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// Chapter Ten: "The Spirit of Destiny, the Master of Three Eyed Ravens" 
// Story: MLP: Believing in the Impossible 
// by Spirit of Destiny 
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Chapter Ten: “The Spirit of Destiny, the Master of Three Eyed Ravens”

“When an individual looks upon a raven, what does one see? A scavenger perhaps? Or a mockery? A bringer of ill tidings maybe? Well, in this certain Equestrian’s odd opinion, I don’t see them that way at all. No, if anything, I’ve always had good reason to see them as the best if not most entertaining of messengers. However, if not listened to properly, their wise advice is usually regrettably mistaken for only jeering laughter.” – Star Swirl the Bearded, Unicorn Prodigy


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“Caw! Caw! Smartest pony of them all, Twilight Sparkle, took her sweet time in finally showing up! Now, she needs to awaken!” A scratchy voice squawked through the shadows that thickly blanketed the oblivious Element of Magic’s numbed brain as well as vision, “There is no time to be lying about! Not when my master is still calling for you. Caw! Up and at em’, up and at em’. We are close. You are sorely needed.”

With the passing of the next moment, a gentle flow of sensations began to pry into the faded awareness of Twilight, eventually arousing her back into whatever livelihood there was to be had.

No, as she came to find out with the slow return of her senses, she hadn’t died after her recent unwilling descent into a white vortex. Firstly, as if from miles away, her mind registered that it could still hear the noises of a certain bird cawing her name. Secondly, her muzzle took in an interesting assortment of rather musty smells that made her weakly sneeze in turn. Thirdly, having expelled the little air in herself to find that her heart was beating and her lungs were desperately sucking in air, she gained the necessary facts needed to determine that she was indeed alive. So, with a grumble, she gathered enough motive to open her tired lavender eyes next.

Naturally, after everything she’d been through while aware and not aware earlier, everything Twilight briefly gazed upon around her was unintelligibly blurry. This most unfavorable of affects, of her being momentarily partially blind at the moment, was due to the fatigue finally taking its effect on her from previously having tried to escape from what seemed so terrible to behold: a free fall with crows into madness. Now, crazy enough, it was proving to be the most shocking of miracles to her that she appeared to still be in one piece! With her sanity intact too!

The only real downside to Twilight slowly regaining consciousness was that there was an annoying yet recognizable three eyed blackbird pecking at her ears, stingingly rousing her faster than she liked from being knocked out. Ugh, nothing could ever just be easy for her, could it? Everything had to be troublesome, didn’t it?

“Get… get off…” The Element of Magic finally managed to gasp out, flicking her head for her tormentor – the raven that had guided her through the gnarled door into this series of craziness in the first place – to buzz off, “Leave me… be…”

“Caw! We cannot do that!” The bird jeered as it hopped back onto the wearily downed lavender alicorn, then jumped down to peer into her drooped eyes along with worn out expression, “Smartest pony of them all is being overdramatic! Caw! Smartest pony of them all needs to stand, to follow Agatha, to find out her destiny from Agatha’s master!”

“Agatha? That’s your… You have a name then?” Twilight rasped out, starting to better recollect what had happened to make her feel so heavy, so weak, “Agatha… is your name?”

“Yes! Caw! You are recovering, smart pony. The time is nearing when you’ll be able to follow me and learn of how to-”

“Agatha… Shut up.” The Element of Magic firmly yet uncharacteristically ordered of the chattering blackbird.

Such an act from Twilight was a change of pace. Even when driven to the point, mind, she wasn’t one that would say such an unexpectedly harsh thing. Nevertheless, as Discord would have agreed if led along as badly by Flannen instead at the moment, the bird with the purple alicorn kind of deserved the insult in the end.

“Stop squawking at me… We have nothing more to discuss.”

“Caw! Oh, yes, yes, yes we do! We have much to do! We have to-”

“I’m not doing anything you say, bird brain…” Twilight sharply gasped over her confusing bird companion recently revealed to be “Agatha”, while trying to get a better look of where she was laying, “I’m not going… anywhere with you or following any more of your fibs about meeting anypony. You said that we were going to see somepony last time in the castle hallway and look – ungh – look at where that – ngh – got me. Where it has landed me… Ooh, ow.”

While the Element of Magic was trying her best to get onto all fours, while she was trying to establish where exactly she was at which smelled so stuffy as well as reverberated with her voice like earlier with false Celestia, Agatha took to the air.

Hovering in front of the weak lavender alicorn, the blackbird resolutely stated, “This bird tells no fibs, pony. Caw! This bird tells no lies. This bird has spoken and will always speak the truth for that is its master’s, Destiny’s, desire and will always remain so.”

“Leave me alone, bird!” Ponyville’s princess snarled, a bit surprised with herself for having such a short fuse all of a sudden and being willing to show it, “You’re making no sense! Ever since the hallway, you’ve been claiming that some master of yours has been awaiting me! Yet, when I went to follow you, I faced a false copy of one the dearest alicorns I consider family! I was told that everything I’ve thought I’ve known in my life has been a lie and then, to finish things off nicely, I was thrown into… into something that has brought me to here! To that which I do not know of!”

“The truth is the bitterest of medicines to take. Caw, caw! Yet, it is better to accept its remedy rather than continue taking part in the sweetest of lies that will only lead to further pains for everyone, no? As it has always been said in this world and all worlds: the truth shall set you free. Caw!”

“No more of your riddles!” Twilight fiercely cried out to the blurriness around her, thoroughly sick of everything not going her way, “No more of your tricks and lies! How dare you try to twist my mind, to try to make me think of Princess Celestia that way! She’s not a liar! She’s better than anypony, than anything you can imagine! Now I’m going back to… to… I’m going back to the garden!”

At this, the Element of Magic stomped a hoof in newfound determination, “Yes, I’m going back to Cadance and asking about the coming foal! That’s it, it’s done! Goodbye!” Regardless of her commitment to leaving behind the supposedly unpleasant raven though, she couldn’t go far with her distraught vision nor fatigued body before toppling over her hooves with a pained gasp of, “Ungh! Ah! Ouch!”

“Caw! Such a sad sight…” Agatha momentarily spoke not aloud but to herself while shaking her inky head in disappointment at watching Twilight’s pathetic fumbling, “Celestia truly has taken this pony under her wing, taught her much over the course of the past twelve years.”

At this, she clicked her beak in annoyance, “Caw! Taught her much in being ignorant, stubborn, along with troublesome, that is! My master did not have the goddess of the sun instruct whom would become the goddess of the twilight to turn her into, feh… this. It’s time for everything to change. It’s time to put everything back on track as it should have been a year ago. Let’s get started.”

With a silent swishing of feathers beating against the air next, Agatha rested patiently upon the grounded Element of Magic’s horn. There, she chirped patiently with purpose, “Caw, very well. If the smartest of ponies wishes to leave the path that has been made ready for her since her birthing day, if she wishes to doom her homeland and Yonderland to a fate of only wickedness, if she wishes to follow only her traitorous teacher’s lies, leave here, and give up on any hope for the future… That is her decision then.”

At this, before she could argue back on anything said, bothered Twilight found the bird hovering before her with its one too many eyes purposefully opened wide, “Look into this one’s eyes, Twilight Sparkle. Take this one’s strength and add it to your own. See renewed! Caw! Rise renewed!”

It took a few moments for the reluctant Element of Magic to truly understand what Agatha had meant with such a verse. However, its meaning gradually became clearer to her as did her vision.

As she got around to cautiously looking into the trio of beady eyes in front of her, Twilight took notice that her strength was rapidly coming back to her, that her breathing was getting easier to do. Soon enough, with a shuffling of her hooves, she was back on all fours and, in the middle of grudgingly thanking the blackbird for the abrupt “renewal” enchantment or what it had seemed most likely to be, she was able to get a proper look at her new surroundings. The most proper look she could get through the darkened din, anyway.

Where Twilight was then wasn’t at all in the heavens or night sky or whatever like beforehand. No, if anything, with the noticeable cobwebs on the stone walls, huge barrels, large crates, it seemed both she and the raven had been transported to within the confines of what looked to be… a cellar? A storage room? A shed? Not a dungeon! Equestria forbid, spirits be merciful, and may luck be good for a change, not a dungeon!

Wanting to know but not know what in particular was going on, truly wishing to go back to Canterlot Castle to Cadance above all else, Ponyville’s princess requested of the blackbird contently rested on her horn while gingerly testing the sturdiness of the floor she was standing upon, “Agatha… What’s going on? Where are we now?”

“Caw! We seem to be in the dark! Caw!” Agatha jeered back with a flutter of her inky wings.

“Hardy-har-har…” Twilight replied at once with sarcasm practically dripping from her obvious slurring, satisfied at the same time that the floor wasn’t going to collapse out from under her again after having given it a good stomp, “You know what I meant! Where are we? Where’s the exit! You heard me earlier. I know you did. I’m going back to the gardens to talk with my brother and pegasister-in-law!”

“Yes. Caw, we know.” The raven responded, taking to the air to idly land upon a crate at Twilight’s eye level in turn, acting most uninterested with the current topic of discussion, “However, there is a catch with finding the said exit.”

“Ha ha ha!” The Element of Magic insanely laughed out, making Agatha cock her head to one side in amusement at the maddening echo of mirth that came afterwards, “Ha ha ha! Ooh, you’re a naughty, crazy, three eyed raven, aren’t you? Aren’t you? Oh yes you are! Oh yes you are!”

Twilight next bucked – BUCKED – a barrel in her frustration, acting more and more like the Element of Loyalty rather than Magic presently, “Ugh, after having seen what was supposed to be my former teacher explode in front of me, after having dropped into whatever whirlpool or wormhole earlier, why didn’t I see that there would be a catch in just finding the exit out of here? Why?!”

“Caw! Yes. Why didn’t you see it coming?” Agatha answered with a sly click of her dark beak, “Being such a smart pony, it is surprising you have not caught on to what is happening yet. To why we are even here.”

“I know why we’re here, featherbrain!” Ponyville’s princess exclaimed, not knowing, at the moment, how very much she sounded like Discord did whenever handling Flannen back in reality.

“Then, caw, do tell! Caw! We are most eager to hear it!”

“To,” Twilight slammed her hoofs down, “see,” she swept her mane back, “your”, she ignited her horn with magic as well as spread her wings, “MASTER!”

The barrels toppled, the cobwebs ignited, the crates groaned, and the ancient dust covering everything thickly shot up from everywhere in the room at Ponyville’s princess’s savage outburst!

As she continued to breathe deeply afterwards, not being at all concerned with what she’d done, the alicorn heard Agatha swish past her left flank with some slight flapping. That wasn’t all. Shockingly, the black bird next took to landing right upon the Element of Magic’s dangerously sparkling horn and, with an adjustment of her feet, she was illuminated eerily against the swirling clouds of filth by the lethal purple radiance pulsing beneath her.

Clearly, Agatha wasn’t afraid of the show of aggression. Lazily, in fullest to honest truth, she didn’t pay it any heed.

“If that is all,” Agatha chirped through the tense quiet, not at all fearful of her growingly impatient perch, “then you are correct, Twilight Sparkle. And, thus, you will find the exit when you find my master. That is the catch the smartest of ponies must follow to get to the Canterlot Castle gardens to talk about her upcoming nephew.”

“Ah ha ha ha! Meeting you master is the catch, is it?” Twilight cried out, not shaking the passive three eyed raven’s patience at all like she wanted, “So, if I am to get out of here – out of this craziness you’ve brought me into – then I only need to meet your master? Oh ho! We’re right back to square one! We’re right back to how this all began in the first place!”

Ponyville’s princess got control of her voice next as she explained, “Well, sorry, but you said so yourself just now. If I want to leave than that is my choice! And I want to leave now!”

“Caw, I said you may leave and doom your homeland along with Yonderland to wickedness, smartest of ponies. I said you can depart without hope for the future. Caw!” Agatha hissed, glaring down at her stubborn alicorn for a perch, “Yet, did I say you could leave right after I help you get back up? Did I say you could leave without meeting my master first? Caw! No. No I did not. If you wish to go anywhere… then go forward from here, see the Spirit of Destiny, and then the exit from this supposed craziness will be opened to you!”

“Augh – I don’t – Wait,” Twilight babbled out over herself, “Did you say… See the Spirit of Destiny and the exit will open to me?”

Hold a moment… the Spirit of Destiny? It wasn’t only Agatha that had mentioned that title, that element, that being. False Celestia, before the plummet into now, had said something about it too!

“Caw! Did I say that?” Agatha wondered innocently while flying into the billowing dust to vanish from sight, breaking Twilight out of her suddenly interesting thoughts, “Oh, maybe I did… maybe I didn’t.”

If one thing was for sure, Agatha wasn’t a good liar. She was a frustrating riddle maker but not a determined fibber. Well, hadn’t she said it earlier? That she was bound to the truth and not able to tell tall tales?

“Hey, wait! Get back here! You did too say that! You did so mention a Spirit of Destiny!”

“Well done. You’ve learned to use your ears properly.” The three eyed raven echoed back through the filthy fog ahead, not revealing herself when demanded to, “Now you know what lies ahead. Caw! Now you know what awaits you. Come, Twilight Sparkle… Believe in the impossible and it becomes that much more possible. Step forward. Find your destiny, find your exit. Caw!”

As Agatha’s last words died away, as she stood with her horn glowing against the dank darkness, Twilight now felt that she was involved with more than she had previously thought. Interacting with the Spirit of Disharmony, the goddesses of the sun and moon, with Zeklathine’s princes, was something. Yet, at realizing there was or might be a Spirit of Destiny presently awaiting her, as impossible as that sounded, Twilight realized she had done much more than just simply step through a gnarled door when following the talking raven. She had started something rather… epic.

Perhaps that epic was to be splendid? Maybe it was to be terrible? Could it be part of both? How did it even involve her?

Either way, feeling she was gaining a better understanding of her more than mystical position, the Element of Magic got around to doing as she had been told. After courageously swallowing her nervousness, she stepped forward through the dust past the mess she’d made with her outburst to find her exit. She stepped forward to find her destiny. As the powers of fortune had wanted of her since she’d been born, even if it was the tiniest bit at the moment, she was now beginning to believe in what seemed the impossible.

“Very good. Caw!” Agatha’s sharp voice called out through the shadows at the creaking of the first floorboard signifying Twilight’s first step towards whatever laid ahead, “Very good. Follow this one’s voice, smartest pony of them all. Follow me.”

Keeping her cool, keeping her heart along with breathing steady, the alicorn bravely made her way along through the murk towards where the three eyed raven was whistling a rather uppity melody. As it was sung, Twilight could have sworn she had heard it whistled by somepony else somewhere. On a farm… On Sweet Apple Acres… by honest Applejack while apple bucking!

“How do you know that song?” Ponyville’s princess sharply inquired at once.

“Why wouldn’t we? Caw! It’s quite the happy little tune, is it not?” Agatha chirped back, “And did we not say it before? Caw! We know much about you, Element of Magic. Your friends, your life, your lessons on friendship, plenty of things.”

“Why… Why and how would you?” Twilight breathed out, thinking she already knew the answer after her recent thinking about an all-powerful Spirit of Destiny wanting to meet her.

“Why and how? Caw! Because my master wishes it of me. Of all of my kin. Caw! However, we do not know you like he knows you…” At this, an ominous cackle of a laugh rang out from the blackbird while she explained, “He knows everything about you, Twilight Sparkle. Everything that has been before you, with you, and will come after you even. Caw!”

“You make me sound so insignificant… How am I important to your master then? What does he want from me? What do you all want from me?”

“That is not for this one to answer.” Agatha answered, her perched form finally coming into view, “When it concerns him bringing about the greatest of heroes and champions, of calling them for aid, it is best to ask the Spirit of Destiny that himself.”

“You said it again. You said who your master was. So, I can assume he’s… a Spirit of Destiny?” Twilight wondered when finally with Agatha, wanting more and more to know what was going on, “And is correct of me to say that he’s a guy? A male? He expects me to be some kind of… champion for him too?”

“Caw! Heh heh, Twilight Sparkle, are you not a champion of your land already? There’s no need to be abashed. Caw!” The three eyed raven acknowledged with a snicker while jumping onto the nearing alicorn’s glowing horn, “As for the Spirit of Destiny… he is the Spirit of Destiny. Whether he is male, female, both, beast, pony, dragon, all of those things combined or not, it has never been nor can ever be confirmed by another than himself. That is all I can say.”

“Why? Why is that all you can tell me about him? About what’s going on?”

“Caw! Much like how you’ve come to know the keepers of the sun and moon so very well, the only way to truly understand my master is to be with him. To answer his call. To be at his side.” Agatha responded, her eyes adopting a humored glint, “Caw! To comprehend that which you want me to describe, smartest pony of them all… is too hard for me, for any other, even you, to illustrate with mere words alone. Here nor in the future, will he ever be properly portrayed.”

In turn, the raven concluded smartly, “Yet, it is not impossible for you to find out plenty about him for yourself. Go and meet my master as I know you want to. Then, as it has always been intended, you will get the many answers you wish from me from him instead.”

When giving it her attention at last, Twilight found herself facing what appeared to be an aged, wide door of oaken make. This was the way for her to get out of the cellar, shed, or whatever, then? It seemed so.

Yet, as she looked to proceed to get answers to her mad situation as told by the raven, the alicorn found herself shaking. Why? Well, who wouldn’t be shaking at the thought of meeting something, someone, as powerful and all-knowing as a Spirit of Destiny? Of meeting a legendary term, a subject, an entity, hardly as well as inaccurately described in any Equestrian book – even in Star Swirl’s – let alone seen by any soul other than possibly ancient Garm, the alicorn sisters, themselves?

What would Agatha’s master be like to Equestria’s Element of Magic? What would he possibly have to say to her? How was this even happening to her? She wasn’t that special, was she? How was any of this real? How was she worthy of such an honor? It had come much sooner than expected but this event would obviously be the peak of her career as a princess in her entire immortal life! Yet, the more she thought about it, the more all Twilight wanted to do was turn away from the door to cower in the darkest corner of the room, to be with Cadance in the garden and chat about the coming foal.

“Do not fret.”

When this was said to her in the most motherly way, Ponyville’s princess looked immediately up to Agatha as the raven continued to encourage, “My master would not waste his time on a nobody. Caw! You are and have been worthy of his visit for forever, Twilight Sparkle. If anything he is the honored one. He’s always been honored to find worthy heroes, like yourself, willing to follow his advice.”

“H-he is? Why?”

“Why, ha ha, twelve years ago, you were taken under the wing of Princess Celestia, no? Caw! Was that not an honor of hers to do so? Yes, she was the one to have felt honored, not you, to have found a worthy student to teach her ancient arts to. Caw! The same will go for my master. He is more than happy you have come, Twilight Sparkle. He is more than happy to be able to share his secrets with you, to further your studies, at long last.”

Agatha gave what seemed to be her best smile when she next said, “Caw! Go on. There can be no more questions. There can be no more hesitation. Time is not going to stall forever for us. Find your destiny, find your exit. Everything will be fine. You’ll see.”

Encouraged by the wise lecture from the three eyed raven, still not really sure of what she was going to go through before getting to the so called “exit” she found she needed badly, Twilight nervously looked to open the door before her. With a huff, with a throwing back of her indigo mane, with a swish of her tail, she looked to continue believing in the impossible so it could become more possible. She looked to begin what would be the most difficult of her lessons yet and start down a road towards true glory. As Celestia once had done too many millennium ago, she looked to further her studies beyond the normal mortal limits.

Twilight’s violet magic was actually surging to turn the door knob before her when, from nowhere, it was flung wide open as if on its own agenda! What was up with that? With doors opening by themselves lately? Really? Ugh! Knock it off!

Naturally, the purple alicorn was dumbfounded along with blinded at the same time as the brightest of lights flashed unto her from what lay outside! She couldn’t find the voice to scream or yell either when, from the blinding luminosity, a hoof lashed out to roughly grab her by the back of the neck! As she was being dragged out of the shadowy cellar and into the sharp light, as a deep voice was roaring at her in complete fury, content Agatha was right alongside her the whole time at least. There was some comfort to be found in that truth.

“Lavendershade!” The of voice of the owner of the hoof with the vice like grip – he sounded like a stallion – shouted into blinded Twilight’s face, “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Aaaah!” was all the Element of Magic could manage to get around to remotely say or squeal back, still not aware of what was really going on, “What? What do you want? Agatha, help! No, stop shouting at me! I-”

“Don’t play games with me, Lavendershade!” The voice of the stallion snapped back through the light, cutting off her babbling, “This is not the time for tomfoolery! Her highness is in the middle of giving birth, you were asked to fetch hot water, and here I find you goofing off? Absurd!”

When Twilight was unexpectedly let go, she found her eyes were given a chance to frantically adjust to the brightness. During then, she was trying to wrap her brain around what in the hay bale was happening to her! To Agatha! In partial relief, she could at least see as well as think straight enough to notice whoever stallion had had a hold of her had released as well as briskly moved past her to investigate something of interest. 

The stallion next roared out with impatience from elsewhere, obviously from the storage room as he came to admit, “Bah, fine, perhaps you weren’t goofing off! But look! You’ve upset the storage room! How many times do you maids have to be told that the buckets and basins are kept in the kitchens? Not in here! Not with the supplies! Ugh! Pah!”

If she could have, the Element of Magic would have started running for wherever she could. At the moment, anywhere than with the furiously spitting stranger seemed great. Still, with how her lavender eyes were blinking away tears of pain from being almost wholesomely blinded by the sudden swinging open of the storage room door, that wouldn’t exactly get her as far as she would have liked.

Instead, trying to keep in control, Twilight began innocently pleading her awkward case to whomever she was presently with, “Look, good sir stallion, I believe we have a misunderstanding! You see, you’ve clearly gotten me mistaken for somepony… else…”

There glaring down upon Ponyville’s princess from the storage room doorway, was a stallion indeed. He was a gently cream colored older male with turquoise eyes, a receding grey mane kept in top condition, a fetching outfit that made him appear like a butler of sorts, and upon his left eye was a monocle. However, what had taken the purple alicorn’s breath away… was that she wasn’t the only alicorn present anymore.

Well, she’d never been alone, of course. There had been Celestia, Luna, Cadance, but this stallion before her… had a horn upon his head and a pair of wings fidgeting at his sides! He was an alicorn also? How? Where had he come from? In fact, as she had regained enough of her sight, Twilight finally took in the gallant hallway she was actually standing within. As she did so, only more questions racked her already unbalanced mind. 

All around the Element of Magic were well toned banners, portraits, richly done mason stonework, chandeliers, plus more! Everywhere she looked was only like a flipping copy of Canterlot Castle! Yet, feeling unfamiliar with it all, the Element of Magic couldn’t say for sure that she was back home. No, truly, after noticing the crests, emblems, symbols that represented what looked to be the sun and moon forming together into one mass – not standing apart like they had always done in Equestria – upon everything regal, she was definitely somewhere else!

Without much doubt, Twilight was in another place than her homeland’s capitol completely and, when another alicorn came galloping down the hall’s ramp from the left, that was confirmed!

By Equestria… What was happening?! Before Equestria’s own, the alicorns… the alicorns were only history! They were regrettably gone, lost, extinct, an endangered species with only four as its population if anything! There was no way there were more than Twilight, Celestia, Luna, or Cadance! They would all know otherwise! Wouldn’t… they? Wouldn’t the goddess of the sun?

“Lavendershade! There you are, sweetest!” The newly arrived alicorn – a round, orange female with green eyes that matched her mane along with tail and who’s wings as well as horn seemed a bit smaller than to be expected with her size – addressed stunned Twilight, “Where have you been? I’ve been looking everywhere for you, girl, and here you are – ah, Dandel.” 

The cream colored alicorn stallion, Dandel, took on a grim face at this. As he replied past Twilight at being coolly spoken to, the lavender alicorn noticed the cutie mark on his flank was actually a pristine patch of dandelions. Ah, Dandel was short for Dandelion or Dandelions then?

Either way, Twilight was distracted from her guessing when the stallion grumbled to the newly come pony of complete orange, “Pumpkinpatch.”

The orange alicorn mare of great girth in question, suitably named Pumpkinpatch with one acting as her cutie mark, assumed a know it all tone when addressed, “You’re here, are you? Distracting my aids? Well, this explains things. Lavendershade, has Dandel here been causing you trouble? Has he been holding onto you? I bet he has, hasn’t he? Of all the times to go about pulling those kinds of stunts of badgering my aids, Dandel, you-”

“Your aid here,” Dandel interjected boldly over bemused Twilight with Agatha grinning widely at the sight of being caught in an argument between such firm alicorn ponies, “has made a mess of the storage room! Look at this!” 

At this, the snobby stallion revealed the complete mess that was once called the storage room while going snootily on, “After all of the training you give her, this one deserves a bit of lip for forgetting where to find the buckets! Forgetfulness is not tolerated here! Especially with the event we’re facing!”

“You’re darn right about that.” Pumpkinpatch snorted back at the flustered stallion alicorn while gently taking the confused Element of Magic over to her side to get her out of the spotlight, “But not as much as you think, wise guy. With the queen having a foal and all, she understands we’re all under plenty enough pressure without you prowling around for mistakes! My top-notch staff, bless them all, are allowed to mess up once or twice in a while! None of us are perfect. Not even you, ya grouch! Now off with you. Lickety-split like!”

“Did you just? Did you say – I never – Pumpkinpatch, you-”

“You know, I bet little Lavender here messed up because she saw you coming down the hall and couldn’t decide on what to do! Isn’t that right, my dear? Yeah, see? She’s lost for words. That’s the negative affect you have on us all, grandpa! Oh no, here comes the king of most ridiculous expectations! Whatever shall we do? Make a run for the hills?”

“Why – I – you – how dare you-”

“Yes, I dare to say what’s on my mind, sweetness. I dare to say so because that’s what everypony around here thinks! Even their majesties!”

“Such nerve! You cannot speak for their highnesses! You are not they!”

At this, hurriedly leading Twilight away from the flustered Dandle, Pumpkinpatch finished sweetly over her shoulder at him, “And don’t you go denying it, sugar! Ever since you took over, you know you’ve had that negative affect on everypony all up in here! Now stay off of my aids’ backs or I’ll really give to you next time! You hear me?”

Saved. Saved by the chunkiest yet friendliest of faces in a completely alien world. All the same, Twilight was half grateful, half afraid towards this recently introduced Pumpkinpatch. She had no idea what to say, let alone what to make of everything that was going. Yet, that wasn’t much of a problem to figure out when the chubby orange alicorn began going into a ramble.

“Boy, that old toadstool. That grouch of grouches! He has some nerve jumping you like that, child, and thinking he can just bully anypony. Well, nuh-uh, nope, nopony takes their problems to my helpers when they can take them straight to me! Heh heh heh, ain’t that right, darling?”

At this, Pumpkinpatch gave uncertain Twilight the sweetest of grins while going on without even taking a breath like a certain Element of Laughter back home, “Yes, that’s right. But honestly, honey… Really? You went looking for more pails in the storage room? You’ve been here long enough to know that that’s not right at all. Buckets, tubs, basins, you name it, are down in the kitchens. Try to keep that in mind for next time, won’t you, baby? Hm?”

As she was about to apologize, as she was about to say anything, Twilight’s intelligence kicked in at once. Instead of saying sorry over nothing, she actually took the opportunity handed to her and questioned innocently, “R-really? I know where the pails are? How long have I been here?”

“Hm, you know, now that’s been said, I’m not so sure of that myself.” Pumpkinpatch replied, examining the lavender alicorn, “You see… I know all of my helpers. Or so I’d like to think. So, now that I’m seeing you properly, I can say that you’re not Lavendershade. Funny how you both look alike but you’re newer than new, ain’t you, sweetness?”

When Twilight couldn’t help but show her fear at being found out at this, the orange alicorn boomed out laughing, “Why the sudden look like the Spirit of Death has come for you, sweet thing? I’m not that terrifying, am I? Not after I saved you from the terrifying as well as grouchy keeper of keepers, Dandelion YellowPetals, right? No, don’t you worry your little head about it. It’s my bad. I must have missed your interview… So, what’s your name, dearest?”

“My… My name?”

“Of course, darling. Everypony, everything, has one, don’t they? Come on, don’t be bashful.”

A long quiet passed where both alicorns trotted along towards wherever it was that they were going. Then, deciding to be as honest as she could be with who seemed to trying to be a friend to her, Twilight half admitted, “I’m… Twilight Sparkle. I, um, actually started two weeks ago. Yeah, it was two weeks ago!”

“Well, what a pretty name you have!” Pumpkinpatch squealed, actually looking quite thrilled at the news, “And is that so? You’ve been here two weeks and I haven’t seen any trace nor hair of you until now, hm? And you haven’t caught on to where the buckets are always kept? Heh, well, you’ll get the hang of things soon enough.”

Imagine that. How funny. Yes, how very funny indeed that Pumpkinpatch hadn’t seen Twilight since  she had supposedly started two weeks ago… and that she didn’t know the purple alicorn had just previously gone through the craziest of events, been deposited in the messed up storage room, and was just going along with the flow now. Ha ha ha! That was so very rich, wasn’t it?

“Well, there has been the queen of late getting to giving birth so, hm, I suppose Watermello took you in while I was distracted with her majesty, did he?”

“Uh,” Ponyville’s princess droned for a moment at the orange alicorn’s curious inquiry, “Yes. That sounds right.”

“Mm-hm. That big watermelon of a husband of mine.” Pumpkinpatch admitted about Watermello before looking at her own weighty self, “Oh but who am I kidding? I’m not the slimmest of the crops of the garden around neither! Bah ha ha!”

“Um, well, uh, I-”

“Oh, look at you trying to be so polite!” The orange alicorn giggled while abruptly drawing the clueless purple one into a rib cracking yet tenderly comforting embrace at the same time, “My husband chose well when he took you in! If I was a guest here, you’d be making my night, Twilight Sparkle! And that’s to be expected. Only the best of the best get into our staff here at Fortune Castle. Yes sirree bob, that’s a fact!”

Fortune Castle? So that’s where Twilight and Agatha presently were?

When mentioned to her, that title sounded awfully familiar to the Element of Magic in particular. Anyway, when revealed as currently being in a castle, that was obviously why the environment seemed so much like Canterlot to her. Subtly, things that Agatha already knew about the surroundings were slowly piecing together in Ponyville’s princess’s genius mind now and, as Pumpkinpatch waddled along, she couldn’t help wanting to ask the orange alicorn some things.

“Ma’am?”

“Oh, sweetness, none of that! I’ve not been addressed that way in forever, ha ha! Pumpkinpatch is just fine and dandy! Thank you for being so respectful though, dearest.”

“Very well, Pumpkinpatch… Fortune Castle… is it’s queen giving birth?”

At this, the orange alicorn gave Twilight a humored face as she said, “Yes, dearest, she is. Or she did, anyway. See, that’s why I came to get you away from miserable Dandle so you could see the newest heir. My oh my, the stress of the moment went completely to your head, didn’t it? You plain forgot where the buckets were and you plain forgot that her highness was in labor too… Well, I’ve had my moments on the job too. *Snort* Don’t worry about it. Ha ha!”

“The queen… has had the foal already?” Twilight questioned. Then she was finding herself getting worked up over something, somepony, she hadn’t even truly known existed until about five minutes ago, “Wait, is she alright? I was supposed to be getting hot water? Oh, gosh, I’m so sorry! What about the baby? Are they both doing okay? Was it a colt or a filly? Are-”

Pumpkinpatch had placed a hoof over the Element of Magic’s mouth to say, “Girl, come on. I know you forgot the buckets but to forget about Queen Dawn’s-” At this, the orange alicorn nodded to a certain larger than life portrait nearby picturing the most beautiful white alicorn mare among autumn trees, “endurance, spirit, and compassion for her subjects? You know all too well that she wouldn’t leave her subjects, her husband, King Dusk, behind. She loves everything too much to do that.”

Queen Dawn? King Dusk? Castle Fortune? Why did those things sound so familiar to frantic Twilight?

It was as the Element of Magic gazed once more upon the recently pointed out larger than large painted portrait – the one depicting a crowned white alicorn mare among autumn’s many colored falling leaves, who’s fiery mane along with tail of utter gold billowed with the imaginative passing wind, who’s amethyst eyes seemed to stare brightly from her enchantingly passive expression, and her gracious flank was adorned with the cutie mark of a rising sun – there was something screaming in the back of her studious mind that she was missing something crucial about what was happening to her. She wasn’t catching onto something very, very important taking place.

To Twilight at the moment, it was like she had… known about the painted alicorn queen before seeing her in the portrait or described by Pumpkinpatch. To the Element of Magic, it seemed she had read up on this popular Queen Dawn somewhere.

Suddenly, it appeared that Ponyville’s princess had gotten a sudden feeling of what was going on in Fortune Castle or what was going to happen before it even happened. She was starting to catch onto the things that Agatha had known from the start. As the powers of Destiny wanted form her, she was starting to hone her mind, her genius, her thinking power to make sense of everything around her and if anypony could do such a thing in an alien realm… it was most definitely her, for sure. That was why she was there? That was why she was being subjected to so much mystery.

“Ah, here we are. At last.” Pumpkinpatch gently announced before a quite regal door protected by four impressive alicorn guards, bringing Twilight back into the present. Or were they in the present and not back in some part of history? Ugh, so much headache!

As for another matter, at seeing the winged along with horned stallion guards, it could be said now that Castle Fortune was only inhabited by alicorns. Yet, why did that seem like a no shocker to Twilight? Why did it seem like that that would make sense when there had only been four of them alive in the world for the longest time? In Equestria, there was only Celestia, Luna, Cadance, and Ponyville’s Princess and, even if not in Equestria, how could this Castle Fortune in someplace not be known?

Quietly fretting with her distraught self while watching at the same time, Twilight observed Pumpkinpatch softly knock upon the door with her ear pressed to it. When it appeared fine to do so, the orange alicorn caringly gestured to be followed inside which, in a wave when opened, smelled quite awful. In fact, considering it was from the recent birthing of nobility, the entire room of former grace looked something dreadful. Nevertheless, the obvious happiness that awaited inside wholeheartedly countered the smell, the uncertainty, the mess, for Twilight. The scene she happened upon completely stole her breath and heart away, to be honest.

Laid out upon what was a previously regal yet wetted down mattress surrounded by passive ponies, with her violet of violet eyes shimmering through strands of her weakly shimmering mane of gold after having stressed through one the hardest yet most rewarding times in her life, was clearly Queen Dawn of Fortune Castle: the regal mare with the rising sun cutie mark shown during the season of autumn in the portrait in the hallway earlier.

Even when looking so fatigued, the milk colored alicorn queen was so very beautiful in the eyes of everypony with her. Her looks were nearly beyond comparison. Yet, at seeing her, Twilight couldn’t help but immediately think of one as beautiful as she for some reason. The breathless lavender alicorn couldn’t help but think of her teacher, of beautiful Celestia, at seeing Queen Dawn. Why she did so was a more obvious reason than she cared to guess or realize at the moment.

And then, when seeing the mightiest, blackest, sturdiest black alicorn stallion with rose red eyes standing over the queen, with his own billowing mane and tail of what looked to be smoke, Ponyville’s princess was reminded of none other than luxurious Luna. 

Why? Why was everything feeling so familiar all of a sudden? Why did the Element of Magic feel like she had already met the king and queen? Why did she keep going back to thinking of Celestia and Luna when with them?

As for the black, red eyed alicorn male in question, he was obviously the king of Fortune Castle, the fretfully caring husband. Even after having have been told earlier, Twilight wouldn’t have needed to be told of whom exactly he was when seeing him. Just by looking at his cutie mark of a sun setting, she could already confirm that he was none other than Dusk, the mightiest of stallions blessed by the evening shadows he was tasked with while bringing about the moon every night.

Yet, again, how did the Element of Magic know the king so well without having to be told in detail? Why did everything in the room seem so abruptly familiar to her? This castle of alicorns, this den that had acted as sanctuary for the birth, everything that had once felt so alien… not felt recognizable, familiar, memorable.

What was going on with Twilight? She was rapidly starting to feel afraid again. She was shaking from uncertainty of what was transpiring before her, around her, to her.

“You have found him. You have found my master.” Agatha whispered from nowhere into her startled perch’s ear, “And so… you have found your exit.”

With that, before Twilight could even say anything, the raven left her horn to fly across the room… and land upon another mysteriously cloaked figure’s shoulder.

It was then, for the first time, that the Element of Magic noticed not only ponies stood around the queen and king of Fortune Castle. Among them all, where Agatha presently preened her feathers, a most strange creature looked over bedridden Dawn from her left. Hidden under an aged robe, it loomed over her not on four legs like all the other guests but on two sturdy… feet maybe? It clearly had no hooves, it had no tail, it had no mane, no wings, no scales nor feathers, to be seen.

What was this stranger? More importantly, was it friend or foe? Wait, if Agatha had landed upon him after saying what she had said… Then he was a friend, an ally, to everypony present, wasn’t he?

That guess seemed to be true enough when Pumpkinpatch questioned softly to the robed stranger on two feet from beside Twilight, “My lord… Are you perhaps…?”

“Yes, Pumpkin,” The alien creature under the hooded garment surprisingly responded in as clear a voice as anypony, better than anypony’s really, “yes, I have the foal… She’s more beautiful than we could’ve ever hoped for.”

“She?” Twilight couldn’t help but wonder aloud, trying to keep track of things while also staying focused on the stranger Agatha had perched upon.

“That is… correct.” Dawn managed to tiredly answer with as much of an angelic voice as Celestia’s, nodding for the cloaked figure with its perched raven to allow everypony to see what he cradled, “it’s a mare. The mare, like her father, that will bring everlasting peace to all things when she’s old enough.”

“We both brought along that peace together, love.” Dusk growled back, his crimson eyes narrowing in seriousness, “We always have and we always will. Now, together, we will continue to do so with a third in our lives.”

When the strange creature in the robe turned around with Agatha for all to see the newborn filly, Twilight’s breath  came to her in a sharp gasp. As hoped by the powers of fate, she was suddenly beginning to comprehend where she was! Where she impossibly was! What was transpiring around her couldn’t possibly be true! It couldn’t be! Could… it?

For mostly everypony in the room then, for everypony taking part in what would turn out to be one of the greatest moments in Equestrian history, it was their first time seeing the pink maned, white alicorn foal that was Dawn and Dusk’s daughter. However, Twilight knew it wasn’t her first time. No, she would be seeing that same foal thousands of years later when it had been given time to grow up, to unite all of Equestria with Luna in tow, to seal Discord away, to teach her everything in magic.

As for the stranger holding the baby alicorn pony, as for that figure which Agatha had rested upon, his golden eyes underneath the hood of his robe gazed from his flat yet soft expression to fix onto Twilight’s own.

Immediately, from the back of her racing brain, Twilight knew that… that the cloaked being was wiser than wise, intelligent, all powerful, all knowing. More so than she could possibly imagine or hope to understand. Then, nearly making her stumble as he legs had become almost like jelly, another revelry crashed into her.

The stranger holding the pink maned filly… was a Yonderlander. It, he, whatever, was the lost part of Equestria Twilight had been furiously researching for the past month back home in Star Swirl’s tomes! 

Yes, there could be no mistaking it! As described as best as he could be by the bearded unicorn prodigy countless centuries ago, Twilight took in that the robed figure stood on two legs lacking hooves, his forearms ended in fingers, his mane was only the little bit of yellow hair that dangled in front of his gently smiling face unto the cooing foal in his caring arms.

Nevertheless, above all else that was impossibly happening, why was a Yonderlander here among alicorns at such a memorable instant of Equestrian history? What did that mean?

“Your highnesses…” Pumpkinpatch questioned of her faithful king and queen, barely heard by the shocked Element of Magic, “Have you decided on a name for this newest princess of ours?”

“Rushing a bit, aren’t we?” Dusk chuckled in reply. His deep chuckles sounded like booming thunder, much like how a certain other navy blue alicorn of the night sounded when using the Royal Canterlot Voice back in Equestria.

“Dearest…” Dawn sighed, bringing her king closer to her, “Our friend… will you allow our friend to name our firstborn daughter for us?”

“I cannot do that.” The Yonderlander under the cloak instantly stated, trying to be respectful to those that referred to him as their friend, “You two must have that honor.”

“Indeed, we should.” Dusk agreed yet argued, looking upon his wife affectionately as he admitted in turn, “Nevertheless, that filly in your arms would not be here without your help, my friend. If not for you… I would have remained in the dark and let the best thing of my life be lost to me.”

As they nuzzled each other next, Dawn pleaded with her loving husband’s words, “Please, Spirit of Destiny… Name our firstborn for us, would you? Your care, your word, is the best of blessings that she could receive at this moment. That we all could receive.”

A fateful silence ensued where the Yonderlander, Agatha’s enigmatic master, the Spirit of Destiny himself, turned to look upon everypony. He gazed longest upon the filly fussing in his embrace before, to her continually growing fear, he purposefully stared unto Twilight. 

Before the spirit even said his selected name, before he wrote history, the Element of Magic knew ahead of everypony what name was going to be bestowed upon the newly born foal in his embrace. Ponyville’s Princess… had already added up everything that was happening into her mind. She was semi-believing in the impossible as it were.

Twilight was in a Fortune Castle. No, she was in the Fortune Castle, the historical palace ruled by the alicorns King Dusk and Queen Dawn in Equestria’s ancestral realm where alicorns were as common as any other pony type. Or, at least, that’s how it had been thousands upon thousands of years ago before the harshest of winters had arrived and the “Hearth’s Warming Eve” traditional festival had been started to honor Equestria’s making… And that’s where she was, wasn’t it?

The Element of Magic was somehow back during the age of alicorns, back when Queen Dawn and King Dusk had done the raising of the sun as well as moon, before Hearth’s Warming Eve and Equestria’s formation, and this newly born foal of white with the pinkest mane as well as tail… she was… she couldn’t possibly be but she was…

“Celestia.” The Spirit of Destiny proclaimed softly over the foal before, raising his voice next, he held the tiny filly aloft for all to see,  “From this day onward, Dawn and Dusk, Celestia will be at your sides.”

As everypony around happily agreed with his proclamation, the Spirit of Destiny simply turned his topaz gaze upon Ponyville’s numb princess. Clearly, being what he was, he very easily could have been staring into the depths of her soul. In fact, as the alicorns around him burst into a joyous uproar over their newly born ruler, with what he coolly said next, it could be said that Agatha’s master was reading Twilight’s near to exploding mind even then.

“Celestia… Yes, doesn’t that name sound grand enough for a pony who will be changing this world as we know it? Like how you will soon be doing, my dear Twilight Sparkle? My most faithful student?”


++++++


End of “The Spirit of Destiny, Master of Three Eyed Ravens”…