Mare Anguis

by StSebastian

Future days gone past

Cold... Dark... Silent... But not without life. Twilight lay in some abysmal slumber, her mind racing inside her limp and lifeless body, to which racing she could never feel reprieve. Trapped within the confines of her own mind, Twilight found herself trying to recall the happenings leading up to the present events.

"Okay... So... What was I doing this morning? I woke up... Then what?... The Library! I was cleaning... I told Spike to clean up the basement... and then... then..." Twilight struggled to recall, "All I remember after that is... The Statue! And the Amethyst! And the Ceiling was coming down!"

In that moment Twilight felt something nagging at her, something pulling her deeper, further down into a dream state. As a brilliant mare, she had grown used to the fact that such a mind could never truly rest; even in her sleep she fought within herself and tried to grasp ideas beyond what most ponies could comprehend, but this was truly climax. Never before had she been so immersed in her dreams that they seemed so real; she could actually physically feel herself free-falling.

“Permit me the time,” echoed a ghostly voice, “and the truth shall become manifest.”

“What’s that? Who’s there?”

Twilight blinked once and found she was standing in what appeared to be Ponyville, with some noticeable changes. There were no visible ponies trotting about, the trees bore no leaves, and everything seemed to lack hue. Twilight inspected her surroundings, and started to wander about the ghost-town. As she inspected different houses, she noticed a pattern: none of the rooms had furniture, all of the pictures were blank, none of the books had any writing, all of the cabinets were empty; essentially the houses were shells, nothing more.

After inspecting one last house, Twilight decided to try her luck at the library. She entered the library to meet a tall, dark, and familiar figure. She stood face to face with a large blue allicorn with glowing blue eyes. Twilight stared straight into the allicorn’s eyes, and it returned the gaze without a blink, maintaining a face as stagnant as stone.

“You’re the statue that was hidden beneath the library?”

“Not entirely, I am the being that is contained within the statue. You have awoken me by placing the Lunar-Amethyst on my chest.”

“Then exactly what ‘being’ are you?”

“You could not possibly understand what I am, but you should be able to grasp who I am. Allow me to introduce myself; I am Mare Temporis, the guardian of time. Now, do you seek any further answers, Twilight Sparkle?”

“How do you know my name?” Twilight could barely keep herself from shaking.

“Perhaps you did not understand me; I am the overseer of all time, I wander the endless plane of all that was, is, and ever shall be; my knowledge is only limited by what can exist. My patience grows thin and there is little time for complacent procrastination. Now then, are you prepared?”

Twilight raised a curious eyebrow, “Prepared for what?”

Temporis simply bowed her head to begin channeling magic and gently touched the ground with her horn, causing a surge of shadows to engulf herself and Twilight. The world around them started to fade away, leaving just the two ponies.

“For the message that I have for you,” continued the Mare, raising her head from the ground, “daughter of night.”

“What? ’Daughter of night’?” Twilight asked, tilting her head. After closing here eyes for a split second, she could see that she and Temporis stood in the ruins of the old castle of the Royal sisters. Temporis closed her eyes a moment and Twilight could see the aging of the castle around her slowly come undone. Vines receded into the floor, bricks flew back into place, and carpets integrated underhoof. Soon they stood in a long hallway where the floor tiles shone brilliantly under moonlight pouring in through the windows, tapestry as red as blood hung on the walls, and architecture that came straight down from mount Ponympius composed the structure.

“Welcome to Equestria, long before you ever knew it.”

“This is the royal castle?” Twilight asked, looking around.

“Correct, this is the royal castle back before Canterlot existed, at this time it wasn’t needed.”

“Well of course they didn’t need it now. But what happened that made them leave all of this behind?” Twilight turned to take in more of the scenery when she spotted a large white alicorn approaching her.

It was Celestia, albeit much different; her mane flowed pink and untainted by the ages; her eyes had yet to bear witness to events to come. She slowly walked down the hallway, towards the throne-room, completely unaware of Twilight and Temporis.

“How come she can’t see us?” Twilight motioned her hoof.

“Because this is not your time, I have brought us here only to observe. Here, but more importantly: now, there is something you must see,” Temporis turned perpendicular to the hallway and outstretched a wing in the direction that Celestia traveled, “This way.”

Twilight followed Celestia down the hall, and Temporis slowly followed. When they entered the throne-room she saw that Celestia had stopped halfway to the steps, and also the reason why; upon the stairs to the royal thrones stood Luna, a menacing grin scrawled across her face.

“Luna, my dear sister, what’s wrong? It’s nearly day time and you have not lowered the moon in preparation for day!”

“Because, dear sister,” Luna mocked, “daytime is no longer necessary.”

“What? Then how will Equestria know it is time to rise, and begin a new day?”

“That is none of my concern now. If they shan’t bask in the beauty of night, then they shan’t do the same for daylight,” as Luna spoke, her voice slowly took on a deeper, more demonic tone.

“Please Luna, what is wrong with you?” Celestia noticed a light blue glow in Luna’s eyes, and her fur started to darken so it was as black as a moonless night.

What once was Luna cringed, lurching towards the floor in a sickly motion. “My name is not Luna…” Slowly the shadowy allicorn picked up her head again, almost completely black now. “I am no longer your sister.”

“Luna, What has happened to you!?” cried a teary eyed Celestia, stammering on “What have you become?”

“I AM NOT LUNA!!!” roared the beast, “The sister you once loved is dead, I am all that remains.”

“Luna I know you can hear me somewhere in there! Please listen to me!”

“Your sister was weak, she practically begged me to kill her, as you can see I have done just that!”

“No! My sister is stronger than that!” Celestia was now in tears as the sight of her sister in such a manner was tearing her apart, “She wouldn’t simply give up, not without a fight!”

“Then why did she practically surrender herself to me?” now every hair on her once majestic azure coat had become as black as her heart, and a possessed Mare stood tall, “As I told you, Luna is dead; my name is Nightmare Moon, and there will never be daylight again, only darkness.”

“We shall see about that!” Celestia turned her sorrow into anger and charged into Nightmare Moon, tackling her off of the steps, and the two tumbled across the floor, Celestia stopping in front of a window. When they both stood again Nightmare Moon retaliated by charging into Celestia, taking her through the window and out into the garden where the fight would continue. Twilight started towards the window to continue observing.

“Twilight,” Temporis called, “there is more going on beyond their fighting. Come, another event unfolds.” Temporis touched the ground with her horn. The walls around them dulled into cobblestone, the arches above them lowered, and after a short time the great halls had turned into a poorly lit dungeon. “Here we are, shortly before Nightmare Moon confronted Celestia. This is where the transformation truly began…”

Three silhouettes of ponies stood in a triangular formation surrounding an Altar, each of them surrounded by a flowing pillar of blue light. On the altar Twilight could just barely make out a fourth being sprawled out across a stone table, struggling as if trying to break free of bonds. Finally, a fifth character towered over the stone table. Twilight also noticed several statues standing around the altar, one of which she could see was the statue of Temporis.

“What’s going on over there? Who is that on the altar?” Twilight tried to move closer for a better look, but as she approached the altar the figures dissipated into the shadows. “Hey! What gives?”

“While there is more for you to learn, you are still not ready for those revelations. There is still more knowledge for you to seek from the other Lunar Maria, but for now, our little excursion must come to an end.”

“Wait! I still don’t know what’s going on! What is it that I’m supposed to understand, why are you showing this to me!?”

“Questions for another time, but I will leave you with a name to begin your search for answers.” Temporis stamped her hoof and a torrent of wind blasted Twilight, nearly knocking her off balance, “Seek out Mare Ingenii, she shall shed some light on the subject. Until we meet again Twilight Sparkle, fare thee well.”

Comments

[oblivion2k]

...WELL

[NopeNopeNope]

hey, ill get to reading this soon hopefully, in the meantime, have a pony