Mirror: Book I - Mind

Twilight sat idly within her quarters scanning over the notes flooding her desk, grimacing upon the overflowing stack of tasks and duties she was to attend to. Simply looking upon the mountain of papers made her eyes grow heavier and her brain throb all the more. She dropped her quill and pushed her hooves into her eyes, wiping the exhaustion to the end of her muzzle. She let forth a gaping yawn and stretched her wings and her legs, and as the young Alicorn slumped back into her chair, the realization hit her.

Where had time gone?

Everything has changed so much in so little time. The words of her young dragon echoed through her mind. Twilight was almost certain now that she and her friends had grown far more distant than they ever were before. Discord’s reign of spells that one, unfortunate season had almost nothing on the aching loneliness the mare felt now. Quietly, she called back on the time she had spent in Ponyville, the time she had spent with her friends, when everything seemed just a little bit simpler.

“Can’t dwell on the past.” She mumbled to herself. “That’s no way to look towards the future.”

As daunting as the task ahead seemed, she knew those words spoken from her mentor were undoubtedly true. Thus, she fixed herself in her chair and drearily sought to continue her work. Her wing flexed and brushed the books and papers over one another, the texts toppling over as they fell to the floor in a disheveled mess. The young princess groaned and cast her horn to life, levitating the pages around her head as she attempted to assess them back into order. At the glimpse of a peculiar passage, one paper had caught her eye.

「The History of Light and Darkness」

She blinked and stared upon the page for a moment longer, the other papers resting at a stand still, as though the passage were calling out to her to fulfill her curiosity. It was an excerpt from one of the many tomes wherein several authors had come together for a collaboration of sorts. In this act, it was uncertain as to which was true and which was false, based upon the records of Equestria, Equis and beyond. Nonetheless it was enticingly interesting to the young Alicorn, almost dangerously interesting. Fantasy and Reality, intertwined as one. That was all it took to realize they were the same telling all along. Twilight shrugged and swept the excess documents to the side, making room for yet another venture into the countless scrolls, books, and tomes of knowledge.

“The History of Light and Darkness.” She read aloud. “For within every tale, every story, every epic, and every account of history, there is one history that is always there. Always past, always present, always future. Light and Darkness are but two sides of the same coin, and in the middle, they meet at twilight.”

The pony took a pause of regard to the word that was her name, and with that continued further into her reading. Several ponies from the past had recorded their own accounts on what they believed to be the influences of light and dark upon the world. For light had encompassed the world whole, and dark encompassed the world whole. It became clear that should one not exist, then the other would cease to exist as well. Should darkness be defeated by light, then light would have no place to shine. Should light be defeated by darkness, then darkness would have no place to shun. The never ending push and pull of one side and the other was an eternal strife for balance.

One pony spoke of light as though it were a realm of its own. It’s description was like that of the Great Chisel in the Sky, Caelum. It was like a mirror.

Another spoke of the realm of darkness. There was a complete and utter loss of hope, an absence of existence. Nothingness. Several others believed that when one spoke of the realm of darkness, they were more than likely referring to Tartarus. It was a place where the branded were bound for eternity. They were held by chains in a deep, forgotten cave. They could not speak, but only watch, as their imagination had become their own imprisonment. What they had thought was something was simply nothing, it was not real.

Twilight sat back and noticed just how much more accounts had covered the realm of darkness as opposed to that of the light. It was as though more and more ponies had been swallowed by the darkness, more had fallen to an ill, forever fain rather than achieving eternal, ethereal rest. Fantastical and exaggerated as the records might have been, the mere idea of a powerful, unstoppable force encompassing the planet whole made her shudder so. She had faced such forces to reckon with before, and she had locked those memories away, never to be spoken of nor thought of ever again. Or so she had thought…

Twilight Sparkle, the studious unicorn and protegee of Princess Celestia, checked the last of her items off of the checklist for her safety protocol, otherwise known as the “disaster prevention checklist.” Wherein any normal pony should have been doing their job anyways, Twilight and the ponies of Ponyville banded together to ensure that each and every corner of their humble little town was disaster proofed. Bolts were tightened, pipes were welded, cement was re-plastered and the branches of widow-makers were cut back to an acceptable level. Not an inch of the town seemed as though it would ever fall into any sort of disaster whatsoever.

Then, a gargantuan three-headed dog appeared out of nowhere.

Pinkie Pie was the first to spawn the uproar that encompassed the town, striking fear into the hearts of the citizens as they ducked and dashed for cover, yanking the welcome mat right in along with them. Twilight knew in that moment that she had to do something to prevent this obvious disaster before her, and thus the young unicorn took her stance and flared her horn to life.

Then, a harmless little pegasus fluttered in between and tamed the beast with little to no effort.

Cerberus. The studious unicorn recalled correctly. A three-headed mythical beast tasked with guarding the Gates of Tartarus. If he’s all the way out here, then who’s guarding the gates? Twilight knew there was one way and one way only to draw the legendary, fire-breathing, three headed beast back to his lair where he may stand and guard ancient demons and devils locked away into the hellish pits that was Tartarus. And that would be achieved with a rubber ball.

The pink pony had returned to provide the unicorn with the pre-mentioned item, and thus she took the toy into her levitation to lure the beast from the heart of Ponyville and into the forest ahead. Cerberus quickly became transfixed upon the ball, all six eyes darting back and forth as the purple pony levitated it before his sights, and darted for the tree line soon after. She would return Cerberus to her post at the Gates of Tartarus, and unbeknownst to her, begin her three day journey in doing so.

Twilight had trotted on all day long, almost sure that Cerberus would eventually get tired of chasing the same old ball the entire way there, but she soon found that she was getting tired herself. With the ball still in her magical grasp and Cerberus chasing from behind, they were in the middle of a wooded area when Twilight spotted a small pond off to the side of a small ridge.

“C’mere, boy!” Twilight panted. “This way!”

Cerberus twisted his heads and clamored down the small path towards the pond, all three tongues pooling out of the heads as greedy slobbers of water lapped up into their mouths. Twilight lumbered down the path and plopped down next to the water, leaving the ball at rest. She cautiously eyed the beast for a moment.

“Be a good boy and stay there a moment, please.” Twilight scooted herself closer to the pond. “Aw gosh, I’m exhausted.”

The water was still. Twilight knew that it was never really a good idea to drink water that wasn’t running, but was over all too tired to care at this point. She opted for slow and small sips, still a little worried that she might get sick, but she only needed a little. Just enough energy to keep going and complete this task, to return Cerberus to the Gates of Tartarus.

As the young unicorn laid there and sipped patiently at the water, she stopped and thought for a moment. Was she even going the right way? She reviewed her knowledge on the exact location of Tartarus in Equestria. Having ran along side the railroad tracks which ran west, she would eventually come upon a wooded area. If she was correct, they should be in White Tail Woods right about now, somewhere along side the Smokey mountains. She at least expected to have seen a shack or hut of some sort by now, wherein hermits and keepers of the forest laid, whom might guide those who are lost. Based upon further details that she had read, Twilight knew that Celestia always set the sun to the west, and the gates no doubt lied west of Equestria. With a bit of reassurance, Twilight could be relieved that she was going the right way.

Just then, Cerberus sprung and trailed his attention over to the deeper ends of the woods. The great beast’s ears shot for the skies, and he began to growl lowly and intensely. Dread soon filled the little pony nearby. Like a phantom disappearing into the shadows, Cerberus leapt forward into the denser region of the woods, barking and howling wildly all the while. Twilight sprang to her hooves and gave chase.

“Cerberus!” She wailed. “Down, boy! Heel!”

She ran and ran, ran until all she knew was the feeling of her hooves carrying her forward, only to collide with the massive, black behind that was the three headed dog’s rump. Twilight picked herself up and quickly looked all around, taking notice that Cerberus had become paralyzed with stillness, the entire forest around them seeming no different. In that very moment, Twilight caught sight of a figure in the far distance waning between the trees. Black and red spotted between the trunks. Her heart skipped a beat, and her lungs forfeited a breath.

A demon! Twilight’s mind quickened.

“Hello?” The demon called. “Who goes there?”

The demon sounded not so much like a demon, or at least what she would assume a demon to sound like. After the voice had lingered for a little longer than Twilight would have liked, she remembered to give a response of her own.

“W-We’re over here!” Twilight hesitantly waved her hoof.

“Yes yes, if I could not see you then surely I could hear you.” The voice chuckled, moving out of the shadows. “My my, what a sight to behold.”

The unicorn quickly studied the speaker before her, finding that it was no demon at all. No, it was just an ordinary pony, or at least as ordinary as you could get out here in the middle of the woods. One of the keepers, perhaps? The thought seemed to click alright in her mind.

“My apologies, sir, I was just uh…” Twilight looked up at the huge, hulking dog, whom seemed much more calm now.

“Taking your dogs for a walk?” He chortled. “I’ve heard legends of the beast, but never did I think my eyes would get the chance to see him in the flesh and fur.”

“Oh no, these aren’t my dogs.” Twilight giggled, only for one of Cerberus’ heads to lean down and lick her entire right side. The unicorn winced with utter disgust.

“If you say so.” The old pony chortled again. “I do find it odd however that I see him here and not at the gates of Tartarus.”

“Yes, that’s just where I was taking him to.” Twilight flicked the slobber off her coat.

“Oh, you mean you’re going to do it?”

“Mhm.” She nodded.

“Alone?”

“Is there a problem?” Twilight wondered.

“Little pony…” The old colt shook his head. “You are walking up on the very gates of Hell, the doors to the chamber of insidious secrets that perhaps even Celestia herself has no knowledge of. Does this not phase you?”

Twilight stopped before answering and began to reflect upon the pony’s words. Only then did it come to her realization on where exactly she was going and what she was about to do. With the knowledge now more apparent than ever, Twilight became afraid.

“I-I must do this.” The little pony said bravely. “For the good of Equestria.”

“If you insist, then perhaps a shortcut shall aid in your travels?”

“That would be very appreciated, mister…?”

“Ah, now where have my manners gone?” The old pony turned to her with a bow. “Hermes, at your service.”

“Twilight Sparkle.” She curtsied. “It’s a pleasure.”

“Twilight…a beautiful name.” He commented. “I shall not forget it.”

The unicorn gave nothing short of a blush and a giggle.

“Shall we be on our way, Twilight?” Hermes beckoned.

“Certainly.”

For a few miles further in, the two had tread in the same direction that Twilight had already been going. There was then a treacherous and rocky region, filled with trenches and trails that made the unicorn realize had she not encountered a guide, she would have been here for far longer than she had anticipated. Hermes for the most part was quiet now, wordlessly leading her and the great beast through twists and turns of dust, pebble and rock. The studious unicorn had many questions ready within her arsenal, but the unspoken truce of silence had quickly made things rather awkward, and perhaps it was best not to waver the old pony’s concentration and focus on the task ahead. Soon enough, the clouds above grew a dark and murky black, and with that Twilight knew they were near.

“This is as far as I tread.” Hermes turned to her. “Follow the path until you reach the twin boulders, there the beast will know the way back.”

“Twin boulders, got it.” Twilight took a confident step forward.

“Do be careful, Twilight.” The deep, malicious voice warned. “It’d be a shame on this earth for something tragic to happen to a unicorn like you.”

Twilight halted as a chill ran up her spine, and she turned to address her guide. Only, the pony was no longer there, as gone as the wind bellowing past her hide.

The young mare turned back around to find that Cerberus was already trekking his way up the hill and off like a shot, heading towards his destination. Twilight chased after but maintained a fair distance behind, if only to ensure that the beast would be right back where he ought to be. She had only hoped that by this point no demons had escaped in his absence. If any had managed to do so, however, they would be weak upon the upper soil that was Equestria, so much so that they could hardly walk. Weak or strong, demons were no doubt a force to be reckoned with. Twilight remained alert.

Suddenly, the three-headed beast halted in his tracks, turning to give Twilight thrice the amount of a pleading, hard-to-say-no-to puppy stare. The unicorn shook her head and elicited a small chuckle, waving her hoof to shoo the hound along.

“Go on, Cerberus.” Twilight nodded. “Get back to your station, boy.”

Then, Cerberus began to whine. He crouched low and met Twilight’s eye level with six, googly, glistening puppy eyes staring into the deepest recesses of her heart. Strangely enough, it calmed the young mare, so much so that she found a hint of content even when standing a mere skip and a trot away from the very gates of Hell. Suddenly, she realized that she wasn’t the one who was scared, but rather Cerberus was.

“It’s okay, boy.” Twilight stepped forward, calmly petting the dogs atop their heads and hugging the middle face. “Tell you what, maybe I’ll come back and visit you someday. How does that sound?”

Like a candle flame reignited, Cerberus sprang and wagged his tail with joy, his panting growing quicker and happier. Once again, he licked an entire side of the mare, slobber drenching her entire left half. Twilight could now say that one hundered percent of her exterior has been covered in dog spit before. With a final woof and a distant whine, Cerberus bolted back up the path to mount Tartarus, leaving the pony to herself. Twilight waited until the great canine was completely out of sight before turning tail and trotting down the path as quickly as she could.

Maybe I’ll come back and visit you someday. She repeated those words of hers in her mind.

“Hermes…” Twilight attempted to recall. “There were no records of anypony named Hermes among the keepers of that realm. Then who…?”

The visions of black and red, scarlet and ash quickly filled the young Alicorn’s head. It couldn’t have been. It can’t be.

“Tirek…” The pony trembled.

He had escaped. When Cerberus had abandoned his post, the prisoner of Tartarus took his chance, and escaped from his eternal fire. Twilight had deemed herself the last line of defense in that moment, and ultimately, she had failed. She had failed Equestria, her friends, the people of Ponyville, and even herself.

“Incompetent.” The word uttered without warning.

And without alert, images and visions swarmed about in the Alicorn’s head. Upon a void of black a world constructed itself, ash and soot laid in a broken and rainy village. The buildings were toppled and the flames had scorched nearly everything in sight, all that remained was ruin, embers, and blood.

Most notably, there Twilight stood in the midst of it all. Resting upon her back was undoubtedly a weapon fabled among pony-kind.