//------------------------------// // Prolog // Story: Darkside // by Black Butterfly //------------------------------// Snore!!! And Spike was awake again. “Seriously...?” He murmured, still half asleep and noticing how dry his mouth was.  Spike thought when he got his own room in the crystal castle he’d finally be rid of Twilight’s snoring, but even now he could hear it through the wall. Since he was up already, he might as well get a glass of water, he figured before he slipped out of his bed and groggily dragged himself towards the door.  Unfortunately for Spike, the castle was much larger on the inside than it looked from the outside. It took him two staircases and three long hallways to reach the kitchen. He took a glass from the cupboard and filled it at the sink before sitting at the table. He slumped in place and rested his head on the wood. “Maybe I can sleep in the library, just in case Twi snores again. It’s always quiet in libraries,” Spike mumbled into the table and yawned. “Or maybe I’ll just sleep here...” Thud! The distant sound startled Spike awake again, this time causing him to knock over his glass of water. He growled quietly. “Oh, for…! Ugh!” He hopped off the stool and searched for a paper towel when more noises sounded like they came from the floor below. Spike’s annoyance was replaced with anxiety. No way Twilight would randomly teleport herself down there and she wasn’t known to sleepwalk either. What could be that sound? Ignoring the spilled water, Spike headed to the stairs and tipped-toed towards the basement door. “Could it be one of our friends? Or a burglar! But why in the basement? We don’t even have any treasure down there,” Spike whispered to himself. Carefully he reached for the handle and found it unlocked. Vaguely, he remembered Twilight locking it in the past so it should be locked now.  Quietly, he opened the door and snuck down the staircase. When he reached the large room at the bottom, he covered his mouth with his claws to keep himself from screaming. The former queen of the changelings paced back and forth in front of a mirror. No, not just any mirror. It was the mirror portal to Canterlot High! Chrysalis was ripping off the pieces of magi-tech machinery holding it in place. With every piece pulled off, the mirror itself flickered and rippled in different colors. Spike’s heart pounded in his chest. He… he had to get Twilight! He managed to back away a half step when Chrysalis turned and pinned him with a glowing stare. “I know you’re there, little dragon slave.”  Spike’s scales went numb, and he started sweating. No point in trying to run now. “TWIIII!!!” He screamed from the top of his lungs. Immediately, his maw shut when Chrysalis’ magic took hold of his face, and created green rubbery bands to muffle him.  “Shhh. We don’t want her to wake up, do we?” Chrysalis smiled. Her green magic aura took a hold of Spike’s body and pressed him to the nearby wall. The magic then solidified into a wrap of sticky changeling silk. “I won’t hurt you if you’re a good boy and remain still. The mirror is all I need.” “And what do you need it for, Chrysalis!?” Twilight’s sudden shout had Chrysalis hissing. She turned to the bed-haired alicorn who appeared at the bottom of the steps. “Hah! That’s none of your business! And if you don’t want me to hurt your little dragon slave here, you will stay where you are and let me take it—” “If you touch a single scale on his body, so help me Celestia, I will do more than banish you!” Twilight snipped and gritted her teeth, horn aglow. Chrysalis flared up her own horn and pointed it at Spike. “Do you want to take a chance? I just want this mirror. I promise you won’t see me ever again.” Suddenly everything went bright and Spike reached for his eyes! He heard Chrysalis’ scream and then fell over into the grass. Wait. Grass? When Spike’s vision returned and he felt his stomach turn, he knew he had been teleported. His claws dug into the soft grass. He looked around and saw Ponyville in the distance. “I wanted to do this the peaceful way, Twilight Sparkle! I just wanted to leave, but now…” Chrysalis exclaimed as she scanned for signs of Twilight, horn already charged with magic again.  “What do you want with it?” Twilight’s voice seemed to come from several directions at once.  “I told you it’s none of your business!” Chrysalis hissed. Flashpop! Twilight appeared above Chrysalis and flung a ball of magic down at her. Chrysalis expertly redirected the spell with a bubble shield of her own magic before she launched upwards for a physical attack. The alicorn moved fast enough that Chrysalis almost hit the ceiling face first.  “You don’t even know how to use it!” Twilight exclaimed with exasperation. In a blind rage, Chrysalis shot yet another magic beam at Twilight that was countered by a beam from Twilight’s horn. Green and purple magic met and locked in a pushing beam battle. “I will figure it out!” Chrysalis growled with fangs showing in a grimace. “Stop this, Chrysalis! You’re crazy!” answered Twilight. As both put more and more power into their spells, an orb of sparking magic built at the point where both beams crashed into each other. “I’ve defeated Celestia and I can defeat you!” Chrysalis lowered her head and with a shriek her magic aura pulsed. Pushing the center of the gathered magic towards Twilight. “Nng! No! You won’t!” But it wasn’t enough. Twilight had no choice but to jump aside to evade Chrysalis’ magic. The green beam hit the mirror behind Twilight and, surprisingly, it wasn’t reflected or broke the portal. Instead, the energy flowed into the mirror and disappeared.  Chrysalis landed on the floor. Catching her breath, Twilight got back up onto her hooves at the other end of the room and looked at Chrysalis. Without the whirlwind of magic, the sudden silence begged to be filled. “Look. We don’t have to fight. Let it go so we can help you.” Twilight offered after a moment of hesitation. At this point she wasn’t even sure if anypony could help Queen Chrysalis, but she didn’t know what else to do. Chrysalis responded with a surprised ‘Hah!’ before she stood straight and made a fanged smirk. “You should help yourself first, Twilight Sparkle.” In the Queen’s eyes Twilight saw the reflection of a flicker. She turned around and the mirror now shone with magic. The journal that served as key wasn’t even plugged in, yet the attached machinery started chugging to life. The mirror wasn’t a portal however, and only showed static. A bolt of lightning randomly struck out, hitting nearby boxes and the closest wall.  Twilight carefully backed up from it and cried out, “I-it’s going to explode! We have to get out of here, Chrysalis!” But Chrysalis instead shot a bolt of magic at Twilight the moment she was distracted. The magic solidified and bound Twilight’s horn and hooves.  “I will leave, but you won’t be going anywhere, Twilight Spar— ”  FLASH!  The magic within the mirror exploded into fiery light, so bright that it blinded them both. Everything went white and quiet. The tickling, cool sensation of a breeze brushed through Twilight’s mane and woke her. Her body hurt all over. She tried to move but found herself stuck in a tight, sticky embrace, except for her face. She strained to see in the darkness, worried that the flash had damaged her eyes until she saw a matching pair of green in the dark.  “Q-Queen Chrysalis?” Twilight carefully asked with a hoarse voice.  “You’re awake.” “What happened? Why is it so dark suddenly? What did you do!?”  Chrysalis’ horn lit and the green glow spotlighted the rest of the queen’s features. “Right. You can’t see in the dark.” Twilight glared at Chrysalis at first before looking around. She was still wrapped in changeling silk, stuck to the wall of a cluttered room. The empty shelves, stacked boxes, an abundance of cobwebs and the fact that there was only one small window on the top of the adjacent wall lead her to believe she was in some kind of basement—not her own, however. “Wherever we are, we’re no longer in Equestria.” Chrysalis said, breaking the silence. Twilight’s eyes widened. “No, we can’t be in Canterlot High, we didn’t even have the book—” Twilight caught herself before she revealed much more. Instead she went on, “would you be so kind to release me? Wherever we are, we are in it together.” Chrysalis leaned her face close to Twilight’s and grinned. “You really think I would let you go now that I have you trapped?”  “I could just—” Twilight focused her magic, but her horn didn’t respond.  “Don’t even bother, my silk is wrapped around that adorable horn of yours.” Twilight struggled and let out a huff. “Listen, you win, but something’s really off. Look outside, it’s not supposed to be dark outside!” Chrysalis gritted her teeth and peered out the little window to a starry night sky.  “We need to figure out where we are and until we know, I suggest we work together, even if neither of us likes the idea.” Twilight said with a frown. “Do you really want to go out there alone and—” “Shut your mouth! I’ve already been outside. It’s some kind of Ponyville replica.” Chrysalis revealed before she readied her horn and pointed it at Twilight. “Wait are you going to—” The green beam of magic hit Twilight and the silk melted away into steam, causing her to fall to the dusty floor with a hard thump. “Ow!” The magic around Chrysalis’ horn faded and it got dark once more, until Twilight lit up her own horn to create a floating ball of light that did a much better job at illuminating their surroundings.  “Thank you.” Twilight said.  Chrysalis turned her face away and huffed. “You’re going to fix this. Wherever we are, it’s on you and your stupid mirror.” “We’re in Ponyville,” Twilight pointed out after she had a look out the nearby window.  “This isn’t just a replica, it’s the real Ponyville. “If we were… if it was,” Chrysalis began, pushing Twilight away so she could slip through the window. “What are you-” “The staircase is blocked, so this…” Chrysalis squeezed herself through the window. “First of all, I would be able to sense the love of Ponyville and something about it has changed. This place looks the same, but it isn’t. Perhaps we travelled back in time.” Twilight followed through the little window and pushed herself onto her hooves to look around. A quiet Ponyville bathing in moonlight. She knew something was off, but this was definitely Ponyville. Only when she dared looking behind herself did she realize what must have happened. “I can’t believe this is happening!” Chrysalis turned to look at what had Twilight so upset and saw that they had been in the basement of a large tree-shaped house. She furrowed her eyebrows. “Isn’t this your old home before you became a Princess? So we did indeed time-travel.” “Yes, well, no...” Twilight walked around the large tree and carefully brushed a hoof along its bark simply to feel her former home. “My basement has never been that… cluttered. And look, the windows...” She pointed up to a barricaded window. “It’s been abandoned. We didn’t just time-travel, this must be an alternate reality,  perhaps and alternate timeline, but then something in the past must have changed... If it’s the case, I know a spell to get us back home because I’ve been in a similar situation before… if not the exact same!” Chrysalis stepped in front of Twilight and stopped her with a push of a hoof to the chest. “Then do it. I don’t want to find out what happened here.”  Twilight cocked an eyebrow and a little smirk grew on her lips. “I can get us home, but if you want me to take you with me you have to admit that it was your fault we ended up here in the first place.” “Never!” Chrysalis hissed, “It was your mirror! You could have just surrendered!” “I could just leave you behind and return home alone.” Twilight argued.  With a deadpan look Chrysalis stepped back. “You wouldn’t dare. ” “Wouldn’t I?” Twilight raised a brow. Chrysalis rolled her eyes. “Well, this is not what I had in mind when I came to take your mirror.” “I could. But no, I’m not a villain, I will take you home with me, but tell me, what did you want with the mirror, anyway?” “I wouldn’t tell you in a million years. Now, please cast your spell.”  Twilight took in a deep breath, held it for a moment, and then exhaled to calm her nerves. “Alright,” she breathed, “Even if it sounds like you’re lying, I guess I can’t just let you loose on this alternate timeline, who knows what sorts of trouble that’d cause for the ponies here. They seem to have it bad enough as is-” “Enough talking, cast the spell!” Chrysalis snipped and looked left and right paranoidly. “The lack of love in this version of Ponyville makes me uncomfortable.” Twilight rolled her eyes. “Okay, stay close.” Her wings unfurled and she closed her eyes, her horn glowed with magic. She focused on her own version of Ponyville, her castle, her friends, the ponies she knew and her clean, not-at-all-cluttered basement. Then her magic engulfed the both of them and a bright flash illuminated the night.  Twilight opened her eyes and she saw... the abandoned Golden Oak Library. “Try again!” Chrysalis yelled while Twilight was just staring blankly. “It… didn’t work?” Chrysalis groaned and turned away from Twilight, she walked along the wall of the Library. “Useless! Your spell is useless!” She hissed. Twilight remained calm, she was confused if anything. “That’s… impossible. It should have worked. I know how to travel back to our time! The spell is reliable!” “Well this is not a different time period, it’s an alternate timeline, isn’t it?” Chrysalis asked and got all close up in Twilight’s face. “So it wouldn’t work.” “But it would,” Twilight answered and took a step back from Chrysalis. “It is a spell to return to the original time and timeline of the pony casting it. I’ve researched and tested it after an unfortunate misadventure with Starlight and—” “Don’t you mention her name around me, Twilight!” Within the fraction of a second Chrysalis loomed over Twilight, glaring her into a defensive position. “Whatever happened here only happened because you had to get in my way!” Twilight carefully took another step back. “Excuse me, but you broke into my basement to steal my mirror.” Chrysalis needed a moment to calm her nerves but then just turned away. “I did. Let us focus on the task at hoof.” She cast a sidelong glance at Twilight and surprisingly a smile appeared on her face. “In any case, it seems wherever we are, here you’re the villain.”  Twilight blinked a few times. “Pardon?” “This poster.” Chrysalis lifted a hoof and pointed to a piece of paper on the library wall. It was a poster of a grim looking Twilight with a scar on her left cheek. “10,000 Bits on your body, dead or alive.” The irony made Chrysalis chuckle. “Maybe I'm the Queen of Equestria in this world!” After tearing it off the wall with her magic, Twilight looked closer at the poster. It actually said ‘dead or alive’. She frowned. “This is pretty bad.” “Yeah, I’m aware.”  “No, I mean, the symbol in the contact line of this note is Nightmare Moon’s insignia and the address mentions the ‘Everfree Castle’. This can only mean that this version of Equestria is ruled by Nightmare Moon… I’ve had a hunch because of the aforementioned misadventure with-, well you know,” Twilight explained with a shaky voice. Chrysalis shrugged. “Why are you so afraid? You’re an alicorn, I’m stronger than your average alicorn. And our goal is to get out of here, not to face Luna’s alter ego, so calm down.” “I would, but as far as I know Nightmare Moon is stronger than Celestia and your strength depends on love. Where’d you even get any love in a world like this?” Twilight paced while her eyes were locked at her wanted poster. “What if not only we have to deal with Nightmare Moon but also an evil version of me? What if all the other bad guys we’ve faced in our world are on Nightmare Moon’s side? What if there isn’t a way home because this is not just an alternate timeline but an alternate reality in which spells like mine never work!? What if—aah!!!” Twilight’s poster suddenly burst in green fire, and Chrysalis shook Twilight with magic.  “You’re of no use to us if you lose your mind over our situation! So here’s what we do: This world seems very similar to ours, right? We will find this  world’s magic mirror, I blast it with my magic and if we’re lucky, it brings us back home. If not, we find the mirror again in whatever alternative world we land and try again.”  “That… that’s an idea.” Twilight admitted. “But let’s get somewhere safe before we go, my legs hurt, and I’m sore all over.” She looked up to Chrysalis. “How is it that you didn’t get hurt at all when we were blasted here?” Chrysalis let out a sigh and her ears drooped. She took a step closer towards Twilight who immediately pulled herself away. “Stand still. I want to help you,” Chrysalis said while her horn lit up with magic. Twilight hesitated and immediately cast a bubble shield in defense.   “I won’t hurt you, Twilight. Lose the shield.” Twilight bit her lip but then let her magic shield fade with a frown on her face. A green aura appeared around Twilight’s entire body a moment later and a tingling sensation brushed through her coat. Any of her bruises just disappeared in little, white flashes and her frown yielded a smile. “This is… amazing. You know restoration magic?” Chrysalis’ magic disappeared and she sighed. “Of course. It’s just high-level unicorn magic. As Celestia’s former pupil and now alicorn princess, I’m disappointed that you don’t know any healing spells. And Twilight’s smile wilted. “Well, no, high-level magic wasn’t part of Celestia’s schedule, as even gifted unicorns have to-” “I don’t care.” Chrysalis walked past Twilight, further circling the oaktree library. “Let’s find the entrance before somepony sees us.”