Journey to the center of Equestria

by Rarity Belle

Chapter XXXVII

After Cadence spoke her words and the rest of the anthronies had all processed them inside of their brains, only then did the unthinkable happen. A massive commotion between the lot of them just erupted like a dormant volcano that had finally managed to be going off. Had they really been going all the way up to the Frozen North and faced the dangers along the way just to realize that their quest would have been pointless?

It wouldn’t have been the first time that some of them learned that lesson in the hard way. Rainbow Dash was as per usual the one who started the fires that would be fueling the boiler of rage. “We've come all the way up to this forsaken, cold and terrible place just to hear that you didn’t know where the entrance lays?!” she shouted up towards not just Cadence, but through the whole of the room. She was pissed about it and nopony could actually prove her wrong about it.

But it wouldn’t have been long before the whole group just faced one another. Rarity and Rainbow both stood up as they walked to one another with a glare of thunder inside of their eyes. Applejack was wanting to stand up, but with the pirate already up it didn’t seem like the best idea in the world.

“Oh now you just have to listen to yourself here Rainbow Dash, major of the C.A.F., you squeal and you squeal like a foal that’s just being born,” growled Rarity in return. Before even she knew it, it happened. The flat palm of her hand met up with the rainbow haired mare her cheek and the sounds of a slap echoed through the igloo.

Rarity’s eyes went wide. She had never intended to do the action but Rainbow slowly crawled back up to match the unicorn with her eyes. She rubbed her sore cheek a little bit while looking right back into those sapphire blue rims. “Oh, you shouldn’t have done that. You know what you are?” the mare then taunted.

“Go ahead, tell me, I can take it,” snarled Rarity in return. Yet she regained her regal posture and laid her arms crossways. Both of their eyes irradiated a thunder before both Applejack and Fluttershy had stood up as well. Not even the admiral or the doctor could be stopping what would happen next, but they thought it was a good idea to get a hold of either mare.

"You’re nothing but a lunatic who was raised in a wealthy family, sent to the navy and then began to mute! I know your tales, Brittenburg. You aren’t as original as you think that you are!” Rainbow bellowed to her. The pegasus tried her utmost best to release herself from the admiral’s hold. “You’re nothing but a spoiled filly!”

Those words were another smack in the face for Rarity. The unicorn pirate’s rage was racing through all of her body. How much she just wanted to smack the literal bones out of the major’s body. Yet somewhere deep inside of her mind there was still the break that could be placed for all of the actions. Something for which she secretly was actually happy about.

It didn’t mean that the words were stinging any less though. They were prying right at her heart, teasing their way in and ravaging it. The story of the major was only half true but Rarity tried to mask it by saying it would all have been lies. “I’ll kill you for that statement once I have the chance!” she snarled towards Rainbow. Who on her own turn had Rarity right where she wanted.

Then came the admiral who decided to join in upon the action and the madness of the two mares. “Not if Ah end yar life first, deserter!” the blonde haired anthrony shouted just before she tightened her hold on Rainbow a bit more. “Ah promise yar death will be painful, tormenting like the years you have been gnawing at mah life!”

“Oh so now you blame everything on me?!” Rarity answered. Another huff was released by her. Though much to her own surprise was the hold of Fluttershy a whole lot stronger than she originally had anticipated. “You have been wanting to end my life for so long, so long it made you turn to the bottle! You’re no more fun, Applejack. You used to be a jolly sailor gal, but now… Now I see nothing back of the statue that you once were.”

Again and again where the soul hurting insults thrown at one another as Fluttershy, Twilight and Cadence just kept themselves silent. They didn’t know what they could be saying in the matter or what they could be doing for that matter. They all wanted it to end, but what would have been required to do such a feat?

The arguments continued in the matter of seconds, eventually they came to the point where they were all caught up with their wrongs. They had arrived at the point where they actually were in time. Held by the others and facing the other in unbelievable odds. They needed a new somepony to blame. And that anthrony happened to be nopony else then Twilight Sparkle.

Accusations of the greatest of crimes were sent flying through the air which finally managed to get the attention of the anthrony. Finally was she taken right out of her concentration and her violet rims looked over to the mares she called ‘company’ for so long. She would be having a series of tough words with them, all of them. Whether they liked it or not.

What followed was that a deep exhale being released through Twilight’s nostrils as she also stood back up. With her hooves touching the icy ground did she simply walk through the igloo with her hands behind her back. “So, now you lot blame me? You blame me for being the only anthrony in this forsaken country that actually has some knowledge on stopping these tremors. The major, the admiral and the pirate. I should have expected you all to turn against me at one point or the other.”

“It wasn’t us who send us here! You were so stupid to come all the way to the Frozen North, in the hope to get one answer but you got nothing!” Rainbow yelled up towards her as she once again tried to break free. Without much luck once again.

“Quiet Rainbow, your words mean nothing to me at this moment,” returned Twilight as cold as the weather outside was. Though she lied about the fact, the words of the major actually did have an impact on her. Something that was a little bit on the big side in fact.

But the chance to speak what was on her mind wasn’t granted to her. The commotion once again fired up as the shots were fired all around. Fluttershy could speak of luck that she wasn’t called out by any of them. A fact which she really, really wanted to keep that way. Yet on the other end had Twilight been having enough of their bickering. More than enough, if she was honest.

Of course she knew that everything could have been going wrong on their trek. Of course she knew that not everything would have been going nice and easy. She only had one actual lead in the real world as to where the entrance could be lying. Though that everything would be crashing down together was something she wouldn’t have dared to even dream about. Something didn’t feel right in her very heart. Almost as if some form of corruption was nesting itself within it.

The fires raged and waged on as the mind of Twilight sank again in the very thoughts she carried. Yet with all of the harmful words that were being spoken around and about her, that was something that was actually easier said than done.

The unicorn charged up her horn and with a deep growl she conjured up four arcane tubes of glue and placed the liquids on the mouths of the mares. What happened next was that the silence finally returned to the room as all of their lips were sealed together. Among them were those of Fluttershy for good measure.

Only two anthronies were granted the ability to keep on talking, which were Twilight and Cadence. “So, now that the calm has returned to this place, sit down, all of you!” Twilight demanded before she released a small huff through her nostrils.

There wasn’t much else that the mares could be doing to actually obey that words as they were. So in silence did they all went back to their chairs and quietly sat down. Whereas Twilight began to pace up and down as the words left her mouth. Words spoken in an ancient language that was thought to have been dead. Deader than dead actually.

Whatever the words were, the glare inside of her eyes didn’t become any better about it. All of the anger that the three of them demonstrated before could be found within the eyes of the unicorn. She was angry about something, more angry than she had possibly been in her entire life. Fear was therefore the emotion that took all of them over. None dared to look right at Twilight in order to escape her wrath while Fluttershy hid herself within the pinkish hair.

“What’s wrong, Twilight?” Cadence asked in a seemingly sympathetic tone. Then she got out of her own chair. The alicorn made her way over to the unicorn with care. A hand was laid upon her shoulder. “You know you tell your old mentor, everything, right?”

Those words, said in that exact tone was just the thing that caused the unicorn to go haywire. Everything she thought to have been knowing up to that point was literally crashing against each other and everything else. She thought to have known exactly what was being wrong with the place. With the land even, with Cadence.

With a shake of her shoulder did the unicorn tore herself away from the alicorn. In that moment there was a light, greenish aura that was being sucked up into the pinkish hand. A hand that then curled itself up to a fist for a fraction of a second before it was put to rest again.

The alicorn wouldn’t be giving up that easily. Curiosity had been awoken inside of her own body and she wanted to know exactly what Twilight was thinking about. “It pains me in my heart to see and realize that you have come all the way up here, and not have anything to show for it.”

“How can you..?” Twilight then replied in a barely audible whisper, “how, can you?” Her words were repeated while Cadence didn’t even have the slightest of clues about what was actually going on. The clueless expression inside of her eyes could have been a dead giveaway at first. But with unicorns did the matter always lay deeper. The truth always laid deeper, no matter what.

“How can you have forgotten one of the most important pieces on Equestrian history? Have those couple of years here really torn apart your mind that much?” Twilight then bluntly asked before she turned herself around to face her old mentor. “You just left me and Shining Armor like that. Never even a letter to the stallion that loves you!”

A shocked Cadence was looking back into the eyes of Twilight as the thoughts couldn’t have been more wrong. It wouldn’t have mattered what the alicorn exactly said towards the other mare, it all would have come wrong to her. That didn’t mean that she wouldn’t be trying to talk her way out of it thought.

“Sit,” commanded Cadence then in a demanding tone to her. The mare herself walked back to her own chair as seconds later the same would have been done by Twilight. The unicorn sat down upon the chair and crossed her legs while the arms were laid on the elbow rests. A deep sigh was released through the mouth of Cadence as she calmly shook her head from side to side. “Twilight, Twilight, Twilight. I have been here, for so long. I have been hunting for the remains of the dead king for so long.”

“He’s dead and his magic ceased to exist! You know that just as well as I do,” countered Twilight immediately. Only to receive a shake of Cadence her head. “Wait, you, you don’t want to say that… You’ve got to be kidding me.”

The further she spoke her words, the deeper she looked into the eyes of the mare who called herself her ‘mentor’. The more she looked inside of them, the more she began to realize that something was different. “His magic never ceased to exist, he roams the icy plains every day. Hidden in plain sight. Groaning in the wind and appearing as an ice giant. Equestria is never save nor shall it be from that dreaded, black hearted king.”

Words that stung were once again released towards the company of mares, words that especially meant a lot towards Twilight as she allowed her head to be hung. She was at the verge of giving everything up. Everything that she knew and had done so far was more than enough to make her wanting to go back home. To crawl in her bed and cry herself to sleep, or to death. Whichever came first.

"This can’t be, this can’t be possible. No, no, no, no, no, no,” repeated Twilight to herself in a low toned whisper. She was desperate, furious and angry at the same time. A combination of emotions which one mustn’t see a unicorn in. With the power of magic at their disposal, nasty things could happen. Which was the exact thing what the mares of the company realized. They wouldn’t be moving a single muscle just to remain out of the line of fire.

Twilight’s head rose itself back up as she looked again deep into the eyes of her former mentor and realized the fact she had been missing. For under one certain angle of her head did the usual light purple rims into something that was more aiming towards moderate harlequin coloring. The change of color was spotted by Twilight clearly but she tried to mask the discovery.

“What can’t be possible, Twilight?” the alicorn asked. The other mare was genuinely curious about the matter. A thing that was readable within her very eyes.

Everything began to make sense in that very moment. Twilight evaluated the events as they were. Everything began to fall into their rightful and respectable places. Why couldn’t Twilight have seen it earlier that something was wrong with her mentor? Why did it took so long to finally realize the facts as they were?

There was only one more thing that she could be done and that was to do something that could actually have her killed if she was wrong. For even though everything began to make sense to her, that wasn’t a guarantee that everything would have actually been that way. The Frozen North changed one’s perception about all of life.

Even with the flames in their hearts to keep themselves warm, everything could still be altered. Much like when Twilight thought to had seen the hulking giant on top of the mountain ridge. “What can’t be possible, you ask?” the mare then said as her eyes were being narrowed. In her mind had all of the alarm bells gone to chime as she seemed to be rather certain of her business.

All that she had seen and heard so far out of Cadence were good, but they weren’t things said and done by the actual Cadence. “Well, don’t leave me waiting here. What have you discovered?” the alicorn asked with a slightly tilted head.

The only word that would be coming out of the mouth of Twilight would have been sealing the fate of everypony inside of the room if she was wrong. If she was right, a whole new pack of trouble had begun. After a deep inhale she spoke the one word that could summarize everything that wasn’t possible in the moment. “You.”

The ears of Cadence twitched a bit in response to the words as the horn of Twilight charged itself up right after it. Her arm was stretched out and in the air was an arcane hand summoned. A hand that rushed itself forwards and closed its fingers around the neck of Cadence. Before anypony could be doing anything else was the alicorn lifted right out of her chair and pushed against the wall.

At the tips of her hooves she stood while also struggling for breath. While Twilight just sat there like a dark tyrant. She was still locked inside of her chair with the aura being around both of her horn and the extended hand. Mumbles of words were spat towards her as the mares of the company wanted to protest against the actions that were done.

Though one glare of the maddened eyes of Twilight was more than enough to shut them up. She almost sat there as if she was the highest crime boss in the entire land. As if she could be doing whatever she wanted and actually managed to get away with it. More or less did that happen to be the case. They were in Frozen North, nopony knew exactly where Cadence was. All seemed perfect in the soothsayer’s eyes. Which was the one glaring flaw it had.

The fingers of Twilight squeezed themselves a little bit which then resulted in the arcane hand squeezing the throat of Cadence just a little bit more. With deep and growling exhales that left the mouth of the unicorn were already a clear enough indicator that she was angry. Angry about something that Cadence had done.

None of the other mares knew just what was happening right before their eyes or just why Twilight was doing the things she did. Of course they wanted to protest, to stand right in her face and slap some sense into her. But they didn’t dare. They hadn’t seen the full extent of Twilight’s powers and abilities. And the then knew why.

The unicorn held the power inside of her to turn into a Dark Witch if she wanted. She could become one of the devil’s servants at any given time. That close she seemed to be living on the edge between the realms. At least that was the explanation that the rest of them all got for it. Terrified for her angry side was the thing that the mares were. But the fun wasn’t over yet.

The more they looked towards the unicorn, the more they could have sworn that they noticed the hair become more wavy. Almost as if something had set it on fire. The eyes of the unicorn had closed as some deep breathing was being done. From the looks of it did she wanted to keep herself under control and in check. Yet Applejack feared that the worst had yet to come.

Rainbow, Rarity and Fluttershy all looked terrified towards the events. They couldn’t bare it anymore. But they had to be staying there unless they either wanted to go back into the freezing cold, or become Twilight’s next victim.

Without a single word did the eyes of the unicorn open themselves up and she rose herself up from her chair. The glance she gave to Cadence was something that terrified the living daylight out of the alicorn while the changes happened before their very eyes. The very skin of the unicorn changed from mulberry into something a lot more bleak, almost colorless some dared to think. But that change was only the beginning.

Within her eyes had the purple rims made way for nothing but two massive, blood red dots that would give nightmares to any and all who watched over it. And then it just happened. Just like that it happened to Twilight Sparkle. The hair that the unicorn carried changed itself into literal fire. A never ending, always burning fire that was placed on top of her scalp and replacing her tail.

For a second it almost seemed as if the devil herself had arrived inside of the room. The eyes of Cadence looked right into the devilish appearance of the unicorn and she managed to release a deep gulp. To all the others, it would have seemed as if the unicorn had actually become the thing she always had feared of becoming.

Perhaps the powers of Sunset Shimmer had finally kicked in and they would have made the unicorn into her servant. Nopony knew for certain what was happening or happened with Twilight. But again, they were pinned down to their locations. There was literally nowhere else that they could be going to. Whether they wanted it or not, they would be watching to the events to come with a literal front row seat.

Cadence became more and more terrified of the unicorn when the steps closer were being made. The heat of the flames reached her body while she began to sweat to herself. How much longer could the torment have been going on? “Where is she?!” Twilight yelled in her normal voice. No hinting towards demonic nor was it lowered. It was just the normal yelling voice of the younger soothsayer. It managed to surprise all of them, even the pinned down alicorn.

“I, I beg your pardon?” the mare on the wall managed to say. She blinked with her eyes a couple of times. “I don’t, I don’t understand what you are saying. W-Where’s Twilight?”

“I’m right here, I’m just really, really, really, really angry because somepony keeps on lying to me!” Twilight growled towards the other mare. The arcane hand tightened the throat a little bit more. The horn charged itself up more before a massive blast of arcane energy was being released right unto the belly of Cadence.

Nopony dared to even be watching to the events as they were happening. They were all just terrified about everything. Was she killing the alicorn because of the weeping sounds that filled the air? Or was she literally torturing her? None knew and none wanted.

Yet in the eyes of Twilight appeared the very thing that she was looking for. The blast hit the belly of the other mare and the light gray cerise skin she had just melt away. Which in return was being replaced with a deep gray one. “There you are,” the unicorn said before the horn almost discharged itself. “Reveal yourself to me, now!” Her words were shouted towards the being.

“Oh what fun is there in still playing along?” a changed voice spoke up out of the mouth of the mare. A feminine voice that sounded highly seductive combined with a little echo already inside of it. “You finally managed to be getting me, Sparkle. They said that you were the smart one.”

“Who said it?”

The mare on the wall then allowed herself to release a little and eerie giggle before she shook her head calmly from side to side. “The thoughts of Cadence said that to me. But go on, try to figure out, what I actually am. You’re on the right way so far. Let’s finish the sprint here.”

It seemed to have been madness itself to give into the demands of the beast that was pinned before them. The mumbles of broken words were released by the other mares as they said and gestured not to play along. Something on which the ‘Cadence’ could play in really nicely.

“What will you be doing, Twilight. Listen to the lot you travel with, or going out at your own intuition? Look where the both of them have brought you already, hmhmhm, I’m not going to be surprised by your actions. I know all about you. Every, last, detail,” the being spoke to Twilight. The expression of shock filled the eyes of the unicorn for just a little moment.

A shock which then made its way over into downright anger. Twilight couldn’t believe that the thing knew what it said to be knowing. Though perhaps the biggest surprise was that it managed to breathe so freely despite being choked to near death. Something wasn’t right and the time to reveal just what had been talking to them was about there.

“Show yourself, show me your real form!” Twilight demanded. Finally she rose the mare off of the ground and pinned it even further against the wall. For the first time since it was being captured it showed signs of having trouble with breathing.

The facade was just over. The time had come to reveal its true colors was finally there.

The horn of Cadence changed itself up in a brilliant green colored aura which soon enough made the transition to the rest of the body. The entire body of the mare covered itself within it as the moans were released through the mouth. “Oh this feels good, to finally be rid of that stinking body of hers,” the voice spoke up in a highly content tone before the aura finally faded away.

All of the mares were looking at something that they hadn’t seen before in their very lives. For on the wall, there where Cadence used to be pinned down stood another creature. A dark gray skinned, oddly green clothed creature. Its jagged horn made already sure it wasn’t a unicorn that any of them would be knowing.

Twilight knew enough already. The very thing that stood before them, a thing with actual holes that went through both its lower legs and arms was one of her worst fears. The holes made the mares think right away of it being something like a cheese but laughing about the matter they sadly enough couldn’t.

The mouth of Twilight opened once again in order to ask the all-important question. Not the question of who she happened to be, but what she was going there. “What is a Dark Witch doing so far from the boundaries of Everfree?!” she asked in a raised tone of pure and utter anger towards the creature.

The creature managed to chuckle through its choking just before the answer was given to Twilight. “Simple, just like yourself,” was being said to her. Those words caused the unicorn to almost snap the last couple of wires that were still intact. She was literally that close of going berserk against anything and everypony that she would be coming across.

“Don’t you lie to me!” Twilight replied while she forced the Witch even higher off the ground. Then there was another revelation made towards them. The buzzing of insectoid wings did their turn nice and clear. Wings that managed to keep the Witch level inside of the arcane hold.

“I’m not lying to you at all, not all of it at least,” the Witch chuckled before she shook her head a little bit. “I am not living off of Moon’s energy like the rest of those parasites. I live on love and prefer isolation. You think it was a mere coincidence that your little Cadence had to be moved up here? Partly, but the rest, you’re looking at the mastermind of it all.”

The words felt like somepony was hitting upon her skull with a sledgehammer. Never had she encountered a Dark Witch who was actually that cunning and sly with its actions. What deal must have been made with the mare of darkness to gain such abilities, was a thought that raced through Twilight.

“Enough about all of this madness, tell me the name you wish to be addressed as,” the flaming unicorn spoke. To that point, she still seemed to be reasonable. Which came as a massive surprise to the Witch. Who had thought that Twilight had become mindless and just wanted destruction and answers everywhere. Even with all of the information about Twilight known to her, there were still things hidden about her.

“Address me, as Chrysalis, the last name you will hear before you forget what it feels like to love somepony or to be loved. For your love, is all mine,” spoke Chrysalis with a sinister chuckle. Only to have the hand squeeze her shut even further. The laughter was cut short much to the thanks of all of the other mares in the room.

Twilight still wouldn’t have been done with the Witch though. For she needed to know where exactly her old mentor was to get the answer out of her. There were still too many questions, too much risks and far too much at stake to have their journey end there. They had to push on and the only way that that could happen, was for Chrysalis to tell Twilight exactly where Cadence was. The real Cadence.

“A shape-shifting Dark Witch, that’s a new one for me, I have to admit that to you. Original, easy to hide and blend in. Only question that I am having now is, where do you leave the originals of the beings you copy?” the soothsayer growled up.

“Oh you really are an enjoyment to listen to, Cadence already thought highly of you, but her thoughts are nothing compared to seeing you in real life. Bravo indeed. Bravo,” said Chrysalis. She couldn’t help herself but to let out another chuckle.

Twilight on the other end was having more than enough about the event as they were and she squeezed the throat even further. More and more couldn’t leave or enter the lungs of the Dark Witch who then came to a rather sudden realization.

Chrysalis was literally laughing her own life away. The last thing she wanted to be doing was to die at the hands of Twilight Sparkle. For so long had she lived her live in peace and isolation, why would she be throwing it away then?

“I’m going to ask you this, one more time and I want an answer to my question this time. No words, no nothing. Just point, just point in the one direction of just where I can be finding her. You ready? Here comes my question: where can I find, the real Cadence?” Twilight asked to Chrysalis in a demanding, low and overall just unpleasant sounding tone.

Yet it did its work nicely. The Dark Witch actually became scared about what would happen if she didn’t cooperate with Twilight. Which resulted in her only being able to do one more thing. Chrysalis pointed with her finger down to the floor. Twilight began to wipe the snow with a hoof.

Beneath the thin layer of snow was a massive sheet of ice, and below that a cavern which seemed to be stretching for eternity. She knew exactly where Cadence happened to be held as a prisoner. She was literally that close again to meet her former mentor again. But the dangers still weren’t over. Not by a long shot.