The zebra carefully examined the blue plant cutting on her worktable.
"A snapped off twig from Harmony's tree," Zecora looked up at her visitor. "Why would chaos bring this to me?"
"I need you to powder it," Discord explained. "And put it in a very thick container. Walking up tho the blasted tree nearly killed me, and carrying that with me has been constantly sapping my energy. Can you do it or not?"
"Powdering this twig should be easy to try," Zecora stared inquisitively at Discord. "But before I do, I must know, why?"
"Call it a last resort," Discord explained. "I won't use the thing if I don't have to. And do dispense with the rhyming Zecora, it gets old after a while..."
"If you wish to waste my precious time," Zecora said indignantly, "Then you will have to put up with my rhyme."
Discord rolled his eyes as Zecora powdered the twig. "If you could make it a very fine powder, I need it to go down easily."
Zecora stopped for a moment "If I am right about what you intend to do, you do know what will become of you?"
"Yes, yes," Discord replied, "I'm well aware of the consequences."
"I do not what you to leave this hut surprised," Zecora insisted, "near harmony, chaos will be p-"
"I know," Discord cut her off. "As I said, last resort. Only if it becomes vital."
Zecora finished her work, and then poured the powder into a thick glass vial, "I suppose it is better than if you were to die,'" she said coyly, "We wouldn't want to disappoint Fluttershy."
Discord smiled as he took the vial, "Agreed."
Discord snapped his fingers and was gone from the hut.
Twilight had told Spike to stay behind. If she couldn't make it back to Ponyville, he would need to evacuate the town.
The train was about to pull to a stop at the Crystal Empire. She and her friends were given a car specifically put aside for royalty, but she was too worried to enjoy it. She had no idea what she was really up against. She couldn't think of why her mentor sent for her, of all people, to investigate this. In a way she was flattered, her mentor must have trusted her more than anyone else. But still...
The train screeched to a halt. Twilight stepped off the train to be greeted by fanfare from awaiting guards. She winced. She still wasn't used to the noise.
Apparently neither was an armored Pegasus on the platform. "Really?!" the pegasus complained. "Do you honestly think there's time for that right now?!"
It took her a moment, but twilight finally recognized him. "Flash?"
Flash Sentry gave a quick bow "Majesty."
The others exited the train. "You can stop the whole 'Majesty' thing. Just call me Twilight.'"
Flash gave Twilight a smile. "I've been ordered to take you directly to the Crystal Palace. The other Princesses are waiting for you there."
"With all due respect to my fellow Princesses," Twilight replied, "I'm countermanding that order."
There was a collective gasp from her friends behind her.
"Flash I want you to take me directly to the mirror, and," Twilight looked at her friends, trying to decide which was the most diplomatic of the five. It wasn't an easy choice. No one was qualified. "Rarity," she finally decided, "Please tell princess Celestia I will be delayed."
"Darling you're not honestly thinking of trying to destroy that mirror alone, are you?" Rarity was aghast.
"Of course not," Twilight reassured her. "But for the sake of my own sanity, I need to see this thing for myself."
"Alright," Rainbow Dash was worried about her friend. "But you better not leave us out of the action, head to the palace as soon as you've gotten a look at the thing."
"Will do," Twilight turned to Flash. "Have the carriage take my friends to the palace. Flash, can you lead me to the mirror?"
Flash outstretched his wings. "Absolutely, Princess. If you'll follow me." Flash took off, with Twilight behind him.
The pair was flying high above the Empire. "So," Twilight shouted over the roar of the wind, "How's my brother?"
"Who, Cap?" Flash called back. "Well past the point of losing his hoofing mind, why?"
"Why should he be upset?" Twilight asked. "This isn't the first time he's had to deal with a crisis situation."
"Yeah," Flash replied. "But it's the first time he's ever had to wait for one. Since that thing burst out of the ground we've all been waiting for the other horseshoe to drop. The tension has been so thick you could spread it on bread. As a result Cap's sense of humor is gone, and now that his sense of humor is gone, I can't do the things I normally do to keep myself calm around base. So I've been a little on edge myself."
Twilight couldn't help but smile at that.
"We're here!" Flash called as they approached the town square.
Twilight and Flash landed near the mirror. Two guards parted to let the pair through.
And then she saw it. The mirror was exactly as she had thought it would be. The dimensions. The color. The light it gave off even with no sun in the sky.
She studied the markings on the mirrors frame. She knew what the one on top was. That was Seraphim Glare. The Ponies on the bottom were his subjects. The two on the side though, who were they? The poem didn't mention other Alicorns, just the king. So who were these two?
Twilight noticed something odd. The light from the lens was beginning to dim.
It stopped just short of vanishing completely, simply giving a dim glow, and giving Twilight a clear view of her reflection.
Flash was puzzled, "O.... kaaaaay, It hasn't done that before now."
Twilight couldn't help but approach the mirror. It seemed to be beckoning her. She stared into her own eyes until she was no more than a yard away.
And then the mirror began to crack.
Not dramatically. A very thin crack moving from the left side of the frame to the right, distorting Twilight's reflection. After that the mirror grew bright again. No one was able to look at the lens without squinting.
Flash and Twilight were dumbfounded. "That probably wasn't a good sign," Flash reasoned.
"Yeah," Twilight said nervously. "We should probably get going."
Twilight and Flash took off for the castle.
And one second later, Twilight's reflection disappeared from the mirror.
The throne room was eerily quiet when Twilight arrived. Rainbow Dash was standing in front of the throne, seemingly prepared to throw herself in front of any threat that walked through the door. Rarity was admiring the tapestry on the walls. Pinkie and Applejack were quietly engaged in a poker game (as hyperactive as she was, Pinkie Pie had a surprisingly good poker face.) Flutteshy was looking absentmindedly out the window. On the throne was Princess Cadence, her sister in law. Standing next to Cadence was her brother, and two palace guards.
Shining Armor was the first to notice her arrival. "Twily!"
They all turned to her. Shining Armor and Rainbow Dash rushed over. "What took you?" asked her brother.
"Did you find anything out?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"Not much," Twilight responded. "But it's safe to assume that this is Seraphim Glare's mirror. But it had some markings on it I couldn't understand and-"
"You went to the mirror," Shining was shocked. "alone?"
"Yes," Twilight was insulted by the question. "I'm a grown mare now. Besides I didn't go alone, I had an escort."
"Who took you?" Shining Armor demanded.
"I was the one who ordered him to go-"
"Who took you?!" Shining demanded again.
Twilight knew that tone, Shining Armor was about to snap. "I can't remember."
"SENTRY!!" Shining Armor stormed out of the throne room seeing red.
"Oh dear," Cadence said calmly. She turned to one of her palace guards, "I know it's a frightening task, but could you stop my husband? Tell him that his wife says 'if he kills anypony today he can spend the next month on the couch.'"
"Yes milady." The guard swiftly followed his commander.
"That was lame of him," Rainbow Dash muttered.
"Oh, Rainbow Dash," Rarity replied, approaching Twilight and Rainbow, "you must remember that Shining Armor has been under considerable stress for the last few hours."
"Yeah!" Pinkie was about to fail to help the situation. "I mean any moment now a glowing terror from beyond time could just show up in the middle of the city he's sworn to defend, torching anypony that stands in his way. Moving ever forward to the castle in a death march that might mean the end of him, his family, and everything he holds dear, who wouldn't be stressed by that?"
Fluttershy, around the middle of that little interlude, had hidden behind a curtain. The others were staring at Pinkie Pie, mouths agape. "I guess, me," Pinkie reasoned, "But then again I'm a little oblivious sometimes!"
It took them a moment to recover from that. "Anyhow....." Applejack managed as she turned to Cadence, "We were hopin' you'd have some more information on this, Princess Cadence."
"I'm sorry," Cadence seemed annoyed, "But Celestia and Luna have been very tight-lipped about this. The seem to be more afraid of this 'Alicorn King' then we all are. It's almost like they have-"
"A personal vendetta against him," a voice remarked from behind them. They all turned to face the door. "We do. But it would take to long to explain in words," Luna continued.
Everypony bowed except Twilight and Cadence. "Princess Luna!" Twilight cried. "I thought that-"
"I have told my sister to rest for the night." Luna said. "She won't. But she should at least try."
Luna walked over to her sisters student. Twilight noticed that she was carrying a small satchel. "Twilight Sparkle, if you will follow me. There is something you need to see."
"We can't come with her?" Fluttershy asked nervously.
Luna shook her head. "While I have no doubt that she will need your help in the end, this is something I can only show Twilight. i ask that you please wait here."
The others looked worried, but Twilight kept herself calm. "Lead the way."
Luna led Twilight to a small tea room. They both sat down on either side of a coffee table.
"I would like you to imagine a locked room," Luna began. "A room with no shade. Not a speck of darkness to be found. you're trapped and your only company is an incessant light. A light so bright that you can do nothing to shut it out, but can't open you're eyes wide enough to see."
Twilight imagined the brightly lit room. At first it didn't seem very frightening, but then she thought about it.
All that's in the room is me and the light. The light is so bright I can't see. The door is locked. I can't get out. She suddenly found herself short of breath.
"That was Equestria," Luna continued, "under the hoof of Seraphim Glare."
Twilight perked up her ears, "You remember....?"
Luna let out a melancholic laugh. "All too well." She seemed to be lost in thought for a moment. "Seraphim Glare was the most sadistic pony ever to blemish the face of Equestria. No one was safe from his cruelty. He was also the most powerful Alicorn to ever live."
It seemed hopeless, but Twilight tried to keep her spirits up. "Hey," she said shakily, 'We beat this guy once before right? I'm sure we-"
"I won't let that happen again!" Luna snapped, but she quickly composed herself. "That method shouldn't be used again Twilight Sparkle. The ends didn't justify the means."
Twilight fell silent, growing more and more curious.
"You are a princess now," Luna said. "My equal. Neither I or my sister can give you an order anymore, but....." She took Twilight's hoof, "I am asking, as a friend. Will you please help me?"
Twilight placed her hoof on top of Luna's "Of course, Luna. Where do I begin?"
Luna gave her a soft smile. "Here."
She took out the small satchel and from it she pulled a small glass bottle filled with a deep blue liquid.
"That's the potion that Zecora gave me last summer!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Similar," Luna admitted. "But much more potent. This mixture will allow you to see everything that you need to see to understand the pain that was caused by Seraphim Glare. Even long after his demise."
Twilight knew what to do, the potion was activated by Alicorn magic. When she was ready, she focused all of her energy through the horn, onto the potion. The potion turned white.......
And the room began to spin.
When she came to, she was in a strangely familiar room. Everything in it was sterile white. The light in the room was so blinding it took her eyes a second to adjust.
There were five ponies in the room. A young unicorn with a peach fuzz beard leaning up against the wall, a pointy wide brimmed hat pulled low over his eyes. An expression of pure contempt on his face. A small young Alicorn filly, dark blue coat, couldn't have been more than five years old. She was sprawled on the floor with a bruise, no, a burn mark on her cheek. A beige-coated armored unicorn was tending to her. His faced wreathed in a weary concern. Next to him was another Alicorn, pure white, a teenage mare. Seemingly aghast at recent events that had transpired. Tears in her eyes. The figure in the middle of the gathering, however.....
The Alicorn seemed to be made of pure gold, with ornate designs seemingly engraved up and down his legs. He was giving off a bright glow, as if the sun itself were in the room with them. His mane and tale were blood red and flowed like a raging fire. His wings were feathered but, much like a dragons, had three claws on the shoulder of each wing. He was shaking one off as if he had just finished using it for something unpleasant. He was looking out of his window at a lovely moonlit starry sky, with his pure white eyes filled with a seething, burning hatred.
This was the face of the Alicorn King.
This was Seraphim Glare.
"Tell me again, daughter," he said coldly to the injured filly behind him. "What did you call this abomination?"
The blue Alicorn struggled to her feet and looked down at the ground. "I-" She began weakly. "I-"
"SPEAK UP!" Glare barked at his daughter.
The young Alicorn stifled a sob and spoke more clearly.
"I call it the night....."