//------------------------------//
// Season 3 Prologue: Alicorn Atrocities 
// Story: Journey To Hearth's Warming 
// by Lighttone GryphonStar 
//------------------------------//

The Pale Mare turned away from the window to the north and glared heavily at the door. She could feel the heats from the magics bouncing back and forth beyond it. The echoing of voices, forcing, raging, and twisting through the cracks of the wood. The wood of which was her only barrier, that and her will which was waining every second she looked further into these visions.

She could hear all their voices, from their current rage to their previous kindness. How quickly things change with a mere choice, they refused to let her see the actual truth, to if see she made the right choice. Did she stand on the right side back then and is she standing on the right side now? She longed for time to make the right choice, but she feared such a moment had long passed.

She finally forced herself to turn away when she felt the water drip down her cheeks. Her knees weakened with each drop. Her will, her greatest barrier, could barely keep her standing. Her stance lowered until her legs gave out. Hands wrapped tightly around her face to stop the tears.

After a moment, she realized she hadn't hit the ground yet. She jumped only for a second upon feeling enormous arms holding her up. They were rough to others and only ever soft to her, strong to the enemies yet graceful to her touch, standing tightly against denying powers yet giving to her will.

"I heard your pain." His voice brought her face upward. His cooling breath dried her tears, and she removed her hands from her face. She couldn't hide her blush when he smiled. The creature could only be described as a tall, scaly monster. His head was rough, but his frills were so soft. His arms were so big and yet so gentle.

For the first few moments, all she could do was lock eyes with him. She gave no care to his return, nor to the noises outside. The only thing that now kept her doubt in place was the fear that he would force her to choose like the ones outside were.

"How goes the battle?" her words slipped before she could stop herself.

"He refuses to yield. I doubt he ever will. And now he even has the alicorns at his side. They all demand you choose." The Scaly Monster answered. Hearing that last word made her doubt take back full control, especially when a louder explosion outside shook the entire building. "Blood Diamond is trying his hardest to keep him at bay but alone even he can only do so much." The Scaly Monster wrapped his arms around her more.

Hearing the battle changing waves only brought back the tears in full force. "Why?" She slipped her head into his chest.

"What?"

"Why can't I choose?" The Pale Mare answered.

"I... don't know..." He leaned his rough chin over her head

The Pale Mare couldn’t help but fall into the grip of his enormous arms. The combined coolness of his body and the warmth of his fur almost made all sorrow and pain wash away.

Without warning, she felt his hand upon her mane. Feeling his finger brush through it made her blush heavily. She leaned in more to meet his body. All cares faded for that moment… the return of a moment that could have lasted for an eternity.

She looked back to the time when she first met this Scaly Monster. Maybe the memories of their earliest meetings could bring her closer to her answer.

******

Many years ago, deep within the basement of a hospital, a filly laid upon a table with several tools sitting beside her. Her face was to the ground and her back prominently outward, not exposed to the target as light shined brightly upon it. The filly's age was unclear, but she was at least in her later years, not yet to be considered a mare but far older than most fillies.

A door to the room opened with a loud boom, bringing her attention to two others entering. One was an older ifrit woman in western attire, the other a tall figure cloaked in rags and a hood. Once the figure got close enough, the filly shivered at the sight of tentacles moving inside the cloak.

"Will these tools work?" A tentacle moved over the tools as the ifrit walked closer.

"Hmm," she stopped and picked one tool at a time and looked over them carefully. "While stronger tools would have been needed, these will do.”

"Stronger tools?"

"Let me rephrase, tougher tools." She picked up the small saw. "These will work, but the work will be more... gory."

"Do it!" The filly interrupted them.

The ifrit noted this lack of fear and placed her fiery hand against the filly's back. The filly streaked in pain. "You think you can handle this? You can barely handle a touch from me."

"I don't care," the filly argued back. "I need this to be done."

"Fine..." the ifrit huffed in annoyance and presented her with a mouth guard. "Bite down." The filly did as she was told while the ifrit grabbed the scissors. Moving to the back, she cut open the shirt gently. The ifrit jumped back and the sight of the prize. She carefully picked at the straps and traced her fingers over the surrounding scars, the previous attempts of her predecessors, all failures.

The ifrit felt a twitch of fear in her fingers as she looked back to the taller figure. "Master, is this really what she desires?"

"Calamity, doubt is not desired in this position. You do what we asked of you." The figure answered. He lifted his right sleeve and tentacles flowed forth over the same scars. "This filly has suffered with her curse, she simply wishes for it to finally end." The figure raised a hand to the cheek of Calamity and spoke softer. "Your grandchildren, Sanity and Vanity, have suffered from their curses, have they not."

"But this work won't change this filly's biology at all."

"Leave that to our alicorn ally." The figure pushed her hand to the tools. "Do this, and your grandchildren will be freed as well."

Finally conceding, she took up the sheers and made quick work of the straps and moved to remove the fur around the targets. Once clear, she took the scissors to clean out any smaller hairs. She reached her hands full over both targets, feeling for the joints. She jumped at the seers of pain from the filly before gripping tight at the weakened points.

A loud pop was only matched by the damping scream from the filly. Another louder pop stopped the screaming as shock took over. The targets gave no more fight and fell to the sides with ease. Calamity gripped tighter and pulled one target away just far enough before grabbing the saw.

Though the tool was small, she needed much smaller as this saw tore more flesh than needed, but did its job. Pain re-surged within the fill with the rush of blood.

The tall figure moved fast into his part, the tentacles swept over the blood, appearing the lick it away like a tongue. The more blood flowed forth, the more he cleaned, allowing the ifrit to work faster.

After a few loud cracks and a few more breaks, the first target was removed. The tall figure removed his tentacles and Calamity used her flames to burn the wound shut before the filly could lose more blood.

The ifrit placed her hand over the forehead of the filly. The little one was getting a fever fast. "We need to move quicker, or she might die."

"She won't, her kind are a stubborn species." The tall figure moved close enough until his chest hanged over the operating table. "However, you are right to be concerned." With that, the chest of the figure shook violently as a liquid sprayed from an opening.

"No, Thule." She reached over, "Your current corpse can't handle that strain."

"Then I will quickly find another." A loud crack interrupted him as a giant tentacle stretched out on the chest of the figure. "After all, we are all the light in his darkness. We must be ready to make sacrifices." On that, the large tentacle stabbed deeply into the spine of the filly with ease.

The filly shrieked louder than ever before going limb. The tentacle wrapped tightly to the bone before opening inside the flesh. Smaller, almost microscopic tentacles poured out of the holes and quickly found what veins they could. They intruded the veins and filled them with blood from before, now cleaned and refreshed, as if the blood had never left the body.

"Continue," Thule answered.

"Fine." Calamity moved over to the next target and went to cut.

Pain could still be felt from the but it didn't match the agony of the tentacles sticking through the back. It wasn't just her back as the refreshed blood moved throughout her body as she bled from the fresh wound being carved at that very moment. Thule sucked up that old blood and refreshed it as well, ensuring no blood loss at all. It was as if every part of her body was being violated. She wanted to cry, but she knew she had already cried enough. For her, this needed to be done if she was to truly stand strong again.

******

Echoes of footsteps bounced from the floors to the walls deep within the Alicorn Citadel. A lonely unicorn rushed with a stack of scrolls in his hands. He looked onward to the second tallest tower and the symbol, an orb covered in centipedes. Shame and fear traced his eyebrows as he got closer.

As the door swung open, voices could be heard matching the echoes of his footsteps until they overpowered him completely. A room lay ahead with a table and six chairs. Topaz Silk stood at one side with Celestia and Luna. On the other side was Golden William, Lord Red and Blood Diamond, the last of which wasn't there but again was using a crystal to communicate. The unicorn quickly moved to the furthermost chair to the door and present the scrolls to Lord Red.

"Thank you, Clovis." Lord Red took the first scroll and presented it to the five others. "The proof you asked for, Celestia."

Celestia looked over the data, but it only brought her more confusion. "This makes no sense. Is this all the data you have on Twilight?"

"I scanned the first explosion as soon. There are no lies. Her style matches your style by twenty percent." He pointed to Luna, "And her magic output matches yours by fifty percent."

"Impossible. This data makes no sense." Golden Williams couldn't agree with Lord Red at all on this. He had supported his other points, but this one made no sense. "The only way such data could be possible is through linage or tutelage, both of which currently impossible."

"Current is the point," Blood Diamond finally spoke up. "When I encountered her she had high levels of light magic around her."

All but Topaz Silk grew silent to this. She alone answered, "The Omnious."

"No," Blood Diamond corrected, "While the Omnious is said to have both magic inside them, the light magic around Twilight is far too thin, a shell for Twilight, an anchor, holding her to this timeline."

"Time travel... You mean that light magic event two years ago," Golden William concurred.

"Yes, I believe these two things are connected." Lord Red answered them.

"Impossible, the current time travel available can only send items, not creatures." Luna opposed. "And such time travel is still thousands of years away."

"Yes... but that doesn't mean it won't be complete soon." Celestia conceded to her realization. The rest looked at her, curious about what she meant. She turned away from their glares and answered slowly. "Starswirl has been attempting to finish a proper spell for some time now."

"Or he will be destined to complete it purely because he has contact with this time traveler." Lord Red confirmed.

Seeing all this finally reach its conclusion, Topaz Silk finally gave her advice, "It seems this Twilight has a destiny, whether its to help Starswirl finish the spell is unclear right. The chances are high that she may simply inspire him and her own destiny might be something else entirely. What we aren't considered is if her arrival was planned, then what is her purpose in this timeline and how will it affect the fate of the future."

******