//------------------------------// // Seven - The Key and The Cage // Story: Her Destiny // by Broken //------------------------------// “What is this place?” Asked Trixie, looking around while entering the place. “I don’t know for sure, but it’s awesome!” Twilight replied, squealing like a fangirl as she did the same. Louis brought the pair to the far wing of the cathedral, a place only the caretakers are allowed to enter. It was a huge room, housing several wooden tables and chairs, scattered in-between the large columns sustaining the massive roof. All around the place, a huge number of old-looking shelves covered the walls. They were stuffed with scrolls and tattered books. There were no windows or any kind of opening nearby. “This is a very special place. It’s a branch of the main Canterlot Library dedicated only to house books with more than a thousand of years of existence. The rarest tomes of your nation, from times when Equestria was still divided into the three smaller, racial countries, are all here, secluded from the rest of the world. Only a distinct few are admitted to see them." The gryphon turned around and explained. Twilight’s eyes widened in pure awe, “I can’t believe it!” She yelled, excited, “There’s so much knowledge here! So much to learn!” “I’m sorry to burst your bubble, Sparkle,” Trixie interrupted her happiness spurt, “but we can’t stay to read all those scrolls and old tomes. We are kinda in a hurry here.” “Oh! You’re right…” Pouted the alicorn. Louis giggled over Twilight’s behavior, “Let’s try to focus on our task of finding information about the alicorn race, my dear mistress.” She sighed, “I guess we have no other choice.” “Where do we start?” Trixie asked, looking over the infinite amount of shelves around them. “That’s a good question…” Twilight answered, leading a hoof to her chin and rubbing it with a pensive frown. The gryphon did the same, "Let’s split up and start with the subjects that are more obviously related." The three scattered across the huge room, each one choosing a random shelf to search through. After a few moments of silence, Trixie yelled from the left side, “What? What’s this? Those books aren’t written in our language!” Twilight shouted back from her side after opening a tattered tome, and noticing she could barely understand what was written on it, “Trixie’s right! What is this? It looks like ancient unicornian…" Louis tried to explain, “I’ve told you girls that those tomes and scrolls are really old. I can translate a few, especially the ones written in foreign languages, but the those in unicornian and old dialects from the pony nations…” “Don’t worry!” Twilight chirped, “I can translate it roughly.” Trixie blushed, “I can… Help you guys with the lighting?” Both Twilight and Louis giggled. The alicorn trotted near her companion and planted a kind hoof over her shoulder, “I guess you'd better leave this boring task with us, Trixie.” The hours flew by, while Twilight and Louis searched through the scrolls and books for any kind of information regarding the mysterious living Gods. However, even with the invaluable help from the wise gryphon scholar, nothing worth of note came out from the shadows. Trixie was observing a sand clock from over one of the table almost finishing to empty one of its sides, her expression as bored as her face was capable of being. "You weren’t kidding when you said this was boring, Sparkle…” From the table next to her, Twilight giggled, embarrassed by how long the research was taking, “I’m sorry, Trixie.” “That’s alright. I think I prefer this than being chased by the army.” Concluded the mare “Me too. How much time has passed since we got here?” The alicorn asked, looking towards Louis, his eyes still glued to an old, yellow scroll. He stopped to turn his attention to Twilight, “I’m not sure… How many times did you flip the sand clock, Miss Lulamoon?” "Three times." He nodded, “Three hours then. That’s a lot of time, although I guess you and Spike are used to spending even more time than this, right my dear mistress?" Twilight smiled widely. "Indeed! I’m glad you were an owl with nocturnal habits, Louis. I would feel so bad right now for keeping you up until so late.” He giggled, tidying his glasses with a claw, “It took me quite the training, in fact.” Twilight sighed with exasperation, “It’s a little disappointing to search for such a long time and not find anything, though… It’s even more irritating to not be able to fully understand what some scrolls are saying. I guess I found only works of fiction and minor, outdated, scientific research." “I had no luck either, I’m afraid. Nothing but several schemes about medical procedures and a few books on anatomy…” The gryphon complained, leading a claw to his face, and rubbing one eye. “We have to agree that those things have immense historical value. Many of those works could have been the base for any modern knowledge we have at the present era. Still, they are useless for us right now.” Twilight concluded, closing the tome in front of her, and pouting. Trixie retained her uninterested gaze over the two for the entirety of the complaint between the learned alicorn and gryphon. “I’m just amazed by how you two are able to bear this horrible stench of burnt wax!" The alicorn and gryphon immediately shifted their sight to the unsettling quantity of candles that were spread across the room. “I guess we're both used to it. I’ve lost count of how many nights we stayed up until late reading and studying with some candles lit to provide a smidgen of light..." Twilight answered before her gryphon friend. “It’s a shame that this place doesn’t have any windows, Miss Lulamoon. Perhaps you would rather rest somewhere else while we keep going with the research?” Asked Louis. “Suit yourself, gryphon. I don’t trust spies, let alone the clawed, half lion types. Twilight isn’t safe, and I will make sure that you’re not going to backstab us.” “Trixie!” Twilight's expression contorted into a severely mad frown, “Don’t treat Louis like this! He’s a valuable friend!” “Friends doesn’t spy on friends! They don’t hide secrets, let alone identities from each other. This feathered snake could have fooled you for two whole years, and yet you're all happy-go-lucky now that he's unmasked himself and you actually should be cautious!" Yelled Trixie, with an even more enraged expression. “What do you know about friendship, Trixie?” Twilight yelled, irritated, “Do you even have any friends?” “That’s none of your business, Sparkle! I’m trying to protect that purple neck of yours, but if you’re going to simply put it on the axe’s way, then count me out!” Immediately, before Twilight could rebuke the last sentence coming from her companion, Louis coughed loudly, calling attention from both of them. "Miss Lulamoon, you may be correct in asserting that my dear mistress should be more cautious around even her old friends from now on. This world wants her dead and they know her weakness. Thank you for protecting her like this..." “Louis…” Breathed Twilight. The gryphon raised an eyebrow, his face becoming serious and his gaze locked at Trixie, "“However, she’s still a dear pony to me. I would never do anything to harm her, even if that meant to resign my position as a retainer of my lord.” Trixie exchanged some not so friendly glances with him for a few seconds before quickly turning her head away. “You actually scare me, gryphon. Especially because you’re good with words…” She hopped out of her chair, and trotted towards the entrance. Worried, Twilight asked, “Where are you going?” "I'm going out to breathe some fresh air before all this burnt wax makes me insane!" Twilight sighed, observing her companion trotting through a corridor that was formed by several columns in the middle of the room. “Why is she so ill-tempered?” Whispered Twilight, hanging her head low. Louis walked near the alicorn, and kindly covered her withers with a a wing, shooting a conforting smile towards her, “Because she cares for you, and fears losing you as a friend." “I guess she’s behaving like an overprotective older sister, right?” “Exactly. Respect her wishes, my dear mistress as those feelings of admiration and love she has for you are genuine.” “Hey! You two!” Trixie's yell cut through their tender moment like a razor. She seemed to have stopped midway before trotting completely to the exit. Twilight and Louis followed her to the spot where she had stopped. “What’s the matter, Trixie?” Asked the alicorn, her tone emitting a sense of worry. “Louis, you’re translating the foreign tomes, right?” Trixie had her gaze locked at the top of a column, for some reason. “Yes,” Louis replied, trying to figure out what the mare eyed with so much attention. In no time, Twilight quickly found a small symbol, something similar to a tiny lightning bolt engraved on the column Trixie was fixated in. “What’s that symbol?” Asked Twilight, she too regarding the strange marking. Ignoring Twilight’s question, Trixie turned to Louis. "Have you found anything written in Old Draconian?” The question prompted the gryphon to put a claw against his chin and rub it, accessing his memory bank, “No. I’m pretty sure that there was nothing in Old Draconian whatsoever…” “What’s so strange about that lightning bolt symbol, Trixie?” The alicorn inquired, restless to sate her curiosity. “It’s no lighting bolt. You do know that my runes are of Draconian nature, don't you?" Replied Trixie. Twilight nodded. “Yes, I’m aware.” “Runes?” Louis asked, also curious about the situation. “Trixie is a very skilled Rune Caster, Louis. In fact, she’s the first unicorn in history to truly dominate the ‘perfect rune casting’; a theory from one of Starswirl’s books.” Answered Twilight, proud of her friend. The unicorn smirked and replied, "I will take your eargerness to tell him about my art as a compliment, Sparkle." Twilight blushed and lowered her head in order to hide her flushed cheeks, "I'm sorry, Trixie." Returning to the subject, Trixie moved her gaze back to the rune sculpted on the column, "That symbol is a rune. Sigel, the rune of the sun." Louis locked his view towards the place where the two mares were looking at, "I see. But that's strange... Why`s there a rune here?” “I’m not sure. Runes were spoken by the dragons of old, from time immemorial. It was their language; however, at some point in history they stopped speaking and writing in this language, exchanging it for ours. Nopony knows why this happened." replied Trixie, with a monotone and worried voice. “Well, we are at a three-thousand-years-old temple...” Twilight interrupted, scrutinizing the symbol further with absolute attention. “Did the dragons still spoke that language at the time?” “Probably not. The dragons abandoned the runic alphabet before even this temple was constructed.” Concluded Trixie. Louis seemed to be as mesmerized as Twilight by that curious design. “This is completely out of place. There’s no other marking similar to that one on any structure here, inside or outside. By the looks of it, it’s not made recently. Rather, it was here all along, from the time of its construction..." "Trixie, you said it meant sun?" Asked Twilight, edging closer to look. “Yeah, it reads Sigel, and it means sun. It’s used to conjure strong flames and heat based spells.” Twilight pondered in silence for a few seconds, trying to process the situation. Did that strange rune had anything to do with her quest? The books weren’t the answer, but an attraction such as the Nameless Cathedral couldn’t be hiding secrets from its visitors for three thousand years, could it? How many explorers and adventurers would have found that rune right there, and tried to play with it, hoping for a magic secret passage to appear out of nowhere and show them all the answers for the many mysteries it housed? Still… “Maybe it's tied to Princess Celestia?” Asked Trixie to Louis, “The sun is her biggest symbol.” “It would be even more strange. This place has not displayed any kind of religious motif so far. It was constructed before any legends about the Two Sisters even existed." Affirmed Louis. “Don’t you guys think its funny that there's a sun rune in a place where no sunlight ever entered?” Asked Twilight, out of the blue, calling both her friend's attention. The gryphon and the mare exchanged glances. “You’re right…” Replied Trixie, rubbing her chin with a fore hoof. Louis nodded in accordance, "“That’s a little strange, yes. The original design of those inner chambers was never modified for three thousand years, so it’s true that this sun rune never received sunlight, at least if it was carved after the temple was constructed." An unconfortable silence suddenly befell the room... “Are we really going to just let it sit here, as if we didn’t see it?” Twilight pressed further, trying to spark any idea from the gryphon or from her unicorn companion. “The problem is that we don’t have any idea of what this rune is." Explained Louis, with a disapointed expression. Twilight was dead set on obtaining an answer. She turned to Trixie, and begun rambling, “I’m not a specialist, but if I recall correctly, runes are symbols made for invocation. They’re kinda like a circuit, that directs your magic towards the spell, but in order for the spell to work, you need to make some sort of power run through it, normally, which is normally your inner magic." “She’s right." Replied Trixie, also turning her attention to the gryphon, “That’s how runes work in a nutshell. It’s not so simple though, as you need to make the right type of magic run through it, and that’s what makes rune casting so impractical for most spellcasters. It requires a lot of effort to learn the different types of raw magic power that you can create using your neutral inner magic.” Louis smiled, gazing over the rune again. “If this rune is an incomplete spell, sitting here for three thousand years waiting for someone to cast the right type of energy to activate it, then it is prone to be hiding something truly valuable." “I think it wouldn’t hurt to try.” Trixie did the same. “Okay!” Twilight chirped, excited, “What kind of energy do you think it can spark that rune, Trixie?” “Heat. Sigel symbols are prone to react to high temperatures.” Replied Trixie. Twilight blinked in rapid succession, wondering how she could do it, “Can you cast some fire, Trixie?” “Don’t be silly! You can’t active a rune using another rune. They are closed circuits, made intentionally to not react to other runes, or it could cause serious side effects to the caster, like uncontrollable chain reactions.” Trixie retorted, displeased. "How much heat do you need for its activation, Miss Lulamoon?" Questioned Louis. "Unless we burn this whole place down, I don't think we can emulate the internal stimuli a rune caster needs in order to start a Sigel spell." Trixie's face turned gloomy. Both the alicorn and the gryphon grew silent, deep in thought... “Can’t you two think about something outside? I don’t know if I will be able to endure this smell of burnt wax much more…” Complained Trixie, once again blocking her nose with one hoof. “It’s still night outside, miss Lulamoon, patrols must be up. It is dangerous for your two to remain on the streets,” Replied Louis. “I can’t believe I will have to wait until the sunrise!” Trixie complained further. Upon hearing the word, Twilight felt as if her brain was just struck with a lightning bolt. “The sun! That’s it!” Twilight yelled, scaring the other two with the sudden outburst. “What?” Trixie asked, looking with a confused gaze over her companion. “Focused sun beams are capable to produce high amounts of heat, aren’t they Louis?” Asked Twilight, grimacing. “Indeed they can. However, as we already stated before, this room does not possess any kind of opening for the sunlight to enter. Besides, it’s still late at night.” “Then, what if we produce an artificial sun beam, using normal magic?” Replied Twilight, her smile going even wider. The gryphon raised an eyebrow, trying to comprehend, “An artificial sun beam? Well… I think it could work, but how are you planning to do it?” “The gryphon is right, Sparkle. If you’re planning to use a spell to create the sunlight, may I remind you that you don’t know how to cast any spell besides telekinesis?” Trixie interrupted, also raising an eyebrow. “I knew one before turning into an alicorn…” Twilight pouted, stopping her explanation for a minute, “It’s not that hard.” “It’s still hopeless if you can’t cast it.” Trixie spurted. Twilight nodded towards her, and smiled again, “That’s why you are going to cast it!" Trixie’s eyes widened in surprise, “Are you nuts? Those spells take at least a month to learn! We don’t have time!” “I know, silly. May I remind you about basic unicorn knowledge? You know… How an unicorn can help other to perform a spell that he or she does not know…” Twilight’s cheeks became flustered, as she remembered about a technique that almost no unicorn ever used due to… Awkward reasons. The same happened with the unicorn. She immediately threw her gaze away, as her face tinged in red from the embarrassment. “Are you out of your mind?” She shouted, expression even more shocked, “You’re not an unicorn anymore! Maybe it will not work!” “We can’t be sure unless we try,” Twilight replied, her lips moving erratically, and her face growing more and more red, “I was a unicorn before, and in theory, it doesn’t work with pegasi and earth-ponies only because they doesn’t have horns. I have one, as you can see.” Louis watched the debacle proceed in silence until now, “May I ask what are you two talking about? I’m not a pony, as you may remember…” Twilight giggled awkwardly. “I think it’s best for you to see, Louis.” “One word about this, Sparkle, and I swear in the name of my ancestors that I will obliterate you!” “Don’t you go thinking that I’m not feeling really strange right now, Trixie!” "I guess I understand the whole ‘awkward reason’ for not using this, but I don’t get what purpose it has…” commented Louis. Trixie and Twilight stood in front of each other. Their heads were close enough for their horns to touch each other in a ‘x’ shaped fashion. Their muzzles were about to collide… “Well…” Twilight begun, her vision glued to Trixie’s purple eyes trying to desperately look away, “Horns are magnificent things you see. They are really sensitive to magic, and they are able to sense and share magic energy and even thoughts, when they intersect like this…” “However...” Trixie continued, “We don’t normally go intersecting horns with other unicorns because… Only lovers or close family members do it… It’s a really particular thing, something you may want to share only with a pony you completely trust.” “I will transfer my knowledge about the spell to Trixie’s horn, and she will act as a medium between me and her magic. This way, she will be able to cast it without having to learn the spell.” Concluded Twilight. “I understand. You ponies have some really interesting abilities.” Louis replied, trying his best to avoid any unfortunate comment that could spawn from that situation. “Alright, here we go!” Twilight breathed, closing her eyes and focusing her magic at her horn. Trixie did the same. Purple sparks started to jump out of the alicorn’s longer and pointier horn. Twilight grumbled, as if struggling to keep focused. Trixie’s horn was enveloped in a perfect calm azure magic field. Calm down, the connection is okay, but with all this doubt inside your heart, you will only make this take forever and be really uncomfortable for yourself Twilight heard Trixie’s voice booming inside her head and got a little startled. Trixie? Of course! Who else could it be? I can hear you inside my mind! Our horns are intersected and we are exchanging magic energy right now; it’s only natural that I can hear your thoughts and you can hear mine. You never intersected horns before? Not even with your parents or your brother? If I remember correctly, you come from a family of unicorns, right? Not really... We never felt the need to do so. Not even for experimentation. Sheesh! I'm feeling really awkward to be the first one to enter your mind. C'mon, send me the spell and let's get this over with. Twilight gulped. She never felt so embarrassed before in her whole life. She tried to focus even harder, forcing her magic the old way; however, her efforts were completely in vain, as the sparks produced by her horn only jolted out with more fury. It’s hard! My magic isn’t obeying me! That’s really great! I will help you, but you need to clear your doubts… How old are you? Why do you want to know? Are you actually embarrased to tell me your age? Don't be silly, Sparkle. Just go ahead and tell me! I’m sixteen… Twilight hadn't wanted to reveal her age. She was always respected for her vast knowledge over many different subjects, like a renowed scholar. However, who would respect a wise pony that wasn't even legal yet? You're young. Impressively young for someone with your power, I'm nineteen, and I still think I lost too much time with research. So, being so young and cute, did you ever kiss somepony before? Why is that even relevant? Believe me, it is. Tell me, was there a lucky stallion or mare to taste Celestia's personal student's lips? Twilight remained in mental silence for a few moments, taken aback by Trixie's obnoxious question. Having a lot of friends was easy for her after the first years in Ponyville with the rest of gang, but she still lacked a lot of experiences on the field of romance. Social interactions were hard for her before, and even after opening a lot due to her friendship studies, romance was still... Hard. There is... It was just once, back when I was still living in Canterlot, a few months before coming to Ponyville to start my friendship studies. I was attending a formal prom to celebrate our graduation from The School For Gifted Unicorns, and there was this knight called Cloud Skipper. He offered to be my pair during the waltz, since the stallions were too afraid of my status as Princess Celestia's protegé to come and ask me. We danced and chatted a lot that night, and then when a few mares from my class started to make fun of me because I had never kissed before, I stole a kiss from him. He was a true gentlecolt to not back away, not get mad at me for doing such a stupid thing, he just tagged along and I swear I could see stars, Trixie. However, when we broke, he said that although he loved each second, he was already engaged in a relationship with other mare, one he truly loved, and that he couldn't betray her feelings. Twilight opened her eyes for a brief second, and found something truly interesting happening. The chaotic pink glow coming from her horn was gone, along with the erractic sparks, and a soothing azure aura had taken ahold of her horn. There, there. The magic connection is perfect now. How did you do it? Because you opened up with me. That’s why I was asking those obnoxious questions. We tend to get calmer once we open up with somepony else things we like to hide from others. It’s like sharing a burden, the weight lifts a little, and our doubts clear. It was very clever, Trixie. Even though I feel like thrusting my head in a vase of dirt to escape the embarrassment. Thank you. Now, let’s focus on our task, try to concentrate on the spell again. Twilight did as Trixie suggested, and focused her magic to create the desired spell. Although she would fail, for not knowing exactly which kind of feeling would enable her to produce an artificial sun beam, her strong wish to make it happen traveled from her horn, and entered Trixie’s horn. The point where both horns intersected started to glow with a strong orange light. In seconds, it was so bright that Louis had to look away to not hurt his eyes. From that light, a strong golden beam erupted, going straight to the rune atop the column, igniting the sigil immediately. The black symbol became bright red, as if it was set on fire. “You did it girls!” Louis shouted, cheering. Twilight deactivated the spell, however she didn’t back away. She stared inside of Trixie’s eyes, and whispered, “I hope you don’t laugh at me for being so silly, young and inexperienced…” With the same murmuring voice, her companion replied, "Friends wouldn't." Slowly, they separated their horns, backing away from each other, cheeks still burning with embarrassment. They both looked towards the rune, lit in a red coloration. They watched in awe as the rune begun to react further. From its shape, several golden-reddish straight lines started to quickly spread through the column. They seemed like trails from a circuit board. Whenever they made curves, instead of actually ‘curving’, they followed straight lines, and the shapes they made formed polygons. Those lines begun to travel through the ceiling and the floor, following towards the same direction, aiming to converge on a single place. “What are those lines?” Trixie asked, trying to follow their path with her eyes. “I don’t know!” Twilight shouted, answering, “However, I guess we are about to discover!” The lines finally reached their goal. They converged at the entrance door, and produced a powerful, blinding white light. It was so strong that everyone inside the room had to turn their heads away from the blast, and protect their eyes. That glow slowly dissipated, and they were able to gaze over the entrance once again. The door had become kinda creepy, in fact… It somehow mutated, changing shape, color and material... A pair of doors resembling large stone tablets engraved with a mural, showing strange symbols shaped like some kind of tree, with numerous tendrils and branches. A few engravings resembling spheres appeared atop it, at the place where its branches stretched to the sides, displaying strange, incomprehensible letters of a foreign nature, forming unknown words. The same bizarre lettering was present at the base, where its roots were supposed to be, forming even more indiscernible words… “What is that?” Trixie asked, swallowing a huge ball of saliva and air. “I’m not sure…” Louis replied, panting. Onwards… Onwards… Twilight's head got stung, as if hit by an insect's prick. She closed her eyes for a second, and shook her head, ignoring the foreboding sensation tackling at her chest. “What is it, guys?” Twilight asked, looking towards her two friends. “What do you mean, Twilight?” Trixie turned to her, asking with a puzzled expression. Open the door… Open the door… Again. This time, the sting nailed her with greater intensity, and she could hear a voice. “I can just swear I’m hearing you calling me, Trixie… Like you did when our horns were intersected.” Louis and Trixie exchanged questioning gazes. The gryphon tidied the glasses above his beak, and said, “Miss Lulamoon didn’t said a word, my dear Mistress. I also assume that she’s unable to mentally communicate with you, if your horns aren’t linked.” Twilight felt a little dizzy, “I supposed we need to enter, right?” “That’s the entrance door!” Trixie shouted, skeptical. “I’m not sure, Miss Lulamoon. It doesn’t look like the entrance door anymore. Plus, the fact that this whole place does not possess any kind of opening besides that very door in front of us, makes me wonder if we are still inside the same room.” Louis explained, taking a glance around and provoking an irking feeling with his deduction. Trixie broke into a cold sweat, “This is becoming rather creepy really fast…” Onwards, Twilight! Twilight grumbled, as if her chest was stung by a sharp pain. She retreated a little, and led a hoof closer to her heart. Worried, Trixie and Louis came closer. The unicorn asked, placing a comforting hoof over her shoulder, “What’s up, Sparkle? Are you sure you’re feeling well?” She nodded. “We need to get going. This is the closer to the truth I ever felt!” The alicorn replied with determination, and walked near the door. They both followed, and stood on place, waiting for Twilight to open it. By this point, the alicorn’s heartbeats had become accelerated and she was already strugging to breathe. She felt her mouth drying, and her throat knotting, but the urge to open that door surpassed everything else. Was the truth she sought just beyond that point? Extending her hoof, Twilight pushed the door… The Gates of Sheol awaits... A sudden, sharp pain nailed her head, entering through her horn and invading her brain at an insurmountable speed. All her sense of self was instantly destroyed, reduced to pieces. Soon, space, time and everything would follow along. Twilight felt, for the very first time, what she could only describe as ‘losing consciousness while still being cognizant’. It didn’t take more than a few nanoseconds, and yet she could easily perceive that something had happened around and within her. In the blink of an eye, Twilight felt her body moving, and yet staying at the same place. It wasn’t anything like teleportation. It was much more ‘alien’. When she finally got a hold of her vision, of her sense of self, she was standing inside of a completely blank room, 'filled' with nothing more than an empty, white and limitless space… She looked below her, asking herself how could she still be standing on her hooves, for there was no floor to stand on. She glanced around, looking for an object to focus her vision at; however, there was absolutely nothing. That sensation of boundless space, made her feel nauseous and she was slowly sinking into despair… She closed her eyes and tried to breathe; focusing in her own heartbeats. It was so quiet around her, that the rhythm coming from her chest reverberated through her body like a mad stampede. Where am I? Where am I?, She asked herself, eyes still closed. Where are my friends? What is this place? “Irregular. Condition unknown. Threat level minimum. Self-destruction chances are of seventy-three percent.” Twilight opened her eyes in a rush. Something around her had changed. The same door she saw previously at the library, except much bigger and imposing, floated a slightly above an unexisting ground, where her hooves were supposedly standing on, a few meters in front of her. Her eyes immediately glued to the surface of the black gates, where that same designs appeared. “What is this?” “The cage.” a familiar voice replied, accompanied by the sound of walking hooves clasping against the floor. And then, from behind the structure, Twilight saw what she thought to be impossible: She saw Twilight walking towards the front part of the door before sitting. The old Twilight Sparkle. The body which the alicorn wanted so much to have back. A simple, plain, lavender unicorn. She smiled to the alicorn, and nodded her head, hinting to a reverence. “What kind of debauchery is this…?” Twilight replied, monotone. Her reaction could be anything, from puking her last meal, to jumping backwards, to screaming as loud as her lungs allowed her to. However, none of those things happened. Apathy and awe were the only things that her mind allowed her to throw at the image right in front of her. "Are you here to open the door, Twilight?” The unicorn asked, with a clean face. She immediately broke into a cold sweat. Twilight passed her tongue against her lips, looking at the other Twilight that sat right in front of her, and searching for a single flaw on her appearance. Anything that could tell that imposter apart from her old body. She found nothing though, for the travesty in front of her mimicked even her voice with irritating perfection. “What are you?” The alicorn asked, confused and freaked. “I’m Twilight Sparkle! Princess Celestia‘s personal student! I was tasked by her majesty to come to the town of Ponyville to study the magic of friendship!” The way she answered, like a pre-programed doll, made Twilight almost vomit. “No… I’m Twilight Sparkle!” Twilight shouted in anger. The other Twilight pouted, “I thought I wasn’t an alicorn…” "I'm not an alicorn!" She yelled, her rage proceeded with more fury. "Then, who's Twilight Sparkle?" The fake replied, smiling a mocking grin. Her reaction destroyed any kind of reaction from the alicorn. Twilight simple stood still, motionless, too confused and scared to take any further action. Two rivers of tears rained down from her eyes, darkening the lavender fur of her face. The way her purple irises gleamed after being flooded by the tears made her eyes looks like they were trembling. The alicorn finally mustered some willpower to reply, “Please… Tell me who are you. Tell me the truth!” “The truth?” The fake asked and paused, a smile returning to her face, “The truth is clear, Twilight. I’m the Alpha and the Omega, I am the first and the last, I am the sun and the moon and the twilight between. I’m all things and one, and also, I am you." She concluded by pointing a hoof towards Twilight “Are you… God?” She asked, struggling to dry her tears For the very first time, Twilight witnessed the mysterious entity laughing. It was a long and scandalous gloat, as if the simple question she asked sounded more than an absurd joke. “Of course! Just like you are, too." The alicorn backed away, pouting, “I’m not God…” The other Twilight opened a huge, mocking grin, “You are, and there’s no denying to that. You’re still far from perceiving this, but for somepony else, you’re their only hope. So, how’s it going to be? Are you here to open the door, or not?” Twilight quickly rose her head and her gaze fell upon the monolithic structure right behind the fake Twilight, “What’s inside?” "The answers you came looking for. And even more answers, to questions you didn't even questioned yet." Twilight gulped, gaze fixated on the black stone door. Was the fake telling her the truth? Observing how Twilight cowered, the fake looked inside her eyes and asked, “Are you going to open it, or not?” Answers were everything the alicorn wished for. From the very first time she was brutally transformed into something she wasn't supposed to be, separed from her precious friends and persecuted for a crime she hadn't commited, all Twilight wanted to know was why it have to happen like that... With those raging feelings spiraling inside her head, she felt compelled to do so. Her whole body seemed to move against her will, and she walked towards the strange door. However… "Don’t open it!" Twilight froze. Her ears moved, alerted, and turned backwards, hearing a familiar voice echoing through the empty void. Almost immediately, she turned her whole body around, and heard the same voice again, shouting at her. "Don’t open it, Twilight! Or else you’re going to lose yourself beyond repair!" “Cadence?” She asked, finally identifying the owner of that familiar voice. She tried to find an image of her dear sister-in-law nearby, but she found nothing. Her memory suddenly clicked, reminding herself about the small handbook Cadence had handed down to her, when she left the Crystal Empire. “She’s right!” Twilight shouted, scared, and turned around once again to eye the fake and the monolith, “I will not open it!” The unicorn gazed back at her, “Fine.” Twilight blinked in rapid succession, asking herself if that was going to be so easy. “That’s fine. On this world, there’s no such a thing as an unique path. Everything crosses and intersects. Past, present and future, lies and truth, everything is just a matter of how much are you willingly to offer." Explained the fake, looking at Twilight with a bland expression. “What do you mean?” She asked, bewildered. “It’s simple. You can go on and open the door, and sate your urges right now, paying a certain price that maybe you aren’t ready to pay, or you can turn around and keep searching through this thorny road ahead of you, paying a lesser price. It’s all up to you, Twilight." The alicorn stood still for a few seconds, processing what she had just heard. She eyed the fake, feeling a certain nostalgia for her old, natural body. She craved to be ‘Twilight Sparkle’ again, and let this fraud called Twilight Princess to be gone. However, Cadence’s words echoing through that strange place only made more sense, as she dived into the question: How much was she willingly to pay? Was she ready to ‘lose herself beyond repair’ in order to know the truth? With a sigh, the alicorn immediately turned around, closing her eyes and trotting away. She could still feel the fake eyeing her in a confused gaze. “Does that mean you’re going to take the most difficult path?” She asked, with clear malice in her voice. Suddenly, something fell from above right in front of the fake. That Twilight looked down, to find a very familiar stetson hat laid on the invisible floor, right in front of her. “This pony, through her stubborn and honesty ways taught me a very important lesson. She taught me that in this life, nothing comes without hard work. If opening that door is the easiest way, then by no means is it the correct one. If I am to conquer the truth, then I will conquer it by my strength, together with the strength of my friends!” Twilight shouted, as the presence of the fake was getting more and more distant. For a brief second, Twilight felt somepony placing the stetson on her head… “Good job, sugarcube. Ya did an awesome job out there!” Twilight’s heart skipped a beat. That voice, could that be...? “Applejack!” Twilight yelled and looked around. “Are you alright, Sparkle?” Trixie’s bored voice called. Twilight inspected her surroundings with closer attention, to find she was back at the entrance door of the library, seconds prior to being transported to the white room. She had, indeed, opened the ominous door, and in front of her, a spiral staircase leading to an unknown location appeared behind it. That staircase was long, and it was impossible to see its bottom… “Trixie,” she called, fearfully, “How much time have passed since I opened this door?” Trixie looked towards her with a confused expression, “A few seconds?” “What happened to me?” Twilight asked further. “You opened the door, trotted inside a few steps and stood still waiting for me and Louis. It’s not like there was time to anything else happen.” The alicorn gulped. Whichever power had manifested within her it had bent the time as if it was a sheet of paper. “Right?” She squealed frightfully, her voice cracking and sounding unsure, “Better find a way to go down those stairs fast.” Trixie shot at her one for her most cold and suspicious glares, “I agree…?” Louis quickly interrupted them, “I can fly through the pit and reach the bottom." “I will go first, then. You can come back later and take Trixie.” Twilight affirmed vehemently. “Is that fine with you, Miss Lulamoon?” Louis turned to Trixie, and asked. "Even though I still do not trust you, gryphon, alright, just take care down there.” She replied. Louis turned to Twilight this time, and lowered his body, in order for the alicorn to hop on his back. She then did as much, hugging her friend’s neck with both forelegs. “Hold on tight!” He warned, spreading his big wings to the sides, and taking flight. “I hope I’m not too heavy for you!” Twilight said, and gulped, tightening her hug around her friend’s neck. Louis giggled, “Are you afraid of heights?” Twilight’s heart was beating faster. She fearfully eyed the ground getting more and more distant, “Maybe…” “You used to fly on your balloon!” Louis replied, preparing to dive towards the seemingly bottomless pit. “My balloon was big, slow, and I had total control over it…” The front part of the gryphon’s body started to point towards the pit, lowering, Twilight could feel her belly twisting. “Let’s go!” shouted Louis, and with an impulse, he dove towards the darkness. Too afraid to continue, Twilight decided to close her eyes. She was scared about flying, even while having complete trust in her friend’s flying skill. Without her vision, all she could do was to hear the ruffling sound of Louis’s wings, controlling their trajectory and speed, and feel the produced wind born from the displaced air due to their rapid downfall passing through her fur. “I can feel you trembling…” Louis whispered. “I’m sorry!” Twilight replied, fearfully. “Keep your eyes closed and your forelegs tight. Don’t worry about the rest, I will take care of it.” His words were reassuring. Even so, she decided to do as he said, and kept her eyes closed, just in case. “Are you seeing anything?” Twilight asked, curious about their surroundings. “Nothing. It’s really dark, I’m navigating using my instincts alone. I’m seeing a small light at the bottom, though. It’s probably a torch.” Twilight gulped, imagining whatever awaited them beyond that darkness could change her world forever. And in a few seconds, she felt Louis reducing his speed. “We are almost there. There’s a torch here, like I’ve told you, Mistress. Could you please open your eyes?” Louis asked. Slowly, Twilight dared a peek with one of her eyes. She saw a small circle of blue light, illuminating the floor right below her, coming from a small lantern attached to it. Louis was soaring a few meters from ground level, and just as he said, everything except the area covered by the magical torch was pitch-black. “Can you land Louis?” Twilight asked, with a low voice. The gryphon did as asked, and landed inside the circular blue field produced by the lantern, strangely placed on the ground instead of at one of the walls. Louis lowered his body, and Twilight got off, trotting towards the lantern as fast as she could. The alicorn fiddled with the apparatus. Without much problems, she discovered that the lantern could be detached from the ground. She took the object with her mouth by a golden chain dangling from its top, and turned to Louis, speaking with a mouthful, “Can you get Trixie? I will try to find a way and wait for you two here.” He nodded, “Alright. But don’t go too far. This place can be dangerous and I don’t want to leave you alone.” Twilight watched as he flew away, and then turned around. She sighed, fearing the seemingly endless darkness around her. She carefully walked in a straight line, looking for a wall and praying for this gallery to not be too big. Soon, the light from her torch would reveal a black wall. She reached for it with a hoof, and begun to scrutinize the structure, “This seems like obsidian. Which is strange, because this type of rock is often used to isolate magic emanations. I can still feel that presence on the air around here. I'm still inside the cathedral, probably inside a basement of sorts. However, with all this obsidian, the magic should be severely dampened. Whatever is producing it must be something really strong..." Soon, the alicorn heard the sound of wings coming nearby. Louis had reached the bottom again, bringing Trixie on his back this time. He landed and helped the unicorn get off his back. “Do you have any idea where the hay are we?” Trixie rushed to her side and asked, worried about the eerie place around them. I was just giving some thought about it. I guess we are in a basement of sorts, deep beneath ground level. This place was built to house something, or better yet, to seal something…” Twilight replied, dividing her attention between Trixie and the wall. “Why do you think that, my dear Mistress?” Louis approached, asking. “You see, all this place is made of obsidian. I believe you two know for what purpose this rock is used in a building. Those who built this underground chamber with so much obsidian were clearly trying to secure something inside, or trying to prevent anything from outside to enter…” Trixie gulped loudly, “Are we really supposed to try to and open it?” “I’m not turning back now, Trixie. Louis is still there; if you want to go back and let me handle things here, he can take you up to the surface and away from the possible danger.” The unicorn stared at Twilight for a few moments, and suddenly shook her head in negation, “No way! I’m not letting you play the strong type on me! I know you are as scared as I am!” Twilight giggled, “Yeah, I am really scared, maybe even more than you.” "What's up with the smiling face then?" Asked Trixie, shooting a questoning glare over the alicorn. "The truth I've been seeking for so long can be right here, behind a door, Trixie. For some reason, knowing that is giving me strength to face my fear and keep going." Trixie stood still, perplexed, observing as Twilight resumed her search. She didn’t had a single snit comment inside her famous repertoire to retort that statement. Louis came closer, and patted her shoulder with a claw, smiling at the unicorn tenderly. Soon, Twilight found something, “There’s a door here…” Twilight placed her lantern on the ground, and activated her telekinesis, grabbing the only source of light within her magical grasp, and then lifting it high in order to illuminate the whole structure. In front of the three friends, appeared what seemed to be some kind of trap door. There was no knob, hinges or places to where it could slide open, just a big chunk of obsidian stone slightly protruding from the wall, and small gaps indicating there could be another chamber behind it. “How are we supposed to open it?” Louis asked, tidying his glasses over his beak. “Those symbols…” Twilight breathed, observing small inscriptions carved at the base of the door. Wich they were strangely reacting to the blue light from the lantern, by glowing. “More runes.” Trixie said and took a few steps forwards. The unicorn lowered the front part of her body to better analyze the small runes there, “That’s unusual…” “What’s the matter, Trixie?” Asked Twilight, worried. “There’s a few runes that aren’t part of the official draco-archaic alphabet. The way they are displayed here seems like an incomplete magic circuit, probably a system to open this trap door. Aside from those runes I can’t recognize, used as a master word to the whole circuit.” “And what does it mean?” Twilight inquired. “It’s a ragnarök rune. It means ‘twilight’. Funny, isn’t it?” Trixie looked towards the alicorn. A tense silence befell the room, the three exchanging unsure glances towards each other. “Do you think that this whole place was built with the intention of waiting for Twilight to come here?” Louis asked with a serious voice. “If that’s the case, then somepony made this place knowing she would come here three thousand years later…” Trixie replied, glancing over Twilight. The alicorn remained in silence for a few seconds, mulling over the awkward situation. “We can’t stop now.” She affirmed, “Do you know about any way to open it, Trixie?” “Not really.” Replied Trixie, pouting, “Those different runes are impossible to translate. They aren’t anything like the draco-archaic alphabet I’ve learned." Twilight sighed, discontent. She walked closer to the wall, and rested her forehead against the door, trying to calm her troubled mind and think more clearly. Suddenly, her horn reacted from the contact it made with the obsidian, and produced a few sparks. A pink magic glow jolted through the door. Scared, the alicorn backed away, and everyone inside the chamber watched in pure awe as the runes ignited with the pink glow, and finally, the door vanished as if it was never there... "That explains everything now… Twilight was the key!” Louis exclaimed. “So it is true? Was this place constructed only for Twilight to come and enter?” Trixie asked, looking towards the gryphon. A strong white light was coming from inside. It wasn’t blinding, but it was enough to render the lantern unecessary. Slowly, taking care with each step, the three friends passed to the next chamber, reaching what seemed to be an enormous underground cavern, made of calcarium rock. So big was it, it seemed as it could house the whole Canterlot castle, making the gryphon, the unicorn and the alicorn gasp in awe. Inside was a big lake of pure, crystal clear water. Upon that lake, there was a small island, and there, a vision that left Louis, Trixie and Twilight even more breathless. In front of them was the biggest tree they ever saw in their whole lives; It wasn’t a common tree, though. Its color was of the purest white, from its main body to the its branches and leaves. The tree itself produced a calm, soothing white light and it illuminated the water from the lake, and as well as the whole cave. The three friends came near the body of water, and remained there, motionless, gazing at the tree. Trixie licked her lips, “What’s this?” “I don’t know. However, even being a gryphon, I can sense the strong magic coming from it. It’s the same sensation I had when I first entered the cathedral, but much stronger. This tree must be the source behind it! What we felt was just a small fraction, dampened by the obsidian walls encircling this underground cavern.” Louis explained, still in awe with the mysterious vision in front of them. Twilight felt her chest heavy once again. It was hard to breath, hard to concentrate. Pained, she lowered her head, focusing on her breathing and pushing the memories brought by that three's strange power away. However, when her eyes befell upon the bottom of the lake, Twilight almost had a heart attack... “What’s the meaning of this?!” She shouted, suddenly, startling her two friends. With erratic back steps, she retreated from the lake, and eventually, her flanks crashed against the ground. Trixie and Louis observed Twilight with confused expressions. While the gryphon came over her, to try and help his mistress, the unicorn walked towards the lake and decided to investigate what Twilight had seen. Trixie gasped. The alicorn could still see in her mind's eye what made her companion get startled like that. Inside the water, which was clear as glass, they saw an uncountable amount of different jewels resting on the bottom. It was completely carpeted with them... Those gems all had different shapes and colors. Some even resembled Cutie Marks. They produced a dim light, shimmering not only with the white light coming from the tree, but also having their own, unique colored glow. Also, they emanated a weak magic. A kind of magic they were sure to have felt somewhere else... Eventually it became clear that each one of those stones were… Elements of Harmony! “Sparkle! Those stones!” Trixie shouted, and walked near Twilight. Louis managed to help the alicorn get back to her hooves, and she answered with a shaken voice, “Yes. They are, without a doubt, Elements of Harmony, or at least some kind of artifact close related to them…” “But there’s so many of them!” The unicorn yelled. "I'm scared as you are, Trixie." Louis decided to look at the stones glowing weakly underneath the water. He was robbed of his breath, “How’s that even possible? Their shapes, their glow… It’s impossible to mistake. However, they feel incomplete, as if they are devoid of life.” “You mean they are dead? We are seeing a graveyard for Elements?” Trixie asked, and gulped. “I’m not sure… Maybe it was an error coming here in the first place...” Twilight pouted, confused and scared. Twilight cowered, and hung her head low. Immediately, Trixie walked near her and pressed her chest with a hoof, shouting, “Oh no! Don’t you dare get all moppy now! You’ve passed through all that nightmare to reach here only to give up? No! Not on my watch, Sparkle! There’s must be something here we still hadn't checked yet.” she turned around and begun to scan the cavern with her gaze. Twilight was startled by her sudden outburst. However, after hearing her friend’s words, she felt a flame rekindling inside her. Trixie's overconfidence finally gained purpose in front of Twilight’s eyes; she wasn’t cocky only for bragging but for looking positively through difficult situations and finding the strength to persevere using her abilities. The alicorn realized that she lacked that. She lived her whole life judging everything by logic and reason, but forgot to trust in her powers and keep going, even if the scenario said she was incapable of attaining success. “Can you help me fly over that tree, gryphon?” Trixie asked to Louis. “Wait, Trixie,” Twilight interrupted, “Let me go over there. That door opened because of my presence, so maybe being an alicorn will show me something more at that tree!” The unicorn cocked an eyebrow, analyzingly, and thought for a few seconds, before nodding in agreement. Louis walked towards Twilight’s field of view, and laid on the ground in order for the alicorn to hop onto his back, “I’m ready anytime, Mistress.” She steadily hopped into onto Louis’s back, and hugged his neck. The gryphon got up, stretching his wings, and took off. Twilight watched from his back as they traversed the lake, observing the alarming amount of incomplete Elements of Harmony stored beneath the water. She felt fear, and sorrow at the same time. Internally, Twilight prayed not to find her Element of Magic, or any of the five others among those deceased artifacts. After a little while, they reached the destination. The huge tree of light towered before Louis and Twilight even more menacingly. They felt like tiny ants before a higher being, watching them in silence with absolute superiority. Calmly, Twilight took a few steps ahead, she then stopped, and looked over her shoulder, towards Louis. For the very first time, she found doubt over his facade. Her wise friend was scared, maybe even more scared than she was… W-What’s wrong Louis?” She asked, stuttering. Louis forced a smile, laughed and turned his gaze away, trying to mask his absolute apprehension, “My grandmother used to tell me stories about a hero of my country who climbed the tallest mountain to find Zuu, our greatest deity. She loved to describe the fear he felt when he looked inside of God’s eyes. I can’t help but feel exactly the same as I look towards this tree…” “When he looked inside of God’s eyes?” Twilight breathed, gazing to the top of the tree again. For a moment, she thought about Princess Celestia. She was to the ponies the same Zuu was to the gryphons, but it was different in her own way. She wasn’t an almighty higher being, ruler of everything. She was a kind mother, a benevolent Princess always there to hear their pleas, the warm sun rising every morning. She thought about who was right. Who truly could don the name of ‘God’. Twilight also thought about herself. Who was she, after all? She wasn’t ‘God’, despise of what the strange apparition inside her mind said earlier. Even if she looked like one, she knew she wasn’t. “There are more runes over there!” Louis shouted, suddenly cutting Twilight out of her inner turmoil. Immediately, after regaining her composure, Twilight looked over her friend, and found his arm stretched and his claw pointing towards the tree’s main body. Looking over there, she found small red marks similar to the ones she found at the door, close to the roots. They were small, and it was impossible to see them from over the other side of the lake. In fear, Twilight walked towards them, followed closely by Louis. She stopped a few inches from the tree, near enough to touch it. The strong luminescence coming from it somehow wasn’t hurting her eyes, nor disrupting her vision. Twilight scrutinized the symbols, and she easily recognized them from before. “There’s a ragnarök rune here too,” she pointed, warning Louis. “Hold on a minute, I will bring Trixie here!” And quickly took off, going back to the other margin. After watching he departing, Twilight returned her attention to the runes carved on the tree’s main body. She was itchy to touch them, and discover if they would active some contraption like the door did before. Trixie wasn’t able to properly identify the unknown runes back there, so her presence wouldn’t help in this situation either. Also, they activated by pure luck… Maybe it was time to play with her luck for a change... Slowly, she raised her right forehoof and moved it to touch the symbol that meant ‘twilight’. A sudden shock followed. Twilight felt her brain being invaded by a flood of information, so powerful that her conscious exploded into nothing. The last thing she managed to see were crystals coming from the tree, and growing through her hoof, enveloping her foreleg and encaging it with their grasp. It was clear that the tree didn’t want her to leave. The shock made her whole world turn upside down, and the vivid images flashing on her eyes with lightning-fast speed only worsened it. Twilight felt fear… She screamed. Before long, everything went black.