe I can find her so she can help me find Bon–Bon; not only that, we can use this as an opportunity to escape from here too.”

Cause I love to make you smile, smile, smile
Fills my heart up with sunshine, shine, shine
All I really need’s a smile, smile, smile
From these happy friends of mine

The aria of joy continued to light the way for the lonely listener all the while.

As the warm photons cloaked her about despite the lack of solidarity therein, Lyra thought as is, “yeah, I’d like a smile myself too, but Bon–Bon must come first; I need to see her again more than ever…”

I like to see you grin
And I would love to see you beam
Seein’ the corners of your mouth turned up
Is always Pinkie’s dream
But if you’re kind of worried
And your face has made a frown
I’ll work real hard and I do my best
To turn that sad frown upside down

The aforementioned singer chimed as the lights blinked about to the rhythm therein so to speak

Cause I love to make you grin, grin, grin
Bust it out from ear to ea–ea–ear
Just give me a joyful gri–i–in
And you fill me with good cheer
It’s true, some days are dark and gloomy
And maybe you feel sad
But Pinkie will be there to show you
It really isn’t bad
There’s one thing that makes me so happy
And makes my life worthwhile
And that’s when I talk to my friends
And I get them to smile
Did you finally get that nasty cough
cleared up there, Derpy Hooves?

“Yes, I followed your advice: drank Zecora’s brew, it improves…!” another vocalist had joined in, just as bubbly as the primordial even as the pink photons turned to silver before the corporeal woman’s goldenrod eyes.

Nevertheless, Lyra persisted as Pinkie sang, the lights defaulting back to pink in the process, “your new haircut’s really cool there, Harry: lookin’ superfly!”

“Wow, I can’t believe you noticed…!” a masculine baritone articulated as the photons shifted colors again, this time to a dark umber, “you’re the best friend, Pinkie Pie…!”

“Hey there, miss Tristan, how did Twist do on her last spelling test…?” the primordial singer asked even as the corporeal listener paid no mind.

In any case, the pink photons changed back to brown, this time more lighter and soulful as chocolate with an answer, “thanks for asking, Pinkie Pie: this time, she really did her best…”

“Hey there, Rarity…!” Pinkie had chimed back into the process, something that Lyra could care less about all the same, “I really like your super sense of style…”

“Thank you, Pinkie Pie; you sure do know just how to make me smile…!” a chuckle escaped into the corporeal listener’s ears as the lights became white as ivory, leading her the way throughout.

Lyra’s eyes had relaxed a bit when the photons returned to pinkness again as the primordial singer chirped about no less, “Twilight, here’s that book you wanted: it’s about this great white whale! Hello, there, so nice to see you: wow, I love your shiny scales! Fluttershy, I found a lost friend.”

“Angel…” the titular soprano had replied as the lights briefly became yellow for a bit, “I’ll take care of you!”

“Applejack, tell Granny Smith I loved that tasty Apple Stew; Polo Ponies, best of luck: I know your game will go just great…!” Pinkie sang.

Soon, a trio of masculine voices exclaimed, all of whom were tenors, as the lights flashed in a pattern of red, green, and blue rather slowly, “when we win, we want you here so you can help us celebrate!”

Hey there, rooster, that sure was
A super cock–a–doodle–doo
And, hey cows, I gotta thank you all
For bustin’ out a moo

The primordial singer cheered as the corporeal woman heard a bovine sound off in the process no less

You chickens lay great eggs
and pigs, you really are fine swine
And seeing you all smile is
Really making me feel really fine!
I really am so happy
Your smile fills me with glee
I give a smile, and I get a smile
And that’s so special to me
Thank you all for being friendly
And for making my day bright
Spreading joy out to all my friends
Makes me feel out of sight
Cause I love to see you beam, beam, beam
Tell me what more can I say–ay–ay
Makes me happy when you bea–ea–eam
Yes, it always makes my day

Yes, I love to make you grin, grin, grin
Bust it out from ear to ea–ea–ear
Just give me a joyful grin, grin, grin
And you fill me with good cheer
Come on everybody smile, smile, smile
Fill my heart up with sunshine, shine, shine
All I really need’s a smile, smile, smile
From these happy friends of mine

Every light on the spectrum lit up as even Lyra joined in.

It wasn’t long until the corporeal listener came across the end of the pathway just as the lights abaft her became pink one last time:

Yes, the perfect gift for me
Is a smile wide as a mile
Make me happy as can be
All you have to do is smile
Smile! Smile!

“Now, then Lyra, what will you choose next: an unfulfilled and slain love; a needy and fragile help; or a quiet and still duty…?” yet another feminine voice hissed into the eponymous traveler’s ears as the latter was now presented with a fork upfront: each of them varied in shades of gray so to speak, “choose wisely…”

Taking a deep breath, the corporeal woman trotted towards the most colorful of the grays on the far–left, bluish but otherwise faint; however, as soon as she’d entered the trail, the entrance abaft her begun to give way, swallowing her whole almost instantaneously: afterwards, she’d seen three pairs of eyes lit up afore her, each of which tinted in a solid jade and complete with grins.

“Twinkleshine, Minuette, Bon–Bon; are you three alright…?” Lyra asked them as their faces were directed towards the former at once.

Rather than an answer, they’d said, “you’re not going anywhere…”

“What are you gals saying: what are you talking about; what is this place…?” the woman in gold replied as the trio edged further closer to her without any kind of hesitation whatsoever, “gals, gals, GALS–––”

“I want her…!” Twinkleshine and Minuette hissed as Bon–Bon, dressed in white from top to bottom, had kissed Lyra onto the lips; as a result, the latter was starting to see darkness take reign.