Flare! Wait!
“WHAT?!” I yelled, stopping my flight to concentrate on Nightmare better.
You yourself said you only noticed the absence of unicorn and pegasi magic! The guardians hide for a reason! You have become hot-headed!
…eyes widening in horror, I realized she was… right…
Turning tail, I rushed back, landing circling the valley, and this time looking at it. I spotted only nature, but Flare was right – an alicorn could hide. Without magic.
‘And you have become manipulative.’
Some of us have to be, she responded, before materializing next to me. She was incorporeal, but still carried the magic of an alicorn.
And her non-existent body stretched, turning into naught but magic energy. She blanketed the land, before condensing into an ethereal form before me again.
Some creatures. They are that way. I could feel the slow flow of natural magic. Maybe - more like probably - it is those you seek, she explained, pointing in one direction, before merging with my body again.
I nodded, thanked her in my thoughts, then started to walk in that direction.
And to my incredible surprise, I actually found ponies there, in an underground cave which was lit up by crystals, bright as day.
Two young alicorns.
Before they got a good look at me, the ring atop my horn got activated by Nightmare, and I noticed with surprise that it turned me into a pegasus with white fur, instead of a black unicorn.
I touched the ring – your form with it is a unicorn, and that appearing here would be quite hard to explain.
I nodded. That was good for two reasons, one, I now knew for sure that Star could keep a level head, and two, well, she just mentioned why.
“Guardians!” I called out, causing the two ponies that were there to step forwards, watching me.
They were about my size, one pure white with a light pink mane, and one pure royal blue with a light blue mane. They were the Celestia and Luna of this world, but I dared not to assume that this world and ‘Equestria Prime’ were similar enough to assume them to be named like that. Especially not with the names I was given.
Wait… Right. I’m just stupid – that letter was 1001 Celestial Reign. Those are just not their original names. Duh.
“You are Sunshine and Selene, dubbed guardians of ponykind?” I asked, receiving a slow nod from Sunshine (I just presumed the white one to be Sunshine), to which I sighed in relief.
“Equestria is in need of your help again,” I continued, getting a stare from Selene. She seemed to not believe me.
They still said nothing, but looked at me, telling me with their glances to go on.
“A necromancer by the name of Grogar had appeared, and he is leading an army against the ponies. We cannot defeat him on our own, and so they wish for your assistance,” I ended, hoping they would follow me.
They both were silent, but then, Selene spoke up.
“How have thee found us?”
I handed the letter over to her, and she tilted her head.
“This is my writing,” Sunshine realized, tilting her head.
“Time travel is likely involved; you need to send that letter in the past when you eventually write it. Ask around, you should find out when and where you have to send that letter in the future,” I added, getting a nod from Sunshine.
“Thank you for informing us,” she responded, and I nodded, walking out and starting to fly back to the village. I wanted to help in every way I could.
But alas, not everything was as it should be. Because eventually, about halfway there, an enormous build-up of energy appeared below me, blasting me. I knew I needed to stay conscious, but I fell into darkness far too quickly, not having the chance to even throw up a shield.