//------------------------------// // Chapter 12 ~ Don't You Dare Leave Us (V2) // Story: Lunarium // by Tramper //------------------------------// Fields of dead grass and rotten flowers drenched in poison rain presented themselves before the mighty stairs that led up to the Canterlot Castle. This was the oldest place in the republic, and time had left its mark on the buildings, she saw. Vines crouched up the broken walls and had died in the rain a long time ago. There were stories about this place, Twilight knew. They were stories about the tribes uniting by this very mountainside, founding the capital in the shadow of the highest peak. They were stories about brave heroes defending the realm against the wrathful griffons and the proud zebras. They were stories of politics and romance, of cynicism and a lone princess, dying while reaching for her harp. There had been a time when those things had been part of the world and anypony could've easily donned a cloak and just walk off into the world to make their mark on it. When they’d come back, they’d bring mystifying tales of strange countries and new friendships forged. These times were long since over. As they moved up the steps, she felt her heart pounding more and more, but the words of the Wise Goat had given her strength. She tried to think of herself as one of those old heroes, but which one, that she tried to find out next. There were quite a few tales of which she remembered the names, more and more popping up every time her hooves hit the ground again. A certain phrase moved through her mind, over and over again: Take the dive. She had heard that a long, long time ago. The phrase had appeared once in a story, a specific tale of wonder and adventure. As they approached their goal the memory of it came easy to Twilight. She’d read it once when Nurse Redheart had been angry with her and hit her over something she already forgot. The Seapalace, the story was often called. It was the same one Octavia had mentioned, now that she thought about it. There had been a folk called seaponies. They had lived in the eastern sea and it was the tale of how they first met with the nation of Equestria that had made transcended time. A young seapony once swam far, far away from her home, where the earth rose beyond the waters. The little pony was intrigued by the idea of life outside the water, although until then she had only heard the griffons talk of it. Strange tales of wood growing out of the ground and creatures breathing air. This seapony thought the griffons made their stories up to tease her people, but her curiosity was set ablaze. Even though her family told her; “Don't you dare leave us,” she swam for miles and miles, until she reached a point where the ground lifted itself up, above the water. The sky was draped in weird colors and she could see from afar that something was wrong with the land. She carried on by the side of the coast, brave little filly that she was, until she found a stream to follow. The seapony swam deeper into the land, though sometimes she'd take her head out of the water to look at the weird world without water. Queer was the simplest word for it, as she saw nothing but chaos there. The trees were hovering on patches of dirt above the ground and the grass had taken checkered colors. She decided to swim on, to see the end of the path. She reached the end of the river days thereafter, the lake at the heart of their mighty nation. On its end was a mountain scraping the clouds. Wondering about where she was, the pony decided to delve further into the lake and there she talked with the inhabitants. Only a few fish remained, but those who did talked about an evil king called Discord. They told her that by the lakeside he had fought rebels and imprisoned one of their leaders within the mountain. The little seapony's curiosity was peaked and so she went towards the large stones and held her ears close them. Deep inside the mountain, she heard a pony crying. Then she searched the stones for a weak spot, a hole or something like it and went deeper and deeper into the lake, till most light had died around her. There, at the lowest point, she found a hole in the wall, blacker than the blackest night and the water howling as it went into it. On the other side, though, there had to be the crying pony, so the brave seapony took some seaweed from the ground. If the other pony was hungry, she would surely need something to eat. The seapony took the dive into the deep dark. Without any kind of orientation she moved with the stream through the tunnel. She had no knowledge of where she was going, so she just went with the flow of the water. The ride was hazardous, however. More than once did she hit her fins or her head on the cold stone, but the brave seapony persisted nonetheless. Her blood might have mixed with the water, but she just closed her eyes and sped up. Her path left her bruised and battered, but she fought through it. When the stream was gone and she was in calm waters she opened her eyes to look at a strange light. It was like the sun was shining above her, reflecting upon the green stone that now surrounded her, painting the water in a beautiful and mystical color. Up there she heard a song, too–a small song drowning the silence. She followed its sound, the voice that came from beyond the waves. And then– “Woah,” was the sound that lifted Twilight from her recollection. Only for a second did she wonder about who had said that, because her eyes were drawn towards the castle that rose up before them. The six fillies stood atop the world, with the stairs and the whole of Canterlot now behind them. She couldn’t get a word out, because what she saw surpassed everything she could have imagined. The gates were made of fine stone, although she didn't know exactly what kind, and stories were carved into them. They were pictures of the old age and Twilight was sure that if she would have had the time, she could’ve spotted quite a few she knew. Just with one look she recognized the figures of Discord, the horrible king from the time before the princesses. There were other pictures, like the griffon queen kneeling before the republic’s council after the griffon’s defeat at the Wetterspitze, Blue Herald finding the remains of the last dragon, and the black obsidian shape of Sombra’s Crystal Heart. There were a hundred more stories spread across the gates, but they didn’t have the time to read them all. They needed to bring magic back. Lucky as they were, the gates were open. All six, stunned into silence, started to move through them and into the castle. Here, the wounds time had left seemed like deep scars. The white paint was chipped off the castle walls and where once gold had adorned them, only cracks and holes remained. The towers were gone but for a few stones and the main palace looked even worse than the Celestial Hall had. The roof had collapsed a hundred years ago and Twilight Sparkle knew the ancient library had been taken by a fire about a lifetime before she was born. The green surrounding the castle had been forgotten, grown out of control, and then died in the poison rain like all the rest. Grass covered the old pathways, brown and beaten down by the falling waters. As they walked on, Twilight noticed all the dead flowers. She wondered if they would grow lively and colorful when they were done. All she could do was hope for that to happen, that, and move on. So little remained of the palace and yet Twilight felt that those tales on the front gates and the stories she had read, they all remained. She saw the weeds, the broken towers and fainted colors all there before her, but time hadn’t destroyed everything. As the six moved into the grand gardens, she felt herself overwhelmed. Wondering how the others fared, she turned her gaze towards them and they, too, walked forward, their heads turning, their tails swinging around nervously. None of them spoke a word, and their only companion was the sound of the rain. Nopony ever visited the castle, as far Twilight knew. The ponies didn't cling to the days where the princesses lived anymore and they probably even wanted to forget that there was a past with magic and peace. As they walked over the grass and the rocks of the once greatest structure built by ponykind, she made herself realize that this was probably the truth. Nopony wanted to believe anymore. Her papa had once told her that there was a difference between stories and reality. Something she hadn't wanted to acknowledge and if they did as the seapony did, taking the dive into the deep dark, she'd prove him wrong. She would bring magic back and would become a bearer of an Element of Harmony. The thought alone made her well up with pride. He'd also like that, a kid of his that wasn't a complete failure. Trixie watched the stones with a passing interest, while Lyra hopped happily beside her. “Ohmigosh, I thought things started off a bit rocky, but at least this adventure isn’t a total ruin, right?” Lyra asked, snorting with laughter. Trixie shook her head, but Derpy and Raindrops snickered. “What’s so funny?” Octavia asked. “It’s not funny anymore if I explain it,” Lyra said, shaking her head. Octavia grumbled something. “I don’t really know about all this. The rain is stupid. Wonder when it’ll stop?” Twilight wondered about that, too, but the rain wasn’t that bad, not with what would come hereafter. This was going to be a wonderful adventure and at the end, her entire family might gather up again and live happily ever after. Her grin disappeared the moment she got a look at Octavia, who looked like the most serious out of the bunch. She was awesomely mature about all of this, totally level-headed and the like. Twilight kind of wanted to be like that. In contrast to that, she noted how little presence Raindrops had in the group. All she did was look around, nervously as she could be. Maybe she had just followed Derpy, and maybe she regretted having come. Of course, she and Derpy both only wanted to find Madame Hooves and Hugh Jelly, so she probably wasn’t all that excited about being here. Well, a fun and exciting adventure would surely fix that. That was how it always happened in the stories. Plus, if they were to bring back harmony, they'd be heroes. Everypony would like them and their story would find itself carved into stone. None of them probably even realize just how big the thing was they were about to do. Well, once everypony started celebrating them, the surprise would be totally worth it. The gardens were silent, aside from drumming of the rain on stone floors and the distant piping of wind as it went through ancient corridors. The sun still hadn't reached the horizon, so a few hours remained until sundown. This place would probably be far more scary than it was now once the light dimmed. Still, it was amazing how little the earthquakes had made an impact here. The destruction was ancient and even if the tremblers had done more damage than there had been before, nopony would have noticed. Twilight sure didn't. They went on, moving past the old buildings. Everypony followed Twilight who followed Octavia, who trotted on staunchly. “Have you been here before?” Twilight asked after a few more moments. Octavia turned her head for a moment. “No, the castle has been out of bounds for a long time.” That came as a surprise. “How do you know where to go then?” Octavia smiled a little. “We’re just following the path that leads through the garden, there’s no secret behind it. I mean, I hope it leads us to that plaza. Even if it doesn’t, I’m sure we’ll find it quickly,” she explained and Twilight nodded, finding that conclusion absolutely logical. From the front gate they turned left and followed the only remaining path past the old castle ruins and statues of old heroes. Past stories long forgotten and stones set there long before their parents had seen the first light. Six little fillies strutted, beneath a sky of black and greenish smoke, through the oldest tale in pony history. As they walked on Twilight looked left and right, because everything here had a story. Each broken statue they passed had been a hero, a villain or famous figure. Before the death of the princesses, they all had contributed to Equestrian history. She saw and knew and the words resounded in the back of her head. You can change everything. You are an Element of Harmony. Take the dive! They were so close now and her heart was pounding. But it wasn’t the bad, hurting kind. She felt strong and her tiny, brown hooves moved onwards in a steady walk, too. By the end of this she would be a hero and she would fix the world. She would bring harmony to the ponies and all she needed to do for that was to jump down. Some cotton candy monster wouldn't be able to stop her. Nothing would ever be able to stop Twilight Sparkle now that she was at full strength. She had to giggle. Her own confidence felt refreshing, but also silly. Twilight had never felt like that before. All she had done until now was wake up every single day in a world without magic, a world that refused to change. Now she could bring something good into it and her own pain wouldn't matter anymore. She had to ask herself whether nurse Redheart was still out there. Surely, somepony needed to care for those who were hurt. Twilight wasn't among them now, Twilight was strong. She could stand on her own and her own heart wasn't hurting anymore. Some flowers bloomed in lavender and red and off the path an ancient labyrinth rose up, the green wilted, the wood dead. There were trees reaching out of it, like claws coming from the ground, twisting themselves, trying to reach for the clouds. The few leaves that grew from their branches rustled in the wind. More statues guarded the labyrinth. Twilight had never seen so many stone figures before. Most ponies knew of their existence, but seeing them in person was just overwhelming for the filly. They had all been important ponies and yet she couldn't put any names to the few faces that were still in a recognizable shape. That was a depressing thought, so she turned away from the cold stone. They moved further into the gardens and after a few more minutes of walking the old path the plaza came into sight. It stood out from the grey and green the rest of the path was covered in, for it was built with a stone dyed in a nightly blue. It was a marvellous sight, truly, and became even greater as they came closer. Six pillars stood around it, each with a round rock with a symbol on it. A mosaic covered the ground. A nightsky with fourteen stars on its edges, a full moon to its north and a crescent moon to its south, while in the middle the sun resided. From the sun, there rose two more statues, or at least remnants of them. Of the left only the base and a hoof remained, while the right one still retained the form of a pony. Only one wing remained and her face had been removed alongside any features. Twilight had no idea whom ever represented, but it didn’t matter. The six fillies had arrived at their goal and dusk was still far away. They moved onto the plaza and looked around. “What now?” Raindrops suddenly asked. “There should be a way down somewhere, we need to find it,” Twilight answered. Somewhere around here there needed to be the place where she could take the dive to the Lunarium. It was below Canterlot Castle, but the Wise Goat hadn't said that the way down was going to be difficult to find. Twilight found such twists and turns wonderful, though. They reminded her of all the adventure stories she had read until now. Especially that Daring Do book for which she still wanted a continuation. They searched the plaza and its surrounding, hoping to find what they needed. “Maybe there’s a button,” Derpy said and started touching every corner of the statues, and Trixie followed to do the same. Octavia shook her head. “No, but the statues might show a hint,” she said and put her hoof to her chin, thinking. Lyra imitated her, while Raindrops quietly hovered beside Twilight. “Our parents aren't here. We should really go home,” she said. “We can save Canterlot,” Twilight answered. “From what?” For a moment the filly hesitated. She hadn’t actually explained. “The world is dying, the earthquakes will get worse and worse. We need to bring magic back and then everything will be alright.” Raindrops looked at her with utter disbelief. “I want to go home,” she said with the complete defiance. “Mom and dad are waiting at home. There will be more muffins and everything will be alright, too. They’re adults, they know what to do and we're just fillies, we can't do anything.” Twilight looked at the unremarkably black pony. “I don't care If I can't do anything. I want to change everything.” She had been weak and small up until this point. Her world had been restricted to her bed and her books, even when she had always longed for the ability to do more. She was a smart filly, she was a good filly but all she ever wanted was to play outside with all the others. If she did this right here, then her world wouldn't be grey and dull anymore. No, maybe the entire world wouldn't be grey and dull anymore. It would all be bright and happy. Everypony would be happy. Shining, Father, Mother, she thought. Her heart pounded and it hurt. They stood in front of the statues, not knowing what to do, and the sun slowly sunk down, while the rain had died down slightly. Only its slight drumming was the loudest noise in these moments, but then they all felt the earth slightly shaking beneath their hooves. And the force only grew. "Another quake?“ Raindrops asked, fear washing over her face. Just as the question had left her mouth the ground started rumbling and shaking more violently. Twilight didn't even get a chance to steady herself, the ground just seemed to sweep her off her hooves. She crashed down on the mosaic, with her jaw first and felt a sharp sting as her teeth dug themselves into her tongue. She yelled out but was immediately overshadowed by the royal palace. They heard its walls falling down to the ground and a cloud of dust burst forth into the air. She heard Octavia yell something, but rather than listening, Twilight instinctively tried to hide beneath her blanket, pulling it close in hope to cover herself from the smoke that now surrounded the area. Twilight remained like that, forcing herself into a brighter, warmer place. A place where Nurse Redheart held her hoof and told her everything was going to be fine. There was no way she would get hurt here, she needed to go back, she needed to go down, needed to bring back magic. This couldn’t be the end. And then the earth grew quiet again. The filly felt herself shaking, felt her heart beating and coughed, ready to spit out whatever she still had in her stomach. "Come on, stand up. We need to find the way down quickly,“ she heard Octavia, coughing after inhaling some of the dust. Twilight lifted the blanket up and looked at the other filly, whose soaked coat was now covered in dust. Nevertheless, she felt like she couldn’t stand up anymore. But I’m strong, she thought bitterly. Octavia reached out with her hoof. “Come on, we just need to find the way and everything’ll be done.” Within her, Twilight hoped to kindle a flame, but hardly managed to bring herself to move. Nevertheless, she grabbed the hoof and let herself be helped up. One look at her surroundings told her that now, the earthquakes had reached the castle. The main building’s walls had come down and the dust formed a mist around the garden. It took her a moment to get her head back in the game and she looked at Octavia, who seemed very worried. Twilight took a deep breath and swallowed the bloody taste in her mouth down. "Yeah, the quakes are getting worse.“ The sudden sound of an explosion came from the distance. A split-second of nothing happened and the a gust of wind blew across the gardens, throwing the six of them off their hooves again and carrying the mist away, clearing even the sky for a moment. Twilight lay on the floor, back flat on the back, but lifted herself up immediately, not even noticing the clear sky above the city. She had a horrible feeling about this explosion, and so she started into a gallop. She needed to go back to the gate, needed to see what had caused it. Trixie ran after her hat first, since it had fallen off, but joined them thereafter. Then, all of a sudden, a bolt of lightning whipped across the sky and its thunder roared up seconds after. In and of itself, Twilight wouldn’t have been worried about that, but there was something to the sound, like the sound of sawing through iron. It was unnatural. Then, she halted in the middle of the garden, and the others did, too. All six fillies finally decided to turn to the sky, because all of them felt it in the air, the change. The orange color of the twilight shifted and moved, turning into a darker color of itself and then to an unnaturally rich purple and black clouds gathered up, quickly covering it up again. The ground started to shake once more and the rocks were trembling. Twilight felt her heart pounding. It still didn't hurt. She heard the whimpering of Raindrops, but she herself didn't feel like being scared, not this time. She wiped off the tears and took a deep breath. Far over Canterlot a light gleamed, slowly growing and then, like the stroke of a hammer against a wall of glass, with a thunderous roar a crack appeared. Another gust of wind howled over them a second later. “What is that?” she heard Trixie ask. I told you to get to the Lunarium but you waited. The worlds are crashing together and your worst dreams will come true. “Trouble,” Twilight answered. “What do we do?” It's too late. If you’d just gone we might’ve prevented this from happening. Ah, well, some things are inevitable. Nevertheless, now that the end’s here, maybe you can pull off something impossible again, huh? Go and prove yourself, Twilight Sparkle. Twilight looked at the distant sky, the crack in their reality and the twisting fabric of reality. She understood that this would end badly for everypony in the town. They’d be cut to pieces by clouds of candy. Everypony around her was scared but she? She felt stronger than ever. Maybe the Wise Goat was right and she could change everything. Maybe the Lunarium wasn't even needed. She was strong and she was smart. She had escaped that creature without much thinking, so if she did think, maybe, just maybe it would work out fine. The brown filly who covered herself in a colorful blanket took a deep breath. This was going to be the moment of truth, the moment where she needed to be strong. Twilight looked at her new friends. It was only for a few hours that she’d gotten to know them, but she would defend them nonetheless. Because she was just like the hero of a story now, wasn’t she? “Don't worry, I'll do something,” she told her friends. With that, Twilight Sparkle smiled. With a bit of quick thinking and her new found strength, she was sure to get everything right. She turned away from the plaza and galloped towards the gate. She could do this, she could be strong. She would do this, she would be strong. She was Twilight Sparkle and she wasn't weak anymore, she was a brave filly who'd bring harmony and magic back into this world. Twilight galloped at top speed. She was so quick, it made her heart hurt, but her legs were stronger than before. Now she had friends to protect, she had a family to reunite and now her body wasn't failing her anymore. For a moment she felt herself a pony with a lavender coat with a white alicorn smiling down on her and everypony being happy. She could do it now. With those thoughts she reached the gate from where the steps led down and the sight she faced let her hopes disperse. She heard Trixie and the others coming up behind her and then all of them halted. Rain started falling down once more and the water dripped down her shoulders. It was almost surreal, for the drops were without color and felt so cold on the touch. This wasn’t the sort of rain she knew from Canterlot. The six stood before the rubble and the ruins, staring at what had been the mighty city of Canterlot just hours ago. Almost nothing remained, as the houses were blown to bits and fires rose in multiple places. The rain did nothing to clear them. She looked down on her brown hooves, felt the strength inside herself. Twilight tried to smile, tried to tell herself that she could do it, just like a few seconds ago. Before them, a fissure rose up in the sky, with tendrils clawing from the other side, widening it. Teeth bit at it, tried to tear it apart. The shrieking and the howling of it was enough to give her a headache, but Twilight knew what to do. By her side stood five ponies: Trixie, Octavia, Lyra, Derpy and Raindrops. Twilight turned her head to them and started to smile more confidently now. “Aren’t you scared of nightmares?” Octavia suddenly asked her, her voice shaking and her eyes fixated on the fissure. This was a nightmare wasn’t it? But Twilight Sparkle wasn't afraid of such a silly thing. She was a big filly and this was going to be her story. “I can finish it if I try,” she said and looked at them. “That thing's presence is bringing back bits of magic and I could use them against it. So don't you all worry. I'll do it.” She looked at them and smiled. She turned away and hurried down the stairs as the sun closed in on the horizon.