Chapter One: A Coronation and a Prophecy
One day, at the end of winter, a unicorn living at the library was escorted royally to Canterlot. I did not know why, and I did not know what would happen. But she was never the same again. The next time I saw her, she was an alicorn. "Princess Twilight Sparkle". Though she had barely gotten her wings, she appeared to master flight perfectly, to my envy and amusement. I usually turned my mind away from royal affairs like these, and this was no different. I went home, said hi to my good neighbours, and went to sleep as usual, though it seemed like the dusk lasted for an abnormally long time.
The next morning, I awoke early. As the sun rose I was walking outside, something I only did after an hour of tea, breakfast and relaxing. To my surprise I saw many ponies around, acting just like it was the middle of day. Maybe the time had gone wrong somehow? I galloped to the Ponyville clock tower, to check on a good friend of mine and also my cousin, Doctor Whooves. And so I met him outside. "Hello, cuz," he greeted me, and I replied with the same words. "Do you know why the town is so alive at sunrise?" I asked him. He insisted on instead showing me the clock tower and what the time was. "Because it is noon, cousin." "Wha-" "Our time stream is lagging behind, Wat. You noticed the twilight times, right?" "It lasted a long time yesterday, yes." "The Opal and the Amethyst. Wat, the poem! Cousin, you need to remember what the poem said!" "The poem..." I looked for it in my memories. Sure enough, I remembered it. "It was in the language... Let me see. *The Opal and the Amethyst, the gems of day and night, are gifted to the two that have both magic force and flight. Two sisters and their family will rule the modern land, and never will evil drive it out of the family's hand. But the rules of all the world, however much they are sublime, will get broken once, collapsing kingdoms and slowing the flow of time.* That one?" "That's the poem alright. Nice memory, Wat. The rules are broken, cuz. A unicorn has become an alicorn. The stream is screwing up." "So the new princess is not royal." "And we know what the only way to become royal is?" And we said it at the same time: "Get coronated by a wizard of the Elder Order."
"Oh bother," I said, "what can we do to better the situation?" "You forgot the second part of the poem," Whooves replied. "I cannot recite it perfectly, but it says something like 'When the time stream rips, the álru returns. And the elder wizard with it. And he coronates the Queen of Time, maintainer of the stream.' Something like that." "The queen of time?" "That's a bit weird... wait. You think?" "Huh. We're the last two timeponies, and you're a stallion. Maybe." "Hey, I still get to be a prince though." "Sure, Prince Whooves. Let's see if the poem is correct first."
I went down from the tower and back out to the town square. I looked at the sun, which appeared to be slightly elliptic, like something was holding its rear end back. The day went very slowly, and there was growing concern amongst the ponies trotting around. As the clock tower rang one o'clock, two o'clock, three... The sun came to its peak at nine in the evening, looking a bit like an egg. And when it hit its peak, the ground rumbled under Equestria. Hundreds of ponies jumped in shock, looked at the egg-shaped sun, and then panicked. And I could hear a deep laughter from Canterlot. A draconequus' laughter. But a mocking laughter, one from a bystander's point of view. It wasn't him. As I found out soon enough, when Discord was sent flying from Canterlot and landed in front of my hooves. All he did was say "This actually isn't my fault" before teleporting away. And fifteen other ponies who had witnessed his innocence looked at each other, surprised and dumbfounded. They had thought it was him, but now they were out of ideas.
Throughout what was supposed to be night-time the afternoon sun started to look like a squinting eye. And when it set, it completely disappeared, sending Equestria into a moonless night. The moon was just as gone, and the only things in the sky were starlight and clouds. And it stayed like this. It stayed like it for what the clock tower said was four days. On the fourth day, I once again visited Whooves in the tower. He was not happy, but he was calm. "Hello, Wat," he said at my entrance. "Status report, Whooves?" I said. "We've entered the time of the prophecy. He'll return soon." "I hope he will. It is our only chance." "That or kill the non-royal alicorn." "We're timeponies, Whooves; we don't kill other ponies like that unless there is no other option. Give it two weeks. Then kill her, if it becomes a necessity." "Seems like a plan to me. And now, we wait."
On the fifth day of fallreign, after 120 hours of consecutive moonless night, Ponyville was in a state of chaos. My cousin came to me, wondering if we had to wait a whole two weeks to kill Twilight. I had to convince him that time had to pass, however catastrophic it could be. As the only two ponies alive knowing of the Opal and the Amethyst, and their powers, we waited, while the entire world around us was falling apart. Earthquakes shook Equestria regularly, the rain toggled on and off constantly and the temperature dropped. Some ponies started to pack and move, hoping salvation could be found elsewhere. They were wrong. The situation was global, and the entire planet was having the same problem. Then, I saw a very faint light from far in the north.
"Whooves!" I hurried to the clock tower; there was no time to spare. He quickly let me in, and I took him to the roof of the tower. "Look," I said, "look to the north!" "Wha," Whooves replied. "What is that?" "Well it's a light." "Obviously. But is it him?" "There is only one way to find out." "By TARDIS or by hooves?" "Magical seals. We must travel by hoof. Come! We leave at once." I scurried down from the tower.
Whooves and I, the two Doctors, swiftly travelled out from Ponyville, towards the great north. The fields around us were full of dulled life; plants starved of sunlight, plants drowned in water. The grass we were stepping through had fallen down to the ground, forming a massive carpet to trot on. Slowly, the time passed, the only thing changing being the relative placements of the stars as our planet rotated. Neither Whooves nor I would stop from exhaustion or fatigue; nothing could ever stop a timepony on a mission. We trotted quickly for hours, though the night kept rolling. As we approached the mountain ranges of northern Equestria, the goal we were going towards shone brighter. Like the emigration of so long ago, we had to scale the mountains to get past them. "Avalanche?" Whooves suggested, holding his Sonic Screwdriver. I grabbed mine as well. "Avalanche," I replied. We fired off at the snow-capped mountains, which quickly shed their snow. Then, Whooves and I started climbing upwards.
Three tiring hours passed before we reached the top of the mountain range, at the lowest pass we could go through. When we cleared the mountains and could see the other side, we were met by the sight of Eävelainde. The motherland. No mortal pony knew of this place anymore. After the emigration and the events of Hearth's Warming Eve, I was the only pony that came here at all.
In front of Whooves and I lay the majestic, ancient land. The light we were searching stood far in the northwest, the direction to the capital. It glowed brighter in Eävelainde than in Equestria. It was a light green shine, meant to pierce the night and signalise a turning point for the world. I and my cousin made our way down from the mountains and towards the old capital. Untouched by the windigoes for millennia, the magic winter had been lifted, and the land thrived. Forest was regaining land; big orchards had become rural forest, and villages had disappeared into the woods.
Whooves and I trotted on for more hours. We did not talk much, but we knew that we were both getting tired. We were moving towards an old city, a place in the middle of a field that had been built to serve as a fortress and watchtower, in addition to housing thousands of ponies. The city gates stood open, but the houses were all locked. We went to the town hall, where we found magically fresh food, and beds to sleep in. We rested for the supposed night, though we could not know. The darkness was endless.
We both woke up around seven hours later. The green light still shone from the northwest, the rest of the sky still starry and black. We quickly ate before setting back out, heading for the eäva capital of Lissmeä. Lissmeä was situated at the base of a mountain, with the royal castle built into the mountainside. Within the castle lay vast dungeons and caves, where thousands of ponies had ended their lives adventuring and getting lost. The city of Lissmeä itself was in its day populated with tens of thousands of ponies of all races. The posh was living on the hillside, and the not so lucky on the flat fields below. Living up on the city's mountain entailed status, and the royal palace was the building that was the furthest up the mountainside. Ten minutes to the west of the palace lay the alruneä's tower. Home of the late Starswirl the Bearded. Within it laid thousands of pages and scrolls of information now lost to the world. The great eäva capital of Lissmeä lay contained within twenty-hoof thick stone walls. No siege ever took the city down, but the windigoes felled Lissmeä when the country collapsed around it. This was where we were headed.
Hours went by, nothing happening but the passing of time and travelling of distance. Neither Whooves nor I said anything. We spared the words for the destination. After a good while of trotting, we could make out the shape of the mountains of Lissmeä in the reflections of the green light. The light had grown sharper, but thinner, and it appeared to originate from the same mountains. As we moved towards the capital, the light got brighter and brighter. It became apparent to us that the light came from Lissmeä itself. And then, two hours later, approaching from the southeast, we were standing outside the city walls.
We had travelled for four days, and finally, we had reached Lissmeä. The green light stood above us like aurora light on a winter's day. I released a sigh of relief. "So we're finally here," Whooves said, "here at the capital." "The travelling may be done, but the quest isn't over," I replied. "Let's go inside." We made our way down the walls to the southeast gates. We went in, and the sights of Lissmeä met us. In front of us and to all sides lay houses, roads, lit candle lights and decorations. We could see forward to the Fountain of Earth, dedicated to the earth ponies of Eävelainde. On its top stood a statue of a proud stallion, with his muzzle high and his right hoof to his chest. Flowers lay around the fountain, a sort of praise for the earth and the farmers that used it. To the left in the junction around the fountain, where we now went, lay a market road. Stalls were set up along the way, with all sorts of wares for sale, ranging from food to clothing, from cutlery to weaponry. The armour and weaponry stall was the only stall not to be empty. Neither Whooves nor I picked up anything from the market.
We then hit one of the major streets. To our right, towards the mountain, we could see the Fountain of Wind, dedicated to the pegasi of Eävelainde; the knights of the realm, the flying steeds from the west. This fountain had been broken, possibly by the earth ponies, in their riots and rampages. When we went over to it, we could see the statue that used to stand on top of the fountain. The statue was of a pegasus in a jumping pose, wings high in the sky. Now, the statue was broken like the fountain, dewinged and decapitated. Instead of looking at the broken decorations, Whooves and I continued making our way uphill. Following the line between the two fountains, we quickly found the third: The Fountain of Fire. This third one was dedicated to the unicorns and their magical powers. Together, the three fountains were magically formed to bless all ponies with good fortune and well-being. This statue and fountain was functional, the statue being a unicorn pony, posing gracefully, in progress of casting magic.
As the architectural layout of the fountains foretold, there was a line between the three fountains, the alruneä's tower and the royal palace. From the Fountain of Fire, one could go up the normal of the line to reach the palace, or continue on the line to reach the tower. As it was our goal, Whooves and I continued walking directly up the line, towards the tower. It wasn't a long way away, but it was a steep climb towards the top. The last time I had seen anyone other than myself within the tower's walls was over 3000 years ago. And now, with Whooves by my side, I was entering it once again. Finally, we were at the doors. Our destination was reached.
We looked at the grand gates of the tower. “Remember,” Whooves said, “the álru gates are activated by the magical words.” “I know,” I replied “we have to ask them for entry.” I cleansed my throat and spoke in Equina, “Grinna álru, eldepaenari sankra intri.” Magical gates, the timeponies seek entry. And the gates recognised my voice. Slowly, they opened, and we were able to come into the tower. The sight that met us was the entry floor, a library filled with ancient knowledge. In the centre stood a table made for enchantments of physical objects. Around the room there was a circular staircase running to the top of the tower. The enchantment floor had to wait; Whooves and I hurried up the staircase. On the next floor there laid shelves with potions, with a table for both alchemy and potion-making in the centre of the room. On it laid a big book on the two subjects. Like the enchantments, the alchemy and herblore had to wait for now. These rooms were tall under the ceiling, and when we had gone past these two floors we were at the topmost floor of the tower. Here stood a long table with scrolls on it, comfortable cushions to sit around the table on, shelves with books on them, and an exit out to a balcony. A part of the floor was also closed off behind a locked door. When we came to this floor, Whooves and I finally stopped hurrying. We needed to go no further.
“What do we do now?” Whooves asked. “Well,” I replied, “this is the alruneäri’s tower alright.” “Yeah, we’re at the right place.” “I guess we’ll have to wait. We can go out on the balcony over there and look at Lissmeä from above. Its view is pretty good towards the royal palace.” “I thought you were going to tell me to go read a book or something. Good that you didn’t. You know how I am with books.” “Yeah, I know you aren’t patient enough.” I giggled. We went out to the balcony, but the giddy mood quickly turned serious. The green shine over the city was strong, and pulsating. It grew brighter and brighter, until the shine had become a white light so strong that I couldn’t see. When it faded away, it was no longer night; it was dawn. And Whooves and I weren’t alone anymore.
Chapter Three: The Opal and the Amethyst
Dawn breaks," I said, "heaven's light sets ablaze. And the darkness flees." "Seems we're all done now," Whooves said, "and I think I will be going home. Are you joining?" "Nay, cuz. I'll stay here a little longer. See what has happened around here." "Okay, Wat. See you around, then." Whooves went down from the tower, and I could see him trot out of Lissmeä from the view on the balcony. After a couple of moments, I went back inside, and sat down by the long table. I looked down for a moment, closing my eyes and resting. When I looked back up, I saw someone sitting on the other side of the table and a bit to the left. I was shocked, and I froze in place, just looking at whoever it was. It was a stallion wearing a pointy hat, his coat and mane dusty and grey. I could barely see the horn, but he was a unicorn. Suddenly, he turned to me and looked at me with golden eyes, letting out a little, surprised "Ah!" before turning away again. Then, I could see his hat lifting, his horn glowing with a golden shimmer. Then, a layer of smoke and dust surrounded him, and out from the cloud came Starswirl, the Bearded.
"Foreigner," Starswirl said. "That's what you used to call me," I replied, "and how come you speak modern English fluently?" "Well, miss, I'm a wizard. Lingual expertise is an area that I'm a master of." "You've observed us while you were gone, then." "Indeed I have. All the way until the lights went out five days ago." "Can you imagine why?" "Someone must have broken the code of magic." "They coronated a mare not from the royal bloodline." "That explains it, yes. Broken code. It's a dangerous thing, screwing around in the world of magic. Tell me, who was the one to coronate her?" "The Opal and the Amethyst." "The princesses?" "Indeed. The two sisters." "So according to them a unicorn can become an alicorn if the princesses think they deserve it. Well, in that case, an earth pony may just as well get to become a unicorn. Or a pegasus. We can't just change races like that." "What's your plan?" "Looking at the code." Starswirl's horn glowed gold again, and with a poof, a blue book popped out of thin air. Starswirl looked through the pages. "Ah," he soon exclaimed, "Equinan enchantment. The spell that gives power to the Equina language for those who are enchanted." "Huh?" "You're not getting all that much of a choice." Starswirl readied another spell, which he shot straight at me. After it hit me, I felt strangely rested and powerful. "What did you do to me?" I had to ask. "How about a demonstration," Starswirl replied, "focus on the book with the code of magic and put power into the Equinan word for 'hold'." "Okay." I concentrated on the code. Then, I channeled in my head, saying "Halta!" I felt a tingling in the four frontmost locks of my mane, and to my surprise I was controlling the code like unicorns do. I switched focus, but kept the spell going, and the code flew to me, keeping close and in the air until I released the spell."Good! Very good," Starswirl said. "You don't need to say the words out loud, though. It's enough to think them." "That was a bit exhausting in length." "Álru is an art, missy." "Shouldn't we get to the princesses? Fix up there?" "First of all, go downstairs and get a blue potion. Drink it. You'll feel stronger magic-wise. Then, I'm going to teach you the blink magic." You don't question a wizard, so I did what he told me to. The blue potion made me feel refreshed, like he said, and I went back up. Starswirl was out on the balcony when I came back. "Ah," he said as usual, "ready for the álru of blinking?" "This has nothing to do with blinking with my eyes, right?" "No. Blinking works like this. You focus on a place close by, and you put power into the Equinan word for 'blink'." Then, he looked down, and a golden poof appeared, him vanishing. I went out on the edge of the balcony, and I saw him standing by outside the tower. This time, I thought the word, while focusing on the ground next to him. Instantly, I was taken there, to my surprise. "How long does this reach?" I asked. "To wherever you can see within a mile's radius. Now, the chain blink. Use the words for 'fast move', and you'll chain blink around. Race you to Evisreä!" Starswirl took off at a blinding speed. I tried my best to get going as fast as possible, and I started not long after him. In front of me laid his golden train of poofs, which I followed. I couldn't win, but I kept up. We were both blasting through Eävelainde at an immense speed, and we were back in the southern mountain range separating Equestria and Eävelainde after fifteen minutes. From there, one could see Canterlot's city, and we continued straight there. It took up another five minutes to get there, and we stopped chain-blinking outside the city gates.
"So this is Canterlot," Starswirl said, "capital of Evisreä. Home of the Opal and the Amethyst. Speaking of which, Wat, which princess rules the most?" "Celestia for the most part," I replied, "as she runs the rising of the sun and controls the day." "So the Opal is idle at daytime, and the Amethyst rules. I would have believed that the Opal could be used more efficiently, before adding a third ruler, and a non-royal at that." "So would I believe too." "When dawn broke, the Opal and the Amethyst lost their powers. Only alruneä's álru can control the celestial bodies that are the sun and the moon, and that's what the gems do. They grant the powers. The Opal has álru to raise the moon, and the Amethyst to raise the sun. Now, these gems are inactivated." "Who controls the sun and moon now?" "A wizard that knows álru." "That would be you." "That would be me." "We should get to the castle." Getting to Canterlot Castle was easy, the city in itself was small. There were no structural paths of decorations like the one in Lissmeä. When Starswirl and I showed up at the gates, two guards blocked the entrance. "You cannot enter," they said simultaneously. "Strictest orders from Princess Celestia." "Ah," Starswirl replied, "you do not recognise me?" "You've been gone for three thousand years," I said to him. "Don't expect that anymore." "Ah. Well, I will be entering anyway." Starswirl's horn glowed gold again, and the guards were flung away from the doors, screaming of fear and surprise, landing twenty yards away from the doors. Then, Starswirl opened the door to the castle.
"Okay," Starswirl said, "I have never been in this castle before. You lead on, missy." "Neither have I," I replied, "you're the only pony of higher status that has bothered much with me." "I don't know if that makes me nice, or if it makes everyone else a bit less nice." “It makes you nice.” “Ah.” “Judging out from the fact that we weren’t let in, I don’t think there are very many ponies here other than the ones we are looking for. Can you hear talking from anywhere? Surely you must have a spell for enhanced hearing.” “Yes…” Starswirl focused for a little while, and then continued. “I can hear talking. It’s from upstairs, and in front of us. That is surely where the throne room is.” “We need to find a way up there, then.” Finding the staircase leading upwards was easy; it lay right to our left side, in a tower. We went up, and back out to the room, where we could see big gates. The only room that would ever need such grand gates would be the throne room. Starswirl and I opened the gates together, and we saw the throne room, with two thrones at the far end of the room, stained glass windows up the sides, a red carpet down the centre and three alicorns discussing fiercely by the thrones. When we came in, we closed the gates behind us, and with the deep noise of their closing, the alicorns went completely quiet, looking at me and Starswirl. We slowly went up to them.
“The Opal and the Amethyst,” Starswirl began, “finally I meet you two.” Celestia, Luna and Twilight, the three alicorns, looked at each other, and then back to Starswirl, saying his name simultaneously. “I’m Starswirl the Bearded. You, Moonraiser, bear the Opal. Sunraiser, you bear the Amethyst.” Starswirl hinted at the jewels in the two true princesses’ necklaces. “However! You, the third one! Why are you here? You are not of royal descent. You are not a born alicorn. You have been transformed into your current shape.” “She managed to create her own magic,” Celestia tried to say, “and she has saved Equestria many times! Her name is Twilight-” “Saved Equestria many times. Some times from challenges you have brought upon her!” “I-” “No. Sunraiser, not even you have the right or reason to coronate new princesses. You may be old, but you are too young to understand the rules of the world. Only royals can be alicorns, and a coronation will not just make a pony royal. That is why you, Sunraiser and Moonraiser, lost the power to control the sun and the moon, and the world was flung into a moonless night lasting all the way until my return half an hour ago.” “This is so confusing, yet so revealing,” Twilight said. “Ah,” Starswirl quickly said, “Princess of Red Bull.” Starswirl’s horn got the usual magically golden shine, and he zapped Twilight with a magical light that surrounded her. When she was visible again, she was back in her old unicorn form. “The wings…” she said, “they’re gone…” “They should have never been there. Sunraiser, this is not why you were gifted with the powers of the Amethyst. You rule a kingdom, not the world. If you had read the Code of Magic, you would have known.” “The Code of Magic…” Celestia said. “But that’s just an ancient book! It has no meaning today!” “It has all the meaning of all the magic in the universe! You broke the rules, Sunraiser. Not even the highest ranked pony can break the Code. It is stated that only true royals can be alicorns. You are thousands of years old, you two. I would have expected you to know better.” The two princesses looked down shamefully, and Twilight sat down, poking the floor. I did nothing but stand by Starswirl’s side. But Starswirl turned away, and started casting another spell. With a bright golden shimmer appearing from the ground, he was encased in light, and he vanished. He had teleported away, and I heard his voice in my head, saying “I have returned to the tower in Lissmeä”. I turned to the princesses, and I had to say some words of my own.
“So,” I started, “Celestia. Luna. Give me your necklaces. Well, don’t give me them to keep, but I need to check them.” “Fine,” Luna said, “whatever you say. Who are you, anyway?” “My name is Doctor Wat. I’m a timelady from the planet Gallifrey many light-years away. I’m the last timelady alive, in fact. I have lived here for five thousand years, and I was the mare that carried the jewels in your necklaces to your parents, which became the beginning of the Equestrian royal bloodline. And I see your memory fades over time, Luna. Do you not remember anything from the thousand years you were trapped in the moon?” “No. I was Nightmare Moon, wasn’t I? I didn’t control myself.” I looked at Celestia, who looked away. I went closer to Luna, so close that I could touch her muzzle with mine. I looked deeply into her eyes, and I saw, deep within her mind, a mental barrier. I tried to look beyond it, but I could not see past it. Since I had learned that I could use the Equina language for magic, I focused on the barrier in her mind that I could see, and put power into the Equina words for “mind clear”. Luna let out a little shriek, and shook her head furiously. I stepped back, and waited for her to calm down. “…Wattie?” Luna eventually asked. “Woonie…” “I remember it all now!” Luna trotted over to me and hugged me. “Thank you so much for clearing my mind.” “No problem, Luna. Now, about these necklaces…” “Oh! Of course! Here. Sis, you give her yours too.” Luna gave me her necklace with the Opal, and Celestia did the same with hers and the Amethyst. I analysed the necklaces, but all I needed to do was check the jewels for álru power. “I can feel magic from your necklaces. The Opal and the Amethyst are active again. Here, you may have them back. You are able to control the sun and the moon again.” Celestia almost nabbed her necklace back from me. Luna, on the other hoof, took it back politely, smiling at me as she took it. I could see gratitude in her eyes, and maybe something more than that too. I also noticed that Twilight had left the soon and the castle. “So, Luna,” Celestia said, “you know her?” "Yes, sister, I do. When I first turned into that foul version of me, Nightmare Moon… you used the Elements to trap me in the moon. Well, you tried to. I was stuck on the lunar surface, yes. But that’s only because I can’t fly without air to push down under my wings. It’s a good thing I knew magic to give myself an air supply for my breathing, otherwise you would have killed me. Anyway, after a couple of decades, this wonderful mare came by. I’ll have you know that I returned to my normal self only a couple of days after you sent me to the lunar surface. I sat there in complete sadness and loneliness until Wat showed up. She took me with her on all sorts of fun adventures. Wat's a time traveller! She has these machines and stuff to take her through space and time." "That is correct," I said, "I have travelled with Luna through time and space in the last few centuries. Let me tell you a tale. Two and a half years ago, when Luna returned as Nightmare Moon... It was a hoax. A well played hoax. Me and Luna devised it together. She was to act evil, so that the Elements of Harmony would be used on her by their wielders, to try turning her good again. She was always good, but also an excellent actress. However, there was something we didn't foresee. The Elements reformed her, making her memories from between the banishment and the return inaccessible. I have made them accessible again." The Amethyst, Celestia, looked out into space. Luna, the Opal, smiled at me.
I took five steps away from the alicorns, then turned to them, raising my voice again. "Princesses! Do not fret. A mistake can be made. I'll take my leave now, by the ways of old." I used the language magic to float up in the air by thinking Levitate. I noticed the Opal and the Amethyst looking at me, in great wonder. I spoke the words to teleport, for dramatic effect. "Alra! Bívennthye árinn tórn alruneäri!" From the floor below me came golden shimmers of light slowly showing a pattern, encasing me in light. When the light disappeared, I was standing outside of the alruneäri's tower in Lissmeä again. There were no signs of life at first, and I went into a silent tower. But then, I could see Starswirl at the balcony, and he saw me, letting out his usual "Ah". He blinked down to me, and hinted at the city streets. We started going down them, him having something to tell me.
