Twilight's Soul Floats Ever Deeper Into Space

Chapters

Chapter 1: An Unlikely Friendship Was Made.
Interlude II: A Guard's Ramblings.
Chapter 2: She Calls Upon Me.
Interlude III: She Remembers That Fateful Day.
Chapter 3: That Fateful Day
Interlude IV: Why Can I not Remember?
Interlude V: Your Actions Always Stay With You. Even If You Had No Control Over Them.
Chapter 4: The Lingering Fate Of Five Ponies.
Interlude VI: Desperation Through Past Events.
Interlude VII: Regret.
Chapter 5: The Lingering Fate Of Five Ponies Part 2
Chapter 6: The Lingering Fate Of Five Ponies Part 3
Interlude VIII: Sorrow.
Chapter 7: The Lingering Fate Of Five Ponies Part 4
Chapter 8: The Lingering Fate of Two Ponies.
Chapter 10: Ritual.
Chapter 11: Restoration
Inscription I: My Queen, She Controls Me.
Inscription II: Why Must My Faithful Student Sink So Low.
Inscription IV: The Destructive Right Hoof.
Prologue
Interlude I: I Ask Thee Another Question.
Interlude IX: Interruption.
Chapter 9: Just One Left.
Inscription III: I will Never Forgive you.

Chapter 1: An Unlikely Friendship Was Made.

Space is a wondrous thing to gaze upon from the safety of Earth. The mysteries it holds are unfathomable. Yet, the ponies of Equestria have always gazed toward its majesty with curious eyes and hungry hearts that yearned for exploration of its countless stars.
Princess Luna always had an affinity with the Moon as did Princess Celestia with the Sun, they both held the power of the celestial bodies respectively, as their planet rotated around them. The Sun was the ever-glowing light that guided ponies everywhere to wake from their blissful slumber to warm days, to the smell of verdant fauna, to the ever-growing stalks of produce that filled their bellies. Ponykind loved the days the sun provided them, they would play, go to activities that would make use of the warm breeze, learn and better themselves, and better the world they were fortunate to live in.

The Moon’s pure glow was their guidance to restful sleep, to dream dreams bold and grand, to be their watchful eye in the azure night sky, to keep them safe from the monsters that were held within the void that was shadow. There were those that heeded the Moon’s call for they only came out during the dead of night. They were the Moon’s children, they glided through the azure sky as they basked in the brilliant light of the Moon. They were not what other ponies called, normal. They were better than normal, they were the ones that helped plants and trees grow far and wide, for they would drop the seeds from the fruit they were given by the Sun's warmth. They were the other half of their world's equilibrium. Their name came from the Moon’s blessing, they were called bat ponies. These ponies would play, dance, sing, and celebrate in the night's embrace. This was their time to trot upon the earth and boy did they bask in the Moon’s glow tonight.

It was warm, warmer than the night prior, for tonight was the signal that summer was on its way to greet every living creature on Earth. Though there were sounds of stirring, a stirring from a little filly that woke up with her throat parched. She hopped out of bed and trotted her way down toward the kitchen, to get a glass of water. She carried her glass from her night table, and with her horn’s soft amber glow, she made her way down her stairs. Once she finally made it to the sink with her glass in tow, she noted the sounds of a weird kind of chirping. It wasn't anything menacing, just a high-pitched sound. Intrigued by the sound, she turned off the faucet on her sink and trotted to her front door. Still hearing the chirping, she opened the door. The filly trotted outside as the warm breeze flew passed her face. ‘The first night of summer is here hehe.’ She giggled softly. The chirping stopped suddenly from her echoing voice. ‘Oh, no. Please don’t stop. I didn’t mean to scare you away.’ She said concerned. She stood there for a moment but there was nothing but silence and her ears picking up the rushing wind flowing passed them.

‘Oh, fluffy feathers!’ She said dejected as she hung her head low, she began to trot through her front door. She stopped however because she heard a slight rustle in the tree next to her house. Curiously she slowly headed toward the rustle and stood underneath the tree’s canopy.
‘Hello!?’ she asked quietly. She waited for an answer, but what she got were two dark blue pointed ears that would make themself known to the filly from the leaves. ‘Hello?’ She asked again. That second greeting made sure to have the pony's face slowly emerge from the canopy.
‘Hello there!’ Said the dark blue bat pony. His voice was raspy but it had a tone of playful intrigue.
The filly gasped softly ‘Oh my, you talk just like me.’ The colt tilted his head ‘Like this?’ The filly nodded. ‘What is your name?’ asked the colt. ‘Soda Pop, what is yours?’ Soda asked. ‘Blue Moon. He stated. ‘Why is your name Blue Moon? Did you make the moon blue?’ She pondered. Blue Moon slowly fell from the tree’s canopy and landed in front of Soda Pop. ‘May I have a glass of water? I am parched. You can have a mango if you want. Are you hungry?’ Blue asked as he held out a mango to Soda Pop.
Soda nodded as she invited him into her home. She grabbed the mango from Blue. ‘Thank you so much. Please come in. I just filled up a glass with water… Blue Moon, does this make us friends?’
Blue placed a hoof on his chin as he thought about Soda’s question ‘I think so, is this how you make friends? Would you like to be friends Soda?’ The filly excitedly nodded her head ‘Then we are friends.’ Blue giggled

Soda grabbed Blue Moon’s hoof and pulled him with her as she ran upstairs to her observatory. ‘Hey, wait! What about my drink?’ Blue exclaimed. ‘The water can wait, come. I wanna show you the moon!’ Soda excitedly said as they made their way to the top of the stairs. She showed Blue the viewing end of the telescope. ‘Have a look.’ Soda said once he lifted her head from the angle she set the telescope to gaze at the moon. Blue scooched over and slowly began to lower his eyes toward the lens. He saw the moon its full glow from a really close-up angle. ‘Oh my this is amazing. The moon is really pretty… Hey, what’s that?’ Blue cautiously asked. He lifted his head for Soda to peek through the lens.

‘What was it? I can’t see it anywhere.’ Soda asked. ‘It's to the left and up a little bit. It looked like a building with a pony standing at the front of it.’ Blue listed off. Soda began to move the trajectory of the telescope to match roughly what Blue mentioned. After a few seconds, she saw it. It looked like a building with a triangular roof. Its shape was not anything Soda had seen in her books at school. It looked really old to her. ‘What is that?’ Soda asked, Blue shook his head. ‘I don’t know… Look I have to get home, my mom is going to be very mad at me coming home so late.’ Blue said shyly.

‘Why?’ Soda looked over to see the sun rising from over the hill behind her house. ‘Well, I am a bat pony. I sleep during the day.’ Blue said as he began to rush down the stairs. ‘Will I get to see you again?’ Soda asked. Blue nodded his head before he headed out of Soda’s front door.
‘Well, I will have to tell Mom and Dad about that weird building when they wake up.’ Soda said matter of factly.

Interlude II: A Guard's Ramblings.

‘Yet another day has arisen on the planet below, Princess.’ A pale lavender unicorn said passing an iron casket. He admired it from afar, while he made his way to guard at the main entrance to a spire. A spire that was silently floating in the vacuum of space, ever adrift in the current of its glinting ocean of stars.
‘Is time always allowed to repeat itself? Or is it that, the realm of space is able to pocket past events? I fear I do not possess these answers.’ He hung his head over the balcony of the spire. He wished to view the blue orb that housed life below him. ‘Oh, the times I shared with other ponies under your fervent radiance, were the most joyous of days. Now, those days have shriveled up like a dying flower, its bloom lost to the sands of time. Rendered forgotten.’ He tapped his sword down two times onto the cold marble.

A sigil formed on the marble floor, and where the tip of the unicorn’s blade touched the floor, a slowly expanding crackling white crystal began to form. Its transparent glory was shown to the glistening black sea of stars. Once it fully pulled itself from the void of white in the sigil, the crystal began to encompass the entirety of the spire with a slightly cloudy shield, to protect the guard and his princess. ‘I remember, remember the first time I laid my eyes on your radiance. It was the time when you were celebrating the victory over the demise of the once proud King of the Crystal ponies, King Sombra. Your magic was bright and filled with hope of a brighter morrow. Yet, I gaze upon you now, laying in your prison of iron, and see a slumbering queen. A queen so mired in hate…’ A soft sigh filled the air for a moment. The unicorn placed a hoof onto the casket of iron

‘Oh, Princess Twilight Sparkle. What atrocities did the ponies of our time do to you?’ He made his hoof pull up an imaginary weight in front of him. What he managed to do, was pull a chair from the ground. The chair was made of the cleanest white crystal. He sat down next to her casket. ‘Princess, that day, when you were taken from the light of the sun, it was the dawn of my ever-darkened nightmares. I, loath to remember such a day. Yet, I remember it was the very day I swore my sword to your heart as its protector… When you were taken from the world, my will was torn asunder. They discarded my sword like it was a plague that laid in wait to walk upon that land.’ The unicorn lifted up his blade to his lap with his magic and gazed deep into the eyes of his double, in the reflection of the steel.

‘Princess, I have only wished you to come back to me, for I am lost without your guiding hoof, that brings the future every pony wants to have, come to fruition. Yet, I have to question that future. For I fear, fear that you will awake and destroy the very life from their ever-warm bodies. Will you? Will you become the poison that is so virulent, that it seeps into the very will of life and brings the cold embrace of death? Will you force the very fabric of miasma to crystalize and suffocate the air? Will you blacken the skies and rain acid upon their flesh? To boil the very blood their hearts pump? All I can do is ponder, question, and criticize your rule if you were to wake afresh. Not out of spite, nor disobedience, but in concern for your very soul. The soul that has been adrift in the bosom of this celestial realm.’

A splat emanates from the floor next to him. He leaned into the source of the noise and saw a pitch-black tar-like substance lying on the cold marble. ‘What prey tell, is this princess?’
The unicorn slowly and cautiously bent down with his foreleg stretched out in front of him to examine the obsidian blob. As his hoof made contact with the viscus ooze, it violently shot up his foreleg and covered his entire body. Sealing him away into obsidian crystal.

Chapter 2: She Calls Upon Me.

An echo filled his mind. The sound was familiar in tone and approach, yet he could not quite understand what it was requesting of him. His mind swam in the ocean of his memories, memories long forgotten. Yet they were still there, hidden from his mind’s eye.
One such memory swam to him like it was looking for its rightful place to lay and sleep within his mind. But, when it made contact with its rightful place, his eyes beheld a flash of colour swimming past his vision and stopped at a green meadow. He looked around and saw a flowing green sea that looked like blades of grass, lapping at his hooves.

There was a breeze, a warm breeze hitting his snout. It felt like the breeze was tickling his nose before it made him sneeze. ‘Are the winds making you sick?’ Asked a curious voice. He turned around to where the voice sounded. He noticed the pony standing next to him. ‘Oh, no princess. It is only my allergies. They dislike the current weather changing its season.’ He bowed slightly as he noticed that Twilight was standing next to him. ‘Ah, I am glad to hear that you are well… It is rather nice to stand in this meadow with you. I know that I can enjoy it for as long as I like because I have you to look after me.’

Twilight proceeded to place a scabbard down in front of her protector. The colour of the scabbard was dark midnight purple with gold marbling. The sword it housed showed a white grip with a pommel in the shape of a pointed star. ‘Princess, you-’ He was cut off from her calm tone. ‘Open it, please!’ She asked and he nodded in cooperation. He pulled the sword from its home and lifted it up with his magic. The glint from the sword in the sun gave off a light lavender holographic tinge to the silver and gold blade. The gold was engraved into the entirety of the blade's length. ‘Princess, it is quite marvelous to gaze upon. Yet, I spy your cutie mark in gold. It is scattered all the way down the blade… How can I repay you?’ He sheathed the sword back into its home. ‘By protecting me, no matter the condition. You are my protector, after all, you will need appropriate instruments to uphold my safety.’ Twilight giggled.

Cracking could be heard from the obsidian cocoon. ‘No! Please let me slumber evermore. I do not wish to wake yet. Let me dream!’ The obsidian crystal changed its colour as a rainbow started to form within the crystal itself. ‘Wake my sworn protector. You are needed, needed more than ever.’ Shortly after, a piece of it flew out of its holding place within the structure, but what replaced the missing piece was an oozing fluid. The fluid had a putrid aroma as it fell to the floor. Once it hit the marble a sizzling sound began to emanate.

Sounds of shattering glass began to come forth more violently as a hoof stepped to the floor. 'Wrrooaahhh' sounded as the once-trapped unicorn began to breathe again. The pony was covered in what looked like acid. The acid fell off his coat, yet it melded the rotten crystals on his body to his skin. 'Princess? Hast thou called upon me to wake afresh?' The unicorn sounded. 'Ye, call forth thouest blade? I shall heed thy call. I shall commend thee force of thine army and pillage that orb of green and blue. I shall tear it asunder for thouest to return to our kingdom come.'

'I feel thy power flow through the veins of mine body as if it were acid. Clotting and corroding mine flesh with thy will... Mine sword, its blade has been touched by the radiance of its princess.' The unicorn began to lick the flat side of the modified blade with his tongue. Bubbling and sizzling sounds could be heard from the pink flesh of the unicorn's tongue, as it began touching the caustic blade. ‘Go forth Protector. Bring me back to your world. Set me free of this prison.’ Echoed Twilight's voice in his mind. The unicorn made his way toward the balcony and stood upon its rail. He looked downwind at the world below him and jumped off the rail.

Falling through the vacuum he smiled softly ‘As you wish, Princess.’

Interlude III: She Remembers That Fateful Day.

‘I remember, I remember a time when the world was full of hope. The days were so full of life, the weeks were full of smiling faces, the months filled with singing and laughter, and the years filled with bountiful feasts from the countless yields of harvest. Times were good, I might even be bold and say that they were golden times for my people.

I saw fields aplenty with verdant seas of green grass, ever lapping gently at anything that would break the surface of the perceived water. Life felt as if it were to be a dream. Yet, it felt askew at the very same time. I could not place my hoof on this odd feeling, nor could I place my tongue on the words to describe my feelings to others. Though it was there still, regardless of my attempts to unearth them from my being.

So, I moved on from that notion of fear, so I could focus more on my abilities in the academic field. I did indeed manage to suppress those quirks of suspicion and paranoia… Years passed and my suppression had worked, for the most part. You see, they came back quite violently one day. I was minding my own and keeping to my studies when I heard something emanate from the bottom of my guts. It was the sound of my stomach turning from something unseen in our realm of sight.

I surmised that whatever made me feel those odd feelings years ago. Was back and wanted to be known, but when I asked my friends or family. They waved it off as an ailment from my fervent studying. Yet, I pleaded with them to come with me to the origin where I felt it. Still, they claimed my study was to blame. Did they not feel the same as me? I will never be able to know.
After exhausting my avenues, I declared to myself that I would find the bottom of this strange phenomenon. So, I ventured to that grassed meadow, to see if my feelings were true and not mere conjecture of a mind plagued by fear.

Once I reached my target, I could no longer move any muscle in my being. It was as if the magical force emanating there, froze my movements. Still, cold and in fear, I saw figures made of obsidian slowly approach me.
Scared, all I could do was close my eyes and pray, pray to anypony who would keep my soul safe and sound from these nightmarish creatures. But before I could say one more word in my prayer, I heard the sound of a sword swinging in the air.

I opened my eyes and saw a pale lavender unicorn standing in front of my being, holding a thin blade close to him. I asked his name and he replied in kind. Yet, I could not hear the syllables emanate from his mouth. Was I deaf? Could I no longer hear after that day? After viewing those figures? I find that I will never know…

So, since I could not hear his name, I gave him a name from my own mouth. I claimed him as my protector.’

Author's Note

This is twilight Sparkle speaking.

Chapter 3: That Fateful Day

Twilight looked toward her newfound piece of mind when she saw her protector. Her gaze was inquisitive but cautious when she stared. Her mind was ticking over countless questions, assumptions, and affirmations. Some of which concerned her with the recent happening around her. ‘How have you come across this very spot? Have you spied on me with your cunning silence?’ She asked. ‘Well, I had this feeling. It was ever so strange. It felt as if I were to be pulled to this place, by a force not really known to myself. Is that why you are here as well?’ He replied while he offered a hoof to her.

Twilight's eyes slowly grew as she realised that she was no longer the only pony to experience this odd feeling. ‘I thought I was the only one. I asked ponies around me and they waved it off, but you. You also felt them, I am really happy to hear that.’ She exclaimed. The lavender pony chuckled slightly at her outburst. ‘As am I… Say, may I ask the name of the lovely lavender mare?’ Twilight blushed softly ‘Twilight. Twilight Sparkle. Princess of Friendship, here in this land of Equestria.’ He bowed slowly ‘Please, forgive my tardiness, Princess. I am not from around these parts of the world. I did not guess you to be royalty.’

Twilight giggled softly ‘It is quite all right. I am still quite new to this title. So there is no need to forgive, for you have not done anything wrong… May I gather your name?’ He nodded ‘It’s ፪ቹዪልፕⶴ.’ Twilight shook her head from the tingling feeling his name gave her. ‘I must apologise. Would you be able to repeat that one more time?’ He chuckled softly as he nodded ‘It is ፪ቹዪልፕⶴ, Princess.’
Confused and dizzy, Twilight looked up at her savior as he smiled warmly down at her. ‘I will call you my protector. It will have to do for now. The reason why I have given you this name is because my ears are not able to hear your name, for some reason.' The lavender unicorn bowed again but slower. ‘Then I shall humbly accept the title you gave me, Princess. Even if my actions this day, have been quite minuscule.’

Twilight placed a hoof on to his crown ‘Your actions today, have surmounted my fear. Thus saving me from paralysis.’ She let go as he recovered from bowing. He nodded then stood to her side and gestured “please” with an extended foreleg, pointing out back toward Canterlot. ‘Shall we, Princess?’ Twilight breathed deeply as she coupled her thoughts together ‘We shall. Please, lead the way.’

They both started the trek back toward the city of Canterlot, but the two ponies felt something strange deep into their core. It felt as if something were to be amiss in their very souls. It felt like something had dug through their center and kept drilling. It made them feel empty and very hungry to fill that hole… They did not disclose this to each other vocally, but they did find, that they did not need to affirm it to each other.

The green meadows slowly began to change to a dull grey stone colour, as they reached the city limits to Canterlot. Twilight stopped as she saw the entrance to Canterlot, she saw guards posted at the gate. ‘Why are there guards here?’ She asked under her breath. ‘I do not know, Princess. However, I dislike the feeling I have about this situation. Please stay behind me!’ He commanded. ‘But they are solar guards from the castle. They know me. I am sure all of this is just a bit of confusion. I’ll talk to them.’ A hoof stopped her in her tracks ‘Princess, Please look a bit more forward. They have their spears drawn and their magic ready for conjuring spells.’

Twilight squinted her eyes a little more and found that he was right ‘How can this be? I am the Princess of Friendship, The Element of Magic!’ She exclaimed. A solar guard made his way toward them both but kept his distance from them. ‘By the royal decree, you both have been ordered by the princesses, to be held in the castle jail cells. Where you will be sequestered until sentencing can commence!’
Twilight slowly trotted back behind her protector out of fear from the announcement. ‘Princess, what do you suggest we do?’ he asked. Twilight was quiet for a moment ‘We offer ourselves up. If we show them we have not done any wrongdoing, then maybe we can have our sentencing omitted. If we fight them, then that would prove to them that we have done something wrong.’ She pondered.

‘Princess, I will obey your command but I will defy it if it means your safety is at risk, and I do believe that it is indeed at risk.’ He looked at Twilight with concern in his eyes. She trotted passed him with a warm smile ‘I am a Princess here. They will know that I am good of heart. Nothing will happen against me… If your will bends to my command, then I command you to stay here, Till my return from talking to that guard.’ He begrudgingly nodded at her decree. ‘As you wish Princess.’

Twilight nodded before she made her way to the solar guard waiting for her to arrive. ‘I have come to dispute the claims made on myself and my new friend behind me.’ The guard smiled as a glowing gold sigil appeared below the both of them. ‘There will be no disputes over these matters.’ The guard spat out obscenely. A golden square began to shackle Twilight as it encompassed them both in its bubble.

Panicking, her guard grabbed his sword with his magic and charged toward the bubble, but before he could touch it with his sword. The bubble vanished from the air around them. ‘What!?’ He snarled. His mind was boiling over with rage from the sleight of hand the guard had displayed. Twilight’s protector looked over to where the other solar guards stood. They were blurry from the globe of golden magic that protected the entire city from the outside, from him.

Exasperated and fearful, he lunged towards the globe with his sword drawn. He was desperate to get Twilight back from the clutches of these royal ponies… Once his blade made contact with the globe, it bounced off the magic. There was laughter from the other side of the magical wall. The laughter made his anger grow in intensity. He swang again with his sword, it connected and made itself stuck in the wall. ‘Give her back to me, NOW!’ He commanded. His sword was slowly secreting a burning fluid that was starting to help the blade melt through its defense.
The guards panicked as they noticed the stream of smoke coming from the puncture of the wall.

They screamed out for help. For any powerful mage to help fortify the now-wasting magic wall. A mage did indeed come and save them. She was tall, and had a coat of pure white snow, her mane and tail flowed like water. There was an image of the celestial body of the sun. She looked onward at the animalistic unicorn with pity in her eyes. ‘You shall not get through my magic.’ Her horn glowed a pale yellow as she began to strengthen her globe of gold. The new surge of power managed to push out the acid-slick sword from its hole in the wall.

‘NO! Give her back to me.’ He shouted. He swung the sword again but before it made contact. He felt a painful feeling hit his left shoulder blade. He looked down to see what had hit him, he noticed a golden pillar of light from a small golden sigil underneath him. A scream of pain filled the air as another pillar of light impaled his other shoulder. ‘You will not have her. You have corrupted her with your foul magic, I know it.’ the mage said accusingly.

More screams filled the air on the other side as the mage lifted him off the ground. ‘What have you done to Princess Twilight?’ She asked. He looked at her confused ‘What do you mean, I? I have done no such thing. I found her standing frozen.’ He calmed down from his outburst. ‘What do you mean by this? Was it not you who changed her being?’ The mage asked curiously.

He shook his head ‘No. I had this very odd feeling deep within my stomach, it felt like it was being pulled in a direction outside of my control. My legs moved on their own as they followed whatever was pulling my Stomach. That is where I found Princess Twilight.’ She pondered for a moment ‘Hmm, I shall take what you have told me and give it careful consideration. For now, rest.’ She placed a spell over the trapped unicorn. It managed to calm his mind and help him ease off into restful slumber.

When he awoke, he found himself in a spire floating in space with Twilight entombed in her iron casket.

Interlude IV: Why Can I not Remember?

‘I have been trapped in this place, for countless sands in the hourglass of the universe. Where this place is, I could not tell you. For, I only see darkness. There be no light, not a single shining star to guide my way back to the body I once held. Though, when I rub a hoof over my head, I feel no horn there. No stump, no indent, nothing! It was as if the ponies that trapped me here, took the essence of me away…

I was born as a unicorn, the horn was everything to me. Yet, I no longer have it with me. I wish I could remember that night prior to my imprisonment. I want to remember that night oh, so badly. But why can I not remember it? Why is that memory blocked off from my mind’s eye? Yet, I can feel it there, just beneath the cemented slab of dirt.

Why can I not excavate it? Break the cement and dig it out. Free it, hold it. I am ever so frustrated at the prospect of being so close to the knowledge of that night, that I wish to rip the memory from underneath my flesh. Rip it from my skin, my muscles, my sinew. Rip it free from its prison of, me. Throw it out with the flowing breeze of air from my lungs, exhale.

I feel overwhelmed, so overwhelmed by that thought. A thought to mutilate my body, to free a weight so grand, that it weighs down my chest like an anvil. I want this feeling gone, yet It fills me with a stupendous amount of glee. How can I gavel forgetfulness, to send away the thought of feeling this emotion?

It makes my body burn from deep within my soul. It burns like a fiery liquid that does not set ablaze. What could this be? Could this be what acid feels like to burn away your skin? Your coat? The more I think about this, the more I come to realise that, maybe I was chosen that day…

That day, when I was frozen in that grassed field. I felt something strange, something foreign happen to me. It was like something had pushed its way deep within my aura of being, corroding it, manipulating it, suffocating it. But I could not possess what it was.
The feeling died when I opened my eyes from his sword swinging, protecting me. I saw it in him as well. I thought I was seeing things but when he confirmed it to me, I was overjoyed. I was glad that I was not the only one who had suffered from the malevolent force's magic.

And that is where my recollection of that day ends. There is nothing but a golden wall of fog blocking my thoughts from digging deeper. I must wake my protector and have him save me once again.

Wake my Sworn protector. You are needed, needed more than ever.

Go forth, Protector. Bring me back to your world. Set me free of this prison.

Make my return known to those who wish to seal us away and forget us. Make our new Kingdom Come, through the bodies of those who wish to stand in our way!’

Author's Note

Twilight, again speaks her mind.

Interlude V: Your Actions Always Stay With You. Even If You Had No Control Over Them.

A regal pony looked over her room’s balcony, the balcony surveyed her castle's front gates and the surrounding area of the city.

‘I will never be able to close my eyes after that night. For, it haunts my dreams.

The sounds of her body breaking, the sounds of her blood spilling onto the stone floor beneath her, her screams. It was maddening… How was I capable of doing such atrocities to a fellow equine? I can never find the answer, even when I meditate. I am so frustrated at this lack of knowledge, that I wonder if it was even real. It felt so surreal as if I was dreaming. A dream that I could manipulate. Yet, my mind doubts that it was a dream.’

She shook her head from the trubberling thought. ‘I should stop replaying that memory over and over again. I must focus my energy on what is needed for the day. I am a princess first and foremost, the ponies here need me to lead them.’

A loud bang sounded from above her. It sounded as if the sky was being torn apart from whatever made contact with the atmosphere of the earth. ‘Oh my, whatever could that be?’ The royal pony asked out loud to herself as she looked up to the sky. She squinted her eyes to see if she could spot anything, but nothing showed itself. ‘I do wish it to be nothing bad.’

Shortly after, a mass of flame was falling from the sky. Her eyes widened as they spotted it crashing through a cloud. She could not move a single muscle in her legs. She felt as if she was glued to the spot, made to witness the event take place. She saw the mass of flame fly towards the earth but she noticed it falling to a massively empty green meadow. ‘No, please do not land there.’ The mass hit the meadow with an explosive force that sent shock waves and made the earth tremble.

‘It could be nothing major. Just a meteorite hitting the earth. That’s all…’ Shortly after she held her head with a hoof, softly rubbing her temple. ‘Why does my head hurt all of a sudden?’
‘Princess, please stop. What have I done to accrue this amount of hatred from you? PRINCESS!’ Screams could be heard echoing in the royal pony's mind.

‘Twilight!?’

Chapter 4: The Lingering Fate Of Five Ponies.

The regal pony rushed over to her telescope and pointed it in the direction of the wall of dust flowing high in the sky. She watched as the dust fell and began to settle, glinting light slowly peering through the smothering wall. She noticed this and started to zoom in, as far as her scope could allow. ‘How can this be?’ She gasped. There was a wall of clear crystal replacing the now, non-existent wall of dust. Shortly after a tower of water looked to be spewing upward from the ground. It held something atop the apex of the towering water. She panned her scope upward to meet the top and saw that there was a palace made from crystal that had melted.

‘What is the meaning of this? Who is responsible for this?’ She exclaimed, her ire rising in pitch. She slowly zoomed out and made sure to keep the entire situation in her view… There was a double take on her part as she zoomed back in and saw the tower of water harden and crystalize. ‘What magic is this?’ She huffed, her mind’s swell raging a storm as she took a deep breath and flew down toward the guards below. ‘Captain!’ She urged her voice in haste. A white unicorn stepped from the barracks in front of Princess Celestia. ‘Yes, Princess?’ He asked cautiously. He had never heard Celestia in a panic. ‘I am in need of four of your best ponies!’ She exclaimed furiously. Wincing, the captain blew a blue whistle. Four unassuming guards rushed to his location. ‘Princess, why are you in such a need?’ He asked, slowly stepping forward toward his Princess. ‘There is a spire, surrounded by crystal. Within its space holds a demoniacal presence that I wish to not linger.’ The captain looked up at his commander in confused bewilderment. ‘Demoniacal presence?’ His voice went silent from Celestia snarling toward him. ‘There is no time captain! Are these your best?’ He nodded ‘Yes princess.’

Celestia smiled as her muzzle slowly contorted to a wicked, teeth-bearing grin. ‘Excellent! There is a spire of crystal north of here. I want you four to fly over to it and demand that whoever lays there, come out willingly or be detained under royal decree. If they choose not to willingly come, then you have my blessing to do what is necessary to detain them.’ The four pegasus ponies wanted to run away from the miasmatic, malice-seeped words, that flowed from the lips of Princess Celestia. “Well, get on with it… Do I need to show you how disobeying my decree leads you?’ Celestia slowly but carefully trotted closer to the four ponies. Her presence felt like the air around them grew thick and heavy. ‘N-No princess, your command is our will.’ The Captain broke the tension. ‘I will accompany them, to make sure they follow your orders.’ He bowed. Spotting this Celestia stood over the captain like death would a dieying soul. ‘Very well then… Let me make this clear! If you fail me, You will regret that you ever saw the grace of my sun!’

The captain bowed lower as he groveled away from the princess's hooves. He gestured for the four other guards to follow him. Princess Celestia Stared at the four ponies coldly as they made their way to the front gate. They tripped over them selfs as they broke from her gaze. The five guards now scared took haste toward the new spire in the distance. ‘What the hell what that?’ Said one. ‘I do not know but I do not like this.’ said another. ‘Captin! What was that back there?’ Said a pink stallion. ‘I do not know, but that was definitely not normal for Her Majesty. Her eyes! They… Never mind. Look we have our orders, let's get to it men!’ The captain commanded.

The last of the five cantered along behind them. He did manage to keep with their marching gallop but he was stuck in thought. ‘That was not our Princess. Those black-as-pitch marbles of eyes. They have replaced her moonstone gems. What could this mean? Her presence felt as if I was standing in front of a Cacodemon. All of this happening so suddenly has made me feel sick.’ The brown pony stopped and began to help his stomach vacate and relieve the pressure in it.

Hearing his stomach vacation of its contents, the group stopped and rushed over to him. ‘Are you feeling alright?’ The captain asked worried. The brown pony nodded ‘I’m fine, just felt a bit woozy is all. I feel better now, sir.’ The captain nodded ‘Then let's continue forward.’

The three other ponies nodded in agreement and led the way for the brown pony. ‘Everything does not feel right to me… I despise this feeling I have.’ The brown pony picked up his pace and joined up with his squadron, toward the mysterious spire in the distance.

Interlude VI: Desperation Through Past Events.

‘The number five. Five is the number that changes, the change that the universe herself sets in motion. A motion to which no being knows how it starts or ends. For, only she sees the beginning and end of time and everything therein.

The number five breeds curiosity, a curiosity that boggles the mind yet pulls it ever forward. To where? It does not care, to where it finds itself. Only to find it and learn from it. Will the journey be safe? No one knows, not even the goddess herself. For, curiosity is quite a finical thing, a finical thing that drives you mad with questions, assumptions, and prenotions.

The number five is the number of freedom, a freedom that encapsulates the heart. The heart has its own yearning, yet, its yearning is quite difficult to obtain. Some hearts yearn for freedom of the air and sky. To fly as high in the sky as it wants, to be ever so high that the ground beneath becomes nonexistent. Everyone has their own type of freedom their hearts yearn for. Yet, it will never come, but why? No one knows, not even the goddess. For, her powers pale to the power of one's heart. A power to want freedom, no matter the form it resides in…

I ask thee yet another question. Are you able to change your destiny, or will it ever control your thread of string? My motives on why I ask is this. I have tried to change my past. I have tried ever so hard to cut the spooling string that connects my life to my death, or the limbo that I reside in now. I have tried time and time again. Yet, it gives no ground, no flex, nothing. It is ever tightened to the steel needle of the spinning wheel of the fates.

I have seen every outcome of this little theater show. A theater show that I am forced to recount endlessly. I have tried my hardest to manipulate myself, Princess Celestia, Princess Twilight… The five ponies you see approaching my spire of Chrystal, my resting place.

I feel my mind disintegrate under the pressure of madness that is clouding my sight, dampening my thoughts, and draining my will. What is left to take? My soul? Why has the goddess of the universe left me here? Please I beg thee. Save me from this limbo of dull grey. I wish to see it no longer, I wish it gone! My heart yearns for the freedom of the living, the sane, the material. I Wish for change from the goddess that includes me in her plan. I wish for Curiosity to come back to my wavering soul…

Yet, here I stand, standing at the very shimmer of a pooling well of water, water that gives life to every living thing in the cosmos. It wants to drown me, drown me in the sorrow of desperation and disparity.

Yet, I beseech thee for thy aid. Aid in which I can live with thee again. Live with thee in the morrow, a morrow in which I am allowed to feel the morning dew. The Summer's sunlight, its warmth heating my flesh. Flesh That I wish to feel again. It is one of the very things that was taken away from me. I wish to feel my coat again, the very coat that kept me warm in the winter…

But all I do is sit and watch and wallow, wallow in my sadness. A sadness so grand that death himself will never take away. For, he will never touch me nor help me drift off into heaven, let alone hell. For, I am deemed plague to most, poison to others.

How must I be forgotten?’

Interlude VII: Regret.

‘When we come to be, to exist in the world made for us. We tend to make mistakes, some are innocent hiccups in our journey of life, and others? Well, they tend to be unrecognizable sins that don’t show themselves until much, much later. These sins burry into the marks we leave behind, into the actions that ripple out from our being, and scorch its mark into our souls. Making them unredeemable, invisible, and unspeakable!

I happen to make one of those mistakes. It was out of duty to a pony filled with such hatred, that it scorched the earth on which I stood upon, oh so long ago. I- made five innocent souls suffer… Oh, how blinded by loyalty was I, too blind to see the glimmer from the sun’s rays. Too shallow to see the glow of the moonbeams shining down onto the ground. I could only see the purple tinge surrounding my line of sight. I was her plaything, her tool. I belonged to her, and to her alone I stayed. Like an eager dog waiting for its master to return home to it. My fate was sealed to her soul by that obsidian thing.

I- only wish to garner any form of forgiveness from those five souls, no matter how little they give it. I tore your coat away, tore your sinew from your limbs. The screams of agony ring true in my ears, even now, even after my banishment. Though it does feel so strange, this also feels so familiar somehow. This air of madness, this smell of bile, this taste of copper. It feels as if I were living through a past life. Yet, it is not real. My heart declares it so, for I can only live in one lifetime, live in one world. Live in this- banishment. I only have my queen, my master, and this here journal to protect. My closest friend is made from the bark of trees and yet, I find it is the sole thing I can confide my life’s tale to, written into its pages.

“My Life’s Tale.” What a potent phrase I utter from my lips. Could I even be allowed to call it a life? Would it be true? Or is it just a falsehood? Am I able to claim it as a life? Or is it merely a projection of another soul? Could I say that I have lived? Or maybe- could it be that I have never died? I may never know, nor will I ever find out. For my knowledge of the workings herein are quite minuscule at best, and non-existent at worse…

My dear friend, I have included within your pages my woes, my recountings, her Highness's thoughts, her remembrance, and even Princess Celstia’s actions from her mouth before this banishment. It was a last request granted by a soul's good graces. It is one I have been quite honored to be allowed. I will say this before I depart again and allow another soul to add their thoughts, to the pages of this forgotten history.

I am ever charged by the regret of my mistakes, and actions taken to bring about her majesty's vengeance.’

Chapter 5: The Lingering Fate Of Five Ponies Part 2

‘Let us set up camp!’ Said the captain, as he motioned for the other stallions to take a rest by a fallen tree trunk. ‘Bout dam time Captain!’ Exhaled a blue-coated soldier as he fell to the grass. ‘Yeah, though, we have managed to make quite a distance from Canterlot Castle. I’d say that is a rest well earned.’ Said the pink stallion as he sat on top of the fallen tree.
‘I for one, am glad that we are able to rest.’ Said a snow-white guard ‘Say, have any of you seen Rocky Road?’ The captain and the other ponies moved their gaze toward the path they had just traveled. Rocky Road was nowhere to be seen on the grassy road. ‘Rocky?’ Captain Ruby Leaves shouted out, as panic slowly simmered under his calm completion. ‘ROCKY ROAD?’

‘I am here Captain leaves!’ Rocky said with a staggered breath. Startled by the sudden sound from behind him, the captain spun around and saw a worn-out earth pony guard, standing haphazardly with a metal scuttle weighing down the poor ponies back. ‘Please help, this thing is really heavy. And I don’t want to spoil the water for everyone.’ Rocky tried to keep his grip on the scuttle but it was slipping from his grasp. He closed his eyes as he expected the thing to spill, but he did not hear the splash hit the dirt under him. He opened his eyes slowly and found out that the captain was holding onto the scuttle’s handle with his teeth. The captain slowly lowered the thing next to him before asking ‘Where were you? I must say having a missing guard does not sit well for any of us right now.’ Rocky lowered his ears slightly. He felt like a foal being scolded by his captain ‘I found a river three clicks west from our current location. I thought it was a fantastic idea to bolster the moral, sir.’
Captain Leaves sighed softly as his body loosened up ‘I can never really stay mad at you Rocky, you know that right?’ Rocky nodded ‘I do captain… It won’t happen again, sir.’ ‘At ease Rocky. Go join you fellow guard, and thank you for fetching us this water.’ The captain gave Rocky a soft pat on his back before picking up the scuttle he trotted with him to the other three stallions.

‘Hey! Look at who it is. If it is not the sneaky son of a parasprite himself, it’s Rocky!’ Cheered the blue one. The other two smiled as they saw Rocky approaching them with the captain. ‘Are you ok Rocky? We were worried that you may have fallen unconscious.’ Said the pink one. ‘But, we are most elated to find you well and safe. Ah, does my eye spy a magnificently mystical, and yet quite a quenching sight?’ Asked the snow-white one. ‘Man, you need to lay off that drama you read. You pick up their mannerisms too well.’ Mocked the blue one.
‘Well, at the very least one of us can read a book. Unlike one of the most barbaric ponies here.’ The snow-white one glared at the blue stallion. ‘Me? A barbaric pony? Why, you must mistake my visage for that horrific reflection you see in your mirror… See, anypony can do what you do.’ The blue one jeered at the snow-white guard. ‘That is enough of your bickering, the both of you’ yelled the captain. ‘Are you done? Good, now come and get your ration of water, which might I add. It was procured by Rocky here. Say thank you for his hard work, before you get your ration.’

“Captain, there is no reason to thank me. I only did what any other pony would do’ Rocky said embarrassed. ‘No, no. You took the initiative to help your squadron out. It is the very, and I mean very least they could do for you.’ Said the captain sternly at the two bickering guards. The blue stallion trotted over to Rocky ‘You are always ten thousand steps ahead of us, you manage to see things and situations that us mere mortal ponies dear not see. Thank you, Rocky. I do mean that.’ He grabbed his ration of water from the captain. ‘All right, next up’ the captain ordered. The snow-white guard trotted up to Rocky ‘Thank you ever so much, my dear friend. I would not know how to deal with matters such as this, for, I am not capable of foreseeing events such as this, but I am ever so glad to have you here with us.’ He too, grabbed his ration of water. ‘Next!’ ordered the captain.

The pink guard trotted over to both Rocky and the captain ‘How are you faring Rocky? You had quite the miss hap back there.’ Rocky smiled softly ‘I feel much better berry. Thank you for thinking of me.’ Berry hugged Rocky ‘Well, once we are all settled and set the camp why don’t you come by my side of the camp? I want to show you where the new star constellation is.’ Berry took his ration of water.
‘Now time for your rations Rocky.’ The captain gave him his flask of water. ‘Thank you, Captain.’ Rocky smiled softly as he headed back over to the other three guards.

Chapter 6: The Lingering Fate Of Five Ponies Part 3

Night slowly encroached over the kingdom, and the life surrounding the castle calmed down. The hustle and bustle of Canterlot died down to a crawl, as the last shop began to close its doors. The campfire where the five guards lay was crackling with life.

‘It is just about time, come Rocky. The clouds are about to disperse and make way for the stars.’ Berry motioned Rocky to hurry up and sit next to him. Rocky rushed over to Berry’s side, his eyes held a purest form of enchantment. Rocky loved the night sky, especially the space that held the twinkling balls of gasses within its cosmic ocean. ‘What’s the new constellation's name, I wonder?’ He asked Berry excitedly. ‘Well, do you remember the mare on the moon?’ Berry asked. ‘yeah, I do. It was where the scorch that marked the moon from Princess Celestia banishing Nightmare Moon Right?’ Rocky confirmed curiously. Berry nodded ‘Right on the mark there. I wonder how you never ended up in one of the famed schools in Canterlot… Anyway, what I am going to show you is, the newest constellation to form since then. Do you remember The Princess of Friendship? Princess Twilight Sparkle?’ Berry asked.

‘I do, yes. She was quite a beloved Princess in her own right, but I do remember her visiting my neck of the woods.’ Rocky blushed softly as Beryy chuckled. ‘She came to your neck of the woods, when?’ Berry asked shocked. ‘Well, she got on the wrong train to Appleloosa, and she ended up in Dodge City. Now, I was in Dodge on some errands for my mama.’ Rocky was interrupted by Berry from bursting out in laughter. ‘Sorry, sorry. It is strange hearing you call your mother like that. I mean not in a bad kind of way.’ Berry composed himself ‘What I mean is, I find it strange that you call your mother that name because your vocabulary is quite immense and very sophisticated.’ Rocky smiled softly ‘It is strange, now that I think about it.’ Rocky began to chuckle as well ‘I was brought up on a farm Berry. You know this to be true, that is where you found me after all. In any case, where was I? Right, I was telling you about Princess Twilight… As I said, I was on errands from my mother and saw Princess Twilight at the train station.’ Rocky glared playfully toward Berry.

‘She noticed me trotting past and asked if she could borrow some of my time. I quickly made my way over to her in the shade of the station's roof. Mind you this was one the hottest days in Dodge City’s history.’ Berry interjected ‘How hot was it?’ Rocky pulled a face as if disgusted by something ‘Thirty-Eight’ Berry bolted upright from laying down ‘Oh my sweet Celestia. Thirty-Eight Degrees? That is severely close to a fellow equine’s death.’
Rocky nodded ‘Very close in fact, it was the main reason ponies were not out and about. The streets were dead, like bone dry dead. I was surprised that there was a station master on duty that day… She asked me if I knew any pony that could help her, in taking her and her little dragon friend, to Appleloosa. I shook my head and said, “From the looks of it, every pony is staying inside from the heat.” She looked around me and noticed the empty streets surrounding the station…’ Rocky softly exhaled ‘I shouldn’t bore you with my story here. You were excited to show me the new constellation right?’ Berry nodded ‘We have all night to gaze upon it, but I am thoroughly enthralled with your recountings. Please continue’ He smiled warmly as he lay back on the grass.

Rocky looked confused ‘Are you sure?’ Berry nodded ‘Please, continue.’ Rocky smiled softly ‘When she noticed the empty streets, the Station master came over to us and told her that there would not be any more trains going out from Dodge City, till the next day.’ Berry asked curiously ‘Then if there are no longer any departing trains, what happened?’ Rocky chuckled ‘I was getting to that, before you interrupted me, again. I offered her a place to stay because there were no hotels or Saloons anywhere to be found… And before you start Berry, no. I did not ask her out on a date.’ Berry smirked ‘Well, then. You beat me to it. What did she say to your offer?’
Rocky smiled ‘She said she “would be glad to.” So, after I managed to get all of the errands done, I helped the Princess back to my place. I must admit how strange it was to be held within magic.’

Berry looked skybound confused ‘How do you mean?’ Rocky sighed ‘Well, since I am an earth pony. Having a consistent tingling all over my body was, different. I am glad for it because her highness helped me cool down from the sun’s oppressive heat. Mind you, her little dragon friend was confused about how equines did not like the heat like that. He said, “Us dragons are quite the heat eaters.” I asked him what he meant “Well, you see dragons are quite scaly and that is what helps us to keep warm.” I pondered a little because he was the very first dragon I’d ever seen, and with that came the only logical answer in my mind. So, that would make you a snake then? “It is a bit more complicated than that.” Said the princess.’
Berry rolled over ‘Rocky, I do love your story and all, but you are lingering a little bit on the details that don’t really matter.’

Rocky nodded ‘Sorry, you are right. Shall I just jump to the end of the story?’ Berry nodded ‘Please, there are only so many hours for the night to stay in place. I also wish to sketch the constellation tonight.’ Rocky sighed ‘Sorry Berry… So, the next day rolls around and I am up bright and early. I’m tending to mama’s chooks and I notice the Princess trot outside. So what did I do, I trotted over to her, said good morning, and offered to take her back to the station when she was ready. She agreed. Moments later we were off. Her dragon friend was on my back as we were making distance toward the station, and the next minute she was gone.’

Berry sat up with his sketchbook and hooved Rocky his portable telescope. ‘Sorry Rocky, I didn’t mean to rush you. I just really wanted to jot this down and have it archived for myself.’ Rocky peered through the telescope ‘It’s all right Berry. No harm no foul as my mama would always say. Plus, I would have missed seeing the new constellation. Say, that looks awfully like Princess Twilight’s cutie mark.’
Berry chuckled ‘Yep, Funny how no pony could tell you have it got up there, but my suspicion is, that Princess Celestia knows how it happened.’
Rocky nodded ‘Yeah! After all, we saw her eyes. I swear she has something to do with it.’ Berry Softly grabbed the telescope from Rocky ‘Let's get some rest. We have a long day tomorrow.’

The two guards chuckled at the idea of Princess Celestia banishing Princess Twilight sparkle to the stars, as she did Nightmare Moon to the moon. It was a bombastic idea for them both. After all, Princess Twilight Sparkle was the Princess of Friendship and the faithful student of Celestia. How could she be banished? That question would never be answered for them, after all, they had a long day in the sunlight. One in which they may never return.

Rocky closed his eyes as sleep took hold of him. He would relive that day Princess Twilight mistakenly got on a train to Dodge City.

Author's Note

Sorry for this being a bit dialogue-heavy. I wanted to have a little bit of a bonding moment for some of the characters.

Also, the temperature is 38°C (100°F).

Interlude VIII: Sorrow.

‘Dodge City! It was my birthplace to the Road family. A family so acute with the natural magic of agriculture and livestock, that they managed to bring back the city from being overrun with ghosts. I had hoped to die there, but I guess the hoof dealt to me by the fates, has deemed me unworthy.

Unworthy of the blood that coursed through my veins, or the name given to me by a family known for great feats. No, I was never worthy of those gifts, gifts bestowed upon my soul by the creator. For I squandered it with my eagerness to join the royal guard, the same royal guard that spat in my face. A face that only sought after a genuine life for himself, and to prove that an earth pony could indeed be entrusted with the protection of the princess, that belonged to the sun.

A sun so dim, that it clouded the pony's judgment. I endured its dull golden glow, I endured that flickering beam of sunlight. I sacrificed my flesh to appease the god of a burning star, a star so hot it melted my coat and sense of self away from its holdings. I did all of that and more, and what was I rewarded with? An empty death!

A death hollowed out from the grasp of the bony one, enrobed in black… That is all I can see now, a fatal darkness that enshrouds my snout. A snout that feels ever far-flung from its resting place. My body feels that I am covered in verglas as I drift further into the current of a cosmic ocean.

Where is this current taking me? I dare not dream, but I do know that it is taking me away from you. The only pony that chose to befriend me, chose to befriend an earth pony with a coat that seemed to ooze out mire, or so the other ponies in the barracks claimed. You didn’t see the colour of my coat to be the embodiment of filth. You said, “That is the coat of a thoroughbred. A coat so arresting, it captured your heart.” I asked what you meant by that claim, and you smiled and shrugged it off, as though it was nothing important…

Berry, I- I miss you so much. I just wish I could hug you again even if it was to be our final time. That too, is not fated for me. I am made unworthy yet again by the fates, unworthy to be hugged one last time by my adopted brother…

Why is it, when I am in my time of need? Sorrow is all that I can feel? It freezes my heart knowing I am no longer able to commune with him. I just want him back, I want mama back. I don’t want to be in the cold darkness any longer. Let me leave this ocean, and pull me back to the world. I can not stand the perforce, bestowed upon me by the fates…

Please, whoever it be that rules this realm. I ask you, may I be sent back?’

Author's Note

This is Rocky Road speaking.

Chapter 7: The Lingering Fate Of Five Ponies Part 4

‘Berry, we must wake him’ Said A snow-white stallion. ‘I know, but I just do not have a great feeling about today. It feels as if the air is thinner.’ Berry articulated softly, trying not to wake Rocky up. The snow-white stallion was about to nudge Rocky with his hoof when the captain took hold of his foreleg. ‘Berry is right. I feel this too… I find that it is best not to wake Rocky if it can be helped. We must be quiet as we pack up, is that understood Tundra?’ Commanded the captain as he strained his voice. ‘Aye, understood Captain Leaves.’ Tundra saluted before leaving Berry and the captain with Rocky.

‘I want you to lag behind us a fair while Berry. Tundra, Saxe, and I will continue our march to the crystal spire… I think I have the same feelings and thoughts as you. Today feels as if it were to be our last.’ Captain Leaves mulled over his thoughts but before Berry could voice his side of things, the captain held up his hoof. ‘Leave here when the sun is almost at its zenith. Then come and follow our tracks… I know this must be hard for you but spend what remaining time you have with him. That is not an order, that is more of a direct suggestion.’ The captain said before trotting over to the two other guards. Shortly after, they began to make their way toward the crystal tower.

Berry stewed in the silence that was left in the wake of the sun on the horizon. ‘What a time to be alive, hey Rocky’ He said chuckling softly. He let his body fall back onto the blanket he put down on the ground ‘Today just does not feel good, not good at all…’ He let silence take away his voice for a moment before speaking up again. ‘I need to confide something to you Rocky. I know you will not remember this when you wake up or at all, but I think I need to get this off my chest. I have always envied your gentle spirit and your caring attitude towards everyone. Even those that have wronged you. How are you able to bear that burden of friendship? I know that friendship is magic, but that magic, why did that so called magic never choose you?’ He sighed softly. ‘That is because Her Majesty has chosen him.’ Said a foreign voice. ‘You all have been chosen.’ It spoke again.

Berry was quite confused to see a faded lavender-furred unicorn standing in front of him. It looked down toward Rocky with sorrowful eyes. ‘The both of you have been my most favorite souls to garner. I helped to cultivate your actions and to lead both of you to this end.’ It said calmly while he looked over to Berry. He could not fathom the words spoken by this unicorn, nor could he hear their concernment that was held within each syllable. ‘What end? What do you mean by our end? Who are you?’ Berry calmly said, trying not to wake Rocky.

The unicorn offered Berry a hoof ‘Let me show you. Let your eyes gaze upon the glorious end Her Majesty has planned for you.’ He said softly, almost to a whisper. Berry took the unicorn’s hoof. The unicorn's horn began to glow a glacial blue, and both he and Berry disappeared from Rocky’s sleeping embrace.

Chapter 8: The Lingering Fate of Two Ponies.

Bright flashes blinded Berry, forcing him to close his eyes. ‘What is the meaning of the assault in my eyes?’ Asked Berry. ‘You have my apologies, Berry, of the Vinyard family in Dodge City.’ Said the lavender guard. ‘How do you know me and my family?’ Berry asked the faded lavender guard. The guard mused ‘As I have said to you before leaving Rocky. I have garnered both of your souls.’ Berry reluctantly nodded ‘I see your point… I guess you can see I have a wide array of questions, then?’ The guard nodded ‘I do yes. So feel free to ask them as we watch Rocky wake up and make his way here.’

The guard used his horn to form a magical portal to appear next to them. Berry opened his eyes as the stinging sensation subsided. It was blurry at first but his vision came back slowly, but once they were open and his vision could make out his surroundings he noticed the floor they were standing over was covered in a viscous fluid. ‘What is this brown substance under our hooves?’ He asked. The guard smiled softly ‘Your comrades.’ ‘What do you mean, “My comrades?” Asked Berry cautiously. The guard lit up his horn as he made Berry freeze in place ‘Tundra, Saxe, and Ruby Leaves. They are this waste substance you stand in now.’ The guard scooped up some of the foaming and yet strange congealment, that was made from the blood of Berry's former friends. Berry's eyes widened as the lavender unicorn smeared it onto Berry’s coat. He began to scream out in horror and pain as the semi-liquid began to burn away at his flesh.

‘WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS’ Berry screamed. ‘This is the only way to see her majesty in the flesh. She will show you your fate. I only wish there to be a different way, but I am her guard dog. I must obey and never question… For what it is worth, I am sorry, Berry’ The guard softly began to stroke at Berry’s mane. ‘Hush for now. Your destiny awaits you… No other being is allowed to see what my master, Her Majesty shows you.’ He said as he witnessed Berry’s eyes close. ‘Four have been baptized, one is left. It is almost time, Princess Twilight Sparkle.’ He said as he sat back down on the throne in the room. He watched Rocky as he woke up confused.

‘That’s it, Rocky. You know where you need to go.’ The guard whispered to the floating image. ‘Just one more- Why must it be him? He reminds me of a pony that I have never met but it feels as though I have. Oddly as well, Berry Reminds me of me somehow. How is that to be? I have never met this pony before. How can he remind me of- well me?’ The guard asked himself. ‘Wouldn’t you like to know, Berath.’ Said an oddly familiar voice. ‘How do you know me?’ asked Berath calmly. ‘I am not able to say, yet, I find that we have had a history together. After all, you would not be here this day…’ Said the disembodied voice. Berath stood up ‘Who are you?’ He asked but the voice did not respond in kind.

‘Such strange times I live in.’ He sighed softly ‘I do not wish to linger any further in said times. For they are most feral… Princess, I want you close to me. My longing for your side is most grand. I am afraid I am no longer able to withstand this empty feeling anymore.’ He sat back down on his throne of crystal.

Meanwhile Rocky trotted along the dirt path leading to the great spire of crystal. His heart felt hollow and quite heavy from waking to find no one there with him at the camp. ‘Where did they go?’ He asked the surrounding area. ‘Berry, how could you leave me like this?’ He asked out loud again. Rocky stopped in place for a second and grabbed at his chest fluff before falling to his legs on the dirt path. His body felt as if it were being pushed deeper into the crust of the Earth. ‘O- Ow. My heart stings, and my lungs feel weighted by the air I breathe…’ He said as he struggled to stand back up. ‘I must trudge forward, I know Berry is waiting for me in that spire.’ Rocky picked up his pace again.

‘The time is nigh Princess. Your body shall be made flesh once more.’ Berath said as he manipulated the throne room to move downwards, to the ground floor. ‘Come, Rocky, your fate awaits you.’ He said coldly.
By this time Berry began to wake from his visions of a black expanse of sea. ‘Where am I ?’ He asked dazed. The lavender unicorn trotted over to Berry. ‘You have come back from your audience. Hush, now. You are still groggy I know, this will pass.’ The guard said as he began to move Berry to face the throne room doors. ‘Why must my body hurt?’ Asked Berry weakly. ‘It feels as though my belly wants to burst open.’ He stated. The lavender unicorn smiled softly ‘It too will pass but not yet… Rocky must see it. For he is the very last soul to witness true sorrow. For, her Highness wishes to use that sorrow to fully wake from her slumber.’ The guard happily said.

Berry wanted to interject but as he tried, the throne doors opened wide. Rocky had finally made his way to the spire, as his goddess of the sun commanded him to do. ‘What is the meaning of this?’ Demanded Rocky. ‘Rocky, you have finally come. Just in time as well.’ Said the lavender unicorn. ‘Come, Berry has not much time.’ He gestured for Rocky to move towards Berry.
Cautiously Rocky made his way to berry while keeping an eye on the lavender guard. ‘Rocky, he is right. I do not have much time on this earth.’ Berry tried to chuckle. Rocky moved a hoof closer to Berry's face. ‘Don’t!’ Berry quickly spat out. ‘Don’t touch me. I am diseased, I don’t want you to be infected as well.’ He said with labored breaths.

‘I don’t understand Berry, What do you mean?’ Rocky asked quietly as he began to cry. Berry could only smile in response. But the smile died as his belly began to gurgle violently. ‘Stay back Rocky, p- please.’ Berry struggled to say, but after the air escaped his mouth. His belly blew open with a sizzling splash. Horrified, Rocky jumped back a little. ‘Rocky, I love you. I have always loved you as my brother. I just wish I could confide that in you, way before all of this… Please forgive me.’ Berry struggled to smile as his flesh slowly dripped away from his body.

Chapter 10: Ritual.

‘At last, it is done.’ Said the lavender guard as he picked up Rocky’s head from the cold crystal floor. ‘The last of five souls gathered, and yet the hole in my heart does not fill with anticipation or excitement. Even the fluttering wings of butterflies fail to resonate within my stomach. Why is this?’ He asked Rocky’s severed head. The guard looked deep into the head's fading eyes. He pondered to himself as he picked up the limp body from the chair and proceeded to throw it backward, to the puddle of deep brown. Once it touched the puddle the fluid therein began to sizzle and fester as it melted the flesh from its bone.

The guard sat in place of the body and he looked up to the now, night-filling sky. Longingly, he cuddled with Rocky’s remains as he began to cry into its mane. ‘It’s not fair’ muffled the quaky voice as he moved his head back to the chair’s headrest. ‘How hollow you must have felt when you woke to find not a soul around you, and how hollow must you feel now as your soul makes its way to Her Majesty… I- I hate her, or more so, I think I hate her. Could it be that I hate the solitude given to me by the one that imprisoned her away? Or has the centuries spent apart, drawn me to the ire, the sorrow, the anxiety surrounding her? I still do not have the faintest clue, Rocky…’ The guard confided in Rocky’s remains. ‘I know it strange, when one talks to a severed head of a being they killed. But it is the only solace I have now. I no longer have my friend, who was made from paper and bark. He belongs to you now, Rocky. Please keep him safe as I did before you.’ He said as he stood back up. He continued to look down at the severed head as he trotted over to the congealing dark brown pool.

The guard kissed the head's crown before he dropped it into the puddle. ‘One last step to take, and one in which I detest the most.’ The guard said as he trotted back over to his sword. ‘I must shed my blood, blood which shall never run dry. Yet, this puddle of acid and melted sinew shall accumulate it all. It will not be satiated till her body is made flesh again.’ He said as he trotted back over to the puddle. He looked down upon his crystal blade ‘No, not this blade. It won’t do.’ He said as he used his magic to summon the sword given to him by Twilight Sparkle.

He gazed at its cravings along the sharp metal. ‘It has been an age, has it not old friend?’ He asked the blade, the blade glinted golden indigo in response. ‘I find it fitting that you be the blade to cross against my flesh. The only one deemed worthy.’ The guard said as he kissed the fuller of the blade.
‘I summon Her Majesty, Princess Twilight Sparkle! The rightful ruler of this realm. I offer my blood to form her immaculate form, and to rise from the depths of the cosmos.’ Exclaimed the guard before slicing his throat deep. He used the entire length of the sword to cleave away the binds of flesh that kept his blood from leaving his body. His blood ran freely as he struggled to catch a breath, and as he cut his windpipe, he suffocated.

His vision slowly blackened as he choked to death, all the while watching his blood mix in with the brown puddle. ‘I only wanted to live in the golden times lost to us, princess. Not these times of chaos and death.’ He said mentally before he fell deep into the rising black pit of death…

Chapter 11: Restoration

Glacial blue eyes open from the darkness that took them hostage. Their vision slowly came to focus on a portion of the crystal floor, that was covered with flaky dried blood. As the pony's mind came crashing back to them, they gasped deep breaths. Its lungs filled with every gulp of air that they greedily took from the atmosphere.

It immediately moved its hooves around its neck, trying to feel for a deep gash but it could not find one. ‘Am I alive once more?’ It asked softly. ‘You live.’ Confirmed a feminine voice. Shocked, he looked around to find the voice’s source. He could not find the voice that cooed into his ears. ‘Look a bit harder.’ Said the voice again. ‘I still do not see you, where might you emanate?’ He asked. The voice did not sing its presence as he had hoped, but he did start feeling a gentle nudging on his left shoulder. ‘Wake.’ The voice demanded softly. ‘But how?’ He screamed as darkness began to swallow him up in its embrace, yet again.

Blinded by fear of not hearing the voice again, he opened his eyes once more. This time, he saw an indigo hoof gently shake his body awake. ‘That colour. I have seen it before.’ He hoarsely called out. He lifted the foreleg he was resting on and softly touched the indigo fur. ‘Is this real? Does my mind tell truths once again?’ He asked. ‘It does.’ Claimed the sweet feminine voice. The laying pony moved his eyes gaze and followed the hoof up to the rest of its body. What he saw was a radiant purple snout. Its form was perfect to his worn mind, he thought it was chiseled out of the finest lavender opal.

‘Am I in the land of dreams?’ he asked softly. The Snout softly smiled as it made its way closer to his. ‘It is not. This is the truth, your heart desires. You heeded my call, and now we have been reunited once more.’ Said the indigo pony as she helped the weak faded lavender guard up to his hooves. ‘You have done well, my sweet protector.’ Said the indigo pony. The guard's snout slowly bore a content grin. ‘I am your will, Princess. I have only done what was needed of me, and I am ever so glad to have my exertion bear with a bountiful harvest.’ The guard slowly bowed.

Princess Twilight Sparkle looked at her true-hearted protector with the utmost feeling of gratification. She had managed to beat the powerful mage's magic with her attestation in trusting her guard. Having him was to be an oversight from the mage’s wisdom and she used it to her full extent. ‘My dearest protector. You have proven to me that your heart only belongs to me… You showed your true perseverance under the decaying onslaught of time’s embrace. For that, I will bestow a most prideful glee of mine and inscribe it to your body.’ Twilight said as she used a hoof to gently pull her protector up.

His eyes shone with eager anticipation as she raised her other hoof to where a scar formed on his neck. ‘This will concrete your oath I swore upon you that day. May my cutie mark bind your soul to my will as it marks your flesh with itself.’ She decreed. Shortly after, his scar began to fill with a golden ink-like substance that quickly dried into the crevice. It made sure to bind to the guard's flesh, making it look as if he had golden skin hiding under his coat.
His fur was being branded with a small repetition of images. Just like his sword, he too would be marked with golden outlines of Twilight’s cutie mark.

He was in revelation to see this happen to his body, but as his new form was finishing the last of its branding. Twilight held up a reflective crystal to the guard's face, he saw his left eye’s iris form into her cutimark’s star. It still held its arctic blue colour but it was no longer a normal-looking eye. This was the final change to happen to his body. He looked up to her in confused awe.
‘From now on. You will show this world how my power will change it… You are mine and mine alone shall you stay- as you put it, oh so long ago.’ Twilight giggled at remembering his recountings as he inscribed them into the lost journal. ‘You heard my woes, Princess?’ He asked somberly. She nodded in response. ‘I- only’. Her soothing voice cut him off. ‘I do not blame you. After all, we did choose to have that bond did we not?.’ She asked. He nodded cordially.

‘We did, Princess. We ensured never to stray from one another after that fateful day.’ He said as he smiled. ‘Then I forgive you… Do I still have your heart and protection?’ She asked as she whispered into his ear. He nodded ‘My heart and protective hooves will forever be in your service, Princess.’ He bowed deeper. ‘Good! I want this world as our new kingdom’. She commanded firmly.

‘Your wish is my command, Princess.’ He said happily.

Inscription I: My Queen, She Controls Me.

‘It seems to me, that I have found yet another friend made from the bark of a tree. Well, I have not found you, more so, Her Highness has given you to me. How gleeful am I for her to bestow you into my hooves? I am quite in a gleeful mood. You can not fathom how much I love to inscribe my thoughts and feelings into your pages, but you will in time. I do wish that your pages were endless though. For, I am under my loyal oath to my queen's undying rule of her newfound kingdom, to inscribe her final actions to take what is rightfully hers to take…

It makes my heart heavy at times I must admit to you. The things I have done from my loyalty have caused significant harm to those who are innocent. They have been dashed away from this sun’s light. They belonged here, and they were the original rulers of this land before I- did the deed of killing in her name, for her newfound land. It feels now that I have carried a burden so grand, that my soul is slowly being crushed by its weight. Every life I take away, the more control she holds over me, and with the ever-clasping grip of her hooves- my soul slowly drains from my body.

I know I should feel shame, disgust, fear, and hatred but I feel nothing. Oh, why have the centuries longing for her to come back, for her to grace my vision, why has that taken my very essence of me, away? I want that back, give it back, please. I beg you, I beg you, I beg you to give it back. I will do anything to have my old self again… I know now that, I am no longer the sole owner of it. I- think I have known this for quite some time, and yet, I hate it. I want to hate it, to despise it, I want to smash everything that comes attached to this situation, to this feeling, to this notion of decaying spirit. Am I destined to wear these chains? Or am I allowed to break free from the chains that have clapped them selfs to my hooves? Or will I fade into her embrace, making me a part of her legacy? As a mindless drone would, as they served their master without question? I am terrified to think of it, and yet, I am too far gone to seek absolution from my horrific deeds…

I have no clue where to turn when I am in doubt of my loyalty, nowhere to turn to confide in ponies that I care for, I have no escape, I have nothing left. Not even you can help me, because, I find that I am no longer alive in spirit… I must continue onward as my queen's loyal dog, continue this needless shedding of blood, and continue her vile quest for retributive justice.

Princess, when you read this entry. Know that despite my feelings and the lack thereof I have written into this here book, I will continue to serve you no matter the task and no matter the sacrifice. I will always be your protection against those who deem you malformed, deem you misbegotten, and deem you filth. I will continue to serve at your side, You have my soul’s pledge, and this here blood stain on the page.’

I love your radiance with all of my heart.

~ Berath, Your eternal protector.

Inscription II: Why Must My Faithful Student Sink So Low.

‘As I bleed onto my palace floor and as I slowly depart from my earthly ties, I write this scroll. My body has indeed been shredded, and my flesh has been made null. I can not help but feel my heart sink low into my guts, and I can only blame you, Twilight Sparkle.
I blame your devilish testament, your beguiling personality. I blame everything that you have become for the destruction you have wrought on my little ponies, and myself.

You were such a promising student, bearer of elements, and even a ruler. I held you with such reverence, with such love, I wanted to bring you into my family and that is what stings most of all, Twilight.
I took you in, I took you in after what happened to your family. They tried their hardest to help you snap from the trance you fell ill to. I offered my hoof in aid for them, in aid for you but your eyes held nothing but a vacuous stare. It broke my heart then and it still breaks my heart now.

I- oh why must this be so hard for me to disclose on this parchment my feelings and my thoughts about this entire syndrome, that has taken you hostage from me and this world? I wish to cry, to scream out in agony for your heart to come back, to make this blow over and disappear… I know that will never happen and that makes me utterly frightened for the future of this new reality that you have made. You have made that with the other lost pony that had the same stare as you. You claim him now as protector and yet he is just as lost as you are Twilight.

Just as lost and just as hungry for extermination as you. You will use him against those who will stand in your way as I have, and you will do as you have done to me, Twilight Sparkle. You will butcher them, you will see them as nothing but false meat that has come to take this world from you. You will claim them demons, monsters, and alluvium. You will scorch this earth with your acidic rain and ruin it for generations to come. I do hope you find yourself happy because I would rather fight against you and die honorably than die thin and groveling.

How could you sink this low? I shall never know, but I do hope and wish for that innocent part of you to stay intact. And I will never bow to a corrupt ruler like yourself, Princess Twilight Sparkle.’

Yours somberly,
Princess Celestia.

Inscription IV: The Destructive Right Hoof.

‘I’m hollow now. There is no longer anything left of me. It has been dashed against the turbulent ocean rocks and absorbed by my master… Is this what it feels like to have no soul? To have nothing and be nothing? I find it freezing, I find this ice that now covers all of me stings my flesh, as it will never leave my bones. My hooves are permanently stained dark red and will forever hold a sticky substance on them. I know why that is, and I know why the formless shell has turned into me, well, the lack of me.

I shall spin a tale for thee to read. A tale that has yet to be forthcoming, or in better terms, has not been spoken by this here misleader.

This new tale or should I say, this more accurate tale is of a mind's making. It has been thought up as truth, or is it a very fictitious lie? I shall leave you to transcribe it but for now, I must tell you how Her Highness, Princess Twilight Sparkle. Took this land from the grasp of another…

As Princess Twilight healed me, she imbued me with her magics. She did as she decreed to me as she concreted her will to my soul. I was elated to be entrusted with her final command. I was charged with the eradication of Princess Celestia, and before I knew it, I stood in that grassed field where that obsidian thing made Princess Twilight and myself congregate.

It looked like a vast sea of dried-out coral. The more I trotted the more I could feel the crunching under each step I took. It was lifeless, barren, or even hollowed out from within.
I stood there for such a long time gawking at the now lifeless field, until the deep thumping of the earth's drum broke me out of my daze… I knew what the sound meant. It meant that Princess Celestia sent her legion of royal guard to me. I will admit that I was terrified at the occurrence happening, so I tilted my head sky-bound and took in a deep breath.

As I did so I saw her take flight, I saw my master take to the sky and dart over the field and toward Princess Celestia’s castle.
At that moment, I felt lighter than air. I do not know why my heart fluttered but it helped my mind calm and prepare for the oncoming battle, and I moved my head back to face the now sea of ponies of all shapes and sizes staring me down. They hated me, they hated her, and I will never blame them for that. I just wish I didn’t have to stand here, here in this lake of crimson as I write my last page to your bindings.

My friend, I eviscerated this entire legion of a few thousand ponies. I will, however, inscribe to you that this lake of blood is also filled with my blood.
They were masters of their craft, and they tore at my body as well…

I just hope my commemoration of their skills, grants them some peace in the next life.

I am so tired, so weak, so- wicked, and filled with malice. I just hope, wish, and dream that this is not real, that it has not come to pass, for I, do not know which is real and which is the dream.

So I must ask one final question. Does thee have the capability to explicate the truth from this story? Because I can no longer do so. It feels like a dream and yet I feel real and alive, and If I am alive and this is real, then that would make me, Her Majesty's Destructive Right Hoof.

So please tell me, I must know. I can no longer live like this.’

Berath, Princess Twilight Sparkles Protective Guard.

Prologue

‘Space is a wondrous thing. It holds mysteries. Mysteries that are old, older than time. So old, that they predate any living life form to ever exist within its celestial realm, and within those countless eons, the mysteries of space hold tales. Tales, foreign to the waking mind. Yet here I stand, standing here to impart a tale for thee.

There be a tale, a tale not as old as time. Yet, it be a tale no pony knows, for it holds a secret from space. A secret kept locked away in the deep, deep recesses of this airless void. There be a spire holding such a secret. One so potent, that the very fabric of space is threatened.

A potent threat with the shade of lavender fur, and the will of an educated scholar. She be the very image of magic, magic so vile, that her prowess would proceed her. She toppled kingdoms, dynasties, and monarchies. Her magical talent provided the world that she was able to devour it, with one whole bite from her muzzle.

So she was locked in a metallic casket, a casket sealed with powerful magic. So that she may never again wake from slumber, for, if she were to be awoken, she would scar the planet with her vengeance. Yet, the powers that sealed her away, made sure to send her to the deep portion of space. So that no pony could even be brave enough to travel through the vacuum, they also saw to it that she be guarded by a unicorn, a unicorn familiar with her temperament. He was to be her jailer, her warden, her key.

Some say, that she has been adrift for thousands of years. They also say, that her guard has kept watch over her ever so closely so that no living being could ever wake her. Yet, here I stand, to ask you this one question.

Would you believe this tale to be true?’

Author's Note

I had a fever dream a couple of years ago, so I am trying to write it down. I found it weird so I hope it will provide you will some cool moments.

Interlude I: I Ask Thee Another Question.

‘And lo, the spire has been noticed by youthful eyes. Gazing at the stars, stars to which secrets of the universe are housed. Yet, such a star is close, ever close to the innocence of ponykind, which has hungry minds, longing eyes, and yearning hearts of inquisitive souls. Yet here I stand, standing at the brink of a world so pure of faith, love, and harmony.

Ye little ponies, little ponies of harmony, who give their very exertion to live in the morrow, a morrow of hope, of love, of loyalty, of devotion, of bright summer days. Yet, I am beset with fear, for that morrow may never come. I fear for your very souls, fear for the coming days of pain, agony, and torment. For I foresee the world being forcibly changed, changed to an unrecognizable mound of molten ash.

For she is close, closer than you all realize. Though she sleeps, sleeps ever quietly, she still hears all. For she is awake, awake, and aware. Not for her body but for her spirit. She ever gazes down upon your planet with disgust, disgust of the highest and most foul ambition.

I beg ye to not explore, not to explore the spire. For your minds will reel, reel at the thought of a new prospect, a new life, a new discovery. All you will find is a being, a being ever trapped in her prison of iron, locked away to be forgotten. Yet, you will try to find a reason to pursue her.

She be the very reason, the very reason why a world so distant and old housed her in this iron prison. For she was tyrant, a tyrant most evil.

Her magic corroded her world, corroded it with vile poison, drying heat, and turning the wastelands to blackened miasmatic crystal. Her world was once a world of life, life so full, it was verdant of nature. Till that fateful day, a fateful day of prosecution, a prosecution so demoralizing, that she was placed deep within her monarchy’s castle gallows. Never to see the light of creation.

Yet, here I stand, standing at the brink of a new future, a future so frail, that it may collapse into itself. For I beg the question.

Would you be able to prepare for the day Her Majesty wakes afresh?’

Interlude IX: Interruption.

‘It feels as if an age has passed me by in this invisible tide. A tide still dragging at my hooves, pulling me to somewhere unbeknownst to my waking mind.
It seems as though my body is at the whim of a greater power that rules this realm, a realm so beguiled by a most powerful magic. This magic has a source, yet, I dare not wish to cross it.

It feels foul to my body as pulsations reach me. Pulsations that harbor abhorrent emotions of vengeance. A vengeance so strong it stings my flesh, I do not wish to be here any longer. Let me be free, let me breathe. I can no longer stand the assault of vipers entering my mind, make it stop! Their intonement is caustic to my ears and they do not carry any inclination of goodwill to my spirit. I can only picture a viper stalking its prey with a hungry stomach and eyes filled with malice. Its eyes look me up and down, it wants to devour my essence of soul. I wish to stay hidden here in the black waters, yet, the snake swims with ease as it traverses the violent current.

But before my imagination could visualize its attack, a light made itself known to me. Out on the horizon, a purple light filled up the sky. It was mesmerizing to me, it reminded me of how the sun would rise to greet the new day. And how I would gaze upon the bright orange morning with glee.

I- Yes, I am here… I am yes! Wait who are you? P-

I would gladly.’

Author's Note

A voice called out to Rocky as he recounted. Who was it?

Chapter 9: Just One Left.

‘Berry.’ Rocky cried under his breath. Seeing his adopted brother melt and congeal was a frightening event for him. He would have never imagined seeing organic life react with acid like Berry’s body did. He watched as rivulets of fluid rushed off the equine body. It looked like a waterfall, in a twisted sort of way. ‘I- couldn’t save you…’ He cried out in pain. ‘It was not your fate Rocky.’ Said the faded lavender unicorn. Rocky looked upward at the eternal pony with aggrieved eyes before his body felt heavy again. The guard knelt and caught Rocky as his body fell. He cradled Rocky ever so gently as he covered Rocky's eyes. ‘Hush. No more sorrow will you witness this day.’ Said the guard as he picked up Rocky and moved him to a nearby open window.

‘Thine eyes will no longer see darkness, yet, they will gaze upon the stars one last time.’ The guard said softly to Rocky’s ears. He pulled a chair next to them and placed Rocky on it gently. ‘Open those marbles of wonder, and see the setting sun, Rocky.’ Said the guard as he moved his hoof from Rocky’s eyes. Rocky did indeed open them and to his shock when his vision returned, was to see the sun setting in the distance. Rocky gasped softly as he saw the sky in a dark indigo colour. Meanwhile, the guard stepped back and trotted over to a hanging crystal sword on a nearby wall. ‘Rocky, What do you see out into the sky?’ He asked. Rocky smiled softly, feeling his body slowly go back to normal. ‘I see the moon on the right, rising.’ said Rocky. ‘Anything else?’ Asked the guard. Rocky nodded ‘I can see the Ursa Major and its cub, the Ursa Minor.’ Rocky said calmly.

‘May I request one last thing of you, Rocky?’ The guard asked, his voice quivering. ‘What would that be?’ Rocky asked confused. ‘Please, burn those images into your mind. Burn the engravings of the starry sky to your soul.’ The guard asked. Rocky wanted to turn his head but he felt the guard's hoof force his head to keep staring at the night sky. ‘Please, can you do that for me?’ The guard asked again, it almost sounded like he was pleading with Rocky. ‘I promise to keep these images within my mind.’ Stated Rocky.

‘Thank you!’ said the guard. He was relieved that Rocky would keep something good in his mind. Erasing the current horrifying images he bore to witness. Rocky was going to ask why but he felt strange. He felt lighter as if his body grew wings and managed to chart a flight path towards the sky. He reeled at this new-found notion of freedom, so he flew high and managed to dig deep into the cosmos’s ocean. But for the guard, the guard watched Rocky’s head fall from its potion on his body. The guard used his crystal sword to cleave away the bindings to Rocky’s soul.

Inscription III: I will Never Forgive you.

‘I have been trapped in that space for too long, and now I can breathe the air again. Joy can not cut through my feelings of elation, as my once-shackled body has been freed and I can cast magic once more. I have nothing but my patience, my will, and my protector to thank for that.

Oh, Celestia, your “wisdom” has failed you, and I am quite proud to be the one who has proved you to be nothing more than a sham. A sham that is loosely tied together by a colossally thin string of silk, and has no notion of acknowledging it whatsoever. Your egoism of the hierarchy through one's birth to a celestial star has been nothing more than subjugation to the populace. You have created a curse for your own blood, and I have seen it. You wished it banished to a barren white plane of space, yet, she be of your kin. I saw her, and I spoke to her while in my banishment…

She was a sister who loved and cherished her older sibling. She only wanted to live ever more in the sun’s embrace, and yet, the sun abandoned her in the sister's time of need. What was the thing the sun neglected its kin for? The sun vied only for power, for dominion over her kingdom. The sun did not welcome its kin in kind association for the land's betterment. No! The sun only saw its flesh and blood as a stepping stone, a stepping stone that it could discard as it mutilated its kin's body.

As you have seen, I have done the same as the sun. I have used five stepping stones you held close to your heart, Princess… That word does not fit a being like yourself, you feral boil as you seep poison from it bursting. No, You are no longer a being I would call royalty. For I have bested you and only I can claim that title from now on.

I do not wish to see your putrid soul ever again.

Spitting on the feral ground you lay in,
Princess Twilight Sparkle.

PS: Your sister, Princess Luna died in her banishment from the burning ice she inhaled, suffocating her. I hope you rot.