Part II
Chapter 4
No words can describe the disappointment, the abhorrence, and overall anguish I have with my self. I’m trying to remember everything I’ve ever worked for, everything I’ve ever put my whole body, soul, and mind into. Why couldn’t it have worked when I REALLY needed to prove my worth for once? I open my eyes to reveal a new type of scenery to myself. I have no idea how long I’ve been out but I just hope that I have enough time to get back to Terra before too long. I seemed to have landed in a forest… of some sorts. I can tell I’ve been out for a while because the beams of light from the rising sun hit my face as I look to my side.
“At least I don’t have any pony breathing down my face now…” I try to get up using my wings. “AHHHH!” I screamed in pain as I felt that my cramped wing was still recovering from my little incident.
I decided at this point that an understanding of my surroundings would be of use to me. I stand up using my legs, slowly keeping my balance. I shook my body as dirt from my coat and mane flew out and created a cloud of dust around me. Suddenly I felt a slight drizzle fall onto my head… and then some snow… and then back to sunshine. It came from the clearing in the trees above me, most likely caused by my plummet down.
“That only means I could be on one part of the island.” I stated as I gazed into the bright orange sky. “I must be in the rapid weather changing part of the island. Of all places… I hope there aren’t any surprises here.”
“Don’t worry… You can’t learn without surprises now can you ma’am? Haha!” A deep mysterious voice shook the ground I stood on as I grabbed a tree, trying to keep my self from falling.
“Who’s there!? This isn’t funny if it’s you Terra!” I shouted as I span in circles… “That couldn’t have been Terra though… Terra’s voice is way more different”
I looked around and basked in the sunlight as a cool breeze swept through the trees. I continued to trot through the forest as I paced my self with the crunch of the leaves below me. As I wandered aimlessly through a vast number of trees, I couldn’t get my failure out of my head. How could that have happened? That cramp just didn’t feel… natural. Even more, what does Terra expect me to learn from this… this… place? I stopped at the edge of the forest, this whole time I’ve been standing on a mountain and I watched in awe as I saw another plain, just as large as the one Terra lived on. Except all at once there was snow, thunder, sunshine, and rain all throughout the plain.
“Well… that’s not how I’m gonna get back to Terra.” I frowned a little and looked down the only path I had left. It led around the mountain, towards the end of the island, and led straight into a dense heavy fog.
I sighed and decided that I couldn’t get anywhere in the shape that I was in. I looked behind me to the small forest I had just navigated through. Strange, I just so happened to fall into this small of a forest on the mountain there was on this side of the island.
“Well aren’t I lucky?” I thought to myself, bringing my mood up just a little.
I reluctantly headed down the path into the fog, and tried to keep myself on the thin walkway. I stumbled over rocks and roots that protruded from the sides of the mountain. The fog was dense to the point where I could only see the hoof in front of me. I kept my one good wing touching the side of the trail to make sure I was going the right way. After dangerously trotting down this unfamiliar mountain, something broke the deathly silence. It was the sounds of things tumbling… like boulders and trees falling from above me.
“That can’t be the sound of anything good.” I closed one eye and looked up at the scaling mountain wall above me. A few rocks and pieces of dirt hit me on my forehead.
“Move!” The strange voice from earlier yelled.
It shook the mountain yet again and as I began to sprint, a boulder just barley missed my tail and I felt a rush of adrenaline surge through my legs as I sped ahead. A non-stop barrage of trees, roots, and boulders crashed only inches behind me. Every time I thought that I was going to get ahead, a root sticking out of the side of the mountain would block my way, forcing me to crawl or jump over it. My shrieks of terror were to of no avail as I began to run out of energy. Soon the fog started to thin out, and as I made a sharp turn, a boulder the size of two houses blocked me from getting through. With out any hesitation I sprinted faster than I did before.
“Don’t even think about stopping me!” I shouted as I came closer and closer to the towering rock.
I focused on the rock, just as I had before when I tried to show up Terra. And then I realized at that moment, I wasn’t going to fail again. My horn glowed as brightly as it could. And at that very moment, I turned the boulder into the size of a measly pebble. I slowed down shortly after I passed the would-be boulder. I looked up and noticed that all the other debris that would have fallen on me, were also compressed by my power. The sounds of the crashing debris had suddenly halted behind me. I walked to the pebble that I had first meant to compress and looked down at it.
“YES! I did it!” I put a big smile on my face, realizing my victory over nature.
I looked around and realized that I had already reached the bottom of the mountain. The fog was thinned and there weren’t any strange weather occurrences here either. I walked down to the bottom of the path and read a small sign. “Welcome to the town of Revelations. Population: You”
“Well this seems promising.” I thought to myself as I looked around with a slight feeling of creepiness.
I spotted an aged dirt road leading further into the fog. With natural instincts and with it being the only way to go, I followed it. I continued to walk, and at this point, the fog was dispersed almost completely and the sunshine warmed my body as I stood in the center of the pathway. I inspected my surroundings and humbled myself with what I saw. The clouds in the sky seemed to float in place, and flowed with the wind as it slowly crept over the land. To the sides of me, were endless fields much like on Terra’s part of the island, except the fields were not made of grass, but of wheat ready to be sowed. I slowed my pace, allowing myself to absorb as much beauty from my scenery as I could. Eventually, I saw a speck on the horizon. I hastened my pace in an attempt to see what it was. A small town with a couple of houses rested quietly on the side of the road, shrouded slightly by another veil of mist. I approached the entrance of the town and looked at all of the houses… or well just one. It was labeled as a “Guest House.” I walked inside and looked around. It was a small square house, with only room. It seemed to have been left alone for a long time, with their being burnt out lanterns hanging from the ceiling, but no cobwebs or dirt in any part of the house… In the middle of the house sat a bed, just a bed. My tired body urged me to quickly fall onto the bed. I made a mental note of things to do in the morning. 1) Find out what to do. 2) Make more mental notes. I pulled the heavy sheets over my body as I looked out the window. The golden fields slowly waved in the wind as I lay my head down and succumbed to my weariness.
Chapter 5
“As the stars of infinity begin to fade. And the humble light of one exalted power shall rise. Light slowly this world of unawaken darkness. Awaken Twilight!”
I jumped out of bed. I untangled the sheets from my mane and crept over to the window. I looked out searching for a voice, and saw only the endless fields leading back to the mountain.
“Must’ve been that voice from before…” I said making condensation on the windowpane.
I yawned and looked around the room again. I found to my surprise, fire place in the corner of the room, fully lit and heating the house. I couldn’t recall exactly if it was there before I came into the house or if it was even lit, but I let the mystery stay a mystery. I wrapped the blanket that was on the bed around my body, making extra precautions when I wrapped my damaged wing. I pulled the door of the house open slowly and stepped out into the fresh morning, and pleasant smell of the wheat. I adjusted my eyes to the bronze sky and noticed something spectacular. Looming over the whole town were colossal effigies of various ponies whom some I have recognized. I looked up towards the first effigy, which seemed to be about 50 feet tall; it was a marble carving of Princess Cadence standing next to Shining Armor. In front of the statue stood a small cabin lined with flowers along the edges, and a well sitting in the front.
“That’s weird… Shining Armor shouldn’t have trained with Terra.” I thought to myself.
The second statue was of an Alicorn looking towards the sky, with its wings fully extended. With cracks along the edges, it was old but still stood proudly with a smile on its face. I walked over to the base of this statue and read the details embedded into the pedestal.
“Lovely are the flowers that bloom from the snow. A ruler to forever lead his people with a smile. Welcome to a new life where lives are like endless sticks of candles. Never forgotten for his optimism. King Don, a name we are forever indebted to.”
“Another king of ancient legend. I never expected Terra to have trained King Don.” I thought to myself in modesty.
I continued past two more broken effigies where the remains seemed to have covered their descriptions. I turned back to the previous effigy out of pure curiosity. I stepped onto the pedestal and tried to remove as much of the debris as I could to see the description. I jumped down to see more and eagerly began to read what was embedded into the marble.
“Some promises may not always be kept. The promise of potential and control can also sometimes fail. Remember the power of darkness and never let it take hold. Sadly we lower our heads in remembrance of Queen Cr-“ The rest of the description was chipped off.
Without a word of doubt, I knew who this Queen was and I continued on with my walk. The next memorial without a doubt was one of the tallest ones I have seen. I smiled as I looked up at a stupefying statue of Celestia. Her front legs were touching the ground, as her hind legs seemed to still be descending towards the ground. Her wings were fully extended as her face looked proudly towards the horizon. Her hair was carefully woven of dyed threads and ropes, giving the effect of her hair continuing to flow in an everlasting wind. I walked in joy and happiness as I approached her statue. I looked up and could only stare as the sunlight gleamed off her artificial coat. It stood above me a solid eighty feet tall. I stood on the pedestal and touched the body of the effigy. I was amazed when I first touched it. I used a spell to confirm my thoughts… and I was correct. The body was made of pure and solid platinum. Her giant hooves wore the highest grades of gold along with her chest piece. Her crown and chest piece were decorated with actual amethysts jewels.
“Whoah… I could’ve guessed she was one of Terra’s best students but… I never knew she was this significant!” I immediately stepped off of the pedestal trying not to touch the actual statue.
I saw the embedment written in obsidian and got as close as I could to read.
“Life is dark. We all need someone to light it up.”
“Such a simple description for such a… magnificent piece of art.” I tried to make my sentence short trying to make my self as quiet as I could.
I heard a slight humming coming from the inside of the cabin near Celestia’s statue. I walked carefully toward the sound. The house, like mine, was empty. A single music player stood in the middle of the room, playing an infinite loop of one song. The song was a piano playing a gleeful melody as two voices hummed and laughed. I enjoy the music for a couple seconds more before powering it down and packing the recording CD away. I open the door to the front of the cabin and turn to my side. I walk slowly to it as I realize it’s the largest statue by far, and the most surprising one. Three familiar figures stand next to each other with faces ready for action. The figure on the far left is none other than Star Swirl the Bearded lifting his hat preparing his magical horn. The middle figure was the strong, proud, but yet modest Terra. What surprised me the most was the figure to the far right. It stood proudly with a shield and sword in hand ready to protect his friends. It took me a second to realize it, but it was none other than Discord.
“Discord?” My face turned confused and baffled. “Of all possible people… What’s Discord even doing with Terra?”
I walked toward the plaque hoping to find some answers on his appearance on the statue. I stepped carefully towards the old statue, hoping to find some answers written on the steel plaque. I attempted to read it but unfortunately, it was written in some other language that I have never seen before. In astonishment that I did not know this language, I scrambled over the rest of the pedestal looking for something I else I could possibly decipher. I found only three other readable materials, one on the base leg of each pony and… Draconequus. I started with Star Swirl the Bearded; I walked up to the plaque, laid down and began to read.
“Strength is not strange nor fake, not unique or uncommon. It is found within the fighting spirit of every living creature. The gate to this castle of power is through the will of only those who were born knowing to do so. May this be your eternal birthright son of Dusk.” I sat up satisfied with what I read and continued on to Terra’s plaque. Again I approached and began to read his plaque.
“So alone.”
“What??” I closed my eyes and rattled my head. I opened my eyes to make sure they weren’t deceiving me.
“O Father of our Planet, O Keeper of Time, bring back the things that stray from the path of harmony. Let there be no left or right, but only one. Where the Earth and Sun cross, you will be there. Sitting atop the highest of summits. Voyaging the Islands of Time. Be still, for he shall be there. Making mountains in to nothing but gravel. Stand for us exalted one. And defend us with your most trustworthy advocates. Forever locked in the fight against evil.” I stared at his modest wooden plaque.
“I wonder who makes the statements…” I pondered to myself. I turned towards Discords plaque as I it sat in the shade of Terra’s figure. I trotted over to the plaque and stood over it and looked closely and was surprised by the words written on the tablet.
“Son of Dawn. Mind of many. Lend us your thoughts to protect that which is right. Guardian of peace and harmony. Your job is unyielding and demanding. Light forward the new day of discovery and living. And from the new ashes of the stretched horizon, rise again. Keep safe the knowledge of our lives Discord. And do not let them be corrupt. Do not fear the Holiest.”
“Guardian of peace and harmony? Yeah right. Discord is nothing like that, nor could he have ever been something like that.” Confused, I trotted back to my cabin thinking about all of the things I read, totally ignoring the other statues.
My hunger caught up to me. My stomach grumbled as I looked up at the mid-morning sun. I ran into the fields of wheat and took a bushel of everything I could make bread with and took it back into my house. I opened my cabin door and took my blanket off when I felt the warm radiation of the fireplace. I took bowls that were situated neatly next to the fireplace and began to slowly grind the wheat into flower. I left it on the ground as I searched the cabin for water.
“Ah wait, I forgot about the well outside Cadence’s cabin.” I thought foolishly to myself. I walked to the well in front of Cadence’s cabin and drew up a bucketful of sparkling water. I put it on the ground, drank a mouthful and took the water back to my cabin.
“I know how to make bread… but I’ve never actually done this…”
That was the day I learned how to not make bread.
∞∞∞
“Ugh… My head… What was in that bread?” My head pounded as I slowly lifted it off of the cold floor. The warm embrace of the fire had faded and I lay alone in a dark cabin. Then it hit me. A rare type of wheat was the culprit.
“The infamous Hia moi known to be only grown now in the rarest parts of the world due to its extreme effects of making ponies unconscious and giving some ponies hallucinations.” I stated to myself looking at my remainder of Hia.
I kicked the rest of the wheat into the ashes of my fire. Awake and not hungry, I wrapped the blanket around myself and stepped outside. The deathly silence returned to my awareness and I could hear nothing but the gravel beneath my hooves. The world had been made easily visible due to the light of the galaxy. I headed down the road back to the mountain, as I seemed to be walking next to fields of stars.
Chapter 6
“I think for once in my life… I actually miss Terra.” I thought to myself as I looked toward the starry night sky.
I seemed to have seen the faces of my friends in Ponyville connected by the stars and constellations. A tear rolled slowly down my cheek as I longed to be with my friends in Ponyville. I shook my head knowing that I’ll see them soon if I can get this over with quickly.
“C’mon Twilight, this is all you. Do it for your friends.” I urged myself in motivation.
I picked up my pace and moved faster toward the mountain.
*Crack!
“Hey! Who’s there!?” I snapped on my hind legs and readied my magic.
A small changeling emerged from the field of wheat. It had a somber expression plastered onto its face. It looked up toward my face and locked onto my eyes. Its dull blue eyes lighted up into a bright neon color. It looked different from other changelings. For one difference, it wasn’t ugly like the ones I had seen at Canterlot. In fact, it was actually kind of cute. Its legs did not have any holes, the fangs were much smaller, and its wings weren’t bug-like. I lowered my body thinking it was of no harm. It approached with caution and seemed to take a liking to me. I nudged it away to see what it would do, but it just crawled onto my back. I sighed and decided that a companion would be nice to have with me. Its horn glowed as I looked at it, and the changeling seemed to have noticed my damaged wing and was trying to heal it.
“You’re pretty smart aren’t you? Well you’re not bothering me so… feel free to tag along for the ride I guess.” I said as it nodded in approval.
I stopped on the side of the path after 5 minutes of walking to make sure the village didn’t escape my sight. I tried to move my wing to see if the changeling had made any progress. My wing moved more but still had light pains here and there.
“How long have you been here?” I asked it hoping for a response. It looked at me but only fluttered its wings. “Oh yeah… you can’t talk… I think I’ll call you Hia, since I found you in the fields.”
It kept concentrating on my wing. I felt comfort in my new friend as my loneliness quickly faded away, and I was thinking that if a Changeling could live here without being detected then there must be other things that lurk around in the shadows of the night.
After a few minutes of stargazing, my theory sounded to be correct. Behind me I heard large stomps of a monstrous creature behind me in the wheat fields. My curiosity was commanding me to check exactly what that creature was; my mind on the other hand was afraid and told me to run. But my legs locked in place as soon as I saw Hia cowering from what it saw. The steps got closer to me as I shut my eyes with fear. I felt it’s monstrous breath. It exhaled and covered my whole body with warm air. Without a thought I span around ready to fight, but saw that my foe must have been invisible. I looked up and down but only saw a faintly off colored sky. I walked forward and heard the loud voice I had heard before.
“Trial by night let the constellations have a painless end for you!”
By pure instinct I immediately rolled to the side. I barley dodged a behemoth paw from crushing me. I looked up to identify my aggressor. My heart dropped. A fuming ursa major towered above me, and I seemed to be a trouble to it. With my slightly recovered wing, I flew back toward the mountain to create distance between me and the ursa major.
“This isn’t going to end well…” I muttered with helplessness.
Swifter than I had expected the ursa major swiped its paw at me, pushing me back even further. I recovered in mid-air and lit up the night sky as I flew back towards the ursa major. I glanced back at Hia and gave him a signal. With a confused look on his face, he raised his eyebrows as I levitated him with my magic.
“GO H.I.A. (Happiness Into Ascension) MISSILE! FLY!” I shouted as I flung my new friend with kamikaze intentions.
I watched as his hooves and tail fluttered about the air in a panic. With a tear in my eye, I watched my new friend fly through the night sky into the Ursa Major. And then my horn shined as I shot another volley of magic toward my new weapon. I covered Hia in a force field as he reached the impact point.
“Three… Two… One…”
A light exploded from the center of the Ursa Major and I felt victorious on this Island for once. The light slowly faded as I searched around for the remains of the impact. Hia approached me from under a pile of rubble with a disputed look on his face.
“Oh lighten up Hia, it was all for a good cause.” I said with a mocking smile on my face.
With the same face Hia had on before, his face dropped as he looked over my side.
“What is it?” I pondered.
I looked behind me to see the Ursa Major with no injuries of any kind on his body. It slammed its paw into the ground and made me to lose my balance. I lay helplessly on the cold rocky path. My victory was only my false hope; I couldn’t help but try and get back up. I surged all the energy I could into my horn yet again, and looked up towards my enemy. Before I could try and fight yet again, a voice bellowed from behind me.
“You’ve fought well Twilight. You have done more than what I could have expected from you, it seems as though you have almost found yourself. Silver rays of morning and dusk; send this predator of the night sky back to where it came! Light Volley!”
Before I knew it, giant bolts of light were striking the Ursa Major with tremendous force and brought it rapidly into submission. When I opened my eyes there was not a trace of the Ursa Major. Not a paw print, not a hair, not even a piece of gravel was moved. I looked behind me to finally see who this mysterious figure was.
The mountain that I landed on before was hovering above the ground on four powerful legs and the path that I had descended was the head of a powerful dragon. Its back and spine was made from solid bulky tree roots. His blue neon eyes almost store into my soul. I observed the dragon in complete awe as it lifted its head.
“What… what kind of dragon are you?” I said in amazement
“I… I am an earth dragon. I have given up my abilities to fly in order to grow bigger, live longer, and be more powerful in general than other dragons. I am the founder of this island. I created it to be a paradise to my kind. But unfortunately, I am one of the last of the fabled earth dragons still alive today.” He said proudly
“Well can you tell me how to get out of here? You know Terra, correct?” I asked trying not to provoke my new acquaintance.
“Indeed.”
“He said he’d help me once I have found myself… here I guess. And since you said I’ve found myself, can’t you get him to help me?”
“Haha! I said almost!” The tremendous creature gawked at me.
“What do you mean almost?”
“I meant this Twilight!” The dragon yelled as it opened its mouth and I saw energy from everything around us being gathered into his mouth.
Quickly, I sprung into action as I flew full speed towards the dragon. My body wanted to fall apart, but I had to continue on. I thought of all my friends.
“I will never fail.” I shouted with a battle cry. I looked up and plotted my whole course of action within a second
The dragon shot beams of energy and light into my direction as I skillfully dodged each shot.
“Brilliant! But you have not won yet young Twilight!”
The dragon’s tail, that just happened to be the road I’ve been walking on the whole time, flew into the air and hit me underneath my body. My wing cramped up as I plummeted towards the feet of the dragon.
“If you have found your self then you will save yourself!” He said with seriousness
My barley functioning neck slowly lifted up as my eyes opened I saw the foot of the dragon looming above my body. I stood up preparing myself for the worst; my whole body was in complete pain as struggled to hold myself up. I looked up at my challenger as I prepared to speak.
“I think you mean… you need to save yourself.” At that very moment the foot of the dragon plunged toward my body.
My eyes were closed. It was dark. But I was not dead. I opened my eyes to see what had happened. The giant foot that once threatened to destroy me was now struggling to crush me. My wings, now fully extended, grasped the bottom of the dragon’s foot with ease. My glory and pride rose from the gut of my stomach to my mouth.
“I did it! Hahaha! Yes! Terra is going to be so surprised! Even Celestia! And all of my friends back in Ponyville! It feels like I-“
“Indeed I am Twilight” A familiar voice cut me off.
I stretched my head toward the backside of my body slowly. My friend Hia, was not a changeling at all in fact Hia was actually Terra the whole time in the form of a changeling.
“Terra? What are you doing here? Why were you in the form of a changeling? Why didn’t you try to help me? If you hadn’t noticed I almost died just now!”
“Sheesh calm sown Twilight, I think we need to work on your patience when we get back. Cause I mean I guess it’s nice to see you too; and Tibul could you please move your leg? Twilight is losing focus on her wings.” He asked the dragon kindly.
“I told you not to call me that name Terra…” Terra shot the dragon a serious look.
“As you wish Terra…” The dragon said as he removed the pressure of his foot he put on my body.
“C’mon Twilight, let’s head back to the cabin.” Terra said as though nothing happened.
“Oh no no no no. You’re explaining some things to me right now Terra.” I demanded.
“Sure, when we get back.” He began to charge up a spell with his horn.
“I’m just… not going to argue anymore.” I slowly approached Terra’s proximity.
The dragon that had been helping me but also tried to kill me, waved good-bye before Terra teleported us. Before I knew it, we were back in the house with a cake waiting for me on the dining room table. I read the words Terra put on the cake.
“Good Job… That’s all I get?” I grumbled to Terra.
“Well of course… Would some questions lighten your mood?” He said with his head tilted.
“Sure I guess.” I began to think to myself.
“I’m going to guess you’re wondering why that part of the island exists huh?” He started off
“Well yes obviously, and what was all that dragon stuff about?”
“Well the dragon, whose name is Tibul, is my pet dragon. He created this magical island, and I protect it.”
“And the whole reason why it exists?”
“Because I always send my students there to do a major portion of their training. Their ability to learn about tr-“
“Wait, you didn’t send me there. My wing cramped up while I was trying to do what you did.” I cut him off.
“Oh yeah you didn’t cramp up. I broke your wing in mid air. You were far ahead in training than I expected Twilight, I needed to make sure that you didn’t get ahead of yourself.”
“…You broke my wing?”
“Precisely.”
“Why would you do that?? Do you know what I had to go through?”
“I positively am Twilight. But it’s a very major part of training you know.”
“Ohhhhh my gosh. You really are crazy aren’t you Terra? You can’t just be breaking any ponies wings just because they’re learning fast! It’s illogical!”
“It’s completely logical. You need to be able to learn and remember who you really are even when you are at the lowest points in your life. You’d fall and never be able to get up in the future if you didn’t do what you just did right now.”
My emotion calmed by just a bit.
“Okay… So… what were those effigies for?”
“I will explain that sometime soon. During the next course of your training, the mental stage!”
“Ugh… fine.” I sighed from the lack of cooperation.
“Well hey this is a beautiful cake! Let’s eat some shall we?” Terra tried to cheer me up as he lifted half of the cake off the table and shoved it into my face.
“Oops.” He muttered with a crackle.
Without Terra noticing, I picked up the other half of the cake and shoved it into his face. I fell back on a chair behind me and began to laugh.
Slowly into the night we cleaned up and talked about what he’s been doing since I’ve been away. The soft echoes of our laughter lingered in the valley as we both slowly strayed into sleep from our restless days and night