Secrets
Clockwork glanced at the timekeeper on the far side of the room; it was five past ten. Silas stood opposite from him, his keen eyes narrowed in contemplation.
“Five after,” Clockwork said calmly. “Have you thought of anything yet?”
Silas’s eyes shifted to the timekeeper and back to the table in front of the two of them, and upon the open scroll that rested upon the table’s polished surface. His eyes fixed upon the only writing on the scroll: “1010” written much larger than seemed necessary in onyx-colored ink in the center on the paper.
“Silas?” Clockwork pressed in an identical tone.
Silas matched Clockwork’s dull gaze with a piercing one.
“It is not opposite, but we know that it still may be acceptable.” Silas informed the other. Clockwork nodded and once again checked the timekeeper.
“Two till.” They lapsed into silence, avoiding both each other’s eyes and the scroll. “Are you sure your solution will balance it? After all, the last time it overcompensated it—”
“I am well aware of what it did. None of them know what happened though, correct?”
“That is correct. This thing,” he gestured with one hoof towards the scroll in front of them, “remains unknown to nigh all of Equestria.”
“Twenty seconds.” Silas murmured, watching the clock. “Ten…five…time. Ten after ten.”
He sighed and summoned up his magic, making his horn glow a bright blue. The scroll on the table responded, the edges of the thick paper matching the blue shade in an eerie glow.
“Let it be known to the power and the magic that I, Silas Endeavour, am restoring the balance.”
The pair of ponies watched as the right-hand 10 glowed a pale gold in response to the statement. Silas nodded and continued.
“I am restoring the balance that was broken via the command that the 1010 spell scroll is henceforth invulnerable to anything put against it, set by the unicorn pony Clockwork exactly twelve hours ago.”
The pale gold 10 shimmered and blazed into a bright golden hue that could contest the sun itself. Silas closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
“I restore balance by commanding that from this moment on anything that can speak will have the ability to control the 1010 spell as long as the scroll itself is present, as has been set previously.”
The ponies watched with baited breath as the scroll considered the command put to it. After what seemed far longer than it actually was, the left hand 10 turned a golden color even to the other, then both subsided. Silas smiled and exhaled quietly. Clockwork nodded.
“Anything that can speak can use this now?” Clockwork asked Silas in confirmation.
“That is correct. I was nervous that it would reject it, but it did seem ‘opposite’ enough from your command that it would be acceptable. After all, I don’t want to know how it would compensate for what you put to it, making it indestructible. Has anyone tested that yet anyway?”
“Yes. Several of the royal guards tried to simply rip it up, and it would not tear. In addition to that it has been put against fire, water, puncturing, lighting… Princess Celestia even tried to destroy it using her magic, but failed.”
“Wow.” Silas regarded the open scroll, 1010 staring back up at him. “The perfect time, the ultimate balance, and magic more powerful than anything ponykind has ever witnessed lying right beneath it. I guess all it took was a couple of exceptionally intuitive ponies to tap into the power.”
Clockwork snorted. “Don’t flatter yourself too much. I discovered it first, and I wish I hadn’t.”
“What do you mean?’
“Think about everything that this scroll can do. It can create-”
“Or destroy.”
“Yes, thank you, or destroy anything as; as far as we know, that is. But even beyond that, think about the scroll itself at this point.”
“You mean everything we’ve turned it into?” Silas stretched his neck.
“What else would I mean?” Clockwork replied bluntly. “This scroll is now invulnerable to anything, can be controlled by anything that can speak, the commands it grants are irreversible, there are no limits to what one can command of it… the list goes on.”
“You’re right Clockwork, I had not thought of that, no. But this scroll is hidden, guarded, protected by magic, kept secret from nearly all of Equestria, and so far has not impacted almost any lives.”
“I still feel that if there is anything that could truly destroy Equestria, this is it.”
“You worry too much, Clockwork. I don’t want our home to be destroyed, but honestly, how could it be? I mentioned how it is guarded and secret, but, as you like to say, even beyond that it is quite impossible to use if you don’t know how to use it. Proper time, proper order of what needs to be said to it, what needs to be said… besides, we’ll be long gone; cold in the ground, as they say.”
“There is an instruction scroll for how to use 1010.”
“Which nopony knows the location of. I don’t know where it is, you don’t know where it is… I think that Princess Celestia is the only pony that could give you that information, and there are good chances that she won’t be telling.” Silas smiled.
“You seem reckless, but it does make sense.” Clockwork nodded, and smiled for the first time. “After all, who could find 1010 anyway, and who would the Princess trust with it?
One thousand seven hundred and fifty four years later, Twilight Sparkle was carefully looking through every shelf in the Starswirl the Bearded wing of the Canterlot Library of Magic frantically trying to remember where Pinkie Pie had found the time travel spells.
“Spike, anything yet?” she called over to the baby dragon, who was currently pouring through scrolls on the other side of the room.
“Nothing yet. Why don’t you just ask somepony where they are?”
“Do you see anypony besides us here?”
Spike glanced around the room. Twilight was right, they had seen almost no one since they had arrived. He sighed and pulled more scrolls out in hope of somehow finding the time travel spells.
“Hello Spike.” Came a soft voice from behind him.
Spike turned to see Princess Celestia standing before him, rainbow mane flowing as usual, with her usual smile that she greeted everypony with.
“Oh, Princess! How are you?” Spike replied while attempting to avoid tripping over the vast number of scrolls he had removed from the shelves.
“Very well, thank you. You know Spike, most ponies just take out the scroll they want instead of tearing through all of them.”
“I know; it’s just that Twilight is looking for the time travel spells, and we can’t remember where they were at.”
“Why were they out in the first place?” Celestia’s eyes looked pensive.
“I…what?”
“Those spells, along with other powerful time-altering spells are supposed to be locked away.”
“Oh hello Princess!” Twilight appeared from around the corner and trotted over to where the alicorn and dragon were conversing.
“Hello Twilight, Spike was just telling me that you are interested in the time travel spells.”
“Yes, I forgot where I put them after I used them a few weeks ago, and I wanted to take another look.”
Celestia nodded and moved past the smaller unicorn to one of the many still unchecked shelves along the back wall and, after moving a mass of books and scrolls to one side, summoned up her magic and put her horn perpendicular to the back of the bookshelf. There was a moment of silence, then a loud click resonated around the room, and the entire bookshelf shifted to the left with a terrible grinding sound. There before them was another room, smaller and much less occupied with scrolls and books, but contrary to the room they currently stood it, it was much more organized, with signs above the shelves and nooks depicting what they held.
Twilight, Spike and Celestia moved into the room and the bookshelf immediately closed off the exit. Twilight and Spike gasped almost simultaneously and spun around to try and prevent the bookshelf from closing, but Princess Celestia merely gestured to a lever on the adjacent wall and moved over to one of the shelves on the right. Twilight and Spike joined her. The sign above the shelf read: Time-Altering Spells.
“Here’s where that time travel spell you used should have been. I’m not sure why it was removed, but it is still missing. Don’t worry about it though, I’ll have the room scoured until it is found.”
Twilight Sparkle barely heard what the Princess was saying; her eyes were fixed upon the scrolls now before her: Time Stopping, Slowing Down Time, Speeding Time Up, Controlled Event Altering, Event Altering, Future Travel, but Past Travel was indeed missing from the collection.
“Well Twilight?” Celestia asked.
“Hmm?” Twilight shook her head as she came back to reality.
“I asked if you want to take one of these back to Ponyville to study since you didn’t get the scroll you were looking for.”
“Oh, I mean take. I mean yes that would be great! You would let me take one of these to study?”
“Absolutely Twilight, I know that you are smart enough to be safe with them. Just be sure that when you come to return it you put it away correctly.” Celestia smiled.
“Could I take a scroll as well?” Spike asked, looking through another shelf.
“Of course.”
After a quick lesson and demonstration on how to open the secret room, Twilight and Spike found themselves on the train back to Ponyville, scrolls in saddlebag and claw.
“So Spike, I haven’t seen what you took.”
“It’s a scroll on the magical properties of dragon fire. I thought it might be useful to see what else dragon fire can do besides burn and deliver messages.” He smiled as he skimmed the first few sentences. “How about you? What did you get?”
“The time stopping spell we were initially looking for when I was certain that there was going to be a disaster because of future Twilight.”
They lapsed into silence. The train pressed forward, the constant rumbling of the heavy wheels filling the wordless air. Eventually the train arrived in Ponyville. It was a bright and pleasant day. There were just enough clouds to keep the heat down, but not enough to block out the vividly blue sky. Twilight and Spike made their way through the town to the library. It seemed that everypony was out enjoying what could only be described as the perfect temperature. The library on the other hand, was quite cool and dark.
“Spike, can you open the windows please?” asked Twilight as she flipped on the light and placed their scrolls on her desk.
“Already on it.” Spike replied from the other side of the room as he began opening the windows to let the day in.
“You’re so good, Spike. What would I ever do without you?” Twilight chuckled.
“Find another assistant?” Spike replied.
“Oh, I could never find anypony as good as you.”
Spiked smiled he picked up his scroll off the desk. Out came a smaller, and far older scroll. Spike didn’t notice this as he went over to a chair on the other side of the room and began to read about the various magical aspects of dragon fire. Twilight went over to the desk to retrieve her scroll, stepping on the smaller scroll that lay upon the floor.
“Hmm?” Twilight levitated the small scroll off the floor. “Spike, did you grab two scrolls from the room?”
“No, why?”
“Another scroll showed up. I guess it must have been folded inside of the others. No worries, we’ll just return it with the others in a few days.”
“What is it, anyway?”
Twilight opened the scroll and began to read:
Herein lies the official procedure and steps required to
Successfully conduct a 1010 spell, as discovered and written out
By the Canterlot Royal Archivists:
Clockwork Chromatic, and Silas Endeavour.
First, the 1010 scroll must be both open and present in the hooves of
Whoever wields the scroll at the time.
Second, the time must be exactly ten after ten.
Third…
Twilight grew silent, continuing to read, yet not aloud. Her face was the essence of confusion, and her eyes squinted in an effort to comprehend what she was reading.
“Hey Spike, have you ever heard of anything by the name of 1010?” She called over to him without looking from the scroll.
“No, and I’m guessing you haven’t either.” He replied from behind his own reading material.
“It’s a good guess, as you are right, I haven’t.” she paused, shaking her head slightly at the perplexing object. “I don’t understand how I could not have though, the procedure to even perform this spell is one of the longest I have ever seen, not to mention exact. There are quite a few minute details that have to be performed perfectly for this to work. I’ve studied enough complex magic that one would think I would have come across this already.”
“Well, today was the first time you’ve been inside that hidden room that the Princess showed us.”
“Even so, I recognized many of the spell and scrolls inside there just from reference in the books I have here. This one is completely new to me.”
“I would think that you would be quite pleased right now.” Spike commented.
“How’s that?”
“Well, it’s another complex and probably powerful spell for you to study and try.”
Twilight smiled, Spike was absolutely right. This new spell would allow her to study new material, and increase her magical horizon. Plus, the spell was quite complex, which made it all the more challenging, and therefore rewarding.
“You’re right Spike; but I want to see if Princess Celestia knows anything about this before I start. Just in case.”
Four days later, Twilight Sparkle her way back to the Starswirl the bearded wing of the Canterlot Library of Magic. The guards nodded in greeting and unlocked the heavy iron gate. The room had been put back together since her last visit, with the shelves reorganized and stacked neatly in tight rows and stacks. Twilight quickly opened the hidden room, replaced the borrowed items, sealed the room back up once more, and went off in search of the Princess.
After inquiring a few guards about where Celestia might be found, Twilight trotted over to her old quarters. It was anypony’s guess why Celestia would be over there, but her guards were not known to lie. Twilight found Princess Celestia poking about the second floor of the library that she used to spend her days in while living in Canterlot.
“Hello Princess.” Twilight called as she entered.
Celestia started, but smiled once she saw who it was. She descended the stairs in her usual elegance.
“Hello my faithful student. How are you?”
“I’m doing well. If you don’t mind me asking, why are you here?”
“I was looking for a book that seems to be missing from the main library. Of Parasprites and Ponies, have you read it?”
Twilight nodded. “It’s a great book; sad, but great. Spike would know where it would be; he practically memorized the location of every book while we lived here. Now he can tell me the location of any book in the library back in Ponyville.”
Celestia smiled. “Well, I’ll just have to find it later. Are you just visiting?”
“Actually I was looking for you. I found an extra scroll that must have been wrapped up in one of the scrolls that we borrowed from the hidden room. It talked about a strange spell that I had never heard of before.”
“Didn’t you look it up?”
“That’s just it Princess, I’ve read just about every book on complex magic that is available, and it was completely new to me. Also, it was so specific in what needed to be done, when it had to be done, and in what order.”
“What order?” Celestia’s eyes took on an almost suspicious look.
“Yes, it was quite specific about what order the steps had to be taken in so the spell would work.” Twilight looked about the library, memories flooding back to her. She did not see Celestia’s growing concern.
“Do you have the scroll with you still?”
“Absolutely. I wanted to see if I could find anything more about it in the hidden room, but after I looked about a bit I thought it would be good to check with you before pursuing it.”
Twilight levitated the scroll out of her saddlebag and over to Princess Celestia, still mentally captured by the thoughts of her life of study in Canterlot. She did not notice the look of horror that came upon Celestia when she unraveled the scroll, nor when Celestia staggered backwards slightly, staring fixedly at the scroll.
“You said that you already looked in the hidden room for more about this?” Celestia’s voice was dry and quiet.
“Yep. I didn’t find anything though.” Twilight glanced over at Celestia and did a double take. “What’s wrong Princess?”
“Does anyone else know about this? Did you share it with anyone?” the alicorn’s eyes were wide and fearful.
“N-n-no. Spike read it once, I think. What’s wrong?”
Celestia closed her eyes and breathed heavily. She slowly opened them to look at the scroll she levitated in front of her. It had been so long, so many years since. She thought that the trials of having to worry about this were over, that they were over with that final balancing of power. But, she reminded herself, this was only the sheet on how to use the spell, and the spell itself was locked safely away. Yet Twilight knew about it, and it would be a good idea to ensure that if she and Luna ever passed away, by whatever means, that somepony who was trustworthy would be able to look after the spell.
“Walk with me Twilight.”
Twilight followed the Princess out of the library and through the extensive halls and corridors of Canterlot. Twilight, at first, continued asking questions as to the Princess’s sullen attitude and the nature of the odd scroll, but Celestia merely told her to wait. Twilight kept her many questions to herself, mulling over what was happening. She was lost in thought and had not realized where they had been going. Twilight nearly walked right into the door that Celestia had paused at, checking herself just in time. Before her was the massive door that acted as a vault to the Elements of Harmony. Celestia inserted her horn into the center, and immediately the magic flared to life, spreading across the design of the door. There was a low rumbling as the doors opened slowly, revealing the jeweled box that held the Elements themselves.
“The Elements of Harmony?” Twilight inquired. But Celestia did not reply. Instead she walked into the room and gestured for Twilight to follow.
When they were both inside, Celestia summoned her magic once again and closed the vault doors. The room was lit from the inside, the powerful lights blazing high above them, white light flaring up from some unknown source as to forever illuminate the weapon that had defeated Nightmare Moon and Discord. Twilight waited for Celestia to open the case, but the Princess passed by uninterestedly. She crossed directly over to the opposite side of the room, which looked vapidly uninteresting comparatively to the objects that the vault was there to protect.
“Tell me, Twilight, what do you think is the most powerful magic known??” Asked Celestia without looking over at the smaller unicorn.
“Isn’t it the Elements of Harmony?” replied Twilight.
Princess Celestia sighed and glanced over at the jeweled box.
“I wish it was Twilight, I wish it was.”
Celestia, once again, summoned up her magic and placed her horn against the back wall. There was a moment of silence, and then the wall simply melted away to reveal a hallway, the light of the vault seeping into the inky blackness of the yawning hall.
“Show no emotion, say nothing, walk at a normal pace, and whatever you do, DO NOT look to either side. Just look and walk forward.” Celestia was like a stone, placid and without any revealing feature in her demeanor or facial expression.
Twilight nodded and they entered. Like the hidden room in the library, the door closed immediately behind them, cutting off the light and plunging them into a starless night. Twilight did not slow, and attempted to peer into the darkness without changing her expression. She could hear Celestia’s hoofsteps next to her. She yearned to look to her side, regardless of the fact that she knew there was no way to see anything that might be there. Even if there was some light, the Princess had sounded almost fearful when she instructed Twilight not to look to the sides, and that was something that you just didn’t question.
It was impossible to determine how far they had gone, or how close they were to where they needed to go. That was the worst part, not knowing anything about what was happening. The number of questions in Twilight’s head had doubled since they had entered the vault, and then doubled again when the dark hallway had been opened up and she was told how to go through it. What could need all this protection? First, anyone attempting to get to this thing would have to know his or her way around Canterlot, and the city is a maze in itself. Second, there are there are an increased number of royal guards surrounding the area where the vault is located. Third, there is the challenge of making it through a door that only Celestia can open, and then there’s this, whatever it is. There’s a good bet that there are other defenses that I’m not aware of, Twilight mused.
Without any warning, a bright light erupted all around them, causing Twilight, despite what Celestia had told her, to wince and look away. When her eyes had adjusted, Twilight looked up and gasped; a massive, domed room had replaced the dark hallway. Metallic looking walls stretched up to a rounded ceiling high above them, and chrome tiles lay underhoof. The room was lit by a gleaming orb of light that hung far above them towards the top. In the center of the room was a circle of obelisks, black and ominous.
“I will answer your questions now.” Celestia had some of her usual personality back, but was still very cold in demeanor.
“What was that hallway that we just passed through?” Twilight asked.
“It’s a gateway to this place. This room exists far away from Canterlot, and it can only be accessed through that hall. It teleports whoever walks through here, but it is not required to return.”
“How do we get back then?”
“You will see when we are done here.” Celestia started forward towards the obelisks with Twilight in tow.
“What did you mean by that you wish the Elements of Harmony were the most powerful magic? What magic is greater?” Twilight began to look about the room, only now noticing that there were signs placed upon the obelisks, and that the obelisks themselves were of different heights. They made no sense to her, as they read Shattering, The Majestics, Apocalyptic Factor, The Greatest Gift, and Supremacy of and for the Ages.
Celestia stopped in front of the tallest obelisk and turned back to face Twilight.
“We have lied to the citizens of Equestria for a long time, telling them that the Elements are exactly what you believe. It helps that there were not that many ponies who actually knew what the Elements were, but after the events of the recent past with Discord and Nightmare Moon, they have been discovered all over again. By telling you that there is nothing greater, Equestria believes that it is safe against all threats. That is more or less true, as the Elements are incredibly powerful. Magic as powerful as the Elements is often very unstable and has a mind of its own. The Elements do have a mind of their own, as they are now bonded to you and your friends instead of Luna and me. Thankfully we can control them though.” Celestia gestured to the obelisks that stood around them. “Long ago I had two royal archivists who began to study magic and see what magic we had not yet discovered. The magic they found was astounding, untapped for centuries, hidden in plain sight. For instance, the Majestics is a type of magic that varies in power, but can only be found within the cells of royal blood. It has the ability to sap and destroy the power of any creature with royal blood in them, as well as create new royalty, and the decision of how much power to give them lies completely in the hooves of whoever creates the new royalty. The new royalty is also under his or her complete control forever, an effect that cannot be reversed.”
“Pardon me Princess, but how exactly is that stronger than the Elements of Harmony?” Twilight asked.
“There are aspects of that we do not yet know the nature of, but we do know exist, and the Elements’ effects can be broken. After all, Discord was able to break out of his stone prison.”
Twilight had to admit; it was true that the Elements were not always permanent. Discord had escaped once, and Nightmare Moon had broken free of her imprisonment in the moon as well.
“This,” Celestia continued, levitating the strange scroll in front of her, “is a key on how to use the greatest of all magic.”
Celestia bowed her head to the tallest obelisk, but instead of using her magic to open the black pillar, she rammed her horn into the glossy exterior, shattering the obelisk and revealing a rolled-up scroll lying peacefully inside.
“This,” she seemed all too unaffected by slamming her head into seemingly very solid object. “is the spell known as 1010. 1010 is currently the most powerful magic in existence as far as we know. It is the magic of absolute balance.”
“Absolute balance?” asked Twilight.
“Something you may have noticed, although it is quite hard to tell, is that at ten after ten, the hands on the clock are in perfect balance.”
“I’ll confess that I didn’t notice that, no.”
“Well, it’s isn’t just the clock hands. Everything is balanced at ten after ten. Time, the positions of the sun and moon, the position of every living thing, every shadow, every cloud, is balanced. All magic and energy flow seamlessly together at that exact moment. It lasts for only sixty seconds, and happens twice a day.”
“All magic flows together at ten after ten?” Twilight still wasn’t convinced.
“Yes. My royal archivists Clockwork Chromatic and Silas Endeavour found this and were able to tap into the flow of magic. What they gained was, for sixty seconds, unlimited power to create, or destroy, anything.”
Twilight’s eyes grew wide. Unlimited power to do anything? Was that even possible? Either this was a trick, or Celestia was being serious. After all the security procedures they had gone through just to get here, there was a good chance that this was for real.
“I…I…” she stammered, having trouble finding the correct words for the situation. “I don’t want to sound ignorant or seem like I don’t believe you, but I’m having trouble with all of this.”
Celestia nodded. She had been very solemn ever since Twilight had given her the strange scroll in the library.
“I understand. After all, if everything was in perfect balance twice a day, even for sixty seconds, wouldn’t you be able to notice it?”
“I was going to ask you that very question.”
“This world and our lives are so busy that we rarely take time to observe time and the events around us. To sit back and notice sixty seconds twice a day is hard to do; and to observe a specific sixty seconds twice a day… taking time to observe a specific time is among the hardest tasks that you could try to accomplish, especially if it is twice a day.”
Celestia grew silent. Twilight peered at the 1010 scroll, turning everything she had been told over in her head. The scroll lay there harmlessly, and yet, maybe it was everything she had been told about the scroll, but it seemed to be looking back at her, similar to the way an abyss would. Twilight continued to stare at the ancient paper, captivated by it, drawn into its aged surface by an invisible hook that had clasped her mind and did not seem to want to let go. The room faded from around her, Celestia disappeared into the gloom, the floor fell away into the void, the other obelisks shattered one by one and all there remained was 1010 and her. The scroll began to unravel by itself, growing larger in size. The color of age disappeared from the paper, as if it had just been made. The scroll continued to grow as it unraveled until it towered over her, completely open. There, in the center of the sheet, was 1010, the ancient numbers scrawled with an onyx colored ink, yet it was as if they were carved into stone, for it had immortality. The numbers remained dark for a moment, and then blazed into a magnificent golden hue that blinded Twilight’s eyes, changing her purple irises to match the numbers. The light continued to move through her, consuming her mind and body. Her horn glowed and the world was at her command.
“Twilight!” Celestia yelled.
Twilight jumped at the sudden noise and looked around. Celestia was looking at her, the obelisks behind her, and the metallic walls behind them, stretching up to the ball of light. The 1010 scroll lay peacefully exactly where it had been.
“What happened?” Twilight said softly, glancing about.
“You didn’t hear me.” Celestia smiled. “Lost in thought?”
“Thought…” Twilight shook her head quickly and looked back up at Celestia. “Sorry Princess, I don’t know what just happened. You had gone, along with everything else, except for the scroll and me.”
“I wasn’t joking when I said it was powerful. Just like the Elements of Harmony can bond to one pony or another, other types strong magic can affect you if you are in contact with them.”
“Princess, there is one thing I don’t quite understand; if this magic is so powerful, then why not use it to solve all of Equestria’s problems? Why did we have to endure and defeat Discord, Nightmare Moon, and the Queen of the Changelings? Why don’t we have constant peace?”
Celestia nodded and glanced back over at the scroll.
“Do you remember what the magic of 1010 comes from?”
“Universal balance.”
“Perfect universal balance. The balance must be maintained, and when 1010’s power is used, it throws off the balance. The only way to reset the balance is to use the same magic to do something that is approximately opposite of the first use.” She paused, collecting her thoughts. “There have been balances in the past that do not seem like they would be considered opposite, but they have worked to reset the balance. But that is the key to using this magic, resetting the balance within twenty-four hours of the disruption.”
“What happens if you don’t balance it?”
“The magic will balance itself through any means necessary. The longer the balance is kept unbalanced, the greater the unbalance is and the greater the balancing effect must be. Clockwork and Silas found that twenty-four hours will not create a mass disruption and the effect will not have to be greater than the initial unbalancing, but after that…”
“Are there still remnants of what 1010 has been used for today?” Twilight moved a step closer, her interest piqued by the sudden thought that perhaps she had been living around this all along.
“The Elements of Harmony.” Celestia was very matter-of-fact.
“What?”
“A long time ago there was another kingdom of ponies that was neighbors with Equestria. For many centuries we were at peace with them, but then there was a revolution. The current leaders that we had been friends with were executed and the new oligarchy decided to declare war on us. The current captain of the Royal Guard gained control of the 1010 scroll and used its power to create a weapon that, if used, would both defeat our enemies and restore Equestria to a state of harmony. The Elements were created by the power of balance. They were enough to discourage the neighboring kingdom from attacking us. However, in celebration that we were not at war, everypony forgot about the fact that the balance was off and did not work out a way to reset the balance. Twenty-eight hours later 1010 activated and reset the balance. Tell me, have you ever been to the settlement known as Appleoosa?”
The question caught Twilight off guard.
“Yes, Applejack has family living over there so we all got to visit.”
“That settlement is, strictly speaking, outside of Equestria’s boundaries. If you had to tell me where it is in relation to notable landmarks, how would you reply?”
“Just on the southern point of a large desert.”
“That desert was previously a large and powerful country. Fruitful, healthy, and full of life.” Celestia looked directly at Twilight. “That is how the balance was restored for creating the Elements of Harmony. Everypony forgot about the need for 1010 to be sated, and to reset the balance, so after twenty-eight hours 1010 activated and destroyed the neighboring kingdom.”
The room went very quiet. Twilight had gone slightly pale and Celestia was still in a state of very little emotion. A couple of minutes passed. Twilight eventually shook her head and looked up at Celestia, a mix of anguish and confusion mirrored in her face.
“Why did you tell me this?”
“Because one day Luna and I may not be here anymore, by whatever circumstances. We needed to find somepony who was trustworthy and could look after these should such a time ever come.”
“Why not tell Princess Cadance or Shining Armor?”
“They would be the obvious choice. A secret is safer with those who are not expected to know, for they will never be asked. I doubt that anything besides us even knows about 1010, or any of these, but it is better to take precautions.”
Twilight nodded. It made sense, but the amount of stress that had suddenly been put upon her, without her consent, was enough to completely change her life. She still didn’t even know about nearly anything else in the room, but perhaps that was for the best. There was still one question that needed answering.
“Princess, where are we?”
“We are in a room that exists far outside of Equestria’s borders, deep underground. It is impossible to break into from the outside, and is nearly impossible to get out of if you don’t know the proper procedure. We call it The House of Four Doors.”
“Why?”
“It’s just a lyric from an old song: ‘House of Four Doors, you’ll be lost there forever, House of Four Doors, would it be there forever?’”
“How do we leave, anyway?”
Celestia walked over to one side of the rounded room and beckoned Twilight to follow.
“Shouldn’t we replace the obelisk? I mean, you shattered it.” Twilight said, walking back over to the stand upon which 1010 rested.
“As soon as we leave it will repair itself. Come, I need to get back to the castle and you need to get back to your studies.”
Twilight grinned and nodded. “You’re right, I do have new material to study.”
Celestia finally smiled. It was good to see that she was returning to her normal self. Twilight walked over to join Celestia next to the metallic wall. Celestia’s horn glowed a dim red and the wall opened to reveal a hallway that Twilight recognized as one of the main halls within Canterlot.
“How…”
“The House of Four Doors is impossible to escape unless you know every detail of the area that you want to return to. When this room was created I memorized several rooms and halls within Canterlot down to the smallest detail. They have never changed since.”
“What happens if you remember incorrectly?”
“You are transported someplace far away.” Celestia replied, “We don’t know exactly where it leaves you.”
They stepped through the opening from the House of Four Doors into the Canterlot hallway. Twilight ran over to a nearby window to see that the sun was just about to set. Looks like she would be returning to Ponyville in the dark. Celestia took her leave and Twilight left the palace and headed to the train station. The guards walked the streets, but there was no threat at the moment, so they did nothing more than glance at her as she passed by. The sun had ducked down behind the horizon; the sky was painted a magnificent red with stripes of orange and purple intertwining to create a tapestry worthy of any palace, but the one that could never be hung up on the wall to be prized.
The train had just begun the boarding process as she arrived, the few nighttime passengers taking their places. Twilight stood by one of the many windows, staring up at the moon, as the train began its long descent into the country. She felt slightly guilty, but as the Princess had reminded her, she had to get back to her studies, and now she had new material. Twilight lifted the flap of her saddlebag and peered inside. The 1010 scroll was tucked safely away, not doing much of anything for the moment.
Stats
Page generated in 0.027 seconds
Total duration
976 users online
1,460,676 hits today, 2,073,628 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
This can only end in tears.
537160Have you not read this guy before? everything is tears
Oh, I almost forgot, the 1010 logo, aka the picture I used, belongs to Caran d'Ache. Don't sue me and whatnot.
537653
Yeah... Yeah, that's true.
Glad to see you have a new story up. After your last story, (Which may I say was excellent.) I'm gladly going to track this one.
P.S. I believe I finally figured out the Windigo.
P.S.S. Took me long enough.
P.S.S.S. I changed my name from Kingdok10 to Kingex11 (Please don't ask why).
P.S.S.S.S. Almost forgot to include my usual funny picture.
How I felt when I realized the awnser to windigo was right infront of my face the entire time:
resources.toolwi.com/resource/preview:2/ce84b3f7b7aa78c26691c7fbc254433a.gif
537160
Tears or laughs, you cannot have one without the other.
537653
I do tend to go more for the dark and sad, don't I? I have one comical story up though.
542382
Ya finally figured it out? Good deal, love the animation at the bottom, really gave me a laugh with your caption.
I'm naturally curious about why you changed your name, probably because you told me not to ask, but I won't pry. I must say, I do prefer the latter.
Hopefully I didn't set the bar too high with the Windigo, but I will try my best to make this one good.
Thank you all for adding 1010 to your lists of favorites. I hope I can keep you entertained.
544495I've read it, it's pretty good but I prefer this stuff
but that's me
Fantastic! Another Hidden Identity story, brony! Hope this one has a happy ending (I can hope, can't it?)
BTW - I still think that there is a hidden, dark, alternative interpretation for Cath Amber!
-Nether
544555
I agree with you, darker stories (usually) are deeper than romance, comedy, or...most other genres of stories, so I feel the same way, they are better in my opinion.
544815
You can hope, but I think that That_One_Guy and Balancer may disagree with you, judging by their comments.
As for Cath Amber, their are explanations for the end of the Windigo, and they are there, waiting in the subtext.