Clear Waters and Obscured Connections

by canterlots

Rating: everyone
Tags: Original Character, Spike, Adventure, Princess Celestia, Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Discord, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 16427

Twilight falls in with the world of dark magic.

Twilight has a dream which shakes her faith in some very fundamental ideas. She stews in the newfound internal chaos. Can dreams really predict the future? A single portent, with the promise of power, leads her on a chase through the underground world of black magic.

Published 2012-01-17 07:29:43 UTC
Last updated 2012-01-17 07:29:43 UTC

Chapter 1

Twilight was seated in a courtroom, observing the spectacle unfolding before her. The seconds inched by with slow deliberation. Every pair of eyes was centered at the front of the room. There, a stallion with a grey coat and black mane was standing, ready to receive his verdict. A mare next to Twilight, another member of the jury, was standing, reading the charges.

“In this, the case of the state of Equestria versus—“

Twilight’s attention was lapsing in and out from the mare's voice. Her attention now focused on the grey stallion. He was silently listening to the charges, with a tranquil expression on his face. Princess Celestia loomed above him in the Judge’s seat, wearing a stern expression. The attendants of the case stared daggers at the grey stallion. The trial was just now drawing to a close, but it had been over before it began. Everypony knew this and nopony had to ask what the result might be. Twilight listened in once more. The mare was reaching the verdict.

“–of the above entitled charges, we the jury find the defendant guilty on all counts.”

And there it is—Guilty. The charges? Unspeakable. Chance for repentance? Never. The punishment would be swift and merciless. But now he was speaking. A final plea for mercy, no doubt, thought Twilight.

“Princess Celestia, I wish to address the attendants, will you allow it?” the grey pony said. He looked as tranquil as before. It seemed that the verdict had had no effect on him at all.

“Yes, I will allow it," Princess Celestia said. The gesture was far from merciful, more out of a sense for amusement than anything. "But know that there is dignity in accepting your fate. If you wish only to grovel, I will put an end to this.” She wore the same stern expression.

The grey pony nodded and continued on. “Friends, I know how you perceive me. But I ask of you but one thing: please inform my family of my fate." He spoke carefully, yet remarkably unburdened for somepony so condemned.

“As a foreigner to this place, I have few opportunities to contact them and I do not want them to think that I have dishonoured the family by leaving them behind.” The calm vanished from his voice upon the mentioning of his family. He quavered and nearly broke down in tears. After taking a moment to compose himself, he continued. “Outside of that, I ask you nothing. I accept my fate and I realize that all that can be said has been said.”

Twilight noticed that Princess Celestia had a satisfied look on her face after hearing this. Princess Celestia opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the voice of the grey pony, seeming to have regained some strength.

“However, as much as I know these to be facts, I know also that there is but one truth in the world. That truth is that I am innocent, and I will die with that fact in my heart. I am just—“

“I have heard enough of this," the princess interrupted. "I will not be made to look like a fool in my own courtroom. A decision has been made; we have no use for lies.”

Twilight had seen enough. She suddenly felt quite sick to her stomach. The trial was over. There was no point in staying any longer. She got up to leave as the guards led the defendant off. As she walked out of the courtroom, not a single glance met her eyes. Their stares were all still fixed forwards, somehow looking even more malicious than before. The verdict had been all the proof they needed. The scene vanished as the courtroom dissolved around her.

The jury had been unanimous in its verdict. Everypony thought he was guilty, even me. But how can one truly be sure? The more I looked into it, the less certain things seemed to become. As we delved into the details, the truth only seemed to be getting farther and farther away from us...

Twilight approached a familiar sight. The library. As she opened the door and walked in, she saw Princess Celestia putting a book back on the shelf.

What is she doing here? Twilight thought.

“Oh hello, Twilight," the Princess chimed in, amicably. "I just was stopping make sure you are alright. You looked a bit downtrodden after the trial. I know it can be a draining experience.”

“Thank you for your concern, Princess,” Twilight responded. “But, I am just a little worried... The defendant seemed so remorseless... And he didn’t think twice before denying his guilt, in spite of what everypony seemed to think of him...”

Twilight lost her train of thought. The princess was watching her closely, waiting for her to finish. Yet there seemed to be something menacing about that look. It seemed as if she was looking down at Twilight just as she had looked down at the grey pony a few minutes ago. Twilight suddenly felt self-conscious about her ramblings.

“I guess what I’m trying to say is... How can you be sure that you made the right decision?”

“Twilight, you just have to get a feel for these things. There’s no point in doubting yourself all the time." The princess laughed and put her hoof up to Twilight’s cheek. The gesture seemed positively grating to Twilight after her sincere apprehensions a moment ago. "Come on. It’s over now. Stewing over it doesn’t help anypony. Let’s just put it all behind us, ok?”

I can hardly disagree with her...

“Yes, princess,” Twilight responded, her face exhibiting slightly her disappointment in this belittling answer.

“So, while I am here, have you learned anything new this week?” the princess enquired.

“I... um... I am not really sure, princess.” Twilight was a bit caught off guard by the question.

The princess looked a little disappointed. “I see,” she responded simply.

“You know, Twilight,” she began slowly, “I am very proud of what you have managed to accomplish. You have become one of my most prized students...However, I always thought you were... special—that you were destined for greater things.”

“I don’t want to disappoint you, princess,” Twilight responded.

“Yes, I know that, my dear,” the princess said and smiled. “And I know that, when the time comes, you will make the right decisions. You are a very smart mare, after all.”

“Thank you, princess.” Twilight tried unsuccessfully to force a smile. The princess didn’t seem to notice. Her mind was already in other places.

“I'm sorry, but I must go now. I look forward to hearing from you soon.”

“Yes, thank you for the visit,” Twilight responded.

She bowed to Princess Celestia, who then took her leave. She went out the front door, spreading her large wings and lifting off in a single powerful gust of wind. On that cue, a book fell from the shelf. Twilight inspected the book a little closer. It didn’t look like one she knew.

This must have been what the princess was reading... What an interesting symbol on the cover! I wonder what it is about...

Before she could get any further she heard a scream coming from outside. She dropped the book and raced out the door. She recoiled from the blow of what had met her eyes outside. Ponyville was burning. Meteors rained from the sky. Some buildings fell and others stayed standing, forming ominous fiery totems. Ponies were running this way and that, sometimes changing direction and coming back, inevitably finding their escape routes blocked by some impassable blockade of flaming debris.

Twilight ran outside, into the fray. Her only thought was to save as many as she could. Applejack had an underground cellar. That would be the safest place. She had to lead them that way.

“Everypony! Follow me! I know a safe place!” she shouted.

The commotion continued.

“We need to get to Applejack’s cellar!”

No luck once again.

“Everypony! Listen to me! Please!”

Her protests were met only with more shrieks of terror, now seeming to be of increased vigour. Frustrated, she looked towards the sky.

“Princess! Where are you?!” she pleaded.

Just then she heard a familiar-sounding cry.

“Somepony help me!”

She looked over and saw Pinkie Pie trapped under some debris from a collapsed building. She also spotted Rainbow Dash, who was rushing to the cry for help. Twilight was distraught by the scene, but happy to see that Rainbow Dash was ok. Together, they would be able to organize a relief effort, she thought. It was then that she saw it. A meteor was heading straight for the two.

“Rainbow Dash! You gotta run! Get out of there!” Twilight shouted as loud as she could.

Rainbow Dash didn’t run, but stayed and tried to free Pinkie Pie. As Rainbow Dash struggled, Twilight broke out in a gallop towards the two. Another glance towards the sky informed her that this effort would be in vain. It was moving too fast. As a last resort, Twilight tried to grasp onto the meteor telekinetically, but even with her abilities, the meteor had far too much momentum. It slipped through her grasp and plunged down directly on top of the two. It buried itself deep in the earth and sent up a cloud of dust and debris, blocking them from view.

“NO!” Twilight cried, collapsing to the ground. All hope seemed to be drained out of her in a single blow. She lay there and sobbed quietly as the chaos continued around her.

“no no no no no...”

And then, there was a new sensation—a hand on her back and a familiar voice.

“Twilight?”

Spike.

“Twilight... are you ok?”

The apocalyptic scene vanished into darkness. She realized her eyes were closed. She opened them and saw Spike looking at her with concerned eyes.

A dream. Just a dream.

Relief flooded into her. Spike didn’t seem to share the feeling, though. He was still looking at her with the same concerned expression.

“You were talking in your sleep.”

“Yes, I figured as much,” Twilight responded, now feeling rather exhausted.

This didn’t help relax Spike one bit.

“Oh Spike! Don’t worry! It was just a little bad dream, nothing to get so worried about. Remember what Pinkie always says.”

“But the things you were saying... it sounded like you thought the world was ending...”

Twilight was getting a little frustrated now.

“Spike, there’s no truth to be found in dreams. Whatever my brain chooses to amuse itself with while I’m sleeping is of no concern to anyone but me! Now stop this nonsense.”

“If you say so...”

Twilight chose to start her day, even though she was feeling like she could sleep a little more, she didn’t want to disturb Spike, who still didn’t seem very happy with the matter. As she went through her morning routine, the dream stuck clearly in her mind.

I hadn’t been able to save them.

The thought clawed at her, subconsciously. She didn’t normally put any weight in such things, but she had once read that there were seers in the past who were said to have predicted parts of the future through dreams.

It could happen. How can I be sure that I am ready? Regardless of the likelihood, I should be ready. I need to be ready. Who else will?

Twilight thought back to when she had confronted Nightmare Moon and Discord. She thought of the split second decisions which had made so much difference for the fate of Equestria.

Both of those times, Celestia was conspicuously absent. If I had not been there at the opportune time, Discord or Nightmare Moon could have taken Ponyville—or even all of Equestria—completely uninhibited. I need to be honest with myself. The first few times, I have gotten lucky. I can’t stumble through the future relying on such dumb luck.

These people rely on me. They might not admit it to themselves and maybe I haven’t fully admitted it to myself either, but in some way they do. As a student of magic, I need to be there when the need arises for self-defence.

Twilight paced the room. The dangers in her mind felt very real and very immediate. Her mind was a tumultuous ocean. This dream had stirred up everything, but she didn’t know how to proceed. She felt on the verge of an epiphany, but did not know what to do about it. Then another detail came back to her.

The book! If this really is some sort of vision, maybe it’s in my library! I should check it out immediately!

She nearly raced off to tear every book from her shelf, but in a moment of self-control, she realized that Spike was still home. She did not want to give him any reason to worry. He seemed more distressed by the morning’s events than she did. So, not wanting to disturb him, she busied herself somewhat anxiously with some chores. The minutes crept by. When the mundane tasks failed to hold her attention, she would shoot a glance at the clock. The obstinate clock would, of course, hardly have moved since the last look. The exercise only caused her to grow more and more impatient. After what seemed like an eternity, Spike left to go out to the market.

Twilight pulled off every book from the shelf at least twice before finally giving up the search. All had lacked the distinctive cover. She climbed upstairs and collapsed on her bed despondently.

It’s hopeless. Oh, what an idiot I’ve been. ‘There’s no truth in dreams.’ Yeah right. Why insist on things you yourself aren’t even very sure of? You are such a hypocrite, Twilight...

With this self-effacing train of thought, Twilight continued to pummel herself for much of the rest of the morning.

By noon, Twilight was feeling ready to join the real world again. She decided to head over to Sugarcube Corner. A visit from her excitable pink friend would surely cure up her gloomy mood, she thought. She wandered off in that direction as she casually looked about to see if her friends were around. She kept her head up and tried to appear as non-chalant as possible, hoping for things to return to normal. These efforts were suddenly and completely derailed, however, when she saw a stallion she had never seen before. He was a unicorn with a brown coat and a silvery grey shaggy mane. It wasn’t his mane that disturbed her though. It was his cutie mark. It was the same symbol from the book in her dream.

Chapter 2

The brown pony was just passing by, but Twilight wasn’t going to let this chance escape her. She had to figure out what that cutie mark was, but it would take subtlety not to put him on the defensive. She started following him and came up with a plan. The brown pony was wearing saddle bags. She slowly and lightly opened the bag on the right with her telekinetic abilities. It wasn’t the best plan in the world. If someone had been watching them close enough it would look like Twilight was stealing. She grabbed something from the open bag telekinetically and then set it down on the ground. She waited for a second to see if anyone had noticed her. Luckily, it looked like she was in the clear. She walked up to the fruits of her labour. It turned out to be a simple quill. She grabbed it in her mouth and approached the brown pony.

“Excuse me, sir, but I think you dropped this quill a little ways back,” Twilight said politely.

The brown pony turned around to address Twilight. Meanwhile, Twilight tried to get as many good looks at the cutie mark as she could within the limits of subtlety.

“Oh! That is very well possible! Let me see that,” he said with a lively tone. His eyes scanned over the quill with a quizzical expression. They stopped near the tip and widened as they seemed to pick out something that they recognised.

“Ah yes. This is mine. See here? This is an engraving. It was made for me by my father. Thank you very much for bringing this back! It has a lot of sentimental value and I would be distraught if I had lost it.”

So much for putting him on the defensive! This pony seems to want to volunteer information! This might be easier than I thought.

“Happy to help,” she said. “Hey, you know, I haven’t ever seen you in town before. Where are you from?”

“Well... I am from here, I guess. I am a sailor so I spend a lot of time out at sea, but my home is Ponyville. The name’s Flotsam. Flotsam Clearwater. But you can just call me Sam, if you like. Most ponies do. Anyways, what’s your name?”

“Twilight Sparkle. Pleased to meet you!” she said with enthusiasm.

“Likewise. Always happy to meet some more of the good folks from Ponyville.”

“So you are a sailor, huh? Wow. That is really neat!” Twilight said, trying to sound as naive as possible. “I have never been to the sea. What’s it like?”

Sam smiled a little at the flattering question.

“Imagine blue for as far as the eye can see... and completely flat too. On a nice day it is very beautiful—the very image of tranquility.”

He then took the opportunity to ham it up a little with some overblown acting.

“On a bad day, however, the sea can be very cruel! And unforgiving, too! During a storm it is whipped into a frenzy! It tosses and turns you about on waves as high as buildings! It becomes like a creature you have harmed, and it is thrown into a frantic rage—not happy until you are dashed up on the rocks!”

The hoof gestures were flying.

“Wow...” said Twilight, doing a bit of acting of her own in pretending to be stupefied by the speech.

“Yes, it’s quite an impressive sight. I feel somewhat privileged to have seen it all and still be here today. Some of my friends, however... they weren’t so lucky...” Sam trailed off, with a voice suddenly tinged by sadness.

“That’s unfortunate, Sam.”

Twilight didn’t want to talk about dead friends, though, so she figured she would try to steer him towards the topic of his cutie mark while he was still talkative.

“So, I couldn’t help but notice your interesting cutie mark. What is it?”

She pointed at the cutie mark. It was a triangular shape, split down the middle, dividing it into two regions containing angular, rune-like objects.

“Oh! Um... It’s a sextant. It’s a nautical device we use to find our position on the map.”

A red light went on in Twilight’s mind. She had never been to the sea, indeed, but she had read books on it. She knew what a sextant looked like and this was not it.

“How interesting!” she said, hiding her suspicion.

“Indeed,” he said, sounding a little less enthusiastic to continue. “Well, as you must understand, I have a lot to do and really should get going. It has been nice talking to you, Twilight.”

“Yes, it was nice meeting you, Sam.”

Twilight didn’t want to stop here, but getting more out of him didn’t seem likely, so she did not pursue it. As he started to walk away, she stayed still for a minute, considering her next move. Her next move, as it turns out, was tailing him.

Am I really going to stalk this guy around town all day? —Yes, I have to. It sounds ridiculous, I’ll admit, but I need answers.

She followed him around at a distance and watched him do some very mundane things. Most of it involved visiting various shops and standing around and then not buying anything. She even let herself get bored with the task for a minute until, in the market, while keeping an eye on him and at the same time pretending to be studying a cart of oranges very intensely, she suddenly noticed him making his way straight over to her cart. She ducked behind it, heart pounding and listened as his hoofbeats drew closer. Just as she expected herself to be discovered, she heard the lively voice of a street vendor drawing him in with an excellent bargain for some bananas. The hoof sounds moved off course and she took the opportunity to scurry off in the opposite direction behind a nearby building.

Wow, that was a rush! Maybe I missed my calling in life? Should have gotten an espionage cutie mark?

She laughed over the thought. She looked back and saw that Sam was moving away from the market, with a new bag of bananas added on his back. She followed.

After tracing him through some dense city streets and narrow alleys, she saw him enter a modest cottage on the outskirts of Ponyville. He had a key to the door so she figured that this must be his house. She now knew what she had to do. She had to sneak into his house after he left and look around for anything out of the ordinary. She figured it was going to be a long wait, so she got as comfortable as possible sitting behind a crate in an alley opposite the house. Her suspicions turned out to be true. After waiting what felt like a few hours, she was almost ready to give up. Dying of boredom, she kicked around some rocks beneath her hooves.

Spying sure does involve a lot of waiting. I think I’ll stick with magic. This is a little trying on the patience.

As if in response, at that moment saw the door open and Sam emerge. As Sam walked off, excitement filled her heart.

This is it! There’s no telling how long he could be gone, so I need to finish this up as quickly as possible.

After he had disappeared in the distance, she emerged from behind the crate into the daylight, feeling free as a bird.

“Twilight!”

[Expletive censored]! Applejack! This is not the time!

The orange pony approached and Twilight realized there was going to be no quick way out of this.

“Hey Twi, how’s it goin’?” Applejack greeted her friend, cheerily.

“Oh hi, Applejack! It’s going good. It’s going great. Everything’s fine,” Twilight said with impatient quickness. “Hey! You know what? I have to rush off right now. There’s something I gotta do.”

“Oh yeah? What’s that?” Applejack asked, oblivious to her friend's torment.

Twilight’s mind was a never ending parade of cuss words.

“Oh... um... I need to... give spike a bath! Yep! He’s really dirty.”

Applejack laughed. “Oh I bet! Where is the little feller?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?” Applejack inquired with an eyebrow raised. “Then how do you know he’s dirty?”

“I just know.”

“You do? How?” Applejack asked, still oblivious.

“Oh... you know... you just get a feel for these things... It being that time of day after all.”

Twilight laughed an unexpectedly nervous sounding laugh.

Applejack looked at her friend. She didn’t buy any of this story, but the laugh and the nervous glance told her not to inquire any further.

“Riiight,” she said. “Well, I was just wondering if you wanted to come over to Sweet Apple Acres tonight. We are just finishing up the harvest and want to have a little bit of a feast. We’d love to have you.”

“Sorry Applejack, I can’t. I am really busy,” Twilight said, genuinely feeling bad for shutting down her friend.

Oh well. I will tell her the truth after this is all over. This will just be something to laugh about later.

“In fact, I need to run. I will talk to you later ok?” Twilight said.

With that she ran off into a nearby alley and darted in behind a building. Applejack said something back, but she didn’t hear. She hid out there for a few minutes and then checked back into the street to see if Applejack had continued on. There was no sign of Applejack in the street. She was good to go.

Twilight approached the door to what she thought was Sam’s place. There was a sinking feeling in her gut as she realized she had no way to deal with a locked door.

I could teleport in easily enough... But without knowing the layout of the room...And if something’s in the way...

She shuttered at the thought of what might happen. Instead, she decided to try simply using the knob. Luckily, it worked. For whatever reason, Sam had decided not to lock up. She breathed a sigh of relief.

Inside, it was a pretty typical Ponyville home. Although it was a little small, its most distinctive feature was all the sailor kitsch Sam seemed to possess. It was a two-floor place, and after exploring the simple kitchen and dining room on the bottom floor, she headed on up the stairs to the top floor. She explored around the top floor, which functioned as the bedroom. It was also pretty unremarkable, but after a short scan she found what she had been looking for. Next to the bed on a simple wooden reading altar was the book she had seen in her dream.

Amazing! Visual proof of what I had foreseen in a dream! Never again will you be able to call me, Twilight Sparkle, a sceptic.

As she came to grips with the very real object before her, she flipped through its pages and realized that it was all in a runic script that she could not read.

Well that’s a bit disappointing, but still rather amazing. Perhaps I will sneak in again after reading up a bit on my ancient languages. –Hold on just one moment. What is this?

On the front page was a note written in quill in the common equestrian tongue. “Instructions for use,” it started off simply at the top. What followed was a recipe for a spell Twilight had never seen before. This one called for use of the something called the ‘Mauros’ field. The term was likely a transliteration from a word used in that runic script. Twilight had never heard of it before.

Twilight’s education had taught her that magic spells in general used things called ‘ether fields’, which were like dimensions separate from, but connected the familiar dimensions of space. They existed in a constant state of flux, but only unicorns can control the flow (actively, at least). Pegasi and earth ponies controlled them too, but without knowing it, through things like farming. Twilight was very familiar with the strange and vague way instructions are described in spellbooks, having picked up quite a few in her time. So, even without knowing the field, she began to work some sense out of the cryptic instructions for casting the spell. She found the new field, felt out the way it responded to her will and then began channelling it through her horn as described in the book. She saw a black cloud forming near her horn.

That’s a little ominous...

The cloud became bigger and bigger. Twilight noticed a change in her shadow. The sunlight coming in through the window was being completely blocked out by this dark cloud. Darkness stretched out from her horn to the ground in a sharp diagonal column. The sunlight formed a sharp contrast as it splashed around playfully at the edges of the shadow.

Oh well. No point in stopping now.

The cloud began to contract. It was now spinning, forming a vortex around her horn. She looked at the book once more and began to put the final touches on the spell. The vortex was now spinning very fast. She could feel the breeze forming like a little tornado emanating from her horn. Suddenly, a jet black arc of lightning shot out of her horn, straight at the book.

Wow! What was that?

Twilight was quite shocked at first, but then realized that she didn’t know what she expected coming into the endeavour. Admittedly, she had focused on the instructions, omitting all that came after them from her focus. She looked back at the book. She had read it all, save for one little note at the bottom. It read: “P.S. Please do be nice to Bill. He is getting rather old and senile. Good luck.”

Bill? What an odd name. It sounds foreign, but also, strangely elegant. What could it mean?

Before she could get any further with that thought, the book sprung into life. It jumped up and floated about in the air. It then began to give off sounds.

Is it... Is it talking?

The book indeed was talking, and it appeared to know the common tongue. In the gruff voice of an old pony, it said, “Sam? Sam... is that you?”

Twilight was silent and still, dumbfounded. The book seemed to scan around the room and then it stopped, oriented in her general direction.

“Ah... Sam. There you are. It’s been a while, but I would never fail to recognise an old friend.”

Twilight was amazed.

The book can see too? Well, I guess it can’t see very well, considering I look nothing like Sam, but incredible nonetheless.

She took this as her cue to put on a very bad Sam accent and start talking to it.

Hopefully it can’t hear very well either. This is going to be bad.

She tried her best to take on Sam’s whimsical tone while dropping about an octave in pitch.

“HeEe—” she said, with her voice cracking abruptly, right off the start. However, she pushed on through this rocky beginning.

“Hey Bill. Yep, Sam here. How’s it going ol’ chum?”

By Celestia, that wasn’t bad; it was horrible.

“Sam, you sound sick. You should get some bed rest,” the book responded.

Twilight could barely keep from laughing. The book had bought her horrible impression without question.

“Anyways, what did you wake me up for? I was having a particularly nice dream,” the book added.

Twilight immediately changed into a more serious mindset.

I need to extract all the information I can from this book, now while I am still able. I might not be able to return here. Presumably this book will tell Sam about this chat at some point, and he will become suspicious.

“Um... I was wondering what more you could tell me about your contents... being a book and such.”

The book laughed a hearty laugh that turned into a kind of hacking cough near the end. “They say I’m an open book, but I can’t very well read myself, can I?"

Twilight was learning so much today.

“No...I’ve forgotten what was written on my pages long ago.” The book paused thoughtfully. Twilight wasn’t sure what to say. Luckily, the book continued its thought. “Sam, are you telling me you have gotten rusty on reading the Ekhwas script?” The guttural-sounding word seemed to come natural to the book.

That must be the name for those strange runic symbols.

“You don’t have to be so cagey about it, you know. I understand completely. Forgetting is something that I am naturally quite skilled at,” the book said, adopting a sympathetic tone.

Twilight took the bait. “Yes... you got me Bill, ol’ buddy. You always do. Where could I learn more about that?”

“...You have forgotten that too? Now this feat of forgetting surprises even me... You need to find the nearest family house, which is in the Everfree forest. Once you get there, I am sure somepony will help you brush up. They really are a nice bunch. I wish I could have stayed there rather than this dusty old bedroom.”

Family house? Interesting, but it’s not enough to go on.

“...And...um... how might I go about getting there again?”

The book let out a long sigh.

“Forget what I said earlier. I now know that I am needed here. If I left you alone you might forget how to breathe... Just go to the edge of the Everfree forest on the trail leading there from Ponyvillle. Cut off the path to the left and walk about 50 paces. You should see a large oval shaped rock jutting out of the ground. There will be a map nearby.”

Before Twilight could ask another question, Bill began again.

“I’m not going to let you leave alone, Sam,” he said with a concerned tone. “I am worried about you. The Everfree forest is a dangerous place. You don’t sound very confident about your navigation abilities and—“

Just then a door slammed downstairs.

“—you are going to need me to help you get there. So take me with you. I—“

“No that’s alright Bill. Really. I am fine,” Twilight interrupted in a rushed manner, trying to end this discourse as quickly as possible.

“No I insist, Sam. You know how I worry. I am not—“

“Don’t worry! I’ll live!” Twilight said, losing her grip on the bad Sam-accent.

“Now you listen here—“

Steps on the stairs could be heard.

I need to end this now. How do I shut this thing off?

“Gotta run, Bill. Sorry.”

“I’m not done with you yet. Hey! Put me down this instant.”

Twilight had telekinetically grabbed the book and pulled it down to the altar. She then pushed the cover shut and leaned on it with a hoof. Once the cover was shut, it seemed to remain quiet. There was no time for relief, however. She needed a hiding spot. Her eyes zipped from one corner of the room to the other.

The closet!

She darted into the closet as quickly as possible while trying to muffle her steps. Once inside, she swung the door nearly closed and froze in place. She could just barely see outside through the slits of the closet door.

The bedroom door swung open and Sam entered. He lazily made his way straight up to the book and inspected it for a second. He then looked around the room carefully. When his eyes crossed over the closet, Twilight’s heart skipped a beat. Luckily he didn’t seem to notice anything out of order. He sat down in front of the book, just staring at the cover for a few minutes. He mumbled something to himself that Twilight couldn’t hear.

What the hay is he doing? Is he just going to look at that book for hours on end? And what if he just decides to go to sleep? Am I going to be trapped in the closet forever?

As if to answer that question, he suddenly got up and left the room unceremoniously. Twilight heard him walking down the stairs, and then a few minutes later, she heard the door slam shut once again. She emerged from the closet cautiously. She peeked down the stairs and saw no sign of the brown unicorn. She then scurried towards the door and out into the open air. Luckily, he had decided not to lock up once again.

She knew what she had to do now. She was driven to continue to search for answers. Also, the prospect of being part of a real-life mystery was quite thrilling. She headed for the Everfree forest.

Chapter 3

Finding the path that Bill was talking about was not difficult. There is really only one path that most ponies in Ponyville use on the rare occasion that they actually want to venture into the Everfree forest, and nopony strays far from it. Twilight felt a bit apprehensive as she cut off the path and started to count out 50 paces. The Everfree Forest was assuredly dangerous. There were many animals living in there with little regard for social graces. But to most ponies, it went beyond that. The place was just plain creepy. The way that it seemed to impose order on itself was poorly understood and widely feared. As something which didn’t fit in with their views of harmony, it was something to be avoided.

Before long she had counted out 50 paces, but there were no outstanding rocks in sight. She wasn’t surprised. Describing directions using paces was a horribly outdated method, she thought to herself. The thought of heading back home came to mind, but she suppressed it. She headed towards a hill on her right to get a bit of a better view. At the top of the hill the visibility wasn’t great, but still about as good as she was going to get. She scanned the area around her and saw nothing on first glance, but while her eyes were picking apart the details on the horizon, she noticed a spot of grey sticking out against the green about 100 paces along in the same direction. She headed off towards it.

Why did he say the edge of the Everfree forest? That was at least 150 paces into it.

Answers were not forthcoming. When she reached the rock, she realized that she wasn’t quite sure what to do with it. She tried toppling it over or lifting it out of the ground, but it was too heavy and it stuck firmly in place. She slumped over exhausted and stared straight ahead, not quite sure how to proceed. In the catatonic state, her eyes focused themselves in on a stump a little ways behind the rock. She was staring at it for a few seconds before it clued in that what she was looking at. It was the symbol from the cover of the book. It was carved into the stump and charred a little to stand out against the yellowish wood. She rushed over to it and guessed what was required of her. She cast the spell she had learned just a few minutes ago, already feeling much more confident and quick with it. A black bolt arced into the tree.

For a few seconds, nothing happened. Then, suddenly, the earth started to rumble. The tree stump was moving. It lifted itself up skyward, exposing some of the trunk that had been underground a second ago, smelling like freshly disturbed earth. It then came to a halt and once again froze in place. There was a large cavity carved into the stump in a section which had been underground a moment ago. Inside was a note written on a small piece of parchment. She noticed there was an engraving on the inside of the cavity. It looked like a map of the Everfree forest. The note confirmed these suspicions. In a loopy hand, written by quill it read,

Here is a map to help you find your way.

Do not fear the unknown.

March boldly forth, and you will see that there is nothing to fear.

Make your way to the clearing and your path will be revealed.

And above everything, remember that I am always watching out for you.

Signed,

-Your friend

Twilight liked the sound of someone watching over her, however creepy it might be. It gave her a little more confidence. She lit up her horn and got a good look at the map inside the trunk. She found what she guessed to be her present location, marked with an ‘X’, as well as where she was meant to go, marked with an ‘O’. She tried her best to commit it to memory and then put the note back in the trunk and moved on. As she was moving away, she noticed the ground rumbling slightly once more as the stump resumed its prior position.

Through the thick underbrush of the Everfree forest, Twilight made her way towards that elusive ‘O’. She made her way over fallen trees and around thorny bushes. She expected to see some dangerous animals at first, and kept a low profile. She felt thankful for every moment which passed by without any manticores or cockatrices showing up. If they did, she wouldn’t have Fluttershy to rely on this time.

However, the longer she walked, the more she realized that this part of the forest was actually eerily quiet. It seemed like the creatures around here had been somehow driven off. But she knew that there was at least one creature stirring, because she could hear it. Every once in awhile, Twilight would hear the snap of a twig. It would always be quite far off and she tried not to let it worry her, but most of the sounds seemed to be directed from behind her. She tried to block the thought out of her head by focusing on navigation.

At times, she wondered if she was lost, but she maintained her sense of direction. She had read how to navigate using the stars and sun, and now was the time to put that knowledge into use. Surely enough, she soon reached the destination that the note described. It was hard to miss. It was a large clearing with not a single tree in the radius of about 100 paces. The ground was entirely blanketed with vividly coloured flowers of many varieties. In the middle of it all was a small mound of dirt and the stump which would give her directions to her next destination.

It was an inviting sight. Twilight walked casually towards the mound in the centre. As she traversed the field, she felt a strange brushing sensation against her hooves, but didn’t pay it much mind. As she was getting closer to the mound, she noticed that there was something bright and white which was sticking out of the soil. She continued forth and reached the mound much quicker than she had expected. It was then that she got a good look at the white objects. Bones. It was some sort of creature native to the Everfree forest. They were picked clean of flesh and shone bright white against the deep brown earth.

That’s not such a good sign.

Twilight suppressed thoughts of how it had gotten there, and simply focused on casting the spell once more on the stump. She succeeded, and it rose up, revealing another note and map as well as a brown bag which looked rather full. She read the note.

Congratulations for making it this far.

You have shown what it means to be without fear.

Carry onwards—you must look for the next landmark in a swamp.

Yet perhaps your valiant heart is wavering, and your courage fading.

You need something to brace yourself for the long journey ahead.

So have a present, from me to you.

Take some time to relax. And remember, I am always thinking of you.

Signed

-Your friend

P.S. If the flowers are giving you trouble, pay them no mind.

They have a very limited capacity for attention.

Twilight didn’t quite know what to make of the note at the end, but was more interested in the gift. She looked into the bag. There was only darkness. She tried lighting up her horn. There was still only darkness. She decided to reach in with a hoof and hope for the best. She scooped something up and brought it into the light. It was a sandwich with rich barley-rye bread and many different flavourful flowers and hay as toppings. She realized how hungry she had become, skipping lunch to follow Sam around. This had been her first chance to take a real break, and she was eager to take advantage of it. The sandwich was fresh and delicious. The bread was dense and hearty but not stale and the toppings were as full of flavour as if they were picked that very day. Twilight pondered the usefulness of having a magical lunchbag while admiring the view and eating her lunch in peace.

After she had finished the meal and was leaning against the stump, hesitant to get back up, something caught her eye. Something had momentarily blocked the sun, and Twilight looked up towards the sky. Directly above her head, there were now three vultures circling.

Ok, that is really not a good sign. I think I’ll be leaving now.

She stuffed the bag and note back into the cavity. The bag still seemed to be full, strangely. She looked at the little carved-out map in the cavity of the stump for a while, trying once again to memorize it. She saw that her next destination was directly east from where she was. She took note as well of a couple of lines running perpendicular to that direction. They sliced a column across the map with their jagged, whimsical path. She didn’t know what they meant, but figured they might be important. They intersected her path, so she would have to find out soon enough. She set off towards her new destination.

As she was walking from the clearing, Twilight had the distinct sensation that she wasn’t getting anywhere. She had walked awhile, but the edge of the clearing didn’t seem to be getting closer. She felt the same brushing sensation against her hooves as she did while coming in, but this time, she was a little more suspicious. She looked down at her feet. The vegetation was moving, thousands of tiny stems rippling in place and passing her from one to the next. She looked behind her. All of the walking had gotten her no more than 10 paces away. She suddenly understood how the bones got there. She panicked.

Twilight went into a gallop, but the little plants and flowers matched her speed, whipping up against her legs, forbidding her from escape. She tried zigzagging, but it was no use. The whole bed seemed to be one organism, and it seemed to know where she was at all times. She resisted defeat and kicked up her speed. This quickly tired her out. She soon lost her balance and fell, exhausted. She felt the small plants passing her along and pushing her up against the barren mound once again.

She looked up at the vultures. They were circling lower now. They had seen this spectacle before and knew what was coming. Twilight wasn’t about to let herself become carrion, however. She considered her options. She could teleport, but her range wasn’t very good, and the amount of time required to focus the energies once more would render it slower than running. She could levitate, but this was something she had not perfected yet. It was very difficult to do for a sustained period of time, and she knew she couldn’t make it the full way. Things seemed pretty hopeless. Then she thought back to what the note had said.

A limited capacity for attention... How could that help me?

She had an idea. She unearthed one of the white bones and tossed it telekinetically out into the flowers. She watched as almost the entire field swayed towards it and the bone made its way back. She clued in. She knew what she had to do. She levitated the skull of the animal and then flung it out near the edges of the clearing. As the field got to work sending it back, she dashed out towards the edge of the forest. It worked. The plants were demure and still beneath her hooves. She crossed the tree line and breathed a sigh of relief.

Thank Celestia that’s over.

She continued east.

As Twilight walked, she noticed a change in the underbrush. The thick, jungle-like foliage she had been in before had thinned out, exposing sharp, craggy rocks. She even started seeing the sky again. It was getting late in the day, and the sun was dipping into the horizon behind her. Tree by tree, the sky became less obstructed until she reached an open viewpoint.

She was standing atop a cliff. It extended out as far as she could see in both directions. She could also see another cliff directly across from the one that she was on. The whole area was very flat, merely being offset by the change in elevation brought by the two cliffs. In the lower area between the two cliffs, there was dark, thick vegetation that was occasionally interrupted by what looked like some muddy ponds. She guessed correctly that this was the swamp. She also knew now what the parallel lines on the last map had been.

Her destination was between these lines, so she would have to find a way down. She scanned along the cliff for any areas which looked a little less steep than the rest. She didn’t have much luck, but when she looked on top, about 100 paces to her left, she noticed there was a single distinct post sticking out with a plank in the shape of an arrow nailed in. The arrow was pointing down into the swamp. As she approached, she saw in it the same familiar sign. She looked down. There was a steep trail heading down, supported in places by some makeshift wooden stairs.

Well, this looks like the place. No turning back now.

The path was very steep in places, but this was nothing compared to the stairs. They had the distinct feel of rotting wood. They curved and compressed under her weight. A few actually broke. By the time she reached the bottom, she wasn’t sure whether the stairs would be in usable condition to return.

Maybe there really is no turning back now?

She looked back up at her entry route. She brushed off the consequences of this thought. She was pretty sure that, if needed, she could still use a combination of teleportation and stairs to get back up. Twilight looked around. The trees had low lying branches with thick leaves and large capes of mossy material drooping down. On the ground, thick grass and reeds were prevalent. The sun was setting and it was getting quite dark, but light would be hard to come by even at the height of noon in this place. The ground was covered in mud. Walking became difficult, as her hooves started to sink deep into the muck. Luckily, those who had organized this route had foreseen this concern and put down plank walkways in the worst spots. These were rotting also and some were even worse than the stairs had been. It was much better than the alternative, though.

As she walked through the swamp, Twilight started to wonder what kind of creature might live down here. She had seen very few animals, despite the thick vegetation. On one plank-bridge which felt somewhat sturdy, she let curiosity get the best of her. The planks suspended her over a small pond. She looked down into the water to observe the aquatic life. Her eyes slowly adjusted and picked out some lines along the bottom of the murky pond. Twilight eventually decided that the lines must just be little patterns in silt created by waves in water.

Maybe nothing lives down here...

And then one of the lines moved. This little movement had a chain effect and disturbed all the little lines around it to move. The fact is, they weren’t lines at all. They were snakes. Twilight jumped back a little in shock and then started into a gallop. She was deathly afraid of snakes.

Snakes! I hate snakes!

She zipped along the path now, not willing to stop or slow down for anything. She just wanted to get out of the swamp as quickly as possible. If she had slowed down, she might have seen the snake which was lounging in the path. But she did neither. It was slithering away as she stepped on its tail with her back hoof. Reflex action made the snake lash back immediately and sink its teeth into her leg. It scored a direct hit. Twilight cried out but kept running. She stopped when she felt a little safer to see what it was. She looked at the path behind her. A snake was slithering away slowly with a broken tail flopping around uselessly behind it. Her leg had a fresh bite mark with a clear liquid dribbling from it. Soon after this came the blood, dripping down in streams. As the venom travelled through her body she felt a crippling pain in the chest. She cringed and nearly vomited. Adrenaline forced her back up. She looked around in a panic.

“HELP!” she cried out.

“Help me!” she repeated as she looked around frantically.

“Sam! Where are you! I know it is you writing these notes! Come out and show yourself!” she shouted with indignation.

The indignation quickly caved in on itself. “Sam! Princess! Anypony! Help me!”

She looked ahead and spotted the next engraved stump. It was her last chance. She started making her way towards it. It was not far, but the action proved difficult. It felt like all of her muscles were seizing up. Walking became a series of no more than three jerky motions. She nearly tripped many times, but she knew she would not be able to right herself if she fell. She was sweating profusely and breathing in gasps. She cast the spell at the stump while making her way over. It had risen by the time she had traversed the short distance. She pulled out the note. It said something about snakes. There were dozens of empty vials in the stump. She tossed aside the note and started pushing empty vials out of the way deliriously. Many fell to the ground and shattered. Finally, in the back, she found one remaining full vial. It contained a black liquid. She poured half of it on the bite wound and then drank the other half. It tasted awful but she kept it down. She finally collapsed on her side and pulled in her legs. The black vial had not eased the pain. She shuddered on the ground.

I am sorry, Princess. I was too weak.

This was her last thought. Darkness overcame her.

Yet more thoughts came. Thoughts like

Where am I?

and

What am I doing?

and

How did I get here?

came back to her.

Twilight opened her eyes in a bit of a stupor. She felt like she had just had a long and relaxing nap. As her eyes were still trying to focus, she saw a blurry object hovering above her. The blurry object vanished suddenly, however, as if the act of trying to bring it into focus had driven it off. Twilight propped herself up. She saw bushes rustling and heard the crack of branches and brush of leaves getting farther and farther away. She stood up, still warding off a bit of sluggishness. She looked around at her surroundings. More questions arose.

What happened here?

There were broken vials all around the familiar stump and a note with ink now smudged beyond recognition. She formed a theory.

Oh I know what must have happened! I probably reached the next landmark and then decided to have a bit of a nap before continuing on.

She drew close to the stump and lit up her horn so she could see the map. It was getting quite dark now.

Well, I better get going now. Can't spend all day napping. This looks easy enough to follow, though. Just along the path and up out of here, then north east to the next landmark.

She followed along the path in a sort of dream state. She reached the path leading up the cliff opposite the one she had started on. As she headed up the rotting stairs, she had the distinct feeling that she was forgetting something, but she dismissed the thought.

If I’m forgetting something, it can’t have been very important.

The moon was nearly full and it provided enough light to navigate. Twilight walked casually along the rotting stairs and up out of the swamp. She then headed northeast, keeping her eye on the position of a few key stars and constellations. She made her way through a forest of thinly spread trees with lots of exposed rock similar to what she had seen on the other side. After a few minutes of walking, she spotted a small spark flicking in and out of view on the horizon. The spark became bigger and bigger and eventually, she realized that it was a burning torch. She made her way towards it. The torch was stuck into the ground and next to it was her next landmark. She wondered how long the torch had been burning.

She decided to sit down for a moment to bask in the warm glow of the fire. However, the act of sitting down sent a sharp pain through her leg. She stood back up and looked at the source of the pain. On her leg were streams of blood which had dried on, originating from a circular patch of dark red with two distinct circular spots near the top. She suddenly realized what had happened. She remembered seeing the snakes in the water and then running. She didn’t remember getting bitten but could infer the event from the wound on her leg. Terror filled her heart. She was now ten times more afraid of snakes than she was before. She would rather do anything than go back down to that swamp. She cast the spell once again and retrieved the contents of the stump. This time there was an unlit torch and a note. The note read as follows.

I delight in your triumph!

But one leg of your journey remains.

For it, this torch will serve you well.

Though darkness may surround you,

you must simply leave the canvas blank

on which your mind would paint a picture of your fear.

Do this, and we will be reunited at last!

I await your arrival with great anticipation.

You remain forever in my heart.

Signed,

-Your friend

Twilight took a look at the map. She saw that her destination was directly north from where she was. It did not look far. She looked northwards and saw a path forming in that direction. The path led towards what looked like a cave. As she got closer to it, she realized that it was actually a sort of tunnel through a patch of very dense trees. She stood just outside it. Looking inside was like looking in the void. There could be no light seen at the end of the tunnel. The moon lit up the area where she was, but none of that light made it into the tunnel. Twilight lit the torch. It illuminated about 5 paces in front of her. It actually seemed worse on the eyes because now she could not see anything outside that range. Her eyes had adjusted for the bright light she was holding up beside her. Twilight put on a brave face and entered the tunnel.

Walking through the tunnel was like being stranded at sea during the night. She did not know where she was going. The path twisted and turned, seemingly at random. It was deathly quiet. There didn’t seem to be a living thing in the area. Even the trees were barren of leaves. There was no grass beneath her hooves, only gravelly dirt. Her hoofbeats were the only things that could be heard. However, after a while of listening in, she noticed a doubling effect to the sound. It sounded like there was an echo.

This narrow path is hardly the type of place for an echo to happen.

She was suspicious, but pressed onwards. She continued to study the sound. It became an all-absorbing task in the absence of other stimulus. The sound delay would stay constant at times, but small discrepancies could sometimes be heard. Sometimes, it seemed to sync up perfectly with her own. She was sure that someone was following her, but at the same time, remembered the note telling her to suppress her fears. She carried on, but the thought enveloped her mind.

I know somepony is following me. I just know it. They are trying to outsmart me. They are trying to walk at my pace and hope that I won’t notice. I know that is the truth. I just need to prove it. In a second, I will stop and they will not be able to respond in time. They will stumble forwards a step or two and I will have caught them.

And so she stopped in her tracks. Just as she thought, she heard a single extra hoofbeat. That was all the proof she needed. She turned around and addressed the darkness.

“I know you are following me! Step out into the light and show yourself!”

Silence.

“Show yourself! I order you!”

The darkness gave no response.

Twilight strained her eyes to try to see anything that she could. It was no use. She was in a small bubble of light in a sea of darkness.

“I ask you once more! Show yourself! I am not afraid! I will meet you in combat if you wish!” she said, trying to sound brave, although her voice was steeped in fear.

Twilight stood still and waited for a response. A cool breeze rustled through the branches above her. The sound nearly deafened her and the cold chilled her to the bone. She was standing there, shivering, unwilling to speak a word or make a movement for about a minute, but it felt like a lifetime. She realized that it was hopeless.

Even if there is someone following me, he does not owe me a response. He does not owe me anything. I am the caged animal, and he is the zookeeper. I act and he merely observes. He has all the power.

She turned forwards again, biting her lip. The episode had done nothing to help her confidence. She was now visibly shaken and not sure how to proceed. She started walking forwards slowly, but her mind dwelled on the incident.

What if he is armed? He could stick a knife in my back any second without me knowing.

She continued to think thoughts like these. She started to almost expect it to happen. She expected any second to feel a sharp pain in her back as the cold steel sunk in. She listened in to the sounds in the darkness more and more intently until she heard a sound which was not a hoofbeat—hissing. At first it was faint, but then it grew and grew. Twilight first had discounted the possibility of snakes in the area, as nothing seemed to live there. However, in her mind, the possibility soon grew. First, it was simply possible in her mind.

What if they had followed me?

Then it became plausible.

Maybe they are like the flower bed I encountered before—mentally connected with each other?

Then it became likely.

Who knows how these strange creatures in the Everfree forest work? I must admit, even in the books I have read, the documentation is spotty.

Then it became inescapable.

There are snakes all around me just waiting to pounce! I don’t have any antivenom! I am going to die!

At this point, the hissing was deafening. Twilight was shuddering, but still walking forwards, just barely holding herself together. She didn’t know whether to break down and cry or stand up and fight. She felt on the verge of both, but did neither solely due to the virtue of her indecision over which to choose. It was the crippling type of fear which throws logic out the window and breaks ponies down bit by bit. However, against all sway of her broken mind, there was some force, some reflex in her psyche which called something back to her attention at that moment.

Don’t let your fears go to work on an empty canvas! I know what’s going on now. This is all just a test!

Then she vocalized her thoughts as if the act would give them more weight.

“This is all just a test! It’s just a stupid test! It’s all made-up and I don’t believe in any of it! I am not afraid!”

Twilight listened to her voice ring out through the silence. It had the unmistakable mark of honesty. It was the voice of someone who is not trying to hide something, and the fact gave her confidence. In listening to her voice, she noticed something. Rather, the absence of something—the snakes were gone. She had conquered her fear. She smiled at the fact. Even though it had been a victory over something within herself, it felt like a victory nonetheless. She never felt more worthy to join Sam’s mysterious ‘family’ than at that moment.

She kept walking and soon she saw a dim grey light at the end of the tunnel. It came closer and closer until she finally emerged into the moonlight. She looked at her surroundings. She had emerged at the base of a mountain. A stone path bordered by toppled columns led up to a short stone staircase and a massive doorway carved into the side of the mountain.

Twilight climbed the stairs. The door was a triangular shape. It had the same runic symbols carved into it as she had seen so often. It was the same symbol as on Sam’s cutie mark, the book, and the stumps.

This must be it. But how to activate it?

Every time she had seen that symbol today, she had cast the same spell with favourable results, so she had a good guess on how to proceed. The landing to the door was a square platform with large, rusty metal bowls on the each of the four corners. In the centre of the square was a circular raised platform. It had a very ornate design carved into it, lending it the appearance of some sort of altar. Twilight stepped on the altar and cast the spell. A black bolt of lightning shot straight up and then split into four above her head. The four arcs traveled into the rusty metal bowls, igniting a black flame in each. The flames burned strong. They didn’t seem to require any fuel at all. The ground shook as the door crept into life and spread open.

This is it.

Twilight carried her torch and entered the large stone gate.

Chapter 5

Twilight and Applejack made their way out of the chamber, back to the foot of the mountain. The tunnel wasn’t nearly as scary the second time. However, Twilight insisted that they wait for day until crossing the swamp. She didn’t want to repeat her experience with the snakes. Applejack had come much more prepared than Twilight, even bringing a small tent and some food. They took turns sleeping and watching guard through the night. Being much more cautious this time, the snakes didn’t give them any trouble. The stairs proved to be a bit of an obstacle, but with some help of some rope that Applejack brought, they made it through just fine.

After what seemed like a very long walk, they were back in Ponyville. The two were too tired to be excited, however. They both simply had a good home cooked meal and then went straight to sleep. Over the next few days, as the news spread around town, they became semi-celebrities in Ponyville. Everypony wanted to hear their gripping tale. Applejack adjusted quickly to the fame, often embellishing the truth a little for the foals. Twilight, however, remained much more reserved about it. She still wasn’t very comfortable with the consequences of their adventure. One day she went to see Princess Celestia to try to put her mind at ease.

The two met in Princess Celestia’s private chamber. Twilight told her all about her dream and what had happened. Princess Celestia merely listened passively to the whole thing, but one could tell that her mind was deep in concentration, processing all that Twilight was saying. As Twilight finished her story, Princess Celestia remained silent, still deep in thought. Twilight took the opportunity to ask her some questions.

“Princess, there are some things which are still bothering me. What is the ‘Mauros’ field and why have I never heard of it?”

“Twilight, you need to promise not to beat yourself up over what I am about to tell you. I understand you are very curious and this is all partially my fault for not teaching you about these things earlier. ‘Mauros’ means simply ‘Black’ in an ancient language of unicorns called ‘Ekhwas’. What you were using was in fact black magic and the reason you have never heard of it before is because such magic is illegal in Equestria.”

Twilight’s eyes widened upon this revelation. She thought back to the eerie blue glow and formidable darkness she had seen. Manipulating the dark energies seemed to have come natural to her. She pictured herself in Sam’s position, draining the life from some helpless unicorn on the floor.

“I didn’t know... I would have avoided it completely if I knew that I was using black magic...”

“I understand that,” she responded. “However, you showed yourself to be quite proficient in a field of magic which is notoriously difficult to grasp. It’s a feat which should come with some sense of accomplishment.”

“It’s hardly something to be proud of...” Twilight felt somewhat uncomfortable with what the princess was implying.

“Well you may be a bit biased by the stigma associated with it. The truth is, black magic has been a part of unicorn culture for quite some time now. It was long before your time, but I remember seeing ponies use it from day to day. They came up with some rather... interesting applications for it.” Twilight considered the profound cultural change the princess must have seen during her lifetime. A thousand years of memory seemed to her like a burden. She suddenly felt reverence towards the princess for bearing it so lightly.

“You see, back in the ancient times when the three pony races lived in segregation, this magic was practiced as a regular thing in the unicorn kingdom. Everypony was encouraged to hone their talents in black magic and sparring for practice was prevalent. However, when the races were united here in Equestria, these customs started to unnerve the pegasi and earth ponies. You see, black magic is fatal to unicorns. It is a field which repels all others. Manipulation of this field can thus rob unicorns of the very magic they require to stay alive. And while it was rare, sometimes in sparring practice, unicorns would die.”

“The earth ponies and unicorns saw this happening and became fearful of unicorns. Most of them didn’t know, or refused to believe, that black magic could not harm them. Their bodies are not constructed in the same way as unicorns. They can be exposed to that field for a long time with little effect. However, there was a lot of racial tension at that time, and I was forced to outlaw the practice of black magic to prevent the situation from escalating.”

“It was still practiced, but it became an underground thing, based around a few select cults. They started isolating themselves into mini societies, often using only the ancient unicorn languages. Some of them were bitter against me. They thought I wanted to destroy their culture and force them into assimilation. Some even glorified the days of Discord and wanted to bring him back as a leader. I launched a campaign of sting operations against them, trying to rid my cities of these cults. It worked only partially. They were merely forced into the outskirts of town, hiding in safehouses in places like the Everfree Forest. They would often have complicated initiation procedures to test new initiates, which seems to fit the description of what you went through quite well.”

Princess Celestia paused thoughtfully. She had the air of somepony reliving nostalgic childhood memories.

“It might interest you also that I knew your friend, Mr. Flotsam Clearwater. Back in those days, his cutie mark actually was a sextant. It was around 70 years ago when some of my agents were sent undercover to the temple you went to. It was destroyed after we found it, and its inhabitants were arrested, but some had sworn their souls to Discord. They became his servants, granted immortality, but forced to do his bidding. They live now as ghosts—tormented souls who cannot depart from this life. I never knew what had happened to Mr. Clearwater." Her voice carried no resentment, only sympathy. "It saddens me to learn of his fate.”

Twilight thought of all that she had heard. It was a lot to take in, but it was all starting to make sense now. However, there was still something which was disturbing her.

“Princess, I am still a little disturbed at how easily I fell in with all this.”

“Yes, I noticed that too, Twilight.”

Twilight’s heart sank.

“But don’t you think it was a little too easy?” Princess Celestia continued.

“I don’t know. What do you mean?”

“What I am saying that that maybe more than luck is at work here. Discord wanted to draw you in, Twilight. He tried to act like it was solely you who brought yourself to him, but the truth is I can see his hand in this straight from the beginning. He grabbed on to the bit of turmoil which was in your heart and it gave him power over you. So let me ask you something. Is there anything which has been bothering you recently?”

It all started to come back to her at once.

“Well I just feel so pressured. It feels like there are so many ponies that rely on me and I need to be there for them. And then I think about what could happen if I am not ready when the need arises...” Twilight trailed off, her mind returning to her vision of the apocalypse.

“Twilight, I am sorry if this sounds belittling, but you worry too much. Discord is gone. No matter what he may have said, he will not be returning to power any time soon. If you believe in the strength of harmony, he has no power over you. It is a good time to be alive, Twilight. I can tell you that with certainty. Things are stable now. We are due for a long era of peace.” Princess Celestia gave a smile of genuine warmth. “Also, you act as if you are the only one watching over your friends.”

Twilight understood. “Ok, but, I guess what I am worrying about is... Princess... How does a pony make sure that what she is doing is the right thing?”

“It’s not an easy question to answer.” Princess Celestia’s features hardened. She bore an expression of gravity. “I would never trivialise the issue, but at the same time, I don’t think it is something one can know for sure. One must contextualize one’s actions. Sometimes, even seemingly small decisions can have large impacts on the lives of other ponies and that is something one must consider. However, in the end, it is mostly just gut feeling.”Princess Celestia’s expression and tone brightened. She spoke in a manner which seemed to make a mockery of her seriousness that had come a moment ago.

“Twilight, if anyone knows what harmony means, you do. Everybody makes mistakes but I have faith that you will make the right choices in the end. I am not worried about you and you shouldn’t be either,” she said with sincere conviction.

A feeling of pride warmed Twilight’s heart. Even after all that had transpired, the princess still had faith in her. She felt like a pair of heavy saddlebags had just been lifted from her back. She returned the princess’ fervent smile.

“Thank you, Princess.”

The meeting with Princess Celestia had done wonders to put her mind at ease with the recent events. As she rode the chariot back from Canterlot with the wind and clouds rushing past her and the miniscule details of Ponyville coming into view, the sensation she felt was one of airy freedom.

I am not worried anymore. I know I have mistakes in my past, but they are all things that I can learn from. The future is rife with possibility for new beginnings.

A thought warmed her heart. Tonight was the night of the Apple family’s feast. They had postponed it a few days given the recent events. Twilight smiled. She was going to have a lot of fun.

Chapter 4

Inside the stone gate was a very long hallway. There was no light inside the hallway, although Twilight noticed that there were torch holders lining the hall. Black ash on the arched stone ceiling indicated that they had been once used, but recent use was not evident. Eventually, the hallway opened up into a large grand hall. The architecture had an ornate style which was obviously quite old. The floor was black and white marble in a checkerboard fashion. There was a red carpet lined with gold extending out in front of her and ending at a fountain. The carpet was lined on either side by carved white columns supporting horizontal beams. The columns partially hid a sort of ‘garden’ where purple rainclouds poured down brown rain on some very strange looking plants. On closer inspection, some of the plants were actually moving—gathering up as much rain as they could and then planting themselves in the soil, only to get back up and run around again a few seconds later.

Twilight walked down the carpet towards the fountain to get a better look at it. It seemed to be illuminated somehow, but no light source was apparent. As it came into view she noticed that there was a pony beside it. As she got closer, she recognised the brown coat and grey mane. It was Sam. He was sitting beside the fountain in a prostrate position. Twilight approached.

Well maybe he won’t be so happy for me searching through his stuff, but if I am really to join them, then I must stay confident.

“Hello, Sam. It’s Twilight.”

Twilight looked around. From the fountain, the red carpet split off into four directions. She was slightly disturbed when the two paths nearest to her seemed to lead into doorways which had collapsed. Rock and rubble was piled up around the doors and scattered across the floor around them, blocking anyone from coming or going.

“What is this place?”

Sam didn’t respond. His eyes were closed and he didn’t seem to notice her.

“Sam?”

It was then that Twilight took a closer look at the fountain. At the centre, carved in stone, were three Draconequus facing outwards, with their backs to each other. Water poured down into a large bowl below, sending up mist which hovered in the air around the fountain, illuminated by the mysterious light source. Twilight had the distinct sensation that she had made a huge mistake.

Suddenly, the mist began to twirl up into a vortex in front of her. The vortex drew itself out into a long, thin line and then started sprouting features. Details emerged and before long, Twilight recognised the familiar creature standing before her. Discord.

“Well well well well! Twilight! To what do I owe the extreme pleasure of this, your surprising visit?”

“Discord! What are you doing here?”

Discord laughed. “I should ask you the same thing." Discord floated down and started pacing around Twilight, lending him the appearance of an older pony lecturing a foal. "You come here, barging into my beloved homestead only to start demanding questions of me? Not very polite, you know. A nice, highly sophisticated Canterlot lady such as yourself should know that.”

His house.

The feeling sunk in. Twilight knew she had made a mistake now. She didn’t know what to say.

“You seem lost, Twilight,” Discord said, adopting a patronizing tone. “I don’t think you know where you are, or how you got here.”

“So let me guess, let me suggest, if you will, an explanation. I do so love games of chance.” Discord seemed amused. He floated up to his statue and straightened up his posture, looming down over her, in line with the three Draconequus of stone.

“You came here because you desire power. You want it... no, you need it to protect your friends. Their fates are your responsibility and yours alone. You came here because Celestia refuses to listen to the Great Twilight Sparkle, and frankly, you do not trust her anymore. You came here to renounce your nation and ruler. You came here as a treacherous dog, Twilight... You came here to serve me.”

Twilight laughed even though she was feeling somewhat insecure about how well he seemed to know her. “Oh yeah? And why would I do that.”

Discord exploded into mist and spread out across the room. His voice seemed to emanate from various different corners of the room. Its volume was completely unpredictable as well. Sometimes it sounded like he was shouting from one corner of the room, and others it sounded like he was whispering in her ear.

“Twilight, I know that you are not like the others. You are special. While they blindly accept, you reason. While they are happy just for someone to watch over them, you take matters into your own hands. While they force themselves to be content with trivial banalities, you have ambition.”

Discord paused before continuing with a thoughtful tone.

“Let me ask you something. Do you know why you serve Celestia?”

Twilight didn’t answer. It was apparent that the question was only part of his continuing diatribe.

“Because your parents served her. And why, might I ask, do you think they served her? Because their parents served her. And how could it come to pass, pray tell, that they served her? Because their parents served her!”

“I think you see where I am going with this,” Discord said, sounding satisfied.

“I am not such a bad guy, Twilight.” Discord adopted more of a jovial tone. “I can make life very comfortable for you. You will see that I can be very accommodating to those in my favour. You and I could have a lot of fun together.”

Discord contracted his form once again into the form of a visible cloud of mist. He was grinning like a Cheshire cat.

“And that’s what I’m all about! Fun.”

He paused dramatically, giving time to let the thoughts sink in for the purple pony. When he was satisfied he had waited long enough, he curled his form around Twilight and held his right paw out in front of her as if he was literally trying to point to his vision for the future.

“Those elements can be used for more than just harmony, you know. They could be the implements—the utensils—with which we serve up a whole whopping helping—a buffet!—of Discord.”

Discord smiled and then floated over to the side of the fountain where he leaned one arm up against the edge and held it to his head in the thinker pose.

“So. Now I want to know what you think. You are a very smart mare, after all. I am sure that you will make the right decision.”

Those words triggered a red light in Twilight’s head. She had the distinct sensation that she had heard them before. She thought back to the beginning of the whole affair and how all started.

Am I really going to make such a heavy decision solely on the basis of some silly dream?

The idea now seemed rather crazy to Twilight, even though some parts of Discord’s rant had hit dangerously close to home. She had now made up her mind.

“No.”

“Eh?”

“No, you’re wrong... About everything," Twilight said with conviction. "We don’t serve Princess Celestia out of tradition or obligation. We serve her because she represents something beautiful. She represents the fact that if we ponies set aside our differences and concerns of personal gain to work together, we can achieve great things." Her conviction faltered a little bit as she considered the fact that it was her own thoughts which had led her into the hands of discord. "And all questions of my... personal insecurities aside, I would rather die than hand over the elements to you.”

“What did you come here for then!?” Discord said, suddenly sounding very angry. He flew up into the air and loomed over her, staring her straight in the eyes. Animosity emanated from his misty visage.

“Did you come here to mock me? You risk to evoke my wrath, Twilight.”

“I came here for... well... reasons that aren’t very justified anymore,” Twilight said, stammering a little as she came to grips with the concept, herself. “But that is none of your business.” She thought back to the friendliness she had been shown by Sam. “All you need to know is that I came here because I was led here by the nice notes written by my friend over there and if you don’t mind, I think we would like to leave now.”

Discord started laughing hysterically. All of the hatred she had seen in him seemed to evaporate in an instant.

“Your ‘friend’ over there didn’t write those notes.”

More laughing.

“I did!”

Twilight now felt disgusted by the whole affair. She thought back to how the landmark stumps had seemed like beacons of hope to her, and how she romanticized the idea of being ‘watched over’ by someone. She felt sick to her stomach and wanted only to leave.

“Yes, but by all means, go. I didn’t invite you and I am not holding you,” Discord said, sounding amused once more.

“However, I can’t be held responsible for what your ‘friend’ thinks of your departure.”

Discord laughed once again. “You have been warned.”

Twilight was dejected. All of her sunny expectations for what she might find in this place had been swiftly and mercilessly dashed on the rocks.

It’s best if I just go. There’s no point in hanging around here anymore.

She turned to leave. On that cue, Sam broke from his catatonic state.

“I am afraid I can’t allow you to leave, Twilight.”

“Sam, I don’t want to cause any trouble.”

“B-but you already have,” Sam said. Twilight noticed that he was visibly shaking.

“I didn’t want it to come to this... b-but if you were to go back to the Princess and inform her of the location of Lord Discord’s secret shrine... well...”

Lord Discord. Ugh. That phrase sounded particularly repulsive coming from him.

Twilight observed the brown unicorn. She didn’t see any signs of mind control, yet something in his voice sounded different—not affected, just weary. He sounded much older now.

“You understand that I can’t have that...” Sam continued. “I liked you, Twilight. Why did you have to go snooping around!?” His tone was becoming quite angry, but it was obvious that this was just a facade. A more apt term to describe him at that moment would be cornered. “You’ve ruined everything by coming here! Can’t you see that!?”

“But this is how it must be,” Sam continued, his voice had the sound of a pony who had resigned to a decision which was out of his hands. “If you will not serve Discord... Then you must die for him.”

With that, Sam began to walk towards Twilight. She started backing off.

“Sam, stay back. I don’t want to have to hurt you.”

Sam ignored her. His capacity for speech seemed to be exhausted.

Twilight stood her ground.

If this is how it’s going to be, I need to defend myself.

She dropped her torch and levitated some large rocks from the collapsed doorway. She lifted them overhead and got ready to send them crashing down into the brown pony. At that moment, a shockwave of black emanated from his horn. It spread as a sphere and as it crossed Twilight’s levitating rocks, her magical energies were stripped away from it and the rocks plummeted straight into the ground.

Her eyes widened. She had never seen this kind of magic before. As for dealing with it, she didn’t even know where to start. She picked up more large rocks and this time quickly gave them as much momentum as she could. They were headed straight on course for collision, but Sam sent out another black shockwave and the rocks stopped in their tracks, falling to the ground.

Sam now entered a gallop towards her. Twilight tried to turn around and run, but failed to escape. He tackled her to the ground. She scrambled and tried to right herself as she saw him approaching closer and closer. Then his eyes went fluorescent blue and everything around her went black. Twilight felt her body growing cold but her horn growing white hot. All she could see around her was the pair of eerie blue eyes and a pinkish light above her head. She cried out and tried to right herself, but she felt the will to fight back being drained from her. She fell back to the ground and felt like she was being forced into a deep sleep.

Suddenly, she heard a loud thump and a groan of pain from Sam. The blue eyes disappeared and light had returned to the room. Twilight looked up. She saw Sam slowly righting himself from the floor a little ways away from where she was lying. Then she saw the strong orange legs of a pony with a three apple cutie mark meeting him with a buck that fell square on the jaw. He flew backwards from the blow.

Applejack!

Twilight forced herself back up. Her will to fight had returned and she wondered how she had even thought about accepting defeat a few seconds ago. When back on her hooves, she saw Applejack standing over Sam, her front hoof holding his head against the ground.

“Don’t you even think about gettin’ up or you’re gonna get bucked in the face again,” Applejack commanded the brown pony. Then she noticed that Twilight had gotten up.

“Hey there, Twi. Just figured you could use a little help. –Hope it wasn’t too assuming of me.”

Twilight was about to utter something, but Discord interrupted with a cry of protest.

“Arrgh! Once again I have taken the proverbial pie to the face! I won’t forget this! I will always be around, Twilight, and if we ever meet again in the flesh, you can guarantee that it will not be under such civil terms! Arrivederci!”

Discord snapped his fingers and then turned into smoke.

Twilight looked around her. Discord and Sam were now gone. Applejack’s front hoof was square against the ground. The fountain had stopped and the plants in the garden and chocolate rainclouds had all turned to dust. Everything was now very quiet. Her eyes settled on Applejack. Applejack noticed.

“So I guess it’s just us now, huh.”

Twilight’s face broke out in a smile. She ran over and tackle-hugged her friend.

“Whoa now! Easy!” Applejack said, laughing.

“Applejack! You have no idea how happy I am to see you!”

The two friends shared a long embrace.

“You saved my life.” Twilight tried to take on a tone reflecting the gravity of the situation, but it just ended up sounding dry and a little confused.

“Aw come on now. Ain’t nothing you wouldn’t have done for me,” Applejack responded.

Thoughts came to Twilight all at once and talking felt like trying to squish four ponies through a doorway at the same time.

“No... No really, I wouldn’t be alive at this moment right now if you hadn’t come just at this very time! I am beyond grateful. I am indebted to you. For my life! That’s just... And you can say what you want about hypotheticals and circumstances where I would have saved your life—assuming I even could!—but the fact is that you were here... And right at the very moment that I needed you! And, well... and... ”

Applejack guessed the question that was on Twilight’s mind.

“Why am I out here in the middle of the Everfree forest, in some creepy temple at night?”

“YES!” Twilight said, excitably.

The happiness drained from Applejack’s features.

“Well the thing is, Twilight...And I’m sorry for this but... I didn’t trust you.”

“What?” said Twilight, completely derailed by this answer.

“Well, I saw you hanging around that old house that nopony has been in for years... Most folks think it’s haunted.”

Haunted? Maybe they just never saw Sam go into it. He did say he was out to sea often.

“Then when I talked to you, you started making up all sorts of crazy stories. I couldn’t believe you were lying to me,” Applejack said, sounding a little hurt.

Her tone brightened up a bit and she chuckled. “But the part where I really knew things were wrong, that was when you didn’t want to come to the Apple family feast! At last year’s, you ate more than three Big Macintoshes combined!”

Twilight smiled.

“I know, I know. I wanted to tell you everything, but I was just so wrapped up in the moment. I wasn’t about to let go of my project for anything. I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, well, I figured something was up and I decided to follow you. After you left that house, and I saw you heading for the Everfree forest, I zipped back home for a second just to grab some supplies. I figured I might be in for a bit of a journey."

“Then when I came back to the path, you were nowhere to be found. I almost lost you, but luckily, a few broken twigs and hoofprints tipped me off in your direction. Then when I found you by that rock, I saw your eyes glowing blue and then you zapped that stump with a black lightning bolt. It didn’t make me feel too confident that you were still on the good side, as you might guess.”

“But I kept my distance and followed you. I didn’t get a good feeling from that field of flowers, so I stayed around the outside. I think we both figured out my suspicions on that one were good. Then when you went down into the swamps, I nearly lost you again. Luckily I heard your cries, and they directed me to you. When I found you, you were down on the ground. My heart melted. I just wanted to help you, evil or not.”

“I approached, but you woke up and looked me straight in the eye. I got afraid and just ran off. I don’t even know why, really. But after that I started tailing you again. I kept my eye on you and followed at a distance until you got to that horrible tunnel.”

“You don’t know what that was like without a torch. I couldn’t see my hoof in front of my face. The only thing that I had to go on was your dim light in the distance. And that would disappear every once in a while, too. Then you heard me and yelled out. I was so afraid that you were going to come back and find me. I just sat there frozen. I started hearing things—horrible things. I don’t even want to talk about what it sounded like. I might have gone crazy in there if I hadn’t heard you denying your fears. It had such honesty to it that you made me believe too.”

The situation almost seemed silly to Twilight looking back now. She laughed.

“You know, I put on a brave face, but I was actually shaking in my boots like a filly when I was yelling at you in there,” she said.

Applejack gave a weak smile.

“Oh you were? Well... That makes me feel a little better, I guess.”

“But go on,” Twilight encouraged.

“So anyways, when you made your way inside this place, I still couldn’t be sure you were still on our side. Then I saw you talking to Discord. I didn’t want to believe it. I just waited it out and listened. When that brown pony started attacking you that was all the proof I needed. It looked like he was sucking your soul out from your horn! I just got so mad! And...Well... You probably know the rest.”

“Yes, I understand. You were right to not trust me,” Twilight responded, apologetically. “I got a little carried away with all this, I am sorry. I really should have been more honest with you. If I had told you what was on my mind, you probably could have sorted me out and we wouldn’t have gotten in this mess in the first place.”

“Well you can tell me now...” Applejack trailed off, leaving time for Twilight to continue.

Twilight knew she was due for an explanation. She breathed a long sigh. “I don’t even fully understand it, myself. It might sound crazy, but there was this dream that I had which sort of... tipped me off about the existence of this place. I didn’t even know what I was looking for, really... Maybe it was just curiosity... At the time it felt like something much bigger... But somehow, I led myself straight into the hands of Discord. You gotta understand that I didn’t intend for this to happen. I’m sorry... I’m just... really confused...”

“That’s ok, you don’t have to explain it to me right now if it is too hard on you. I can see now that your intentions were good...Honestly, I am just happy to have you back.”

“That’s like a tautology coming from you,” Twilight replied, frivolously.

“A what now?”

Twilight laughed. “I just mean that it’s obviously going to be honest, coming from you. But I am happy too... Now, what do you say we get out of here?”

“I’d say I’m all for it,” Applejack responded with a smile.

As they turned to leave, something occurred to Twilight. “There was one part to your story which confused me... If you were watching while I went into the house, you must have seen Sam come and go, yes?”

Applejack suddenly looked like she had seen a ghost.

“Twilight... Nopony came or left while you were in that house.”