Twilight Sparkle awoke with a start. It was pitch black, and cold. "Morning Star?" she called, feeling around for him. No answer. She looked up. There was nothing, not even the stars and moon. Twilight had no idea where she was, and no idea how she had gotten this way. "Hello? Is anyone there?" she asked, hearing nothing but deadly silence all around her. Steeling herself, she decided to risk a light. The tip of her horn glowed with a gentle purple light, throwing a circle of illumination that showed her nothing but grass under her feet. She decided to make it brighter. The light increased, switching from a soothing purple to a bright, almost painful white. It travelled across the small clearing she was in, revealing trees all around her. Finally, she was able to see an opening in the impossibly dense foliage surrounding her. Seeing only one way out, she trotted towards it cautiously. Ducking her head, she came into a larger clearing where a small shaft of faint moonlight rested on a pool of milky water. Wary, she called again. Somepony had to bring her here, now where were they?
"Hello? Can anypony tell me where I am?" she asked, feeling a bit silly. She waited, hearing nothing but silence. Sighing, she turned to find another way out, pausing at the sound of rustling coming from the trees surrounding her. The clearing had gone from completely silent to a noisy skittering, rustling mess in a matter of moments. Twilight gasped, shying away from the trees. A canopy of beetles, spiders, centipedes, and other insects was approaching rapidly. Turning to run, she was met with a gust of wind that blew together a pile of wet, rotting leaves and fungus, swirling in a miniature tornado and blocking another path of escape. Twilight bolted toward the only lane open to her, but stopped short again. The corpse of a fox dragged itself across the ground, flies fleeing from its eyes and its ribs exposed. Bony voles and shrews clambered on top of it, and a bird with a mostly severed head and a mangled, ravaged body landed on top. As the pile grew, Twilight shrank away, readying herself to blast her way out. She turned to face the tide of bugs, and noticed something peculiar. The insects were not pursuing her, having paused to congeal into a shapeless mass of carapaces and thorny limbs. The pile of rotting animals had done the same, as was the pile of dead leaves. Twilight stood her ground, ready to fight. The piles started to circle her.
"Welcome, bold hero..." a voice came from the mass of bugs, a mouth forming in the front. Twilight watched in horrified fascination as a centipede fell out of it, blending seamlessly with the rest of it. Its voice was female, that of an old crone, decrepit with age. Eyes formed as well, watching her intently.
"We have long awaited your arrival..." came another voice, this from the pile of corpses. Gristle dropped from the top of its head, landing with an unpleasantly wet sound behind it. This voice was male, deep and forbidding.
"Do you know who we are, child?" came the third voice, from the pile of rot. Its voice was that of a young filly, reminding Twilight eerily of Sweetie Belle when she was younger.
Twilight had the feeling it would be a very bad idea to let these...things know that she was scared of them. Pulling herself together, she decided that the best way forward was with courtesy. After all, they hadn't really harmed her yet. "I must admit, I do not. Could you tell me where I am?" She asked, her voice unwavering and direct.
"Such courtesy!" the leaves said, with a mocking laugh.
"We are the Keepers of the Grove of Truth", the pile of corpses intoned.
"You have done a service to this forest, ridding it of the foulest walking dead," the insects said, "And you may ask one question, to be answered truthfully."
"We know all, Past, Present, and Future." the corpses whispered.
"But be warned," the sweet young voice of the leaves said. "You may not find the answer to your question pleasant."
Twilight's thoughts were racing. This was exactly the thing that had happened to Applejack, all those years ago. Cut off from her friends, she claimed to have met beings very like these. She had not known, of course, that they were controlled by Discord in a devastating attempt to destroy her mind. Could this be a trap? Discord had been sealed in stone, stronger than ever before. The Elements were keeping him in check, there was no way he could be free. And even if he was, Twilight remembered his avoiding the Everfree. Although he had thrown Equestria into Chaos, he had not done anything to the Everfree forest, either because he wouldn't, or couldn't. The more she thought about it, the more convinced she was that these were the real Keepers. And if they were real, then wouldn't their offer be as well?
What would she ask? There was a golden opportunity here, to know the answer to any of her questions. Suddenly, the vision of the Talent Mark of the ghostly captain flashed through her mind. She had her request.
"Have you made your decision, child?" asked the pile of corpses, moving closer
"I have. Please, show me the death of Golden Radiance. What happened to her? Why did she die?"
Her question suddenly echoed through the Grove, fading into silence. Suddenly, she felt as if she had just asked the wrong question.
"The death of Golden Radiance is what you seek." said the pile of leaves, moving to the pool and gazing into its ivory depths.
"A mare most proud, and a curious mind." The insects replied, moving to stand next to it. Twilight trotted to the pool as well, sensing the pile of corpses moving in beside her. It spoke next.
"A terrible tragedy, or so it seems." the corpse pile rumbled quietly.
"But she was murdered, for what she did find!" they said together, suddenly pushing Twilight into the pool. She struggled to keep her head above the icy water, but it was dragging her down, down, down...
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Twilight fell through the dark, panicking and struggling for air. She swiftly became disoriented, unable to tell in her weightless environment which way was up. Her frenzied thrashing made it worse, as bubbles rose all around her, some traveling up and others down, giving her no help at all. Finding light at last, she swam toward it, hoping against hope that it was the surface. Her lungs burned and she felt her chest seizing, demanding that something fill her lungs now. Finally, she broke through to the light, gasping for breath. Startled, she realized that she was no longer standing in a pool of water. Instead, she found herself standing on a cobblestone street in the dead of the night. She looked around confusedly, trying to get her bearings.
She looked up the street in front of her, breath catching in her throat at the familiar sight of Princess Celestia's castle towering above the streets. It looked...different, somehow. Twilight peered closely at it, and realized why it looked somewhat unfamiliar. The castle was still under construction, the tallest towers unfinished. The streetlamps around her flickered with actual flame, instead of magelights. Twilight realized where she was. She was standing on a street corner, nearly three hundred years in the past. The Keepers had granted her wish, that much was sure. But how did she know where to go? She looked down the street perplexedly. Her horn sparked a little, which Twilight took as an indication to keep going.
As she trotted down the street, she marveled at the lack of people. Canterlot was usually second only to Manehatten in nightlife, but the streets were hushed and dark. Windows were shuttered, and nopony walked the shadowy roads. Of course! This was way back when there was a curfew in effect, in order to cut down on crime and to combat the very real threat posed by fire from late-night candles. Twilight realized that if she was seen, she'd be questioned or fined or even imprisoned! Unsure of what to do, she decided to duck around another corner...right into the path of two watchmen of the Royal Guard, each carrying a lantern. She froze, fear welling up inside of her. The two Guardsponies didn't even break stride, passing through Twilight like she was made of so much smoke. "I suppose that makes sense. I'm the ghost here, not them." she thought to herself, continuing to follow her horn with renewed confidence.
She followed it through alleys and down boulevards lined with trees in full flower. Her horn got noticeably warmer the closer she got, a feeling that was not unpleasant, but very noticeable. "I must be getting close." she thought, turning down a fairly well kept avenue with cheerfully colored houses lining it. Her horn shone constantly, and heat radiated from her horn as if it was made of burning coals. As she continued, the feeling increased, becoming almost unbearable. And suddenly, her hooves stuck fast to the ground, and her horn flickered off with a sense of satisfied finality.
Twilight Sparkle stared at the house in front of her. It was dark save for a steady, warm glow from a room on the first floor. The lawn was well kept, though small, and the window boxes affixed to the front held a wide variety of flowers. As Twilight trotted up the front walk, she got the feeling that this place was well loved, not just another house but also a home. She stopped at the front door, painted a cheerful yellow. Raising her hoof to knock, she experienced a brief moment of surprise when the appendage went right through the wood instead. "Oh. Right. Ghost, no need to knock." she thought, heading into the parlor.
She was expecting a house full of papers, genealogies tacked to the walls or at the very least shelves full of haphazardly stacked books. What she saw instead was a brightly polished wooden floor, well swept with a rug laid by the door for ponies to wipe their hooves on. An umbrella and long coat hung on hooks on the wall, indicating a recent rainstorm. The air was warm, with the smell of fresh bread and roasted apples spilling into the hallway. A staircase led to a closed door, portraits lining the walls along with a rack of spices by the door where the light was coming from, presumably the kitchen. Twilight moved toward the kitchen door, pushing her way through it as well. Two ponies were talking by the light of a small candle, their voices hushed and urgent. One was clearly Golden Radiance’s husband. His Cutie Mark, a simple fiddle, was all that Twilight could see. His back was to the door, facing his wife. Golden Radiance herself was beautiful. Her long blonde mane curled in on itself, forming delicate ringlets instead of the more common style of curl Rarity favored. Her eyes were large, brown, and intelligent. Her coat gleamed a curious grey-gold color in the light. The splash of color on her flank came from her Cutie Mark, a five pointed star, surrounded by brilliantly blue flames, a rose twining itself through the spokes of it.
"We cannot stay here, my love." Golden Radiance was saying, her voice worried. "My House can no longer protect us, they are stretched to their limits already. We must leave!"
The stallion paced nervously, giving Twilight a good look at his features. He was handsome, with a black mane and green eyes crinkled at the corners with laugh lines. His voice held all the swagger and captivating intensity of a showpony, and Twilight found herself listening for every word he said.
"Where would we go?" he asked. "All we have is here. Neither of us knows anything about the world outside Canterlot, and you know there are ears everywhere. And where there are ears, knives are sure to follow." Twilight shuddered. She felt a need to warn them, to tell them to gather up their foal and run, run far away from those that were even now coming to kill them. But an unseen force held her in place, and she realized that it was too late, about three hundred years too late.
"It doesn't matter," Golden Radiance said, looking her husband in the eyes. "We need to get out of the city. Leave, and never come back. We can head for my ancestral lands. There are ponies there who remember the glory of House Radiant still. They will harbor us, we can follow the river away from here. We can make a new life in a small village where we can't be found. It doesn't matter where we go, but right now we need to go." And with that, her husband nodded.
"I'll get Starburst. Pack up a few supplies, any notes you might have. We'll leave now, while it's dark. If we stay to the back streets, we can avoid the Night's Watch." With that, he turned and walked quietly up the stairs, presumably to retrieve their young foal.
Golden Radiance moved with urgency, her horn lighting up. She summoned several saddlebags from a nearby table, filling them with traveling food, flint, tinder, a bag of bits, and a few other bits and sundries. She sealed them tightly inside a waterproof tarp, sliding the bundles into the saddlebags with urgency, but not panic. Sealing them shut, she turned to the door, finding her husband with a young colt on his back, wrapped in swaddling clothes. He was sleeping peacefully, a dirty brown lock of hair falling across his face.
"Are you ready?" she asked her husband, settling Starburst inside one of her bags gently, sealing the top loosely to keep him warm.
He trotted out into the hall, heading for the door. He pulled his coat on, and said "Now I am. What of your notes?"
"They are concealed up in the palace. I buried them deep, and bound them tightly. Nopony will realize what they are holding even if they are looking for it, not without help." With that, she pulled her hair back into a ponytail, blowing out the candle behind her and moving to join her husband in the hall. They shared a kiss, and he trotted forward to the door, placing his hoof upon the knob. It was at this point a bolt of icy white magic slammed through the wood, impaling him smoothly, and leaving a perfectly round hole.
The stallion looked down, at the dark blood dripping slowly from the wound. Then, as Golden Radiance looked on in horror, his eyes rolled up into his head and he collapsed in a boneless heap. His breathing still labored, but Twilight knew that it was only a matter of time now. He would be unconscious in the next ten seconds, dead in the next minute. Golden Radiance’s mouth worked in shock, unable to process what she was seeing. Suddenly, something snapped in her. She fired a bolt of magic at the door sloppily, running down the hall, presumably toward a back door. The front door exploded into slivers, shard embedding themselves in the walls and ceiling, several passing through Twilight. One, either by accident or design, flew down the hall, striking the fleeing mare squarely in the flank and sticking there. Thrown off balance, Golden Radiance twisted to protect her foal, striking the wall with a thud.
A bulky earth pony stepped over the door, several more following behind, a unicorn bringing up their rear. His voice was low, devoid of passion or empathy. "Golden Radiance. You are hereby charged with treason against the nation of Equestria, the penalty for which is death. Surrender yourself immediately."
"Oh, goddess no..." was all that Golden Radiance could say.
"Understood." the earth pony stood aside, allowing the unicorn a clear shot. "She is resisting arrest. Kill her." The unicorn complied, lowering his head as more icy energy played around his horn.
Golden Radiance tried to run, to no avail. The bolt of energy passed through her head, killing her quietly and efficiently. The sudden impact woke up Starburst, who gave a low cry to find himself confined in the dark. The guards appeared not to notice. The commander turned to the unicorn, who met his eyes. "You know what to do." he said, watching expectantly.
The unicorn concentrated, a flare of magic emanating from his horn, pulsing and growing in strength. The foal began to cry in earnest, sobbing louder and louder. The sound was impossible to ignore. Not a pony batted an eyelash as the unicorn let loose another bolt of magic, which splashed over the floor and stairs down the hall. Turning as one, they left, the unicorn repairing the door behind them, save for the small hole where his magic had come through. Twilight watched in horror as the magic crackled and ignited, turning into horribly intense flame. The foal began screaming now, a terrible sound that Twilight wanted to stop, but she couldn't move away, and the flames crept closer and closer to the body of Golden Radiance, and the colt trapped next to her, and finally the flames had reached the saddlebags. They flared up, the shrill cries of the baby becoming true howls of pain and fear, and Twilight realized she was crying, huge tears rolling down her face as she watched helplessly, as a foal died right in front of her and she could do nothing...
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"Twilight? Twilight, wake up. Twilight!"
She opened her eyes, feeling a hoof on her shoulder. She was sobbing hysterically, screaming at the top of her lungs, "Help, somepony save him, please! He's a foal! Please, somepony help!"
"Twilight! It's ok, you've had a bad dream, I'm right here, I promise! Twilight!" and with that a familiar set of hooves grabbed her head, turning her forward to look into a pair of worried green eyes. It was Morning Star. "Twi, are you ok? Talk to me!" he said, studying her closely.
She looked at him, tears welling up in her eyes. Sobbing, she threw her legs around his neck, burying her face in his fur and crying until she couldn't anymore.
"Shh. It's ok, Twilight, I'm here." he murmured gently, stroking her mane.
"I had the worst dream..." she mumbled into his chest, sniffling as she said it.
"It's alright Twilight, it was just a dream, you're safe. Do you want to talk about it?" he said softly, trying to calm her down.
She drew in a deep breath, composing herself. "No, I'm ok." she said, pulling away.
He studied her face closely, checking her over. "Alright," he said, kissing her on top of her head. "But if you do, I'm here."
Twilight nodded, and dispelled her camouflage, letting in new sunlight and fresh air. She inhaled, calming herself down. She caught a sickly-sweet stench wafting through the air. Trotting over, she arrived at the tree line. There, on a bed of dry leaves, worms crawling through it, was the corpse of a fox. As she watched in horror, one eyelid came loose, shutting itself in a horrible parody of a wink.