Divergent Destinies

by Leondude

Chapter 7 - Putting plans into motion

Xindisious stared at the moon in his cottage using a telescope placed on an open window. He noticed something different about the moon. It was lacking the pockmarked image of a mare that it had for centuries. He smiled at this revelation.

"Ah, so the other sister has returned. Good. Everything is proceeding as I have foreseen."

A door opened as Twilight trotted behind Xindisious, with Spike in tow.

"Master Xindisious!" Twilight said in a panicked tone "Nightmare Moon has returned and Sunset and I need your help in finding out everything you know about the Elements of Harmony!"

Xindisious put the telescope away and faced Twilight.

"Did you not know of the prophecy?" Xindisious asked.

"Yes, but I was so caught up in tracking the movements of Kain and I thought Sunset and Celestia could handle it, but Celestia disappeared and… and..."

Twilight hyperventilated, to which Xindisious rolled his eyes and telekinetically pulled a paper bag from a cupboard filled to the brim with them. Twilight snatched the paper bag out of the air with her own magic and brought it to her muzzle before taking several rapid, heaving breaths.

"There was nothing anypony could have done," Xindisious said, "I tried to find out when exactly she would return, but there are some things that are just unpredictable—chaotic even."

Xindisious levitated a book towards him and flipped to a page that showed the Elements of Harmony.

"There are six elements, but only five are known. Some have speculated the sixth to be magic but such is unlikely due to magic being extremely common in this world."

Twilight finished hyperventilating and put the paper bag down.

"Do you know where I can find the Elements?"

"The last known location is within the Castle of the Two Sisters, which can be found within the Everfree Forest."

"I'll go tell Sunset."

"Don't. I'm sure she and her new acquaintances have discovered how to find the Elements by themselves."

"How did you know Sunset has made some friends?"

Xindisious chuckled at that statement.

"Friends are what you and Sunset are—best friends at that. But the ponies Sunset has affiliated herself with? She can only tolerate them at best."

"Twilight, Master Xindisious has been stalking them," Spike bluntly stated.

"Well, that's one way of putting it," Xindisious deadpanned.

Xindisious trotted over to the front door of his cottage and showed Twilight and Spike the way out.

"Time is short, Miss Sparkle. I'd suggest you make your way towards the Everfree Forest before it's too late."

Spike hopped onto Twilight's back as Twilight bolted through the door as fast as her legs could carry her. Xindisious closed the door and made his way to his bedroom upstairs. He took off his clothes and placed a black hooded cloak onto himself, his flesh withering away as he did so. Xindisious looked less like a pony and more a personification of the concept of death itself. His skeletal form still had bits of decaying flesh on the bottom of his chin and a small patch on the right side of his forehead. His eyes were gone too, replaced with small burning orange lights in the centre of his otherwise empty eye sockets. There were still wisps of his beard on his chin. He used his magic to open up a portal of ethereal darkness that leads to the Everfree Forest, hoping to keep an eye on his apprentice within the shadows.

---

Having taken Master Xindisious' advice, Twilight and Spike trekked through the Everfree Forest in search of the Elements. She had been to the Everfree Forest before with Xindisious back when she was still learning to control her magic so she almost knows the place at the back of her hoof. Keyword being "almost" since she didn't know there was a castle within the forest until Xindisious told her. Leaves rustled within the distance. It appeared that the predators, not all of which were native to the forest, were on their nightly prowls. A manticore made its move by pouncing from the bushes next to Twilight and Spike. It was the last mistake it ever made as it landed into a stream of black and dark green dragonfire. The manticore was incinerated in an instant.

"You do know you could have used that Soul Steal technique I taught you to sustain yourself, right?" Twilight asked Spike.

"Yeah, but I'm not a big fan of manticore souls," Spike replied, "They give me indigestion."

Twilight shrugged her shoulders.

"Fair enough."

---

Sunset and five other ponies made their way through the Everfree Forest. They waited for Twilight to come back from visiting her master but she never did. Also, they rather conveniently found a book on the Elements of Harmony within the Golden Oaks library under the "E" section. Sunset tried to persuade the others to stay behind but they insisted on coming with her, much to her chagrin. As they traversed the forest, it was filled with dead animals, all of which were predatory in nature. Some looked emaciated while the others looked like they were burnt to a crisp.

"Who could have done this?" the yellow pegasus asked shakily.

Knowing exactly who it was, Sunset held her tongue. The last thing she wanted was to have the ponies accompanying her know she was friends with a pony that knew magic most considered to be unnatural, especially if said unnatural magic involved taking the lives of others.

There were also destroyed trees in their path, with some of their remains looking like scary faces. Sunset hoped that those really were bits of wood from a now ruined tree and not remains of more predators that thought Twilight and Spike made a suitable meal (unless it was a Timberwolf). Soon enough, Sunset and her acquaintances eventually came across what appeared to be a dead sea serpent. The way the sea serpent's corpse was placed made it look like a macabre bridge to the other side of the river it occupied. Unusually for a sea serpent, or any reptile for that matter, it had facial hair and a mane. Across the sea serpent's neck was a green glowing gash. That was enough to give Sunset pause.

"What's wrong, Sunset?" the pink pony asked, "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"It's nothing. It's just that wound looks… familiar."

Sunset recognized those types of wounds from the day Twilight's parents died. She assumed Kain must have known Nightmare Moon had returned and went out of hiding to claim more victims.

This was not going to be a pleasant night.

Author's Note:

I smell a reunion.