//------------------------------// // Anarchy Loosed Upon the World // Story: Eternal Twilight // by Squirrelloid //------------------------------// "Who are the foals, Twilight?" "You don't recognize them?" "Uh-uh." Dayspring shook her head from side to side. "And why do they have cutie marks so young?" "Maybe it was the universe's way of not being subtle any longer." "Um... what?" Twilight didn't answer at once, her eyes flicking to a stained-glass window near the entrance to the hall. About her the colored panes glittered in the light of her magic. The perpetual night outside turned the windows into opaque mirrors, refracting splashes of color away down the hall. The magic surface in front of her turned fuzzy, the image misting over. "Tell you what, why don't I show you what happens next. And then I think it'll be time for little ponies to go home for dinner so their parents don't worry." "But...but... I want to watch you raise the moon again!" "Maybe if you aren't out so late, you can come visit me in the morning to watch the sun rise." "Can I? Can I?" "Only if your parents let you." "Awww." "Hey." Twilight nudged Dayspring with her nose, causing the young filly to unintentionally fall back into a sitting position. "You want to watch what happens next or not?" "Oh. Yes." Dayspring smiled sheepishly. Both of them turned back to the misted screen, which slowly resolved itself into a mountain valley, columbine and fairyslipper splashing lavender and pink across the muted green of the meadow. Two fillies, one black, one white, frolicked amongst the flowers and chased each other across the grass. Behind them a tall mountain rose up over the meadow, its presented face a patchwork of increasingly dwindling biomes and naked rock as the eye climbed upwards before finally becoming the uniform white of pristine snow, dazzling in the midday sun. The fillies scattered in that moment, and seconds later a dark shape ploughed into the earth near where they'd been, sending flowers flying and kicking up a geyser of dirt as it came to rest. "Thunder!" The white filly exclaimed, "watch where you're going!" The deep blue pegasus colt picked himself up before shaking himself off, sending dirt spraying everywhere. "Blech." The black filly stuck her tongue out. "Why do boys have to get dirt everywhere?" "I... uh... need to work on my landings still." "Isn't that the truth." The white filly regarded him critically. "Maybe next time try slowing down first?" "You girls are no fun." "Oh, we're plenty of fun, right sis? I think we should enjoy ourselves by braiding his mane." "Uh, Luna, that's really okay..." Thunder flapped his wings, preparing to take off. "Ooph" Luna's horn lit up briefly, the magical impulse catching Thunder and knocking him onto his side in the grass. "No fair going anywhere before we're done." She moved to stand over him, a wicked grin on her face. "I just came to tell you that I saw Lucky Star!" he blurted out. Luna stopped her advance. "He's on his way up the mountain right now." "Uncle?" The fillies looked at each other, then took off, disappearing from the screen briefly as it panned to follow them. A ridge running down from the mountain descended to a low point at the head of the valley, before rising again towards the next peak. The fillies galloped full out toward where the meadow crested there. Appearing over the rise, horn first, was a grey unicorn stallion. The girls stopped just short of slamming into him, skidding to a halt, before leaning in to nuzzle him. "Oh, I know who they are!" Dayspring exclaimed suddenly. "But where are their wings... oh..." "Starting to put some things together?" "I just never thought of them as being so young... or small..." "Even the most legendary pony was once a foal. But you're missing what's happening." "Oh yeah." Dayspring's attention returned to the image hovering in the air before her. A white unicorn mare, a scroll on her flank, had joined the fillies and stallion as they walked down into the valley. "Girls, why don't you go play? I think your friend is leaving, and there are things your mother and I need to talk about." "Yes uncle," they said in unison before trotting off. Lucky Star's head swung to follow their going before turning back to Correspondence. "The pegasi were right to be worried," he said. "The city of Roan is gone. Gone! Getting close enough to confirm that was trying. The weather has gone strange. Just about anything but water pours from the sky, frequently without a single cloud, and where there are clouds sunlight shines down. At least I think it was sunlight. And the clouds themselves are queer – it's no wonder the pegasi wouldn't go near it. Then where Roan should be... I can't even describe it... trees growing at odd angles, water flowing uphill, stairs leading up to nothing and unattached to any building, and that's the most sensible of the things I saw. I saw strange creatures on my way there, and I shudder to think that some of them may have once been ponies." "And the palace?" "I couldn't bring myself to brave that insanity to see if it had survived." "Surely Roan didn't fall in a day!" "I fear this has been a long time in coming, and that Accord is at the heart of this." "And what of my foals? Are we safe here?" "Something dark roams Equestria at night. I know not what it is nor what it seeks, but here I hope the foals are well hidden." "What are we going to do, uncle?" The stallion and the mare turned to look at Celestia, who had snuck back to where they were talking. Luna could be heard in the distance, mocking Thunder, who had retreated to the safety of the air. "Celestia, you shouldn't eavesdrop!" Correspondence scolded. "But its awful! Somepony ought to do something." It came out near a whine, earning a stern stare from both of the adults. The light suddenly and rapidly shifted, shadows stretching long in an instant. Then it was dark, the moon rising with haste from the horizon. Lucky Star and Correspondence looked at each other in fear. Luna galloped over to where they were. "Momma, what's happening?" Correspondence reached over and nuzzled Luna's flank, pulling her close "I don't know, sweetie. I don't know." "I think I need to make another trip," Lucky Star said solemnly, his eyes fixed on the moon speeding across the uncanny night. When he started herding the women to the small house they'd built for shelter, sunlight was already splashing across the meadow. The image misted over again, before quickly resolving itself into an image of Luna and Celestia crouched behind a rock. The deep shadows of twilight made Luna almost invisible, while Celestia hung towards the back. "Is he coming?" Celestia whispered. "Shhh... how am I supposed to hear them if you keep talking?" The sound of Lucky Star and Correspondence talking could be faintly heard in the silence. "You should have stayed long enough to say goodbye. Luna and Tia will be disappointed that you left while they slept." "I'm not sure I can afford to wait. This is going to throw all of Equestria into chaos." "Take care of yourself." "I'll be back before you know it." There was a long moment, and then the sounds of hooves on the hardscrabble path out of the valley. They watched him pass, surefooted and swift, as he descended down the steep slope. "You think he'll be mad that we followed him?" "Hey, this was your idea sis," Luna shot back. "And the trick is we don't get caught." They waited while Lucky Star got smaller in the distance. At last they emerged from hiding and started carefully working their way down towards the distant treeline as light began to peak over the ridge behind them. The image went dark, and then the surface puffed out like a bubble before disappearing with a popping sound. "But what happens next, Twilight?" "That's a story for another day. Go on, its time for you to head home before your parents worry about you." "Awww." Twilight pointed her horn towards the double doors, and they swung open. "Tomorrow, Dayspring. I'm not going anywhere." "Promise?" "I promise." "Goodnight Twilight." "Goodnight." Twilight watched Dayspring leave before getting to her feet. Moonrise was still hours distant, and she was pensive. Finally, she left the hall through the same doors, but didn't head in the direction of the front gates. She paused at intersections, memory fuzzy, before choosing a passage and striding down it with purpose. Finally she came to the room she wanted, a cozy study with a fireplace. She remembered. Celestia had been like a mother to her, and here they had curled up, once upon a cold evening, with a warm fire blazing in the hearth. Now only cold ashes remained; they stirred in the wake of her entrance. She trotted over to a writing desk, her horn working the drawers and finding for her paper, a quill, and a jar of ink. She attempted to wet the quill tip, but the ink had long since gone hard, all water evaporated away. She worked moisture into it with her magic, pulling what little there was in the stale air for her use. It took time, but she was patient after long centuries alone, and when it was finished her quill glistened with velvet darkness. She began to write. To the parents of Dayspring, She stopped, staring at the page. Her once neat handwriting was now a disaster of awkward lines, irregular corners, and uneven slant. Most of a thousand years without writing had taken its toll. "Ick." She sighed. Wet ink from her idle quill dripped onto the desk top, unnoticed. She balled the paper with her magic and pulled a fresh sheet out. There was still plenty of time before moonrise. Shortly before moonrise, she looked down at the completed letter in satisfaction. Dozens of failed attempts littered the floor about her. She signed the letter, with some deliberation, as Princess Twilight. It looked strange to her eyes, but it would be what was expected of her, even if she didn't feel much like a princess. She levitated the crumbled failures into the hearth, using the brief fire she started there to melt the sealing wax and make the missive official with the seal she found on the desk. Celestia's seal, but it would have to do, since she had never bothered to make her own. Satisfied, she left the room and headed back to the Hall of History with the stained-glass and the tower beyond where she'd call the moon, letter in tow. Twilight stopped briefly in the hall, before the stained-glass image of Celestia in combat with Discord, the Elements of Harmony at her command. "I suppose it must have been easier when you felt you deserved this." She stood there a few moments more in silence. Then she turned and headed to the tower. The moon waited for nopony but her, and even she wasn't going to make it wait.