//------------------------------// // The Vacation: Day 3 Part 4 // Story: The Overworked Alicorn // by BreakDown //------------------------------// The Vacation Day 3: The Trial... Orion trotted into the throne room with a stern frown. A scroll with the results to their investigation into the charm magic at the scene of Celestia and Luna's disappearance in the loop of his armor. The guard captain glanced around the throne room as he entered. He spotted Cadence casually playing a game of cards with a pony in a hood and cloak. A frown marred his features as he noticed what looked like ancient black armor covering what wasn't hidden by the cloak and unusually large black wings. Orion considered it strange for a moment, but something made him dismiss it. "Milady." Orion stated calmly as he approached the crystal princess and her companion. Cadence looked his way, put down her cards and smiled. "Orion, it's good to see you again," Cadence noted warmly. "I just hope you have good news." The crystal princess admitted while glancing to her strange companion. Orion took another look at the odd pony and raised a brow when he saw a rat holding its own set of cards, and somehow it appeared to be winning. "Do I need to call an exterminator?" Orion questioned with a raised brow. Cadence glanced down to the rat and gave it a scathing look, then turned back to Orion and shook her head. "No, that's Dormy, he's perfectly harmless," Cadence replied and then muttered under her breath. "besides that he beat me in a game and I apparently owe him somewhere around a thousand bits." Orion chose to ignore her muttering and instead retrieved the scroll from the loop of his armor and offered it to the curious princess. Cadence took the offered scroll into her magic and brought it over with a frown. "Our analysis of the magic present at Celestia and Luna's disappearance has yielded quite a few intriguing results." The earth pony stated and Cadence frowned deeply. "Discord." She mumbled with a scowl. Mort hummed, tapped his hoof and Dormy, better known as Death of Rats, gathered their cards. Their game was now done, and the little rat quickly scurried into his master's cloak. "I THOUGHT THIS SMELLED OF HIS HANDIWORK." Mort noted aloud which drew Orion's attention to him. "Forgive me princess, but who is this?" Orion questioned curiously. Cadence sighed while rolling up the scroll and glanced to Mort with a frown. She shouldn't blame the pale pony for being there, she knew he was trying to help. Yet she still blamed him for what happened to Celestia all those years ago. "This is Mort, he's a 'friend' I'm catching up with." Cadence replied while giving Mort a stern look. Orion hummed idly as he looked the pale pony over, he noticed he wasn't able to get a clear picture of him in his head and frowned. The undead pony didn't seem to react either way, he was too busy going over what he'd just learned. "NOW WHY WOULD DISCORD TAKE CELESTIA AND LUNA, YET NOT ATTACK CANTERLOT WITH MINDLESS CHAOS?" Mort questioned aloud and then continued under his breath. "IT MAKES NO REASONABLE SENSE AS FAR AS HE GOES. IF HE HAD A CHANCE LIKE THIS TO SPREAD CHAOS, WHY HASN'T HE TAKEN IT?" Cadence frowned as she realized that Mort had a valid point, as random as Discord could be, why had he taken Celestia and Luna then just vanished? Orion had similar thoughts and a frown crossed his features when he realized they were most likely missing something. "Most likely we're missing some piece of the puzzle. While Discord has made liberal use of pranks against the princesses as of late, I highly doubt he'd risk his freedom by actually kidnapping them." Orion mused with a frown. Mort nodded his head in agreement while Cadence groaned and rubbed her head. "But that puts us back to square one!" Cadence declared while throwing up her hooves. "All we know is that Discord most likely took Auntie Celestia and Luna. We still have no clue where they are, nor do we know why they were taken, or why the Sun and Moon are off time!" Mort suddenly shot up, he turned to Cadence and shot her a stern look. "WAIT, THE RISING AND SETTING OF THE SUN AND MOON ARE OFF?" Mort questioned with a seriousness that surprised his companions. Cadence was taken aback by his tone, she looked to see Orion raise a brow before she looked back to Mort and nodded her head. "By a few minutes at least." She explained truthfully. Mort mentally scowled and began to rub a hoof against the chin of his mandible. "NOW THAT IS VERY INTERESTING." Mort noted aloud. Cadence and Orion both looked to the pale pony for more of an explanation, however instead he stood up and trotted to Orion. "NOW IF EVERY PONY WOULD EXCUSE ME, i HAVE SOMETHING i NEED TO DO." Mort stated as he trotted passed the guard captain. However Cadence was quite tired of Mort's need to be cryptic and mysterious with them and stomped a hoof to get his attention. "Mort stop for a second and tell me what is going on here!" Cadence shouted at the pale pony with a scowl. The undead pony merely turned to look at her, then chuckled lightly. "YOU WILL UNDERSTAND SOON ENOUGH CADENCE." He replied and vanished into a torrent of black feathers. The undead alicorn made his way into a space between space, eventually appearing at a large mansion. The Mansion had once been in Dream Valley, many millennia ago. Home to many ponies, until Mortis the Black had desired it for his own. He had taken the mansion and transported it to a realm between life and death. A place where no pony but he could reach it. A place where he could practice his dark arts undisturbed. Of course that was many many eons ago, in an age when madness consumed his mind. Now it was simply his home, and a place for him to reflect on the many wrongs he had done. The mansion sat on a lonely hill in barren world devoid of life. In the distance were a number of twisted mountains and large seemingly endless fields of wheat and tall grass. At the foot of a beaten path leading to the mansion was a simple mailbox. A stable was near the house with a stall left open, a plate with the name "Binky" over it. The Grim Galloper passed a grinding wheel on his way to the mansion. He didn't even spare it a passing glance as he trotted the path to the mansion's door. He trotted up to the mansion and entered as if he owned the place. Mostly because he did in fact own the place. He trotted inside and wandered through a large entryway with portraits of himself and a few others. Mort wandered to the side to a large mahogany door and pushed it open with a hoof. The grim galloper entered into his study, a room with enough books to fill a library, several relics, and a desk in front of a large window. Many of the books were merely notes on necromancy. Others were autograph books he'd collected over the centuries, for whenever he met a famous pony. Still more of the books were memoirs and biographies of various ponies he knew over the years. Mort was quite proud of his extensive collection of literature, but that was not why he was there. No, instead he approached his desk. The green lights of his eyes dimmed as he looked upon it. The desk was littered with all manner of brick a brack from his long long life. But the most unusual artifact was actually a simple crystal ball. "NOW TO FIND THAT PESKY DRACONEQUUS." He mumbled to himself as he sat on a cushion and looked to his crystal ball. The undead pony waved a hoof over the ancient artifact to activate it. The Crystal Ball was, a relic from Dream Castle forged by Queen Majesty. It was part of a set, it's sister a Magic Mirror was currently in Faust's possession. Both artifacts had the power to show the viewer any pony within a set of seals. While the original seals had only been around Dream Valley, both Mort and Faust had, over many years, extended the view to all of Equestria and it's allies. Mort knew that if Faust ever found out he had the ball, she'd likely demand it returned. He also knew that as Majesty's heir she was entitled to the Crystal Ball. But he didn't care, and he kind of needed it. Anyways! A swirling mist formed within the crystal sphere, a glowing light soon followed and the ancient pony breathed deeply. "SHOW ME DISCORD." He whispered to the sphere and the light and mists within it began to twist and turn. Soon enough Mort groaned upon seeing Discord reclining on a beach, sunglasses over his eyes, with a fruity umbrella drink in his paw. The ancient alicorn of death brought a hoof to his face, a clop echoing as it connected with his skull. "I DO HOPE I DIDN'T CRACK MY SKULL AGAIN." The alicorn of death murmured to himself. Mort shook that thought from his head and frowned deeply. He now knew where Discord was, but he didn't seem to be doing anything too chaotic. "SO WHY KIDNAP LUNA AND CELESTIA?" Mort questioned and looked back down at his crystal ball. "SHOW ME LUNA AND CELESTIA." He ordered the sphere and with a glow and a swirl of mist he saw what he desired. The image within the crystal ball puzzled him for a moment. For he saw Luna and Celestia as if they weren't empowered by the sun and moon. "ODD... SOMETHING ISN'T RIGHT WITH THIS PICTURE." The ancient undead alicorn noted to himself. "SHOW ME MORE." Mort ordered the sphere and the image pulled back to show a familiar hallway. "OH STARS ABOVE, PLEASE TELL ME HE DIDN'T." The undead pony pleaded desperately. However his pleading was in vain as the picture pulled back to show that the two were within Faust's Tower. "HE DID..." Mort groaned and brought his hoof to his face once more. There was yet another loud clop as a result, and the ancient undead pony grunted. At this rate his skull was going to become a patchwork mess of spiderweb cracks. Mort grunted and placed his hoof back down on his desk. Now at least the pieces of the puzzle were making a lot more sense to him, but that didn't explain what possessed Discord to put Luna and Celestia into Faust's tower. Though he was far more worried about what Luna and Celestia had released in Faust's Tower. "I'M GOING TO NEED TO COLLECT THE ELEMENTS OF HARMONY, GET THEM TO CANTERLOT, AND FIND SOME WAY INTO THE TOWER." Mort decided to himself and leaned back with a hum. The Tower was an ancient building far older than even he was. He'd seen it as a mere colt in his youth and it'd already been very old. He'd also seen Faust in her prime in his youth, he admitted he'd thought her the most beautiful mare alive. He still did actually. But the problem was that the Tower was built like a fortress. It had only one real entrance and exit, the sky-way at it's top. "BUT WITH ALL THE DARK MAGIC AROUND IT THAT WOULD HAVE CLOSED." Mort noted to himself with a grunt. The Tower was not only designed to keep ponies out, but also to keep things in. Ancient and powerful things that Faust had seen too dangerous to allow to run loose. That meant that any chance of trying a physical assault on the Tower would end in failure. There were no entrances that he knew of that ponies could use. The only pony who would know of any such entrances and exits would be Faust herself. "REGARDLESS, I MUST GATHER THE ELEMENTS, AND PRAY THAT NOTHING HAPPENS TO CELESTIA AND LUNA BEFORE WE GET THERE." The grim galloper decided and vanished in a burst of ebony black feathers... Twilight was only a little annoyed that she had been unable to read any new books from the library she'd been in. However her studies needed to progress and so she walked from the library into a shower of sparks. The sparks soon dissipated into a new bit of scenery. However she slowed down and found herself enchanted by the surreal scenery she'd walked into. Unlike before the scenery was in no way realistic, it was a simple starry expanse. She looked down and found her hooves walking on a trail of star-light that reached out into the distance, while a soft song seemed to echo all around her. "Alright I admit it, Faust is really creative." Twilight decided as she looked around in wonder. "Why thank you." Faust's voice carried from seemingly no where. Twilight yelped and jumped back, she looked all around until she finally spotted Faust. She found it was the Alicorn in regalia this time, resting nearby with her cloak covering the majority of her body. Though she was loathe to admit it, she felt significantly more comfortable learning from this one. She surmised it to be a bit of a carry over from learning from Celestia for so long. "So now I learn about Control right?" Twilight asked, then raised a brow as Faust materialized a cup of tea and sipped from it. The pure-white alicorn was silent for a jarringly long time, merely sipping from her cup and then finally looking to the little lavender unicorn. "Somewhat." She replied cryptically and went back to her tea. "How do I 'somewhat' learn about control?" Twilight questioned, and felt far more patient with this Faust than the others. Again it was probably because she was reminded of her teacher Princess Celestia. She even idly wondered if Faust had engineered that into the charm intentionally. "Because the form of control you must learn is not over power, think of your other lessons and tell me what it means." Faust replied crisply and then returned to her tea. Twilight blinked, then frowned in thought for only a moment before a grimace passed over her features. "It means control over my emotions while casting the charms, doesn't it?" The lavender unicorn questioned. She didn't need an answer and Faust knew that from the slight smile on her lips. "Perfectly correct." Faust replied with a friendly smile. Twilight on the other hoof was not so pleased. She was in no way as bad as Rainbow or Pinkie, but she knew that she had trouble keeping herself in check. Her emotions could run wild with her and she was afraid of what would happen if she cast a charm and lost control. Which is why she asked the alicorn who was currently her teacher. "So what happens when you lose control?" Faust was silent for a moment, looked at Twilight and then sighed. "Bad things happen." She replied cryptically, and then closed her eyes and elaborated further. "In one case, a pony who hated another pony cast a charm in anger. It became known as "The Burning Charm" setting a fire and blazing out of control. Another fell into sadness so completely that her charm deadened her senses and emotions, and left her unable to cast charms ever again. She became a veritable husk of her former self, she didn't care or worry about anything, but she was also lifeless and dull." Faust replied and watched Twilight shiver violently. "But, umm..." Twilight began and then looked at Faust apologetically. "... no offense, but you're always so open and well, you wear your heart on your hoof." Faust nodded her head, a soft smile on her lips as she regarded the purple pony. "Indeed I do, but you seem to think that control means I must subjugate my feelings and always remain calm, but that is the furthest thing from the truth." The pure-white alicorn stated, and then looked to the sky with a soft smile. "Our emotions are what allow us to cast charms, subjugating them makes it harder to do so, one must let them remain free yet still keep them from running wild. One needs..." Faust stopped and considered her words, then nodded to herself. "One needs balance in order to control their emotions." She decided with a nod of her head. Twilight paused at that, a frown formed across her features as she considered Faust's words. She could see how Faust's words had merit and made quite a bit of sense. Without emotion one could never hope to cast a charm. If one restricted their emotions the charm would likely be weak and possibly useless. Yet if one allowed them to run wild so too did the charm run wild. One needed a balance between wild and tame, allowing the emotion to flow freely yet restricting it just enough to keep a charm manageable. "I understand, but how does one control their emotions?" Twilight asked the alicorn mare curiously. "Controlling your emotions is harder than I can explain," Faust admitted with a click of her tongue. "merely tempering them on the other hoof." She added with an incline of her head and glanced to Twilight. "Tempering? What does a process in metallurgy have to do with Charms?" The little lavender unicorn questioned with a frown. Faust giggled in response and smiled brightly to the unicorn. "I meant that you shouldn't attempt to actually control your emotions, just try and restrain them when you're feeling stressed." Faust explained with an teasing grin. Twilight silently made an oh with her mouth, comprehension finally dawning on her. However she still worried. She was not well known for being a hot head, true, but when she did lose her temper things tended to burn. Her mane and tail for instance. Not to mention Pinkie said her eyes turn red when angry enough, and her coat a creamy yellow white... she really had to test the validity of that at some point. "How?" Twilight questioned nervously of the older mare. "To each their own. Every pony has their own way of calming down, even me." Faust replied and then tapped her chin, an amused smile coming to her lips. "You, my little pony, could perhaps use a mental checklist to help you." Faust offered and smirked at the suddenly bright expression on Twilight's face. It was clear that the little unicorn liked that particular idea. "So how should it go?" Twilight asked while she tapped a hoof impatiently. Faust gave her a flat look. "It's not my list, Twilight." Faust replied and rolled her eyes as Twilight blushed. "Oh, right." The little lavender mare mumbled and hummed in thought. She thought back to the techniques she knew on calming down and relaxing. Counting to ten. Imagining a calm quiet place. And the one Cadence had showed her, inhale through the nose then exhale. She could potentially use a list of all three, it seemed like more than enough to herself. "I think I got it." Twilight decided. Faust hummed and then glanced into the distance, a stern frown crossing her features. "Perhaps, but maybe we should put that to the test." Faust replied rather ominously. "How?" Twilight questioned with no small amount of worry. The pure-white alicorn merely closed her eyes for a moment, then looked up into the sky. "You'll see." Faust whispered cryptically as a crimson glow surrounded her horn. A moment later Twilight felt a dropping sensation and cried out as she seemed to fall into a deep abyss. She soon landed with a grunt and brought a hoof down to rub at her aching flanks. "Ouch, give a pony a little warning next time Faust." Twilight muttered to herself and then looked around to get her bearings. Her surroundings were surprisingly tame, a quite and somewhat familiar forest surrounding a castle. Twilight had honestly expected something far more troubling for a test from Faust. The lavender unicorn silently made her way to the castle, over and passed a strong stone bridge. As Twilight trotted closer and closer to the castle, a feeling of dread slowly filled the pit of her stomach. 'I've been here before.' She realized internally, feeling no reason to speak aloud. She looked around for some kind of marker to remind her of where she was, yet none could be seen. The mare felt the feeling of dread well and grow, soon leaving the mare entirely on edge. The castle was completely abandoned, not a single soul anywhere. 'Something isn't right.' She noted to herself, a shiver running the length of her spine. She continued her trek further into the ancient castle and soon found herself wondering where any pony was. "H-hello?" She questioned timidly, and yet no pony answered her. Nothing answered her. She was completely alone in this dark and terrible place. That realization did little to calm her nerves, which alerted her to Faust's intent. 'Catch me off guard, leave me terrified rather than angry. If I lose control of my fear it'd be no different than if I lost control of my temper, clever...' Twilight admitted to herself. She was prepared for Faust to make her angry, not for her to try to scare her. She mentally sighed, inhaled through her nostrils, exhaled and pictured a scenic setting while counting down to ten. Her nerves steadied, but she checked her internal list twice, just to be safe. Assured that she had double checked her mental checklist, the lavender unicorn mare her way into the castle. Her hoof briefly tapped something metallic and she looked down and found a tarnished gold pendant. The little lavender unicorn raised a brow and tried to lift the pendent with her magic. However she grimaced as only a few small sparks shot out of the end of her horn instead. 'Did Faust cut off my magic?' The purple pony questioned and sighed tiredly. Twilight slowly knelt down and speared an old cord onto her horn and lifted the pendent. She used a hoof to move the pendent back a small margin and frowned at it's design. It was a simple design really. It was a gold circle surrounded by a black crescent surrounded by a larger gold crescent with a small circle cut from the larger crescent. The little mare turned the pendent around for a moment, but found the back was solid tarnished gold. Yet as she continued to look at the pendent, she couldn't shake the feeling she'd seen it before. "But where?" Twilight questioned lowly. She idly tried to remember from where the symbol was from. However she shook that off, put the pendent down, and wandered further into the castle. "Faust is probably just pulling random memories loose to catch me off guard. Remember Twilight, you need to keep calm." The little lavender unicorn ordered firmly. She traveled into the castle, and noticed banners and tapestries. She saw dark blue banners with silver versions of the symbol on the pendent that made a bit more sense than the tarnished gold had. "These banners sort of seem like something Luna would have." Twilight mused and she brought a hoof to her face. "Oh of course, that symbol is a representation of the moon shadowing the world!" She stated to herself with a shake of her head. She then blinked and looked around warily. 'B-but, does that mean Nightmare Moon is here?' Twilight wondered warily. She nearly jumped at any of the sounds around her. However remembering not to let her fears get the best of her, Twilight took several deep breaths and returned to her mental checklist. Soon finished, the little mare continued on her way through the castle when a soft song echoed in her ears. The song had no real music to speak off, it was but a simple series of "La's" that formed together into a soothing melody. The singer quite clearly female. Her ears strained to pick up the song which soothed her to the point of nearly falling to sleep. Her hooves soon had her trotting through the castle in search of the pony singing the enchanting song. Twilight briefly wondered if one could actually infuse a charm into a song, and if so she felt it would be nice to learn how. But the song called to her, it held her attention and didn't want to let go. She felt her hooves clop against the stone floors as she continued her way through the castle. She continued even as it stopped and started all over again multiple times. Yet no matter how long she looked, she couldn't seem to find it's source. She looked through room after room, she wandered corridors, and yet she could never find the songs source. The little lavender pony soon wandered out of the back of the castle, there a pony sat in an ancient spring. The pony was an alicorn, her mane and tail a soft powder blue, her coat a darker blue, and eyes closed as she sang. It was only the black inkblot on her flank, with a silver crescent that showed who the pony was. 'Luna?' Twilight questioned, and then approached as the alicorn continued to sing softly. Twilight knew she was in some kind of illusory charm, but she had no idea how realistic it was supposed to be. 'Can she hear me?' Twilight wondered as she approached the softly singing princess quietly. 'I wonder if she really sings so well... and if she does, why doesn't she sing anymore?' Twilight wondered as she slowly came to rest next to the singing princess, only slightly surprised to see she wore no regalia. She ignored that however and closed her eyes, her body relaxing as she listened to the haunting melody of the lunar princess. She reasoned she should probably try and speak with the princess, but... she'd rather just sit and listen to the song just a little more. She didn't move, simply stayed silent and listened to the haunting melody. Soon Luna sighed and looked to the sky, a sad frown crossing her face. The moon hovered overhead and shined down upon her. "Another night alone." She mumbled quietly, her voice soft and gentle. Twilight remained silent, even as she came out of the spell the older mare's song had put her under. She looked to the princess, and for the first time noticed how sad she appeared. She wanted to say something, but the alicorn vanished an instant later, the land itself suddenly changing around her as she did. The castle began to crumble, the spring dried, and the forest grew dark and oppressive. All the while a far more sinister voice sang, this song sounded deeper and bore an unmistakable trace of evil. Twilight shivered as she looked around, now easily recognizing the place she was in. "The Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters." Twilight murmured and jumped back with a yelp as an echoing laughter echoed from within the castle. The purple pony steeled her nerves, narrowed her eyes, and frowned. "Nightmare." She whispered and galloped forward, into the ancient castle and all that awaited her within. Daring found the tunnel was far longer than she originally anticipated. However it was nothing compared to some of her other adventures. Galloping all around the world, often times with a broken wing or leg, had left her amazingly resourceful. Though even she could admit that this was a new one on her. Locked in an ancient tower looking for an even more ancient castle beneath it. Meeting a pair of living alicorns, and learning they had a mother. Discovering the Golden Door among other more minor feats. It had honestly been a good day. "Now I just need to find the end of this tunnel and it'll be a great day." Daring grunted as she continued to slowly make her way down the tunnel. She noticed that she'd been correct, the tower wasn't able to change the ancient tunnel. She had a theory that it was likely due to the fact that it wasn't part of the tower. "But then again, if it's magic seeped down this far it could still change the tunnel if it wanted too." Daring admitted to herself, even as she continued to wander down into the ancient tunnel. "How far does this thing go?" Daring wondered to herself as she continued and came to a corner. She grimaced to herself and slowly slipped around the corner. A rock poked into her back from behind, it's point dangerously sharp. The explorer halted for a moment and breathed in and leaned forward. She slowly passed the sharp rock and exhaled her breath. That done she continued down the thin tunnel. The khaki mare mentally sighed and wished she had something more interesting to do than shimmy down a tunnel for hours. 'Aw who am I kidding, most of my time I'm dodging death traps, this is like a well deserved vacation!' The khaki mare admitted to herself with a smile. Much as she really hated being bored, she could appreciate the more humble trip she was on now. She was fine with death traps, but after a thousand tombs and ancient temples, it got old real fast. Of course she only felt it was old now that she was in the real world. She reasoned that it had something to do with her presence in the real world. 'Likely when I'm in the realm of imagination my thoughts and personality are influenced by my writer and the ponies who read my story. But when I'm out here, my thoughts are my own so are only influenced by my memories.' Daring mused as she continued further into the tunnel. She decided that while she still didn't mind coming from a book, she really didn't like ponies influencing her personality. She also decided that she really hated how long this tunnel had turned out to be. Daring quickly shook that off, she narrowed her eyes and returned to her voyage into the unknown. Silently the khaki pegasus made her way through the tunnel. She passed several more turns and jagged rocks before she finally arrived at an exit. "It's about bucking time." She muttered under her breath and slipped out into a large open space. Daring took a moment to simply observe, and felt a feeling she couldn't quite explain. Dream Castle in many legends had been a simple, but happy and warm place. The reality wasn't quite so nice. Or perhaps time had merely changed it. Dream Castle was a simple four walled castle with a guard tower at every corner, a single larger tower in it's center, and a large draw bridge. The outer structure was made of some kind of stone, but had been covered in moss and vines. It's walls had half collapsed after decades of disuse and millennia buried. The central tower was missing a massive chunk yet still standing. And the land all around it was barren and cold. "This didn't happen naturally." Daring whispered quietly as she looked at the rocks. Some of them were jutting up at odd angles. It was almost like something had moved all the earth and rock to close in on the ancient castle. Whether or not such a being had existed was beyond her, but it didn't matter. Daring trotted forward and came to the old draw bridge leading into Dream Castle. It's wood had long since rotted, and the chains holding it had rusted and broken apart. It was clear that the castle's door could no longer rise to ward off any intruders. "Jeez, this place is a mess." Daring muttered as she opened her wings and flew into the castle. Slowly the mare explored the ruins of Dream Castle, that same feeling growing inside her chest. The interior wasn't much better than the exterior. Everything looked to have been removed, a few bookcases here or there were barren. A couple of old benches and tables had fallen in on themselves. Tapestries had been shredded or ripped apart by something. All and all the ancient castle had been left as less than a hollow shell of it's former self. "I guess I won't find anything here." Daring noted quietly as she glanced around. She took stock of what was left and decided it would be best to just leave. The castle had nothing of interest to her, and she was starting to feel... depressed. Really depressed. She turned on her hoof and began to leave the ancient crumbling castle, only stopping to look at the central tower. It was with great trepidation that she even considered entering the tower. Even if her knowledge was minor she knew who had lived there once. Majesty, the only "Queen" unicorn who really mattered in her eyes. Taking a deep breath Daring approached the ancient tower and entered. The wooden stairs had rotted away just as the majority of wood within the castle had. It still depressed her to see all of this. She wasn't really sure why it would depress her so bad. She'd seen worse in her own world. "Then again, in my world those places aren't actually real. This is like the birth place of pony society I'm walking through, and it's in ruins." Daring mumbled quietly. She then opened her wings and shot up into the tower. She found herself in an ancient bedroom, one left just as bare as the rest of the castle. "Okay, just a quick check around, then I leave." Daring stated while making her way through the ancient room. She took only a step forward and her hoof fell through a part of the rotten wooden floor. "Yeah, this totally won't work." She muttered and flapped her wings. She flew over the wooden floor and started looking around the ancient room. Not much was left, what little there was could barely be identified. Daring knew for certain nothing of Majesty's would be left behind. Or at least she sincerely hoped not. "Majesty was, and supposedly still is, the single most powerful Unicorn to ever live. Her artifacts would be extremely dangerous if they fell into the wrong hooves." Daring noted under her breath, then stopped and raised a brow. A nearby floor board had fallen through, revealing it was a sort of trap door. Beneath the trap door, something metallic and gold shined through. "Oh Hay no..." Daring whispered, eyes wide as she approached the boards. "please don't be what I think it is." She pleaded and slowly opened the trap door to see what had been hidden. Four golden horseshoes lay beneath, ancient yet still shining brilliantly, and giving off a very powerful magic. Daring slowly reached her hooves down and gathered the shoes into her arms. She pulled back for a moment to quickly look around then shot down into the castle proper. She dropped the horseshoes to the ground and journeyed back up into the tower. She collected several pieces of old wood and zipped back down stairs. Dumping the wood she sat down and pulled a flint and bit of steel from her pocket. "Always be prepared." She murmured as she placed the flint down and gripped the steel between her teeth. Flint ready the khaki mare took a breath and then twisted her head to drag the steel against the flint. It gave a sudden intense spark which shot off into the old rotten wood. The wood didn't light, though it was dry Daring feared it may be useless to her. But she tried once more if only to be sure. With another twist of her head and another spark was sent flying into the wood. This time the spark burned and Daring quickly leaned forward to blow on the wood. A moment later the wood blazed and a small fire crackled to life. The fire, while decidedly small, was all she needed. Daring quickly galloped back to the shoes, took only one, and tossed it into the flames. She waited, she kept away from the fire as it burned with the shoe within it. 'Please don't be what I think it is, please don't be what I think it is.' She mentally pleaded and watched the smoke flow from the small fire. Slowly, the mare approached the fire as it began to fade, smoke rising and spreading through the cave. The khaki pegasus watched as the fire soon died, and then watched the golden horseshoe. She gave a sigh as after several moments nothing happened. "Okay, so they aren't..." She started to say, yet halted as something happened. The shoe still hot from the fire changed, a series of burning red runes forming along it. "Oh buck me." The mare muttered in a hushed breath and trotted around the shoe for a moment. She tapped the shoe, idly noted it was cool to the touch, and quickly knocked the shoe away into the pile with the rest of them. She knew of these horseshoes, truth be told many explorers knew the old stories. While fact had been lost, the horseshoes had become a thing of myth alongside many other ancient artifacts. Daring had only found actual information on them by accident, and even that had been by sheer luck. All she found was that they were made by Majesty in her youth with forgotten magics and runes. In her age she had used them to protect the ponies of Dream Valley, and so stories of their power spread. Those stories became legends and those legends became myth. Now they were sitting right in front of her. And she had no bucking clue what they could actually do. "The Mystic Horseshoes." Daring whispered as the markings on the shoe she'd moved slowly vanished. The pegasus approached the horseshoes with great caution. Within her mind dozens of the old legends and myths about the horseshoes warred. A few stories also came to mind, not the least of which had always depicted the shoes as having a will all their own. "They are enchanted, and enchanted artifacts often gain a mind of their own." Daring admitted to herself. She tapped one of the shoes with a hoof, and then breathed when she felt no pull from them. While she was no unicorn, she'd encountered more than her fair share of enchanted artifacts. As a result she had built up a kind of sense, which allowed her to tell when something was enchanted at a touch. These horseshoes were enchanted, but unlike the living ones, it had no pull or voice to them. The tower had a mind and unlike these shoes, she was able to tell that it was very much alive. "But that just makes me wonder which parts of the stories are true, and which are false." The khaki pegasus admitted to herself as she looked over the old horseshoes. "Invisibility and long life are the most recurring powers the shoes are supposed to carry." Daring admitted to herself and then clicked her tongue. "But Majesty was a powerful unicorn, so the extended lifespan isn't that surprising in her case. And no pony has actually worn them since she passed on." Daring admitted to herself. She was still mentally glad that the "Will of their own" bit about the shoes was wrong. The whole long-life thing would still be hard to test, but she at least had reason to doubt they could endow a pony with such a thing. Though, even invisibility alone was a very dangerous ability. "Not to mention I can literally feel all the magical power coming off of these things and I'm not a unicorn." Daring murmured to herself. The pegasus trotted in place for several moments, worriedly looking here and there. "Alright, buck it, I'm testing 'em." The pegasus muttered and approached the shoes. Flipping them into formation the pegasus hopped onto the shoes and felt them attach to her hooves without nails. An instant later she shivered as the world around her shifted for a moment, before she looked down at herself. "Uh... well, I don't feel invisible." Daring mumbled to herself and lifted a hoof to look at the shoe. "How do these things even work?" She questioned and turned her hoof around to gaze at the shoe on her hoof. A moment later a sound like thunder tore the mare from her thoughts. She looked all around, the thunder echoing out across the castle and leaving her wary. The thunder continued, growing louder and louder. "What the?" She questioned, and then widened her eyes when a loud roar suddenly echoed. "Oh buck." Daring muttered and turned as something slithered nearby. "Why does everything I find always end up having some kind of guardian?" The mare questioned no one, then yelped as a massive pair of wings opened up above the castle. She was left wide eyed as a dragon's head rose up and a pair of violet eyes narrowed on her dangerously. "Well, that certainly seems like my cue to get the buck out of Dodge Junction." The khaki pegasus decided and lunged out of the castle as the full grown magenta dragon breathed a stream of fire at her. The mare slipped into a skid out of the castle, missing the flames by barely an inch. She quickly leaped to her hooves and lunged out of the castle. She jumped over the dragons tail and quickly looked for a way out of the cave. The crevice she'd used earlier would likely be a death trap if she tried to use it to escape. With that in mind, the grey-scale maned mare looked all around and then deadpanned when she saw a massive pair of doors. "That tower is just trying to mess with me now, isn't it?" The mare grumbled to herself. At a roar from the dragon Daring turned around for only a moment. The beast was crawling down from the castle, a deep snarl stretched across its face. "Well even if it is, I am not standing in front of an angry dragon! There's being daring, and then there's just being stupid, and I'm no idiot!" Daring declared as she galloped for the doors. She heard the dragon roar behind her, its snarls echoing within the cave beneath the tower. She looked back only once, and saw a now thoroughly angry dragon glaring at her. The beast then pulled itself free of the dozens of centuries worth of rock and stone that had built up over top its body. It shook for a moment, throwing loose pieces here and there and then roaring loudly. Daring turned and galloped to freedom, the doors to the tower opening for her on her approach. "Now it helps me." The khaki coated pegasus muttered as she galloped into the tower and hopefully away from the angry Dragon... Faust sat below Rainbow Dash's cloud home. The cyan pegasus was busy putting away her academy uniform. After she was finished with that they were going to busy themselves with something until time rolled around for Pinkie's party. The off-white mare sighed happily as a warm breeze brushed against her coat. "It's a beautiful day in Ponyville." The ancient alicorn decided to herself. However she then glanced to the side in time to see three fillies rush towards her. "C'mon, guys! Rainbow Dash gets home today!" The voice of an excited filly cried. A smile tugged at Faust's face as she turned in time to see an orange purple maned / tailed pegasus pony galloping towards her. Following closely behind was a yellow earth-pony filly with red mane and tail with a bow. And finally trailing behind was a snow colored unicorn with a pink and purple striped mane and tail. The three, rather notorious fillies, brought an amused giggle to the ancient alicorn as she remembered three similar trouble makers from her youth. "Of course Ember, Baby Surprise and Baby Moon Dancer were never quite as adamant about finding their symbols." Faust admitted to herself. She then frowned and thought back to the two fillies who were named after their mothers. "Surprise said she named her that because she was literally a surprise. While Moon Dancer named her filly that because... well, she was really lazy." Faust noted to herself with a shake of her head. She remembered Moon Dancer fairly well, a typically sleepy and lazy pony who specialized in sleep and dream magic. "Sort of like Luna now that I think about it." Faust mumbled to herself. Now she had to wonder if Luna was in some way a descendent of her old acquaintance. She and Moon Dancer had never been friends, not since the lazy pony had put Cotton Candy under a sleep spell. Had it not been for Twilight, Cotton Candy would've been forced to sleep until winter. She admitted that Cotton Candy shouldn't have eaten her bluegrass and flowers, but putting her under a sleep spell was just going way too far. "Hey, who are you?" The voice of a brash young filly questioned, breaking the ancient mare from her reverie. The older mare blinked for a moment and then smiled upon seeing three fillies. "My name is, Faust." The older mare replied watched saw the yellow filly scrunch up her nose cutely. "At's kind of a weird name." She noted aloud, her friends nodding in full agreement. "Yes well, perhaps you three could introduce yourselves?" Faust questioned, mentally restraining the urge to introduce them herself. After several odd looks from the ponies she'd met over the last few days, she realized most normal ponies didn't really appreciate her introducing them. "I'm Apple Bloom!" The yellow filly cried. "Name's Scootaloo." The orange pegasus declared with a buss of her wings. "And I'm Sweetie Bell." The unicorn stated with a smile. "Together we seek out our special talents!" Scootaloo declared. "So we can finally get our cutie-marks!" Apple Bloom stated, her friends nodding their heads in agreement. "And so we are..." the three fillies began in unison, then took a quick breath. "THE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS!" The fillies exclaimed as one, Faust quickly bringing her hooves to her ears. The sheer volume that the little fillies managed was impressive to say the least. Even Rarity hadn't managed to scream at her quite that loudly. Once the ringing in her ears had finally passed, the off-white mare chuckled nervously. "Uh, right." She mumbled and watched the three. "Hey!" Sweetie suddenly called as she pulled Faust's wings open, however was looking at her cutie-mark instead. "Look at this, she has a quill and inkwell as a cutie-mark." Sweetie noted and her two friends looked at it with her. "Huh, what in tarnation does 'at mean?" Apple Bloom questioned aloud. Faust giggled into one hoof and cleared her throat. "It means my special talent is writing, or creativity." Faust replied with a smile. "So you just write books?" Scootaloo questioned with a frown. "No. While my specialty is technically writing, I'm also a Story Teller, Librarian, Archivist, a Songstress, not to mention I happen to be a Master Charm-Caster, Enchantress, and Warder." Faust listed with a proud smile. "What's a Charm-Caster?" Scootaloo questioned as she scratched her mane. Faust couldn't stop a minor twitch, then mentally groaned as Apple Bloom frowned cutely. "Or a Warder?" The yellow apple filly questioned innocently. Faust twitched once more, she only just barely stopped herself from bringing her hoof to her face. Why was it that no pony knew about charms, wards, or enchantments in this age? She'd always thought it a fairly easy field of magic to learn. Then again perhaps that was why it had fallen into disuse, or it could have been because of the stigma with Charms in general. "How do you master being Enchanting?" Sweetie asked finally and Faust nearly face faulted. "I know Rarity is really pretty and nice but she's never called herself a 'Master' Enchantress before." The white filly noted aloud. This time Faust couldn't resist bringing her hoof to her muzzle. She groaned under her breath, put her hoof back down, and shook her head sadly. "A Charm is a type of spell that is powered by imagination and feeling rather than intellect and power. A Ward is a form of protective spell that can cause a variety of differing effects. The most basic merely repels unwanted intruders, more advanced wards can actually due more interesting things. As for an Enchantress, that means I specialize in Enchanting, which means I can create powerful magical relics." Faust explained to the three fillies. At once they each made an Oh with their mouths then looked to one another. "So should we get Sweetie to try for a charm cutie-mark?" Scootaloo questioned and Apple Bloom frowned. "Nah, don't sound that interesting." She replied much to Faust's annoyance. "What about Enchanting things? I could be like Rarity, but instead of pretty dresses I could make magical jewelry!" Sweetie declared with a grin and the other crusaders frowned. "What would a cutie-mark like that even look like?" Scootaloo demanded and Faust answered without thinking. "If you base it off of Sparkler, who happened to be a master Enchantress herself, or a number of other enchanters then it'd likely be several diamonds like Rarity. However given her personality I would assume it would be a bell of some kind. If not it'd look like the first object she ever enchanted." As soon as the words passed, Faust mentally cursed and quickly brought her hooves over her mouth. The crusaders blinked and then looked from one another, back to Faust suspiciously. "Wha..." Scoots finally said with wide eyes. Faust however smacked her head and groaned. "N-never mind, forget I said anything!" The mare pleaded and wished she could turn off her brain if only for a few moments. "Hey! What's going on down there?" The voice of Rainbow cried out as the mare looked down from her cloud home. Upon seeing Faust surrounded by the Cutie-Mark Crusaders, the mare sighed and zipped down to her new friend. "Jeez what are you girls doing to her?" Rainbow asked with a raised brow. Much as she liked Scootaloo, even she could admit that the kid and her friends could be a terrible trio. "Oh hi Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo exclaimed while instantly forgetting about Faust. Said off white mare sighed in relief, and made a mental note to control her mouth. Emotions, that was easy for her to control, but her intellect, she honestly had problems keeping it in check. In fact, back in her younger days she'd always been considered to be a bit of a know it all for her mouth. "Yeah, nice seeing you again Scoots," Rainbow Dash told the filly and ruffled her mane. "Say, me and Faust here were about to head over to a party with Pinkie. You girls wanna come with?" The cyan pegasus questioned. The grins from the three fillies was all the answer she needed. The prismatic Pegasus left, Faust followed behind the mare, while the Cutie-Mark Crusaders bounded all around them. Although happy that Rainbow had temporarily prevented the crusaders of getting too suspicious of her. She couldn't help but feel an ill wind pass through town. Twilight galloped through the strange castle, a sense of unease growing in the pit of her stomach. That sense of unease was soon increased ten fold as the castle changed around her once more. The ruined castle changed into the one from before, strong and sturdy. Nightmare's song was gone, and instead she saw a familiar alicorn trotting down a corridor. "Princess Luna." Twilight realized and trotted to the mare. She followed the princess as she passed several guards in armor that covered nearly their entire bodies. Had she been in the mood, Twilight would probably take a moment to study the armor. It wasn't very often she got to see what ancient ponies wore. Though this was technically an illusion, the lavender unicorn was almost entirely certain that Faust had taken her time to research everything possible for it. Regardless, Twilight followed Luna down twists and turns and long hallways. She soon found the princess of the night approaching a room, one with her banner hanging outside of it's doors. "Ma'am." A guard uttered as Luna passed into what Twilight assumed was her royal chambers. "Sir knight." Luna muttered under her breath and entered her chambers. Twilight quickly galloped after Luna, however much to her annoyance the corridor changed just as she neared the door. Instead of the castle she found herself suddenly walking into a sunny glade. The little lavender unicorn was understandably disorientated by the shift, and glanced here and there curiously. The sunny glade had an old beaten path leading to a tiny village. She noticed with no small amount of surprise the occasional pony on the road waving as she passed. The little lavender unicorn waved as well, and idly noted she was wearing an old beaten cloak. She raised a brow for only a moment, then decided it was unimportant. The fact she could feel the sun on her coat, the smell of spring flowers carried on the wind as it blew through her mane, and the soft crunch of dirt beneath her hooves, that interested her far more. She couldn't decide whether or not she was amazed or excited. She really felt like she was walking down the beaten path. It was all so real, and yet so relaxing at the same time. 'What is Faust playing at?' Twilight questioned as she continued down the path, only to stop at a strange stone arch. The odd arch was made of a simple grey stone with a number of runes cared into it. The little lavender mare looked through the arch, and frowned upon seeing a different scene passed it. 'Okay this is a bit more like what I expected... I think.' Twilight thought with a frown and looked all around the arch for a few moments. The lavender unicorn soon sighed and silently trotted through the arch. An instant later, her eyes bolted wide and a voice whispered into her mind. "Fear has been passed, peace left behind, journey through rage and sorrow to reach the end." The voice echoed ominously, Twilight swaying in place for a brief moment before regaining her balance. Shaking her head Twilight continued forward into a world of fire, a forest lit ablaze, fields roaring and in the distance a massive tower. 'Something tells me I'm supposed to go there.' Twilight reasoned and continued to trot towards the tower. As Twilight trotted forward she began to notice an intense feeling at the back of her mind. It wasn't exactly a painful feeling, truth be told she found it annoying but not at all painful. As she continued forward she noticed the feeling become more and more unbearable. She stopped for only a moment then grit her teeth as she continued to march towards the tower. Her body shook and her breaths came in short hisses. The little lavender unicorn soon realized that the more unbearable the feeling became, the hotter it seemed to be. A moment later she heard a growl and looked up for what made the noise. However she then heard it a second time and recognized it as her own voice. She snorted a burst of steam from her nose and continued to march forward. The feeling constantly growing stronger and stronger. Her hooves stomped into the path, dirt sizzled beneath her hooves and her entire body felt as if it were on fire. The heart had become a raging inferno and the unicorn stopped and tried to block out the feeling that had plagued her. She stopped and panted, her eyes became bleary as the world wavered before her. The heat grew and for a moment Twilight could swear that the tips of her mane started to light. Her hooves turned a creamy white color as well. She assumed she was hallucinating from the strange heat all around her. The unbearable feeling at the back of her mind persisted and grew stronger. It pulsed and she grit her teeth, her mane completely blazing as red rings formed around her pupils. She snorted once more, a stream of fire flew from her nostrils and the heat grew stronger all around her. 'What's wrong with me?' Twilight mentally demanded before her eyes bolted wide open. 'Faust mentioned anger and a burning charm, fire, heat! She's trying to make me angry!' Twilight realized and took several deep breaths and used her mental checklist in order to calm down. The little lavender unicorn then marched forward, her hooves lighter as she went towards the tower in the distance. She constantly maintained a strict control, never once letting her anger grow any worse than it had been as she approached a new arch. This arch was made of obsidian with glowing blue runes. She honestly didn't care at this point. Anything that would get her out of this mess would be a vast improvement. So she galloped forward and jumped through the arch into the next world. She landed on her side, her coat a simple lavender again, her mane made of hairs. Her eyes opened and she took several breaths as she entered into a calm cool world... and then she gasped. All around her it was raining, the forest surrounding her was dead, the dirt beneath her hooves was barren and dull. Graves lined the path to the tower which seemed even darker than it had. Twilight had left the fire, true, but had ran head long into a grave yard. The little lavender unicorn whimpered quietly and rose to her hooves. 'And here I thought I already got passed fear!' The mare thought and took a step forward, thunder echoing in her ears as she went. Lightning flashed passed the dead trees to illuminate the headstones around her. As she continued on her way she found her eyes pulled toward each and every stone. The names on them seemed familiar, yet at the same time she just couldn't place them. A part of her mind knew these names and the ponies who bore them, but she couldn't remember who they were. Onward down the path she went until finally the names started to become clearer. Ponies she knew in Celestia's school, old acquaintances from before Ponyville, guards who protected her when she began to live in the castle. None of them were of much note or merit to her, but that didn't stop the tears. She continued forward she felt her eyes water and tears flow as she continued to more and more familiar names. Pony Joe, The Cakes and their twins, Lyra and Bonbon, Berry Punch, Derpy Hooves, the names went on and on and tore at her mind. She used her mental checklist to stop it, she continued forward into the graveyard and nearly broke down. She couldn't close her eyes as she passed the names of her friends and family. Of the princesses and even Spike. Names of those she deeply cared for left on withered old graves. The little lavender unicorn felt her tears flow and choked on a sob she had to stop and wipe at her eyes as the unbearable feeling of sorrow started to eat at her. Everything and every pony was dead, nothing was alive around her. 'It's not real!' She screamed in her mind. She sniffled for a moment and reused her mental checklist, she breathed and stood back up. The rain pounded on her now as she approached the next arch. The wind blew a chilling breeze against the thoroughly drenched mare as she approached the arch. Thunder roared in her ears and yet she breathed, she counted, and she tried desperately to imagine the sunny glade from before. The peaceful setting in which she'd been so safe. Though, truth be told, anyplace was better than where she was right now. She finally approached the next arch and walked forward. She passed through and found herself within the tower at last, a song echoed across the halls. Much as Nightmare and Luna's songs, this song had no music or words, just a tune song by a single mare. But it was neither Nightmare nor Luna this time, the voice was different, and the song was as well. Luna's song had been a gentle lullaby, a melody as sweet and gentle as the night, Nightmare's song had been harder and more aggressive, just as Nightmare was, but this was something else... it was a dirge. A soft song that spoke of grief and lament. Twilight gulped and slowly cantered through the halls. She noticed that they were now significantly more decimated than those she had seen before. It was older than it had been when she and her friends had went to battle against Nightmare moon. Twilight wasn't sure if she was more frightened by that prospect or the soft haunting dirge still echoing through the castle. 'I thought I reached the end?' Twilight mentally questioned as she continued to make her way through the ancient castle and finally found the source of the dirge. In the throne room, resting in shadow was an alicorn. She rested on a dais with no throne, a series of windows broken around the room, laying down and seemingly unaware of her surroundings. Her head was bowed and a long black mane fell to the side of her head, a streak of pink and purple cutting through the black. Her tail was the same as her hair, black with stripes of pink and purple cutting through it. Silver armor covered a large portion of her body and her purple wings had been spread slightly to obscure her. Yet the most tragic thing Twilight could see, where the tears still spilling from her eyes. "Um... hello?" Twilight whispered as she approached the weeping mare. Her dirge briefly ceased and a pair of dark violet eyes looked at her from behind a wing. Twilight also noticed that this Alicorn more closely resembled a normal pony with a short muzzle, her body was a bit taller and curvier than normal but that was likely from exercise given her armor. "I'm sorry to interrupt you, but would you happen to know where I am?" The little lavender unicorn questioned. The alicorn lowered her head and closed her wings around her body. "The end." The voice was still young, but Twilight noted a loss of feeling and life from it. Strange considering an Alicorn was essentially immortal. Her tone was dry, blunt, and presented in a perfect monotone. Had it not been for her dirge Twilight would have assumed she was an emotionless husk. A reminder of what happened to the pony who was consumed so completely by sorrow. "Uh... then have I passed my test?" Twilight questioned of the mare and she sighed. "No pony ever fully passes the test. It's a never ending struggle. Especially for those with time." The alicorn responded in turn, a single eye looking to the little lavender unicorn with a silent intensity that frightened Twilight. 'Something about her really unsettles me.' The young mare thought to herself while shifting uncomfortably under the alicorn's gaze. She also couldn't shake the strange feeling that the alicorn was somehow familiar to her. "Well, I don't mean to be rude, but how do I know when the test is over?" Twilight questioned and the alicorn mare suddenly rose up to her hooves. She wore a helm, wing guards, chest plate, and bracers of sterling silver with a strange star on her chest. Her wings were long and she used them to obscure her cutie-mark. Finally her eyes Twilight could now see had a sort of black eyeliner around them that sort of resembled the style Rarity had always worn. The strange alicorn looked to Twilight and vanished in a flash, before she popped back into existence in front of the little lavender mare. The strange part was that her height was significantly less than other Alicorns, only standing a bit taller than Twilight herself. "You'll know when you're ready." The mare stated and Twilight chuckled while taking a step back. Something unnerved her about the monotone and blunt way this mare spoke. It was almost dead in the way she approached. "Err, right. Well I'm Twilight. Twilight Sparkle, student to Princess Celestia and Ponyville Librarian." Twilight offered with a smile and yet the alicorn merely tilted her head. "Umm would you happen to have a name?" Twilight questioned nervously and the strange alicorn nodded her head. "Nocturne." She replied softly while looking away. 'That seems oddly appropriate.' Twilight admitted if only to herself given the voice Nocturne was blessed with could be compared to that of Luna herself. Although Twilight also had to wonder what Nocturne governed over given how each Alicorn seemed to have a station. 'Or at least what Faust made her to govern over.' Twilight mentally amended while staring at Nocturne. Had the little lavender unicorn seen the alicorn's cutie-mark, she wouldn't need to ask that question for far more would need be answered instead. For on her flank, rested a simple magenta star-burst with six black stars surrounding it... TBC...