//------------------------------// // A Crack in the Door // Story: A Dream of Dawn // by Starsong //------------------------------// Twilight Sparkle The next evening came about, as always, on a whim. Though its timing seemed quite appropriate to Twilight who, in spite of spending hours arranging Celestia's chambers and preparing various effects, carried on her only a pair of small saddlebags and a single tiny sun. She could have left the castle carrying nothing and still have sensed the weight across her back and upon her heart. “Are you sure this is going to be dangerous?” asked Spike, still at Twilight's side. “This looks like more of a vacation than an adventure.” Twilight glanced back at him, and then wearily across the castle platforms, to the docks where their zeppelin waited—Prince Blueblood's Zeppelin, which Discord had commandeered largely without permission. And no expense had been spared in its inception, bringing the comforts of the finest Equestrian furnitures and amenities on board where they mostly sat unused for months at a time. In fact, the entire dock had remained largely abandoned since Discord's rise to power, tucked against the mountainside both out of sight and out of mind. No new ships had been built and travel by royal vessel seemed an extravagant waste of time and energy. Walking across the planks was like walking through the palace of Celestia's time, its indigo banners largely untouched, the golden ones still glimmering, as if someone had dutifully and quietly returned to clean them every night. Marble steps ascended the rock until they widened to the shape of a grand platform on which the airship sat. “It's where we're going that's dangerous,” said Twilight, patting Spike. “More dangerous than being around that guy?” Spike indicated Discord, who at current was amusing himself at the ship's wheel. He seemed to have added an admiral's hat to his ridiculous ensemble, and Twilight could pick up just bits of his amblings on piracy. “Yes,” said Twilight. “I know it sounds strange, but somehow, I know he won't hurt me.” Rarity slipped out of one of the passages fused into the mountainside and tossed her mane. “Even so, he is hardly a gentleman and I would not envy you his company. I trust you will take care of yourself, Twilight.” The unicorns hugged and then released. More ponies continued to slip from the seams of the palace to see them off as they retreated towards the upper platform and the plank leading on board. “I'll be fine,” said Twilight. “As long as I know that you're safe.” Rarity wiped her eyes with a cloth and put on a smile. Twilight gave Spike one last ruffle and left him at her side. She took a deep breath and moved a trembling hoof towards the airship. And then another. Each hoof moved a little easier than the last. I'm coming to you, Princess, she thought, finally making her way onto the ship deck. Discord clicked his fingers and the plank rolled up into the side of the ship like a stretched roll. He teleported next to Twilight and held her uncomfortably close while he spoke, booming voice echoing to the crowd of ponies that had arrived. “Fear not, citizens of Equestria! You may have to suffer without me for a while, but before long I'll be back with your big white princess in tow!” He broke a bottle of fine cordial against the rail and then tossed the emerald glass down his gullet. “Arrivederci, my fine ponies!” And the small cheer of the ponies echoed in the valley as the ship twisted and drifted into open air. They did not cheer for their leaving, but for hope that Celestia would actually return to them. The smiles on their faces burned into Twilight's memory as they shrunk to pinpoints against the mountainside, until at last she turned and the whole of the countryside lay before them, from the emerald plains of Canterlot to the badlands and beyond. Discord Discord removed himself from the helm right away. While frequently changing their course provided some shifts in turbulence, it left them in the same open sky and getting no closer to their goal. The best thing to do would be to let the ship do the work for him (or Twilight, who may have led him to believe that the balloon would do fine on its own) and find another way to keep occupied. He hung over the rail, now running with flowers, as he studied the ground below. There was a lot of space in Equestria that went unused, populated by only migrant animals and the occasional solitary creature. On occasion he would paint a swath of color across the landscape or twist it in on itself, but before long they had past it, and he was faced with more of the same. How does anypony get anything done when it's this repetitive? He frowned and flicked a claw towards the sky, tugging the sun just up over the horizon. Even messing with the sun isn't any fun if Celestia doesn't get upset. A tap of hooves came across the deck and soon Twilight was standing beside him. “You're being awfully quiet,” she said, then bit her tongue down. No doubt thinking of some coy accusation of his character. “I'm used to being confused,” said Discord. “But having some idea of where I'm headed, it's unusual.” Twilight sighed. “Are you always confused, or just confusing?” “Well, yes.” “I think everypony is out of sorts, most of the time,” said Twilight. “Never knowing what's going to happen next, or where their future lies. That's why they seek harmony and stability.” Discord shook his mane and gagged. “Doesn't that make you miserable?” “No,” Twilight said firmly. Then she regarded Discord with a curious tilt of her head. “Is it because you're a Draconequus? That you're just... different from ponies in that way?” “I've never really thought about it,” admitted Discord. “There are ponies that seem to love their chaos.” “And there's not a part of you that loves harmony?” “Oh, there is a big one,” Discord laughed. “Mostly the part where I mess it up.” This caused Twilight to frown, and the draconequis to chuckle. While she was still reeling in frustration, he slithered his way through the lower decks and into one of the main cabins. Red velvet lined the floors and the walls, and expensive, gaudy seats mixed around with collections of beverages and fine foods. As Discord cracked open a small pastry cake, Twilight descended behind him. “This is going to be a long trip if you're avoiding me,” she said. Discord tossed her half the pastry, which turned into a stick of peanut brittle before she caught it with her magic. “This is going to be a long trip if you think I'm going to stay in one place for very long,” he retorted. Twilight chomped the peanut brittle with impunity, and felt a jolt of joy in spite of herself. “Why don't you just whip up a shortcut, then, if you're going to complain so much?” Discord sighed. “I guess we could just teleport there.” This made Twilight stop mid-chew, a moment that Discord relished. She lowered her head and sparked a bit. “You'd better be kidding me. You set me up for a trip across the world and you could just take us right there?” “What? And miss seeing the look on your face?” Discord chewed a claw and grinned. “I would never.” She spit the rest of her peanuts out. “Just do it, then, would you?” Discord tossed the rest of his cookie away and coiled in a loose shape around Twilight. “Very well then. But this may be a bit bumpy. Don't say I didn't warn you.” She opened her mouth to speak and then he clicked his fingers. The two of them vanished into thin air, leaving the zeppelin drifting by its lonesome. And as soon as they'd vanished they reappeared in a busy city street. Crowds of urbanite ponies gasped and gawked, backing away to form a loose circle. A couple carriages stopped. Discord looked around and tried to place himself. Twilight stamped a hoof. “The princess is in manehattan?” she droned. “No, we seem to have gone a bit astray,” Discord said, rubbing his paws together. “Not used to big jumps. We'll get it eventually.” Again he snapped his claws, and this time they appeared atop a snowy mountain peak. Twilight shivered and sneezed. Even Discord found the cold unpleasant and so he blinked them away again. “Hold on a minute,” groaned Twilight, holding her head. Discord lifted a pair of maracas and gave them a sandy shake. It milled in with the roll of ocean waves against the sands. The air was quite warm there and the day much deeper than he had left it. In his tail was a lime-scented, iced drink. Around them a few ponies looked on, then went back to their relaxing or playing in the water. “You're right, Twilight,” he said, after chugging down his drink. “This would make an excellent place for a break.” “No,” said Twilight, grabbing the sombrero off of his head. “All this jumping around is giving me a headache.” “What you need is a pina colada,” said Discord, fishing one out of thin air. “That'll take the edge off.” “A what?” asked Twilight, staring at the drink. Discord tossed it over his shoulder where it made a sizable crater in the sand. “Nothing,” he said. “Give me a moment. This time I'll get it right.” The look Twilight gave him while reeling made him all the more determined. It was fun to hop around at random, but there was somepony he wanted to see. A place he wanted to go. It required an amount of concentration and accuracy that he hadn't mustered in recent memory. Celestia, Celestia... why do you plague me so? Thinking of her smug, benevolent smile kept his mind in place. Even if it drove him a little batty. He remembered the light she'd left, and though hidden in Twilight's backpack amongst some runes and wards, he had no trouble feeling it out and tracing her essence to where it had last been in the world. Faint, and distant, almost further than he could reach... But nothing was impossible, and no rule in the world could bind him. For a moment he caught a flicker of a distant, ancient place, and that flicker was enough. He took the seed of thought into his essence and gave it a quick roll between his fingers. “Hold onto your flanks, Twilight Sparkle,” he uttered, then snapped again. When they came into being again, they immediately knew they had arrived. The very air they breathed seemed to radiate with a sense of being that had lasted from before the beginning of time. They were in a forest, which could have been a field for how far apart the trees were. But they were giant, black towers of wood and bark that rose higher than any spire or mountain that either of them had imagined. Their branches, leafless, nonetheless formed a web of shade that let only slants of daylight through to the moss and rock beneath. Even that light seemed so, so far away. And Discord found himself struck with a moment of nostalgia. The place was not unfamiliar to him, though his memories were more scattered than his other senses. A sense of Deja Vu struck him, and had the wind not come to bring a dull chill to his scales, they might have stood spellbound forever. “What is this place?” asked Twilight. She flinched at the sound of her voice, loud and crisp in the emptiness. “I feel like I've seen it in...” she hestitated. “It's familiar.” “You have your hooves firmly on one Edge of the World,” said Discord, looking around. Every direction met with similar sprawls, though he was beginning to see the little variations. Berry and flower, vines winding around roots larger than archways. “This was the first forest. It touches Equestria once, and goes on forever. We couldn't walk back if we tried.” Twilight seemed utterly astounded one moment, and another she reached for a quill and parchment. She lifted it, but couldn't manage to form a word on the page. She sighed and put it back before wandering a few steps. “Despite what you think, we are not alone here,” said Discord, “so we'd best be on her way.” The solemn way he spoke surprised Twilight. It surprised Discord, too. The place put a bad feeling in his stomach. He could feel the trees moving, though their twisted pulp only moved a fraction of a breath for his own. That bothered him more than the distant flit and skitters of creatures who thought that they watched unseen. Better not tell Twilight, thought Discord. Fear is not exactly my favorite feeling. Fear he felt, though, in a cocktail of anger and indignation from the creatures in the trees. Occasionally a flower would move the wrong way or melt into the bark of a branch and he knew them well. Shapechangers. His mild amusement at their presence only made them angrier, and more scared. Serves you right for feeling me out. They knew he was big news. Something he forgot from time to time, when he got caught up in his antics. He wasn't one to dwell on the fact that he was one of the major forces in Equestria. But this journey was putting it right in his face. “So...” Twilight seemed meek, suddenly. “Is Celestia here somewhere?” Celestia. The very name evoked her image, and with it all of her power and her energy. The creatures that watched from the shadows trembled at their vision of her. But they also had a sense of familiarity. The princess had been here in their living memory. “No, unfortunately,” said Discord. “I said I could take us to the end of the world, but that is the extent of my power. Once we have stepped through the doorway, our real journey will begin.” “The doorway...” Twilight repeated, rubbing her horn. “I feel like I'm the only pony who's ever seen this place. Experienced all of this.” “Oh, you're probably not the only young protege who's wandered mystical domains,” teased Discord, stroking his beard. “Though it has been a long time, yes. I don't really keep track.” “I should be writing this down,” sputtered Twilight. “Taking drawings. What if I can't remember everything?” “Have more faith in yourself,” Discord tsked. “And if you forget, who cares? We have more important things to worry about. Like moving along.” The unicorn huffed and trotted ahead. Discord laughed. Look at me, giving your little protege lessons... oh, I look forward to rubbing it in. Your castle, your sister... it's all mine now. He didn't have to try to remember where they were headed. He could feel it in his center, like a waterfall pulling the still brook over the abyss. Each behemoth of a tree spread outwards until they found themselves walking into an empty space, a circle. Six roots extended from the perimeter and met in a single archway. Something not rain, but more like the ghost of rain, a magical sense tingled on their skin as they came to the center of it. “I'm not sure what we're going to find beyond here,” said Discord, “or if we'll be able to come back. If that isn't your idea of a good time...” Twilight looked up at him. “Did Celestia pass through here?” Discord nodded. “Then there's nothing left to say,” she said. “Show me the way.” Discord found himself some knuckles to crack and approached the place where the roots touched. He rubbed his hands up against the space in the center. There was no door, but there was. A crack and a hinge, put there when something powerful and forgotten broke into what was now the world they lived in. And beyond, the land where he might have been born. Most things in Equestria reacted to his influence with some resistance, or else allowed itself to be reformed in its own elements. Reaching between the cracks here, though, was more like being the key to a door you never thought you'd have to see again. No rip or tear, no clever spell. All he had to do was reach and pull and the roots filled with light and emptiness. Twilight looked on expectantly, and when she was certain he was done, she stepped through without hesitation. Then she was gone from the face of Equestria, as Celestia had gone before her. And around them came a din not unlike the wind, but Discord knew it was the sound of a hundred fibrous wings flitting in anticipation. Soon came the sound of a hundred muted sighs as he followed Twilight to the other side, leaving the strange beasts to linger in the land forgotten. What was on the other side only resembled Equestria, or what Equestria might have been if someone perfectly dreamed it. The warmest, freshest air. The sweetest smelling flowers. Plain upon plain of sandy colored grains swaying, offering sustenance and shelter for the critters that raced beneath it. Endless blue skies, and yet also the shadow of a single, colossal tree whose infinite branches spread through the sky like cracks in glass. And Twilight had lain down beneath the weight of it all, eyes wide, mouth open, eyes full of tears. To her it must have been like heaven. To Discord it was but one length of a court which he had no desire to return to or remember. And already the golden fields began to seep into him. He felt things that only a mortal should have felt, and fatigue set upon him for the first time. A muted yawn slipped his lips, and sleep now peered from the horizon of his mind like a hunter with ages of patience finally getting sight of its prey. Nightmare Moon Much to Nightmare Moon's surprise, it did not take the fillies more than a few hours to stop shrieking at every skittering shape that happened across their mane and instead filled every waking moment with chatter. “This kind of makes us adventurers, doesn't it?” said Apple Bloom. Sweetie Belle bobbed her head. “Yeah! Like in those old pony tales.” “But hopefully without us getting eaten at the end,” said Scootaloo, who shot Nightmare Moon a meaningful look. The black mare forced a smile. “We need a cool name,” the little pegasus continued. “But what?” Nightmare Moon shook her head and pressed forward. Having the three of them around reminded her too much of her childhood, which she indulged, in spite of someponies' efforts to make sure she grew up all prim and proper. Even that, though, had been stolen from her eventually. It is all a part of the plan, she thought. Our sister would do anything for the safety of these fillies. Even before me... She shook her mane out and the motion startled the girls. Then she cleared her throat and offered, “Mayhaps you would enjoy pretending to be my Lunar Knights?” The three fillies paused and stared in unison. Sweetie Belle was the first to pipe up. “Uhm,” she said, “aren't you the bad guy?” Both of her friends clamped their hooves over her mouth. Nightmare Moon's lip twitched. There in her own domain she felt the anger rising in her more crisp and swift. But she found the power to put it down and instead replied tartly, “We are not the bad guy.” “If you're not,” said Scootaloo, in spite of muffling her friend, “then who is?” “Discord,” said Luna, sticking her tongue out. “Probably.” At least he ruined her world. Twice, even. The girls pondered over this, and didn't outright reject the notion at least. It made sense. He was more of a villain than she ever was. And if it meant they wouldn't think of her as some evil to be overcome, it didn't really matter who they were thought was against them. Any distraction, too, would have been enough. They didn't even notice that they had stopped walking a line and instead had gone into one of the shadows. The ground upon which they walked was shadow, and the space around them not air but mere golden void. What might have been the shadow of one branch stretched on for a hundred paces, and then met the shadow of a mouse, or a castle, or else a flower in a vase. Wherever the light touched, it cast a shape and a way through the world that only those of her kind knew how to access. They eventually came to a wooded land, and the trees stood out a grey shapes, sickly spires that twisted up beyond sight. Instead of leaves they cast darkness and an exuded feeling of dread. As they neared it, the princess stepped back and beckoned to the children. “You should not be seen by these creatures,” she said. “They can read your feelings. They can take the shape of those you love and use it against you. If they get ahold of you, they will feast on your soul until there is nothing left but only a shell of what you used to be.” Scootaloo shivered. “Now that sounds like a bad guy, if ever there was one.” “Eyup,” muttered Apple Bloom. “Can you hide us?” squeaked Sweetie Belle. “Like you did before. Just for a little while? Until we're safe.” Nightmare Moon leaned back and lifted an eyebrow. “You wish to be held in shadow?” “It wasn't that bad,” said Apple Bloom. “Scary at first, but when I was with Apple Jack, it wasn't like that at all. So maybe if you don't do it too hard...” This gave her some pause. It would make it easier to veil them against the changelings, to be certain. She did not know how well they would be hidden, when they all already existed within shadow, but other creatures' perceptions would be different. And if she could not handle what was within her mastery, then she hardly deserved to be known as Princess of the Night. “Are you sure that you want to do this?” she asked, just to be certain. Any amount of resistance could jeopardize all of them. The three fillies nodded, though. They know that we need them, thought Nightmare Moon. But maybe they realize that they need us, too. The other voice in her head remained silent. She looked around as if expecting Luna to arrive to lecture her, but nothing appeared. She slowly let the shape of herself expand, forming on the ground and then growing like a pot boiling over. The three girls looked at one another, and then Apple Bloom led first, slipping a hoof into the shadow. They sunk into it as if they had slipped into a pond and their shapes remained ever faintly inside of her mind and in her shade. They then huddled close and whispered to one another, or at least tried to, to keep each other comfortable. Not long after they had gone, a strange creature faded into view. She began as wisps of smoke, roiling into the form of a pony, like Luna or her sister, but black and shining and full of holes. Her middle was wrapped in a transluscent green carapace and a pair of luminous blue wings snapped up from her back. Nightmare Moon thought her more insect than pony, and disdained the creature, but held a cautious respect. She dipped her head in greeting. “Unkind words to say of my kind,” chattered the changeling queen, “and feelings to feel about me. But your pain runs deeper than that, doesn't it? Twisted up around yourself...” “Apologies,” said Nightmare Moon. “We should not be rude when--” “Save it,” said the changeling. “There is a place for formality. You and I know this. And it is not in the dreams and visions of one in their own home. You want something, Luna.” Nightmare Moon flinched. Yes, she can read our every intention. Even this hesitation. I can see it in her eyes... but she could read us like a well-written scroll even if she did not have these perverse powers. We must be blunt, then. “I am only here for directions,” she said. “The way to the golden lands has moved again. Few beings in the world would be in tune with it. And I believe you are one of them.” The changeling queen laughed. Her children laughed, too. Luna could make them out like little locusts staining the gold. They gathered around her and looked on from all around them. “So what if I am?” she asked. “You may think yourself a shadow, but I can feel you out. I can feel everything. How about I tell you the way for the three fillies you're carrying? They would make a fine tribute to us. Or maybe just one would be enough.” Nightmare Moon bared her fangs. She felt shock and knew it, but made herself not to linger on it. Rage was an easy emotion to fall back upon. “They are not yours to touch, insect,” she said. “They belong to the night. I have a better proposition. You tell me where I want to go and I will leave your domain without raining down destruction heard of only in myth and legend.” The changeling was shocked, this time, and recoiled back from her. Nightmare Moon had a feeling that, while superior in number, the changelings were in too weak of a state to stand up to her fury. The queen forced a laugh. “Come, Luna, I was just teasing you. I feel now that you are not in the mood. Some of my children are in the first forest, and can feel the way in its center. Does that appease you?” Nightmare Moon lowered her horn and scraped the ground. “If we find out that you are lying to us...” “Having you gone would make my day,” said the changeling. “By all means. Please, continue your journey...” Nightmare Moon did not acknowledge her, but she did lower her stance and back away. She hoped that the changelings would take it little more than a dream, but it was a fool hope. Now that she'd gotten what she wanted, though, she could slip just aside and veil herself completely from their awareness. “It's interesting,” said the changeling, draping herself across one of the nearby mounds, “how such a great many ponies have passed us by.” Celestia, echoed one of her children. And Discord. And now Luna. The changeling chuckled. “Yes. I want you to keep a close eye on them. Find them. And make sure they do not return. Equestria has become dreadfully empty these days, and I would much prefer to keep it that way.”