Twilight Sparkle gazed up in awe at the sheer number of magical artifacts before her. Each was as dark and wretched as the soul of their previous owner. Instruments of torture lined the wall, some still stained with the rust colored lifeblood of some unfortunate past victim. There were many twisted weapons of war, all with black crystals she assumed served some sinister magical purpose.
“Shining Armor found this room five days ago. I called you here as soon as I was myself notified,” Princess Celestia explained to her student.
“This… wow. Princess, why don’t you catalog all this? You’re much more qualified than I am.”
“There is much that needs my attention in Canterlot. You are as qualified as any pony I know. Princess Cadence and Shining Armor have agreed to allow you and your friends to stay for as long as you need, and there is nothing else that I need for you to do right now than go through this room. Though King Sombra was defeated, we cannot be sure that he is indeed gone for good. We need to know what his capabilities are before he returns. That is where this room comes in. I believe that all of his most powerful artifacts of war reside in this very room.”
Twilight didn’t know what to say. As daunting a task as it was, and as chilling a vibe as the room gave off, she couldn’t help but feel secretly excited for the chore ahead of her. There had to be magic in this room that nopony in Equestria knew about. Even though most of it was evil, that didn’t mean that it always had to be that way. Some of the most useful inventions in ponydom were invented during wartime, after all.
She headed with trepidation into the room. The walls and floor were made of cold stone and were as malevolent and unwelcoming as imaginable. In the center of the room was an incredibly ornate display case. It was so out of place with the atmosphere of the rest of the room that Twilight couldn’t help but be drawn to it. She stepped up onto the raised platform to gaze inside.
Inside the display case lay a solitary dagger. Instead of a steel blade like the rest of the weaponry in the room, the dagger carried a blade made of pitch black crystal. The hilt was made of gold and iridescent metals that shone so magnificently that they rivaled Rainbow Dash’s mane for splendor. Inlaid into the hilt were jewels of every type and shape, so vibrant and beautiful that even Rarity would be jealous of them. She felt herself reaching for the display case, wanting to view the dagger closer.
“Twilight!”
She turned around. Celestia beckoned to her to follow. With slight resentment, Twilight backed away from the dagger.
Princess Celestia started heading back to the throne room, and Twilight followed glancing back toward the dagger for as long as she could. She felt a strange feeling about leaving it there. Was it... regret? She shook her head. Don't be silly, Twilight. It's just a little dagger. Nothing more... right?
Celestia and Twilight rounded a corner into the throne room. There were all of her Ponyville friends where she left them – having a pleasant conversation with her brother and sister-in-law. They all hushed and looked expectantly at Princess Celestia as she entered.
“I’ve shown Twilight the room. I think she sees how important as task this is as well,” she told Shining Armor.
“Are you sure you’re up to this, Twili? It’s pretty daunting in there. I could always have some unicorns come down from…”
“No,” interrupted Celestia, “This is too important. I will entrust this solely to Princess Twilight.”
“It’s ok,” Twilight assured when she saw her brother’s concerned look, “I can do this. King Sombra is gone. It’s not like his weapons is going to jump up and start attacking me. Besides, my friends are going to be there to help me.”
“That’s right!” chimed in Rainbow Dash, “No moldy old battle-axe is going to get the better of me! We’ll have this done in no time.”
The rest of the Ponyville-6 uttered words of agreement (well, except for Fluttershy, who emitted a mild squeak of agreement). Twilight couldn’t help but smile at the loyalty of her friends.
“Just remember, you’re not alone here,” stated Cadence, “If you need any help, we’ll be here. You can stay in the same rooms you all slept in during the princess summit. Speaking of which…”
She looked out at the rapidly rising moon. As if to accentuate her observation, Pinkie Pie gave an obnoxiously audible yawn.
“Yeah, I guess we should start thinking about getting to bed,” agreed Twilight. The other ponies nodded their agreement and started following her to the bedrooms.
“Yes, and I need to start heading back to Canterlot,” Princess Celestia said.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Princess!” exclaimed Cadence, “It’s already so late. I insist you stay until morning.”
“Well…”
“You really can’t argue when she’s made up her mind like this,” smiled Shining Armor wryly, “There’s another room already prepared.”
“I suppose it won’t hurt to stay just one night…”
With that, Shining Armor barked instructions to the nearest guard, who escorted Celestia to her room.
***
Suddenly, Twilight woke up. But something felt strange. It was almost like she was in a trance. Very slowly, she pulled off her covers and trotted past Spike. She almost wanted him to wake up, to ask her where she was going. But he just snored and turned over. She opened the door with her magic without even trying and found herself headed down the hallway toward the throne room.
Bump!
She looked up, finding a blue haired stallion reaching out to steady her.
“We just can’t stop bumping into each other, can we?” he asked casually.
Twilight quickly steadied herself and kept walking.
“So, hey!” he called after her, “If you’re not doing anything tomorrow, the Crystal Players are putting on a re-enactment of the saving of the empire by that dragon. If you’re not busy, you want to…?”
But Twilight kept walking. Come on, ask me what’s wrong! she thought desperately.
“Oh, that’s okay then. I guess you’re busy,” he called after her.
Oblivious idiot.
Twilight found herself passing the throne room, taking the corridor to the left towards where King Sombra’s hidden arsenal lied. She started to feel a hint of panic. What if there was magic in the room that was forcing her to it? What if King Sombra had returned and was hypnotizing her somehow? She tried to turn around and go back to bed, but it was strange. She wanted to proceed.
She walked up to the blank wall behind which Sombra’s storeroom hid. She cast the spell that Princess Celestia had showed her that opened the arsenal. Without even looking back, she headed inside.
***
Spike woke suddenly. He couldn’t explain the feeling, but he knew something was wrong. Instinctively, he looked over toward Twilight’s bed. She wasn’t there. He tried calming himself, rationalizing that maybe she was in the restroom. But quite shortly, he found his feeling of unease to be overwhelming. He went to the restroom to check.
Good, he said to himself, relieved. A light was on. She was in the restroom after all. He sat along the opposite wall and waited.
Five minutes went by. Spike started to worry again. He banged on the door.
“Just a minute, darling!” called a familiar voice from the other side, “I’m having a little trouble adjusting these curlers.”
Spike’s heart sank. Normally he would be thrilled to hear the precise and articulate voice of Rarity, but that awful feeling was eating at him too much at the moment.
“Rarity!” he called through the door, “Twilight’s missing! I don’t know where she went!”
“Well that hardly seems a crisis,” Rarity replied, opening the door, “She probably went for a moonlight stroll. My, that does sound lovely, doesn’t it?”
Rarity stepped out of the bathroom, complete with a robe, hair curlers, and a mud masque. Normally this was something for Spike to get excited about, but the weighing anxiety on his mind forced any thought of his crush out.
“Rarity, please!” he pleaded, “Something’s wrong. I don’t know what it is, but something’s wrong. You’ve got to help me!”
Rarity smiled down kindly at her young friend. She may not have thought that anything was amiss, but the Element of Generosity knew when somepony needed her help.
“Alright Spike, I will accompany you in your search. But when we find Twilight, we’re both going back to bed. Fair enough?”
Spike didn’t even reply. He rushed off, leaving Rarity to trot along behind him.
Almost immediately, they came across a castle guard.
“Hey!” cried Spike, “Have you seen Twilight anywhere? Purple alicorn, indigo hair, probably reading a book? Or she went completely insane. That’s a very real possibility…”
The guard laughed, “What kind of castle guard would I be if I didn’t know all the princesses? Especially one so…” his eyes glazed over, “…lovely.”
“Hey, I asked you a question,” Spike shouted furiously.
“Yeah, she went toward the throne room,” the guard replied distractedly as he absentmindedly bumped into Rarity.
“Hey,” he greeted, smiling, “Excuse me.”
Rarity blushed and giggled.
“Uh!” cried Spike ahead, “It’s like his entire personality!”
“...I’m terribly sorry you had to see me in my bedroom attire. I’m absolutely mortified!” Rarity flirted with an insincere embarrassment.
“Come on, Rarity!” Spike shouted, more annoyed than ever with this guard, “We’ve got to go!”
Rarity groaned as she sheepishly waved goodbye to the guard. She caught up with Spike, who was by now in the throne room.
“She’s not here…” he said dejectedly.
“I’m telling you, she’s probably out in the gardens, dear. It’s where I would be if I were out at this dreadful time of night.”
Spike rushed down the left corridor, where he assumed the gardens were located. Rarity trotted leisurely behind him, until she… stopped.
“Spike?” she called quietly, almost unable to speak.
Spike turned around and saw she was staring into an open panel in the wall. With a sudden burst of fear, he slowly walked over to her and looked towards where she was staring. What he saw he wouldn’t forget for the rest of his life.
The chamber was surreal, with dark stone walls covered with weapons of war and torture devices placed throughout the room. On the other end was a golden display case. The glass was shattered, shards all over the floor. On the other side of it stood Twilight, except she didn’t look right. Her eyes were an unnatural shade of green with purple smoke emanating from them. Just like… King Sombra.
Twilight looked toward them and smiled, her teeth crooked, her smile more like an evil sneer from a monster than from Spike’s friend. In her hooves was a dagger with a long black blade. She raised it up over her head…
“TWILIGHT! NO!”
…and plunged it into her stomach.
***
Spike crawled into Twilight’s bed and cuddled next to her, tears in his eyes. Twilight was cold and pale. Celestia, Cadence, Shining Armor and the rest of her friends surrounded the bed, still in shock over what had happened.
“What… how… Is she…” Shining Armor choked out through sobs. Cadence gingerly grabbed him and pulled him into a comforting hug.
“She’s alive,” Princess Celestia responded quietly, “But this is very dark magic. It’s beyond the realm of my expertise.”
The rest of Twilight’s friends were stunned into silence over what had happened. To any casual passerby, Twilight seemed to be dead, but they trusted Celestia.
“Can we… get ‘er back ta normal?” Applejack asked hesitantly.
“I don’t know. I’m going to have to consult the archive in Canterlot. Maybe I can find something about this dagger.”
Indeed, the dagger was still lodged in Twilight’s stomach, but there was no sign of physical trauma otherwise. No blood, no bruising. It was unlike anything any of them had ever seen, or even heard of. It was disturbing.
“Then let’s get that damn thing out of her!” shouted Rainbow Dash, grabbing the dagger with her teeth.
Before the others could stop her, Rainbow Dash was pulling at the dagger with both fore hooves pressed on either side of it on Twilight’s stomach. She pulled with all her might, but the only result was slightly stretching at Twilight’s skin. Celestia pulled her off with her magic.
“It won’t move, Rainbow Dash,” she explained, “But even so, I’m not comfortable with trying until I know more about this magic. The best thing you can do right now is give her some company, and stay here in case I need you.”
Rainbow Dash sighed in frustration. Almost any problem she ever had could be solved with her athletic dexterity, and any other could be solved by her wonderful friends. She felt a hopeless feeling in the pit of her stomach. Indeed, everypony in the room was feeling pretty hopeless. A sad silence followed for several minutes as they all looked down at Twilight, broken only by Spike’s sobs.
“Cadence, Shining Armor,” Celestia spoke eventually, “I need you to place guards here and at the hidden room. Don’t let anypony enter under any circumstances. I’m going to go straight to the Canterlot archives. I will return as soon as I’ve discovered something.”
The royals nodded as Princess Celestia left to fly off into the night.
***
Many days passed. Every one of Twilight’s friends spent almost all of their time accompanying her at her bedside. There was a flurry of doctors coming in and out, doing little more than confirming that Twilight’s condition was stable. Shining Armor had personally put up the expense of bringing them in from Equestria (seeing as how all the crystal doctors used blood letting and other thousand-year old methods). Guards were posted outside of Twilight’s room in addition to Sombra’s arsenal. Nopony had disturbed it since Twilight was hurt, the task of inventory forgotten.
“Has anypony else sent a letter home yet?” asked Pinkie solemnly. She had lost all excitability since Twilight was hurt; even her hair seemed to flatten slightly.
“Ah did,” responded Applejack, “Big Mac assured me that they don’ need me right now. Thank Celestia it’s past harvest season. We all don’t have much ta do in the winter.”
“Yeah, the clouds don’t really need much attention right now, either. Cloudsdale made Cloudkicker stand in for me, so I’m staying here until Twilight’s better.”
“Uhm, Rarity?” asked Fluttershy softly, “Aren’t you worried about the boutique?”
“The prince and princess have graciously given me funds to cover my expenses while I’m away. I’ll stay as long as I need to. How about the rest of you girls?”
They all agreed with equally resolute faces. Silence pervaded the room for a few minutes before being interrupted by a castle guard.
“Princess Cadence requests the presence of all of you in the throne room.”
“Is Celestia back?!” cried Rainbow Dash, grabbing the guard.
“That’s all I’ve been told, ma’am,” he responded dryly, shrugging her off.
The five friends rushed out of Twilight’s room and down the hall into the throne room. There stood not only Shining Armor, Cadence, and Celestia, but Princess Luna as well.
“You’re back!” exclaimed Pinkie.
“Yes, I am back.”
“Did ya find anything?” asked Applejack without hesitation.
“I think we should all have a talk. In private.”
Shining Armor quickly dismissed the guards. Cadence offered Celestia her throne as they all sat on the floor in rapt silence. Princess Luna stood next to Celestia, allowing her sister to explain what they had found.
“First off, yes. I have discovered the identity of the mysterious dagger,” she started, “It is none other than the fabled Kīla of Gothmog.”
She paused briefly as if to let that sink in, but with the absence of Twilight, there was little chance any others knew the significance.
“What’s the ‘Kīla of Gothmog’?” asked Shining Armor.
“It is a very ancient blade, forged before even I was born. It was the ceremonial dagger of an ancient, evil lord named Gothmog. It hasn’t been seen for thousands of years, so obviously very little is known about it. The little I was able to glean from the archives isn’t good, however.”
She looked out over the looks of dismay on those around her.
“Legend has it that it was enchanted with a very powerful binding ritual that Gothmog used on his most foreboding foes. Apparently, anypony the blade pierces is frozen in place, in a coma. The only way to release it is… is for… the person who made the binding cut to pull the dagger out.”
She stopped to let her words sink in. One by one, the ponies around her realized the gravity of the situation. The only one who could free Twilight, was Twilight.
“But how do we get her out!” cried Rainbow Dash in anger and frustration. The others around her looked up at Celestia hopefully. If anypony knew what to do, it would be Celestia. And sure enough…
“There is only one way we can hope to free Twilight. One chance, although I dare say it is a long shot. And it’s going to require the help of you ponies…”
“Anything!” they all cried at once.
“…We need to find Twilight Sparkle and have her remove the dagger.”
Everyone stared at her in confusion. They knew where Twilight was - in a bed in a magically induced coma! Celestia paused, waiting for somepony to realize the solution on their own.
“The mirror!” suddenly cried Cadence, “Twilight said there was a copy of everypony in the mirror!”
“That’s right. We need to send somepony through the mirror to find the other Twilight.”
Everypony suddenly stepped forward, exclaiming their willingness to go into the unknown for their friend. Even Fluttershy, usually so timid for such tasks, ignored her fears when one of her friends was in peril. Princess Celestia smiled. Truly these were the elements of harmony.
“I’m glad everypony is so willing to jump into danger to help Twilight. I would love to send all of you to help, but there are other considerations we must think about.”
“What could be more important…”
“The Kīla of Gothmog,” interrupted Luna, “It is of the utmost importance that word doesn’t get out that it has been found. In the right hands, it could be more powerful than anypony can imagine. That is why the prince and princess must stay.”
Shining Armor opened his mouth, about to argue. Luna held up her hoof to silence him.
“We must not give any indication to the outside world that anything is amiss. For these reasons, neither Celestia or myself can go either. It must be one of you.”
She looked over at the Ponyville ponies, who looked more determined than ever.
“Yes, but I’m afraid that we must consider the ramifications of using the mirror again,” explained Celestia, “Even though Twilight had spent a few days in that world, we still know extremely little about it. We cannot afford to cause some instability there that might spill over into Equestria, especially with the Elements of Harmony temporarily out of commission.”
The ponies around her gave a start. They hadn’t considered this ramification of Twilight’s incapacitation.
“We were successfully able to send two into the other world before. I think we can risk sending that amount again. You ponies need to discuss this and decide whom you shall send into the mirror.”
The ponies in front of her immediately burst into argument.
“Well I’m the fastest. I’ll be able to outrun danger better. I’m definitely going.”
“Excuse me? Rainbow, dear, you mannerisms are bordering that of a social pariah. Nopony in there will believe you are one of them. Me, on the other hand…”
"Uhm... I want to help too..."
“...and my axe!” shouted Pinkie Pie in a gruff, dwarfish voice.
“Hold on, everypony!” shouted Applejack over the din, “We don’t even have all the facts yet. Isn’t that right, Princess Luna? Doesn’ the mirror only open up round every thirty moons?”
“You are correct. However, my sister has not been the only one busy with study of late. I was able to locate Sunset Shimmer’s research notes in the Canterlot archives.”
“Sunset Shimmer?”
“Yes. Her task before she vanished into the mirror was its study. It is from her that I learned about the thirty moons rule. However…”
She proceeded to open a leather bound journal with her magic.
“As it says here, ‘thirty moons’ is defined as the number of days of relative full moon in that world, which she claims is five days per month. The portal will be opened for the entire full moon period after that time has elapsed. Doing the arithmetic, that indicates…”
“The portal closes tonight!” shouted Pinkie Pie. The other ponies looked at her. Since when could Pinkie do math?
“But that means whoever goes in will be stuck in there for six months until the portal opens again!” observed Cadence.
“Yes,” responded Celestia, “However, this information about the lunar cycle is what we could determine from Sunset Shimmer’s old notes. Undoubtedly, she has done more research in the years she has been in the other world. It is imperative you seek her aid in returning once you have found the other Twilight. Hopefully, she will have a solution for you.”
She looked around at the sad and worried faces around her.
“Cheer up, my little ponies. We must look at the positive things in life. Twilight is going to be alright. You must believe that. If nothing else, you must believe that you have happier times to look forward to.
“Now go. Go back to your bedrooms and prepare for the journey ahead. Pack your saddlebags as best you can. Two of you are going to an entirely alien and unfamiliar world. Ensure you talk to Spike. He is the only one right now who has been through the mirror. I advise you to listen to his advice. I will meet you in the Mirror Room in one hour.”
The Ponyville ponies turned around and slowly walked back to their rooms. The task ahead of them was so great and so daunting they found themselves in a state of shock. No discussion was made until they found themselves back in Twilight’s room where she laid quite unchanged since they left.
“Well, it appears like we all wanna go,” stated Applejack eventually.
The other ponies said nothing, merely continuing to stare at Twilight.
“Ah think we should chose based on which of us has the least responsibility in this world right now. Since we kinda already discussed it, Ah think it should be me and Rainbow Dash that should go.”
“And why do you believe that, darling?” Rarity looked up.
“Well, bein’ winter and all, we kinda don’ have a lot to be doin’ back home. Not for the next six months, at least.”
The other ponies looked up at her ready to argue.
“No, she’s right,” commented Rainbow, “I mean, Rarity, even if Princess Cadence is paying for your shop’s rent, aren’t there customers who have orders and stuff? And Fluttershy, how are all the animals going to get along without you for six months?”
Applejack was slightly taken aback. Since when did Rainbow dash suddenly get rushes of logic?
“The Cakes probably do need me,” Pinkie Pie admitted, “Last time I left for a while, they hired this pegasus to replace me, but all she did was make a big mess and create way too many muffins. I mean, muffins?! Come on. Muffins are just cupcakes without icing! And what kind of crazy pony doesn’t like icing?!”
Rarity knew they didn’t have the time for Pinkie’s normal ramblings.
“Pinkie, dear. Why don’t you come help me pack Applejack and Rainbow’s bags?”
Pinkie Pie’s eyes lit up.
“Okay! I’ll make sure they have plenty of balloons and streamers. You know, in case they come across a party there. Oh! And vodka…”
Applejack winced.
“Oh, I suppose I’ll come help too,” Fluttershy added, following them.
Once Pinkie and Fluttershy left, Rarity took the time to stick her head back in the room.
“While we are busy ensuring you two have the proper attire, I suggest you wake Spike up and ask him about the other world as the princess suggested…”
“Yeah, yeah,” Rainbow responded dismissively, “And I better not see any frilly stuff in my bag.”
Rarity snorted and left.
Applejack looked over at Rainbow, “Well, Ah guess we better get to it. Spike! Hey Spike!”
He snored loudly in response. Dash neighed with annoyance.
“Hey, sleepyhead!” she shouted, shaking him, “Wake up! We got stuff to talk about!”
Spike jerked up sleepily.
“Huh? What? What’s going on? Is Princess Celestia here?”
“She’s already been here, Spike. Ya see, we don’ really have a lotta time ta explain, but Rainbow and I need to ask you somethin’. What was it like in the other world? Ya know, the one in the mirror?”
Spike rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, “What? Why?”
“Just answer the question,” Rainbow responded briskly.
“It was, I don’t know, weird. There weren’t any ponies, just like these hairless things walking on two legs like a dragon. They also had these claw things where their hooves should be. I don’t really know how to explain it – I was a dog, after all.”
“What about Twilight? Did ya see another Twilight?”
Spike furrowed his eyebrows, “No, but I think I remember the other Pinkie Pie mentioning her. I don’t know what to say, I was stuffed in a bag most of the time.”
“How about Sunset Shimmer?”
“She goes to a school. There’s a school right in front of the portal.”
“And the other Rainbow Dash?”
“Rainbow!” Applejack scolded, “We don’t have time for that! We’re doing this for Twilight, remember?”
“Girls!” called Rarity from outside the bedroom, “Are you almost ready?”
“Coming!” called Rainbow Dash as she trotted out.
“Don’t worry, Spike,” said Applejack comfortingly, “We’ll get Twilight back quicker than Big Mac can down cider on New Year’s Eve. Ya’ll mark mah words.”
She gave Spike a hug and watched as she left the room as well. He didn’t know quite what was going on yet, but if anypony could get Twilight back, he trusted his friends.
***
Applejack gave her friends a hug good-bye with a small tear in the corner of her eye. Rainbow Dash pretended not to be interested in such mushy stuff, but she couldn’t help but notice a slight shimmer of moistness in her eyes as well. She started turning around toward the mirror when somepony grabbed her and pulled her into a hug.
“Princess!” Applejack grunted, slightly shocked as Cadence hugged her.
“Bring Twilight back,” Cadence whispered in her ear, “I believe in you.”
Shining Armor followed with a curt hug as well.
“We’ll take care of Twili, and your family too. Don’t you worry about anything back here.”
“Thanks, your highness.”
“You can just call me Shi…”
“Let’s go already!” shouted Rainbow Dash.
Applejack turned back around. Her saddlebag was magically levitated onto her back as she walked toward the mirror.
Applejack gulped nervously as she followed Rainbow Dash into another world.
***
Spike slept next to Twilight as everyone else started to shuffle in from the mirror room and go to bed.
Unseen by anyone, the black blade of the evil weapon pulsed with a green aura.