//------------------------------// // F is for Familial // Story: The Heart of Worlds // by Alchemystudent //------------------------------// “What would the princess hold precious above all else?” Valtor asked,  looking to the cloaked figure. "I wouldn't know who that would be, but you may be able figure it out." The figure walked away. He grabbed a mouse in his red hand and opened his mouth wide, absorbing the magic from it,"This will be interesting." the figure said as he dropped the small animal. A light chuckle escaped his lips as he walked out of the castle. Valtor sat back on a chair, listening to it creak, "The ponies of Equestria? Well, that goes without saying, she is a princess, so of course her ponies are important. No, I have to think more personal." with a chuckle, he held up his clawed hand and began to count, "Twilight, Sunset, and Cadence, surrogate daughters. Those she would give Equestria for, but... there is one who she would give everything for..." A throaty chuckle escaped his lips as he began to think The girls left the hospital and caught sight of Spike running towards them, "Spike dear, whatever is the matter?" Rarity asked. Spike panted as he held up the letter,"It's from the princess!" Twilight took the letter in her magic and opened it,"It's the population forms, but there's something attached to it..." She took a note out,"Look for the code in the heart's book." "Heart's book? What in tarnation does that mean?" Applejack asked. Will landed next to Twilight and looked over her shoulder, "More importantly, what does it say about the people I asked about? Irma, Taranee, Cornelia, and Hay Lin!?" Twilight looked at the forms, then frowned before looking at Will,"I... don't know how to tell you this..." "Well come on, tell me!" Will said, trying her best to not take the forms out of Twilight's magic. "I need to know!" Twilight sighed as she looked again,"Your friends aren't here." Will’s eyes opened wide as she stumbled back,  her entire body trembling "W-what? B-but they have to be there. They were born there and I remember being-" Can't trust her "There with them when I-" She is lying. She wants the heart "Twilight, maybe her friends were all sent away?" Rarity asked. Twilight turned to Rarity,"I asked for birth records, even if they were sent away, their names would still be in there." "N-no. That's wrong," Will said, backing up and trembling. Her mind started to race through memories faster than ever. “You can't trust her!,” an old voice spoke out. "My name is Narissa," an old Pony said, bowing. “She just wants the heart,” the voice spoke again "You know Phobos just plays with your head," Irma said, looking ahead at a burning city. “You-” the voice was quickly interrupted by a young female’s voice, speaking with a soft comforting tone Please, trust her. They are your only chance. Trust them for now, they are your friends A pair of pink hooves grabbed Will as she stumbled back, "Whoops!" “P-pinkie. What are ya doing out here, Ah thought the nurse said you had to stay in for another day?” Applejack asked. Pinkie giggled as she lifted up Will, “The nurse saw how well I was acting and figured that I could leave a day early.” Twilight looked at Will with concern in her eyes,"Will? It's okay, we'll find your friends." She walked up and put a hoof on her shoulder. Will looked up at Pinkie Pie and smiled, "Thanks for the catch.” turning to look at Twilight she smiled, “You'll do that for me?" Twilight turned to her friends with an uncertain look, before turning back to Will,"Yeah, anything for a friend." “So, yeah, that’s why I was a little nervous about making you guys my friends at first,” Will sighed, a frown on her blue muzzle. "I'll kill them, I'll freaking kill them!" IRma said, walking next to her friend. "Irma, calm down," Cornelia said, placing a hoof onto the blue earth mare's shoulder. "Irma, its ok, really," Will sighed ."Those were just a-holes." "But they were only friends with you because your parents divorced. I mean, you have got to feel-" "Mad, not at all. Actually, I want to thank them," Will smiled. "They helped me to remember who real friends are. What real friends are like." "This hug needs some guardians, stat!" Hey Lin smiled, glomping her friend) "Thanks," Will let out a breath, "but what about the rest of the message?" "What message," Fluttershy asked, flying in. Twilight smiled at the new arrival,"Celestia sent me a message saying something about looking for the code in the book of hearts." She looked at her,"How's Rainbow?" She says," Fluttershy said, turning her head and trying not to remember how angry Dash looked. "She's fine, and she just needs some rest." Will looked at Twilight, "Do you think the code is in that heart book we found?" "Let's to the library to see that book again," Twilight said,'Although, I didn't see anything that could be considered a code...' she thought. With a slow walk the six mares and one dragon went to the library. "My lord," an old pony said, appearing next to Valtor. The dragon smiled as he looked to the old mare, her cane stuck to her hoof, "Greetings my dear servant. Tell me, how are the guardians doing at this moment?" "It is as you had requested, I have given the other four the tools and motivation they need to begin the hunts for their Hearts," the pony said, bowing. "And my hate plagues?" Valtor asked, running his claws along the table. "I am afraid only one of the carriers have made it to their destination. The others have all died," the old mare whispered. "Good, and are you sure of the time displacement?" The old mare nodded, "It is as I said before, the dimensions run on different time scales. You are free to spend as much time here finding the heart as you want. A brilliant plan, my lord. One that you came up with." "Yes... I did," Valtor muttered, looking at his claws. "Servant? “What is that staff you wield?” Valtor asked, his legs wobbling as he righted himself “Why, it is the heart of a world, my lord,” the old woman said, running her hand along the gnarled cane. “A...heart?” Valtor asked. "This is my plan right?" Valtor asked, looking at the old pony’s eyes. "Yes, it is. You came up with it the moment I told you about the tale of the hearts, all I did-" she smiled softly, "was give you the tools for it." "T-that's what I thought," Valtor said. "You have doubts?" the lady said. "No, none at all... Celestia walked into the library, "Did you find anything, Sunset?" Sunset jumped at Celestia's voice, her flank hitting the book she was reading. She coughed,"Well, I've only been able to gather a little information. This book does have quite a bit of data about hearts, but nothing on the Heart of Worlds..." "The Heart of Worlds? W-where did you hear about such a thing?" Celestia asked, a shiver running through her body.. "Valtor said something about it. Why?" Sunset looked at Celestia with a raised eyebrow. "Because it is a very powerful object, one thought to be legend," Celestia said, walking next to her student. Sunset stepped back a little from Celestia,"So if Valtor finds it, he may become unstoppable." "Yes," Celestia sighed, hating the feeling of distance from her student. "Sadly, I have only heard of such an item, but,” Celestia paused, “not its location. However, I have heard that it is said "Twin students of the Sun will find the location." Celestia said, walking out of the library. As she walked, a small tear dropped down her cheek, "Have I become such a boogey-pony in her eyes?" "Celestia! Help me! there's a spider"- a five -year-old Sunset screamed, running to her mentor’s side. "Celestia, can you help me?" a ten-year old Sunset asked, "Tia... I love you.” a twelve-year old Sunset said, hugging her mentor. “ This is my mothe-" Sunset began as she talked to the instuctor The white alicorn shook her head, trying to wipe the memory away. Discord slinked out of the window of the library, a note carried in his hand,"You may not know where it is... but I do." he laughed as he copied Celestia's horn writing on the note,"But Twily doesn't have to know that." He laughed as he drank his wine glass of chocolate milk and quickly added it to the population forms. He threw the chocolate milk away and flew off. "Tia, she's probably more scared of herself than of you." Luna appeared from the shadows again. "What do you mean, Luna?" Celestia asked, looking to her sister. "I know from experience." She said with a frown. The white alicorn said nothing, just gave her sister a large embrace. After a few minutes of hugging, Celestia then asked, "So, what do you think we should do to help her?" "Well," Luna said, not letting go,"You could try spending a little more quality time with her. No work, just spend time with her." Celestia nodded, "Probably that would be best." Back in the castle, Valtor looked at the two statues of Sunset and Twilight, then to Luna, "Which one first." “My liege,” whispered the olden unicorn, running her hoof along her glowing staff, bowing. May I recommend you send me?” “What?” Asked Valtor. “I have had experience in the dream world. True, it is nothing compared to Luna’s power, but I can manipulate it so that she would not be able to detect me,” the mare smiled. “Then go, bring me what you find,” Valtor said, running his claws along the table. Twilight searched through the book, pieces of paper with notes written on them were laid all around her,"What code!?” Twilight stomped her hoof in frustration.”I've searched every misspelling, every highlighted word, even strung together all the first letters of each paragraph! What am I missing?!" Twilight slammed her head on the desk in frustration,"Darn it! What in Tartarus am I supposed to be looking for!" She sat back up as her eyes suddenly went over to a health book. Will sighed, "Maybe the answer isn't in these books." she then noticed Twilight walking to the health book. "Ok, it couldn't be...” "It sounds odd," Twilight said as she ran her hoof over the spines of some of the tomes,"But what if we're looking in the wrong place? What if it's a play on words!?" She said as she picked a book titled, ‘The Equine Heart by D. H. Filliams.’ Twilight opened it and looked at the editor,"Hony Arm? Weird name." "I know," Pinkie giggled as she began to look through another book. "It sounds like Harmony or something!" Twilight blinked at Pinkie, then looked back at the name, then looked back at Pinkie with a wide grin,"Pinkie, you're a genius!" She said as she hugged Pinkie. She spun around and opened it up,"Look, These letters are written differently than the others... " Twilight began as she wrote down on notebook paper. Applejack chuckled as she walked over to Rarity, "Sometimes Ah think Pinkie is smarter than she looks." "So, it’s some sort of weird code?" Will asked, cocking her head. Twilight continued to jot down the letters,"The Heart of Worlds..." Twilight read out as she turned to Will,"Yes, it's code, excuse me," She turned back around and flipped through more pages. Spike shook his head,"Great, she's in her own little world again." Will giggled as Spike said that, thinking to a young black girl who would do the same. "... There, I think I got the code down," Twilight said, as she jotted down the last of the letters. The girls gathered around Twilight, "What does it say?" asked Applejack asked. "The Heart of Worlds is hidden in the decayed land of nothingness, the gates lay in sand, steel, and water." Twilight recited. She laid the notes down and tucked her hoof under her chin. "What in tarnation does that mean?" Applejack asked, scratching her head. "I think the gates are places in other countries. And those gates lead us to this Heart." Twilight said as she laid her hoof down. "But, Twilight, where do you think those places are?" Rarity asked. "Well, for sand, I would say Zebrica, but Saddle Arabia's got more desert land. Tauros is well known for it's steel crafting. And Aquastria is the most obvious place for sea."Twilight answered after she picked up a globe and pointed to the various countries. "But do we even know that Valtor has any clue to this?" Will asked, looking at the three locations on the map. "He probably doesn't know about this." Twilight said,"But I hope he doesn't find out about it." She turned to the others,"We  have to get to it before he does." "Just say the word, sugar cube, and we'll be right with ya," Applejack said. "Ah bet Rainbow would say the same, if she were here." "Will, surely you don't mind us taking a break from find-" "I think," Will interrupted. "That somehow, finding out about the heart of worlds... is connecte to my memories." Celestia walked into the library, "Sunset? I think it is time you stepped away from the books, there is something I need to show you." Sunset looked up at Celestia from her book,"Um, this is kind of important..." She said, scooting away a bit. Celestia sighed, "You have also been studying for the past ten hours. You need to rest your eyes." It has been ages since I had to deal with Twilight like this. Sunset looked at the clock above her desk,"Wow, it's been that long?" She laughed a little,"Rainbow always said I study too much." She looked down with a sigh,"Maybe I do need a break." "Yes, you do," Celestia said, using her magic to close the book. She then began a slow walk to the door, "Come." Sunset looked at Celestia, then gave a nervous sigh,"What do you want me to see?" she trotted with Celestia. "You'll see," Celestia said, leading the young unicorn to a long spiraling tower. As she walked, she looked to Sunset, "Am I to assume that your new friends are treating you well in that world?" Sunset walked with Celestia, her eyes averted from her former teacher,"Yes, th-they've been really nice to me. Even though I don't deserve it..." "Everypony deserves a chance for forgiveness, and to not be alone," Celestia said with a smile. "But, I've been so horrible to them! I've been so power hungry, so... evil!" Sunset said. "So I've heard," Celestia drapped a white hoof along the unicorn's back, she gently rubbed it to calm her former student. "But, that is something you can work towards fixing. We make mistakes to grow from them," turning her head to a window, she caught a glimpse of her sister raising the moon. "And as long as we are alive, we can correct them. The ability to change... is the right of us all. They apparently saw what I see in you." Sunset turned to the window,"What... you saw in me?" As they neared the top of the tower, Celestia sighed contently, "A little sun, whose light had yet to come out and touch the hearts of others." Sunset frowned,"How did you ever see that in me!? I was power hungry! I was constantly finding ways to become better than other ponies, just to say that I was better!" Tears were coming to her eyes. "Because, I saw more. I still remember the little filly who came to my room, asking or help from the dark things that were in her closet. I saw you jump for joy whenever you leaned a new spell or when you were able to use three unique spells at once. You may have became power mad, but I knew the truth. You really enjoyed showing what you could do," she then sat on a cushion, "I only wish I found a better way to temper that before you ran away from home." Sunset stood in the room looking away,"No, I wish I wasn't so horrible to you, or everyone else!" "I've forgiven you ages ago Sunset. I've felt more like I failed you as a teacher. But, forgiveness and the like will take time. Right now, I brought you here to see something special," the white alicorn then pointed up at the roof, which slowly opened up to show the starry night. "Lovely, isn't it?" Sunset looked up,"Yeah, it... looks better than when I last got a good look at it so long ago." A soft chuckle came from Celestia’s lips as she looked up to the sky, "That's because Luna always had a better gift for the art than I did." "Luna... was she the Mare in the Moon?" Sunset looked at the moon,"I never thought she really existed.” She pointed a hoof at the moon.”It feels odd not seeing that image up there..." A regretful sigh escaped the alicorn's lips, "Yes, she was. My fault for not paying attention to her needs or her feelings. Her rage and jealousy allowed her to let corruption take hold, turning her into a nightmare. It was only with the help of Twilight and her friends that my sister was returned." She glanced up at the moon and smiled, "You say that it is weird to not see the image, it is comforting to me. It means that one of the ponies most dear to me has come home," with that she looked to Sunset and smiled. "If I was unable to forgive my student for conquering the minds of others and destroying friendships, how could I forgive my sister for almost destroying the world." Sunset looked down with sadness,"Well, it's easy for you to forgive me." She looked up at Celestia,"Though, is destroying the world really preferable to my destruction of friendships?" "I would let neither happen," Celestia said, looking down at her student. "But, given the choice, I would rather face the end of the world with my sister by my side, than losing her and never seeing her again. Loneliness is a very horrible fate, wouldn't you agree? I think that is what Twilight's friends in that other world began to see as well. Do you know what Luna looked like when she was cured?" Sunset cocked her head,"No?" "She was tiny and small," Celestia giggled holding her hoof about eye level. "No bigger than you were." Sunny giggled,"Really? I wouldn't be able to tell, looking at her now." She looked at Celestia,"Were you ever like that?" Celestia blushed, "Me? N-no, never. And don't you think about asking Luna for evidence to the contrary.” A blue bit of magic appeared in front of Sunset, turning into parchment that read,"Yes. Yes she did -HRM Luna" Sunset chuckled at the parchment. "And what is that in your magic? What are you laughing about?" Celestia asked with a frown. Sunset simple shook her head as she crumpled up the paper and threw it into the fire,"Nothing." “All right, but I will remember to hunt down my sister later," Celestia said, a joking tone in her voice. Raising her head, she took a look at the stars, "Oh, look at those constellations." Sunset looked back up,"Wow, they're... so beautiful." She sat down next to Celestia. She pointed a hoof to a unicorn with a bubble, "There's Fizzy the goofy, who brought water and laughter to the Minotaurs." her hoof then pointed to a unicorn blowing air from her horn, "Gusty, who brought wind to the Saddle Arabians. Truly," her wing then went over Sunset, covering the unicorn as she looked at an earth pony constellation, "Who helped the seaponies with her strength of heart, and then,” Her hoof moved to a pegasus constellation,”Wind Whistler who helped the others with the fires of knowledge. It is said that those four are the guardians and protectors of the Heart." "Whoa," Sunset said," That's..." She cuddled closer to Celestia,"Amazing." "And look there, another little sun coming out," she said, pointing to a small light in the sky. "That's nice..." Sunset said as she slowly fell to sleep. Celestia smiled as she began to hear the soft snoring of her former student .Go with love upon your journey Go with wonder in your heart May the light be there to guide you Through the terrors of the dark You have always been my daughter on the day you came into my heart And I am glad to see you again There's a rainbow on the water There's a heart in the sky Will you see me when you leave? Will you know when I cry? You have so much left for me to show All the love you have given me My only wish is to hold you one more time And for us to stay for a much longer time In a parallel point of view And still they call, the friends who are there with you Will you take me by the hoof when I come through? You have left so much behind you All the love you have given life And I wish only to hold you you have always been with me In a parallel point of view I hear them all, the ones I have left behind Will you bring me to the light when you come home? Go with love upon your journey Go with desire in your heart May there be somepony beside you Who can hold you in the dark When you get to where you need to be Don't forget all that you have learned I only wish to see you one more time How I wish that I could see you one more time Go with love upon your journey “Welcome home, my little Sunset,” Celestia said, nuzzling the unicorn. "Mom..." Sunset muttered in her sleep. Twilight set a couple a books in her saddle bags, and took a few maps of Aquastria, Saddle Arabia, and Tauros from a shelf and placed them inside. She looked out the window and smiled at the constellations. She pointed a hoof at each of them,"Four guardians of the heart. Wind Whistler, Fizzy, Gusty, and Truly." She smiled before turning to her clock, eyes open wide in shock,"Wow, is it that late? Well, I suppose I could stay up a little bit more to plan my day." A soft crying was heard from the upstairs, as Twilight heard Will say, "I know you're out there. I'll find you, I promise!" Twilight ran to the source of the crying, and found Will looking out the window,"Everything alright?" "Oh, Twilight, I'm sorry," she sighed and sniffled. "I was just trying to get use to the fact that... my memories might be wrong or my friends are out there and I can't save them if they're in trouble!" Twilight shook her head,"I wasn't sleeping anyway." She walked over and sat down next to Will,"Whatever makes you think those things?” She tried to think of how Celestia would handle this situation. "I-I just don't know," the red maned pegasus said. "I thought I was born here, that my friends were born here, but now... I don't even know if they are real! I keep seeing so many visions, I can't even tell if I'm right anymore." "You are right." Twilight said as she put a hoof on Will's shoulder,"Will, I think it's going to take some time and we're probably going to have to go all around the world for a bit, but I don't think you’re wrong. Your friends are out there." "How can you trust me? For all you know, I might have had my memories wiped by Valtor just to reawaken as his agent at the last minute to kill you all," Will whimpered. Twilight shook her head,"I don't think so." she smiled,"You are way too nice for that. Plus,” Twilight chuckled a bit,” I think if you were his agent, he would use you to find where this 'Heart of Worlds' is, and he would get to the gates before us." Twilight thought If this is even his plan. What Discord said still rings in my mind. Will let out a sigh, and looked back to the window, "I-I hope you're right." she then rested her head on Twilight's shoulder, letting out a sigh. Twilight smiled as she placed a hoof on Will's shoulder,"I know I'm right. Now get some sleep." “You should do the same, Twilight,” Luna’s voice said from behind the purple unicorn. Twilight turned,”Pri-” Her eyes fell as Luna placed a horn on her forehead. “You’re welcome, sister.” Luna said as she flew off.  Back inside the clothing room of Carousel Boutique, Rarity sighed as she placed the turban in her bags,"... and now I'll get to the Tauros wear." She beamed as she went to her dresser,"Oh, but what would look good. It's to the north..." Sweetie Belle watched with intent as Rarity began going through her closet, "OH! what about the toboggan?" the little filly recommended, a smile on her. "Oh, that would be perfect! Toboggans are in this season!" She pulled out some toboggans,"But what color? "White!" Sweetie Belle smiled. A small little frown then came to her face, "Rarity? A-are you going to be all right?" "Oh, White is simply-" Rarity suddenly stopped and spun around at the question,"What was that?" She cocked her head. "Are you going to be ok? I mean, will I still see you again," Sweetie Belle asked, looking down. Rarity sighed and knelt down to Sweetie's level,"Sweetie Belle, of course you'll see me again! I always come out of all those dangerous places looking fabulous!" She raised a hoof dramatically.  She then smiled as she tucked her little sister's chin up,"I will alright, I promise." "Do you really promise? Big sister promise?" Sweetie Belle asked. Rarity hugged the little unicorn in front of her,"Big sister promise." At Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack twirled the rope in her hooves before stuffing it into her saddlebags,"Lucky rope, food, and," She tipped her hat while looking towards a photo,"Yer hat, Pa. Ah thank Ah'm all prepared!" AppleBloom ran to her sister, hugging her tightly, "Be careful sis." Applejack chuckled as she rubbed her sister's head,"Ah will. Don't cause too much trouble while Ah'm gone, ya hear?" Applebloom nodded, smiling a little, "Ah won't." "And don't forget about us while yer gone!" Granny Smith's voice came from beyond the room. "Yes, Granny," Applejack chuckled, then she turned to the red stallion in the room,"And Ah'll be extra careful, Big Mac. Don't push yerself too hard while Ah'm gone!" Big Mac frowned at her.  Applejack cocked her head,"What?" Big Mac simply pointed to a pot and a kettle. "Who ya callin’ a  kettle!?" Applejack frowned. Pinkie stuffed balloons in her bags, then put a party cannon, then a party balloon, then streamers, then cupcakes, then the kitchen sink,"There, all done!" A colt and a filly ran to Pinkie Pie to give her legs a hug, "Don't worry pound and Pumpkin, big sissy Pinkie is going o be all right!" Pinkie said as she nuzzled her little adopted siblings. "Just don't get too crazy out there, dear." Cup Cake said, walking in and putting a hoof on Pinkie's shoulder,"You just got out of the hospital." "Don't worry! I just have to know not to hop around a lot for a while!" Pinkie said, then trotted in place,"I'll just have to trot happily!" "Just keep yourself safe," Carrot said, nuzzling his little 'daughter.' Pinkie giggled as she nuzzled back,"I will!" Fluttershy stepped away from her writing desk, folding a little letter. She handed it to a bird,"Take this to Rainbow Dash, please. She needs to get ready." She turned and watched as her animals helped to put bandages, remedies, and other nice things into her saddle bags. She nuzzled Angel,”Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.” Rainbow Dash growled a little as she sat on her could, watching as a little bird flew to her. Taking the letter, she just nodded and folded it up. A Little growl escaped her lips as she slammed her hoof onto the cloud and then flew to her home. Valtor sat alone in the library when he heard the sound of a mare teleporting in, "You have returned from the dream world?" "Yes my liege, and I have something for you," said the old mare, handing Valtor a small tiny white orb. "A memory orb?" Valtor snickered as the orb flew into his palm. "Aren't we in the wrong universe for that?" "It seemed nice. While I was in the dream world, I visited the sun queen's dream for the clues for what you seek," She smiled, her white mane covering her face. Valtor raised an eyebrow, "And Luna?" "Had no idea I was there. OF course, I dare not challenge her. I may be powerful in the dream world, but she has had a millenia experience on me," the witch bowed and began to walk away. "Wait," Valtor said. "Servant...can I trust you?" "Of course my lord," the old mare said, looking back as she began walking into a portal. "I am your friend."