//------------------------------//
// ...and thus, I am Twilight Sparkle no more. 
// Story: It Sleeps Beneath Foal Mountain 
// by the7Saviors 
//------------------------------//

As she continued to speak her soft words gradually grew into exultant cries of sheer fanaticism—her voice brimming with a nigh maniacal religious fervor. That fervor quickly dissipated as the tell-tale pop of a teleportation spell caught all ears in the vicinity. 

Chrysalis and the others turned to find none other than Princess Celestia standing tall and alert a short distance away. In her wake, she'd brought with her every other pony I'd trapped within the Crystal Cavern. How they had all managed to escape my rite and deduce that I'd come here I was unsure until I saw the expressions of my former companions.  

There was fear and uncertainty there, yes, but I could also see something more than that. I could see a deeper horror in their eyes. I could see understanding and a vague dread of sorts that wasn't there when we'd last met. Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Fluttershy—some had found the fruit of forbidden knowledge far more bitter than others, but they had all partaken. 

It came to me then that their release was, in all likelihood, due to Luna's interference. As for how they had all discovered whatever they now knew in such a short amount of time, that remained a mystery. Perhaps that too was Luna's doing. perhaps they had somehow discovered my notes or the tomes. Perhaps the Pillars had decided to reveal to them all the true history of Equestria. 

Whatever the case may have been, Celestia and the rest were no longer entirely ignorant of what lay beyond the veil of normality. Now it appeared both the Elements and the Pillars of Harmony had arrived just in time to bear witness to the final act. 

It didn't take long for the Solar Princess to find her sister, her body still limp and unmoving save for an occasional involuntary twitch. The rest of the world seemed to slip away from Celestia as she rushed to Luna's side, crying out her name in abject horror. In response to her sister's queries and pleas and assurances that all would be well, Luna appeared to come to her senses somewhat.

Her eyes refocused on the mare before her, though they were cloudy and distant and wide with terror. It was as if the Lunar Princess was looking past Celestia and toward some freshly remembered nightmare. Her mouth opened, her lips moved and she spoke in a hoarse whisper so weak as to be nearly inaudible.

"Sister... I've... I've made a grave mistake... th-the amulet... she cannot be allowed to have it... I hadn't... I never meant to... b-but if she lives... her resurrection... 

"The Old Night... The thing beneath the mountain... i-it will be... the end of us all... Please... get the amulet... a-above all else... do not let her have..."

The rest of her entreaty withered and died in her throat. Having used the last of her strength the mare faded once more into the cold embrace of insentience. Distracted as the Solar Princess was with the well being of her sister, the same could not be said for the rest of those she'd brought with her. 

A few words with Shining Armor were enough to give them all a rough idea of the situation. The sight of my body and the Mad Queen's ghastly appearance was enough to send a fresh new wave of terror and distress throughout the newcomers. Spike called out to the others for help as was expected, but it was the powerful and rapturous voice of Chrysalis that carried to the crowd. 

"A-And so you've all come... just as I knew you w-would!" she cried out, her previously perfect prose once more halting and broken under the weight of her madness, "a-and now... finally... th... the s-stage is set! The audience has... h-has gathered! The time... i-is... now!"

As if in response to her final words, something in the already tense atmosphere shifted drastically. An ominous weight hitherto unfelt or outright ignored began to press down on everypony present. It subdued and swallowed up any lingering anger, panic, or dissent among the group, leaving behind only a nameless and immutable sense of dread.

I too felt that weight even incorporeal as I was—though it was not dread that permeated my soul, but purpose. Up until now, I had been content to observe as events played out—as fate danced to the Mad Queen's captivating tune. Now, however, the time had come, just as Chrysalis said. The finale had arrived and it was time for me to play my part.

Already the sky seemed to darken unnaturally as if the mountain was unable to fully contain the will of the stirring god deep below. Beneath the churning darkness beginning to envelop the sky the signs were starting to show; bemused and frightened, the crowd complained of a powerful itch in their eyes and terrible whispers in their minds—the voices powerful and ancient and incomprehensible.

"Ah, th-the Harbinger's music... that b-beautiful melody wh... which can rouse the soul of... even the Great Old Ones..." Chrysalis cried suddenly, "b-but alas... the wretched Moon Princess has... h-has shut your eyes and ears t-to the cosmic minstrel... and its w-wondrous sound..."

She spread her skeletal wings wide and raised her ecstatic expression to the tainted sky above. The black tendrils splitting her mutated flesh and carapace twisted and writhed hideously as if to mirror her jubilation.

"...b-but fear not, you poor creatures... for I w-will lift the veil... I will sh... show you wh-what is hidden beneath... so listen... listen to the unparalleled p-perfection that is the m-music... of the spheres!"

A single word bellowed to the heavens by Chrysalis in the eldritch tongue stilled the air. 

For the briefest of moments, silence fell over the world—a silence so completely and utterly absolute that the very concept of sound seemed to vanish into the yawning void. Then, like a heartbeat, the world pulsed with cosmic intent. The sound which had been stolen away from the universe suddenly came rushing back into existence, bringing with it a deafening symphony of madness and destruction.

Elsewhere in Equestria the earth continued to rumble and crack and split apart, felling entire towns in the wake of violent tremors. Monstrous tidal waves swallowed the coast burying whole cities beneath countless tonnes of water and displaced sealife. Hurricanes that no pegasus could ever hope to control tore at both the very roots of innumerable trees and the foundations of ponymade structures alike.

At the base of Foal Mountain as if by some universal exception, Ponehenge still stood relatively unaffected by the carnage encasing the land within its grasp. Though such a luxury hardly registered to Celestia, the Elements and the rest whose terror-stricken faces were all raised to meet the sky—or rather to meet the horror that blotted much of the sky from their view. 

Due in no small part to Luna's continued efforts in hiding the truth, it appeared my former friends and allies had been largely unaware of that cruel and pitiless charnel moon, completely heedless of the burning red eye encroaching upon the planet like a deadly shroud. But now Chrysalis had opened their eyes and ears to the rust-dyed herald of the apocalypse looming overhead. 

"N-Now, here... on the eve of a n-new beginning," Chrysalis began, all four of her blackened and ossified wings once more spread wide, "b-beneath the t-torrid gaze of the Harbinger... our Goddess will r-rise once more!"

Though her relentless fervor and dramatic flair had long ago begun to wear on me, I nevertheless was compelled to oblige the zealous mare. The hour was at hoof and it was long past time to fulfill my task, and so I awakened. Amidst the raucous laughter of the Mad Queen, the terrified cries of the Elements, and the discordant aria of the Harbinger I allowed my warped spirit to return to my headless carcass.

Spike and Chrysalis were the first to heed my revival, the former desperately scrambling away with a horrified shout. Tendrils of shadow and dead flesh wreathed together into a hideous black mass that pulsed and oozed and bubbled and churned as I rebuilt and remolded my body. In my shapeless, half-formed state I could hear everything around me. 

I could hear Spike beside me calling out my name with an uncertain mix of fear and hope. I could hear the Mad Queen's exaltations, loud and victorious at the sight of my rebirth. I could hear the cries of those whom I once held dear—their attention torn between the sky, the altar, and the maddening influence of the God beneath the mountain. 

As my amorphic flesh solidified to take on a more defined equine shape, I heard the pounding of rapidly approaching hoofsteps against the stone. I heard the sound of steel piercing flesh and cries of pain, outrage, and shock. A shouted command pierced through the chaotic cacophony, an order to take the amulet and flee. 

I needed no eyes or ears to know that the situation had changed. Chrysalis had lowered her guard and like the soldier he was, my brother had not hesitated. He'd taken action and was attempting to turn the tides of fate to his favor as much as was possible given the circumstances. With the amulet already in their possession, Celestia simply had to retrieve it from the Guard and teleport away.

All this I grasped in an instant, as did the Solar Princess it seemed, for despite finding herself in the same predicament as the Elements and the Pillars neither did she hesitate in her response. I could understand her desire to fulfill her sister's plea, but it was a wish that could not and would not come to pass. 

Heedless of my still morphing body, I reached out with a thought and seized the Solar Princess just as she'd taken the amulet from the Guard whom Luna had entrusted it to. In the same breath, I pulled Shining Armor away from Chrysalis and brought both of them before me. I tore the amulet from Celestia's magical grasp before casting the two struggling ponies aside.

With the amulet back in my possession and my resurrection complete, I had all I required to close the final act. With greater control over my own mass, I had allowed my body to shape itself into the alicorn I had once been before eldritch powers had mutated me. A mockery to my former friends and allies no doubt, but I merely sought to give shape to what I already knew. 

Creating an entirely new form would have taken far too much time and in all honesty, I had no desire to return to the twisted and abominable creature I'd been before. Though despite taking on my original form, I felt no connection to it. Indeed, I felt no sort of connection to who I'd been at all. Upon inspecting myself and those around me, there was only an odd sense of detachment and discomfort to be had. 

Much like when I had last returned to my castle, I felt far too strongly the sense that I was no longer welcome. The world, this false reality called 'life', I felt nothing but rejection from it, like I was a stranger or perhaps an invader—an entity to be cast out. I had even been branded it seemed—the mark of a six-pointed star imprinted upon each of my eyes, their amethyst-tinted shape replacing my original irides. 

I scarcely had time to think too deeply on what the brand could mean before I was pulled from my thoughts by the desperate call of Twilight Sparkle's name. I refocused my attention to where I had thrown my former mentor and brother. I was greeted to the sighted of both ponies rising to their hooves with the help of both the Elements and the Pillars.

It was Celestia herself who had called out to me in one last hopeless bid to appeal to my equinity. They had all fought through the burning itch in their eyes and malevolent voices in their minds to reach out to me one last time. Admittedly it was an impressive feat and seeing that I couldn't help but think back to the words Discord spoke to me before he was pulled out of the dream and back to where he belonged.  

It was entirely possible that I had been too quick to give in to my own madness and I had certainly underestimated the mental fortitude of my once beloved companions. Still, those regrets were far behind me and at this moment there really was no turning back for me—not after all that I had seen and done. 

I was fundamentally and irrevocably changed, no longer the creature they once knew. If I showed them the truth, would they join me? Surely not, and it was foolish to try and sway any of them, but a hesitant touch of a claw upon my leg served to remind me that one creature among them was willing to at least attempt to understand.

Spike, his eyes so wide and fearful and yet earnest and full concern for me and for those trying to reach me. He turned to the others, then once more to me and I was unsure of what he saw in my eyes but whatever it may have been filled him with a deep sense of both sorrow and understanding. He made only a single request of me.

He bade me let them all go, and it was a request I had no qualms about granting. They had no desire to face the truth as I did, but I supposed that could not be helped. I no longer had any compassion for any of them, but neither did I hold any lingering malice or hatred. They were free to do as they wished so long as they didn't interfere with my goal.

In response to their supplications, I told them as much, going so far as to bid them hurry back their loved ones. The world was falling apart after all and there was no guarantee that their lives would be spared when the Old Night awakened. 

Chrysalis, much to my surprise, did not protest my decision. She simply stood beside me and watched them all with contempt and pity oddly enough. The wound she sustained at the hooves of Shining Armor had already vanished as if it had never existed at all. With no dispute from her, the others stood conflicted for a short time.

Eventually, however, any hope they had for my salvation withered away, replaced by concern for the ones they could still save. Shining Armor turned away, immense pain evident in his expression as thoughts of Cadence and Flurry Heart no doubt filled his mind. Celestia made a half-hearted plea to my draconic companion, but even she could see the resignation in his gaze. 

He had made his decision to stand by me and, like them, would not be swayed. And so the Solar Princess took hold of her insensate sister and gathered every other pony present before vanishing in a brilliant flash of golden light. I had fulfilled Spike's request, and whether they all lived or died was no longer my concern. 

My only desire then was to awaken Zushakon and leave that realm far behind me. Equestria no longer held any meaning for me and though I had learned a great many things, my thirst for knowledge remained unhindered and unrelenting. I would continue my endless pursuit of higher knowledge, for I knew there was still much more to learn—much more to understand.

If Spike and Chrysalis wished to follow me into depths unknown, they were free to do so at their own peril. Chrysalis had already been forced to cross that threshold but the fledgling dragon was yet untouched by the truth and so had yet to suffer the consequences that came with it. Should his convictions falter he could very well forfeit his sanity when the time came.

Such was my final warning to Spike, and with the reaffirmation of his determination, I put the matter out of my mind and the last of my lingering equinity to rest entirely. With the raising of the amulet and the calling of the bells in the eldritch tongue, I abandoned the name Twilight Sparkle. With no regrets, I discarded everything she had ever been, loved, or represented.

The earth shook beneath me and the air shuddered around me as I spoke the words that would summon forth those bells of horror from deep beneath the ground. With a sound like a raging rockslide two of the many mastodonic pillars of stone on either side of the altar rose up to meet one another overhead. 

Bending in an unnatural curve, the two pillars formed a wide stone arch, not unlike the one I'd seen within the cathedral below the desert temple. The sky, already dipped in unearthly shadow, began to blacken further. In the ever-expanding darkness, the burning red eye of Ghroth shone brightly high above like some infernal beacon of judgment in the night.

Then the first demoniac chime rang out, resounding across the darkening sky. Spike was the first to cry out, closing his ears to the sound though he had nothing to fear. A rite kept his sanity in check and his eyes clear—not by my hoof but that of the Mad Queen. Perhaps she considered the drakeling a kindred spirit of sorts. Perhaps she simply wanted to see him fall as she and I had.

Or perhaps it fell in line with her role as the wretched Seer. The answer eluded me and I had no inclination to give chase. Obscured inside the cloying shadow of the Old Night, the low clang of the second bell reverberated throughout the forest. Foal Mountain rumbled ominously, its quaking violent enough to shake loose entire trees from the mountainside. 

Laughter could be heard among the violent tremors. The Mad Queen howled with perverse delight, demanding the terrified baby dragon once more open his eyes and ears to the tenebrous torrent. He did so, and as he raised his emerald eyes to the mountain, the toll of the third and final bell echoed.  

With the final knell of the third bell, my vision was realized at last. The peak of Foal Mountain erupted in a deafening explosion of debris. The entire mountain groaned and roared as if in agony as it was rent apart down to the base. From deep below, a spiraling pillar of antilight burst forth—its tempestuous aura so dark as to surpass the blackest pitch.

A turbulent gale raged on as the mountain shook itself to pieces, bringing with it the malodorous stench of death, decay, and some other unnamable vileness. A sepulchral whisper of insatiable hunger could be heard in the squall. I felt the soft caress of something cold brush against my coat before it passed me by and vanished deeper into the forest.

There would be more of them, I knew. They would spread across the world like a wildfire and feast and feast and feast until there was nothing left, just as they did in ages past. From out of the crumbling ruins of Foal Mountain their master began to rise. An appendage of some kind began to emerge from the spiraling pillar.

Then another, and another, and many more besides, each and every one large enough to cover half the distance of the mountain itself. The black beast continued to rise from its nighted depths until had gained enough leverage to crawl its way out of the mountain. As it stretched across the ground it unfurled a pair of truly immense wings—wings whose size could be measure in miles and whose shape made a mockery of what it meant to be avian.

With a mighty beat of its wings and its ravenous horde in tow, Zushakon took to the skies. Spike, Chrysalis, and I watched as it disappeared across the treetops, its destination beyond my understanding or concern. I had accomplished my task. I had fulfilled the prophecy laid out within Stygian's tome. I had awakened the Dark Silent One and my 'ascension' had already come to pass.

There was no longer anything tethering me to that world, and so, it was time for me to take my leave. With my senseless assistant and the Mad Queen at my side, I vanished from Equestria. With no intention of ever returning to that world, I cast a rite that would take me to another time and space—one that would take me to another place I longed to go.





Even now, I know not what became of the world I left behind, and eventually—somewhere amidst the countless eons I've spent wandering the cosmos—I found another place I could call home. As time passed I changed more and more, moving further and further away from who and what I was, all for the sake of knowledge. 

My memories of Equestria and the friends and family I abandoned to their fates faded away, replaced by innumerable lifetimes worth of new memories. But in the end, just as Discord had promised, those memories returned piece by piece and now I find myself looking back on my past. Though it is no longer my place to say whether or not my actions were right or wrong, I sometimes can't help but wonder...




Was all my knowledge worth the madness and chaos I've wrought in my wake?