My Brave Pony: The Heart of the World

by Scipio Smith

Quoth the Raven

Quoth the Raven

The embers of their fire died in the pit that they had dug for them. With the moon shining down as it did there was scarcely any need for the fire’s light, and with everypony – nearly everypony – sound asleep there was little need for warmth, either.

The camp was quiet. The only pony still awake was Twilight herself, and that was not a result of any desire to stay awake on her part but simply the fact that she couldn’t get to sleep. Although all her friends and companions, saved only Ace, slept around her, nevertheless Twilight could not. She had too much on her mind.

They had not gone very far. Well, no, that was not quite true. They had gone a considerable distance, all the way to the very edge of Equestria as a nation, but they had not gone so far that they couldn’t turn back. All of their journey, though the distance had been considerable, had been travelled via rail; they had gotten the train from Ponyville to Canterlot, and then at Canterlot they had changed for a southbound train to Appleoosa, and from Appleoosa they had gotten another, much smaller – only a single carriage, and that carriage empty apart from Twilight and the others – train the rest of the way to El Alamane, a one-pony town in nearly every sense of the word that marked, or near enough, the southern frontier of Equestria. If everypony were to decide to turn back now, this very night, then they could return to El Alamane in a single day and then it would be merely a matter of waiting for a train to take them back north and they would be in Ponyville again in mere days.

Perhaps that would be a good idea.

Twilight shook her head. No, she didn’t believe that. She couldn’t believe that. She had to press on, she had to reach the Heart of the World; she had to find out what had become of Lightning and Krysta.

But did everypony else have to press on with her?

No. No, they didn’t. They chose to come because they would not be parted from her. Because they cared about her.

And that was what weighed on Twilight’s mind and made it impossible for her to sleep.

From here on in, with every step they too, it would be harder and harder to turn back, more and more difficult to give up and go home. The southlands lay before them, the domains of dragons and zebras, little known to pony folk. To return even to El Alamane would in itself involve arduous and perhaps dangerous journeying if ever they decided that enough was enough, and even if they went all the way then that merely meant that the journey would have to be repeated back again in some fashion once the Heart was found.

Twilight was determined to make that journey, and she did not want to make it alone… but at the same time she was sorely oppressed by the thought of just what she had committed her faithful friends to. This was her quest. This was something that she wanted. Lightning was her… she was the one to whom he mattered, she was the one who wished to discover his fate, the others had no part in this… except the part they chose to have, out of their friendship with her.

But was it right to trespass so much upon that friendship? Applejack told her that she wasn’t being selfish, but… how did she ever come to deserve such good and wonderful friends?

Twilight’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a twig snapping nearby. Twilight looked up, a gasp escaping her lips. Since they were still in Equestria, and close by the last outpost of pony civilisation, they had not set a watch; Ace said it was unnecessary at this point, although that had not stopped her from absenting herself from their camp to make a sweep of the surrounding countryside. Everypony else was slumbering, their guard was absent, and the one other pony who was not asleep was engaged in brown study, not in keeping guard.

It seemed like the thought that this part of the world was yet a safe one might have been a little optimistic. Danger, after all, did not recognise the boundaries of kingdoms.

Twilight climbed slowly and softly to her feet. She didn’t wake the others, she didn’t want to in case it turned out to be nothing worth bothering them about, but she called upon her magic, her horn glowing faintly with power as yet unformed, no specific spell in her mind but ready to be cast as shield or strike as the need went.

Twilight’s eyes attempted to pierce the darkness that surrounded them. The dead trees that grew out of the barren, almost sandy soil on which they were encamped seemed tall and powerful, their hands outstretched with slender, bony fingers, looming out of the darkness as the moonlight fell upon them. The night lay heavily upon the world, and Twilight could see little in it.

“You heard me approach because I allowed you to. Had I wanted to fall upon you unawares I could have done so, with great ease.”

The voice had come from behind her. Twilight turned, slowly, to see a pony – or at least she presumed that it was a pony, because they were covered from head to toe in a dark grey cloak, with the hood raised so that no light could enter in and reveal the face that lay shrouded in the shadow.

Twilight had never seen her before, but nevertheless she had a name to put to this dark, cloaked form. “Raven,” she growled, and the light of her horn burned brighter with the anger that rose within Twilight Sparkle. This was the pony who had attacked Pinkie with that Shard of Darkness, and in order to save Pinkie – and to save Twilight herself – Lightning and Krysta had had to sacrifice themselves to an uncertain end. It was her fault, Twilight was only in this position now because of Raven and what she had done! And now, here she was, back again, with the gall to stand before Twilight as if she had not tried to take a friend from her. As though she had not taken much from Twilight, in the end.

“I didn’t come here to fight,” Raven said, her voice soft and calm.

“Then why are you here?” Twilight yelled, in a voice that she expected to wake up the entire camp even as she threw a shield up around her friends. The spell, at least, worked; a lavender shield engulfed the entire camp and all her friends in a dome of protective energy. The shout, however, did not have quite the impact that she’d expected it to. Nopony stirred. Pinkie and Rainbow Dash continued to snore as loudly as ever.

“They won’t wake,” Raven said. “Not until we’ve had our little talk.”

“Why?” Twilight demanded. “What did you do?”

“You’re a smart mare,” Raven said. “Figure it out.”

Twilight considered for a moment. “Starswirl’s Spell of Slumber.”

“Correct,” Raven said. “Well, I used an artefact charged with said spell; I’m afraid the spell itself is… somewhat beyond my capabilities. Either way, you are correct in every way that really matters, I suppose. And now that you know how I did it, you’ll be able to break the spell… but to do that you’d have to lower the quite unnecessary shield which, for all that it is quite unnecessary, I don’t think you’ll do. Not just yet, at least. You’re too worried about me, after all.”

“Shouldn’t I be worried?” Twilight said. “You tried to kill Pinkie.”

“No,” Raven said. “I didn’t. If I wanted Pinkie Pie dead then she’d be dead. If I wanted any of you dead then you’d be dead.”

“We’re stronger than you think,” Twilight growled.

“You’re not nearly as tough as you think you are,” Raven replied. “You think that you are heroes, you think that you can overcome any obstacle, you think that because you’ve faced Nightmare Moon and Discord that there’s nothing that can stop you, think that the power of friendship will see you through to save the day-“

“It always has,” Twilight pointed out.

“But it won’t!” Raven snarled. “You talk about friendship and togetherness and how you’ve got each others backs but you know nothing! You have been kept safe within this coddled nest, not only you but all of Equestria! You think that you’ve faced danger? I have seen real evil, out beyond the stars, and anything that you’ve overcome so far pales in comparison! You aren’t ready for what’s to come, and the worst part is that it need not come but you will bring it upon yourself through your folly and sheer hubris!”

There was no way Twilight was going to lower the shield after that. “Pinkie didn’t bring you upon herself,” she declared in a voice that was flat and hard as the anvil upon which she’d like to hammer Raven flat for what she’d done.

Raven was silent for a moment. “No,” she admitted quietly. “No, she did not. But I repeat – and ask you to believe – that I did not seek Pinkie’s death.”

“Then why did you attack her with a parasite that would have consumed her body?” Twilight cried.

“Because I thought Lightning would kill her.”

“Oh, because that makes it so much better.”

“I did what I had to do for the good of Equestria,” Raven said. “Just as I did when I unleashed Silver Spear upon you.”

Twilight’s eyes widened. “That… that was you?”

“Of course it was me, who else would have done that?” Raven demanded. “I don’t want to hurt anypony. I… I have never wanted to hurt anypony. I only hurt others when circumstances force me to, and I take no joy from it, not one drop, not ever. I didn’t want to kill Pinkie, I rejoice that she survived-“

“Survived you, you mean?” Twilight asked.

“Is it not better that one pony should die than that thousands or more that will suffer and perish otherwise.”

“What are you talking about?” demanded Twilight.

“I am asking you to turn back,” Raven said. “Go home, back to Ponyville. Laugh, live, love. Forget Lightning Dawn, and New Olympia and all the rest. Forget the Heart of the World. Turn back, for Celestia’s sake, while there’s still time.”

Twilight swallowed. She holds a mirror up to my misgivings. “I can’t do that.”

“Yes, you can,” Raven said. “And very easily.”

“No, I can’t.”

“You mean you won’t.”

Twilight hesitated. “Very well,” she admitted. “I won’t.”

Raven sighed. “He is not worthy of the feelings that you harbour for him.”

“What do you know about my feelings?”

“Enough to know that he will betray them.”

“How can you possibly know that?”

Raven paused for a moment. “If you reach the Heart of the World you will be able to open up Equestria to visitors from beyond the stars, just as it was in the old legends.”

“That seems like a good thing.”

“No!” Raven growled. “Nothing could be further from the truth. This… this is why I came here to beg you to turn back, because you don’t understand! You don’t see… how can you not see? You saw what Lightning did to Silver Spear. I know you did, I watched you watch as he burned his enemy alive and I thought… for a moment I thought my work was done.”

Twilight’s eyes widened. “You… you wanted me to see Lightning use the Solaforce, the Fire of Heaven.”

“I wanted to open your eyes to what you were really dealing with,” Raven declared. “Not a prince, not a knight, but a monster in a pony skin.”

“No,” Twilight said immediately, shaking her head. “Lightning’s not a monster. He did the wrong thing then, I know, but he apologised-“

“He said what he needed to in order to get back on your good side.”

“And why would a monster care about my good side?” Twilight replied.

“Out beyond the stars there are thousands of Lightning Dawns,” Raven said. “All of them as vicious as he and if you reach the Heart of the World they will descend upon this place like locusts and devour everything! Is that not enough to stay your hoof?”

“No,” Twilight said.

“Why not?”

“Because Lightning was… because Lightning is a good pony in his heart, and I believe the same will be true of others like him,” Twilight said. “Because unlike you, apparently, I’m not ready to write off whole communities and races; because unlike you I’m not prepared to live in fear of what I don’t know.”

“I know,” Raven declared. “I know very well.”

“How?” Twilight demanded.

Raven did not reply. “Will you turn aside? Will you for once take counsel of your fears, listen to your misgivings, taken the more timid and more cautious cause?”

“No,” Twilight said. “I will not, not for you.”

“What about for them?” Raven demanded.

Twilight’s narrowed. “Is that a threat?”

“Not from me,” Raven replied. “But the journey is a long one, uncertain, treacherous and filled with peril. Who can say what misfortune may befall you on the road? Can you really guarantee that they’ll all make it back in one piece? Or even alive?”

“That… that is…” Twilight trailed off. That is my fear exactly. That is the thing, the only thing, that gives me pause. How is that she knows my thoughts so well, can read my secrets, pluck out my heart? How does she know exactly what I’m thinking?

“You know it is no idle threat I make,” Raven purred. “You know the risk as well as I do. A long march through inhospitable terrain and hostile people? What are you thinking?”

“She’s thinking that she isn’t forcing anypony to be here, or any creature neither,” Ace declared. “They have all chosen, freely, of their own volition, and to turn back for fear that… what? That they made the wrong choice? That their too stupid to know any better? That Twilight must choose what is in their best interests though it be in defiance of their choice? Twilight knows better than that, don’t you Twily? Twilight is better than that.”

Ace stood about six feet away from Raven, wings unfurled on either side of her, so that she seemed even bigger than she was. Her armour gleamed under the light of the moon.

Raven didn’t move. “Sunlight Ray,” she murmured. “Known as Ace to her friends, or anyone who’ll listen, really. I missed the fact that you weren’t in camp. Although, when you got close enough, the effects of the sleep spell ought to have started affecting you.”

Ace pawed the ground with one hoof. “I’m guessing you didn’t know that in the guard we are regularly hit with sleeping spells in order to build up an immunity.”

“No,” Raven confessed. “I didn’t know that. It… never came up until now, it appears.”

“Ace is right,” Twilight declared, her misgivings not banished but smothered and quelled at least in part by Ace’s words. “My friends have chosen to come with me. I didn’t force them to come, and I won’t force them to turn back, either. If they are willing to help me then I’m honoured to accept their help, and I know that together we’ll overcome all the obstacles that stand in our way, just like we always do! And if you try and hurt any of my friends I will stop you.”

A chuckle emerged from out of Raven’s cloak. “Bravely spoken”, she murmured. “I’d expect nothing less… and yet at the same time I feel like laughing. I wish… I wish…” now she did laugh. “I wish, I wish, oh how I wish…that you had given me a different answer.”

She retreated, melting away into the darkness, disappearing into the all-concealing cloak of night.

Twilight looked for her, but could not see her any more.

Ace scowled. “How did she do that?” she demanded. “Was that teleportation? I didn’t see a flash or anything.”

“Neither did I,” Twilight said. “She said… she said that she had used an artefact to put the others to sleep. Maybe she used an artefact to get away.”

“Maybe,” Ace murmured. “I don’t know much about that kind of thing.” She paused for a moment. “I should have jumped her while I had the chance, only…”

Twilight waited for her to finish, and prompted her when she did not, “Only what?”

“Only I could see the look on your face,” Ace explained. “She was getting to you, wasn’t she?”

Twilight shivered. “Her words… what she said, it… it was so close to what I was thinking it was uncanny. How did she know?”

Ace shrugged. “They’re not difficult thoughts to guess,” she said. “That mare wouldn’t even have to know you, just what kind of a pony you are.”

“I don’t know,” Twilight murmured. “There are times… she’s spoken to Pinkie in ways that suggest she does know us, although none of us remember her.”

“Then she’s mad, as well as dangerous,” Ace muttered. “I really should have jumped her.”

“I’m glad you spoke up,” Twilight said, a smile playing across her face. “What she was saying… her words were starting to get to me.”

“I meant what I said,” Ace told her. “They’d be insulted if they knew what you were thinking.”

“Maybe,” Twilight conceded. “Probably. Hey, Ace?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you mind if I keep the shield up, even if you’re on the wrong side of it?” Twilight asked. “I’m a little worried-“

“In case she comes back? Sure,” Ace said at once. She sighed. “I wish I could have gotten her.”

“It might be better that you didn’t,” Twilight said. “I mean, what could we have done with her once we had her?”

But she kept the shield up, all the rest of the night, just in case.