//------------------------------// // The Forgotten Prophecy // Story: The Forgotten Prophecy // by flutterderp sparkle //------------------------------// With Spike urging her to be careful, Twilight stepped up to the podium, seeing hinges and a magical lock on it. Both of these items were very rusty, looking like they had been left out in the rain for years with no one bothering to protect them from the weather. She tried to open the lock with a simple lock picking spell, but that spell didn't work. She was thinking on what to do next when Spike got another brilliant idea. "Twilight, if you can't open it with a lock picking spell, then do you think you could transform the lock into a fruit or something soft and just rip it off?" "Spike, I think that might work. Also, this will give me a chance to test out a new spell I've been working on," said Twilight, prepping her magic to transform the lock into an orange. Once the lock was transformed, she used her magic to create a long, purple aura around and branching off of her horn. She molded that aura into a blade sharper than any metal. She used her aura blade to slice the orange in half, which both halves dropped to the floor with a thunk that reverberated throughout the giant room. "When did you learn that spell, Twilight?" asked Spike speculatively. He didn't like the fact that Twilight knew such a dangerous spell, even though he knew the day would never come when she would use it on him. "I learned that spell about a week ago. You were sleeping while I was working on it. Owlowiscious helped me a little by letting me use her feathers to test the sharpness of the blade. I just was never able to use it in the field yet. This is the first real test of it, which is also why you haven't seen it before." "Oh. That explains a lot," said Spike with none of his concern going away. "Don't worry, I'll never use it on a sentient. That's a promise," said Twilight in a little too upbeat voice for what they were talking about. "How did you know..." Spike then trailed off. "Know? That's easy. Your speculative facial expression told me that you were thinking about something, most likely worrying, and there was really only one thing to worry about at the time, so it was quite easy after that." "Am I really that easy to read?" "Well, we've been together a while, so we should know each other very well, including what the other might be thinking when wearing certain facial expressions." "Oh. Can we get back to what we were doing now?" "Sure, Spike. Time to lift up this podium's hatch." Twilight lifted up the hatch, and inside was a scroll that looked to be thousands of years old. She picked it up and started reading it to herself. "What's it say, Twilight?" "It has a prophecy on it, written in the same language as the note outside was written in. It says, 'When Magic feels the pain and sadness of loss, the darkness will be resurrected. It will take Magic and all those who strive to get away from its path into its clutches.' And that's all it says." "Wait, I think I see something on the back," said Spike, then Twilight flipped the paper over. "On the back, it says, 'The call has now been sent to the Minion of Darkness. Keep an eye out for yourself, Magic," said Twilight, wondering what the meaning of this was when she heard a faint sound start to reverberate, starting from the top of the room. Moments afterward, a powerful gust of wind hit Twilight, Spike, and the rest of the room, forcing them to get on the ground from the pressure. The candles were blown out from this gust, leaving the room pitch black, while the door slammed shut, the sound echoing above. Twilight tried to use her magic to illuminate the room, but it failed. Then she heard a loud, ear-piercing laugh that seemed so vile in nature that it rattled Twilight to her bones and echoed up to the ceiling and back down again. "Hello, Twilight. Glad to see you," said a voice that sounded like it belonged to the same horrid creature that the bone-chilling laugh came from. "Who are you? How do you know my name?" asked Twilight, still trying to calm her surprise from the thing's laugh. "I am the Minion of Darkness, but you might know me better as a Changeling. I was sent to help fulfill that prophecy. Also, your magic is voided in this room, after a certain spell was cast," said the being, apparently a Changeling. "When Celestia finds out about this, you'll regret it!" "And how do you propose she'll find out when you're locked down here. You can't write or talk to her." "I'll get out -" "When and if you get out, the world will be different than when you last saw it," intervened the Changeling. "You remind me too much of the first and third fools who came here. Always hoping your little Princess will come and save you. Well, she'll never come!" "Wait, I'm not the first one whose been here? "No. This room has been around since before Celestia was born, before Ponyville even existed. It was found by workers who were making the library. They came in, never came out, and yet they still built a library over it. In fact, your dearly beloved Princess' sister is the third honorable mention that came in here. She came after Discord who came after Sombra. All of them were cast into eternal darkness, but two were able to escape its grasp." "Luna and Discord." "Yes, those two infernal beings escaped the path of darkness. But soon they will be back on it, thanks to you.. Anyway, I've wasted enough time here. It's time to go fulfill the prophecy," said the Changeling, and Twilight could hear the sound of a door opening, closing, locking, and being protected with a magic shield. Twilight then rushed to the door, tried to open the door, not expecting it would, and failed. She was locked in the darkness with no magic. "No! How do I get out of here? There must be a way out!" said Twilight, frantically trying to find a way out. "There's no way. I was checking while you were talking with the Changeling. We're stuck in here until it decides to release us. We might as well think of something to do to pass the time," said Spike. "Okay, what do you propose we do?"