Once Beyond the Gates

Chapters

Broken
Ties That Bind
Schism
Beneath the Surface
Past and Future
Wants and Needs
Happy Birthday
Failure
Affliction of Self
Prologue
Cry Havoc

Broken

Once Beyond the Gates

~Quill Scribe~

Chapter 1 – Broken

A rhythmic beeping wound its way into my dreams, slowly dragging me unwillingly into consciousness. I tried to open my eyes and was forced to squint because of the brightness. White was everywhere, the walls, ceiling, and bed. As my eyes began to adjust the room came into focus.

I groaned in recognition of where I was. I was always sick when I was younger, needing to be hospitalized several times. This place was really nothing new to me. I caught movement out of the corner of my vision. I turned my head and saw a brown mare hovering nearby my bed.

“M-mommy?” I wheezed. My throat was scratchy and dry, my cracked lips barely allowed me to speak.

The mare turned to face me. A blonde mane framed her aging face. “I'm glad you are awake, little one. I need to go get the doctor so he can check on you now that you are up.” She smiled at me as she walked out of the room.

That wasn't her. Where is she? She never leaves me alone at the doctor's.

Several minutes later, an orange stallion in a white coat walked into the room. He set his papers down on the counter and shuffled through them, setting some aside in a clipboard.

“Good morning kiddo. Can you tell me your name?” the doctor asked.

“Sigil Silverlight.” my voice cracked again painfully. I looked pleadingly at the doctor. “I'm so thirsty.”

The doctor studied me carefully for a moment and perused his clipboard. I almost thought he'd deny my request when finally he passed me a cup of water with little sponges in it.

“You can't drink the water yet. Suck it out of these sponges for now. You have been asleep for a very long time. Can you tell me where you are?”

I greedily stuffed some of the sponges in my mouth, reveling in the moisture. Finally, when my mouth no longer felt like sandpaper, I placed them back in the cup and said, “Hospital?”

The doctor levitated a notepad and pen and made some notes. “Alright Sigil, do you know how you got here?”

I shook my head from side to side.

The doctor looked at me. “You and your mother were brought here by a family of apple farmers from a nearby town. They found the two of you near the road from Canterlot to Ponyville. Do you remember what happened to you?”

“Some bad ponies tried to hurt mommy and I fell. Can I see her soon?” I felt my heart start to pick up speed.

Why isn't she here? Is she hurt too?

The doctor grimaced. He seemed to choose his next words carefully. “Please be patient for a few moments. I need to run a few tests. I promise I'll tell you after.”

I lay still in the hospital bed, leaving the doctor to his ministrations. I could feel him poking and prodding at me, checking my vitals, and finally my reflexes. I had to resist the urge to giggle several times when he inadvertently tickled me. I couldn't understand why at the time, but for some reason the doctor stopped just as he got to my hind legs.

The doctor frowned after several more moment hovering over my hind legs. “Can you move each of your legs a little, one at a time?”

I looked down at myself. I wiggled my forelegs each individually, and then tried my hind legs. Not even a twitch. I frowned and tried again but to no avail. My mind started to race. I realized after a few seconds that they felt like they weren't there at all.

The doctor placed a hoof gently on my shoulder. He must have seen the panic that had to have been evident on my face. I looked up at the him, my heart pounding away in my chest, and choked on my next words.

“I can't feel them.”

The doctor made a few more notes, finally he looked at me. “You've been in an accident. I don't know the circumstances, but you were brought to us in very bad shape,” he glanced down at his notes and continued, “You were unconscious and unresponsive when you came in. We had to revive you with a shock spell. You've been asleep for two months. Finally judging by my initial tests you seem have lost the use of your hind legs.”

My eyes stung as tears began to stream down my cheeks. I couldn't handle this on my own.

“What... about mommy?” I said, my ears flattened against my skull and my mane fell past them to partially cover my face.

The doctor's face fell. “I'm very sorry Sigil. She was already gone when they brought her in.”

The room seemed to spin around me as I was overtaken by nausea. Unable to process, I allowed blessed unconsciousness to take me.

The months that followed blended together in a blur. My days were strictly scheduled and packed with visits from the counselor, physical therapy to try to futilely regain my ability to walk, visits from a concerned nurse who read to me and comfort me as best she could, and finally being taught how to get around in a wheelchair.

I began to withdraw into myself more and more as time went on. Staying in my room even when Nightmare Night, normally my favorite holiday, came and went. I borrowed books from the hospital library to read, from anatomy to neurology, anything that might help me gain control of my useless legs. The fact that I had always liked reading, coupled with my near eidetic memory, would help me retain the knowledge even if I didn't really understand it yet. Having never had many friends to interact with, reading served as my one real anchor. That and the ever present nurse who always seemed to know just the right thing to say.

Nurse Heartstrings would spend more and more time with me. Reading to and with me, telling me about her day and her family.

“My little filly Lyra got into Celestia's school today!” she said to me, a proud smile gracing her face.

“Someday soon I'm sure you'll be going there. You're so bright after all.” I would smile at this. Even though I'd probably never get in it made me happy that she believed in me.

“That colt next door was released. It always makes me so happy to see my patients get well enough to go home,” she would explain.

It was nice to have that connection with somepony, even if I knew it would have to end when I got better.

"Come now Sigil, we have a very special guest today and I can't just let you stay in your room. Please try to get out a little," the brown nurse said softly.

I looked up at her from behind my mane. I never really understood why nurse Heartstrings took such an interest in me, not that I was upset that she did. I sat up in my bed, and allowed her to set me down in my wheelchair.

I just want to read, but she's always so nice to me, and seems like she really wants to help. I guess I can try to give her this without any trouble.

Nurse Heartstrings, my ever faithful rock in a sea of misery and self pity, wheeled me down the hallways of the hospital and into a large room. It seemed to me that every filly and colt in the hospital well enough to be moved had been brought out here.

"Mrs. Heartstrings, why are we here?" I asked. My voice was timid and shaky. I hid behind my long mane, only allowing one lens off my rose goggles to be visible.

She gently placed a hoof on my head. "We have a very special guest today. She took time out of her very busy schedule so that she could see all of you."

I looked towards the front of the room. A very large mare stepped through the doorway. Easily larger than any stallion I had ever seen. Her coat was almost as white as mine and her mane was a myriad of pastel colors waving in a nonexistent wind. Those weren't her most striking features to me however. What caught my eyes were her horn and wings.

Wings and a horn? If only I had had wings or a horn that worked even a little... My thoughts trailed off as I glanced away from her.

"Hello, my little ponies. My name is Princess Celestia. I'm here today to share with you all a story that is near and dear to my heart," She said softly, with a smile.

The princess settled down on some cushions at the front of the room, opened a book that looked quite old, and began her story in a calming motherly voice.

"This story begins with 'Once Upon A Time' because the best stories do, of course..."

She then looked out over the gathering, her horn glowing softly as the pictures from the book sprang to life over our heads, she began her tale.

“Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there were two regal sisters who ruled together, and created harmony for all the land. To do this, the eldest used her unicorn powers to raise the sun at dawn; the younger brought out the moon to begin the night."

I was transfixed, not so much by the story but by the intricate and careful magic reenacting it.

"Thus, the two sisters maintained balance for their kingdom and their subjects, all the different types of ponies. But as time went on, the younger sister became resentful. The ponies relished and played in the day her elder sister brought forth, but shunned and slept through her beautiful night."

She took take a sip of water, maybe for a second or two longer than necessary, and gazed out at the expectant faces of her audience.

"One fateful day, the younger unicorn refused to lower the moon to make way for the dawn. The elder sister tried to reason with her, but the bitterness in the young one's heart had transformed her into a wicked mare of darkness: Nightmare Moon."

The children all gasped in unison, captivated by the storyteller. I stared at her intensely through my goggles. Celestia paused and smiled, then continued.

“She vowed that she would shroud the land in eternal night. Reluctantly, the elder sister harnessed the most powerful magic known to ponydom: the Elements of Harmony. Using the magic of the Elements of Harmony, she defeated her younger sister, and banished her permanently in the moon. The elder sister took on responsibility for both sun and moon and harmony has been maintained in Equestria for generations since.”

She closed the storybook, the slap of the pages causing her magical show to dissipate in a shower of harmless sparks.

“And that my little ponies is the story of the Mare in the Moon."

The colts and fillies all clapped their hooves, smiling brightly. An armor clad pony approached the princess, whispering something into her ear. Celestia stood and winked at us.

"I'm sorry my little ponies but my work is never done. I hope to see you all better soon."

Whiteness encroached on the edges of my vision. I saw a look of concern on nurse Heartstring's face. She quickly realized something was wrong. There was one pony missing from the celebrating and farewells. Her eyes turned towards me as I slumped over in my wheelchair. She rushed to my side and scooped my up as my consciousness faded away.

The colors and sounds of the outside world slowly registered as I became aware of my surroundings. I was walking out of a forest and towards a massive cave entrance. The acrid smell of soot and the taste of copper was in the air. I wasn't sure where I was or why I was there but my body seemed to move unbidden by my mind as though I were merely a passenger.

I moved silently, seemingly cloaked by the night and shadows, through the cave. The only mark of my presence was the occasional clinking of coins on the ground as I trod over them.

Eventually, I came to a massive chamber where I could hear the heavy breathing of something large. A faint glow illuminated an ancient dragon, with scales as black as coal, laying before me on a veritable mountain of shiny trinkets. It's eye opened at the soft sounds of my approach. It blinked and stared right at me.

"Who dares disturb my slumber?" The dragon's voice rumbled thought the cavern, rattling loose some stones from the walls and ceiling.

My body refused to respond. I wanted to run, or at least try to convince the beast not to eat me, but my body moved inexorably forward. The dragon reared up and roared at me. It swung one massive scaly hand at me. Strangely, it felt as thought it passed right through me, leaving a cold chill. A moment later, I felt myself growing stronger as the color seeped away from the dragon's limb.

The dragon roared in pain as the colorless limb crumbled away at the elbow. For the first time in what must have been many centuries fear graced its eyes. Still my body drew ever closer. I felt myself place an inky black paw on the cornered dragon's chest.

Wait, a paw? I thought to myself.

The dragon's anger faded, a final feral scream escaped its maw as the colors drained from its body. The dragon seemed to crumble; a roar and gout of flames dying in its throat. It's white ashes fading from existence.

I felt the rush of the dragon's power flowing through my surrogate body. I felt myself turn to exit the cave. Once outside my eyes drawn to the moon. Four stars slowly drifted towards it. A roar escaped my throat, a deep booming sound that shook the very mountainside on which I stood.

My surroundings seemed to dissolve as another scene rose up around me. I was trotting down a stone passageway. I could feel the impact each time my hooves touched the floor. My wings fluttered nervously as I opened a door inlaid with gold.

I saw Celestia pacing wearily in her chambers. The aggravation evident on her face seemed to give whatever was driving my body cause to stop.

"Captain Barricade, do tell me what matter was so important that I needed to be pulled away from my favorite pass-time to see you personally," she said in a commanding tone.

My body, or more accurately Captain Barricade's body, stiffened to attention. I could feel words leaving my throat in a mare's rich voice.

"Your highness, we have been getting reports from our scouts along the Gryphon Empire's border that there has been a large influx of troops to the area. There are also rumors of gryphon patrols vanishing. Most disconcerting is the complete disappearance of a border town on the gryphon's side of the mountain range."

Celestia frowned at this. "I need you to deploy troops to the border keep and contact the gryphon ambassador."

Captain Barricade saluted sharply and marched down to the barracks to attend to her duties.

I woke in my hospital bed. I felt the heat of somepony nearby. Nurse Heartstrings was sleeping restlessly in a chair next to me, slumped over with her head on my pillow. I shifted to curl up close to her and closed my eyes, drifting into a restless sleep.

Nurse Heartstrings was jolted back into the waking world by my sobbing.

"Please don't go mommy. I'm sorry I wasn't good enough. I promise I can do better." I cried softly, lost in my thoughts as the memories of my loss played over in my mind.

A sympathetic tear ran down her cheek. She nuzzled me gently and whispered, "It's not your fault little one. I can't bring her back to you but I promise you won't have to be alone anymore."

She wore a look of determination on her face as she left. She must have thought I was talking in my sleep, she was obviously trying to be very quiet. I closed my eyes again, hoping the vivid nightmares wouldn't return.

I woke again sometime after noon for my physical therapy session. I donned my goggles and lowered myself into a wheelchair and began to make my way to the physical therapy office.

When I got halfway there I noticed many doctors filing into the hospital auditorium. I rolled my chair over and read the sign.

"'Prosthetics Symposium: Restored Mobility for a Better Equestria'. This could be interesting." I muttered to myself. I scanned the hallway for doctors and nurses and quietly made my way inside.

I wheeled myself to a corner near the stage to get a better view. The lights dimmed, and one by one the speakers came to the stage to show off what they believed to be the “next big innovation”. I was about to leave when I saw the final speaker. A mustard-colored pegasus stallion who was accompanied by an earth pony mare in a lab coat.

The mare cleared her throat and began her speech. "Whether we realize it or not, we all know somepony who could benefit from something seen here today, from the jointed limb braces to the magic run wheelchairs. What you are about to see is truly innovative!"

The pegasus stallion stepped forward and spread his wings to full extension. His left wing was much smaller, barely a third of it remained.

"My patient here was struck by lightning, in his own right he is lucky to even be alive. I say alive isn't enough!" she exclaimed with a flourish. She opened a large suitcase to reveal a metal wing. It had individual feathers and a pulley system that enabled it to flap, albeit rather jerkily. She strapped the prosthetic onto her patient's damaged wing.

The audience began to murmur among themselves. Most seemed divided as to whether this would work. The doctor spoke up above the crowd. "Behold, I return to you the gift of flight!"

The pegasus began to flap, slowly at first, both wings in synch. As he felt himself lift off the ground, a blissful smile crept onto his face, like a pony lost in the desert who finally found civilization. While he rose into the air I looked on in amazement. One instinctive thought bubbled to the surface of my mind.

Oh Celestia, I need to see their designs! I thought as I stared with wide eyes.

As the ponies at the symposium filed out, I carefully followed the mare doctor.

I wonder how I could get into the briefcase she's carrying, I thought. That's when they passed into the waiting room and I saw it, a foal with a bouncy ball.

My magic has never been very strong, but here it should be up to the task, I mused. I gritted my teeth, snatched the ball mid-bounce with a silvery light and rolled it at the feet of the doctor. She slipped and nearly fell, dropping her briefcase.

I wheeled over to her, and carefully used my magic to pop open the briefcase and release a few lose papers. While the doctor recovered from her near fall I browsed through a few of the designs, quickly committing them to memory.

They may not make sense now, but with some study I should be able to do something with these, I made haste getting back to my room.

I pulled out a bound journal and quill that I had been given and started to reproduce what I had seen while it was fresh in the lockbox of my memory.

It snowed that Hearthswarming Eve.

I watched the puffs of white falling to the ground through the auditorium window, rather than watch the pageant everyone had attended. I was supposed to be released tomorrow. Having been at the hospital for nearly six months after my injuries it was really past due.

“I just wish they could have waited for it to be warmer,” I muttered. I wouldn't miss this place, but it was safe here, and then there was Nurse Heartstrings. There was no telling what I would go through out there on my own.

I have no family. So I guess it's off to an orphanage then. My thoughts caused me to grimace.

The blanket of white outside reminded me of all the good times I had celebrating the holiday with my mother. A small smile crept onto my face because of the reverie. I may have loved Nightmare Night but Hearthswarming meant family time. Sled rides, snowball fights, snow ponies, all with her.

A tear rolled down my cheek as I took in a shuddering breath. I didn't immediately notice the three ponies who sat down in the seats around me. A foreleg was gently placed around my shoulders and pulled me closer. I turned to see who was comforting me.

I thought everypony would be home with their families tonight. I pondered as I turned to look at the ponies around me.

"Mrs Heartstrings? Why aren't you at home with your family?" I asked. Not that I minded the company, but everypony deserved to be with the ponies they loved tonight.

Nurse Heartstrings smiled gently at me. "Our family is right here," she said, gesturing to the dark green stallion and the light green filly.

"Our...?" I looked confusedly at them.

My thoughts carried my mind away, No, they barely know me. I'm just a patient. They couldn't possibly...

The stallion ruffled my mane and placed a folded paper on my lap. I opened it and started to read.

"Lower Day Court of Canterlot:

In the matter of the petition of: Clair-Anette and Arpeggio Heartstrings for the adoption of a child."

I stopped, stunned for a moment, and continued further down. There was lots of official sounding paragraphs that meant nothing to me.

"It is therefore ordered, adjudged and decreed that the Final Decree of Adoption for the child is hereby granted, and that the name of the child is hereby retained as Sigil Silverlight and that the child shall be and is hereby, entitled to all rights and privileges and subject to all obligations of a child pursuant to statute."

I looked up at them, not noticing that the tears streaming down my cheeks were staining the paper.

All three members of the Heartstrings family smiled at me. Claire finally broke the silence.

"Come on Siggy. It's time to go home."

Ties That Bind

Once Beyond the Gates

~Quill Scribe~

Chapter 2 – Ties That Bind

The last three years had been kind to me. I had Clair-Anette, my foster mother, who doted on me constantly, Arpeggio, my foster father, who spent nearly every spare moment tutoring me in magical theory, and I had my dear sweet sister Lyra.

Lyra and I were constant companions. We had tea parties, played pranks, and went shopping. She even snuck me her school textbooks and old tests, with the answers removed of course.

Not every day was a good day, however. Each year on my birthday I would sneak away from Canterlot and travel the road to Ponyville. I only ever had one destination.

This day was my eleventh birthday and, just like any of my past birthdays, I sat alone in front of a memorial stone just off of the road underneath a willow tree.

Shivering, I pulled my cloak tighter around myself. It wasn't just that it was unseasonably cold for late spring. I was trying to remember her. I could try to move on, I had a wonderful new family, but I would never let myself forget. Her smiling face, the softness of her mane, the way she held me when I was sad or hurt, it was like rubbing salt in an open wound but I cherished all of those memories just the same.

The road to Ponyville was rarely traveled, from my understanding it wasn't exactly a crossroads of culture or commerce. I didn't mind crying openly here. I took off my goggles and sobbed openly in the shade.

"I miss you mom. I thought you'd always be there. Even when dad passed you were so strong just for me. I don't want you to worry though, I've got a good life here. Clair and Arpeggio take good care of me and Lyra is the best big sister I could ask for."

I smiled as I shared the memories of the birthdays she had missed and all of the milestones of my life that I had wished she was there for.

"Best of all mom, I've been getting better at magic. Arpeggio and Lyra have been tutoring me. I can do all of the work Lyra does at Celestia's school and she's on her third year already. On top of all that I'm up to a two on the Starswirl Scale now. I know it's still way below average for a unicorn but I'll be able to cast some spells at least. I'm going to take the entrance exam for the school in a few months. I'll be sure to come and let you know how I did."

I sighed and muttered to myself, "I should really get home. I love you mom, I'll see you again soon after my exam."

I dried my eyes and put my goggles back on. I started back on the path to Canterlot. It was getting late and my family would be worried if I wasn't back soon.

The sun was already resting near the horizon when I blew out the candles on my birthday cake. Claire smiled as she put the first wrapped box down in front of me.

I tore through the packaging mercilessly and held up my prize. It was a grey book with a three leaf clover on the cover titled: 'Magical Theorems of Clover the Clever'. My jaw hung open limply. To say this book was expensive or rare wouldn't do it justice. There were a grand total of fifty copies in Equestria.

I clutched my prize to my chest, feeling like if I put it down it would disappear. I levitated the card and read:

"We never knew what was missing in our lives until you came into it. For the child who gives us everything and asks for nothing in return. Thank you for making our family whole and warm. Love, Arpeggio, Clair-Anette, and Lyra"

Tears were streaming down my face before I had even finished reading the card. I looked up at my family, dropped the book, and latched onto my sister like she was the last pony in Equestria. I drew strength from the warmth of their embrace when they stepped around the table to sit by us.

My voice was muffled from having buried my face in Lyra's chest. I felt whole again. For the first time I said, "Mom, dad, Lyra... I love you too."

It had taken me most of the summer, but I finally finished the book I had been given. I even understood most of it thanks to some professional tutoring. I decided it was time for me to move on to more practical studies.

Lyra had been practically begging me for days to come out with her for some research project she was involved in. Of course I agreed. I figured I could at least get some time in the school's library if I helped out. Maybe she could help me work out a way to impress the examiners.

We arrived at the school's library early in the morning. As we settled in to wait for her partner Amethyst Star, she explained her research project to me.

"Alright Siggy," Lyra said in hushed tones, "I need you to look for any books on ancient Equestria. Specifically pre-Equestrian civilizations."

I groaned and rolled off to gather some books for her.

I hummed to myself as I browsed. "Let's see here. 'Ancient Humans' by Giorgio A. Coltsoukalos? That's ridiculous, I'm sure she'll get a kick out of that."

I grabbed a few more boring books on Gryphon and Minotaur culture and one about the old Hearth's Warming Eve story.

That should keep her busy. I should really grab something for myself in case I get bored, I thought, alright, more bored than now.

I wandered to the magical theory section and sat there for several minutes, debating what book to take out. I decided on two books, one on spell modulation and the other on ley lines. I pulled it off of the shelf and held it in front of me to read the chapter listing.

As I was reading I noticed a pair of purple eyes staring at me from just beyond the book I was reading.

"Eep!" I squeaked in surprise and dropped the books I carried. Then I backed up my wheelchair into a bookcase behind me.

The young lavender filly continued to state at me, a look of wonder on her face. I hid my face behind my mane, blushing furiously at the attention. Aside from Lyra I didn't interact with many ponies my own age.

"Um, what are you...?" I said, barely above a whisper.

She interrupted me rather abruptly and blurted out, "Wow! I've never seen a pony with eyes like yours. How did they get like that? Does it make it hard to see?."

My eyes widened in shock and I immediately pulled my goggles down over them. I stammered for a few seconds and protectively hugged my forelegs to my chest.

"Twilight that wasn't very nice, look at how you frightened the poor thing. You should apologize," a pink unicorn said as she rounded the corner of a bookshelf.

"Sorry Cadence," Twilight looked at me sheepishly, hoofed the ground for a moment, and said "I'm really sorry for that. I just thought your eyes were really interesting. I didn't mean to make you feel bad. My name is Twilight, what's yours?"

"S-Sigil," I stammered, "y-you really aren't going to make fun of me?" I pulled my goggles onto my forehead and wiped my eyes with a foreleg.

She shook her head negatively. I watched her look around awkwardly for a moment until her attention was caught by something on the floor. She levitated the books I had picked out in front of her.

Cadence was the first to break the silence. "So, what are you doing here? Are you planning on going to school here too?"

"Yes ma'am, my sister goes here so I'm going to be taking the entrance exam next month," I replied, "do you go to school here?"

"Oh no, please just call me Cadence." Her wings fluttered nervously. "Calling me ma'am makes me sound like an old bag. Little Twiley here will be taking the exam soon though!"

Wait... Wings? I thought there was only one alicorn. I stared at her quizzically.

Cadence must have taken my confusion for nervousness because she decided to break the ice again.

"Idea!" She said in a sing song voice. "Why don't you and Twilight study together!"

"We'll I guess we could. I have lots of research to..." Twilight began to say.

"Research! Oh ponyfeathers, Lyra is going to be so worried about me!" I interrupted. I gathered my books and turned to roll back to Lyra when I felt a pair of hooves on my wheelchair.

"Why don't we go with you?" Cadence half asked, half informed me. I nodded in assent.

I could see Lyra watching us approach her table with a smirk on her face and a raised eyebrow.

"Well well Siggy. I send you for books and you come back with these pretty mares? Aren't you the little player?" She said as she winked at Cadence.

I simply rolled my eyes at her and set the books down on the table. I noticed Cadence's cheeks turned a dark shade of pink.

"Twilight, you be good and play with Sigil. I'll be nearby if you need me." She patted Twilight on the head and trotted off. Twilight nodded in response, already absorbed in the book on ley lines I had found.

"Stop staring at her flank Lyra, it's not polite." A grape colored mare said, and sat down next to Lura. Amethyst had apparently shown up while Lyra was distracted by Cadence.

Lyra stopped biting her lip and looked away from Cadence, whistling innocently. She picked up the first book from the pile I had gathered. It was 'Ancient Humans'.

I smiled at her, fully expecting her to be laughing in tears moments after reading the first chapter. I had never been so wrong.

Lyra sat, mouth agape, reading the book with an intensity I'd never seen from her.

Oh sweet Celestia what can of worms did I just open.

I quickly distracted myself by rolling over next to Twilight and reading over her shoulder.

We read and discussed the subject matter of the book for hours. Twilight was very bright, I have happy to have found a pony I could actually talk to.

I quickly realized that while I could memorize the book after one read through, Twilight actually understood what she was reading. She explained the different concepts and theories to me in a way I could grasp, something that would take me weeks of study to do on my own.

We studied well into the evening, completely absorbed in the second book I had grabbed, when Cadence approached our table. Amethyst narrowed her eyes at her, while Lyra did her best to look distracted elsewhere.

"Alright Twilight, I think it's time I got you home to your patents," she said.

Twilight yawned and nodded. As she got up out of her chair I looked at her and Cadence.

"So um, Twilight? I was thinking, it'd be really cool if we could hang out again. To study!" I barely managed to get the words out of my mouth.

Twilight looked up at Cadence hopefully. Cadence smiled and said, " I'm sure we could find some time for Twilight to come see her study buddy next weekend."

I smiled back at them as they waved goodbye.

Twilight and I met up several more times as the exam date approached. Each meeting brought me a little greater understanding of my own magic, and more frustration. I couldn't seem to find an answer as to how I could impress the examiners.

Our final study session, merely a week before the exam, brought me the inspiration I needed.

From our previous meetings I had grasped the intricacies of magic in Equestria. How earth ponies gathered and used their magic from the ley lines in the land. I was especially interested in how pegasi manipulated sky magic to fly, walk on clouds, and control the weather.

My breakthrough came as we were reading a dusty old medical tome I had found in a secluded corner of the library. A spell caught my eye, one meant to absorb ambient magical energy, store it in a vessel, and restore power to a dangerously exhausted pony.

I pulled out a notebook and smiled as we worked. I copied the spell word for word while Twilight explained the theory behind it.

With a few tweaks this will be exactly what I need. I smiled contentedly.

I had cast the modified spell the next day. It was a difficult spell, having multiple stages for its different aspects, but fortunately it didn't require much in the way of raw power. Over the course of the week the stone I had chosen grew warmer and warmer.

I felt it hum quietly with energy in the pocket of my cloak as Clair, Arpeggio, and Lyra walked alongside me towards the tower of the castle that housed Celestia's school.

A solar guard held the door for us and gestured for us to follow him. He led us through the passages to just outside a lecture room. We were greeted warmly by Twilight and her parents.

"Are you ready Twiley?" I asked.

She looked nervous, her eyes darting around the room and her mane curling at the ends. She gazed at me pleadingly.

I pulled her in for a hug, nuzzled her cheek, and whispered in her ear. "You have nothing to worry about. I'll wait right here for you."

I pulled away and saw Lyra smirking at me, and my and Twilight's parents staring at me and the blushing filly with raised eyebrows.

Before I could shy away from the attention, the door to the testing room opened and a mare called out.

"Sigil Silverlight?"

I rolled slowly to her. As the door closed behind me I heard Lyra's final words of encouragement.

"Go get 'em Casanova!"

The exam proctors sat me down at a Thaumameter, a device that measures magical output, and hooked my horn up to it.

"Alright now Sigil, I want you to concentrate and cast a few basic spells for us. If you complete those we can move on to the next test."

I strained to cast one or two of the simple spells but in the end I was successful. The proctor nodded and scribbled something in his notepad.

"Now for something more intermediate. I want you to create a barrier around this ball." He held up a small ball.

I concentrated, reached deep down into my magical center, and touched my magic. I pushed myself as hard as I could. Sweat pouring down my face as my horn sputtered and finally stopped glowing.

Frowning, the proctor made some more notes. Finally he said, "Alright Sigil, for the last portion of the test we need to see what makes you different from the other students."

I nodded. "I need you to hook me back up to the Thaumameter for this."

The proctor hooked me back up to the machine and I began to release my magic. It was a trickle at first but the needle eventually stagnated just below two and a half on the Starswirl Scale.

Now or never Sigil.

I placed the stone in front of me and concentrated on the spell I had placed on it. I activated the modified part of the spell that drew the energies into a patient.

Rather than a trickle of magic flowing into me, it was a torrent. I grimaced in a small amount of pain as the needle of the Thaumameter began to rise again. The needle stabilized at almost seven.

I could feel the magic coursing through my ley lines. I concentrated on the most difficult spell I had found in Clover the Clever's book.

My horn glowed a brilliant silver, sparks flying in every direction. I thought of Twilight and Lyra. A heart shaped flame rose above me, banishing all shadow and chill from the room.

I collapsed back into my chair, my magic spent. The proctor stood slack-jawed and said one word as I rolled out of the room.

"Congratulations."

I made my way back into the lobby, smiling wearily. I was greeted by the crushing embrace of my family.

"Twilight Sparkle?" The proctors voice called.

Twilight looked nervously at me. I winked at her and said, "go show off."

She had been in there for several minutes already, while I looked out the window in the hallway. The sky burst into rainbow light and I heard a loud cracking sound.

That was beautiful. What was-

I felt a massive surge of magic from the exam room. It felt familiar, but it was far too strong. I rushed into the room and saw Twilight, floating in midair, mane and tail whipping about wildly in a burning purple aura.

In a ear splitting, magnified voice, Twilight spoke:

"Sins of the father birth the False Day,

Gates of Eternity open the way.

"The King of Shadows claims power eternal,

Harmony cast aside by darkness infernal.

"Divine Sisters and King refuse to bend,

Immortal trinity rises to challenge the end.

"On the high sun of Harmony's return,

In the heat of the light, Canterlot will burn."

With the final words, her magic pulsed outward, throwing everypony nearby into the walls of the room and turning her parents into potted plants.

As I flew backwards on a wave of purple energy I felt something give behind me. Glass shattered and I continued past the walls of the tower and fell towards oblivion.

I fell through the air, watching the walls of the tower fly by. I looked up at the top f the tower in time to see a pegasus guard leaping down after me.

"Hang on kid, I got you!" He yelled.

I shook my head. There was no way he'd reach me in time. The ground rushed up towards me.

A familiar whiteness began to encroach on the edges of my vision. It quickly overtook the world around me, turning it into a featureless white void. Below me an archway of black stone rose up.

I fell towards the gateway. It's rusted doors swung open to greet me. The runes etched into its stones glowed with a silvery light and I plunged into the inky blackness beyond.

Schism

Once Beyond the Gates

~Quill Scribe~

Chapter 3 – Schism

The sun shone brightly as I circled a battlefield from the air. A yellow pegasus mare in full barding, and white unicorn with a blue mane, barely a stallion, stood in between a group of fallen soldiers and the beast from my nightmares.

"Alright Wonderbolts, our orders are to provide cover for the retreat of our ground forces. Maintain tight formation and move out!" A rainbow maned pegasus stallion commanded.

"Sir, yes sir!" I felt my voice join the chorus of the team.

We flew in teams of three, dive bombing the creature as it was advancing on the pegasus and unicorn. It flinched several times as our bladed wing tips brushed against it, but it continued advancing.

After several passes like this the beast finally turned its attention to us. It waited patiently until somepony got a little too close. Its jaws snapped shut like a vice. The trapped pony's colors drained away and their body crumbled into dust.

The unicorn stallion screamed something I couldn't hear. His horn glowed magenta and a translucent dome dropped over the creature, trapping it.

"Captain Swoop, get your pegasi and get our wounded out of here!" The yellow pegasus mare shouted.

"You've got it, Captain Barricade!" The rainbow maned pegasus said, "alright, you heard the lady. Move out!"

Swoop landed next to Barricade while she removed her barding, preparing to evacuate. The rest of the team each picked up a fallen pony and prepared to take off.

The beast roared in frustration. It was a cacophony of sound, the wailing of a thousand lost souls, bending of steel girders, and rumbling of an earthquake. Several of our team, myself included, faltered mid takeoff, flopping impotently to the ground.

The creature opened its maw, a dark red glow emanating from deep inside. A cylinder of magic and flame sprang forth, splashing against the dome.

The white unicorn grunted and collapsed to his knees. His magic sputtered out and the shield collapsed. The torrent of energy burst forth and struck the escaping pegasi, reducing them and their passengers to ash.

Swoop yelled, "Fleetfoot! Rapidfire! Get Shining Armor out of here! I'll cover your escape."

The two pegasi snatched up shining armor and took off. Barricade and I settled in behind them. I looked back to see that Swoop had launched himself high into the air.

The creature turned toward us and opened its maw again. I heard a whistling sound from above. I glanced skyward and saw Swoop rocketing ground-ward, his wings fully extended, angling himself at the creature.

He pushed against the air resistance, growing ever faster, until finally it gave way. The creature's throat glowed a dark red as the energy and fire was released.

Swoop slammed into the creature's muzzle at the speed of sound, slamming it shut on its own attack. A moment later a shockwave of rainbow light hammered the beast into the ground. After a mushroom cloud of multi-hued light and dust all was still.

Beams of magic streaked up at us from the ground. I looked towards their source. A cluster of cloaked unicorns was firing magic at us. I looked at my comrades carrying the wounded.

I rocketed down towards the unicorns, intent on distracting them, but an errant bolt seared through my wing after only a couple of passes. I could smell the charred flesh and feathers as I crashed among our attackers.

As they all turned to face me I managed to catch a glimpse of them under their cloaks. They were all the same midnight blue color. They looked at me angrily, and as they blasted me with their magic my vision faded to an inky black.

Through the cloying darkness I could see a pinpoint of light. It grew quickly as I fell. A pair of rusted doors opened away from me and I fell through. The blinding light and falling sensation quickly gave way to the solid ground.

As I impacted I felt the ground give way slightly. By all rights I should have been a smear from the speed I had picked up, but the only pain I was in was a burning sensation on my flanks, as though I had been branded.

My eyes opened slowly. My body ached and my flank burned. I glanced down at my flank. I wore a cutie mark there. It was a black snake eating its own tail, with silver runes running its length.

"Are you alright little one?" Princess Celestia asked, her voice snapping me out of my daze.

I looked up at her, the vision I had still fresh in my mind.

I managed to speak up. "Barricade... Shining Armor... Help them."

Her eyes narrowed and she stared down at me with a grim look. She barked a few orders to the guard that had tried to catch me as I fell, and she took off in a flurry of feathers.

"Sigil!"

I heard familiar voices call out to me. I looked towards them. Lyra, Clair, and Arpeggio wrapped their forelegs around me, tears streaming from their eyes.

I fell into the comfort of their embrace, allowing myself to fall into the serenity of unconsciousness.

I was startled awake by the clattering and banging of pans and cupboards.

Rubbing the sleep from my eyes I sat up in my bed. I donned my goggles and prepared to meet the day. I was in the middle of brushing my mane and coat when I smelled smoke.

I rolled my wheelchair into the kitchen. Lyra stood over the stove, cursing it in a way that would make a sailor blush, as smoke rose over the charred remains of... something.

I cleared my throat. Lyra nearly jumped out of her skin and whirled around to face me with a fake grin plastered on her face.

"Hey Siggy! I wasn't expecting you to be up so early," she stammered, "I wanted to make you some breakfast in bed. Figured you'd need the rest after yesterday... and all."

I smiled at her. It was the thought that counts anyway right?

"Something tells me you better marry a cook sis, or you're gonna eat nothing but coal," I joked. I wasn't going to let her off that easily.

She smirked and stuck her tongue out at me. "Well excuse me for wanting the day of your cuteciñera to be special."

After everything that happened yesterday my cutiemark had totally slipped my mind. I wasn't even sure what it was, but I could figure that out later. I was just happy to not be a blank flany anymore. One less thing to be teased about.

I smiled brightly and danced a little in my seat. "I almost forgot about that!"

Lyra giggled. "So, since I seem to have not only ruined the pancakes, but also somehow burned your cereal, how 'bout we go out for some brunch? Then you can pick whatever you want to do for the day until mom and dad come home."

"Maybe we could go find Twilight after brunch? I wanna let her know I'm ok."

Lyra looked downcast. "Hey, um... Listen squirt, I know it's your big day and all, but maybe it could be just you and me? We almost lost you yesterday. I still don't know how you didn't have a scratch on you after that fall... I... I just..." Lyra couldn't hold back anymore. Her words dissolved into a broken sobbing.

I looked up at her and hugged her foreleg to my chest. I nuzzled her neck. "I'm ok now sis. Please don't cry anymore. I'm not going anywhere."

My stomach grumbled petulantly. Lyra buried her face in my mane and giggled.

"C'mon, let's see about that food. How about here?" She pointed to a doughnut shop on the corner.

We entered the shop and sat down. She ordered a chocolate doughnut and I got a prench crueler. We ate in relative peace until Lyra leaned in close to my and whispered.

"You know what I think is weird? This guy's name is Doughnut Joe. I get the doughnut part, I mean my name is Lyra, I'm good with a lyre, your name is Sigil, you remember everything you read, but Joe? That's just bizarre."

I raised my eyebrow. I'm not sure I like where this is headed.

"So, it got me thinking. Do you remember that book you gave me? The one on humans? Well according to that book 'Joe' is a really common name for them." She paused for a moment. "I think he might be one of them, just turned into a pony!"

I giggled at her. "That is the silliest thing I've ever heard. Even if humans were real why would he turn into an earth pony? And what possible interest could he have in working at a doughnut shop?"

She laughed with me. "Of course Siggy. I know there's no way a human could cross dimensional barriers and get turned into a pony to observe us and possibly save his race. That would just be silly. After all, everyone knows they used to live in the Everfree forest and died out a long time ago."

I sighed and decided to change the topic. "Hey sis, why don't you take me to the museum? There's a new geology exhibit I want to see."

"Sure thing!" She patted my head with a free hoof and pushed my chair outside.

Lyra trotted down Mane street with me towards the museum, but froze in her tracks when she saw the exhibit banner.

"Jewelry of Ancient Equestria?" She read out loud and then stared at me with a raised eyebrow.

"What?"

"Oh nothing, I just didn't think you were into that sort of thing, what with having your nose in a book all the time," she said, "next thing I know you'll be dragging me to Hoity Toity's newest fashion show!"

I looked down at the ground and grumbled. "I'm allowed to like pretty things if I want to..."

We wandered the halls of the museum for hours. Each exhibit more interesting than the last. Pre-Unification, Pre-Equestrian, Trotskin, the Whinnysance, all exquisite. We finally reached an exhibit that took my breath away.

The artifacts from the Crystal Empire were beyond words. Most of them seemed to be grown rather than crafted by pony hooves.

"I want... I need to go there. To see this for myself. Lyra, it's so beautiful." The edges of my eyes shimmered with tears as I spoke.

Lyra glanced at me sadly as she read the information kiosk for the exhibit.

"Im sorry Siggy. It says here that the Empire disappeared over a thousand years ago when Celestia and her sister Luna defeated its corrupt king."

"Figures," I grumbled, "I wonder if..." I trailed off, my attention caught by a piece of jewelry that seemed out of place among the organic crystal creations.

I rolled over to the black necklace. The style of its black metal frame, winged unicorn bust, and carbuncle gemstone intrigued me. I read the inscription that rested nearby.

"The Alicorn Amulet. It is said to grant untold magical power to the wearer, but corrupts them with use."

I stared at it, the implication did not escape me. Somepony, somewhere, had tried to do something similar to myself. Craft an independent vessel of power to enhance a pony's innate magic.

I filed it away in my mind for later research. It was getting late and Lyra and I needed to get home to our parents.

It was the most exciting and frightening day of a young pony's life. No, not the day one got their cutie mark, though that was admittedly awesome. No not their birthday either. It wasn't even the day a pony was asked to be a special somepony.

I sat in my wheelchair, next to my adoptive parents and sister, staring at the imposing tower on the castle grounds.

This special day of all days, was the first day of school.

Clair placed a hoof comfortingly on my shoulder and smiled down at me.

"It won't be so bad Sigil. I know it's new and scary, but it will be good for you. You can't stay cooped up in the library forever, maybe you'll meet some nice ponies here and make some friends," she said.

"I'm pretty sure they have a library here too. I wonder if there is space in the stacks for my bed," I said, only half jokingly.

Lyra snickered. "C'mon Siggy, lets go inside. I'll show you around."

Lyra and I hugged our parents goodbye for the day and went inside.

The halls were bustling with ponies as Lyra walked me to our first class of the day. We shared a great number of classes. I had placed out of all of the first year classes and most of the second year ones too. My studious nature and excellent memory helped me retain most of what I had studied before I took the entrance exam.

We entered the classroom together and picked our seats, or in my case desk. Both of us sat near the windows and looked outside as the rest of the class filed into the room.

A rotund orange unicorn waddled into the room. She sat down behind her desk and cleared her throat to gain the attention of the class.

"My name is professor Wide Margins." Everypony in the room burst into a giggling fit.

I rolled my eyes. At least her name is appropriate.

She cleared her throat again. "I teach 'Equestrian Magical History'. Since today is the first day of class, and you all seem so overjoyed to be here, we shall have a test to see what knowledge you need refreshing."

The class groaned in unison as the floated the papers out to us. I looked down at my paper and began writing. This was one of those times my memory came in handy. While the rest of the class was still writing I had finished.

This is where I made my first mistake in a new school. I drew attention to myself, not intentionally of course.

I brought the test up to the front of the room. "Excuse me professor. May I be excused to the library? I'm finished."

She smiled at me. "Of course..." She glanced at my paper. "...Sigil."

"Can you please tell my sister Lyra where I went when she is done? I don't want her to worry."

The professor nodded, and as I exited the room I could feel the eyes of the class boring into the back of my head.

I wandered the halls, following the signs to the school library. I had thoughts of a certain amulet dominating my mind.

I was so absorbed by my thoughts that I barely acknowledged the librarian, and I certainly didn't see the sign that read 'Restricted Section' as I passed under an archway. I knew this part of the library held the oldest books, so I was certain that if there was something written about the amulet's creation, it would be here.

I spent the better part of an hour searching through book after book with no success. Finally I reached a section of the room that held a tome under glass. I rolled up close to it and peered at the cover. The gold leaf lettering was so faded I could barely read it. The only words that were still completely legible were Crystal and King.

I used my magic to open the book and gently flip through the pages within its preservative case.

There were lots of spells written inside. I gave each of the legible ones a cursory glance, until I came across a sketch of a familiar necklace. I flipped to the next page and read each word carefully.

After several minutes I came upon what I was looking for, the spells and theory that provided the backbone of its power.

There was a spell to draw in magical energy, very similar to the spell I had modified. A spell that pushed that energy into a pony's ley lines, I made note of that one since I had been doing it passively. Finally there was a spell that served as a containment field to concentrate the drawn out energy and keep it from leaking back out. I made note of that one too.

According to the theory section all three spells drew the power to sustain them not from the unicorn themselves but from the borrowed magical energy.

Unfortunately this is where the writing stopped being readable. There was no mention of the materials used aside from the words 'star metal' or the supposed 'curse' that the exhibit had talked about.

"Hey kid! You aren't supposed to be in here!" A voice called out from behind me.

"Oh wow! Detention on your first day. Mom and dad are gonna have a fit!" Lyra laughed.

"I'm glad you are enjoying yourself at my expense, sis." I deadpanned.

She giggled and glanced around, something caught her eye. "Sorry Siggy, I bet I know what would cheer you up!"

I was dragged into a nearby boutique. The music pounded in the air as we approached a makeshift stage.

I stared at Lyra and narrowed my eyes at her as ponies in strange outfits of clashing shapes and colors started trotting down the catwalk.

"Are you poking fun at me?"

She cocked her head to the side and lowered her ears. "I thought you'd like it."

"I said 'I like pretty things'. This," I gestured at the stage, "is an abomination of all that is beautiful."

"Quite right darling. I dare say that Hoity Toity is losing his edge." A voice next to me said.

I turned to look at who was talking to me. She was a unicorn filly, her coat was almost as white as mine, and her purple mane and tail were perfectly curled and manicured.

What really caught my eye was her necklace, or rather her necklace's gemstone. It was cut in such a way that the gem's main window lit up with the light it took in. The metal setting had a mirror coat on the inside to reflect the light.

I sat with my jaw slack, staring at it. This was the answer to a question I hadn't thought to ask yet.

That gem, with those spells... The pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place.

I looked her dead in the eyes with a silly grin on my face. I placed a forehoof on either side of her head.

"That's the answer! Oh you beautiful muse, I could almost kiss you!"

I spun my wheelchair around twice in place as she stood, too shocked to move. I turned to Lyra, who was giggling hysterically.

"Let's get back home, I've got a lot of work to do!"

That night was a busy one. I was scolded for the first time by my adoptive parents, not harshly mind you, they were far too sweet for that. Next made my day's notes about my discovery and committed them to memory so they would stay fresh.

I welcomed the comfort of my bed, sleep came to me swiftly, that is until I was rudely woken.

I snapped upright in my bed as I heard the shattering of glass and the smell of something burning.

Heh, Lyra must be cooking again.

That's when I heard unfamiliar voices.

"Are you sure this is the place? I don't want to get the wrong house"

"Positive. Look at the wheelchair and goggles by the door. The foal is definitely here."

"Alright, let's just get this over with."

I wasn't a stupid pony. I knew my limitations. I couldn't walk and had next to no magic of my own, so drawing attention to myself would have been a bad idea.

I lowered myself slowly into the wheelchair I used inside the house. I rolled out into the hallway and made my way towards my parent's room. I noticed that Lyra's room was empty.

As I passed the hallway to the living area I saw them. Two midnight blue pegasi and a midnight blue unicorn, all wearing hoods and cloaks were climbing out through a side window.

"Mom! Dad! Fire!" I screamed.

There was no response. I rolled into their bedroom and froze in place.

There are times where having an eidetic memory is a blessing. Tests, dates, names, spells, all things I could remember at any moment with perfect clarity.

Things that useful always come with a price. I could never forget anything. Even if I wanted to. The looks of twisted agony on the faces of the ponies who loved me even though I wasn't their blood would be seared into my mind forever.

I stared at them, mind frozen, unable to bring myself to move or look away as the flames licked at the room around me. A ceiling beam groaned and fell on me pinning me to the ground. My world went white.

I felt the pull of the gateway drawing me in. I couldn't resist, and was drawn through the inky blackness to the other side.

The searing pain of my cutie mark forced my eyes open to the beginning rays of dawn. Fireponies clambered over the debris of our home while a crowd stared at it, at me.

Lyra was among them, her mouth hung open, tears streamed from her eyes.

The firepony who had found me was backing away slowly, a look of confused fear on his face.

Perplexed, I half dragged myself to Lyra. I couldn't exactly wheel myself since my wheelchair was ashes.

That's when I heard the voices of the crowd.

"Look at those eyes."

"Not a mark. And with all that flame too."

"Not natural."

"Monster."

I looked pleadingly at Lyra, tears streaming down my face as the scene from my parents bedroom played over and over in my mind.

"H-how?" She asked quietly. Then she screamed, her voice quavering in terror. "How aren't you hurt! How are you even alive!" She backed away from me slowly.

Of course she blames me. Everypony else thinks I'm a monster, its only natural. I mean how many times can I cheat death and call it a coincidence.

I stared at her, the light faded from my eyes. I seared the faces of the ponies who set the fire into my mind.

They want a monster? They've broken a pony with a rather unique special talent.

My eyes opened wide underneath the scowl I wore, my large hourglass pupils causing a stir among the crowd.

I'll show the ones that did this to my family true fear.

My mouth curled into a half snarl half mad grin.

They're right, really. They've woken a monster.

I am, the Pale Pony.

Beneath the Surface

Once Beyond the Gates

~Quill Scribe~

Chapter 4 – Beneath the Surface

"Alright class, today's lesson is advanced magical deflection. More commonly referred to as force-fields."

An elderly stallion sat at a desk at the front of the tiered lecture hall. The seats in he room were filled with bleary eyed ponies. Excitement for the learning process having been stamped out of them long ago by repetition and rigid class schedules.

I rolled my eyes. I mastered this manure last year.

I surreptitiously slid my personal notebook out of my bags, flipped the pages to my desired section, and reviewed the sketches and diagrams inside. The numbers and figures stared back at me as I ran them through my head.

All of my calculations are correct. I just need to find the materials, and for that I need bits.

I flipped to the next section of my notes. I looked over the diagrams of the magically powered prosthetic limb braces and wings that sprawled across the pages.

I had lived for three years at Celestia's school, biding my time. I attended every class and read every book, even the ones in the secure wing.

This book was the culmination of the research I had buried myself in. Every modified spell I had learned, an amulet to absorb and enhance magic, and prosthetics to allow a crippled pony to walk or fly. Ponies everywhere would benefit from my work.

And without the limitations I had woven into the spells that formed their backbone, they'll make me strong enough to crush the ponies who hurt me when I find them.

"Sigil, since you seem so attentive to our lesson why don't you come up to the front to demonstrate a proper shield spell."

Some of my classmates snickered while I put my books into my bags. With them safely tucked away I rolled my way to the front of the room in my wheelchair.

I looked up to the spell diagramed on the blackboard in the front of the room. Its complexity would have boggled the mind of the average student. Fortunately I was no average student.

Such a waste of magical power. No way could I muster the strength to cast this as-is. If I change this algorithm, move this diagram here...

I erased parts of what was written and rewrote them based on some of The more obscure theorems I picked up from Clover the Clever's works.

I concentrated on imagining the new magical circle in my head and ran my magic through my horn. A silvery bubble of force shimmered into existence around me, making a popping sound as it displaced a small amount of air. I smiled to myself and looked at my professor.

He frowned at me, his lips pinched in annoyance, and said, "while I commend your ingenuity, in order to pass the end of semester examinations at the end of the month you will be expected to cast your spells as they were intended."

Great, just another old stallion stuck in his ways.

"Professor Spire, I've been in your class all semester. You know very well that I wouldn't have been able to cast this spell. Yet you called me up here anyway. So now that I've found a way to do so in a more efficient manner you are going to penalize me because it's 'not by the book'?"

I narrowed my eyes at the fool as he and my classmates sat in stunned silence. After a few moments I spoke again. "I've aced every test given to me. I cast spells and understand theory at a post graduate level. I'm afraid you have nothing left to teach me."

I turned to the door and rolled out of the classroom. I stopped partway down the hallway and took a few deep breaths, allowing the frustration that had built up to dissipate, and rolled down the cold hallway to my dorm room.

I sat at the cluttered workbench in my dormitory, my horn glowing faintly as I began to pass a complex series of spells into a clear gemstone in front of me when the door slammed open.

"Hey roomie! Whatcha workin' on?" A tall, pale yellow mare pranced into the room. Her bed creaked in protest as she flopped herself down on it.

My spell fizzled with a burst of static and the gem I had been working on cracked. I sighed in frustration, tossed it in the garbage, and turned to her while pulling out my last gem.

"Allie, I put a do not disturb sign on the door for a reason. I make myself scarce when you've got your coltfriend over and a sock on the doorknob. I need to concentrate and this is my last gem."

"Oh come on Sigil, you're always cooped up in here or the library working on something. Besides its not like I could walk in and embarrass you, you never have anypony over," Allie said as she rolled onto her back and looked at me upside down.

"I know!" She exclaimed loudly. I nearly jumped out of my skin. "Come out with me and the girls tonight. We'll find you a nice, um, stallion!"

I gave her a deadpan stare out of annoyance. "Allie, I don't have-"

"A nice mare, then?" She cut me off.

"Seriously Allie, I've got way-"

"Gryphon?" She looked at me desperately.

This has to be my own personal Tartarus. Celestia deliver me.

"Fine Allie, I'll go with you." I winced as she looked at me with a gleeful grin. "On one condition."

"Anything!" Her blue ponytail twirled and slapped her in the face as she rolled onto her stomach. "Just name it!"

I sighed and rubbed my temples with my hooves, feeling a migraine setting in. "Just be quiet for a few minutes so I can finish this project."

She clamped her mouth shut and made a zipping motion with her hoof.

She's a strange pony, but I suppose I could have a worse roommate. Besides, who am I to judge strange.

I returned my full concentration to the task at hoof. I knew I'd regret making that promise to Allie Way, but I needed to get this done.

My horn once again glowed as I imagined the multilayered spell diagrams in my head. I pushed my magic through my horn, projecting the diagrams into the cut gemstone. It began to glow softly for a few seconds until the light faded.

"That was it? Seemed kind of anticlimactic." She said with a raised eyebrow.

"Trust me, the effects are less than subtle when in use." I said as I snapped the gem into an empty socket in a mass of metal and cloth that sat on my desk.

My horn glowed as I cast a quick spell.

"Vocal dictation begin. Magic emulation project, earth pony, stage one. Beginning phase one, attachment."

I buckled the harness around each of my legs and my midsection. I reached out to the apparatus with my magic. I felt its artificial ley lines and carefully attached each one to the gemstones and myself.

I yelped in pain and grimaced as I felt the strange magic flood my body's natural ley lines. As the magic connected my dead nerves I started to feel a tingling sensation in my hind legs.

Allie looked at me with worry. "Sigil, are you alright? What are you doing?"

I ignored her and continued, "Phase one completed successfully. Begin phase two, connection test."

I looked down at my hind legs. Like my front, they were firmly strapped into the brace and harness I had made. I concentrated on a feeling I had nearly forgotten from my foalhood. My right hind leg twitched, then bent at the knee. Next I tried the left. I tested each joint slowly in succession as feeling slowly returned to them.

"Phase two completed successfully. Begin phase three, implementation."

I placed my front hooves on the ground and braced myself lightly on the desk for support. I shifted the majority of my weight onto my front hooves and began to lean forward.

On shaky hooves I stood for the first time in six years. My atrophied muscles screamed in protest, but the braces and the trickle of earth pony magic kept me upright under my own power.

I closed my eyes and smiled blissfully. I opened them and took a single shaky step forward, then another, and another. I began a slow walk in a circle in our small dorm room's free space.

"Phase three complete. Standing and walk cycle tested successfully. Stage one status, successful. End dictation."

I turned to Allie Way. Her eyes were wide and her mouth agape as she stared at me, then my abandoned wheel chair, then back to me.

"Sigil! You're walking! I can't believe it!" A wide smile burst onto her face. She danced around me and then threw her hooves around me, practically tackling me into my bed.

"Whoa there Allie, what do you think you're..." I trailed off as I felt her shoulders heaving and heard a light sobbing.

"I was so worried about you. I know we were never really friends before, even though we've practically lived together at school for three years. You always seemed so angry and lonely though." She looked at me sadly.

"Now it'll be different! Nopony will make fun of you for being stuck in a chair, we can hang out, you'll be happy now right?" She smiled at me expectantly.

Yes, I could definitely have a worse roommate.

I half smiled back at her and returned her hug. "Sure Allie, whatever you say."

Today wasn't such a bad day. Makes that promise I made her totally worth the aggravation. I just wish you all could have seen this.

It was dark in the musty building we stood in. The familiar smell of pony sweat, among other less savory things, hung in the air. There were ponies everywhere. They kept bumping into us, some grinding up against us in an unwanted attempt to dance. I stood awkwardly in between Allie and her friend.

The music at the club Allie and her friend dragged me to blared loudly. Behind the thumping bass were several noises I could only describe as a printing press jamming and being crushed in a trash compactor and a cat yowling while being hit with a tennis racket.

I was wrong. Nothing is worth this. Never again.

Allie's friend sidled herself up next to me, leaning in close to my head.

"Having fun, Sigil? Isn't DJ P0N3 the best?"

The best at what? Singlehoofedly murdering an entire art form? Lyra would be having a fit if she were here.

My face contorted in pain for the brief moment I thought of Lyra. She had moved away shortly after our parents died. Some of her family had come to take her away to Celestia knows where to live with them. I hadn't spoken to her since. I had gotten several letters but never opened them. Always telling myself I wasn't ready to face her or that she was better off without me.

It's okay. She'd just be in danger around me anyway. At least until this is all over.

My attention snapped back to the plumb colored earth pony.

"Oh yeah, she sure is... Something, alright." I said , trying to be loud enough to be heard over the cataclysm of noise.

I looked around the dance floor and spotted a relatively calm spot in the corner of the room. I pushed and shoved my way over to it and sat down heavily on a white couch. After a few minutes, Allie and her friend stumbled their way over to me.

"You alright Sigil? You look lonely. We don't have to stay here if you want to go somewhere else." Allie said to me, her brow knit in worry.

"It's alright, I doubt there are any libraries open this late at night anyway." I laughed a little when she rolled her eyes at the word library. "You girls have fun, I'll be alright."

They wandered back to the dance floor. I sat there, alone in the crowded club, pondering my next move. I pushed my goggles onto my forehead and pulled out a thin notebook.

I suppose I should finish those prosthetic wings. Then I can either sell the rights to them, or use my notes to wrangle myself a research grant.

My thoughts drifted for the next hour as I sat at the nightclub. I ran magical theory through my head, trying to finalize some equations for another stage of my project. Finally, images of those midnight blue ponies wound their way into my mind.

Maybe if I can get some extra bits I can pay somepony to track them down, and then-

"You know, a cloak and goggles are very strange attire for a club. You'll attract all kinds of weirdos wearing that." A voice sounded from next to me, jolting me from my thoughts.

I turned my head. Next to me sat a young pegasus stallion. His maroon coat and dark purple mane looked almost black in the poor lighting. He smiled at me.

"Eep!" I squeaked. I instinctively pulled my goggles down over my eyes and hid my face behind my mane. It was a foalhood habit I just couldn't seem to shake. I hated it.

He chuckled and shifted a little further away from me. "I'm very sorry if I startled you. That was quite adorable though."

My face burned in a combination of embarrassment and annoyance.

"I'm not exactly looking to attract anypony. I'm just here waiting for my, umm, friends. Besides, if I'm going to attract weirdos then what does that make you?" I said, taking a moment to compose myself.

The stallion laughed. "Quick wit and cute? I better watch out for you. My name is Long Shot. What's yours?"

"Sigil," I said, trying to be polite and hoping he'd get bored and go away. I looked out at the dance floor and saw Allie wink at me and her plum friend wave.

To my surprise Long Shot waved back.

"So you know my cousin Berry Punch? Small world, huh?"

Ugh. He knows them? He'll be hanging around all night.

"So how do you know Berry?" He asked nonchalantly, sipping on a glass of water.

"She's friends with my roommate Allie Way. I just met her tonight."

"I gotcha. Me, Berry, and Allie all know each other from way back in Ponyville, so I guess I understand how you never met her before. Where are you from? You don't seem like one of those stuck up Canterlot unicorns."

"I'm from Manehattan. My mother brought me here." I frowned slightly. I wasn't really a pony suited for small talk.

How'd I get roped into this?

"Oh, a big city pony huh?" He smirked a little. "Since you're here with Allie, I assume you're going to Celestia's school. I'm just here for the weekend taking the physicals to join the guard. What are you and your mom gonna do when you graduate? Move back?"

I don't think this stallion really wants to hear about me, and I don't really feel like talking about myself. I've had about enough of this.

"Look, like I said before, I'm not interested in meeting anypony. I'm sure there's plenty of other ponies here looking for a good time. Why don't you go bother one of them." I said crossly.

"If that's really what you want, I'll leave you alone." His ears flattened and his wings sagged a bit. He looked down at the tile floor, and started to get up.

Wow, he looks really... disappointed? Did he actually want to just get to know me?

"W-wait," I said.

I placed a hoof on his shoulder to guide him back to his seat. He looked over at me with a look of mild surprise. I looked away from him.

"Look, I'm sorry. I'm sure you are a very nice stallion. It's just that most stallions try their luck with me thinking I'm an easy target because of how I look. I'm just not interested in anypony. I've got too much... baggage. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

"That doesn't mean we can't be friends." He said as he gave me a faint smile.

No, we can't. Ponies I'm close to get hurt. I shouldn't even be here with Allie.

I opened my mouth to tell him when a commotion, different from the normal nightclub commotion, brought our attention to the dance floor. A trio of unicorn stallions were crowding around Allie and her friend.

"C'mon legs, forget about that coltfriend and come home with a real stallion." The large orange one said, putting a foreleg across Allie's back.

"Hey there baby, what say you and me go find someplace private like." The smaller brown one leered at Berry suggestively.

"Ew, get lost creeps." Allie shoved the stallion's foreleg off of her.

I trotted up behind the trio with a frown and said, "I've been having the first night out with other ponies in a very, very long time. I think you three should leave before somepony does something to ruin it for me and makes me very angry."

"Sweet Celestia, what's wrong with its horn?" The orange one recoiled.

"Look at how it's dressed!" The brown pony sneered at me.

"Look, we're just tryin' to have a nice chat with these mares here. Now scram. Unless of course you're looking for some fun of your own." A white unicorn winked at me.

Long Shot scowled and trotted up next to me. "That is no way to speak to anypony. I have half a mind to..."

I held a hoof up to his mouth to silence him, then took a step forward towards the unicorn trio.

"I've been insulted, bullied, and called names my whole life." I stared them dead in the eyes through my goggles. "I don't care what you inconsequential twits have to say about me, but you will leave my roommate and her friends alone."

The orange one adopted a sloppy grin and took a step towards me.

"And what are you gonna do 'bout it runt?"

I sighed and smiled. "I was really hoping you'd be this stupid."

I pushed a simple spell through my horn.

"Vocal dictation begin. Magic emulation project, earth pony, stage one. Beginning phase four, overcharge."

I released one of the containment spells on the gemstones woven into my harness. The gems glowed faintly. The glow suffused into my body, tracing the ley lines all over me briefly.

The stallion and his companions gave me looks of bleary eyed confusion typical of their inebriated state and began laughing.

The smallest of the trio, the brown pony, sauntered up to me. "This'll be a lesson you won't soon forget."

He whirled around on his front hooves and bucked me squarely in the face with his full weight.

I slid backwards about a foot, my head whipped upwards sharply and my goggles shattered, but I never broke my gaze.

He collapsed in a gasping heap in front of me, clutching one of his hind hooves.

"Sweet Celestia it's like bucking a brick wall!" He wailed, "I think my hoof is broken!"

I brought my head down to face them straight on. A small trickle of blood ran down my cheek where the broken glass from my goggles had cut me.

"I don't want to waste my strength on you. You aren't the ones deserving of my wrath. Leave. Now!"

I stared into them with my hourglass eyes of ice. The two left standing scowled at me.

The large white idiot spoke. "I don't know what kind of trick that was runt, but you'll be sorry for this!"

As the trio hobbled out of the nightclub I sank back into reality. I began to realize that all the eyes of the crowd nearby were on me. There were hushed conversations throughout the crowd that I couldn't quite make out.

"I'm sorry everypony. I'll... I'll just go."

I turned to leave and found my way blocked by a certain maroon stallion. He stared at me with a disconcerting intensity.

"I've just gotta know, how'd you do that? You're about two thirds my size and that stallion barely made you budge."

"I'm just made of sterner stuff than most, I guess." I said with an unsteady lopsided grin.

His expression softened a bit. I felt a hoof on my shoulder. I turned to see Allie standing next to me.

"I think we should get you cleaned up back at the dorms," she said, her brow furrowed in concern.

Long Shot nodded in agreement. "I'll walk you girls back."

We stepped out into the cool Canterlot night and slowly made our way down the dimly lit cobblestone road towards the school.

"So, Sigil, what do you think of my cousin? Quite the marekiller eh?" Berry sidled up next to me and whispered clandestinely.

I mock gasped. "He kills mares? I thought he was creepy."

Berry rolled her eyes at me. She turned her attention to Allie. "Okay Allie, I want the scoop on that coltfriend of yours. Does he have any..."

My attention was tugged away from the conversation when my ears perked up at a sound. A set of hoofsteps, out of sync with any of ours, sounded from somewhere nearby.

"Psst, Long Shot!" I hissed, trying to get his attention.

He looked over at me. "I think we're being-"

Suddenly, an orange glow enveloped Allie and Berry. They screamed in surprise and were dragged into a nearby alleyway. Long Shot and I dashed after them.

As we entered the dark alley I watched a rather large brick wrapped in a brownish aura impact Long Shot in the temple. He collapsed against a nearby wall.

I winced as a strong set of forelegs pressed me up against the wall.

"Well, well. If it isn't the runt. No tricks to save you this time eh?" A orange pony sneered.

The other two unicorns were holding down an unconscious Berry and Allie. One of them seemed to favor his right rear leg.

These are the same lowlifes from the club.

The white one, obviously their leader, smirked at his companions and said, "take what you want boys."

My eyes widened and my pupils shrank to pinpricks.

Take what you want boys.

I started shivering, my mind was racing. The voice was unfamiliar but the words and intent behind them were the same.

Take what you want boys.

The fall with Mocha, the fire, Arpeggio, Claire, it all came crashing back to me. Every scene, every feeling of pain and loneliness.

Take what you want boys.

I felt myself slipping. Emotions lost their meaning. Conscious thought became difficult.

They're the same, taking ponies away from us. End them. We're stronger than them. It's our right.

I leveled my gaze at the unicorn holding me against the wall.

"You ponies are in for a whole new world of hurt." I snarled, my lips curled in a predatory grin.

My horn glowed softly as I released three of the spells sealing the gems. The gemstones sewn into my braces and harness glowed brightly through the fabric in response to my command. The earth pony magic surged through my system. The pain was immeasurable. Poorly maintained ley lines were forced wide open to accommodate the influx of alien magic. At the club, I had felt strong, here I felt like a force of nature.

I looked the unfortunate soul pinning me to the wall dead in his eyes.

"Goodbye." I said flatly.

Bracing myself against the wall with my forelegs, I tucked my hind legs up to my chest and bucked them forward as hard as I could. I felt a satisfying crunch beneath my hooves as they impacted with his chest. He rocketed through the air past his shocked comrades and into the far wall, cracking the masonry.

The two remaining unicorns glanced at each other and spread their legs wide, bracing themselves. I felt a wave of magic build up above me.

I grunted in pain as a wave of telekinetic force drove me down to the cobblestones and held me there. I struggled to get to my hooves but couldn't fully stand.

As the stallions began laughing me I saw movement from the entrance of the alleyway. Long Shot was getting shakily to his feet.

I've got to get him out of here.

"Long Shot, go get the guards!" I screamed.

He looked at me over his shoulder and hesitated. I pulled some magic into my horn and pushed him out of the alleyway before the two standing unicorns could turn on him.

"Poor little pony, all alone now. No knight in shining armor is going to come rescue you or your friends in time." The white unicorn grinned at me.

"Friends? I have none." I let magic flow into my horn again.

"A knight in shining armor? I don't need one." I released a fourth sealing spell.

"I just... Didn't want him to see what I'm about to do to you."

The magic overflowed my ley lines. I screamed. My nerve endings frayed and my skull felt like it would crack open. I felt my heart skipping beats.

Ruin them. Let me help us.

I began to laugh, slowly at first, ramping up to a maniacal cackle. I stood easily in their telekinetic field. They looked at each other with uncertainty and began to back away. As I stepped forward my breathing became heavier.

I have to end this soon.

I leapt out of the field towards the stupefied unicorns. My forelegs caught the big one in the shoulders, pushing him to the ground. I spun, using my momentum and torque to buck the brown one as hard as I could. I heard a sound like air rushing out of a thick bag and the shattering of tree limbs when I connected with his gut. He skidded along the cobblestones and out of the alley.

"Never again," I said as I gave White a hard stare from my position on his chest.

He looked up at me in fear as I brought a hoof down hard on the base of his horn. The cobblestone underneath shattered from my hoof's impact and the windows and doors in the alleyway shook. Being merely hardened keratin and bone, his horn never stood a chance.

I stepped off of him, breathing heavily. I trotted over to the unconscious Berry and Allie and gathered them onto my back. As I stepped out of the alley I saw Long Shot returning with two golden armored pegasi and a brown pony in a lab coat. I breathed a sigh of relief.

I could see his mouth moving, his face twisted in panic, but I couldn't hear anything. I was so tired. My heart beat painfully slowly in my chest. I collapsed to the ground as they got close to me. I couldn't breathe anymore.

Long Shot's mouth was moving again. He was looking at the coat wearing medic. The medic held a stethoscope to my chest and shook his head slowly. Long Shot looked like he'd been stabbed in the gut. Tears were streaming down his face. I felt him lift me up and hold me tightly.

Why is he so sad? Allie and Berry are alright. Everypony made it through this time!

I leaned my head against his chest and looked up at him. Whiteness was encroaching on my vision. I felt my heart stop in my chest. I held a hoof weakly up to his cheek so we would have to look me in the eyes.

"Don't be sad," I said weakly as I smiled. "I'll be right back."

My last sight was his pained and confused face mouthing something desperately at me. My world went white and I felt a force tugging at my being. I fell backwards through the open doors of the gates into the blackness beyond.

Past and Future

Once Beyond the Gates

~Quill Scribe~

Chapter 5 – Past and Future

It felt warm and wet all around me. I felt like I was floating. I opened my eyes, but had to squeeze them shut again. The light was so very bright. I reached out a hoof and felt something hard and smooth all around me.

I felt much smaller, weaker too, than I should have. Almost as though I were a small foal. I wasn't wearing my braces and harness but I could feel my legs.

I could feel nothing else around me except my prison. I was helplessly suspended in some kind of liquid. Tubes that ran into my veins connected me to devices just beyond the glass cylinder I now called home, their hum and vibrations were oddly soothing.

I opened my eyes again at the muffled sounds of speech. Slowly this time to make sure they adjusted.

Through the cloying fluid I floated in I saw three vaguely pony-like shapes. The two who appeared to be pegasi carried a small lockbox. The third was a unicorn judging by the glowing blob on his forehead.

Where in Celestia's name am I? Last I remember I was with.... somepony? Why can't I remember, everything is so foggy.

One of the pegasus blobs tripped, dropping the box. It would have clattered to the floor had the unicorn blob not caught it with his magic.

"Careful you fools! His lordship gave nearly everything he had to obtain the essence of the day!" The unicorn blob scolded them angrily.

"Is the subject ready for infusion?" A raspy, masculine voice said. A fourth and fifth blob entered the room. I couldn't tell which one spoke.

"Yes my lord. I was just about to begin the procedure. We'll be able to open the portal very soon." The unicorn blob spoke.

Oh no. What are they gonna do to me? What are those IVs for?

The fifth blob, neither winged nor horned spoke next. "My lord? This procedure... It will cure our foal? She'll be able to live a normal life?"

Our foal? Who is this pony? Mocha is my mom, and she's... Gone.

"Of course, my loyal servant. Once the foal has served its purpose for me, you can take it home and live however you wish." The raspy pony soothed; through his sickeningly saccharine voice. One of the winged blobs shifted nervously from it.

I know that tone. There's no way they'll let me live; once I'm not of use to them anymore.

"Oh thank you my lord! I must go tell my wife at once! Can we see her when the procedure is over?" The pony blob said.

"You may. Return here tomorrow at this time and you may take her home." The raspy pony said.

"Yes my lord, thank you my lord." The pony blob kowtowed and scurried out of the room.

One of the pegasi and the unicorn laughed after he left. "Stupid earth pony. Like we'd give up such an interesting subject. Shall I begin the procedure?"

"Do so immediately. The sooner we open the portal the sooner I can rise to power. I need a new body soon after all."

The unicorn blob levitated a glowing golden cylinder out of the box and over to a machine I was hooked into. It clicked into place. The unicorn and raspy voiced pony began chanting a somber tune.

I felt a fiery warmth flow into my veins. It was soothing at first but that semi-warmth quickly ramped up to an unbearable heat. My blood felt like it was boiling. I tried to scream but no sound came out as my lungs were filled with this strange fluid. I felt magic run through me next. It was dark and cold, in stark contrast to the fiery brightness that was swirling inside me.

I felt myself twisting from the dark magics. They infused the brightness into the very core of my being. I tried to scream again. My eyes burned from my pupils warping. A spurt of blood burst from my forehead. I felt something long, hard and twisted swirl out from my skull. I nearly blacked out from the pain. The fluid I was suspended in boiled from the heat my body was putting off.

"The infusion is successful. Subject forty two remains stable in the altered state. Binding the subject to the portal will begin."

The raspy pony stepped up to my glass container. He was gray and black, his body ever twisting with thick smoke, with a wickedly curved horn. My eyes were beginning to clear. I got a good look at his eyes, blood red irises, the rest was a sickly green color that seemed to leak a purple smoke from the sides. His horn glowed sinisterly.

I swam backwards in fright, futilely trying to get away. He chuckled darkly as shadowy magic poured out of his horn and into me. I felt something far away tug at me. It pulled gently at first, steadily growing into an insistent yank. I felt myself slipping into the whiteness at the edges of my vision.

The tendrils of shadowy magic held me in reality. A black stone archway appeared before me. Its heavy doors were bound by blackened chains. The shadowy magic reached inside my ley lines, grasping at the brightness for purchase, and lodged itself deep near my newly formed magical core.

"Binding is successful. Subject forty two has taken to the modifications successfully, my lord."

"Excellent. Let us retire for the evening, tomorrow morning I will claim my new vessel. Make sure you send out the order to begin phase two. I want my beloved free of her prison by the time I rise to my full potential." The raspy pony commanded. The other ponies followed him out of the room.

I opened my eyes again. After how long, I couldn't be sure. There was a sound of light hoof steps.

What was that noise? Is it morning already?

I watched a winged pony trot quietly into the room. There was something familiar about her, but I couldn't quite place it. She pulled a lever of one of the apparatus in the room. I felt the tubes disconnect and the fluid drain from my prison. As I began coughing the wretched fluid out of my lungs, somepony lifted me up and placed me in a comfortable set of saddlebags.

"Come on Siggy, lets get away from here... Your parents don't deserve you, and neither does that wretched unicorn! I can't let them do this do you; even if it breaks my cover. The princess will protect us..."

I peeked out at her from the saddlebags. She was a brown pegasus mare with a black mane and warm hazel eyes.

Mocha? Mommy!

The memories rushed back into me. I felt the gate tugging at me again. Pulling me back through to life once more. It's heavy doors slammed shut behind me, and I knew blackness.

Thump thump. Thump thump. My heart began pushing blood through my body once more. I gasped, taking a first breath into my restored body. I felt the gate's magic ebbing away from me. After a few minutes of convalescence I took stock of my surroundings.

White room, tile ceiling, linoleum floor, smell of disinfectant. All those added up to hospital.

I guess that shouldn't surprise me.

Just what was that? It wasn't like any of the other visions I've had. A memory, maybe?

"Miss Way, we need you to identify the body. You were Sigil's roommate and we need to be sure so we can notify the next of kin. Please try to pull yourself together." I heard voices and sobbing from the hallway. My eyes widened in recognition.

Allie's voice cracked when she spoke. "What happened to her? How badly did those brutes hurt her before..."

"Actually, she passed from acute ley line rupture. Somehow, she channeled a large enough amount of magic to cause it to bleed out of the ley lines and into the internal organs, causing massive systemic failure." The formal voice that belonged to a doctor told her. I heard the sound of him rustling through his papers, he said, "Here we are. Are you all prepared?"

I've got to move quickly.

"Isn't this usually the job of the next of kin?" A familiar stallion's voice asked.

"Grief can do terrible things to a pony... The only family in the school's records was a 'Lyra Heartstrings'; and she flat-out refused to even look at the body. She said something like, 'Siggy can't be gone. Not after everything. She'll be back soon, and then I can see her and everything will be okay again.' Very sad business really."

Lyra actually wants to see me?

Of course she doesn't. Wouldn't she have sought you out by now? I thought we were some kind of genius.

I swung myself off of the cold gurney I lay on, and promptly fell into a heap on the floor with a loud thump and grunt of shock. My hind legs had given out from under me, totally unresponsive to any command I gave them.

Ponyfeathers . Of course they removed my harness.

"Who's in there!?" A stallion yelled as four ponies burst into the room.

Allie Way, Berry Punch, and Long Shot stared at me in shock, their mouths agape. The doctor pony bravely fainted. I lay on the floor in a tangled mess of bedsheets grinning sheepishly up at them.

Quick! Think of something!

"Um... Surprise?"

Bucking brilliant.

Berry blinked and shook her head. She reached into her saddlebag, grabbed a flask with her mouth, and tossed it into a nearby garbage can. Long Shot sat down heavily on the linoleum floor. Allie trotted cautiously up to me and poked me with her hoof.

Aren't they going to run away? Call me a monster?

Don't you remember? We were made into one. I mean, if the horseshoe fits.

"Is it really you Sigil?" She poked me again, testing to see if I was real.

Who else would we be? The queen of Prance?

Shut up. Why is my internal monologue such a jerk?

"Yes Allie, it really is me. Why wouldn't it be?"

Long Shot stood and walked to me with Berry in tow as Allie hoisted me into a nearby chair.

"Sigil, how are you even talking to us? I watched... It... Happen."

Go ahead. Tell them. They'll never understand. They'll just leave us like everypony else. I'll be left to pick up the pieces... Just like last time.

The three ponies stood in front of me, staring at me. I felt my eyes stinging. My cheeks felt wet. I looked pleadingly at Allie Way.

"If I tell you, you'll hate me just like everypony else... P-please don't make me... I-I'm not a m-monster..."

The rush of emotion got the better of me and I broke down into a sobbing mess. Allie put a foreleg around me, pulling me in tight, and shot a glare that could melt steel at Long Shot. Long Shot wilted under her gaze. His face softened a bit.

"Sigil; how could we ever think you were a monster? I may have just met you, but I consider you a dear friend. I watched you defend my cousin's honor, and later carry her and Allie out of a dangerous situation unharmed." Long Shot smiled gently and placed a hoof over mine.

Berry smiled in agreement and Allie hugged me tightly, tucking my head under her chin. I calmed down from my outburst, leaned into her neck for comfort and sighed deeply. After a few moments I extracted myself from her caring grasp.

"If you really want to know, I'll tell you." I looked out at my friends' expectant faces.

"I've done a lot of research. When you don't have friends, you have a lot of free time." I leaned to the side in my chair and pointed at my cutie mark.

"It's called the Ouroboros. It represents a cycle that begins as soon as it ends: Eternity. My special talent? I can't die... Or maybe more accurately, I die, but then the cycle restarts, and I come back to life. Either way, it isn't pleasant."

I told them everything. I suppose I did gloss over the beast that was in the gate. Maybe I didn't mention the visions either. I looked away from their shocked faces. My heart sank.

I won't say 'I told you so', but-

My self-defeating thoughts were disrupted by the feeling of three sets of forelegs being wrapped around me. I inhaled sharply in shock; tears still flowing down my cheeks.

"Come on Sigil, lets get you back to the dorms. You've had a rough day." Allie said while I smiled up at her.

I've never been more happy to be wrong than right now. Everything will be alright.

You want friends that badly? Fine, I hope we can protect them. Everything that happens to them from now on is your responsibility.

Canterlot may be a high-class city, with its galleries, fancy restaurants, and formal dances, but every city has its less-than-reputable districts.

Now or never, Sigil. If you're going to protect your new friends, you've got to put a stop to those ponies that keep hurting us.

The shack I entered smelled of mildew; among other less savory things. I looked at the pony behind the counter. He was disheveled beyond anything I had ever seen. His matted mane hung limply, framing his gaunt face.

"I understand you can perform certain services." I inquired.

"Aye lass, but what's a pretty young thing like you need of old Grim?"

"I need you to find somepony. Or rather, ponies. And I need it done discreetly; if you catch my meaning."

He looked at me incredulously. "Ah don't think stalkin' some school colt or filly friend of yours is somethin' we can do for you."

I slapped a hundred bits down on the counter with a loud thud and clinking. He cocked an eyebrow at me.

"There is a group of ponies out there, unicorns and pegasi. They dye their manes and coats midnight blue. Find them for me."

He slid the bits into a box and nodded at me. I turned and left his miserable shack.

Two more stops.

I trotted to the mercantile district. The buildings became less and less dilapidated as I went. Finally I reached my destination and went inside.

The post office was bustling with activity. I wormed my way through the crowd to get to the drop box; and I pushed a thick letter into its narrow slot.

Now I just need to finish my next project and wait for a response.

I walked off to my final destination. I rented a cart nearby and opened the door to the shop.

Bits clattered onto the table as I emptied a cloth bag. I grimaced and looked up at the shopkeeper's greedy grin.

That's the last of my inheritance. I really hope I don't need more than this.

"That should be everything. Three thousand bits. Now, where is my order?" I said.

The shopkeeper placed a large wooden box on the table and opened it.

Aluminum, star metal, gemstones, its all here.

"Thank you for your business. Some of these are very difficult to get you know. I can obtain more of course, but the price will be higher."

I nodded at him and levitated the box into the cart I was pulling. I left the shop and found Allie and Long Shot waiting outside in the bustling Canterlot streets.

"Well we're here. Got everything Siggy? I can't wait to see what you're working on this time." Allie looked curiously into my cart at the various wares.

I smiled at my two friends. Berry would have come but she was stuck working back in Ponyville and couldn't get the weekend off.

"Let's get these back to the dorms. As much as I'd like to get started, you two promised me a carnival and I just can't pass that up."

There were colorful ponies and even more colorful balloons everywhere. Wooden stalls lined the streets where ponies played carnival games to try to win some trinket or other. Allie and Long Shot walked along next to me.

"Enjoying yourself Sigil?" Long Shot said as he looked around at the stalls.

"This is awesome! Jugglers, fire swallowers, ponies on stilts, and acrobats! All without magic!"

A loud explosion of color caught my attention from off to the side in my peripheral. We turned our heads to see what the commotion was about.

"Gather around and witness magic beyond comprehension! Hear of the defeat of the manticore of Stalliongrad! The mummy of Las Pegasus! Witness the might of The Great and Powerful Trixie!" Yelled a young light blue mare from a stage nearby as fireworks went off overhead.

Magician? I can do real magic. No thanks.

"Hey, let's move on and see what else there is to do," I said as I guided my friends away from the blowhard.

"Hey Allie! I've been looking everywhere for you!" A pink earth pony stallion shouted and ran over happily to Allie.

"Everypony, I'd like you to meet my coltfriend, Lucky Strike," she said.

"Oh! Is this your roommate Sigil? I didn't know you had a coltfriend, and an older stallion at that! I was getting worried I might have to contend with you for Allie's affection. She's very fond of you ya know." He winked and elbowed me in the ribs jokingly. My face heated up. I must have looked like a tomato with a horn.

"Lucky!" Allie looked at me and then back to him with a mortified expression.

"He's only a couple of years older, and he's not my coltfriend, just a friend like Allie," I mumbled. I glanced over at Long Shot, who was looking off in another direction at nothing in particular. I looked down at my hooves, glad for once that my habit of hiding in my mane never faded.

I heard Lucky whisper to Allie, "I'd love some time to ourselves. Why don't we go off and watch that magician I saw earlier?"

Allie nodded and smiled at us. We all agreed to meet back at the entrance in an hour. The pair sauntered off towards the magician's cart and the growing crowd around it.

Long Shot and I walked in an awkward silence for several minutes. I caught myself staring at his flank for a fourth time. I finally spoke up to break the awkwardness that hung in the air.

"So, you know what my cutie mark means. When do I get to hear about yours?" I looked over at the shot glass with a crosshairs that adorned his flank again.

"I think it's better if I show you."

He looked around and walked to a nearby booth. It was deeper than most of the others. A set of toy rifles lined its counter. He placed three bits on the counter and took up the mock rifle in his hooves.

"See that target?" He pointed to the furthest one. "I'm going to nail it dead center."

He walked to the firing line, and then kept walking another twenty paces. He was almost at the booths across the street.

What's he doing?

A small crowd had gathered around us. Long Shot hefted the rifle, feeling its weight, and took aim. I saw he was aiming noticeably above and to the left of the target. The carny pony must have noticed too because he leaned back in his chair and snickered.

The compressed air forced the pellet from the rifle at high speed. It flew through the air, its trajectory curved slightly, and struck the target dead in the center. The carny pony's jaw dropped and his cigar fell to the ground. The crowd cheered.

"We have a winner!" He shouted, after composing himself. I watched the carny hand Long Shot a brown pegasus plush that he was pointing to.

He walked over to me with a smile and a bounce in his step. He placed the stuffed pegasus into my hooves.

"An adorable prize for an adorable filly." He winked at me.

I looked down at the stuffed pegasus. My face heated up as the blood rushed to my cheeks and I heard several "awws" from the slowly-dispersing crowd. Something clicked in my head. I remembered all the things I had told my new friends about nearly a month ago.

The coloration is a little off, but it almost looks like...

"Thank you. It's, um, very nice." I said awkwardly as I placed it carefully in my saddlebag.

He just smiled at me and we trotted off to enjoy the rest of the carnival.

After riding rides and eating our fill of unhealthy, fried carnival food, we walked towards the entrance where we were supposed to meet with Allie and Lucky. I turned my head towards Long Shot while we trotted along.

"So, you're from Ponyville just like Allie and Berry?"

He nodded.

"Isn't it a little odd for a pegasus to be from an earth pony town?"

That came off as a bit forced. Are you that desperate?

Shut it, I was just curious.

He laughed a little bit. "Well, my father was an earth pony like Berry. So I did grow up in Ponyville for a while. I am related to her after all."

"Was?" I asked. I could see his face fall slightly.

Oh no, why did I say that. Fix it stupid.

I stepped in closer and nuzzled his shoulder reassuringly. He smiled down at me.

"It's okay; it was a long time ago. My father was a Royal Guard. He was killed in action saving a schoolhouse from a chimera in Fillydelphia." He looked down at me. "Don't feel bad Siggy, I don't. He saved foals, trading his life so they could have a fair shot at theirs. He was a hero. After he passed though, mother and I moved to Cloudsdale. It was just too painful for her to stay in our old house."

I smiled up at him.

He is so proud of his father. Just like I am of Mocha and the Heartstrings. I like that.

"I might need your help with a project I'm working on. Maybe when it's done... You could show me Cloudsdale?"

"Sure thing Sigil. I'm sure my mom could put us up for a few days."

We walked the rest of the way to the entrance in a much more comfortable silence. Simply enjoying each other's company.

I sat alone in my dorm room, barely noticing the setting sun through my window. I tinkered with the materials I had collected earlier that day. Forming an aluminum and star metal framework and a multitude of thin, almost diamond shaped strips.

I worked diligently well into the night. Weaving metal cords and strips into a latticework. The wings began to take shape, almost like real pegasus wings. I had studied anatomy books for years for these projects of mine, and with good reason.

I set aside the completed set and admired my handiwork. Anatomically correct in every way, down to the smallest feather and the minuscule artificial ley lines of starmetal that connected every last piece.

I set to work on weaving my spells into the gemstones. They were similar to the spells I used on the harness, but were a lot more complex. A pony needed to control every feather and be able to run pegasus magic throughout their body to achieve lift.

The sun began to peek over the horizon as I finished my work. I removed my harness in preparation for bed and fastened the wings onto it.

Finally done. Now all I have to do is learn how to use them and see if it worked.

I crawled under the covers of my bed and levitated a small plush pegasus under the crook of one of my forelegs. I closed my eyes and nuzzled it, feeling its velvety softness against my cheek. I softly held it close to my chest and sighed. I smiled to myself.

I'm really happy he's my friend.

Wants and Needs

Once Beyond the Gates

~Quill Scribe~

Chapter 6 – Wants and Needs

Fire and ice ran through my nerves as I finished the spell to connect myself to the harness. I could practically feel every metallic feather and joint as though it were an extension of myself. It was both glorious and nerve-wracking.

Every day that I donned the harness it hurt less. I didn't even notice it on this day. I shook with anticipation on my walk through the school's hallways. I ignored the looks that my new addition to the harness got.

It's like they've never seen a pony build a pair of wings before.

I stepped out into the chilly fall air and shivered slightly. I got even more looks from passersby and shopkeepers as I trotted down the streets.

If I hadn't rushed out I could've brought my cloak.

I spotted my targets. A maroon pegasus, yellow unicorn, and plum earth pony were standing next to each other outside of a shop, their backs turned towards me. I made my way stealthily towards them until I was nearly upon them. With the sun at my back I turned my head to the side and spread my false wings wide, their metallic feathers rustling quietly, and magically magnified my voice.

"Who dares stand in the way of the solar princess!"

All three nearly leapt out of their skin. Long Shot whirled around with a reflexive salute. Berry dove behind a nearby barrel. Allie froze, staring at my winged and horned form profiled against the sun, her mouth hanging open.

I started laughing and fell over onto my back, holding my sides with my hooves and apparently fairly dexterous wings.

"You should see the looks on your faces!"

Allie was the first to come to her senses.

"Sigil! You've... got wings?" She said, wide eyed.

Long Shot walked over to me as I stood up from my laughing fit. He pulled one of my wings out to full extension and began inspecting it.

"Primaries, secondaries, all coverts, you really put a lot of detail into these. So, do they work?" He pondered out loud.

"Aren't they great! I really have no idea! Can you teach me so I can find out?"

"Teach you? Sigil, you aren't a pegasus, I don't know if that's a good idea." He frowned.

I rolled my eyes. "What's the worst that could happen? I fall from cloud level?"

"Among other things yeah!" His wings fluttered in frustration.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "I can't die remember?"

"Yeah, well, that doesn't mean you can't get hurt." His wings sagged slightly.

I really need to read up on pegasus emotional expressions.

"Why do you think I asked you to teach me? It's not like I'm going to just jump off a tower or something. I don't have the instincts you do."

He sighed in defeat, then his eyes lit up. "Alright, you win. We'll start next weekend though. Lets all have some fun today like we all planned."

Allie and I returned to our room later that night. The entire way home she kept looking at me like she wanted to talk about something. She kept opening her mouth and then snapping it shut. She even held up her hoof a few times to get my attention before stopping and looking away from me. Once we got inside and closed the door I turned to her.

"Allie, is something on your mind? You know you can talk to me, right? I mean we've been real friends for months now, not just roommates."

"Sorry Sigil," she said sheepishly, "It's just... You and Long Shot have been getting really close. I know sometimes mates forget about their friends when they get a special somepony, and I don't want that to happen with us."

"Allie, I'm not like that with Shotty. I'd never abandon my friends even if I was."

You keep telling yourself that... And 'Shotty'? Really?

She looked at me incredulously. "Siggy, I see how he looks at you. Berry sees it too, and don't think I haven't noticed that stuffed pegasus you've been sleeping with since the carnival."

I blushed in embarrassment. I was almost a grown mare after all, but I thought I had a pretty good reason. I levitated the plush into my forelegs as I sat on the bed. I looked down at it sadly.

"Hey Allie, do you remember when I told you about my mom?"

She started at the sudden shift in conversation. "Yeah, you were adopted by the Heartstrings right?"

I shook my head and smiled at the comforting toy. "No, while they were great parents and I loved them dearly, I'm talking about my real mom."

She'll always be my real mommy. Even if she wasn't really.

I looked wistfully out the window into the night sky. "I loved flying with her. I never felt closer to anypony than when I was with her in the air. She was the most important pony in the world, and they took her from me." I scowled darkly at nothing in particular.

Allie started to walk over to me and speak, but I held a hoof up to stop her. I took a few deep breaths to calm myself. My expression softened.

"Long Shot must've remembered what I said about her when he was picking out a prize for me. Sure, maybe the colors are a little off, but its the thought that counts. It felt like he was saying to me, 'as long as I'm here, I'll help you get back what you've lost'."

Allie sat down next to me. "It sounds like you already know how he feels then, that makes this easier. I think you know how you feel too. The question is, what are you going to do about it?"

I lay down with my back to her and curled up with the plush. "I can't be with anypony like that, Allie. It especially wouldn't be fair for me to be with him. I don't have a heart to give. He deserves better."

A heavy thumping sounded throughout our dorm room. I grumbled loudly and covered my head with my pillow.

"Allie, can you get the door please?"

I heard her giggle and the door open. There was a clanking of metal.

"Excuse me miss, are you Sigil Silverlight?" A very formal sounding stallion inquired.

"Hey Siggy, I think you better get up," Allie said.

I grumbled, threw off my covers, sat up, and motioned with a hoof for the pony who had disturbed my sleep to come in. He looked at me quizzically, so I pointed at my wheelchair and the harness I had yet to put on.

"Forgive me if I don't get up to greet you."

The stallion walked into the room and placed an envelope sealed with the royal sun and moon crest onto my dresser.

"Good day ma'am," he said to Allie on his way out.

I levitated the envelope up to my eye level and stared at the seal. My heart raced in anticipation as I contemplated its contents.

"Sigil, what is it?"

"Hopefully the answer I was looking for," I said as I opened it.

"Dear Sigil Silverlight,

It is with great pride that I welcome the achievements of all of my little ponies. I will grant your requested audience to show me your interesting medical advances. Please find enclosed four invitations to the palace for you and your companions.

Princess Celestia"

I sat in silence for a moment. A stupid grin working its way across my face.

"An audience with the princess!? When?" Allie practically shouted.

"Two weeks," I said, "and I want you, Berry, and Long Shot to come with me."

I wonder how she knew to send four?

A week passed in a blink. The school was dead quiet save for the occasional student losing their cool and blowing up a lab, or simply running screaming down the hallway. Our final exams loomed just around the corner and these were stressful times, after all.

Long Shot had asked me to join him at a meadow just outside Canterlot for flight practice. I walked along the dirt path and saw him standing among the flowers in the clearing, looking up at the sky.

"Hey Shot!" I called out and pranced up to him happily.

He waved a hoof at me. "Hey Siggy, you seem upbeat today. Are you that excited to spend the day with me?"

I balked when he said that. I stumbled, tumbling head over rump, and landed on my back at his feet. He started laughing as he helped me up to my hooves.

That was really graceful.

I stuck my tongue out at him in annoyance. "Let's just get started."

"Okay, first thing you need to know is rhythm. You can't just flail those things around wildly."

I nodded at him and stretched out my false wings. I began to flap them, ending up doing exactly what he told me not to.

"Well that's not right. Try giving me a few flaps in unison."

I did as he asked. My left and right wing working their way up and down until I got the feel for moving them as one unit.

He nodded. "That's a little better. Now try to time it to your heartbeat. Once up and once down."

I frowned and closed my eyes in concentration. My wings beat up and down to the rhythm of my heart.

"Ok, now try time and a half, like a musical beat. You should get that easily from your family right?"

I nodded and did as he asked. I felt myself getting a little lighter.

"Alright, not bad. Now let's try to get you off the ground. Keep increasing the rhythm slowly until you feel yourself leave the ground."

I closed my eyes and beat my wings with a slow, strong rhythm. I could feel every feather of them faintly as the pegasus magic worked its way through my body. I felt lighter; freer than I ever had.

I opened my eyes; reveling in the feeling of flight. I was a foot or so off of the ground. It wasn't much of an accomplishment, but for a unicorn it was beyond doing the impossible. Sure we could conjure magical wings, but it wasn't the same feeling.

Long Shot smiled at me as I hovered in place, my face a canvas of pure joy.

"I really didn't expect you to get it this quickly Siggy."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Quickly? We've been at this all afternoon!"

"Okay, I didn't expect you to get this at all. Like I said, you aren't a pegasus. There are instincts you just don't have. Let's move on. Next you need to do the flight motion. It's kind of like rowing. You bring your wings up, move them forward, and bring them down while scooping the air."

I nodded and began the motion. I was doing so much at once that I started to feel overloaded mentally.

This is a lot harder than they make it look. I think I've got it though.

"I've got this. Let's move on to actually flying." I said, my brow furrowed in concentration.

He laughed. "Anxious huh? Alright, you need a feel for your wings and center of gravity. Try to use those to move and turn in the direction you want."

As the sun hung low in the sky I seemed to get the hang of it. I wore a joyous smile as Long Shot and I weaved and dove through the air. He pulled up next to me and motioned for me to slow down.

"Can you stand on clouds?" He asked.

"I think so. I mean I'm using pegasus magic so I don't see why not."

"There's something I want you to see then, follow me."

He took off towards cloud level. I followed closely behind until he slowed and landed on a cloud. I landed next to him, first testing the cloud for firmness gently with my hooves.

"So what's so great that you dragged me up here?" I cocked my head to the side quizzically.

He gave me a brief sidelong glance before pointing at the horizon. I turned to look. I pulled my goggles onto my forehead, ignoring the glare.

"Beautiful." I gasped.

The sun was setting behind Mount Canterlot with the city set into its side. The red and yellow hues shining off of the clouds and windows.

"Yes she is."

I snapped my head towards him. He was staring straight at me. A sweet smile graced his gentle features. There was a happy serenity to his expression. It wasn't the lusty look of a smitten pony. It was something else entirely.

I shrank in on myself, my ears drooped, and I began shifting nervously where I sat.

Oh no, Shotty. Please don't, I don't want to hurt you.

He must have noticed my reaction. He looked at me with sadness and disappointment in his eyes and turned his head to the sunset.

"I've got to say something Sigil. I might not get the chance later." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"You're the most incredible pony I've ever met. You defend your friends from bullying and harm without hesitation. You have a strong sense of right and wrong. You're so brilliant I feel like a candle before the sun when I'm with you. You try to let us in even though its obvious how much pain you're feeling. Most of all though, I'm never happier than when I'm with you."

Each word was like a twisting knife in my gut. Everything I wanted to hear and yet I couldn't give him what he wanted. My eyes stung from the tears.

Turn him down.

"I'm sorry." I was barely able to choke it out.

He gave me a sad, understanding smile. "It's alright, I can accept it if you don't feel the same."

I shook my head violently side to side. I could have just left it at that, but he deserved better.

"It's not that, Shotty."

Make him understand.

"I have to go away somewhere soon. I might not come back, and I can't let you throw away your life by following me into the dark that's waiting for me."

He'd come anyway.

He looked like he was about to say something. I stamped a hoof down on the cloud.

"Some ponies took something from me, something important that I can never get back. I'm not how you see me. I'm not brave, kind, beautiful or any of those things you might think."

Let me show him.

I looked over at him, my eyes harder than stone. "All they've left of me is a ghost of vengeance. I have nothing left I can give you Long Shot."

I continued, softer this time. "I'm sorry, you're so important to me... I never meant to hurt you."

I flew off and didn't look back. I could hear the soft sobs of my best friend as I pulled away. Each one tore at me inside. I knew if I stopped even for a moment I'd turn back and stay there forever.

The morning light peeked through the window of our room. I hadn't seen or heard from Long Shot in nearly a week. I sat on my bed, sniffling softly as I held a letter up to the light. Allie must've been awake despite my attempts to be quiet.

"Sigil? Are you crying again?" She looked at me with concern in her eyes.

"He's gone Allie. There's unrest to the north border. They deployed him to the northern training camp near Stalliongrad."

She sat down next to me and pulled me into a tight hug. "He'll be alright. He's just a recruit after all. They won't make him fight."

I felt a little better. Just a little. A few days before, I had gotten the news that he'd been accepted into the guard.

I didn't realize that was the last thing he'd wanted me to hear before he left. Did I do the right thing?

Of course you did. We can't protect him on the path we walk.

Allie's voice brought my thoughts back to me. "Now we've got to get you cleaned up. We're meeting Berry at the station and we need you in tip top shape for your audience with the princess!"

We stood before the edifice of the castle entrance. Its tall, white walls towered over us. Berry and Allie exchanged uneasy glances as the guards checked us over.

I can't really blame them. It really is rather intimidating.

The guards nodded and led us down a hallway. I had opted to use my wheelchair once more. I wanted to make an impression the nobles wouldn't soon forget. I checked that my cloak was in place and my mane was still in its tight bun.

All set.

We were led into the throne room. It was a massive place. Marble columns lined the sides, and a carpet led up to the throne, where the goddess sat. Noble ponies lined the sides of the room, sipping on tea and chattering about useless things.

Celestia turned her attention towards us as we bowed in respect. She stared straight at me. For a moment I thought I saw a glimmer of sadness and recognition behind her smiling regal mask.

What was that about?

"Hello my little ponies, please come forward and tell me about what you've made that you believe will help the unfortunate of Equestria."

I smiled slyly. "I'll do better than just tell you. Please allow me to demonstrate for you, your highness."

My horn glowed softly as I activated the spell to bind myself to the harness. The gems glowed briefly. I grunted with minor discomfort and pushed myself out of the chair. There was murmuring throughout the room.

"First, we have the harness. A set of braces and gemstones that absorb and channel ambient earth pony magic to allow the lame to walk again."

A unicorn dressed in finery shook his blonde mane to the side and said, "is that all? For all we know you could walk just fine on your own."

I smiled a fake saccharine smile at him and then directed my attention to the princess.

"Perhaps your highness will recall that I've been bound to this chair for several years? We've met not once, but twice before."

Her next words put the upstart noble in his place.

"I remember you Sigil Silverlight. I read a story to a set of young foals at the hospital where you were in attendance. The second time was just after your test to enter my school."

Good, she neglected to mention that was right after I'd fallen ten stories.

"I'd appreciate it if Sigil could continue uninterrupted Prince Blueblood."

"Thank you your highness. The second thing I have for you is this."

I threw my cloak off and spread my false wings wide. Several nobles spit out their tea in surprise, much to Berry's and Allie's amusement.

"I give to every pegasus who lost their freedom the return of their wings. Not a prosthetic to attach to what's left, but true wings for ponies who've had theirs amputated completely, or were born with a deformity."

Celestia smiled widely. It was gratifying to see a look of real joy break through that mask.

"These are certainly wonderful gifts for your fellow ponies Sigil. Is there something you would like in return?" Celestia asked.

"Well your highness, there is something. I wouldn't normally ask, but I need bits to finish my own personal project. Ten thousand to be exact."

The princess nodded to a purple pony to her side. "See to it that Sigil gets her reward for her work. Sigil, please leave your research notes with him."

Success. Now we can finish the project and begin our hunt in earnest.

We started on our way out of the castle, but were stopped by a guard near the entrance.

He placed a book bound in paper in my bags. "The princess wished for you to have this."

We left the castle grounds and began our walk into the city proper.

"So what do you girls want to do tonight? Club? Bar?" Berry not so subtly suggested.

"That sounds nice Berry. Do you mind if I catch up with you later? I have a couple of errands to run." I said to my friends.

We separated and agreed to meet at Club Equestria later that night.

Great. DJ P0N3 again.

I continued into the marketplace to a certain shopkeeper who could get what I needed.

"Ah! If it isn't my favorite customer!" The rotund earth pony said.

I laughed a little. "Forge, every customer is your favorite."

"'Tis not a lie then, no?" Forge laughed a hearty laugh. "What can I get for you?"

"You know what, Forge... Star metal and gemstones. Finer quality than before."

"It will be very expensive. Difficult to get. I will need prepayment. Five thousand." He raised and eyebrow and waved a hoof nonchalantly.

I placed a bag of bits on the counter. "Five thousand bits, and not a single one more. I'll be back for my merchandise in a week."

I stood outside the nightclub pondering whether I really felt like going in. The horrid "music" thumped away inside.

"Sigil! Over here!" I heard somepony call my name from the line by the bouncer.

I trotted over to stand in line with Allie and Berry.

"You girls realize I'll probably only dance for a few songs and then sit down and read for a while like I always do, right?"

Berry nudged me. "Yeah but it's better than you moping around your room all the time. We miss spending time out with you."

I mock frowned at her. "I most certainly don't mope."

We approached the bouncer. He looked Berry and Allie up and down and let them pass, then he stood in front of me.

"Sorry miss, we're full up."

Yeah right.

I looked passed him to my friends. "You girls have fun, I'll meet up with you tomorrow, somewhere quieter."

I turned and began the long walk back to the dorms. I could have flown but its hard to read and fly, and I had a book hoof picked by the princess to read.

I floated the book before me as I walked. It was a brown book, adorned in gold with the head of a dragon. The sight of it made me stumble. This dragon head had a lion's mane.

Shaking, I opened the book. I found most of the pages bound together by magic. I was only able to open the book to two pages. The first was a very old, very detailed map of the area south of Canterlot. Specifically the area surrounding the Everfree forest. My eyes lingered on the castle that stood within the forest boundaries and the large dead patch at the forest center. Then they came to rest on the town nearby.

Ponyville. Why does that town keep coming up?

I turned to the next page that wasn't stuck together. What was written was a poem.

"Two goddesses of the cycle

One is loved, the other spiteful

A nightmare cast to the stars by the abuse

Eternity corrupted from Harmony's misuse

A millennium hence will the sister return

Disrupting the sun's celebration of peace

An old king's desire will incite the fires to burn

Of the stars that conspire for the beloved's release."

I nearly dropped the book in shock. I ran a quick calculation in my head.

Nightmare Moon isn't a fairytale, and she's coming back in three years. I can only assume somewhere near Ponyville.

Old king and beloved. Where have I heard that before?

My mind raced to connect more of the dots in my head. I frowned with a dark realization.

You've got all the answers you need, now what are we going to do with them?

The book burned away in a green flame. The ashes flying towards the castle. I stared after them at the throne room's window.

"Celestia... What game are you playing at?"

I was still frowning, my mind racing, when I arrived at my room. I paced back and forth for an hour. Finally, I flopped down on my bed, exhausted from the frustration. Almost immediately I heard a knocking at my door. I ignored it.

Calm down. Just calm down. In a week I'll have the final piece I need.

Maybe I'll make just one more thing.

I whipped out my sketchbook and began to put my inspiration onto paper. I ignored the knocking again.

When I'm done, maybe you can protect yourself Shotty.

I put away the sketchbook and removed my harness.

Maybe you won't need me anymore.

I lay in bed, clutching a stuffed pegasus desperately to my chest. I clenched my teeth and my eyes in frustration.

"Why am I so weak?"

I heard the door's hinges squeak open. Soft hoofsteps approached my bed, and I felt the weight of a pony sitting down next to where I lay.

"Please Allie, I know I'm being a foal. I just need to be alone for a little longer."

I felt a hoof gently brushing away my tears. I heard the lilting sounds of a harp. No, it was a lyre. I felt a pair of forelegs wrap around me.

A familiar voice from my past called out to me. A voice I'd never thought I'd hear again. "Oh, Siggy. I'm so sorry you were alone for so long. I tried and tried to write you, but you never wrote back. I missed you so much."

"L-Lyra? How? Why?I-I thought you hated me." I was so flustered that I could barely put together a sentence.

Her ears drooped. "Yeah Siggy, its me. I hope you can forgive me someday. I made a terrible mistake when our parents died. I should've never let go of you. I regretted it almost immediately. Can you ever forgive me?"

My response was to crush myself further into her embrace.

"As for how, well, I think you need to see this Siggy. Honestly I'm jealous. I wish I had somepony that cared about me this much."

She opened a letter, passed it to me, and said, "I think you should read this yourself."

"Dear Lyra Heartstrings,

I hope this letter finds you in good health and spirits. You don't know me, but I know a little about you. You have a younger sister in Canterlot who needs you, badly. She feels so broken that nothing will ever be right again. I believe she's got a beautiful heart though. She's my best friend. She lights up my night. Most of all she's hurting bad and she needs you. I hope you can help. Please tell her I'll see her after my tour is over.

Long Shot"

Lyra smiled at me, still stroking my mane. I rested my head on her lap. As I drifted off to sleep, I mumbled.

"You win Shotty... Thank you."

Happy Birthday

Once Beyond the Gates

~Quill Scribe~

Chapter 7 - Happy Birthday

The next semester passed me by quickly. Lyra visited often, and I felt like things were getting back to normal. Unfortunately my life was never normal or quiet.

I was putting the finishing touches on my gift to Long Shot and getting ready for a final test on my amulet when I got the news. A mandatory assembly was to be. Held in the courtyard of the palace.

Nearly everypony in Canterlot was in attendance. There were murmurs among the crowd. Speculation as to what it was about. Fanfare from the stage silenced the crowd and Celestia stepped into view.

"My little ponies, it is with a heavy heart that I bring you bad tidings. Equestria is now at war. As you all know there has been unrest at the border for some time. Yesterday our fortress, Hammerfall, in the north was attacked by enemy troops. While the attack was repelled, the parliament has voted to grant me temporary wartime authority. Please take heart my loyal subjects. This will all be over soon."

Camera bulbs flashed and the murmuring returned with a vengeance. I made myself scarce, pushing my way to the outer edge of the crowd and beyond before they could work itself up into a frenzy.

I arrived at the building I had recently rented for use as a laboratory. The tests I needed to perform required more space and were far more dangerous than the previous ones. I was fortunate to have so many bits left over after I bought my materials.

I opened the heavy door to the reinforced experimentation room and went inside. The room was large. Metal plates were riveted to every surface of the room that was shared with the exterior.

This changes my timetable. Long Shot's gift and my amulet need testing now. It can't wait any longer.

I pushed a simple spell through my horn.

"Vocal dictation begin. Side project, Long Shot Rifle. Beginning phase one, examination."

I shouldered the device I had made for Long Shot. It was a long and sleek cylinder. The long barrel fed into a lightweight stock. The entire device was forged from star metal and steel, giving it strength without being too heavy. This also meant it could handle the ammunition I had made.

My hooves slid through the rings on its sides and slid them towards each other parallel to the stock to move a shell from the magazine into firing position. I faced the stone targets at the other end of the room. I bit down on the trigger arm that extended from the stock, the pressure activated the gemstone that was the heart of the device.

A soft whir and slight vibration of magical power gathered behind the shell. The muzzle glowed brightly and magical energy ripped outward from it. The shell launched away through the air, struck the target, and released its payload. A concussive blast of magical force picked up the target and flung it into the far wall. Had it been a pony they would have been completely incapacitated.

I flipped a switch on the rifle. The magazine of shells dropped out of the rifle and a secondary magazine slid into its place. I armed it, aimed at the second target, and bit the trigger arm again.

The shell rocketed forward and struck the second target. Rather than the force of the first shell, a burst of raw magical energy discharged in a cone into the target. The target vanished within the glow, bits of stone embedded themselves in the steel plates at the other end of the room.

Good. That's all done. Now for my project.

"List project status as successful. Advance to the next project."

I turned to a case against the wall next to an old thaumameter. I opened it and pulled out a silvery amulet. It was a simple affair, crafted of the purest star metal with six small gemstones set into it.

My masterpiece.

"Magic emulation project, Alicorn Amulet, stage three. Beginning phase two, augmentation."

I clasped its chain around my neck. My horn glowed as I removed the first seal. Familiar magic coursed through my ley lines as the pent up power slowly suffused into my body. The thaumameter jumped from my natural reading of three on the Starswirl scale up to a respectable six.

Not enough, that's just above average.

I released a second and a third seal. The unicorn magic burned through me. My horn blazed with silvery light. I watched the meter rise sharply.

Nine and three tenths with only three seals. Ten was the highest recorded, by Starswirl himself. I wonder how high this can go.

I released the fourth seal. My body burned from the inside out as the magic energy overflowed my ley lines. My horn shone brightly, crackling and sparking as the magic escaped in small bursts. The metal plating in the room groaned and buckled under the immense pressure. The needle on the meter hit ten, then pinned to the side. The machine let out a loud death squeal and lost power completely.

I lay panting for breath on the ground for close to a quarter hour. I couldn't move a single muscle. My heart rate slowed to nothing.

Just like last time. It seems my ley lines just can't handle anything over three seals. There's got to be a way around it. There's just got to be...

My thoughts faded and I felt the gate pull me through into the whiteness beyond.

I opened my eyes in the middle of a war zone. Smoking craters pockmarked a scorched field. A haze of ash and expended magic rose over the battlefield.

Cloaked unicorns and pegasi surrounded a small contingent of guardsponies while two in particular were throwing barrier and binding spells at a shadowy beast, one that I hadn't seen in a long time, and had hoped was gone for good. One of the two wore a familiar black amulet.

The guardsponies stood in a protective circle around me. One by one they fell to the cloaked ponies' dark magic.

My first instinct was to look for Long Shot. However, I wasn't even sure that I was getting these visions in any particular order anymore. I looked around anyway and mentally sighed in relief.

Good, he's not here.

All seemed to be lost for whoever these ponies were. There were only three guards left, and the two unicorns facing the beast seemed to have it chained down with magic and were casting an intricate spell. That's when I saw her.

The sun shone brightly in the sky, growing brighter by the second. A fiery sphere launched down from the sun as it reached its zenith and struck the ground among the cloaked ponies with the force of a meteor. The ponies not knocked to the ground by the blast of displaced air had to shield their eyes from the blaze.

Princess Celestia stepped out from the clearing smoke. Her regal mask was nonexistent, revealing a face born of a divine fury. Her horn glowed brightly and the cloaked ponies around us collapsed into a deep sleep.

While she made short work of the ponies surrounding us, the two unicorns finished the spell they had been weaving. One of them turned to Celestia and smiled darkly, his curved horn glinting in the sunlight. Both they and the beast sank into the ground, melding into the shadows. He laughed sinisterly as they vanished.

I felt the insistent pull of the gate once more. I was yanked forcefully through its open doors and back into my laboratory.

I shook my head to clear the cobwebs. The events played over in my mind.

Well that certainly can't be good.

I wish I had a point of reference for these gate dreams. Maybe I'd be able to make sense of them then.

"Hello, Equestria to Sigil."

An insistent voice dragged me out of my reverie. I looked across the table at Lyra and Allie. We were sitting in the little cafe next to Doughnut Joe's.

"Hmm? Sorry, I got lost for a little while there."

"I said, what do you want to do for your birthday? You didn't forget that it's today did you?" Allie asked.

"I guess I kinda did. There are really only two stops I need to make. Otherwise it's up to you girls." I smiled sheepishly.

I've really got a lot on my mind. I feel like this might be the last time I see them.

The two mares looked at each other and said, in unison, "Pinkie Party!"

I looked back and forth between them. They looked back at me with a pair of massive grins.

Why don't I like the sound of this?

"Girls, your maniacal grins make that sound really great and all, but maybe something small?"

"Oh come on Siggy, I want you to meet all my Ponyville friends!" Lyra gave me her best doe eyes and stuck out her bottom lip in a pout that could melt the largest glacier.

Oh she's good.

"Another time girls, really. The only ponies I need with me today are you two and Berry." I looked up at them, hesitating for a moment before I spoke again.

"I'd like it if you two came with me for my birthday ritual. We can wing it afterwards if you'd like."

Allie looked confused, but Lyra seemed to get what I was saying. She gave me a sweet smile.

"Of course we'll come Siggy. Lead the way."

We chatted as we walked. I told Lyra about everything I'd been thinking and feeling since I'd last seen her. She smiled at some points. Sometimes she would glance guiltily at me when I mentioned some hardship or other. Whenever she did I'd nuzzle her softly, to say everything was alright.

We met Berry at the train station. She and Lyra filled us in on the goings on of Ponyville. The danger of the Everfree, the diversity of the ponies that lived there, the strange striped witch that moved into the forest, and the odd habit of the townsfolk to burst into musical numbers as though they were all part of some stage production.

Maybe it's not such a backwater town. Sounds better than here anyway.

I stopped at the gated entrance of the Canterlot Cathedral grounds. I looked back at my companions.

"We're here." I said, my voice barely rising above a whisper.

The three looked at each other in comprehension. They followed me to a pair of headstones adorned with musical notes. The cutie marks of the ponies interred there. Lyra stepped forward next to me.

"They really loved you Siggy. You were such a light in our lives. I'm sorry I missed so much of yours."

I smiled sadly at Lyra, then sat down in front of the graves on the soft grass. I steeled myself for my yearly talk with them.

"Mom. Dad. I'm here again. I hope I can always come see you, but that might change soon. A lot has been happening lately... I can walk now. I wish you could have been here to see it. When I'm wearing the harness I can even feel my legs a little bit."

I stretched my legs out, so they could see. As though they were watching me from somewhere.

"I even made some good friends. I know I've talked about my roommate Allie before, but we've gotten close lately. She's so cheerful; always trying to make me happy when I'm feeling sad. There's my friend, Berry Punch. Sure she's kind of a lush but she's been a loyal friend."

I paused and smiled at the gravestones.

"Lyra and I started working things out recently, and I really have Shotty to thank for it. I mean my friend Long Shot. He's a guardspony. Well, a new recruit anyway. He's, well... he's great, one of the most giving ponies I've ever met."

I stood up, my eyes tearing up. I felt my friends and sister step in closer to comfort me.

"I guess this is goodbye. I don't know when I'll visit again, but if you can hear me I want you to know that I love you. I'll see you again soon."

I turned and walked away. We walked in silence for a while until we reached the road leading out of Canterlot. Berry looked at me in confusion.

"Sigil, are we going to Ponyville? This is the road that leads there."

I shook my head. "No, we won't be going quite that far."

A few hours later we arrived at the second destination of my yearly pilgrimage. A small clearing just off of the road. In it, a lone willow tree stood vigil over a small memorial.

"It's hard to believe its been seven years since you were taken from me mom. I've learned a lot since then. I'm not the same little filly that clung to your hip or dragged you on imaginary adventures. I've grown too. I'm fifteen now, almost a full grown pony, even though I feel grown up already."

My voice was getting raspy from the tightness in my chest.

"I built wings. I can fly now! Just like I always wanted to. Except you aren't here to enjoy it with me. It almost feels like you are though, when I'm up there in the clouds. Almost..."

I choked back a sob. I motioned for the girls to stay back, I needed to be alone this time.

"I know the truth now, that you weren't really my mom I mean. Or at least not the pony that foaled me. You'll always be my mommy to me though. You saved me from something terrible. And here I am, searching for those ponies anyway. I know you wouldn't want me to be like this but... Well... Here we are anyway."

I placed a hoof on the stone.

"Like I told the Heartstrings. I don't know when I'll be back. Things feel like they are coming to a head soon. I wish I could explain why... I love you mom. I always will."

I sat silent for a few minutes with my eyes closed. Lyra sat down next to me and nuzzled my cheek. I smiled faintly, and rested against her for moral support. After a few minutes she stood.

"It's going to be dark soon Siggy. We should get back."

I nodded in assent. We made our way down the slowly darkening road to the city. The atmosphere was somber, but I was glad to have shared an intimate moment with the ponies closest to me.

The girls were gabbing away about what to do that night as we trotted through the abnormally sparse downtown area. We hadn't noticed immediately, but the mood that hung over Canterlot had darkened significantly since we had left that morning.

There was talk of war in Equestria for the first time in any of our memories. Some ponies talked of joining the guard. Others merely worried about its possible economic effects.

My thoughts drifted to Long Shot. His training camp was right near the border. Not far from Fort Hammerfall, where the first real attack had been repelled.

Knock it off. He'll be just-

My train of thought was derailed rather spectacularly. I had walked past a newsstand at a coffee shop where a headline caught my eye. I stopped and opened to the proper section.

"High stakes museum heist. An early morning raid of the Equestrian Museum of History in Flankfurt has left the guard baffled. Only one exhibit was missing. When contacted for comment, museum officials confirmed that the Alicorn Amulet exhibit was the one in question. A janitor for the museum is quoted as saying that the culprits were 'as dark as the night itself'."

I was so lost in thought that I failed to notice we had stopped until I walked nose first into Allie's flank. Allie stumbled forward, her face beet red.

"Whoa there Sigil! You should at least take the lady to dinner first." Lyra snickered at my misfortune.

Same old Lyra. It's good to see some things don't change.

I smiled and blushed a little, looking around to take stock of our surroundings.

Lights flared and bass thumped inside the club. The stale smell of sweaty pony hung in the air outside every time that the doors opened. The four of us stood in line along the wall, waiting for the bouncer to let us in.

Really... Why do I keep coming back here?

Maybe you're a masochist?

"Sorry miss, we're full up tonight." The bouncer said to me, interrupting my thoughts.

Almost immediately afterwards, two expensively dressed mares strode right passed him and into the club. I frowned at him. I was about to say something disparaging about his lineage, but Allie preempted me.

"I don't know who you think you are buster, but I'm not going to let you ruin my friend's birthday like this!"

The bouncer gave her a look of mild annoyance. "I can't help it if it's a busy night miss."

He then allowed two more ponies into the club.

Lyra's face twisted into a grimace. "You are going to let us in, or so help me..."

She was interrupted by a loud, scratchy voice. "Lyra!? Lyra Heartstrings, over here!"

Oh no. I was hoping for at least one DJ P0N3-free experience at the club.

An off-white mare with a blue and white mane waved at us from across the street. She immediately veered toward us with a complete disregard for carriage traffic. Lyra looked at her, smiling her bright smile, and waved furiously.

Lyra turned her head towards Allie. "Problem solved."

The prodigal DJ sauntered up to Lyra. "Lyra, my pal! What's your fine flank doin' out here in line, and not in there with me?"

"And what an excellent flank it is," Lyra said suggestively, and wiggled her hips at the DJ. "I was hoping I'd run into you in Canterlot this weekend, Vinyl!"

Oh sweet Celestia there's two of them.

"As for why we aren't inside; this goon," Lyra looked pointedly at the bouncer, who was suddenly shifting very uncomfortably, "won't let my adorable little sister in. On her birthday no less!"

Vinyl sniffed and turned to the bouncer. "C'mon Roadhouse. These are my friends here. Where I go, they go."

We followed Vinyl past the visibly upset bouncer. As we walked through the doorway Allie childishly stuck her tongue out at him.

Vinyl led us to a set of couches in a roped off section of the club. There were still a lot of ponies there, but it wasn't as packed as the rest of the place. I plopped down on one of the couches.

"It should be a bit quieter here. We can actually hold a conversation," Vinyl said.

Her scratchy voice was far less energetic than earlier. I was startled when she removed her sunglasses. Not because of the blood-red color of her eyes, but because of how tired she looked. It was a face I was growing all too familiar with.

"We'll be right back. Drinks to be had, stallions to be harassed, et cetera." Berry said, as she practically dragged Allie and Lyra with her.

"In case you didn't catch it before, my name is Vinyl Scratch."

"I'm Sigil, and the others are Berry Punch and Allie Way."

"So, you're the adorable little sister Lyra won't clam up about huh?" She asked me with a slight smirk.

"Good things I hope?" I laughed nervously.

"Of course!" Vinyl waved a hoof dismissively.

We sat in uncomfortable almost-silence for a few minutes. The music thumping in the background.

"So how do you know Lyra?" I asked.

"Oh, I live in Ponyville when I'm not on tour performing. I know what you're thinking. That it'd be too quiet there for DJ P0N3 right? Believe me that town sure gets wild sometimes."

There was another awkward silence.

"Miss Scratch... I hope you don't mind me asking, but are you okay? You seem very different from what I expected."

She looked at me, but it was a distant look. Almost like she was a thousand miles away.

"Yeah I'm fine kid, just some stress. Though I guess everypony is a little stressed today, probably because of the war. Hasn't been one since the gryphons and minotaurs had it out a century ago. Nothing some bass beats and liquor won't cure though."

"You can say that again!" Lyra said as she sat down next to me.

Allie dropped onto the sofa on my other side. Her cheeks already a rosy pink. All three mares that had returned reeked of booze. I wrinkled my nose in discomfort.

"Lightweight." Berry scoffed.

Allie didn't hear her. Between the day's stress, drinks, and dancing she had succumbed to her exhaustion. She had slumped over, leaning up against me, nuzzling my mane like a pillow.

"You sure you want Long Shot, Siggy? 'Cause that mare is pretty adorable."

"Sorry to ruin your fantasy Lyra, but she's spoken for." I countered.

"Anyway, I think we should probably get back to the dorms. You and Berry can crash with us if you want. The last train to Ponyville probably left already."

We all said our goodbyes to Vinyl and made our way slowly out of the club and into the night. Being the physically strongest of the group, I was volunteered to carry the sleeping Allie.

We arrived back at the dorms at a little before midnight. I tidied up the room and got out the extra comforters and pillows for Berry and Lyra. Lyra grinned as I passed her a pillow.

Uh-oh. I know where this is going.

"Pillow fight!" Yelled Lyra as she struck Berry squarely in the snout.

Five minutes later our room looked like it had been home to a flock of white birds. Feathers were strewn everywhere. The final pillow flew from Berry's grip. it caught the sleeping Allie in the head, waking her abruptly.

After a few moments she said, "Hey, Sigil. What's this? I found it laying on my bed just now. Somepony must've laid me on top of it."

Allie floated a thick manila envelope over to me. It had my name written on it. I opened it eagerly.

Who would've sent me something? Maybe it was Shotty!

It was a letter, but it most certainly wasn't from Long Shot.

"Miss Silverlight,

Some time ago you asked me to locate a certain group of ponies. I write you today to tell you I've found them. They call themselves 'The Somber Loyalists'. They are holed up near the northern border and are massing together for another assault on the nearby guard encampment and fort. I don't know why you wanted this. Really, I don't wanna know. I may have a dirty job, but that doesn't mean I like to see little fillies get hurt. Just be careful kid.

Grim."

Oh no! Long Shot!

We know where they are now. Just let me out. I can help you.

I stood there shaking. My mind was racing a million miles a minute and then went blank, coming to a screeching halt. The seconds turned into minutes. I dropped the letter dropped to the floor. As I stared blankly out the window, a lunatic grin slowly creeped across my face.

Happy birthday to me.

The trio looked at me with concern in their eyes. Lyra spoke up first.

"Sigil, what's going on? Are you-"

I began laughing. It was a mirthful sound at first. It quickly became something else entirely. I was laughing like a pony possessed. It was a dark and sinister sound only matched by the snarling smile that graced my lips and my wide, wild eyes.

"We've finally found you," I muttered.

I flared my wings aggressively. The girls all took a few steps away from me. I scooped up the rifle I built for Long Shot and strapped it to my saddlebags. I looked at my friends and sister.

"I love you all. I'm sorry."

I released three seals on my harness, wings, and amulet all at once. The magic traced its way through the three sets of ley lines that make up a pony's magical center. Wind began to kick up in the room. I flared my wings and shot forward through the window, raining glass and masonry into the streets below.

My wild smile widened as I tore through the air at cloud level like a bolt of lightning, streaking to the north.

Prepare yourselves Somber Loyalists. The Pale Pony comes to collect our due.

Failure

Once Beyond the Gates

~Quill Scribe~

Chapter 9 - Failure

I really have the worst luck.

A deafening roar shook the very ground we stood on as the shield rang out for the second time. Cracks began to run along its surface. Long Shot whirled around wordlessly and took flight towards the fortress battlements. I followed closely next to him.

We landed on the battlements among the other guards. Everypony stood in a shocked silence, staring at the beast before us.

The dragon was massive; easily large enough to eat a pony in a bite or two. Its scales were chipped and scuffed. It's wings tattered and useless. We could nearly see its ribs through its scales. The most striking feature was its hollow, milky eyes.

"What in Equestria happened to it?" Somepony to my left gasped.

It's feral.

Now, dragons are well known to be a sentient species. Most are quite intelligent. Their lifespans grant them untold amounts of time to acquire knowledge. This one in particular however, had no sign of thought behind its dull eyes. Whatever had tortured it had taken away all of its free will.

I reluctantly turned away from Long Shot and looked around the fort. Ponies were scattering towards their battle stations. Unicorns began reinforcing the shield, pegasi and earth ponies were arming the ballistas. The dragon struck the barrier again with its massive clawed fists. Its roar of frustration shook the buildings inside the fort's walls.

"Long Shot, get the girls out of here; as far away as you can." I said evenly, my eyes locked onto the feral dragon.

"What about you?" He said, face etched with worry.

"That shield won't hold for long. I've got to do something. Once I engage the dragon I'll be able to buy you about twenty minutes at the most."

I turned to him and pulled him into a tight embrace.

"Stay safe. Now go!" I shouted as I pushed him away and launched myself towards the tower.

I scanned the tower for a few moments until I spotted my target. I landed in between Barricade and Shining Armor.

"Civilian! I thought I told that guard to put you and your friends in the barracks." Barricade growled in annoyance.

I waved my hoof dismissively. "Please, like you would waste guards on us during a battle. I just walked right out. Now be quiet and listen. We all know that shield won't hold much longer. You need to evacuate. Have the unicorns pour more magic into the shield and give the order. I'll buy you time."

"And how do you propose to do that civy? You weren't exactly graceful under pressure out there." Barricade countered.

"Simple. I've been holding something back... You have twenty minutes."

I took off towards the apex of the dome. My horn shone brightly as I brought a spell circle to mind. The barrier rippled as I passed through it; the hairs of my coat stood on end. I swerved through the air towards the massive reptile.

The dragon roared fiercely as it struck the barrier again. The force of its roar gave me pause. Unfortunately, it was just enough pause to let the dragon notice me. Its gaze fixed on me and it opened its massive jaws; an orange glow rose from deep within its throat.

Now you fool!

I pushed the spell circle in my mind into my horn, following it with as much magical power as I could muster. My horn glowed in anticipation of the spells release; a bright silvery halo of light surrounded the tip.

Fire erupted from the dragon's maw, roiling as it blew through the air. It had barely passed its teeth when I released the hold on my spell.

Silver light lanced through the air between my horn and the dragon's mouth. The beam of telekinetic force blasted away the flames and struck the dragon squarely in its cheek. It splashed against the dragon's scales, knocking a few loose, but having no other noticeable effect. The dragon roared and loosed another gout of flame at me. I barely threw up my barrier in time.

Stupid! How could I forget dragons are resistant to magic!

I swerved away from the beast, just in time for me to see its massive clawed hand sweeping towards me. It impacted my already strained shield, shattering it utterly. In the precious milliseconds before impact I released the next set of seals on my harness. I grimaced in pain. My body felt as though my veins carried lava instead of blood from the magic of the three races traced its way through me.

That's seal four. Ten minutes left now.

I was mercilessly slapped into the ground by the multi-ton reptile; its hand pressing me into the loose, wet earth. I grunted in pain as the air was knocked out of me. I felt something crack and it became difficult to breathe.

"Sigil! No!" I heard somepony scream.

Long Shot... I told you to get out of there!

You know how much he cares about you. Did you really think he'd listen?

The dragon took its weight off of me. I could feel the ground shake as it lumbered back towards the fort. There was a loud whine of something speeding through the air. Suddenly, a bright flash lit up its right wing at the joint. It reared back, roaring in pain, its already damaged wing hanging at an odd angle.

I projected my voice across the battlefield. "Long Shot! Get your feathery flank out of here!"

He looked at me in wide-eyed disbelief before diving off of the battlement and back into the fort.

Alright, at least projectiles have some effect. Maybe if I...

I sat up and glanced around the battlefield. I spotted some debris from the fallen siege ladders and hefted three broken metal poles with my magic. I called a spell into my mind and launched myself into the air towards the dragon.

"I'm not through with you yet, you overgrown iguana!"

The dragon turned to me just as I finished my spell. The three makeshift javelins soared through the air like lightning, driven by the force of my enhanced magic. One missed entirely. The other two found homes lodged in the base of its left wing and the hinge of its jaw respectively.

I smirked, allowing myself a split second to gloat, just before its tail swept into me. I was sent reeling into Shining Armor's barrier and another rib crack upon impact. I barely felt it at this point. The adrenaline and earth pony magic that coursed through me increased my durability and deadened the pain.

We need a plan... At your strength magic won't do much, and our body won't last long. We can't keep this up forever.

I looked feverishly around for a idea while desperately weaving around the dragon's flames and physical blows. My flagging stamina finally caught up with me, and I was launched skyward by the beasts flailing tail.

I whipped wildly towards the abnormally low level storm clouds over the battlefield. Lightning flashed and crackled among them, arcing downwards to strike the shield around the fort.

I need lots of power to take this thing out... That's it!

I hid among the cloud-cover as I scanned through my memories of the spell books at the school's library. This was one of the times I was grateful for my memory. There was no single spell I could call on to do the job, but I did find pieces of three that would do the job if used in concert.

My horn glowed softly as a small spherical shield popped into existence nearby. The charged clouds nearby immediately began discharging their lightning at it, the magic acting as a lightning rod.

The glow from my horn increased in intensity. The shield sphere became etched with two spell circles. The lightning rained down into it, dissipating into the outer circle. Each time it did so the inner circle glowed, releasing a small glow inside the shield. I ran through a list in my head.

Shield sphere... Check.

Kinetic energy siphon... Check.

Potential energy conversion seal... Close enough.

I tucked and weaved around the battlefield, avoiding the dragon's attempts to catch, squash, or burn me. The self-perpetuating sphere trailed above me in the clouds, gathering the energy of the storm, shining brighter and brighter. My skull pounded and my body ached from the amount of magic I was pumping through my horn and ley lines.

Eight minutes... Make this quick...

I did a quick flyover of the fort. The shield fell as I watched Barricade carrying the last unicorn away towards Stalliongrad.

The dragon vented its frustrations on the abandoned fort, bursting through walls and toppling the central tower. The wind whipped around me as I dove towards the massive reptile. I came to a hovering stop a hundred meters above its head and heaved the crackling sphere down towards it, grunting with the effort.

It's time I put you out of your misery, you poor creature.

The dragon roared, breathing another gout of flames towards me. I was too far away, the flames dissipated before they could reach me. I poured as much magic as I could muster into a barrier around myself, my horn sparking and sputtering, as the sphere hit the ground at the dragon's feet.

Light flared as soon as it hit the ground. The spells that made it up failed, releasing a spectacular burst of energy. An ever growing, swirling sphere of light and force expanded from it, quickly enveloping the fort. The dragon roared in anguish as its scales were blown off and its flesh burned away.

I didn't have time to mourn for the unfortunate creature. My shield was buffeted by a wall of displaced air and debris before being impacted by the torrent of energy. I was fully enveloped by it. My shield began to chip and crack as I lost control and plummeted towards the ground.

After several seconds the sphere contracted and disappeared, revealing a crater where the fort once stood. When I hit the ground my shield failed. I lay there among the falling debris for several moments; my body smoking and my skull aching.

The sounds of a pony's hoofsteps drew my attention as I stood. A midnight blue unicorn walked calmly towards me, a black pendant jangling around her neck.

The Alicorn Amulet!

"I don't believe it. You actually managed to take out my dear little pet?! I'll make you suffer for your insolence before I hand you over to my lord."

Three minutes.

I stood shakily before her, my horn sparking as I tried to gather my strength into it. She laughed as I struggled and slapped me to the ground with a telekinetic blast of red magic.

"What's the matter little mare? All out of juice? Here, have some of mine!" She sneered.

A beam of force projected out of her horn and sent me skidding along the ground. I cried out as I felt it sear into my side and shatter a third rib. She laughed as she walked towards me again.

"So weak! I'll never understand why our lord values you so much. I should've been the one to receive his gift! Me!"

She manifested her frustration in the form of a miniature tornado. It lifted me up and tossed me to the ground in front of her. I groaned as the impact shook my aching head.

"Why... Won't... You... Just... Die!?"

With every word she slammed me into the ground with a telekinetic hammer.

One minute.

I released the fifth seal on my harness. My throat rubbed raw from the scream that escaped my lips as the magic strained my ley lines to their limits. I stood, the earth pony magic pushing the pain from my body. Silvery sparks poured out of my horn. My skull felt as though it would split straight down the middle.

"There's a major difference between you and I. Two actually." I spoke with an impassive tone.

"How are you-?" She appeared startled by my sudden resurgence.

My wings flared and I surged forward through her magic. She attempted to put up a barrier, but I smashed my way through it. I landed on top of her, pushing her to the ground.

"See, I've got more than just simple unicorn magic. I memorized every spell I've come across. That includes the ones they don't want the general populace to see!"

Thirty seconds! Stop gloating and finish her!

I forced a spell through my aching horn. A beam of force, silver light and waves of sound struck the pinned unicorn squarely in the face. She screamed in agony as the magic washed over her. Her horn snapped in half from the impact of the spell.

My balance wavered. I tipped over onto my side, my stamina spent. I could feel the faint pull of the gate at the edges of my consciousness.

"What did you do to me!? Why can't I see!? Why can't I hear!?" She panicked and flailed around helplessly.

"Useless foal..."

I didn't see the ashen gray unicorn approach until I was already held down by his dark purple magic. I heard a pained scream that was cut short as he projected a dark blast from his wickedly curved horn. The unicorn with the amulet dropped lifelessly to the ground.

He turned his attention down to me. His red and green eyes glowing with menace. A darkness, the same color as his magic, streamed out of the corners of them like smoke.

"Why hello subject forty two. So good of you to come home. Shall we get... Reacquainted?" He growled, wearing a menacing smile.

The darkness closed in on me as he lifted my broken body into the air and carried me off.

As my consciousness returned, I partially opened my eyes to darkness and the gentle hum of machinery. I gave them a moment to adjust before opening them fully, taking stock of my surroundings.

I was outside in a courtyard of some kind. Those loyalist ponies were everywhere. They had me hooked up to several machines. Three appeared to be variations of thaumameters. While I couldn't quite place the last one, it appeared rather menacing, shadowy crystals dotted its surface.

"Is the subject secured?" A unicorn sitting at a control panel asked.

A pegasus walked over to the glass tube I sat in and stared at me for a few moments.

"Yes sir, the horn limiter is in place and all the siphons are connected securely."

"Good. Now we just wait for his lordship and the anomaly to arrive. Get the others and prepare the other chamber." The unicorn stated, looking back over the glowing crystals of the control panel.

I struggled for a few minutes, but learned quickly. That that earned me a stunning spell. After an hour or two, I couldn't be sure exactly, several battered unicorns entered the room with a platform. On the platform lay something I'd only seen in my visions.

I was really hoping it was my imagination, or a metaphor for something.

The beast lay on the platform, chained down and muzzled by shadows. It looked around the room warily until its eyes fell upon me. From that moment onward its eyes were locked on mine, never looking away.

Several of the unicorns lowered a glass chamber over it, one very similar to mine, and began connecting it to the unidentifiable apparatus.

Just then the ashen gray unicorn walked into the room. He surveyed the scene and smiled an unsettling smile.

"Are the preparations complete?" He asked in his gravelly voice.

"Yes my lord. We are ready to begin harvesting on your signal." A pegasus answered.

"Excellent." He turned his attention to me.

"So, subject forty two, I'm very glad you could join us. We used a lot of our resources on you. It would be a shame for our preparations to have gone to waste."

I glared at him. "Who are you ponies? What is your 'Somber Loyalist' group going to do to me?"

He laughed. It may have been mirthful, but it still sent shivers down my spine. I began trying to find a weakness in my prison, but my magic just wouldn't manifest outside of myself.

"Oh my dear subject forty two, that's what they've been calling us? I suppose I'm not surprised they've forgotten me, it has been over a thousand years after all. No, our group has no name. You will, however, address me properly."

He glowered in my direction, snarling at me with a powerful face of domination and shouted, "I am your lord and master now, you pitiful slave! King Sombra!" He emphasized his words with a shock spell that sent my head spinning.

"King Somberly?" I smirked defiantly.

He snarled and blasted me again. The hairs of my coat stood on end as the energy washed over me.

"King Songbird?"

Another blast struck me. I felt my consciousness slip for a moment.

"King Sombrero?"

I laughed as he roared in frustration. The fourth shock from his magic stripped away the last shreds of consciousness from me.

My head pounded like a minotaur was dancing a jig on my horn. I groaned in pain and opened my eyes.

"Ah good, the insolent slave is awake again. Good news! I have some gifts for you!" King Sombra sneered.

I sure don't like the sound of that.

"First, you get to witness the birth of a new god! You see, I had originally planned on making you my vessel. Oh how the best laid plans change though. I had no idea that awakening your connection to the gate would release such a... Destructive creature." He gestured towards the chained beast.

"He's been somewhat of a nuisance, drawing attention where I'd rather not have it. Destroying villages, aggravating the dragons and gryphons. Oh imagine how happy they will be after I've ascended to the throne and show them how I've eliminated 'Celestia's secret weapon'."

I raised an eyebrow at him incredulously at his mention of the princess.

He narrowed his eyes at me. "Don't give me that look. You have no idea what your dear princess is capable of. I'd say you should ask her yourself, if I expected you to survive what I have in store for you."

King Sombra stepped into a spell circle on the floor at the center of all the equipment. He steadied himself as a glass tube was lowered over him.

"Begin the transfer process."

The unicorn at the control panel nodded dutifully and began projecting raw magic into the crystals on the device. The thaumameters came to life and the large crystals on the unidentifiable device began to glow with a dark purple light.

Sombra's form began to twist and warp, shadows streamed off of him and into the air in the tube. As the shadows pulled away from his body they revealed the pony he had been possessing. The gaunt, broken creature lay on the cold stone, breathing faintly.

The shadows were carried off by the tubes connecting it to the unidentified machine. Moments later they were shunted into the prison containing the beast. It roared in anger as the shadowy smoke seeped into its eyes and ears, between every scale, through every pore and follicle.

Just as quickly as it began, it was over. The machinery stood silent, the ponies held their breaths in anticipation.

The creature's body spasmed. Scales and blood burst off of its forehead as a wickedly curved unicorn horn burst forth. Blood red pupils swirled into being in its eyes, while the whites became a sickly green that exuded dark purple magic. It's scales lightened in color to an ashen grey, while its mane remained a dull coal. It got easily to its feet.

"Behold, my ponies, your new deity! Sombra, the God King!" His growling voice was enhanced to a near deafening level.

"And now, my dear subject forty two, we begin the next phase of my plan." He nodded to the unicorn at the control panel again. I felt something tug at me, at my magic, pulling it away from me bit by bit."

"Once we have enough, begin the ceremony. I don't want to wait to see my beloved once more."

The needles on the thaumameters rose higher and higher as my magic was siphoned away. The crystals on the device began to glow with a silvery light. I began to feel very weak, like a great weight had been placed on my back.

As he was leaving the room, Sombra motioned to a pony at the door and turned to me. "How could I forget your second gift! How thoughtless, you must forgive me. As you can see, I'm not myself at the moment."

The pony left and re-entered a moment later, gingerly carrying a white satin cloth. As he got closer I could see that it was stained with splotchy red patches. The pony looked away, as though she was going to be sick, and unfolded the cloth.

"I do hope you like them. After your little coltfriend came to your rescue I had to... Educate him on the finer points of being a good subject. Sadly not all ponies are hearty enough to survive the process. So I thought you might like something to remember him by!" Sombra laughed sinisterly as he exited the room.

No... Please, Celesita no.

I looked down at the blood stained cloth laid out before me. I felt sick. My heart shattered in my chest. My hooves and horn scraped against my glass prison, desperately trying to reach what lay on top of the unfolded cloth.

"Please just let me see him! Just once more!" I screamed.

Those beautiful maroon wings, severed from the pony they belonged to. The wonderful pony who had breached my defenses so utterly and stolen my heart.

Hot tears poured down my cheeks as I screamed out my pain and rage. My throat ran raw, flecks of blood staining the glass wall of my prison. I felt something yank hard on my consciousness, drawing my mind through a white void.

There isn't much time left. Come to me. Set me free.

Affliction of Self

Once Beyond the Gates

~Quill Scribe~

Chapter 10 - Affliction of Self

My eyes opened to a most unexpected sight. Wherever I was, there were rows upon rows of shelves filled to the brim with books. I blinked several times, shaking my head to make sure I wasn't dreaming.

I approached the closest shelf hesitantly, and pulled a book off of it. At least I tried to, but no magic came out. I frowned and tried again to no avail. I could barely even feel the magic that was normally inside the reservoir that every unicorn had.

I decided to cut out the middle-mare and simply pulled a book out with a hoof. There was no title on its faded binding. I opened it and gasped. It was full of pictures of my foalhood, as though somepony had taken a camera and somehow replaced my eyes with it. I slammed the book closed; startled at what I saw. I paused a moment to acknowledge it, and I moved on to the next shelf.

The books still had no titles, but the shelves began to show sets of numbers, almost like dates. I pulled down a book from a shelf that corresponded to my sixth birthday. Inside were pictures of a cake, foals with party hats, and Mocha sitting next to my bed, storybook in hoof.

This is just too bizarre. Wasn't I just captured by Sombra?

I looked out at the seemingly endless rows of shelves. A thick layer of dust lay over everything in view.

If I'm inside my own head, I've got some serious spring cleaning to do.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw a blur of maroon and deep purple. I whipped around and trotted quickly to the corner it rounded. Nearby I heard a door slam closed.

I came upon the oaken door next to the set of shelves I had picked the book from. Emblazoned on it was a cutie mark, a single coffee bean. I pushed the door open and peered inside.

There was a certain familiar comfort about the room I looked into. A bed, small enough for a young filly. Empty bookshelves, their books scattered about on a desk by the window, lined the far wall. Wonderbolts posters hung from the walls on practically every free section. It was all very dusty from disuse.

This was my room in Manehattan.

I walked inside and sat down at the desk. Staring at the books scattered about on it. These actually had titles, though none I'd ever heard of before. The one titled 'First Hearthswarming' had pictures of Mocha and I opening presents together and building snow ponies. The next one, 'Flight', had logs and pictures of every time we took to the skies.

This room is completely dedicated to my best memories of me and my mom. If I wasn't certain I'm in my own mind before, I sure am now.

Either that or I've got a stalker with a sick sense of humor and timing.

The sound of hoofsteps on the wooden floor dragged me out of my reverie. Walking out of the room, I saw a brief splash of purple against the constant brown of the shelves and books.

I continued to wander the stacks of this strange place, following the brief glimpses of brown and purple, occasionally picking up a book to see what memories it held. I soon discovered the books themselves had numbers printed on their bindings, seemingly like a time. As I walked, they became less old and ragged.

I heard another door slam, snapping me out of my observations. I came upon another doorway, this one with a pair of music notes on it.

Arpeggio and Claire...

I peeked inside. It was the den of our home in Canterlot, before it was burned down. I smiled sadly, the memories welling up inside me. Inside sat a well worn piano, the same one Arpeggio played for Lyra and I many nights.

Wherever this place is, there's certainly a peace about it.

I passed many more shelves and doors. One with a trio of Art Deco stars for Allie Way, one with a cluster of berries for, well... Berry Punch. I stopped at the next one. It was adorned with a golden lyre. I gently pushed the door open.

Inside was total chaos. Or, as we called it in the Heartstrings family, Lyra's bedroom. Only, rather than being full of Lyra's things, every surface had a picture laying on it. Ones of us studying together. Ones of the fashion show she had dragged me to. Still others of the four of us sharing a moment together as a family.

Things were so simple then.

My eyes were drawn to the far wall of the room. Hanging on it was a large framed picture. In it, I was curled up around a stuffed pegasus in my dorm bed, Lyra sitting by my side wiping away my tears.

That's where I finally realized how much you mean to me, Long Shot...

The light sounds of hoofsteps and wings fluttering broke my reverie.

Wait... Long Shot!

My thoughts came to a grinding halt. I charged out of the room as quickly as I could, nearly tripping over myself as I did. I barreled down the rows of shelves, knocking books off of them in my careless charge. I skidded to a halt in front of another door. This one emblazoned with a shot glass with a red crosshairs etched into it.

With a shaky hoof I opened the door. It let out onto a cloud in the open sky. In the distance I could see Canterlot, the sun perpetually setting behind it. Looking around, the clouds reenacted scenes that I held close to my heart.

The day he won me that little stuffed pegasus that reminded me so much of my mother. Next was Long Shot cradling me in his hooves right after I had saved Allie and Berry. Then there was the scene right where I sat now, when I left my best friend sitting on a cloud, heartbroken. I closed my eyes, my heart ached in my chest.

I tried to fix things Shotty, I really did. I let you down again, and now I'll never get to make it up to you.

I felt a small shift in weight as the clouds at my hooves moved slightly. I opened my eyes and looked down. Just within my reach was a pegasus doll. It's maroon felt body and dark purple string hair pulled at my heart. Sewn onto a tag were six words.

'I'll always be there for you.' Just look where caring for me got you.

Maybe I'll see you again on the other side... Sooner rather than later. Maybe then I can tell you...

I curled up in a tight ball, clutched the memento to my chest, and buried my face in it.

Cast it all to Tartarus... it even smells like him!

That's when the tears came. My shoulders heaved as I wailed away my sorrow. I know that some ponies say eventually you run out of tears and just can't cry anymore. Those ponies are dirty liars.

I could just stay here... Forever...

My eyelids grew heavy. I was so tired from the stress of pain and heartache. I finally fell asleep, tears still leaking from my eyes before I sank into blackness.

"It's time to wake up Sigil."

I opened my eyes and found myself laying on the wooden floor at the center of the shelves once more. I groaned and sat up.

"Who said that?" I searched around me but found nopony there.

"Sigil, you have to hurry. I've bought you as much time as I can."

The voice sounded familiar to me. I could almost place the speaker, like it was a voice I'd heard all my life.

"Hurry to do what? Bought time for what?" I asked the open air.

"The darkness is upon us. Find me and set me free before it consumes you."

Alright, this is going way beyond creepy.

I searched around for several minutes, but everything seemed to be the same as before. That is, until the candles that lit the rows of shelves began snuffing themselves out.

Menacing shadows began to creep along the floor, around the bookshelves, and down the walls. Inching steadily towards me. I desperately tried to cast a light spell to banish the darkness, but my horn produced nothing.

"Hurry, this way!" The disembodied voice said; candles along the rows of shelves began to relight.

I whirled towards them and ran as fast as I could, trying to stay within the relative safety of the light. The shadows were persistent though, following me around corners, always just one misstep from overtaking me.

I began to pass the memory rooms once again. I took a chance and dove through into Mocha's room, slamming the door closed behind me. Just as the door shut, something big slammed into it. There was a wretched shrieking as the door was jarred by multiple impacts, then all was quiet.

"Why hello, subject forty-two. Won't you let me in? This is what you were made for, after all." A deep voice said from the other side of the door.

I peered through the crack where the door met the doorjamb. The darkness had coalesced into a midnight blue unicorn, its sickly yellow eye peered back at me.

"Peekaboo." It laughed menacingly.

I tumbled backwards in surprise, tail over head, into the desk by the window.

"W-what do you want from me?"

"Well my dear, we just want what's ours of course. Now, you just come out of there and let me get this over with."

"To Tartarus with that. Why would I do something so foolish?" I spat.

"Because if you don't, I'm going to start rooting through your memories and destroying them. Bit by bit, until you are nothing but an empty husk. Then I'll just take what I came for while you drool in the corner."

My blood ran cold. I sat in still silence for several minutes.

Can it really do that?

"Very well then, I think I'll start with your foalhood."

I heard the sound of the shadow unicorn shuffling off towards the shelves. I peeked my head out the doorway and watched it settle down and pull out a book.

Now is my chance. Those are all from before mom took me away from Sombra. I don't care about them.

I turned down the rows of shelves and took off at a full gallop. My hooves carried me onward for several moments before I heard the rushing of displaced air behind me. I looked back and saw the pony had dissolved into shadow again and was pursuing me.

What is it that it wants from me? I don't understand!

I began jumping into shelves to my left and right as I ran, toppling books off of them and onto the ever approaching semi-solid shadows to slow them. I had gained a little ground when I noticed the shadowy menace was no longer behind me. I slowed and came to a stop in front of a set of iron doors with the ouroboros engraved on them, my own cutie mark.

"Quickly, go in! Keep moving!" The disembodied voice spoke again, its voice laced with worry.

Ignoring the part of me that screamed for me to run, I pushed the doors open and stepped inside. I stopped dead in my tracks. Before me stood the cursed archway that kept dragging me back into the world of the living. I felt a tendril of cold worming its way into me.

"You should have listened little mare." The shadow stallion said from behind me.

I tried to pull away, but I suddenly felt very weak. Like I had run a full marathon and dead-lifted a mountain with my magic. Silver tendrils began to leak from my body, drawn out by the living shadows.

I've got to move.

"That's it, just accept it. There's no getting away now." He said as he drew closer.

I tensed, saving what little energy I had left. Once I felt him close enough, I bucked my legs back. There was a satisfying thump as I connected. I dove, using the buck to propel myself towards the gate. My hoof touched the gate's doors just as the shadows slammed me into the ground.

"That's much better." The voice said.

The doors swung wide open revealing a blinding whiteness. A pair of ice blue, hourglass eyes stared down at me... My eyes... In that moment I knew why I couldn't place the voice; it was one that I'd seldom heard from an outside perspective.

The "other me" stood firmly before me, a smirk graced her lips. Her horn glowed with a mighty silver light that cast the shadow unicorn out of the doorway and into the wall beyond.

"Come on Sigil, we need to get there before he does." She commanded, lifting me to my hooves.

We barreled out the door and through the stacks, the light from her horn guiding the way.

"Get where? Who are you!?" I called out to her.

"Time for that later! Just run!" She exclaimed breathlessly.

We had barely gotten ten meters when the shadow unicorn was behind me again, reaching out for me. I jumped, tucked my legs to my body, and barreled through a shelf to the other side. He raged and began climbing through after me, but I was already putting on a burst of speed to escape.

I spotted a hallway coming up on my left, the ghostly glow of the "other me" lighting my way to it. Desperate to get away, I charged down it, following my doppelgänger guide. My heart pounded in my chest, I heaved for breath as we poured on more speed.

The wood of the floor and walls blurred around me. I rounded a corner and spotted a set of double doors at the end of the hallway emblazoned with the mark of the sun goddess. With no time to spare, we burst through, slamming the doors shut behind us.

I lay breathless for several minutes, my chest heaving from all the exertion. After a few moments the doors to the room shuddered from an impact.

"Come on Sigil. We don't have a lot of time." My double nudged me to my hooves.

The room itself seemed to be made of some kind of marble, almost like Canterlot Castle. The ceiling, like the rest of the room, was solid marble. It was held up by eight marble columns, each imbedded with an expertly hewn crystal. It was in stark contrast to the rest of the rooms that made up what seemed to be the inside of my mind.

Finally my eyes came to rest on the centerpiece of the room. A large octagonal hourglass rested on a short pedestal, the glass accentuated by writhing dark magic. Each of its sides was etched with a spell circle.

It was the contents that took my breath away. Inside was a swirling mass of what could only be described as sunlight. The darkness seemed to be pulling the golden light into itself in thin strands.

"Sigil, you've got to hurry. We need to get through the door on the other side of this room before the sentry-"

The writhing dark magic seemed to take on a life of its own. It coiled like a serpent and lashed around like a cracking whip, sailing through the air mere inches above our heads.

"Too late! Take cover!"

What in Equestria is-

My thoughts were interrupted when a beam of icy darkness projected out from the darkness encompassing the hourglass towards me. I dove to my left, barely escaping the deathly cold magic, hiding myself behind a marble column. "Other me" dove to the right and did the same.

"Give yourself up, subject forty two. Mine is a magic older and darker than you could comprehend." A deep, gravelly voice called out from the darkness swirling around the hourglass.

Sombra!?

"Isn't this all in my mind? What is he doing here?" I shouted over the sizzle of magical blasts.

"Yes it is, and that's not him. It's the guardian. We've got to find a way around it." My doppelgänger ducked her head back behind the pillar; just barely in time to avoid another blast.

Dark energy surged between the pillars, splintering the room's double doors. The shadows spilled through the opening, coalescing into a shadowy unicorn. He was on me in seconds, pinning me to the ground. My stamina was drawn away from me by his cold magic in streams of silver.

"Sigil! Fight it!" My doppelgänger shouted as she left the relative safety of her hiding place.

A tendril of the guardian's dark magic lashed out, grasping at her and lifting her into the air.

"Submit, subject forty two. You have no recourse. Just let me take everything that you are so you can be with your coltfriend again." The shadow unicorn's voice purred in my ear.

Maybe that would be best. At least this would all be over.

"Sigil! What about your friends? What about Lyra!"

Images of a distraught mint green unicorn flitted through my mind. Her life wasted desperately searching for me. A world where Sombra ruled over the night and day, enslaving the ponies I loved.

I turned my head just enough to look my doppelgänger in the eyes. She gazed back with an emotionless stare.

"I've been your protector ever since you first called out to me. You asked who I am. I am a construct, you made me to face what you can't. I am you. I am the Pale Pony. Let me be your armor one more time."

Visions of events past flashed before me. The fall that took my mother from me, the fire that stole my family, and the realization that I'd never see Long Shot again. Tears streamed down my doppelgänger's face. I felt my emotional attachment fade away into her.

"Remember."

My ears perked at the familiar voice.

My friends... No, my family is counting on me.

The streams of magic reversed direction, flowing back into me. My horn glowed a bright silver, my strength having returned. I stood and turned in the shadow's dark magic.

This is my mind, my memories rest here, so does my place of power.

The crystals on the pillars glowed brightly. Each projecting a magical circle into the air in front of them. One by one the circles pulsed silver and became dark.

"You made a serious error in coming here. This is my mind. I control what happens here." I stated evenly.

Fear swept across the shadowy unicorn's face. He tried to fade into shadows again, but I had him grasped firmly in my magic. Streams of shadowy magic began to flow into me. He howled in pain and frustration as the last of him drained away.

Still held in the guardian's dark magic, the Pale Pony and I fought back with a sudden burst of silvery power. Magic pulsed from her horn, conjuring a translucent dome over herself.

"Sigil, I'll stave off the guardian. You've got to get to the next room! Their spell is almost complete." She said in between sobs.

I looked over at her, almost feeling sympathy. She was taking on all of my pain and anger for me.

"Go now!"

A wave of silver pulsed from her shield, throwing me bodily across the room and into a set of doors that had been hidden from view behind the hourglass. A pulse of darkness emanated from the guardian towards me. Just as it reached me I threw the doors open and stepped through into the whiteness beyond.

I opened my eyes to the frantic beeping of machinery. My glass prison rested in the center of a silvery glowing spell circle etched into the ground. The circle was surrounded by several collapsed unicorns. I could feel the magic that was being siphoned out of me reaching up towards the stars, nudging some of them out of place.

My blood began to boil as the magic I had freed flowed through my ley lines. The silvery strands they were drawing out of me began to intensify. The machinery in the room shuddered from the increased input.

"We may have a problem, sir. Her magical readings should be dipping down but..." The unicorn at the control panel trailed off, fear etched plainly on her face.

"But what?" A pegasus stallion prompted.

"It's going up. The first meter just pinned at ten." She stared at the equipment with wide eyes.

My magic began sparking from my horn with motes of silvery power. The ring they had placed around it began to crack. I narrowed my eyes with exertion, forcing more magic than I had ever channeled before through my straining ley lines.

"That's still well within natural ability-"

"The second meter just hit ten!" The unicorn interrupted, her voice rising in panic.

"T-that's just the upper end of the scale. I-I'm sure its just malfunctioning, we'll get a repair pony down here to-"

The air around me began to heat up. I could feel my mane lifting off of my shoulders and neck, writhing in the air, buffeted by a nonexistent wind. The horn limiter shattered and crumbled into dust.

The machinery let out a high pitched death whine as the third meter pinned its needle at ten. All at once, the meters sparked and imploded on themselves. The siphon exploded, raining crystal shards down on the two ponies. The magic that had been stored within hung in the air like a silver haze. With my seals undone, it was drawn into me with great force. My glass prison shattered from the heat my horn was putting out.

The unicorn and pegasus screamed in terror, covering their heads to protect themselves from the debris. I stood and walked slowly towards them. Silver tendrils of magic whipped around me, digging furrows into whatever they touched.

I stumbled as I felt the familiar touch of the gate. The magic I was channeling was much greater than I was used to and had accelerated my degeneration greatly.

I'll hold the doors open as long as I can Sigil. Go do what is necessary.

Having been given a temporary reprieve, I continued my advance. I focused the wild magic around me into a roiling circle at my feet.

The pegasus interposed himself between me and the unicorn. He clenched his eyes shut and spread his wings protectively.

"W-we were just following orders. I don't care what happens to me, just don't hurt her!"

I stared at him in silence for a few moments. He opened his eyes and stared back, shaking like a leaf in the wind. I could see the resignation and desperation in his eyes.

With no small effort I pulled the magic that was spilling out of me back inside. The scene before me reminded me of somepony important. I sat down nose, to nose with the pegasus, and narrowed my eyes.

"You will tell me where the rest of Sombra's army is, where Sombra went, and what your plans are. Then you will leave this place, forget about your loyalty to Sombra, wash away that dye, and give your mare the love and protection that your king denied me."

"Y-you're letting us go? Just like that?" The unicorn stared ad me in disbelief.

"Don't make me regret it. Now get to the information before I change my mind."

The unicorn levitated a scroll and quill from a nearby table that had mostly survived the earlier explosion. She unfurled it and began drawing a map, marking locations on it. When she was finished she rolled it up and passed it cautiously to me.

"That's everywhere I know of. Sombra wanted to use you for some ritual that you obviously interrupted. That's really all I know..." She said, her voice quavering.

I watched the two ponies leave, ensuring that they didn't fetch others, and walked over to the fallen wings of my friend. I heaved a fatigued sigh and began gathering up the maroon feathers as quickly as I could. My magic fashioned a crude bag out of the white cloth they lay on and I placed the feathers and remaining wings inside.

"I finally have a place for you in my heart Shotty. I'll lay you to rest with my mom. Maybe you can keep each other company until I'm done. She'd like you, you know." A single tear rolled down my cheek. My eyes remained as hard as stone.

"First, I'll take away your army! Then, I'll take away your beloved! Then, Sombra, I will find you... I will break you, and show you what true despair tastes like. I'll bring you to the brink of death over and over again. Only when you truly beg for death will I set your spirit free!"

I braced my hooves against the ground and released the magic I had been holding back. Stone, masonry, and metal gave way when touched by the writhing silver tendrils. I magnified my voice so anypony within miles could hear me.

"We behold a pale horse, a vision of things to come! The armies of Tartarus follows in our wake! Tremble Sombra! We come for you!"

Author's Note

Alright ladies and gents. This wraps up act 1 of the fic. Stay tuned for act 2 in July! Same Quill channel, same Quill time!

Prologue

Once Beyond the Gates

~Quill Scribe~

PROLOGUE

Equestria. A wonderful place of love any happiness, ruled over by a kindhearted and gentle Princess. Ponies live their dreams, their destiny made clear to them as soon as they accept what they are good at. I was born here, with all of the hopes and dreams possible for somepony so young. That all changed one day, as my destiny would never be my own...

My name is Sigil Silverlight, and this is the story of how I died.

“Mommy this place is amazing!” I exclaimed.

I reclined on a red checkered picnic cloth, enjoying the scenery. The hills, green with manicured grass, a crystal clear lake, azure skies with nary a cloud in the sky, and a brilliant summer sun to warm the air all lay out before me.

“It's so peaceful here don't you think sweetheart?” My mother whispered, as though speaking any louder would ruin the serene moment. She smiled down at me. Her brown coat and black mane shimmered in the afternoon sun. I stared into her hazel eyes, drawing some comfort from her.

“I thought you would like one last outing before we had to leave for Canterlot to see your father's colleague. We could be there for a while.”

I cast my eyes down to stare at my hooves. “I'm sorry mommy. I know we wouldn't have to go if I were stronger.”

“Don't talk like that Siggy,” she said softly. I felt her wing drape over me. “You will always be perfect to me. I just want you to have every opportunity you deserve.”

I smiled up at her. “I love you too mommy.”

We sat at our perfect picnic for what seemed like hours. As the evening came, I entertained myself by chasing fireflies while my mother chatted idly with other families. It seemed like the perfect day would last forever. Sadly day always has to come to an end and the stars made their appearance for the night.

I felt a low rumbling in the air around us. I squinted my eyes in the direction that I thought it came from. A shock ran through me at what I saw.

A silvery white sphere appeared on the horizon. At first I thought it was a star winking into the night sky. It steadily grew in size however, so I thought it might be the moon.

“Mommy, why isn't the mare in the moon?” I questioned. “Is she sleeping?”

At some point in every colt and filly's life they are ignored by their parents. This was something I was used to due to my unusually inquisitive nature. Something about this silence felt ominous, a shiver ran down my spine.

“Mommy?” My voice started to give out. I turned my head to face her.

All of the ponies around me, my mother included, sat still as if frozen. Eyes wide and mouths open in a silent scream.

I started to shiver, breaking out I a cold sweat. I turned around to face the ever growing orb of light.

It expanded in an instant. Doubling in size over and over, shining bright white light that neither blinded me nor seemed to illuminate the meadow. That’s when I started to notice.

What's happening to the colors? I backed up towards my mother out of instinct.

Everything from horizon to horizon seemed to fade to white when the orb touched the ground. Not just a gray landscape, but a white void. The world was just fading away before my eyes.

I turned to run to the comfort of my mother when the colorless void surged from all horizons toward me, consuming the meadow, lake, clouds, sun, and even the other families.

“What's happening!?” I screamed. My shaking hooves were unwilling to carry me any further as the colors faded away from our picnic blanket, and finally from my mother.

Tears poured from my eyes and I tried to hide behind my mane. I was alone now, my chest burning with the fear.

“Where did everypony go?” Then I whimpered. “Mommy, I'm scared. Where am I?”

I searched around me for anything familiar, darling my eyes left and right. The white expanse surrounded me as far as I could see. It looked as though it went on forever in all directions. I couldn't see the ground but I wasn't falling so I thought it had to be there.

It felt like I lay there for days. I never moved, my body wouldn’t let me, hoping beyond hope that my mother would find me and take me home. I wished over and over that my magic and body were stronger so I could find a way home until my heart felt like it would break just from the strain.

A sudden rush of air behind me sent me tumbling head over hooves for several yards. There was a tension in the atmosphere. The kind of stillness you feel when there is a predator in the wilderness. I turned to see what had knocked me out of my stupor.

Looming over me in the colorless void was a massive archway, easily three stories tall, constructed of black stones engraved with strange symbols. Blocking the opening of the archway were two rusted metal doors, each door having large rings set into its surface, Through these rings a massive rusted chain was woven, seemingly for the purpose of keeping the doors closed.

If I didn't want to be here before I really didn't want to be here now. My mane practically stood on end, my coat bristled like the air was electric. My chest felt tight, like my heart was going to give in any moment.

The doors shuddered hard from a sudden blow, pieces of the chain clattered to the floor. Something was trying to come through from the other side. The chains rattled and rusty hinges creaked with each impact.

A primal instinct took me over. A single thought, Escape! I turned and bolted as fast as I could.

“No! No! No! No!” I screamed, increasing in volume as I ran. I couldn't get away. It was as though I was running in place, never able to gain any ground between myself and the terrifying doors.

There was a loud cracking sound, a screech of metal strained past its limits, as the chains broke and clattered to the ground. The doors groaned and creaked as they swung wide open.

I fell back on my haunches and stared in horror at the black void on the other side of the doors. It was as though something was there in the absence of things, looking back into me, drawing me in.

“Siggy?”

A familiar voice called out to me.

"Sigil sweetheart?"

“M-mom?” I stuttered. “Please help me, I'm so scared!”

"Sigil, we are going to be late."

“Sigil Silverlight, you wake up this instant! You are going to be late for school!” My mother called from the stairs of our home.

My eyes flew open. I gasped for breath as I lay in my sweat stained sheets, clutching my favorite doll to my chest as though my life depended on it. I only calmed down when I realized I was in my bedroom, complete with Wonderbolts posters on my walls and beginner's spell-books on my desk. Tear marks stained my cheeks as the dream faded into my subconscious, erasing itself from my waking mind.

“Coming mom!”

I stared into the mirror at myself in our dimly lit bathroom while I brushed my teeth. I always felt like a ghost was staring back at me. My shock white coat and shoulder length platinum blond mane made me look almost albino. We all know that ponies can't be albino, but that didn't stop it from being one of my foalhood 'nicknames'.

I might have passed as just that if it weren’t for my two striking features that I felt made me look like something out of Nightmare Night. First was my eyes. Twin orbs of ice blue stared back at me, pupils the shape of an hourglass. Second was my horn. Most unicorns have a horn the color of their coat. I'm not certain why, but mine was the off white color of sun-bleached bone. These were what earned me a nickname that still sticks with me wherever I go: 'The Pale Pony'.

I peered between the heavy curtains that guarded the windows of my home and was nearly blinded by the morning sunlight.

“Stupid eyes. Why can't I just be like everypony else?” I muttered angrily. I took a few minutes to put on my protective rose lens goggles, saddlebags, and brown cloak.

“Are you ready sweetie? Do you remember what day today is?” I heard my mother ask from the hallway.

“Yeah mom. I just wish we didn't have to see that stupid doctor on my birthday,” I grumbled.

“Now now Siggy, Hooves is a very nice stallion, he's doing his best to help us, especially you. I know you only turn 8 once but I've got a special treat today to make up for it. We won't be taking the train to Canterlot. I'll fly you there and we can have a picnic on the way.”

This brightened my mood somewhat. I smiled up at her and hopped into the oversized saddlebags she wore.

“Onward to battle Mocha, my mighty guardian!” I exclaimed.

My mother giggled at my antics. She locked the door to our Manehattan apartment, braced herself, and leaped into the sky.

The sun was near midday when we landed at a grassy knoll in a forest clearing to rest. My mother laid out our picnic blanket and produced two daffodil sandwiches and apple slices from her saddlebags as I hopped to the ground, a huge grin plastered on my face.

I really loved it when my mother took me flying. It was rare since she was always tired after working for the weather patrol all day, but sometimes on the weekends we would go for long flights. I wished I could be just like her, soar through the skies, have her teach me how to fly, bond by performing tricks, join her weather team, and maybe even be a Wonderbolt someday. It made me wish I had been born a pegasus like her instead of a near magic-less abomination.

Like that could ever happen.

As a unicorn the only way I could fly would be with a wing spell. I knew I would never be strong enough for that, not with my stunted magic.

I must have been frowning at my lunch because my mother asked, “Are you alright sweetie? What's on your mind?”

I frowned and looked down at my hooves. “Do you think they'll be able to fix me in Canterlot?”

I felt her place a foreleg comfortingly on my withers. “Your father's friend will do everything he can for you. Just remember, unicorn magic isn't the only magic and certainly isn't the strongest.”

“What do you mean?” I looked up at her, expectantly.

“The bonds that tie us to those we love are powerful. Even if I lost my pegasus magic and wings I'd still feel whole because I have the strongest magic there is, you.” With that last word she bopped me on the nose gently.

I looked up at her with a confused expression.

“You'll understand someday sweetheart. Just remember that I love you,” She smiled as she tousled my mane.

“I love you too mom.” I hugged her foreleg and began to tear into my lunch.

We sat like this for hours as she rested her wings for the last leg of our journey to Canterlot.

“We had better get going. We need to get to the hotel before dark,” she said.

I climbed back into her saddlebags. She braced herself and shot back into the sky.

We flew like this for a few hours. I gasped when Canterlot came into view. My eyes darted around the landscape, trying to take it all in. The setting sun glinted off of the snowy peak of the mountain and the buildings of Canterlot shone like a beacon.

In the distance I saw three rapidly approaching black shapes. As they got closer I could tell they were pegasi, their coats and manes dyed dark blue to match the nighttime sky that was rapidly approaching.

The trio quickly cut off our flight path. My mother flapped her wings furiously to avoid a mid-air collision. From a gap in the saddlebag I saw the glint of metal coming from an object held in one of their mouths. Their leader spoke in a rough voice.

“You should know better than to travel alone at night little lady.” He glanced back at his comrades. ”Take what you want boys!”

The pair of pegasi surged forward and grasped my mother's wings. Their leader rifled through her saddlebags, taking whatever he pleased for himself. Then he opened the bag where I huddled, shivering.

I saw him smile a sickening grin. “Well, well; what do we have here, boys? A unicorn? Was your daddy a unicorn too? Well we should show this horn lover what a real pegasus is like.” I let out a terrified squeak as I felt him drag me out of the pack by my tail and dangle me in the open air.

My mother's eyes widened in fear. “Please! I'll... do whatever you want! Just let my Siggy go.” Her voice quavered.

The three pegasi shared a sick laugh. “Well if you insist.” The leader opened his mouth, releasing my tail.

I heard a scream as I plummeted downwards.

I was in shock. I couldn't scream or even think. I just saw my mother's form receding into the distance. My stomach was doing somersaults as I dropped rapidly through the cloud cover.

I blinked the tears out of my eyes as I regained some of my senses. I grit my teeth as I desperately tried to light up my horn, cast something, anything to slow my fall. I found the pool of my magic stir and then, nothing. I just wasn't strong enough. As the grassy plain approached I closed my eyes and steeled myself.

At least it won't hurt.

A familiar warm embrace told me that I wasn't alone. I felt myself slowing down. I opened my eyes and saw my mother, bruised, bloodied, with wings unfurled, cradling me as she curled her body around me.

“I've got you. I'll always protect you. Remember..."

Suddenly all motion stopped. I heard a sickening crunch and felt my loving protector's body soften more than it should have. Then everything went white.

I opened my eyes to a white void, untainted by my rose goggles. I swung my gaze around and saw nothing but white expanse. This place felt familiar to me somehow. An uncomfortable stillness settled into the air.

A rush of air swept my mane out of my face as a black archway appeared before me. I felt a primal fear creep into my gut as I stood in front of it's rusted doors and chains. I started to back away until I heard a familiar voice on the other side.

“Remember.”

I leaped at the doors. Hammering my miniature hooves on them while screaming. “Mom? Is that you? Don't worry, I'll get you out!”

I strained my body against the chains, my horn glowed with the exertion.

“Give her back!” I yelled, as the cracked rusted chains gave way. The white sky pulsed brighter for a moment and I felt a pain lance through my chest.

The rusted doors swung open to reveal an inky black abyss beyond. The sky flashed again, and again I was wracked by pain. Through my agony I thought I heard a voice.

“Last try and then we call it.”

A inky black paw exited the wall of darkness beyond the archway, soon followed by a predatory muzzle. I didn't know what kind of creature was leaving the confines where I had heard my mother's voice but I was afraid. Somewhere between a dragon and lion crafted from smoky darkness, it stood on all fours, easily twice as high as the largest construction stallion I'd even seen. It's white, empty eyes seemed to see through me as it opened it's maw to consume me.

The sky flashed again and I heard one word.

“Clear!”

The white void faded to a dull throbbing darkness as I felt myself lose consciousness.

My dreams were restless that night. They felt so very real.

Deep in the Everfree forest five stone orbs sat on five pillars in the ruins of an ancient castle. A pulse of rainbow light shot into the sky.

The scene faded to the Royal Palace in Canterlot. Princess Celestia sat at her chamber's balcony staring up at the moon.

"It won't be long now dearest sister."

Author's Note

I hope you all enjoy the fic. I'll be uploading a chapter every other week. Any suggestions or comments about my writing style are greatly appreciated.

A special thank you to my fine editor Sciucaro. I'm trying to get him to sign up so stay tuned for a link to any fics he may have in the works.

Also the current cover art, as of 3/24/2013, is a placeholder until I either get my temporary replacement Wacom Bamboo or spring for a MS Surface or a 12" Cintiq.

Cry Havoc

Once Beyond the Gates

~Quill Scribe~

Chapter 8 - Cry Havoc

The air above Equestria was my home for days. Clouds rushed passed me like a constant flow of ethereal cotton. Occasionally a town or forest would blur beneath me momentarily, allowing me to keep my bearings. I flew like a mare possessed, not sleeping or eating, my only desire was my destination.

On the dawn of the third day of flight I passed over a mountain range. Beyond, the terrain began to obscure with a layer of snow. Ahead of me in the distance a city rose up from the white coated ground. Its high stone walls guarded it from the outside. Its buildings interspersed with tall pine trees.

Stalliongrad.

My body's physical limitations began to catch up with me. I was sore all over and fatigued from the magic pumping through my ley lines for days.

If I'm going to face the "loyalists" I'll need to be at my best. The exhausted and hungry pony I am now won't be enough.

I winged my way to the outskirts of the city, landed behind a group of trees, and threw a thick cloak over myself to keep warm and hide my wings. I took the nearby road and approached the open city gates. I passed through into the city proper without so much as a peep from the guards on duty.

I expected more security from a city on a warfront.

I slowly through the city proper, fatigue slowly creeping upon me. Boarded up storefronts and houses with shuttered windows lined the slate paved streets. An ominous silence hung in the air like an oppressive fog.

Where is everypony?

It was strange to see a city as big as Stalliongrad this empty. Being from Manehattan and then Canterlot I had grown accustomed to the large crowds.

The first building I approached was a tavern. It was one of the few buildings with lights on and an un-barred door. It wasn't in shambles but it wasn't new either. The brown paint that coated its stone facade was faded and chipping. Its door was aged and splintering. The faded sign that read "The Pine Log Lodge" hung creakily from its post. I pushed the door open and passed inside.

"Welcome ta the Pine Log Lodge young'n. What can ah do fer yah today?" A large, middle aged earth pony greeted me from behind the nearby desk.

"I need a room for the night, and a dandelion salad," I responded.

"How many rooms does yah family need?"

"It's just me. Only one room. Single bed, and lots of quiet."

He raised an eyebrow at me and slid a key across the desk towards me. I took it and trotted off to my room for the night.

While the tavern was only slightly run down, the room itself had seen much better days. I ignored the mystery stains on the curtains and sat experimentally on the bed. Its broken coils groaned and creaked in protest of my modest weight.

Deciding the floor was a better option, I pulled the pillows and comforter off of the bed and onto the floor. I lay down of them, covering myself with my cloak like a blanket to insulate myself from the biting cold of the northern nights. It didn't take long to drift into blissful unconsciousness.

My rest didn't last long however. I was roused in the early morning hours by a distant thumping. I looked out the window and saw the sun just beginning to peek over the horizon. I groaned in annoyance and rolled over.

My eyes snapped open again when I heard the insistent knocking that had woken me before. I grumbled and dragged my half asleep self to the doorway.

"Excuse me, miss? We're with the guard. We'd like to have a word with you."

I paused on the other side of the doorway. On one hoof I really had no idea what they could want from me, and that caused my brow to furrow in concern. One the other, I could possibly get some much needed information from them. I threw on my cloak and opened the door slowly.

"What can I do for you gentlecolts?" I put on my best innocent face in front of the two armored ponies that stood in the doorway to my room.

"Miss, a mare your age shouldn't be traveling alone this close to the border, it's just not safe. I'm afraid you'll have to come with us to the barracks until we can get you home."

This might be a good opportunity. They probably have maps of the military installations there. We can find the camp and fort. Maybe even the Loyalists.

I nodded to the guards and followed them out into the empty streets.

We walked in silence to the entrance of a large tower set into the city wall. The cacophony that greeted me upon our entrance was of stark contrast to the silence and serenity of the outside.

An earth pony and a pegasus stood over a wooden desk that was covered completely in maps and other papers.

"What do you mean the camp was obliterated!" An earth pony in a captain's uniform yelled; my heart skipped a beat in my chest.

"Just that sir. Our scouts reported a single unicorn approaching the training grounds and then, chaos. Fire raining from the sky, shadows coming alive, guards dropping like flies. We barely managed to get the survivors of the initial assault to the fort."

I stared blankly at their battlefield map as they bickered. The thought of Long Shot in danger overrode all of my other desires. After burning the map into my mind I lowered my stance, bracing myself.

First I find Long Shot, then I can track down the Loyalists. I've got to move. Now!

My wings snapped into flight position with a loud scraping of metal, shredding my cloak. The guards took notice of me and stood, frozen in shock. I used their distraction to my advantage and rushed out of the tower and into the air towards the direction I believed the training camp to be in.

Acrid, black smoke rose from the ruins of the camp. Giant crystal spires poked up through the remains. Some fires still burned among the rubble of the barracks and guard towers.

One pony did all this?

I tore through the ruins looking for a sign, a feather, anything that would lead me to Long Shot. I found nothing but broken armor, weapons, and charred rubble. My heart beat frantically in my chest as I turned over the body of yet another pegasus.

Not him. Did he make it out?

That's when I saw something. A tuft of maroon feathers blowing gently in the breeze, caught under a fallen support beam. My heart caught in my throat as I choked back a desperate sob.

"No! No, he can't be gone!" I screamed.

I panicked and tore the wooden beam from the ground with my magic, tossing it across the ruined camp. To my relief there was no pony buried underneath. I picked up the feathers gingerly, tucking them away in my saddlebags.

He had to have made it out. They must have retreated to the fort. He might be there!

Hope lent speed to my wings as I took off like a shot into the air, trailing a brief stream of dust in my wake. I winged my way east towards the fort.

I flew for several minutes, slowing only when I saw very unnatural storm clouds looming over the monolith that was Fort Hammerfall, sending torrents of rain and lightning towards the ground.

It was complete chaos, although I'm not sure what I expected a battleground to look like. I had seen them in my visions, but never this active. Armored guardsponies flew overhead and ran along the ground, crisscrossing the battlefield. Individual skirmishes broke out everywhere they encountered the enemy forces.

I dropped closer to the ground to get a better look at their opponents. Most wore heavy black cloaks that concealed their bodies, but the few that had thrown back their hoods to reveal a midnight blue coloring stirred my darkest memories.

A feral scream rubbed my throat raw while I rocketed towards the ground. The unfortunate unicorn I descended upon loomed next to a fallen guard, preparing to deliver the last spell the guard would ever see. He and the guard looked up as my scream reached their ears.

I struck the unicorn with the force of a comet. I felt a satisfying crunch as his legs buckled. His spell fizzled as he was driven into the ground, sending a spray of mud into the air.

A warm wetness reached my hooves when I stepped off of the injured unicorn. I looked over to the groaning guard.

I've got to help him, he's losing a lot of blood.

We don't have time! Do what we came here for! Let me out; we can end this now!

I shook my head, trying to clear it, and scooped the guard onto my back. Taking to the air was more difficult with the extra weight, but not impossible. I soared towards the battlements of the fort, weaving between the errant spells and arrows being launched between combatants.

I landed on the battlement, gently laying the unconscious guard at the hooves of two stunned archers. I whirled back around and dove off into the battlefield below.

The three cloaked ponies I landed in front of reared back in surprise. I tipped one onto his back with a telekinetic push. As the other two recovered I flapped my wings, rocketing forward into one of them. One of my fore-hooves connected with his jaw, taking him out of the equation.

My final opponent turned and fled as two guards approached. They charged after him, nodding in acknowledgement as they passed me.

I was in the thick of battle, adrenaline pumped through me, heightening my senses. I could feel the ebb and flow of the battlefield around me, almost like I could see where the combatants would go next. The guards called it combat awareness. The gryphons called it zanshin, or reserved mind. For me, it was the beginnings of something else entirely.

Weaving through friend and enemy alike, I made my way to a group of guards being cornered by enemy pegasi. I allowed my wings to carry me above several ponies' heads. I unslung Long Shot's rifle, and cocked it.

My target was the pegasus closest to me. I moved to place him between myself and the next pegasus in line.

Get closer, we aren't exactly the best shot.

I was nearly ten feet away from them when the group of pegasi turned their attention towards me. I gave them no time to move and bit down on the trigger arm.

The shell was propelled from the barrel by a massive telekinetic push. It hit the lead pegasus in the shoulder and unleashed its payload. He and the two pegasi closest to him were swatted out of the air as though a giant hoof were brushing away flies.

Shouldering the rifle, I landed in front on the guards. My weight shifted, and I changed direction abruptly, speeding off towards the next set of pegasi.

Anticipating my maneuver, one of them slid to the side, catching me in a clothesline. I felt my throat collapse and fell to the ground. The two pegasi landed next to me, the larger one placing a hoof on my neck, choking me. My vision began to darken as I struggled against the two pegasi. I began to hear a familiar musical tune.

Well, at least I'll get another shot at them when I wake up.

A bright light cut through the darkness at the corners of my vision like a knife. A familiar voice called out to me. The larger pegasus turned his head, his eyes widening in surprise. A head sized metal sphere caught him squarely in the face, knocking him and his partner off of me.

I turned my head towards the light, my chest heaving for breath. What I saw nearly stopped my heart.

A trio of mares charged onto the battlefield. A mint green unicorn played a lyre, unleashing waves of sound, forcing a crowd of cloaked ponies apart.

Lyra? Sister!

A plum earth pony wavered between the enemy, yelling obscenities. Leaning unnaturally out of the way of their blows, sometimes stumbling forward to land a hoof on them.

Berry! Sweet Celestia, she's drunk.

Leading the charge was a cream colored unicorn. She stopped next to me and stood her ground, twin black orbs floating next to her. She sent one flying into another pony who got too close.

"Come get some, you sons of minotaurs!"

I got to my hooves with a little assistance from Lyra. I stared at the trio, dumbfounded. Berry's hoof connected with my cheek with a forceful slap.

"That was for making us worry about you and running off like that. I don't know what's got your tail all twisted, but you should have asked for our help! Aren't we friends?"

"How in the fiery pits of Tartarus did you find me?" I asked. "You know what? Never mind. I've got to get you girls inside."

I concentrated and popped a bubble of force into existence around us. I threw myself into the side of the sphere as hard as I could. Aided by telekinetic magic, I pressed onward towards the fort.

My wings carried us to the top of the walls just as the first of the enemy siege ladders locked into place. I landed, offloaded my friends, and whirled to face the ponies climbing up the ladder. As I gathered energy in my horn for a spell, three more siege ladders locked into place.

"Get to safety!" I yelled.

While I watched them run down the stairs to the ground inside the fortress I reached out with telekinetic magic, feeling out the spring loaded spikes that locked the ladders in place. I greeted the first pony to reach the top with a mirthful grin. She let out a terrified squeal as I dislodged the ladders from the wall, pushing them backwards into the empty space beyond.

A small group of guards that had gathered to repel the ladders cheered loudly. I turned towards them, but as I did their cheers died out. A high pitched whistling had replaced the noise. I whirled around as a blast of light and heat impacted the fortress wall.

A fireball?

A second impact shook the battlement. I peered out over the battlefield, searching for its source. The faint glow of a third blast drew my eyes to a wheeled scaffolding in the center of the battlefield. On it stood a trio of cloaked unicorns, each casting in succession.

Got you now.

Using the battlement wall for leverage, I pushed myself off into a flight trajectory that took me straight at them. I anticipated the first ball of flame, twirling around it with only minor difficulty. The second followed almost directly after, its flames impacted an invisible wall inches from my face. I had barely cast my forcefield bubble in time.

The third fireball came directly after the second. I could feel the heat of it as the impact cracked my shield. A mere ten meters away from them, the fourth hit. My shield fragmented. I could smell burning hair from my singed mane as the force of the blast knocked me towards the ground.

I gritted my teeth in anticipation of the impact and the broken bones it would cause. It was an impact that never came. I felt myself decelerate rapidly as a strong pair of hooves held me aloft.

"A battlefield is no place for a civilian, kid."

I opened my eyes and saw a mountain of off-yellow and pink with feathers. She was the largest pegasus I'd ever seen, bigger than Long Shot, maybe even almost as big as the princess herself.

Is that a pegasus or a house?!

A bright glow distracted any further thoughts. I threw up a silvery dome over us and brought a false wing up protectively between us and the glow. The fireball smashed through my shield and the remainder splashed harmlessly against my outstretched metal wing.

She looked down at me with a mixture of annoyance and gratitude before drawing a massive claymore from a sheath between her wings. Sword held firmly in her mouth, she charged the base of the scaffolding and sliced a support clean through. It tumbled to the ground under its own weight into a pile of broken wood, metal, and pony.

"Captain Barricade! Captain Armor is giving the order to fall back to the fortress. We're fighting a losing battle out here!" A maroon pegasus shouted at her as he landed between us.

She turned towards him and ordered, "get this civilian inside, double time soldier. I'll spread the word."

My heart soared as he turned towards me. His dark purple mane blew back, revealing a face I could never forget. His eyes lit up with confusion when he saw me.

"Sigil! What are you doing up here? Why aren't you in Canterlot?" He asked.

Lost in my joy, I forgot all about the reason I had come north in the first place. I rushed him, wrapping him in a tight embrace as though if I let go he'd vanish. I couldn't respond before he spoke again.

"C'mon Sigil. I'm happy to see you too, but we've got to get back to the fort."

He pushed me off of him, much to my disappointment, and took flight towards the walls of the fort. I followed closely behind.

The Guard's forces scattered below us, making a hasty retreat to the relative protection of the fort. As we landed safely, the last of the soldiers made it inside.

A magenta glow from the fort's central tower caught my eye. A magenta dome that encompassed the entire fort sprung to life from a blue maned unicorn's horn. Enemy spells and weapons splashed harmlessly against it. My eyes widened at the display of magical talent.

That was impressive, to say the least. Who is he? He seems familiar...

I breathed in sharply as a pair of maroon hooves and wings wrapped protectively around me, drawing me in close to the pegasus they belonged to. I nuzzled in close, just for a moment forgetting where we were.

"Sigil, you shouldn't be here. It's too dangerous. Why did you come?"

I turned my gaze down to the ground. "I was tracking somepony. I was told they'd be near Stalliongrad, but when I got there I heard about the training camp..." I paused as my eyes began to water.

"There you two are!" Lyra called out.

The three mares ran up to us, completely ruining the moment.

"Awe!" Allie cooed, smiling sweetly at us. "I hope we aren't interrupting."

I just know that somewhere out there, there's a pony named Murphy who hates me with every fiber of his being.

Unwillingly, I extracted myself from Long Shot's grasp.

"N-no of course not! I was just about to explain to Long Shot what I'm doing all the way north."

Nice save throwing yourself into the fire there. Maybe I should do the talking.

The ponies all turned to look at me. I sighed in defeat. I told them everything I'd left out before. The visions, my plans to gain power, even the thoughts that were mine and also not.

Lyra didn't even bother to let me finish. She wrapped her hooves around me and cried softly.

"It's all my fault Siggy. I should've stayed..."

"Lyra, stop it. It's their fault. All of it," I said.

Barricade sauntered up to us, clearing her throat to get our attention.

"Touching reunion, really. Long Shot, get the civilians to the barracks, then meet the rest of the troops in the courtyard."

Long Shot snapped to attention and guided us gently to the barracks. The break room he took us to wasn't overly uncomfortable.

"Sorry girls, I'll be back for you after the meeting. Orders and all, you understand, right?" He said to us.

We nodded in assent. After he walked off I turned to the rest of my friends.

"I'm going to go check out this meeting of theirs. Stay here where it's safe."

"How do you expect to get past the guards?" Berry inquired.

"Do you really think they'll waste the forces necessary to keep us in here in the middle of a battle?" I asked rhetorically as I trotted out of the room.

Several minutes later I made it to the fort's courtyard. It seemed as though every guard in the fort was in attendance. I held back towards the edge of the crowd. Barricade and the blue maned unicorn were addressing the gathering.

"... Barrier should hold out until reinforcements arrive. When they do I want all unicorn squads to provide cover for Barricade's fliers. Earth ponies, your squads will provide suppression fire with your crossbows and anti-siege weaponry. Barricade, I turn the floor to you."

"Thank you Shining Armor... Alright, listen up maggots. Fleethoof, take two of our fastest fliers to Canterlot to gather reinforcements. I want squadrons two and four to harass the enemy from the sides. Whatever you do, don't let them regroup. Squadrons one and three, take a head-on approach. Each of you carry a unicorn with you for magical support."

"Troops, combat operations begin at dawn. We'll break their ranks and drive them from Equestria for good this time! Direct any questions to your immediate superior officer. Dismissed!"

Guardsponies filed out of the courtyard and back to their posts. I singled out Long Shot and caught up to him on his was to the fortress walls.

I looked around at the soldiers wandering the battlements. "Hey Shotty. Do you think we could go somewhere private to talk for a few minutes?"

He nodded at me, looked around, and motioned for me to follow. I followed him down to the ground level of the fort and into a secluded corner near the tower.

"Sigil, why aren't you at the barracks with the girls?"

I looked around, making sure we were alone before speaking.

"I was so scared, Long Shot. After I heard about the training camp being attacked I mean. I don't think I'm strong enough to keep you safe. I need you to take this so you can protect yourself." I pushed the rifle I had brought into his grip.

"I don't know what I'd do if I lost you. I don't think I could bear it. I'm so sorry Shotty. After how I hurt you I wouldn't blame you if you hated me. After everything you've done for me. The little, meaningful gestures given unconditionally." I closed my eyes and turned away from him, unable to look him in the eyes.

"I was terrified. Afraid of how being around you made my heart skip and my head swim. Afraid that if I let you get too close you'd disappear too. I was afraid because..." My voice became very small, almost imperceptible. "... Because I need you."

He's so quiet. Didn't he hear me? Or is this his answer?.

After a few moments Long Shot spoke. The warmth in his voice made me turn back towards him. His friendly smile melted away the last of the walls of ice I'd built around my heart.

"Sigil, I could never hate you. I'll always be there for you. I'll prove it to you every day if I have to. You can't just get rid of me that easily."

As his wing reached out and pulled me close to him, my heart ran a marathon in my chest. My cheeks felt like they were on fire. I couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. I closed my eyes as I leaned closer.

I can be happy, right? Just this once?

I felt a hoof on my chin, tilting my muzzle up to meet his. I wrapped my hooves around his neck and shoulders, feeling the warmth of his breath on my face.

No turning back now.

A loud bang rang out like an enormous bell as something massive slammed into the shield. Our eyes snapped open, our lips mere millimeters apart. In the distance somepony yelled in fear.

"Dragon!"

Author's Note

My faithful readers,
So here is the deal. I have a CT scan back in my old state this weekend (5/10/2013-5/12) and I'm packing and moving next weekend and the weekend after. I'm placing Once Beyond the Gates into a temporary semi-hiatus.
What this means is I will only update every other weekend during this time. I have two more chapters written, edited, and ready to post, as well as several one-shots ready to post. So there should only be minor disruption in updates.
Moving forward from that point the every other week updates will continue until I have a three chapter buffer again.
I have the entirety of this story laid out already and will finish it. Once it is complete I need to do some serious rewrites. The characters feel a tad flat to me, although I may be overly critical of my own work.
Till we meet next!
Quill