Under the Northern Skies

Chapters

Chapter 1: By the Golden River
Chapter 2: Towards the North
Chapter 3: Visions
Chapter 4: On a Trail
Chapter 6: A Warm Cottage
Chapter 7: All There in a Book
Chapter 8: The Crossing
Chapter 9: Mountain Climbers
Chapter 10: Northern Skies
Chapter 11: Darkness and Light
Chapter 12: Across Time and Space
Chapter 13: Endgame
Chapter 14: By the Lake
Prologue: The Excavation
Chapter 5: Shadows
Epilogue: What Life Is Like

Chapter 1: By the Golden River

The train shook violently, and I just managed to catch the letter before it flew to the darkness outside my bunk. I had been keeping the range of my light spell quite minimal to avoid disturbing the other passengers who certainly were asleep at this hour. Yet again I started to read the letter - for the eleventh time.

My Faithful Student,

I’m proud to inform that you will be put on an important mission in the North.
Two weeks ago, a distress report from a mare in the expedition C3 (Crystal Mountains Three) was received by the Canterlot Radio Team. The mare mentioned that the her group had found something of great importance and that two of them had gone missing, along with requesting assistance to be sent immediately. After that, nopony answered the messages that were sent back to them.

On my order, a platoon of eight Royal Guards was sent to investigate. They returned with disturbing news: the camp had been abandoned, and no trace of the four archaeologists was found. But what was even more interesting is the artifact the expedition team had reported. Attached are several pictures of it. Even though I’m almost two millennia old, I can’t recall ever seeing anything quite like this.

Twilight, this is where you come in. Your mission is to find out just what this ‘door’ is and decipher the meaning of the mysterious runes engraved on it. I emphasize that this is specially a mission for you - consider it a test. Because of this, I strongly advise to take only one of your friends on the trip. It’s certain that being with somepony you care about will make everything go smoother, not to even mention helping with the loneliness you talked about in your last friendship report.

The location of the excavation site where the object was found is quite remote, and thus your trip there will take some time. I have already arranged seats to a train leaving tomorrow morning for the two of you. You will first travel to Hoofington, and from there you’ll take another train heading towards the Crystal Mountains. Your goal is the Station of Lily Valley, the closest town to your destination. From there you’ll have a hike of four days ahead of you, less if you are fast.

I have assigned a local ex-guard to guide you through the woods and narrow mountain paths to ensure that you safely reach the excavation site. If we all weren’t so tied up with the Gryphonian situation, I’d send several guards to accompany you, or perhaps even come myself.

However, I have complete faith in your abilities, my dear student. There’s no doubt that you along with your friend are more than able to handle this task by yourselves.

Friend and mentor,
Princess Celestia

Friend and mentor. Friend. It felt weird that a Goddess, an immortal alicorn was calling me her friend. I had to admit that it made sense, though: I had been the personal student and protege of Celestia for quite a long time. Sometimes I managed to catch her dazed out, eyes fixed to the horizon. It was possible that she was as lonely as I was, even though that thought seemed strange in my mind. I knew she'd always have Luna.

Yes, I had gotten wonderful friends in Ponyville, with whom I'd already shared many adventures and even saved Equestria three times. However, my relationship was not very deep with any of them. Sure, I could spend time and talk with any of them, not to forget that I even felt the need to protect their lives and help them out of danger. But somehow I'd always had the feeling of being a bit like an outsider, as the others had been friends long before I ever came to Ponyville. I wished something deep – somepony to share my thoughts, feelings and greatest dreams with. Sadly, getting a friend like that was no easy task, especially for a socially inexperienced bookworm like me.

Choosing a friend from the five I had to accompany me shouldn’t have been an easy task, and thus was doubtlessly a part of the test. However, the decision hadn’t been hard at all. Rainbow was busy with her rigorous training schedule at the Wonderbolts Academy, Applejack couldn’t miss the upcoming zapapple harvest and Fluttershy had to stay in order to tend a severely injured bear. With only Pinkie and Rarity left, the choice had been quite simple. I knew I could trust Rarity with anything and she was very excited to see the Crystal Mountains, whereas Pinkie would just have caused so much chaos that the difficulty of the mission would have multiplied.

A particularly wild shake of the train broke my pondering, almost sending the letter flying again. Towards the North we travelled. Last time I headed there, I had to save an entire empire while battling a monstrous unicorn with almost as much pure magical power than the Princesses themselves. Not particularly good memories.

I took a quick glance at my new hoofwatch: 03:01 in the morning. It was time to take a look, figuratively speaking, at my mental checklist for the day.

Get on the train with Rarity: done.
Read the letter multiple times to not miss anything: done.
Write an answer to Princess Celestia: done.
Read a book about the Crystal Mountains: done.
Get some sleep: …

I rested my head on the soft pillow. It didn’t take much time for the train to lull me into sleep, its comforting rattle relieving the stress in my mind.

“Twilight? You awake, darling?” a soft voice called from my side.

“Uhh… five more minutes,” I groaned. The train was now shaking very little; the rails near the large population centers by the Golden River were well-maintained. We must have gotten close to Hoofington by now.

“Oh dear. You must know it’s not good for your health to stay up all night reading some book. Our brains need rest before the big mission!” Rarity enthusiastically declared.

“Sleeping… is… overrated…” I murmured, trying to bury my head in the pillow.
“Every mare needs her sleep. Now rise and shine, Twilight, for today is a great day! In an hour or less we’ll already be at Hoofington. Oh, I can’t wait to try out the local restaurants and the Grand Theater… Hoofington is second only to Canterlot in high culture! I’ve heard that the library is also quite large,” the mare said, gently laying her hoof on my shoulder. The touch felt nice.

“The library?!” I shouted, instantly jumping out of the bunk. “I almost forgot that there even was such a place in the city!”

Rarity gave me a look of disbelief and smiled, saying nothing.

The breakfast the servitors brought to us was nothing spectacular, but still quite good compared to the usual meals on the trains. I silently thanked Celestia for getting us Business-Class tickets, and was almost certain that the white mare sitting next to me at the table did the same.

As we stepped out of the train, Hoofington loomed in front of us in its full glory. The old buildings made of reddish-brown brick with murals spiraling down the walls were quite a sight. Ponies dressed in Canterlot-esque suits and dresses wandered around, making the scene seem almost magical. Hoofington certainly earned its nickname, the City by the Golden River, even though the river was actually a few miles to the east, its water being used to irrigate the large fields surrounding the city.

Rarity grabbed my hoof, something I hadn’t really anticipated. Only Pinkie would normally do something like that. Not that I didn’t like it; holding hooves with a friend felt good.

“Oh, Twilight! This city looks like something out of my dreams! Where shall we go first? The theater, perhaps? I’ve heard that they run Shakesponian plays at least once a day,” the mare jubilantly spoke to me, already walking towards the buildings with a brisk step, dragging me along.

“I was really thinking more in the lines of spending the day at library,” I answered. “It’s not like I’d even stay awake while watching a play right now. Sorry, Rarity.”

“It was indeed quite unladylike of me to expect you’d do just what I wanted. But it would also be an absolute waste if you spent the entire time we have here to read some dusty old books!”

I knew Rarity was in the right, even though the call of the books was strong. After arguing for a short while, we agreed to simply go for a walk: the weather was beautiful and there was a lot to see. Many ponies recognized us, two of the famous Bearers of the Elements, but none of them were bold enough to come and talk to us. When I thought through it, I understood that the fact that we were heroes must have caused them to look at us with suspicion, not being used to our presence like the Ponyvilleans or Canterlotians. Why have they come here? Is there a monster on the loose somewhere near? they must have thought.

The beautiful buildings of Hoofington were left behind as our stroll continued. In no time we were walking on beautiful meadows, fields of wheat and rye all around us. Seas of straws gently waved around in the warm wind. There weren’t many ponies around, leaving me and Rarity enjoying the sounds of nature by ourselves. It was never this peaceful in Ponyville – it seemed like there was always some adventure or problem hiding behind the next door.

“Gorgeous,” Rarity pointed out.

“It truly is,” I replied. “When compared to the Crystal Mountains, however, this isn't much! We never really got close to them when we saved the Crystal Empire, but I have been there on a field trip with Celestia. The views are astounding.”

The white mare looked at me with a sad smile. “There’s no need to ruin to the moment by doing comparison, darling.”

“Oh! I’m sorry, Rarity. I didn’t think of that…”

“No problem. Just remember to be more considerate in the future.”

Our walk on the rolling fields continued towards the river. Lone trees dotted the landscape, stinging my heart by reminding me of my own emotions. However, I had to admit that this long walk with Rarity had relieved my anxiousness a bit. This was something I’d craved for in Ponyville – some time alone with one of my friends to really share my thoughts with. Of course, just enjoying the company without somepony jumping around or disturbing the conversation was also nice. As we talked, it turned out that Rarity somewhat shared my passion for books, though what she read was much different compared to my usual choices of literature. I shouldn’t have been so surprised to find out that she enjoyed classical literature and poems, something I’d never really gotten into.

As we climbed over a gently sloping hill, the full glory of the Golden River suddenly laid in front of our eyes. The water of the wide river had a deep purple color not much unlike that of Rarity’s mane. Large farmhouses and barns stood by the banks, creating the look of an idyllic countryside. It was hard to wrap my head around the fact that this view was only an hour’s walk away from the bustling city of Hoofington. What also surprised me was the fact that nopony was around working in the fields - only a few were visible, and they were for some reason heading back towards the buildings.

When I glanced at my friend, I noticed that her head had drooped. Rarity’s usually glistening eyes stared at the ground, her mane waving wildly in a gust of wind.

“Is something wrong, Rarity?” I asked, concerned of my friend’s mood suddenly dropping like that.

“Well… let’s just say that this place reminds me of some not-so-pleasant things that have happened in my life,” she answered, turning her head away.

“Do you want to talk about it? You know I’ll listen.”

“Not really. Not right now, at least, that is,” the white mare said, turning her head back at me. There was a tear in her left eye. “Let’s turn back. I’m sure you wish to spend some time with the books, now that we’ve exhausted ourselves by walking all the way here.”

“Sure.” I took a look behind my back. The buildings of the city looked very distant. “Whoa! I didn’t realize we'd walked so far!”

Rarity’s lips curved a tiny bit upwards. “Well, look at that. I hope the trip back will be as pleasant as the one here was.”

My thoughts raced back and forth as we trod towards Hoofington. Has Rarity lived here, or does she have relatives nearby? What did the river remind her of?

“Darling, what are you thinking of?” my friend curiously asked.

“Uhh… Nothing special?” I said, raising my voice a little too much, not even daring to look her in the eyes.

“Twilight, you’re a terrible liar. If it’s about me, don’t stress about it. I might tell you some day, but don’t ruin this one by torturing your mind about such a thing. Besides, I don’t want to be constantly reminded of it. It’s very unladylike to inquire or theorize about something a mare doesn’t want to tell,” Rarity responded. “Perhaps I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“Sure, Rarity, I’ll try. But at times I just can’t help myself.”

The ever-darkening blue of the sky contrasted sharply with the yellows and browns of the fields around us. The clouds that had idly rolled northwards in the sky had now started to gather - only now did I realize that I hadn’t checked the weather schedule out. We were still miles away from the comfort of the buildings of the city, and there wasn’t much shelter at the meadows.

Suddenly, the darkness went away for a few seconds – the landscape bathed in the bright light of a thunderbolt.

One, two…

CRACK.

“Run!” I shouted at Rarity. "The storm's almost right over us!"

“Run?! Where?”

“There’s a tree! We can take shelter under it,” I said, pointing at a large oak just a hundred feet from us.

“But isn’t it danger-“ BOOM.

We saw the rainfall cover ground very fast. It would reach us in a matter of seconds, and we’d be completely wet the instant that happened. Without further talk, we ran towards the tree.

The sounds of the thunder pierced my ears. All I could do from under the tree was to embrace Rarity and watch the brilliant lightshow going on in the sky. Flashes of lightning danced between the clouds and the earth. The storm was magnificent and terrifying at the same time. At least I felt warm, huddling against my friend like that.

I could see Rarity’s lips move. She was clearly trying to tell me something, but the thunderstorm made hearing impossible. What’s she trying to tell me?

She warned you about something.

BOOM.

My ears rang. My eyes were blinded by light. But I still felt the cold soil under me and the warm hooves of my friend wrapped around me.

For a moment I was blind and deaf. The only sensation I felt was the tight pressure of my wet coat against Rarity’s, somepony’s mane flapping at my face. I hadn’t been this helpless since I was a small foal.

Opening my eyelids again, bright lights danced around the field of my vision. Knowing exactly why that was happening, I didn’t panic. Instead, I tried to make myself steady and calm to recover my lost senses. Once the balls of light stopped dancing around in front of me and the booms of the storm were once again audible, I noticed that we were wrapped in a purple bubble of magic – and it wasn’t mine. But... how? Is Rarity’s magic really this powerful?

The fury of the storm seemed like something out of this world. It was hard for me to believe that the thought of a lone tree in the middle of a field certainly attracting lightning hadn't even crossed my mind, not to even speak of forgetting to check what kind of weather the pegasi would expose us to. I now owed my life to Rarity.

After a while. the magical bubble gave out and we were pelted by the heavy pour of rain. I could smell faint amounts of ozone and something that burned. One glance behind me told the whole story – the oak was charred and had a large crack running vertically from its top all the way to the roots. The black line continued on the ground, suddenly stopping just inches from where Rarity and I sat.

It took me some time to realize what we were doing. Rarity was hugging me fiercely, shaking and shivering slightly. The feeling of being so close to a mare made my heart race, but I wasn’t going to complain. We kept each other warm in the cold gusts the storm threw at us. I gave my friend a small smile, what she met by closing her eyes and doing the same.

“Rarity, you... you saved my life,” I said, my voice on the verge of collapsing.

“Think nothing of it, Twi. You would have done the same,” she responded, now beaming with all her remaining strength. I could feel that she was almost falling asleep at my hooves., the strong spell having taken the better of her.

Not long after, Celestia’s sun peeked a little from behind the curtain of dark clouds. The storm had passed over almost as suddenly as it had started. If it weren’t for the now-dead tree and my soaking-wet mane, it'd have been hard to believe that it had really even happened. Even the memory of the bolt almost hitting us now felt distant, like a dream of sorts.

But as the sky was slowly filled with rainbows, we were still locked in a deep embrace. Rarity kept her eyes at the sky, still smiling and saying nothing. I felt truly happy for the first time in months.

After the tough day, the bed of a hotel felt like something dropped from the heavens. When Rarity and I finally got back to the city, we'd gone to the nearest place that offered a room, both of us weary and wanting to take a long rest. And what a place this was - probably the finest hotel in Northern Equestria. There was no chance we could have afforded a place like this if it wasn't for us being the many-time saviours of the nation. Being famous did have its benefits.

As Rarity emerged from the shower, I couldn’t help but chuckle. She had wrapped herself in ridiculous amounts of towels, her eyes betraying how sleepy she was.

“Looks like you really need some sleep, Rarity.”

She beamed heartily. “Oh, really? And you don’t? And why are you staring at me?”

My poker face did not falter, but there was nothing I could do to stop the warmness that built up on my cheeks. “Well, you look cute beneath all those towels. With so many, you’d hardly even need a blanket!”

We both broke out in laughter, the stress of almost getting killed due to simply forgetting checking the weather schedule all but gone from our minds. With all the white towels still around her, Rarity descended into her bed, giving out a long yawn.

“And Rarity... no words can express how grateful I am of what you did.”

“You’re welcome,” my friend said with a low tone, already half-asleep the instant she’d hit the pillow.

I stared at my friend for some time as she quickly fell asleep. I couldn't help but feel something new, something strange - my heart pounded faster than usual, and a sensation of lightness clouded my mind.

She'd saved my life.

Chapter 2: Towards the North

The hotel with its smooth and skillfully crafted oaken decorations was almost as homely as the Golden Oaks Library back in Ponyville. Rarity and I had both had a good sleep, neither waking up over the course of the night as far as I could tell. However, I had a nagging feeling that something was missing – I couldn’t remember my dream, even though the emotions it had left in my mind were still somewhat present. I had woken up sweating and shivering, which was very odd considering how warm and comfortable the bed was.

After forcing myself out of the bed, I walked towards the sole window, a fairly large one at that. What I saw made my eyes open wide in amazement – Celestia’s sun was just rising. As the giant ball of light and fire slowly crept up from the horizon, the city and the endless fields surrounding it were gradually lit up. It was like a blanket of brightness was slowly dragging itself across the view, wrapping the world into its loving embrace.

“Already up, Twi?” came a soft voice from behind me, followed by a long yawn.

“Yes,” I mumbled, my eyes fixed at the view in front of me. Strange emotions surged into my mind. I had been wanting to enjoy this moment of serenity alone, though Rarity was perhaps the only pony I could have wanted to share the moment with. She’d certainly appreciate the beauty of the morning just as much as I did.

“Good. I’d have hated to wake you up like last morning, darling. How did you sleep?”

“Well, I guess…” I replied. I didn’t remember a thing from the night, so I had probably been fast asleep for its entirety. However, I did feel a bit exhausted despite having rested for over ten hours.

“Splendid! So did I. It’s not every night that you dream of mysterious woods in the far North. Quite the landscapes! I must admit that you were right about the scenery being even more beautiful than here, Twilight.”

Woods… woods. Yes. A bit of the dream came back to me – I had indeed been in some kind of forest. I closed my eyes and focused my mind on the glimpse of the dream, trying my best to grab the memory and pull it into my active mind from the depths of my subconsciousness. The information was there, but it seemed lodged somewhere deep down, causing my efforts to remember it become difficult. I could sense that at any moment, the dream would pour into my mind and-

A shiver went down my spine, causing my concentration to falter. Out of the blue my mind had become clogged, my brain sending panicked impulses to every inch of my body. The already dried sweat started to build up again.

“Twilight?”

“Huh?” The irrational fear lingered in my mind, but when I let my grasp of the dream go, it retreated back to the far reaches of my head.

“You have that ponderous look on your face again.”

“It’s early in the morning and I’m watching a sunrise unmatched by any I’ve ever seen. Of course I’m pondering, Rarity,” I said with a sigh. The excuse was probably good enough; it was half of the truth, after all.

Rarity joined me in front of the window. The shine of the rising sun created beautiful contrasts on the mare’s body as even her smallest details cast a dark shadow on her coat. I noticed the corners of her mouth turning upwards as she laid her gaze on the sight I’d been admiring for the past fifteen minutes. Her mane was still hanging straight after the night – and seeing how astoundingly it reflected the rays of light pouring in from the window, I had to wonder why she even made it each morning. I couldn’t help but think how good Rarity looked without all the fluff and makeup. It was weird to see her naked liked that.

But no matter how much I tried to enjoy Rarity’s company and her beautiful form, feelings of dread and anxiety started to creep into me. What do I even feel towards her? And what was the dream about?

We stood still for a fair while, just watching as the sun rose higher and higher in the sky. We would have stayed there for a much longer time, had the train towards the Crystal Mountains not left in such an early hour.

After finally getting our faces away from the window, we ate breakfast in the dining hall of the hotel. I knew that the precious paintings and colorful tapestry would likely be our last encounter with anything high society, but didn’t dare tell that to Rarity. I was certain that she wasn’t going to appreciate our method of travel to Lily Valley at all.

The walk to the train station from the hotel wasn’t long. It was apparent from the get-go that this ride would be nothing like the luxurious one we used to get to Hoofington. Even from the outside the row of boxcars and wagons looked dilapidated: they were made of battered steel, the red paint on their surfaces more or less flaking off. The smell of burning coal clearly indicated that this train had no magical spell matrices to help its ride. Rarity had a very unsure look on her face, making me a bit worried of her mental state. This was doubtlessly a nasty surprise for her.

Rarity grimaced as we stepped inside the train, her eyes wandering around the ragged surfaces and dull colors. She visibly shook as we made our way through the bare brown hallway full of dirt and trash. But as we reached the cabin assigned to us, she could contain herself no longer. “Sweet Celestia! How can they do this to us! Just look at those bunks! Look at them!”

I peeked inside our humble cabin from behind her. The walls were unpainted panels of bare planks and iron surfaces. The metallic parts looked weathered and rusty. The two bunks contained no mattresses or blankets, and a layer of dust rested on top of them. Not particularly inviting, I had to admit. The only thing in decent shape was the window – and if the rest of the train was of any indication, this was probably only because it had had to be changed after breaking.

“This is what the trains are like in these parts of Equestria. You’ll have to get used to it,” I noted with a dull tone; it wasn’t like I was excited of traveling in a garbage can like this myself.

“Get used to THIS?! How am I supposed to not think of the trainwreck this room has suffered, when spiders crawl on my hooves and the paint is falling off the roof on my head?”

“It’s not that bad…” I didn’t really believe that myself. It really was that bad.

“But it is! Why didn’t the Princess just send one of her chariots to fly us to our destination?”

“You know how busy she and her guards have been lately with the diplomatic situation in Gryphonia. She simply couldn’t spare any ponies to help us get there.”

“I know! But… but…” Rarity’s voice died down as she took a quick glance to her left, where a spider was indeed hanging from the roof. Right in front of her face.

“EEYUGH! SPIDER! GET AWAY FROM ME!” Rarity shouted, her eyes rolling back and her stature crumbling.

I caught my friend with a bubble of magic before she hit the floor. This is going to be a very long trip.

The train rattled in the darkness of a mighty forest. I couldn’t see much from the window – only a blur of tall, majestic pines and the occasional spruce. The setting sun only very briefly blinked from behind the green curtain.

Noticing my concentration failing again, I tried to get back to the book I was reading, Major Archaeological Finds in the Crystal Mountains. I tried and tried, but just couldn’t read more than a few sentences. I felt anxious about this whole situation, the stress of Rarity having infected me with equal amounts of negative emotions.

Rarity was frantically cleaning up our cabin, further hampering my attempts to read. She was wildly swaying around, sweeping every corner of the room with her magic. Even though the whole train was a mess, I had to give them that our cabin was quite spacious. If my friend could get this place cleaned, it would actually become quite comfortable. Well, dismissing the fact that the bunks were just hard slabs of iron.

“Done,” Rarity reported with a tired voice. “Now I can finally rest...”

She blankly stared at the not-so-inviting bunk, sighing. Rarity’s face looked stoic, but I could see her eyes were on the verge of wetting up as she laid down on the cold surface. I levitated a pillow from my saddlebag towards her.

“Oh? Where’d you get that, Twi?”

“Well… if you promise not to tell anyone…” I told her with a cringe.

She deadpanned. “Tell what?”

“I have used this pillow since I was a foal back in Canterlot. This is a bit embarrassing, but I have trouble sleeping without it. But anyway, take the pillow. I know you need it more than I do.”

Rarity raised her eyebrows. “Darling, I don’t quite understand how you have formed such a relationship with a pillow. However, it’s clearly quite important to you, and it’d be simply wrong for me to use it. It’s something personal that belongs to only you.”

“It’s a pillow. You can’t seriously think I would give it more value than your comfort, especially seeing how you could simply return it to me after the night.”

“But it’s important to you! It even reminds you of your family. I couldn’t even think of asking you to loan something like that to me.”

“Celestia-damnit, why don’t you just take it? It’s not like I’m going to need it now, Rarity! I never go to bed before the sun has lowered under the horizon!” This was turning extremely silly and frustrating.

“I can’t! It’s your personal item!”

Why does she make giving help so hard? I thought as I forcibly pushed the pillow towards Rarity with my magic. The argument was so utterly pointless that I had a hard time controlling my urges to just shout with all my lungs at her.

Rarity pushed it back.

My patience was over. With a surge of magic the pillow flew across the cabin and collided with Rarity’s face, making a loud thumping noise. I had caught her off-guard: her eyes opened wide as she fell onto her rump. Deciding I should go vent my anger off before my mane would burst into flames like it sometimes did, I opened the door to go for a small walk.

Of course, there wasn’t much space to walk in or things to see in the train. At least I could enjoy solitude for a moment, as Rarity hadn’t followed. I couldn’t comprehend her actions at all. Why was it so hard to her to accept help with such a thing? Why was she so stubborn to refuse? Am I a bad friend for getting angry at her?

I noticed how empty the train was when I walked from wagon to wagon. In the three ones it held, I only saw a couple of ponies. The last time I had been on a train to the North, there’d been many more aboard, but it was very apparent that this one was purely for freight purposes with the wagons added in to serve the few customers wanting a hitch to the Crystal Mountains, some of them perhaps mine workers returning from a vacation. Remembering how long the train had seemed from the outside, there must have been dozens of boxcars locked to each other.

The brown, dark hallways were narrow, and as I trod through them I felt like they were trying to squeeze me in. Perhaps Rarity’s reaction had simply been stress caused by this sad excuse for comfortable transportation. I had seen her freak out because of lesser things.

After wandering around the train for some time I decided to return to our cabin. I was still slightly worried of what Rarity would say to me, but it wasn’t like I could hide from her in a small enclosed string of wagons. If I have failed terribly and ruined our friendship, then so be it, I thought while closing in on the cabin’s door. My heart pounded fast; I was afraid of having terribly upset my friend over such a small matter.

But as I opened the door, Rarity was nowhere to be seen. My pillow was still idly lying on the floor. I knew there weren’t many places my friend could be in, but still got instantly worried; you never knew what desperate mare could do. Has she jumped off the train to get rid of me? Oh Celestia, I’m a horrible friend!

“Rarity!” I shouted, emerging from the room. “Where are you?”

A weird sensation had started to fill me. I felt like a heavy weight had been put on my chest, making it hard for me to breathe. I started to frantically run around the wagon, taking a peek inside all of the cabins. The first yielded nothing. The second-

My gaze was locked at a large cardboard box standing in the far corner of the cabin. The room was exactly as filthy as ours had been, but I couldn’t comprehend why somepony would use a place like this as storage. The walls were completely devoid of paint, panels of bare tanned oak making them up. Wind blew through the partially broken window.

Except that it didn’t. It was silent. I couldn’t hear a thing – the rattle of the train, the sound of me gasping to inhale after forgetting to breathe – all gone.

A shiver went down my spine as I turned around. The train looked exactly like it had before, only it wasn’t moving anymore. I was assaulted by feelings of dread and wrongness. I knew this couldn’t really be happening. The train could not have stopped in seconds while I mysteriously lost my ability to hear. I exited the cabin into the dry hallway, my heart beating like my life depended on it.

I turned to my left and was paralyzed. There it stood in all its might, all its glory, stretching across the small corridor. My breath was taken away, terror filling every corner of my mind.

“Twilight?” a hazy voice called from somewhere. The image in front of my eyes warped and distorted, suddenly collapsing completely. I opened my eyes only to see the cold metal floor of the wagon. I tried to raise my head in vain. My neck hurt terribly.

I heard hoofsteps coming closer to me. “What happened?” somepony asked. Realizing the speaker was Rarity, I forcibly rose to a sitting position, causing my muscles to ache.

The white mare awaiting for my answer looked very distressed. “Uh… well… I entered the cabin with the box, and then-“

“What cabin?”

“This one, duh,” I said, frowning.

“Darling, I can assure that there are absolutely no boxes in our cabin.”

I turned around, noticing that I was indeed in front of the cabin that’d been assigned to us. The fact that I had hallucinated for Luna-knew how long suddenly struck me. At least Rarity was in the hallway, indicating that my trip to the imaginary land hadn’t been going on for my entire walk.

“Phew. I must have hit my head while falling or something like that. Even managed to have quite the nightmare while my lights were out.”

“A nightmare? It was not about our petty argument, was it?”

“No. In fact, you were missing in it, causing me to panic and stumble into one of the other cabins. One had a mysterious box in it,” I explained while trying to stand up and regain my composure. “All of the sudden I couldn’t hear anything. When I backed out of the room, I saw –“

A moment of silence ensued as I rubbed my forehead, trying to remember just what it had been. This can’t be true. You couldn’t have forgot something you saw only moments ago. But no matter how hard I tried to reach the memory from the deepest pits of my mind, I simply couldn’t. It was like somepony had taken an eraser and swept it from my brain.

“Well?” Rarity continued with an unsure voice. Her face had a look of worry on it.

“I don’t know what I saw. But it sure was a frightening sight, that much I can remember. Thanks for waking me up, Rarity,” I replied with a hint of confusion in my voice. My head was full of questions, but seeing my friend worry about my well-being gave some relief – at least she wasn’t having a grudge over our petty argument. I still had trouble trying to understand her weird behaviour, though.

Rarity smiled, comforting me a bit. “Perhaps we should go get some fresh air,” she suggested.

“Sure. It’d be nice after all of that,” I said, waving my hoof in the air. I felt an urge to hug my friend, but before I even had the chance to act, I mentally lashed at myself for even thinking of something like that. She’d just push me away. It’s certain that she hasn’t forgot our dispute yet. I really have to ask her about the whole pillow incident…

The hallway felt much less depressing as I walked behind the white mare. For some reason, my attention had completely shifted towards Rarity – the elegant style she trod with was something extraordinary. Her flanks swung from one side to the other with a grace matching that of the snobbish Canterlotian elite, forming wild images into my mind.

Stop that. You can’t let the fact that she saved your life and comforted you at your worst moment cloud your judgement like that. You’re only friends, and you don’t want to ruin that.

I was anxious to feel the strange infatuation to Rarity bellow up like that again, but there wasn’t much I could do to restrain myself. I buried my feelings deeper into my consciousness, but it was a shallow grave.

The slightly stuffy air of the wagon switched to a strong, chilly breeze when Rarity opened the door in the end of the corridor. Where our wagon connected to the next, there was a small platform on the outside to stand on. Rarity grabbed the thin but secure iron rails with her hooves, raising her head towards the sky and closing her eyes. I was tempted to do the same, but I couldn’t bring myself to close my eyelids – the fear of afterimages from my hallucination showing up was too much.

“We are but two days from Ponyville, and already we’ve almost got killed by lightning, I almost lost my sanity when seeing this train, and now you experienced a disturbing hallucination,” Rarity said with sigh. “I really hope the Crystal Mountains are as beautiful as in my dream and in your descriptions, or else I’ll get very, very depressed.”

“Don’t worry, they are. The hike might be a bit hard for two unicorns like us, but I’m sure that we’ll get through that, too.”

“I suppose. But what will we do when we finally arrive to the excavation site? How on Equus are we going to identify the surface, artifact, door, or whatever it is?”

I smiled, seeing all the books I had taken with me on this mission with my mind’s eye. “We’ll just use the books and our wits to solve the problem. It will be tough, I know, but nothing we can’t overcome. When we work on it together, it’ll reveal its secrets to us in no time”

Rarity raised an eyebrow. “I don’t really know about that. I mean, sure, we probably are a decent pair for work like that, but I have no experience with anything older than Shakesponian plays, darling. And what about the missing archaeologists?”

“I have thought of that. My calculations indicate that the risk to life and limb is low, as whatever beast or other foul thing gobbled up those ponies has likely moved elsewhere. Predators have no reason to stay in one place if there’s no additional food, and a mountainside isn’t very rich in that regard.”

My friend still looked slightly nervous, but said nothing further. We silently stood there for a while, enjoying the furious breeze that swirled our manes around. Being so close to Rarity made my heart flutter despite my decision to try and keep my suddenly onset emotions at bay. I knew it was only caused by her saving my life, but no matter how hard I tried to rationalize it, I couldn’t stop the emotions from pounding my mind. I closed the mental door between my active consciousness and the absurd feelings, hoping they’d stay away for some time.

And so we continued our ride towards the sunset we couldn’t see, the wall of trees on both sides of the train swiftly racing past us.

The eerie light of my horn cast long shadows at the walls and floor, the dark forms dancing around the corridor as I trod on. I simply had to take a peek. Just to be sure.

Giving a painfully loud creak, the door opened. I didn’t want to wake Rarity up.

When I slowly slid the door out of my way with my hooves, the darkness of the room retreated little by little, the dim light of my horn starting to fill it.

A thick layer of dust laid on the floor, just like in my dream. This is not a good, Twilight. You can’t let silly hallucinations control your act-

I had to do it.

The door slammed wide open. In the far corner sat a sturdy-looking cardboard box. Suddenly, I found it hard to breathe. My hooves started shaking and my mind trembled under the impossible sight I was witnessing. I could see the light flickering – concentrating on even such a simple spell felt like an insurmountable task.

The train wasn’t rattling anymore.

I shut my eyes tight, fighting the vision back. I didn’t want to witness it again, no. As only the blackness remained, I started to feel the shaky movement of the floor underneath me again. I opened my eyes, gasping for air.

It was still there, but I felt like being in control of myself again. Breathing was now easier, the surprise of having seen the box no longer so strongly affecting my mind. Using spells would still be too much, but the cabin was partially lit by moonlight pouring in from the broken window. There was nothing I could to resist the urge of seeing what the mysterious container held, my inner curiousness taking the better of me.

With a single quick sweep of my hoof, the box was open. The moonlight didn’t reach all the way down, and thus I had to lower my head into it to see anything.

My nose touched something rough. I put my hoof in, grabbed whatever it was and pulled it out. The moonlight revealed what I was holding – a book bound in tattered grey leather. A cover picture was painted on it, depicting a pine forest in the foot of several sharp, snow-topped mountains. My hoof trembled, but I managed to keep my hold of it. Finding the final bits of courage inside me, I pulled the book closer to see the title.

There was none.

Chapter 3: Visions

You have to find out what the book is about. Simply have to. You’ll never know if the fate of Equestria or your sanity depends on it, I thought as I tried to pierce the stained page full of barely intelligible writing with my stare.

…atop the mountain, Princ… declared…

I buried my head in my hooves. For two days I had tried to decipher the writing in the mysterious book, but its bad condition had made comprehending the text all but impossible. The pages were tattered and some kind of dark brown liquid had spilled on them, further hampering my efforts to read. Halfway through the pages had become entirely blank. I felt frustrated.

“Making any progress, Twi?” a soft voice called from next to me, snapping me back to reality. Rarity had sat on my uninviting bunk. My legs were strained by the uncomfortable position I’d been glued to for hours, making any movement painful.

“Nope. This book makes my head hurt, and not just because of the sleep deprivation it has caused. This far I can only tell that it’s a story about some unnamed princess doing something in the North.”

“You really need to relax a bit,” Rarity said, wrapping her hoof around me. I let out a sigh, levitated the book into my pack and shivered. Only by rigorous effort was I able to avoid wetting my eyes up. I felt so desperate – I knew the book was somehow important, yet I had made no progress with it. I hadn’t slept more than an hour during the last two nights, the fear of experiencing the same nightmare, hallucination, or whatever it had been taking the better of me.

Rarity’s coat radiated a comforting warmness. I leaned on her, all the power left in me gone. With her, I was able to be myself and let out some of the inner turmoil wreaking havoc inside my mind. After a while in her hooves, I raised my head and looked her in the eyes. Rarity’s wasn’t smiling. In fact, I could see how her facial muscles had tensed up, indicating the stress she’d been subjected to in the last few days. But from the sapphire of her eyes I could sense how worried she was for me.

Slowly it became harder and harder to see as the world blurred up. I took in a shuddering breath, resting my head on Rarity’s shoulder. My mind became just as blurred as my sight, making any rational thinking too hard for my overworked brain. The cabin was now dimly lit despite it being an afternoon, as a storm almost as furious as the one we’d experienced in Hoofington raged outside and the intensity of the glow of my horn had reduced drastically.

“It’s alright, Twi. There’s nothing to worry about,” my friend whispered into my ear. I could feel the tears rolling down my cheeks as I clamped my eyes shut, Rarity’s soothing voice finally breaking me. After crying in the warm embrace for a short while, my head started to feel heavy. The haze that had built up in my consciousness filled it, and I drifted to sleep.

I gently cuddled with Rarity. I felt like my head was sailing somewhere around the puffy white clouds in the sky, watching the rolling hills beneath us from above…

And there we were, now happily bouncing on a cloud and smiling at each other. The views from here were incredible – endless meadows and fields stretched all the way to the horizon, with only the occasional oak dotting the mattress of yellow and light green. The sun brightly shone above us.

Suddenly Rarity grabbed my hooves, pulling me closer to her. I could see so deep into her eyes that I felt like I was drowning into them. They closed on me, until our lips were almost touching. I hadn’t even realized how much I’d wanted this, now that it had final-

I fell through the cloud. Air rushed past me, and I felt like a huge weight had materialized into my stomach, pulling me down towards the ground.

“Rarity!” I desperately shouted, terror filling my mind. It was certain that I couldn’t possibly survive a fall like this.

But when I hit the ground, the world didn’t cut into blackness like I had thought – in fact, it hadn’t hurt at all. Instead of getting mangled in the long fall, I landed irrationally softly in the middle of a now completely grey world, fog all around me. I could feel wet grass under my body. A weak but distinctly dank breeze flailed my mane around.

When I rose up, I noticed that it was impossible to see past a few yards. And what I did see wasn’t comforting at all. Around and under me grew tall grey grass, looking like something had drained all the colors out of it. The wetness of the blades of grass made me shiver of cold.

“Twilight Sparkle,” a genderless voice called from somewhere.

I was scared to death. This was not good. Not good at all. I had no clue where I was, but something certainly was out there in the fog.

“Twilight Sparkle,” the voice boomed.

“What do you want from me?” I asked, confusedly glancing around the featureless grassland bounded by the grey walls of mist.

I stood completely still for minutes, but no answer came. After waiting for some time, I took a careful step forward. The ground didn’t swallow me and I wasn’t attacked by some unimaginably foul horrors, so I decided to press on and see whether there was anything to be found.

Everything felt like a strange dream. The place I was in was like a shelter or chamber built to cut me out of the outside of the world, but I could sense how very real every bit of this was. The wetness was almost unbearable, but I had to continue.

The land under me started to slope upwards. Every step felt heavier than the last, my bad shape becoming apparent as I climbed. At least the coldness was now gone, replaced with sweat.

“Twilight Sparkle. Watch.”

The fog disappeared and I was now on the side of mountain, its snowy top looming in front of me. Taking a look behind me, I saw a grey canopy down below, extending all the way to the horizon. There were no other distinct features in the landscape, the forest being almost unnaturally flat and dull. Where there were mountains, there usually were hills and deep lakes too. But it seemed like this peak was a quite lonely one, for no others protruded from the monotonous ground.

A distinct trail formed in front of my eyes, clearing the ground of the foliage and paving it with some substance of a darker hue of grey, the color that seemed to rule this plane without contest. I continued my ascension in the monochromatic scenery.

With no way of knowing how much time spent walking, I tried to count seconds in my head. I managed to do so for twenty minutes, but the total lack of vivid colors around me made such an uninteresting and simple task feel so utterly boring that keeping up was impossible.

After what felt like hours, perhaps even days, I arrived to a large flat circle on the mountainside. It was surrounded by nine enormous boulders, a bright white line extending on the ground from each towards the middle. The hunks of rock looked very imposing, their dark stone looking like it could swallow me whole if I went too close. But still I knew I had to carry on, as there was something in the middle that I absolutely needed to see, though I had no idea where that sensation came from.

With a calm trot I made my way towards the crossway of the lines. The ground under my hooves shook a bit, but there was no reason to care – all I could feel was the draw of the center.

I reached it.

Suddenly, I couldn’t feel anything under my hooves. The ground was no more, and I started falling once again. Like before when I had got to this place the air rushed past me, creating a feeling of complete helplessness. Everything around me was now black – I was falling in a void devoid of anything living or dead. I screamed in terror for what seemed like minutes, unable to resist the terror that had struck my mind.

The darkness abruptly faded away and was replaced by the sight of the oaken wall of the cabin. I felt something soft under my head, but the position I’d been sleeping in certainly wasn’t a very comfortable one. My mouth was agape and I shook violently, barely avoiding letting out a scream. I didn’t want to create unwanted attention.

Why did I see a dream like that? Is the book destroying my sanity? I nervously pondered, closing my eyes again. I didn’t want to delve too deep into my consciousness right now.

No, that’s not the case, silly. You have simply overtaxed your brain. Additionally, there’s no doubt that trying to make sense of something like that wretched book will cause you nightmares.

I slowly slid my eyelids open, now ready to take on the real world again. Trying to rise to a sitting position made my muscles ache terribly, but somehow I still managed to do it. Only then did I notice that the softness under my head hadn’t been the pillow – Rarity was sleeping tightly in my bunk, curled in a fetal position, causing me to blush. She looked incredibly cute in the gloomy morning light that hesitantly lit the room from the window, her chest heaving with a relaxed pace.

But when I rose up, I couldn’t bring myself to go for a morning stretch outside. My gaze was fixed at the sleeping white mare. Her mane was a complete mess and she took up so little space that her muscles would likely feel even more strained than mine when she woke up. I desperately wanted to just lay down again, wake Rarity up and cuddle with her just like in my dream.

As I shook in the chilly room, guilt crept into my mind. There I stood just staring at the mare who’d gently put me to sleep, saved my life and even left to a risky mission with me. And I hadn’t even thanked her, for Celestia’s sake!

Before I could decide whether to get on the move or not, Rarity shifted her painful-looking position. She let out a confused “ow” as her head hit the wall with a loud thunking noise, quickly raising her hoof to rub it.

“Ouch,” I reacted, unable to control my instincts.

Rarity stretched her legs, letting out a loud yawn. Her eyes flared open. “Morning, Twi. Or is it even morning yet? It’s so dark in here that it could as well be an evening,” Rarity said with a tired voice. “Just give me five more minutes, darling…”

I looked out of the window. A light drizzle painted the landscape with a grey tint, the forest now changed to rugged hills devoid of any trees higher than a few feet. “It’s raining just like yesterday. The weather isn’t controlled by pegasi at these latitudes.”

“Why not?” Rarity growled, turning her back towards me.

“It’d take more ponies than those few who even live here. It would be a complete waste of resources.”

My friend only murmured something unintelligible for an answer, covering her head in a pillow, obviously the one I’d tried to force onto her a few days back.

“I didn’t quite catch that, Rarity.”

“Uhm… I just asked you to join me here. It’s awful cold to sleep alone in a bed made of a slab of iron,” my friend replied with a low tone in her voice.

I felt the heat of a fierce blush light up on my cheeks, my mouth falling wide open. Did she really ask that? Yes, I think she did. Utterly paralyzed by the unexpected invitation, I again failed to move anywhere from where I was standing.

“You shouldn’t keep a lady waiting, Twi.” Rarity shivered a bit.

Taking a hesitant step after another, I walked towards her. Don’t do anything foolish, Twilight. You know she’d hate you.

Rarity turned to face me as I lowered onto the bunk. She looked amused, and opened her mouth. “What’s taking so long?”

There was no reason for me to answer. I simply laid down besides her, careful to not make contact. But the white mare had other things in mind. She rolled on her side, catching me in a loose embrace. Her coat felt incredibly warm, but not as much as my cheeks. I could feel my heart racing with a frightening pace.

“Much better now,” Rarity said with a smile, looking me directly in the eyes. “It sure was getting cold in here.”

“Um... Ra- Rarity?”

“Yes, darling?”

What should I say? Confess that I have the weirdest crush on her? No, you can’t do that. You know she’s only into stallions, and would likely never want to talk to you again if you did the mistake of telling her how you feel. So keep your mouth shut.

“Just forget it,” I sheepishly answered.

Rarity raised her eyebrows, turning around once again. Had she not done that, I’d probably have fainted; being so close to her made me extremely nervous. For a while we laid there, keeping each other warm in the slightly dank room. I knew the moment wouldn’t last forever, but I tried to enjoy it while it lasted. Rarity started to lightly snooze – and I blushed yet again to her cuteness. She couldn’t sleep for too long, however, as the train would arrive to Lily Valley in only a few hours if it was on schedule.

Rarity and I kept glancing at the window while the rolling speed of the landscape slowed down after each beat of the train’s steam engine. The weather was now fair, the sun lighting most of the landscape up from behind rolling clouds, the rain having ended. Large clearings appeared at times, enabling us to see the magnificent mountains that had been hiding behind the curtain of trees for most of our trip. The rugged and grey peaks stood tall above everything else, their snowy tops reflecting the rays of light with an almost blinding intensity.

We had packed all of our stuff inside our saddlebags and were now excitedly waiting for the train to stop, for it would be a relief to finally get out of the wagon that resembled more a transportation hold for domestic animals than ponies. Despite the unpredictable weather, we both had high hopes regarding the town ahead.

The train screeched to a halt, and without a word both of us quickly walked to the exit, eager to get some fresh air. As I opened the door and jumped onto the weathered concrete platform, the staleness of the train was just a bad memory. In front of us stood a large red building, delicately crafted out of some wood. A slightly rusty plaque had been bolted below the roof – Welcome to Lily Valley, it simply told.

“So we’re finally here,” Rarity said, smiling after getting away from the filthy wagon. “Where’s the guide Celestia promised? And what does he even look like?”

I swept my gaze across the station. The lengthy platform was devoid of any ponies beside us, the warm late-summer breeze whirling leaves and dust around it. I had been expecting the stallion to meet us here, but apparently that assumption had been wrong. Normally my preparations would have been extensive enough to cover this, but the strange book had stolen all of my attention for the past few days. “Um… I… uh…” I managed to mutter out.

Rarity gave me an annoyed look. “Well, what are we going to do then?”

There weren’t really many options to choose from: either we’d wait here in hopes of him coming, search for him or simply use our reputation to get a place to stay in and let the guard find us. It didn’t take long for me to evaluate the best alternative.

“Alright, Rarity. Here’s what I think we should do: first off, we have to get something to eat. After that finding a motel or such to stay in will be our first priority, and when we have done that, we’ll simply sleep through the night. I’m sure he’ll be looking for us, since he won’t get paid if the ponies he’s supposed to assist are nowhere to be seen.”

My friend nodded, and so we began to walk the narrow road that started from behind the station building; for some reason, Lily Valley had been built half a mile from the railroad. A not-very-dense pine forest surrounded the dirt path, enabling us to see all the way to the town. In the distance, a few brown buildings stood. It was obvious even from here that they were built of big untreated logs. Homely trails of smoke rose from many chimneys.

As we came closer to the village, the forest abruptly stopped. Fields of rye, potato and some other plants extended across hundreds of feet. In the middle of them were a dozen of buildings – Lily Valley was a very humble town, the farmhouses and other structures packed together like a herd of sheep. Only by its red color, seemingly the only hue of paint in use at these latitudes, could I recognize the Common House, an inn was known for its good meals and warm beds. On the outskirts of the fields stood some smaller houses.

“So this is it?” Rarity asked.

“Pretty much. I’ve been here once before, and it looks like the place hasn’t changed a bit. We can eat and rest in the Common House, the red building sitting right there,” I said, pointing my hoof at it.

“A backwater tavern. I guess I shouldn’t have expected anything more,” my friend sighed.

“Don’t prejudice a place by its looks, Rarity! This inn is probably one of the finest in the North. And if all else fails to impress you, at least the views from the windows are incredible!” The location of the town was indeed quite spectacular. It was questionable whether Lily Valley was an actual valley, but from the ground it sure looked like one. The forest on all of the town’s sides started to slope almost right after the end of the fields, the land gradually steepening and rising until meeting the treeline of the mountains that bordered the huge valley. It was somewhat overwhelming that our destination was not on one of those peaks, but on a mount dozens of miles to the east. It was visible, but had a slightly blue tint because of the distance. The hike would certainly be a long one.

“Whatever you say, Twi… it can’t be as bad as the train, mind you.”

The night was a cold one, but Rarity and I didn’t have to suffer from it. My friend was already asleep under warm blankets. She snoozed with a quiet yet audible voice, making me feel like cuddling her. If the now-doused fireplace hadn’t still radiated its heat all around the room, I would possibly even have done that to simply feel warm.

I stood by the window, my gaze locked onto the distant peak. The clouds had rolled away and stars now painted the sky with their otherworldly grace, dimly lighting the landscape up. But in the side of the faraway mountain, I could see something else – bright fires kept appearing, momentarily illuminating a small area. There was no way for me to recognize the details, but what I saw made me cringe.

Chapter 4: On a Trail

“Do you like them?” I asked from Rarity, holding a bunch of roses in my mouth.

She seemed delighted. “Oh my, Twilight! They look astounding; thank you so much!”

Rarity smiled, and so did I. “I’m glad that you-“

I felt a light pat on my head. “Huh?”

“Twilight.”

“Twilight… rise and shine!”

I saw a white face in front of my eyes, only inches away. “Gah!” I confusedly let out, snapping my body upwards with a swift jerk and almost falling out of the bed. Rarity barely dodged me.

“Twii! Time to wake up, darling!” my friend giggled. Her voice felt incredibly loud and painful, just like the light pouring in from the window. It looked like the morning was already in its full glory, and I had missed the doubtlessly wonderful sunrise.

Giving Rarity a scornful look, I rose up from the bed. I was greeted by the awfully cold and intimidatingly shaking planks of the wooden floor. Our room was in the second story, and falling down would certainly be painful. The building was in good shape and holding together, but you never knew if mould or age had taken the integrity of the wood away.

“That wasn’t very pleasant of you, Rarity,” I commented. She smiled back.

“Perhaps it wasn’t. But you really needed to wake you up, for it’s almost midday already!”

I was dumbfounded. A glance at the old cuckoo clock by the wall told that what Rarity had told was true. “Midday? That’s… bad,” I said while putting my brain to work. Schedule for today… now what was it…

Leave at dawn with the guide. Cover as many miles as possible.

All my magical might was almost instantly put to work: I threw all the stuff I’d taken out of my bag back in with a speed not many ponies could hope to match. “We’re late, Rarity!”

“Huh?” she responded.

“We were supposed to leave at sunrise! This might mean an extra day of traveling!”

“Don’t stress about it. There’s no hurry. Besides, our guide still hasn’t shown up,” Rarity said with a soothing voice. “I wouldn’t terribly mind hiking for a day more, as the scenery here is simply marvelous. Not to even mention that with a more leisurely pace we wouldn’t catch too much sweat!”

She was in the right, of course. I managed to calm down a bit, but we still had a huge problem with the former guard being somewhere. We didn’t even know his name.

“In any case, we’d better go ask around and look for him. I might have good enough navigation spells for us to get to the excavation site, but he knows the terrain like the back of his hoof. Our trip would likely take double the amount of time without him.”

Rarity nodded. “You’re right, darling. Let’s not waste any more time.”

Having agreed to take action, we made our way down through the dark staircase, taking peeks at the beautiful but somewhat ominous paintings depicting the Crystal Mountains that covered the walls. The ground floor was very much like that of the Apple family – the building was just like any farmhouse, except for the fancy decorations and a small counter to buy food, beverages and lodging from. Unfortunately, the receptionist wasn’t there to greet us. He was probably working on the fields just like everypony else.

“So, what are we going to do now, Twilight?”

“I’m not sure, but I think the best decision would be to simply go and ask around on the fields. It’s not like we’d disturb them for more than a minute.”

My friend looked a bit unconvinced, but agreed with a nod. We headed out of the large wooden door to be greeted by a cold morning breeze. Like we’d predicted, no ponies were by the houses, all being either working or doing something else.

The stroll to the fields was a short one. Everywhere ponies were cutting the stalks of rye; the second harvest of the season was on its way. The first to stumble upon us was a red-maned and brown-coated unicorn mare. Sweat dripped down from her forehead.

“What business are you here for, strangers?” she asked without a hint of excitement in her voice. In fact, the mare looked a bit nervous.

“We’re looking for our guide – a former royal guard,” Rarity answered before I could get my mouth open. “Do you have any idea where he might be? We’d also appreciate if you knew what he looks like.”

“You mean Grey Thunder?” the mare let out, looking at us with her eyes wide open. “His coat is grey and mane brown. And in case you have trouble identifying him out of all the other dull-colored ponies here, there’s one feature that stands out. He limps.”

Rarity was again quick to speak. “Thank you very much, Miss...”

The mouth of the brown mare was agape for a moment. “Autumn Harvest. And you are? ”

“Rarity. Pleased to meet you. I’m sorry for bothering you this much, but could you also tell where he is right now?”

“Well… I haven’t seen him around for a week. The best bet would probably be his cottage. It’s a few miles to the east from here – a path leads there from the edge of the forest.” The brown mare’s eyes were wildly glancing around. “But I think I have to get going now. It was nice to meet you, strangers.”

With a brisk trot, she left us standing alone on the meadow. I could only wonder what caused her to be in such a hurry, but there was no reason to ponder about it too much. Taking a look at the forest, I could indeed see a path.

“Let’s get going. We don’t have more time to waste,” I said to my friend.

“Alright, Twi. Don’t stress too much about this. It’s not like a delay of a day would end the world.” Rarity told, winking. I could but scowl at her as we walked towards the woods.

The field ended very abruptly into a wall of trees. Tall pines and spruces extended towards the sky indicating the end of the tended land, making me feel dizzy. Ahead of us was a dirt path surrounded by the foliage and underbrush that thrived this close to the fertilized fields. The path continued into darkness, the thick canopy overhead keeping most of the light out.

Really? I could only think.

For some reason I couldn’t comprehend, I put a hoof inside my saddlebag, feeling for the rough surface of the book. It was there. A temptation of pulling it out stormed my mind, but I was able to resist the sudden urge.

Yes, Twilight. Really. A dark and scary path in the woods. Just what you wanted, huh? Go ahead. Continue. You want to know where this leads to, don’t you?

“Twilight?”

Rarity was already on the path, a dozen yards in the woods.

“Oh, sorry. I was just lost in my thoughts,” I said, already following my friend deeper.

At both sides of the partially overgrown path emerged trees and thick underbrush like walls. Rarity was walking in front of me, glancing around with a frown on her face. I didn’t like the gloom atmosphere of the forest either, but it’d have been pointless to turn back now after ten minutes of walking. We’d probably arrive to Grey’s cottage in no time anyway.

Suddenly, Rarity stopped in her tracks, staring blankly ahead. I peeked past her, but didn’t see anything but the barren path and darkness ahead of us.

“Rarity? Something wrong?”

She stumbled back, letting out a loud gasp and coughing. Turning around to face me with a blank look, she inhaled deeply.

“Did you see that, Twilight?” she asked with a nervous voice.

“See what?”

Rarity raised her eyebrows. “The… the…” She shook her head. “Just forget it.”

When my friend turned around again, neither of us moved a muscle. The forest was completely silent apart from the noises of our breathing. It was just as dark and broody here as in the Everfree, and that was saying a lot. The memory of being turned to stone by a cockatrice was already creeping into my mind. With a brief surge of willpower, I managed to get my legs working again and walked to Rarity, who was still staring ahead, shivering a bit.

“The faster we walk, the faster we also get out of here. Remember that we’re on a mission. We have to do this.” Yeah, more like you want to impress Celestia at any cost. Not to even talk about your friend…

“Well, I guess we don’t have much of a choice,” Rarity answered with a sigh.

We slowly picked up the pace again, carefully watching the woods and keeping close together. Fortunately, it didn’t take long for us to reach the cottage. After only a couple of minutes, we saw a small wooden building at the end of the path. Light was coming out of its sole window, casting dim shadows on the ground. Relieved by finally getting somewhere, Rarity and I traded smiles.

Swiftly moving to the door, we knocked and waited for a response. And waited. But after a while, nopony had opened. I could but wonder whether we could get in through the window if our guide wasn’t currently there, when Rarity knocked at the door once again. This time, it opened. In front of us was the single room of the house: a table in the middle and a messy bed by the far wall. Some shelves were placed under the window. A single, almost burnt-out oil lamp hung from the ceiling. The stallion we were looking for was nowhere to be seen.

“I’m sure he’ll be back in no time. The lamp is still burning, after all,” I pointed out to Rarity, who was already entering the building. I followed her inside and shut the door behind us. Only now did I notice a note on the table.

“Mmm… I hope you’re right,” Rarity mumbled back to me with a nervous voice. Enveloping the note with my magic, I levitated it closer and read.

Dear Twilight Sparkle, Element of Magic,

I’m sorry that I couldn’t wait for you. I already left towards the excavation site, and advise you to not follow me. Don’t risk yourself for nothing.

Grey Thunder

“Great,” I snorted out at Rarity. “Our guide has left without us. My navigational skills are decent, but we’ll be having a very hard time accomplishing what we came here to do.”

Rarity clopped her hoof at the floor and turned to look at me. “Why? What could be more important than a task given to him by Princess Celestia herself? What does the note say?”

“That’s the problem. It doesn’t say anything; just that he’s gone and that I should understand his unexplained reasoning. Perhaps I should be seeing some kind of grand connection, but I just can’t,” I exclaimed. “In any case, we have to do this by ourselves now. I’m sure we can reach the site in a few days. This note says that he doesn’t want us to follow, but since we’re here, I say we ignore that.”

My friend looked frustrated, and for a very good reason. It was unheard of that a royal guard, even a retired one, would abstain a direct order from a Princess. Why in the hay did he abandon us here like this? Is this mission some kind of test of Celestia’s, and this is just a part of it?

Even though Rarity and I were both angry, there was no argument about continuing. We hadn’t traveled all the way to this backwater town just to back away when the first problem surfaced. After satisfying our curiosity by searching every nook and cranny of the house for clues about Grey’s reasoning and finding nothing of importance, we fastened our saddle bags and returned outside. Circling the house, we found out that the path continued in its backside towards the right direction. It looked much better maintained here than on the other side, though I couldn’t wrap my head around on why.

It took us only a moment to get out of the thickest part of the woods, and now we were in a much more spacious pine forest. The sparse canopy of the majestic trees didn’t block out the light like that of the shorter and younger ones now behind. The atmosphere was much lighter as we trod onward, yet something about the situation was still troubling me. What if something actually happens to us? Or even worse – this is a test and we were supposed to comply with Grey’s request?

Chapter 6: A Warm Cottage

Rarity and I were sitting on mossy rocks, atop a small hill ascending from the forest below. The sun was still lingering above the mountains, so we’d have some time to set up a camp. We had chosen this site because it was one of the most secure locations nearby. Still wanting to keep our pace up, we were going to sleep for most of the night. One watch for both of us would have to do despite the absence of an alarm or any kind of ward – Rarity’s magical aptitude was focused on the fine control of levitation and other spells useful in her profession. She simply lacked the expertise to cast spells out of her specialization, and training her to cast more advanced ones in a day would’ve been nigh impossible.

As I once again studied the map, wind caressed me face, carrying with it a distant chime. My ears perked up. When another breeze met me, I heard it again, this time more clearly. I looked at the approximate direction of the sound, and saw the edge of a clearing about a hundred feet away.

“Rarity, I’m hearing something from that direction,” I said, pointing my hoof at the clearing. “It’s probably worth checking out.”

My friend gave me a curious look. “Hm?”

“Chimes. They can’t be far away. There are no marks of buildings anywhere near us on the map, but it might be outdated. A warm fireplace and a secure shelter would be welcome.”

Rarity smiled. “Certainly, darling.”

We got on the move, and in no time we were already at the clearing’s edge. Ahead of us sat an idyllic wooden cottage, smoke billowing up from its chimney; I could only wonder how we’d missed the smoke. The clearing held a small field of rye and some root-vegetable I couldn’t identify on the spot.

“I can only wonder why somepony would willingly live all the way up here,” Rarity said. “Even Lily Valley is two days from this place.”

I watched the inviting building keenly, thinking about the possible reasons. It’d make sense if a pegasus lived here. What took two days for us might be only for a few hours for a fast pegasus, even less for one with the speed matching that of Rainbow’s. Or, the resident just wants to be left alone.

Both of us were locked up by surprise as an elderly earth pony mare exited the cottage, her long brown mane draping over her white coat. Her cutie mark was a sickle along with stalks of wheat. Not paying any attention to us, she slowly made her way to the rye field, watching the mountains that now loomed quite close to us. They were already in the shadow, though the sun hadn’t yet set behind them.

Concentrating, I tried to cast a spell only for pain to erupt again from my horn. I gasped, cursing my deeply ingrained instincts in my mind. Rarity’s look was full of worry as she held me with her soft hooves for a moment, allowing me to regain my composure. Motive-probing spells were out of the question for the time being.

“Should we greet her?” I whispered to Rarity. After considering it for a while, she nodded.

Abandoning the ditch on the edge of the field, we walked towards the mare. Rarity cleared her throat. “Good evening, Miss. My name is Rarity, and my friend here is Twilight Sparkle.”

The old mare’s mouth was agape for a moment, but she quickly recovered from the surprise, taking measuring looks at us with her yellow eyes. “Good evening, young ladies. Why have you come here, to my humble home, in the middle of the wilds? It’s not often that I get visitors.”

Rarity put on her best social smile. I saw that her legs quivered a bit, but that didn’t show in her speech. “We’re here for a mission granted by no other than Princess Celestia. Our destination is still a week’s hike away.”

“Ah, travelers! Those have been abundant lately,” the old mare exclaimed with a raspy voice, causing Rarity and me to trade curious expressions. “Please come in; visitors are always welcome in here.”

Coughing a bit, the mare made her way inside. We followed closely behind, eager to accept the company and the warm home. The insides of the cottage were decorated with mundane furnishings along with some fancy tapestries. A large central room took up most of the space, though there were also two smaller ones, apparently bedrooms. In the far corner stood a large, slightly cracked hearth, radiating heat across the room.

“I’m sorry, young ladies, for I think I haven’t introduced myself yet. Name’s Keen Sickle – been living here since my husband died over a decade ago,” the mare told us, sitting down on one of the worn chairs surrounding a wooden table. “Please sit down. I can see you’re tired.”

We took seats without hesitation, enjoying the warmth of the home. Keen seemed quite lively for a mare of her age.

“Have you happened to have seen a grey stallion heading by, Miss Sickle?” intrigued Rarity.

The mare rubbed her head. “Well, now that you mention it… yes, I did. He came and went, was in a hurry. Didn’t have time to chat at all, just left me standing on the yard as he continued his march. Bought some supplies, you see. I offered them for free, but he insisted on paying.” She paused, staring sternly at us. “And what do you two have to do with this stallion?”

“I’m afraid we can’t quite tell you. We’re on a mission of sorts.”

Keen rolled her eyes. “Ah, yet another group. Bands of ponies on these ‘missions’ have kept appearing around these parts for a while now. Always going towards the mountains, looking for something.”

Her revelation made me frown. There had been at least one unauthorized expedition, that which sparked our journey, but I hadn’t been told of any others. If even Celestia didn’t know all the details, something shady must be going on in here... unless she decided to not tell me everything, but that wouldn’t be anything like her.

“Do you have any idea what they’re going there for?” I asked from the old mare.

She pinched her eyes closed, as if trying to remember. “No, not really, I’m afraid. Those who have stayed here overnight have mentioned a lake...” The mare opened her eyes and gave us a smile. “That’s it! The Bottomless Lake. They were heading to someplace close to it, though I can but wonder why, for the lake is situated in a valley between two mountains. Must be hard to get there.”

“Thanks for your help, Miss Sickle,” said Rarity, looking at me, raising her eyebrows.

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

We swiftly agreed that Rarity and I could stay in Keen’s cottage for the night. It wasn’t that big of a deal for me after only one night under the stars, but Rarity beamed for the whole evening. To our delight, we also discovered our host to be an amazing cook. Even though the porridge she made us was a really ordinary dish, she somehow managed to make it taste like it was made by Canterlotian cooks.

Soon the sun set, and with the elderly Keen already going to bed, Rarity and I had to do the same. The guest bedroom was small, but warm and comfortable. Two inviting beds were sitting in the opposite sides of the room. An oil lamp burned on the windowsill, illuminating the room with a flickering light, one that I’d really need now. Rarity could, of course, use her magic for a simple light spell, but bothering her for something like that would’ve been awkward.

Rarity immediately got into the other bed and crept under the blankets, letting out a long yawn. “Good night, Twilight. Please turn the lamp off when you go to sleep, would you?”

“Night, Rarity. Don’t worry, I will.”

I laid still on my bed for a while. Though I could see the window from there, only darkness was visible outside of it; the lamp wasn’t very powerful. Again was I reminded of my condition by a brief pulse of pain when I tried to levitate the lamp towards my bed. It seemed silly, but manually grabbing things was something that would take a while to get used to.

Sighing, I got up and carried the lamp onto my bed table. Then, my pulse raising a bit, I took the book from my bag. Its beautifully drawn cover picture of a mountain sent shivers down my spine.

Is this really a good idea?

No. But there’s something in that book you have to learn. It can’t be coincidence that it fell into your hooves in the train. No matter how disturbing the contents, you have to find out what the purpose of the book is.

The pages were blank this time. Not a single mark was on them, as neither words nor the brown stains that had spattered the book were there. I had been prepared to study the contents for an hour or two, but even though my schedule was slightly thrown off now, I felt relieved. More sleep was always better – I’d need every extra moment possible for the week ahead. With the flick of a switch, the gas stopped flowing into the lamp, extinguishing its flame.

I rolled in my sheets for what seemed like an eternity until at last achieving a somewhat comfortable position. Not long after, despite some anxiousness about the sudden change of the book, the sound of wind battering the window and the still prevalent ringing of chimes lulled me to sleep.

A forest of dark silhouettes surrounded me. The world was one of twilight, as the sun was just under the mountains, casting some light onto the cloudless sky. I knew it wouldn’t rise, for there was no time, no space, and no hope. A certainty that the end was near crushed my mind, making me keel onto the cold ground.

But as I looked under me, I noticed the ground wasn’t there. Instead, I was standing on ice. Snow blasted my face, impairing my vision severely. With nothing else to do, I rose up started moving forward, unfazed by the sudden change of my surroundings.

“Twilight! You’re taking the wrong direction!” called a sweet, familiar voice from behind me. I turned around to see Rarity standing just a foot away. “Follow me, darling.”

For a second, my mouth hung open, but I couldn’t form a response. As Rarity began to walk away, I trod in her hoofsteps without hesitation. She was the only thing I could see or hear clearly in the blizzard. But not a minute had passed when she suddenly stopped in her tracks, instigating a frown from me, not even turning her face towards mine.

“She’s nearby, Twilight.” Rarity’s voice was full of what I could only identify as despair. “She’s coming. She needs you. Please understand.” I could barely hear her last words as the wind got even more powerful, making me shiver of cold.

“Who is?” was all I managed to mutter out.

And then, Rarity vanished. I was now alone in the white void, in the middle of nothing, yet in the center of something important.

With no warning or reason, the skies cleared up and the wind stopped entirely. Now I was seeing all the way to the horizon, but everywhere I looked, there was just a flat, white surface of ice and snow. The color of the sky was a very light shade of blue, but the sun wasn’t there. Nothing prepared me for what came next: the light went out.

My eyes swiftly adjusted to the new level of illumination. I glanced at every direction, sweat now dripping from my forehead, only to notice that I was in the forest again. Channeling magic to cast a light spell through my horn didn’t work, but oddly, trying didn’t hurt this time.

A sudden breeze carried with it a message, not more audible than a whisper: “Twilight Sparkle… you have to come.”

The sound had come from somewhere left to me, and with nothing else to do, I started to walk towards that direction. Soon, the sky began getting brighter. The forest around me, however, was only getting darker as it contrasted with the blue above.

“I knew you’d come,” a voice from behind me let out. I froze.

Rarity stepped to my side, giving me a hearty smile. “Don’t be afraid, Twilight. You have to do it.”

Glad to see my friend in the wretched place, I wrapped my hooves around her, and she returned the hug. As her soft coat warmed me, the forest no longer felt ominous at all. It was just a shady backdrop. “I’m not afraid with you, Rares. But why are we here? What is this place?”

“You know what place this is,” answered Rarity, still clinging onto me. Her eyes were pointed at the void behind me.

“I do?”

“Yes.” Rarity snuggled me. “You’ve been here before, Twilight. She was watching.”

What my friend told was unnerving, and not even the feeling of her nuzzle resting on my neck could ease the tension that struck me. I held her, shaking a bit, when she suddenly squeezed me.

“She’s watching us right now,” whispered Rarity into my ear, holding me in place with tremendous force. I couldn’t move a muscle, and was having a hard time trying to breathe.

I was completely helpless as Rarity pushed me into the ground; unable to even voice any kind of protest, shocked by her actions. Rarity was looking at me with a sad smile – tears were forming in her eyes. The ground gave out under her push, and my vision was instantly blurred.

When a moment ago it had been hard to breathe, now it was impossible. I was now underwater, Rarity’s hooves keeping me firmly in place. Though I was now trying my best to fight back, there was nothing I could really do. The small amount of oxygen in my lungs was consumed in seconds as I flailed my hooves hopelessly. I started feeling dizzy, and the world faded away.

My eyes snapped open, but I could see nothing. The ground under me still felt wet, this time with actual moisture instead of an imagined plane of water. I was lying on grass.

“Ra… Rarity?” I whimpered into the darkness. Naturally, no response came.

My breath became faster and faster as moments passed on. Wind was blasting my face, and I could hear leaves rustling overhead. A lump formed in my neck; I had no idea where I was, how much time it would take for the sun to rise or whether anypony was looking for me or not.

When I hastily gathered myself and rose up, light flashed in the darkness, almost blinding me. An unnatural, extremely intense white halo burned a dozen yards away from me. A form of something was standing in front of it, casting a tall shadow. My mind couldn’t process what I was seeing; there was something, but I had no real idea what it looked like, what its shape was, or whether it even existed at all.

As abruptly as the light had appeared, it also vanished. Afterimages scorched my vision, balls of light dancing around the void. Suddenly, the wind paused. I felt like running as fast as I could into the nothingness, but was locked in place, dread building up in my mind.

“Twilight, over here… follow me,” called the soft voice of Rarity from somewhere near. My heart was pounding with a frenzy not often experienced by me.

After catching my breath, I managed to reply. “Is that you, Rarity?”

No response came. The void stood still – there was nothing to be heard or seen. I blinked in the darkness, trying to fend off the phantom lights that still lingered in my vision. Dread was creeping into my mind, and I had to do my best to avoid panicking.

Use your strengths, Twilight; you aren’t useless without magic. Consider this a part of Celestia’s supposed test. Yes, of course. That was it. This was just a test I needed to overcome, and there hadn’t been one yet that I couldn’t. I inhaled slowly, trying to calm myself down.

Taking one careful step forward didn’t change anything, but I was assured that I had indeed woken up and wasn’t in a void. As I took another step, the sound of wind returned. A chime of bells could be heard from somewhere further away. Thank Celestia. If I can follow the noise, I’ll make it back eventually.

There was hope again. Being effectively blind in the dark, probably cloudy night was just an obstacle to overcome. But is it really safe? Shouldn’t you just wait for the sun to rise?

I considered the possibilities. The break of dawn could’ve been one, two, or even five hours away, and the thought being alone outside while seeing nothing for a long time was not a comforting one. On the other hoof, I might injure myself when moving in the darkness, even if I walked with a slow pace.

From the corner of my eye, I saw a dim light, and when I turned my head, it was still there. It was the distinct glow of the light spell; Rarity was probably looking for me. A wave of relief washed over me. This would be over soon.

“Rarity!” I shouted with all the strength I could muster, immediately regretting it. If something unfriendly or worse was close, my shout had certainly attracted its attention. I bit my lip.

The light stopped moving. “Twilight?” responded Rarity from the distance, her voice only barely audible.

I could no longer restrain myself, and started running towards my friend. It was a miracle that I didn’t crash into a tree right away, but I didn’t really care about it at the moment. Only when it actually happened did I regret my impulsiveness - the sudden smack of a rugged trunk against my face was anything but pleasant. A flash of pain in my head along with a very brief blackout made me stop. What the hay are you doing? Calm yourself down, Twilight. Think about your actions beforehand. Taking off like that was just plain stupid, and you know it.

Sitting down on the ground and rubbing my head, I called Rarity again. This time, her reply came from a bit closer, and I could see the light moving towards my general direction.

Rarity’s face was one of deep concern as she reached me. She was panting heavily, but didn’t stop to catch her breath, instead lunging straight for me. Her hooves constricted me so fiercely that air escaped my lungs and I was knocked over.

“Twilight! You’re safe!” Rarity let out. I gasped for air under her.

“Yes… just… air…”

I could see a blush on Rarity’s face, only inches away from mine. “Oh, I’m sorry, that was a most unladylike act from me,” she said and loosened her grip. “I was just so worried for you! I’ve been searching for you for some time already. When I woke up and went to the toilet and noticed you were gone, I almost panicked!”

“Well, here I am,” I said, smiling.

“And?” Rarity raised her eyebrows.

“Look, Rarity, I have no idea. I simply awoke here after a somewhat unpleasant dream. I’m really glad that you found me, though. Spending the rest of the night alone in the middle of these woods would’ve been terrifying!”

“You’re alive and well, that’s all what matters right now. Come, let’s get back to the cottage. Miss Sickle ought to be already waiting for us with some hot soup ready.” It looked like a tear escaped Rarity’s eye, but I couldn’t be sure.

Chapter 7: All There in a Book

I let out a long yawn as Rarity woke me up. No dreams had disturbed me for the rest of my sleep, but nevertheless, I wasn’t well rested. Cursing in my mind that I had no time to linger in bed, I rose up and walked into the central room with Rarity. Hot porridge was already waiting for us on two bowls. Keen was watching out of the window, and gave us a cheery “good morning.”

Not wanting to waste any more time, we ate the breakfast with haste. The porridge was hot and didn’t have much taste in it, but it left me feeling full. When we finished our bowls, we strapped our bags on us and headed outside with Keen following.

”Thank you dearly for letting us rest here, Miss Sickle,” Rarity said to the elderly mare, starting to walk away with me.

Keen waved her hoof. “Oh, it was nothing. Take care, both of you!”

“Will do. See you!”

And so our journey continued. A curtain of clouds covered the sky, but I knew the sun had risen ages ago – we had left alarmingly late. Despite two extra hours of rest due to the incident in the middle of the night, I couldn’t avoid yawning every now and then. The walking eventually woke my body up, but our pace was nothing to write home about. Rarity and I didn’t talk for a while, not that I even was awake enough to do that.

“So, do you still have any idea what caused your sleepwalking?” Rarity cut the silence between us.

“To be honest, I can only think of one thing,” I answered. “The book I found in the train.”

Rarity watched me for what seemed like an eternity, even though it was only a few seconds. “Why would it have anything to do with this?”

Realizing I hadn’t told her about my unpleasant experiences with it, I frowned. “The book knows things. Also, the contents change every now and then.”

“So you randomly found a book aboard a train, and now it’s making you sleepwalk, have weird nightmares, and on top of that, its contents change? Twilight, do you understand how crazy that sounds?” Rarity’s comment stopped me.

“Uhh… when you put it like that…” I bit my lip. “You’re right, it does sound quite outlandish. But can you think of any other explanation? Rarity, you know full well that this isn’t just inside my head.”

“Well…” Rarity’s eyelids twitched suspiciously, but her voice didn’t betray her inner feelings. “Of course not, Twilight. But…”

“But what?”

“You can’t deny that you have showed some… let’s just say, worrying, behaviour in the past.” Rarity let out a nervous laugh.

She does have a point. However, there’s no way you just imagined everything. Equestria is full of magic and wonders, after all. The book making you see things is actually just as rational an explanation as you simply descending into insanity. Actually, it’s a much more plausible one. You haven’t gone nuts.

The world around me faded as I mentally argued with myself. I can’t deny what she says isn’t true, and it’s certainly possible that all these circumstances have triggered some kind of reaction in me. I’m certainly not mad. However, it wouldn’t be very far-fetched to assume that my brain has generated a lot of stuff from nowhere when it has been stre-

“Twilight?” Rarity’s concerned voice made me snap back into the real world. “I’m so sorry for saying anything like that. Please forgive me.”

I stared at the ground. “No, you’re right. I could be going mad, I really could. Still, that’s not the case this time. You just have to trust me with this. There’s something strange with that book, and I feel it’s important for me to find out what.”

“Don’t you mean us?”

Twilight, this is not only your journey.

“Why not, I guess.” I raised my look to meet Rarity’s now-stoic face. “But further studying the book has to wait, Rarity. We have to go on; we’re already late of our travel schedule. With this pace, we’ll have to use all the time we can to travel. I’m certain that we both want to get this mission over with as soon as possible.”

“If you say so, Twilight. Forgive me for inquiring, but what exactly has the book told? And what are your nightmares about?”

“Not much, but in the night before the last, it actually told that I was reading the book at the time. That wasn’t a very pleasant experience,” I said. “And my dreams – nightmares – they’ve been pretty random. But I do believe that, just like in those dreams, something or someone is following us. This can’t just be all in my head.”

Rarity looked worried. “Following? Why would someone follow us?”

I shrugged. “Look, I have no idea. That’s just how it is, Rarity.”

We began to walk again, constantly eyeing our surroundings. The pines around us weren’t any different from the ones we’d seen during the last few days, though the terrain was gradually steepening. Because of my magic still being severely hampered, we were going completely by the map. With paths emerging from the ground only to vanish soon after, navigating was no easy task. Thus, taking long pauses to estimate where we were was necessary.

Hours passed without incidents, when the sky finally came to life. I heard the rain coming before it hit us – a loud sound of water pouring down was audible from some distance away, and wind started to build up before the inevitable storm caught up with us. We ran under the nearest tree that could provide some cover, a somewhat young spruce, and sat there huddled together as rain swept the ground. It was impossible to see more than a few feet ahead in the rain. Rarity cast a magical bubble around us to keep us and our bags dry.

“Twilight, are you sure it’s safe to be under a tree? Remember what happened last time,” said Rarity.

“Yes, I’m sure.” I took a look up. “This spruce is shorter than the pines. We should be safe. Also, I don’t think this is a thunderstorm.”

The rain lasted for what seemed like forever, sporadically increasing and decreasing in intensity. The world became just a blur as the storm raged on. Rarity’s coat against me felt warm as always. We didn’t exchange many words, and eventually, I fell asleep. My nap was dreamless, though apparently peaceful as I felt rested when waking up – Rarity had draped a blanket over me, and smiled as I opened my eyes.

“Look who’s finally woken up,” Rarity said with a cheery voice. “The rain’s not a problem anymore. Just a light drizzle.”

I nodded, rising up. “Alright, Rarity. Thanks for letting me sleep, I guess… but we’ll have to move out right now, so that we can make at least some progress.”

Rarity took a look at our surroundings and frowned. “There’s mud. Lots of it.”

“It’s not that bad, Rarity. Surely we can find some pond or stream to wash ourselves in? The map’s full of those.”

“Sure…” my friend sighed. “I know there isn’t much of a choice, Twi.”

For the remainder of the day we travelled as fast as we could – which wasn’t very fast on the wet ground. Even where there was no dirt that had turned into mud, the rocks were slippery and we had to watch our steps. Keeping track of where we were on the map wasn’t easy, either, as we constantly had to walk around cliffs and other obstacles. The only helpful thing was that the forest was now even sparser than before, though the map told we still weren’t near its edge. However, it was now easy for us to see our destination: the blasted side of Ironveil Mountain, a tall, snow-topped peak named after a famous cartographer. With the mountainside in our view, it was a bit easier to carry on, knowing where our destination was.

My mind wandered off as we carried onwards. The book, my sudden affection towards Rarity, the strange dreams I had, and the supposed-somepony following us were quite a mishmash even for my brain. When the forest started to darken, I was relieved; my body was already aching for a rest, not to even talk about my overtaxed mind. It didn’t take long for us to stop and set up camp once again, this time on a large, elevated clearance. A shelter from the possible rain would’ve been better, of course, but we couldn’t see one in the immediate vicinity, and didn’t want to take the chances of finding one with only Rarity’s magic and the flame of a battered oil lamp borrowed from Keen for a light.

“Should we set up a fire?” asked Rarity.

I searched my mind for the answer, certain that I had read about situations like this. Yes, that’s it. Survival 101: Making a campfire is pointless if the risk of rain is high. “No, I don’t think so. If rain came, it’d put it out and make all of our efforts a waste. We still have some dry rations left, as well, so making a fire isn’t necessary for us to eat.”

Our evening continued with a short meal. Unsurprisingly, the rations tasted as bland and colorless as they looked. I could see from Rarity’s face that she didn’t enjoy eating food like that, but she didn’t complain.

“So, what are we going to do with your sleepwalking?” Rarity gave me a question. “If you get lost during the night here, in the middle of nowhere, you’d be in some big trouble.”

There isn’t anything you could really do. Rarity can’t cast any spells that would alarm her of me wandering off. “I guess we just have to hope. Even I didn’t prepare for a situation like this.”

Rarity raised her eyebrow. “Are you sure there’s nothing we can do?”

“Well…” You do have the rope to tie yourself up. Or, alternatively, you could just secure a rope onto both Rarity’s and your hooves, so that she’d notice immediately if you went somewhere. “We could secure a rope between us, yes, but that’d be too risky. If the wildlife harassed us in the night, we’d be in trouble.”

“Then we’ll just have to hope that the same doesn’t happen again.”

“I don’t think it will, Rarity,” I said, failing miserably at trying to give my friend a reassuring smile. “Besides, if I don’t fall asleep on my watch, there’s no risk of me wandering anywhere. You’ll certainly notice if I’m suddenly gone on your watch.”

“Right… the watch,” grumbled Rarity. “I wonder if we’ll sleep comfortably for the next few weeks.”

“Probably not, I’m afraid.”

I was on the second watch. Rarity’s sleeping form and the eerie light of the oil lamp were the only comforts I had in the darkness. The moon and stars were still hidden behind the cloud curtain, but for my relief, the rain hadn’t made a return.

A flicker from the mountains caught my attention. I watched the barely recognizable silhouettes of the peaks for a while, until another one finally appeared. For a brief moment, several spots of light danced around a mountainside, only to vanish again.

Think, Twilight, think. What is causing that phenomenon? Is somepony trying to send a message in Morse code, or could this be something else?

As I pondered the situation, the lightshow escalated, now spanning a large area on the mountainside. I couldn’t see what was going on there, but I knew for sure that it wasn’t Morse code. Something else was going on. The damp air of the night suddenly felt a lot cooler than before, sending chills down my spine. Twilight, you know what to do.

I do? …Yes, I do. Just get onto it.

Naturally. The logical yet completely illogical course of action. I took the book out once again, closed my eyes, and shuffled a random page. As I opened my eyes again, the pages were filled with mouth-written, barely readable text. I sighed, took a look at the sleeping Rarity to calm myself down a bit, and started reading.

She had escaped her prison, but the fight… …a swift course of action was needed, and she knew what to do. The summoning would have to work, or else everything would be lost. Nothing could…

…watched from afar, trying to determine what was going on. Her friend was fast asleep. Twilight knew that if something happened, there was nothing she could do; without magic, she was but a shadow of herself. The mare’s brain might keep her alive if…

I took a deep breath. My heart was racing. The next few sentences were covered by a dark stain, and the script in the next paragraphs was so difficult to decipher that I had no idea what it told. You have to get this now, Twilight. There might not be another chance next night. What does this all mean?

…never retreated. She fought well, but was overwhelmed by her enemies… …next day, a meeting was called, upon which it was decided by…

Why must this be so hard to read? Then I realized something that shouldn’t have evaded my mind for that long. Rarity had a taste for classical novels and plays, some of which were doubtlessly printed with stylized and difficult-to-read script. I scurried to my friend, and nudged her gently.

“Mmm…” Rarity let out as I awoke her. “My watch already?”

“Get up, Rarity! You’ve got to see this!” I exclaimed. She immediately stood up, glancing wildly around, still half-asleep.

“See what?” It didn’t take long for Rarity to activate.

I pointed at the mountains, where the lights still danced around. “Look!”

Rarity rubbed her eyes. “What is that? How long has this is been going on, Twi?”

“I don’t know about either. But I do need you right now. Could you try deciphering the writing in this book, Rares? It might be important,” I explained.

“At this hour? Why?” asked Rarity with a confused voice.

“Just do it. Please.”

Rarity shrugged, and levitated the book onto the level of her head. She looked at the text intensively, putting on her reading glasses. Rarity’s face was unreadable at first, but I could soon see fear growing in her eyes.

“I… I didn’t expect this…” she commented. With every moment that passed, her expression turned more uneasy.

“What does it say, Rarity?” I asked, trying to keep my voice calm.

My friend looked at me in horror. “Well, what does it say, Twi? What does it say? You did read this, didn’t you?”

Though I had expected a shocked reaction, this was just plain weird. “I did, but I couldn’t really tell what-“

“It tells everything!” Rarity shouted, making me gasp. “This… book. It tells everything about me. And you, too. Our names are there, and so much more… I…”

I could feel sweat dripping down my forehead, despite the chilly weather, as Rarity levitated the lamp from my hooves. “What are you doing?” I could only mutter.

Rarity didn’t answer. Her hooves visibly shook, barely keeping her standing. The book, engulfed in the blue light of her magic, was now being floated under the lamp, which began to turn.

“Rarity! Don’t!”

“Why not? This the right decision. This book is dangerous.”

I held out my hoof, trying to get my friend to give the book back before it was too late.“Dangerous? Dangerous to what?”

“Our mental health, darling.” With that, the lamp was upside down, some of the flaming oil dripping off. The book immediately caught fire, blinding me for a little while as it flashed ablaze.

“You shouldn’t have done that!” I exclaimed, coughing off the smoke from the book.

Rarity sat down and stared at me. Her look was one of terror. “Yes, yes I should have. And I’m glad I did,” she said, her voice trembling.

“But it could have contained important information!” I objected.

“Perhaps. But this is for the better, trust me. We’ve had enough hardships for this trip already. I, for one, have no intention of getting my mind screwed by a strange book.” Rarity sounded defeated.

I felt curious. “What did it say, then?”

“It said a lot of things. That we were here, what I was going to do, what you were thinking at the moment…”

“Did you read past that?” If something was going to happen, the book might have informed us. And what was I thinking?

“I, well- no, I didn’t.” Rarity now awkwardly kept her eyes at the ground.

Out of nowhere, a heavy breeze blasted me. My whole body shivered; it was now incredibly cold. This doesn’t make any sense. Cloudy nights like this should be damp, yes, but not cold. Just to be sure, I watched the mountains for some time – the lights had gone out. There was no way of knowing whether that had anything to do with Rarity burning the book.

“Perhaps we should try to get some sleep,” I offered to Rarity.

She kept her silence for a moment before answering. “Yes, darling. I’m sure that’s for the best. Get some sleep. I’ll take the rest of the night. The sunrise probably isn’t that far away, anyway.”

“Alright,” I said, lying down. It was certain that sleep wouldn’t come easily. My eyes were closed, but images of the burning book kept flashing in my vision, making my stomach twist. Remember this is just a test. Just a test. You’ll make it.

“Twilight?”

I turned towards Rarity, opening my eyes. My friend was now keeping an eye at the mountains eastwards of us, where the lights had been. Her mane flailed in the wind. She looked extremely stressed. “Yes? What is it?”

“Could you hold my hoof? That’d make me feel a bit easier.”

I said nothing, taking her hoof in mine. We didn’t exchange any words. Rarity’s proximity made me feel easier, enabling my sleep deprivation to kick in despite all the adrenaline that had pumped into my body. It took some time, but eventually, all worry left in my mind evaporated into the night. Soon, numbness crept into my body, and I drifted into sleep.

Chapter 8: The Crossing

The morning was serene. Most of the clouds had dispersed during the night, and thus the sun was again visible. We barely managed to make a fire for cooking breakfast with the help of Rarity’s magic and lamp oil – even when my friend at last succeeded in lighting the wet branches up, we had to carefully tend the fire to keep it alive. When we were in the middle of eating the morning’s rations, a grey, brown-maned pegasus emerged from the forest, approaching us. His cutie mark was a black thunderbolt, and he was carrying two rather large saddle bags.

I rose up and was about to dart away, but Rarity’s scowl kept me in place.

“Hello?” said Rarity to the stallion.

“Greetings, Miss Twilight and Miss Rarity,” he responded with a polite voice, still staring at us. “I’m sorry for leaving you behind, and looking back, it was a stupid decision. Should’ve known better than to expect two Elements to give up and go home.”

My eyes opened wide. “So, you’re Grey Thunder? Our Guide?”

“That’s me.”

“Then you have a lot to explain,” I said. “And don’t even think about keeping your mouth shut. We need to know why you have failed to comply Princess Celestia’s orders.”

Grey shrugged. “It’s a long story, but I suppose there’s no point in keeping secrets from you now that things turned this way,” he told, looking somewhat nervous. “I simply didn’t want to risk you two. Though I’m not sure what exactly is going on at the excavation site, I have a theory. But in any case, going there will be-“

“You have a theory?” I interrupted him. “Tell us.”

“Ah. A few years back, a group of ponies stole an old relic from Lily Valley,” started Grey. “It was a plate or something like that – just a mundane item with historical value. Was used by some old tribal leader in the times before Equestria, I think. They managed to evade a Royal Guard squad sent to retrieve the artifact. Their tracks ended somewhere close to the mountains, and nopony has seen any of the group since. Wouldn’t be surprised if they were behind this, too.”

I raised my eyebrow, and was about to speak, when Rarity opened her mouth. “Splendid, Mister Thunder. But if that’s the case, why are you here now, talking to us? Shouldn’t you be a day or more ahead?”

“Well… uh…” Grey paved the ground. “There was an obstacle I didn’t expect. You know Whiteleaf River?”

I remembered it was marked clearly on the map. The river was between us and the excavation site, not far from here. “Yes,” I answered.

“That’s the problem. There has been a lot of rain lately, and the river is overflowing at the moment. I couldn’t get over by myself, so I was forced to come back. It was just by chance that I saw light here during the night.”

Rarity and I gave Grey odd looks for a moment, until my friend broke the ice. “I don’t mean to offend you, mister… but…” Rarity coughed. “You’re a pegasus.”

The stallion stared at us, his mouth agape. When he finally comprehended what Rarity had said, he rolled onto the ground and bursted out laughing. We could but watch him and wonder what was going on. Has he gone mad? Is this connected to the light on the mountainside? Or the burnt book?

“Oh. Oh wow.” Grey said, wiping the water out of his eyes. “Celestia didn’t tell you?”

“Apparently not,” replied Rarity, still stunned by the stallion’s reaction.

Grey unfurled his wings. They looked brittle and had lost a lot of feathers. “I can’t fly. Haven’t been able to do that for years. A crippled pegasus. Ain’t it tragic?”

I cringed. “Oh my. That must be bad. What happened?”

“It’s a long story, and now isn’t the time. Zebra magic was involved. But it’s all in the past now – we have more important things to do. The river isn’t far away, and if we pull together, we’ll get over it today. Heck, you’re the element of magic! You could just teleport us to the other side.”

Celestia didn’t tell you, did she? …That’s not even remotely funny, Twilight.

Pain shot through my horn as I tried to cast a simple light spell, staggering me a bit. “I’m afraid I can’t use my magic at the moment, Grey.”

Grey frowned. “That’s certainly a huge problem, but not one we can’t overcome. We’ll think of something.”

Rarity and I finished our rations under Grey’s watchful eyes. I could see from my friend’s face that she was just as surprised as I of our guide’s sudden appearance. After the breakfast, Grey took the lead, and our journey was progressing again. The stallion needed no maps; he seemed to have memorized the terrain perfectly. Even though Grey joined my and Rarity’s conversations at times, he didn’t seem to take much interest in us, keeping his pace without opening his mouth often.

“Do you think he’s hiding something?” I whispered to Rarity as we walked.

Rarity took her time to respond. “I don’t know. He seems honest, but you never know of these ruffian types.”

I nodded. “Right. I suppose we can trust him. One would think that a former royal guard knows better than to lie to two Elements.”

It didn’t take long for us to reach the river. Even from afar the sound of water rushing down could be heard – though I’d never seen Whiteleaf River first-hoof, I had read about it before our trip here. Because of its remote location, few bridges crossed it, and those were all a long way downstream. The river was surprisingly wide, and the powerful stream had carved somewhat deep ravines into the ground.

As we reached the bank of the river, it became clear that the task ahead of us was daunting. The banks cut off into sharp cliffs about a dozen yards tall. Just as wide as it was deep, the ravine would be very difficult to cross. In the bottom, the river roared fiercely. I already had goose bumps. Rarity was standing some distance behind me.

“Any ideas?” asked Grey, rubbing his chin.

I took a measuring look around. “We could cut a tree off and try to use it as a makeshift bridge. That might be a bit dangerous, though.”

Grey shook his head, pointing down at a trunk lodged between some large rocks, partly underwater. “Nope. Already tried. The trees ain’t even nearly tall enough.”

“Rarity, what do you think?”

“Oh… well-“ said Rarity with a shaky voice, taking glances at the canyon in front of us. “I don’t really know.”

Think, Twilight, think. Limited magic. Limited resources. A physical obstacle in your way. How do you get over it?

The easy way would be to tie up enough trees to make a long-enough bridge. But however we’d do that, it would be risky. On the other hoof, if nothing else comes up, we must do that.

Then a realization struck me. “Rarity, do you think you could levitate a rope across the ravine and tie it around a large rock?

“I suppose so,” answered Rarity, looking visibly nervous. “But what good would that be for?”

“You’re good with delicate levitation, so your knots would almost certainly hold. Our rope is sturdy, too. If Grey also has some length of it, we could make a rope bridge across the river.”

Rarity frowned. “That sounds dangerous, to say the least.”

“By using both trees and rope we could make a somewhat secure bridge,” commented Grey. “With mere ropes we’d have to walk on two hooves to make it across, and that isn’t something I’d like to do.”

We proceeded to talk about how the bridge should actually be made. It was quickly decided that a suspension bridge was the best way to go. The construction would take a lot of time, but Rarity’s magic would help immensely in making planks, which were necessary for it.

In no time, we cut the tallest tree we could find using a saw of Grey’s. I tried to help him with the two-pony saw only to get scornful looks; I was just hindering the stallion. My entire body was nevertheless sweating from the effort, making me feel powerless as Grey finished cutting the tree all by himself. Next, with the help of Rarity’s magic, he spliced the wood into planks. It took barely two hours for them to finish knotting up the bridge, while I just watched and awkwardly pawed the ground.

But setting the bridge up was a wholly different task. As I saw Rarity’s hooves shaking, I approached her.

“You can do this, Rarity,” I said, putting a hoof on her shoulder. “It’s just simple levitation applied across a distance. You have the eye for this. And if you need any advice, just ask me.”

Rarity’s hug caught me by surprise. It was short, but for a second, I could feel her breath on my face and her warm coat brushing against mine. “Thanks, Twi. I promise to ask you if I need any advice,” she assured, taking a look in my eyes before getting to work.

I stood by Rarity as she levitated the other end of the bridge across the canyon and carefully tied the ropes around rocks. She didn’t say anything during the process – it was evident from her determined look that she was very focused, despite her initial tenseness.

“Done,” Rarity let out, swiping sweat off her forehead. “Now, who goes first?”

“I think it’s for the best that I do,” stated Grey. “We pegasi are lighter than you unicorns. In case I have trouble making it across, you two have to think of something else.”

Grey has a point. However, once he’s over, he’ll leave us hanging here, no doubt. He’s just using Rarity and me for this. When he doesn’t need us anymore-

“And before you object-“ spoke Grey, raising his voice a bit “-I’m not going to leave you behind, now that you are here. It was a stupid idea to come here just by myself. You can count on me not repeating my mistakes.”

“Alright, Grey,” I agreed, trading a glance with Rarity. She didn’t look very convinced, but said nothing.

The stallion nodded, walking onto the bridge. He hesitated for a bit as the bridge dangerously wobbled, but proceeded to carefully move across. Even though the makeshift bridge seemingly wasn’t very stable, Grey made it to the other side without major troubles. He waved us to follow him, shouting something that was lost in the roar of the river.

“I’ll go second,” I said, trying to step forward, only for Rarity to hold me in place by biting my tail.

“Twilight,” coughed Rarity, releasing my tail. “There’s something you need to know before you cross that bridge.”

I turned to face Rarity; she was looking very tense again. “Huh?”

“Listen, darling. I know full-well that this river later merges with Golden River in the valley. Now, I need to tell you what I earlier declined to reveal,” explained my friend with a serious voice. “Something happened when I was little – I don’t remember much from it. I used to live in a small village near Hoofington, by the river. One spring, it flooded really badly. The details are fuzzy after all the years, but I swear by Celestia’s name, that it really happened.”

“Gaaaaals!” I could faintly hear Grey shouting from the other side.

“To put it shortly, I was all alone,” continued Rarity, her voice betraying no emotion. “My parents were in town with Sweetie, who was only a few months old at the time. For one full day and one full night, I sat on the roof, too scared to move or even sleep.”

“Oh. That must’ve been horrible,” I managed to mutter out, caught off-guard by the story. “But why do I need to know this right now? Can’t it wait until we’re on the other side?”

Rarity sniffed. “You bet it was horrible. But the reason I’m telling you this now – in the middle of the night, I finally got the courage to stretch my legs by walking around the roof. Past that, I only recall staring at my own reflection in the water for a moment. There was something in there, under the reflection. Something that, just in the blink of an eye, showed me things... what the things I saw were, I don’t remember anymore, not that I even wanted to.”

“Um... Rarity, that’s a lot to take in,” I commented awkwardly. “I’m a bit confused.”

“So am I, Twilight. Just let me finish my story.

“The reason this is important – I was found half-drowned by a pegasi emergency squad in the early hours of the morning. My saving grace was that I had fallen onto the terrace and didn’t fully submerge into the water, giving them a chance them to see me.” Rarity looked exhausted after finishing.

Now I wasn’t sure what to think. “How did ‘looking into water’ change into drowning? Rarity, are you alright?”

“Yes, I am, darling,” replied Rarity patiently. “Like I said, my memory is fragmented and hazy. I don’t remember anything past looking at the water and seeing something. What happened between that and me almost drowning? I have no idea.”

I raised an eyebrow. “So your next memory is waking up elsewhere?”

“Yes. In the hospital of Hoofington, to be exact.”

“Well...” I shrugged. “I’m not going to pretend I really understood what you were trying to say. Do you think I’m in danger?”

Rarity nodded. “I later read several old books about the Golden River. Mysterious disappearances used to happen by it all the time, even in broad daylight. It seems that when a pony is in some kind of trouble, or all alone, something’s almost bound to happen,” she revealed. “Or then they’re really just tales, and my memory has been corrupted by time.”

“Do you think that’s the case?” It probably is, Twilight. What she’s telling is simply outlandish.

“No, I don’t,” answered Rarity, shaking her head. “Just be careful. And if something happens – don’t look down.”

Smiling reassuringly at Rarity, I finally walked onto the edge. “I give you my word.”

Grey was visibly growing impatient on the other side, making upset gestures. I noticed that the bridge was somewhat wet from the vapor the river was throwing in the air, but it still seemed safe enough to walk. I’d just have to take more care in order to avoid slipping. A feeling of uncertainty struck me, making me hold my hoof over the first plank for a second before stepping on it. The plank held my weight.

One step after another, I went forward. My heart was racing; it’d be a long drop if the bridge gave out.

The bridge will hold your weight with ease. You know the math, Twilight. Those ropes are sturdy enough. Calm down, there’s no need to worry.

I was almost in the middle now. My weight was pulling the bridge down, and it was shaking even more than my hooves. A gust of wind flailed my mane, but I managed to keep myself in place. This was just another test.

Relax. Relax. Don’t panic. Focus on the task.

From side to side, the bridge swung. Trying to keep my eyes on the trees rising from opposite edge of the ravine, I started moving again. My hoofsteps were muffled, but I could hear them.

Wait, my hoofsteps?

My brain took its time to process what was happening. All sound had phased away. Vapor was still in the air, but dense fog prevented me from seeing the other side.

“Twilight Sparkle. You are needed,” called an unrecognizable voice from under me. I pinched my eyes shut.

You just have to make it across. This will surely be over then. You don’t want to fail this. You don’t want to fail Celestia. You don’t want to fail Rarity.

I opened my eyes, bit my lip and took a step. And another. Before I realized, I was trotting.

“Twilight!” shouted the voice. Blood was rushing into my head. I was in a state of terror, just barely avoiding dropping off the bridge as I ran. Fog was now clouding the entirety of my vision; the furiously shaking planks under my hooves were the only thing that reminded me of the world that existed around me.

Suddenly, it was all over. Rocks and ground materialized out of nowhere, color making a return. Sound rephased into the world. I stopped to catch my breath; my lungs were on fire from the extortion. Relief washed over me as I realized that the worst was now over.

“You okay?” asked Grey’s concerned voice, slightly distorted by the sound of the river’s rage. He trod towards me.

“I think so…”

“Didn’t expect you to panic like that,” Grey shrugged. “Guess it can happen even to the best of us.”

I didn’t say a word. My interest was not in talking, but in Rarity, who was now crossing the bridge. She looked nervous, but was making progress.

Grey bumped me, and I turned around. “Huh?”

He wasn’t there any longer. I glanced in every direction, but the stallion was gone. Then I looked back at Rarity – she was still standing on the bridge, her mouth agape and stare empty. A bizarre grey form, slightly resembling a large pony, was floating behind her. My mind couldn’t comprehend what I was seeing. Something was there, but what, I simply couldn’t understand.

“Rarity!” I shouted, trying to warn my friend. She didn’t look like she had heard.

I could but watch helplessly as Rarity’s legs gave out. She dropped down, and began to slide down the now-tilted planks. Before I was able to do anything, she fell. I raised my hoof in vain, trying to understand what just happened. But as fear fiercely wrenched my gut, my vision blurred. A freezing cold struck me, making me stun and shiver. My mind was getting clogged with mist.

My body being no longer under my control, I powerlessly fell to the ground, a quiet voice whispered unintelligible words into my ear.

Two mountains fell into a huge lake in between them, causing a majestic sight. I sat on the rocky shore, my back hooves halfway in the cold water. The skies were clear, and hummingbirds sang in nearby oaks – I felt relaxation melting my body in the sunlight.

Not for long was I able to enjoy the peaceful setting. Thunderous crackles started to echo in the valley, the surface of the water in the middle of the lake rippling and bubbling.

Just like nothing had happened, I awoke, lying on the ground. Short pines and spruces were there to greet me as I rose up, still staggered. It felt like I had slept for days. The river was barely audible now. Somehow, the mountains now seemed to loom a lot closer, and even the sun was much lower in the sky than it should’ve been.

Rarity! Where is she?

She had fallen into the river. The chances of surviving both the fall and the terrible stream without drowning were negligible. I looked around in panic, noticing a white, pony-sized lump under a tree, against all the expectations.

“Rarity!” I called, running towards her.

My friend flinched, her eyes opening instantly. “Huh? What happened? Whe-”

Rarity’s sentence was cut off as I squeezed her with all my strength. “Thank Celestia you’re okay! I thought I had lost you!”

Though she didn’t fight back my embrace, Rarity still wrestled herself some breathing room. “Lost me? I… I…” Rarity furrowed. “-just stepped onto the bridge. And now, I’m here. With you.”

“Oh.” Though I was trying my best to remember the sequence of events, everything in my mind was fuzzy. Rarity had been on the bridge. Something – or someone – had been behind her. Then, she fell. After that, I couldn’t recall anything. “You… fell. Off the bridge.”

Shock was very evident from Rarity’s face. “Fell? But… what happened next? How was I rescued?”

“To be honest, I have no idea,” I said. “When you slipped off, a hazy form of some kind was standing behind you. That’s all I can remember. I just woke up in here.”

“Where is ‘here’?” asked Rarity, turning her head to see the surroundings.

“Because the river can still be heard, we’re surely still close to it. Speaking of which, I haven’t found Grey yet.” I released Rarity from the hug, only now realizing what I’d just done and blushing. Rarity didn’t seem to take notice.

We swiftly agreed to travel back into the direction of the river by following its sound. For our relief, it was still close-by, but on the other hoof, it didn’t really resemble the part where we had crossed it. Here the banks were much gentler and the river wider. Rarity kept calling for Grey while I studied one of the books I’d taken with me: Crystal Mountains: A Geographical Study.

Even after hours, no trace of Grey had been found. It turned out that we were no longer by Whiteleaf River, but instead a smaller one that joined it downstream. The place of our crossing was several days’ walk away, but we were now closer to the destination of our mission. On top of all of our other problems, the sun was going to lower behind the mountains at any moment.

“So, do you think we should go back?” asked Rarity as I finished determining our exact position on the map.

I shook my head. “No. There’s no point. Grey can take care of himself, and the detour would take from four to five days. In respect to that, we’re now only two days from the excavation site.”

Rarity sighed. “Twilight, forgive me for saying this, but I think we should just go home and leave this place to be. It’s utterly ridiculous how much has happened to us in only a few days. This is getting very dangerous, and we don’t even know what we’re risking our lives for!”

She’s right. Continuing is nothing short of idiocy. Celestia would forgive you for abandoning this one, you have learned as much. …No, no, no. Failure is not an option. What if I had failed saving the Crystal Empire? We can’t give up!

“Listen, Rares. We can’t go back now,” I said, fighting back my urges to agree with her. “I’m completely certain that there was a very good reason for putting us on this task. Celestia’s judgement is sound. If she chose not to tell us about the dangers, it was for a good reason.”

“And what would that reason be?”

I gave my friend a stressed smile, shaking my head. “I have no idea. You just have to trust me with this.”

“Darling, I concur,” stated Rarity with a tired voice. “We are, indeed, quite far on this horrible journey. However, it’s never too late to back off.”

“Look, I understand your concerns,” I replied with a soft voice. “But my instincts tell me that we should go on – and after what happened at my brother’s wedding, I have learned to respect them.”

“Alright then, Twi, if that’s what you want. You’re probably right.” Rarity sounded defeated.

With the dispute settled, we made a fire to deter the cold night that was surely ahead. When we were eating another batch of rations, this time ones that actually tasted like something, I felt my horn pulsing. My bowl was almost sent flying as a wave of energy hit my head – colorful lights emitted by my horn flickered in my vision, and a loud buzz could be heard. Then the episode was over, almost as soon as it had started. Rarity just stared at me, her eyes wide open from astonishment.

I smiled, levitating the bowl from my hooves. “Good news, Rarity.”

“You can cast spells again? Splendid! It was about time.”

Testing my magic, I tried out several spells. Minor ones like light and levitation worked perfectly, but several attempts at more advanced ones caused my head to ache. It came as a pleasant surprise that I was able to cast the alarm spell already; despite its continuous nature, it was actually quite easy to set up and required minimal effort to maintain for its duration. In the night ahead, both of us could finally sleep.

The darkness fell quickly. Even though we’d been out for Celestia-knows how many hours after the bridge incident, my eyelids kept sliding closed every now and then. Too tired to talk much, we just sat idly for some time in the warmth of the fire, both of us soon curling inside our respective bedrolls. The stars twinkling in the sky felt like a good omen, as my mind wandered away into the realms of sleep.

Chapter 9: Mountain Climbers

”You’re getting closer, Twilight,” resonated a voice from all directions at once. I was floating in a black void.

“Twilight Sparkle, don’t be afraid. You are welcome.”

My eyes snapped open. Only a reddish curtain in my vision, I closed them again and rolled onto my side. The sky was almost a menacing sight at these hours. Even though I tried hard to empty my mind and fall asleep again, it was hopeless. Adrenaline had done its job.

Frustrated by the rays of the morning sun, I got up. Rarity was still curled up inside her bedroll, snoozing lightly and peacefully. Embers were the only things that were remaining of the fire. It had served well; not once had I woken up during the night. The air was chilly right now, but the rising sun would surely warm it up.

Yawning every now and then, I began collecting branches to feed the fire before it would completely die out. There was no wind. The only audible sound during the tranquil morning was the occasional singing of birds, lulling me into a sense of security. At least for now, Rarity and I were safe from anything, be it the formless entity apparently following us or mere weather.

Being able to levitate the branches onto the embers was refreshing – I had missed my magic so much that casting even the simplest spells felt like something new. It didn’t take long for the fire to start again, as the still-hot embers lit the branches up, allowing me to start making food. Though I didn’t know much about the subject, cooking rations shouldn’t have been too hard. After all, you just put them into a kettle full of water and left them to boil for a while. So, naturally, I did just that.

“Darling, that’s not how to prepare rations.” Rarity suddenly commented from behind my back, making me jump.

I cringed. “Would you please not do that again, Rares?”

Rarity just giggled for a response, taking the wooden ladle out of my levitation. She proceeded to lower the kettle into the flames, somehow managing to keep the wooden stick I had hanged it on from catching fire.

Soon, our breakfast was ready. As expected, the soup tasted like bland potatoes. We didn’t exchange any words while eating. The day ahead would be long, but at least we were now visibly close to our destination.

I swiped sweat off my brow. The forest was now behind us; on the steep cliffs, only the most stubborn trees thrived. Those that did survive up here were mostly birches, disfigured and sometimes sprawling on the ground due to the lack of nutrients. Because of the rough and rocky terrain, Rarity and I had to take extra care to avoid injuring ourselves. Luckily for us, an apparently safe path was marked onto the rocks by specks of red paint.

After climbing upwards for an hour, we reached a flat plane. Birches grew on the natural haven – a cliff with a long drop down was on the other side, while on the opposite side an equally tall cliff rose up, sheltering the place from sun. Instead of the dull rocks, the ground was made of peat. My hooves got wet as I strolled next to the edge. Down below, the forest stretched far, until a tiny but still visible line cut through it near the horizon.

“Whoa,” I gasped, astonished by the sight. “The train tracks can be seen from here.”

“Quite a view,” agreed Rarity.

“Rarity, I…” A shiver went down my spine as I realized what I was seeing. “This forest. This view. I’ve seen it before.”

“Hm?”

“I saw it in a dream, not too long ago. In the dream, I was climbing a mountain. The forest was down below, just like now.” Still examining the landscape below, I sighed.

“That’s quite a coincidence,” stated Rarity, smirking. The meaning of her expression was lost on me.

“To tell the truth, I don’t think it’s a coincidence. Some kind of voice, one just like that which called me while I was running across the bridge, has been haunting my dreams. Maybe it’s trying to contact me?”

Rarity looked confused. “Something called you? On the bridge?”

“Yes. In fact, that almost caused me to slip off,” I revealed. Why did I not tell this earlier?

“Look, Twi, I know that things haven’t gone very well lately. But you shouldn’t have kept that for yourself.”

“You’re right. It just… didn’t feel important at the time.”

“Phew,” snorted Rarity. “That’s pretty much in line with everything that has happened to us by now. And yes, I do think something’s trying to contact you, darling. In your dreams, and now even in the middle of a day – I strongly suggest you try to listen to it.”

“It’s calling me towards someplace, Rarity,” I sighed. “But you’re not making ‘listening’ any easier. If I remember correctly, a certain white mare burned the book that would’ve been useful in this…”

“What?” Rarity looked shocked. “That book had something to do with this? I thought it was just talking about us. I…”

Frowning, I explained. “No, Rarity. It didn’t talk about us that much. There was something else – something like a witness account of a historical event. Or just the telling of a legend. But I swear it was there.”

“Oh… I’m sorry then.” Rarity looked very tense. I could see from her eyes that she was telling the truth. “What I saw was different. The pages were all filled up with text. It was like a narration of our day.”

“Filled with text?” I crooked my head. “In that case, we were seeing totally different things.”

“Well, we don’t have to worry about that anymore, now do we,” sighed Rarity,

“I suppose you’re right. We have more important problems to take care of, anyway. Tomorrow, we’ll get very close to the excavation site. It’s important to keep our pace up today, so that we’ll get there as soon as possible.”

“Twilight,” said Rarity with an irritated voice. “We’re already almost there. Why the hurry?”

“It’s just that…” A test. Given to you by no other than Princess Celestia. The faster it’s done, the better. “I’ve already talked about this. Our task must be important, or else Celestia would’ve sent somepony else to do it.”

Rarity didn’t look very convinced. “Fair enough, Twi.”

We didn’t stay in place for long. A painful and lengthy hike was still ahead of us, and even though we had marched for days, nothing had prepared us for this exertion. Because of the steep uphill and our decent-at-best shape, constant breaks were necessary. Due to this, it felt like we were resting more than walking. The only thing that kept us from collapsing was tiny streams of water occasional sprouting from cracks between rocks. Fresh water just made traveling that much easier.

Given our subpar physical condition, we were actually doing pretty well. Our progress was slow but steady. The long conversations we had made time flow faster, and before we even realized, the sun was setting under the mountains.

“Where should we set up a camp?” asked Rarity.

“Good question, Rares.” Certainly not here. You need to find someplace much less steep. “I think we should try and find flat ground.”

With no such place in sight, we decided to continue forward for a little while. Not taking my eyes off the surroundings, I soon saw something interesting: a dark hole between two huge boulders. It seemed big enough for a pony or two to crawl into. Noting about my find to Rarity, I walked next to it. I lit my horn up – and saw that the hole continued inside the rock, looking a bit taller in the back.

“Rarity!” I exclaimed. “A cave! We can rest here.”

My friend trod next to me and took a quick look inside. “Forgive me, Twilight, but… uhm…” Rarity bit her lip, her face tense from uneasiness. “I don’t want to go in there. Just look how narrow the hole is! We would barely fit in. Even if the cave expands later on…” She shook her head. “Just no.”

I sighed, even though I wasn’t too happy to crawl in a tight space like that, either. “Do you have any better ideas then, Rares? Shelters like this don’t grow in trees.”

“I don’t like this. At all,” commented Rarity, glancing at both the darkening sky and the hole in front of us. “To be completely honest with you, Twi, I’d rather sleep on a cold and tilted rock. And I mean it.”

She’d just get sick. “Oh, come on. What if I go in first?”

“Hm?”

“I’ll go and look if the cave gets any bigger than we can see from here. If not, I simply crawl back. If it does, then you’ll follow me. Deal?” I gave Rarity a smirk. For some reason, she seemed to blush the tiniest bit.

“Alright then, if you insist. But this will be the last time I give in.”

I rolled my yes. “Sure.”

Taking one last look at my mortified friend, I crouched and crawled inside. My horn’s light eerily danced on the rocky walls, casting shadows everywhere. It was immediately apparent that only the entrance had been narrow: in front of me the cave expanded towards every direction, until it was about ten feet high and wide. The ground gently sloped downwards. Stale and chilly, the air made me cough.

“Twilight?” called Rarity’s worried voice from outside. “Everything okay?”

“Yes, Rares! Don’t worry!” I took a pause to examine the cave better. The walls were made of the same grey rocks as the mountainside, but a bit deeper, where the light started to fade away, I could see a layer of solid stone. In the Crystal Mountains, the layer of soil is shallow. Bedrock can commonly be found very close to the surface, I recited in my head, remembering the passage from a book precisely as it was written.

Suddenly, something loudly thumped behind me. My heart instantly jumped, and I gasped, turning around. Rarity was scrambling back to her hooves, smiling. I scowled at her.

“What? I started to get worried for you!” she defended, obviously trying to contain giggles.

“By Celestia’s name, Rarity... Please don’t do that again.”

“Yes, yes, I know that’s not how a proper lady should behave.” Rarity grinned.

Not caring to continue the discussion, I stepped further into the cave. As I walked on, the cave abruptly ended. Numerous rocks, both large and small, blocked the path. It was evident that there had been a collapse. Rarity followed me to the site.

“You think we should sleep here?” I asked.

“Since we made our way into this awfully dusty and terrible cave in the first place, yes. I don’t want that to have been for nothing.”

“Alright then.”

It was late and both of us were tired. Thus, without any hesitation, we rolled our bedrolls open onto the hard floor. Rarity looked a bit disgruntled, but said nothing. Before going to sleep, I trod back to the entrance, setting up an alarm spell like last night. After taking one last glance at the starry skies above, I returned. The fur I wrapped around myself didn’t feel warm at all, and with a wordless agreement, Rarity and I moved our bedrolls closer to each other. Sharing your bodily warmth, sure.

I shut my horn’s light, the world beyond my consciousness soon beginning to take over. The day had been long. My muscles still ached. Trying to think about tomorrow was a lost cause; before I got to mentally argue with myself, my mind drifted off.

A corridor, well-lit despite the lack of any visible lighting, stretched into eternity in front of my eyes. The walls were made of huge brown slabs of rock. Even though it was so long, the corridor was barely wide and tall enough to contain me.

With nowhere else to go, I trod forward. Every step increased my speed drastically – soon, the walls were just a blur as I raced ahead.

“Life is just an endless competition against yourself,” echoed a voice inside my head. I tried to slow down, but to no avail. No matter how hard I tried, I kept going faster and faster with each passing second. My legs were no longer under my control.

In the blink of an eye, all of it ended. Air escaped my lungs as I was plunged into an abyss of darkness. Terror was filling me. I screamed, but nobody was there to hear my pleads for help.

Then, the world rematerialized out of nowhere, like it had never been gone in the first place. I was in a scarce forest – tall pines, some of them dead, rose from the ground up towards the blue sky.

“Or against others,” resonated the voice again, piercing inside my skull like a dagger.

Still recovering from the painful message, I heard something not very far away. Almost like a… buzz? Whistle?

The source of the sound was somewhere high up. I turned to look – what I saw paralyzed me, sending my heart racing. Countles of pegasi flew over the treetops; so many, that the sun was partially covered. I noticed that some of them were carrying banners, lances or swords. Every now and then, a trumpet was blown by one of the pegasi.

“But in reality…” continued the voice, sending me reeling onto the ground, covering my ears in desperation. A horrible, soul-wrecking chill went through me. It felt like I had been dragged through a lake under the polar ice cap.

And then, once more, I was elsewhere, lying on warm, soft grass. Hesitantly, I opened my eyes to be immensely relieved. The grass was green. The sky was blue. All around me were ponies, happily chatting with each other. Finally, the nightmare was over. I smiled.

But what was this place? Had I been here before? I glanced around – and there it sat, just where it always had been – my home, the Golden Oaks library. I felt warm inside. Home was always a special place.

Ignoring the ponies trodding from one place to another, I walked to the door and knocked. A smiling Rarity opened, looking astounding like she always did. With a grace unmatched even by alicorn princesses, she invited me in with a simple nod.

“Finally back at home,” I told Rarity, happy about being in Ponyville again.

Answering nothing, she waved me to follow with her hoof. To my surprise, Rarity headed upstairs with me right in her hoofsteps. We were now at my bedroom door. Rarity gave me a smirk, making my heart pound and my forehead sweat. A blush was burning its way up my cheeks.

I followed Rarity into the bedroom, my mind fuzzy from her presence. Turning to close the door, I felt chills running down my spine. A crackling stomp turned my attention back towards the room.

Celestia stood tall right in front of me. Only inches were separating us – I could see deep into her eyes, into her soul – and what I saw made me drop on my butt and crawl back in horror.

“But in reality, Twilight…“ boomed Celestia. “In reality, life is a race against destiny.”

The world shattered into millions of pieces. In the background, a song I’d never heard before was eerily being played by a lyre. When it already seemed like the worst was happening, I felt water engulfing me, its pressure hampering my movement. I screamed from the top of my lungs, only to inhale water.

“AAAAH!” I jumped at my own voice, shivering like a madpony. The darkness around me seemed to pulse in tune with the lyre – the music was still faintly echoing in the back of my head. I contracted into the smallest form possible, trying to keep even some warmth in me. It was incredibly cold.

Something warm wrapped around me. A white light hurt my eyes, breaking the horrifying veil of darkness. “Twilight, everything is okay,” assured Rarity with a soft voice. “It was just a dream.”

I felt tears running down my cheeks. Silly filly. You’re not a foal anymore.

“Everything is fine,” continued Rarity, calming me down a bit. “Don’t worry.”

“J-just a dream,” I sobbed. “Just a dream. A real one. We have to go on.”

“Shh, darling, there’s no need to speak. I understand. Nightmares can be terrifying.”

Saying nothing, I also lit my horn up. Rarity nuzzled me gently. My shivering was already starting to ease up, when I noticed a blue glow on the floor. I had almost slept on it. Fear took grasp of my mind again, and I instantly stood up. Both my heart and my head were pounding.

“Rarity, was that there before?” I asked from my equally shocked friend. The glow on the floor was being emitted by a carved rune of some kind.

“I… Twilight?”

“Was it there or not?”

Rarity finally turned her head downwards, eliciting a gasp from her as she noticed what I was talking about. “No idea.”

I have seen this before.

Perhaps… I levitated a picture out of my bag, which was resting next to a wall. And there it was. The rune was almost identical to one carved on the surface of the artifact. Yet, this certainly wasn’t it. I had a very bad feeling about the entire situation.

“We need to leave, Rares,” I desperately demanded. “Now.”

“I have nothing against that,” she replied. And thus, with great haste, we packed up our bedrolls. Though the rune still glowed, it had seemingly not affected us in any way, nor was it attached to any object or surface. It was unintelligible, most certainly a remnant of some language long forgotten by now.

The entrance was just as narrow as it had been yesterday. We had to crawl again. Fortunately, neither of us got stuck on any of the small rocks protruding from the walls. In no time were we outside, greeted by a terrible cold and the twinkling of stars – the world was dimly illuminated by their pulsing light. The moon was nowhere to be seen.

“Let’s go,” I stated to Rarity, flaring up my horn again to provide as much light as possible.

We got on the move. Only with great effort was I able to maintain the intense light – but for a few dozen yards around us, the surroundings were as bright as during a day. Even though we didn’t have much to combat the cold, climbing upwards made us sweat.

Under the starry skies, we hiked through the morning hours. Nothing apart from our hoofsteps could be heard. The silence was absolute. After an amount of time that felt incredibly long, the sun finally painted the world with a red hue. So exhausted were we, that when we finally found a small patch of flat land, all we could do was collapse onto the ground. And in the chilly morning hours, we peacefully fell asleep, cuddled next to each other, the rising sun warming us.

Chapter 10: Northern Skies

At noon, we were taking yet another break. It was unfortunate that we didn’t have the time to enjoy the amazing views from up here; being this high up, a smidgen of the Bottomless Lake could be seen glittering in the east. Rarity and I had made a decision to keep going with the same pace despite all the hardships – if everything was to go well, we would arrive at the excavation site by tomorrow morning. Thus, we’d have time to examine the artifact without having to sleep close to it. Considering what happened previously, that was the last thing we wanted. We’d do our job, document our findings, scout the immediate vicinity for clues, and then head back the way we came.

“Rarity, I’ve been thinking about our initial arrival,” I told my friend, who was greedily drinking from her canteen. “We should make some kind of plan – if Grey was telling the truth, there might be crazed cultists running amok.”

“That’s true,” replied Rarity. “Great care must be taken. Have you come up with anything, Twi?”

I had been pondering the possibilities, and there were many different choices. “First of all, we need to take a good look at the area before we’re actually there. I think I can do that from a mile or two away, with the help of the picture Celestia had sent me with the letter for focus. Secondly, we need to stick together at all times. We can’t afford to get separated in case something happens.”

“Wow, Twilight, that sounded like a lecture.” Rarity gave me a sly smile. “You should consider a career as a teacher.

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, sure, but my lecture isn’t over yet. I wouldn’t be surprised if the cultists, assuming that they’re behind this, already knew we were coming. The lightshow I set up last night… that could surely be seen from the excavation site.”

“You do have good point there, darling. And the lightshows someone else arranged a few days back support it. It’s not like there’s much to hinder anypony’s vision up here.” Rarity coughed. “So, what do you propose we do, Twilight?”

“We should approach the site until we’re about a mile away. Then, I’ll use my magic to take a look at it before we get any closer. When we finally arrive, we take a very good look at the surroundings before examining the artifact.

“This might very well take over a day. If the sun is going down while we’re still at work, we’ll have to hike back and sleep on some landing. I don’t know about you, Rares, but I have no wish to close my eyes anywhere near the place, even for a second. What do you think?”

Rarity nodded. “Sounds good.”

Despite the cloudless sky, the day wasn’t very hot. Gusts of wind, sometimes quite strong, blasted us every now and then. I kept warily glancing around; what happened last night had made me jumpy. A couple of times I thought I saw something in the corner of my eye, but when I turned my gaze, nothing was there. Still, the dull gray rocks seemed to have an effect on my mind. Every step was harder and harder, my mind getting clouded by the colorless terrain and the monotonous hiking, my body aching for rest every few minutes. The only thing keeping my awareness even somewhat up was talking with Rarity. I had to give credit to her: she was supposedly in worse shape than me, but kept pushing towards her limits.

The sun slowly made its way through the sky. No surprising events occurred during the day, which made me send silent thanks to Celestia.

“Twilight…” spoke Rarity with a low tone. “It’s only an hour to sunset. Is there anything we can do to prevent you from having those nightmares?”

“Not really,” I sighed. “I’ll just have to keep my calm. Freaking out like that again could prove very dangerous, now that the mountain is getting even steeper.”

Rarity put a hoof on my shoulder. “If you have some idea what’s causing them – if there’s anything you would like to share, Twi – you can trust me.”

Is there something else behind my dreams than the thing following us? “I’d trust you with my life. And I mean it. But there’s nothing more complicated behind this, Rares. The thing that’s been following us is appearing in my dreams, and there’s nothing I can do about it.”

“If you say so. Do you think the rune had something to do with what you experienced last night?”

“Perhaps,” I answered, thinking about the possibilities. If the cultists have been here, they might have used that cave for something and carved the rune onto the ground. “I think it’s become clear that Grey’s judgement was sound. If that rune wasn’t put there by the cultists, I have no idea who’s to blame. And now, thinking about it, I believe it affected my mind in some way. But I doubt that was its original purpose.”

“Oh, my.” Rarity shook her head. “This will be dangerous, no matter what.”

“Don’t worry, Rares. We can do it.”

Rarity scowled. “Sure, we can. But I have started to wonder what the hay Celestia was thinking when she sent us on this mission. There’s a whole lot what she didn’t tell us. Then, on top of that, the guide she had arranged went and bailed on us!”

“I’ve been wondering that myself, too. She did say this was some sort of test for me. I know that isn’t the entire truth, but it’s certain that she wouldn’t put us in harm’s way for nothing. No…” I sighed, gazing at the excavation site, the huge boulders close to it already visible, albeit still quite small.

“I sincerely hope that’s the case, darling. She’s up to something.”

I nodded. “Wouldn’t be the first time, either. You know why she sent me to Ponyville? To make friends. It turned out to be a gambit of hers – and it worked. The Elements of Harmony were invoked. So whatever happens, I have complete trust in her.”

I took a look around. There were numerous large rocks we could spend our night on, but any kind of restless sleep would put us in danger. Tripping or sleepwalking here could cause a disaster. However, when the choice was just trying our luck finding another, this time untouched, cave, there was no dispute.

We pressed onwards until we found a relatively flat spot of land in the shadow of some boulders. Grass was growing on the ground, flourishing in the small patch of fertile soil – a number of flowers, mostly bluebells, had also made this place their home. The pristine grace of nature made me smile.

“Quite a place to set up, darling,” commented Rarity enthusiastically as we unpacked our bedrolls once again. “Inspiration is already flooding me! Those flowers… if I just had the means to make a dress here…”

“This place sure is beautiful.” Just like you, Rarity.“But not very practical. The strangled birches aren’t exactly the best firewood. How many dry rations do we have left?”

“Two for both of us. We’ll run out next morning,” said Rarity, frowning. “I’d rather not eat the ones meant to be boiled as raw – but it seems that we’ll have to do just that.”

“I suppose I could try heating the kettle with my magic. That might not work, though.”

Rarity’s lips turned upwards right away. “Well, Twi, it never hurts to try, does it?”

Heating up the kettle was a painful experience. A tiny nearby stream provided the water. It was already getting dark when I finally succeeded, and even then, I was on the verge of collapsing from the incredible loss of energy. My horn throbbed – maintaining the temperature above the boiling point took a lot, but was, luckily, easier than the initial heating. For the five minutes it took for our rations to get ready, I was pushing myself quite a bit.

“Unless it’s absolutely necessary, I will not do that again.” I rubbed my horn. “My horn could’ve burned out from that. I haven’t fully recovered yet.”

“Let’s hope that we stumble across some wood, then.” Rarity happily poured soup from the kettle into her wooden bowl.

The food tasted decent, making the evening swiftly pass by. Darkness was now shrouding the world; only the stars cast a little light upon the Crystal Mountains. Even though I was getting a bit drowsy, the dreams of last night and the marvelous constellations twinkling above us prevented me from going to sleep. Rarity was also still awake, sitting next to me on the soft grass. The wind had died out, and the world was silent.

“Amazing,” I managed to mutter out, taken aback by the astounding night sky.

Rarity leaned on me. “It is.”

Memories from my childhood started to resurface. In the long years in Celestia’s tutorship, I had made a habit of stargazing on the balcony of Canterlot Castle. Under the northern skies, I felt happy and secure. Nothing could hurt me right now.

“It’s been a long week, Twi,” said Rarity with a quiet voice.

“Yes, Rares, it has. But it’s been worth it. Without you, I’d probably have gone mad ages ago. Spending time with you here, without anyone to interrupt…” I sighed, warmness engulfing me as Rarity’s coat brushed against mine. “Let’s just say that I could’ve spent my time worse.”

“Oh, really,” giggled Rarity. “The worst is still ahead.”

“Like I said, we’ll get through anything with the help of each other. Why worry of what tomorrow brings us?”

Instead of saying anything, Rarity rested her head on my shoulder. I could smell her mane – even after days of hiking, it was still like putting my head into a bed of roses. My cheeks felt hot, but luckily, there was no way Rarity could see that in the dim light.

“Do you ever wonder, Rares? Wonder how all of that, the stars, the moon, and darkness, came into being?” Turning my gaze upwards, I noticed several constellations by heart. “In all honesty, I must admit that I like Luna’s night more than Celestia’s day.”

“Of course I do, Twi,” spoke Rarity with a soft voice. “Don’t we all? It’s mind-numbing that there aren’t many creation myths around. I like to think that something before even Celestia and Luna created this world from nowhere. Oh, the stories that have been lost!”

I sighed. “Celestia seems to have a habit of keeping important things hidden.”

“You don’t say, darling.”

“Take Nightmare Moon, for example. Celestia certainly knew of her return, but led me to believe that it was all just in my head. Yet, we defeated the Mare in the Moon. Celestia’s precognition ought to be very accurate.”

“Nightmare Moon,” ushered Rarity out. “Luna. She’s so much more straight-forward and likable than her sister.”

“Come on.” I rolled my eyes. “Celestia endured without her for a thousand years. It must have changed her.”

“No doubt.” Rarity caressed my mane, taking me by surprise. “But there’s no denying that Luna’s night is more inspiring than the day. When we return, I will make a dress just for you – one with the beauty of this night. And yours.”

Did she just say that? –Yes, yes she did. Probably. Hopefully. Yes, she did say it.

I was at a loss for words. My heart was pounding, my hooves beginning to sweat. Is now the time? –No, not yet, not yet at all. Don’t risk the mission.

“Uhm… thanks,” was all I managed to mutter out.

“No problem.” There was a hint of sadness in Rarity’s voice; I couldn’t figure out why. “Just..”

“Yes, Rares?”

Rarity turned to face me. Our gazes were locked at each other. It felt like I could see her soul from behind the deep azure of her eyes. For a moment, the world seemed to pause – lost in Rarity’s eyes, I was paralyzed. Think before doing anything, Twilight. Think. Don’t do anything you would regret. Rarity’s stare seemed to demand me to take action.

Leaning forward the tiniest bit, Rarity opened her mouth slightly. Are you ready?

I turned my head away. No. I breathed out.Turning my head back again, I saw that Rarity’s eyes were again locked at the sky. Not able to bring myself to say anything, I just sat there, my stomach turning. You were just seeing things. Stop living in a fantasy world. Get a grip of yourself. Tomorrow will be an important day; don’t get distracted.

Rarity soon crawled inside her bedroll, leaving me to stargaze alone. Despite being tired, I was afraid of falling asleep. But then, suddenly, I saw a light in my peripheral vision. When I turned my head, it was still there – some way up the mountain, at the excavation site. What I couldn’t notice previously was now visible. The lights were huge flames, flaring up and down in different colors. They rose much higher than even the largest boulders up there. Spells. And powerful ones. No regular unicorn can raise flames that big.

I was about to nudge Rarity, but stopped to hesitate. She was seemingly asleep already, what was no wonder. The day had strained much of our strength. For some reason, my stomach turned as I watched her peaceful form.

The flames died out after a while. I was getting weary; all the hiking was catching up on me. Yawning, I warded the area.

Sleep didn’t come right away. Images of Rarity and the mysterious rune kept haunting me. As my mind finally started to drift away, those images followed me into my dreams. The night was restless – I was plagued by dreams of weird landscapes, giant cities, and vast armies of ponies.

Rarity was sitting on a rock, one just like any of those that littered the mountainside. She was facing away from me, casting a tall shadow over the ground. The sky was cloudless.

“Rares? What are you doing?!” I shouted. “There’s no time to rest. We must move out!”

A wave of uncertainty washed over me as Rarity turned around. She had a very sad expression on her face. “I’m doing the necessary. Don’t worry.”

“Excuse me?”

My friend shook her head. “The necessary. We’re not in a hurry.”

I furiously stomped the ground. “Yes, we are! What’s gotten into you?”

“Trust me, Twi,” said Rarity with a stoic voice. “I’m doing the necessary.”

The world warped – I was now at the shore of a lake, flanked by mountains. I recognized it from one of my previous dreams, making me wonder whether they really could tell the future. Rarity was still with me, now knee-deep in the water. She was staring at the endless mass of quiet water – the lake continued for at least a hundred miles ahead, until it was cut off by a cloud of grey fog.

“Twilight,” started Rarity again. “Whatever happens, don’t be afraid. She means no harm. But it just happens to be that-“

“No,” I interrupted. “Whether you’re talking about yourself, or the one stalking us – it doesn’t matter. Just let me go. I don’t want to be here.”

Rarity swayed her hoof, creating tiny ripples into the mirror-like surface of the lake. “But you have to. That’s why you were sent here.”

“You’re blaming Celestia for us being stuck here?” I spat out. “Seriously, Rares? Is there even a smidgen of honor left in you? We have to go, for our Princess’ sake, if nothing else.”

“Fine.” Rarity shrugged. “We’ll go.”

Rays of light shot out from Rarity’s eyes in seemingly random directions, her body starting to glow. I tried to crouch for cover, but was unable to move a muscle.

“Twi!” groaned a voice from somewhere close-by.

“Twilight!” I was wildly shaken by a pair of hooves. “Get up! Right now!”

I jerked up, immediately regretting it as blood rushed into my head, making me feel dizzy. “What’s going on?”

Rarity glanced around, fear in her eyes. “Somepony’s on our trail. Just a second ago, I saw a brown stallion climbing towards us.”

“And where was this earth pony, exactly?”

“I don’t know…” answered Rarity with a nervous voice. “Half a mile behind, perhaps?”

Sighing in relief, I levitated my bag up and strapped it on me. “If that’s the case, we have some time. We’ll need to act quickly. It’s possible that he hasn’t seen us yet.”

“He returned my stare when I first saw him.” Rarity’s voice was shaky. “Let’s go, Twi.”

With that, we were again making our way towards the excavation site. Unless my estimate was completely off, we’d arrive in three or four hours. We kept taking looks down the mountainside, but didn’t catch a glimpse of the stallion. It was like he’d vanished into thin air. Or Rarity was just seeing things. –No, that’s not true at all. She’s a perfectly healthy mare.

As we climbed the mountain with a fast pace, I got lost in my thoughts, pondering the meaning of the dream I’d just seen. It was a tough task – the details were already fading from my memory.

After a while, we took a short break to assess the situation. For about the hundredth time, I studied the map intensely. According to it, we were now only two miles away from our destination. The huge boulders up the mountain, not very far away, confirmed the assessment. Rarity and I agreed that we could only afford one break from here to there; it was entirely possible that the stallion on our trail was picking his pace up too.

We were only an hour from the site when strange events began to occur. First, a light mist started to rise up from the forests below, swiftly enshrouding the mountain. Only minutes after forming, it had already caught up with us. The visibility was now reduced to a dozen yards – everything beyond that was just a grey mass. Then, the temperature dropped rapidly. We were forced to stop, for in such weather, climbing a mountain would’ve been perilous.

“Where could this have come from?” asked Rarity, shivering profusely. “I haven’t seen anything like this before.”

I mentally went through the contents of several books, but the inevitable conclusion filled me with fear. “The weather can get unpredictable this high, but…” Shaking my head, I levitated my bedroll out. “This can’t be a natural occurrence. Fog just doesn’t move at that speed. No, this cloud was cast by someone – or something.”

“Can’t you just dispel it, then?”

“No,” I stated, frowning. “Like I said, it’ll take weeks for my horn to fully recover. Right now, I can only cast the simplest spells. Removing a cloud of fog this large is out of question. But I do have something positive to tell, too.”

Rarity cocked her head. “Well, Twi?”

“Keeping a cloud like this intact drains huge amounts of energy. I doubt that even Celestia could shroud a mountain for more than a day.”

“We’ll wait it out?”

“Yes.” I unfurled the bedroll. Crawling inside it would provide some warmth. If it got wet, I’d just dry it up later with magic.

And so we waited. Despite using the bedrolls for protection, we were left shivering and clenching our teeth in the coldness. The fog kept getting thicker and thicker. Eventually, I could only see a few feet away. For some reason, Rarity declined to curl up next to me for warmth.

Keeping track of the passage of time was nigh impossible. What felt like an eternity was probably a few hours, although it could’ve been much less. Desperation was building up in my mind, but I managed to keep my calm by going through the possible outcomes. There was no doubt that whoever was chasing us, he’d have no chance to move in this weather either. However, when the fog dispersed, we’d have to get back on track fast.

Even though I tried to keep conversation up with Rarity, she seemed awfully quiet, only occasionally mumbling something for a response. I could sense that she was on the verge of panic, and thus, tried to soothe her with soft words. Apparently, it worked; she didn’t do anything stupid.

Just as suddenly as it had appeared, the fog dispersed. Our target was again visible. We couldn’t, however, continue right away: it took a while for us to recover from the effects of the sudden variations in temperature. Both of us were still struck by waves of shivers as we continued onwards.

The shivers were soon replaced by sweat. Not a single cloud was keeping company to the sun, which had already rolled past its apex. The final destination was now only ten minutes away, and we slowed down to approach the site safely. It was almost certain that someone had noticed us, but that someone was hopefully unaware that we were so close.

Chapter 11: Darkness and Light

A distorted, yet recognizable landscape blinked into being. The area I was seeing was rocky, just like I had assumed, but also quite level. It took some time for me to get used to the ‘eagle’s eye’ spell, and to make matters worse, the picture painted into my vision was in grayscale. Not to even mention disorientingly blurry.

“How’s it going?” called a voice from beyond the magic veil.

“Sush,” I responded, keeping my focus on the task.

I let my gaze wander around. About thirty yards leftwards, one of the huge boulders was jutting out of the ground like someone had dropped it there from the skies. Next to it were the remains of two tents. Infuriatingly, where the edge of the pit could be seen on the right, the image began to crop into a void. My problems with magic were significantly hampering the line of sight – on a better day, I could’ve seen much farther.

Lifting the focus, I crashed back into the real word. I was immediately hit by strong nausea as the rocks twisted back into their real forms, color returning to the world. Rarity stood in front of me, looking worried.

“Well, Twi?”

“Nothing,” I answered. “I could see very little, but there’s nopony at the tents, at least. This whole ‘espionage thing’ wasn’t very useful.”

Rarity bit her lip. “We’ll just have to hope for the best, then.”

“Yes. Since there isn’t anything else to really be done, we should get moving again. The earlier we arrive, the better – we want to be there before getting caught by the pony on our tail.”

“If you say so, Twi.”

We gathered our stuff and continued up the mountain. The boulders at the excavation site now loomed very near. I felt my pulse rise as we got closer to the place we’d worked so hard to reach. The prize, a horribly dangerous one at that, lay ahead. Every now and then I glanced down the mountain, once catching a glimpse of our pursuer. Luckily, he was still quite far away.

Time seemed to crawl. Every step, every rock I climbed over – each one of them pushed me towards the artifact. And towards the calling. There’s bound to be something waiting there for you, be it in good or in bad.

“What do you think will happen?” I asked, not even trying to hide my growing anxiousness. We’d be there in any moment.

“I think the cultsponies are the most likely option,” she answered with an equally tense voice. “Of course, it could be something else. But that would make the most sense.”

“Yeah, Rares, that’s probably the case.”

No further words were exchanged as we climbed the last few stones on the marked path. The mountain was level here. Ahead of us stood the huge boulders, casting tall shadows on the ground. Two abandoned tents were visible close to them, as well as a dilapidated radio transmitter. Not a soul was there.

“This is it, Twi,” said Rarity with a hushed voice. “Let’s take a good look.”

We moved as silently as possible, trying to avoid alerting anyone who might be here. The bare mountainside of the site didn’t offer any clues; nothing, save for a few empty cans that had once held food, told that there had ever been ponies here. No blood, no traces of fighting, no hurriedly packed equipment – nothing. I found it odd, but was also slightly relieved. At least we wouldn’t have to wrestle with mountain bears.

“The tents,” I said to Rarity, taking glances behind me, just in case. “If the ponies here left something important behind, it must’ve been there.”

Rarity raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t the guards search them when they paid this place a visit?”

I nodded. “Sure did. But you never know. Stranger things have happened, even on our journey.”

When we made our way close to the tents, shivers started to hit me, increasing in intensity as we got closer. It was like a curtain of cold air had been hung upon the ground. Rarity seemed to suffer the same effect, but was likely too wary to say it out loud.

There was nothing inside the tents – they were abandoned, just as reported. All of the heavy equipment of the expedition, save for the irreparably damaged radio, was gone for good. Nevertheless, Rarity and I were still suffering from the sudden onset of cold. I couldn’t shake a feeling that something was terribly wrong, and soon backed away. The warmth the sun had offered only moments ago was now gone, even some distance from the tents.

“It’s… cold,” noted Rarity.

I nodded. “It sure is, Rares. And we’ll have to find out why.” Magic. A powerful unicorn must be lurking here. There’s no way any lesser mage could create a field of freezing cold in the middle of a warm, cloudless day.

“Any ideas, Twi?”

“A mage, a unicorn, is probably somewhere close-by,” I answered. “We can only hope that the pony’s stupid enough to reveal herself. Or himself.”

For a while, we stood still, trying to catch a glimpse of the pony, but to no avail. I noticed my teeth had started clenching. The scene was surreal: a long-abandoned camp in the middle of a dull, grey mountainside and the sun high in the sky, with the temperature in the levels usually experienced during winter. Only our chaser catching us was missing.

Regardless, there was no time for loitering. Despite fighting shivers constantly, we moved back to the tents. Beyond them and the monoliths was our final target; now that we were here, there was no turning back.

When we walked past the boulders surrounding the pit, the wind stopped, along with the sound of our hoofsteps. The world had fallen silent. My legs started to shake, barely keeping me on my hooves. I could see from Rarity’s face that she was equally tense.

“Rares. It’s happening again,” I stated, unbearable fear halting me. But Rarity didn’t seem to notice – instead of turning towards me, she continued along her path.

“Twilight Sparkle. You have answered my calls. Don’t be afraid,” echoed a voice inside my head. I felt like screaming, but no sound came out of my mouth. Rarity was already a few yards away. She didn’t even glance back.

My head started to ache. “Destiny is not an option,” boomed the voice. “It’s not a choice. Now, go.”

Fog built up in the blink of an eye, hiding Rarity from me. The only thing visible was the rocky ground. I swallowed hard, closing my eyes. Concentrate. Wake up.

“Go,” demanded the voice. If the chills had been strong before, it now felt like I was swimming in a lake under the polar ice cap. I put all my effort in making a single, short step. Only barely was I able to lift my hoof off the ground. The next one was much easier, but still a struggle against my brain, shocked by the entire situation.

“Go.” Pushing the voice back into the deeper reaches of my mind, I steadily moved forward. My pace was one of a snail’s, hampered by the bone-freezing cold and fear.

“GO!”

I hesitated for a moment, then surged power into my horn, warming the air around me. Pain began wracking my head right away, but there was no stopping now. I continued moving, this time much less hindered by the temperature. A lump was forming in my throat. You have to get out. Rarity must be-

In a blinding flash, light and sound returned to the world. The sun’s rays scorched my eyes. For my relief, Rarity was only a few feet ahead of me. I stopped to catch my breath. Will someone be waiting for me?

Rarity looked back at me, her face full of worry. “Twi? Something wrong?”

“I… uhm…” I was at a loss for words. “We should continue. Sorry.”

“Alright,” commented Rarity with a strained voice.

We slowly made our way towards the pit – even though the air was still cold, it wasn’t as freezing as before. From ten yards away, I started smelling a foul stench coming from the pit. It only got stronger as we got to the edge, making me retch.

On the edge, I took my time, and so did Rarity. We traded frightened glances before taking a peek at the bottom.

And there, on top of a large metallic plate with ominous carvings, lay a half-decomposed, brown stallion. I was paralyzed by shock, unable to look away. Bones were protruding from his skin, creating a grotesque sight. No, no, no. We should’ve turned back. This was stupid. I heard Rarity throwing up, but my gaze was still nailed at the scene down in the pit. The runes snaking around the bluish square started to glow a purple light.

“Rarity!” I shouted.

“Twi... that’s just…” Rarity responded from behind me, her voice shaking. “Dear Celestia! What happened to him?”

The light intensified, some now shining through the metal slab, making it seem like a small star had been buried under it. The body now glowed just like the surface it rested on. Horrifying, yet bizarrely beautiful in a way, the scene burned itself into my mind. I was fascinated. Entranced.

“Rares, you have to see this.”

Rarity carefully walked next to me, keeping her eyes shut. When she opened them, astonishment washed over her face. “Just what is this, Twi?”

“No idea. But it’s beautiful.” Patterns started to emerge. The light pulsed at times – it looked like it was trying to emulate a tune of some kind, but failed to emit any sound.

“There’s no going back now,” echoed a voice inside my head, making me almost keel into the pit. “You said that yourself, Twilight.”

I shook my head, but a glance behind me told that the fog had returned. “Wrong, whoever you are. There’s always a choice.”

“Twilight? What are you talking about?” asked Rarity, backing away from me. She looked like she could faint any moment.

“I…” The fog was still there, creeping closer and closer towards us. Only the bright glow of the artifact was keeping it at bay, though I had no idea how. “If we can’t go back, we must go in.”

“Twilight?!” Rarity sounded shocked. “What on Equus are you talking about?”

“We’re not giving up.” Instead, you’re risking both of your lives. “You have to trust me. Please, Rares. The only way is forward.”

Rarity gave the pit a glance, then stared back into my eyes. I felt myself quite small. “Really? I mean, really? There’s a body down there, for Celestia’s sake!”

“Is there?” The light was already so luminous that I could no longer see very well what was happening down there. “Perhaps. But in every other direction is only the nothingness of a void.” Where did that even come from?

“The nothingness?”

"Yes. We can't go anywhere else. There's no running away."

A feeling of revelation struck me. This was what we had come here for. Of course the artifact would be a door, transporting us somewhere far away. To do something important... hopefully. I took a step forward, holding my left forehoof above the brilliantly shining drop.

But a hoof was wrapped around my waist, preventing me from falling down.

"Twi! Don't! Not a step forward!" demanded Rarity with a desperate voice.

"Go," echoed the voice inside my head once again. The pull of the door was incredible; I wanted to jump, to dive into the translucent surface. A blurry forest could now be seen under it. I knew it had to be done. Ignoring Rarity's pleas, I forced myself ahead, breaking her hold with a surge of brute strength. As air rushed past me and the light turned into darkness, I could still feel two soft hooves tightly clinging onto me.

"Twilight?" asked a weak, recognisable voice from somewhere near. All I saw was complete darkness – however, I felt that I was lying on a hard, cold and rough surface. My saddle bag was gone. Panic immediately started creeping into my mind. Where am I? Did I jump? Why?

"Rares? Is that you?" I lit up my horn, but its light was very dim, like something was obscuring it. Out of nowhere, a white face jumped into the small aura. Rarity painfully ran into me, knocking me over with a thud.

Rarity helped me back onto my hooves. Her face was full of both relief and anguish. “Thank the Goddesses you’re here!” she let out, hugging me tightly. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t hold you off, darling, but-”

I put a hoof over Rarity’s mouth. “There’s no need for that, Rares. I don’t know why I did that... but I think I had to. In any case, we have more important matters to discuss right now.”

A moment of silence ensued. The floor was apparently wood – rough, untreated pine planks, a thin layer of dust coating them. Nothing else could be seen in the light’s short radius.

“Let’s find out what this place is,” Rarity finally said, her voice very tense. “Bite my tail. We can’t afford to get separated.”

I complied, the taste of various flowers filling my mouth. It made me wonder how Rarity was able to keep herself from getting all dirty during our hike. One of life’s many mysteries. “Affright, Raves. Fready fhen you are.”

Rarity giggled nervously and began to carefully walk forward. She lit her horn, but the light wasn’t any brighter than mine. The only sound in the void was our rhythmical hoofsteps against the aged planks.

After a while, it became obvious that we weren’t going to reach anything. I let Rarity’s tail fall out of my mouth. “Rares, we need to think of something else.”

“Mmmh,” agreed Rarity. “What is this place? I don’t understand. One moment we were there, then you jumped and... we were here.”

I rubbed my chin. “Well... I can’t think of much. It’d be logical if this was some kind of magical prison. There’s always at least some way out of those, but it’s often quite unconventional to prevent easy escape.” Just a part of the test.

Rarity sighed. “A prison?”

“Yes.” My stomach gurgled, reminding me of the the frightening fact that we had no food with us. “I’m sure we can break out. How; I don’t know yet.”

We sat down to think about the possibilities. Rarity asked me whether the floor could have some kind of weakness, but that felt unlikely. However, I was ready to try - and just as I had expected, burning the planks with magic was impossible. They didn’t even warm up the tiniest bit. Why have I not read much about unnatural areas like this? I was bound to get trapped in one some day.

Lack of effort was, at least, no problem. We tried piercing through the planks, jumping in the air, reaching for the ceiling, and shooting magic missiles into the void surrounding us. Nothing had any effect. I was getting exhausted from using my magic too much, and had to stop in order to avoid burning out again, for I still hadn’t fully recovered.

“Nothing works!” I exclaimed, frustratedly stomping the floor. “Nothing! And it’s all my fault. I dragged you with me on this obscure mission. You fell into a river, or perhaps not, but we continued anyway! I mean, how stupid is that? I should have called our mission off then and there. Then, I-”

Rarity shook her head. My stomach twisted as I saw tears in her eyes – the dim lighting made her face look even more dramatic than it was. “Twi, stop. That isn’t helping. You know very well that I came along of my own free will. I refused to turn back, just like you did.”

I lay onto the cold floor, defeated. “Sure. Whatever. I suppose this is it.”

There was no further talking. I could feel all the adrenaline fading away from my body, leaving behind a feeling of empty tiredom. Soon, I let my horn’s light die out. Rarity did the same, enshrouding us with depressing darkness. It didn’t take long for me to drift off into the land of twisting and hopeless dreams.

“Is this what you seek, Princess?” asked a low voice. A small, homely cottage sprung into existence in front of my eyes. I didn’t even flinch.

“I don’t know.” A memory surged into my head – yes, this cottage – I had bought it only a month ago.

“Your retirement will be peaceful,” continued the voice. I had no idea what it was trying to tell me. “The struggles and hardships of our kingdom aren’t your concerns anymore.”

“Alright then, mister,” I instinctively responded. “You are dismissed.”

“Of course, Princess.” Sounds of hoofsteps going away from me could be heard, even though I saw nopony. The cottage was cold and empty, only a simplistic wooden table and one chair furnishing it. There was a hearth, too, but it was filled with dust.

I looked through the sole window. Snow-topped mountains reached high towards the clouds, a lush forest stretching its way up the steep cliffs, only to thin out and fade as the elevation rose. The view was incredibly beautiful, but still left a pang in my heart. Beautiful, pristine, untouched by pony hooves... yet, it was devoid of any meaningful life. Nopony lived here. This corner of the world sure was a lonely one.

Sighing, I drew myself away from the window. Only then did I notice something under the table – the tattered corner of a grey book. Excited, I levitated it in front of me.

A pine forest stretched on the feet of several mighty mountains. I froze in place. This time, there was a title, written in hard-to-decipher cursive script: ‘The Diary of Twilight Sparkle’. Despite feeling very uneasy, I opened the book, skimming until I found the last page with writing on it.

‘...all lost now. I can’t believe they made me do this. It’s all wrong. I hate them. They deserve to be punished. It’s not my my fault. I’ll have to take back what’s rightfully mine, and those who stand in my way shall perish.’

‘Perhaps I was wrong. No, I wasn’t wrong. But they were right.’

‘Why am I here, all alone? Life isn’t fair, I should’ve known that. I should’ve seen this coming. Nopony lives here. The Crystal Mountains shall change.’

I slammed the book closed; I didn’t want to read any more of that. What was that book, even? I didn’t remember ever writing anything like that. But here I was, all alone, in a mountain cabin, hundreds of miles from civilization. Or was I?

The walls around me crumbled to dust, the roof falling right through me. I coughed. When the dust cleared, I was standing on a mountaintop. Before my eyes, down below, lay a marvelous city on the shore of a huge crystal-clear lake. The sky was as blue as ever, the sun’s rays filling me with a painful joy.

Then, the city was gone, taken back by the forest. And I was, again, alone, like I had always been. I felt fear. Anger. Lust for recognition.

“Twilight Sparkle,” stated somepony with my own voice from under me, from inside the mountain. “It’s all your doing. But this – this is your undoing.”

Silence. Clouds rolled with incredible speed into the direction I was looking at. The sun sailed through the sky in seconds, only to reappear a few later. Dirt and rock began covering the ruins of the city, bit by bit. I never saw anypony – the entire region before my eyes appeared to be abandoned. At first, a small ember burned inside my chest, but it didn’t take long for it to ignite into a burning flame. Soon, it felt like an inferno.

“The price of one is heavy, isn’t it, Twilight?” I noticed saying to myself, despite not consciously doing it.

Suddenly, the world collapsed. Images of ponies armed with swords, brilliant bolts of thunder, and mountains crumbling flashed into my mind. Until I found myself, again, submerged in water. I flailed my hooves hopelessly, knowing it wouldn’t help. There was no air. On the verge of passing out, I inhaled water.

I flinched, and found only darkness surrounding me. The cold, hard floor reminded me of where I was, but that didn’t ease my heartache. Rising up to to stretch my legs, I inhaled the stale air. After dreams like that, there sure isn’t any point in trying to sleep more, I thought.

An immeasurable time, probably hours, passed by. I did but sit and ponder about the possible means of escape - and came up with nothing.

“You awake?” I finally asked with a weak voice, desperate for another soul.

“Yes, darling,” came the answer from somewhere left to me. “Have been for some time already.”

“Me too,” I stated, walking towards Rarity’s voice. Her eyes seemed bloodshot and even paler than normal in the eerie light of my horn.

Rarity kept her stare at the darkness. “Do you think we’ll get out?” she questioned, turning at me. It looked like she had cried.

My stature faltered. “I don’t know, Rares. Maybe, maybe not,” I replied, shaking my head. “I’m already getting thirsty. Without water, we’ll... in a day... I... I’m sorry.”

Rarity looked like she had accepted the inevitable. “Don’t be, darling. At least we had a good time together.”

I didn’t bother with further conversation, and soon turned my light off. While leaning on Rarity’s coat gave some comfort, I couldn’t shake the terrible feeling of being utterly alone. Am I going to die here? What for? Nothing?

My mind started to wander into the dark and barely comprehensible areas of my consciousness. It wasn’t such a long time ago that I didn’t have any friends to talk about. I’d lived under Celestia’s wing – and now, I was in some place beyond the grasp of even our Goddesses, with only one other pony to keep me company. Why had Rarity even wanted to come here with me?

That’s what friends are for. They don’t leave each other hanging, not even if they face a rampant draqonequus or a changeling queen.

Or then I could just accept the simple facts I have kept ignoring for the past few days. –We’ll perish in any case. There’s no point in doing anything.

Yes, there is. Do the necessary.

Finally, I realized what had to be done. If it wouldn’t work, nothing would really be lost, anyway.

“Rarity,” I said with a stern voice.

A sound hooves shuffling could be heard from next to me. “Hm?”

“Rise up,” I demanded. Rarity did.

“What’s this about, Twi?”

I ran my hoof across Rarity’s coat to determine which way she was facing. Then, I stepped in front of her, words leaving my mouth almost instinctively. “This about your deep, azure eyes.”

“What? You...” Rarity chuckled. “You can’t even see them, silly.”

“Doesn’t matter. They’re quite beautiful, Rares.” With that, I lunged forward, catching Rarity in a deep embrace. She was locked up by surprise, as I pressed my lips against hers. Warmness surged down into my entire body. After recovering from the shock, she gently kissed me back. Rarity tasted like our bland travel rations, but I didn’t care; at least her mane still smelled like heaven.

A single, high-pitched note from a string instrument of some kind played, piercing my ears and breaking our kiss. The world lit up in a split second, overloading my already-burdened mind. My vision span around, and I fell onto the floor, passing out.

Chapter 12: Across Time and Space

I woke up with no recollection of the time that had passed. The floor was the same, but the roof could now be seen – it was about fifty feet high. I rose up. Rarity was still lying on the floor, unconscious. I turned my head and saw tall shelves, crammed full of books, lining the walls in all directions. We were in a small room, seemingly connected with similar ones by short passages. Numerous oil lamps hanging from the ceiling were keeping the place lit.

Though I knew I should wake Rarity up, I hesitated. What will she think? What will she say to me? My heart racing, I nudged her lightly. She awoke with a flinch.

“And again, we’re elsewhere…” said Rarity, standing up. She looked startled.

“Well…” I replied, unable to keep heat from rising onto my cheeks. “This sure looks like a library.”

Rarity nodded, her cheeks getting red too. “Twilight, darling… I must say I was surprised.”

“Heh… Uhm…” My stomach turned. “So was I, to be honest. I’m sorry, Rares. Please don’t hate me,” I pleaded, cringing.

“Twilight…” Rarity let out a giggle, planting a peck on my cheek. I felt flushed, almost falling over. “You’re such a silly pony. I thought I saw signs of your affectation earlier, but couldn’t be sure. Then, the book told me your thoughts…”

I looked deep into Rarity’s beautiful, azure eyes – behind them, I noticed relief and joy. “Of course. So, that’s what it told you.”

“Yes. But when you… denied my advances, I was under the impression that it had purposefully misled me to cause pain for both of us.”

“Rarity,” I said, still surprised by her response. “Why? Why are you affectionated to me? It doesn’t make much sense. We’re both mares, and frankly, quite different. I know we’re friends, but it’s still odd.” The same could be said about you. Rarity saved your life, but that shouldn’t have triggered a response that big.

Rarity gave me a smile. “Why wouldn’t I be? You have your quirks, of course, but in reality, you’re a quite extraordinary pony. You really care about me, just like all of our friends, Twi. But somehow, our relationship’s always been different.”

I was puzzled. “How so?”

“It’s hard to say, really. But when you came to help me get over the disaster at the Gala the night after, things started to change. It felt like you were paying more attention to me than the others. Even though it’s perfectly natural – that one friend matters more than the others – something had changed.”

“Oh.”

I’d never seen it quite the way Rarity had, but it did make sense. When I started to think about my sudden crush on my friend, many memories resurfaced. Rarity had been by my side for a long time. Especially after my ‘test’ in the Crystal Empire; she had sung a song to assure that I had, in fact, passed the test. Despite the Empire being saved, I felt like having failed the mission. I hadn’t been the one to banish King Sombra. No, Spike, along with my friends, had done that, while I was busy being imprisoned by magical stalagmites.

But that day, Rarity had lifted me back up. She’d held my hoof during the train ride back to Ponyville, talking about nice things.

“I suppose this makes a bit more sense now, thinking about it,” I agreed. “Though I have to say this could’ve happened… at a more appropriate time.”

“Not really,” commented Rarity. “It doesn’t matter any longer, darling. What’s important is now and here. Let’s not dwell in the past. We still have to get out of this place.”

We proceeded to examine the books. Most were mundane ones; large printings of education material, popular novels, science books, and diaries of noteworthy ponies. Skimming through the pages revealed that parts of many books were blank, the text gradually fading away until it vanished entirely, while some were blank from start to finish.

“Weird,” commented Rarity, levitating a copy of Canterlot: Then and Now back to the shelf. “Twi, I think it’s pretty obvious what we have to search for.”

Yup. “That one book?”

“That one book.” Rarity shook her head. “A shame that I decided to get rid of it. It was telling the truth, after all.”

The next hour was spent systematically checking the cover of grey books. There were a lot, and our progress was slow. None seemed to match. Happy emotions built up by Rarity’s presence soon made way for anxiousness and fear; we were still in danger of dehydration, and my thirst hadn’t eased at all.

Unfortunately, the first wall didn’t yield results. Instead of searching the opposite row of shelves, we moved into another room through a passage. A surprise was waiting for us: the room was very different from the one we’d come from. It was much larger, holding fewer books and multiple large paintings. A white fountain sprinkled water in the middle of the circular room.

As I understood what our discovery meant, I stomped the ground in relief. “Water!”

Rarity looked at me, then at the fountain. There was a small pool at its base. “Last one in the water is a rotten egg!” she exclaimed, taking off towards the fountain.

I sprinted after her. “You’re on!”

We reached the pool simultaneously, leaping in. Water splashed everywhere. For a moment, I was completely submerged – a tinge of panic was already hitting me, but my head soon penetrated the surface. I inhaled furiously, causing me to cough. Rarity giggled like a filly.

“Just what’s so funny, Rares?” I scowled.

Rarity continued giggling. “Oh, nothing, Twi.”

“I could have drowned!”

“Not really. I know it would require much more to take you down. It’s not like you’re Fluttershy. Or me. You’re quite adamant and courageous.”

“Courageous? Me?” I rolled my eyes. “I even managed to ruin our ‘romantic first kiss’. I don’t think that was very courageous.”

“Oh, don’t be ridiculous. You hadn’t prepared for anything like that. I would probably have reacted in a same manner. No – your courage is something else. Even though you knew that something like this would happen to us, you pressed on.”

“Yeah. And now we’re trapped in here.”

“ – which is obviously because there’s something we have to do here.” Rarity kept smiling.

“Like what? Make out?”

Rarity splashed water at me, letting out another giggle. “Twi, stop being silly.”

I soon climbed out of the pool. Its deepness was surprising; the bottom wasn’t even visible. The dark water looked almost menacing, even if it was our saving grace.

Something I hadn’t noticed when we entered the room now caught my eye. One of the paintings – the largest, hanging from the wall in the back of the room – was very familiar. Snow-topped mountains. A forest, a blue sky. I shivered.

“I think we’ve halfway there,” I said as my friend climbed out of the pool, making my heart jump. Rarity looked stunning, her wet mane gently flowing down.

“Hm?” Rarity looked at the direction of my gaze. “Oh. Twi, that’s quite something. I think we should take a closer look.”

“Sure,” I agreed. We walked across the room, dripping water onto the floor. From closer, the painting looked very realistic – the green of the forest seemed even more vivid than the real color. I reached my hoof up and touched the canvas, hoping on some level that I could just step through it. Of course, it didn’t work.

The painting seemed to be a good sign. Even though we didn’t dare to levitate it off the wall, it was now apparent that our assumptions about the burned book being involved in our escape had been right. Thus, we continued to search for it, this time from smaller shelves. It was a shame that I hadn’t recovered enough to levitate large amounts of objects at once – if I had, our work would have taken much less time. But soon, my thoughts started getting lost in the monotonous working process.

“Is that the last one, Twi?” asked Rarity, exhaustion evident from her voice.

I levitated books back into their shelves. “Yes, I think so. We’ve gone through every book in this section.”

Rarity let out a frustrated sigh. “Now what? We’ll just go find more?”

“I think we both need a little rest. Let’s think this over before continuing. Wasting our effort would be stupid.”

And so we lay down on the wooden floor. It appeared that the oil lamps hanging from the walls were in no danger burning out. At least we wouldn’t be enshrouded in darkness when we woke up, if we fell asleep. I cursed the loss of our bags in my mind; the cold and hard floor wasn’t a very comfortable surface to rest on. Rarity and I couldn’t reach any consensus about what we’d do after resting – we just didn’t have many ideas.

Like I had predicted, sleep didn’t come easy. A constant feeling of being watched kept me on high alert. No ward spells would be of any use here. If something would sneak up on us in our sleep, in a small enclosed space like this, there wouldn’t be much we could do.

Then, I saw something in the corner of my eye. I turned, and it was still there: light fog was slithering out of the pool we’d just swum in.

“Rarity…” I uttered, my heart pounding.

“Fog.” Rarity stared at the pool. I could see her shaking slightly. “That pool… it’s deep. I… we need to get out, Twi. Right now.”

I gave my friend a desperate look. “Get out? Where? Back to the previous room?”

“No idea, but we need to go,” demanded Rarity adamantly, keeping her eyes trained at the pool. The fog continued to rise from it, slowly crawling on the floor towards us.

“Let me try something first, Rares.” I channeled magical energy into my horn. It was already tingling. Trying wouldn’t hurt – I’d just have to take some care to not burn myself out again. Focusing on the fountain, I unleashed a surge of energy. A purple bubble appeared around the fountain, containing the fog

“That’d better work,” said Rarity, shivering.

“I can only hold the fog back for some time.” My horn was already hurting from the effort, and I knew keeping the bubble up would eventually make the pain much worse. This isn’t going to work.

Rarity turned to look at me, and at that moment, I felt the spell faltering. Fog started seeping through the bubble, and a blink of an eye later, it shattered. Rarity’s eyes rolled back. Before I could do anything, she collapsed onto the floor, a monotonous grey color and a damp feeling engulfing the world around me. Rarity vanished from my view, along with everything else. The floor shifted into something else – I was now clearly standing on wet soil.

No, not again…

The fog faded away in an instant, revealing a scarce forest of pines and birches, me standing in the middle of a small clearing. Rarity was nowhere to be seen. Familiar mountains loomed in the distance, almost piercing the empty skies.

“Rarity!” I shouted, frantically pacing around and examining my surroundings. But she just wasn’t there anymore. Why did this have to happen?

Suddenly, clouds sprung into existence above me. The sun was blocked out, dimming the light significantly. Before I managed to do anything, the sky turned into a dark grey veil. A black circle, still smoking, appeared on the ground around me. I saw a dark figure moving at the edge of the clearing.

“Hey, you!” The figure stopped moving, starting to take a form. I froze and held my breath, as the dark mass transformed into a large pony; one with both a horn and flared wings. Her coat was dark grey, but in sharp contrast, the alicorn’s mane glowed brilliantly in shades of crimson and yellow. Her cutie mark was a single, purple star, surrounded by a spot of red. She just stood there, staring at me. I was speechless.

The alicorn didn’t say anything. For a while, our eyes were locked at each other, but eventually, she walked into the woods, swiftly vanishing from my sight. Only then did I recover from my paralysis. You can’t let her go after all this, I assured myself. Can’t. Go. Run, if you have to.

Convincing myself to move was hard, but I finally managed to break free of my trance and run after the alicorn. Fortunately, I hadn’t lost her; the forest was so scarce that there wasn’t anywhere to hide in. Besides, she apparently wasn’t even trying to get away from me. The alicorn took a look behind her shoulder, at me, and continued onwards. I followed her, but stayed a safe ten feet away.

Eventually, the alicorn stopped. “Twilight, I’m pleased that you came,” she told with a voice much resembling mine, not turning around. “Please don’t fear me. Summoning you wasn’t simple at all.”

“Who are you, and what did you do to Rarity?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I’m a princess. Princess Twilight. The Element of Magic – well, the former one – and the ruler of the Northern Coalition.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “What? You’re… me?”

“Of course I’m not you. I’m an alicorn. You’re not.”

“Uhm... yes. You’re... an alicorn.”

The other Twilight let out a dry laugh. “Sure. Of course I am. Actually, I’m quite surprised that you aren’t one; a lot must have changed in two millennia.”

“And why would I be an alicorn?” I sternly asked. “That would make no sense. There are only three, and I’m nowhere near as powerful as them.”

“Oh…” muttered the alicorn. “You’re the Element of Magic, correct?”

“Yes, but-“

“Ah. You see – at this time, all of the Elements are alicorns. From your point of view, we’re almost two thousand years in the past. Undoubtly something big must have happened to end this tradition. The Bearers are supposed to be powerful, after all.”

I stomped the ground furiously. “You still haven’t answered my question about Rarity!”

“Don’t worry. She’ll join us soon, after the second summoning. Now, I’d appreciate if you let me explain why you’re here, Twilight.”

“Well?” I cocked my head.

“I need you. I no longer hold the power I once did; that was taken away from me, for reasons I don’t care to talk about. The Elements of Harmony are needed to protect the Northern Coalition. The armies of the Crystal Empire, along with the State of Canterlot, are already on the move. If the Elements can’t be used, my nation will crumble.”

I raised an eyebrow. “You need me to power the Element of Magic?”

The alicorn nodded. “Exactly. Your friend is also needed. I’m sorry for having to banish you two into that prison, but I assure it had to be done. It was risky, yes, but you did manage to find a way out of there – and that was the only way I could transport you here.”

“Hold on a second…” I interrupted. “You talked about two millennia earlier. I thought that the dialect back then was much different. We should hardly understand each other.”

“Bleh,” snorted the alicorn. “I spent more time than necessary in your world. Years, I think, just watching. It caught on.”

“This still doesn’t make much sense at all. If you were planning this all along, why did only the excavation of the… door bring you back to haunt me?”

“Not everything makes sense, Twilight. Especially this. In any case, please follow me. We have much to do.” The alicorn continued walking, but stopped as soon as she noticed I hadn’t done the same.

“Why should I help you, Princess? You pretty much kidnapped me.”

“I assume you wish to eventually return home. Oh, and see your friend again. Now, come; we don’t have an endless amount of time to waste.”

I resumed following the alicorn, albeit grumblingly. I felt anger building up inside me. How did she dare to threaten Rarity? Who is she, a real princess? Even though I knew a lot about history, the time before Celestia’s and Luna’s rule had always been hazy. The books didn’t tell much about those times, and Celestia had been secretive when I had asked.

We walked for a while, until reaching the edge of the forest. In front of us loomed the same mountain Rarity and I had climbed only days ago. It didn’t look exactly the same, but the mountain’s profile was clearly recognizable. Where the excavation site had been, high up the mountain, a tiny building stood. I couldn’t see the details from this far down, but it resembled a cabin.

“Prepare for a long hike, Twilight. We should arrive by nightfall.”

“But…” I cringed. “It took two full days for me and Rarity to reach the site! If we’re going all the way up there-“

The alicorn shook her head. “There’s no need to go that high up. As long as we get halfway there, we’ll be good. A cave, carved into the mountain, is where we need to get to.”

A cave? “I think I’ve been there already.”

“Really?” asked the alicorn, visibly shuddering. “What… what was it like in your time?”

“It had caved in. I could sense your presence there, though – my dreams were haunted by your calls when Rarity and I slept there.”

“Well, that won’t happen in this timeline,” stated the alicorn with a bit of nervousness in her voice. “After its successful use, I will destroy the ritual circle there and collapse the cave. It will soon serve its only purpose.”

“Which is…?”

“To channel the energy of the Elements to repel the incoming armies. The army of my Coalition wouldn’t stand a chance against them, especially now that I’ve mostly been stripped of my powers-“

“Princess, pray tell, what have you done? And don’t you need the other Elements, too?” I was starting to get fed up with my namesake, but knew that if I attacked her, I would potentially be stranded here for a long time.

“The other Elements will be there.” The alicorn turned to face me. I could see a fire behind her emerald eyes – a fire of determination. “You don’t need to know, Twilight. But for my sin, I was imprisoned in your world for a long time. Imprisoned without even a real form, left to haunt ponies hundreds of miles away, with slim hopes of ever getting out. Trapped in a timeline where I was defeated. It was no accident that I was freed; I called those ponies who dug me up through their dreams, just like I did with you. If you’d now excuse me, we have a long day ahead. You may see your friend in the evening.”

“Alright,” I grumbled. The whole situation was bizarre, but I didn’t really have any other choice than obeying. Sweat built up very soon, and after every hour I felt weaker and weaker, occasionally stumbling dangerously. Our surroundings were as monotonous grey rocks as ever; it was like the whole world, save for the other Twilight’s mane, has lost its colors. Every now and then, a light drizzle fell on us.

As we got closer to the cave, I began seeing the Bottomless Lake when glancing behind. The place looked much different here: a small city was standing at its shore, numerous boats sailing on the huge lake. Many forms, probably ponies, had gathered in front of one building.

“Isn’t it beautiful?” asked the alicorn, making me jump. “I know Bluerod isn’t the wealthiest or largest of cities, but in my opinion, it’s still quite a capital. The palace is in need of some improvements, though.”

“Yeah, sure,” I replied, unable to hide my amazement. The city down below was indeed quite beautiful with its white spires and colorful buildings. “But no match for Canterlot. If Princess Celestia was here, you’d be very sorry for kidnapping me.”

The alicorn gave me an odd look. “Princess Celestia. I see… I see. The sisters of Canterlot. I shouldn’t be wondering that they survived all those years.”

Frightened and puzzled by the alicorn’s talk, I kept my mouth shut for the rest of our hike. I had ideas of stopping her with my magic and forcing her to transport me back, but quickly dismissed them. There was just too much at stake. Eventually, we reached a stone marked with a crimson cross. I didn’t recognize the scenery, but the cave was likely nearby. After all, erosion had done its job in two millennia, assuming I really was that far in the past.

I was led to the entrance of the cave – not much more visible that it had been when I found it, but more spacious. Torchlight flickered in the cave.

“Why don’t you go first, Twilight?”

“I don’t think so. I have to ask you something: are we really two millennia in the past from my point in time? If so, how does this make any sense? You were imprisoned in the future, so when you came back, nothing should have changed.”

“Oh, but everything changed,” said the alicorn, pawing the ground as if she was frustrated. “I was bound with very powerful spells. The Council of the Nine Nations declared my sentence. And enforced me. Alicorn magic is nothing to laugh at – as much time as I spent away has gone by here. Oh, and for the third time, not everything makes sense, no matter how much you insist it should.”

I followed in the alicorn’s hoofsteps as she walked inside. But as I entered the cave, my head spun. The walls swiftly blurred into a colorless mass, and twisted weirdly. A sudden pain wracked my head, and I keeled over.

An empty, featureless, eerie field surrounded me from all directions. The sky was blue, yet empty. Not a single cloud could be seen. The sun wasn’t there. I felt a pang of loneliness in my heart.

“Twilight?” echoed an unrecognizable voice from somewhere far away.

“Yes?” I shouted back.

The sky shifted to black, light leaving the world. I was now floating in a void, my heart racing due to the sudden change. Then, a brilliantly shining white form came to being in front of me. I was blinded by its light.

Something warm wrapped around me. “Twi! I’m glad you’re fine,” said Rarity’s sweet voice into my ear.

“I am?” I didn’t feel like I was fine yet. ”Where have you been, Rares?”

Rarity grabbed me, flipping me in the weightless void. She was now facing me. I noticed that behind her smile, she seemed very tense. Then, Rarity drew me closer to her, and everything turned white in a flash.

Chapter 13: Endgame

I again felt a solid ground under me, and opened my eyes. Even though I was still next to the cave’s entrance, it seemed to… flicker. At one moment, it looked just like it had in the future, but after some seconds, it again changed back to its former self. The entire world seemed somehow ‘off’. Lights flashed out of nowhere to illuminate the mountainside or the forest below, and clouds sailed in random directions in the sky.

“Twilight… where are we?” asked Rarity’s voice from behind me. I turned around, and saw my friend standing in place, her mouth agape. “What is happening?”

“We’re in the past, Rares,” I told, frowning. “There was an alicorn here – not Celestia or Luna. She called herself Twilight. She was going to use us for something, but I think she might’ve already done that. Now we just need to…” Get back to the future? Stop her? “I don’t really know. But I believe her intentions weren’t any good.”

Rarity frowned. “Doesn’t that mean whatever she does will change the future we return to, then? And, pardon me, Twi, but this is a lot to take in.”

“I don’t really know. Temporal mechanics are a weird thing. If this is a parallel timeline, not directly connected with ours, it doesn’t matter what happens here. But that’s probably not the case, seeing what Twilight did-“

“Twilight? You?” Rarity gave me a look of confusion. Behind her, the sky momentarily turned orange, changing to its natural blue in the blink of an eye.

This is confusing. “No, not me. The alicorn. Her name is Twilight.”

Rarity’s face had a blank look on it. She opened her mouth as if she was going to say something, but didn’t. Our surroundings suddenly stabilized, and were now portraying the scene that apparently had been nearly two millennia ago. The sky was empty, the city by the Bottomless Lake reappearing, although the army I’d seen there earlier was now missing. For some reason, the entrance of the cave in front of us was now blocked by a huge boulder.

“Huh.” I shrugged, carefully examining the view. I noticed numerous dark spots on the sky close to the horizon, as well as movement in the forest below. “There will be a fight soon. A big fight.”

Turning her eyes at where I was looking, Rarity gasped. “Is that a pegasus army in the horizon? I’ve never seen anything like that.”

“I think it is – the alicorn told me that the armies of Canterlot and some other country were advancing.” As Rarity tried to reply, I put a hoof on her mouth. “There’s no time to explain, and it doesn’t really matter, anyway. The past is a weird place. Right now, our priority is getting back.”

“But what if we create a paradox of some sort?” asked Rarity nervously.

“No idea. It’s unlikely, though. Paradoxes just can’t exist in nature, and this is no exception.” Now you’re playing with untested, purely theoretical metaphysics. Get a grip. “But I suppose that preventing the total rewrite of history is an option…”

We quickly agreed that either way, the key would be finding the alicorn. Without her, return was unlikely. It was obvious that she’d most likely be with her army. Though seeing ponies killing each other disturbed both of us, there wasn’t much of a choice. Because the Bluerod army was likely now in the forest, our distance to the field of battle was two to three miles. With only about an hour until the armies would meet, we started our descent from the mountain.

My body was soon wet with sweat, but my shape being good enough wasn’t the biggest obstacle. It turned out that climbing down a mountain required much more care than climbing one up. I was several times close to tripping, and on the rocky mountainside, that would likely have injured me seriously, if not killing me.

Despite the hardships, we eventually made our way down into the forest. The battle hadn’t started yet, but the pegasi forms were now much closer. It wouldn’t take long for them to strike down – assuming that they noticed the army of ponies down here. Perhaps there’s a trap waiting for them in Bluerod?

“How far away are the soldiers from us?” asked Rarity, warily glancing around. “Did you take into account that they could find and detain us?”

That risk always exists. “I’m not sure, but I’d say we’re a safe distance away. Nevertheless, if we are seen, I can cloak us with a spell for a moment. We’ll certainly notice when the fighting starts; such a large mass of ponies doesn’t just go unnoticed. When it begins, we’ll find the other Twilight and ask some questions.”

“And what makes you think she doesn’t just blast us into pieces?”

I gave Rarity a reassuring smile. “I just have a hunch. She might still need us.”

The next while was spent waiting. Rarity and I crouched into a bush, concealing ourselves just in case. Expecting the sounds of battle to start any moment, my heart was racing. I’d never seen a pony killing another before, nor even a serious fight. I would be having a new experience – and could only hope that it wouldn’t scar me permanently. What does it really look like? What would it feel like?

Loud shouts echoed from somewhere to our right. I took a look at the sky, and was amazed to see pegasus after pegasus diving down into the forest. The dive of some turned into a fall as bolts pierced their coats. I could only watch in horror – if I cast a protection of any kind, we would surely be seen. Rarity appeared to be in a state of shock herself, just blankly staring in the same general direction as I. I took her hoof in mine and fought myself to give a short smile. Rarity returned it.

“We’ll get over this eventually,” I said to Rarity. There was no fear that anypony could have heard me from behind the sounds of battle. “And we have to do it pretty soon, Rares. We have to move. I’m sure the alicorn is close by.”

We started to carefully walk towards the sounds of battle. As we began seeing fighting ponies between the trees, we slowed our pace to a crawl. The soldiers were holding spears or swords in their mouths, some even resorting to kicking. Most had no uniforms, but it appeared that it was easy for the Canterlotian pegasi to keep track of their own, since the Bluerod army was apparently composed of unicorns and earth ponies only. I felt my legs trembling as I saw a pegasus slashing a brown earth pony viciously, splattering blood all around. The pony fell to the ground and didn’t rise up.

Unfortunately, here wasn’t yet a sight of the alicorn; we’d have to get closer, no matter how dangerous it would be. Every nerve of my body was tingling. The field of killing was there – only a few dozen yards away.

Then, a bright flash appeared in the sky. I looked upwards and saw three alicorns facing each other, magic pulsing in the horns of each. They weren’t very high up, so I could easily see that Princess Twilight was there. Another blue one – probably Luna – was facing her. And the white one… could it really be?

“Princess Celestia!” I gasped.

“We need to contact her,” replied Rarity. “Let’s stay on the ground. Try to contact her in some way. I know you can do it, Twi.”

I thought about the choices for a second, and then lit up my horn. The familiar tingle of magic charging up in it comforted me. Focusing on the distance between me and Celestia, I unleashed the charge, conveying a message with it. “Princess Celestia, please help us. We’re from a different time. Princess Twilight brought us here after her imprisonment, and used our power for something.” I felt my surge meeting an invisible barrier, but apparently managing to get through it.

Celestia’s form in the sky appeared to twitch for the fraction of a second, but I couldn’t be certain. It was a very real possibility that she’d set up some kind of magical protection that had prevented my message from reaching her.

“Did it work?” inquired Rarity with a tense voice.

I shrugged. “I hope so.”

“Interesting,” boomed a neuter voice inside my head. “That’s a lot to take in, but considering the fact you managed to send this message through my wards, I believe you. I did not think that Twilight would go that far. Kidnapping ponies from the future? Quite something. If you want to help me defeat her, be my guest. Just do not do anything stupid.”

Rarity’s face was full of worry as I recovered from the voice inside my head. It was now aching, the pain pulsing in synch with my heartbeat. “Yes, Rares, it worked. She heard me, and replied that we might be able to help in some way. Though I still have no idea what my namesake did to deserve her imprisonment, I’m sure she’s up to no good right now.”

“Alright. I suppose it would be best to wait at first. When something happens between the alicorns, we can try to intervene, though I don’t know how,” said Rarity.

“I think I have a plan…” I replied.

“And what, pray tell, might that be?”

I stood up, keeping a keen eye on the soldiers a bit further in the forest. “Eventually, they – the alicorns – will start fighting, just like you said. Once that happens, we’ll try to distract Princess Twilight as much as possible. Of course, just… killing the Bluerod soldiers would work, but…”

Rarity cringed. “I see where you’re going with that, darling.”

And so we stood in wait, ready to create a very distracting ball of light right next to my namesake as soon as she would do something. But the wait was long and hard – we had to endure shouts for help by wounded soldiers, earth pony and pegasus alike. A glance at the battlefield every now and then told that no clear winner had yet emerged, but the pools of blood and motionless ponies lying on the ground made me sick to my stomach. This will eventually be over. Don’t be afraid. You have somepony who cares about you right there.

A huge boom came from above, making my head ring. I instinctively protected my ears with my hooves, and Rarity did the same. The alicorns were now engaged in a fight, Celestia and Luna mercilessly blasting the other Twilight. But somehow, she seemed to shrug it all off without injury, occasionally blasting them back with large, purple orbs.

“Twi…” Rarity gave me a worried look, pointing at the sky. “Do you really think it’s safe? What will we even do?”

I bit my lip. “No, it’s not safe, but it might be necessary. The alicorns are the key of every battle – the main army has only a supporting role. That’s just how war goes. And that’s why Equestria’s only fought a few.” Just as to make my point clear, Celestia sent a white bolt flying down to the ground, where it exploded and threw multiple ponies into the air with a bright flash. I had never truly witnessed that part of her before, or after, whatever it was, and felt glad about that.

“The time has come,” said Celestia’s voice inside my head. “Our magic isn’t very effective against her. Please do whatever you can. This will be a long battle.”

“What if… we aren’t supposed to be here?” I asked from Rarity.

“Hm? What do you mean?”

“Celestia told me that the battle will be a long one. The key to defeating Princess Twilight could be elsewhere.” She was once imprisoned. You know where. “And I think I know where.”

After a quick exchange of words with Rarity and then Celestia, we agreed that it would probably be the best choice for us to head where my namesake had previously been buried. Getting there was of no worry – Celestia immediately commanded two of her pegasi to carry us wherever we would order them to. It was somewhat weird that I’d gained her trust so easily, but of course, the situation was quite dire. Even if the other Twilight noticed our plan, she had to keep her full attention at the royal sisters.

Two of the fighting pegasi first glanced at each other in confusion, and then flew to where Rarity and I stood watching. They looked confused, but had still obeyed their Princess’ command without question.

“Ladies, where to?” asked the other pegasus, a white stallion wearing breastplate resembling that of the Royal Guard, albeit more decorated. The other one looked very similar, but the color of his coat was a bit darker.

I swallowed hard, slightly shaking before the hardened soldiers. “Up the mountainside. I’ll tell you when to drop us off.”

“Understood.” The pegasus lay onto the ground, giving me an expecting look. “Climb onto our backs, ladies. Your word is our law, by the order of our Princess.”

With some reluctance, Rarity and I climbed onto the backs of the pegasi, who immediately took off. I cringed, constricting the pegasus with my hooves. He didn’t seem to care, and simply sped up, leaving the few soldiers chasing us to bite the dust on the ground. My heart jumped when a crossbow bolt harmlessly whizzed past my head, almost scratching my cheek. Rarity was keeping her eyes closed.

Soon we were sailing high in the sky, moving with an astounding speed towards the mountain we’d just descended from. Nopony was there to give chase anymore: Princess Twilight was busy fending off two other alicorns, and the pegasi in the Bluerod army were either incapacitated or nonexistent.

Our speed was so fast that our flight all the way to the level ground where the excavation would later be took only ten minutes. As we flew over the place, I commanded the pegasus I was riding to land. Our descent was quick, but still soft enough to prevent my grip from slipping and causing me to fall down.

“Thank you,” I said, sliding down from the back of the pegasus. “This might have been very important.”

The pegasus nodded. “I just performed my duty, lady. Now, if you’d excuse us, we need to return to the battle. It can’t be over yet.”

“Sure,” stated Rarity, visibly shaken by the rough flight. “I sincerely thank you, too. You may return to your positions now.”

Both of the pegasi nodded again, battering us with dust as they swiftly lifted back to the blue skies. It didn’t take them long to speed off. The place was pretty much the same as in the future – the enormous boulders were still there, though there wasn’t a pit in the middle of them. I walked closer to the boulders and noticed that they were bearing a number of dimly glowing runes, distinctly similar to those the ‘door’ had had.

“Well, what should we do now?” asked Rarity, examining the runes. “I have no idea what these runes are supposed to mean, and I don’t believe you do, either. And the artifact isn’t here.”

If this place doesn’t hold the key to imprisoning her again, then what does? Think, Twilight, think… And then it came to me. “Rares, we were so stupid,” I told with a defeated voice. “Of course it isn’t here. I know exactly where we should be right now.”

“Well?”

Water all around me. Pushing me down, surging into my lungs. “The lake. Bottomless Lake. I’ve been constantly seeing it in my dreams. As they were the projections of the imprisoned alicorn, they almost certainly hold the key to defeating her. But…”

Rarity raised an eyebrow. “But what?”

I put on a dull smile. “I’d really, really like to know what she’s done wrong. And honestly, I don’t think we’ll be able to imprison her again if we don’t know.”

“Better ask Celestia, then. Surely she won’t decline to answer for the second time, hm?”

Ask Celestia. “Uhm… there might just be a problem with that…”I frowned, anxiousness creeping into my mind. Did you really not think of this? “You see, I can’t contact her from this far away. Not a chance. Rares… I’m sorry.”

Rarity’s mouth fell open. She quickly closed it and shook her head in disbelief. “But… that… if you can’t contact her, we’ll have to walk all the way down! The pegasi are already far away, and aren’t going to turn back without orders.”

“I’m afraid that’s just what we have to do.”

We started the descent right away, but immediately fell into problems: there was no marked path. Thankfully, I managed to cast a clairvoyance spell, which showed me a safe path by orbs of light that appeared where I should go. With Rarity following me, we managed to get up a decent pace. Soon, we were in the shade of the mountain, and couldn’t see the fight in the skies any longer. Now we could only hope that Celestia and Luna would hold Princess Twilight up for enough time. I felt like we were in a state of suspense: every moment, the alicorn could appear in front of us, giving a deadly blast from her horn.

Surprisingly, our trip didn’t last very long – only two hours. Talking about mundane subjects with Rarity had kept my nerves at bay. Now we were only about a hundred feet from the shore. The beautiful Bluerod was standing a mile further, but there was no reason for us to go there. All we needed to do now was find a way to imprison the alicorn in the lake… and that was no easy task.

There wasn’t much wind, and thus, the waves hit the rugged shore were small. The entirety of the shore was filled with rocks, almost like the mountain simply descended down below like nothing had happened. From my knowledge of geology, it wouldn’t be a wonder if that was the case.

“Let’s… wait,” I suggested, sitting on a large rock. “There’s nothing here that we could use to trap her. We’ll have to wait for her to arrive. Considering the relation between this lake and her, something ought to happen.”

“Alright,” answered Rarity with a tired voice, sitting down next to me. Her coat brushed against mine. I could feel my cheeks flaring up once again. Rarity offered her hoof, which I took in mine. My heart was racing almost as fast as during the battle.

Then, Rarity pulled me closer, using her other hoof to turn my head around. She took me into a soft kiss. I could have drowned into her incredibly beautiful eyes… those eyes that had been subjects of mere daydreams before. Without me being sent here, we wouldn’t even be together. Is this destiny, then? My thoughts became muddled as the kiss lasted on. Rarity began using her tongue, making me blush even more. Despite her sweet taste, I eventually broke the kiss.

I shook my head, laughing. “What was that for, Rares?”

“Well, darling…” Rarity gave me a hearty smile, smirking. “Who knows what’s going to happen? If we’re attacked… and…” We both fell silent. The inevitable, whatever it might be, was on its way.

Chapter 14: By the Lake

I felt a strange serenity enshroud me. The wind had almost died down, and the waves on the surface of the lake were now mere ripples. Rarity was sitting next to me, her body radiating comforting warmth. If we weren’t some two thousand years in the past, this could’ve been a vacation. The Crystal Mountains were a truly beautiful region; so pristine, that it was hard to tell the difference between all the years.

The sun would set in an hour – its rays were already in shades of orange and red. I smiled. “Rares… what will we do when we get back? What will we tell our friends? Are we in a real relationship?”

There was a moment of silence before Rarity answered. “To be honest, Twi, I don’t know. We can think of those things later. Let’s just… savor this sunset for as long as it lasts. I know there’s a war a few miles from here, and that we’re in another time… but it doesn’t really matter all that much.” Rarity nudged me gently.

“Perhaps that’s true,” I sighed, questions still lingering in my mind. Everything was so confusing now. I had no experience in the field of love, and didn’t know what I was supposed to do in my new… relationship, if it could be called that. Yes, it can be called that. Don’t be stupid, Twilight.

The sun gradually lowered under the horizon, until all that remained of its might was a crimson hue over the mountains. I could feel my heart racing once again – the other Twilight would surely be here soon. Only the presence of Rarity was keeping me at least somewhat calm. But no matter what, I couldn’t help but ponder what she’d do to us. It was entirely possible that she’d keep her promise and send us back, but if that really was the case, would the future be changed?

Rarity wrapped her hooves around me. “There’s no need to worry,” she whispered into my ear. “Everything’s going to be alright, one way or another.”

“Sure.” I kept my eyes pointed at the sky. The first stars were already faintly visible. “If all of this has been for nothing, and we’re stranded here, it wouldn’t be that bad. We’d still have each other, but what about all of our friends? And the princesses? Will this ‘Twilight’ be our new ruler?”

“I told you, there’s no need to think about questions like that right now, darling,” said Rarity with a soft voice, although I sensed a tinge of nervousness behind her words.

It took some time for the last light to vanish. It was starting to get chilly – considering the latitude of this region, it was probably late summer or early fall right now. Had it been early or mid-summer, the sun would’ve stayed up much longer, perhaps even for the entire night. Yet, I didn’t find myself missing the warmth of summer as the extraordinary night sky began to light up. Just like some days before, constellations, distant nebulas and rogue stars painted the dark canvas.

“The sky’s beautiful,” noted Rarity casually. “Just like you, Twi.” I giggled as Rarity cuddled me.

“Aww, thanks! But I’m surely no match for you.” I kept smiling, taken by Rarity’s praise. It actually felt good to be flattered about something else than being smart, or just about being a gentle-born magician who happened to be Princess Celestia’s personal protégé.

“Mhm. I was almost waiting for you to argue back,” said Rarity. “Comparing beauty is pointless. Some things are beautiful, and most not any more than others. The sky is beautiful. Love is beautiful.”

I felt my heart racing, this time not from fear. Being so close to Rarity made me feel like I was gliding above the clouds – or in the endless, empty steppe between the stars. Somewhere far away, giant celestial bodies pulled each other together, almost like two ponies. Inevitably, they’d come together. Physics don’t work that way, exactly… I quickly pushed my negative thoughts away. Throwing away the romanticism of the night would’ve been silly.

Soon, I saw numerous lights moving towards Bluerod, making my heart skip a beat. Though I couldn’t see from this far what the lights were, it was almost certain that the army was returning – and as the lights were on the ground instead of air, the victor of the battle wasn’t hard to guess. Any moment and she’s here. Any moment.

The lights stopped moving. Suddenly, it was even colder than before, and now, not even Rarity’s coat could warm me. I turned my head, freezing in horror as I saw that Rarity’s body was locked in place.

“So, here we are, Twilight Sparkle,” told an unmistakable voice from behind me. I turned around and saw the alicorn standing firmly, staring straight into my eyes, as if she could pierce through my soul. Her horn was glowing in a red hue. “You have served your purpose, and served it well. But I’m afraid that you can’t return home, for the timeline has been changed for good.”

“What did you do to her?!” I exclaimed, pointing at Rarity in shock. Returning home wasn’t the first priority right now.

The alicorn cocked her head. “Nothing. I stopped the flow of time for the two of us – just for a little while.”

“Why?”

Letting her stare down, the alicorn shook her head. “Because… because…” She turned her head back towards me, and I could see a hint of sadness in her eyes. “Because you need to see, Twilight Sparkle. I still need you for many purposes. You need to see – and to understand.”

I scowled. “And what if I refuse to cooperate?”

The alicorn gave me a smile that looked forced. “You won’t refuse.”

“How can you be so sure?”

For a second, I was surrounded by an endless void. My lungs contracted, and terror filled my mind. Every inch of my body was frozen solid. Then, the world reappeared, but I noticed that I wasn’t in the same place anymore. Everything was tinted purple, and I was standing, once again, on a mountain. Below me, familiar forests stretched far away. The only missing thing was the train tracks.

“This is a window. A window in time and space – one of the hardest, perhaps the hardest spell to perform,” told the alicorn from next to me, suddenly flickering into existence.

I gasped in disbelief. “What? But I’ve never heard of such a spell, and I’ve gone through pretty much every book in the Royal Canterlot Library!”

The alicorn shook her head. “As far as I know, this spell isn’t mentioned in any book. In fact, I created it myself. It sure wasn’t an easy task, but I had centuries of time. That was one of the things keeping my sanity intact during the centuries.”

“Alright, then... so, are you finally going to tell me why you were imprisoned?” I asked, trying to keep my tone as polite as possible despite the anger that was building up inside me.

“Yes.”

The world blinked, and I was again elsewhere. At first I had trouble recognizing the surroundings, but then I realized where I was: on the edge of Bluerod. On the other side of a vast clearing, buildings rose many stories high. But from this close, I saw that they weren’t as glorious as I’d previously thought. Most of them were dilapidated and in various states of disrepair, even though their exteriors were painted with bright colors. Ponies slowly paced around, most with empty eyes.

“This is my capital,” stated the alicorn with a sad voice, stepping beside me. “My beloved capital. All of the original inhabitants are gone. Do you know why, Twilight Sparkle?”

“I have no idea, Twilight Sparkle,” I replied. Not noticing or simply not caring about the sourness of my answer, the alicorn began walking forward into the town. With nothing else to do, I followed in her hoofsteps.

“They are gone for good. Long dead, every one of them, I presume. Two hundred years ago, this was a mighty city, even rivaling the Crystal Kingdom. At its height, it was much larger, and had a huge standing army. The biggest in Equestria.” The alicorn sighed. “Gone – all of it. Every pony had to move out after the War of Nineteen Kingdoms.”

What? “I’ve never heard of such a war.”

The alicorn looked surprised. “Oh. You haven’t? I thought at least that would be well-detailed in history books millennia from now. I suppose that history is written, or, well, not written, by victors, after all.

“It happened, like you’d probably guess, some two hundred years before this time. Lasted for a while. To put it shortly, I was defeated, and blamed for causing the war.”

“Well, did you cause it?” I inqured.

“I… I…” the alicorn stuttered, taking a moment to gather herself. “Perhaps. It depends on what way you look at it. But one could say I put the ball rolling, and when the dominoes started falling, everything collapsed. Battles were fought every day. Soldiers died, and so did civilians – plunder, plague, starvation – they all took their tolls.”

With a flicker, we were again elsewhere, this time in the middle of a pine forest, probably one on the foot of the Crystal Mountains. It was night, and the stars seemed to glare at me, chilling my spine. They weren’t flickering at all. Their unnatural, static light made me shiver. Everything around me was still… stopped.

“You brought me in the middle of a forest,” I noted, warily glancing around to find the alicorn. She was, once more, standing behind me. Her colorful mane contrasted sharply with the dark surroundings. On her face was a look that betrayed deep regret.

“She never liked me. No matter what I did, what I accomplished – she didn’t notice. Must be a habit of hers… I heard that the same happened later on with the whole ‘Nightmare Moon’ thing. What a shame.”

“What does this have to do with anything?”

The alicorn frowned. For a small moment, her mane appeared to glow more radiantly. “This has to do with everything. I waited and grew bitter. She never noticed. But then, I did something that forced her to notice me – declared war upon a nearby kingdom. Things went downhill from there. The complex network of alliances between the many states triggered a great war. Almost every piece of Equestria had its share of fighting.

“I never thought that would happen… that they’d honor their alliances, I mean. I just wanted her to look at me, consider me an equal. And like me in the way I liked her. It’s a shame that most ponies are so loyal, for if that wasn’t the case, everything might have worked out.” The alicorn’s explanation sent shivers down my spine once more. The world seemed to stare at us intently, even though nothing moved.

Is she even sane? “Who’s this… she?”

“Why, that’s Celestia, of course,” told the alicorn casually, smiling slyly as a look of disbelief painted my face. “Who else? The ruler of Equestria’s mightiest city-state, the alicorn who raises the sun, the mare with heavenly grace unmatched by any other.”

“And then you were imprisoned. But alicorns can’t be banished forever, of course,” I said, still trying to keep calm. “I’ve seen that first-hoof.”

The alicorn nodded. “You’re right. Especially, if the alicorn also happens to be the Element of Magic. During all those years of being encased in a mountain, I rebuilt my beautiful city in pockets of space-time not seen by anypony else. All those ponies in Bluerod – they’re from various periods of time. I lured them to the ritual site, then sent them back here, to this point.

“But I wasn’t banished right away. I was put under an indefinitely long house arrest.” The forest around us flickered away. We were now in the same small wooden cabin I’d seen in a dream. “Eventually, Celestia visited me, and I told her everything. I… confessed my love. What do you think she did, Twilight Sparkle?”

I looked straight into the alicorns eyes, which demanded an answer. “…Banished you?”

My namesake snorted. “Oh, really? Banished? Are we talking about the same princess, the kind, caring, and control-freak, destiny-rambling one?” Not daring to reply, I evaded her gaze. “No, she didn’t banish me. She simply took a sad look at me, shook her head, and silently walked away. That’s what she did.

“After that, I was shocked, and grew even bitterer than before. I used my magic to summon a few elder creatures to ravage the North, and retook the lands that had been taken away from me. For that, the other rulers made a coalition against me. Needless to say, I was defeated. This time, they didn’t let me go easy, no – with ancient spells they imprisoned my soul in two different artifacts. One of them you’ve already seen.”

“That’s so much to take in, in such a short time, that I’m afraid I didn’t really understand it all,” I said, my voice shaking a bit. “So, you fell in love with Princess Celestia, declared war on someone, causing a much bigger conflict. And after you lost, you confessed your love to her.” Not able to contain myself, I shook my head. “What the hay were you thinking?”

“I wasn’t thinking.” Again we were elsewhere, now back in Bluerod. The buildings looked the same as before, but nopony was around. “Everypony was gone… and they still are. But at least I got new ones. Perhaps the time-space continuum was permanently damaged and I’ll cause the collapse of the universe, but who cares?” continued the alicorn so casually, with such a stoic face, that I could but frown.

“You can’t be serious. Do you care about anypony other than yourself? What about all the ponies you transferred to your time? Many of them died in that battle. Don’t you feel even a little regret?”

“I do.” The alicorn turned her head towards the window, and at that moment, we were in a wintery landscape. A flat plane of snow surrounded us in all directions, ending in a wall of mist some distance away. “But I was alone. So alone. I feel like what I did had to be done – my country has to live again. I never got the chance to have Celestia for myself, so I must at least have something.”

I again shook my head in disbelief. “And you are willing to sacrifice anyone to have that?”

“It’s not that simple, Twilight Sparkle. What does ‘sacrife’ truly mean? The ponies came to me. I had an offer for them – servitude in the glorious Bluerod. Most agreed, because in this time, there isn’t much else to do. One could say I manipulated them, but I’ve sacrificed nopony.”

“Your thinking is so biased and illogical, that I wonder how you have kept your sanity intact,” I noted, sighing. It seemed that there was no reasoning with the alicorn.

Suddenly, both of us were again standing at the shore of Bottomless Lake. Time was still stopped, and I saw Rarity lying on the rock we’d been on, making me nervous. She was so close, yet so far – she looked more like a ghost than a living mare, not even breathing. “Would you please stop changing the backdrop?” I asked.

The world flickered away, and I found myself floating in a void. “If you like this better, Twilight Sparkle, sure,” stated the alicorn with an uncaring voice. “Now you know why I have done what I have done. But do you understand?”

“No, I don’t,” I blurted out, with no reason to lie. “Surely being lonely or being rejected can’t be so hard that you’d need to wage war and cause countless of deaths. Tell me… Twilight… did you ever stop to think of other than yourself? The common ponies, the ones who suffered when you just wanted attention?”

Floating in front of me, her mane radiating light in the shades of dusk and dawn, the alicorn looked nervous. I saw from her eyes that she was full of worry. “Yes. Every night, before I fall asleep, I wonder what it’s like for them. That’s my only regret. But after all, I believe that they’d be happier under my rule than Celestia’s, or anyone else’s, for that matter. Monarchs tend to control everything. I’m different. I give them freedom over themselves and their destinies. They get to choose what they want to be like – and whether they want to live a free, perhaps shorter, but much more full life under my rule, or a safer but tedious one under others. After one year, I’ve given everypony I’ve taken a chance to go back. Most have rejected the offer.”

I felt a pain in my chest. That can’t be. Why would they not return home? “Honestly, I don’t believe you. I just can’t. And whatever you think of justification, I’m certain I could never understand.”

“But I had to! She didn’t notice me! Do you know how painful that is?”

Images of longing from a time far away – or far ahead, it didn’t matter – floated into my mind. I’d always adored Celestia, not as a love interest, but as an immortal goddess whom I wanted to know. And when I was still young, I’d gotten all I ever wanted: to be her personal protégé. Even when I lacked friends – later, when I lacked a very special somepony – everything had fallen straight onto my lap, just like on a silver plate. I suddenly felt a pang of guilt for being such an incredibly lucky pony. “I’m sorry, Twilight, but I don’t know. Look – I just want to return to where I was. To Rarity. We want go home. Can you give us that?”

The alicorn shook her head slowly. “The timeline has been changed so drastically, that I’m afraid you can’t return,” she said with a sad voice, surprising me. “I am sorry, Twilight Sparkle, more than anything, for messing you up in this. But… it just had to happen.”

“You can still reverse what you’ve done,” I offered, cocking my head. It was worth a shot.

“It’s not that easy,” sighed the alicorn. “For starters, I imprisoned Celestia and Luna, telling them that I had to have a word with a future Element of Magic. It wouldn’t be easy to release them. Secondly, I prepared so much for this, for such a long time, that giving up now would be idiotic.”

“But you can still do it? If that’s the case… then do it. Just do it. Let everypony go. Get away. Find a new life.”

“There’s no life left for me, Twilight Sparkle. It feels like I’ve become a mere shadow of my past self, an empty shell with little emotion or desire left. All that I once had… and through the years, it kind of bled away. Now my kingdom is all that I have left.” The alicorn looked defeated, even though she’d been victorious in battle just a short time ago. “Twilight Sparkle... tell me. Tell me what life is like.”

I hesitated, but then let the words come. I told the alicorn what life in Ponyville was like – what it was like to have fun with my friends, work with them, and perform my duties as the town’s librarian. The alicorn listened keenly as I detailed my everyday routines, how awful it was to eat Spike’s porridge each morning, and how I had a bad habit of oversleeping.

The alicorn nodded every now and then, not letting a single word slip past her ears. “And that’s just my everyday life,” I continued. “And with the friends I have, everyday's an adventure in itself, not to even mention the ‘real’ adventures we tend to get into. I don’t think that’s just because we’re the Elements... no, even without that, we’d be all over the place.” I smiled, my thought wandering to our first adventure in the Everfree.

“Adventures... I’ve had my share of them, too,” noted the alicorn stoically. “But never with any friends. If some artifact needed a taker, or a mighty beast I slayer, I was soon there, but not a single time did I have anypony for company.”

After a moment of silence, the alicorn nodded once again. “Please go on, Twilight Sparkle. I want to know more about your friends.”

“Oh. Sure!” I went on to explain how I’d first met Pinkie – how she’d thrown my a party right away, just because I was new in town. Soon, I found myself taking turns on explaining each of my friends, how I met them, and what their personalities were like. The alicorn didn’t turn her eyes away from me even for a second.

“And then there’s Rarity,” I told, imagining her sleeping form somewhere. “She’s at times quite adamant about being clean and good-looking.” I shrugged. “I guess that’s normal, even though I don’t really care about such things myself. She’s also an incredibly creative and selfless pony – if one of us needs help, she’s first to offer her hoof.

“Her ambition is large, and I think she’ll eventually achieve all the goals she has set for herself, becoming a famous fashion designer and all. Still, she’d never charge those ludicrous amounts that the Canterlotian moguls do.

“Oh, and did I mention her looks?” I remarked, giggling innocently. “Her blue mane matches perfectly with the pristine white of her coat. And even though she does keep herself out of dirt and rain whenever she can, I...” I shook my head, smiling at the alicorn. She cocked her head. “Honestly, I think that her mane looks incredible when it’s all wet and flows freely down her neck. Oh, and her azure eyes...”

Taking a pause, I swalloved, feeling a heat rise onto my cheeks as I realized what I’d begun rambling about. “And, I happen to love her.”

There was a moment of nervous silence as I stopped. The other Twilight kept her stern eyes on mine, making me twitch of uneasiness. Then, she spoke again. “So that’s what life is like. Mine was never like that. You are a very lucky pony to have such friends, Twilight Sparkle. I envy you, and… I understand why you can’t understand.” With those words, we were again by the lake. This time, however, a chilly breeze swirled my mane around. “You are right, Twilight Sparkle. I have done wrong. Perhaps, hopefully, you’ll forgive me someday. And Celestia, too, but I doubt it, after all that’s happened.”

The alicorn gave me a look – in her I saw desperation, defeat and sadness. “I... I know I can’t ever fully pay for my sins.” A tear escaped the alicorns eye, but she didn’t even flinch. “Life... I see that I never really had one at all.”

Standing still, I opened my mouth, but then closed it. The alicorn turned to face the lake, then took determined steps towards it. What is she doing?

“Goodbye, Twilight Sparkle. I suppose this is the only way. I hope you have a happy life,” stated the alicorn with a regretful voice, stepping into the lake. I watched wordlessly as she made her way further, swiftly descending below the surface. The radiant light of her mane lingered under the water for a while before disappearing.

My mind suddenly became cloudy, and I barely avoided collapsing onto the ground. I walked towards the sleeping Rarity, my thoughts jumbled and hazy. Settling next to her, I took one last look at the lake, then closed my eyes. Shivers suddenly went down my spine, and my stomach twisted. What just happened?

Then, the warmth of Rarity’s body reached me. My thoughts settled down, and as I wrapped a hoof around Rarity, my heartbeat slowed down. Here, next to my lover, I felt pace. Here, I was safe.

The rays of the morning sun awoke me. My muscles ached from sleeping on a rock, and my mind was still hazy about last night. I remembered talking a long time with Princess Twilight, but the details were enshrouded in a grey fog. Rubbing my eyes, I rose up, smiling as I saw Rarity peacefully resting next to me. I could but wonder how she was able to sleep so well on such a surface.

Walking next to lake, I tapped the water with my hoof, feeling a chilly wetness. Was it all a dream? Did we really talk right here?

“Good morning, darling,” said Rarity cheerfully. I turned around and saw her getting up, stretching her muscles. “Did she come at night, like you thought she would?”

I rubbed my chin, trying to reach deeper into my memories, but they seemed to evade my consciousness. “I think so. It feels almost like a dream now. We talked and talked… and then she said something and went into the lake.”

“Huh?” Rarity looked confused.

“I’m not sure what happened,” I told her, grinning sheepishly. “But whatever it was, we’re still alive and well.”

“But where are we?”

I took a look at where Bluerod should’ve been, but it was gone. The nature had taken over the spot, and from this far, the forest didn’t look any different there than elsewhere. “I suppose we’re back. At least it looks like that.”

Rarity smiled, making her way to where I was standing. The crimson light of the morning sun beautifully reflected off her white coat that was, thinking about it, quite dirty. “That’s great!” Rarity let out, embracing me fiercely. Once again, I felt air escape my lungs. “But now that we’re here, how do we get back home?”

“Doesn’t matter right now,” I answered, lunging at Rarity. She let out a surprised yelp, falling onto the ground, getting pinned under me. I laughed, and pressed my lips against hers, lingering the kiss for as long as I could, feeling the hooves of Rarity wrap around me.

Prologue: The Excavation

The sun was setting as four ponies dug in the shadow of the steep walls of the pit they were in. The landscape around the excavation site was breathtaking: rugged, snow-topped mountains rose from thick, sloped forests. Only a single pony-made line near the horizon broke the harmony of nature; a train, the size of a fly from where the excavation site stood was slowly crawling along the distant rails.

Hard work was something the four earth ponies were certainly used to. None of them was particularly colorful, their coats being hues of brown and grey. Even their manes looked dull and unmaintained. Despite the chilly wind that battered the mountainside, each of them was glistening with sweat, swinging their pickaxes and shovels with a steady pace. Every single one of them was determined to find something important that would make them rich and famous. The pit deepened at a steady pace.

“Yo, guys!” the brown, black-maned stallion shouted to the others. “I’ve hit something, and I think it ain’t rock!”

The other stallion and the two mares all paused their work, surrounding the brown one. “Huh. Looks like you finally were of some use, Rock Smasher,” the dark grey mare commented. “But what is it?”

Smasher swept the loose dirt away with his hoof, revealing a bluish, metallic surface. Some kinds of runes were engraved on it, but their outlines were still partially covered under by the ground.

“Phew. Seems like it continues towards the wall. Must be something big,” the black stallion noted with a hint of excitement in his voice.

“You’re correct, Sunset. A change of plans, everypony!” the grey mare declared. “Take your shovels and picks and start digging the eastern wall out. We need to see where this leads.”

The ponies complied without objections – they were all eager to see the surface in its entirety. Perhaps it was a trapdoor? Or better yet, perhaps the runes contained an unknown spell that they could sell for huge profit?

Darkness eventually fell and so the digging continued under bright spotlights. Normally the group would already have been asleep at this time, but no words of encouragement were needed for them to keep going. After all, this could be their best find to date.

It took a couple of hours for the ponies to fully uncover the surface. It looked like a door, although it clearly was a horizontal platform. Incomprehensible runes and carvings snaked on the outer edges of the smooth, metallic-bluish surface. The ponies took their time to marvel the mysterious structure or plaque they had just uncovered.
“All right,” the grey mare said, breaking the silence. “You may go to your tents now. We’ll take a better look at this thing next morning. It’s certainly not going anywhere, by the looks of it.”

“Sure thing, Dusty,” Sunset replied, dropping his shovel. The others did the same, and proceeded to climb the ladders up and trot to their nearby campsite. Despite the great find, sleep would come easily – the ponies had worked their flanks off that day.

“Midnight, how’d you sleep?” Smasher asked from the light grey mare. He saw black rings surrounding her eyes as she stepped out of the tent they had been sharing.
“Well… hate to tell you, but I didn’t catch sleep after a not-so-pleasant dream I had in the early hours of the night,” she replied, nervously glancing around the campsite. The dwarf birches around the tents reminded Midnight of the dream, and she lowered her head.

The brown stallion cleared his throat. “Truth to be told, I didn’t sleep well myself. I dreamt of weird, disturbing landscapes and huge buildings made of precious metals. You’d think it wasn’t a nightmare, but wandering around a city with buildings unimaginably tall isn’t really that comforting.”

“I saw something else entirely, Smasher. I was being chased by something in a forest very much like the one we had to hike through when we came here,” she said, pointing her hoof at the canopy of trees far below them. “I didn’t see it. But I knew it was there, and had to run… but at the same time I knew that there was no escape.”

The stallion gave her a curious look, not wanting to know more. His imagination was already processing the information he’d received, forming theories of ages-old ghosts haunting the rocky mountainside. For the stallion’s relief, Midnight quickly stopped his stream of thoughts.

“Let’s get going, dude. I bet Sunset and Dusty are already at work. Heard them get up almost an hour ago while you were still snoring.”

“Yup,” Smasher replied. The two ponies slowly walked to the edge of the pit, only to find out something they hadn’t anticipated: it was empty. The huge ‘door’ was still there, but Sunset and Dusty were nowhere to be seen. Two bags of digging gear laid on the bottom, hinting that they'd indeed been here already.

“I don’t know about you, Midnight, but this is starting to get mighty creepy. I thought that their tent was empty,” the stallion spoke out with a concerned voice. “Let’s check it out.”

The pair rushed to the tent of the other two, only to find out that both of the sleeping bags inside were open, clearly indicating that the ponies had woken up and gotten to work. The blue canvas of the tent flapped in the wind. The missing two could have been anywhere, and thus the two ponies started calling them by their names, for no avail. They searched around the campsite for almost an hour, finding no trace of their fellows.

“I… I suggest we use the transmitter. Something must have happened to them. We have to contact somepony and tell them about this whole mess,” the mare commented with horrified look on her face.

“Oh come on, Midnight. We haven’t even searched for them yet! You know that the Royals will take away any fame or money we can get from this expedition! Not to even mention that they'll fire us after discovering the other artifacts we've stashed inside our tents!”

“There aren’t any places to hide in!” the mare shouted back, the stress she was in evident from her voice. Sunset pushed the brown stallion to the side and ran to the radio transmitter that idly sat in the shadow of a large boulder. A couple of button clicks later, white noise filled the air.

"This is Midnight Breeze, an archaeologist of the expedition C three. Immediate assistance requested. Two ponies have gone missing, and we have found something that we believe is of a great importance.. Please respond,” the mare reported, her voice quivering with fear..

After a moment, the radio crackled loudly. “Roger. We hear you. Two Royal Guards will be sent to retrieve you and the artifact you have located. What does it look like?”

Midnight was surprised that the stallion hadn’t tried to stop her. “Smasher?” she asked, turning around. He wasn’t there. The mare’s mouth was agape. “Smasher...?”

There was no response. A feeling of horror was starting to fill the mare’s mind. The wind had stopped. The radio was quiet. It was like someone had thrown a blanket around the world, silencing it for good.

“Miss Breeze?” the radio crackled.

“Miss Breeze?”

Chapter 5: Shadows

My hooves were aching and my breath was labored. The sun was already setting behind the mountains, enveloping the world in a red hue that’d only last for the ten minutes it would take for the sun to vanish. Rarity was at my side, looking just as weary as I was feeling. She slowed down and stopped.

“It’s getting late, Twi. We should make camp before we’re in complete darkness, don’t you agree?” Rarity said.

We have travelled a respectable distance, but with this pace, it’ll take us five days to reach our destination… perhaps if we walked for another hour, we could… When I stopped, a feeling of pain washed over my body. I wasn’t prepared for a forced march like this. It felt like every nerve of my body was burning away slowly and steadily.

“Well?”

“Umm… yes, I suppose we should set up our bedrolls and make a fire. We need food, warmth and rest. Well, at least I do…” I responded with a tired voice. It had been a long day.

Rarity smiled and started to levitate her stuff out of her bag. I did the same, and soon everything necessary was lying on the ground next to path. It would’ve been pointless to set up farther from it; we hadn’t encountered a single pony after the discussion with Autumn Harvest. Thus, the chances of attracting unwanted attention were small. Besides, I could always ward the area with an alarm spell that would wake us up in case anything came near.

In no time we had a fire up and running. Rarity had set up a small kettle over the flames with a long pole, and water taken from a small nearby stream was now being heated in it. Outside of the circle of light the fire emitted it was dark. The sun was now down, but we wouldn’t be sleeping for a while despite our weariness. We had to eat.

“Quite a day… will we have to keep this pace up?” Rarity asked while pouring compressed, dried vegetables into the kettle.

“Yes. The path ends only a few miles from here, but we’ll have to strain ourselves just as much as today. Our speed will likely still be much slower. It all depends on how well I can navigate in the woods. The map we have isn’t very detailed, so finding the most even terrain won’t be easy,” I responded. A quick look at the dark silhouettes of the mountains against the dusky sky was enough to tell that steep height variations were inevitable.

“Even worse than today? My legs are numb already… tomorrow will be painful,” Rarity sighed.

“I’m afraid that’s the case,” I said, compassionately smiling at my friend. “But at least we’ll have each other’s company. “

“Of course, darling.” Rarity shivered a bit. “It’s going to be a freezing night. I think we should try to feed the fire during its course.”

“Correct; catching cold would be bad. Every even hour should keep the fire lit,” I said not from experience, but from reading a book on camping.

I nodded, feeling a sudden worry crawl up my spine. I hadn’t thought much about the weather conditions. The fact that late summer nights here were quite chilly had for some reason not even crossed my mind.

We sat there silently for a short while, waiting for the soup to get ready. Up in the sky, stars had already lit up, but the moon was lingering somewhere behind the mountains. I let my gaze wander around to our surroundings. The outlines of trees were barely visible as my eyes had quickly gotten used to the relatively bright light of the fire. It was hard to see anything more than a few yards away. Turning my eyes away from the eerie void beyond the flickering, comforting light, I moved a bit closer to the warm flames, next to Rarity. To my surprise, she leaned on me.

“I just want to sleep…” Rarity silently told me. A blush rose up my cheeks, but she didn’t seem to notice. Without replying, I took the kettle off the pole and poured the soup evenly into the two small bowls waiting in front of us. Levitating mine up to taste it, I noticed something white in the corner of my eye. As I turned to look, nothing but the surrounding darkness greeted my gaze. More shivers ran through my body, and I drank the soup greedily. It took only moments for me to finish my bowl.

“Already finished?” exclaimed Rarity while taking sips of her portion. “Even in the middle of nowhere, certain manners should be remembered,” she giggled.

I scowled at her and drank the last drops of my soup. The taste was nothing special, but I’d have enjoyed any food at the moment. Rarity finished hers in a couple of minutes without further comments.

“I’ll take the first watch,” I said. My friend simply nodded and tucked herself into her bedroll, falling asleep almost immediately.

Time seemed to move very slowly as I took looks at the woods, pondering about the possible routes we could take tomorrow. I had to feed the fire once. Carrying branches from the dark forest around the fire was not a pleasant experience; I had a constant feeling of being watched. The eerie light of my horn wasn’t exactly comforting, either. Trees around me cast large shadows which creepily swayed around as I moved, though I was relieved to find out that the ground was full of dry, well-burning branches. Apparently, the cold nights had already taken their toll on the forest.

After the first hour I was having a hard time staying awake. The crackling of the flames in the otherwise quiet night was mind-numbing. Just as my head once again drooped, an image flashed into my mind out of nowhere: an unrecognizable form, a grey mass of something, sat atop a mountain, with the grandest of views beneath it. Hilly forests stretched all the way to the horizon, and here and there rose enormous peaks, though none were as high as the one the form was on.

I could feel the pace of my heartbeat instantly climbing to new heights. The fire was no longer emitting any sound. A sudden urge grasped my mind, guiding me to use my magic to grab the nameless book from my bag. It gracefully levitated in front of my eyes. Instinctively, I turned its pages until a hunch stopped me.

…the two ponies laid to rest, taking turns to keep watch. The leader took the first one, in her mind the contents of a mysterious book, which she…

The book snapped close when I understood what I was reading. Cold sweat had already formed on my forehead. Even though the noise of the fire was back, I was paralyzed for a moment. How? What is this book? I thought, keeping it off the ground with my magic. I levitated it over the fire, trembling and closing my eyes. I wanted to release it. I really wanted to. But I couldn’t; at the same time, a feeling of anxious curiosity was also overwhelming me. The desire to know what else laid in the book was so strong that I was eventually forced to move it farther from the flames. At least I had enough sense in me to put the book back into my bag instead of opening it again.

For the remainder of my watch I stood next to the sleeping Rarity, trying to calm myself by being closer to her. Being disturbed was of course unpleasant, but I certainly didn’t have any trouble staying awake for the remainder of my turn.

When I was on the verge of getting drowsy again, I tapped Rarity. To my surprise, she rose up almost immediately.

“Alrighty…” Rarity yawned, clenching her eyes shut to shelter them from the fire’s bright light. “You can sleep now.”

“Rares, we can’t keep watch for the whole night. Our vitality needs to be in decent shape in the morning for us to have any hope to keep our speed up,” I commented with a soft voice.

“Sure… I won’t wake you up after my watch is over, then. Have you warded the area in case wildlife decides to pay a visit?”

“Yes,” I mumbled while curling up inside my bedroll. I closed my eyes, and sleep got me only moments after. The biological needs of my body were stronger than the dread of something bad happening.

Darkness surrounded me. There was nothing to be seen, nothing to be heard, nothing to be sensed.

Suddenly, the world around me flickered. Bright pulses of light came to life only to die out a split second after their appearance, turning the void into a plane of random flashes. I crouched, trying to shield myself from the disturbing place.

“Twilight Sparkle,” whispered a voice from my side. I looked at the source; as expected, nothing was there.

“Y-yes?” I answered the call. I was met with a distant echo from somewhere far away.

A brief shock of pain paralyzed my body. I was locked into place as a colorless forest came to be around me, only to abruptly shift into something else entirely. Trees were replaced by gigantic buildings that reached all the way to the clouds and the dirt under my hooves transformed into polished marble. I was in a city of sorts, only it appeared to be made for giants instead of ponies.

I could move again, and took a step. With a flicker, I was now in Ponyville. Everything was covered in a deep layer of snow. The roofs of buildings were visible, and smoke rose from some of the chimneys. A blizzard raged across the landscape and lighting bolts arced from one place to another without reason.

“Twilight Sparkle,” I could hear the voice calling faintly from someplace far away.

I woke up shivering. It felt like my body was turning into a solid block of ice. Nowhere around me was there light, save for the dimly glowing embers a few feet away. Lighting up my horn to take a quick look around, I noticed Rarity shivering in her sleep. Without hesitation I moved myself next to her, wrapping my hooves around her to provide warmth for the both of us. Clutched up next to the white mare, all the worries I had were pushed back into my subconscious. For the rest of the night, I dreamt of beautiful meadows and fields of roses.

Waking up next to Rarity felt wonderful. Her soft coat was as warm as the sun that was currently rising from behind the mountains. I just wanted to lay there besides her for an eternity, enjoying her proximity. My cheeks flared up when I realized my hooves were still wrapped around her; she seemed to not have woken up during the night. Her beautiful purple mane flailed around silently in the morning wind.

Get to work, silly filly.

I rose up quietly, doing my best to avoid disturbing Rarity. She’d need all the sleep she could get for today’s hike. A quiet laugh escaped my mouth as Rarity turned onto her other side, snoring a bit.

After standing still for a moment to enjoy the already-faint memory of Rarity’s wondrous coat, I took out the worn map of the region from one of the books I had taken with me. We were almost at the end of the path we had walked on yesterday. There were numerous landmarks, but I’d still have to pay attention to not get lost in the unfamiliar terrain.

“Good morning, Twi,” said a smooth voice from behind me. I turned around to see Rarity basking in the first rays of light. She was looking straight into my eyes, a smile on her face.

“Morning, Rarity. We’re going to move out as soon as possible.”

“I thought so. In fact, I already packed everything into my bag during my watch,” Rarity said, tapping the saddle bag strapped onto her. “I’m ready to go when you are.”

And so our journey continued. Rarity and I chattered for a while, but eventually my thoughts were taken up by the book. I could only wonder how it knew what we were doing. Of course, it could have been mere coincidence, but I doubted that.

Perhaps I’m somehow projecting my own expectations on it? My magical aptitude could do that in principle.

You know very well that’s not the case. You can control your magic well enough for something like that to not happen. No, it’s something else entirely.

The path became less and less noticeable as we hiked on, until it dissolved entirely into the surrounding forest. We were now walking under the sparse canopy of tall pines. The trees were few and far between, most of them looking like they had been there for centuries. Having read numerous books about the Crystal Mountains, I knew this was the case. Vegetation was scarce on the ground, making traveling relatively easy, though the uphill climb we now had to endure was already straining our muscles.

The sound of water rushing down somewhere to our right betrayed the presence of a stream – after hours of walking, we were desperately in need of a rest, and didn’t think twice before heading towards the direction of the sound. It wasn’t far away, and soon we sat by a narrow yet seemingly quite powerful river. Upstream from us a tall waterfall roared down, sprinkling vapor all the way to us. My map told me the place was called Glimrock Falls.

Enjoying the view, we began eating tasteless, compressed rations from our bags.

“Bland,” Rarity commented, sighing. She stared at the water with a blank face. “Where does this stream flow to?”

“Yes, it is. Foraging would simply take too much time, which we’re already very short of. We’ll just have to get used to this. As to your question…” I took yet another look at the map. “It flows into and merges with the Golden River. Why?”

“It’s… nothing.” Rarity looked uneasy and glanced warily around. “I’ve already eaten my ration. Let’s go.”

As my friend got up and started aimlessly trotting towards the forest, I hastily gathered my stuff from the ground and followed her. “Rarity, what in the name of Celestia is going on?”

She halted and turned towards me, her eyes wide open. “I don’t wish to talk about it.”

“But…”

“No. Not now, at least. Perhaps some other time,” Rarity continued, her voice slightly trembling. I cocked my head in response. What’s this all about? was all that I could think at the moment. My friend pawed the ground, facing away from me, as I tried to gather my mind again.

“This is important. If we have to avoid water from now on, we’ll be in trouble! There’s at least one river we have to cross in order to get to our destination,” I argued, frustrated by my friend’s mysterious obsession about the Golden River.

“Twilight, please don’t do this.” Rarity bit her lip. “I’ll tell when the time is right. Like I said a few days ago, it’s rude to ramble on about subjects one doesn’t want to talk about.”

“Fine, Rarity, but you can’t keep secrets like this forever. Besides, you know well that you can trust me with anything,” I finally told her.

Instead of replying, she simply continued onwards silently, constantly taking glimpses at the woods surrounding us. Frustrated by her, I quickly took the lead. We’d just have gotten lost if we wandered aimlessly. At least the map told me that we wouldn’t have to actually cross the river we just left behind us. All we’d have to do was keep going northwards while avoiding difficult terrain.

But no matter how much I tried to apply the map’s information into our path, large rocks and cliffs kept appearing around us alarmingly frequently. I even used my horn to pinpoint north, but that didn’t help. Apparently the map was simply inaccurate. Like expected, it didn’t take long for us reach a high, impassable cliff. The tall wall of mossy, gray rock extended almost as far as I could see in the hilly forest.

“What now?” Rarity asked. “Could you just teleport us over this obstacle, Twilight?”

“Not really. The chance of success in an unfamiliar locale like this is minimal. I’d have to spend at least a few days in this area’s immediate vicinity for the spell to have any chance of working.”

“Could you at least try?” my friend pleaded.

“Well, why not…” I agreed, rolling my eyes.

I knew it was a stupid idea, but perhaps worth a shot. Focusing my concentration at a spot above the ledge, I tried to clear my mind. It came from such a routine that there was no need to put much conscious effort in the process. In an instant, I felt magic surging through my every nerve, channeling into my horn. A purple glow surrounded Rarity and me.

As magic erupted from my horn, a mind-wracking pain engulfed me. I felt like a hundred daggers were thrust inside me simultaneously, setting my body ablaze. Black filled my vision, and I faintly sensed the cold ground under me as my mind drifted elsewhere.

Forward. Forwards was the only direction to go. Mist was everywhere, making seeing anything very hard. I could only tell that I was standing on something wet… something very wet.

I looked down, and fell into water. There was nothing I could do. Nobody would hear my screams, not that I even could produce much of a sound underwater. There was no hope. My struggle was for nothing. I sank and sank, until air finally ran out, making me inhale water out of panic. Seconds passed, and the world melted away.

“Twilight! Are you okay?” called an agitated voice from somewhere very close. My eyes snapped open, only to reveal the clear, blue sky. My horn throbbed furiously, sending pulses of pain into my head. I covered it with my hooves.

The worried-looking face of Rarity appeared directly over me. “Twilight?”

“It depends on the way you look at it,” I answered her question, cringing. She looked distressed, but was obviously relieved that nothing very serious had happened. I tried to rise up, but my legs faltered, unable to support my weight.

“I’ll have to gather myself. It appears that I tried too much. Teleportation is a very advanced spell, and trying to cast it spontaneously like that caused a backlash.” I inhaled deeply, trying to rise up again for no avail. The next time I did that, Rarity supported me, and I finally succeeded. “Time to get on the move again. We’ll have to go around this cliff or find some way to climb it.”

Rarity looked at the wall in front of us. “Hm… seeing as that didn’t quite work out, perhaps you could try and move some of the nearby boulders so that we could simply climb up? My magic’s not powerful enough for that.”

I nodded, and emptied my mind again. Doing it with the pain was hard, but then again, I did have a lot of training. When casting any spell harder than basic levitation or tricks, I had to concentrate by making my mind a blank slate for a moment. However, as I released my magic, it didn’t come. Instead came another pulse of pain through my horn, forcing me to reel. No, no. It can’t be. This is bad.

“We have a problem, Rarity. A big one,” I said, sitting down again, holding my head.

My friend’s mouth was agape. “It didn’t work?”

“I’m afraid so. I think I burnt out my horn with that failed teleportation spell.” I looked deep into her azure eyes. “I won’t be able to use magic for days.”

Epilogue: What Life Is Like

A brown earth pony mare, filling baskets with water on the shore, took curious glances at us. Both Rarity and I waved at her, and she waved back, raising an eyebrow.

I put my right hoof in the cold water, creating a weird contrast with my left one, which was huddled over Rarity’s warm body. The Golden River was quite an experience from this close, especially in a small wooden raft, carefully enchanted to last through even the more dangerous parts of the river. Right now, we were slowly moving downstream. The river was surrounded by fields, plains, and the occasional forest in these parts. At times, we saw a house or two.

Rarity gently nibbled my ear, making me blush. “Rares, would you please stop that?”

“Oh, fine,” giggled Rarity, giving my ear a lick that sent sparkling tinges through my body. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

I shrugged, letting out a nervous laugh. “I don’t know. It seems like I do. You can do that as long you want to…” I tickled Rarity, who tried to restrain my hoof, failing. “…as long as I can do this.”

And so we continued teasing each other, not caring about the time that rushed past. Before we even realized, the taller buildings of Hoofington became visible to our right, behind the same fields that we’d trod on only a week ago.

Perhaps I am lucky. But what I’ve gotten, I can keep, sharing my experiences with the ones I love.

Zachary Frasca:
I like the message. This is a good story you have here. Don't let anyone else tell you otherwise.
I'm glad I could help with it.
-MasterFrasca99

Ларпа Пролет:
Thanks. And even more so, thanks for helping me out with this one, and my other stuff too.