Without a word, Twilight Sparkle hastily cantered in the direction of her home, her friends following her without ifs and buts. Inside the young alicorn's mind, uncountable amounts of hypotheses about what they had experienced claimed her full mental capacity. What exactly had Starlight's spell done that everyone they met were a uniform accumulation of routine, lacking what made them their true special self? Had they truly traveled through time, and if in which direction and how far? Or was this perhaps all just an illusion, like a nightmare they had to free themselves from? The two most important questions however were who could possibly be behind all of this, and how they could return to stop the one responsible for this false timeline so it would never happen.
Starlight Glimmer meanwhile could barely muster enough willpower to even look at all the faces that past them by. Every single one of them was a painful reminder of who she once used to be and what harm she had caused. What had happened to Ponyville, and there was good reason to believe it was not only this town, might as well had been her own doing. As much as she refused to believe that she was responsible for this, the lack of revelation ate away at her spirit. “Twilight, I'm-”
The young alicorn abruptly stopped, her narrowed eyes unyieldingly staring away from her friends. This act of sudden interruption unsettled Starlight deeply, her soul consumed by anguish, though unlike in her nightmare she did not see a white light in the distance that gave her hope. The others close to her realized how much her guilt afflicted her, and it was ultimately Applejack who stood up for her. “Twilight, you know it ain't her fault. I could tell if it was.” She attempted to make Twilight compose herself again with the reminder that she once used to be the bearer of the element of honesty.
Briefly closing her eyes, Twilight took in a deep breath before sighing at the unnecessary quarrel they were having. “I know that, Applejack. I don't blame her.” She replied firmly, visibly easing Starlight's mind. Turning around, the two protégés' gazes met as Twilight walked over to her. “But we can't deny that all of this is very familiar, even if it is much worse this time. Uniformity, the time-gate; whoever is behind all of this knows you or at least knows about you Starlight- and the methods you once used.”
The last part of her venerated mentor's explanation was like a sting to Starlight's heart, although she realized that Twilight was right. The resemblances were striking, though it was also clear to her that the perpetrator had far greater success. But wallowing in her own self-pity would not do any good, hence she took a long moment to think about someone who might want to get back at her, until finally a flash of wit struck her mind. “Chrysalis. If anyone wanted to get back at me, especially in such a horrible way, it would be her.”
Most of Starlight's friends were quick to nod, assenting to her logical suggestion. Admittedly, Starlight had a fair point, but Twilight shook her head in negation regardless. “No- perhaps- I'm not sure. While you could be right, many things don't add up. She might know about you taking control over the village through changeling spies, but the journey through time? I doubt that. Besides, she is not powerful enough to pull something like this off on her own, even if she still had her throne. Thorax, Cadance- they would never fall for her manipulation again, much less allow all of this to happen. She does not care about her subjects' happiness either, so why-”
“We get it, Twilight. It wasn't Chrysalis.” Rainbow Dash frustratedly interrupted Twilight's seemingly everlasting dissertation.
The young princess was slightly irritated by the blue pegasus' typical crassness, but was quick to nod and turn around since she could relate to where she was coming from. The less time they had to spend in this false reality and the less they had to witness of it the better. “At least she did not do it on her own. But we should. I don't expect good answers from ponies around here, and avoiding attention is probably for the best anyway.”
Continuing their march, the group arrived at Ponyville's center, where the town hall and its waterspout fountain existed intactly just like the rest of the entire village. Twilight kept wondering about what kind of varmint would manipulate the minds of everybody to be mere automatons, yet not indulge in their own hubris by placing monuments of their greatness everywhere.
“Perhaps it was Starlight's evil twin!” Pinkie Pie suddenly revealed her epiphany with a gallant posture of pride. To her disenchantment, all she received were unimpressed, raised eyebrows while Starlight squeezed her eyes shut from bewilderment. “Too soon?” Pinkie asked, silent nodding leading her to descend from her high horse.
“If I had a sibling who was interested in me, I doubt any of us would have ever met.” Starlight assured everyone that there was no bond within her family that would lead to such mass enslavement.
Rainbow Dash let out an audible, dissatisfied sigh as she impatiently kicked the ground. “Can we get a move on, please?” She reservedly voiced her frustration with an aggrieved frown. Her friends were openly vexed by her atypical moroseness, but since they shared the common interest of returning to their time they did not object.
Quietly, the 8 heroes kept moving, able to see the top of Twilight's castle which resembled her cutie mark shining brightly in the noonday sun. By now, Rarity had attained a good picture of this dreadful timeline and she wondered if it was anything like the descriptions Twilight had shared with them so many months ago. “Spike? Is this similar to- you know?” She asked her dearly beloved dragon in a low voice as to be considerate of Starlight.
Thinking about his response while enjoying their intimate adjacency, Spike eventually found himself with no clear answer. “It looks nicer, but back then the others weren't zombified. It's still unpleasant I'd say.” It was not really a satisfying answer to the light gray unicorn, but before she would cause more upset she chose to accept it without protest.
Even here in Ponyville with all its current inhabitants of different species, Fluttershy was dismayed to not see a single animal, let alone one of her fosterlings. Deep inside, the unsettled pegasus knew that worrying about them would do nothing but hurt her, yet it still was difficult for her to suppress her fears. However, Fluttershy realized that the friend most dear to her did not manage to hide her feelings on her own. Unwilling to leave her in heartache by herself, Fluttershy walked up to her and gave her a compassionate smile.
“Rainbow Dash? Are you okay?” She attempted to spirit the otherwise stalwart pegasus up, though only with short-lived success. Despite not letting her head hang low, she simply could not pretend that she could easily brush aside everything they had seen. Dastardly villains with plans to take over the world were leaving her mostly unperturbed, but seeing Twilight's brother utterly insentient, not to mention her reaction to this horrifying event, made it personal.
“I'm fine. It's just our friends- and family- I don't want to see anypony else like this.”
Briefly, Twilight held her eyes shut so her soul could digest the pain of this frightful timeline. It had been difficult enough for her to cope with the loss of her first home and all the memories it once held, but the second time was even worse. Most of her castle was nothing more but an enormous pile of crystalline rubble. Only the spire in its middle remained, bearing the giant crystal in the shape of her cutie mark. “So- it's not only you they know, Starlight.” Twilight spoke under her breath as she decided to face her bale.
Despite her grief, her friends noted grave determination in her eyes, which was why they hesitated from doing or saying anything. Twilight put one hoof on a gobbet of the destroyed castle, taking in a deep breath, swearing to herself that it would never come to this. Looking upward to the spire's top, she tried to fathom the reason why it was glowing so intensely and eventually reached the conclusion.
It was emitting a thin, rainbow-colored veil that encompassed the entirety of Ponyville like a barrier. It was nearly impossible to see at first, but once she realized it was there it was equally as impossible to overlook it. That and the origin of the crystal's glow. 6 golden shimmers were within the white light, which were its everlasting source of energy. “The elements of harmony.” Twilight whispered.
The others could not believe that the aspects they once represented were now the foundation of this empty kingdom. It was only Starlight who could not relate, although she knew about them thanks to her mentor's many narrations. She knew they were a powerful source of good, but perhaps they could be twisted for duplicitous purposes after all. “Do you think they are the reason why everypony is acting so strangely?” Starlight voiced her belief, and while it was hard for Twilight to accept, she was probably right.
“Then I'd say we get them down from there and free our friends!” Rainbow Dash blared as she took to the sky with an irate glare.
“No! Come back here!” Twilight attempted to order her friend in vain.
Fluttering in front of the grand structure, Rainbow Dash stared at the elements of harmony within, encased by nearly impervious crystal. She struck and kicked it over and over again, though she did not even scratch its surface. “Come on you piece of junk!” She groused as she rammed her shoulder against it without success.
Seeing their dear friend so agitated and misguided by her own loyalty left a twinge in their hearts. Rarely ever had Rainbow Dash lost her composure like this, but her iron will to get payback for her friends left her even more stubborn than usual. Suddenly, breaking the earthbound members of the group out of their chains of thought, they felt the ground beneath them shake violently. “Uuhm- whatever it is, I didn't do it.” Pinkie Pie hastily denied all potential accusations.
Frightened, they slowly distanced themselves from the castle ruins. Sparks of untamed magic broke out of the crystal fragments as they hovered above the ground and swirled around the spire's bottom like a vortex. 2 glints of aureate menace within the whirl's darkness emerged, at first gazing at the frightened heroes before shifting its attention to the flying pegasus.
Gasping, Spike tilted his head to the sky and tried to warn her. “Rainbow Dash, look out!” He yelled, but just as he did a big shard of Twilight's former home careered towards her.
Barely having any time to react, the others heard her cry out in acute pain. Her seemingly numb body fell to the ground, and if it had not been for Fluttershy's intervention she would have collided with it undampedly. In a rare moment of valor, the yellow pegasus soared to her best friend with a speed that nearly rivaled that of the Wonderbolts. Winding her arms around Rainbow Dash's belly, Fluttershy found herself having trouble carrying her weight, but by the skin of her teeth she managed to crash-land safely.
Coughing fiercely in her arms, Rainbow Dash smirked weakly at her fellow pegasus. “Thank you.” She spoke quietly as she attempted to get back on all of her legs with the help of her friends. After a single step, she groaned loudly as she felt her bruised left wing demand healing. “Cripes. That boulder hit my wing. I don't think I can fly like that.” Rainbow Dash admitted though she loathed to do so. After all, with her best skill unusable, how was she supposed to help her friends?
They could not even exchange relief and questions before a hulking shadow burst out of the maelstrom of crystal shards and landed close to them with a loud crack. The ground beneath the heavy entity's paws gave way, and it was with savage intent that it beheld the intruders. It was with fear they rarely experienced that they looked at the cantankerous beast bearing its opal white teeth. On its 4 legs it dwarfed a common timberwolf, especially due to its length, making it appear more like a werebeast. Its entire body was constructed out of dark, ragged crystal, unlikely to be forged out of the castle's remains. A coat around its neck and long tail, both made out of royal purple fire, bestowed upon the monster black-hearted grandeur.
Neither of them had seen such a tenebrous creature before, but all of them were certain that it could pass off as King Sombra's lap dog. Rainbow Dash's dread faded quickly as overwhelming scorn clouded her judgment. “What have you done?” She asked the beast with gritted teeth, galloping towards it, ignoring the pain of her damaged wing. “What have you done with Scootaloo?!” She bawled at it, demanding a straight answer.
The monster's only response was an earsplitting roar, its abyssal blaze flaring up like a firestorm. It was this moment of arrogance Rainbow Dash took advantage of, planting both her hind legs' hooves into its chin as vehemently as she could. Groaning and staggering a few steps, the hulking creature quickly recovered from Rainbow Dash's feeble efforts. Snapping out of her blind rage, she realized in what kind of a mess she had gotten herself into, yet her battered wing denied her a quick escape.
Just as the beast attempted to pound the pegasus into dust, two magic projectiles, one turquoise and the other a light raspberry, struck its chest. While engulfed in a detonation of arcane radiance, Applejack quickly grabbed Rainbow Dash by her foreleg and dragged her to safety. “Are ya nuts?” She questioned her most favorite rival's sanity, to which she replied only with glum apologies.
When the group reunited, Twilight and Starlight stood at its sharp end with their horns covered in their magic auras. The dust and smoke of the explosion settled again, revealing their adversary to be virtually unharmed. “Again!” Both magi shouted as they fired thin beams of raw power at the creature. The entity of dark crystals smirked before bellowing at the top of its lungs, its scream echoing throughout Ponyville entire and beyond.
Space in front of it distorted like waves contorting the surface of water, and it was abruptly that the two unicorns' attacks stopped, merely floating in midair. It was with torpid ears and daunting shock that they beheld their attacks nullified so easily, unknowing the worst was yet to come. The bolts of energy shifted in color, eventually resembling the fire that coated the beast. Twisting and turning, they split in half, then again and again until they covered its entire front. Dozens of tiny, gloomy twinkles, all of which were under the monster's control and eager to tear the trespassers to tatters.
With a single grunt, the projectiles whizzed towards the group like an artillery barrage. The ground around them burst apart into incinerated grime, and almost immediately after they were struck as well. The blast guzzled its victims, brilliant purple energy surging outward until it dissipated.
It was without breath that Twilight crouched, looking at the unspoiled grass beneath her within a crater of ashen obliteration. The last, shattered remnants of her barrier melt away like sand in one's hand. With this technique created by her brother, she had already often protected herself and those around her, but this time it had been different. Their opponent's attack had been exponentially more violent and powerful than anticipated, leaving her already forworn.
As fast as everyone in the group attempted to process the trauma and as much as they wanted to thank Twilight for her split second reaction, they were not granted any time to do so. Without restraint, the beast lunged at them, its paws ablaze with the intent of slicing the violators of its territory into burned shreds. It was clear that Twilight did not have enough stamina left to conjure another barrier to protect her friends from the guardian's attack, hence she had to forge a plan faster than ever before or suffer the fatal consequences of her failure.