Thoughts of Another Time

The rune was in a star shaped pattern in the middle of the building, carved with a purplish color. In the center of the star there was a tiny piece of fruit. An apple. The reasoning was the apple was the object they wished to send forward in time. If the spell went well, it would disappear, only to reappear a few minutes later in the same spot.

“All right. Take your places everypony.” Twilight commanded.

At once, the four accompanying unicorns took their positions on the points of the star.

“Now, this is going to take a lot of attention,” she started, “But whatever you do, DO NOT get distracted. If anypony did not understand what I wrote down for you, tell me now.” she said. Silence was her answer. “Ok, good. Let us start.”

Soon, her magic wrapped around the apple, the other unicorn’s magic doing the same. Twilight tried her best to concentrate on the spell she was trying to cast. It wasn't hard, really, but it required each participants complete concentration and devotion. If anything went wrong, the consequences could be disastrous.

She felt wind begin to sweep into the building. The apple itself began to float a few feet off the ground. Soon the fruit was enveloped by a small white ball of magic, with slight wind gusts blowing around it. The purple unicorn could feel the magic working. The fruit began to slowly tear itself apart into small particles. Much of the matter began to disappear quickly, escaping the grasp of magic, to slowly unwind back through time.

Twilight thought it was a success. Everything was going right. None of the other ponies were missing a single beat, and followed everything she wrote for them to study. They seemed as determined as she was, focusing on only one thing, and never breaking concentration. It seemed to her that nothing would go wrong.

And then everything did.

Twilight jolted from her sleep, letting out a quiet yelp. The mare’s heartbeat was well above normal, and she couldn't seem to rid herself of her dream. It was more of a memory. Of course she had to wake up before it ended. She always did.

What happened after that...Come on Twilight, you have to remember! She reprimanded herself. Everything was going perfectly. What happened?

She couldn't find an answer though. As great as her memory was, she couldn't remember anything aside from her dreams. It felt more like she was actually reliving the memory.

Maybe it’s my brain trying to tell me what happened... she concluded. That seemed to be the best answer she could think of. The only way she would remember was through sleep.

Twilight glanced outside. It was very dark, and she could hardly make out the building next to her. The stars looked foreign to her. She couldn't make out many of the constellations she always searched for. It was like staring into a different sky.

Luna... I wonder how everything is back in Equestria. I'm sure everypony must be worried by now. I’ve been gone for almost three days... The unicorn thought glumly. She didn't want to worry everypony. She needed to find a way home.

“Is everything all right?” asked a familiar voice. It was Ivy. “We heard a scream from in here. Are you okay?”

Twilight could see two shadows in the doorway. One was obviously the blue unicorn. She guessed the other was Valor. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just a dream is all.” she replied.

“A dream? About what?” she asked the purple mare while she slowly walked in, the old stallion following right behind her. The blue unicorn plopped herself on Twilight’s bed.

“It was more of a memory. It was...it was like it was trying to show me what happened before I got here. Or how I got here. But I woke up before I could finish it.” Twilight replied. It still bugged her. She was so close to finding out what happened, only to have it slip away.

“Then maybe you should rest more,” the old stallion said, “you still have most the night, so rest while you can. And even if you don't remember by tomorrow, there are still more chances.” he added.

“I guess you're right. I think I’ll go back to bed now. And...thanks. Both of you. It feels better to have talked to somepony about this.” the purple mare said. It was true. She usually didn't rely on other ponies so heavily, but with her current situation, she was glad to have others to talk to.

“It was nothing but a friendly gesture. I’d expect the same if I were under somepony else’s roof. Either way, I’m going back to bed. I am far too old to be walking around so much.” the old unicorn chuckled. He sure had a way to lighten the mood.

“Me too. I mean, not the old part...I meant...ohh, I’m just going to bed!” Ivy said, embarrassed. Twilight tried not to laugh at the unicorn, but couldn't help but snort a bit.

“Okay. And again, thanks. I don't know what I would do without you guys.” Twilight said as the mare beside her hopped off the bed and left the room. She was, no doubt, very lucky to have wandered here. Hopefully things would get better soon.

With that last thought on her mind, she quietly drifted back to sleep.

Sleep came easily enough. But no memories greeted her. No dreams about what happened. She actually couldn't remember if she had dreamed at all.

All three unicorns were in the main room of the building. It wasn't the best room in the city, but it helped Twilight feel a bit more at home. Not for any specific reason, except that the ponies who owned the place agreed to let her stay.

Only a few hours had passed since she had woken up. The place was more active compared to the previous day, as more than a handful of ponies had already walked in. Valor was able to help most of them, but could only provide temporary treatment to others.

Twilight was too busy trying to focus on ways to travel home, and even more so on where to start. None of the books she had read so far had help. Most of them revolved around primeval and basic magic or other healing methods using herbs and other ingredients, and her mind was too foggy to remember the spell she cast to end up here in the first place.

Maybe I should just ask Valor or Ivy and hope for the off chance that one of them might know something that can help me... she considered. I mean face it, Twilight, the worst that can happen is that both of them can’t help.

The unicorn let the thought linger in her mind for some time. Valor had enough on his hooves with all the ponies coming in, and he would probably need all the help he could get from Ivy as well.

Tomorrow then, she resolved. But what am I going to do now? I always spent most of my time reading, but I already know all the information in most of these books.  Of course she did. Most of these book were -to her- written over three thousand years ago, so what good was there in reading? Then again, what could it hurt? She did love to read, any maybe, just maybe she could find something in one.

And she did. After what felt like hours of looking through book after book, trying to find something she possibly hadn’t heard of, she finally found something. It was a book titled Religions, Mythology, and Legends. It immediately grabbed Twilight’s attention, and she flipped to the legends section of the book. If anything could possibly help her get back, it could be a legend. Usually the mare would stay away from such ridiculous beliefs, but after her first run in with Zecora, she decided it might be worth reading.

After she started to read the book, she learned a great deal about how the ponies around the time lived and what they believed in. Most of it seemed to revolve around ‘gods’ and great heroes whose stories were passed down through time. All of it excited the unicorn. She was learning a lot about the past, and even their mythology sounded interesting. However, Twilight didn’t let this distract her. As she skimmed through the dusty tome, hoping there would be any mention of going home, she found her way to the near end. Just as the mare was about to give up, some of the words caught her attention. It was a block of text that told of somepony called ‘the prophet’.

The prophet was, as far as Twilight could understand, a being with immense knowledge and power. When greeted by one, they usually took on the form of an earth pony, but had a strong connection with magic. They were by no means immortal, but were depicted as the foals of the gods, and although few, some still existed. Or they did in theory, for the book gave no information on where to find such a pony.

I’ll ask around about it tomorrow. Twilight thought. I’m sure that if anypony would know about this, it would be the ponies who live here.

The mare glanced outside. It was getting pretty late, and she was tired, so calling it a night didn't sound like a bad idea to her. Deciding to leave everything for tomorrow, the purple unicorn trotted to her room to sleep.

The sun was setting in the sky, casting a dark sunset on the horizon. Most of the ponies were walking or trotting home, trying to find their ways through or around the crowds that blocked their paths.

The majority of them looked sick or ill, and those who weren't looked tired from working too hard during the day. They payed attention to no one but themselves and the pony in front of them, trying to avoid bumping into one another. A lot of them were in a hurry, wasting no time to get back to family.

Two particular ponies were standing at the edge of the crowd, gazing in silence at the broken looking families and strangers. They were both earth ponies, one of them with a coat as white as snow, a mane of pink, and eyes of violet. The other with a coat of a a darkened blue, a mane slightly lighter than her coat, and eyes and eyes of cyan.

Both of them watched the ponies go by until the blue coated mare spoke. “Sister... it is no better in this city than any of the others...”

“I know. It seems as if everypony were sick. Still, we may as well look for the priest in this district. Maybe they will know something the others don't?” the white mare said, letting out a small sigh of unease.

They both walked up to the closest pony, who happened to be an earth pony with a tan coat and a short black mane. As they approached, he let out a few small coughs before turning his attention to them.

“Excuse me,” the white mare started, “do you happen to know where the local priest is?” she asked.

“The priest? He isn’t far from here. Just follow that road for a while, and you should come to a small building. It is a small, run down sort of place, so it shouldn't be hard to miss.” he replied nervously, pointing a hoof down one of the many paths in the city.

“Thank you,” the blue mare said before trotting off with her sister.

As the two walked down the path, they could see many of the ponies subtly staring at them. The mares had striking features and beautiful looks. It was mostly because of all the sickness that had spread around, which marred the beauty of many with its symptoms.

Finally reaching the end of the road, the earth ponies searched the buildings. Finding it, the white mare knocked on the door, waiting a few seconds for a reply.

“What could a pony want at this time of night?” they heard from a muffled voice behind the door before it slowly opened, revealing an old stallion.

The darker mare cleared her throat before speaking, “Would you happen to be the priest here?”

“Indeed I am. Is someone sick?” he asked in a tired voice.

“No. Well, yes,” she answered, motioning to the ponies walking the street, “but not one of us. We are here for a different reason. May we come in?”

The stallion let out a slightly irritated sigh. “If you must. Come in.”

As they walked in, they could see two mares standing in the hallway to the side of the room. One of them spoke up.

“Valor?” Twilight asked, “Who is it?”

The white mare stopped for a second. “Sorry for being so rude,” she apologized before pointing a hoof to the darker mare, “This is my sister, Luna,” and then to herself, “and I am Celestia.”