//------------------------------//
// Freedom 
// Story: DLairgkht World 
// by Groupiegatalo 
//------------------------------//

	Twilight lands before the old castle of ruins, as Rainbow likes to call it, and begins walking, her hooves echoing across the cobblestone floor. It was always nice to get away from Ponyville. Ever since she got her castle and she became known as the demon slayer she now finds herself with a lot more duties and crowds.   
But today. Today she is going to relax as she pleases. All her friends are at home resting up from the tiring work. They've been busy rebuilding the destroyed houses from Tirek's blast that, regretfully, destroyed her home. She look around the castle taking in the tapestry and all what remains of the once glorious castle. She considered having her castle rebuilt like this one and maybe with a bigger library. But that would require a lot more work that she doesn't want her friends and people of Ponyville to go through.
She dismisses the thought as she continues her walk into the castle. The one place that has always caught her interest is that of the throne room. Like Celestia's and Luna's current castle the windows, though broken and barely understandable, of the ruined castle show events of the past on them. 
One of her favorites is that of a creature's leg and beside it lights wavering up. She doesn't know what it is about the broken glass, but it feels her with curiosity to truly figure out the mystery of it all. She walks closer to the window feeling even more drawn to it today. She knows she came to do some reading on how to be a good alicorn mentor, but. 
She presses a hoof against the glass wishing she could go back in time to see what the glass once was or to even see what the even was that made this picture appear. 
"You know Twilight." A sing song voice says from above her making her jump back and stare up, "Curiosity is how most things get started as well as end."
There's a certain tang in the owner's voice, one Draconequus voice, a bit of sadness and pain is there as he too looks upon the glass. 
Does he know about the? Her thoughts are interrupted by Discord, "Before you ask. Yes, I do know what used to be here. It could still be here, but that would be even crueler than what happened. Hopefully he has found rest high above..." 
Discord now looking longingly at the window floats in front of the window and rubs a hand across the broken parts of the window, "Yet to be forgotten has been crueler... Tell me, Twilight... How much do you know of our history?"
"As much as Celestia taught me. Why? She said she had left out nothing of the past except what needed to be. Even now she's telling me a lot more than she told be back than... Does it have to do with."
"I'll let you decide that. For now I have a lunch to catch." Discord says as a basket flies by his head and through the opening of the window.
He snaps his fingers and becomes a ranger complete with a butterfly net, "Ta ta for now Twilight! Oh, and I should warn you. The way you go and the path you take towards the mystery will be painful. You will have to bleed for what you seek and cheer for what you have lost."
Before she can even ask, Discord flies off to capture his lunch that is flying for unknown reasons. Such is the nature of the chaos god. She shakes her head not understanding what Discord would ever mean. Sometimes its clear as day and others it just seems like gibberish with an hidden intent. It's almost like he can see the events about to talk fold before they even happen. 
Fluttershy, her yellow pegasus friend, told her that he said he didn't see the events coming. Yet from what she has seen. Even with how "reformed" he is she still doesn't trust him fully. He recently got to explain why he did what he did and we insured him this it's not imprisonment. But now as she thinks back to it. He seemed to react to the words imprisonment strongly. And even Celestia and Luna seemed effected by it.  
She sighs shaking her head, "Discord, Why can't you be more simple."
She leaves the throne room and heads straight for the library. At least she can think about what he has said. She begins to levitate through books as soon as she walks in. Eventually she starts stacking books on the history of the past around her. She stops once she has a reasonable pile around her. Some 10,000 books. All about the small history events and events that have changed the world to what it is now. She begins reading scanning through the pages recalling many things Celestia has said along with the books she was made to read. 
"There is no difference... it's just a useless review now..." She says massaging her temples the best she could while flipping through pages, "Maybe I should just ask Celestia."
She turns around to see the sun has gone down and the moon has taken its place. She flinches knowing that Spike must be worried sick about her. Than again Spike would hopefully remember what she told him before she left out. After all he should know good and well about her reading habit. Thought he doesn't like her to be out in the everfree and she can agree with him. Weird things happen at night.
Another reason why she doesn't like being out here late is the everfree is a very dangerous place. The everfree is almost like a conivore itself. And the castle, the castle belongs to the everfree. She rises from the floor and starts putting the books away. She starts heading for the entrance and decides to take one last stop at the throne room to admire the glass. 
"Nothing I read helps reveal the glass..."
She lights her horn as the room is darker at night. Recently magic torches have been put up to light up the castle at night just in case this ever happened. Yes, not a single torch went into a lot of rooms. Like exhibit A, the throne room. She walks to the glass again the light giving the glass an even more ominous glow making the mystery even more interesting. 
She shakes her head and decides this mystery is too big to be left alone. And now she has the time to figure It out and she was going to use it! She heads back to the library at a brisk pace and begins her reading once again. Sleep will have to wait along with Spike. 



Morning rises as Twilight does. Books lay all around her some opened others still closed upon a less daunting pile. She groans and stretches out her wings to relieve them of the numb feeling from sleeping on the floor.
All through the night she had dreams of secrets that might be unfolded to her if she tries hard enough. She saw what she imagined as aliens and untampered spells never used before buried in the castle somewhere. Other times nightmares of horrors released by her onto this world all because of her curiosity. She shivers at the thoughts that run through her mind as she remembers her dreams, of the many spells, and the horrors that could be found and/or improved upon. It's like a wet dream to Twilight both ways. 
She shudders and fluffs out her stiffing wings before she begins preening them. 
She has gotten better at keeping her image up even when studying and working hard. All thanks to Rarity and her insistent pestering. She never really understood why she had to always keep a good look even when people aren't looking at her. Though its more often than not she finds ponies looking into the library. 
She shakes her head so she may return to the task at hand. 
She begins to levitate the rest of the books when one in particular catches her eye. She levitates it to herself and reads the content. Which is a series of blank pages. She puffs up her cheeks and is about to complain when her stomach grumbles defiantly. 
Food She thinks to herself remembering the basics of life.
She giggles to herself as she puts away the many books in their right places. It takes her a while or more like two hours, but she completes the task and leaves the castle bringing along the yellow book as well. Flying towards Ponyville, she examines the book. It's yellow and has Celestia's cutie mark upon the front cover of it. It bares symbols as well that she can't really make out.
She starts to consider it Celestia's journal and how it may be protected with a spell to prevent prying eyes, Luna or spies, from seeing its content. She smiles thinking of all the things that may be written in it.
"Watch out Twi!" A familiar voice calls out beside her.
Twilight looks up in time and dive bombs into the dirt to miss ramming into a building. She stumbles in the dirt and stops on her back and with a head ache, "Nice crash Twilight. What's got you so distracted?"
Twilight looks for her book to find it laying beside her.
"Well, I found a book and it may or may not belong to a young Celestia... Though the pages are blank."
The pony in the air above her is a rainbow manned blue pagasus that is one of Twilight's bestest friends, as she puts it, and most loyal friend. Hence why she is the element of loyalty. She has also been given the rank of the top enforcer for Twilight's own guard unit that is still being built up. 
"Huh... Think it might be a diary?" Rainbow suggests eyeing the book with interest, "I wonder what all types of juicy secrets are in there."
"Oh please Rainbowdash. Your starting to sound like Rarity." Twilight says fluffing out her wings.
Rainbowdash lands and chuckles, "Hey, every girl got to know a secret or two."
Twilight nods her head and starts walking towards her new home. Rainbow walks along side her.
"So you been at the Castle of Ruins the entire time huh?"
"Yes Rainbow. I've been looking more into demons and the past of late. There is still a lot of things we don't know about. Equestria and I would like to be better prepared this time in case something does happen. Again of demon nature.." Twilight says glancing at the book every so often as if it would just simply disappear. 
"Riiiight. So you figure there's like some type of magic on the book that won't let you see its words. What if you're meant to wright in it to see stuff?"
Twilight stops and looks at Rainbow with a giant smile on her face, "I'm so glad I got you into reading!"
Rainbow pumps out her chest, "I learned about something like that in a Darry Hotter book where he had to."
"Let's not worry about that! Come on!" Twilight says galloping off towards the tree castle.



Twilight and Rainbow lay in Twilight's room staring at the book. First to make sure that she has in fact done everything she could with magic that she knew Twilight casts a few de warding spells on the book as well as other spells to make hidden things appear. When none of that work it was time to test out Rainbow's theory but at the same time Twilight grew afraid that if they did test it out and it turned out to be wrong that it could lead to trouble. Plus, the more she thought about it the more she realized how insensible it sounded. Perhaps it was the stress of trying to figure out the book that was making her desperate.
"So you're sure this might work?" Twilight asks not really sure of herself.
"If it doesn't work it doesn't work. At least you'll know that you tried. That's what you told me remember?"
Twilight smiles shaking her head. Rainbow was getting smarter as the days are growing old. Twilight levitates the ink and feather closer to her and prepares to write, "What should I write?"
"In the book Darry wrote hello."
Twilight would voice out how silly all this is, but the nagging voice in her head. Twilight sighs and does it. She writes the words hello in the book and waits for something to happen. After what seems like the most intense minute the words disappear before words appear.
"Password incorrect?" Rainbow says scrunching up her face at the book, "So you have to write down a password to unlock the pages?"
"Seems so..." Twilight says nodding her head, "Go gather the girls. We're going on a hunt in the Castle of Ruins!"
"Alright! About time we finally did something else other than work our flanks on nothing important!" Rainbow says standing up and flying out the room.
Twilight could feel herself getting closer and closer to the end of this mystery. 



Twilight stands in between all of her friends. Rainbow on her right and an orange earth mare named Applejack who wears her cow stallion hat wherever she goes. She's also the element of honesty and the most honest pony of them all. That's why whenever Twilight has a tough decision for something she goes to Applejack. Thankfully the mare has been really good at it of late. Behind Applejack is a yellow pegasus with pink mane and tail. Her mane covers a part of her face. Her name is Fluttershy and she represents the element of kindness. And the last one of their group is a white unicorn with purple mane and tail. It's styled in an elegant way that you wouldn't have thought that she was in fact the element of generosity. But both Fluttershy and Rarity show their elements the best way they can. 
Unfortunately the last element was not with them. Pinkie was currently with the royal bakers learning new recipes to help out with as well as testing the royal sweet makers. 
"Alright girls! We're here to search the castle for any type of password hint we can find. Me Rainbow and Fluttershy will check out the library since we can fly up to the tops just like Celestia and Luna could. Rarity go to each of the rooms and use your sense of fashion to figure out if anything seems odd in the room or might lead to a secret place okay?"
"Right!" She says with a salute. 
"Applejack. I want you to check everything around here for anything we have missed. Go down to the element tree if you have to."
"You can count on me!" She says taking off. 
Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Rainbowdash head into the building ready for the search that could take them hours or mere minutes. Rarity breaks off wishing the other three luck and to keep a keen eye on Twilight in case she starts having one of her usual panic attacks while looking for something important. Twilight, Fluttershy, and Rainbow walk into the library and begin to fly around and look for secrets. They move the books around seeing if they open a hidden passage way of some sorts. Even though Twilight really hated having to see all these books mistreated and placed in incorrect order she made herself stay calm. Even if it was starting to get to her, but in order to figure out a mystery sacrifices had to be made.
Unfortunately.



It takes hours. Almost an entire day. They had to stop because Twilight neglected her eating habits so Rainbow had to fly her back to Ponyvillle so she could eat, or more like be force fed food. After that they came back and everyone was in the main area before the throne room. 
"Girls what's going on?" Twilight asks rubbing bits of bread off her muzzle.
"We think we may have found the password." Applejack says.
"Really! Alright let's see if it works!"
They all nod their heads and follow behind Twilight to the library where she had left the book, more reluctantly than she did when forced to eat, when she was taken away. They all gather around the circle table where Twilight opens the book and levitates a feather and ink to get ready.
"Alright what is it?"
"It's not a word. It's something you have to do. You have to give your blood to the book." Applejack says eyeing the book.
"My what!?"
"You have to bleed. Apparently only alicorn blood can make the words appear. I found out about it while in Luna's room on the other side of the castle. Apparently she wrote down a lot of things on the walls of her secret room to remember things she would easily forget. We also found more disturbing things about her as well... If you want to go see it we can go show you."
"It's fine. We'll see it later. For now, we need to make me bleed."
Twilight forms a knife with magic and presses against her foreleg. She puts it over the book and lets blood slip down her arm onto the page watching what may happen. The others watch, two of them wondering why she knew such a spell. 
The blood soaks into the page and disappears. Twilight heals the wound to make it stop bleeding yet it does not disappear. The page reads password accepted and words begin to fade in. Twilight scans the two pages in front of her reading their details. The last two pages talk about the destruction of the castle. She flips all the way to the front of the journal.
"Oh my Celestia..." Twilight breathes out, "This is dated in an era I've never even heard of... year 4000 A.D? I've never heard of a thing like that..."
Twilight flips through the pages and stops when a certain one catches her eyes. It's a crude picture of a throne and what look like a hole under it, "Girls... we're going to the throne room..."
Twilight leaves first while going back to the front page and slowly reads while the girls follow behind silently. Rainbow can easily see Twilight's face and can tell she's absorbing everything. And by the look on her face she's not liking most of it. They reach the throne room and walk in. Twilight eyes the throne and uses her magic to wrap magic around it. She moves it to the right almost throwing it away. 
"So it is right..." Twilight says walking to the hole where the throne used to be.
The hole, of course, is smaller than the throne, but big enough to allow them access down there. Twilight looks at Applejack and motions for her to get on. Twilight has always started being more cautious since recent event involving her friends. Applejack gets onto Twilight's back and Rainbow caries Rarity down. The friends descend into the hole. Twilight takes point using her horn as a light.
"I wonder what's down here that they had to keep it a secret?" Rarity asks looking up.
"Something not worth mentioning." Twilight mumbles angrily still mulling over what she recently read.
The descent takes longer than expected. When they touch down they are greeted by the darkness around them except the small glow of Twilight's horn. Rarity ignites her horn to help out the lighting problem a bit. They look around to see cells or more like cages. 
"So this must have been the dungeon." Rainbow breathes out, "I had always wondered where it was."
They walk in a group looking into the different cells seeing no signs of it ever being in use or just not being able to see in it at all. They were just empty forgotten about cells. Till they reach the end. 
Rarity lets out a scream as she backs away from one of the cells. The others join around it and inside lie multiple skeletons untouched by time. The forms resemble a type of creature that had fingers like a monkey yet taller and without a tail.
Two of them are in a sitting positon against the wall. The third is laying on the ground limbs stretched out staring at the ceiling. The scene feels the group with a massive sadness. Chokes of sobs sound from Fluttershy as she looks away. Twilight moves back, "Come on girls... Maybe we can figure out what all is in here."
They move forward with Rarity in the back comforting Fluttershy as best as she can. The girls keep moving down the long hallway looking into each and every cell. Inside each are more of those weird skeletons that none of them can explain. Some seem to be laying on top of each other, laying in the cots that were provided to them inside of there, and others are splayed with missing bones and cracks along the bones. 
A sad and dreadful sight for all of them. All the while fury in Twilight increases wondering why Celestia had never mentioned none of this. Not even about the diary or anything. It wasn't like she was protecting the ponies or anything from what she can tell. Celestia had once told her that all would be revealed once she became of age. Now here she is still in the dark about everything. She grinds her teeth and stops before yelling. 
"Why! Why don't I know any of this!!" She yells slamming a hoof into one of the bars beside her startling the girls behind her. 
"Twilight calm down." Rainbow says coming up on Twilight's left side.
"How can I! All of theses creature are dead! From what? I don't know! Only Celestia and Luna know and they won't tell me anything as you can already tell! They didn't tell me I would become a alicorn and I think Celestia knew since the beginning and so did Luna! I've been kept in the dark for way to long and I want some damned answers!" 
Twilight continues down the hall her mind racing and raging at the entire world. The girls look at each other and than follow after Twilight afraid of what she might do. They wander the halls and go down stairs before Twilight stops again and this time doesn't rage. She hangs her head and shakes it, "That's it... there's nothing down her. Everything is dead. The knowledge they once held, the secrets they've held were taken to the grave. Or at least in a grave in Celestia's and Luna's mind. I doubt Cadance would know about any of this..."
Twilight turns and faces the girls, "When we get the chance we are going to speak with Celestia and Luna about all of this. I really need your support on this..."
The girls nod their heads and begin to walk away when Twilight whips around. 
"What?"
The entire group is quiet as they stare at Twilight. Something very faint catches their ears. Twilight bursts into a gallop down the halls. With the girls, except Rainbow: naturally, trying to keep in-suit. They come to a broken down door and head inside where Twilight is staring at one of the creatures that isn't made of bones. Instead hairless skin, except for it's head and parts of it's face, and brown baggy ripped leather that covers up most of him. Chains lock around it's thin wrists and ankles and it's staring Twilight straight in the eyes with it's own grayish eyes. 
"You. I don't remember one like you.... Though I'm surprised I can recall anything... I had hoped another had been freed and was actually freeing everyone. Or even you might have been the other that had escaped and finally came back for us. Or what might be left of us." The creature shakes it's head the chains rattling with it, "But no. Only another damned Alicorn. Neither Celestia nor Luna but a new one. What do you want? Haven't Celestia and Luna already done enough. Or are you here to infuse your magic into me? Or perhaps you've found more of my race and wish me to hear and watch them die as well? I bet that helps you get off at night doesn't it."
"Wha...What? I-I-I don't know what your."
"Don't know? Maybe they never told you. Perhaps your too new. It wouldn't surprise me any. Always with the killer surprises. Celestia said she was going to wipe us from history. Looks like she succeeded. Didn't she Flint. " He looks up towards the ceiling shaking his head, "And here I thought we done something great. So your new I take it? Not as big as the others and I can't feel magic emanating off your body like Celestia and Luna so I guess war times are over. Tell me. On the way down here are there any left alive that called out to you when they heard the faintness of your voice or even felt the presences of you."
"No. They're all dead.... I'm so sorry that you."
"Sorry! I don't want to hear that from your kind! Hearing sorry from a pony is like receiving sorry from a bully that just stole your sandwich and gives it back a quarter of it! It's empty and meaningless... Sorry won't bring back the dead. If I want to hear sorry from ponies I would want Celestia and Luna to come down here and say! No, no. Even their apology would mean nothing at this point... Nothing at all..." He stares daggers at Twilight, "Now leave me to rot. I pray that I die soon so I may tell the others that have left before me of this joke."
Rairty and Fluttershy have backed out of the room leaving a depressed lowered head Twilight, Rainbowdash, and Applejack beneath the creature.
"Maybe we should go..." Rarity breathes out not daring to look at the creature, "Maybe this is why they've never mentioned it Twilight."
Twilight nods her head and stands to her full height her magic flares before a blast shatters the shackles around the creatures ankles and wrists, "Let me grant you this freedom than. I don't know what Celestia and Luna have done to you and your kin, but I WILL find out."
The creatures falls to his hand and knees catching itself out of reflex to prevent it from falling to it's face. The lack of use of it's appendages have a toll as he falls to his side breathing heavily from the effort to catch himself. Fluttershy sees this and quickly moves closer, "Are you alright."
The creature takes in a deep breath, "No, I will never be alright... Please leave me. I just want to die... So unless you can kill me. Just leave."
Fluttershy looks shocked at the creature than at the others. They have the same face of surprise as she does. They say nothing as they walk away.
"Wait. I want you to do something."
Twilight turns around, "What?"
"I want you to tell Celestia and Luna that an old friend is coming. Soon."
"Are you sure your in condition to actually move?" Fluttershy asks concern in her voice.
"I will be soon. I've always been.... Always..." He closes his eyes and he lets his ragged breath even out, "You'll see. I'll make you all see."
He mutters the last bit to himself as the ponies file out of the area leaving the creature to itself. The strange cream colored, almost hairless, except for the few points of black fur that comes down from the top of his head over his right eye; gray eyed creature slowly regains his strength within the dark cell cherishing the fact that the light from Twilight's horn will become a brighter light that gives warmth that will shine down upon him.