//------------------------------// // Prologue // Story: Pathway to Oblivion // by supersaiyanmikito //------------------------------// “I must say Twilight, a camping trip is just what I needed.” Said a white unicorn. “Don’t forget to thank Pinkie for these amazing marshmallows.” Said a cyan pegasus, chomping down 3 black blobs. “No problem Dashie!” Replied the pink pony. “Lucky for me it’s slow season, so Big Mac can handle the farm on his own for now.” Said the orange pony. “I’ve been needing this.” “Umm, I’d like to thank Dash for finding this quite little field…” Said a butter yellow pegasus. “Don’t mention it Fluttershy, I’ve flown over this a thousand times and thought this would be a nice spot, just a long open field with nothing but grass and a few trees. You know what? I should practice here! There nothing that could possibly get in my way. That way I don’t keep crashing into Twi’s house.” “This place also gives me a nice view of the stars!” Said the lavender unicorn looking into her telescope. They continued to talk for a while, going on random conversations. “Ya know girls, we should probably hit the hay. It’s getting quite dark.” Said Applejack. “I agree Applejack, I really need my beauty sleep.” Replied Rarity heading into her tend. Everyone was getting into they’re tent then Rainbow noticed Twilight was still at her telescope. “Yo Twi, you coming?” “I’ll be in later. I have a few more things I want to look at.” Replied Twilight, still looking in her telescope. “Ok… Goodnight I guess…” Rainbow slumped into the tent with everyone else. Twilight continued to look at the stat for several minutes before finally coming off to look at her notebook. “That’s another constellation down, just one left…” She looked though her telescope again. She looked for a second then turned it a bit. She retracted her eye from the peep hole. “Agh! It’s no good, I can’t see it from here…” She looked around and noticed a large hill in the distance. “Maybe I can see it from there?” She started packing up until the stopped to look back at her friend’s tent. “Meh, it will only be a few minutes…” So she finished packing and set off for the hill. She had to admit, it was a pretty nice camp site, nothing but grass and trees for miles. There was also a tiny dirt path that seemed to never end. It’s funny though, she doesn’t recall seeing this place on any map. Regardless, she still had some research to do. She finally reached the top of the big hill and set up her portable telescope. She stood looking through for a good 10 minutes then went back to her notebook. “Aaaaand, done! That’s all for tonight. I should probably head back to camp.” She packed up and set off to camp. On the way back, she began to think a little about them. “You know, if Celestia never told me to go to Ponyville, I would have never have met those amazing ponies and I would probably still be at Canterlot looking at the stars from my room.” She let out a small sigh. “Sometimes, it feels like I haven’t fully thanked them for all they gave me. They have all done so much but I still feel like I haven’t done enough for them…” Finally, Twilight reached the camp site... At least she thought she did. She was standing in the very spot camp was a few minutes ago. "Applejack!" There was no response. "Rarity!" Again, there was no response. "RAINBOW! PINKIE!" There was still nothing. Twilight slouched over on the ground. "I can't believe it! I was so focused on my research, I forgot where the campsite was! AGH!" She slammed her hooves on the ground. "I really am a terrible friend..." Eventually, Twilight stood up and continued looking for camp. She searched for 20 minutes before coming across a small crossroad. “Along the road ahead, lies something you need.?” Twilight jumped at the mysterious voice. She quickly turned to see the source of the voice but there was nothing there. Swiveling her head back and forth, she searched but all she saw was the path she has previously walked upon. Suddenly, she turned back and saw a mysterious figure in front of her. It stood several feet above her and adorned a black robe with a hood. “However – in order to claim it-” Twilight stood silently, unmoving… “You must lose something that is dear to you.” The figure turned around and as he started moving, he vanished. Twilight tried to chase it down by follow the path it started on. She continued to run… and run… and run… She ran as long as she could. What did this guy know about her? She couldn’t let him get away. Her hooves began to ache and she felt like she could collapse at any moment then something happened. The world around her began to darken. The brown road and green grass was started to disappear into a state of nothingness. Twilight slowed her pace as she entered the darkness. She couldn’t see any more at this point. She was surrounded by nothing but darkness. She looked around, hoping to find and exit. Instead, she found something much more intriguing. As if out of thin air, a new place was visible. She walked along the red and blue dirt path to find one of the most interesting sights she had ever seen. Standing before her was large castle. It bore a tannish-brown color and a green trim along the roofs. The first thing Twilight noticed was how unorganized the castle looked. The design was a total mess and calling it a maze would be an understatement. The structure was all over the place, buildings were on their site, some pieces could be seen hanging upside down barely hanging on a small sideways tower. There was even a small structure over to the right on a completely separate island. The most menacing part had to be the sky. It had an eerie mix of blue, green and white swirling into an endless vortex. Twilight was about to turn back into a flash appeared in front her face. It could only be described as a spark she felt once before. She didn’t want to have to go into the mysterious castle. She would get lost for sure, but she felt she had to. Twilight decided to suck it up and approached the castle. With all her might, she pushed the door open. The door itself was quite massive and took a lot of energy to open. Eventually she got it open just enough to slide in. When she got in, she was surprised to see the inside was the cleanest and most pristine palace she had ever seen. The hallway was pure white with a row a pillars on both sides. There was a noticeable theme to interior. The wall, pillars and statues were all adorned with white roses. It was incredibly beautiful but eerie all at the same time. “What is this place?” Twilight said to herself. “And why do I feel like… Like I should be here?” She walked further down the hall closing in on another door, and then she stopped. “Perhaps I should close the door behind me?” As she turned around, she was greeted by the same character that had stopped her at the crossroad. He stood there in his black cloak with the door slowly closing behind him. Twilight took a battle stance. “That’s it, who are you!?” The figure slowly walked toward her. “Alright, you asked for it!” Twilight threw her head forward point her horn at the figure. “Take this!” The figure stood there unmoving. “Huh?” Twilight looked up at her horn then threw it forward again, still nothing. “What going on?” Twilight consecrate harder, her cheeks turning red. Eventually, she stopped to get some air. “Why isn’t my magic working?” “Isn’t it obvious?” Spoke the hooded man. “When you entered this castle, you lost every spell and ability you ever knew…” Twilight stepped back. “In this place, to find is to lose, and to lose, is to find… That is the way of Castle Oblivion…” “Castle… O-O-Oblivion?” Stuttered Twilight. With crackle, the figure flashed out of view and reappeared behind Twilight, in front of the next door. “Here, you will meet people you have known in the past... And you will meet people you miss...” “’People I... Miss?’” Twilight gasped. “My friends! You mean my friends are here?” “If your friends are what you seek…” Suddenly, the figure dashed towards Twilight phasing right through her. She dashed towards him, using her horn like a lance but the figure vanished and reappeared in front of the door again. “What was that all about?” “I took a little peek at your memories… And with them, I made this…” The figure held up a large blue card with 3 jaded corners. “To reunite with those you hold dear-” The hooded man flicked the card, tossing it at Twilight. To her surprise, her horn lit up and she caught with her magic. She held it up. “What is this, a card?” She held up the card. It has a picture of her Library back in Ponyville. “It’s a promise to your friends… Hold it up to open this door beyond me, and then, you will enter a mysterious new world.” The man stepped out of the way of the door. “Proceed young element bearer, find your friends… And yourself…” FLASH, he was gone, leaving only a quite laugh. Twilight slowly stepped up to the large white door. She stopped for a second to think. “Is what he said true? Are my friends really here in this castle?” She stared at the card. "That would mean..." She sighed. "My friends..." She hesitated for a moment but quickly held the card up high. With a flash, the card was gone and the door slowly opened. Twilight took in a deep breath and walked into the light.