“Ouch!” Duskmane cried when he unwittingly bumped his head into a metal door and dropped his torch. He had been so consumed in his dilemmas that he was not entirely sure how far he had walked. He turned around, the partially lit hallway still seeming devoid of the undead that terrorized Twilight and he only moments earlier. “Twilight...” He had reached an impasse, not able to find an answer for his dilemma of friendship. “The bonds of friendship give strength, but strength is not your friends' alone...” Picking up his torch, the warm glow of the flame seemingly taunting him with its chaotic contentedness. “What is it that I lack that prevents me from finding either?” The only answer that surfaced was “Useless. Useless useless useless useless useless”, tormenting voices of his mother lingering in memories he tried to suppress.
He felt much like the ancient dungeon that surrounded him; cold, empty, and with mysterious existence that gave more questions than answer. His most pressing question became “What should I do now?” It only took a moment for him to decide. “I mustn't keep Twilight waiting. Even if I am useless in her quest, I must not be a burden. She's probably already found the Animoria by now, and waiting on me.”
Now removed from his mental fortress and back to perceiving the setting around him, the reality of his current predicament caused his veins to pulse with uneasiness and fear. With the only way to go being forward, he slowly pushed the rusted metal door open. A light mist crept from next room as the door opened, ushering in a very cold air that bit at Duskmane's skin. The mist covered most of the bottom half of the room, obscuring the silhouettes of several mysterious objects that lined the walls, with the mist preventing him from seeing the other end. He quietly trotted to one of the objects. It appeared to be a table segmented into several parts, joined by a few gears and axles. On the long ends of it were two hinged braces that had a loop that could hold a lock. Duskmane recognized it from one of his history books. “This is... a rack? A torture device that could--” His thoughts hesitated, “sever a ponies extremities.” After giving a sweeping check for undead menaces, he walked to the next mysterious object in the mist. It appeared to be a large, metal statue in the same shape of a pony. It had hinges along the back side and appeared to be able to open horizontally. “Is it...?” He slowly opened the device, seeing several small spikes lining the inside of it. “An iron mare. This room must be a torture chamber. To warrant such devices... the war that left this place in ruin must have had a lot at stake.” He had heard that the time before the Princesses' reign was dark and twisted, but seeing these really put his previous assumptions into perspective.
Duskmane's inability to shake the gruesome mental renditions of the torture devices in action kept him in a state of near-panic as he slowly tip-hoofed further into the misty room. He had almost extinguished his torch from the speed of which he turned to check the area around him. He passed by even more devices that he dared not investigate, only hoping to be out of the blistering cold room as soon as possible. He was caught by surprise when he turned forward to see a white light poking through the mist from somewhere down the hall. He crept closer, keeping his head low and steps silent. He got close enough to see the outline of an object not unlike the iron mare in shape with the light coming from a cylindrical point on the top. He placed his torch onto the floor to not make his presence known before moving even closer.
He nearly yelled when the object suddenly moved, but managed to catch himself, only instead heaving a silent gasp. “She said it would be here somewhere...” It spoke to itself in a puzzled tone, the voice of a mare, strong of will and determination, yet not that of Twilight's.
“Who is that?!” He thought in extreme surprise. His fear turned into extreme curiosity, but still he decided to keep himself as hidden as possible. The pony appeared to be wearing a cloak, with only the faint outline of her head and tip of her tail visible in the light cast by her horn. Duskmane stepped closer in a crouch, seeing that the pony was observing the wall, tracing her hoof across it in different patterns. “And what is she doing?”
“I simply can't believe that me, of all ponies, is stuck in this wretched cellar. Especially since I must--” She had turned around during her monologue and spotted Duskmane crouched in the mist. “Huh?!” Her surprised voice echoed throughout the room. Duskmane gasped as he jumped backwards, not having meant to startle the pony. The hood of her cowl covered most of her head, stopping at the horn, shadowing her face from her own light. However, what did strike out was the familiarity of the steel-blue cloak. “Wait, you're--”
Before Duskmane could finish, the pony cast a spell that instantly wrapped a black orb around her, then shrank and disappeared with a woomf. The pony had completely vanished, but not before Duskmane could pinpoint where he had seen such a cloak before. “That was the pony that was speaking with Princess Celestia right before the guards carried in Twilight.” He tried to make sense of the coincidence. “Maybe Celestia had suspicions of Luna's activities, and sent a mercenary to retrieve the Animoria, but sent Twilight once she had the proof she need, to ensure the job would be done.” It made sense in his mind, except for one factor, “But why did she not tell us about the other pony beforehoof? Surely she didn't forget that as well, regardless of how pressing current matters were.”
The fear that once gripped him shortly faded, even with the illuminating light of the unicorn gone, coming to a certain realization. “However, whoever that pony was, she must have eliminated the undead in this area already... and thank goodness for that.” He retrieved his torch from the floor behind him before returning to the wall. “What was that mysterious mare so interested in, I wonder. She sure was quick to depart, using a spell I've never heard or seen before... much like Twilight's magical abilities.” Once again, he was left with more questions than answers, much like everything else surrounding the day's events. Knowing that the answers to them currently laid outside his grasp, he turned his attention to the wall ahead of him.
Although hard to see in the misty room, Duskmane's torch revealed a large picture carved into the stone, spanning almost the entire back wall. On one side was a very archaic depiction of an alicorn facing towards the center of the wall, the sun rising behind her. On the other side was another alicorn facing into the center, with the moon poised behind her. “Celestia and Luna....” Between the two alicorns, however, was another pony that appeared to be descending from the clouds, arms outstretched and holding a diamond-shaped object in its hooves. “But who is this pony?”
It appeared to be an earth pony, clasped in a rimmed cowl, one often worn by unicorn spellmasters. The pony also appeared to have details of bushy eyebrows and a curled beard. “Almost like Starswirl the Bearded... Except this one isn't a unicorn. To be poised between the two Princesses, it must have been somepony special.” The rest of the engraving showed fine details of a beautiful silhouette of the horizon, peppered with trees and houses. It was a very beautiful piece of monochrome art, but one with just as much mystery as elegance. “What was that one pony trying to find in this picture?” He looked behind him to make one last check for the pony or any undead. Only the mist stirred as far as he could see. Looking back at the picture, he held the torch close, to see if anything stuck out within carved lines.
~
The light from her horn began to fade as Twilight struggled to gather her remaining magic to keep the skeletal mob away with fireballs and spinning scythes, but even as hundreds of the reanimated cadavers fell beneath her might, endless amounts poured from the four dark openings. She had already reached her limit far before now, and she could feel it straining, cracking. With a final sweeping fireball that destroyed the corruptive magic controlling the skeletons, only to have more taking their place, she fell forward, the once bright light of her own shimmering down to that of a dying candle. “I... guess this is the end.” She whispered into the plume of ash that arose with her fall. “Celestia... Equestria... Duskmane... I'm sorry.” She felt a tear run down her face, hearing the steps of the undead ponies draw closer, eager to end the remainder of her spirit.
She heard a voice in her mind, “Hold on to, beyond eternity, the treasure of friendship.” It was her memory of Duskmane speaking. “For it shines brighter than the sun thousand-fold. Let not the darkness of hatred ever smother the...” The voice ended there.
“The hope for a brighter future.” Twilight filled in the missing words, willing herself back onto her hooves, gazing back into the glowing purple eyes that surrounded her, only several steps away. “I must not let the hatred of a lost soul conquer me... the fate of Equestria depends on my success! I WILL NOT FAIL!” Twilight's renewed vigor allowed her to channel her will into a potent magic spell, causing her to glow with a piercing white light that caused the undead ponies to halt in their march. They began to step away to avoid the white orb as it began to grow larger and brighter. When it felt like even the essence of her soul was wrapped in the spell even she was surprised to have cast, Twilight released the white force, causing an explosion of light that eradicated the magical corruption, even into the ash-filled vats the undead invaded from. Twilight lost all feeling in her limbs as everything began to blur. As she fell limp across the floor, a strange blue light shined from behind her, even though she knew only a wall stood there. “What... is that...?” She could not move, however, and her surroundings darkened until unconsciousness took hold of her.
~
His hoof had traced many of the fine details upon the stone, yet Duskmane could not find anything out of the ordinary that he suspected the mystery pony was looking for. A sudden explosion from somewhere in the dungeon's depths shook the floor beneath him, causing him to lose his balance. He rocked forward, hitting his hoof against the wall to stabilize himself. He felt something move beneath his hoof, and when he regained his balance, he lifted it to see he had hit the carving of the earth pony's diamond. It had sunk into the rest of the stone like a button. Before he could let his curious excitement take hold as to what would happen next, he felt the floor beneath him shift. Even before he could look down, he felt himself drop.
The button had apparently opened a trap door beneath him, although he was too busy yelling at the top of his lungs to be excited for his discovery. His torch was tumbling down the steep drop ahead of him, creating sparks as it skid against the metal slope. The dark metal tunnel soon opened into a very large cylindrical room, lit from several glowing diamonds that lined the smooth gray walls. Below was what appeared to be a white floor, with Duskmane's collision with it being imminent. “Oh no!” He could only cover his eyes and wait for the eternal sleep to take him. He whimpered hopelessly as he thought, “I have... failed in my attempt at being a friend.”
When he felt his body touch the surface below, it felt much like being suspended in the air. Had the eternal sleep taken him so quickly from his fall? He managed to open his eyes to see that he laid on what appeared to be a soft cloud. “Am I... dead?” It only took a brief look around to find an answer. To his astonishment, he was still at the bottom of the tall chamber. “The clouds saved me...” He said to himself, puzzled. “Even if the floor is made of clouds, anypony who isn't a pegasis should have fallen right through...” He wobbled up onto his hooves, the soft surface making it difficult to regain his balance. “I suppose the magic of the Princesses could easily create magic clouds.”
“I still have a chance for redemption, once I find my way out of here.” He took a quick look around, seeing pearly white double doors at on side of the room. He slowly made his way to it, to see beautiful gilded designs inlaid into the door itself, in stark contrast to the dreary and unkempt setting of the rest of the dungeon. He reached to push the door open, but was stopped as a strange sensation filled him. A feeling of apprehension, yet great curiosity, as if something important lied beyond the white door. Powered by a mixture of duty, longing, and eagerness, he pushed one of the heavy doors open.
His eyes were assailed by a bright blue light, which seemed to be coming from a very large crystal hung from the ceiling by several chains. The room was circular in shape like the room behind him, except nearly thrice as big. The walls were a pearly white, stained blue by the light, with gilded columns along the walls reaching up to the very high ceiling. Even more impressive were what appeared to be small holes in the wall in which water flowed out of, falling into small motes that spider-webbed the floor of the chamber, reflecting the blue light in beautiful waves around the room.
However, the center of the room seemed to be ablaze with a concentrated beam of the blue light from the crystal above. Duskmane walked closer to see four ivy vines made of gold, spiraling upwards towards what appeared to be a small red diamond that sparkled in the blue rays. Duskmane's eyes widened as he brought he face close to it, seeing what appeared to be a swirling clouds inside the diamond itself. “This looks like the crystal the pony on the stone carving was holding. Perhaps this is... the Animoria.” He whispered to himself in glee. He slowly brought his head closer, grabbing the diamond with his mouth. It felt very warm to the touch, unlike the air around him. “Now I gotta find Twilight and show this to her!” He thought.
With his attention off the Animoria, he could see a strange site ahead of him on the side of the room opposite of the double doors. A large portion of the wall had been blown inward, with large pieces of the white stone scattered about, damming some of the small moats and causing water to spread onto the smooth floor. He walked closer for a better view. To his fear, he saw a lavender pony laying motionless near the threshold of the destroyed wall. “Twilight?” He said, his voice muffled by the diamond he held with his mouth“Twilight!”
Running closer and jumping over the rubble, he stepped beside Twilight, who was covered in black botches from the ash. He knelt and brought his head closer to her body, to see that she was still breathing and apparently unharmed. Lifting his head up and looking into the dark chamber, he could see thousands of bones thrown against the opposite wall, completely blocking the stairway Twilight had come down.
Duskmane laid the Animoria on the ground and lowered his head closer to Twilight's closed eyes. She did not appear to be wounded, which relieved him greatly. He could only assume that the massive pile of bones were undead she encountered, and she had expended all of her magic again. “Twilight?” He said in vane, the unconscious pony not making any stir. He stood back up, “I'll wait as long as I have to, for you...”
Twilight felt like she was floating through the air as her vision returned from the blackness. She seemed to be in an endless space with strange waves of purple and pink light emanating from the abyss. “Where... am I?”
“You are in your mind.” A voice echoed back to her. It was a familiar voice of a mare, someone she knew that she knew, yet could could not remember. Most of her memories were out of her grasp in this realm.
“Then... who are you?” Twilight asked back.
“That is not important. You have a very important task to complete, do you not?”
“I...” Twilight could not immediately remember, but fragments of recent events came back to her. “That's right. I must defeat Luna before she destroys Equestria.”
“Then you should hurry, and return to the realm of consciousness.”
And with that, a white door appeared in the nothingness in front of Twilight. Even with nothing beneath her hooves, she walked towards the white door without hesitation. She stepped into the light, and everything faded away around her....
She felt groggy as Twilight slowly opened her eyes. Everything was a blur, although a dim red light stood out from the rest of the gray smudges. When she regained focus shortly after, she saw that the red light was that from a diamond-shaped crystal. “Is that--?”
“Twilight!” She heard a voice yell from behind her, startling her. “Thank goodness you're awake.” Is was Duskmane's voice. He trotted up beside her, looking down into her eyes. “Are you alright?”
“Yes, I'm fine.” She said, bringing herself to her hooves. Her head felt very cloudy, as if waking up the next day after a cider party. She looked back down at the red crystal. “But what's this?” She hovered it closer to her face.
“I think it might be the Animoria... I found it over there.” Duskmane said, pointing his hoof back into the white room.
Twilight turned around, temporarily blinded by the sudden change to bright light. When her eyes adjusted, she walked closer to the gilded ivy vines in the center of the large room, still hovering the diamond beside her. She took a gander at the rest of the chamber, taking in the lavish sites of the columns and the shining blue crystal. “This certainly looks like it'd be the place for it.” She exhaled a large sigh as she put the crystal into her saddlebags. “Thank you so much Duskmane... I couldn't have gone this far without you.”
“Really? Do you mean that?” Duskmane asked, compelled by his earlier grief of longing for purpose.
“In that room you found me in... there were hundreds of skeletons animated by Nightmare Moon's magic. I fought as long as I could, but I was overwhelmed by their numbers. Then I remembered the passage you read from the book. “Hold onto the treasure of friendship, and to not let the darkness smother the hope for a brighter future”.”
“I don't recall that book saying anything about a brighter future.”
“I suppose that was just my heart, filling in the blanks. With it, I found the resolve I needed to defeat the darkness, before it defeated me.” She turned around back towards the hole leading to the previous room. “I suppose the resulting explosion is what opened the way to allow you to find me.”
Duskmane felt a surge of joy as his dilemma of friendship was erased from his worries, although he still felt somewhat unfulfilled, as if he had gotten a treat he did not earn. “I... well... thank you.” He managed to sputter beneath his collage of emotions.
“Well, isn't this touching.” A loud voice rang out, stern and masculine, echoing across the white room. Both Duskmane and Twilight jumped, trying to find the source of the voice. Both of them froze as they witnessed a large black circle expand at the other end of the room. When the black entity stopped growing, a white light emerged from the center as something stepped through the portal.
The whole room shook as four massive sets of claws dragged the large beast forward. It had dark blue skin with several glowing white spots that seemed to sparkle. It reminded Twilight much like looking into a clear night sky with a telescope. The beast had a long neck and a horned, serpentine head. It seemed much like one of the dragons of Equestria, but the strange patterns on its scales and glowing white eyes were unlike anything they have ever heard of.
When the creature had fully emerged, the black portal disappeared. “Luna warned me that Celestia's lackeys would make an attempt for the Animoria.”
“Then... you must be...” Twilight started nervously, “The stars that aided Luna's escape.”
“Ah, forgive me. I'm normally not the one to overlook introductions, but surely, even you know of the story ready to unfold.”
“Yes, we do!” Twilight answered, “Which is why we will never let you take the Animoria!”
“Such fervor, such vigor...” he responded with an intrigued tone, “For one doomed for failure. Even as we speak, the other Star Drakes move to take the Elements of Harmony so that we might destroy the false Princess, and bring eternal reign to the night.”
Twilight gasped, “It can't be... not already.”
“Now, give me the Animoria, and let fate go its destined course.”
Twilight felt crushed. Dragons on their own are no small feat to slay, but this was no mere dragon. It was one of the legendary Star Drakes, powerful, ancient creatures once imprisoned into another dimension very long ago, no doubt enlisted into Luna's army.
“Then...” Twilight started, seeming broke of will. “I must maintain hope for a brighter future, and fight to my last breath to preserve it!” she finished intensely.
“A brighter future...” The Star Drake echoed. He burst into a loud cackle, “The future you have chosen is a dark one, foolish mortal. It's a shame I did not get here sooner... I try to avoid bloodshed when possible, but you leave me no choice!”
Twilight was slightly confused by the irony of the beast's words, but did not let it unsettle her as she saw the drake spread his claws and get into a ready position. His head rose and nearly touched the glowing blue diamond, towering over them as his shadow darkened the walls of the room. Although her resolve was solid, she felt the cold claws of dire fear grab her. Still weakened from her earlier encounter with the undead, and facing a foe far greater than she had ever dared challenge, her hopes were dimmed with the realization that Duskmane and she would meet their ends here, like so many other ponies before her.
The dragon spread his large wings while still gripping the floor. Lots of small white orbs began to appear beneath the large, blue membrane. Twilight turned to Duskmane, seeing he had been in the same frozen stance since when the dragon first entered. “Duskmane, run! Take the Animoria with you while I hold him off!”
Duskmane turned to her “Both of the exits are blocked!”
Twilight gritted her teeth and turned back towards the dragon, seeing it had accumulated hundreds of small orbs beneath his wings. His wings pulled backwards, and swung them both towards Duskmane and she, sending all of the magic orbs flying in their direction. Twilight brought up her magic shield as quickly as she could. The white orbs exploded when they collided with the floor and walls. Twilight struggled to keep the shield protecting them as the white old exploded against it, each explosion sapping her already limited magical energy. When the explosions stopped, and the dust cleared, Twilight dropped her shield, panting. The area behind them was decimated, the once beautiful stone spewed throughout the rest of the chamber, the small water outlets spraying water across the rubble.
“Impressive, but even you cannot withstand another barrage. Give me the Animoria now, and I will allow you two to live.” The dragon spoke. “I will not ask again.”
After a few gasps for breath, Twilight answered, “Never... we will fight to the end, for the sake of everypony!”
“The sake of everypony.” The dragon echoed. “You mortals are so humorous with your words. You brought this upon yourself.” After his response, the dragon's eyes began to glow very brightly.
“If this is the end.” Duskmane thought, swallowing the lump in his throat. “Then I must make due on what I owe....” Seeing Twilight was in no condition to defend the next attack, Duskmane stepped in front of her, chest high, staring into the drake's eyes.
Twilight wanted to scream and tell him to move, to not try the might of the Star Drake, but she still gasped for breath, and could only watch in horror as white beams of light shot from the dragon's eyes towards them.
Duskmane could only spread his hooves and hope he was enough to protect Twilight from the dragon's magic. The white beam collided with him, exploding beneath his hooves and propelling him into the wall far behind them. The wall cracked as his body struck it with a loud thud, before falling limp onto the floor. The pain spread through his entire body was immense, so much so that it paralyzed him as he laid helplessly on the floor. He wheezed, coughing up blood and struggling for breath. “I hope... my debt is fulfilled.” His vision darkened as the pain forced him into unconsciousness.
“No, Duskmane!” Twilight called.
“Worry not, you will meet the same fate as he, my little pony.” The dragon snickered.
Twilight's head was bowed as she stood, letting several tears fall to the floor. The dragon's eyes once again began to glow extremely brightly. With no energy, no magic, and for the first time ever, no hope; she fell onto her knees and awaited the finishing blow. “Luna's won... Equestria is doomed to Nova's fires....”
The white lasers shot out of the dragon's eyes again, this time aimed at the defenseless Twilight. She squeezed her eyes closed and braced for impact. The sound of the lasers firing ceased, yet she felt unscathed. She opened her eyes, and to her shock, saw a pony donned in a steel-blue cloak that covered their entire body. The pony appeared to have raised a magenta magical shield not unlike Twilight's, having absorbed the dragon's deadly attack.
“What is this?” The dragon asked, mirroring Twilight's confusion.
“I'm not sure who you are, but thank you.” Twilight said. The cloaked unicorn made no response. Unable to help in the fight, Twilight ran over to Duskmane, who was still laying still on the floor, eyes closed and making weak, pained breaths. “There's gotta be something I can do!” Twilight thought frantically, wishing she had studied more of the ancient magic of restoration back at the Canterlot Archive.
“You seem... different from the others.” The dragon remarked at the veiled pony. “Yet, I feel a familiar aura from you... an aura of hatred and despair, driven by the lust for revenge.” It seemed he was comparing the pony to Luna.
The unicorn still made no response, instead summoning several floating arcane circles around her. She made a thrusting motion with her hoof, causing several very large ice bolts to shoot from them towards the Star Drake. The drake made a waving motion with its claw, causing the ice bolts to collide with an invisible barrier that shielded him. Immediately afterward, the unicorn dashed upwards toward the drake's head, using magic to propel her forward. The drake lifted one of it's large claws and swung down at the pony. They disappeared with a flash, appearing through a white circle behind the drake. As the the drake turned around, the pony launched a blue fireball from their horn. It exploded against his face, sending him stumbling backwards and slamming against the wall, shaking the entire room and causing the chained illuminating crystal to sway above them.
The drake stood back onto its claws and glared down at the mysterious pony, who had landed back on her hooves. “Even your power seems not of your own. Just who are you, and why are you here, interfering with the strings of fate?” Still the pony remaining silent, no amount of light from the room managing to break the black shadow over their face. “Then take your secrets to your grave!” The dragon hissed as it raised one of its claws before slamming it into the floor, sending several streaks of white energy towards the pony that cut through the stone floor with ease. Using magic to enhance their jump, the pony gracefully somersaulted over the attack. At the peak of their jump, the pony magically suspended themself in mid-air and raised their sleeved hooves into the air.
The dragon was taken aback by the two arcane circles that appeared at both sides of the his body, nearly as wide in diameter as he was. He wrapped his wings around himself and teleported away in a black flame before two immense red beams shots from the circles, colliding with each other and creating a flare that painted the room with red light. The bright red light distracted Twilight from her desperate attempt at procuring a healing spell as she turned to watch the battle that had been unfolding.
The dragon reappeared in a gout of black fire behind the cloaked pony, quickly bringing down his claw in a fast, vicious swipe. The pony did not have time to react, and was swatted from the air and flung towards the wall. Before the collision, the pony stopped abruptly in mid-air, using magic to halt their momentum. The pony fell slowly and gracefully, landing on their hooves, apparently unscathed. White orbs of magic began to form under the dragons wings as it charged its familiar attack, sending the pony into a defensive position. Shortly after, the dragon pushed forth his wings, sending hundreds of little white balls of magic towards the veiled pony. The pony quickly sprung into a dash as it summoned a pyramidal shield ahead of them, deflecting the explosions as the white spheres collided against it.
When the pony got near, they made a heroic leap towards the dragon's head, trying to impale the sharp magic shield into him. The dragon foresaw the pony's assault, and met them head-on, slamming his forehead into the shield. Their was a sound of glass shattered as the shield broke away as the impact sent the mysterious pony into the ground.
Even though Twilight had no idea who this powerful unicorn was, the enemy of her enemy was her friend. “Oh no....” she muttered, watching wide-eyed as the pony struggled to get back up.
“You were a fool to come here.” The dragon remarked smugly, “Fate has chosen its course, and I am but one of its shepherds. If you cannot even stop me, how do you dream of stopping Luna? I am not ashamed to confess that her power far exceeds us Star Drakes, although I must admit, I am impressed that a mortal such as yourself possesses such raw power.” He stepped closer to the weakened pony. “I have wasted enough time as it is. The time draws near for Equestria's historic reversal, as its true ruler takes the throne.” He raised one of his claws high into the air, and then brought it down swiftly upon the weakened pony. The floor cracked as his claw pressed flush against it.
Twilight winced as her last hope of survival was smothered before her eyes. The dragon turned his head slowly to Twilight and Duskmane. “Worry not, mortal, the eternal darkness that awaits you will not be so different from-- What?” The dragon looked downwards at its claw as streaks of magenta light erupted from below. The drake quickly retracted his claw as a beam of magic shot upwards, watching as the mysterious pony levitated out of the hole in the floor, surrounded by a sphere of magical energy. The pony remained in the air as magic sparks sprung across the magenta colored barrier.
“You are too persistent for your own good.” The dragon said in a perturbed tone. Twilight's mouth dropped as the dragon turned its head towards Duskmane and she. In an instant, it shot a huge fireball from its mouth towards them. Twilight struggled to construct her magic shield, still very low on her reserve of magical energy. A flimsy magenta barrier surrounded them, although Twilight knew it would not be enough to stop a massive fireball. She strained harder to fortify her shield, but it did not help. Instead, the stress on her already limited magic caused the shield to fizzle and disappear.
“No! Not now!” Twilight said, cursing her impotence. “Come on...!” The fireball was only a moment away from incinerating both of them. When hope had seemed lost, and Twilight was reduced to clutching to Duskmane's still body to protect him, a flash appeared in front of the fireball as the mystery pony teleported in front of it. They held their hooves out wide, quickly conjuring a massive barrier that held back the blazing inferno. Twilight could see cracks forming in the barrier as the pony struggled to hold back the the flames.
The pony made a waving motion with their hoof, causing the flames beyond the shield to condense into a much smaller ball of fire. The unicorn's magic shield disappeared, allowing them to take hold of the condensed sphere of flame. They held it above their head as blue arcane symbols sprung forth from their horn and passed through the fireball, creating strings of glowing red symbols that formed large circles around the them. The dragon took a step backwards, “What sorcery is this? No mortal should be able to harness such power!”
When the pony had six red circles of arcane symbols circling around her, she pressed her hooves forward, causing the circles to vanish and reappear at four compass corners of the circular chamber, with one appear above the dragon, and one on the floor below. The dragon's closed its eyes, seeing no escape from the spell that surrounded him and prevented any attempt at teleporting away. “It all makes sense now.” The dragon said lowly. It opened its eyes and turned towards Twilight as the cloaked pony charged its magic into the arcane circles. “Mortal, things are not as they--” His voice was drowned out by the blast of all six magic circles firing immense red beams similar to the unicorn's earlier attack. All of the beams connected with the drake, bathing him in fiery energy. The dragon shrieked as it thrashed amidst the scorching flames.
When the magic ceased, and the unicorn had gracefully landed back onto the floor, the scorched remains of the dragon fell onto the ground, violently shaking the room. Twilight breathed a sigh of relief, although with the drake subdued, a much more pressing matter became evident as she turned back to Duskmane, who had not stirred since falling unconscious. Twilight jumped when she heard a weak voice behind her, “Things are not as they seem... mortal....” It was the dragon, struggling to speak beneath its immense burns that had completely vaporized the membrane of his wings and most of its skin.
Twilight was scared to get closer, but was intrigued by the dying words of a legendary creature. “What do you mean?” She asked.
“I see what you are... trying to do.” he responded. “You are being... mis--” His voice was cut off as the giant blue crystal that once hung from the ceiling pierced through the top of his skull, cut from its chains by the magic of the veiled unicorn. The drake gave a final shriek as his flicker of life was extinguished.
Twilight turned in surprise to the pony, who was facing the direction of the deceased dragon. She was frustrated by the fact that the unicorn cut off the message she wanted to hear, but was nonetheless grateful for the pony saving her life. “I... thank you, whoever you are.” The pony made no response, only staring intently at the drake's lifeless body. “Do you know a way out of here? I must find help for my friend immediately!”
Shortly after her exposition, Twilight felt the floor beneath her begin to shake, growing in magnitude. A sound not unlike rushing water filled her ears, drawing her attention back to the deceased drake. Cracks had formed in the glowing crystal as blue flames began to burst violently from them, spewing light from the dragon's eyes and mouth. The cloaked pony turned away, and with the flicker of their horn, opened a black circle much like the one the dragon used to enter the room, except much smaller in scale. They casually walked into it and disappeared as the shaking became worse, sending loose stones from the ceiling crashing down. Twilight hesitated briefly before deciding to hover Duskmane across her back. Careful to not let him slip off, she slowly walked to the black circle cast by the mysterious unicorn.
The blue fire erupting from the cracked crystal sprayed against the ceiling and the walls as more of the stone architecture cracked and fell beneath the turbulent shaking. Twilight was only a few steps from the black portal, when something in the corner of her eye caught her attention. She turned her head to see the remains of a pillar tumbling down towards her. She gasped, making the final leap through the black mass as the stone crashed onto the portal....
Twilight opened her eyes, and to her relief, saw green grass beneath her. Even more relieving was that Duskmane was still in tow. She carefully lowered his limp body from her back. She heard the crunch of grass as the cloaked pony walked towards them. Twilight said nothing as the pony levitated a clear vial from beneath their cloak and removed the avianesque stopper. They then lowered the vial over Duskmane, pouring a glistening clear liquid onto his body. Immediately re-corking the bottle and returning it to beneath their cloak, the pony bowed their hooded head, disappearing in a white flash.
“Hey, wait!” Twilight had many questions she wanted to ask to the mute pony once Duskmane was in good hooves, especially concerning where they learned such potent magic that easily rivaled her greatest spells. She turned back towards her friend to see him glowing brightly in white light, which faded only second later. Twilight drew her head closer, curious about the strange fluid that was poured onto Duskmane. Within moments, however, she saw Duskmane's eyes slowly open, filling her with great excitement. She wanted to give him a big hug, much like he had to her back at the Canterlot palace, but managed to refrain for the sake of not startling him.
Duskmane felt like being awoken from a peaceful nap as he witnessed the blades of grass level with his face. Disoriented, he got to his hooves to see he had somehow appeared near the edge of a cliff that looked down unto Ponyville in the distance. He jumped when he heard a voice behind him.
“I'm so glad you're alright, Duskmane.”
He turned to see his good friend Twilight, gleaming ear to ear with a grin she tried to contain. He mirrored her glee, “Twilight!” His smile became a dumbfounded droop when he saw the gates of Canterlot Palace behind them. “How did we get here?” With his query, his memories of what happened before being knocked out rushed to him. “Wait! Where's the dragon? The Animoria? What happened?!”
“It's a lot to explain.” Twilight started, “I'll tell you on our way to the Princess, I still have the Animoria with me.” She quickly broke into a brisk trot. Duskmane galloped to catch up, and maintained her pace as they approached the drawbridge into the palace.
“We were able to make it out alive because a strange pony in a blue cloak defeated the dragon, and made a portal from the dungeon to the palace.”
Duskmane came to a halt. “Pony in a blue cloak?” Twilight turned around and backtracked a few steps to him. “I came across a pony in a blue cloak before I reached the Animoria's chamber, but she magically teleported away when she saw me. She was a pony I saw at the palace while you were in Luna's quarters!”
“She? Any idea what she doing at the palace?”
“I heard her speak before she saw me. The Princess had apparently informed her about a secret entrance inside the dungeon itself, which turned out to be a trap door that led to the Animoria. The Princess must have sent her there before she sent us!”
Twilight could not immediately respond, trying to piece together what it could mean. She stood there, staring into Duskmane's eyes as he awaited her response. “If that's true... then Celestia wasn't lying when she said she thought her sister was up to no good. That pony knew extremely powerful magic, I don't know why Celestia would send us in that pony's shadow. She could obviously handle herself much better than us two together... and speaking of which, thank you... for everything back there.” Twilight added on.
“It's the least I could do.” Duskmane felt his face get warm, rubbing his hoof on his neck. “But-- er, let's not waste time.” He stuttered.
“You're right, the drake said Luna's forces were on their way to Canterlot, we must warn the Princess at once.”
They quickly approached the lowered drawbridge, which now had two guards lining each side of the gate to inside. Two guards dashed towards them as they stepped onto the drawbridge. “Halt! None may pass!” One shouted.
“We need to see the Princess immediately!” Twilight urged, “We have the Animoria for her!”
“The palace is under lock-down, nopony is allowed inside the palace.” He responded sternly. “Besides, I've never heard of such a thing. Failure to comply will be met with deadly force.”
“But--”
“It's quite alright, they may pass.” The gates opened to reveal the graceful Princess Celestia, walking towards them. The guards instantly fell into a low bow. “It relieves me to see you are alright. I feel guilty for remaining here and Luna not showing herself, but I could not risk leaving the Elements unprotected. Do you have the Animoria?”
“Yes, Princess.” Twilight nodded, hovering the red diamond from her bags. Princess Celestia took hold of it with her own magic, bringing it close to her face, her eyes sparkling red with its reflection.
“We would not have made it if it weren't for the pony you sent to the dungeon before us.” Duskmane added.
“Oh... I see you met the mercenary. She's recently become an accomplice of mine, and proven to be quite the powerful ally. I sent her to my old palace under suspicion of Luna's plans. However powerful they may be, I still trust my faithful student--” She nodded at Twilight, “and her friends--” She turned to Duskmane with a smile, “far more than anypony else in my court during these dark times.”
“Thank you, Princess.” Twilight said as she bowed her head.
“No need to thank me. Come inside, we shall witness Luna's memory together, and reveal her hiding place.”
Celestia turned around and passed through the gates with Twilight and Duskmane close behind. The gates closed shut once they were in the center of the foyer. Twilight could see a whole squad of royal guards lining the stairway leading to the second story of the palace, donned in extra heavy gold-colored armor that left very little of their white coat exposed.
“Stand close.” Celestia said as she levitated the Animoria between them. Both Twilight and Duskmane were filled with a looming sense of dread, and also that of anticipation, a strange mix that did not settle well with either.
Princess Celestia's horn shimmered a bright gold color as she channeled magic into the crystal, causing strange wisps of yellow light to churn around the three ponies. Time around them seemed to come to a slow stop as they felt a sensation of being pulled into the crystal. The colors around them appeared to streak like running paint inward towards the crystal, until only complete blackness surrounded them.
They heard Celestia speak, “Take us to Luna's hiding place.” There was another rush of colors as the recorded scenes of their eternal memory played in fast-forward, until coming to a sudden halt.
What Twilight saw were the familiar dark tapestries from Luna's quarters, as viewed from a perspective that stood far higher than any pony, that of Princess Luna. The Princess rounded the corner to see the two guards standing outside the entrance to her wing of Canterlot Palace, the twin alicorn statues in view ahead of her. She neared the dark guards. “It begins.” She said somberly, much to the contrast of the loud and pompous voice Twilight remembered from Nightmare Night. “Every of my guards will be working double shifts until my sister is removed from the throne. Destroy anypony that enters my wing of the castle.” The guards silently nodded their heads.
Twilight could feel a feeling not of her own, but that of Luna, concentrating. Their was a dim glow of blue light as Luna was surrounded in a cloak of shadow. She stepped from the threshold of the hallway leading to her wing, making no noise as she walked closer to the guards that guarded the doorway to the Elements of Harmony. Luna turned and looked behind her to make sure nopony was watching. The room void of anypony else besides her guards and the ones she faced. She silently walked closer and stood in front of them. The guards made no sign of seeing her, which struck Twilight as odd. “She must have cast an invisibility spell on herself.” Twilight thought.
There was a quick flash of green light from Luna's horn. The guards still made no motion, but their eyes seemed to lose all gleam, as if falling under a trance. Luna moved forward to the door, unimpeded by the guards. Lowering her head, she inserted her horn into the slot in the center of the door, causing it to open. She quickly dashed inside and closed the doors with her magic, bringing her to a long, thin hallway illuminated by the multiple stained glass windows.
The rest of the hallway appeared to be empty. “That fool.” She said to herself as she walked closer to the white door that awaited at the end of the hallway. “Only two feeble guards between public portion of the palace and the Elements. If I take them now, though, she'll surely sense it. I'm not sure if I can stand up against her... but I must, I'm the only one who can.” Twilight was confused by her words, but continued to listen intently to her monologue. “No, I must bide my time, and wait for the Star Drakes to arrive. Everything will be for naught if she finds out before I'm ready to take the throne... the Crown of Equestria....” Twilight felt the feeling of melancholy seeping from Luna's memory.
Luna turned to face one of the stained glass windows, which showed the historic event where Twilight and her friends used the Elements to dispel the corruption of Nightmare Moon from her. Luna raised a hoof and touched the portion of the glass that represented herself. The glass began to ripple, like a pebble thrown into a still lake. She pressed a hoof through it, disappearing into the glass itself. “Nova... the time draws near.” She said as she passed completely through the glass as if it were a portal. The scene of the memory became an empty blackness.
“This is worse than I feared.” Twilight heard Celestia say as the blackness around her began to evaporate. Within seconds, she found herself back in the center of the foyer with Duskmane at her side and Celestia in front of her. “She's made a portal straight to the Chamber of--” There was an explosion that came from somewhere deeper in the castle that shook the floor violently, sending Duskmane tumbling over. “No! Quickly, to the Chamber of the Elements!” All of the guards quickly flew up the stairs and left into the bend that led to the hallway containing the alicorn statues. The Princess followed in after them on her giant white wings, dropping the Animoria to the ground.
“We must follow her!” Twilight said to Duskmane as she ran up the stairs. He followed close behind after returning to his hooves, anxious as to the source of the explosion. Telling from the Princess's response, however, it seemed that Princess Luna had made her move before they could take steps to stop her.