Last Sparkles Of Time

Chapters

The Catalyst
Celestia Unplugged
Mares On A Mission
Why, Hello There
Twenty Percent More Futuristic

The Catalyst

“Y-You guys…you have to get out of here before they come back! Now!”

The five heard the urgency in their friend’s voice, but also the weakened quiver. The lavender mare lay on her side, wincing as her body instinctively tried to grasp each breath. One of the ponies surrounding her approached, her brimmed hat torn and half-shredded from some vicious slash.

“Now hold on a minute there, sugar-cube! Nopony’s leavin’ nopony! Do ya think you can stand, Twi?” Applejack said in a confident, yet nervous drawl, leaning in close. She preferred not to draw vocal attention to Twilight’s paleness, or the fact that she was icy-cold to the touch.

“N-No, I – I can’t feel my hooves…” Twilight coughed, turning to look up at the robust earth-pony. Applejack’s eyes said far more than her mouth when she gazed down onto the ailing unicorn; she so wanted to reassure Twilight Sparkle that everything would be okay; that when this darkness had left their lands, that Twilight could read all the books she could ever want in peace, that the yellow Pegasus cowering in the near corner could continue tending to her animals…that the six of them could keep living their lives, in friendship and harmony.

But Applejack was the Element of Honesty. As much as she wanted, she simply couldn’t bear for her last words to Twilight be lies.

“THEY’RE COMIN’ BACK!” The frantic voice from the hall outside jarred the other ponies to attention, though Twilight just gave a strained jerk in that direction. A colourful blur swept in past the others before the azure Pegasus came to a screeching halt in midair. Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth and darted about, doing several laps despite these crowded quarters, “They’re way, WAY too close! We’ll never make it!” But her eyes turned down to the unicorn still lying there, “Twilight, you have to get up! You need medicine, and – and we can’t get it to you if you’re just gonna lie there! Up! UP!”

“I…I really don’t think I’m…gonna – gonna make it this time…” Twilight turned her eyes down as she said it, “Please, go…if I have to use every ounce of magic I have left to teleport you all to Sweet Apple Acres, I’ll do it!”

“Don’t you dare!” Rainbow Dash shouted, “You’re not gonna die on me! We’ll get you help, we’ll – stay with us, Twi!”

“G-Guys, I want you to know…you were the best friends a pony could ever have…” Twilight’s voice wavered, flaking off levels of fragility that the other five had scarcely seen out of her as fresh tears welled in her gaze. Had it really been so long since she’d arrived from Canterlot? Since that series of wildly misplaced first impressions that led to a bond that, to this day, could not be broken, even by the most chaotic of entities? As introverted as she had been in her youth – and, indeed, maybe even a little frightened at the prospect of forming social relations – this unicorn couldn’t imagine her life without her friends; much as she loved her books, her five closest friends had written her most precious story of all. Twilight’s mouth turned up in a quivering, bittersweet smile, “I love you…all of you…”

“No bucking way!” Rainbow Dash shouted, rage puffing her cheeks, “You’re not giving me any bucking last words, we’re going to SEE THIS THROUGH!” As she said it, another rumble shook the chamber, prompting the other unicorn, snowy white with a deep fuchsia mane, to huddle closer to the others.

“R-Rarity…” Twilight mustered, “I – I need you to do something for me…”

“Anything, precious…” Rarity said through the shudder in her voice. As she leaned in, Twilight whispered something in her ear the others couldn’t hear, only for the white unicorn to jerk back, “N-No! Absolutely not! Darling, you know well that such a thing would – it would kill you for sure!”

“I’m…I’m already too far gone…just let me do it! Please, Rarity!” Twilight grasped some final firmness in her voice, though as she did, the outlines of her friends began to blur in her eyes. As the rumbling from the threshold grew ever-closer, the once-vibrant light in Twilight’s eyes began to dull and fade…

You have to stop it.

Princess Celestia awoke with a start.

What in Equestria…she had had nightmares before, surely. But this…it was no mere correlation of scattered imagery that typically befitted dreams. Her sheets and ethereal mane were drenched in sweat, a sensation that her hooves found uncomfortable to the touch as she stumbled from her royal bed. In all the ages of the world that she had seen pass, she had scarcely felt this wracked with confusion and fear over something that, had it been a more reasonable time than two-thirty-four in the A.M., she may have passed off as inconsequential.

In her half-awake stupor, the Princess found herself staring down at the parchment and quill she had dredged up from the nearby desk. She sighed as her horn glowed and levitated the quill; in all likelihood, she was going to feel mighty silly for this come morning, but something about the dream – the way it, by all rights, felt nothing like a conventional dream…if nothing else, this would set her mind at ease. Still, that voice at the very end…it was vaguely familiar. But who…?

Some minutes later, in the Ponyville town library…

“Aahh…aaaahhhhh….AAAAAH-CHOOOO!”

In a burst of emerald flame, the purple baby dragon spewed out a parchment rolled up in Celestia’s official seal: an emblem that by now was quite familiar to Spike. So much so, in fact, that he had developed something of a literal gag reflex upon seeing it, considering how often its image and something coming out of his throat were correlated to him.

“A letter from Princess Celestia at this hour?” Spike puzzled, “Maybe it’s another one of her weird pranks…” He turned it over in his hands, “Must be for Twilight…I wonder what was so important she needed to shoot it over before 3 in the morning.” He yawned, rubbing his eyes, “Besides, what kind of Number One Assistant would read her mail without even telling her about it?” But then he changed his tone, “But wait – if I wake her up, she’ll be all, ‘Spike! What have I told you about waking me up before dawn? I’ve got a very big day tomorrow and I need my rest!’” He almost frightened himself with how well he resembled Twilight’s voice.

“Buuuut…” Spike turned the letter over again, “If she sent it this early and it’s NOT a prank, then she wants us to read it right now, but that would mean waking up Twilight, and I don’t wanna wake up Twilight, but that means I have to read her mail, but that’s not something a Number One Assistant would do, but…”

Spike held out the scroll in front of him. He carefully slid off the royal seal, and began to unfurl the parchment…

“Spike!”

The baby dragon leapt so high he thought he was going to crash into the ceiling. Twilight Sparkle stood at the foot of the stairs, her eyes glazed over as though she had groggily stumbled down here in a rush.

“I – uh – good morning!” Spike gave a wide smile, “A-Always good to burn the early morning oil!”

“It’s so early that it still counts as late…” Twilight cringed when she looked out the window to find Luna’s moon still high in the sky, “What are you doing? I heard you pacing and ranting to yourself down here for the past few minutes.” Her groggy eyes settled on the unfurled scroll in his hands, and the royal seal set on the table nearby, “Spike! Were you reading my mail?”

Spike threw up his hands, “I can’t win!” He shook himself out of it, “Sorry, Twilight, this just came through from the Princess and I didn’t want to wake you up.”

“It’s okay…” Twilight said, lifting the parchment from his hands with her magic and setting it on the table, unfurling it fully so that they both could read, “If she sent it this early and it’s not a prank, it must mean she wants us to read it now.”

Spike faceclawed. Who would have thought, I wonder?

But the two settled over the table, and began to read:

My faithful student, Twilight Sparkle,

I need to talk to you about the nature of prophecy.

Long ago, before she turned against the ponies of Equestria, Luna shared with me the fact that occasionally – once in a blue moon – she would receive dreams that were…different. Because of her nocturnal powers, she channeled energies in her dreams that not even I was privy to. She described to me dreams that played out as though they were happening right in front of her eyes, as though she was a completely lucid, passive observer, rather than the visage of scattered thoughts and imagery that we associate with dreams.

What’s more, the contents of these special dreams…it would come to pass, quite soon after she had them. I took her at her word, for I myself have never, in all the life-ages of this world, experienced that phenomena.

Until tonight.

I don’t think either of us will be well-served if I sugar-coat this, as incredulous as it must sound: Twilight, I believe your life is in danger.

“What?!” Twilight and Spike reeled back nearly at the same time, at the moment almost knocking heads. Still, they kept reading,

The things I saw just now – the things that were shown to me – have led me to believe that you are not safe.

Alas, my faithful student…I would love to turn out to have been making a mountain out of a molehill. None the less…be careful until I delve further into this.

Princess Celestia

The personal signature at the bottom of the letter proved the scroll as legitimate and not some cruel joke by one of the Canterlot royal guard with access to the Princess’s stationery.

“…Twilight…” Spike slowly turned his head, “What does she mean?”

“I…I don’t know,” Twilight said, repeatedly poring over her mentor’s words, “What does she mean, my life is in danger? A little detail would have been nice!”

“M’not sure I would have wanted it to go into any more detail, Twilight…” Spike wrung his tail.

“What am I supposed to say to this?” Twilight asked in frustration, “How do you respond to ‘hi, by the by, you’re gonna die’?!”

By now, Twilight was right lucid enough to magically snare a quill and parchment, and began hammering out her hasty reply:

Dear Princess Celestia,

I’m afraid I don’t understand. What did you see in your dream? Are you sure it couldn’t have just been…anything else? I don’t mean to misjudge your intentions, but I found your letter quite confusing and distressing. Please elaborate. I’m not sure what you mean.

Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle

Twilight breathed just a little easier when Spike breathed a plume of green flame onto the scroll, sending it on its way. But his face immediately contorted in discomfort and he gripped his throat, before coughing out another plume of flame, and with it the very same scroll he had just sent.

“What the…?”

“You’re telling me!” Spike gagged, “I hate when things are ‘returned to sender’…what now?”

“I…” Twilight hoofed the side of her head, “I really don’t know, Spike.”

***

The Princess of the Night breathed softly, in and out, her subconscious enjoying a dreamless, yet wholly relaxing sleep. She yawned, and slowly rolled over in bed, her subconscious and conscious selves slowly coalescing in that hazy, amorphous place between dreams and waking. There seemed to be a large shape in her blurry vision, standing tall but silent at the side of her bed…

“Luna.”

“BY THE HEAVENS!” Luna sprung awake to find Celestia standing with her nose mere inches from Luna’s, “DEAR SISTER, WHAT IN THE WORLD?!” But remembering the vocal lessons she had been given that one Nightmare Night, Luna lowered to a more conversational tone, “…Celestia, my dearest sister, thou art simply…watching me sleep from inches away? That is…considerably creepy, my dear sister.”

“Luna, I need you to tell me everything you know about the dream-prophecies you used to tell me you had. I've put a magical barrier around myself for all incoming mail and have ordered the guards away; this is serious.”

“O-Okay…?” Luna slid out of bed and followed her sister down the royal hall, “What is the purpose of thouest curiosity?”

“A mare’s life could be at stake. Do you remember Twilight Sparkle?”

“The Element of Magic, and the pony who reached out to me when no others would lend a hoof. I do remember.”

“Luna…would it be possible for ponies other than yourself to receive prophesying visions through the subconscious?”

“…Thou saw’st Miss Sparkle breathe her last. Not in the now, but in the future that may yet come.” Luna said solemnly, piecing two and two together from Celestia’s scattered, yet correlated train of thought.

“It played out exactly like the visions that you told me about,” Celestia said with a resigned sigh, “Luna, I have walked and flown Equestria for thousands of years, and considering I have the same need for sleep as mortal ponies, I have dreamt the length of many ordinary lifespans. I know what my dreams are like, and this was not one of them.”

“Well…” Luna said, “Follow me, dear sister. Thou must hasten to the Canterlot Archives; we ride, for there is something I must show you!”

At these wee hours of the morning, even the few royal guards on patrol seemed like they were just about ready to lull into a nap. But the sight of the Princesses of the Sun and Moon breaking into a full gallop through the halls to the Archives made even the drowsiest of passerby perk up.

The Archives themselves, shelf after shelf of books upon books, were just as empty, save for the night watchcolt making his rounds just outside. While Celestia used the magic of her horn to illuminate the way, Luna led her between the many rows of books, deeper still into the Archives. The further in they went, the older the books got, until many of them were not books at all, but tightly-bundled collections of arcane scrolls.

Luna instructed Celestia to magically pull down one of the higher scrolls near the back of the Archives and set it on the nearby table. Celestia carefully maneuvered the age-worn, browned parchment onto the flat surface and unrolled it, to which Luna began reciting the text. Though it was partially faded at points, and written in a much older script than Equestria’s subjects today knew, Luna understood it with ease.

“Here follows accounts of the divinations of Starswirl The Bearded,” Luna began, “As accounted by his respectable protégé, Clover The Clever.”

Celestia listened in as Luna mumbled to herself, skimming through sections of Clover’s ancient text, dating back nearly to the period in which Equestria itself was formed, until she found what she was looking for and continued reciting: “My master, Starswirl The Bearded, awoke in the dark bath of the moon and summoned me, his face alight with a mixture of panic and revelation. He revealed to me things that I dare not recount here; only to find that within several weeks’ time, or in some cases mere days, these things did come to pass. It was of no influence from his own powers, or so he claims; rather, he suggests that when the powers of magic in this world have something dire about future events to impart, they will find a way to contact those strongest with the magical arts.”

“All this tells me is that my paranoia is justified…” Celestia said, putting a hoof to her face and shaking her head lightly, “I’ve already sent a letter to Twilight in Ponyville. Perhaps I should send a royal escort for her and take her into protective custody.”

“I am sorry, sister, but thou seem’st quite protective of this one who is, at her core, but a pupil of thou. Might there be something I am missing?...” Luna peered over as Celestia’s eyes slowly turned to the floor.

It seemed to the Princess of the Night that her sister was wordlessly experiencing deep emotions, as though scenes of past days were playing out in her clouding-over eyes. In her mind’s eye, she saw a little lavender filly, closed-off in her chamber, face buried in assorted books. And there, in the threshold seemingly so long ago, was Celestia, eyes turned down in consternation, almost mouthing out, ‘I have to do this.’ And after a pause, ‘There’s no other way’.

But Celestia soon snapped out of it and said in a voice far more formal than she would have preferred to come off as, “Twilight Sparkle is the Element of Magic. That alone warrants her protection.”

Luna blinked. She knew that Celestia had been grooming Twilight, having hypothesized her as the Element of Magic, to ultimately strike down the Eternal Night when Luna – no, that was, her corrupted other-self in Nightmare Moon – had returned from imprisonment on the great lunar sphere. Was there some special reason that she was so desperate to keep this prophecy from coming to pass? After all, Princess Celestia had seen millions of ponies she had once known pass into the next life…what exactly was so specifically special about this avatar of the Element Of Magic?

What art thou keeping from me, sister…?

***

“So, uh, tell me again, Twi – just what in the name o’hay are we doin’ out here in the Everfree Forest?” For the life of her, Applejack just couldn’t fathom what had stuck in the mind of her unicorn friend. Twilight had been waiting at the door to Applejack’s home on Sweet Apple Acres when the earth-pony had diligently risen at the crack of dawn, but she hadn’t knocked on the door; it was as though Twilight couldn’t decide whether to rap on the door or to silently take her leave and let be.

But after a couple rounds of ‘AJ, you trust me, right?’ and ‘I promise it won’t take too long’, Applejack found herself trotting alongside Twilight through the dark of the forest, seeming to stretch far beyond their view’s event horizon.

“We’re going to see Zecora. Maybe she’ll have an answer for me.”

“The what now?” Applejack shook her head, “Twi, what’s wrong? You don’t feel like you’re bein’ yourself this morning.”

As they walked further, Twilight hesitated. Just how was she to explain her sudden worries to Applejack? The steadfast farmhand had agreed to accompany her into the long dark of the Everfree Forest even without knowing the real reason they were doing it, so maybe she wouldn’t have reacted adversely if Twilight would only…

“Oh! We’re here,” The unicorn had been so wrapped up in her thoughts that she hadn’t even noticed her muscle memory carrying them right to the door of the exotic hut in the Everfree clearing.

Just as Applejack raised a hoof to rap on the door, the wood swung back to reveal the decorated zebra standing there, seemingly boiling some kind of water in the cauldron at the epicenter of her home.

“Applejack and Twilight Sparkle, you ponies of two,
What is it that this day, I can do for you?”

“Uh, Twi? Go for it,” Applejack said, using that still-raised hoof to adjust her hat instead.

“Thanks for seeing us, Zecora,” Twilight said, and without breaking pace, she proclaimed, “I need you to help me see the future.”

Applejack, in the doorway, blinked.

Zecora blinked.

Applejack mumbled more or less to herself, “Oh, my day was just fine, Granny Smith. What? No, Big Mac, nothing out of the ordinary. Nuuuupe, nothin’ at all.”

The zebra took a moment to collect herself and said, “I see now, my dear Twilight, for when you stormed in here with a frown, you gave me quite a fright!”

“I’m not kidding,” Twilight said, “This is…it’s very serious. Is there anything that can do that? Anything that can give ponies a glimpse into their own futures?”

“They say destiny is not yet written,” Zecora paced quizzically around her brew, “But what is this future with which you’re smitten?”

Twilight sighed, “I guess I can’t keep it from you and the girls forever, AJ…”

“Twi, you know I try to be as patient as they come, but somethin’s been spookin’ you right fierce all day. Way I see it, you can either keep stewin’ in…whatever it is you’re stewin’ over, or you can open up a touch. Let us shoulder the burden, hon. That’s what friends are for.”

Twilight sighed, lulling her head momentarily. Finally she turned to Applejack and breathed out, “PrincessCelestiahadavisionandshedoesn’tnormallyhavethesevisions-“ She gasped, “Andifwedon’tfindoutmore I’m going to die!”

Just as Applejack was rapidly processing Twilight’s machine-gun explanation, that last line hit her with all the force of the time Big Macintosh had misplaced a fairly powerful buck with her standing next to the tree in question.

“Twi…wha-?”

Zecora’s eyes widened, “If your downfall, a higher power has seen…I fear the consequences, should mortal hooves intervene.”

“Can’t you give me anything? Some obscure zebra-land divination tonic, some all-purpose hydra-neck elixir, anything?” Twilight cried out despite their close quarters, “Zecora, I don’t know much about how prophecies work, but when my mentor – the Princess of Equestria, who raises the sun every morning and concedes it every nightfall – tells me she thinks my life is in danger, I can’t just sit on my hooves and dismiss it as cockatrice droppings! The Princess might be good for a little prank now and then, but she wouldn’t – she wouldn’t say THIS as a joke. She wouldn’t!”

Zecora closed her eyes for a moment. Then, that moment melted into what could be considered multiple moments. Twilight and Applejack glanced at one another.

Finally, the zebra spoke, “Unusual as it is, your request is not out of the question. But give me some time to look in the right direction.”

Just as Applejack opened her mouth to contest Zecora’s rhyme, she heard the male voice at the threshold into the hut.

“Twilight Sparkle?” The goldenrod-armoured royal guard said authoritatively, “We were told by one Pinkamena Diane Pie that you could be found in the Everfree Forest, visiting the one called Zecora.”

“You came to Ponyville looking for me?” Twilight blinked, “Am I in trouble? I swear, Spike didn’t mean to antagonize Philomena last time she came around, it just kind of happened-“

“Princess Celestia has ordered that you be taken into protective custody. Come with us, Miss Sparkle.”

If anything, her conversation with Applejack had made Twilight realize just how nervous Celestia’s letter had made her. Twilight had only one condition of her protective custody: that her friends be allowed to stay in Canterlot with her for the duration, should they accept. And, naturally, the lot of them had practically pony-piled on her back to go.

It seemed as though very little time had passed at all before the troupe arrived in the regal city itself.

“…And I hope you’ll find this suite to your liking, Twilight,” Princess Celestia said as she, and a quieter Princess Luna, led the six ponies and one baby dragon into the bedroom of this Canterlot Castle guest chamber. Having grown up in Canterlot, Twilight merely felt the lavish creature-comforts of her old home coming back to her; already, she could envision a spot near the poofy bed where a nice bookshelf could go, but her friends were markedly more enthusiastic.

“Man alive!” Rainbow Dash darted above Twilight’s head, coming to rest with her front hooves behind her head on the bed, “Why couldn’t it have been me starring in the Princess’s death-omen? This place is almost – almost as cool as a Cloudsdale resort!”

“Rain-BOW Dash!” Rarity said, flustered, “I can’t believe you would be so concerned with your own luxury in a time like…” Her vision wavered, as she set eyes on a series of decorative sapphires emblazoning the far wall, “A time like…like…these…jewels…”

Though Twilight lightly face-hoofed, Celestia and Luna just shared a little smirk. Celestia cleared her throat, “It truly is wonderful to see all of you once more; I merely wish that it had been under more serendipitous circumstances.”

The pink earth-pony tilted her head, “Seren…serendip…dip…dipping sauce!” Pinkie Pie said exuberantly, a wide smile sliding across her features, “Speaking of, I’m starving!”

Luna blinked and turned to Twilight, “Thou…hast told Miss Pie the severity of your situation, yes?”

“Oh, I know what the Princess dreamed,” Pinkie Pie said in a singsong voice, hopping around the room and – apparently – taking in its lush contours, “But Twilight’ll be prim as a pickle and pip as a potato chip. If anything bad was gonna happen, my Pinkie Sense’d be going off the rails!”

“…beg pardon?” Luna strained.

“If Pinkie starts quakin’, you’d best be makin’. For the exit.” Applejack said dryly.

“Well,” Celestia smiled softly, “I’ve arranged to have rooms like this made up for all of you. They’re all in this wing of the Castle, so if any of you start feeling lonely, I encourage you to get around and mingle with-“

“Princess?” Rarity peered over Applejack’s wide-brimmed hat at Celestia, who had suddenly twitched, gave a half-hearted flap of her wings and was looking , almost cross-eyed, at her horn: seemingly of its own volition, Celestia’s horn glimmered with an otherworldly light, before a beam shot straight up into the air between all nine in the room. Luna stood open-mouthed, Spike dove behind Rarity, Rainbow Dash toppled from the bed, and Pinkie Pie even stopped bounce-pacing.

Before their eyes, a series of images and words played out in the air, like a ghostly visage from elsewhere; it was clear by her confused, strained expression that Princess Celestia had no conscious part in this.

Before Celestia’s disheartened eyes, the scene seemed to pick up right where last night’s imagery left off. They all played witness to a royal hall somewhere in Canterlot; perhaps it was even the castle, but it was difficult to tell, as the royal embroidery had been cast in mourning veils. The only illumination came from the magical lights around the hall, in formations leading up to the humble casket. Despite the grand hall, the funeral attendees only filled up about a fourth of the space. Twilight’s friends from Ponyville sat in the front row, some holding each other, others attempting in vain to remain stoic with tears brimming in their eyes.

Celestia herself stood behind the casket, Luna at her side. It was clear to see that the Sun Princess’s face had streaked with tears.

The nine watching this image play out exchanged weakened glances. None of them wanted to look on this scene one more second.

As though an answer to their prayers, the image melted away and seemed to transform itself into something else: a group of ponies – earth-ponies, by their lack of wings or horns – dragging what appeared to be an iron trebuchet over scorched, battle-stained land. Behind them, other groups of earth-ponies were doing the same, but facing arrows from…what? Were those pegasi above, ordering down attacks?

The image shifted just as quickly, like flipping through an ethereal picture-book, to a snow-swept mountainside: it seemed as though the blizzard had all but snuffed out the mountainous greenery. This was clearly the domain of Canterlot, though the imagery was so scattered – much like the visual was strained, as though it was coming through over as great distance – that they could scarcely get a good view.

Suddenly, the view switched to inside the throne room, where Celestia – that was, a vision of Celestia who looked three parts agitated and four parts exhausted, with uneven streaks of blood running down her face and mane – staring down a foe out of view, eyes ablaze as she readied to charge – only for the foe to be on her first. Her charge was merely dodged by the enemy, who in his self-assured, wide movements, came into view: that motley, tall Draconequus, eyes beaming with a measure of sadistic delight, as he closed in on the downed Celestia, savouring the moment…

Didn’t you hear me the first time? You have to stop it. If Twilight falls, so does Equestria!

The vision from Celestia’s horn snapped out of existence just as quickly. The nine slowly exchanged glances; not even Rainbow Dash could offer up some smarmy confidence-boosting retort. Any hint of skepticism had by now left their faces.

The future was bearing down on Equestria. And it had to be stopped.

Celestia Unplugged

“No, no, no, no, no. Nuh-uh!”

Rainbow Dash manically shook her head, and her wings at the same time, as she paced the hall outside Twilight’s suite. Two passing royal guards briefly gave a glance in her direction, only to keep pacing off shortly afterwards.

“It’s not gonna happen,” Dash said to the other four. Pinkie, Fluttershy, Rarity and Applejack had congregated here not long after the Princesses had taken their leave; Twilight, meanwhile, was still behind a firmly locked door in the suite, despite Spike’s best intentions. Dash grunted, “It’s not gonna happen. How do we know any of this – ANY of it – isn’t just some unicorn screwing around with us, like the world’s sickest practical joke?”

“Cool your jets, gunner-gal. We’ve just been given a narrative-“ Applejack gave a sharp look to Rainbow Dash when it looked as though the Pegasus was about to say something, “And we’d best follow it. Okay – according to these…vision-prophecy-whatchimadoodads that are at least bein’ sent through the Princess, Twilight…” She stared down at her hooves for a moment before choking out, “Twilight is s’posed to –“ She shook her head, “And that’s the thing that sets off all the other things, or…somethin’. Now – can someone please get that unicorn to open up her door? Can’t think straight like this. Figures that the smartest one o’us would be the hardest hit.”

Wordlessly, Rarity slipped past the earth-pony, opening the door into the suite with her magic and heading to the back door into the bedroom.

“Don’t get your hopes up, Rarity,” Spike said, his fists evidently exhausted from pounding on the door, “She’s locked down tighter than Tank in a rainstorm.”

Rarity gingerly placed her face up to the elaborate bedroom door, “…Twilight?” She said in a sensitive, yet melodic tone, “Twilight, dear, I know you’re frightened…but we need you right now. I know it’s hard, but there’s much more at stake here than one life…please come out, why don’t you?”

Slowly, the door swung open. Twilight attempted a weak smile to the fashionista, but Rarity could see the lavender mare’s eyes welled with tears.

“T-Twilight, now…” Rarity moved in closer, “Crying doesn’t fit your complexion at all, dear…I must be entirely honest: I can’t even begin to imagine what you’re going through.”

“I can’t let it end like this…” Twilight started, “I’ve only been in Ponyville a few years! The vast majority of my life, I…” She sighed, “I can’t have found – found all of you, only to…” She shook her head vehemently, “I won’t let this happen.”

“Then please come to the hall, dear,” Rarity said, leading Twilight back through the bedroom, “We’re trying to, erm…’hash’ this whole thing out, and we could use your help.”

As soon as the others caught sight of her emerging, Applejack shouted, “Twi!” Fluttershy made some kind of airy noise that may have, under the right circumstances, been interpreted as a little, ‘yay!’ Applejack adjusted her hat, “Now, Twi…we want to hear your interpretation of that…thing that just happened.”

“Um, well…” Twilight traced a little path on the floor in front of her with one hoof absently, “Apparently, ponies of different races were fighting. Not just fighting – waging all-out war! It seemed almost to return to how things were in the pre-Equestrian period, after the paleo-pony period when the various races splintered off.” Twilight swallowed a deep breath, “Then, that’s supposed to take place after…” She coughed up the words, “After I die. And, apparently, my – that – that event has some direct correlation with the ponies fighting, and with – I can’t believe I’m saying this – with…Discord.”

“Now, how do we know that was actually Discord?” Rainbow Dash crossed her front hooves in front of her, flitting in midair.

“How many other draconequuses do you know, who look and move exactly like Discord, RD?” Applejack shot her a glance from the side.

“Well – the obvious solution is to keep whatever’s supposed to happen to Twilight, from happening!” Rainbow Dash said, “We stand guard around here at all hours. Nothing gets through.”

“Thanks, but I really don’t think that’s necessary…” Twilight managed to chuckle softly, “Guys…I’ll be fine. Sorry for locking myself in the back, there, it’s just…I needed some time to come to grips with all this.” Her courage bled through her words.

Rainbow Dash whispered in Fluttershy’s ear, “She goes completely horseapples at being late for an assignment, and is all peachy about this whole prophecy-thing?” Fluttershy, as Rainbow may as well have expected, merely made a little mumble in response.

“However, I would like to talk to the Princess about this,” Twilight said, to which the others collectively nodded.

But at that very moment, Princess Celestia’s concerns were more immediate than visions that may or may not come to pass. Standing at the helm of her throne room deeper in the Castle, she stared down three gryphons: heavily armoured and with eyes that shone greedily through their helmets. Their royal armour was in some respects similar to Celestia’s own royal guards, but for the sharper-edged shoulders and the ruby trim around the flanks.

“Once again, I am truly sorry,” Celestia said with a regal air about her words, “But I simply cannot approve your Chancellor’s requests to grant him ownership of the Ragged Mountains five miles from the Everfree Forest.”

“This needs not be difficult, Princess,” One of the soldiers authoritatively said, “You know as well as we that we need those mountain landscapes as a training ground; efforts to exterminate the Manticore hordes on our west fold have proven unsuccessful, and we need to expand! You have turned us down the last four times we’ve approached. This is your last chance, Sun Princess.”

“I understand your concern, gentlegryphons, but I shall explain this once more,” Celestia said, “There are certain herbs that grow on the face of those mountains that prove vital to pony health. Even the common cold can be lessened by these herbs’ effects. If we give you the mountain faces, then we’ve placed a political obstacle between ourselves and being able to freely retrieve these medicines. Ponies will die while we wait for bureaucracy to work through the motions!”

“Then you give us no choice,” One of the gryphons said. As Celestia watched, something seemed to be emerging from his armour: between his wings, what appeared to be a built-in bow and arrow operated entirely by those wings. Celestia gasped; this was no negotiation!

The other two rose similar devices from their armour, all pointed at Celestia; they wouldn’t. These fools wouldn’t. Celestia bared her teeth, standing her ground. They wouldn’t put up such a futile attack against the Sun Goddess of Equestria, would they? No. Unthinkable. It was a desperation move, and all she needed to do was demonstrate a sudden surge of power, and then they would…

“Not on my watch! Get yourself ready for the winged warpath!”

The gryphons turned, confused, to the cyan Pegasus zooming from the hall into the throne chamber, and below her on the floor, the orange earth-pony with the blond mane.

“Y’all aren’t gonna be layin’ any paws or claws on our Princess, ya hear?” Applejack said, while Rainbow Dash dove at the gryphons. In athletic swoops, she kicked from above at the arrow launchers, managing to break apart the flexible wood of one of the launchers with a single kick.

“What the-“ One of the gryphons swiped unsuccessfully at the dashing Dash, “Celestia’s technicolour battle brigade?!”

Celestia couldn’t help but grin for a moment, “No, just some little ponies protecting their princess.” She thought the circumstance over for a moment, “…by attacking emissaries…of an independent province….” She suddenly shouted, “Wait! STOP!”

But in the frenzy, nobody heard her, and the next move came too quick for anyone to react: one of the gryphons swiped at Rainbow Dash and sent her flying until she slammed hard against the wall; sticking for a moment and then gradually sliding down like a sticked pancake that had been flipped with too much fervor.

Applejack was headed towards that very gryphon, lasso in mouth (Celestia did not pause to ponder on where the earth-pony acquired it since the last time she looked), only to hit an invisible wall between her and her target. She looked back to the Princess, who worriedly shook her head, sustaining the magic wall with seemingly no effort at all.

“No, Applejack. Let me clear this up.” Celestia said, finally calming herself, only for-

“Leave Rainbow Dash alone!” Twilight shouted from the threshold at the sight of the crumpled Pegasus by the wall. Applejack wasn’t sure why, but the sight of Twilight leaping into the fray caused Celestia much more visible distress than the other two.

As the gryphon trio turned their full attention to Twilight, the lavender unicorn broke into a full gallop for the large, strong soldiers – but with every swipe they made in her direction, she teleported from them at the last second, ending up either behind them or a few feet away. At one point, she teleported right above a gryphon soldier moving in for the strike, and came down hard on his flank with a two-hoofed buck; she may not have been the strongest or most athletic pony in the chamber, but the sheer surprise of the action knocked the gryphon to the ground.

But as soon as Twilight landed, she stared down the arrow-launchers of the two gryphons whose weapons hadn’t been smashed by Dash. She put up a sheepish smile, “H-Hey, guys, maybe we should just cool it for a sec…” Celestia, meanwhile, stared between the two and Twilight, hoping that this meager peace gesture would diffuse the weighty air.

But Twilight screamed when the arrows came shooting through the air, and she teleported a few feet away from their trajectory. How did this happen?! The very first thing that she does after letting Celestia’s vision sink in is to jump headlong into a life-or-death situation? “Y’know, guys, I met a gryphon once, and she was, uh…interesting, so-“ Another dual arrow brigade was met by another teleport, “Seriously, I-“

But the next two arrows came so quickly that she could only close her eyes in deep consternation…only to find that, after a few seconds, there was no pain. Twilight cautiously opened her eyes to find the arrows floating in midair, inches from her, before being tossed to the side like so many used chopsticks. At this, the gryphons looked at each other unsteadily, fearful of this purple unicorn.

“BE THEE GONE, INTERLOPERS!” Celestia’s use of the Royal Canterlot Voice took everyone in the chamber off-guard; she had almost never used it in Twilight’s memory. Almost as though a sympathetic reaction to the Princess’s anger, the sun outside seemed to grow to unbearably bright levels, beaming in through the windows until only Celestia’s imposing silhouette was visible. But it was effective enough, and the gryphons made haste out as the light from the windows gradually returned to bearable levels. Celestia’s voice softened, but her expression remained hard as she turned to her student, “Twilight Sparkle, you will come with me right now.”

Though Applejack had been tending to Rainbow ‘I’m not sore, I’m just fine! Leggo!’ Dash, their attentions were drawn to Celestia’s tone of voice. Applejack immediately said, “Um…Your Highness? Twi was just trying to help…gee, if you should blame anyone, then-“

“I’ll be fine…” Twilight said over to the two in the corner as she trotted, gradually, to Celestia. The Sun Princess turned and started a course to her private chambers, and Twilight followed suit, trying not to look at anything. The words burned in her mind: she screwed up. The Princess had brought her here for her protection, only for her to rush headlong into a dangerous situation that Celestia had under control. She hadn’t intended to, but once she saw Rainbow Dash get hurt by those armoured brutes, something in her just snapped.

“I don’t have long, Twilight, but we need to talk. It’s…it’s serious.”

Twilight immediately wished Celestia hadn’t said anything at all; she felt an invisible tug at her heart, and a pit growing in her stomach. As she stepped into the luxurious confines of Celestia’s study, she barely let out a breath, seemingly afraid of whatever punishment Celestia might decide to mottle out.

“…Twilight? What’s wrong?”

“I know I messed up!” Twilight blurted out, “I’m sorry! I really am!”

Celestia’s expression gradually softened, and she blinked with those more sympathetic eyes, “Twilight, you’re…you’re not afraid of me, are you?”

But the Princess knew from experience: Twilight, as promising as she was, was wholly self-critical to an unhealthy extent. Celestia still remembered the infamous ‘don’t send me back to Magic Kindergarten!’ incident; as overblown – and even dangerous, towards its end – as that particular episode of hers was, it concerned Celestia to know that, to her faithful student, such concerns were dead serious.

So the next thing Twilight felt was the warm, feathery embrace of one of Celestia’s wings covering her flank and moving her closer to Celestia herself.

“You’re not in trouble, Twilight.” The princess thought to herself afterwards, At least…not with me. “I…I’m old, Twilight Sparkle. You know this. I may not look it, to mortals, but I have seen generations upon generations pass the veil. That’s why it should mean something when I tell you, with all sincerity, that you are special to me.”

Twilight was silent, but she looked up at Celestia as the both of them took seats on the floor. In her gaze, she felt like a little filly again, in the presence of much bigger things.

“I’m so very sorry, Twilight, that I didn’t have it in me to tell you the full extent of why I took you on as my personal pupil. But now, I think it’s important that you know.”

“Princess…?”

“When I saw what you did at that entrance examination, I knew without a doubt that you were the Element of Magic. Do you remember what I told you about your skills, then?”

“You told me…” Twilight thought back, “You told me you hadn’t seen anyone with my ‘raw ability’.”

“Now, consider how old I am…” Celestia said, “Though I am an elder of this realm, my memory does not wax and wane as mortals’ do. Do you understand what it means, now? Remember, Twilight. Luna and myself knew the arcane legends in the flesh. I am well aware of the feats of Starswirl The Bearded, for he presented himself to me numerous times in his life. Out of all mortal ponies…it’s you, Twilight.”

The purple unicorn felt a chill slowly run down her back, until it quaked her legs and settled in her hooves, as she took in what the Sun Princess was telling her. She wasn’t sure how to react; it wasn’t being spoken of in a definitively good or bad light.

“But raw power is only a means to an end…so it pains me to need to tell you that I took you in, not entirely out of the promise of your talent…but to mould you. To keep your raw, unprecedented powers from being used by the wrong hooves. In those first moments, I thought…” Celestia swallowed the lump in her throat, “I thought I should control you, rather than not.”

“W-Well, that’s not something to be ashamed of,” Twilight said, breaking into a relieved smile, “Whatever you did, you raised me right. I’m still young, I mean…I’m getting better with magic all the time, but the idea of hurting anyone makes my mane crawl. You really don’t have to worry.”

“I’ve become quite accustomed to putting on my bravest face, Twilight.” Celestia said, turning her eyes ever so slightly away, “Truth be told, I was getting a little worried at the difficulties you experienced in my care in making friends. You seemed to find more in common with the authors and wizards of ages past than with fillies your own age, in the here and now. I did want to help you, Twilight…after all, the Element of Magic is little without its counterparts, as you proved with your friends. But as well, it pained me to see you so isolated all the time.”

“But I wasn’t alone,” Twilight smiled, “Like you said – authors and wizards were keeping me company. Even though we existed hundreds of years apart, they still managed to make me feel at home. It’s like they were speaking to me, personally.” Her eyes took on a dreamy state, which a brush of the Princess’s wing shook her out of.

“I remember nights when you would just be curled up in the library, a pile of books by your side, nose buried in the pages. For all practical purposes, Twilight, you were isolated. You had love to give, this I know; I saw how you poured it into those books, and even into that ‘Smarty Pants’ doll you used to hold so dear.”

“B-But…” Twilight sighed. She closed her eyes softly, “The other fillies just didn’t understand…was it my fault for not seeing the appeal of jumping rope or ‘tag’? I just – I don’t get why they didn’t understand…I spent my days expanding my mind to new worlds, letting new vistas of thought open up before my eyes…how is that not worthwhile?”

“It is, Twilight,” Celestia gently swept Twilight closer to her still, “But you now know the value of friendship; you’re learning more every day. I’m not saying this to make you regret your past choices, not at all; I’m saying it to illustrate a point for you. I felt for you, Twilight…in the same way that a mother feels for her foal after the first day of school, when the filly comes home having made no new friends.”

Twilight paused. Could…could it be? Was the Princess of the Sun really looking upon Twilight as…a daughter-figure?

“You can understand how conflicted I was. I knew that I had to train you, and make sure that your powers did not end up being used to wreak havoc. But at the same time, more and more – and this was completely unintentional – I ended up…well…I love you, Twilight Sparkle, as anyone should love their family.”

Twilight was – and she was sure, understandably – unsure of how to react. But the Princess continued, “So know this, Twilight: you have not disappointed me yet. All the same…a part of me fears how powerful you might grow, eventually.”

“Princess Celestia…I understand your concerns, but I think I have more on my plate right now than being – well, as Rainbow Dash would say – too awesome for my own good…I’d better be prepared to deal with this vision – prophecy – thing, make sure it doesn’t come to pass.” Twilight said. As she did, Celestia gently stood up. Despite herself, Twilight almost wished for the warmth of her mentor’s wings to stay.

“Twilight, I will move the heavens and earth to ensure this turn does not come to pass – and you know I’m being quite literal. Equestria cannot fall, Discord will not reign, and you will prosper…but for now, I must depart.”

“Depart? But Princess-“

“An earth-pony and Pegasus from my domain just lashed out against emissaries from a sovereign province, and now I’ve to attempt to smooth things over with the Chancellor of the gryphons. I just hope I’m not too late.”

“So…you’re really leaving?” Twilight repeated, trying unsuccessfully to hide the unsureness in her tone.

“I will return. I know the world looks bleak through your eyes right now, Twilight, but you must remember: you have talents to face any tribulation that may be thrown your way. I believe in you, and so do your friends.”

With no more words, the Sun Princess strode from her study.

Mares On A Mission

For the past half-hour after her sister took leave, the Moon Princess had observed Twilight Sparkle in the upper chambers, pacing laps around the halls. Not even some open books – first editions from hundreds of years past, skillfully preserved – on tabletops nearby had drawn her eye, which was the first tip-off that something in that unicorn’s mentality was severely unbalanced. Twilight barely paid a glance to the spellbooks strewn about, even if one of the spells within had caught her gaze briefly:

Phoenix Star spell

A spell whose very existence is disputed amongst unicorn and alicorn scholarly wizarding circles. There is no record of its successful performance in the scrolls of old; arcane rumours tell that the wizard who activates this spell will send an immense wave of magical energy radiating outward, and may in fact destroy themselves by doing so. It is, then, understandable as to why there has not been a vast deal of hooves-on research into the subject.

“Mm.” Twilight mumbled, turning away from the page. Had she been in any other mood than ‘manically worried’, she would have been all over the research of an enigmatic spell like this, but here it was simply pushed to the back of her mind. Luna, observing, took this as the definitive cue that this little pony was in need of warmth, if nothing else.

For all that Twilight had done for Luna, it was the least she could do to lead the young unicorn to a quiet place.

“I understand why you’re scared,” Luna said, with only faint traces of the Royal Canterlot tone, “Death is something unknown to mortal ponies, yet ubiquitous.”

“It’s not that…” Twilight said, “I just…I just don’t want to leave my friends. I don’t mind dying, when the time is right…I tried not to think about it, but when I did, I imagined it years later, when I…when I had done all I had set out to do. I would lie down in bed, with a hot tea, a good book…I would close the book and finish the cup, close my eyes, and…that’d be the end of the story. Or, at least…the chapter.”

Luna stared at her for a moment. She turned her gaze slightly downward, “Twilight Sparkle…hast thou ever been alone for a full day?”

“I, well…” Twilight tilted her head in remembrance, “Oh – yeah. When I was a filly, my parents had to go out on important business all day, but I had my books. I used the time to finish a story I had started earlier that week. When my parents came home the next morning, they had bought me a brand-new anthology to make up for being gone so long. I still have it.” Twilight said, hints of a wistful smile creeping over her face.

“Your parents sound like very loving ponies.” Luna said, though she did not smile as Twilight did.

“I…I guess you could say that,” Twilight said, nodding.

“Then…thou hast never been alone, with only but your thoughts, for an entire year.”

“Of course not, I-“ Twilight started, but she quieted down when she realized exactly what Luna was getting at. Respectfully, she took a step closer, in silence.

“Do not mistake me; I and Celestia are genuinely trying to protect you, and to prevent this dark future of doom and chaos from coming to pass…” Luna said, meeting the lavender mare eye to eye, “But you should understand that there are things in this world worse than dying.”

“Luna, I…” Twilight sighed, “I know it must have been so…so hard for you…”

Luna smirked, seemingly at her own foolishness. She paused, feeling the inner contours of her own mouth with her tongue as she prepared to practice a more colloquial, ‘casual’ form of speaking, “You know, when I first found myself on the moon, I figured that my sister needed some time to cool down. I should have explained to her that I just wanted our subjects to see my moon, see the intricate beauty of my stars, for a little while, at which point I would let them bask in the day once more. But by the time blows were exchanged, it was too late for rational thought. So as the days passed – at least, the way I figured them, because how can you tell time on a place where there’s nothing but rocks? – I held on to hope that she would take me back at any time. I had an apology to give to my sister and my subjects, after all; I even rehearsed the lines to myself.”

Twilight cast her eyes down.

“I can’t pinpoint exactly when it was that I began to lose hope…but being alone – so utterly alone that you want to scream, just to have something happen – it changes you, Twilight. I know that Nightmare Moon had corrupted me, yet it was still me, inside…it had to have been hundreds of years before I finally understood.” Her voice plumbed depths of fragility that Twilight hadn’t thought Luna was capable of, “I was completely alone in the universe, for far longer than your mortal mind could ever imagine…it was as though I had no mouth, and desperately needed to scream. Hope turned to realization, realization to despair, despair into agony…I wanted to die, Twilight Sparkle.” Luna felt some fresh tears brimming in her eyes, “Agony…turned to anger. A part of me really did begin to hate my sister for the cruelty of her punishment, against the meagerness of my crime…and the corruption of Nightmare Moon was allowed to take over.

“Even after I was restored to my place as the Moon Princess, I stayed out of the sight of my subjects until that one Nightmare Night…how does one adapt to being thrown back into society after a millennium of having nobody, nothing, no existence except your own mind tearing itself in two from within? Even in Canterlot, it seemed as though the world was passing me by in a haze…I knew, deep down, that Celestia was sorry. I found out that the magic she used to imprison me, the binding spell, did not reach its half-life for a thousand years…therefore, Twilight, if she wanted to bring me back, even after a week of my sentence…she could not. She told me something that I would like you to know…she told me that if situations were reversed, and our citizenry did not appreciate her days as much as my nights, and she had allowed the corruption to seize her…she would have reacted in much the same way I did. Despair, longing, regret, that void that draws a hole in the soul…we all face it. Even us Princesses of the Sun and Moon.

“Twilight, I know you are afraid, but…do not let fear transform you into something you’re not.”

“Thank you, Princess Luna, but at the same time…please try to keep some kind of hope alive in your heart.” Twilight smiled softly at her, “You’re at a point now where you’ve reconciled with your sister, and the people of Equestria do love you, both on your own merits and as a necessary counterpart to Celestia…and if you had given up, just sunk into despair, none of that could have happened. Hope is…a kind of magic all its own, I think.”

Luna blinked, her mouth hanging open lightly. She had expected to try and reassure Twilight about the dark future awaiting, yet it seemed the Moon Princess was she who left the conversation with a weightier heart.

Twilight was silent for the longest time after this. But the two soon were interrupted by the royal guards peering into the oft-unused hall, “Twilight Sparkle? There’s someone here to see you.”

The unicorn stood, cocking her head in confusion, before the zebra walked in between the guards, clad in a brown cloak, seemingly so as to not attract attention for her exotic appearance here in Canterlot, where even the homestyle treats of Ponyville’s own Sweet Apple Acres were considered by some to be ‘common carnival fare’. Zecora smiled lightly on seeing Twilight, wasting no time.

“Twilight Sparkle! A puzzling query you tasked of me, yet many things beyond imagination dwell in the Forest of Everfree.”

“What?” Twilight stepped forth, “You actually…?”

Zecora let down the firmly-bound bag she was carrying around her neck, “There is a plant that grows in the far, appearing much like an emerald star. It has a defense mechanism most oblong, in that it manipulates the air around it quite strong.”

“Um…” Twilight typically had a way of decoding Zecora’s riddles once she set her mind to it, but this time, Twilight encountered a mental blight.

“In simple speak: my new mixture will give future-time a hearty peek.”

Is that, like…a tic? Does she even realize she does it? Twilight thought to herself, but Zecora carefully undid the bundle and brought forth a covered broth, in what seemed to be a miniature cauldron. She opened the top by clenching it between her teeth, and produced a spoon from the bundle.

“I, um…huh?”

“You would like to harness the energies of time, I think? For that, you must take a drink.”

“Well, um, okay…” Twilight said, using her magic to scoop the spoon through the broth – which did, indeed, carry physical impressions of some star-shaped plant – and let it pass her lips.

“Oh, horseapples! YUCK!”

Zecora grinned good-heartedly, “Come now and drink, don’t be shy, though a complex brew as this may not taste of apple pie.”

Twilight looked cockeyed down at the brew. The taste that hung in her mouth reminded her of some ungodly mixture of sour medicine and tree sap. None the less, she drank until Zecora informed her – in her typical fashion – that she had consumed enough.

“And…what does this do, exactly?”

Zecora took a deep breath, and opened her mouth.

…

Twilight made a mental note after several minutes: never, EVER let someone who habitually speaks in cryptic rhyme give you a lecture on meta-scientific chronophysical biology.

But after managing to slot the various explanatory terms into their places, Twilight got that the gist was thus: the Starleaf plant, growing deep within the Everfree Forest, was an incredibly unique specimen in that if a predator was planning to eat it, it would initiate several reactions into the air (for, Zecora explained, the plant had a degree of sub-sentience, and at this point, even Twilight, who would have otherwise been highly critical of that idea, was ready to just roll with it) which would slow down the movements of anyone in the vicinity, while it escaped at normal speed. (Plants…escaping? Twilight had opened her mouth to say something, but once again decided it best to just roll with the punches)

By mixing fragments of this time-altering plant with several chemicals at Zecora’s disposal that not even Twilight could wrap her head around, the zebra had concocted this brew that she was evidently quite proud of: the next time one of these visions flared up, all Twilight would need to do was use any spell – even a simple levitation charm would do – and, to quote Zecora, “Whoever is sending you these sights, will get quite a fright.”

It was a few hours after Zecora left that Twilight had congregated with the other Elements in the throne chamber of the Princesses, where Luna had given them passage past the royal guards. They couldn’t recall exactly what they had been discussing when it had happened; somewhere between Rarity gushing to Luna about wanting a tour of Canterlot Castle’s crown jewels, and Rainbow Dash rambling something about wanting to find some kind of royal backstage pass to the next Wonderbolts performance, Twilight’s horn started glowing pure white, of its own volition.

“H-Hey!” Twilight shouted; her horn was undergoing something very similar to what had gripped Celestia’s horn in the suite. Slowly, an image just like last time began forming in the air between them, emanating from Twilight’s horn.

Twilight still had the Starleaf brew and its various chrono-physics components flowing through her system, and she remembered Zecora’s words. She wasn’t sure what spell she worked in the heat of the moment – maybe a quick levitation, which would explain why Pinkie Pie suddenly giggled as she was lifted three feet from the ground – but soon, a great snapping sound resounded through the chamber.

What in Celestia’s name was-

What in the world?

Did you just-

…oh, it…it’s…it’s you…

Slowly, the seven in the throne chamber began to recognize the voice, to their incredulous ears. Their suspicions were confirmed when the image of the white, purple-maned unicorn popped up in the vision.

“Rarity?!” Twilight bucked back on her hind legs, “So you’re…” But her eyes drifted from the Rarity in the floating visage, to the flabbergasted Rarity standing near her on the floor, “…I’m…confused.”

“Twilight…” The Rarity in the vision-vortex said, her eyes growing wider, “I – I’m sorry, it’s just…” She broke into a strained smile, “It’s been far too long, darling…” She looked on Twilight as though she had just seen a shooting star, her eyes taking in every moment of the special sight.

“You were sending us these visions, then…” Twilight said, “I can’t believe I’m asking this, but you’re…Rarity, from the future?”

“I suppose you could say that…please make yourselves comfortable. I have a story to tell.”

“Oh, I love stories!” Pinkie Pie grinned widely, bouncing. The Rarity in the portal looked at the pink pony, seemingly with wistful nostalgia in her gaze. The Rarity of the present, meanwhile, said nothing, seemingly caught in the midst of various contrasting reactions with every passing moment. After all – what exactly was she supposed to say? Just trying to wrap her head around the circumstance was proving difficult.

“If I sent this right, then Celestia will have left to smooth things over with the gryphon Chancellor earlier this morning. Well, those negotiations will go south quite quickly. The gryphons have no intention of backing down from this land dispute, but Celestia will be reluctant to use her powers for a sheer show of force, knowing that even a fraction of her strength would cause far more death than she would be prepared to shoulder. Fighting begins to escalate over the Ragged Mountains…eventually, things spill over into Ponyville, even though we wanted nothing to do with it. We – you – us – we just wanted the fighting to stop, but…”

The Rarity on the other side of the time-rip closed her eyes. After a pause too long for comfort, she continued, “There were battles. And losses. One of those losses, Twilight…was you.”

The lavender unicorn cast her eyes down slowly. It still wasn’t getting any easier to keep hearing this, but she could no longer hold back the deep pit in her gut, “Rarity, I have to know…how does it happen?”

“Erm…” The Rarity in the vortex blinked, turning her eyes away in a moment almost involuntarily, “Twilight, please…do not make me tell you the details of your own…” She trailed off, “It’s not right.”

“Rarity…” Twilight said softly, slowly approaching the portal, “I need to know. I don’t want to, and I know it will hurt to know, but…I don’t have any other choice. I wish I did, but…please.”

As much as Rarity was against it, she couldn’t argue with the determination and desperation in her friend’s eyes. With a resigned nod, Rarity’s image sunk away, being replaced in the vortex with an image of the Ragged Mountains. Contrary to their name, most days they were a peaceful sight, but now, the hills and valleys of the Mountains were alight with the winged blitzing of gryphon soldiers. The sky was painted a garish crimson; the old adage of the Pegasus tribes had been, ‘Red sky at ‘morn means souls for to mourn’, and it was clear in Rainbow Dash’s disconcerted eyes as she watched the vortex.

The view closed in on a gryphon legion, laying siege to one of the old temples in the Mountains; rumours persisted that these structures had been built by some of the earliest tribes in the paleo-pony period as worship to the Goddesses. And inside the marble structure, amidst the ancient stones and carvings overgrown by centuries of flora, those same six ponies had barricaded the entrances, but knew it could not hold for long.

“HOW did we get roped into this?!” Rainbow Dash cried out, sweat beading her body as she darted about the chamber, making sure every board was in place to take the gryphons’ arrows, “Don’t these maniacs know soldiers from civilians when they see it?!”

“Maybe if you had stopped introducing yourself as ‘the winged warpath’ to everyone we met on the way, the gryphons would have been less inclined to assume we were a militant troupe!” Rarity grumbled. Dirt stained her face, along with flecks down her front, indicating that she had fallen head over heels at one point. Yet, although she clearly hated her state, she understood against her every instinct that they were mired in far more dire things.

“I don’t think they’re surrounding the west corridor,” Twilight said, planting her hooves firmly in the dirt facing the large, stone doorway, “You guys, go! I can put up a magical barrier if they try to break through, until you’re clear!”

“What?! Nice try, Twi, but we’re gettin’ six sets o’hooves outta here, right now!” Applejack said, right before grasping Twilight’s tail and pulling, causing the unicorn to leave distinct trails in the dirt as she was dragged.

All of a sudden, such a deafening burst roared from outside, sending tremors through their very being, that the five ponies on their hooves were knocked to the ground, while Rainbow Dash spun over in midair, nearly crashing into the wall.

“What in Celestia’s name was that?!” Rarity shouted.

“You’re asking me? RUN!” Rainbow Dash replied. As the sound began to fade from their minds, Twilight was slow to start running. She felt as though her horn was dealing with some kind of presence, like there was a new energy brimming within that she could feel seeping out its tip, but couldn’t quite account for…none the less, she ran.

Yet, it seemed as though the temple walls were crashing about them; their position betrayed, gryphon arrows streamed from the cracks in the walls. But without a clear line of sight, the archers could only do so much.

But then, came the one burst, streaming through the cracks in the wall, that made all the difference.

It was not a gryphon arrow; it seemed to be composed purely of energy. But whatever it was, Twilight turned her head as it careened for her – her pupils dilated, mouth releasing a fragile gasp – and then –

And then, the vision faded.

As the vision melted into itself, the haggard then-Rarity continued, “After that…everything changed. It was the dark of night when we realized that Discord had, somehow, broken free from his stone…lightning cracked the sky in droves that night. We just knew something was wrong! He took on the two Princesses in Canterlot Castle, and…we awoke the next morning to find out everything was wrong.

“It was as though some kind of wave of negativity spread through Equestria. The battle was no longer limited to gryphons and ponies; now, the races of ponies were beginning to turn on each other. We knew it was his influence. That, and the fact that the streets had gone simply lousy with ponies walking upside-down and candy clouds.

“We puzzled over how we could seal him away again…Twilight, when we retrieved the Elements of Harmony, your crown, it was…it was cracked, dulled and rusted, as though the very element it represented had fallen from grace.”

“But – wait,” Rainbow Dash swept in front of future-Rarity’s sight, “How did Discord rise again in the first place? We gotta know so we can keep it from happening!”

“We…we don’t know!” Future-Rarity shook her head, “It has something to do with you, Twilight, but…we don’t know much more than that.”

“Wait,” Twilight spoke up, “So you’ve been sending Celestia these visions back through time? How…” She tilted her head, “Wow. I guess I just never knew you were that powerful.”

“I’m not, dearie…” Rarity said. As she did, the others could see how fatigued she looked; how there was a shade of unnatural paleness to her even given her natural white colour, “You are.”

“Wh…?”

“You were struggling to draw breath, Twilight, dear…” Rarity said wistfully, “You performed a final spell that transferred as much of your powers as you could, to me, the only other unicorn in the area. Though, I must admit…” She said with all the air of a high-class socialite about to pass out in a public space, “I haven’t been taking it as well as you have…my body is finding it quite the hassle to maintain without bursting into a quintillion pieces across space and time, I’m much afraid.”

“Cool…” Rainbow stared ahead, only to find Applejack’s hoof swinging about the back of her head, “Yow!” The action hadn’t been altogether that hard, but Rainbow still stumbled forth a few steps…and came to bump into future-Rarity’s hoof, hanging over the side of the seam.

“…no way.” Twilight said, slowly opening her mouth. Carefully, reverently, she approached the tear, “You guys – this isn’t an image. This is a portal.”

“Speaking of, how did you manage to turn my little videography into a looking glass…?” Future-Rarity looked down at Twilight and Dash.

“It must have something to do with that brew Zecora gave me…” Twilight puzzled, but wasn’t about to try and recollect all that the zebra had said about her complicated mixture.

“At any rate,” Said the Rarity in the vortex, “I don’t remember having this conversation at all.” She gave a cursory glance to her past-self, standing awkwardly on the floor.

“That’s because we’re swapping around the future just by knowing about it,” Twilight said, authoritatively asserting some semblance of control, real or imagined, over her circumstances, “But Rarity…time? Really? How did you even – I mean – messages through time?! And why here? Why now? Why not send them back to when Discord was…well, whatever passes for a foal with draconequuses, and let the powers-that-be do what they needed to then?”

“I knew this was going to come up…” Future-Rarity sighed vehemently, “Twilight, dear, as much as I know you would be overjoyed to sit down with me and study, I simply don’t have the time nor the scientific knowledge to give a twenty-hour explanation on the complications involved with all this ‘quantum chronology’ and ‘time-stream parallel causality’ stuff. The fact is – I can contact you here, and now, or not at all.”

“Well, I reckon…” Applejack stepped forth, “I reckon you aughta tell us more about what happened. Is gonna happen.”

Future-Rarity simply nodded, and the view behind her in the portal-come-vision shifted to a frigid, icy landscape: windswept gulches howled as frostbitten, dead trees hung as grim sepulchers over the mountainous lands. There was nary a pony in sight on this stretch, yet it appeared vaguely familiar…after a few seconds, realization sunk into the hearts of the six: this was one of the mountain passes between Canterlot and Ponyville. Where once it was rich with life, both flora and fauna, now only a cold numbness ravaged the air.

“Discord’s very presence caused chaos to erupt in the hearts of folk everywhere…and with discontent and strife having forced its way back into the world, the Windigos began to push onto the world once more. I managed to find my way into the Canterlot Archives – though it had fallen into disuse since the beginning of the chaotic reign, it had not been destroyed – and began reading Clover The Clever’s scrolls from the early Equestrian period…I must say, Twilight, Starswirl’s apprentice was almost – almost – as overjoyed by cataloguing everything as you are.” Twilight blushed and chuckled a little, darting her eyes back and forth sheepishly as Rarity continued, “Took me forever to find the right stuff; it’s a wonder Discord’s enforcers didn’t find me while I was leafing through modern translations of his scrolls. Apparently, the spell used to dispel the Windigos during the founding of Equestria did not obliterate them; it was a spell that fed off of the positive energy in Equestria. See, according to Clover, every time a pony did something out of the goodness of their heart – a helping hoof to somepony in need, a gift expecting nothing in return…with every friendly deed, the spell strengthened. Clover made it so that friendship really was magic, denying these eldritch monsters their frigid prize (as Clover put it)…and when the bonds of kinship shattered in Equestria, the spell weakened, allowing those torrid beasts to return.”

She continued, “We didn’t know what became of the Princesses…as for the five of us, well…” Future-Rarity’s voice seemed close to breaking down, “That fellowship didn’t get to last. For various reasons.” She seemed hesitant or unwilling to elaborate, but her words sunk deep into the group: the way it had been implied in this dreadful future, their bond of friendship had evaporated like so much smoke on a windy peak.

“Rarity…” Twilight cringed, “Please tell me that I’m the only one who…”

“I know for a fact that Applejack is still alive,” Future-Rarity said, “Although I must say…I’m not sure which is worse, with her.”

“Whassat s’posed to mean?” Applejack lifted the brow of her hat.

“It means that when the blizzards came, very little of the land was left to till; Discord’s agents started rounding up any ponies who could till the soil. Quite an uncouth circumstance, really…no bits to be paid, just their continued survival if they keep their noses to the dirt…” Future-Rarity continued, “As for Pinkie…well, that took a turn for the weird. But she’s alive.”

“Well, girls,” Twilight stepped up, “Here in the present, the Elements of Harmony ARE complete. We can get them, dive through that portal, and take the fight to Discord.”

“Uh, Twilight…” Rainbow flitted in front of her, “I might not be too experienced with this whole ‘leaping through a wormhole in time’ stuff, but…how would beating him there, fix the, uh…stuff that happened before then, but after now?” The Pegasus held a hoof to her face, “I’m getting a headache…”

“Thing is,” Future-Rarity said, “It seems that when Discord rose, he…ripped a hole in time, for lack of a better term. That’s how I was able to contact you in the first place, using Twilight’s magic excess.”

“What? How?” The six before her, including her past-self, asked at once before Applejack followed up, “Now, how in tarnation did he do that?”

“Don’t ask me, he’s Discord!” Future-Rarity said, flustered, “The point is, once you’re here, you’ll be able to get into the rip in time, and…” She thought for a moment, “And fix what went wrong.”

“Great. Where is this ‘rip in time’?” Twilight asked.

“That would be…Canterlot Castle. Or, shall we say…it’s not really called Canterlot Castle any more, so the rip is technically located in Castle Chaos. I say, as monstrous as he is, he’s not the most creative with his names.”

“…Not great.” Twilight said flatly, but shook herself out of it, “C’mon, girls; the elements shouldn’t be far!” She broke into a gallop; the others, even Fluttershy, followed suit.

As they ran, Applejack called out, “Twi, are you sure about – well – any o’this?!”

“Not a one!” Twilight shouted back enthusiastically.

Meanwhile, future-Rarity waited for a few minutes more at the portal. She was just in the midst of a yawn when the six burst back, only to find…

“Rarity! What are you doing out of the portal?!” Twilight’s mane stood on end as the six screeched to a halt, to find one of their future-selves standing on the floor here in the present time. The five behind her had their necklaces of the Elements on, and Twilight bore her crown.

“Oooh…” Present-Rarity started worriedly tapping her hooves against the ground in an odd little dance, “Paradox, paradox, paradoooox~…”

“Hmph! You think I LIKE being a serf of that ‘Dis-topia’?” Future-Rarity shot back, “That’s right, a serf! The once-proud Rarity, now reduced to a common maidservant…it’s unacceptable!” She noticed the horrified look on her past-self’s face and said, “What, did you think Discord would have us designing the new spring line for all those Diamond Dog ancestors he brought up from the distant past, back when they weren’t so stupid? Oh, speaking of…you’ll want to watch out for those. Discord has turned them into his enforcers through Equestria.”

“Well – alright, I suppose…” Twilight said with a gulp, stepping up to the portal. Its churning contours and strange colours entranced her for a moment, but she shook out of it and spoke, “Alright, girls, this is it! I have to admit, I’m probably more scared than any one of you, but…” When she turned to find Fluttershy having somehow curled up into herself, hiding behind her own wings, she had half a mind to retract that statement, but she continued nonetheless, “I…I don’t like this any more than you do. A part of me wants to just run back to the library, and try to forget about all of this, but I know I can’t.” She lowered her gaze, “I don’t want to die…I have to be honest – the thought makes me shiver. I’m…I’m not ready.”

Though there was fear, and fragility, in the lavender unicorn’s voice, there was also resolve.

“But this isn’t about me. This is about a force we thought we had dealt with…and unless we step up to the plate, hoof, horn and wing, Discord is going to take this world – the place we’ve grown up in, where we’ve learned to love, and laugh, and live – and twist it to his own will, until there’s nothing left for us but pain – nothing left in the world but chaos! I know you don’t want to face this, but…but…” Twilight seemed to be looking for the words to say, only to find the orange hoof on her shoulder.

“Sugar-cube, none of us want to face this,” Applejack said, “But we’ll face it with you. For you.”

Twilight’s determined, staunch expression soon melted into a soft smile, “Nothing he does can destroy the Elements of Harmony; we proved that to him before.”

“Oh, Twilight…” Future-Rarity called out from behind the pack, “And all of you…and, well, me…please don’t be alarmed at what you’ll find there. It won’t be the Equestria you know.”

It was well beyond a question of, ‘are you girls with me’. They were, hoof, horn and wing. However shy, or headstrong, they may have been, they were in this together: to save the life of their dear friend, to save Equestria itself from a future doom…

Elements in tow, the six leapt through the portal: beyond the event horizon, into the belly of the beast.

Why, Hello There

A trans-linear time wormhole.

A trans-freaking-linear time wormhole.

That’s cheating, you know that?

Oh – pardon me. They know me as Discord; you might remember me from such moments as ‘being the former ruler of this fun little nation’, ‘being cast in stone by a pretentious pontificating princess pair’ and breaking the minds of your precious little ponies one-by-one-by-one-one-one while you sat and watched powerless. Sometimes you just have to think about the good times.

What’s that? You seem surprised. Yes, I’m talking to you. What? You say I’m supposed to plant my handsome tail firmly within the confines of the narrative?

Hello, have we even met? Arcane spirit of chaos and disharmony, ringing any bells? Others might face some challenges in leaving the worlds set up for them, but I like to think of myself as…a free spirit.

Then again, I do like it here in Equestria; you like what I’ve done with the place? Chaos isn’t just about tap-dancing buffalo and chocolate rain. Seems like the last time I was the big cheese, a lot of ponies were…dissatisfied with my performance as supreme, ultimate, awesome, swarthy ruler of the land. See, true chaos doesn’t have to be completely unpredictable. It means a lack of safety, reassurance, safe ground to stand on…in other words, misery. It’s the misery of knowing that you have no future, no past, and no hope.

And chocolate rain.

True chaos means knowing that your heroes may, and probably will die, and there’s not a bucking thing you can do about it.

That’s why you’re still reading this, am I right? Come on, now, give it up to Uncle Discord. You get thrilled by chaos, the same way those foals used to get their kicks on Nightmare Night from being frightened out of their manes.

Your kind has always amused me, really. Don’t worry, it’s in the good way. Hey, now – who’s to say that while you’ve been observing me, I haven’t been observing you?

Why else would ‘all y’all’ bronies and pegasisters out there get such a kick out of reading about that insufferable pink one carving up her friends to make pastries? You might squeal in disgust, you might put on a brave face, but in the end, you were and are drawn to this rambunctious circus of chaos…to me.

In fact, there’s a part of you that’s angling for your little ponies to fail…good thing, too, ‘cause I don’t intend to give up my throne. Oh, they will die, I assure you. And it won’t be quick. It won’t be clean. Nothing in this world will be pure any more…there will only ever be true, raw, chaos. As point of fact, I’ve been looking forward to my meeting with Miss Precious Sparkly Magic for quite some time now…

…whoopsie-daisy, eggs n’gravy. Almost gave away the big punchline, and to a horde of hairless simians, no less.

In fact, once these little ponies make it to my side of the vortex, I think they’ll find taking me down won’t be quite as simple as the cute little technicolour light show they did last time.

But if you’ll excuse me, I have a kingdom to rule.

What’s that? WHY did the untimely death of Twilight Sparkle bring about my restoration, you say? What became of the two Princesses who stood for Order and Harmony? Even though we’re the ones peeking into a world not our own, we must know! Come, mighty Discord, bestow upon us the answers!

Eh. Eh heh. Eh heh heh.

My little ponies, my little ponies, don’t you know you’re dead in the water, thiiis tiiiime~…

Twenty Percent More Futuristic

The six mares felt as though they were spinning, rolling through places without space, and times without comprehension. In this strange, vast void, the six felt as though their entire beings were but echoes, tossed about through this placeless place, hurling into vistas far beyond their comprehension…

“Ooh! I can hear the colours!” Pinkie Pie giggled.

Applejack facehoofed. Rarity and Fluttershy somehow found a way to cling to each other in this indescribable hew, while Rainbow Dash and Twilight kept their eyes peeled and ahead.

After what seemed like an eon, yet no time at all (this was a clashing sensation that none of them, not even booksmart Twilight, could adequately relate on the tongue), a vibrant flash preceded their view of the night sky: starless, dreadfully starless.

And the chill.

As they fell out onto the snow, the mares felt such a penetrating cold that Rarity and Fluttershy could barely feel one another as they dropped from the vortex. Twilight shuddered, and remembered what the Rarity of this horrible future had said: the disharmonic spirits of the land had reclaimed Equestria in a blanket of ice and snow.

“A-Alright, girls…!” Twilight mustered up through the chill and the shiver in her voice, “Let’s put that monster back in monochrome!”

It was the kind of inspirational banter that, really, could only have come from Twilight – moreso, it was the kind of banter that could have only been inspirational, coming from Twilight.

“Uhm…Twilight, maybe you should…kinda, possibly…look at the crown,” Fluttershy gulped.

With a quick-fire levitation spell, Twilight brought the crown from her head to examine it. Her heart began sinking, right until it was nesting deep in her stomach, when she realized that the jewel at its helm was cracked and faded, and its embroidery was rusted over, as though it had fallen to decay through the ages.

“No…no, no, NO!” Twilight cried out, her pupils dilating, “I can fix this – I can fix this!” She strained, closed her eyes and focused her horn on the crown. The others shared uneasy glances as Twilight struggled to work some kind of spell, any spell, that would restore her Element to its former glory. The unicorn became so frustrated with her own inability to restore the element that she shouted in anger; the residue magical surge caused a shockwave that knocked the layers of snow from the dead trees all around, and nearly bowled over poor Fluttershy, but the Element of Magic remained desiccated, ruined…dead.

“B-But…” Twilight whimpered, suddenly hoping that the others didn’t hear the discouragement in her voice. The plan that she had held so securely on to had suddenly evaporated, and now…now what?

Twilight closed her eyes, enveloped in her own thoughts. This place…its very existence was a curse. Something had gone very wrong along the way…this wasn’t the future meant to be. It couldn’t be. No planetary order would be so cruel, so cosmically absurd, as to make this the path that Equestria was to follow to its demise…Twilight looked into the eyes of this sick future, and rejected it. There had to be another way. Something, anything – “I…will…fix this.”

There came a tingling in the purple unicorn’s mind: first it was just a little naggling, until it had practically consumed her mind – and then came the voice, pounding through her thoughts.

“Oh, Twilight, I should probably mention-“ The voice of the downtrodden Rarity who had thus far lived through this frozen fate – “Once you’ve passed the moment in time when you originally died, your Element may, um…”

“We know it’s not working!” Twilight sighed in frustration.

“Er – yes. Quantum chronology, and all that…it gets complex.”

“I’m guessing I can still hear you because of Zecora’s formula…a part of me thinks we really haven’t been giving that zebra enough credit,” Twilight said, attempting just in part to lighten the mood, if only by a fraction.

“I say,” The Rarity who had leapt through the vortex with the others started through her chattering teeth, “You could have at least told us all that before we jumped horn-first into a magic portal into the future! I swear, this future-me has tendencies that border on ruffianism!”

“I can hear you, me,” The voice retorted, before its tone grew sharper, “Let me ask you this: after having one of the closest friends you could have ever asked for, stripped away in a heartbeat, and after seeing your livelihood literally burning to the ground…after being turned from one of Equestria’s most promising up-and-coming fashionistas into a servant-mare,” Some scornful mixture of vitriol for Discord’s reign, and self-loathing, bled through the speech of the Rarity of this terrible time period, “How, then, are we to keep up the façade that we thought would dignify us?!” The Rarity standing on the snowy bank gasped, tears brimming in the corners of her vision, but her future counterpart was far from finished: “If you fail here, and you lose her, then mark my words, you…you mere filly! You think on my words when you’re watching our Boutique burn to embers…you remember my words when you’re left in that filthy, dank cell for two full months until you finally give in and pledge allegiance to Discord! Because you know that he could break you at the drop of a horseshoe, but he doesn’t, simply because he gets more satisfaction out of seeing you suffer the ‘old fashioned way’…think on my words, you pretentious, STUPID filly!”

Rarity’s mouth hung open, and a series of strained gasps escaped it. A fresh chill washed down her spine, unrelated to the snow she was hoof-deep in. Her legs slowly began to quiver, and she shut her tear-stained eyes.

“Rarity…!” Twilight said up to the sky, catching both versions’ attention. She huffed, “So…if we can’t use the Elements to seal him away in this time period…we can at least try and get to the time-seam in the castle at Canterlot. It…IS still called Canterlot?”

“Well…that word hasn’t been uttered here in quite a while, I’m afraid. It seems like anyone who hasn’t submitted to usage of the name ‘Disquestria’ up and vanishes. At any rate, I will continue to listen in and give you updates where you need them, unless SOMEpony has an objection.” At this, the Rarity who was trudging through the snow just hung her head.

“Talk about being beside yourself…” Rainbow Dash whispered in the wholly unamused Applejack’s ear as the group trudged on through the snowy plain.

***

My purpose in life was to make other ponies happy. To see them smile, and laugh. I was good at it, too; they all came to my parties, said my name with big smiles on their faces.

I’ll admit it: I was never perfect. Doesn’t take a Sun Goddess to see that the more I fed off their smiles and laughter, the more I became dependent on it. Well – Rainbow Dash saw it plain as day, years ago: I thought they had all abandoned me, and I felt…the twitch. Let’s call it that.

See…when everything feels like it’s pushing down on a pony, when they feel they have nowhere to turn, not even to themselves…things get different. I think we all learned that, one way or another.

There are images in my head…memories that turned the twitch into something far more than potent. But it can be controlled, and wielded. I remember a long time ago, we created a disguise to show a dear friend the fallout of her ego…that disguise ended up inspiring a sense of unity in the town of Ponyville in a way that not even a great party could do. That’s exactly what this world needs right now: unity and hope. So I’ve taken up the old mantle: I am the Mysterious Mare Do Well, and this time, it’s for real.

Maybe I’m not the old me any more. But neither is Equestria. The world we live in now is grim, it’s dark, and it’s something that none of us were prepared for.

Now, there’s no smiling. There’s no talking. There’s just chaos, darkness and death.

Hold on – I hear something, in the distance…Diamond enforcers? Or…no, it’s something else…

How long had it been? Minutes? Hours? The snow had not let up, but the six mares had journeyed until they found what appeared to be some kind of civilization. Along the way, Twilight had worked a near-constant spell: one that increased the base bodily temperatures of her five companions, so as to prevent them from succumbing to hypothermia along the way. But she had covered her friends first with the spell; when the time came to work it on herself, she could only muster an increase of a few degrees, which may as well have been nothing at all in this chill. The purple unicorn’s vision blurred as they came up to the town, her breaths coming as ragged labours.

The architecture in this town was seemingly without designation, with various facets that made no logical sense, but there was something vaguely familiar about it. The buildings seemed to spiral and twist between one another, and Twilight puzzled at how anypony could walk through these dwellings, let alone live in a place like this.

Yet, it did seem, there were some ponies about; they seemed, on the whole, quite miserable, as though malnourishment from the lack of good soil had taken its toll. Twilight thought she spotted, on one of the rooftops in the distance, a strange, yet familiar four-legged form observing them…but in her frigid exhaustion, she put it out of her mind.

The ground, meanwhile, was filled with holes, some half-obscured by the snowy sprawl, and others forming large divisions in the land itself. A strange red-orange glow emanated from the gaps. Rainbow Dash carefully flapped her wings and hovered over one of the gaps, only to find herself staring down into a smoldering pit of molten lava.

“Hey, uh, guuuys?” Rainbow Dash called back, “Why is it lava? In a blizzard?”

Twilight sighed as she took in Dash’s words. She had almost, mercifully, forgotten that Discord’s very presence in a place turned natural laws completely on their heads: thousands of years of pony sciences, research and advancements were rendered completely null when faced with this pure chaos.

To that end, the lavender mare walked in a careful trail between the gaps. Though numbness was beginning to set in her hooves, she felt as though something was ever so slightly off with this snowy patch…

“Ah!” Twilight cried out as the patch gave way to one of the lava pits that had been duly obscured by the snow. Her hooves wiggled frantically in midair for just a second before gravity caught up with her.

“TWILIGHT!” Rainbow shouted, breaking from her course and darting down into the narrow pit after her friend. The intense heat down in here caused her to break out into a sweat, but she caught Twilight in her front hooves at the last possible moment, inadvertently holding her close for safety’s sake as they rocketed from the pit. Rainbow pumped her wings, “Oh, yeah! Who’s the Pegasus?”

“Um…” Rarity mumbled as she paced cautiously around those pits, “I think I’ve figured something out…these houses may look different, but this…this is – was – Ponyville.” She shuddered, as though just saying it had brought her discomfort.

Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Fluttershy had been holding up the rear; Pinkie’s mane was in a bit of an odd state – while it was not quite as fluffy as it typically was, it was not completely straight either; the others took this as a considerably good sign.

Applejack twitched and got down to her belly, holding an ear close to the snow-swept ground. Her eyes gradually widened, “Hey…y’all? Sounds like we got some serious movement comin’ from behind, about two hundred paces off, if I reckon.”

Soon, they all heard it: it sounded like a constant percussion, drums in the frosty land, coming closer with each dying moment. The six scrambled for a hiding place; it seemed that the ‘structures’ here were either barred, or their occupants simply refused them entry out of sheer fear.

“This way!” Rainbow Dash shouted, zooming off to what, had this been several years previous, would have been a side-street. As it stood, it was merely a series of interconnected ditches obscured by thickets of dead trees, but it was enough. The group took cover there.

After several minutes of the pacing sounds getting louder and louder, they seemed to stop. After ushering for her friends to stay down, Twilight climbed up from the ditch and weaved back through the thickets, only to find herself face to face with…

These large, two-legged forms wore grisly armour that covered their faces and replaced whatever expressions they may have had with designs of grotesque creatures. Their claws bore implements that chilled the unicorn to the bone: axes, double-handed maces…instruments to draw blood. Twilight remembered the warning of the battered-down, broken Rarity: at an earlier phase of their evolution, Diamond Dogs had possessed a higher degree of intelligence in addition to their brutish scrounging, and through the rip in time, Discord had been able to bring them through to serve as his personal soldier force.

Unfortunately, it was Twilight’s ragged, unsteady breaths that caused several of the Diamond Enforcers heading up the back of the pack to notice her; they turned to face her with truly impressive coordination, each leering intently through their helmets. Twilight’s eyes widened; had to get away had to get away-

Suddenly, the lavender mare felt the world spin from under her as she was swept up by a blur of purple and black. The form carrying her on its back leapt from the thickets, off a particularly large tree branch, and finally out of sight of the armoured soldiers, onto the steep road of what appeared to be a similar desiccated mountain pass as to what they had seen in the vortex before making the jump.

As she was set down, Twilight recognized the mask and costume: was this…yes, it was one of the old Mare Do Well costumes that Rarity had designed when Twilight and her friends thought that Rainbow Dash’s ego had gotten a touch out of control. Here, in this chaotic wasteland, somepony had taken up the old mantle.

The Mare Do Well turned her back and started pacing away, “Facing down a platoon of Diamond Enforcers all by your lonesome? No living unicorn has the power to stand against his armies. You should run home, or back to whatever camp you came from. Now!”

Despite its radically different influxes from what she remembered, Twilight suddenly recalled that voice. Combined with the familiar costume, it inspired her to say, “Who are you?”

And, it seemed, the Mare Do Well remembered her voice as well. In the shadows and kinetic movement, the Mare had not gotten a good look at Twilight’s face until now, at which point the heroine slowly looked Twilight over, breath slowing…before suddenly ripping off her mask.

“Pinkie Pie?!” Twilight gasped. Pinkie’s mane in this time period was straight as could be, her eyes narrowed and having lost the light of former days.

“Go away, Twilight!” Pinkie’s spontaneous response caught Twilight in a shocked reaction.

“Pinkie, I-“

“Stop it…in the name of Celestia, please just stop it!” Pinkie turned away, “I can’t keep doing this…I can’t keep seeing you like you’re right here beside me! Leave me alone, Twilight…if I could have saved you, I would have, in a double-triple-heartbeat!” She seemed close to breaking down, “Please get out of my dreams…”

“Pinkie!” Twilight teleported so that she was right in front of Pinkie Pie, “It’s really, really me.”

“…N-No…c-can’t be…”

“It is.” The voice from the underbrush caused the unmasked Mare Do Well to turn in shock; there came springing Pinkie Pie, still spry like a past version of herself she had almost forgotten entirely, “Hi, me…meet me!”

The six’s explanation lasted for far longer than they had expected it to. The Mare Do Well explained herself as well: as they had never really revealed the ‘identity’ of this particular super-hero, Pinkie had chosen to take up the old mantle for the unity it had inspired in Ponyville at its inception. It was something to rally behind when all else seemed lost; something romantic, something extravagant…something to believe in. Her ‘Pinkie Sense’, that intricate biological network of precognition within her body, had allowed her to truly become a ‘real’ superhero.

“…naturally, the Diamond Enforcers are on the lookout for all the surviving Elements; we’re public enemies one through five,” Mare-Pinkie said, “So this helps me hide my identity as well.”

“Um…Pinkie, well…” Fluttershy said in a nervous whisper, “If you could maybe tell me…um, what happened to me, and…and Rainbow Dash, and…”

“Actually, it’s best if you don’t…” Twilight said. She felt a twinge of hypocrisy: she practically begged to be shown her own fate, after all. But she feared what kind of impact the news would have on sensitive Fluttershy if it was negative, which it most likely was, “Remember, if we can pull this off, then none of this will have ever happened,” Twilight said, “The world won’t have gone to one big glue factory in a hoofbasket, you can keep throwing parties instead of going all gritty, and…”

“And you can live.” Mare-Pinkie said softly, before her tone rose in power, “Alright – I’ll help you guys get to Chaos Castle. (Still can’t believe he actually renamed it that…) You just have to keep following this path…it won’t be easy, but so long as you don’t run into the air patrol, you should be gravy.”

***

It was a minor miracle that Twilight had led the pack a few kilometers around the mountain pass before fatigue claimed her. She had not slept, after all, since the morning she awoke much too early, to find little Spike taking a peek at her mail. Since then, her body and mind had been running on a mixture of worry and adrenaline. But numbed by the cold and with exhausted legs, not to mention the magic needed to sustain their continued warmth on the journey (which Rarity helped out with, though her magic was far less potent), Twilight had collapsed, after which the double Pinkies had moved her to an alcove in the mountain face that was, at least, partially obscured from the chill.

In dreams, Twilight could escape the insanity that her world had become. In dreams, the young unicorn could find shelter, however momentary, from the storm.

And for that fleeting time, her world was light. The sun shone brightly over the courtyards of Canterlot, and it was in one of these courtyards, under a tree where the combined shade and filtered sunshine bathed her in its natural beauty, where Twilight lay, eyes on the words of a book she had just retrieved from the library.

She was so immersed, in fact, that she nary saw the shadow advancing from behind, until its owner, the regal Princess of Equestria, leaned down to peer beside Twilight at her book.

“The Adventures Of Aurora The Alicorn?” Princess Celestia smiled sweetly at her student, “I’m surprised to see you reading something other than a textbook on magic.”

“Oh, I’m planning to practice my long-distance levitation spells right after lunch, princess,” Twilight turned and smiled, “But I found this book, and…it’s really interesting. It’s fiction.”

“And what adventures does our Aurora get herself into?” Celestia asked as she came to sit beside Twilight in the sun-shade, indulging her student’s spur-of-the-moment interest.

“She goes through a lot…she doesn’t really have a happy life,” Twilight said, leafing through the pages, “And there are moments where you’re sure it can end no other way but in despair. Every other chapter, I’ve wanted to put the book away and stop reading, dive into something happier, like a magic text…but I had to know, ‘what’ll happen to Aurora’? Because when you leave a character in a story like that, it’s like you’re running away from them; abandoning them. But you can never run away, because you have to be there with them, because…who else will? You have to see them through their hardships. Like a friend.”

Celestia was at once impressed and wistful at hearing her faithful student talk so eloquently on friendship, considering how few she had of her own, other than Spike. As Celestia wrapped her wing around Twilight in what could have been considered a protective embrace, the unicorn took it as her cue to keep talking, “I’m just at the part where things are at their bleakest…Aurora is thinking of giving up the ghost. But I can’t abandon her here…I need to see her through to the end. I know I won’t feel really set with myself, right here and now, until I know that she’s made everything okay.”

“Twilight…my Twilight…” The Princess smiled softly, “You truly are magical…in the ways that count the most.”

It was a memory that Twilight held close to her heart. But she felt it fading away as something else entered her mind and jarred her to consciousness.

“Huh – what?!”

Twilight jerked up at the sound of something splitting the sky, like a sudden peal of thunder. Rainbow Dash was first out of the alcove, and she turned eyes to the garish multi-hued, chaotic skies, only to see a sight that made the Pegasus blink in confusion.

A trio of pegasi burst over the mountain pass, flying in acute formation. Rainbow Dash recognized them immediately: “Huh? What’re the Wonderbolts doing here?”

“Remember what I said about the air patrol?” Mare-Pinkie whispered, to which Rainbow Dash’s eyes bugged, positively not thrilled.

“What?! No way! No way would the Wonderbolts throw in their lot with Discord! They’re too…too…awesome!”

The trio did a loop around the vicinity, and with their scouting having not found any wayward ponies, they headed back for what had become of Canterlot. Dash recognized Soarin’ on the right, and Spitfire on the left, but the one in the middle didn’t quite catch her eye, despite a sense of vague familiarity.

“They didn’t have a choice,” Mare-Pinkie said, “But you guys do. It’s this way,” She led the pack, coming around a curve in the mountain pass, until a new vista showed itself to their eyes.

Just a few kilometers down the path, the once-grand visage of Canterlot shimmered. Now, some approximation of the Northern Lights shone overhead (it had no scientific explanation, but they passed it off as yet another by-product of the world having been Discorded), as though marking their destination.

“You won’t wanna go in from the front,” Mare-Pinkie said, “Too much security. But I can go scare you up a key that’ll let you get in by the lower levels.” Without another word, she pulled down her mask, nodded to the six, and darted right off.

“I don’t like this, um…at all…” Fluttershy said, numbly tracing a path in the dirt with her front hoof.

“You’ve all done more for me than I could have ever asked,” Twilight said, “We’re almost there. As soon as we find the rip in time, we can go back and keep any of this from happening…this time will never have existed.”

“Sugar-cube, the only time you could ever possibly ask too much of us, would be to ask us not to help at all.” Applejack said firmly.

With eyes peeled ahead, the six began their advance to the Castle…