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// There was no truth to be found in salvation... 
// Story: It Sleeps Beneath Foal Mountain 
// by the7Saviors 
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Granted eternal life though I may have been, I was exhausted, Twilight Sparkle—all the Pillars were. I'd spent much of my long, long life traveling the world, worrying about what the future would bring and trying to save creatures who didn't and couldn't understand the dire threats hiding within the shadows. I was so absorbed in my task, so obsessed with my mission that almost two hundred years seemed to pass by in the blink of an eye, and yet when it was all over I found myself... drained. My fatigue with it all overwhelmed my vigilance and now, looking back, I can see exactly where I went wrong, but alas, hindsight is of no help to us now.

In any case, I was ready to finally settle down and live the rest of my days in quiet solitude. For a time that's exactly what I did; I built myself a humble cottage far from the rest of civilization, sequestered myself within the confines of a forest near the Foal Mountain Range to spend my days ruminating on the knowledge I'd obtained from the Source. I was a changed stallion, haunted by what I'd seen, what I'd done... what I'd learned—and I still am. Dreams of vile black creatures and unspeakably hideous god-like beings from distant stars plagued my mind, much like I'm sure they do yours, Twilight Sparkle. I assure you, my solitude was not as pleasant as I hoped it would be, and before long I felt as though I might be crushed under the weight of my past, driven mad by the very knowledge that helped me wipe our dark history from the world.

I very well might've if it hadn't been for a chance encounter with two strange little fillies from a distant land. Two foals, a filly bearing a white coat not quite yet in their teenage years and a filly of a dark blue shade not much older than a newborn, stood before me. I knew not where they came from, only that their names were Celestia and Luna, and that they were left at my doorstep with no memory of their home. Ponies with both wings and a horn—alicorns they were called, according to the note I'd found inside the worn and grimy saddlebags of the older filly. How they'd managed to make it to my home on their own was beyond me, but the eyes of the white filly bore the look of one who'd traveled far and seen much—perhaps not nearly as much as I, but enough to worry me all the same.

That note, though it did not specify and hadn't the name of the writer attached to it, spoke of a far off land inhabited solely by this race of 'alicorns' who lived separately from the other pony tribes; it spoke of how this land was ravaged and ruined utterly by a great disaster and how these fillies were sent here to Equestria to fulfill a certain destiny. No more details were given than that, and at the time I was wary of the two. I had asked the white filly how they'd come to arrive at my secluded home of all places, and she only spoke of a stranger shrouded in a dark cloak who'd pointed the way. Needless to say, this was alarming, and my suspicions only rose that much more, but I took them in nevertheless—if nothing else to try to learn more about them and alicorns in general. I'd never heard of such a tribe of ponies before and the scholar in me refused to pass up the opportunity to learn something new.

It was that same scholarly drive that drove me to eventually become their teacher, and as the years went by, those two began to fill in the hole left by the one I had once considered the daughter I never had, though I foolishly refused to show anything that would've conveyed such a sentiment to the fillies. No, I held these emotions within myself, and when it came time to leave them—when I was called away by the other Pillars and a young stallion calling himself Stygian—I chose to answer the call of duty. Stygian had somehow found and gathered us all to stop a great evil plaguing his village—an evil that may have affected the rest of Equestria if left unchecked. While I was wary, I couldn't sit idly by while innocent ponies suffered, not when the other Pillars had already agreed to help. 

I never discovered who it was that led Celestia and Luna to me, nor had I discovered any more about the land they'd come from, and though I did learn very early that alicorns were powerful creatures, I wouldn't know of the siblings ability to control the sun and moon until you and your friends released me and the other Pillars from our prison. Celestia in particular, despite her young age, had proven to be a very capable pony, and so I chose to leave her and her younger sister alone, promising that I'd be back soon and believing the filly, now in her early teenage years, could take care of herself and her sister. Unfortunately, that would be the last time I saw both Celestia and Luna for well over a thousand years...





Most of what followed next I knew from Star Swirl's journal, including the banishment of the Sirens and Stygian's fall to darkness. I knew now that, like Alemayehu's tale, there was far more to Star Swirl's story and what was written in his journal than he let on. So far it hadn't seemed like the stallion was lying outright, but intentionally or no, I could tell he'd left some details out, such as the name of this mare he'd come to know as a daughter and the actual fate of the wandering prophet Nyar. I had my suspicions and had come to a few conclusions on my own based on the research I'd done, but the fact remained there were questions Star Swirl had yet to give any answers to. 

Setting aside my curiosity regarding the leader of Luce Prima and the Saddle Arabian prophet Nyar—and as fascinating and insightful as this tale had been—none of what I'd been told so far explained anything about the true nature of the Tree of Harmony. Again, I had a new set of hypotheses to work with, but no concrete answers. That Star Swirl was unable or possibly just unwilling to tell me more about the Unbegotten Source was a large sticking point, especially if what I suspected about its relationship to the Tree of Harmony was true. I found myself reconsidering the mad Queen's words and wondering if it was easier to simply go to her to fill in the gaps that Star Swirl had left in his tale. Before I could think too far along those lines, however, the stallion spoke again, evidently not finished revealing what he knew.

"There is little else for me to tell you that you and your friends do not already know, but while you may know the majority of what befell Stygian, the Pillars and myself, you do not know everything. In your letter, you stated that you came here to seek help for the curse that's taken ahold of you, and while I plan to do what I can for you, I know, even without Chrysalis having revealed as much, that that is not the true purpose of your visit. Under false pretense, you came here seeking knowledge—the same knowledge I sought and obtained so long ago.

"You came here to find the origin of the Tree of Harmony, yes? Well, allow me to elucidate if you would, the true nature of Harmony itself. Harmony, as you know it, does not exist. It is not inherently a force of 'good', though considering its purpose, I would certainly describe it as such. Regardless, it is not represented by the virtues of strength, beauty, hope, healing, bravery, or sorcery as I'd written in my journal, nor is it representative of the virtues present in you and your friends. Like many of the other preternatural forces that make up our world today, so too was 'Harmony' born of the Unbegotten Source. 

"It was a power birthed solely to keep the Dark Silent One and all that spawned from it at bay, a gift granted unto us by the Unbegotten Source to protect this world from that threat. Harmony, as you may already know, is not a tool to destroy; It will instead purge and if it cannot accomplish that, it will banish, it will ensnare or entrap or entomb. Harmony is all around us; like air, it is invisible and intangible, but it exists; It cannot, however, be harnessed by ponykind without a catalyst. I and the other Pillars could not reach Stygian once he answered the call of the Dark, nor could we destroy him once he became the Pony of Shadows. And so, faced with the dire threat that was the Pony of Shadows, I traveled once more to the Unbegotten Source to seek aid.

"I had already discovered a means by which to seal the corrupted stallion away where he could do no harm, but it required the sacrifice of each of the Pillars, including myself. We were more than willing to give our lives if needed to protect Equestria, but I also knew that would not be enough. If the Dark Silent One could influence the world and its creatures even through its deep and eternal slumber, then we would need somepony or ponies who could fight against that threat when we were gone. If the Dark returned to menace our land once more, we would need the power of Harmony, and so, as my final act before our inevitable sacrifice, I planted a 'seed' bequeathed to me by the Unbegotten Source.

"This 'seed' would eventually grow into the catalyst we would need to harness the power of Harmony and by extension, the power of the Unbegotten Source. It would eventually become the Tree of Harmony. This, Twilight Sparkle, is the true nature of the Tree of Harmony, and while I could not predict how such a power would come to be implemented, I know that as long as we have the Tree of Harmony, we will be able to fight back against the Dark and any other dangers that arise from it. The era of the Pillars of Old Equestria has passed, and both you and your friends are now the bearers—the inheritors of our legacy."

With these words, Star Swirl rose to his hooves, his eyes boring into mine and his expression resolute. Just as before, I could see an odd gleam in his eye, and though I still didn't know what it meant, I found I didn't like the look of it in the slightest. The stallion seemed to stand tall and imperious as he continued, his next words carrying an unsettling sense of finality.  

"Even as villainous as she was, Chrysalis was still a creature of Harmony, but now she is a foul blight on this world, an evil that must be purged, and you above all else, cannot be allowed to fall to the Dark just as Stygian and Luna did so long ago. It is possible to rid you of the Dark Silent One's influence, but for you it will be a process that requires time and patience, time being the one thing we do not have while Chrysalis remains as she is. Alas, I no longer have the power I once had, and so it falls to you, Twilight Sparkle. Before I can heal you, you must gather your friends and use the power of Harmony to banish Chrysalis while you are still able to wield your Element."

This was no mere request, nor was it a simple plea, but a demand spoken with absolute authority. Just for a moment I felt compelled to obeisance, but a voice in my mind rose to the surface, speaking out in resistance. There was a certain wrongness about the situation that, while not entirely clear to me yet, was made terribly apparent by Star Swirl's words—by his increasingly intense and hostile expression. There was a sudden air of danger about the stallion, something that told me it would be more prudent to flee lest my life become forfeit. So shocked by the violent change in atmosphere was I that any sense of trust and safety vanished entirely.

Put on edge, I too rose to my hooves as I eyed the old stallion warily. Did he really have my best interests in mind? Was he truly willing to help me? He would have me believe so through his words, but his body language, his expression, his entire demeanor said otherwise. And his story, there was something about the latter half of his tale that nagged at me—something that I felt I was overlooking. Again it wasn't so much that he was telling an outright lie—though that was entirely possible—it was more that something was missing. Somehow I felt as though I'd failed to see the whole picture, I was certain of it in fact. I decided then and there that for all her madness, Chrysalis was right. I may not have been able to trust the corrupted Queen, but neither could I rely on Star Swirl.

I turned once more to Alemayehu, wondering if he too could see the unnerving turn this discussion had taken, but the Elder merely bowed his head, as though in acceptance of whatever was to come. That simple gesture was enough to instill a sense of panic within me and almost unbidden, I slowly backed away from the two older stallions. When I voiced my unease and hesitation to Star Swirl, that strange gleam in his eyes brightened and his nostrils flared in sudden indignation, though his face remained calm otherwise. He took a menacing step towards me and it was at that moment that I realized the unsettling gleam in his eye was madness. It wasn't the same insanity that plagued Chrysalis, but rather the madness of a true zealot—of somepony who'd lived a hundred lifetimes of obsession. 

I could see it in his eyes, hear in his voice as he spoke; I realized with horror that this was the true face of Star Swirl the Bearded. Beneath the wise and righteous façade was a stallion broken and buried by his past, and it took me far too long to understand. Where there was once warmth, wisdom, and confidence, his voice and words now only conveyed ice cold enough to freeze my blood.

"Come now, girl, don't be daft. You have friends and family that are terribly worried for you. Even now they're searching all of Equestria to find you, and yet you're here, far from home and trying to push yourself further and further into a dark abyss from which there is no escape. You are a smart mare, Twilight Sparkle, surely you see that no good can come of this path you trot? There is salvation to be found in Harmony, and once Chrysalis has been taken care of, all will be as it was and we can finally put the past to rest." Still, I hesitated and said nothing in response, much to Star Swirl's obvious irritation. His eyes wandered to the saddlebags I had yet to remove from my back and lit up with sudden understanding then. "Of course... how could I have been so blind as to ignore that possibility?"

I tensed as Star Swirl's horn suddenly sparked to life with a pale white glow. At the same time, I felt my saddlebags remove themselves from my back and cried out in alarm and indignation as they were dragged through the air and towards the stallion. I watched as Star Swirl flipped open the bags and pulled from them my journal and the two tomes I'd kept hidden before dropping the rest to the floor.

"As I suspected," he muttered to himself as he eyed each book in horror and disgust, "so this is how you've come to know so much, and you've even documented your findings. Celestia has told me before that you are quite the bibliophile, and knowing that, you've most likely already read through both of these, maybe more than once... perhaps it is too late for you after all... well I suppose there is one way to find out now that I have a better understanding of just how much you may have learned."

Star Swirl turned to me then and a brief flash of his cold grey eyes was the only warning I received before a terrible pain wracked my body. I screamed in agony as my carefully crafted veil of normalcy was violently torn away, revealing to Star Swirl the monster I'd become. I stood exposed, the cracks in my frame more pronounced than before and bits of my flesh flaking away like old drywall. Beneath my skin, and covering the majority of my visage was a writhing mass of shadow. Black tendrils licked at the air, thrashing about as if they had a mind of their own. I shook with fear, pain, and a sudden fury the likes of which I'd never felt before. My journal and the tomes were dropped and forgotten as Star Swirl quickly back away from me, his face twisted in both terror and anger.

"You... you... witless mare!" he roared in abject frustration and dismay, "you've gone too far, haven't you? You've already crossed the threshold! I knew you'd delved into forbidden lore, I knew you'd had the dreams, but to think you'd already fallen this far..." he paused and shook his head vigorously before schooling his features and taking a bold step forward, "...no, it's not too late, not yet. I can still salvage your soul, I can lift you out of the darkness, but you must abandon your misguided pursuit of the truth! I've told you all you need to know, Twilight Sparkle! Let the past have its secrets and look towards the future! Think of your friends, your family! Think of Equestria and the fate of the rest of the world! Think of what will happen if you continue down this path!"

On and on he went, desperate to save me from myself, but his words failed to reach me—his pleas buried beneath my growing anger. I knew not where this sudden ire came from, but it was deep as an ocean and as black as the space between the stars. Slowly but surely it overtook the pain and fear, even as I gathered my belongings from the floor where Star Swirl had so carelessly dropped them. The tendrils that had emerged from beneath my flaking skin and fur twisted and lashed out with more ferocity than before, as if to mirror my anger. Somewhere in the far distance, I could hear Alemayehu's remorseful tone as he said something in his native tongue, possibly a prayer for all our sakes. Whatever his words meant, it didn't matter, neither of their words mattered to me.

Carefully I returned each of the tomes and my journal to my saddlebags and replaced the bags onto my back before turning my attention back to Star Swirl. By some miracle, I was able to quash my burning rage and turn it into something more focused and far colder. Star Swirl couldn't be trusted; he had no true desire to help me, he wanted to use me, to destroy me for what I'd become—what I knew. Even if his intentions had been pure, there was no way he'd let me go now that he knew the lengths to which I'd gone to obtain the knowledge I possessed now. Let the past have its secrets and look towards the future? Pah, the hypocrite! He made a good show of 'looking towards the future', but in reality, he was just as ensnared by the past as I was, just as insane as he claimed Chrysalis to be—more so even!

No, there was no helping me now, I already knew that much; I'd accepted as much, and was willing to bet Star Swirl knew this much as well. He didn't want to help me, he wanted to stop me, I was a villain in his eyes, an evil to be snuffed out like those who came before me—like Chrysalis. What I sought wasn't 'salvation', what I sought was the truth. What I sought was knowledge. No amount of pleading would deter me from the path I'd set for myself, and yet Star Swirl, blind as he was by his own past and morals, wanted to take that all away from me. He would upend everything I'd suffered for, everything I'd sacrificed, and for what? I'd seen the end of the world, I knew what was out there. I knew what was coming for us all.  

Yes, I couldn't go back now and there was no point either way. All that was left for me now was to unlock the secrets hidden in the past—secrets Star Swirl had so desperately tried to wipe from history. I had learned much from this venture, but it wasn't enough, I needed to know more before it was too late, and if Star Swirl refused to reveal everything he knew... well... I'd been granted another option now, hadn't I? That's right, there was no need to deal with Star Swirl's ridiculous zealotry. If he wanted to keep his silence about the Unbegotten Source, he could have his silence... but if I wanted to continue my pursuit of the truth I had no choice but to ensure his complete silence. 

It was truly a harrowing experience at the time, but looking back I find it amusing how much a strong conviction can change one's perspective, especially when faced with death—both when facing death, and dealing it to others. Then again, perhaps it wasn't conviction that compelled me to take up the hunting knife hanging from the wall, perhaps it wasn't determination that bade me stab deep into my barrel and spill my own blood; Thinking about how I used that blood to draw complex arcane sigils—how I chanted those blasphemous words in that ancient and profane language—I wondered if maybe I'd simply snapped. I wondered if maybe my actions that day were born of a mind that had finally collapsed under the weight of what I was doing to myself and to the ones I loved. 

Whatever the case may have been, I no longer cared about the consequences. I was certain Star Swirl would try to stop me once he realized my intentions, but I knew he wouldn't succeed, rather—I had faith that I would prevail, and so I took no notice of him as I continued to chant amidst the sigils I'd drawn in my blood. 

"Throdog nnnogor ot shuggnglui, Yog-Sothoth... Y' goka ya yaor gn'th'bthnk ph'nglui llll k'yarnak ymg' r'luh... Y' ymg' stell'bsna, mggoka fahf vulgtmor ng ahh'lagln cahff ph'nglui ah'legeth n'ghft shogg!"

These were the words I spoke, this was the chant I used to invoke the power of a god. In my bout of insanity, I was unsure if such a ritual would even work, but I continued nonetheless, a twisted grin splitting my face as the blood sigils began to glow a deep crimson. It had worked! The Opener of the Way had answered my call! Taking a moment to take in my surroundings, I could see that Sound Mind had appeared at some point and was staring down a wide-eyed and paralyzed Star Swirl with a smile that seemed almost apologetic. The well-dressed earth pony said something to Star Swirl, but I failed to hear it over the sound of the earth rumbling beneath my hooves.

The two Zebrican mares guarding the entrance entered the hut in a panic just as the space directly above Star Swirl ripped itself open. The stallion stared into the black abyss that had opened up before him, his face contorting into a mask of horror at whatever he'd seen beyond the gate. His horn lit up, no doubt with a teleportation spell in mind, but it was far too late. His horn sparked and sputtered to no avail, the spell dissipated and the immortal mage was pulled screaming into the darkness by some unseen beast. What little I did see of the creature that had emerged from the gate to drag him in was too hideous and horrifying to describe through conventional means.

Terrified cries rang out all around me as more of the villagers flooded into the hut. I stood in awe and horror at what I'd accomplished, marveling at how easy the feat had been even as my lifeblood continued to spill forth from my barrel. I was so enthralled by what had happened that it took me a moment to realize the earth hadn't stopped quaking, and another moment to realize that the ritual wasn't yet over. More gates appeared, splitting reality open and swallowing villagers whole like voracious maws. The Elder had already been taken and though the rest tried to run, most had no chance of escape. The world around me fell into terrified confusion and mayhem, and among it all stood Sound Mind. The stallion approached me as calmly as ever and whispered something in my ear, a reminder that I still had some business to attend to.

Realizing he was right, I turned my gaze towards the ceiling, listening to the raucous laughter that emanated from above, loud enough to be heard even over the chaos below. Casting aside both my doubts and awe at what I'd done for the moment, I teleported to the second floor to find Chrysalis now unchained but otherwise right where we'd left her—her monstrous form doubled over as she continued to cackle with undisguised mirth. I stood alone with the mutated creature, Sound Mind having vanished once again now that he'd evidently completed his task for now. As Chrysalis attempted to compose herself I took the time to ruminate on my actions. I'd cast the ritual in a fit of madness, complete unaware of just how devasting the results would be.

I'd gone too far, and because of it the whole village of Farasi Mweupe would suffer, but that was irrelevant now. None of it would matter in the end because there was something far worse in store for all of us, at least, that's what I told myself then. That's what I would continue to tell myself as I commit one atrocity after another. Chrysalis eventually regained her composure, and as she looked at me I knew she could tell what I was thinking; eyes or no, her expression said it all. No words were spoken between us, all that needed to be said had been conveyed in the simple fact that I was here standing before her. And so together we took our leave, paying no heed to my wound as it slowly closed on its own, ignoring the screams of the villagers below and abandoning Farasi Mweupe to its grisly fate.