Chapters Secrets of Equestria's History
Twilight! Twilight! You have got to listen to me. You must visit us. Come to us, to the land beyond the Everfree forest.
“TWILIGHT!” a familiar voice sounded, directly next to Twilight’s ear.
“Wha-“the new princess muttered. She rolled over in her bed. She was in Canterlot, her magnificent home in Canterlot. She remembered this room well, though she had spent little time in it, most of her time was spent in the large library in the next room. Spike was shaking her awake.
“What’s the matter?” she asked, getting up, rubbing her eyes with tired hooves.
“You were talking in your sleep.” Spike replied, looking nervous. “Just a word, over and over again,”
“Can you tell me what word that was?” said Twilight, not in the mood for wasting time.
“I don’t know, I didn’t understand it,”
“Well, what did it sound like?”
“Termisa? No…Tremisa? Something like that,” he said, trying to remember. Twilight was confused.
“Tremisa? I’ve never heard of that word.” Twilight said, pondering the word. She rolled out of bed, and, as she had in her early days, before she knew the magic of friendship, headed to the library. A moment not learning was a moment wasting, she reflected, as she brought a massive volume of a Dictionary of Equestrian Words. She flipped through it.
“Nothing.” She said, curiously.
“Twilight, you don’t have time for that right now,”
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t you remember, you need to meet with the Princess for a debriefing on your new duties.” Twilight leapt up, and looked at the sun, just peaking over the many-turreted palace of Canterlot Castle. Her own home was one of the many in the Southern Area of the huge complex devoted to Celestia’s many pupils. Being her personal protégé had come with its bonuses, she did not have a roommate, unless you counted Spike.
“I’m late!” she shrieked, galloping out of the door without another word. There’s was nothing she feared more than that, lateness. It had almost driven her out of her mind. She paused, and galloped back.
"Spike, I want you to look for any mention of the word 'Tremisa' anywhere in the libraries, and the archives,"
"Got it!"
"Thanks! Gotta go!" and with that, she was off
She rushed into the large room full of stained glass. She smiled at the latest addition to the massive hall, a stained glass of her own coronation. Then she turned and smiled even more, as her mentor and queen, Celestia, entered the room.
“Sorry I’m late Princess,” she said. The doors opened again, and Luna and Cadence entered.
“That’s all right Twilight,” said Celestia smoothly.
“Now, do you have any questions about what you must do?”
“Yes…um…what exactly do I have to do?” Luna chuckled, and Cadence smiled at her.
“You will be the new Princess of Ponyville,” she said. “From there, you will have the secondary duty of raising the stars,” she said.
“What will I have to do as Princess of Ponyville?”
“You will be required to keep daily calm over the town, and to make sure nothing bad happens to the town. I understand that you have already been doing this, though there have been some hurdles,” Twilight smiled, trying not to remember the bad memories of being exiled from the town she loved and knowing that it was under the control of a gradually more evil unicorn, Trixie.
“I see,” she said. “What would that involve on a daily basis?”
“Nothing out of the ordinary. Just, keep an eye out for trouble,” said Celestia.
“What about the present government?” she asked, realizing that she would be replacing a system already in place.
“That can be changed,” Celestia replied swiftly. “I will have Luna contact the mayor of Ponyville presently,” she turned to Luna who nodded, and cantered out of the hall,”
“Now, do you have any questions?” asked Celestia, smiling encouragingly.
“Yes,” said Twilight. “I’ve been having these strange dreams lately, ever since the coronation, and Spike told me I’ve been saying something in my sleep. Do you know anything about…Tremisa?” the smile vanished from Celestia’s face. She looked very concerned. But the look vanished a moment later.
“No,” she said, trying to keep a straight face. Twilight turned, concerned, to Cadence, for an explanation, but she looked just as confused as Twilight felt.
“Is that all?” Celestia asked.
“That’s all I have for now.”
“Great, if you have any questions in Ponyville, you can just use Spike as always,” she said.
“All right,”
“And Twilight, remember, your friends are your greatest strength, but there will be times when your friends will be incorrect. Remember that you understand the situation better than your friends do.”
“Y-Yes,” said Twilight, momentarily confused at the advice, but knowing that, as always, Celestia’s words would be helpful.
“Well, then, on your way!” said Celestia. Twilight galloped out, headed towards Canterlot Station
An hour later, Twilight was departing the train, back in her favorite town, Ponyville. Awaiting her arrival were her very best friends, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie.
“Twilight!” they cheered as they ran together, hugging as old friends often do.
“How was Canterlot?” asked Rarity.
“Canterlot’s fine,” said Twilight, smiling with pleasure. She was back, she was with her friends, and together, they could withstand anything.
“How are your wings?” asked Rainbow Dash.
“They’re doing fine,”
“What did the Princess want to tell you about?” asked Applejack.
“She just wanted to tell me about my responsibilities as Princess of Ponyville,”
“When do you want a party?” asked Pinkie Pie. Seemingly out of nowhere, she pulled her party cannon out, ready to fire at the word.
“Not now Pinkie,” said Twilight. “I need to get accustomed to my duties right now,”
“What do you have to do?” asked Fluttershy.
“Well…I don’t know…the Princess wasn’t exactly precise.”
“Well, we’ll support you through anything Twilight,” said Applejack, patting her on the back.
“Thank you,” said Twilight. She still could not rid herself of Celestia’s reaction to the word Tremisa. Twilight had never heard of the word before, and could not remember her seeing it in her books. She would be sure to look through her library as soon as she could.
“Is something wrong Twilight?” Fluttershy asked.
“It’s just…I’ve been having these strange dreams,” Twilight said, thinking hard. “This voice keeps calling me.” Twilight and her friends pondered the meaning of this, but could not think of anything.
“Well, I really want to look all this up soon,” said Twilight. She bid her friends goodbye, and entered the library. She smiled. She had been in this situation many times before, and this library had never failed her.
“Time to get to the bottom of this”
Secrets of Equestria's History
Try as she might, Twilight went through her entire library, an astonishing feat, without one mention of the word Tremisa. About an hour after she had started work, Spike arrived from Canterlot, and they looked through it all again together. They found nothing. Infuriated at her lack of knowledge, Twilight almost went back to Canterlot to look in the Archives there, though Spike reassured her that, while she had been meeting with the princesses, he had indeed been looking through every book and manuscript Canterlot had to offer, with no mention of the word Tremisa whatsoever. Frustrated, she went to bed. It was not a very restful sleep.
Twilight, look, I told you where you need to look. Go beyond the Everfree Forest. There holds the answer you seek. You will learn much there, much you and your entire world have not known. You have to come. You are the only one who can help us.
Twilight awoke the next day to remember that, with the word Tremisa troubling her, she had forgotten to raise the stars! She panicked for a few minutes, but then Spike reminded her that she had just received request yesterday, and the princess would be fine if she'd forgotten the very first time. Twilight calmed herself down a bit, reminding herself of the last time she'd been too worried about nothing. She was about to leave when a knock sounded on the door.
"Who do you think that could be?"
"I don't know,"
"Well, let's see," she opened the door to see Rarity at the door.
"Twilight, I have just been visited by a messenger from the princess!" she said excitedly. "He said that the Princess want ME to look for iron for Canterlot,"
"Hm...strange that they didn't have me get you, as I was just there," said Twilight.
"They probably thought the news wasn't worth worrying the new Princess of Ponyville," said Rarity, smiling with pride.
"Thanks. Well, when are you leaving?"
"Right now actually," she said, indicating to the bulging bag next to her.
"Oh," said Twilight, disappointed that she would not be able to spend more time with her friend. "Have fun!"
"I will!" she squealed happily, and cantered off. Twilight smiled off in the direction she'd gone, towards the train station, and decided that she'd head to the town hall, which, justifiably, was now hers. She barely made it out of the doorway when she was thrown back through the door. She turned to see Rainbow Dash in a bookshelf.
"Oh...hey Twilight," she said. she looked strangely disappointed.
"Is something wrong Rainbow?"
"Yeah,"
"What?" said Twilight, surprised despite herself.
"Its just that Cloudsdale is now in lockdown,"
"Why?"
"I don't know. What I do know is that no one is allowed in or out of the city, so I'm stuck without a home," said Rainbow. "I just came to ask you if you could let me live with you."," she said, indicating to the bulging bag next to her.
"Oh," said Twilight, disappointed that she would not be able to spend more time with her friend. "Have fun!"
"I will!" she squealed happily, and cantered off. Twilight smiled off in the direction she'd gone, towards the train station, and decided that she'd head to the town hall, which, justifiably, was now hers. She barely made it out of the doorway when she was thrown back through the door. She turned to see Rainbow Dash in a bookshelf.
"Oh...hey Twilight," she said. she looked strangely disappointed.
"Is something wrong Rainbow?"
"Yeah,"
"What?" said Twilight, surprised despite herself.
"Its just that Cloudsdale is now in lockdown,"
"Why?"
"I don't know. What I do know is that no one is allowed in or out of the city, so I'm stuck without a home," said Rainbow. "I just came to ask you if you could let me live with you."
“Oh, of course you can Rainbow,” said Twilight.
“So, Twi, what were you planning to do today?"
"I don't really know...."said Twilight. She was still thinking about Cloudsdale. "How is it in lockdown?"
"Oh...well, we pegasus can't make those special force fields like the magical ponies can," said Rainbow, looking enviously at Twilight's horn. "So Celestia has made the forcefield from Canterlot,"
"I didn't know you could make those forcefields from afar," said Twilight in awe. "It must have been a very complicated bit of magic."
"I guess when you are a princess, lots of things come easy," said Rainbow, unconcerned at the magical feat.
"I suppose" said Twilight.
"Well, I'm going out to visit Applejack right now. I'm going to try to catch up with everyone, and I might as well start from one end of town."
"Seeya, I'm heading to SugarCube Corner for some food and company!" said Rainbow Dash and, she vanished, zooming out to the shop in question. Twilight bid Spike good-bye, and headed out to the East, where Sweet Apple Acres was located. She found Applejack busy, as usual, with the apple trees. She and her brother were going from tree to tree, knocking down apple after apple. Twilight watched this for a while.
"Hello Applejack," said Twilight.
"Oh, hey there," said Applejack. "Sorry, I haven't really got time to chat, Celestia has got us really busy," Twilight stared in surprise.
"What has Celestia asked you to do?" asked Twilight.
"Well, apparently Canterlot is in need of a whole lot of food. Of course, we here at Sweet Apple Acres can feed Canterlot and Ponyville for a few weeks, though y'all might get tired of just apples, but its just me and Big Macintosh harvesting, so we're very busy.
"Well, I'm sure I could help you," said Twilight.
"No, that's all right, Big Macintosh and I have got it covered. You go and meet up with our other friends,"
"Are you sure you don't need my help?" asked Twilight.
"I'm sure," said Applejack reassuringly, so Twilight continued on her way West. Thinking that it would be quicker to stop at Pinkie Pie's first, as it was on the way to Fluttershy's cottage, she headed there first. Rainbow was already there, laughing at some joke that Pinkie had made.
"Oh hey Twilight! How's it going? In the mood for your-"
"No thanks Pinkie," said Twilight. "So few of my friends are available right now. Rarity is in Canterlot, Applejack is busy with apples."
"How's Fluttershy?"
"I haven't been to her house yet," she said.
"Whose house?" asked a quiet voice from behind her.
"Oh! Hello Fluttershy," said Twilight.
"We were just talking about you," said Pinkie.
"Oh, I see, I hope it wasn't anything bad," Fluttershy looked nervous, though, then again, she normally did.
"No, we were just wondering if Twilight had visited you," said Rainbow Dash.
"Oh....she hasn't,"
"We know,"
"Oh...sorry,"
"For what?"
"Um....I don't know," said Fluttershy, lamely.
"So, Fluttershy, what brings you here?"
"Oh, I just felt like visiting," she said.
"Well, Rarity and Applejack are busy with royal duties,"
"Oh, what are you having them do?"
"No, Celestia has them doing stuff,"
"Oh," They sat at a table together, chatting as old friends often do.
"So, does anyone know anything about why Cloudsdale?" asked Rainbow.
"Nothing, why?" asked Fluttershy. Rainbow filled her in on the goings on.
"Oh my, what do you thing happened?"
"I don't know,"
"Well, I heard strange noises from the Everfree forest,"
"Like what?" asked Twilight.
"It sounded like somepony was in there screaming,"
"A screaming pony?" said Twilight.
"That's what it sounded like," said Fluttershy, eyes widening in fear at the very memory.
"Did it scream anything in particular?"
"No."
"Hm...." Twilight thought about it. She couldn't really connect it to much. What she was really wondering was, as Princess of Ponyville, if she had the authority to investigate the Everfree forest. The idea of somepony screaming made her want to help, but she wasn't sure what she could do to help.
That night, at sunset, as, from Canterlot, Luna raised the moon, Twilight raised the stars. It was an awe-inspiring experience, as incredible as watching Celestia raise the sun, except instead of a single enormous light raising into the sky, Twilight raised an array of tiny lights that lit up the sky like orbs of light. She went to bed exhausted, for raising the stars was a tiring experience. It was difficult getting to sleep, as she was nervous of the screaming pony of the Everfree Forest, and wondered how Rarity was doing. Rainbow Dash was sleeping in the basement, a bed set up specially for the purpose. Spike, as always, slept in his basket at the edge of her bed. The other major reason that troubled her was that she knew that she would be haunted by disturbing dreams. She tossed fitfully, and fell asleep.
Secrets of Equestria's History
A weeks passed. Rarity did not return from her mining trip. She hadn't said how long she would be in Canterlot, so the others did not worry. What they were really worried about was why Cloudsdale was STILL in lockdown. Rainbow Dash, as nice and loyal a pony as she was, was not a good roommate for a simple reason. She was not used to living in a house on the ground. She was restless, and the air above Ponyville wasn't enough. She spent much time over Sweet Apple Acres, stretching her wings and practicing moves, keeping up her training as a Wonderbolt. Applejack and Big Macintosh had been wrapping up filling out the order of apples Celestia had requested for Canterlot.
"I don't know why Canterlot need so many Apples," said Applejack but, although mystified, continued work. Finally, after over a week of work, they were done. The Apples were loaded on to two massive carts the size of manticores, and Applejack and Big Macintosh went on their way to Canterlot.
"So, its just the four of us," said Twilight. They were at Twilight's house, and the sun was setting, Twilight's signal to raise the stars. She quickly left. and the rest followed her out, leaving to their respective homes. Rainbow Dash went down to sleep. The process of raising the stars only took about five minutes, and Twilight soon entered the house. She lay down on her bed, but again, despite her tiredness, could not sleep. She rolled over onto her back, but that hurt her wings. Then, she heard a knocking on the door.
"Who would be calling at this hour of the night?" Twilight asked Spike. No response. She rolled out of bed to see the small dragon sound asleep. Sighing, she left and headed downstairs, where she opened the door to find.
"Fluttershy? What are you doing up now?"
"Twilight! I need your help!" said Fluttershy, absolutely terrified.
"What is it?"
"Angel,"
"Oh no," Twilight was tempted to go back to bed. The idea of Angel annoyed her.
"I can't find him!" she whimpered. Twilight hadn't been expecting that.
"Where do you think he is?" asked Twilight.
"The....the...." but she did not need to finish her sentence. Only one place could evoke such fear in Fluttershy. Twilight normally couldn't understand Fluttershy's fears, but this one was very authentic. She herself had been turned to stone in that forest. She owed Fluttershy her life for that, the least she could do was help her track down a bunny in that hellhole.
"All right, let's go," the two of them flew over to the forest. They were about to land when Fluttershy stopped her.She pointed silently. At the entrance to the forest stood about thirty unicorns, armed with spears and golden armor that glowed in the moonlight.
"What are they doing here?"
"I don't know...I've never seen them here before," said Fluttershy. "Well, lets just go back," she said, glad at the opportunity of not entering the forest.
"Don't be silly Fluttershy. I'm a princess, they are MY troops," Twilight landed in front of them.
"Hello gentlemen."
"No entry to the forest," Twilight frowned at them.
"I am Twilight Sparkle. I am a princess of Ponyville and of the stars. Now please, move out of the way,"
"Sorry Princess, but we've been told not to let anyone pass, especially Twilight Sparkle," Twilight was astonished.
"what? But....she....why?"
"We don't know,"
"I see...well, would you like to go in there and look for a bunny for me?"
"That's not our duty,"
"I am a princess, and I order you to go into that forest and find Angel or else let me do it," said Twilight, starting to get frustrated with them.
"Sorry, we only take orders from Celestia herself,"
"Don't I get a guard as a princess?"
"I don't know," said the guard, also getting annoyed.
"Well, fine, forget about it," said Twilight, and left.
"How did it go?" asked Fluttershy.
"They won't let us in,"
"Oh well, we can always go back,"
"No, we are going to find your pet...we just need to get past the guards,"
"But I heard them saying Celestia-"
"I'm sure that that is just...a mistake!" said Twilight. Fluttershy didn't seem persuaded, but could see that Twilight was not going to let them go back home.
"Oh well, let's get this over with then" she said. They flew straight up, over the low clouds. Then, they swept low, behind the guards, and landed silently about thirty yards behind them.
"All right, let's be as quiet as possible," said Twilight.
"And quickly as possible," said Fluttershy, already terrified.
"Fluttershy, we only came here because you wanted to look for Angel here,"
"I know," Fluttershy said, very silently. The two ponies quietly walked together, looking for Angel. Or rather, Twilight walked quietly, looking for Angel, while Fluttershy kept as close to her friend as she could.
"Twilight?"
"Yes?"
"What's...that?"
"What?" Fluttershy pointed. An enormous tree, larger than any growing in Ponyville, but standard in the Everfree Forest. Below the tree was a dark tunnel leading into a what looked like marble steps.
"Let's take a look," said Twilight.
"Do we have to?"
"Angel might be in there,"
"I doubt it,"
"but he COULD be,"
"fine," Fluttershy whimpered, and the two trotted in. The marble steps went down on a gentle slope for what seemed to be miles. Twilight squinted her eyes to see as far as she could but she could not see any end to the hall. They kept going, Fluttershy quivering in terror. Finally, they reached an opening. They entered and gasped in awe. The room they had entered was massive, far larger than any in Ponyville, perhaps even larger than the massive rooms in the Canterlot Castle. The place seemed to have been deserted for ages, for dust had grown on the walls and floor. The room was long, with two lines of massive white pillars flaking either wall. The walls were covered in what seemed to be writing, though none that Twilight had ever seen before.
"Twilight...can we go?"
"No...we've got to have a look around!"
"But we can tell that Angel isn't here,"
"Fluttershy! Have you ever seen a room like this anywhere?"
"N-No,"
"Exactly! Neither have I...I had no idea that this was here....I wonder who built it...and why?"
"I don't know...let's go," said Fluttershy, already nervous. Twilight noticed something on the ground. It was a slab of rock. Carved upon the slab were dozens of letters, though were no kind of letters Twilight had ever seen before.
"Twilight...let's go...we shouldn't be here,"
"Fluttershy! I am a princess, and can go wherever I-"
"HEY!"
"Oh no," Twilight's first instinct was to teleport, but that would leave Fluttershy all on her own. She grabbed Fluttershy.
"Come on!" She didn't need telling twice. Although they were outnumbered, the guard having called a few friends over, they had wings, and flew over them, out into the night.
"That was...very startling," said Fluttershy, shaken.
"It's all right Fluttershy," said Twilight. She hadn't let go of the slab, and looked at it.
"Do you know what language this is?" Fluttershy looked at it.
"No, Twilight, I don't know...and I don't want to end in...there....again,"
"Fine..." said Twilight. They headed home, Twilight still holding the slab.
Secrets of Equestria's History
Once she got the rock to her home, and got a good night's sleep, which turned out to be yet another dream-loaded mess, Twilight pulled out every book she could find on languages. But, try as she might, she could not find anything that would translate the language. There weren't even any symbols that looked like any on the slab. Try as she might, Twilight could not translate the slab. She left for a bit of a stretch outside, to check out on her royal subjects, and to basically hang out. She walked out the door and realized, somewhat angrily, that she had next to nowhere to go. Applejack was still in Canterlot, though Twilight had no idea why, and Rarity was still in the mines, which ruled out the longest walks she could take to see her friends, except for Fluttershy's house, right on the edge of the Everfree forest. But she had a feeling Fluttershy would not be her full self after her ordeal the last day, so she headed for the short trot to Sugar Cube Corner. Rainbow Dash spent most of her time here, with Pinkie Pie, as Twilight could not stand her flying around the house when she was trying to work, and Rainbow Dash wasn't exactly the most quiet of ponies. Sugarcube Corner did not have the facilities for Dash to spend the night, so she still slept at Twilight's.
By the time she got there, Rainbow Dash was on her way out.
"Where are you going?"
"Me? I'm going to check up on Cloudsdale,"
"Oh...I hope it opens soon. I can't imagine why the princess would lock it down for so long a while."
"Neither do I, but I suppose she has her reasons," and with that, she dashed off, into the air, to Cloudsdale.
"So Pinkie Pie, how is everything here?"
"Absolutely great! How's everything going with you?" Twilight could not help but smile, just listening to Pinkie Pie put her in a good mood.
"I'm a bit frustrated,"
"Why's that?"
"I found this rock in the Everfree forest,"
"Oh! I can help! I;m an expert at rocks." Twilight laughed.
"No Pinkie, this has a different language on it,"
"Oh...I don't know any other languages...but hey, I think I know someone who can help!"
"You do?"
"Yea! Zecora!" Twilight pondered that
"But Zecora lives in the Everfree forest" She reminded.
"So?"
"The Everfree forest is closed,"
"Oh...I didn't know that. Wait, if it's closed, how did you get this?"
"I flew over,"
"Why not do that again," Twilight had not thought of that.
"I guess I could try that...maybe I'll bring Rainbow Dash along,"
"Bring me along for what?" Rainbow Dash flew down.
"Closed?"
"Yep,"
"I was thinking of visiting Zecora with you,"
"No can do...the Everfree forest is closed,"
"Since when did a couple of guards ever stop Rainbow Dash from going where she liked?" Rainbow Dash smiled.
"Let's do it,"
The Guards didn't even notice the rainbow blur that was Rainbow Dash, or the much slower moving Twilight. She was still getting used to them really. The set down right at the entrance to Zecora's house. The Zebra was outside, gathering some flowers.
"Twilight and Rainbow flying so hard,
Why so desperate to get past the guard?"
"Zecora, we were wondering if we could have a chat with you"
"Certainly we can have a talk,
But inside, where creature do not stalk"
The trotted inside, Twilight looking around, nervously as she went. The Everfree forest scared her. She had had many bad experiences in there, and did not care for any more.
"So Twilight Sparkle, what's the matter?
I've made lots of food, have a platter,"
Twilight and Rainbow helped themselves.
"Well Zecora, I found this stone slab. It has some words on it, but I can't understand it. I was hoping you would know," Zecora took the slab. Her eyes hardened, and then contracted in fear.
"When did you get this?"
"Yesterday,"
"Good...then we may still have some time. Where are your friends?"
"What happened to the rhyming?" asked Rainbow Dash, but Twilight cut across her.
"Applejack and Rarity are in Canterlot, Flut-" she was cut off as Zecora exclaimed in an unfamiliar language.
"Get all your friends that are left....we need to go, quickly!" Twilight needed no more talk.
"Rainbow, go to Sugar Cube Corner, and fly Pinkie Pie here now!"
"On it!" said Rainbow, and, with a whizz and the shattering of branches, she was gone.
"I'll get Fluttershy," said Twilight.
Within five minutes (Fluttershy had taken longer than expected), they were ready.
"What's wrong Zecora?" asked Twilight.
"No time to talk...we need to get out of here!" and with that she galloped away. The others ran after her.
"Well, I hope you can use all of those apples!" said Applejack, cheerful as always.
"Thank you for your help Applejack," said Princess Celestia, smiling gratefully.
"Well, we best be getting going now, right?"
"Yup,"
"All right then...bye!" Applejack and Big Macintosh exited the room. Suddenly, the doors in the room they were in slammed shut. The lights went out. Applejack gasped in the darkness.
"Now, now, what's the rush," said another voice. "Stay a while,"
Rarity was busy in the mines. She had sent cartload after cartload of iron, though she had also sent some other finer gems to her suite in the castle for use in her clothing. Suddenly, an avalanche shook the room, shutting her in a tiny cave.
"AAA!" she screamed.
"No need to scream," said another quite unfamiliar voice.
"Who's there?"
"You know who I am...."