//------------------------------// // Winding Road // Story: Equestria Down // by Ultimus Pendragon //------------------------------// A subtle whine filled itself within Twilight's mind as she listened to Luna regal them with information that they already knew and had interpreted through the lens of another. If any shred of action were to be taken to make sure that Tirek was taken care of in some fashion, it would be a task in itself to accomplish with next to no plan. ''And in the young, dying hours of the time before Tirek was known to be a monster, he and his brother Scorpan were peaceful, though that time has passed,'' Luna commented, shaking her head at Starswirl's willingness to befriend the tamer of the two, only it to bite everypony in the flank at one point or another. ''His quest for power and magic is only out shadowed by his intelligence of most matters.'' ''So, what about Scorpan? Did he try and help Tirek or stop him?'' Spike asked, huffing when a bit of dust flew into his nose. The books that he and Twilight read regarding the stories of the past did little to provide any context on their present situation. ''I can guess that trying to go against his brother, even being evil, would be difficult.'' ''Aye,'' Luna said, agreeing with the drake as Luna traded the information that would hopefully help the group, and. . .Twilight; to fix her mistake, if possible. ''Scorpan, in his wisdom, chose to attempt reconciling with Tirek, to help change his mind, to help the balance be maintained. Tirek only chose to spare his younger by sapping him of any powers he had, and essentially outsing him to their home.'' Sunset groaned, hoping to find something of value to help fix the very bleak, and the decline of the world around them. Tirek's power was sure monstrous, so fixing any of the damage caused would need the help of many, and Scorpan's power could have been a great aid. ''So why do we just fiddle around if there's nothing concrete we can go on?'' Luna rolled her eyes and gestured to Twilight, who looked downtrodden in her thoughts as the moments went on. ''You may consider asking the one who doomed us all. Canterlot was naturally the first place that Tirek picked to all but raze to the ground. Any pocket of resistance he stamped out. . .all but one.'' Luna looked to the group. ''He may be waiting to perform a grand culling at the pinnacle of his power.'' ''And is this not it?!'' Spike asked, sweeping a claw in around them as if the situation could not get any worse. ''This piece of shit Centaur took everything from us! We need to find a way to get even with him! He took our friends! Destroyed monuments! Made all of our defenses and allies look like tearing pieces of paper! And you mean to tell me there's possibly more?'' Twilight watched the glow of pain that came from Spike's eyes as his words were felt more by her than anypony else; due to her. . .her. . .failure. Spike's feelings about his friends were certainly different. Dragons lived longer though most species, and that often made connections more difficult when they ended. He would eventually have to deal with the reality of every other creature coming into contact with him that formed a bond with him dying, and that reminiscing would be worst than death. ''I do not need to tell you about that, Spike; the worst is typically the last thing to happen when it pertains to matters such as this. In terms of what you three can do, I cannot provide much. All of the Pillars, including Starswirl, are gone, The light of The Crystal Empire is no more, as well as Harmony itself,'' Luna racked her brain to think of anything even remotely useful to prolong the inevitable in her opinion. ''Perhaps something may lay in wait in the shadows.'' Twilight got up, admiring the dull, jagged rocks of the caves, wanting to understand even the slimmest of things that may prove to help. ''Shadows. . .'' Twilight delved deep into her mind, attempting to piece together an idea that would be suicidal, but the payoff would hopefully be worth it. “Well, the portal back to the Mirror World was destroyed, and there wouldn’t even be anything there of value to help us. The Sirens had their powers taken away, and any magic there is like a speck of dirt compared to Tirek,” Sunset recounted her adventures when Twilight showed her the true power of friendship. How silly was she was; acting as a foal would. “I don’t think-“ “Wait,” Twilight said, slowly walking over to Sunset as she looked at her, wanting to see what exactly she had in mind. ''Not all of the Pillars are dead. . .Stygian. He should still be alive; right?'' Luna recalled the name from Starswirl; the young pony who admired the exploits of the Pillars to honor their exploits by making copies of their artifacts, only to end up becoming the Pony Of Shadows before being freed. The power of the shadow was comparable to her own Power as Nightmare Moon, all those years ago. ''Be that as it may; do you honestly think he would be so willing to assist? And for what?'' Luna asked in a sarcastic tone of voice as the anger from both Spike and Sunset rose in response to Luna only providing useless information with lackluster motivation. ''And another, more pressing question would be where in the wide world of Equestria have the three of you been traveling for you to end up here with your tails curled up?'' ''Who said we would ask him?'' Twilight challenged Luna's position on the matter, not caring much for any shred of morality when it came to trying to fix her mistake. ''The power of the shadows should be enough; it should be just what we need to help turn the tide. It. . .has to work,'' Twilight swore to herself. Twilight wished she could approach this issue by herself when everything was said and done, as to no rope in Spike, Sunset, or even Luna. ''We just need to find him and use his power to do something; we can take care of the rest as it comes,'' Twilight said, noting Luna's cackling laughter at Twilight's idea, the sound filling the entire cavern until Luna was in pain. ''And, once again, Twilight Sparkle; you fall into your old habit of thinking with your base instincts, instead of using your actual intelligence! The intelligence that you, yourself are so afraid of because the outcome can be altered at a moment's notice. The plans you make will never be exactly how you envisioned! Something. . .can always go wrong-'' Luna stomped on a rock, causing it to crack nearly in half. ''Which is why you let everyone die because you couldn't bear to see your plan come to fruition exactly how you thought it.'' Twilight had enough. Enough being blamed; enough being made out to be the bad pony; to make it seem as if her own suffering was not to be counted for anything. . .and for her to be the one to go down in history as the one who doomed any and all future generations to come. A blur of pain came from her, only to be followed by her body moving on its own. rushing towards Luna as a change in gravity was felt, and she felt pressure from her. ''Twilight, stop!'' Sunset shouted at her, trying to pry her friend off of Luna, who had her hooves pressed firmly into her neck. ''It's not worth it!'' Luna merely chuckled as she began to choke on her own spit, and her face turned a darker shade of purple. ''Twi, give it a rest! What will this accomplish? She's doing this on purpose!'' Spike walked over to Twilight, intent on picking them up, only to feel a wild hoof strike him in the leg before he growled. Grabbing her and picking her up, the gleam in Twilight's eyes soon faded with a strike to her neck from Spike. Coughing and hacking up her spit, Luna failed to move from her spot, only settling for shaking her head. ''Hehehe. . .hehehehe. . .I-COUGH!-knew it. Even a-as a young foal; you never disappoint. . .it will be a matter of time. . .before the past catches up to you.'' Luna said, her breath coming out as a dull rasp. Sunset shook her head, waning to only gain an understanding of what had to be done. Stygian as a lead, was the only thing they could cling to. So they had to find out what exactly they had to do and where they had to go. ''Where can we find Stygian, Luna?'' Sunset asked, her patience being worn thin by the second. Luna merely settled for pointing a weak hoof to the sky before she spoke again. ''Only a rumor from the last time before I was sent to live in this hell; but I do recall hearing of a possible location being that of the ruins of Mount Eris.'' ''Why Mount Eris? Wasn't Stygian and The Pony Of Shadows created in The Hollow Shades?'' Spike asked, sure that his accounts of the events of The Pillars were correct. ''Where you begin, Spike. . .can not and should not determine where you end up. Investigate if you so choose, just know I attempted to point you all in the right direction-'' Luna sat down on the ground, resolving herself to talking no longer after this. ''Leave me to my punishment. . .and dare not return.'' ''Let's hope Stygian is more hospitable than you,'' Spike picked up Twilight and cast a look to Luna, huffing before turning around and walking away, Sunset taking flight and hovering along with Spike, a dull look in her eyes as Luna closed her own, remaining quiet as she listened to the sound of Spike's paws contact the ground as they gradually dulled.