“I’ll get the pie flingers!” Pinkie Pie announced, and vanished.
Styxon Stones drew closer to Twilight, stared at her for a moment, and then released a beam of magic in her direction. Twilight ducked and rolled to avoid it. Before she could rise to her hooves, Styxon let loose another beam of magic and Twilight had to quickly roll in the other direction.
She wasn’t ready for this. She had no experience in combat. The explosion of magic she had unleashed at Styxon moments ago had been a result of her losing control in a fit of anger. She wasn’t used to using her magic to hurt other ponies.
As she continued to duck and dodge Styxon’s magic, Twilight summoned up enough strength to cast a spell and a force field flickered into existence around her. The force field helped somewhat in protecting her, but wavered each time a beam of magic hit it. Twilight knew she wouldn’t be able to keep it up for long.
But then, just as the force field flickered and disappeared for good, the incessant beams of deadly magic stopped. Twilight glanced around, expecting another attack. Styxon’s horn was still glowing, but Twilight could not figure out what sort of spell he was casting. Until she felt the heat.
A ring of fire now encircled Twilight, slowly rising as the radius of the circle shrunk. She hadn’t noticed it at first, when the flames were only a couple inches high, but as they drew ever closer they leaped higher and higher until they were the height of several ponies.
Twilight began to panic. Her energy was quickly diminishing, and this seemed like a trap that would be nearly impossible to escape. Then she got an idea.
She squeezed her eyes shut, calling forth a spell that she had read about but never attempted due to its difficulty. A moment later, the “ooh”s and “ahh”s of the onlooking ponies let her know that she had succeeded.
Twilight had transformed the dancing flames into a ten-foot high ring of red, orange, and yellow stained glass. Snips and Snails would love this, she thought in spite of herself. Even in the middle of a magic duel, she could find time to admire her handiwork.
She couldn’t rest for long, however. As soon as she completed her spell, streams of glittering black sand began to fall from the sky and fill the stained glass tube in which she was imprisoned. Twilight began to panic again as the sand rose up past her knees. She was beginning to reach the last reserves of her power but Styxon didn’t seem to be faltering at all. The sand reached her shoulders. If she didn’t do something soon, she would suffocate. Twilight took a deep breath and strained against her exhaustion, even as the sand rose up over her mouth and nose.
Finally, the glass shattered and the black sand spread out into the town square. Twilight fell sprawled among the sand and broken glass, trying to catch her breath while spitting out the glittering black powder. Slowly, she rose to her hooves, wondering desperately how much longer she would be able to counter Styxon’s attacks.
She had no idea what kind of spell Styxon cast next, but suddenly Twilight’s surroundings became distorted and her mind began to reel. Trees stretched and curved and twisted into knots while buildings swelled like balloons and then burst into swarms of humongous black moths. Twilight glanced upward and instantly regretted it as the sky plummeted toward her. Her stomach churned. The ground bucked and heaved and Twilight fell down—or up; she could no longer know for sure.
And then all was black.
***
Rarity galloped through the halls of the palace, Spike clinging to her back.
“So what did you learn about the princesses?” Spike asked.
“All I was able to find out was that Styxon thinks ‘earth is the only reliable prison,’” Rarity answered over her shoulder.
“But that makes it sound like he’s killed them,” Spike replied.
“It does…” Rarity said. “But where else would he get the power to enchant so many unicorns at once? We’ve got to believe they’re still alive. The princesses are our only chance at breaking the spell and ending Styxon’s reign.”
Spike thought for a moment.
“They’re probably close to the palace, so Styxon would have easy access to their power,” Spike thought aloud. “Maybe they’re deep in the palace dungeons! That’s kind of in the earth.”
“Good thinking, Spike!” Rarity said. “Let’s look there!”
A quarter of an hour later, Spike and Rarity managed to find the palace dungeons. After glancing through the rows of cells, however, it soon became apparent that the princesses were nowhere to be found.
Spike leaned against the grimy wall at the back of the dungeon in exasperation.
“Where can they be?” he demanded. “I thought for sure they’d be here!”
Rarity bit her lip. “Don’t lose hope, Spikey,” she said finally. “They must be close by.”
Spike slid down the wall to sit heavily on the floor. “Do you have any other ideas?” he asked.
Rarity’s eyes widened. Where Spike had touched the wall, he had brushed aside some of the filth, revealing what lay underneath.
“Spike!” Rarity exclaimed. “That wall! It’s not made of stone like the rest of the dungeon. It’s made of wood!”
Spike squinted up at her. “So?”
“Well, for one thing, it was most likely constructed some time after the rest of the dungeon. And for another thing, Styxon’s special talent is fire! A wooden wall will keep out most ponies, but not one that can use fire!”
“And not us!” Spike realized aloud, and stood up quickly to face the wall. He looked it up and down, and then summoned a great ball of green flames, which he let loose at the wall. Before long, though, the fire died and Spike could no longer bring forth even the smallest flame. After burning down the door and the painting that morning, Spike was already exhausted, and it would take a much stronger fire to burn through the thick wooden wall.
“I can’t—do it—“ Spike gasped. “I’m all—out of fire…” His face contorted with frustration and he pounded on the wall with tiny fists. “I know they’re in here! They’ve got to be! Celestia help us!”
The dungeon was suddenly lit up by a flash of light from the cell windows. Spike fell to the floor in surprise. Rarity galloped over to a window, through which she could see a streak of red and yellow flames arc across the sky and head straight for her. She stepped back in amazement and a phoenix swooped in throught the window.
“Philomena?” Rarity gasped.
Spike scrambled to his feet and the majestic bird alighted on his shoulder, giving an almost imperceptible nod. As Philomena’s claws gripped Spike’s shoulder, he could feel the bird’s strength begin to flow into him. He caught the pheonix’s eye and knew what she wanted him to do, and what it would cost.
“Let’s fight fire with fire,” Spike said dramatically, and once again turned to the wall. This time, with Philomena’s strength, Spike’s flames covered the wall and filled the dungeon with an eerie green light. As he let the fire flow through him, Spike noticed feathers begin to float down to the floor. He glanced briefly at Philomena and saw that the phoenix was aging before his eyes. But he didn’t stop the fire. He couldn’t.
After what felt like hours, Philomena burst into bright yellow flames, rivaling the wall of green flames before them, and Spike felt her strength ebb away. He fell to his knees in exhaustion, next to the small pile of ashes that was Philomena. A gaping hole yawned open in the wall before them, its edges charred and blackened. Beyond the hole, a narrow stone staircase descended into blackness.
“Thanks, Philomena,” Spike whispered.
“Shall we?” Rarity asked, and horn glowing softly, she and Spike stepped forward and began to descend the staircase.
***
Twilight opened her eyes.
“Where am I?” she mumbled.
Slowly, she raised her head to take in her surroundings. The clearing in which she was lying was littered with large piles of ash and charred pieces of wood. She could see a distant mountain range in one direction and a dark forest in the other. The broad expanse of sky was bloodred. There wasn’t another pony in sight.
Twilight looked around, trying to remember how she had gotten here. She glanced at the mountain range, and then at the forest. With another glance at the familiar mountain range, she realized with horror where she was.
She was in Ponyville.
But not the Ponyville she knew. Instead, she appeared to be in a Ponyville as it might look after a devasting dragon attack. The piles of ash that were scattered about the clearing—no, town square—had to be the remains of the buildings she knew so well. In a mountain of ash in the center of the square, Twilight recognized pieces of the town hall veranda balustrade, even in their blackened state. To her left, a pile of ash stood where the Carousel Boutique used to be. To her right, what appeared to be overcooked gingerbread where Sugarcube Corner should have been.
“No…” Twilight murmured. How could this have happened? How long had she been unconscious? She spun around desparately, trying to escape from the desolation that used to be her home. How could Styxon have destroyed Ponyville?
“It can’t be…”
And then Twilight heard a noise.
“Help!” a voice squeaked. Twilight spun around and movement near the bottom of a nearby mound of ash caught her eye. The ash shifted to reveal the bright orange mane of a pale yellow unicorn filly, who was almost completely buried under the gray powder.
“Help!” the filly repeated. “My leg is caught under a beam of wood!”
“Don’t worry!” Twilight called. “I’m coming!”
She began to approach the pile of ash. Something was familiar about the yellow filly…
“Please help me! I’m so scared!”
When Twilight was just a few feet away, she got a good look at the filly’s bright blue eyes and realized who it was.
“Pumpkin Cake?” she asked.
The filly nodded.
Twilight paused. Something didn’t seem right.
“What happened to Ponyville, Pumpkin Cake?” she asked.
“It’s the filthy Earth ponies’ fault!” Pumpkin Cake declared. “It’s because of them Ponyville was destroyed!”
Twilight narrowed her eyes. Apparently Styxon hadn’t wasted any time in brainwashing the filly.
“How did you get here, Pumpkin Cake?” Twilight asked. “I thought you were in Canterlot…”
“Come on, Twilight, you gotta save me!”
For a split second, Pumpkin Cake’s eyes flickered from bright blue to pitch black. Then in a flash, Twilight realized what was wrong. Pumpkin Cake wasn’t old enough to talk. She was just a foal. And there was no reason for her to be in Ponyville.
“This isn’t real,” Twilight murmured. “You’re not real. Ponyville isn’t really destroyed. This is just a dream.”
No sooner had she said that than a familiar voice boomed, “Stay away from her!” and Princess Luna swooped down from the sky, her horn glowing. A cage made of what appeared to be obsidian appeared out of thin air, imprisoning the filly that couldn’t exist.
“Princess Luna!” Twilight gasped, and fell to her knees in a bow.
“Thank you, Twilight,” Luna replied. “But we don’t have much time for formalities.”
“I’m so happy to see you!” Twilight exclaimed. “I knew you were alive! How’s Celestia?”
“Twilight, listen,” the princess interrupted urgently. “You are correct that this is a dream. And I would admonish you for being so quick to trust that I’m not just a projection of your subconscious, but I don’t have time for that. I’m holding off Styxon Stones for now, but eventually he will overpower me and attempt to capture your mind through your dreams.”
“Wait,” Twilight said, “you mean that that filly is—“
“Styxon Stones, yes.” Luna confirmed. “In the dream world, Styxon has the power to change his form. You should be able to shapeshift too, but he has considerably more experience.
“Twilight, you are the most powerful unicorn in Equestria, and what Styxon wants more than anything else right now is to capture you in order to have access to your power. Your task is to prevent that from happening at all costs. If Styxon gains control over your magic, it will mean the end of Equestria as we know it. This nightmarish landscape could very well exist in our future. Can you promise to keep from getting captured, even at the cost of your life?”
“But this is a dream,” Twilight said. “I can’t die in a dream. I’ll just wake up, won’t I?”
“If this were a normal dream, yes,” Luna answered. “But this is no normal dream. Styxon is preparing to attack your mind in the real world. And he already has the power of every unicorn in Canterlot. He could kill you a hundred times.
"Dying in the dream does not cause you to die in the real world. Rather, since the dream is nothing more than your subconscious’s interpretation of an abstract mental battle that is about to take place, if you die in the dream, it is a result of your dying in the real world.”
“Princess Luna, my head hurts.”
“Can you promise me that you will do everything you can to protect Equestria?” Luna insisted.
Twilight was only just beginning to realize how daunting her task was, but she took a deep breath and replied, “I promise.”
At that moment the cage exploded, sending shards of obsidian flying in all directions. Where the yellow filly had been, a manticore now stood, stretching its wings, its scorpion tail curving over its head.
“Good luck!” Luna said. “Remember, the fate of Equestria is on your shoulders!”
With that, the princess vanished, and Twilight turned to face the monster that had tried to destroy her home.
“Bring it on.”