When Lilly came to, the world around her had changed dramatically. The ground was dark grey and the sky was black and filled with stars. She looked around and saw nothing but a barren wasteland she turned around completely and her eyes widened. She was looking at Equestria, not a map, but the entire planet. She did a double take around her to confirm, and there was no doubt. She was on the moon.
“Wha…how…Whe…” Lilly began to panic as she frantically paced in circles hoping to find an answer. That answer came in the form of a voice coming from behind her.
“Do not worry, you are only dreaming.”
Lilly turned around to see a colt approaching her slowly. His body was ghost white and his mane was as black as the night sky above them. He wore a dark black shades and his horn…was broken. Lilly began to retreat away from the colt.
“It’s you! ACE warned me about you, get away from me!”
“I am not an enemy Lilly.” The colt reassured her.
Lilly stopped her backwards walk and stared at the colt. “How do you know my name?” She inquisited.
“Because of ACE” The colt responded. “He and I have been communicating regularly; I seek his aid in a grave matter that concerns all of Equestria.”
“If this is my dream how are you here in it?” Lilly continued to question.
The colt shrugged. “Magic is a powerful tool in the right hands, especially when you have access to what I have.”
“Can I ask you one last question?” Lilly continued on.
The colt shrugged then nodded.
“Who are you?” She asked.
“I am a ghost.” The colt replied.
The world around the two suddenly began to shake and shimmer; parts of it appeared to melt while others simply began to vanish without a trace.
“Cursed night” Exclaimed the colt. “Someone else is trying to invade the dream. I have to go now, but we will see each other again very soon!”
With that last note before Lilly could object the colt was gone in a puff of black smoke. Lilly became scared as her dream seemed to collapse around her, slowly dissolving into a plane of solid white. The more of her world that left her, the more scared she became, and soon not a single thing remained. Lilly could hear hoof steps approaching her but she was curled up and too scared to see who it was. Eventually the hoof steps stopped and she was greeted by a familiar voice.
“Arise Lilly, do not worry, I intended no harm to you.”
Lilly looked up to see Princess Luna looking down at her. She eagerly arouse then bowed before the princess of the night.
“Was it you that did this princess?” Lilly asked her.
Princess Luna nodded to the mare. “Recently, I have been getting disturbing news that ponies have seen a stranger within their dreams. At first it was hard to think anything of it, after all dreams are capable of being about anything and everything, but more and more ponies began to report this. Thus I have been tirelessly investigating. When word got to us that the entire populace of Baltimare had all fallen asleep all at once, I thought I could find the one responsible, but he has eluded me. He left your dream and has traveled to a place I cannot see nor reach.”
Lilly began to worry, or at least she thought she began to worry. She had come to terms with the fact she was dreaming. If the colt had gone to a place Princess Luna could not go. He must have entered the dream of someone who was not a pony; someone like ACE.
“Tell me Lilly” Princess Luna continued “Have you see a strange colt in your dreams tonight?”
Lilly nodded. “I was approached by a white unicorn with a black mane and shades.” Princess Luna became concerned with Lilly’s description.
“The horn of this unicorn, was it broken my dear?” Inquired the princess.
Lilly nodded and Princess Luna put her hoof to her mouth lost in thought.
“Is something the matter princess?” Lilly asked concerned.
“The description you gave me matches that of my old apprentice. A brilliant and studious unicorn named Monochrome.”
“Old apprentice?” Lilly repeated. Princess Luna nodded her head, and continued with her story.
“Monochrome was shunned and ostracized by most ponies due to his horn and his obsession with his studies of magic. He spent most of his life wandering, but traveled only by night. It was because of this that I became aware of him. I took the colt as my apprentice just as my elder sister took on Twilight Sparkle. With me as his guide Monochrome began to assimilate into normal society, and eventually he even made good friends.”
“So what happened to him?” Lilly interrupted.
Princess Luna looked down to the floor. “He passed away, or so we all thought. He gave his life to save Twilight and his friends. It would have taken a powerful magic force to save him, and now that he has returned, he seems to have gained very powerful abilities. Tell me, did he tell you as to why he was traveling through the dreams of other ponies?”
Lilly shook her head. “I’m sorry princess, all he said was that he was searching for someone to help him with ‘a grave matter that concerned all of Equestria.’”
Princess Luna continued to think to herself before turning to face Lilly.
“If it is a situation so dire that my old apprentice has been revived, then I will have to alert my sister immediately. I must leave now Lilly but fear not, you and your friends should be awoken again by this next days end.”
“Princess if I may,” Lilly interrupted. “Before you go may I ask you for a favor?”
“What is it my dear?” Questioned the princess.
“I’m concerned for my boyfriend. I fear that Monochrome may be trying to intrude on his dream as well. Is there a way you could help me reach him?”
The Princess pondered the idea. “Ordinarily this would be impossible; however there is a strong bond between you and young ACE, and your bodies are currently connected as well. I can transfer your consciousness to his but beware; should anything happen to you, I cannot guarantee that I can return you to your own body.”
Lilly agreed despite the warning. She didn’t mind putting herself at risk if she could be there to help ACE in any way. Princess Luna’s body began to shimmer and soon both she and Lilly were glowing with a bright white light, then suddenly the world went black.
~~~~
“Ow my head….ow my horn…” ACE ran his hoof along his horn which was ice cold and curved backwards.
“Huh?” Looking down at himself ACE noticed that he was no longer disguised; he had returned to his original form, Lord Amethyst the Changeling.
“A disguise is hardly necessary when you’re in a dream ACE.” Amethyst recognized the voice and turned behind him to face the white colt with a broken horn.
“If I’m not disguised there’s no reason to call me by that name now is there? Or do you not know my real name?” Amethyst taunted.
“You are correct Prince Amethyst, I apologize.” The colt put emphasis on the word ‘prince’ in an effort to return
Amethyst’s taunt. The changeling hissed under his breath. Was there anything this guy didn’t know?
“It’s time you told me who you really are!” Amethyst demanded. “And don’t go throwing out the ‘I am a ghost’ line!”
The colt shrugged, like it or not it was about time he revealed the truth to the changeling.
“My name is Monochrome. I am the keeper of the secrets of Tartarus. I am also the ex-apprentice of Princess Luna, and the ex-wielder of one of the Elements of Order.”
Amethyst shook his head to process the information dump. “Wait wait slow down. Elements of what now? The only elements I know of are-”
Monochrome cut the changeling off. “The Elements of Harmony. These are similar, but like two sides of the same coin; the Yang to Harmony’s Yin if you will.”
Amethyst couldn’t tell if Monochrome was trying to make a pun or not. Monochrome’s cutie mark was a Yin-Yang, and though Amethyst didn’t know what it represented, it clearly had something to do with magic.
“Curious about my cutie mark are we?”
Amethyst shot Monochrome a confused look in response to what he had said.
“You can read minds now?” Amethyst asked halfheartedly.
“I don’t have too; I simply read your face.”
Amethyst was starting to get annoyed with Monochrome’s “all-powerful” attitude. Still, he supposed that anyone with that kind of track record would probably act like that. He just wished Monochrome was a bit more modest about his abilities.
“Anyway” continued the white unicorn. “My cutie mark is a yin-yang, as I’m sure you can tell. It represents my talent for both types of magic in the world. There is white magic, which is powered by concentration, discipline, and the strength of the bonds you share with those around you. Then there is black magic; a less common branch of magic that is fueled completely by one’s emotions. The more potent the emotions you give out, the stronger the magic becomes. Due to the experiences I have encountered during my extended life time, I am a master of both.”
Again with the high and mighty talk Amethyst thought to himself. “What does any of this have to do with me Monochrome?” Amethyst asked.
“I’m getting to that.” Monochrome replied bluntly. “Aside from my magical talent, I am also the original owner of The Element of Balance, the most powerful and elusive of the Elements of Order. Think of it as the counterpart to the Element of Magic. However, because I have become bound to the plane of Tartarus as its new keeper, I am no longer able to maintain my bond with the Element. Thus I have begun a search for somepony else to take my place. That search, has lead me to you Amethyst.”
Amethyst once again gave Monochrome a very confused stare. “You’re giving me the Element of Balance?”
Monochrome shook his head. “No not quite. You see Amethyst, the Elements of Order not as frivolous as the Elements of Harmony. They are an absolute force for good, and their powers have the potential to overwhelm their users if they lack the same mindset. This is why I have been following you for as long as I have, I needed to test you, make sure that at the end of the day you were a driving force for good in the world. This testing process would have taken much longer ordinarily, but I am out of time. I have to escalate your testing, thus I have pulled you into your subconscious, a place where anything and everything can happen at a very rapid pace.”
“Why exactly are you out of time? For that matter, what makes you think I am capable of wielding the Element of Balance?” Amethyst continued to throw question after question at the colt who eventually had to interrupt him.
“A powerful force will be upon Equestria soon, one that the Elements of Harmony will be powerless to stop. As for you, I know you are the one, because of what you are. You’re not quite a changeling, but you’re not a pony either. You are both and none, everything, but also nothing at all.”
Amethyst rubbed his head with his hole-covered hoof. This guy’s riddle was starting to give him a headache. “Anyway what is this test?” Amethyst inquired.
“I sought out other ponies before I came to you. They were potential candidates, but their lives were flawed and they each had many problems of their own. Each of these ponies will represent a trial. Improve the lives of those who came before you, and you will have proven yourself a worthy successor to the Element of Balance.”
Amethyst shrugged. “Seems simple enough. I accept this task.”