//------------------------------// // Chapter 6 - A Destiny Unwound // Story: For Whom the Twilight Falls // by iAmSiNnEr //------------------------------// For Whom the Twilight Falls Cowritten by iAmSiNnEr and Meowofy Chapter 6 - A Destiny Unwound Discord stared at Luna. “The Tree of Harmony,” he repeated. “The legendary tree which, in all accounts, has never been seen before. Yes, I know where that is. Would you like me to get you dessert while I bring you there?” Luna blinked in surprise. “You know where it is?” “Always have,” he grumbled, snapping his fingers and summoning a cup of coffee to his hands. Taking a sip, he continued. “I live in the Everfree, and I’m a draconequus. I can sense large sources of Harmony magic. However, the only reason I’m willing to bring you there is that…well, you’ll see for yourself. Brace.” He raised his hand, and snapped once more. They teleported to a dark cave. Luna lit up her horn, trying to see around her. Her magic spluttered once, twice, before fading entirely. Celestia glanced her way, her eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness. “I don’t understand,” Luna said, worry creeping into her voice. “That’s the first time my magic just failed like that.” “It’s not your fault,” Discord snapped his fingers, and a burning torch appeared in his hands. “This may be the largest source of Harmony magic in existence, but it is also the largest source of Chaos magic in existence. This is the final resting place of my ancestor, the First.” He shone the light in front of them, where a mass of vines and vegetation filled the cave.  “The Tree of Harmony is behind that,” Celestia guessed. “Ding ding ding!” Discord clapped as streamers and party balloons fell down, before shortly disappearing. “Give the pegasus a prize!” “Mayhem died here,” Luna repeated. “The Mayhem. The First draconequus to exist. He Who Defeated Order-” “No need to invoke him,” Discord groaned. “He’s well and truly gone. Faded away. Even immortals have their limits. However, his magic still remains. Even I can’t break through it. Still, he left something behind. Let me show you.” He proceeded forwards, heading for the vines.  “Be careful, Discord,” Celestia called out. “Mayhem was unpredictable, even after-” “I know what I’m doing,” the draconequus grumbled. “I’ve done this before.” Once he reached the mass of vines, he touched them. As soon as he did that, he teleported away immediately to Celestia and Luna. And not a moment too soon. The vines grabbed for Discord, trying to wrap around the intruder. “Intruder!” A voice boomed in the cavern. “You trespass on the holy ground of the Tree of Harmony! I may be dead and gone, but I will stop anyone who tries to get past me! My beloved set this last task for me - to protect the Elements of Harmony. The only way you’re getting them is the Bearer of Magic comes to take them. Otherwise…you’re not getting anything from me.” And then, all was silent as the vines resettled.  “That happens,” Discord said finally after a few seconds of silence. “Mayhem left a recording before he faded into nonexistence. Oh, and give it a second.” “And if this is Discord,” the voice said again. “Don’t help them. The right one will know what to do when the time comes.” “Mayhem knows you?” Celestia looked at Discord.  Discord’s brow furrowed. “I doubt it. He probably just peered into the future and tried to seem all mysterious and clever. I’m most likely the only one who’s made it this far. There are several traps behind us, set by a pony of every tribe. They knew what they were doing. Oh, don’t worry. The traps won’t hurt you. They just teleport you all the way into a jail cell in Canterlot.” “A jail cell in Canterlot,” Luna said dryly. “So the Legendary Six set these traps.” “That seems most likely,” Discord agreed. “So, now that you know it’s a lost cause…” Luna looked longingly at the mass of vines. “Are you sure there isn’t a way to get through that?” “I’m sorry,” Discord glanced at her apologetically. “I’ve tried, many times. Regular magic doesn’t even work in this place.” “We should get out of here,” Celestia muttered, pawing at the ground nervously. “This place is giving me the heebie-jeebies. If this is really where Mayhem faded away… it feels wrong, just lingering in an area where a living being took their final breaths.” “I’ll get you back to the library,” Discord sighed. “Please don’t wander into the forest again. I expended most of my magic today teleporting as much as I did. I don’t have an unlimited supply of chaos magic, I’m only half-draconequus.” “Fine,” Luna grudgingly agreed. “But what if you’re with us?” “Then it’ll be fine!” Discord grinned. “Hey, want a fun trip back?” “Fun-? What do you MEANNNN-” Luna screamed as her body dissolved before her very eyes, turning into bubbles and moisture. Her voice cut off as her mouth, too, dissolved into bubbles. The last thing she saw was Celestia receiving the same treatment, before the both of them were, for the lack of a better word, launched into the sky and towards the library. The two of them landed down in front of the tree, back to their normal selves again. “AAAAAAAAAH-” Luna’s voice returned and she screamed for a good second before she realized where she was. “Oh.” “Never again,” Celestia grumbled as she straightened up. “Hello, who’s this?” In front of them stood a pale grey unicorn looking at them curiously. “Salutations,” the unicorn dipped his head in greetings. “My name is Sombra. I am Ponyville’s resident jeweler. I have come to see if the book I put in a request for the week prior has arrived. And you two are?” “My name is Celestia,” Celestia introduced herself. “And this my sister, Luna-” “Solaris?” Sombra raised an eyebrow. “I never expected the two personal students of Princess Sunset herself to have a need to visit a library in such a small town. I would expect that the Canterlot Archives have everything you’d ever need.” “Oh, it’s not what you think,” Luna explained as she opened the library’s doors. “We’ve come to Ponyville to stay for a bit, and a friend of ours arranged for us to stay here for the time being as the previous librarian was retiring. We’re just here as the temporary caretakers.” “Is that so?” Sombra gave a small smile. “Welcome to Ponyville, then. I hope you’ll find us hospitable and welcoming. And hello, is that a phoenix?” He had caught sight of Philomena snoring away on a perch.  “How does she even stay upright?” Celestia muttered. “Mena, wake up!” The phoenix squawked in surprise, ruffling her feathers and opening her eyes. “We told you to wait for us and send a note out in eight hours, not just fall asleep here!” “Well, what else was I supposed to do?” Philomena grumbled. “Wait for eight hours? Besides, it’s only been three-” her eyes widened as the cogs in her head turned. “Wait, why are you back so soon? Did you find the-” “We did, but we couldn’t bring them back,” Luna answered regretfully. “But not now. We have a guest.” “Oh, go on,” Sombra called out by one of the shelves. “I was just checking out if the book I needed arrived before ol’ Glasses retired.” “And which book is that?” Luna trotted over. “I’m looking for The Reckoning by Pale Flames,” Sombra answered.  “Pale Flames?” Celestia whispered to Luna. “Isn’t that Princess Sunset’s alias for her writing projects? What a small world, eh?” “The Reckoning?” Luna frowned. “I know Pale Flames. I respect her works. But I’ve never heard of this particular story.” “Oh, it’s a new one,” Sombra explained. “Published just two months ago. Long enough for it to have been sent to the libraries after the initial sales. My cousin was kind enough to lend it to me to read, but she took it back when she returned to the Crystal Empire.” “The Crystal Empire?” Celestia turned to Sombra so fast, she almost got whiplash. “Your cousin’s a citizen of the Crystal Empire?” “I’m one too, technically,” Sombra admitted. “But the Empress’s policies were a little…stifling, to say the least. I decided to relocate to Equestria, since I heard that even though Princess Sunset was older than Empress Heart, she gave her government more space to maneuver and her citizens more freedom to govern themselves.” “Yeah, Princess Sunset doesn’t like Empress Flurry Heart that much either-” Luna’s magic clamped down on Celestia’s mouth. “I don’t particularly care, Miss Solaris,” Sombra said, noticing the scene. “The Empress shut down my business in the Empire under the pretext of me selling Class C items, when I was clearly selling Class E crystals. She most likely heard about me calling her a tyrant and decided to prove me right.” Luna let go of Celestia’s mouth. “Princess Sunset never told us why they had a grudge against each other,” Celestia said, glaring at Luna. “All I know is that it has something to with the Six and the old Empress, Empress Mi Amore Cadenza. She was Empress Heart’s mother, wasn’t she?” “That’s right,” Sombra confirmed. “Mi Amore Cadenza disappeared a decade after Princess Twilight. It was a dark time, all things considered. Prince Consort Shining Armor dying, then the disappearance of a beloved Empress before the subsequent disappearance of the Six. Princess Sunset also was out of the public eye for that period of time.” “Anyways,” Luna changed the subject as she grabbed a manifest of the books in the library. “I think your book’s in, Sombra. Shelf C4, third from the right. The Reckoning, right? I still find it strange I never heard of it. I’m an avid fan of Pale Flames. What’s the book even about?” “It’s about two princesses and a disagreement,” Sombra said as he levitated the said book down from the shelf. “It’s a prequel to some of her other works. I believe she based it off on an old mare’s tale - The Nightmare Midnight. If you want, there’s a very good paragraph at the end of the book that gives you a bit of context. Here.” He put the book down on the nearest table. Luna flipped open the book to the last page, where there was indeed a poem-like paragraph. “The Nightmare Midnight?” Luna asked as she scanned the words. “Isn’t that the legend where a dark alicorn named Midnight attempted to take all the knowledge Equestria had?” “I believe so, yes,” Sombra answered as Celestia rolled her eyes at the two bookworms. “Pale Flames uses the legend in the story. The paragraph at the end is essentially a summarization of the story she wrote. How about you read it out loud for your sister who seems to be trying to sneak away?” Luna looked up and saw Celestia’s front hoof on the staircase. “Seriously, Celestia?” Luna glared at her. “Trying to go and sleep? We still need to investigate after this!” “Oh come on,” Celestia complained. “We can’t even sleep tonight! I don’t want to miss the raising of the sun, and neither do I want to miss my sleep. It’s just a few books, it’s not as if they can use books to take over the world. I’m sure they’ll wait for me to have my sleep.” “Whatever,” Luna grumbled. “Go ahead and get your beauty sleep. Don’t let me tell you told you so when the world ends up in flames.” Sombra tilted his head as Celestia practically skipped upstairs to the bedrooms. “You two have a unique relationship.” “Don’t remind me,” Luna rolled her eyes. “She’s too playful. Anyways, to the blurb.” She cleared her throat as she began reading it out loud for the benefit of Philomena, who, unlike Celestia, was paying attention. “There were once two princesses who fell in love. The two of them worked tirelessly to unite the world, and to bring peace to those they loved. One of them brought light to the world, offering the ponies protection along with material wealth and gifts. The other brought knowledge, magic, and the stars.” Luna frowned as she noticed a small spelling error, before shrugging. “They were then known as the Herald of the Light and the Keeper of Knowledge. However, as the Keeper of Knowledge worked in the shadows, rumors spread about her. That she was unstable, unfit to rule. She grew resentful of her beloved. She fell to the darkness, before vowing to take back everything she gave the ponies. The Herald had no choice but to stop her. She banished the Keeper to the moon to save her ponies.” “However, it is said that the Keeper will return on the thousandth year of her banishment to take back what is hers. The world is not safe yet. The story continues in The Broken Crystal.” Luna finished. “That… sounds eerily like the legend itself, but with more expansion.” Philomena flew over. “Luna,” she said as she landed on the table. “The Keeper vowed to take back everything she gave the ponies. She gave the ponies knowledge, magic, and the stars. And right now, books are going missing. Aren’t books technically knowledge?” “Non-fiction books, yes,” Luna said, before pausing. “Wait. All the books that have gone missing are non-fiction.” “And Mother once told me that Princess Sunset was once called the Herald of the Light,” Philomena murmured. “What if-” “What if Princess Twilight is the Nightmare Midnight?” Luna finished for Philomena. “And that was the reason she disappeared? That she was banished by Princess Sunset?” “Wait, hold on a moment,” Sombra interrupted. “You can’t be taking a legend seriously, can you? I know about the missing books. They’ve been going missing for a while now, but Ponyville found out why. The changelings just wanted to read a little, and they didn’t get library cards and borrowing times, so they just took the books.” “Not in Canterlot, though,” Luna refuted. “They said dark shadows took the books. Along with cloaked figures.” “Could be just Canterlot,” Sombra offered.  “No,” Luna murmured. “You need a little context. Pale Flames is Princess Sunset’s alias for her to publish books independently.” “I see,” Sombra considered the new information.  “Wait, why am I telling you all this?” Luna blinked. “I didn’t intend to-” “If it’s a secret, it’s safe with me,” Sombra promised. “I do like a good mystery. I still think that the cause of this isn’t a legend, but if you ever need my help just head over to my shop. I’ll help with whatever you need. After all, books going missing is serious.” “Thank you, Sombra,” Luna nodded as she closed the book. “You want to check this out now?” “Nah,” Sombra shook his head. “You seem more interested than me at the moment. I’ll come to get it in a week. That should give you enough time to finish reading the book.” “It should,” Luna agreed. “It’s been really nice talking to you, Sombra. Thank you so much for letting me read it - it’s really generous of you to do so, since you’ve waited a while for it. You sure you don’t want it first?” “I waited for a whole month already,” Sombra smiled warmly. “A week more won’t do me any harm. Anyways, is that the time?” He looked at the clock, which showed the time as four in the afternoon. “I really have to get back to my shop. I have someone coming in fifteen minutes.” “Don’t let us keep you,” Luna nodded. “See you in a while, Sombra!” “Goodbye, Miss Solaris,” Sombra called out as he left. “Call me Luna!” Luna yelled after him, before immediately turning to Philomena. “Mena, we need to send a letter to Princess Sunset.” “Write it, then,” Philomena urged. “I’ll send it when you’re ready.” Luna quickly scribbled on a piece of parchment all that they had found so far, including the cavern where the Tree of Harmony resided. After a thought, she left Discord out of the letter. She then left a question at the bottom, asking whether the legend was true. She rolled up the parchment, before tying it up with a ribbon. “There.” Philomena lit up in an iridescent flame, before directing some of the fire at the letter. It burned up immediately, but it didn’t leave any ashes behind. Smoke traveled up, before shooting out of the window. Luna stared after the smoke for a few minutes, before sitting down on the couch. “We should get a reply soon-” Philomena spat out a column of flame, which solidified into another tied-up parchment. “Oh.” Luna stared at the reply. “That was fast.” Luna unfurled the parchment, reading the letter. She blanched at the end of it. My beloved student, you are looking too far into a simple clerical issue. I have dispatched a few ponies to settle the issue already. Nevertheless, since you are in Ponyville already, I would like you to do me a favor. I have an urgent matter I must see to and will not be able to arrive until an hour before sunrise. I was supposed to receive the leaders of the other kingdoms, but I am now unable to. If you could, I would ask you to help me receive two, or perhaps three delegations. Empress Heart of the Crystal Empire’s, and King Truford of the centaurs. Queen Arach of the changelings may be arriving with them too, but it is unlikely as she wishes to discuss with me some matters. Her delegation will be there, however. I am told her daughter will be part of it. If you would do this for me, I would be eternally grateful. They arrive at sunset at the train station. Yours Sincerely, Your Mentor, Princess Sunset. “A clerical issue?” Luna spluttered. “We have eyewitness accounts of-” “That doesn’t even matter now,” Philomena groaned as she read the letter. “We have to entertain Empress Heart. King Truford isn’t too bad, but the Empress really can be a clawful. Please tell me that Mother is coming, at least. She knows how to handle the Empress.” “Don’t think so,” Luna sighed. “Well, there goes our investigations. Wait, did the letter say Queen Arach’s daughter? Isn’t that Chryssy?” Philomena shrugged as well as she could. “Should be. At least we get along with her, eh?” “Mm,” Luna agreed. “Sunset, eh? We have three hours. I’m beginning to think Celestia had the right idea,” she yawned. “I’m gonna take a nap. Wake me up in two and a half, Mena.” She collapsed onto the couch, before promptly snoring.  Luna blinked. Her head throbbed. But at the same time, it didn’t hurt. She frowned.  “Mayhem,” A yellow pegasus stepped in front of Luna as her world formed with colors. They were in a cavern, with a giant crystalline tree at the end of it. “Please.” “How can I not worry?” A draconequus demanded. “You’re facing a literal alicorn, and you’re forbidding me to interfere. Fluttershy, you need my help for this!”  Luna’s eyes widened at the name. One of the Six. “That doesn’t matter,” Fluttershy whispered. “I need your help for something far more important.” “The Elements,” Mayhem grumbled. “You want me to protect them when you’re gone.” “I need you to,” Fluttershy corrected gently. “The Princess can’t. She’s grieving too much.” “Then she needs to get over it!” Mayhem snapped. “She’s the ruler of the country, and she can’t even get her giant butt off her ‘cry me a river’ pity party. She’s gone, get over it! I respect and like Sparkle, but she disappeared! It’s not like grieving for ten years will help Shimmer-” “Mayhem.”  Mayhem sighed. “Fine. I will protect the Elements until you return.” “No,” Fluttershy whispered. “We won’t be coming back.” “You what now?” Mayhem bellowed, before recomposing himself. “I can’t live without you! If you go, I’ll wreak chaos on the world again!” “Don’t you dare,” Fluttershy leveled a glare at Mayhem, making the draconequus wilt slightly under the angry gaze.  Luna blinked in surprise at the scene. “You will not do anything of the sorts. You gave me your promise twenty years ago you would never try to rule the world again.” “I did,” Mayhem admitted sadly. “I…” “I have no right to ask this of you,” Fluttershy whispered, wrapping her hooves around Mayhem. “But you’re the only one who can.” “Fine.” Mayhem grumbled. “Bit of the irony, though. Chaos, protecting Harmony.” “There will come a day when new Bearers will be chosen,” Fluttershy murmured. “The Princesses cannot wield them anymore. You’ll need to leave a contingency plan for that. We both know-” she hesitated. “You won’t last centuries without chaos. Our children are already tapping into your magic source.” “It is their birthright,” Mayhem whispered. “I will plan accordingly, Flutters. But promise me. Promise me you won’t die.” “I promise,” Fluttershy whispered. “How about one last tea party?” Mayhem nodded. The scene shifted. Now, Mayhem was alone. He seemed to have been crying at some point. He glared at the crystalline tree. “It’s your fault, Harmony. Your fault I lost her.” He sighed, relenting. “But I made her a promise. You will have my protection. I can sense my magic fading, the source being overtaken by my own children. Very soon, I won’t be able to perform at my full capability.” He lifted his hand and looked at it sadly. “One last snap. One last one, to protect the world.” Mayhem snapped.  As he did so, runes floated in front of him, forming into a sequence Luna quickly deciphered using her memory. “Magic. Honesty. Loyalty. Kindness. Laughter. Generosity.” Luna read. “Open only to Magic.” As she read aloud, Mayhem curled up into a ball onto the ground. He closed his eyes as the runes lit up. Vines grew from his very body. The whole cavern starting filling with vines. As the vines covered Mayhem’s face, he suddenly stared straight at Luna, opening his eyes. “You’ll know what to do, Luna Solaris.” His face split into a grin at Luna’s shocked expression. “Sparkle won’t like me messing with her realm, but it had to be done. Rely on your friends, both old and new. You’ll know what to do.” “Wha-” Luna began, but she paused when she didn’t hear herself. Mayhem rolled his eyes. “Ugh. The dream is ending.” His face was almost entirely covered. “Good luck, Luna Solaris. Quick tip, the Elements are gems. You’ll need an expert on them. For now…” he smiled and closed his eyes. “As the writer would say-” Luna woke up.