Twilight Sparkle's sobs echoed around the now-empty hall. Twilight was a unicorn mare with a light purple coat and dark blue hair streaked with dual stripes of violet and pink. Twilight was not only the wielder of the Element of Magic (one of six Elements that made up the most powerful magic known to ponydom - the Elements of Harmony), her special talent was magic itself, denoted by her cutie mark of a pink, six-pointed star superimposed over a smaller, white six-pointed star, surrounded by five white sparkles. Due to her magical talent, as a filly Twilight had received the honor of becoming the personal protege of Princess Celestia herself - the alicorn ruler of the kingdom of Equestria.
Moments before, almost every pony Twilight cared for was with her. Her mentor. Princess Celestia. Her best friends in the whole wide world: the ponies Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy. Her big brother, 'best friend forever,' and the Captain of Celestia's Royal Guards, Shining Armor. Her faithful assistant, Spike the Dragon. And one of her oldest friends, her old foalsitter Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, who was now her brother's fiancée.
They had all gathered to perform a practice ceremony for Shining Armor and Cadenza's upcoming wedding. None even bothered to see how Twilight was feeling after her brother gave her a verbal smackdown due to Twilight upsetting his bride-to-be. They were all too concerned over Princess Cal-what's-her-name, who had ran away in tears after Twilight accused her of being 'evil.'
Twilight raised her head and glanced anxiously towards the double doors leading into the great hall, hoping somepony, anypony would be coming to see her. The doors remained shut, and Twilight buried her face in her forelegs once more.
Twilight said to herself, "How can this be happening? I know something is wrong with Cadence! I mean, I thought I did..."
Twilight cast a magic spell to create a little illusion of herself as a filly playing with Shining Armor. She began to mournfully sing as she gazed longingly at the illusion. "He was my big brother, best friend forever..." The illusion of Shining Armor became surrounded by a magical orb and disappeared. The illusionary filly Twilight sat and began to cry. "And now, we'll never do anything together..."
Twilight sighed and wiped at her tears. "Maybe I should go see mom and dad, they might be able to get Shining Armor to love me again..."
Twilight stared at the illusion of herself, now just as alone as herself since the image of her brother had left her in the fantasy world as well, and yelped as the illusion began to distort.
Twilight fell backwards down the steps and looked on in horror as the image formed into a giant, bearded unicorn that towered over her. The unicorn had a charcoal coat, his white mane and tail were unkempt, and he had a long beard. He was garbed in a bell-trimmed hat and robe which were patterned in shades of blue and adorned with star and moon designs. His cutie mark was of several stars around a swirly design. Twilight felt a twinge of recognition as if she knew this unicorn, but it was quickly overwhelmed by the terror she felt.
Twilight cowered and buried her face in her hooves as the image glared down at her. "Twilight Sparkle, you silly mare. Have you any idea what you have done today?"
Twilight gulped, stammered, "N-no..."
The image laughed. "Of course not... Allow me to query you on something you may be knowledgeable of. Do you know who I am?"
Twilight forced herself to look up at the image, and immediately recognized her inquisitor. "St-Star Swirl the Bearded?"
The image, Star Swirl, laughed once more. "Indeed. So you do have some of your wits still about you it would appear."
Sensing the string of questions that was about to burst forth from Twilight, Star Swirl motioned her to be silent.
"My apologies, Twilight, but I am afraid to say that your questions must wait for later," Star Swirl said. "I am also afraid to say that you were all too right about your brother's bride-to-be. She is evil, and is more powerful than you could ever imagine. Worse, her power grows by the minute, and in fact, your actions today may have given her the boost she required to enact her foul plans for Equestria."
Twilight's eyes welled with tears again.
"Now, now," Star Swirl said as he reached down to comfort Twilight, the illusion shrinking to his normal size. "You had no way of knowing, nopony did. Even the mighty Celestia has been fooled by this 'Cadenza.' However, it is not too late, and you still have a chance to not only save Equestria, but redeem yourself in the eyes of those you love."
Twilight looked up, hope glimmering in her eyes. Part of her was telling her not to trust this alleged Star Swirl, but if Equestria was in peril, and there was a chance to regain the love of her brother, those feelings of mistrust were quickly swept aside.
Star Swirl asked, "I am sure you are aware of my works?"
Twilight nodded. "They are stored in the Canterlot Archives, in the aptly named 'Star Swirl the Bearded' wing."
Star Swirl grinned. "Splendid! You must make haste for the Archives at once. Do not worry, my friend, we shall soon have this crisis averted." Star Swirl's illusion shrank and the tiny image perched atop Twilight's horn. "Quickly now, Miss Sparkle, to the Archives!"
Twilight was lost in a flurry of thoughts as she headed towards the Canterlot Archives. Still reeling from the emotional trauma she had just endured, she was comforted by the hope of Star Swirl having an amazing spell up his sleeve that would not only get her brother, friends, and mentor back, but also give that mean old Cadenza what for.
On the way, she rattled off a series of questions to Star Swirl. "Why did you appear as a giant back there?"
"All the better to get your attention, my dear."
"You are real, right, and I'm not just going crazy?"
"Of course I'm real, what kind of a foal's question was that?"
"Well, I mean, you're dead, aren't you?"
"I am a master of time magic. Can I ever truly die when I can exist wherever and whenever I so desire?"
"Have you been to the future then? What happens if we fail to stop Cadenza?"
"Dark days indeed, my young friend. All the progress our three tribes have made towards peace will be for naught. Harmony will be shattered, Discord shall reign, and all love shall be replaced with terror."
"And I-I'm responsible for this?"
"From a certain point of view, yes. But fear not, you shall be remembered as Equestria's heroine, not her malefactor, if I have anything to do about it."
"Couldn't we just use the Elements of Harmony on Cadenza?"
"Hah! Not likely I'm afraid, do you really think you could convince your friends, Celestia, and your brother to help you smite what they believe to be an innocent young princess? Nay, it shall be magic that salvages this calamity, but it shall be your own, not the Elements'."
Twilight smiled for the first time since she had confronted Cadenza earlier: the Archives were in sight. She quickened her pace, mentally mapping the quickest route to the Star Swirl wing, when suddenly she fell to the ground in a heap.
"Heh, the cap'n was right, boys," an armed royal guard said as he stepped out from behind the hedges in front of the Archives, his armor glimmering in the magical light of the forcefield Twilight had just crashed into. "Shinin' thought you would try to use magic to weasel your way out of this one, Twilight."
As Twilight stared in disbelief, a stern faced pegasus swooped down in front of her and began reading from a scroll. "Until further notice, Twilight Sparkle's access to the Canterlot Archives is hereby revoked, on behalf of Shining Armor and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. Signed, Her Highness, Princess Celestia."
The pegasus rolled the scroll back up and dropped it at Twilight's feet. "You should be ashamed of yourself. Not only did you try and muck up the princess' wedding, you did it to your own brother! Shining Armor is not only our Captain, he is one the greatest colts we know, and if I was you, I'd get the hay out of Canterlot until things cool down!"
Twilight skulked away, looking back at the glaring guardsmen with fresh tears flowing down her cheeks. Once she was out of their sight, Twilight laid down and cried. "This can't be happening!"
Star Swirl resumed his regular size once more and gently stroked her mane. "Oh, Twilight. If only you had been born millenia ago, so that I could have trained you myself. You're a regular Clover the Clever, if I do say so myself. That barrier would be a breeze to bypass for one with your potential power. No, no, it is not your fault, my dear. You are still young with much ahead of you, and the day is not lost yet!"
"But we can't get to your spellbooks!" Twilight exclaimed.
Star Swirl winked at Twilight. "We can't get to those spellbooks, those are not the only copies."
Twilight's eyes lit up. "There's more?! Princess Celestia said they tried to round up all of your spell research long ago so those with evil intentions couldn't abuse it."
"The key word there would be 'tried,'" Star Swirl said with a laugh. He sighed. "Unfortunately, the original spellbooks are stored in my tower's library." The look of consternation on Twilight's face told Star Swirl that she didn't understand why that was an issue.
"My tower is in what you now know as the Frozen North," Star Swirl explained. "A pity, really, it used to be quite pleasant, you know. Damn those windigoes."
The reality of the situation set in for Twilight. The Frozen North was a frigid realm of horror. Once home to the three pony tribes, evil entities now rampaged across the land, waging horrible wars against one another, and any unfortunate travelers who leave the protection of the pony settlements that still remain in the old country. Star Swirl's tower was likely not within the pony territory, and Twilight felt the fear building up within.
Star Swirl seemed to sense Twilight's unease and held her chin up with his hoof. "This is a dangerous quest, Twilight, but I am afraid you are Equestria's only hope. I would gladly do it myself, but even my magic has limits. I know you can do it, my dear. Not only are you one of the most gifted unicorns I have ever encountered, as well as representing the Element of Magic itself, dare I say you may even have the potential to out-class me one day! With proper training, of course. However, all of that will be meaningless unless you stop Cadenza. Now-" Star Swirl paused and his image looked behind himself. Twilight craned her neck to see what had drawn his attention, but nothing was there.
"Oh, dear. It seems I have run out of time, momentarily I assure you. That's the funny thing about magic, you know, you just never know what it will do sometimes."
Twilight gasped as Star Swirl's image began to fade away.
"I promise you I shall return as soon as I am able, Twilight," Star Swirl said. "Get to the tower! The lives of all your friends and countryponies rest upon your extremely talented hooves! You must head north! I belie-"
The image disappeared, leaving Twilight alone, once more, with even more troubling thoughts than before.
----
Centuries back, Star Swirl slammed his hooves onto his desk and glared at an hourglass. "Damn!" he exclaimed, as he tapped it with his hoof until the sand began to flow again. He sighed and ran his hoof through his mane, then began gathering reagents and components to cast a more potent time traveling spell to rejoin Twilight Sparkle in the future.
----
As Twilight walked through the streets of Canterlot, the other ponies pointed at her and whispered to one another. Twilight's head hung low as she made her way to her parents' house, hoping they would have some advice. She knocked on their door and her father answered, scowling at his daughter. Behind him, Twilight could see her mother and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, who was crying in her mother's lap.
"What is she doing here?" Twilight angrily asked.
Her father glared at her. "We know what you did Twilight. Cadence and Shining Armor love you so much, and you pull a stunt like that?" He shook his head. "You should be ashamed."
Twilight looked defiant. "You don't understand! Star Swirl the Bearded himself told me she is evil!"
Her father sighed. "Enough. We love you Twilight, but I'm not going to stand here and listen to your delusions. Cadence and Shining Armor are very upset with you, and quite frankly, so are your mother and I. I'd suggest you go back to Ponyville and stay there until you're ready to apologize."
Twilight gasped as her father slammed the door shut in her face. The crowd of onlookers cheered and clapped their hooves as Twilight skulked away in tears.
---
Twilight had convinced some royal guard pegasi to bring her back to the library in Ponyville (which was where Twilight lived) by claiming that Shining Armor had wanted her out of his sight. The guards were all to eager to oblige, and conveniently dumped Twilight into the branches of the great tree which the library was built into. The news of her outburst at the wedding rehearsal had already reached Ponyville when Twilight returned, and a crowd of scornful ponies had formed as Twilight made her way down out of the branches. One of the local children grabbed an apple and hurled it towards Twilight. A barrage of fruits and vegetables pelted Twilight as the rest of the mob followed suit.
Pipsqueak, the little foreign pony from Trottingham, yelled, "Oi, let's tar an' feather her! It'll be a ruddy good show, it will!"
The gathered pegasi collectively flew a little higher. One asked in concern, "And just where do you intend to get those feathers?"
Another pony offered, "Forget that, let's tie a can to her tail and chase her around town!"
Another pony countered, "Nah, we'll ride her on a rail!"
The mob began one-upping each other with terrible things to do to Twilight. Twilight breathed a sigh of relief as Ponyville's mayor called out for order. The mayor had a light brown coat and a light grey mane, although it was dyed that color from its natural pink. Her cutie mark was of a rolled up scroll bound with blue ribbon, and a pair of gold-rimmed glasses were perched on her muzzle.
The mayor stood in front of the mob and raised her hooves for silence. "Everypony, please! This is not the way to behave!"
Twilight smiled and thought, Thank Celestia! The mayor's got my back!
Twilight's smile quickly faded as the mayor continued. "We are a civilized people, and as such we shall vote for what we shall do to Twilight Sparkle."
"What did I do to deserve this! This is insane!" Twilight cried as she fled inside the library and away from the jeers and projectiles of the mob. She quickly used her magic to barricade the door behind her. "I was right about Cadenza, and now Equestria is in danger and I'm the only one who can save it, and I'm the bad guy? It's...it's just not fair!"
Dark thoughts began to plague her mind once more, and she kicked a book that Spike had apparently left on the floor. "Why doesn't anypony believe me? Maybe all the ponies are right, and I am just a crazy, possessive, mare... If Shining Armor thinks she is good enough for him, who am I to judge Cadence? I mean, Star Swirl and I are the only ones who see Cadenza for what she really is...but what if I am wrong? Am I that far gone that I imagined him too? I mean, he sure seemed real and all, but I am talking to myself right now..."
Continuing to mutter to herself, she walked over to the book she had kicked and grabbed it with her magic to place it back on a shelf. An explosion of dark purple energy radiated from the tome and washed over Twilight. The voice of Star Swirl rebounded around the room. "Don't let your fears get the better of you, Twilight. Be wary, Cadenza is using her foul magic to manipulate everypony against you. North, Twilight. You must go north. Get to the tower, get to the books!"
Twilight stood in a daze, then chuckled to herself. "It really is Star Swirl! He is just as talented as all the stories say! I can't believe he set up that trick for me!" Twilight shook her head, whipping her mane from side to side. "He may not be here, but Star Swirl the Bearded is watching over me! You can do this, Twilight! I am not crazy. Cadenza is evil, Equestria is in peril, and I am the only one who can stop her!"
With renewed vigor, Twilight began collecting supplies for her journey to Star Swirl's tower. Her saddlebags were bulging, packed with a few spellbooks, a map, writing supplies, and provisions. Twilight grabbed some winter clothing including a scarf her grandmother had made for her, her Winter Wrap Up Day vest (for warmth and as a memento of happier times), and a cloak that her friend Rarity had made for her.
It would be a rough journey by hoof, but Twilight had no intentions of walking. She plucked one of the spellbooks out of her saddlebags and flipped it open to the Flight spell's page. It was a difficult spell, but she had improved greatly since the first time she cast it, and it came much easier for her now. Gossamer wings sprouted from her back and she giggled with glee as she tested them out, swooping around the library. "So this is what it feels like to be Rainbow Dash, no wonder she loves to fly!"
Glancing out the window, she saw the angry mob was still outside. With a sigh, she double, triple, and quadruple checked her supplies, then focused her magic to cast a teleportation spell, bringing her out of the library, far away from the mob on the outskirts of Ponyville.
With a longing glance towards Canterlot, Twilight took to the skies and began heading north.