//------------------------------// // chapter 3 // Story: Twilight Then, Twilight now // by Paradise Oasis //------------------------------// THREE; Then... After thanking Zecora, the three ponies quickly made their way back towards Ponyville... a return trip that, compared to the journey in, was remarkably without incident. They finally reached the outskirts of town as the sun was beginning to set. "What d' we do now, Twi?" Applejack asked her unicorn friend. "You girls had better head for home." Twilight Sparkle Told Applejack and Fluttershy. "I'll do some research on the everfree forest, and see if I can determine what those mysterious apparitions were." "Ok Twilight." Fluttershy said nervously, slowly walking towards home. "See you tomorrow." "Good Luck, Sugar Cube." Applejack added, turning towards the direction of sweet apple acres. "If ya need anything, just call." "Thanks, AJ." Twilight replied. "Have a good night." The Purple Unicorn ran back to her library, and began pouring over every book she could find on the everfree forest. As she scoured the bookshelves, a small purple dragon walked up behind her. "Twilight! Where the heck have you been all day?" Spike asked in a worried tone. "I woke up late this morning, and you were gone! What happened?" "Not now, Spike!" Twilight Sparkle replied, still digging through the shelves. "I need to find a book about prophetic visions in the everfree forest." "Whoa" Spike said, as he joined the Unicorn pony in searching the Shelves. "Something big must've happened out there in the forest." They tore the bookshelves apart from one end to the other, but there seemed to be no book on everfree forest visions. It was just by chance that a book fell off the final shelf as Spike was digging through it. "Equestrian Prophecies. Huh" Twilight Sparkle said in surprise. "Not what I was looking for, but related. Maybe this has what I'm looking for in it." As she looked through the book's pages, the Unicorn read prophecies on everything from joyous return of Princess Luna, to the Final defeat of the god of chaos, Discord. But deep within the books pages, tucked away between weather predictions and Pony horoscopes, was a foretelling that chilled Twilight Sparkle to her core... And it shall come to pass, that when the bows of light and darkness are born, the child of shadow shall fall into darkness. The Princess of the sun shall fall by his hand, and the golden age of Equestria shall descend into a night that never ends. Only the two Twilights can hold back the night for a time, giving the flame of hope a chance to spring forth anew. Twilight Sparkle's mind began to race, as she thought about the vision she had seen in the forest. That Pink Unicorn in the vision, with five glittering stars as her Cutie mark... she came from a different time... and she resembled some of the members of Twilight Sparkle's family. Could this mysterious pony be some kind of ancestor of hers? Or maybe... a descendant? The wheels of Logic and common sense began to turn in Twilight Sparkle's head. If she was a relative, this other Twilight, and the prophecy was about current events, then it would be up to the two of them to save Equestria from whatever evil the prophecy spoke of. She needed to get a message to Princess Celestia at once. "Spike, Take down a letter." But as the baby dragon picked up his pen and quill, a thought struck Twilight. She decided she would not only send a letter to the princess, but also to this other pony of whom the prophecy spoke of. "Hold on a second, Spike." The Unicorn said thoughtfully. "Before you take down my two letters, open that secret trap door we found below the tree first..." ... The Capitol city of Canterlot was a bustling, busy place. No matter the time of day, there were ponies trotting up and down the streets, going about their business as usual. Within the Royal Palace, the court of Princess Celestia came alive during the light of day. Courtiers, lobbyists, and foreign diplomats sought favors and the passage of laws that benefited them, or the ponies they represented. Politics was Celestia's arena, and she reveled in it. The Night, however, was different. Since her return, Princess Luna's court was filled with poets, artists, writers, and other ponies of a creative bent. Those who had been shunned by Celestia's political bureaucracy, found a place for themselves in the court of the forgotten younger sister. The Young Princess, neglected in the older days by a ponydom that slept through her beautiful night, eagerly accepted the attention of these who would be her courtiers, and lavished them with Royal favors and patronage. Besides the artists, there were also magicians and scientists, as well. Those who had ideas that were deemed too impractical and implausible by Celestia, found funding and support from her younger sister. Princess Luna was just glad to have their attention, adoration, and respect. Under the light of her throne room's lanterns, they made their weekly progress reports to the Princess of Night. "As you can see, Princess Luna, we have completed our blueprints for the memorial palace." A pony architect told Luna. "To be built from the remains of you and your sisters old castle." "An excellent design, our servant." Luna said, looking over the plans. "This Dream Castle will be a reminder of all of our Sister and our's hopes and dreams for Equestria and our subjects." "And it will be an excellent public works project, princess." The architect added. "To employ many Ponies in these tough economic times." Nodding, Luna motioned him away. "Unicorn pony wizards... give us thy progress reports on the transformation spells thee were working on." Two unicorns, wearing the star-covered cloaks of wizards, motioned for a large tank of water to be brought in. As Luna looked down into the water curiously, two white ponies and a blue pony suddenly popped up from below the surface of the water. The Princess was shocked by the fact the two ponies had no hooves, but instead had fins. "Shooby doo, shoop shooby do." The Aquatic ponies said in unison, bowing their heads to the princess. "We call them Sea Ponies, your majesty." One of the Unicorn ponies told her. "We've created a spell that can turn a pony into an equine/fish hybrid, allowing them to breathe and move freely underwater." "Though it appears it causes the side effect, of causing the transformed ponies to develop a habit of busting into song randomly." Another Unicorn wizard added. "This is a remarkable breakthrough." Luna told the two, staring at the sea ponies thoughtfully. "Now, pony settlement and expansion need no longer be limited to land and sky, but now we may expand into the sea, as well." "We've also been working on the flight spell, the one that gives unicorn and earth ponies butterfly-like wings for three days." One of the Unicorns added. "We've made an improved version... it makes the wings permanent, and eliminated their weakness to sun exposure." The two unicorns motioned for a yellow colored pony with a cloak on to come in, then suddenly pulled the cloak off. A large pair of pink, translucent butterfly-like wings unfolded from her back, dazzling everypony present with their glittering brilliance. "These 'flutter ponies', as we call them, can fly much faster than Pegasus ponies." One of the unicorns offered. "And they can flutter their wings rapidly to create a forceful wind, and create a pollen from their wings that can stun or put living things to sleep." "But there are drawbacks." The other unicorn added. "Their wings are still more fragile than Pegasus wings, and they tire out more quickly than Pegasus do on long flights." "But there are areas such abilities would be useful." Luna added. "These Flutter Ponies can accomplish things Pegasus ponies cannot." The princess looked over some of the other plans her courtiers had drawn up... a plan to transfer the power of the elements of Harmony into six magic wands, so that they could be used by any pony, and even plans for a wondrous new artifact called the rainbow of light, a weapon even more powerful than all of the elements of harmony combined. "Our sister, though we love her dearly, is a traditionalist who loathes change." Luna told the members of her court. "We are planting the seeds of a future Equestria... these plans will take centuries to put into practice. But if the shining utopia Celestia has built ever falls apart, our plans that we now put into motion will be there to build a new pony society from it's ashes." It was at that point that a dusk colored unicorn named Midnight came before Luna's throne, bowing his head. "Your majesty, I have a presentation to make as well." Luna nodded. "Go ahead, Midnight." One of the earliest to join her court, Midnight had been one of Luna's biggest supporters, helping her to adjust to the modern world after a thousand years of imprisonment in the moon. He had been studying the energies behind the power of magic, and had apparently come to make his report. "As you are aware, princess, many of the Unicorns in your court have been researching how emotions and emotional energies are one of the driving forces behind magic,." Midnight explained. "It is the primal force of all positive emotions that make up the plans for the rainbow of light." Midnight then pulled out a parchment, with many arcane symbols on it. "But my research indicates that there may be an even more powerful source of magic to draw from... the power of negative emotions, such as anger, hate, and pain." This drew a wave of disapproval from all the ponies in the court. "I do not mean we should cause suffering and pain! I would never suggest hurting any pony!" Midnight Yelled in protest. "Merely draw on it's power to create a rainbow of darkness." "What do you think it was that corrupted our beloved princess in the first place?" A white colored unicorn, named Sky Runner, challenged him. "It was the very power of which you are advocating we use!" Midnight snorted and stamped his hoof. Sky Runner had been the other pony to join Luna's court early on, another reject mage Princess Celestia had had no use for. The proposed Rainbow of light was his design, and Midnight was certain that that was the reason Sky Runner was opposing him. "We only need harness the power of the rainbow of Darkness." Midnight Replied. "we need not be controlled by it." "A pony cannot control evil, Midnight!" Sky Runner snapped "Both of you, enough!" Luna snapped at the two Unicorns. "The morning is now coming, and the time hath now come for this court to be dismissed!" The Princess opened her wings. "We will continue this discussion... tomorrow night!" As the princess flew off to lower the moon, the two unicorns glared at each other. Both of them knew that this was far from over...