Don't You Dare Leave Us

There were stories about Canterlot Castle, Twilight remembered as they took the steps that led up to its front gate. They were stories about heroes defending the realm, the princesses and great adventures. There had been a time where those things had been part of the world and anypony could've easily donned a cloak and just go off into the world, coming back with tales to tell and new friendships found. As they moved up the steps, she felt her heart pounding more and more, but the words of the Wise Goat had given her strength. She tried to think of herself as one of those old heroes, but which one, that she tried to find out next. There were quite a few tales of which she remembered the names, more and more popping up every time her hooves hit the ground again. A certain phrase moved through her mind, over and over again: Take a dive.

She had heard that a long, long time ago. The phrase had appeared once in a story, a specific tale of wonder and adventure. Twilight remembered. There had been a folk called seaponies. They had lived in the eastern sea and their first contact with ponykind was a story Twilight had always liked. In it a young seapony once swam far, far away from her home, where the earth rose beyond the waters. The little pony was intrigued by the idea of life outside the water, although until then she had only heard the griffons talk of it. Strange tales of wood growing out of the ground and creatures breathing air. She thought the griffons and their stories weird, but was intrigued nonetheless. Even though her family told her: "Don't you dare leave us,“ she swam for miles and miles, until she reached a point where the ground lifted itself up, above the water. The sky was dapped in weird colors and she could see from afar that something was wrong with the land.

She carried on by the side of the coast, brave little filly that she was, until she found a stream to move up. The seapony swam deeper into the land and sometimes she'd take her head out of the water to look at the weird world without water. Queer was the simplest word for it, as she saw nothing but chaos there, but she swam on nonetheless.

She reached the end of the river at one point and it went into a lake. On its end was a mountain. She swam through it and talked with its inhabitants. Only few fish remained, but those who did talked about an evil king called Discord. They told her that by the lakeside he had fought rebels and imprisoned one of their leaders within the mountain. The little seapony's curiosity was peaked and so she went towards the large stones and held her ears close them. Deep inside the mountain, she heard a pony crying.

Then the pony searched the stones for a weak spot, a hole or something like it and went deeper and deeper into the lake, till most light had died around her. There she found a hole in the wall, blacker than the blackest night and the water howling as it went into it. On the other side, though, there had to be the crying pony, so the brave seapony took some seaweed from the ground, in case the other pony was hungry and then she took a dive into the deep dark. Without any kind of orientation she moved with the stream through the tunnel. Without any knowledge where she was going she just went with the flow but the ride was hazardous. More than once she hit her fins or her head on the cold stone, but she persisted. She closed her eyes and sped up, even though the way left her bruised and battered.

When the stream was gone and she was in calm waters she opened her eyes to look at a strange light. It was like the sun was shining above her, reflecting upon the green stone that now surrounded her, painting the water in a beautiful and mystical color. Up there she heard a song, too. A small song drowning the silence. She followed its sound, the voice that came from beyond the waves. And then-

"Woah,“ was the sound that lifted Twilight from her recollection.

They had reached the top of the stairs and it was there, that Twilight Sparkle saw the Canterlot Palace for the first time in her life. The gates were made of fine stone, although she didn't know exactly what kind, and stories were carved into them. They were pictures of the old age and Twilight was sure that if she would have had the time, looking over them would have been quite fun. There had to be some great legends on those gates. At least she thought that's what they were meant to represent but the filly did not know for certain.

     Lucky as they were, the gates were open and behind them was what had once been the most beautiful castle in the world. The white paint had gone off its walls and where once gold had adorned the walls, only cracks and holes remained. The towers were gone but for a few stones and the main palace looked even worse than the Celestial Hall. The roof had collapsed a hundred years ago and she knew the ancient library had been taken by a fire about a lifte-time before she was born. The green surrounding the castle had been forgotten and had grown without control. Grass covered the old pathways and wild flowers grew everywhere. So little remained of the palace and yet Twilight felt that those tales on the front gates and the stories she had read, they all remained. She saw the weeds, the broken towers and fainted colors all there before her. As the six moved into the grand gardens, she felt herself overwhelmed. It took her a moment to realize that everypony else was also completely stunned by the sight.

Nopony ever visited the castle, as far she knew. The ponies didn't cling to the days where the princesses lived anymore and even the existence of magic had grown into a myth. As they walked over the grass and the rocks of the once greatest structure built by ponykind, she made herself realize that. Her papa had once told her that there was a difference between stories and reality. Something she hadn't wanted to acknowledge and if they did as the seapony did, taking the dive into the deep dark, she'd prove him wrong. She'd bring magic back and would become a bearer of an Element of Harmony. The thought alone made her well up with pride. He'd also like that, a kid of his that wasn't a complete failure.

Trixie watched the stones with a passing interest, while Lyra hopped happily beside her, talking about how great this was going to be. Twilight had to smile at that, mainly because she agreed. This was going to be a wonderful adventure and at the end, her entire family might gather up again and live happily ever after. Her grin disappeared the moment she got a look at Octavia, who had the most serious about her. The graceful confidence she had about her was something Twilight already envied.

She noted how little presence Derpy and Raindrops had in the group, with either getting more and more nervous the farther they went. Of course, they had only joined them in hopes of finding Madame Hooves and Hugh Jelly. Well, a fun and exciting adventure would surely fix that, it always happened in the stories. Plus, if they were to bring back harmony, they'd be heroes. Everypony would like them and their story would find itself carved into stone. The two of them probably didn't even realize just how big the thing was they were about to do. Thought Twilight had to admit that that might’ve been nice as well.

The gardens were silent, aside from the rustling of the leaves and the distant piping of wind as it went through ancient corridors. The sun still hadn't reached the horizon, so a few hours remained until sundown. This place would probably be far more scary without as much light, as it was now. Still it was amazing how little the earthquakes seemed to matter here. The destruction here was ancient and even if the earthquakes had done more damage than there had been before, nopony would have noticed. Twilight sure didn't.

They went on, moving past the old buildings, everypony following Twilight who followed Octavia, who still guided the way.

"Have you been here before?“ Twilight asked after a few more moments.

Octavia turned her head for a moment. "No, the castle has been out of bounds for a long time.“

That came as a surprise. "How do you know where to go then?“

Octavia smiled a little. "There's only one path that isn't fully covered in grass. I hope it's the right one,“ she explained and Twilight nodded, finding  that conclusion absolutely logical.

From the front gate they had turned left and followed the only remaining path past the old castle ruins and statues of old heroes. Past stories long forgotten and stones set there long before their parents had seen the first light. Six little fillies strutted, beneath a sky of black and greenish smoke, through the oldest tale in pony history. As they walked on Twilight looked left and right, everything here had a story. Each broken statue they passed had been a hero, a villain or something else entirely. Before the death of the princesses, they all had contributed to Equestrian history. She saw and knew and the words resounded in the back of her head.

You can change everything.

You are an Element of Harmony.

Take a dive!

They were so close now and her heart was pounding. Not the bad, hurting kind. She felt strong. Her tiny, brown hooves moved onwards in a steady walk. By the end of this she would be a hero and she would fix the world. She would bring harmony to the ponies and all she needed to do for that was to jump down. Some cotton candy monster wouldn't be able to stop her. Nothing would ever be able to stop Twilight Sparkle now that she was at full strength.

She had to giggle. Her own confidence felt refreshing, but also silly. She had never felt like that before. All she had done until now was wake up everyday in a world without magic, a world that refused to change. Now she could bring something good into it and her own pain wouldn't matter anymore. She had to ask herself whether nurse Redheart was still out there. Surely, somepony needed to care for those who were hurt. Twilight wasn't among them now, Twilight was strong. She could stand on her own and her own heart wasn't hurting anymore.

The flowers around them were lavender and red and off the path the elder labyrinth rose up. It had long since grown into a huge bush with trees reaching out of it, like claws coming from the ground, only stopped by the twines. Their leaves moved in the slight wind and many more statues stood around it. Twilight had never seen so many stone figures before and even though she had heard about them it was overwhelming to see them. They had all been important ponies and yet she couldn't put any names to their faces. That was a depressing thought, so she turned away from the cold stone.

They moved further into the gardens and after a few more minutes of walking the old path the plaza came into sight. It stood out from the grey and green the rest of the path was covered in, for it was built in nightly blue painted stone, or so she thought from afar but the closer they got the clearer the plaza became. Six pillars stood around it, each with a round rock with a symbol on it. A mosaic covered the ground. A nightsky with fourteen stars on it's edges, a full moon to it's north and no moon to it's south, while in the middle the sun resided. From it there rose two more statues, or at least remnants of them. Of the left only the base and a hoof remained, while the right one was still clearly a pony, only one wing remained and her face had been removed alongside any features. So both were unrecognizable. Not that it mattered, for they were there and dusk was still far away.

They moved unto the plaza and looked around.

"What now,“ Raindrop asked.

"There should be a way down somewhere, we need to find it,“ Twilight answered. It had said they should take a dive, that the Lunarium was below Canterlot but the Wise Goat hadn't said that the way down was going to be difficult to find. Twilight found such twists and turns wonderful, though. They reminded her of all the adventure stories she had read until now. Especially that Daring Do book, for that she still hoped for a continuation.

They searched the plaza and its surrounding, hoping to find what they needed. While Trixie and Derpy thought there might be a button on one of the statues, Octavia and Lyra tried to figure out the meaning of the pillars. Derpy just hovered by Twilight's side.

"Our parents aren't here. We should really go home,“ she said.

"We can save Canterlot,“ Twilight answered.

"From what?“

For a moment the filly hesitated. "The world is dying, the earthquakes will get worse and worse. We need to bring magic back and then everything will be alright.“

Raindrops looked at her with utter disbelief. "I want to go home,“ she said with the complete defiance she had presented earlier. "Mom and dad are waiting at home. There will be more muffins and everything will be alright. We're just fillies, we can't do anything.“

Twilight looked at the black little pony with the funny eyes. "I don't care If I can't change anything. I want to change everything.“

She had been weak and small up until this point. Her world had been restricted to her bed and her books, when she had always longed for the ability to do more. She was a smart filly, she was a good filly but all she ever wanted was to play outside with all the others. If she did this here her world wouldn't be grey and dull anymore. No, maybe the entire world wouldn't be grey and dull anymore. It would all be bright and happy. Everypony would be happy.

Shining, Father, Mother, she thought. Her heart pounded and it hurt.

After that there followed silence and upon silence, the ground began to shake a bit and only for a second. After that second passed the ponies looked at each other.

"Another?“ Raindrops asked, fear washing over her face.

Just as the question had left her mouth the ground started rumbling and shaking more violently. Twilight didn't even get a chance to steady herself, the ground just seemed to sweep her off her hooves. She crashed onto the mosaic, with her jaw first and felt a sharp sting as her teeth dug themselves into her tongue. She yelled out but was immediately overshadowed by the royal palace. They heard its walls falling down to the ground and within seconds they were completely covered in the dust. She heard Octavia yell something, but rather than listening she hid well beneath her blanket, pulling it close in hope to cover herself from the smoke that now surrounded the area. She remained like that until the ground stopped shaking and the dust started to settle down.

A few minutes passed like that until Octavia came to her. "Come up. We need to find this way down quickly,“ she said, coughing.

As Twilight stood up she found that the entire area was covered in white smoke from the stones. It took her a moment to get her head back in the game and she looked at Octavia, who seemed very worried. Twilight took a deep breath and swallowed the bloody taste in her mouth down. "Yeah, the quakes are getting worse.“

The sudden sound of an explosion came from the distance and suddenly a gust of wind moved over them, disrupting the mist and revealing the sky once more. The two ponies were nearly taken off their hooves by it but this time they stood steady. The others had found each other in the middle of the plaza and were all looking well after another. That was good enough for Twilight.

Then, all of a sudden, Lightning whipped across the sky and its thunder roared up seconds after. The six fillies all turned to the sky, which had turned into a strange purple tone within a few moments. The ground was shaking and the rocks were trembling, Twilight felt her heart pounding. It still didn't hurt. She heard the whimpering of Raindrops but herself she didn't feel like being scared, not this time. Far over Canterlot a light gleamed, slowly growing, forming a crack that got bigger and bigger with each passing moment. Twilight felt the force behind it.

"What is that?“ she heard Trixie ask.

I told you to get to the Lunarium but you waited. The worlds are crashing together and your worst dreams will come true.

"Trouble,“ Twilight answered.

"What do we do?“

It's too late. If you weren't here it could well be over now. But, Twilight Sparkle, I told you to trust in yourself. Now go, prove yourself.

Twilight Sparkle looked at the distant sky, the crack in their reality and the twisting fabric of reality. She understood that this would end badly for everypony in the town. Cut to pieces by clouds of candy. Everypony around her was scared but she? She felt stronger than ever. Maybe the Wise Goat was right and she could change everything. Maybe the Lunarium wasn't even needed. She was strong, she had escaped that creature without much thinking, so if she did think, maybe, just maybe it would work out fine. The brown filly who covered herself in a colorful blanket took a deep breath. This was going to be the moment of truth but she needed to be strong. She looked over those companions she had gathered over a short time. She didn't know much about them but still, she would protect them.

"Don't worry, I'll do something,“ she told her friends.

With that, Twilight Sparkle smiled. With a bit of quick thinking and her new found strength, she was sure to get everything right. She turned away from the plaza and galloped towards the gate. She could do this, she could be strong. She would do this, she would be strong. She was Twilight Sparkle and she wasn't weak anymore, she was a brave filly who'd bring harmony and magic back into this world.

She galloped at top speed but her legs were stronger than before. She had friends to protect, she had a family to reunite and now her body wasn't failing anymore. For a moment she felt herself a pony with a lavender coat with a white alicorn smiling down on her and everypony being happy. She could do it now.

With those thoughts she reached the gate from where the steps led down and the sight let her hopes disperse.

She heard Trixie and the others coming up behind her and then all of them halted. Rain started falling down once more and the water dripped down her shoulders, clearer then before, but also colder and Twilight Sparkle shivered. They stood before the rubble and the ruins, staring at what had been the mighty city of Canterlot just hours ago. She looked down on her brown hooves, felt the strength inside herself. She tried to smile, tried to tell herself that she could do it, just like a few seconds ago. Before them, a fissure rose up in the sky, with tendrils clawing from the other side, widening it. The shrieking and the howling of it was enough to make her head ache but Twilight knew what to do. By her side stood five ponies: Trixie, Octavia, Lyra, Derpy and Raindrops.

Twilight turned her head and started to smile more confidently now.

"Are you scared of nightmares?“ Octavia suddenly asked, her voice shaking and her eyes fixated on the fissure, her mind somewhere far off, thinking of things Twilight couldn’t fathom.

But Twilight Sparkle wasn't afraid of nightmares, though. She was a big filly and this was going to be her story.

"I can finish it if I try,“ she said and looked at them. "That thing's presence is bringing back bits of magic and I could use them. So don't you all worry. I'll do it.“

She looked at them and smiled. She turned away and hurried down the stairs and the sun had reached the horizon.