> A Traitor's Song: Act I
>  by etempco
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Fated Meeting
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A Traitor's Song
Act I: Crimson Solstice
By Nicholas Saulsbury
Special Thanks to Alex Slater

“...Good night, Spike.” Twilight Sparkle whispered as she pulled the blanket over the sleeping dragon. She knew he would find his way to his sleeping spot once they returned from the day's adventure. Twilight turned towards the window of her library. Outside, she could see the moon casting its subtle rays across Ponyville as most of the town rested. Twilight's eyes were heavy, but perhaps not enough to send her to sleep quite as quickly as her assistant.
“Nothing wrong with a good book before bed.” Twilight said, pondering the list of her books in her mind. She walked closer to the bookshelves, the names on their spines coming into view in the faintly lit room. “It's a bit late for study material... A good story will do.” She gazed upward, shifting the names of the books she had memorized through her head. “The Adventures of Don Coltte.” She decided, a personal favorite of hers.
She scanned the shelves until she saw its title upon one of the spines. Her horn shimmered lightly as she tugged on it with magical telekinesis. She pulled out the book, but was startled when a second book came tumbling down towards her. She jumped back as the rogue book landed in front of her, along with The Adventures of Don Coltte that she had lost her magical grip of. She stepped forward and saw a familiar cover. A leather-bound book with the golden unicorn insignia imbedded on the front. “Predictions and Prophecies. Must have got caught on the other book. Spike needs to work on putting the books back in alphabetical order.” She lifted it with her magic to place it back into the shelf. But something caught her attention, drawing her concentration towards the book. Gazing at the cover once more, she briefly recollected her adventure she was thrust into on her first visit to Ponyville, to save Equestria from Nightmare Moon. However, it was not her memories that were drawing her towards the book, it was another feeling; something primal that stirred in her gut. “Maybe... I'll read this book instead.” She decided.
She returned The Adventures of Don Coltte to its spot on the shelf and proceeded towards her bed, magically carrying the other book with her. She hopped into her bed near the library balcony and dropped the book in front of her with only the moon to illuminate the rustic pages. She quickly turned the pages with her telekinesis. “I'm pretty sure I have everything here memorized already...” She assured herself, although something still pressed her to search the old pages anyway.
Something caught her tired eyes as she near-mindlessly turned the pages. Two pages were completely blank, although this was nothing new  (she had pondered as to the purpose of them before). But what was new were the glowing red letters that began to form on the page, seeming to seep from the recesses of the ancient paper itself. In awe, Twilight read the words aloud as they appeared.


The sun and the moon return to their graceful dance,
played by the two goddesses in unison.
Even as the rulers take their solemn stance
chaos lingers in the heart of one.

They will return in the image of the divine,
once cast down by their worldly sires.
The plot soon unfolds, a tell-tale sign,
comes the song of the greatest liars.

Black fire will course the land,
a wave of unrelenting destruction.
The return of Nova has since began,
intent of the master's instruction.

Nothing can cease Nova's war path,
lest the master's touch be severed
before the final aftermath,
a memory upon the souls untethered.

Nova
Harbinger of the End.


Twilight's eyes were struck open out of surprise and fear. “Nova... Harbinger of the End?” She silently whispered to herself. “This seems much too dark to be just an old pony's tale... But I don't know. I shall inform Princess Celestia of this tomorrow. She should give me better insight as to what it could mean.” Twilight closed the book and magically moved it to her study desk across the room to be ready tomorrow. She then got comfortable in her bed, tormented thoughts of the prophecy still toiled in her mind...


~


“Come now, Duskmane, the guests have arrived, do make sure you are on your best behavior.”
“Of course, mother.”
It was night of the monthly ball hosted at the grand manor of Saddlestone's mayor, Madam Sapphire. Duskmane really displeased these large gatherings, especially when he could be in the comfort of his room, reading a book. Sure, he fit right in, being the son of the mayor, but the attitude that seemed to be expected of him always dulled any moment he tried to create any sort of real enjoyment from these parties.
The colt studied himself with his large mirror. His tuxedo jacket wrapped snugly over his light gray fur and his dark blue mane (aside from the white stripe that ran through it) coursed neatly down his neck. Perhaps too neatly, he thought, shaking his head a bit to stir it up. Heaving a reluctant sigh, he pressed his room door open and emerged.
The sounds of conversation immediately filled his ears. The chandelier hanging from the ceiling illuminated the room with a bright, golden glow. Looking down from the second-story balcony, he saw many well-dressed ponies in the foyer below. Most were standing towards the center, chatting amongst themselves with their sophisticated dialects and hearty gestures. Towards the edges of the foyer were tables lined with the finest wines (and the best apple juice for the foals), and fresh green vegetables along with the best tasting flowers.
Duskmane walked down the stairs that conjoined the balcony and the foyer below, aimlessly gazing into the crowd. He recognized most of them, since they attended almost every gathering held at the manor. His mother often held these gatherings to please her investors, for she was the owner of the Saddlestone Mines, of which his hometown of Saddlestone got its namesake.
Once he reached the first floor, Duskmane blended in as just another pony in the crowd. He never showed his face very much during these parties, so he only knew a few of the names of the familiar faces he saw. He made his way through the crowd and towards the food tables, thirsting for a good drink. When he made his way there, he used the ladle to fill one of the ornate diamond goblet, and proceeded to drink. “Sweet Apple Acres always makes the best apple juice” he said to himself, greatly pleased with the drink.
“Oh Duskmane!” Madam Sapphire's voice rang out. Duskmane, surprised by the call, jumped back from his drink, nearly knocking over the goblet. He turned around to see his mother staring at him with a somewhat sinister grin.
“Yes mother, what is it?” Duskmane responded quickly, already dreading what her request might be.
“It's great to see you out of your room for once.” She responded, a hint of disdain in her words. “Now, make sure the guests are happy. Ms. Rosethorn mentioned wanting to take a sip of the wine. Do be a dear and carry a glass over to her.”
“But... who is Ms. Rosethorn?” Asked Duskmane, gazing aimlessly again into the crowd in the foyer.
“Oh, my son, you really should learn the names of our patrons. It does make them happy to be called by name.” Madam Sapphire placed her front hoof around Duskmane's neck and used the other to point at a white unicorn wearing a yellow and orange dress. “That's her, talking to the overseer of the mines, Stonebreaker. And remember, be sure to impress the guests!” She lowered her voice and brought her head closer, “And don't you dare mess it up like last time!”
“Of—of course, mother.” sighed Duskmane.
“Oh, Madam Sapphire!” called a posh looking stallion beside them with a regal white mustache. “If I may, I'd like to have a word with you.”
“Of course, Mr. Goldstride!” Called Madam Sapphire, walking alongside him into the crowd, immediately engaged in conversation. 
Duskmane grabbed a goblet with his mouth and brought it close to the large dish filled with wine. He set down the goblet and used the ladle to fill the glass, the smell of fermented grapes filling his nostrils. He then lowered his head to be level with the table, and slowly pushed the cup onto his snout, as always requested by his mother. “..And remember, be sure to impress the guests!” Her words echoed in Duskmane's mind, along with thoughts of his own; “Suppose this is the only way to impress somepony while delivering a drink....”
Goblet in place, he very slowly lifted his head, eyes focused on the goblet barely in view. Equally as slow, he turned to face Ms. Rosethorn's direction. This wasn't the first time he had done this, as his mother often made him learn to turn another routine task into something overly difficult every once in a while. Sounds of many shattered goblets still echoed from his memories, and worse than the embarrassment would be the scolding leer from his mother that follows afterward. He tip-hoofed slowly, giving wide berth to the ponies along the way, for any bump would likely send the goblet falling. Every second seemed to be a minute's length and his heart raced in contrast to his dwarfed steps.
After what felt like an eternity, and several close calls with passers-by, Ms. Rosethorn was only a few steps forward. “Almost there Duskmane... Don't screw up now.” He whispered through his teeth. But as fate would have it, he felt a tug on his hind hoof as passing pony clipped him whilst passing by. The goblet lurched forward from the tug, barely resting on the tip of Duskmane's nose. His heart raced even quicker as he tried to re-balance the goblet, swaying his head in all sorts of directions to prevent its fall. Perhaps he tried too hard, for one of his jerked movements caused him to lose his hoofing on the glossy purple carpet. In what felt like slow motion, he fell forward. He gritted his teeth and closed his eyes as he felt the goblet leave its place upon his snout. Even before he felt his jaw collide with the carpet below, thoughts raced of his impending scolding by his mother. “Useless! You never get anything right!” Her tormenting words echoed in his head.
The pain of colliding with the floor came immediately, but this is not the pain Duskmane was waiting for. He laid upon the floor, eyes squeezed shut, waiting for the shattering sound of the lost goblet. After a few seconds of nothing but the normal sounds of the party around him, he slowly opened his eyes to see himself level with a pair of sparkling yellow shoes on the purple carpet, but no shattered goblet to be seen! He peered upwards, to see the goblet he was carrying surrounding by a faint purple glow, in the grasp of Ms. Rosethorn's magical hold above him. “Er... Here's your wine, Ms... uh, Rosebush--Rosethorn.” Duskmane stuttered nervously, his racing heart impeding his words. He quickly got back on his hooves and glanced around. To his relief, only a few ponies witnessed his embarrassing tumble.
“If you had ruined my new dress with that wine, we would have had a big problem.” exclaimed Ms. Rosethorn, putting great emphasis on the last two words. Duskmane was speechless, although such snobbery was too be expected from the people that usually gathered here. Without responding, he quickly ran for the front door, hoping to escape the crowded atmosphere.
Dashing out of the double doors, he exited his home and entered the threshold of a moonlit night. Ahead of him laid the cobblestone path that traveled from the manor down the plateau and into the town of Saddlestone. At the level hills beneath the plateau, the large homes of the upper class ponies were first to meet the path. Further along were the small houses of the many ponies that were employed by Madam Sapphire to work the mines. The mine kept the town alive, as the materials are sold far and wide to many of the outlying communities, including the capitol of Equestria, Canterlot.
Duskmane wandered from the manor and into the gardens within the property's fenced perimeter. Finally at ease, the pain in his jaw caused by his fall began to emerge more prominently as the sting of embarrassment subsided. “I wish my happiness came before the happiness of her business partners.” Duskmane said vainly to the winds, caught in a grizzly hold by the memories of the many other times he had thought the same thing. Even though tonight's occurrence was quite minor in comparison some of the other events that led to those words, the mounting resent caused a lump to form in his throat. He resisted the tear that wanted to escape from his eyes, and laid beneath the large tree at the corner of the manor property. With even the moonlight blocked from illuminating him, he felt secure that nopony would find him there, should anypony want to find him. It was a spot he liked to return to when he was troubled, for he had no worries of being judged with only the trees and flowers nearby.
As his brief vent of anger subsided, he came to the conclusion that he always did, in spite of himself; “Mother loves me, I just need to prove that I am deserving of that love... by not being useless.” With the thoughts of the past now gone, the present came more into focus. Tomorrow, his mother and he were going to travel to a town known as Ponyville, near the foot of the mountain Canterlot rested upon. Just like any other trip made to outside of Saddlestone, it was to drive more sales and investors her way. While Duskmane was not particularly comfortable of his mother's seemingly unending desire for more bits, the business fueled the life of his hometown. He took solace in that fact, and the feeling of uneasiness from tonight's events left him.
It was late, and the weight on Duskmane's eyes confirmed it. He turned his head towards the manor; golden light still flowed from the windows. His mother's guests would probably not leave till later still. Not wanting to go to back inside, Duskmane closed his eyes and fell asleep under the tree, as he had many times before.


~


There was nothing but fire in the black shroud, closing in. A sinister yet familiar laugh cracked through the inferno as she struggled through the grasping heat and suffocating smoke, but then another voiced called out through the fire and blackness...
“Twilight?” 
The blackness and fire around her dissipated as light erupted into the empty space. There was a slight tug and pull from an invisible force...
“Twilight!”
Twilight, free from the grips of her nightmare, slowly opened her eyes to see Spike in front of her, pushing on her body attempt to wake her. The light of day ambushed her eyes, and she closed them quickly by reflex. She put a hoof in front of her face to block the light coming from the nearby window, and tried again to open her eyes.
“Spike,” she called arduously beneath her exhaustion. It had felt as if she didn't get a single minute of sleep. “What's wrong?”
“You're asking me?” Spike responded with a spring of surprise. “You were tossing in your sleep, I was just making sure you were okay.” Spike stepped away from the bed as Twilight slowly rolled out of it. She could feel her mane was a disaster, much like how she felt.
“I was having a nightmare, there was fire and darkness and--” In the midst of explaining her plight to Spike, her eyes landed on the book that she had laid on her desk the night before. Her eyes immediately sprung wide “That's right! Quickly, Spike, take a note for Princess Celestia.”
“Already?” Spike said with a hint of annoyance. Twilight turned to face him, and he saw the look of seriousness in her eyes. He retrieved parchment and a quill from one of the supply shelves nearby and returned to her side.
Twilight saw Spike was ready, and spoke; “Dear Princess Celestia, during my studies, I came across a tale I have never heard before, about Nova, Harbinger of the End. It mentioned the sun and moon returning in unison, which I believe represents your recent reunion with Princess Luna. I would like your thoughts and advice on the matter. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle”. Spike finished the last few words, having struggled on the spelling of “Harbinger”, and exhaled his green flame upon the parchment, sending it on its journey Canterlot.
“What was that about, Twilight? You sounded awfully worried.” Asked Spike, obviously clueless of the content of his letter.
“There was a passage in Predictions and Prophecies,” said Twilight as she walked to the desk the book laid, “That told of Nova bringing fire and destruction to the land.”
“Nova? I haven't heard of that one.” Said Spike nonchalantly.
“Me either, which is why I'm especially worried.” Twilight said, “If I haven’t heard of it, it's likely nopony else would have either. I'm hoping Celestia knows what to do.” Immediately upon finishing her sentence, Spikes eyes suddenly widened, along with his cheeks. He belched out a green flame, in which a rolled parchment appeared. “That must be her!” Twilight shouted, knowing the letter was Celestia's response. She opened it with her magic and drew it closer to her eyes, reading it aloud; “My dear Twilight Sparkle, I must say I am intrigued with your story. However, upon going through my own copy of Predictions and Prophecies, I was not able to find any passages mentioning Nova, or Harbinger of the End, or even those that included my recent reunion with my dear sister. Do make sure you weren't reading that from one of those story books of yours. Your teacher, Princess Celestia.”
Twilight reread the note again, caught off guard by the Princess's response. “It wasn't in her book?” She turned to face Predictions and Prophecies and opened it with her magic. She rapidly flipped through the pages, until she found herself at the familiar blank pages she saw the night before. “And now the letters should appear in red.” She gleamed down at the book, expecting the dark prophecy to appear as it had did. 
Both she and Spike looked down on the book for several seconds, until the suspense was cut by Spike's voice; “So, er... What's supposed to happen again?” The words did not appear.
She did not immediately respond, caught in her in disbelief. “But... It was here last night, I'm sure of it!” She panicked slightly, unsure if this was some sort of cruel joke, or a perhaps something she had witnessed in her nightmare. “The prophecy of Nova was in here! It told of the Harbinger of the End and his fiery doom across Equestria.” Her words were spat so quickly, it took Spike a moment to translate her statement.
While apparently unnerved about Twilight's dark ramble, he responded; “Twilight, maybe it's like the Princess said, were you reading another book when you saw it?”
Twilight sighed in frustration, today's surprise events and her lack of sleep have summed up into a bad start of the new day. She wanted to go back to sleep, but knew she couldn't just ignore these unfortunate occurrences. Spike still stared at her, expecting a revelation from Twilight that she did not have. “I'm going for a walk, and I'm taking the book with me.” She decided.
“But where are you going?” Spike asked, not hearing what he was expected.
“I don't know yet. Something strange is going on, and I plan on getting to the bottom of it.” Twilight went and gathered her saddlebags from under her bed and levitated it onto her back. She then magically grabbed the book and placed it in one side of the saddlebag, while placing some parchment, a quill, and a sealed inkwell in the other side. “I'm leaving for a while,” She said as she walked towards the library door, “take care of things while I'm gone.”
“But... Twilight, wait!” Spike called, but the door had already closed in front of him before he could finish. He pouted, disliking being left alone in the boring library.


~


“I figured I'd find you here.”
The smell of the morning dew filled Duskmane nostrils and he slowly awoke from his sleep, by the cue of the voice he could never forget. “Good morning, Mother.” He said, looking up at her.
“Good morning indeed.” She replied indifferently, “I heard from Ms. Rosethorn about your mishap. You're lucky she's not quite as useless as you are.” Duskmane winced at her words. “Regardless, today is the big day. Surely even you didn't forget?”
How could he? It was the day for his mother and he to go to Ponyville with the obvious goal in mind of spreading her economic reach. “No mother, of course not. I didn't plan on bringing much with me.” He replied, standing up. When he did, he could see a large purple chariot resting at the main gate of the manor. Tethered to the front were two pure white pegasus ponies adorned with golden armor and helmets, waiting patiently in their staunch pose. “Who're they?”
“Princess Celestia herself sent a detachment of her royal guard to escort us to Ponyville. Even she knows the benefits for the communities to be had from the resources here. Now, take off that tuxedo and take it inside before you get it dirtier, and be ready to depart soon.”
Duskmane nodded and immediately ran for the front door of the manor. He pressed the door open to see the foyer looked exactly as it had before the party; the carpet cleaned and tables of food gone. He ran up the stairs to the second floor and went into his room, immediately pulling off his tuxedo jacket and tossing it into the corner. He could take a few small items with him, but he wasn't quite sure if he needed anything. He gazed upon his small library of books, knowing he will probably be having too much fun exploring the new town than to conceal himself inside. With the rest of the decor of his room being mostly magical trinkets that serve only for aesthetics, Duskmane decided there was nothing he needed to bring along.
He left his room, walked back down the stairs, and returned outside. He scanned the front yard of the manor, seeing if he mother was still around. Only the flowers and trees swaying in the light breeze met his gaze, “She must still be inside gathering what she needs.” Duskmane mumbled. He saw the rear of the chariot ahead, knowing the two royal guards awaited his mother and he. He walked up to it and towards one of the adorned royal guards. “Hi!” He said with a smile, wanting to ask the guard a little about the town he was to be visiting. The guard did not make any sign having heard him, not even shifting his eyes in Duskmane's direction. “So... What's Ponyville like? This will be my first time visiting there.” Duskmane's heart sunk as the guard still made no response, as if silently mocking Duskmane's curiosity.
“These guards are the most disciplined and effective force under the rule of the Princess.” He heard his mother call from behind him, “It's called being professional, my dear son – something you still have much to learn about. I hope you're ready, we're leaving now.”
“Yes Mother, I'm ready.” he responded dolefully. He climbed into the chariot, followed by Madam Sapphire. This was his first time getting a personal escort from the princess, the cushioning of the chariot was superb, with golden borders along the edges of the chariot that curled into elegant designs that put even the decor of the manor to shame. In every other trip outside of town, his mother hired the services of the town's best charioteers, whose best chariot matched nothing close to the design and comfort of the one provided by the Princess.
“We're ready.” Said mother, and almost immediately, there was a lurch as the chariot was pulled forward by the two royal guards. They started down the plateau path, with Duskmane looking into the horizon beyond, pondering to himself....
“While I'm at Ponyville, perhaps I should try to help mother.” Duskmane thought to himself, “If I can do at least that, I'm sure that would make her happy.” His thoughts were interrupted as the chariot suddenly gained a lot of speed as the royal guards ran down the plateau slope. He looked ahead and could see where the road branched off the plateau and turned towards a milder slope, leaving a steep cliff directly ahead of them. The chariot showed no signs of slowing down as it approached the cliff and even greater speeds. Duskmane gripped his seat as best he could, his heart racing as images of the inevitable plummet erupted in his thoughts. The royal guards and the chariot dashed off the cliff, Duskmane giving off a loud yelp as he looked over the side of the chariot to see how far it was to the ground... But the ground did not come closer as he was expecting. Instead, the breeze blowing in his mane indicated that they were, in fact, flying. He looked ahead to see the royal guards' wings spanned, beating down as they both hoisted the chariot through the sky.
“You'd best not make a fool of yourself like that once we're in Ponyville.” Madam Sapphire remarked, “You know I have a very valuable reputation that I cannot afford to get soiled.” The sting of Madam Sapphire's remark was counteracted by Duskmane's awe of the endurance of the royal guards; able to carry themselves wearing a suit of armor, and a whole chariot with two other ponies through the air. Duskmane peered back as his mother, her eyes were closed with a hoof supporting her chin, obviously deep in thought. He looked back over the side of the chariot, enjoying the view from high above. His hometown was nothing but a gray smudge in the distance, with expanses of forest below him and towering mountains in the distance, the sun only barely hovering above their silhouette in the morning dawn.


~


Twilight slowly trotted away from the library and started towards the town square, rather clueless as to what her next step should be. She drowned out the sounds of the world around her as she delved into her thoughts...
“No... It wasn't another book, I'm sure of it. Why the words have never appeared before, and have disappeared without a trace is still beyond me. What does it all mean?” A headache began to form under her mental strain and physical weariness. She moaned as she continued down the road, with the expanse of the town square coming into view. She wandered near the fountain, wanting a place to pause for a moment. The sound of the cascading water was relaxing to her, and helped her concentrate on her dilemma. She sat down and levitated the book from her saddlebag and brought it in front of her. She once again turned to the pages that held the nightmarish prophecy, with blind hope compelling her to check again. Still, the pages remained blank, with not even the impressions of a quill having pressed into the paper present.
Twilight heaved an aggravated moan, and closed the book shut. Her train of thought shifted rails a bit as it reached a dead end on the prophecy's appearance and sudden farewell. Now, it road the track of what the words meant. She strained to remember the contents of the red words she had witnessed, slowly piecing back the important bits she did recall. “The sun and moon return to their graceful dance... That could only mean Princess Luna's return, which probably means that whatever the prophecy foretold is going to happen, and soon. Emerge in the image of the divine...” Twilight paused on it, caught yet again without a answer. “The divine... gods... does it mean our immortal rulers, Princess Celestia and Luna? Only they control powers potent enough to raise the sun and moon each day, making them the closest to any 'god' in Equestria. If that's true, then... That must mean Nova is an alicorn!” Twilight unintentionally jumped to her hooves at her deduction, startling a passing pony. She gave an apologetic smile to the passer-by, and lowered herself back down against the fountain.
“But...” her thoughts resumed, “Princess Celestia would never bring destruction upon her own kingdom, and Princess Luna...” Twilight paused, coming to a potentially startling revelation. “She's only just recently returned from her banishment on the moon, and nobody's seen her at all -- outside of her brief appearance during Nightmare Night... What could she be up to that keeps her so busy?” She paused again, committing her query to memory. “Cast down by their sires... Surely it doesn't mean the parents of Luna and Celestia... Maybe by sires, it means... her sister.” The last two words played out very slowly in her mind as it fit like a piece into a large puzzle. “Maybe that's it... Maybe Luna hasn't given up her evil ways... I find it hard to believe, but it seems to be the only possible explanation, but what of her visit on Nightmare Night, she seemed so nice when the night was over... Unless that was the plan from the beginning. ” She could feel her pulse quickening, mostly out of mute fear, but also somewhat in pride of her deductive skills. “She's really the only one it could be, then... I must find proof and bring it to Celestia!” She was just about to pull out her paper and quill to write a letter to Celestia with her findings within the prophecy, but reconsidered it immediately. “No... If I tell the princess, she might do something that would alert Luna. It's already going to be hard enough to find proof without Luna thinking I'm onto her. If she were to find out, I don't think I'd ever be able to convince Celestia before it's too late. I must first find a way to show her the prophecy!” Although it was already an important task for her, Twilight had deemed unlocking the book's secret her top priority. But still, even with the foundation of her investigation declared, the matter remained that the book halted any forward progress. Twilight rose to her hooves and began to pack up her book.
“Hey Twilight!”
The voice shattered her concentration and sent her jumping back against the fountain, nearly falling into it. Rainbow Dash, who had called Twilight from above, was taken aback by her reaction. Once Twilight regained her balance, she looked up at the light blue pegasus aloft above her. “Oh, hello Rainbow Dash.” Twilight said in an agitated tone, recovering from her scare.
“Geez Twilight, what's got your mane in a knot?” Rainbow Dash asked as she brought herself to the ground and folded her wings against her side. Twilight wasn't entirely sure if Rainbow Dash meant her agitated demeanor, or the fact that her mane was indeed in a mess. Twilight thought about her response for a moment, she considered telling Rainbow Dash and the rest of her close friends about the situation, for they could certainly help with the investigation. However, her same fears arose that prevented her telling Princess Celestia; if word got leaked to Luna that Twilight was looking for evidence to use against her and prove her role in the fiery prophecy, she'd be even more cautious with her activities, and could easily order her personal guards to 'silence' her. Twilight decided that for the sake of her safety, and the integrity of her quest to save Equestria, that she would do it alone.
“Sorry Rainbow Dash, I'm just really tired.” Twilight responded. Rainbow Dash eyeballed the book that Twilight had dropped in her scare.
“You should get your nose out of your books and do something cool!” She suggested mirthfully, spreading her wings and taking a heroic pose. “I'm about to go practice some of my stunts for the next time the Wonderbolts are in town! Wanna come watch?”
“Oh, I'd love to, but I'm... er, in the middle of a project.” Twilight said in her best attempt to not reveal her activities without lying. Rainbow Dash took a good look at the book whilst Twilight hovered it into her saddlebags.
“Predictions and Prophecies? I thought you already had that book down, Twilight.” She scoffed playfully. “After you defeated Nightmare Moon and all, everyone thought you had every book in your library already memorized.”
“Well, I thought I had it down, but I've run across some strange pages where the words appeared once and never came back, but I don't know what to do with it now.” Twilight said, looking back at her saddlebags.
“Sounds cursed if you ask me.” Rainbow Dash said as she beat her wings to get airborne.
“There's no such thing as...!” the cogs were turning in Twilight's head, slowly coming into place, “Curses... That's it! Thank you Rainbow Dash, gotta go!” Twilight said as she galloped towards the edge of town, leaving Rainbow Dash behind with a rather confused face. Rainbow Dash had reminded Twilight of a good friend who knew a great deal about all sorts of random and obscure things; her friend Zecora, a zebra that lives in the Everfree Forest outside of town. “She's a hermit, any secrets she might see about the prophecy will likely never leave her hut.”
Twilight crossed over the small bridge that spanned the town's mote, and immediately the Everfree forest came into view, with the path piercing into its depths. The sun itself seemed to be shunned from the green labyrinth, as even the treetops looked dark in the mid-morning daylight. Twilight knew the route to Zecora's hut within the forest, only being a pretty short walk from the edge of town. Even with that being true, entering the foreboding forest always worried her due to the constant threat of wandering monsters and poisonous plants. Twilight put her worries aside and pressed onward. 
As soon as Twilight entered the first shadow of the trees bordering the path inward, it felt as if night had fallen across the land. Towering pines lined the path while their roots carved through the path itself. Twilight kept a slow pace, keeping a stern eye on anything she might trip on, and any particularly colorful flowers (especially blue ones). After spending what felt like half an hour dodging various foliage, Zecora's small cottage built into a tree came into view. The light of fires within danced through the open windows, signaling that Zecora was most likely inside. Twilight knocked on the door a few times and awaited an answer. Surely enough, the door opened and Zecora stood before her.
“Ah, hello there my dear Twilight, what brings me such a lovely sight?” She said in her tribal accent.
“Hi Zecora! I was having a little problem I was hoping you could help me with. There is something strange going on with one of my books, but I don't have any idea what's wrong with it.” Twilight said, brushing the dirt off of her hooves.
“Please, do come inside,” Zecora said, sidestepping to make room for Twilight's entry, “We'll see what your book is trying to hide.” Twilight walked inside to see the familiar (and still somewhat unnerving) masks that decorated Zecora's walls, along with several shelves of jarred ingredients and salves. In the center of the hearth was her cauldron, currently cool and empty. “Now tell me what about the book vexes you, and I'll see what I can do.” Zecora said amidst Twilight's study of the unique items placed around Zecora's home.
“Oh, right.” Twilight responded. She levitated the book out of her saddlebags and hovered it in front of Zecora and herself. She flipped the pages until the few blank pages in the middle of the book appeared. Zecora gave the pages a quick study, and then peered back at Twilight, awaiting her explanation. “You see, last night, I wanted to read something before I went to bed, so I grabbed this book. I turned to these pages, and red letters began to appear on the pages. But now, they don't show up any more.”
“So if I've got this right,” Zecora began, “You want these words to return, like the previous night?”
“Yes, please.” Twilight nodded.
Zecora peered at the book intently, as if trying to see if any other clues lied within the pages. “This is very strange indeed, but I might have just the thing we need.” She answered, immediately turning towards one of her shelves filled with bottles, muttering words to herself in her foreign tongue. Twilight waited with great anticipation, very relieved that the answer to this mystery lie right within her grasp. Although she tried to not get her hopes too high (just in case Zecora's solution didn't work), she was jittery with excitement. Zecora eyed one of the smaller bottles for a few seconds before proceeding to grab it with her mouth. She walked over to Twilight and dropped the bottle from her mouth and caught it with her hoof. “This liquid is called the Elixir of Verity, it dispels all lies with complete certainty.” She proclaimed.
Instantly, Twilight thought of a myriad of uses for a substance that removes lies, and thought it would be an immense help for uncovering Luna's plot. Of course, she then realized she knew not the limitations of it, and asked; “So... how does it work?”
“You just open the top,” Zecora said as she used her mouth to remove the cork from the top of the small glass vial, “And let flow only a drop...” With that, she gingerly held the bottle in her mouth and let only a small droplet fall onto the book's pages. The droplet of the clear liquid just rested on the page, the red letters still not appearing. After a few anxious seconds, Twilight turned and looked at Zecora, who was still watching the book intently. There was the suddenly sound of a rushing wind, Twilight turned back towards the book to see the liquid was glowing brightly and giving off the gusty noise (although the pages themselves remained still). The glowing droplet slowly grew to encompass the entirety of the two pages that were open to them. Twilight raised a hoof to her eyes as the glowing became a pain to watch. There was another sound that didn't sound unlike Twilight's winking spell, and the glowing ceased. Twilight lowered her hoof to see another light coming from the book; those of the red-lettered prophecy she had read the night before. Twilight read through the red words to see that it was still the same verse she had remembered.
“That's many a dark word.” Proclaimed Zecora, “Darker than I've ever heard.” Twilight jumped a bit, she did not want anyone else to see the prophecy before showing it to Princess Celestia, even if Zecora was the last pony she would have to worry about accidentally telling the wrong ponies about it. Twilight quickly closed the book, slightly startling Zecora, and placed it back into her saddlebags.
Twilight gave a nervous laugh, “Yeah, very dark... I'm trying to learn more about what they mean, so I was wondering; could I please have the rest of that Elixir of Verity?”
Zecora's eyes widened a bit, “This potion is one of my most rare, you'll likely never find one elsewhere... But I don't see why not, instead of returning it to its shelf to rot.” With that, she corked the bottle and held it in her hoof.
“Thank you Zecora!” Twilight cheered, and magically grabbed the small bottle and put it in her saddlebags along with her quill and parchment. “You've been a big help, thanks again!” And with that, Twilight quickly galloped out of Zecora's home and down the path leading back to Ponyville. Zecora stood at her doorway and watched Twilight disappear into the dark recesses of the forest. The words Zecora had read stirred something deep within the retreats of her memory. She wasn't quite sure what is was, but it left chill in her body as she returned inside, closing the door behind her.
In what felt like only a minute, Twilight was crossing the bridge back into Ponyville. She knew that all she had to do now is show Princess Celestia the book and gives her hypothesis on how the prophecy matches Luna, and then she would have Princess Celestia helping with the investigation. Such a boon would quickly render the contents of the prophecy null and void. Twilight had wanted to run all the way back to the library, but the pain in her legs quickly became noticeable once she didn't have the Everfree forest to urge her further. She quickly slowed to a sluggish pace, heaving large breaths in her exhaustion. “I really should...” she muttered between breaths, “work out more.” When she got back to the library, she wanted to send a letter to Princess Celestia requesting a ride in the royal chariot back to Canterlot, for walking all the way there would be very tiring and time-consuming.
The library soon came into view, a great relief to the tired Twilight. Once she reached the door, she was just about to press it open, but got a fleeting sensation that she was being watched. She turned around to face the road; there were a few other ponies walking down the road, but none looking in her direction. She looked into the windows of the nearby houses, but still to no avail. As she was just about to ignore her random feeling, something did catch her eye; a small cat skulking against one of the houses eyeballing her. At first, it looked like Opalescence, Rarity's foul-tempered feline friend, but it seemed to have witnessed Twilight staring back at itself, and disappeared around the side of the house before Twilight could get a better look. She shrugged off the awkward occurrence and walked into the library.
“Spike!” Twilight called, anxious to get that letter written and sent to Princess Celestia. To her annoyance, there was no response from her assistant. She walked up the stairs into her living quarters, to see Spike from behind, his head rested on his claw as he peered down into a book. “Ah, well, it's good to see you're finally reading a book for once,” Twilight said in approval as she approached him, “but we must...” She walked up beside him to see that his eyes were closed, having fallen asleep amidst attempting to read a book. Twilight's brief meritorious praise turned into disappointment.
“Spike!” She shouted again from right behind him. The baby dragon sprung up out of fright, causing him to fall out of his chair.
“I'm up! I'm up!” Spike called, quickly staggering to his feet. Once his eyes focused, he looked up at Twilight. “Oh, hey Twilight.” He said, then giving off a long yawn.
“I'm going to need you to send another note to Princess Celestia.” Twilight said sternly, “It's very important.” With that, she levitated the quill, parchment, and inkwell out of her saddlebags and hovered them in front of Spike. He uncorked the inkwell and dipped the quill in it while being held in Twilight's magical grip. Twilight then returned the cork and hovered the inkwell back into her bags, letting Spike take a hold of the parchment.
“Dear Princess Celestia, “ Twilight started, “I have something important I would like to show you personally, and am requesting that you send the royal chariot to Ponyville as soon as possible...” Twilight pondered her next words, wondering if she should make direct mention of the book or not. She decided against it, since it was unlikely anyway that the Princess would believe her before seeing the book first-hoof. “Along with that, I have learned something very interesting that I would also like to discuss with you in private. Your student, Twilight Sparkle.” Spike finished scribbling the last few words, then rolled up the parchment and engulfed it in a plume of green flame, sending it on its journey to Princess Celestia.
“You're going to Canterlot?! Can I come?!” Spike asked with glee, looking up at Twilight with a grin that went from ear to ear, and wide eyes full of anticipation.
“I'm sorry Spike,” Twilight responded, “but this is a very important meeting, I'm not going to be up there for long anyway.”
Spike's grin instantly melted into a frown. “Fine,” he pouted as he crossed his arms and stuck up his chin, “I didn't want to go anyway.” If Twilight were not in such a serious mood, she would probably have laughed at Spike's melodramatic reply.
Spike's cheeks inflated as he belched out a rolled piece of parchment, no doubt a response from the Princess. Twilight immediately seized it in her magic hold and opened it in front of her for both of them to see. She read it aloud; “My dear student Twilight Sparkle, as much as I would love to see what you have to show me, I am currently dealing with very pressing matters up at the royal palace, and am much too busy to come visit you personally. The royal chariot is currently in use by two very important ponies that will be arriving in Ponyville later today. I would like you to greet them when they arrive, and ensure they find their way to the inn. I think you will like the colt that is to arrive. He's about your age and loves books, I hear. Your teacher, Princess Celestia.”
Twilight let out an annoyed sigh, “Of course, the only time I'd want to go to Canterlot and the royal chariot is being used!” She spat quickly. “I guess I'll just have to go meet those ponies that are arriving, guide them to the inn, then use the chariot myself.”
“Not going to make friends with the pony Princess Celestia was mentioning?” Spike asked in jest.
“Spike, this is serious!” Twilight answered, “I will make more friends once the fate of Equestria no longer rests in my hooves!” Spike was taken aback by her wide-eyed, worried expression.
“So... you really believe in that prophecy, don't you?” Spike asked nervously. “You know, not everything in that book has come true.”
Twilight was not sure how to respond, was she the only one who took this seriously? It was starting to boil up inside her, but she tried to not let it get the best of her. “Yes, Spike... I do.” She said as relaxed as she could, although she could feel her frustration seeping into her words. “I'm going to go do as the Princess asked and meet up with the visiting ponies. If I'm gone for a while, it probably means I'm up at Canterlot for the night.”
“But...but!” Spike started, but Twilight was already down the stairs and out the door before he could finish. He sighed, knowing the only things he had to entertain him were walls full of books, any good ones of which he had already saw all the pictures inside.


~


“Wake up. We're almost there.”
Duskmane must have dozed off during the long trip, but his mother's announcement quickly woke him up; he was very anxious to see the new town, and to make his mother happy by helping her so that he might finally get some approval from her. He looked ahead, and could indeed see a large village surrounded partly by a small river. Dense forests covered a vast distance in one direction, with long formations of mountains traveling for miles through the forested area. In the other direction were rolling plains as far as the eye could see, with only sparse trees sprouting from the green hills. As they lowered altitude and neared the town, he could see the hay-covered thatched roofs that adorned almost every house, aside from a few buildings that stood out (even one that appeared to be a large tree).
As the guards slowly lowered towards an opening near the largest building in town (which he assumed to be the town hall), Duskmane started becoming a mixture of nervous and excited. Almost every other town before this was very nonchalant, usually just involving his mother having a short meeting with the mayor there and discussing terms (assuming she was successful in convincing them to buy her resources, which she usually was). But this journey felt different. Perhaps it was the personal escort by the Princess's royal guard, or the fact that they are in such close proximity to the capitol of Equestria, but it made Duskmane's heart flutter with anxious thoughts.
“Now Duskmane...” he thought to himself, “you just have to mention that the owner of the Saddlestone mines is in town, and that what she wants to provide can greatly benefit the entire town. With luck, that should be enough to impress mother...” He kept playing imaginary scenarios in his mind, hoping to better prepare himself for his self-given task ahead. There was a light thud at the chariot and the royal guards touched down on the paved stone plaza. Much to his approval, there was not a crowd of other ponies waiting for them like he had imagined. Madam Sapphire hopped out of the chariot with her travel bags across her back, and he followed, gazing at the colorful architecture of the surrounding buildings.
“I'm going to go drop my things off at the inn.” Said Madam Sapphire, drawing Duskmane's attention to herself. “I will likely be speaking with the mayor today, then tomorrow, we will be going to Canterlot so that I may have an audience with the Princess.” Duskmane could feel the greed lingering on the last few words. If she managed to get Princess Celestia as a customer, Madam Sapphire's huge business is more than likely to swell even more. What she would do with all those bits, Duskmane had no idea. “Feel free to wander about today, just don't... do anything stupid.” She hissed. “So much depends on what happens today and tomorrow, and there will be endless punishment should you ruin it!”
Such demeaning words were pretty typical when Duskmane's mother was in the middle of a business trip, but they still all felt like fiery lashes to Duskmane nonetheless. “Don't worry,” he thought to himself, “I'm going to make you happy this time! Just you wait...” Duskmane's brooding was interrupted by what appeared to be a lavender colored pony wearing matching saddlebags walking their way. “Now's my chance!” He thought, ready to attempt his sales pitch in front of his mother.
The lavender pony drew closer, giving the royal chariot a lasting gaze, before drawing her attention to them as she got close. “Hello, my name is Twilight Sparkle,” she said with a smile, holding a hoof up to herself. “The Princess asked that I show you two to the inn.”
Duskmane's scenario that he had planned through his head shattered into little bits as he witnessed the beautiful mare. He nervously stared into her violet eyes, wanting to say what he had planned, but completely unable. “Hello... Twilight. I'm Duskmane.” He could feel the blood rushing to his face, never had he seen such a beautiful unicorn.
“Charmed.” Madam Sapphire remarked flippantly. “I am Madam Sapphire, here to spread my wealth to your little... community. We would appreciate it if you quickly showed us to the inn.”
Twilight did not have high expectations for the new visitors, but could tell by the tone of Madam Sapphire that she was a stuck-up sort, a bit like her friend Rarity, but without the good qualities. She figured Duskmane was the colt the Princess had mentioned in her letter, and could see he was about as nervous as his mother was arrogant. “Certainly,” she said, “Right this way.”
Twilight took the lead as the three ponies traveled one of the major roads across town. Duskmane was busy taking in the sights, while Madam Sapphire walked with a grim look across her face. After a few minutes of walking, they came across a large, two-storied building, a sign with a bed on it protruding out of the front of it. “Here we are.” Said Twilight, pressing the door forward and letting the other two inside.
An aged brown stallion with a gray mane greeted them from behind the wooden counter once Twilight closed the door behind them. “Well lookie here, visitors to good ol' Ponyville. Are you here to rent a room?” The look of disgust was obvious on Madam Sapphire's face as she peered around the interior. It was made entirely of wood, aside from the stone fireplace on the other side of the room, with the stairs leading to the second floor being on the opposite side of the room; nothing like the brick and gold interior of the manor.
“I suppose I must.” Madam Sapphire answered, “How much is it for the night?”
“Wait a second...” The old stallion began, “You wouldn't happen to be Ms. Sapphire, would you?”
“That's Madam Sapphire to you.” She spat, “But yes, 'tis me.”
“Oh, well,” he said slightly shaken, “Princess Celestia already reserved a room for you, our best one in fact.” He went and grabbed one of the keys that hung on the board behind him and laid it on the counter. A smug grin appeared on Madam Sapphire's face.
“The Princess really does know who she's dealing with.” Madam Sapphire said under her breath, but still loud enough for everypony to hear. She went and grabbed the key with her mouth and proceeded to walk towards the stairs.
“I guess I'm done here. Now, time to take that chariot to Canterlot.” Twilight thought to herself as she reared around and headed back towards the door, “I've wasted enough time as it is.”
“Um, excuse me... Twilight?” Duskmane called in a timid voice. Twilight stopped in her tracks, slightly annoyed.
She removed her disgruntled face before turning around to answer him, “Yes, what is it, Duskmane?”
“I was wondering...” he said as his mustered up as much courage as he could, “would you be able to give me a tour of all of Ponyville? I'd love to see the rest of the town.”
Twilight really wanted to have a nice walk with Duskmane, out of curiosity of the legitimacy of Princess Celestia's claim of them being alike (and perhaps something more, but Twilight would not admit it to herself). But she knew what she had to do above all else; show the book to the Princess. “I... I'm sorry, but I have a lot of work I need to catch up on. But it was nice meeting you, Duskmane, I hope to see you around.”
Duskmane's nervous grin turned into a chest-fallen frown. “It's okay... Thanks anyway, though. It was great to meet you too.” Twilight gave a farewell smile, and turned around to exit the inn.
Twilight had a sinking feeling as she walked further from the inn towards the town square, somewhat cursing herself for being such a diligent pony in her quest. “I must get to Celestia.” She urged herself on. “I'll go visit Duskmane later....”
By the time Twilight was back in the town square, the sun was high in the sky, and many ponies were out and about enjoying the beautiful day. Twilight looked around through the small crowd of ponies to relocate the royal chariot. To her relief, it was still in the same place it was when Duskmane and his mother first arrived, with the two royal guards still tethered to it, in their usual serious pose. She walked up in front of the two royal guards and greeted them; “Hello guys, I'm sure you remember me, Twilight Sparkle?” They both stared at her, without saying a word. Twilight gave an uneasy smile, “Yeah... Well, It is very important that I get to Canterlot castle, could you gentlecolts please take me there?”
One of the guards answered, “We are to remain here, by the order of Princess Celestia.”
“Not if it's extremely important? As in the fate of Equestria depends on it?!” Twilight asked, very distressed.
“Only if the Princess deems it necessary.” The other guard answered.
Twilight gave a loud grunt, was everything trying to prevent her from reaching Canterlot? “I must think of something... anything!” She whispered to herself. She was disheartened, having hit a dead end on every possible attempt to reach the princess. The day was much too warm to trust the 'wings' spell she had cast on Rarity a while ago, and the Canterlot Express from Ponyville to Canterlot was still under construction, but there had to be a way. Walking up the mountain trail would take days, if Twilight's physique could even carry her that far. Out of options, Twilight turned to the one thing she could depend on most, “There's got to be a book with something I haven't thought of!” With that, she galloped back to the library, hoping that at least her books would hold an answer.


~


Duskmane watched as his mother removed a plethora of folders full of maps, charts, and many other notes she often used during her business discussions. She stacked them neatly on the table in the center of the room, carefully organizing the stacks based on the contents of the folders. She caught Duskmane staring as her and said, “You're free to leave, like I said. I have much to prepare for this evening, just be back before we go to Canterlot tomorrow. Otherwise, I'm leaving you here until my business with the Princess is complete.”
“Of course, Mother.” Duskmane responded, turning towards the door. He exited the room and walked down the stairs to the first floor of the inn. The innkeeper gave a resentful stare at Duskmane as he passed by, probably because of the mother's remarks. Duskmane quickly trotted out of the inn to escape his gaze, and out into Ponyville. The sun was bright, and the fluorescent colors of the buildings, flowers, and other ponies stood out in great contrast to what he was use to in his gray hometown, even more colorful still than any other town he has visited. He wanted to do two things that day; the first which he had planned was attempt to make his mother happy by bringing attention to her business. The other, which he wanted to do ever since he saw the colorful town, was to explore and see the entire community. “I just gotta tell some ponies about the Saddlestone mines, and the resources it provides, and how it could help them...” He thought to himself, once again playing out his speech in his imagination. “Now, I just got to tell the first pony I come across...” He looked around, there were several ponies walking the large road. His eye stopped on two mares that were standing in place, talking amongst each other, a unicorn with a light turquoise coat and an earth pony with a pale cream coat with a bold pink and blue mane. He approached them, already feeling the tension of his nervousness building in his throat.
“Hi...” he started, drawing their attention to him.
“Hello!” Said the unicorn.
“Hiya!” Said the earth pony.
Just as it had before with his meeting with Twilight, the words he wanted to say melted. He tried to recollect them as best he could, knowing they were waiting on him to continue. “I just wanted to say... that...” He stuttered.
“Yes?” Said the unicorn curiously.
In his mind, he commanded his words return to him, yet they hid under the thick mask of his anxiety. He was not a natural speaker like his mother, and very rarely conversed with other ponies while he was at home. “That... I've gotta go.” He said hastily, galloping off down the road. The tension was too much to bare for him, and he mentally cursed himself for it. Once he was out of sight of the two mares, he slowed down, catching his breath. “Horse feathers... I'm never going to be able to impress mother at this rate.”
Duskmane looked back, only barely able to see the roof of the inn. He turned around to see the familiar town square ahead of him. It was an open expanse, with houses surrounding the perimeter, with the town hall in the center, along with a few fountains and statues scattered about. “I suppose I should just start by asking for directions.” he thought. Near the few houses behind the town hall, he could see a bridge that crossed the small river that surrounded the town, with a path leading into the dark forest beyond. Every other direction though was an expanse of houses, shops, and other sites to see; he couldn't decide where he should go first. He figured he would try to find a pony that wasn't busy to give him some directions, but almost every single pony around was talking with another one, or playing in small groups.
Duskmane walked around the perimeter of the plaza a bit, until he came across a pegasus pony that appeared to be peering into a bunch of flowers that were growing outside of one of the shops. She had a cream colored coat and a flowing pink mane, with eyes that showed only kindness. “A perfect pony to ask.” Duskmane thought as he approached her. Upon closer inspection, she was watching several butterflies flutter amongst the flowers, and although he could not hear her, she appeared to be talking to them. She did not appear to notice him as he got close, so he spoke; “Excuse me--”
The mare quickly jumped with a gasp, shaking a little bit as she turned to face him. “H—Hello.” She stuttered.
“I'm sorry if I disrupted anything.” Duskmane said, feeling embarrassed yet again, but this time for unintentionally startling the poor pony.
“Oh, no, it's okay.” She said in a very hushed voice. “Was there something I could help you with?”
“Er... yes.” Duskmane started, “I was just curious if you could tell me about the interesting places around town. I'm new here.” He was relieved he could get his sentence out without blundering again.
“Oh, well,” Said the pegasus pony, her expression switching from anxious to a happy grin, “We're always happy to have visitors in Ponyville. My name's Fluttershy, I take care of the animals around here.”
“I'm Duskmane, and I'm just traveling with my mother.” He said, considering interjecting the sales pitch about the Saddlestone mine now that he had the courage, but considered it a bad time to do so.
“It's good to meet you, Duskmane.” She said, still in her hushed tone although her initial fright seemed to had faded. “Now, what do you like to do? There are lots of interesting things here in Ponyville, it would take a while to tell you about them all.”
“Well,” Duskmane started, giving it some thought before he answered, “My favorite thing to do at home is reading books.”
“Oh!” Fluttershy gasped, “One of my friends runs the library down the road.” She pointed a hoof towards a road that branched from the plaza. “It looks like a large tree house, you can't miss it.”
Although Duskmane avoided bringing books with him so that he might be outside more, the offer sounded too tempting for him to resist. “That's great!” he said, “Thanks again Fluttershy, goodbye!” He trotted off in the direction she was pointing.
“And there's also...” Fluttershy started, but she opened her eyes to see Duskmane had already taken off in the direction she had pointed. She shrugged and resumed her peaceful gaze of the butterflies.


~


Twilight levitated her saddlebags off her back and placed them beside the bed she was laying upon, tired from the lack of sleep, and lack of success in today's endeavors. Many books were cluttered on the floor from her frantic but unsuccessful search for any other methods that might get her to Canterlot.
“Cheer up Twilight.” Spike said, attempting to put the books in neat piles on the floor, “You can just go up there tomorrow evening once those two ponies you were talking about leave.”
“But what if tomorrow is too late?!” Twilight yelled with her face against her bedsheets. She had a terrible headache, something that she unfortunately did not know how to cure with her magic. Her words were filled with distress and worry, but there was no use fretting over it at this point. She gave out a long sigh, “I guess I'm going to have to wait, then.” She closed her eyes, wanting to catch up on her lost sleep. Her ears perked up as she heard the door downstairs open, “Of all times for a visitor.” she mumbled, slowly stepping off the bed and making her way for the stairs.
Twilight walked down the stairs with her eyes half-closed. Once she reached the bottom, she absentmindedly said “Welcome to the Ponyville Library, can I he--” Her eyes sprung open: Light gray coat, dark blue mane with a white stripe, orange eyes, and the crescent moon eclipse cutie mark; “Oh, hi Duskmane!” Her heart raced, she was not expecting him any time soon. She realized she must have looked like a liar in his eyes, although the mess of books everywhere could partially cover up her lethargic respite.
Duskmane turned to look at Twilight; he blushed once again at her beauty. “Oh... hi Twilight, I didn't expect to run into you again. If you're still busy, I'll leave...” he turned to exit the library.
“No!” Twilight shouted louder than she intended. “I mean... no, you don't have to leave.”
Duskmane turned back towards her. “Oh, alright.” He could see her eyes were drooping with weariness, “You don't look so good.” he remarked, “Is something wrong?”
Something about Duskmane made her feel relaxed, although she was not too sure what it was. Perhaps it was just as the Princess said; they only barely knew each other, yet she could feel a good aura emanating from him. “Oh, I'm just in a bit of a problem right now, I'm fine.”
“What sort of problem?” Duskmane asked, “I'd love to help if I can.” He felt slightly embarrassed of the words that escaped his mouth, almost as if a bit “too” friendly for a pony he barely knew.
“I...” Twilight was about to decline the offer, but something deep in her mind said 'Don't do it', the same instinct she felt when Predictions and Prophecies had fallen in front of her. “Well, I suppose I am in a bit of a bad situation, but I'm not sure if you could help.”
“Well, even so, I'd still want to try.” He replied solemnly, with only a small fraction of his earlier uneasiness.
Twilight smiled. Finally, somepony just offering to help her greatly improved her mood. “Well, I need to get to Canterlot... I have something important I must show Princess Celestia.”
Duskmane had only seen Canterlot in the books he's read, and only had a general idea as to the distance is was from where he was now, but even he knew the distance was a bit much to walk in only a small group. “Well, the chariot that my mother and I arrived on is still in the plaza. Why don't you ride that?”
“I tried.” Twilight replied, “But they said they were ordered not to move.”
Duskmane gave it some thought, then replied, “You know, they are waiting there to take my mother and I to Canterlot tomorrow... Perhaps they'll listen to me if I ask that us two go now?”
“Maybe... That might just do it!” Twilight said happily. “If you would do that for me, I'd be in your debt.”
“Oh, no...” Duskmane responded, “It's the least I can do for a friend. Although...”
“What is it?” Twilight asked.
“As much as I want to help you, doing this might get me in big trouble with my mother... I just want to know what it is that has you in such a rush to visit the Princess.” Duskmane felt impolite to make that request, but his curiosity got the better of him.
In most cases, Twilight would have considered heavily against showing anybody the contents of the book, but that good aura coming from her new friend seemed to melt away any feeling of distrust. “Follow me up here, I'll show you.” She said, walking back up the stairs, with Duskmane following close behind her. When they reached the second floor, they saw Spike now starting to return the books to their proper place in their shelves. “That's my assistant, Spike. He helps me keep the place clean over my study sessions.” It did not appear Spike heard her from his place high on the ladder as he balanced several books in one claw, while putting them into the shelf with the other. Twilight walked over to her saddlebags that laid on the floor, and hovered the book in front of Duskmane and herself. She flipped the pages to the glowing red prophecy. Duskmane's eyes glided across the words, his expression becoming more grim as he read through the passage.
“Wow,” he said worriedly, “What book is this?”
“Predictions and Prophecies,” Twilight answered, “have you heard of it?”
“Yes, I have.” Duskmane replied, “I've read through it all, and have seen several of the predictions in it come true, but I have never see this in my book before.”
“Me either, until last night.” Twilight said, looking into Duskmane's concerned eyes. “I've used a little potion from a friend to make it stay visible, but when I wrote to Princess Celestia, she said she could not see it in her book, which is why she isn't taking me seriously. I want to show her the prophecy first-hoof.”
“I can surely see why, now. We shouldn't waste any time getting there.” Duskmane insisted.
“My thoughts exactly.” Twilight replied with relief, “And... thanks, again.” Duskmane gave a blushed smile back as they walked back down the stairs. “Spike! I'm leaving again!” Twilight called as she pressed the door open and exited the library.
As Twilight walked alongside Duskmane back to the town square, she could see the truth in Princess Celestia's words. Something about Duskmane resonated with her. She wouldn't say it was love, but something else. “A destined friendship” she called it in her thoughts, “Much like the rest of my good friends.” Twilight looked over at Duskmane, who was staring blankly forward, something obviously on his mind. Not wanting a quiet walk all the way there, Twilight broke the silence; “So... which one of my friends told you about the library?”
Duskmane blinked and snapped back to reality. “Oh, um... Fluttershy, if I do recall.”
“Oh, she's a sweet one. Awfully quiet, but my other friends and I try to get her to open up some. She's gotten better from when we first met.”
“You mean she use to be worse?” Duskmane asked jokingly, “I thought I froze her in fright when I first greeted her.” They both chuckled, the worries they had on their shoulders receded into their tranquil conversation. “So, tell me, Twilight.” Duskmane said once the giggling settled, “Are you from Ponyville?”
“Actually, my hometown is Canterlot. I'm a student of Princess Celestia, and I'm in Ponyville by her request.”
“Oh, I see.” Duskmane replied. “I'm from Saddlestone. My mother runs the Saddlestone mines, she often travels to other towns she seeks to do business with. This is the first time we've ever received a ride on the Princess's chariot, though.”
“That's the mines where lots of iron and gold is, right?” Twilight inquired, having faintly remembered hearing the name of that town from somewhere before.
“That's right.” He answered, “Our materials are sold to a lot of towns near ours. This town is the furthest one my mother has ever tried to make connections with.”
“That's interesting, I'd love to come visit Saddlestone sometime.”
“Eh, I don't know...” Duskmane said with a troubled look, “There's not much to see there, and it's nowhere near colorful as Ponyville.”
When they turned to face forward after their hearty chat, they were already only a few strides from the chariot, and to both Twilight's and Duskmane's surprise, the two royal guards still in the exact same pose. “How do they do it?” Duskmane whispered to Twilight, who gave a bewildered shrug.
Duskmane walked forward, and said, “Er...hi.” The warm courage he had around Twilight dissipated, once again having him scramble for his words. “We would like a ride to... um, Canterlot.” Both of the guards stared him down, leaving both Twilight and Duskmane in breath-stopping suspense. Were they going to deny his request?
“Of course, Master Duskmane. Please get in the chariot and we'll be on our way.”
Twilight and Duskmane heaved a sigh of relief, Quickly jumping into the plush purple seats. Once Twilight was seated, she could feel it again; the strange sensation that she was being watched, she peered around the town plaza, but too many other ponies blocked her attempts to find from who. Once the guards saw they were seated, they bolted forward once there was room to do so in the town square, heaving them into the air. With things finally going her way, Twilight had her mind on her meeting with the Princess. She gazed at Canterlot, a beautiful castle built into the mountainside with a steep path leading up to it. Duskmane had his eyes on the distant horizon, plagued by the somber realization that he would have to leave his new-found friend behind after tomorrow. They both flew silently through the warm breeze, wondering what awaited for them in their future...
> The Star-crossed Conspiracy
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Both of their silent contemplations went uninterrupted until the chariot beneath them gave a big thud. Duskmane turned around to see the white marble walls and tall gilded towers that rose from the city that hung over the cliff of the mountainside. Its majesty compared nothing to any pictures he had seen in his books. A waterfall flowed from the mountain above which formed into the mote that spanned the threshold of the city, which had a lowered drawbridge across it. Duskmane was in awe of the spender before him. Sure, it was not nearly as colorful as Ponyville was, but the fine details and stylish setting reminded him much of home.
“Welcome to my hometown, Canterlot.” Twilight said with her gaze also upon the city. “It's been quite a while since I've been back.”
“It's... wow.” Duskmane managed to exclaim beneath his amazement. The architecture shouted regal splendor. Of course Twilight would have came from a place that almost matched her beauty and grace, he thought.
“Well, let's make our way to Celestia's palace. There's even more to see inside.” Said Twilight.
Duskmane blinked. “Oh, right.” He said as he followed Twilight's across the drawbridge. Two other royal guards peered at them, especially at the unrecognized Duskmane, as they passed under the arching gate and into the city.
The white marble that marked the threshold of the city turned into an earthly green stone that paved the roads of the interior. The style of the buildings still continued, however, with lots of white-stoned buildings and golden outlines. The ponies walking about seemed strikingly familiar to Duskmane in their pose and attire, wearing exquisite black suits and colorful dresses. Another thing he did notice is that almost every pony outside was a unicorn, making him feel a little uncomfortable, as if he did not fit in. He quickly straightened his mane as best he could with his hooves in his attempt to camouflage with the crowd.
“You know,” Twilight paused at an intersection between two roads. She turned her body to face down one of them. “I use to be the caretaker of that library down there.” She pointed a hoof at a tower that stuck up above the smaller buildings that lined the road. It appeared to be annexed to another shorter building that had a huge telescope mounted on the side.
Duskmane's eyes widened “Wow, I don't think I've ever seen a library quite as lavish as that.” He turned to face Twilight. “What made you leave such a place? I mean, Ponyville seemed really great and all, but this is.... truly something else!”
Twilight turned and continued towards the Princess's palace. Duskmane yanked his gaze away from the tower in the distance and galloped back to Twilight's side. “I use to be a bit of a... hermit.” Twilight said. “Princess Celestia sent me on a task to make more friends when she saw that I had my nose in my books far too much.” She paused, then smiled. “Although, I suppose I still do, but now I make room for all of the good friends I've made since I moved to Ponyville.”
Duskmane saw Twilight give him a smiling glance, which he met back with a smile of his own. The trek down the road went by without a worry as they continued to elaborate on each others' hometowns and the history of them. Duskmane did more listening than talking, since he never did much outside of his home, and had very few friends of his own to talk about....
Duskmane heard of Twilight's thoughts on Princess Luna being the alicorn that the prophecy pointed towards; how she has the “image of the divine”, “Cast down by her worldly sires”, and that she her wanting of revenge for her millennial imprisonment.
“You really think she'd do something like that?” Duskmane asked after hearing Twilight's hypothesis.
“I want to hope that she wouldn't... and that this prophecy might not be true, but something in my gut tells me it's not something to be ignored.” Duskmane could see a hint of fear in her eyes as she stated her feelings, which brought a feeling of fear into himself.
Suddenly, Twilight turned her head forward. “Oh, we're here!” Duskmane turned as well to see a small stretch of the stone path with small trees and bushes lining the sides, instead of the elegant buildings of the town. A huge white structure rose to the sky at the end of the path ahead of them. Two giant doors marked the threshold of the Canterlot Palace, the seat of the Equestrian government, hanging over the cliff in regal splendor in testament to the immortal power of reigning Princesses. Duskmane has seen many pictures of the Canterlot Palace in his books, but to see the light of the sun dance of the white and gold exterior was much more captivating. He continued to follow Twilight forward with his sites still set on the palace. Twilight turned to him and found his captivation somewhat amusing. “Amazing, isn't it?” She asked.
Duskmane turned to see Twilight smiling back at him. “Oh yes. Everything here is so amazing! The hundreds of pictures and stories of its history hold nothing against seeing it personally. I've always wanted to come here since I first heard of the history of the two Princesses back at school... I wonder what they are like.”
“Celestia is a very kind and a great leader.” Twilight responded, “She always has the best interest of her people in her heart, but as you've probably figured out, she's usually very busy.” She made no mention of Luna, considering her conflicting thoughts of the matter at hoof.
They found themselves only a few hoofsteps from the giant double doors with a royal guard at each side. They both stared at Twilight briefly, then turned to Duskmane, who received a much longer study. “You're free to enter.” One said. Both guards stomped their hind hoof, signaling the large doors to open.
The door closed with a great thud behind them as the two ponies cleared the threshold into the palace. Duskmane felt a familiar pressure grip him. It was the much like how his mother expected him to act posh when around her guests at the manor, the grip of high expectations. Although his mother was nowhere nearby, the setting itself imposed its will upon him. The roof of the foyer reached high above them, supported by great marble columns that lined the edges of a great red carpet with golden trim. The carpet went forward and up a flight of stairs that branched into two doors on the second story, while two other doors were visible on the first floor of the foyer. The most impressive piece of the foyer was the large stain glass that was visible above the stairs that led to the second floor. It showed a classic image both Twilight and Duskmane recognized from their books, the depiction of the two Princesses in unison flying around the sun and moon.
Although Twilight had been in the palace many times, it was still very large and easy to get lost in. All she could recall for sure what that the ball room was on the second floor and through the right door. “Alright, now we just need to find Princess Celestia's room.” She said.
“You don't know where it's at?” Duskmane replied, “I thought you were her student.”
“Still, I've never been to her private quarters.” Twilight pondered for a bit, the Princesses' rooms were likely to be very high in the palace. “Let's go upstairs, and we can search from there.”
As they passed the two doors on the first floor, Twilight peered down both to see they led to another smaller corridor with doors lining the sides, not likely to lead to the quarters of the Princess. Twilight trotted up the stairs with Duskmane following close at her side. She looked into the right door to see the familiar ball room that holds the annual Grand Galloping Gala, all cleaned up from the wreck she and her friends left it during their last visit. She then turned to the left to see the other door led to a bend that continued out of sight.
She entered the doorway and turned to see a large room, rivaling the size of the foyer. Immediately present were the two giant alicorn statues, one made white marble and the other of black obsidian, taking rearing poses with wings spread that reached high into the air. The two alicorns' horns crossed over another red carpet that led to three other doorways on the sides of the room. The left one had two royal guards stations at the door. Twilight and Duskmane turned to the doorway opposite of it to see two ponies also guarding it, but they looked nothing like the white, gold-armored pegasi that they've encountered in the rest of the castle. They had a dark gray coat and amber colored eyes. They wore armor the color of a moonless dusk that covered the tops of their bodies, including their wings. Instead of the blue plume of the royal guards' helmets, their helmets adorned a crest that looked not unlike the sharp dorsal fins of a fish. They stood with the same pose as the royal guards, although their armor gave them a very menacing appearance. The doorway on the opposite side of the room from Twilight and Duskmane was atop a length of stairs that had two of the white royal guard stationed at the bottom of the stairs. 
“I remember where that leads, now.” Twilight said, motioning towards the doorway atop the stairs. “That leads to the chamber where the Elements of Harmony are kept. I imagine they keep it well guarded ever since what happened with Discord.”
“Discord? Who was that?” Asked Duskmane.
“Oh, nothing. Just a little problem that needed dealing with.” Twilight answered, feeling now was the wrong time to go into detail about the second time she and her friends used the Elements of Harmony to return peace to Equestria, although she did want to tell him about it eventually once the current escapade was done with. Twilight gave Duskmane and uneasy smile, which he met back with a frown of disbelief. “I'll tell you more about it when we get this mess settled.”
“Alright.” He nodded.
The placement of the statues and the types of guards at the doors led Twilight to believe that Celestia's quarters were behind the royal guards, whilst the area beyond the dark guards must have held Luna's quarters. Along with that realization came a brilliant idea that caused her to unintentionally perk up. She quickly regained her composure and leaned closer to Duskmane.
“I'm going to sneak into Luna's room.” She whispered.
His eyes widened, “But!...” He spouted. He lowered his voice down to a whisper as well, “But why sneak by? The guards will let you through, right?”
“I'm only Celestia's student, I highly doubt her guards would recognize me. But who knows, maybe they'll have heard of me... I'll go ask.”
Duskmane followed Twilight as she walked closer to the two dark guards. Only a few hoofsteps away with Duskmane behind her, she addressed the two guards; “Hello gentlecolts, I was wondering if--” They lowered their heads to face her, and she was taken aback by the slit pupils that had only ever belonged to Nightmare Moon. She blinked, recovering from her brief scare, “...If it would be alright if I speak with Princess Luna?”
One answered back in a deep, rasp voice; “Luna is not here today. Begone.” Something struck Twilight as odd, more-so than the guard's aggressive nature.
“Not here today?” She thought. “It sounds like they know that Luna is busy with... something outside the palace. There's got to be something in her room that might point to what she's up to.” She left her thoughts and spoke up. “Surely there's no harm in just taking a quick peek, right?” She gave a nervous laugh.
“By Luna's decree, trespassers will be detained and severely punished... maybe with just a  dungeon sentence if you're lucky.” The other guard answered. “Forever.”
“She must be hiding something to have given such an order!” Twilight shouted mentally. She spoke; “Thanks... gentlecolts. We'll be on our way.” She turned around with Duskmane shadowing here. She stopped near the entrance to the room they have came from, out of earshot of the guards.
“I suppose we'll have to wait for Luna to return.” Said Duskmane, peering over at the guards.
“I have a better idea.” Twilight said bravely, “I know a spell that will daze them long enough for me to slip by without alerting the other guards.”
“No, don't.” Duskmane said quickly, “Their armor... I recognize that material from one of the smiths at Saddlestone; It's an ore that is extremely resistant to magic. If they catch you casting magic on them, they won't be very happy.”
Twilight was surprised and somewhat skeptical, but took it to heart none-the-less. “If that's true, then we'll need to think of another way through.”
“You still want to get passed them?” Duskmane asked nervously.
“I must!” She said solemnly, “I feel like there is something important hiding in there... and I'm usually right about these things.” She gave Duskmane a smile that he did not quite understand. Seeing the confusion in his eyes, she retracted her smile and refocused on the problem at hand.
“I could try to distract them.” Duskmane suggested.
“If the dark guards are anywhere near as disciplined as the royal guards, I don't think that would be possible.” Twilight remarked.
“They didn't seem all too kosher, I'm willing to try.” Duskmane could feel his blood rushing, just the thought of encountering those guards himself caused him to become tense with apprehension.
“Are you sure?” Twilight said, her eyes mirroring the worry in Duskmane's.
He nodded. “Yes. Now, be ready to enter whenever you see an opening.” Twilight tucked back against the corner of the doorway, almost completely out of site from the dark guards. She peered around the corner as Duskmane slowly walked towards the guards. To add to his nervousness, he did not have a single idea as to how he might get the guards' attention.
He stopped in in the same spot Twilight had as the guards lowered their piercing gaze to address him. “What do you want now?” One of the dark guards asked.
Duskmane had no idea what to ask, but figured he would strike a normal conversation for now, to see if there was anything he could use against them. “Hey, guys.... So... how is the princess doing?” He knew he didn't sound very sincere.
“Her gracefulness is very busy with very important matters.” Said the other guard, with a hint of admiration.
“Oh, I see.” Duskmane answered, scrambling together his next sentence in his mind as fast as he could. “What exactly is she doing, anyway?”
Both of the guards cast a menacing look at Duskmane “That's none of your business, whelp!” Said one of the guards.
Duskmane jumped back in his fright of the guard, but composed himself as best he could and continued, “I... I did not mean to, er, intrude.” He paused, wondering what to say next. “Could you guys please show me to Princess Celestia's--”
“Princess Celestia...” One of the guards interrupted in a very begrudging tone. “We will have nothing to do with... her.”
“Go find your own way to your precious tyrant.” Said the other guard, the disdain seething from his teeth.
Their hate of the Princess Celestia really surprised Duskmane; he had heard nothing but good things about her. “But... I thought she was a great leader!” He tried to sound assured in his exposition.
“Oh?” One of the guards responded as they closed in on him, giving a look of hate and malice only matched by a few looks given to him by his mother in the past. “Is that so?!”
“Princess Luna would not stand for such lies!” One guard turned towards the other, “I think we should throw him into the dungeon to show him the error of his ways.”
Duskmane began to step backwards as they closed in on him. “N—No!” His apprehension quickly turned to fear, what had he gotten himself in to? “The Princess wouldn't let you--”
“The princess isn't around to hear your cries...” One said as Duskmane felt himself bump against the large statue behind him. The guards overlooking him both gave a dark smile.	
“Yes... Perhaps the dungeon will set him straight.” They both began to laugh under their breaths. Then suddenly, Duskmane heard a slight popping noise as he saw Twilight had teleported (or as the unicorns liked to call it, 'winked') into the doorway the guards had walked away from. She gave him a worried look, seeing his current predicament. The guards must have seen him staring, because they too looked back towards the doorway. Duskmane's heart skipped a beat; if they saw Twilight there, they would know of his attempt to distract them. To his relief, Twilight had already scurried around the corner, out of sight.
“What's going on here?” Said a familiar voice, but not that of one of the dark guards. One of the royal guards stepped forward, confronting the two dark guards.
“Official business that you have no part in.” One of the dark guards responded.
“If I heard right, you were going to lock up this pony in the dungeon. What has he done to earn such a punishment?”
“He spoke ill of her majesty Princess Luna, more than deserving of a visit to the dungeon.”
“I did no such thing!” Duskmane called, “I only spoke good things of Princess Celestia.”
“All the same, you foal.” A dark guard hissed at him.
“While Princess Luna is not present in Canterlot Palace, you have no authority to enact punishment of any sort to the visitors of the palace outside of Luna's wing.” The guard said boldly, “You should know that by now.”
The dark guards gave him a hateful look of acknowledgment, then returned back to their post by the doorway, but not before giving Duskmane another menacing glare.
“T—Thank you.” Duskmane stuttered to the royal guard. The royal guard merely responded with a nod, and then returned to his spot guarding the doorway to Celestia's quarters. He took the moment to catch his breath, and allow his pulse to slow back to normal. “I really hope Twilight finds what she's looking for...” He thought.

~

The corridor she found herself in was very dark, and not just because of the lack of light. The walls were a solid black, with the carpet and tapestry being deep shades of blue and purple. Not a single window was visible inside the corridor; faint white orbs hovered in the air against the walls, giving off a pale light. “Wow... I didn't expect Luna's place to look anything like this.” Twilight thought. From what she could see, corridor was high and wide, with many doors on the sides and one very large one at the very end opposite of her. “I probably shouldn't make any magical light of my own, there might be more guards in here.”
She stuck close to one side of the corridor, her coat and mane matching well with the huge variety of tapestries depicting large landscapes at night, or Luna herself. She slowly pressed open the first door she came across and peered inside. She could make of the shape of several small beds, much too small for the Princess to use. She also saw pony shaped stands (much like the ones at the Carrousel Boutique) holding sets of armor much like the ones the guards outside wore.
A sudden movement from one of the beds startled Twilight, although she withheld her yelp. “The guards off duty must be sleeping in here.” She thought, backing out of the doorway and closing the door as quietly as she could. “I need to get out of here as fast as I can once I find what I'm looking for.”
She decided to ignore all of the smaller rooms, and instead continued straight down the corridor, assuming the most important areas to be at the end of it. She trotted to the end of the hall, where a large door came into view. She neared it, keeping a keen eye out of any other guards that might be nearby.
To her relief, she made it to the large door without spotting any other ponies. The door was much larger than any other in the hall. It was made of wood painted over in a deep purple, with golden metal lining the edges. She gave a sigh of relief, “The must be her room...” She whispered to herself with a certain satisfaction. “I just have to press open the door and...” She pressed, but the door did not budge. She gave it a brief inspection to see the door did not have a mechanical lock, but she could sense a strong magic lingering in the door itself. “It must be magically locked.” Although disappointed, she did not drop her resolve. “I could try to dispel it... but trying to overcome the magic of Princess Luna would be a true feat of its own... I must try!” She began to focus as used her magic to try to unravel the power woven in the spell. As she expected, it was not a spell she recognized. She knew, however, that all spells are formed by arcane words woven in different fashions (with alicorns able to fashion much more complex arcane strings). She used her extensive magic knowledge to attempt to decipher the magic within...

~

Duskmane had only been waiting near the white alicorn statue for a few minutes, but he was already worried about Twilight. “She just needs more time...” He thought. “She knows what she's doing.” At least, he hoped. He really disliked the feeling of being helpless, and the seconds that passed by felt like hours. 
After a few tense minutes, he figured there was a way to make himself useful, even if only a little bit. “The least I could do is find Celestia before Twilight gets back.” If Twilight was right (and he had no reason to doubt her), her room was just beyond the royal guards. He left his spot in between the two statues and proceeded towards the door guarded by the royal guards. After his ordeal with the guards, talking with these guards seemed like a blessing. “Er... Is Princess Celestia in at the moment?”
“Her Majesty is currently busy speaking with another clients.” One of the guards responded “You may wait in the lobby until it is your turn.”
He looked beyond them into the next room to see it was filled with large padded benches, most already occupied with waiting ponies, with the walls made up an inviting wood pattern instead of the authoritative white marble that constructed the rest of the interior. Duskmane took the guard's message as an invitation and walked into the lobby.
With the whole room in view, he saw that almost every spot had a waiting pony in it. “It's going to take forever for it to be our turn...” Duskmane thought. He took one of the remaining benches and waited patiently, drowning out the voices of the other ponies with his hopeful thoughts of Twilight's success.

~

“Annnd... Got it!” Twilight whispered triumphantly as she managed to decode and dispel the magic holding the door shut. She had a massive headache and felt extremely exhausted from her task. Not wasting any time, she very slowly pressed the door opened, peeking inside for any threats. Seeing the coast was clear, she went inside and gently closed the door behind her. Her heart swelled in excitement, she was so close to her goal, although she knew not exactly what it was yet.
The interior of Princess Luna's bedroom was better lit than the corridor before, and Twilight eagerly took in all the sites of the room. The first thing that caught her attention was a large glass globe atop a wooden pedestal, and what appeared to be little white dots suspended inside the glass. She walked closer to it, with the white dots suspended inside taking familiar shapes that she could not quite put her hoof on. After a few seconds of thought, the answer came to her. “It's a magical star map... I can see all of the major constellations in here...” She said in awe. What she wouldn't have done to take the it with her, but knowing it was complete folly, and she returned to her search with a feeling of loss.
The next thing that instantly caught her eye were the large black shelves that covered one side of the room, packed edge to edge with books and tomes of all shapes and sizes. Twilight could identify a few of them just by looking at the spine, but she did not recognize a majority of them. “I might be able to learn something by the books she's keeping... But that would take way too long to look at all of these.” She thought.
A large, circular bed crowded one corner of the room, with what appeared to be a glass door covered by large, black blinds. Sunlight seeped underneath them, meaning it probably led to somewhere outside. To the side of her bed was a dresser with a large mirror, whose frame was adorned with many large jewels that sparkled in the pale light of the floating white orbs. “Probably isn't anything in there...”
Another turn brought her facing a large metal pedestal with a closed book held at the top. She was about to dismiss it, but something about the book looked familiar. She walked closer, and saw the the golden unicorn emblem across the front. “Predictions and Prophecies!” She gasped. The book appeared to have a bookmark popping out of the top. She brought the book down off the pedestal and laid it on the dresser. She magically turned the pages to where the bookmark stood out, only to be brought to a pair of blank pages. “This is...” Before she could finish her thought, the red words of the prophecy of nova slowly surfaced to the page, giving the whole room a faint red glow. “But how?...” Twilight was surprised, why did the words now appear in Luna's book? The thought coursed every crevice of her mind; she felt that this question may have been the clue she has been looking for.
She began to mentally list details of when she saw the prophecy in her own book, trying to find the connection. “I was in my bed, late at night... Wouldn't appear in the morning. Luna's book shows in the middle of the day, so it's not caused by the time of day.” She delved further into her memories, “The words only appear after the book has been opened, which means they disappear when the book is closed... Then it must be something that's touching the pages.” Although her conclusion seemed solid, she was confused; never had anything touched the pages on her book, or when she opened Luna's book. “And it had to be something that never touched those pages before that would have caused it not appear any other time...” The closer she got, the farther away the answer seemed to be from her grasp. Her intensive thinking only worsened her headache. “Arg! It's got to be something! But the only thing touching these pages is the... light...” The last word brought about an idea that seemed to lock in with all the other puzzle pieces. She looked up at the white orbs lighting the room. “When I saw the words in my book, moon-light was shining in through my window.” There was only one way Twilight could prove her hypothesis. She magically hovered her saddlebags over the book to where it was shadowed from the orbs near the ceiling. The red glow from the pages persisted for a few seconds, but slowly began to dim and recede back into the pages. She felt a huge rush of glee as she witnessed her experiment go in the direction she had hoped.
“Those orbs must be emitting moonlight, then!” She deducted. “That also means whoever wrote this particular prophecy wanted Luna to see it, and only Luna.” While it made sense when she said it, it only brought about more questions, who exactly would want Luna to see such a thing, and why only her? Regardless, Twilight felt that her discovery would be invaluable to her investigation, even if it did not give any details as to Luna's whereabouts.
She pulled her saddlebags back onto her back, but accidentally pulled out the bookmark in the process. Not wanting to make it obvious that anyone had been in Luna's room, she magically picked it back up. Before she was able to place it into the book, she noticed something on the paper bookmark; closer inspection revealed them to be words. Curious, Twilight unfolded the bookmark to find what appeared to be a very short letter address to the princess. She squinted to read the tiny letters in the red light that had reemerged in the room: 

L,
We are ready, and will make our move towards Canterlot once the portal is opened.
-S

She figured L must have been code for Luna, but had no idea what the S meant. The message seemed very cryptic, but the threat in it was obvious. “The princess must see this!” Twilight thought, “This is the proof I need, now I know Luna is up to no good... But why...” She did not want to believe the Princess she had just befriended last Nightmare Night sought to bring about the end of Equestria, but everything seemed to point towards Luna's involvement in the coming catastrophe. She put the note into her bags and closed the book, placing it back onto the pedestal. She quickly turned towards the door to leave, but a noise from outside cause her heart to skip a beat. She listened over the thudding of her pulse in her ears;
“It's time to change shifts already?” She heard a dark guard say. He sounded somewhat distant from the door.
“Yeah, I'm ready to hit the hay. Another boring day, but almost had the chance to send two nosy ponies to the dungeon. One of Celestia's guards came and ruined the fun, though.” Said another guard.
“Curse them, things are gonna change once Luna gets back from her trip.”
Twilight really wanted to hear what they had to say next, maybe they would reveal something that would really tell what Luna was up to. She took a step close to the door, pressing her eat against it.
“When her little friends make their way here though, then things will belong to us!”
“Quiet down!” One of the guards hissed. After that, their words became indistinguishable mumbles. Twilight pressed her head harder against the door trying to listen in. In her desperate attempt to learn what they were saying, the door opened from her pushing, creaking loudly in the quiet hallway. She jumped away from the door and hoped the guards had not noticed.
“What was that?! The Princess's door is open!” She heard of the guards yell over her hopeful thoughts.
“I need to get out of here.” She frantically looked around the room, panicking as she attempted to create an escape plan. She caught eye of the door to outside, and quickly dashed to it. She could hear the metal boots of the guards stomping up the stairs as she pressed the door open. She found herself on a semi-circle shaped balcony that hung over the cliff of the Canterlot Mountain. Before she could close the door all the way, she heard Luna's door bang open. She left the balcony door ajar and pressed her body against the outside of the palace. She took hushed, staggered breaths as she tried to remain as quiet as possible.
“Somepony must have removed the lock... They're still here. I smell their fear.” She heard a guard cackle.
“Whoever's in here, you better come out quietly, and we might just let you slide with a life's sentence to the dungeon .” They both snickered darkly. Twilight looked around, there was nothing except a fatal drop into the Everfree forest below on all sides. If she had enough magic power remaining, she would give herself wings, but the breaking of Luna's spell still left her almost empty on energy. “If they catch me, I'm doomed. If I jump, I'm doomed! Think Twilight, think!” 
“The balcony door's open!” She heard one say. She was out of options, and getting captured by the dark guard seemed like the worst possible alternative; they would not only have her, but also confiscate the piece of evidence she had to put a stop to the prophecy. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as all but the sound of her pulse faded away. She saw the door to the balcony creak open; she immediately turned and leaped.
The wind whipped her mane about as she plummeted towards the earth. Canterlot palace was high above her now, and only the forest remained below. She was counting on the fact that she would be able to save herself, but her exhaustion and panic left her unable to perform even the most basic of spells. As the ground neared closed, tears leaked from her eyes. “I've got to try!” She screamed, charging what was left of her magic into her horn. “Somewhere, anywhere!” She thought. White sparkles sprung her horn and began to encircle her. But before it could finish, the fatal details of the ground became crystal clear. There was a white flash, then darkness...

~

“She's been gone too long.” Duskmane thought, having a bad sensation fluttering in his chest. “I hope she didn't get caught.” He resumed his quiet meditation on the bench.
“I swear, she's been with the same pony for an hour now.” He heard one of the other waiting ponies exclaim, and heard many of the others respond in agreement. However, a quick silence fell upon the room as the large door to the throne room opened. A pony emerged from the doorway, cloaked horn to tail in a steel-blue colored robes that masked their face and body. Followed behind her was none other than the Princess Celestia herself; a tall white alicorn with a flowing florescent mane. Even if Duskmane had never seen pictures of her in his books, he would have guessed immediately who she was; she stood nearly twice the height of any regular pony and wore a jeweled golden crown.
The crowd of the waiting ponies were completely silent, some of whom awaited Celestia's call to see who she would speak to next, while a few others were surprised of the cloaked pony who had begun to leave the room. Before the masked pony left, they paused and turned their head slightly towards the crowd. Duskmane saw a glint from beneath the hood, but could not quite tell if the pony was looking at him, or somepony else. But soon after, the pony resumed their way out of the room. Once the pony had left, Princess Celestia spoke, “My dear ponies,” Duskmane saw everypony bow their head, and he followed suit, “I'm afraid I must take a short break to take care of an important matter. I'll return as quickly as I can, thank you for your patience.” Her voice were waves of compassion and elegance upon Duskmane's ears, but also that of urgency. Nopony verbally objected her request as she quickly proceeded through a gilded white door on the other side of the lobby. Duskmane figured that led to her private room, which was confirmed by the agitated whispers of the other ponies around him. A few of them even got up and left, muttering about coming back tomorrow.
Duskmane was still left alone in his worry for his friend, with his thoughts becoming more and more pessimistic of Twilight's fate. “She's a smart pony... She knows what she's doing, she'll--”
“Princess Celestia!” Called out a deep voice. Duskmane perked up to see two royal guards rush into the room, one who appeared to have something stretched across his back. They stopped at the entrance to Celestia's room “Princess Celestia, it's important.” With the guards stopped, Duskmane could take a closer look; across the guards back was a limp lavender pony. Duskmane's blood ran cold as it seemed his worse fears came true.
“Twilight!” He said, rushing passed everypony to get closer.
The guard not carrying Twilight turned towards Duskmane at his shout, as did many of the others in the lobby. He stepped in the of Twilight with a very serious face.
“This is a very serious matter, please remain where you are.” He claimed.
Before Duskmane could respond, the door in front of him opened, and out emerged Princess Celestia. “Princess,” Said the guard carrying Twilight, “This pony was found inside the chamber of the Elements of Harmony, but she appears to be unconscious.”
“What was she doing in there?!” Duskmane thought. “I thought she wanted something from Luna's room...”
The princess gave Twilight's motionless body a quick look over, her scared expression turning into relief as she exhaled a long breath. “She will be fine.” She said to the guard. “I will take her into my quarters. My dear ponies,” She addressed the rest of the lobby, “I'm afraid I must cancel all further hearings until tomorrow, it seems more than one pressing matter has presented itself.” Rather than met with the annoyed muttering he heard, the sound of the ponies this time were much more worried, lots of which were questioning if the limp pony was alright. The Princess gently levitated Twilight from the guard's back and hovered her into her room. Duskmane tried to squeeze past the guard to get in as well, but they both held out a hoof to stop him.
“Please! I must see Twilight!” He yelled.
The Princess looked down on Duskmane with a calm face. “It's okay, he can come in.” She said. The guards lowered their hooves and walked out of the lobby behind the rest of the crowd. “Please, come in.”
Duskmane walked in at her request, the room appeared to be a small room, aglow from the lit fireplace against the wall. The Princess had placed Twilight on a soft mat in front of the fireplace, her eyes still closed and body completely motionless.
“Will she be alright, Princess?” Asked Duskmane fearfully, fighting back the tears in his eyes.
“Yes, she will be fine.” The Princess reassured him. She closed her eyes as her horn shimmered a bright yellow. A soft yellow beam shot from her horn and into Twilight, which wrapped her in glimmering gold blanket of magic. The glow dissipated, and Twilight slowly opened her eyes.
“Twilight!” Called Duskmane happily, unable to resist the tears any longer. He embraced her as she tried to awake, causing her to jump in surprise.
Princess Celestia stepped closer, a smile across her face. “When a unicorn uses all of the magic in their body, they become extremely weak until after they rest. I merely gave her a spark of magic to reinvigorate her.”
Duskmane released Twilight from his somewhat embarrassing grasp and stepped back, allowing her to stand up. “Duskmane!” She said happily as she witnessed him brushing the tears out of his eyes. “And Princess Celestia...” She said in a much more perplexed tone. “Er... What exactly happened?”
“I'm wondering that myself.” Celestia responded. “The guards told me they found you in the Chamber of the Elements of Harmony, which is strictly guarded and all entry forbidden. You were unconscious when they found you, and they brought you to me. It appears that you've expended all of your magic, which you know causes unicorns to enter a deep sleep until they are rested. Now, tell me. What exactly were you up to?”
“Princess...” Twilight started, “You have no idea how happy I am to see you. There are so many things I need to show you, although I'm not entirely sure how I ended up near the Elements of Harmony...” The Princess nodded at her, allowing her to continue. Twilight levitated her version of Predictions and Prophecies out of her saddlebags. “Before I explain anything else, I found out why you couldn't see the prophecy I wrote to you about.” She opened the pages until the blazing red pages were opened to the Princess's eyes.
The Princess leaned forward and read it. “Oh my...” She whispered.
“The reason you couldn't see it, Princess, was because the only way to make the words appear was to expose them to moon-light. Zecora gave me a little something that made the letters remain on the page.”
“But how did you figure that out?” The Princess inquired.
“I'll get to that in a little bit.” Twilight answered. The Princess nodded and looked back down at the book. After a long stare, the Princess closed her eyes with a serious wrinkle in her brow. “I think the prophecy might be saying that Nova is--”
“Luna...” The Princess interjected dolefully.
Twilight's ears perked in surprise. “That's who I thought as well.” She said.
“And you believe this prophecy is true?”
“Something tells me this isn't one to be ignored....” Said Twilight. “And I also have this.” She removed Luna's letter from her bags and laid in front of the Princess. Celestia gave it a quick read before looking up at Twilight with a very serious face.
“How did you get this?” The Princess asked solemnly.
“I decided to do some private investigation.” Said Twilight, seeing Celestia give a very suspicious face. “I had to! I didn't think you would believe me without some sort of proof that Luna might be Nova, Harbinger of the End.”
Princess Celestia paused before questioning her further. “So you bypassed Luna's guards and found this in her room?”
“Yes.” Twilight nodded. “I only barely made it from the guards.”
“How exactly did you manage to slip pass and evade Luna's royal guards? They don't take to trespassers lightly.”
“A little help from my friend Duskmane here.” She said. Duskmane was unsure if he should act triumphant about helping break the law within the Princess's own palace, so he only nodded silently.
“The son of Madam Sapphire. How is she doing these days?” The Princess asked casually, which surprised Twilight considering the present matters.
Duskmane jumped a bit, not expecting to be addressed. “She's doing... er, good. The mines still run at peak efficiency.”
“That's good to hear.” The Princess smiled widely. She then turned back to Twilight. “You still haven't told me how you ended up with the Elements of Harmony. I must admit I'm quite curious.”
“With Duskmane's help, I managed to get passed the guards near the entrance to Luna's quarters and get to her room, where I found that note. I accidentally alerted the guards to my presence, which led me having to...” She paused. “I can only remember jumping off the balcony... I recall trying to cast a spell, but I don't remember anything else.”
Princess Celestia's eyes widened. “That is quite a tale.” She said. “Although I may now know how you ended up near the Elements of Harmony.” Both Duskmane and Twilight leaned in. “When ponies are faced with great danger, they can perform extraordinary feats that would normally be impossible for them. Twilight, I think your will called out to the Element of Magic inside the chamber of the Elements of Harmony, and with its help, your magic brought you to it.”
“But please don't do anything like that again!” Duskmane said worriedly.
“It was my only option.” Twilight reassured. “Had the guards caught me, I would not have been able to get Luna's note to Princess Celestia. Speaking of which... Princess, what do think the note is pertaining to?”
The Princess looked down upon the short note again. “...Master's instruction...” They heard her mutter.
There was a long moment of silence as they let the Princess concentrate. After a several minutes of thought, the Princess turned to look out the large window. “I'm glad you showed me these things, my faithful student. It seems my fears as of late have been legitimate.”
“What do you mean?” Twilight asked.
“Ever since her return to Equestria, I see the hate and resentment for me in Luna's eyes. I was hoping that we may love each other again, like olden times... before she gave into the corruption that made her Nightmare Moon. The evidence you have brought me tells of the gears in motion against me and my kingdom... Luna must be stopped.” She turned around and stared down at them. Twilight was shocked, all doubt of Luna's innocence faded, even against her most dire hopes. This brought a bittersweet mix of triumph and melancholy. “Which is why I must call upon you for this very important task, Twilight and Duskmane.”
Duskmane looked over at Twilight to see her eyes closed and a frown on her face. “I wouldn't abandon Equestria in its time of need, but why us?” She asked.
“The note... I believe I know what is headed towards Canterlot. I must ready the guards to defend the capitol, and be here myself should Luna decide to show herself.”
“Ready the guards?” Twilight asked, “What exactly is headed towards Canterlot?”
“Do you recall what helped Nightmare Moon escape her thousand-year imprisonment?” Celestia asked.
Twilight paused a moment. “The will stars aid in her escape.” she recited her memory of the prophecy of the return of Nightmare Moon.
“Yes. I believe the “master” in the prophecy are the stars. Unfortunately, I am unsure as to what could mean for us. That is why I must prepare for the worst.”
“I see.” Twilight answered, “What is it exactly that you need us to do?”
Princess Celestia walked over to a large square table opposite of the fireplace. Duskmane and Twilight followed, to see it was a map of the area around Canterlot, including all of Ponyville. Half of the map near the portion labeled “Ponyville” was nothing but a large expanse of trees labeled Everfree Forest. Only a few points of note were visible in the forested area, including a spot labeled “Zecora's hut”, and a picture of what appeared to be a castle. Twilight assumed it was the abandoned Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters, where she and her friends defeated Nightmare Moon.
“While our ultimate goal is to prevent Luna from uncovering the power of Nova, first we must find her.”
“Find her? Equestria is huge... She could be anywhere!” Duskmane exclaimed.
“That's just it, though. Normally, no matter how far away she was, our sisterly bonds would always point us to where the other was. However, I haven't felt any sign of her for several days. The only sure-fire way we might discover her whereabouts is recovering a powerful artifact known as the Animoria.” Twilight and Duskmane turned to each other and exchanged vague looks; neither of them have ever read about an artifact by that name. Celestia noticed their confused looks and elaborated, “The Animoria was a very powerful artifact that was a gift to us from... an old friend.” The last words came out mournfully. “It had the ability to record our memories, no matter how far we were from it, to capture all the goods times my sister and I had together.... It was left behind after an ancient war left our old palace in ruins. A place you are familiar with, Twilight Sparkle.”
Twilight nodded. “If the Animoria is in there, we'll retrieve it for you.”
“Thank you, both of you. As I said earlier, I'd go and retrieve it myself, but should Luna strike before we do, I must be here to defend Canterlot and the Elements of Harmony.” 
Twilight looked at Duskmane to see him plastered with a worrisome frown. She gave him a reassuring smile.
“I would also ask that you two to not tell anypony of your mission. We have no idea who might be secretly in league with Luna, and even telling your best friends can put Equestria at risk.” Celestia gave them a very serious look, almost frightening.
“Of course...” Twilight replied halfheartedly. She knew she could always count on her friends, but she would not disobey Celestia's request. She did see the danger in telling anypony; for they could accidentally reveal it to the wrong pony, one working for Princess Luna.
“So it's just us two, then?” Duskmane asked.
“Yes. Now, please be on your way.” Celestia said as she escorted them out into the empty lobby. “A great deal rests in your hooves, but I know I have the right ponies for this assignment.” She smiled at them.
“We won't let you down, Princess!” Twilight affirmed.
“Of... Of course.” Duskmane stuttered. Leaving one castle to go to another did not exactly fill him with joy, especially if it was abandoned in the middle of the infamous Everfree forest (which even he knows about from his books).
Twilight and Duskmane turned around and started walking their way out of the palace. The thoughts of the task ahead both weighed heavily on their chest. Duskmane turned to hopefully see Twilight with courage in her eyes and resolve in her step, but instead saw that she appeared very occupied with troubling thoughts. Duskmane tried to break the apprehension with some questions he was holding back.
“Hey Twilight... What was Princess Celestia saying about the Element of Magic?”
Twilight snapped out of whatever lingered in her thoughts, “The Element of Magic, the mysterious sixth element of Harmony. My friends and I had to find and use the Elements of Harmony to defeat Nightmare Moon when she returned to Equestria. With the help of my friends, I was able to unlock the power of the Element of Magic to complete the Elements of Harmony, which removed the dark corruption from Princess Luna. I'll admit I'm not entirely sure myself, but I think the Princess means that I'm tethered to it somehow... And good thing, too. I would not have lived from my trip into Luna's room otherwise.”
“You... you used the Elements of Harmony? That's amazing Twilight!” Duskmane exclaimed. His fear of the coming events at the Royal Sisters' Castle faded away; he knew he was with an extremely talented pony, now. “Only the greatest ponies in history have ever used the Elements of Harmony! Certainly Luna doesn't stand--” He caught himself before he shouted too loudly, “Luna doesn't stand a chance against as long as you're on her case.” He finished in a whisper.
“Then perhaps you understand why I'm not too keen about our journey now. The Elements only work when they are all together and working in unison, much like my friends and I. However, as you heard the Princess say, I'm not to tell any of my other friends about what's going on.”
Duskmane felt slightly insulted, but understood completely. “I hope I make a suitable substitute...” He muttered.
Twilight looked up to him, her expression turning that of appreciation. “I'm very happy to have you along. You're right, we'll do just fine. What danger could possibly be lurking in a palace once owned by the Princesses, other than the denizens of the forest itself.” Duskmane mirrored her smile.
The two exited the palace and continued down the path back into the city of Canterlot. Twilight felt a bit uneasy seeing all the unknowing ponies of Canterlot continue about their lives, completely ignorant of the danger that loomed on the horizon. Suddenly, that feeling came to her again; she was being watched. She instinctively looked around, seeing nopony in particular casting their gaze on her. Her eyes widened as caught sight of a cat peering in her direction from behind a potted plant outside one of the shops. It was light blue in color with violet colored eyes, looking very similar to the one she saw in Ponyville. She stopped abruptly and blinked.
“What's the matter Twilight?” Duskmane asked as he stopped besides her, trying to follow her bewildered gaze.
She shook her head, and before she knew it, the cat was out of sight. “Oh... It's nothing.” She said. “I... uh... thought I saw a pony I knew. False alarm.” She laughed nervously and continued walking.
“Oh, I see.” He responded. “You must know quite a few ponies here, considering your amazing feats and all.”
“Yeah, I guess you could say that.” She said uneasily. She retreated into her thoughts “That cat again... There's no way it could have got here from Ponyville that fast... I must be imagining things... It's just another cat.” A mixture of confusion and apprehension toiled in her mind like ocean waves amidst a storm; thoughts of recent events, and things to come. So many things seemed to be happening so quickly, she had to gather the details and let them settle gently where they belong. This helped her alleviate the stress of all the things on her mind and focus better on her current assignment.
Before she knew it, Twilight could see the gate leading out of Canterlot and the royal chariot just beyond that. She and Duskmane both quickened their pace and quickly jumped into the chariot once they were near.
“To the... er... What was it called again, Twilight?” Duskmane asked.
“I think you mean the Royal Sister's palace.” Said Twilight, “But I don't think we could safely land in this thing directly inside the forest, let's just have them drop us off a Ponyville and we'll continue from there.”
Duskmane nodded at her. “Please take us to Ponyville.”
“Of course, master Duskmane.” And once again Duskmane and Twilight were flowing through the clouds.
It was another silent trip as they both mentally prepared for the dangers that lurked ahead. Twilight was quite confident in her magical abilities, but Duskmane felt a bit under-equipped for the task. He did not want to be a burden and let Twilight do all the work, but he also did not want her to go alone on such a potentially perilous journey. “I must... be strong.” He thought. “But I'm not strong....” He turned towards Twilight, who had her eyes set on the dark forest in the distance. “I... I can overcome. I will not be useless...I must prove mother wrong, even if she isn't there to see me do it.” He looked down at Ponyville coming into view. “I must prove it to myself.”
> Strength of Will
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	It was not long after that the chariot touched down back into the Ponyville town square with Twilight and Duskmane back on their hooves.
“You said you know how to get to that palace, right?” Duskmane asked.
“Yes, although it's been quite a while since I've been there. I think we'll be just fine, though.”
Duskmane considered asking Twilight for time to tell his mother that he would be gone a while, but decided against it. “She wouldn't care where I was.” He thought.
Twilight started down one of the many unfamiliar roads that branched from the town square with Duskmane at her side. It was comforting for Duskmane to be away from the high-class atmosphere and back in the florescent comfort of normal town life. It was not long thereafter that the houses stopped bordering the streets and the the entrance to the Everfree forest became clearly visible ahead of them. They stopped briefly at the shaded threshold before entering.
Twilight turned to Duskmane to see that his hooves were shaking lightly. “Don't worry, we'll be just fine.” She reassured him.
“I know, I know. You know what to expect better than I do, I've only read a few books that mentions this place, and they've never said anything good.”
“Well, it is a dangerous place, but we can handle it.” She smiled at him.
He nodded, “I'm not worried of the danger inside...” He thought, “I'm just scared of not being able to help.”
After a deep breath, Twilight stepped into the shadows with Duskmane following close behind. Once the shadows of the trees grasped him, Duskmane was tense with apprehension, keeping a keen eye out for any sudden movements in the foliage. Twilight maintained her forward gaze as she traversed the familiar path, reciting her previous journey down this path within her memory.
“You said dangerous monsters lurked here... What exactly should we be looking out for?” Duskmane asked quietly as he continued to watch into the dark depths around them.
“Oh, you know...manticores, cockatrices, the occasional dragon. Much of the fauna of the forest is undocumented, so be ready for anything.”
The knowledge did little to comfort Duskmane. “Oh, I-- I see.”
“Don't worry. As long as we're quiet, we shouldn't attract any attention to ourselves.”
It was not long after they had entered the dark forest that the path crossed parallel with a cliff, where the canopy receded enough to see sunlight upon the ground. The cliff was a fairly long drop to smooth, grassy ravine below.
Twilight paused and looked down the edge of the cliff. “We have to get down there to get onto the right path.” She recalled her last experience getting down there, currently impossible without her pegasus friends.
Duskmane stepped beside her and peered down along with her. “The path we're on doesn't take us down there?”
“I don't know.” Twilight responded in a distanced tone, much to her dismay. She never actually went further down that path on her last trip. “My friends helped me down last time, I don't think us two could scale this cliff safely.”
“I don't know very much about magic,” Duskmane began, “But are you able to wink us to the bottom?”
The thoughts of cliffs and magic gave Twilight a terrible lurching in her stomach as the scene of her near-death plummet played vividly in her mind's eye. “I... I don't think I can.” She replied nervously. She felt somewhat embarrassed for not being prepared for an obstacle she should have remembered.
Duskmane has relied on Twilight's confidence to ward away his own fears, but it seemed that he may had put too much reliance on her for his own well-being. “I must make my strength my own.” He thought. He then spoke; “Then let's go down that trail. It appears to dip and go downhill, so it's likely it will bring us somewhere near the the bottom of the canyon.”
Twilight was caught off guard by the bold voice in which Duskmane spoke. “Good thinking, Duskmane.” She was surprised again when he stepped in front of her to lead the way back into the darkened forest. “This surely isn't the same pony that could barely say hello back in Ponyville...” She thought.
Although somewhat bolstered by his display of courage, Duskmane still felt uncertain as the path went downhill, back in the shade of the trees. The path appeared to traverse downward as far as the two ponies could see as they followed it for a few quiet minutes. It was not too long after their decent downhill that a gray structure came into few.
“Is that the castle?” Duskmane asked as his eyes lit up.
“It can't be... We're still a long ways from where it should be.” Twilight responded behind him, “I'm not too sure what it is, let's get closer and have a look.”
They both increased in speed as the gray structure materialized in the darkness; several large columns lined a circular clearing in the forest, all of which appeared to have been taller at one time, but had broken and cracked under the strain of time. Ivy had woven its green tapestry around what remained of the pillars. The excess of stone rubble in clearing pointed to the columns holding up a stone roof at one point in time.
“Seems to have been a gazebo some time long ago.” Duskmane concluded.
“It sure does. This must have once been part of the Princesses' kingdom based around their ancient castle...”
They both walked closer towards the center of the clearing where a pedestal was visible amidst the leaves, stone, and ivy. Upon closer examination, an ancient book lay atop the pedestal. Silent curiosity of the strange sight overtook them as they peered down on it; the thin book was apparently aged from years of sun and rain, so much so that only the wrinkled leather cover remained with no title to clue them to the book's contents. Duskmane and Twilight could both feel each others' curiosity rising in them apart from the pressure of their main assignment. The whole setting seems to swell with a mystic aura, as if an event of great importance played its part there. Duskmane turned to Twilight, only too see she had already turned her equally bewildered stare at him. He looked down at the book and motioned his hoof slowly towards it, flipping the cover over.
Much to both of their disappointment, the ink had apparently leaked from the pages, only large black smudges remained. Duskmane turned a few more of the sun-bleached pages, hoping that the suspense of the moment would not crash to such an anticlimactic reality. Duskmane turned to the final page, to see a few legible words written in blue ink. He brought his head closer to read the fancy cursive words,
“And hold on to, beyond eternity, the treasure of friendship... For it shines brighter than the sun thousand-fold. Let not the darkness of hatred ever smother the... the...” The rest of the words seemed to have been rubbed out, evident by the flaking present on the page near the blurred text. Duskmane was not sure what he was expecting when he opened the book, but the unfinished passage left him somewhat disappointed.
“Doesn't look like a passage from any book I've read.” Twilight stated, stepping back from the pedestal.
“Me ei--” Duskmane was interrupted by a sudden vortex of wind that began to spin around the circle of columns, wailing in their ears. “What the hay?!”
A dark blue smoke began to seep from the ground and into the vortex. The smoke gathered into a large cloud above them, condensing into three different shapes. Duskmane and Twilight stepped backwards as they gazed up at the anomaly.
“Wh-- What is that?!” Duskmane asked over the howling wind.
“I don't know, I've never seen such magic, except...”
Duskmane turned to her briefly, expecting her to finish her sentence. The cackle of electricity brought his attention back to the shapes above them. Black lightning streamed through the smoky figures. There was a sudden bang that caused Duskmane to yelp, and then silence as the wind died. In the place of the smoke were three pegasus ponies. They all had a very pale blue coat with pluming blue manes. Most of their eerie bodies were covered in black and purple flight suits, each with a pair of golden goggles that obscured their eyes.
“The Shades of Betrayal...” Twilight said lowly, stepping into a readied position. “They are fragments of Nightmare Moon's corruption... Why they are here, I do not know.”
Duskmane turned towards the shades, who returned a gaze down upon them.
“The warmth of your heart... how it rings so...” Said the shade that looked like a mare, her voice sounding like a distant echo. “It would be a real shame... if it just--” She quickly raised a hoof, causing Duskmane to flinch, and Twilight to brace herself, “STOPPED!” She flung her hoof downwards at them, sending a stream of lightning their way. Twilight's horn glowed as she quickly poised a purple barrier around Duskmane and herself, absorbing the shade's spell.
Twilight lowered her shield, “What do you want from us? Did Luna send you!?”
The shade merely chuckled loudly. “Kill them.” The two stallions on the side instantly spread their wings and dived towards them. Both Duskmane and Twilight have to tumble away before being struck by the two pegasi. Duskmane felt a sensation he had never experienced before; his pulse rang in his ears as his muscles tensed. For the first time ever, he feared for his life.
Twilight rose to her hooves to see the female Shadowbolt grounded, facing her. She instantly swung her horn towards the shade, sending a magic scythe flying towards her. The shade dodged the fast-moving blade, allowing it to collide and destroy the columns and trees behind her. The shade glided overhead, launching balls of electricity down at Twilight. She countered with several magical bolts she sent towards the balls of electricity, destroying them on impact and continuing towards the shade. The Shadowbolt merely gave a smirk as she gracefully soared around the deadly projectiles...
The two other Shadowbolts came at Duskmane from all directions as he jumped to avoid their strikes. He wanted to turn to make sure Twilight was doing alright, but he dared not remove the two Shadowbolts assailing him from his sites. He could hear the slinging of spells over from her direction as the various spells cast multiple shadows in the shaded clearing. The two Shadowbolts ceased their individual attacks and came at him from separate directions simultaneously. The maneuver caught Duskmane off guard, and while he was able to dodge one of the pegasi, the other rammed square into his side, hurling him onto the ground. He struggled to get onto his hooves, but the pain and exhaustion kept him pinned. He looked upwards to see the pegasi he had dodged diving straight down at him at incredible speeds. He struggled again to move, but his frail body failed to budge. He held his hooves pointlessly above him to brace himself, but he knew it would not be enough to save himself.
“I guess... strength is more than just... hoping to be strong.” He thought as a tear rolled down his face.
There was a shick as a glowing spear of magic pierced through the Shadowbolt right before impact, flinging its body to the ground away from Duskmane. The shade gave a gasping breath before evaporating into a black smoke and dissipating into the air. Duskmane's mouth fell agape as he turned to see Twilight looking his way briefly before turning back to duel with the female Shadowbolt that relentlessly flung orbs of lightning at her.
“No... it's as Twilight said.” He said as he struggled to get to his hooves amidst the pain the pierced at his side. “Strength lies in the bond with your friends!” He saw the remaining stallion Shadowbolt diving down towards him. He used his remaining energy to balance himself on his front two hooves and contracted his hind legs, releasing them into a powerful buck that connected with the Shadowbolt's face. The recoil sent Duskmane falling over, relatively unharmed. The shade was knocked to the ground, momentarily stunned. Duskmane stepped up to go finishing him off.
He heard a pained scream erupt behind him, he immediately turned to see Twilight had fallen to her knees, small sparks of electricity arching through her. The female Shadowbolt lowered herself closer to Twilight, holding a massive ball of energy above her.
“It's truly a shame...” The shade cackled, “With your death, comes that of all the ponies you hold dear. Now peri--!” Before the Shadowbolt could finish her sentence and hurl the magic sphere at her, Twilight saw Duskmane jump and tackle the shade, wresting her to the ground. Twilight slowly stood up as the effects of the lightning magic wore off. She turned to see Duskmane had the shade pinned. It was short lived, however, as she kicked him off and returned to the air.
“Duskmane, duck!” Twilight yelled, before he could really get his bearings, Duskmane dropped as low as he could. Twilight flung a magical scythe over him, barely missing his mane, that cut straight through the stallion Shadowbolt that attempted to sneak attack Duskmane from behind. The two halves of the shade tumbled on the ground briefly before dematerializing into the same black smoke it came from.
Duskmane stood up and wobbled to Twilight's side, trying his best to ignore the piercing pain in his side. They stood together, looking up at the remaining Shadowbolt, who hovered in the air, mirroring their still stare.
“It matters not.” Said the shade, “True strength lies in your own power, having to rely on friends only leads to weakness and betrayal... Luna knew that well.”
“What do you know about Luna?!” Twilight shouted up at the Shadowbolt, “What is she up to?”
“You think that even if I knew, I would care to tell you?” The shade responded, “I have only had a very feint connection with the princess ever since you used the Elements of Harmony to remove most of her power. Enough to keep me tethered to this realm, only with the will to end the warmth of friendship wherever it may sprout. It's time for me to fulfill that purpose!” With her exclamation, she clutched her hooves close to her, spouted huge sparks of lightning coursed her body, cracking loudly in the otherwise silent clearing.
Twilight took a step back, there was no way she could block such a powerful magic. She felt something touch her side, she looked over to see Duskmane pressed against her, looking up at the shade in fear, his legs slightly trembling. She turned back to the Shadowbolt, who lowered her hooves, still coursing with absurd amounts of arcane energy.
“Stand together, die together...” The shade cursed under her breath. She gave a bellowing shout as she dived at suicidal speeds towards the two ponies. There was only one thing Twilight could do; she braced herself and channeled as much magic into her horn as she could, illuminating the entire clearing with a bright purple light. When the shade drew close, Twilight unleashed the collection of energy towards it. The Shadowbolt made no attempt to dodge the ball of magic, blinded by its destructive hatred. When the two entities of magic collided, the resulting flare shook the ground, leveling many of the old pillars.
When the blinding flash cleared, both of the ponies looked up as the dust cleared. They both gasped in fright as the shape of the shade emerged, unmoving, but apparently unphased by the magical blast. The moment passed by tensely as the ponies and the shade remained still, glaring at one another. The moment was only shattered when the shade made a grunting noise and fell from her spot in the air, colliding with the ground along with several cracking noises that caused Duskmane to wince. Twilight exhaled a large breath of relief, coughing out a few puffs of smoke in the process.
“It's over, then.” Said Duskmane, just realizing he was still leaning against Twilight. He jumped away, feeling somewhat embarrassed, but feeling more-so the pain in his side. Twilight took no heed of Duskmane's actions and began to slowly walk towards the fallen shade. Duskmane caught up with Twilight to see her peering down at the Shadowbolt, of which laid near-motionless, giving weak staggered breaths. She almost felt sorry for the creature, even if it was nothing but a phantom fueled by its former master's hatred. She contemplated if she should finish off the Shadowbolt.
“Duskmane, what do you think? Should we... send her to the eternal sleep?”
Duskmane did not feel the pity Twilight did, “What do you mean? It is only a magical aberration... When whatever drives it ceases, where does magic go? There is no eternal sleep for her... only nothingness.” 
Twilight was conflicted by Duskmane's words, it was hard for her to see the shade as only a soulless puppet, void of feeling of soul. Perhaps it was because she knew that magic was a mysterious yet living entity. Or at least, so it seemed.
“...Regardless, it's best that she didn't suffer any longer.” She decided. Duskmane turned and gave her a bewildered look. To him, they were only mindless killing machines, created by dark sorcery. They felt nothing, thought nothing, deserved nothing.
Twilight's horned shimmered as she gathered enough energy to cast the magic scythe spell. She reared up in preparation, then--
“Gah!” She yelped as she fell to her side. The shade had swung her leg to trip Twilight before she unleashed the spell.
“You fools...” Said the shade as she stumbled to her hooves. “Waste your care... on somepony who needs it...” She unexpectedly turned around and ran into the trees, her wing hanging unnaturally to the side and limping. Duskmane stood still and mouth agape, completely surprised.
“Follow her!” Twilight shouted as she stood up and gave chase. Duskmane followed close behind her as she too entered the trees, his fear of falling behind much worse than the his pain that would normally have kept him from exerting himself.
Twilight ran as fast as her exhausted body allowed her, slowly catching up to the Shadowbolt as it hopped over roots and rolled under thick branches in dim light offered by the thick canopy. After what seemed like several minutes of chasing, Twilight was only a few feet from the determined shade. It jumped through a thick bush as Twilight made her jump to catch her. Duskmane, heaving large breaths, pushed through the bush to the other side as fast he could, lest he be left behind.
Duskmane emerged to see another cliff-side clearing with Twilight standing behind the shade, who appeared to have collapsed near a bridge that spanned the cliff. Dense fog rose out from the ravine, preventing Duskmane from seeing what lied yonder. He slowly stepped near Twilight, catching his breath. “What did you do to her?”
“She just came this far, then collapsed... I think I may know why.”
“Oh?”
“The shades are fragments of Nightmare Moon's corruption... My friends and I first encountered them here, when Nightmare Moon tried to sway one of my friends into betraying the rest of us. I can only guess that even after we dispelled Luna's corruption, the magic power that fueled them remained, and tethered them to near this place. I am still not all too certain why they appeared in the ruined gazebo, though.”
Duskmane turned to the shade, who now laid motionless. It slowly began to give off a black smoke as it ceased to be, and evaporated into nothingness. Duskmane was not too sure why he felt the splinter of remorse in his thoughts, even against the ill will and resentment for the creature. Perhaps what Twilight said had instilled with him a different outlook. This was the place the shade was “born”, and its longing to come back to it before it perished showed it was not just the mindless beast he pictured it to be. He steeled himself, for with the Shadowbolts out of the way, it was again a time of great urgency.
“If you've been here before...” Duskmane started.
“Yes, we're close now. Very close.” Twilight finished. “We should briefly rest before continuing onward. Are you alright?”
“My side hurts...” he responded, “B—but I'll be fine.” he quickly interjected.
They both sat down upon the dirt road that connected to the bridge, catching their breath and letting their pain subside.
“I know I already said this,” Duskmane started, “but I had no idea until earlier, you truly are a talented magician. I've never even heard of unicorns performing spells like those.”
“It's been a little something I've been practicing in my spare time... I had hoped I would never have to use magic like that, but it seem desperate times call for desperate measures.”
“Star Swirl himself would have been amazed at your magical talent.”
Twilight turned to him with a grin on her face, “You know about Star Swirl the Bearded?”
“Of course! Even though I may be just an earth pony, I like to read about all the facets of Equestrian history.”
“Are you planning on becoming a teacher one day?”
“I—No.” Duskmane said halfheartedly. “My mother expects me to take up the family business when I'm older, although it seems like she doesn't trust me with anything. I would love to be a teacher though.”
“Oh... I see.” Twilight responded, although she really did not quite understand. She thought every pony should always try to do what they dreamed, not what somepony else wanted for them. She slowly stood up, refreshed and ready to continue onward. “Alright, let's get going.”
Duskmane stood up and followed her as she approached the rickety bridge. Twilight stepped onto the first wooden step of the bridge, carefully placing her steps as she moved plank to plank. Duskmane looked over the side of the bridge, the fall going as far as the fog allowed him to see. He took a deep breath as he began to also cross the bridge once Twilight was halfway across it. After the several tense seconds, Duskmane stepped from the last plank and onto the other side of the ravine.
With the fog behind them, Twilight could see the familiar ruins of the Royal Sister's Palace only a short walk further down the dirt path. The dark gray stones of the ruined palace stood out against the dense fog that still obscured the view beyond it.
“This must be it, then?” Duskmane asked, eying the setting around him. Although it still should not have been evening time yet, the area was dark (even more-so than the rest of the forest), with only a few shafts of light piercing through the trees above.
“Indeed, the Royal Sister's Palace. It use to belong to the Princesses, yet there are very few books on the subject.” Twilight answered, increasing her speed to a trot. Duskmane matched her speed until they both came to a stop at the large wooden double doors. Twilight stood on her hind legs as she pressed her weight against one of the doors. Duskmane did the same, causing the door to slowly creek open.
Twilight found herself in the familiar room that once housed the dormant Elements of Harmony, a long oval room, long since missing its stone roof. Some of the sky was visible as rays of light danced across the room in the light breeze that shuffled the tree branches above. Dark colored vines climbed through archaic window frames and columns lining the walls; while the center of the room was empty except for the the circular podium that once held the dormant Elements of Harmony.
“I don’t remember seeing any other accessible passage when I was last here.” Twilight remarked as she slowly studied the interior. “It's possible their may be a secret passage to it.”
“Shouldn't the Princess have told us if we had to do something special in order to open the way?”
“Hmm... Well, who knows how many years its been since she's last been here. She may have simply forgotten, not to mention with the her need to quickly assemble her guards and inform them of Luna's intentions, she might have just overlooked it.”
“You're right,” Duskmane responded as he joined in on Twilight's search, “I'll begin looking over here.” He walked towards a pillar opposite of the area Twilight was inspecting. He rubbed his hooves against the brick to see if any shifted under pressure, and even tugged on the metal bars that crisscrossed the window frames. After several minutes of patting down the walls on his side of the room, he turned to see Twilight progress. She appeared to be taking a much more thorough approached, probing the stone itself with a magic unknown to him. She had a wrinkle in her brow as she murmured to herself. He walked to the circular podium in the center of the room and gazed it up and down. It appeared to be a whole, solid object with no means of having a hidden switch. Looking behind the podium revealed a doorway that appeared to go back into the forest.
He stepped through it to see that it led to the remains of another room, although calling it a room would have been a misnomer; the walls had collapsed along with any other rooms that may have branched off it. The only standing structure in view was a tower that appeared to overhang from a small plateau on the cliff-side. The stairs leading up to into it seemed to be intact.
“Did you find anything?” Twilight asked.
Duskmane turned around, “Nope, there don't appear to be anything that moves on my side of the room.”
Twilight walked passed him and looked out over the same rubble he had just inspected, also gazing up to the tower, reliving the memories of her battle with Nightmare Moon in her mind. “Maybe the entrance is in that tower.”
Duskmane gave the tower a quick look over before responding, “It doesn't seem likely. The tower is on an outcropping over a cliff, there would be no way to get underground from inside of there.”
“Oh, right. Good eye, Duskmane. That must mean it's somewhere in the room behind us, then... Or at least I hope so, the rest of the palace is nothing but rubble.” She turned around and returned to the previous room. Duskmane gave the ruins one last look-over, only seeing the severed head of what once belonged to a statue of one of the princesses, laying along the path towards the tower; a fitting representation of their lack of control in this dark frontier. He followed Twilight back into the room to see her eyeballing the podium, especially towards the small spherical shape on top of it. She tried to stand on her hind legs to get a better look, grabbing onto the circular rim, but it did not give her a good view.
“What do you see?” Duskmane inquired.
“I think I see a small hole on the circular stone up here, can you give you a lift up there?”
Duskmane walked to where Twilight was standing and bowed to his knees. Once Twilight had stepped onto his back, he stood back up, elevating Twilight enough to were she could pull herself onto the rim of the podium. She studied the supposed location of the hole for a few seconds before speaking again.
“A-hah!” She cheered, “I think I may have found the way in.” It then appeared that she pressed the top of her head onto the stone itself.
“Er... What exactly are you doing?” Duskmane questioned the strange sight.
“I recognize this slot,” she said as she wiggled her head a little bit, “Princess Celestia has a slot like this in her palace, she uses her horn open it. I'm trying to see if mine can as well, but...” She grunted as she briefly pressed forcibly against the stone before pulling her head off of it. She rubbed her horn with her hoof with a somewhat pained face. “Mine doesn't fit all the way.”
Duskmane gave it a brief thought before remembering what he had seen moments before. “There was a broken statue of one of the Princesses outside, do you think that might work?”
“It just might.” Twilight said as she jumped down from the podium, “Can you point me to it?”
Duskmane nodded, leading Twilight back outside, walking to the statue's head that lay camouflaged against the rest of the stone rubble. He pressed his hooves down near the base of the horn, causing the brittle horn to sever cleanly from the rest of the stone. Twilight grabbed the horn with her magic and led them back to the podium.
She levitated the stone horn up to the spherical portion of the podium, sliding it into the horn slot barely in view. There was a slight clicking sound as it fit snugly into the recession. “And now just a spark of magic....” She shot a purple beam from her horn to the stone horn in the slot. It glowed briefly before returning to normal, leaving Twilight and Duskmane in several long seconds of suspense.
The floor beneath them began to shake, causing both of them to jump away to opposite corners of the room. They watched in surprise as the stones in front of the podium began to sink incrementally, creating a stairway that disappeared into the darkness below.
“I guess this is it.” Twilight said, “We have no time to waste, lets get the Animoria and get out as quickly as possible.”
“How're we supposed to see down there?” Duskmane asked, following Twilight tentatively into the dark depths.
“No worries, I have us covered.” Twilight said as a small beacon of light appeared on the tip of her horn, revealing a large metal door at the bottom of the flight of steps. They reached the bottom, pushing the rusted door open, the screeching of its ancient metal hinges echoing against the damp moss covered walls. The room appeared to be circular with a low ceiling, only barely high enough for one of the Princesses to walk through without lowering their horns. Small pools of water formed in the uneven floor and the air was heavy with the smell of decayed wood. Even during its days of use, this did not seem like a place that was kept in good upkeep.
There appeared to be three other wooden doors at the other compass points of the room, with a small desk towards the door opposite of the two ponies. Twilight slowly approached the desk with Duskmane at her heels. On it, there was what remained of an empty inkwell and a rotted quill, along with a small black booklet.
“Maybe this will give us a clue as to what to expect in here.” Twilight said as she magically opened the book. The pages were distorted and stuck together from the misty air. Most of the words had faded, although the placement of the smudged words seemed to point that the pages were filled with grid-like lists. Duskmane hunched over the book, squinting down at the words.
“I think I can see this one... Gail...stride... Gailstride. That sounds like somepony's name to me, I think all of the left column filled with names.” 
Twilight got as close as she could without creating a shadow between her horn-light and her face. She could faintly see the other words going down the list. “Rimehoof, Skyrender, Agate Blitz... You're right, these names sound like they're from olden times.”
“My thoughts exactly,” Duskmane responded, looking back into the book. The next column had smudged remains of one or two characters per row. “The next column looks like numbers... up to two digits in length. I'm not sure what they could mean.”
“Perhaps the last column will make sense of it.”
Duskmane got as close to the book as he can, but with the last column being the closest to the outside of the book, the moisture in the air left none of the words legible, with the reverse sides of the pages left blank. “I can't read it.”
Twilight gave it an intense stare before giving up as well. “I suppose we'll just have to see for ourselves.”
“If you say so.” Duskmane said worriedly, “I have a bad feeling about this place...”
“It once belonged to the Princesses, it can't be all that bad. Maybe it's just a cellar where they store stuff that can't be kept in the palace.”
“It sure doesn't feel that way... But no need for worrying.” Duskmane added for himself, taking a deep breath. “Which door should we take first?”
“We'll need to keep searching until we find the Animoria, so it won't matter where we start. Let's go in here first.” Twilight motioned towards the door closest to them. With a little effort, she managed to make the rusted hinges give way, opening to the room beyond. They stepped in, illuminating the surroundings in Twilight's magical light. The first thing to stand out are the vertical rows of metal bars going from the floor to the the ceiling that lined most of the sides of the corridor. Duskmane walked closer to give a closer inspection, to see that the bars separated the corridor from very small compartments that branched from the hallway. As Twilight slowly moved down the hall, her light pierced inside the compartments. What Duskmane saw caused him to yelp and fall back on his rump.
“What's wrong?!” Twilight called, rushing over the Duskmane. Duskmane was briefly unable to speak from his scare, so Twilight looked through the bars herself. What laid there were what appeared to be the ancient bones of a fellow pony, scattered across the stone floor. Twilight gave a small gasp. “This isn't a cellar... this is a dungeon.” She said quietly as Duskmane shakily got to his hooves.
“I—sorry.” Duskmane stuttered, completely embarrassed of himself.
“Well, looks like you were right to be suspicious about this place.” Twilight remarked, slowly backing away from the bars to continue further into the dungeon. Duskmane hurriedly caught up with her. “They're just bones, nothing we need to worry about, although it has me wondering... Why would ponies have been left to rot in this place?”
“Celestia did say that she had to abandon this place because of a war. Perhaps the ponies in the cells were prisoners of that war?” Duskmane suggested, keeping a good view of as much of the room as possible.
“Hmmm... then that ledger was probably a list of inmates, and the numbers were sentence lengths.” Twilight deducted. “I wonder why she'd keep the Animoria in a place like this... Let's hurry and find it so we can leave this place.”
Duskmane made no hesitation to agree, sticking as close as he could to his dear friend. The movement of the shadows in the cells as they walked kept him on edge, having him swing one direction to another to catch all of the things (which were merely just the shadows) that moved in his peripheral vision. Also punctuating the walls along the hallway were intimidating stone statues of ponies in a rearing position, staring down at them.
It was a long, quiet walk through the long hallway, Twilight's light showing no end in site as they passed countless more cells. Duskmane started feeling a strange sensation, feeling as thought the sounds of their hoofsteps were off beat. Out of a whim, he turned around to find himself face to face with a white entity. “Twi—Twi—Twi--!” He stuttered loudly as he fell backwards again before he could comprehend what he was seeing. Twilight quickly turned around to see a skeletal pony come alight from her horn, radiating with a dark blue aura much like the dark smoke that comprised the Shadowbolts. She instinctively launched a magic fireball at the aberration, orange light filled the hallway as it collided with the skeleton and exploded. Duskmane held his hooves up as the immense heat from the explosion reached with him. When the sparks settled and their eyes readjusted from the blinding explosion, only a few spouts of flame remained on the bones scattered up and down the hallway. Both of the ponies were breathing heavily in fright.
“It seems the corruption of Nightmare moon has seeped into this place as well.” Twilight noted as they watched the black aura dissipate from the bones and evaporate into the air. “We must be on our guard if we're to--”
“Behind you!” Duskmane called, pointing his hoof. She charged a spell as she whipped around, sending a magic scythe spinning down the hallway. It made a trail of sparks as it ground against the metal bars and stone walls until it hit the skeletal figure Duskmane had alerted her to. The bones of the creature shattered from the collision and scattered all across the hallway and into the jail cells, sending up the black smoke like the other skeleton had. Duskmane was shivering in fear, his joints locked and he sat bunched on the floor.
Twilight turned back around, seeing the coast was clear for the time being. She exhaled a breath of relief. “We'd best stay alert, who knows how many more there are.”
Duskmane got to his hooves again, feeling very weak in his knees. Never had he felt such a gripping fear, not even from his best horror books. He wanted to thank Twilight for saving his life yet again, but when he tried to speak, his voice encountered the lump in his throat, leaving him with an awkward face.
Twilight had not noticed, however, as she was distracted with something upon that floor that caught her eye. She levitated what looked like a short, thick stick with a blackened rag rag around the top. “An old torch.” She remarked. She brought the torch closer to her horn, where she created a small magical flame to dry and light the torch. “You should carry this, Duskmane.” She said as she hovered the torch near his head.
“Yeah, good idea.” He replied shakily. He grabbed the portion of the torch wrapped in leather with his mouth, holding it horizontally. The leather's age became apparent when its rotted taste hit his tongue, but it was well worth having a light of his own.
They had only resumed walking for a few seconds when a strange sound reached Duskmane's ears, causing him to come to a quick halt. “Listen....” He whispered. Twilight stopped and perked her ears up, there was a sound of metal hitting against metal ringing faintly from both ends of the hallway. The noise appeared to get closer and more frequent, causing both of them to get in readied poses, shuffling their eyes back and forth.
They both jumped when the source of the noise was finally visible in their limited light; each of the jail cells' barred doors were swinging open from an unseen force and slamming into the walls.
“What... what is this?” Duskmane asked as the last of the doors slammed open, leaving them with a moment of tense silence. They held their breaths, awaiting another sound other than the blood pulsing in their ears. Duskmane came to a sudden realization as he recalled his earlier fright when seeing the boney remains in the jail cell before. “Twilight...” his voice shuttered as he tried to keep a hold of his torch, “If all of the skeletons in the jail cells are about to... to....” He could not finish his sentence due to the images of an army of skeletons in his mind's eye.
Twilight was able see the intent of his message, picturing the same scenario that seemed to unfold before them. Twilight hesitated for a moment, waiting to see if their ill-fated predictions were true. It was not more than a moment later that they heard the click and clack of the bones that once laid dormant in their cells come together by the lingering force of Nightmare Moon's malevolent power.
“Quick, Duskmane, follow me!” Twilight shouted whilst preparing another spell. A white beam emitted from her horn, with which she painted a line from one wall to another, causing a wall of fire to erupt from it. The bright light illuminated an army of skeletal ponies in the hallway beyond, amassing their way towards them. “That should hold them off for now.” She dashed in the other direction, raising a pyramidal shield in front of her. Duskmane's hooves skid on the as he galloped to catch up.
“But, Twilight!” He muffled while keeping a firm hold of his torch, “The way out is the other way!”
“We aren't trying to escape.” Twilight said as the she pushed the shield through the skeletons that had gathered in the other direction. “We've got to find the Animoria!” There was a bit of a sting in her voice that gave Duskmane the dreaded feeling of impotence. He had let his fear overcome his duty, and Twilight called him out on it, and it felt like an arrow through his heart. He made not an attempt to respond as he galloped behind her, watching the bones explode away from the pointed shield.
Before he could contemplate further, Twilight had dropped her magic shield and stopped. They found themselves at a “T” intersection as the cell-lined corridor split into two other directions. The view down either was obscured by the slow-moving skeletal horde that approached from all angles.
“Stand close!” Twilight said as she reared onto her hind legs, channeling magic into her front hooves. Duskmane stepped behind her as she crashed her hooves down to the floor, sending an electrified shock-wave down the all three directions around them, exploding more of the reanimated fiends. 
Rest was not within their grasp, however, as they felt the room begin to shake violently. Duskmane looked up to see the large stone bricks shifting as dirt began to fall through the cracks. “Look out!”
Twilight looked up in time to see the large bricks begin to fall from above. She tumbled away immediately after Duskmane had as a huge pile of stone and rubble collapsed where they were just standing. She stood up, looking around her with Duskmane nowhere in sight. “Duskmane! Where are you?!”
Duskmane pushed himself up, seeing his torch had rolled away from his hard collision with the floor. He heard Twilight's muffled voice beyond the tower of dirt and stone that had nearly killed them. “Twilight?”
She exhaled a sigh of relief. “Oh, good, you're safe. I'm going to try to move the cave-in, give me a moment.” She charged her horn as she attempted to create a hole in the rubble so that they may be reunited. Her constant magical exertion did not become apparent until now, as the adrenaline wore off and fatigue reared its ugly head. She fell to her knees, heaving large exhausted breaths. “I... I can't move them.” She exclaimed. “We are going to have to hope that the two passages link up further inward.”
“But...” Duskmane started, but he could already hear Twilight's hoofsteps fading as she traversed away. He stepped away from the tower of dirt and turned around. The hallway appeared void of any moving aberrations, although cluttered with the remains of ones destroyed by Twilight's shock-wave spell. Even so, he felt the heavy pull of dread in his chest. “But I'm all alone....”
He began to slowly walk through the dark hallway after retrieving his torch, his mind wandering as did his hooves. The dank darkness and threat of murderous undead did little to intrude into his fortress of thought. “I try to be strong, yet... all I can do is lean on the shoulders of somepony else. Twilight... now I see why she was sad to not have her friends along for this journey. Even someone as powerful as her can find even greater strength in her friends. I have only been a burden in this very important quest... does that mean I fail at being a friend?” Not much else kept him moving forward as his mental turmoil of conflicting thoughts continued. “I just need an answer....”

~

“So many deceased ponies fill these ancient halls...” Twilight thought, slowly walking down a flight of stairs. “If all of them were prisoners of war, as Duskmane had suggested, then it must have been a war of great proportion, yet not a single piece of literature in my library telling of such an event... definitely something to catch up on when this war against Luna is won.”
A small poof of black smoke rose up when Twilight stepped into the room at the bottom of the stairs. The entirety of the large rectangular room was covered in a layer of black powder. The fumes that reached her nostrils shortly afterward led her to believe it was ash. It tickled her nose and caused her to sneeze loudly. When she recovered, she was able to notice four large openings along the walls, two per side, whilst the wall furthest from here was blank aside from several scorch marks. “What could these be?”
She stepped closer to one of the square shaped holes. It was only slightly taller than she was, and the same width across. The smell of ash was very strong as she stuck her head inside. It appeared to slope downward, the ash suspended in the air preventing her from seeing far inside. She dared not step onto the slippery angled surface, for she would not be able to stop her plummet. “Hmmm.”
Turning back around, she inspected the other three openings to see they were mirrors of the first. “A dead-end...” She murmured to herself. “Unless I jump down one of these chutes.” She only contemplated briefly before deciding against it. “Suppose I'll have to make my way through the rubble and catch up with Duskmane... I hope he hasn't run into too much trouble.”
Twilight approached the doorway to continue back up the stairs. She paused as the sound of turning gears echoed in the quiet halls. Before she could react, a metal portcullis fell from the ceiling, slamming loudly against the floor as it sealed the way out of the room. She jumped back in surprise, feeling like she had been lured into a cliché tale from one of her books. It was not long after that when the sound of banging metal filled her ears, coming from multiple directions. She ran to the center of the room, realizing the sound was coming out of the square openings in the wall. 
She did not have long to wonder what caused the sound, since it was only seconds later a black entity crawled out of one of the holes. It was what appeared to be a yet another skeletal pony, bones charred with the same black ash that covered the walls. She gritted her teeth, “More?!” and as if responding to her distressed query, more began to emerge from the other holes in the walls, moving menacingly towards her. She held her ground with her magic as every undead pony she felled was replaced by yet another crawling from the black depths....
> Majesty or Malice?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Ouch!” Duskmane cried when he unwittingly bumped his head into a metal door and dropped his torch. He had been so consumed in his dilemmas that he was not entirely sure how far he had walked. He turned around, the partially lit hallway still seeming devoid of the undead that terrorized Twilight and he only moments earlier. “Twilight...” He had reached an impasse, not able to find an answer for his dilemma of friendship. “The bonds of friendship give strength, but strength is not your friends' alone...” Picking up his torch, the warm glow of the flame seemingly taunting him with its chaotic contentedness. “What is it that I lack that prevents me from finding either?” The only answer that surfaced was “Useless. Useless useless useless useless useless”, tormenting voices of his mother lingering in memories he tried to suppress. 
He felt much like the ancient dungeon that surrounded him; cold, empty, and with mysterious existence that gave more questions than answer. His most pressing question became “What should I do now?” It only took a moment for him to decide. “I mustn't keep Twilight waiting. Even if I am useless in her quest, I must not be a burden. She's probably already found the Animoria by now, and waiting on me.”
Now removed from his mental fortress and back to perceiving the setting around him, the reality of his current predicament caused his veins to pulse with uneasiness and fear. With the only way to go being forward, he slowly pushed the rusted metal door open. A light mist crept from next room as the door opened, ushering in a very cold air that bit at Duskmane's skin. The mist covered most of the bottom half of the room, obscuring the silhouettes of several mysterious objects that lined the walls, with the mist preventing him from seeing the other end. He quietly trotted to one of the objects. It appeared to be a table segmented into several parts, joined by a few gears and axles. On the long ends of it were two hinged braces that had a loop that could hold a lock. Duskmane recognized it from one of his history books. “This is... a rack? A torture device that could--” His thoughts hesitated, “sever a ponies extremities.” After giving a sweeping check for undead menaces, he walked to the next mysterious object in the mist. It appeared to be a large, metal statue in the same shape of a pony. It had hinges along the back side and appeared to be able to open horizontally. “Is it...?” He slowly opened the device, seeing several small spikes lining the inside of it. “An iron mare. This room must be a torture chamber. To warrant such devices... the war that left this place in ruin must have had a lot at stake.” He had heard that the time before the Princesses' reign was dark and twisted, but seeing these really put his previous assumptions into perspective.
Duskmane's inability to shake the gruesome mental renditions of the torture devices in action kept him in a state of near-panic as he slowly tip-hoofed further into the misty room. He had almost extinguished his torch from the speed of which he turned to check the area around him. He passed by even more devices that he dared not investigate, only hoping to be out of the blistering cold room as soon as possible. He was caught by surprise when he turned forward to see a white light poking through the mist from somewhere down the hall. He crept closer, keeping his head low and steps silent. He got close enough to see the outline of an object not unlike the iron mare in shape with the light coming from a cylindrical point on the top. He placed his torch onto the floor to not make his presence known before moving even closer.
He nearly yelled when the object suddenly moved, but managed to catch himself, only instead heaving a silent gasp. “She said it would be here somewhere...” It spoke to itself in a puzzled tone, the voice of a mare, strong of will and determination, yet not that of Twilight's.
“Who is that?!” He thought in extreme surprise. His fear turned into extreme curiosity, but still he decided to keep himself as hidden as possible. The pony appeared to be wearing a cloak, with only the faint outline of her head and tip of her tail visible in the light cast by her horn. Duskmane stepped closer in a crouch, seeing that the pony was observing the wall, tracing her hoof across it in different patterns. “And what is she doing?”
“I simply can't believe that me, of all ponies, is stuck in this wretched cellar. Especially since I must--” She had turned around during her monologue and spotted Duskmane crouched in the mist. “Huh?!” Her surprised voice echoed throughout the room. Duskmane gasped as he jumped backwards, not having meant to startle the pony. The hood of her cowl covered most of her head, stopping at the horn, shadowing her face from her own light. However, what did strike out was the familiarity of the steel-blue cloak. “Wait, you're--”
Before Duskmane could finish, the pony cast a spell that instantly wrapped a black orb around her, then shrank and disappeared with a woomf. The pony had completely vanished, but not before Duskmane could pinpoint where he had seen such a cloak before. “That was the pony that was speaking with Princess Celestia right before the guards carried in Twilight.” He tried to make sense of the coincidence. “Maybe Celestia had suspicions of Luna's activities, and sent a mercenary to retrieve the Animoria, but sent Twilight once she had the proof she need, to ensure the job would be done.” It made sense in his mind, except for one factor, “But why did she not tell us about the other pony beforehoof? Surely she didn't forget that as well, regardless of how pressing current matters were.”
The fear that once gripped him shortly faded, even with the illuminating light of the unicorn gone, coming to a certain realization. “However, whoever that pony was, she must have eliminated the undead in this area already... and thank goodness for that.” He retrieved his torch from the floor behind him before returning to the wall. “What was that mysterious mare so interested in, I wonder. She sure was quick to depart, using a spell I've never heard or seen before... much like Twilight's magical abilities.” Once again, he was left with more questions than answers, much like everything else surrounding the day's events. Knowing that the answers to them currently laid outside his grasp, he turned his attention to the wall ahead of him.
Although hard to see in the misty room, Duskmane's torch revealed a large picture carved into the stone, spanning almost the entire back wall. On one side was a very archaic depiction of an alicorn facing towards the center of the wall, the sun rising behind her. On the other side was another alicorn facing into the center, with the moon poised behind her. “Celestia and Luna....” Between the two alicorns, however, was another pony that appeared to be descending from the clouds, arms outstretched and holding a diamond-shaped object in its hooves. “But who is this pony?”
It appeared to be an earth pony, clasped in a rimmed cowl, one often worn by unicorn spellmasters. The pony also appeared to have details of bushy eyebrows and a curled beard. “Almost like Starswirl the Bearded... Except this one isn't a unicorn. To be poised between the two Princesses, it must have been somepony special.” The rest of the engraving showed fine details of a beautiful silhouette of the horizon, peppered with trees and houses. It was a very beautiful piece of monochrome art, but one with just as much mystery as elegance. “What was that one pony trying to find in this picture?” He looked behind him to make one last check for the pony or any undead. Only the mist stirred as far as he could see. Looking back at the picture, he held the torch close, to see if anything stuck out within carved lines.

~

The light from her horn began to fade as Twilight struggled to gather her remaining magic to keep the skeletal mob away with fireballs and spinning scythes, but even as hundreds of the reanimated cadavers fell beneath her might, endless amounts poured from the four dark openings. She had already reached her limit far before now, and she could feel it straining, cracking. With a final sweeping fireball that destroyed the corruptive magic controlling the skeletons, only to have more taking their place, she fell forward, the once bright light of her own shimmering down to that of a dying candle. “I... guess this is the end.” She whispered into the plume of ash that arose with her fall. “Celestia... Equestria... Duskmane... I'm sorry.” She felt a tear run down her face, hearing the steps of the undead ponies draw closer, eager to end the remainder of her spirit. 
She heard a voice in her mind, “Hold on to, beyond eternity, the treasure of friendship.” It was her memory of Duskmane speaking. “For it shines brighter than the sun thousand-fold. Let not the darkness of hatred ever smother the...” The voice ended there.
“The hope for a brighter future.” Twilight filled in the missing words, willing herself back onto her hooves, gazing back into the glowing purple eyes that surrounded her, only several steps away. “I must not let the hatred of a lost soul conquer me... the fate of Equestria depends on my success! I WILL NOT FAIL!” Twilight's renewed vigor allowed her to channel her will into a potent magic spell, causing her to glow with a piercing white light that caused the undead ponies to halt in their march. They began to step away to avoid the white orb as it began to grow larger and brighter. When it felt like even the essence of her soul was wrapped in the spell even she was surprised to have cast, Twilight released the white force, causing an explosion of light that eradicated the magical corruption, even into the ash-filled vats the undead invaded from. Twilight lost all feeling in her limbs as everything began to blur. As she fell limp across the floor, a strange blue light shined from behind her, even though she knew only a wall stood there. “What... is that...?” She could not move, however, and her surroundings darkened until unconsciousness took hold of her.

~

His hoof had traced many of the fine details upon the stone, yet Duskmane could not find anything out of the ordinary that he suspected the mystery pony was looking for. A sudden explosion from somewhere in the dungeon's depths shook the floor beneath him, causing him to lose his balance. He rocked forward, hitting his hoof against the wall to stabilize himself. He felt something move beneath his hoof, and when he regained his balance, he lifted it to see he had hit the carving of the earth pony's diamond. It had sunk into the rest of the stone like a button. Before he could let his curious excitement take hold as to what would happen next, he felt the floor beneath him shift. Even before he could look down, he felt himself drop.
The button had apparently opened a trap door beneath him, although he was too busy yelling at the top of his lungs to be excited for his discovery. His torch was tumbling down the steep drop ahead of him, creating sparks as it skid against the metal slope. The dark metal tunnel soon opened into a very large cylindrical room, lit from several glowing diamonds that lined the smooth gray walls. Below was what appeared to be a white floor, with Duskmane's collision with it being imminent. “Oh no!” He could only cover his eyes and wait for the eternal sleep to take him. He whimpered hopelessly as he thought, “I have... failed in my attempt at being a friend.”
When he felt his body touch the surface below, it felt much like being suspended in the air. Had the eternal sleep taken him so quickly from his fall? He managed to open his eyes to see that he laid on what appeared to be a soft cloud. “Am I... dead?” It only took a brief look around to find an answer. To his astonishment, he was still at the bottom of the tall chamber. “The clouds saved me...” He said to himself, puzzled. “Even if the floor is made of clouds, anypony who isn't a pegasis should have fallen right through...” He wobbled up onto his hooves, the soft surface making it difficult to regain his balance. “I suppose the magic of the Princesses could easily create magic clouds.”
“I still have a chance for redemption, once I find my way out of here.” He took a quick look around, seeing pearly white double doors at on side of the room. He slowly made his way to it, to see beautiful gilded designs inlaid into the door itself, in stark contrast to the dreary and unkempt setting of the rest of the dungeon. He reached to push the door open, but was stopped as a strange sensation filled him. A feeling of apprehension, yet great curiosity, as if something important lied beyond the white door. Powered by a mixture of duty, longing, and eagerness, he pushed one of the heavy doors open.
His eyes were assailed by a bright blue light, which seemed to be coming from a very large crystal hung from the ceiling by several chains. The room was circular in shape like the room behind him, except nearly thrice as big. The walls were a pearly white, stained blue by the light, with gilded columns along the walls reaching up to the very high ceiling. Even more impressive were what appeared to be small holes in the wall in which water flowed out of, falling into small motes that spider-webbed the floor of the chamber, reflecting the blue light in beautiful waves around the room.
However, the center of the room seemed to be ablaze with a concentrated beam of the blue light from the crystal above. Duskmane walked closer to see four ivy vines made of gold, spiraling upwards towards what appeared to be a small red diamond that sparkled in the blue rays. Duskmane's eyes widened as he brought he face close to it, seeing what appeared to be a swirling clouds inside the diamond itself. “This looks like the crystal the pony on the stone carving was holding. Perhaps this is... the Animoria.” He whispered to himself in glee. He slowly brought his head closer, grabbing the diamond with his mouth. It felt very warm to the touch, unlike the air around him. “Now I gotta find Twilight and show this to her!” He thought.
With his attention off the Animoria, he could see a strange site ahead of him on the side of the room opposite of the double doors. A large portion of the wall had been blown inward, with large pieces of the white stone scattered about, damming some of the small moats and causing water to spread onto the smooth floor. He walked closer for a better view. To his fear, he saw a lavender pony laying motionless near the threshold of the destroyed wall. “Twilight?” He said, his voice muffled by the diamond he held with his mouth“Twilight!”
Running closer and jumping over the rubble, he stepped beside Twilight, who was covered in black botches from the ash. He knelt and brought his head closer to her body, to see that she was still breathing and apparently unharmed. Lifting his head up and looking into the dark chamber, he could see thousands of bones thrown against the opposite wall, completely blocking the stairway Twilight had come down.
Duskmane laid the Animoria on the ground and lowered his head closer to Twilight's closed eyes. She did not appear to be wounded, which relieved him greatly. He could only assume that the massive pile of bones were undead she encountered, and she had expended all of her magic again. “Twilight?” He said in vane, the unconscious pony not making any stir. He stood back up, “I'll wait as long as I have to, for you...”
Twilight felt like she was floating through the air as her vision returned from the blackness. She seemed to be in an endless space with strange waves of purple and pink light emanating from the abyss. “Where... am I?”
“You are in your mind.” A voice echoed back to her. It was a familiar voice of a mare, someone she knew that she knew, yet could could not remember. Most of her memories were out of her grasp in this realm.
“Then... who are you?” Twilight asked back.
“That is not important. You have a very important task to complete, do you not?”
“I...” Twilight could not immediately remember, but fragments of recent events came back to her. “That's right. I must defeat Luna before she destroys Equestria.”
“Then you should hurry, and return to the realm of consciousness.”
And with that, a white door appeared in the nothingness in front of Twilight. Even with nothing beneath her hooves, she walked towards the white door without hesitation. She stepped into the light, and everything faded away around her....
She felt groggy as Twilight slowly opened her eyes. Everything was a blur, although a dim red light stood out from the rest of the gray smudges. When she regained focus shortly after, she saw that the red light was that from a diamond-shaped crystal. “Is that--?”
“Twilight!” She heard a voice yell from behind her, startling her. “Thank goodness you're awake.” Is was Duskmane's voice. He trotted up beside her, looking down into her eyes. “Are you alright?”
“Yes, I'm fine.” She said, bringing herself to her hooves. Her head felt very cloudy, as if waking up the next day after a cider party. She looked back down at the red crystal. “But what's this?” She hovered it closer to her face.
“I think it might be the Animoria... I found it over there.” Duskmane said, pointing his hoof back into the white room. 
Twilight turned around, temporarily blinded by the sudden change to bright light. When her eyes adjusted, she walked closer to the gilded ivy vines in the center of the large room, still hovering the diamond beside her. She took a gander at the rest of the chamber, taking in the lavish sites of the columns and the shining blue crystal. “This certainly looks like it'd be the place for it.” She exhaled a large sigh as she put the crystal into her saddlebags. “Thank you so much Duskmane... I couldn't have gone this far without you.”
“Really? Do you mean that?” Duskmane asked, compelled by his earlier grief of longing for purpose.
“In that room you found me in... there were hundreds of skeletons animated by Nightmare Moon's magic. I fought as long as I could, but I was overwhelmed by their numbers. Then I remembered the passage you read from the book. “Hold onto the treasure of friendship, and to not let the darkness smother the hope for a brighter future”.”
“I don't recall that book saying anything about a brighter future.”
“I suppose that was just my heart, filling in the blanks. With it, I found the resolve I needed to defeat the darkness, before it defeated me.” She turned around back towards the hole leading to the previous room. “I suppose the resulting explosion is what opened the way to allow you to find me.”
Duskmane felt a surge of joy as his dilemma of friendship was erased from his worries, although he still felt somewhat unfulfilled, as if he had gotten a treat he did not earn. “I... well... thank you.” He managed to sputter beneath his collage of emotions.
“Well, isn't this touching.” A loud voice rang out, stern and masculine, echoing across the white room. Both Duskmane and Twilight jumped, trying to find the source of the voice. Both of them froze as they witnessed a large black circle expand at the other end of the room. When the black entity stopped growing, a white light emerged from the center as something stepped through the portal.
The whole room shook as four massive sets of claws dragged the large beast forward. It had dark blue skin with several glowing white spots that seemed to sparkle. It reminded Twilight much like looking into a clear night sky with a telescope. The beast had a long neck and a horned, serpentine head. It seemed much like one of the dragons of Equestria, but the strange patterns on its scales and glowing white eyes were unlike anything they have ever heard of.
When the creature had fully emerged, the black portal disappeared. “Luna warned me that Celestia's lackeys would make an attempt for the Animoria.”
“Then... you must be...” Twilight started nervously, “The stars that aided Luna's escape.”
“Ah, forgive me. I'm normally not the one to overlook introductions, but surely, even you know of the story ready to unfold.”
“Yes, we do!” Twilight answered, “Which is why we will never let you take the Animoria!”
“Such fervor, such vigor...” he responded with an intrigued tone, “For one doomed for failure. Even as we speak, the other Star Drakes move to take the Elements of Harmony so that we might destroy the false Princess, and bring eternal reign to the night.”
Twilight gasped, “It can't be... not already.”
“Now, give me the Animoria, and let fate go its destined course.”
Twilight felt crushed. Dragons on their own are no small feat to slay, but this was no mere dragon. It was one of the legendary Star Drakes, powerful, ancient creatures once imprisoned into another dimension very long ago, no doubt enlisted into Luna's army.
“Then...” Twilight started, seeming broke of will. “I must maintain hope for a brighter future, and fight to my last breath to preserve it!” she finished intensely.
“A brighter future...” The Star Drake echoed. He burst into a loud cackle, “The future you have chosen is a dark one, foolish mortal. It's a shame I did not get here sooner... I try to avoid bloodshed when possible, but you leave me no choice!”
Twilight was slightly confused by the irony of the beast's words, but did not let it unsettle her as she saw the drake spread his claws and get into a ready position. His head rose and nearly touched the glowing blue diamond, towering over them as his shadow darkened the walls of the room. Although her resolve was solid, she felt the cold claws of dire fear grab her. Still weakened from her earlier encounter with the undead, and facing a foe far greater than she had ever dared challenge, her hopes were dimmed with the realization that Duskmane and she would meet their ends here, like so many other ponies before her. 
The dragon spread his large wings while still gripping the floor. Lots of small white orbs began to appear beneath the large, blue membrane. Twilight turned to Duskmane, seeing he had been in the same frozen stance since when the dragon first entered. “Duskmane, run! Take the Animoria with you while I hold him off!”
Duskmane turned to her “Both of the exits are blocked!”
Twilight gritted her teeth and turned back towards the dragon, seeing it had accumulated hundreds of small orbs beneath his wings. His wings pulled backwards, and swung them both towards Duskmane and she, sending all of the magic orbs flying in their direction. Twilight brought up her magic shield as quickly as she could. The white orbs exploded when they collided with the floor and walls. Twilight struggled to keep the shield protecting them as the white old exploded against it, each explosion sapping her already limited magical energy. When the explosions stopped, and the dust cleared, Twilight dropped her shield, panting. The area behind them was decimated, the once beautiful stone spewed throughout the rest of the chamber, the small water outlets spraying water across the rubble.
“Impressive, but even you cannot withstand another barrage. Give me the Animoria now, and I will allow you two to live.” The dragon spoke. “I will not ask again.”
After a few gasps for breath, Twilight answered, “Never... we will fight to the end, for the sake of everypony!”
“The sake of everypony.” The dragon echoed. “You mortals are so humorous with your words. You brought this upon yourself.” After his response, the dragon's eyes began to glow very brightly.
“If this is the end.” Duskmane thought, swallowing the lump in his throat. “Then I must make due on what I owe....” Seeing Twilight was in no condition to defend the next attack, Duskmane stepped in front of her, chest high, staring into the drake's eyes.
Twilight wanted to scream and tell him to move, to not try the might of the Star Drake, but she still gasped for breath, and could only watch in horror as white beams of light shot from the dragon's eyes towards them.
Duskmane could only spread his hooves and hope he was enough to protect Twilight from the dragon's magic. The white beam collided with him, exploding beneath his hooves and propelling him into the wall far behind them. The wall cracked as his body struck it with a loud thud, before falling limp onto the floor. The pain spread through his entire body was immense, so much so that it paralyzed him as he laid helplessly on the floor. He wheezed, coughing up blood and struggling for breath. “I hope... my debt is fulfilled.” His vision darkened as the pain forced him into unconsciousness.
“No, Duskmane!” Twilight called.
“Worry not, you will meet the same fate as he, my little pony.” The dragon snickered.
Twilight's head was bowed as she stood, letting several tears fall to the floor. The dragon's eyes once again began to glow extremely brightly. With no energy, no magic, and for the first time ever, no hope; she fell onto her knees and awaited the finishing blow. “Luna's won... Equestria is doomed to Nova's fires....” 
The white lasers shot out of the dragon's eyes again, this time aimed at the defenseless Twilight. She squeezed her eyes closed and braced for impact. The sound of the lasers firing ceased, yet she felt unscathed. She opened her eyes, and to her shock, saw a pony donned in a steel-blue cloak that covered their entire body. The pony appeared to have raised a magenta magical shield not unlike Twilight's, having absorbed the dragon's deadly attack.
“What is this?” The dragon asked, mirroring Twilight's confusion.
“I'm not sure who you are, but thank you.” Twilight said. The cloaked unicorn made no response. Unable to help in the fight, Twilight ran over to Duskmane, who was still laying still on the floor, eyes closed and making weak, pained breaths. “There's gotta be something I can do!” Twilight thought frantically, wishing she had studied more of the ancient magic of restoration back at the Canterlot Archive.
“You seem... different from the others.” The dragon remarked at the veiled pony. “Yet, I feel a familiar aura from you... an aura of hatred and despair, driven by the lust for revenge.” It seemed he was comparing the pony to Luna.
The unicorn still made no response, instead summoning several floating arcane circles around her. She made a thrusting motion with her hoof, causing several very large ice bolts to shoot from them towards the Star Drake. The drake made a waving motion with its claw, causing the ice bolts to collide with an invisible barrier that shielded him. Immediately afterward, the unicorn dashed upwards toward the drake's head, using magic to propel her forward. The drake lifted one of it's large claws and swung down at the pony. They disappeared with a flash, appearing through a white circle behind the drake. As the the drake turned around, the pony launched a blue fireball from their horn. It exploded against his face, sending him stumbling backwards and slamming against the wall, shaking the entire room and causing the chained illuminating crystal to sway above them.
The drake stood back onto its claws and glared down at the mysterious pony, who had landed back on her hooves. “Even your power seems not of your own. Just who are you, and why are you here, interfering with the strings of fate?” Still the pony remaining silent, no amount of light from the room managing to break the black shadow over their face. “Then take your secrets to your grave!” The dragon hissed as it raised one of its claws before slamming it into the floor, sending several streaks of white energy towards the pony that cut through the stone floor with ease. Using magic to enhance their jump, the pony gracefully somersaulted over the attack. At the peak of their jump, the pony magically suspended themself in mid-air and raised their sleeved hooves into the air.
The dragon was taken aback by the two arcane circles that appeared at both sides of the his body, nearly as wide in diameter as he was. He wrapped his wings around himself and teleported away in a black flame before two immense red beams shots from the circles, colliding with each other and creating a flare that painted the room with red light. The bright red light distracted Twilight from her desperate attempt at procuring a healing spell as she turned to watch the battle that had been unfolding.
The dragon reappeared in a gout of black fire behind the cloaked pony, quickly bringing down his claw in a fast, vicious swipe. The pony did not have time to react, and was swatted from the air and flung towards the wall. Before the collision, the pony stopped abruptly in mid-air, using magic to halt their momentum. The pony fell slowly and gracefully, landing on their hooves, apparently unscathed. White orbs of magic began to form under the dragons wings as it charged its familiar attack, sending the pony into a defensive position. Shortly after, the dragon pushed forth his wings, sending hundreds of little white balls of magic towards the veiled pony. The pony quickly sprung into a dash as it summoned a pyramidal shield ahead of them, deflecting the explosions as the white spheres collided against it.
When the pony got near, they made a heroic leap towards the dragon's head, trying to impale the sharp magic shield into him. The dragon foresaw the pony's assault, and met them head-on, slamming his forehead into the shield. Their was a sound of glass shattered as the shield broke away as the impact sent the mysterious pony into the ground. 
Even though Twilight had no idea who this powerful unicorn was, the enemy of her enemy was her friend. “Oh no....” she muttered, watching wide-eyed as the pony struggled to get back up.
“You were a fool to come here.” The dragon remarked smugly, “Fate has chosen its course, and I am but one of its shepherds. If you cannot even stop me, how do you dream of stopping Luna? I am not ashamed to confess that her power far exceeds us Star Drakes, although I must admit, I am impressed that a mortal such as yourself possesses such raw power.” He stepped closer to the weakened pony. “I have wasted enough time as it is. The time draws near for Equestria's historic reversal, as its true ruler takes the throne.” He raised one of his claws high into the air, and then brought it down swiftly upon the weakened pony. The floor cracked as his claw pressed flush against it.
Twilight winced as her last hope of survival was smothered before her eyes. The dragon turned his head slowly to Twilight and Duskmane. “Worry not, mortal, the eternal darkness that awaits you will not be so different from-- What?” The dragon looked downwards at its claw as streaks of magenta light erupted from below. The drake quickly retracted his claw as a beam of magic shot upwards, watching as the mysterious pony levitated out of the hole in the floor, surrounded by a sphere of magical energy. The pony remained in the air as magic sparks sprung across the magenta colored barrier.
“You are too persistent for your own good.” The dragon said in a perturbed tone. Twilight's mouth dropped as the dragon turned its head towards Duskmane and she. In an instant, it shot a huge fireball from its mouth towards them. Twilight struggled to construct her magic shield, still very low on her reserve of magical energy. A flimsy magenta barrier surrounded them, although Twilight knew it would not be enough to stop a massive fireball. She strained harder to fortify her shield, but it did not help. Instead, the stress on her already limited magic caused the shield to fizzle and disappear.
“No! Not now!” Twilight said, cursing her impotence. “Come on...!” The fireball was only a moment away from incinerating both of them. When hope had seemed lost, and Twilight was reduced to clutching to Duskmane's still body to protect him, a flash appeared in front of the fireball as the mystery pony teleported in front of it. They held their hooves out wide, quickly conjuring a massive barrier that held back the blazing inferno. Twilight could see cracks forming in the barrier as the pony struggled to hold back the the flames.
The pony made a waving motion with their hoof, causing the flames beyond the shield to condense into a much smaller ball of fire. The unicorn's magic shield disappeared, allowing them to take hold of the condensed sphere of flame. They held it above their head as blue arcane symbols sprung forth from their horn and passed through the fireball, creating strings of glowing red symbols that formed large circles around the them. The dragon took a step backwards, “What sorcery is this? No mortal should be able to harness such power!”
When the pony had six red circles of arcane symbols circling around her, she pressed her hooves forward, causing the circles to vanish and reappear at four compass corners of the circular chamber, with one appear above the dragon, and one on the floor below. The dragon's closed its eyes, seeing no escape from the spell that surrounded him and prevented any attempt at teleporting away. “It all makes sense now.” The dragon said lowly. It opened its eyes and turned towards Twilight as the cloaked pony charged its magic into the arcane circles. “Mortal, things are not as they--” His voice was drowned out by the blast of all six magic circles firing immense red beams similar to the unicorn's earlier attack. All of the beams connected with the drake, bathing him in fiery energy. The dragon shrieked as it thrashed amidst the scorching flames.
When the magic ceased, and the unicorn had gracefully landed back onto the floor, the scorched remains of the dragon fell onto the ground, violently shaking the room. Twilight breathed a sigh of relief, although with the drake subdued, a much more pressing matter became evident as she turned back to Duskmane, who had not stirred since falling unconscious. Twilight jumped when she heard a weak voice behind her, “Things are not as they seem... mortal....” It was the dragon, struggling to speak beneath its immense burns that had completely vaporized the membrane of his wings and most of its skin.
Twilight was scared to get closer, but was intrigued by the dying words of a legendary creature. “What do you mean?” She asked.
“I see what you are... trying to do.” he responded. “You are being... mis--” His voice was cut off as the giant blue crystal that once hung from the ceiling pierced through the top of his skull, cut from its chains by the magic of the veiled unicorn. The drake gave a final shriek as his flicker of life was extinguished.
Twilight turned in surprise to the pony, who was facing the direction of the deceased dragon. She was frustrated by the fact that the unicorn cut off the message she wanted to hear, but was nonetheless grateful for the pony saving her life. “I... thank you, whoever you are.” The pony made no response, only staring intently at the drake's lifeless body. “Do you know a way out of here? I must find help for my friend immediately!”
Shortly after her exposition, Twilight felt the floor beneath her begin to shake, growing in magnitude. A sound not unlike rushing water filled her ears, drawing her attention back to the deceased drake. Cracks had formed in the glowing crystal as blue flames began to burst violently from them, spewing light from the dragon's eyes and mouth. The cloaked pony turned away, and with the flicker of their horn, opened a black circle much like the one the dragon used to enter the room, except much smaller in scale. They casually walked into it and disappeared as the shaking became worse, sending loose stones from the ceiling crashing down. Twilight hesitated briefly before deciding to hover Duskmane across her back. Careful to not let him slip off, she slowly walked to the black circle cast by the mysterious unicorn.
The blue fire erupting from the cracked crystal sprayed against the ceiling and the walls as more of the stone architecture cracked and fell beneath the turbulent shaking. Twilight was only a few steps from the black portal, when something in the corner of her eye caught her attention. She turned her head to see the remains of a pillar tumbling down towards her. She gasped, making the final leap through the black mass as the stone crashed onto the portal....
Twilight opened her eyes, and to her relief, saw green grass beneath her. Even more relieving was that Duskmane was still in tow. She carefully lowered his limp body from her back. She heard the crunch of grass as the cloaked pony walked towards them. Twilight said nothing as the pony levitated a clear vial from beneath their cloak and removed the avianesque stopper. They then lowered the vial over Duskmane, pouring a glistening clear liquid onto his body. Immediately re-corking the bottle and returning it to beneath their cloak, the pony bowed their hooded head, disappearing in a white flash.
“Hey, wait!” Twilight had many questions she wanted to ask to the mute pony once Duskmane was in good hooves, especially concerning where they learned such potent magic that easily rivaled her greatest spells. She turned back towards her friend to see him glowing brightly in white light, which faded only second later. Twilight drew her head closer, curious about the strange fluid that was poured onto Duskmane. Within moments, however, she saw Duskmane's eyes slowly open, filling her with great excitement. She wanted to give him a big hug, much like he had to her back at the Canterlot palace, but managed to refrain for the sake of not startling him.
Duskmane felt like being awoken from a peaceful nap as he witnessed the blades of grass level with his face. Disoriented, he got to his hooves to see he had somehow appeared near the edge of a cliff that looked down unto Ponyville in the distance. He jumped when he heard a voice behind him.
“I'm so glad you're alright, Duskmane.”
He turned to see his good friend Twilight, gleaming ear to ear with a grin she tried to contain. He mirrored her glee, “Twilight!” His smile became a dumbfounded droop when he saw the gates of Canterlot Palace behind them. “How did we get here?” With his query, his memories of what happened before being knocked out rushed to him. “Wait! Where's the dragon? The Animoria? What happened?!”
“It's a lot to explain.” Twilight started, “I'll tell you on our way to the Princess, I still have the Animoria with me.” She quickly broke into a brisk trot. Duskmane galloped to catch up, and maintained her pace as they approached the drawbridge into the palace.
“We were able to make it out alive because a strange pony in a blue cloak defeated the dragon, and made a portal from the dungeon to the palace.”
Duskmane came to a halt. “Pony in a blue cloak?” Twilight turned around and backtracked a few steps to him. “I came across a pony in a blue cloak before I reached the Animoria's chamber, but she magically teleported away when she saw me. She was a pony I saw at the palace while you were in Luna's quarters!”
“She? Any idea what she doing at the palace?”
“I heard her speak before she saw me. The Princess had apparently informed her about a secret entrance inside the dungeon itself, which turned out to be a trap door that led to the Animoria. The Princess must have sent her there before she sent us!”
Twilight could not immediately respond, trying to piece together what it could mean. She stood there, staring into Duskmane's eyes as he awaited her response. “If that's true... then Celestia wasn't lying when she said she thought her sister was up to no good. That pony knew extremely powerful magic, I don't know why Celestia would send us in that pony's shadow. She could obviously handle herself much better than us two together... and speaking of which, thank you... for everything back there.” Twilight added on.
“It's the least I could do.” Duskmane felt his face get warm, rubbing his hoof on his neck. “But-- er, let's not waste time.” He stuttered.
“You're right, the drake said Luna's forces were on their way to Canterlot, we must warn the Princess at once.”
They quickly approached the lowered drawbridge, which now had two guards lining each side of the gate to inside. Two guards dashed towards them as they stepped onto the drawbridge. “Halt! None may pass!” One shouted.
“We need to see the Princess immediately!” Twilight urged, “We have the Animoria for her!”
“The palace is under lock-down, nopony is allowed inside the palace.” He responded sternly. “Besides, I've never heard of such a thing. Failure to comply will be met with deadly force.”
“But--”
“It's quite alright, they may pass.” The gates opened to reveal the graceful Princess Celestia, walking towards them. The guards instantly fell into a low bow. “It relieves me to see you are alright. I feel guilty for remaining here and Luna not showing herself, but I could not risk leaving the Elements unprotected. Do you have the Animoria?”
“Yes, Princess.” Twilight nodded, hovering the red diamond from her bags. Princess Celestia took hold of it with her own magic, bringing it close to her face, her eyes sparkling red with its reflection.
“We would not have made it if it weren't for the pony you sent to the dungeon before us.” Duskmane added.
“Oh... I see you met the mercenary. She's recently become an accomplice of mine, and proven to be quite the powerful ally. I sent her to my old palace under suspicion of Luna's plans. However powerful they may be, I still trust my faithful student--” She nodded at Twilight, “and her friends--” She turned to Duskmane with a smile, “far more than anypony else in my court during these dark times.”
“Thank you, Princess.” Twilight said as she bowed her head.
“No need to thank me. Come inside, we shall witness Luna's memory together, and reveal her hiding place.”
Celestia turned around and passed through the gates with Twilight and Duskmane close behind. The gates closed shut once they were in the center of the foyer. Twilight could see a whole squad of royal guards lining the stairway leading to the second story of the palace, donned in extra heavy gold-colored armor that left very little of their white coat exposed.
“Stand close.” Celestia said as she levitated the Animoria between them. Both Twilight and Duskmane were filled with a looming sense of dread, and also that of anticipation, a strange mix that did not settle well with either.
Princess Celestia's horn shimmered a bright gold color as she channeled magic into the crystal, causing strange wisps of yellow light to churn around the three ponies. Time around them seemed to come to a slow stop as they felt a sensation of being pulled into the crystal. The colors around them appeared to streak like running paint inward towards the crystal, until only complete blackness surrounded them.
They heard Celestia speak, “Take us to Luna's hiding place.” There was another rush of colors as the recorded scenes of their eternal memory played in fast-forward, until coming to a sudden halt.
What Twilight saw were the familiar dark tapestries from Luna's quarters, as viewed from a perspective that stood far higher than any pony, that of Princess Luna. The Princess rounded the corner to see the two guards standing outside the entrance to her wing of Canterlot Palace, the twin alicorn statues in view ahead of her. She neared the dark guards. “It begins.” She said somberly, much to the contrast of the loud and pompous voice Twilight remembered from Nightmare Night. “Every of my guards will be working double shifts until my sister is removed from the throne. Destroy anypony that enters my wing of the castle.” The guards silently nodded their heads.
Twilight could feel a feeling not of her own, but that of Luna, concentrating. Their was a dim glow of blue light as Luna was surrounded in a cloak of shadow. She stepped from the threshold of the hallway leading to her wing, making no noise as she walked closer to the guards that guarded the doorway to the Elements of Harmony. Luna turned and looked behind her to make sure nopony was watching. The room void of anypony else besides her guards and the ones she faced. She silently walked closer and stood in front of them. The guards made no sign of seeing her, which struck Twilight as odd. “She must have cast an invisibility spell on herself.” Twilight thought.
There was a quick flash of green light from Luna's horn. The guards still made no motion, but their eyes seemed to lose all gleam, as if falling under a trance. Luna moved forward to the door, unimpeded by the guards. Lowering her head, she inserted her horn into the slot in the center of the door, causing it to open. She quickly dashed inside and closed the doors with her magic, bringing her to a long, thin hallway illuminated by the multiple stained glass windows.
The rest of the hallway appeared to be empty. “That fool.” She said to herself as she walked closer to the white door that awaited at the end of the hallway. “Only two feeble guards between public portion of the palace and the Elements. If I take them now, though, she'll surely sense it. I'm not sure if I can stand up against her... but I must, I'm the only one who can.” Twilight was confused by her words, but continued to listen intently to her monologue. “No, I must bide my time, and wait for the Star Drakes to arrive. Everything will be for naught if she finds out before I'm ready to take the throne... the Crown of Equestria....” Twilight felt the feeling of melancholy seeping from Luna's memory.
Luna turned to face one of the stained glass windows, which showed the historic event where Twilight and her friends used the Elements to dispel the corruption of Nightmare Moon from her. Luna raised a hoof and touched the portion of the glass that represented herself. The glass began to ripple, like a pebble thrown into a still lake. She pressed a hoof through it, disappearing into the glass itself. “Nova... the time draws near.” She said as she passed completely through the glass as if it were a portal. The scene of the memory became an empty blackness.
“This is worse than I feared.” Twilight heard Celestia say as the blackness around her began to evaporate. Within seconds, she found herself back in the center of the foyer with Duskmane at her side and Celestia in front of her. “She's made a portal straight to the Chamber of--” There was an explosion that came from somewhere deeper in the castle that shook the floor violently, sending Duskmane tumbling over. “No! Quickly, to the Chamber of the Elements!” All of the guards quickly flew up the stairs and left into the bend that led to the hallway containing the alicorn statues. The Princess followed in after them on her giant white wings, dropping the Animoria to the ground.
“We must follow her!” Twilight said to Duskmane as she ran up the stairs. He followed close behind after returning to his hooves, anxious as to the source of the explosion. Telling from the Princess's response, however, it seemed that Princess Luna had made her move before they could take steps to stop her.
> Lament of the Damned
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

They arrived in the chamber of the two alicorn statues, to see that the doors to the Chamber of the Elements of Harmony had been blown inward off their hinges. A multitude of guards were swarming through the opened doorway with Celestia nowhere in sight, presumably already in the other room. Twilight and Duskmane ran towards the doorway to follow in behind the guards.
A huge, fiery explosion erupted from the other room, thrusting the royal guards out of the doorway, leaving a large portion of Celestia's squadron of guards dead or incapacitated. Twilight stopped at the gruesome sight, subconsciously grateful to fate that she was not near the door when the explosion occurred. Many of the guards that survived were badly seared, leaving many of their wings useless as their feathers quickly burned.
“Should we help them?!” Duskmane asked.
Twilight did not want to say no, but stalling simply was not an option if Luna had indeed arrived. “We can't! Keep moving, we must help Celestia!” Twilight brought up her magic shield in front of her as they crossed into the Chamber of the Elements of Harmony. The first site they saw was that the roof had been completely ripped off, leaving most of the once-beautiful windows shattered. Two huge, dark blue drakes filled the sky, along with a small group of dark guards at their side, but no sight of Luna. Soot covered much of the walls as the carpet and tapestry burned from the dragon's attack, as well as the unfortunate souls of the royal guards caught in the blast while inside the room.
A bolt of lightning shot from Celestia horn as she streamed through the air, blasting against one of the star drakes. They both gave pursuit as Celestia weaved in and out of a hail of magical attacks from the drakes as the remainder of the royal guard assaulted the dragons and dark guards with diving attacks. Celestia spotted Duskmane and Twilight below, and glided lower while still maintaining high speeds to avoid the drakes. “Luna has taken the elements! You must stop her before she summons Nova!” She had sped away as a hail of white orbs rained down from above towards her previous position, exploding against the floor and Twilight's shield.
Twilight could feel her heart racing as she was locked into the spectacle above as Celestia fought against the two Star Drakes and Luna's elite dark guard. One of the dark guards fell out of the sky as one of Celestia's ice bolts connected with them and froze their wings.
“Twilight... can we stop Luna?” Duskmane asked shakily.
Her mind answered “No.”, but she could not answer that. “It doesn't matter,” she spoke, “if Celestia loses, we're doomed either way.” She saw a tear fall down Duskmane's cheek as he nodded apprehensively.
Twilight ran to the end of the ruined hallway, dodging the stone rubble, to where Luna had during the view of her memories moments earlier. Ahead of her were the doors that once shielded the Elements of Harmony, with the magical seal broken and the pedestal inside void of the Elements it once held. She turned to the stained glass depiction of the defeat of Nightmare Moon. The stone around it had been smashed and cracked, but the window remained unscathed. Twilight stood on her hind two hooves to press her hoof against the image of Nightmare Moon. Just as it happened in the memory, the glass rippled as if it were water. Twilight took a deep breath as she gathered her bravery, and jumped into the glass, disappearing to the other end of the portal.
Duskmane was scared at first, but willed himself to follow in after her. He jumped, and collided hard against the glass. He shook his head, hesitating. “But-- Why can I not go through?!” He stepped up and pressed his hoof on the image of Nightmare Moon. The glass did not achieve the ripple effect like it had with Twilight. He pressed his hoof against the glass, still solid and forbidding his entry. “No! Twilight!” He called in vain, defeated by the magic set within the portal. He wanted to call up to Celestia for help, but his look upward only yielded the site of bolts of lightning and fireballs flinging between the Star Drakes and Celestia with the different guards engaged in aerial combat against each other. Fearing for his life, he had no choice but to run away helplessly.
He escaped back into the previous room, the Star Drakes and Celestia out of site, but now in the company of the grievous moans of the dying and injured royal guards. He felt so scared, so helpless, so worthless. His legs gave away as he fell onto the floor, crying. “I don't know what to do... I want to help, but I can't....” His thoughts were frantic and chaotic, but came to a grinding halt when a voice he would never forget shouted from behind him.
“Duskmane? What in Celestia's mane are you doing here?!”
“M—Mother?”

~

When Twilight's head emerged through the other end of the portal, she found herself in a place unlike any she had ever seen. The entirety of large palace-like chamber she found herself in was constructed of the shining blue crystal she saw in the Royal Sister's Palace. The floor was also made of the substance, producing an extremely smooth surface that reflected Twilight's awed face back at her. There was a small cackle of energy behind her that caused her to quickly turn around. There was a tall archway formed by two pillars made of a pitch-black stone that had a glowing white door in the same shape as the glass window she had entered from. Several large sparks shot between the two pillars before the white gate disappeared. “Duskmane!” Twilight was locked in Luna's realm alone.
After a moment of silent hesitation, Twilight turned back around, swallowing the lump of fear in her throat. She slowly began to walk forward, her hooves echoing against the glass-like floor. The complete silence aside from her movement unnerved Twilight, even though the glow that spread from the crystal walls gave a comforting aura. Ahead, she could see a pair of immense black doors, adorned with the symbol of a crescent moon. She could feel a source of immense magic power... Luna and the Elements lied beyond them. Twilight was only arm's length from the giant doors. A cold feeling ran through her joints, with her instincts shouting for her to run far, far away, even with the way out being sealed. Isolated and against all odds, she stepped up and pressed her weight against the doors, which pressed open with surprisingly little effort.
Twilight's froze in terror as she locked eyes with nightmare before her. At the center of the empty, immense chamber stood Luna, Princess of the Night. Her starry blue mane flowed like a silk blanket in a light wind, as her dark-indigo coat stood in contrast to the bright blue crystals the walls and ceiling were formed from. 
“I remember thou.” She spoke, her voice bold and loud, “But thou art not whom I was expecting. Twilight Sparkle... What brings thou hither, upon this brink of history's transformation?”
Her voice was not threatening, but Twilight still struggled to speak as fear weighed down on her lungs. “Luna...” She paused and took a deep breath, “I'm here on behalf of Princess Celestia to stop your traitorous plot!”
There was a moment of silence, shattered as Luna broke into laughter. “Ohohoho! You foal! My sister always spoke highly of thy mental caliber, yet thou delve into such folly hopes!” There was a light blue flash as the a golden plaque appeared above Luna, suspended by her magic.
“That's...” The Golden plaque was adorned with six large jewels, five jewels adorned the edges of the plaque. Starting from the top and going clockwise: the Ruby of Loyalty; the Citrine of Honesty; the Emerald of Generosity; the Sapphire of Laughter; and the Garnet of Kindness. In the center of the five jewels was the Amethyst of Magic, the element Twilight herself represented. It was the Elements of Harmony.
“I shall unlock the full potential of the Elements with my power, and lay waste to my pathetic sister, and claim Equestria as my own!” Luna cackled.
“No!” Twilight shouted, “I won't let you!”
“Such bold words for one who stares death in the eyes. If thou insist on defending Celestia and her schemes, then thou shall perish alongside her.” She gave a snide grin, “This shall be a grand opportunity to test the power vested within the Elements!”
Twilight yelped as the doors behind her slammed shut. Even without the Elements, Princess Luna possessed near god-like power, just like Princess Celestia. The Elements of Harmony were a very mysterious, yet extremely potent force when wielded by one strong of will.
Luna brought the Elements of Harmony closer to herself as she infused it with more of her magic, until it became a blinding blue light. When the light dimmed and Twilight was able to turn back to Luna's direction, she witnessed a foreboding sight. The golden plaque with the Elements was gone. However, Luna emerged covered in golden armor, with four of the Elements of Harmony stuck into the armor each of her shoulders and haunches. The Ruby of Loyalty stood prominently on her breastplate, with the Amethyst of Magic on her Helmet, just below her horn. Her mane, that once looked like the starry sky on a cloudless night, turned into pure-black midnight.
She spread her wings, sending sparks of lightning branching across her feathers. The raw power Twilight could feel coming from Luna was incredibly immense, there was no way she could ever defeat her in an outright duel. “If I could just take the Elements from her somehow, I could try to make an escape... somehow. I don't even know where I am....” Twilight thought.
“Why so silent? Hath the power before thou robbed thee of thy voice?!” Luna shouted. “Pray tell, where is thy resolve, now?” Luna stepped closer. Twilight stepped backwards to keep her distance, but was stopped by the closed door behind her. Luna approached the trembling Twilight until she was but an arm's length away. “Ohoho! This fear of thine, how I fancy to see it upon my sister's face.” She sneered.
“Is this... the power of Nova?” Twilight thought, avoiding eye contact with Luna out of fear.
There was a brief pause, until Luna broke the silence. “Well, thou came to fight me, did thee not? Time waits for nopony... and I'm sure thou understand I have a... very busy schedule to uphold.” She laughed as she reared onto her hind legs, towering menacingly over Twilight. Twilight seized the moment, and dashed between her legs to gain some distance from Luna. Luna's front hooves came crashing down with extreme force, shaking the floor and sending bolts of lightning branching from her hooves across the floor that sparked against the walls. Luna turned around to face her, a snide grin across her face.
“I must confess, the irony of your situation amuses me to no end.” Luna remarked.
Twilight met Luna's gaze with a face of confusion. “What do you mean?”
“It was once I who was at the mercy of thou and the Elements of Harmony, and now the tables have turned!” She drew her head back, then whipped it forward, sending a stream of frost  from her horn towards Twilight. She reacted by shooting a small white beam from her horn onto the floor, summoning a wall of flame in front of her that negated Luna's frost spell. Twilight then quickly followed up with conjuring a ball of pure magic, roughly the size of her head, and propelling it through the fire towards Luna. The room shook as the spell exploded with a bright yellow flash when it collided with Luna. 
Even before the smoke cleared, Twilight heard Luna's cackle echo through the room. Twilight felt Luna's radiating energy disappear from in front of her. She instinctively turned around to see Luna loomed over her. She fell backwards onto her flank as Luna lowered her head closer to Twilight's. Twilight could see her fearful expression reflecting off the surface of the Amethyst of Magic, although she could feel a warmth coming from the stone itself. “I can still feel my connection to the Element of Magic.” Twilight thought, “It hasn't abandoned me, even with Luna harnessing it's power....”
“Don't tell me that's all thou've got.” Luna sneered, “I've only just begun!” Twilight barely winked away in time as a bolt of lightning shot from Luna's horn and struck at Twilight's previous location with a loud bang. Before she could regain her bearings, another bolt was sent her way. The bolt struck Twilight firmly on her neck, searing her fur and knocking the breath out of her. She brought up her shield as a barrage of more lightning shot her way, giving her time to catch her breath. Luna slowly walked closer, continue her volley of lightning at Twilight, with each strike becoming progressively more powerful. Twilight was faced with the familiar dismay of being pinned behind her shield, although she could feel it fading very quickly as each bolt of lightning block drained considerable amounts of her magic.
“Bow down before your queen!” Luna jeered as she shot a particularly large steam of lightning from her horn that penetrated Twilight's shield and struck her. Twilight's shield absorbed most of the blow, but the sparks that rippled through her body caused her to fall onto her knees. Luna walked closer and giggled menacingly. “Good, good.” As Twilight looked up to meet Luna's stare, she felt a burst of flaming hot pain run across her as Luna cast another lightning bolt at her. The impact launched her into the crystalline wall behind her.
After a moment of gasping for air, Twilight looked up again to see Luna still had a snide grin on her face. “This is but a fraction of the power I feel coursing through the Elements. Did my sister honestly expect a lowly pony to stop me? Especially one who so zealously champions the cause of friendship, caught in a war between sisters. Tell me, Twilight...” Luna walked closer, her metal hoofboots echoing on the glassy floor. “Where are thy cherished friends now?”
She did not want to admit it, but Twilight never felt quite so isolated. She laid within the quiet halls of a deranged demigod, somewhere outside of the normal dimensions of time and space. Twilight could not answer, dropping her head in shame.
“Just as I thought.” Luna sneered, “Thy blind loyalty hast cost thou dearly.” Luna shot a wave of sparks from her horn towards Twilight, causing her to contract as she screamed from the searing pain. Luna ceased moments later, leaving Twilight gasping for breath as small streams of smoke issued from her charred coat. “Know that thou will perish here. Thy friends will never know how you fought for Celestia's cause, cut short by the cruel hooves of fate.”
Twilight could not deny the inevitability of her fate as the pain from Luna's shocks left her immobile and unable to defend herself for any longer. She bit her lip as tears dripped onto the crystal floor. “My friends....” She wanted to scream, cry out for them to come to her side, just to see them one last time before venturing to the eternal sleep.
But then she felt it. A spark, one of happiness and joy. But from where? She looked upwards towards Luna, and it struck her. The Elements of Harmony, each that one of her friends encompassed and represented. She could feel the warmth that emanated from the Elements flowing into her, as if responding to her plea. It renewed her energy and alleviated her of her pain. She stood got onto her hooves, leaving Luna with a surprised face.
“Wait, what's going on?” Luna said, stepping back. She watched in awe as the Elements of Harmony embedded in her golden armor began to release streams of light that shot into Twilight. “No, the Elements! My power! How... how art thou taking them?!
“Because, Princess Luna,” Twilight said solemnly, staring intently into her astonished eyes, “You failed to realize what power truly lies within the Elements of Harmony. It's not a power meant for destruction and betrayal. It embodies the magic that lies in the bonds between friends, which you so desperately sought to destroy.” Twilight felt incredibly bolstered by the power flowing from the Elements.
“But... this can't be.” Luna fell onto her knees as the Elements she bound herself to sapped her strength, whilst channeling it to Twilight. Luna's armor disappeared in a golden flash. The Amethyst of Magic appeared as a golden tiara on Twilight's head, with the Amethyst itself taking the shape of a star that laid atop the headpiece. The other five jewels hovered near Twilight, slowly spinning around her.
Luna was now at Twilight's mercy, although now that she had the Elements, she was not entirely sure what to do next. “Luna...” Twilight said softly, “You should return to Celestia... I am not sure what she'll do, but friendship triumphs all... I'm sure she will forgive you.”
“Twilight Sparkle... thou art a fool.” Luna spoke sternly, “Thou truly don't understand... what is at stake. I yield, but know this; you will very soon regret what thou hath done here today. Princess Celestia is not one to be trusted, and she only exploiting thy loyalty.... She wants Nova, 'tis not me!”
Twilight wanted to disregard her ramblings, but her voice was dire and serious. “I... no, you're trying to fool me!” Twilight decided, “All of the evidence points to you; the prophecy, the note, the memory; there is no denying that this is your doing!”
There was a brief pause. “Very well, foal.” Luna said somberly. She wrapped her wings around her weakened self and disappeared in a cloud of black fire, much like the star drake did only hours ago.
Twilight did it. The Elements were in her hooves and Luna was no longer a threat. She exhaled a great sigh, relieved that the fate of Equestria was preserved so that she might she her friends again. It was too soon to celebrate, however, as her memory struck her when she remembered the battle that still raged back at Canterlot Palace. “I must get back to the Princess immediately!” She turned around to face the doors that had opened upon Luna's exit. The twin pillars that stood at the end of the hallway beyond sparked between each other as the doorway back to Equestria reopened.

~

“You're telling me you came to see the Princess on your own accord?! What were you thinking?!” Madam Sapphire spouted at Duskmane, who had been explaining to his mother what he was doing here. “Do you know how much damage you could have done to my reputation? You useless child.”
“But...” Duskmane started, quivering beneath his mother's leer, “You don't understand. The Princess sent us—Me and that pony Twilight I told you about, to help stop her sister—That is, Celestia's sister, and--”
“Don't try to change the subject! The fact of the matter is that you still came here, of all places, without me to make sure you didn't screw up!” Duskmane could only shrink back from the hate-filled words. He had hoped that explaining what he had gone through would make his mother see him in different light, as more than just a useless son. He was very, very wrong. “And do you see these ponies here?” She made a sweeping motion with her hoof towards the fallen royal guards, “That could have been you! You could have died!”
“I know, but...” Duskmane started, taking in a deep breath “There are some things... that you have to fight for.”
“And this is not your battle to fight.” His mother ended.
“Then why are you here?” Duskmane asked nervously.
“I believe I know why.” Said a much more gentle and caring voice. Princess Celestia had walked in from the destroyed Chamber of the Elements. Many parts of her once pure-white coat were seared and covered with ash. Several blotches of blood were also visible, many of them from her own wounds. However, she still walked gracefully and apparently unharmed.
“Princess Celestia!” Duskmane called happily, “Is it over? I mean-- Are Luna and her forces defeated?”
The Princess nodded with a smile, “The Star Drakes and her royal guards have been defeated, but at a great cost.” She turned towards the guards that were felled by the explosive fireball that destroyed the door into the Chamber of the Elements. “There is still hope for some of them.” She closed her eyes and raised her wings. Her horn and her wings began to give off a fiery yellow aura as it shined a golden light upon the room. A moment later, the aura ceased and the light faded. To Duskmane's amazement, the guards that still grasped to a sliver of life began to stir as their burn wounds began to heal before his eyes. Within moments, about ten royal guards were on their hooves, regaining their bearings and pondering the miracle that befell them.
“Princess!” One of them shouted, sending he and the rest into a kneel. Duskmane turned to see Celestia herself was healed of her wounds as her coat was once again a pearly white sheen.
She nodded, “Thank you all for the courage you displayed here today, especially to those who made the ultimate sacrifice. But know that their deaths were not in vane, for Luna's forces have been routed and sent back to the dark depths from which they came!”
Even the guards, almost always without any sign of emotion, gave out a collective cheer. “Excuse me, Princess.” Duskmane said quietly as he walked closer to her, “What about Luna? Did Twilight make it out okay?”
“Twilight has yet to return.” Celestia answered nonchalantly.
“But aren't you going to help her?!” Duskmane added in distress.
“I have complete confidence in her... she is the only one who can.”
This did little to calm Duskmane. “Pipe down, you!” Madam Sapphire interjected towards her son, “Don't pester the Princess! I knew you'd do this, filthy runt.” Duskmane did not have time to cower away from his abusive mother, for his ears perked upon hearing the sound of galloping behind him. He turned, and to his most joyous relief, came a lavender colored unicorn running towards them. Duskmane ran up to meet Twilight at the threshold of the doorway to the ruined hall.
He was partially entranced by the strange jewels slowly spinning around her, but focused as he voiced his very important question. “Did you do it? Is Luna defeated?”
Twilight nodded. “She's still alive, but with the Elements back in our possession, and with the Star Drakes defeated, she's no longer a threat. I couldn't have done it without you.” Twilight finished, smiling bashfully at him.
Duskmane gave out a mirthful cheer, extremely proud of his contributions (even if they were only small) towards saving Equestria. “See mother?” He said as he turned towards her, only to meet a skeptical look, “I'm not entirely useless after all!” 
Madam Sapphire made no response or change in facial expression. The tense moment was broken as Princess Celestia approached Twilight. “I am very proud of you, my faithful student. I knew that your knowledge of the magic of friendship would render useless the Elements of Harmony after Luna had inevitably unlocked it's power for herself. Equestria is safe once again, when I am able to ensure the Elements are sealed in a safe location. If I may, Twilight?” Celestia said, motioning her head towards Twilight's tiara.
“Of course, your majesty.” Twilight answered, levitating the tiara from her head, causing the floating jewels to follow it. “I am honored to have been able to help you on this historic day.”
With a quick flash, the six Elements formed back into the adorned golden plaque. Celestia hovered them closer to her, staring deeply into the facets of the jewels. Madam Sapphire gained a worrisome face. “It truly is a glorious day!” Celestia said, full of vigor. “With the Elements of Harmony back in my hooves, Luna will be erased from history! Infused with the power of Night by my foolish sister, the Elements are only one step away from the ultimate power!”
“Huh?!” Twilight's eyes widened, but shut as a blinding flash emanated from the Elements.
“For now, I possess... the Elements of Order! With its divine energy, I will unlock the potential... in you!” Celestia turned to Duskmane, who jumped back from the disturbing sight. Black vines sprung from the ground and rooted all of his hooves. He struggled against them, but to no avail.
“What is the meaning of this?!” Twilight shouted. The jewels of the Elements of Harmony gave a rainbow-colored glow not previously present.
“Oh, my dear, naive student. I knew your loyalty to me would make you the perfect pony to do my dirty work. For you see, Luna is not Nova... It is none other than your dear friend Duskmane!” Dark energy sparked from the roots at Duskmane's hooves, causing him to yell in anguish. When it ceased, he slumped over, gasping for breath.
“But, no, that's impossible! The prophecy said Nova was an alicorn!” Twilight exclaimed.
Madam Sapphire, who had been completely silent with an expressionless face, stepped forward. “My son, Duskmane, was born an alicorn. Even though I kept it a secret, Princess Celestia found out, and removed the horns and wings from Duskmane, threatening me and my family with death should I resist... I came here because I knew that with the Princess calling me to Canterlot, it was to be the day she used my son for her vile purposes....”
Princess Celestia gave out a cackle that caused Twilight to shiver. “Oh, how simple it was to convince you!” She taunted, “It only took the death of your most beloved!”
“But why?! Why are you doing this?!” Twilight shouted.
“Because, my faithful student... my sister and I are the two forces of Order. Apart, we are but regular souls, destined to fade away into nothingness. Our powers are evenly matched, but since her heart is still uncorrupt, she could easily use the Elements to gain the advantage and destroy me. But with the Elements of Order and Nova, she can no longer hide as I burn Equestria to the ground in pursuit! With her death, I will gain the missing portion of Order, and become the one true, eternal queen! Omnipotent! Omniscient! Equestria will be under my eternal rule beneath the crimson solstice!” Even the royal guards stared onward in fear, completely confused as to which course of action to take.
Twilight could only stand, mouth ajar in horror as the truth revealed itself. “No, this can't be true! I... I won't let you do this!”
Celestia laughed manically in response, “You may have been able to send my sister into hiding by stealing the power of the Elements from her, but Elements of Order can only be controlled by someone as powerful as I. For your blind faith, I shall let you watch as Equestria falls to the black fires of Nova as I ascend into immortal godhood!”
Twilight swung a magic scythe at the demented Princess. With a mere flap of her wing, she deflected the magic blow. “I must prepare the Elements of Order as I unlock the insane power of Nova that lies within this young stallion. Take care of her, my minion!” Celestia called out as she trotted towards the ruined Chamber of the Elements of Harmony, carrying Duskmane in her magical grasp. Twilight began to give pursuit, but stopped as a poof of smoke appeared in front of her. Out of it came the strange blue cat that had been stalking her during her travels.
She was taken aback by the strange site, making her hesitate. Before she could return pursuit, however, the blue cat glowed a bright yellow as it began to take a familiar shape. When the entity ceased to glow, Twilight found herself in front of the cloaked pony that had saved her life within the Royal Sister's dungeon. “You! You're the one that's been following me all this time!”
“Twilight Sparkle, still stating the painfully obvious, as usual.” Said the pony.
“That voice... It can't be--”
“Oh, but it is, my little hay seed!” The Pony removed their hood to reveal a bold azure coat and a platinum colored mane. “The great and powerful Trixie stands before you!”
Twilight could initially not believe her eyes, but it was indeed the pompous and boastful unicorn that once visited Ponyville. “Trixie, what are you doing here?! I don't have time for this, I've got to stop Celestia!”
“I'm very sorry, Twilight, but I only obey Celestia now. She promised me power great enough to fulfill my dream of destroying you, so long as I helped her in her scheme.”
“Destroying me? If you don't help stop her, she's going to destroy Equestria until she finds and kills Luna!”
“It matters not, so long as I get to watch you gasp your last breath! I had not forgotten what you did during my visit to Ponyville. You humiliated me! You destroyed my career as my faults spread from town to town like wildfire!”
“Humiliated you? Had I not stopped that Ursa Minor, Ponyville would have been destroyed!” Twilight rebutted.
“And it should have been, along with everypony in it! So that nopony could witness my retreat! It's far too late of apologies, Twilight Sparkle. I want to watch you vainly beg for death as I grind you into the eternal sleep!”
“But... Trixie....” Twilight could not fathom how a pony could contain so much hatred, she almost pitied her. She did not have time to wonder much longer, however, as a magical black sphere began to form around her and her hell-bent nemesis. It shut out the light until it was nothing but a pure black abyss surrounding her, with even Trixie faded from sight.
“Princess Celestia granted me the power to bend the thoughts of those I choose.” Twilight heard Trixie's voice echo from the depths. “From the very beginning, when you almost put Prophecies and Predictions back into the bookshelf, I made sure you did as the Princess wanted. I was also forced to... ugh, help you against my will when you were in danger. But that annoyance is about to pay off... before I destroy you, Twilight Sparkle, I want you to see the fate you've brought upon your so-called friends. I want their anguish to be on your mind as you go into the eternal sleep.”
Color and light slowly began to appear as the setting around Twilight began to materialize. When everything came into focus, Twilight found herself beneath a blood-colored sky amidst a raging fire. She was in a flat field surrounded by burning trees with a large red barn ahead of her, it was Sweet Apple Acres caught in a firestorm.
“Granny Smith, Big Macintosh, you're alright!” She heard a familiar voice from behind her. She turned to see her friend Applejack running towards two other earth ponies. They did not seem to notice Twilight standing right beside them. “Have any of you seen Applebloom? We need to get the hay away from here pronto!” 
Before either of them could answer, a shriek rang out from the flaming barn. “Help! Please! Anypony!” It was the terrified cry of Applejack's younger sister, Applebloom.
“Hold on, Im'a comin'!” Applejack shouted with a distressed face as she galloped into the barn, braving the fires and smoke that bellowed forth. Twilight heart's sunk as she heard the wood give away and begin to splinter. The barn collapsed in a huge plume of sparks and ash with Applejack and Applebloom still inside.
“Applejack!” Twilight cried as she galloped towards the burning rubble. Before she got close, however, the world around her began to fade away like falling grains of sand until she was once again in the black abyss. A new image began to form as Twilight found herself outside the Carrousel Boutique, home of her friend Rarity. Strange black-colored beasts made of fire, thrice as tall as a pony with long tails and claws, ravaged through the streets, viscous attacking the nearby buildings and ponies that retreated from the onslaught. Before Twilight could make a move, however, she heard a nearby door burst open. She jumped to it to see Rarity and her younger sister Sweetie Belle galloping out of it, paying no heed to Twilight just as Applejack had. “Just follow me, Sweetie Belle!” Rarity shouted. “We must retreat from these vile fiends!”
Before they could get far, two of the dragonesque monstrosities jumped in front of them. “Kill... Luna...” One muttered in a very deep and gargled hiss.
“Sweetie Belle, I will hold them off. You need to go, now!” Rarity exclaimed.
“But... sister....” Sweetie Belle responded fearfully.
“'Tis not the time to argue! Do as I say, and run! I... I'll come find you.” Rarity said tearfully. Sweetie Belle only hesitated a moment before following her sister's orders, scampering off in the other direction. “Alright, ruffians, have at you!” Rarity shouted at the aberrations, charging magic into her horn. One of the beasts quickly swiped at her, knocking her onto the ground before she could cast her spell.
Sweetie Belle turned around at the sound of her sister's yell, only to witness in horror as the other beast brought its claws down on her helpless sister. Both she and Twilight were paralyzed in fear at the gruesome sight. “This... this can't be the future....” Twilight said as the colors around her once again fell away like sand, with the grim terror on Sweetie Belle's face to be the last image that disappeared to the dark void.
The image that appeared next had her gasp as she appeared to be floating high in the air, her hooves seemingly against invisible platform. She looked down, see to most of the landscape silently shining in the light of raging fires and pillars of black smoke as Ponyville burned to the ground, the evil black beasts below quickly rummaging through the wreckage and spreading the fire further.
“Fluttershy, I know you don't want to do this, but think of the animals in the forest!” Twilight heard the voice of Rainbow Dash beside her. She turned to see her along with Fluttershy, who were stationary in the air as they flapped their wings.
“I... you're right, Rainbow Dash....” Fluttershy said quietly, obvious that she was resisting the urge to cry, “We need to stop this thing... somehow.”
“There it is!” Rainbow shouted, pointing her hoof behind Fluttershy. Twilight turned in its direction to see a black mass heading their way, roughly the same size as one of the Princesses. It was giving off a long trail of flames as it soared through the sky, raining black orbs from beneath its wings to the ground below.
“That must be... Nova.” Twilight stuttered in fear as it approached her friends and she. When it got close, it stopped and silently gazed its flaming eyes at the two pegasi in front of it. Rainbow Dash returned the gaze with a determined snarl. Fluttershy barely managed to keep her wings in motion as the sight caused her to freeze in terror.
“Let's do this!” Rainbow yelled as she quickly accelerated, leaving Fluttershy behind. Rainbow charged at Nova with her hooves extended. She collided with the black alicorn, who did not budge from the impact. Rainbow trembled in pain from the recoil as Nova merely looked onward.
“Kill... Luna....” He spoke, a voice that seemed to come from the fiery bowels of Tartarus itself, filled with hatred and malice. Large streams of Lightning shot from his horn towards Rainbow Dash. She screamed momentarily as the powerful energy coursed painfully through her limbs, and then fell unconscious, falling out of the sky to the ground below.
Fluttershy still had not moved at all when Nova hovered close to her, only a hoof away from her face as they locked eyes. Fluttershy gave out as a moan as passed out from shear fright. Nova held her with magic telepathy, bringing her still face closer to his.
“Kill... Luna....”
The magical aura surrounding Fluttershy disappeared as Nova dropped her from the sky, sending her into a deadly plummet. “No!” Twilight tried to reach out, wanting to catch her, but the invisible platform on which she stood prevented a heroic jump. “Rainbow... Fluttershy....” Twilight said as grief formed a lump in her throat. Nova made no motion towards Twilight as he continued to soar over Equestria, deploying the vile beasts of dark sorcery. The colors fell away as they did, falling in unison with Twilight's tears that splashed against the invisible plane that held her up within the spacelessness of the visions before her.
The colors reformed again as she found herself in the colorful interior of Sugarcube Corner, Ponyville's bakery and confectionery shop.
“Wow! The sky is red! Like cotton candy, except really red cotton candy.” Said the pink earth pony Pinkie Pie, who waited diligently behind the counter, apparently oblivious to the dangers that were sweeping over Ponyville. “And Oooooo, that house is on fire! And that one too! I sure hope the pegasi bring a raincloud to them soon!”
Twilight, stunned from the apparent daftness of her friend, snapped to her senses. “Pinkie! You have to leave!” She yelled. Pinkie made no response, just smiling and looking through the window in the door across the room.
“I think I see customers!” Pinkie said with glee. There was a huge cracking noise as the door was ripped from its hinges and thrown into the wall beside Pinkie. One of the lumbering beasts squeezed through the door. “Hi! Welcome to Sugarcube Corner! You must be really hungry to rip the door off like that!”
“Pinkie! Now's not the time for jokes! You need to run, now!” Twilight shouted. She charged a spell with her horn before firing it towards the beast. It merely passed right through it, and through the walls of Pinkie's home, disappearing out of site.
“Can I interest you in a carrot cupcake? Or how about a lettuce pound cake?” The black creature merely raised one of its claws menacingly at Pinkie's query.
“Pinkie!” Twilight called in vane.
“Kill... Luna....” The beast hissed.
“I don't think we have any of that, but if--” Pinkie's words were cut short as the beast swiftly brought its sharp, fiery claws down on the pink pony. At the moment of impact, everything returned to blackness in an instant, leaving Twilight alone in her grief. She fell onto her knees, sobbing up tears that she could no longer suppress.
“This can't be... the future I've brought upon Equestria.”
“But it is.” Trixie's voice echoed out. “Your actions have brought the doom of all of your friends, and many, many more. You have written Equestria's epitaph with your own hooves!”
“Stop it!” Twilight cried, covering her ears with her hooves.
“Had you only the will to run your own destiny would you have averted this fate!” Twilight could still hear Trixie in her mind, even with her ears covered.
“I only wanted to save my friends....” Twilight sobbed.
“Now you know how it will feel to lose everything, just as you did to me! But don't worry, little hay seed... you don't have much longer to worry about anything.”
The infinite shame and guilt she had was too much to bear. Twilight came to the realization that she would never see her friends again, and that they will perish without knowing that she was the cause of everything that is to come. “I just... want it to end.”
“And end, it shall.” Trixie called back. She heard hoofsteps getting closer, but did not care to look up. She knew it was Trixie, ready to exact her fiery revenge. “For I, master of illusion, am here to end your plight!”
Illusion.... It rang through Twilight's mind she played back the memories she just saw. Her head jumped up as enlightenment struck her. “This is all a lie!” She shouted, standing on her hooves. “The future is never set in stone, is it up to us to shape this future!” She levitated the small glass vial of the Elixir of Verity out of her bags, hovering it between Trixie and she.
“The future you saw is the one destined to come. You greatly underestimate the forces you have set in motion, Twilight Sparkle.” Trixie finished with a sneer.
“No, you're wrong.” Twilight said. “From my travels with Duskmane, I've learned that no matter how difficult the task, there is always a way through, always a way above what you originally thought possible. That is how I know this is all a lie, and this will bring the truth!” She slammed the vial onto the invisible plane beneath them. A golden vortex began to swirl from the sparkling liquid, wrapping around both her and Trixie. It felt like standing near a lake on a beautiful day in a light breeze, blissful and serene. Trixie, however, burst into a scream.
“This can't be, Celestia's blessing is...!” The black abyss around them began to evaporate, revealing the inside of Canterlot Palace, just where Twilight was before Trixie's spell. “No! The Princess's blessing is gone!” She exclaimed in shock. She growled menacingly in anger, “Curse you! Curse you Twilight! I finally had the means to destroy you, but yank it from my grasp!”
Twilight felt triumphant as she wiped the lingering tears from her eyes. “Trixie, there is a lot more to achieve in life besides fame and wealth... a much greater reward can be found in the bonds of friendship. Please, cast your revenge aside, and help me stop Princess Celestia and write a peaceful tale into the stone of the future.”
Trixie's head was bowed. She remained quiet for several long moments, making several tearful sobs. Twilight jumped back when she looked up and shouted, “Never! Power or not, I will defeat you! I will never forget! Never forgive!”
She gritted her teeth as she channeled immense amounts of magic power into her horn. Twilight erected her magic shield, bracing for the impact of whatever spell her nemesis was preparing. Trixie shot a light-blue colored orb that flew in a spiraling pattern towards her. Twilight planted her hooves as firmly as she could as the orb hit her shield. To her surprise, she did not feel much of anything. The orb exploded in a fireworks-like shower of blue and golden sparks.
“Come on! Come on! Come on!” Trixie shouted as she waved her horn about, thrusting all sorts of colorful spells Twilight's way. Just like the first one, she barely felt the impact, but the visual display of all the sparks and showers of colorful light did look impressive.
After a few minutes are her raging onslaught, Trixie's horn merely sparked weakly as she gasped for breath. “No... this can't be all I have.” She muttered to herself, “The great and powerful Trixie never gives up.”
Twilight's lowered her magic shield. “Trixie... please, stop. You have to understand that what I did back at Ponyville was not for the sake of ruining your career or humiliating you, it was only because I needed to protect my friends and the other ponies that given me so many good memories. I think you should try making some friends, it's not so hard when you believe in yourself.”
“Curse that Twilight, always bragging about how she knows everything.” Trixie growled lowly. She then suddenly burst into a charge, horn pointed forward. “I'll get you Twilight, I'll get you!”
Although Twilight was surprised by her latest act in rage, Trixie's unimpressive running speed made it easy to sidestep her charge. Trixie, surprised by Twilight's simple defensive maneuver, stumbled over herself and fell flat onto the shiny floor. She slid a little ways, but made no attempt to get up afterward, having completely exhausted herself in her bout of rage.
“Poor girl... maybe she'll learn one day.” Twilight whispered. “But now, I must confront Princess Celestia, and bring this dark story to a close... one way, or another.” She added apprehensively, knowing very well that she stood little change against the delusional goddess. She put her faith into the bonds of friendship, which had already strained to carry her so far, and ran onwards into the Chamber of the Elements.
Ominous dark clouds swirled overhead, shadowing all around Twilight except a small hole in the clouds where the sun shot through, right down towards Princess Celestia just ahead. She stood tall on her hind legs, with her front hooves stretched to the air. Just above her was the limp body of Duskmane, suspended by magic as the six Elements of Order orbiting his body. Twilight ran up behind Celestia, and although strong of will and resolve, the gripping aura of fear that surrounded Celestia clutched at her heart.
“Celestia, your minion was no match for me!”
“I didn't think she would be.” Celestia remarked dully, still maintaining her tall stance.
“And now I'm going to bring this prophecy to end!”
“Oh, but my dear student, the prophecy has already ended... and became reality! Behold!”
Twilight could not wait, she launched her magic scythes once again towards the Princess. They collided with the Princess, but to Twilight's dismay, did not even make her flinch.
She gave out a maniacal laugh, “Oh Twilight, your naivety amuses me to no end! Watch as your treasured friend becomes what you've sought to end all this time!”
The Elements of Harmony began to spin around Duskmane very quickly as the beam of sunlight shining through the clouds above intensified. Princess Celestia stretched her enormous white wings upwards, causing her feathers to glisten in the intense light. There was a flash from above as a beam of orange energy shot from the sun and engulfed Duskmane and the Elements of Order. The fire gave out a loud roar, but Celestia's triumphant and disturbing cackle still ringed through.
“Yes! All this planning! All this time!” Celestia shouted. “Once my sister sleeps in the abyss, time will have no meaning! I will be Equestria's eternal goddess!”
When the orange beam disappeared, both the Elements of Order and Duskmane were gone. In it's place, however, she caught the horrific sight she saw from Trixie's visions. A pure-black alicorn that stood as tall as the Princess, with a mane and tail made of trailing fire stood below where Duskmane once floated. An aura surrounded him that filled Twilight with the most dire sense of despair and lose. She bowed her head, “No... I'm too late... I have doomed Equestria.”
Celestia dropped onto all-fours as she walked closer to Nova, who appeared to have his eyes closed. “Kill Luna!” She shouted.
Nova opened his fiery eyes, “Kill... Luna....” A fiery aura began to surround him as his horn shimmered a dark blue. He gave a bellowing roar, sending the condensed magic in all directions in the form of an immense shock-wave. Twilight only barely had to raise her shield as the shock-wave shot in all directions, destroying the rest of the walls that surrounded them. Twilight could hear the crack of stone behind her. She turned to see the tall ramparts and towers of Canterlot Palace tumble from the impact, falling inward on the palace itself as it sent up large plumes of dust and debris.
“Such beautiful power!” Celestia exclaimed. “And even that is thanks to you, my dear student.”
Twilight could only look on with a fearful expression, already dreading the blade of truth Celestia would strike her with next.
“The Elements of Order can easily grasp the minds of the weak willed. I sent him with you on your quest because I could see his spirit begin to grow. I knew that putting him with someone so much more powerful would leave him in constant doubt of himself, leaving his will so easy for the taking!”
Nova's horn shined once again as he turned to face towards Ponyville, visible far in the distance below the cliffs of Canterlot Mountain. He reared up before slamming down his hooves into the ruined stone, sending immense fireballs from his horn into the distance that created massive explosions as they hit the ground, with one of them exploding very close to Ponyville.
A tear rolled down Twilight's face as it seemed Trixie's dark predictions of the future began to manifest into reality. The thought that she could avert that fate is what fueled her resolve, but now her hopes began to wane like a setting sun. “Duskmane! Snap out of it, you've got to stop!” Twilight cried.
“His mind if only filled with hatred and destruction, Duskmane has ceased to exist... the bonds of friendship can only go so far until they are forgotten and left to rot.” Celestia taunted.
“Duskmane!” Both Twilight and Celestia turned to the new voice, to see Madam Sapphire galloping towards them. “Stop this right now, you monster!” She yelled at Celestia.
“Oh? You suddenly care for your child now, is that it? Self-righteous fool, you are of no more use to me!” Celestia shot a bolt of lightning from her horn to Madam Sapphire. 
She screamed as the blast threw her back, “...Duskmane....” she whispered before becoming still and silent.
It felt as if being shaken from a sound nap as Duskmane snapped to, completely oblivious as to what had been happening before. A certain sound, something that reverberated in the reaches of his quiet mind. A voice, perhaps? Maybe even a call. When he found himself within the realm outside of his mind, however, he questioned if it were truly reality. Nothing moved, as if time itself had taken a brief rest, leaving him outside of its grasp.
He found himself on a stone jetty that shot from a doorway into Canterlot Palace, the floor cracked and the walls completely demolished. Beside him was Princess Celestia, frozen in a malicious and pleased grin. He could also see Twilight turned in the same direction with a look of shock and fear painted on her face. He followed both of their stairs to see a white earth pony with a blonde mane sprawled upon the stone pathway. A pony he would never forget.
“Mother?” He said, but his voice was not his own. It was deep, and sounded like the roar of one of the blacksmith's bellows back home. He did not care, however, as he ran towards the still pony. “Mother!”
Madam Sapphire seemed to be the only thing that also moved within the frozen frame of time, giving weak, shuttered breaths as small streams of smoke flowed from burnt patches on her fur. She slowly opened her eyes to witness Nova looking down on her. “Is that you... my son?” she whispered.
“Yes, mother. I'm here.” Duskmane knelt closer to her, bringing his face within reach.
“Oh, Duskmane... I'm so sorry... this had to happen. I... I had no choice.” She gave a wincing cough, grasping for breath afterwords.
“I know, mother. I know you would never hurt me on purpose.”
“You're too forgiving... all this time, I treated you like... like...” She could not answer, as a tearful lump formed in her throat.
“No, mother. I... It made me want to become a better pony. To be able to proudly carry on the family name.”
“There is so much more... I wanted for you... please... come closer.”
Duskmane pressed the side of his head against his mother's as she wrapped a hoof around him. He closed his eyes, and a vision came to him.
He could see a shambled interior of a house. It was a single room made of a dark, rotting wood, a very unkempt hovel. His attention was drawn to two ponies in the corner of the home. One laid upon a rickety bed, a grown mare that looked not unlike Madam Sapphire herself, but not quite the same. Another was a young filly, who stood at the side of the bed, looking at the other pony. It was a young Sapphire.
“That's my mother and I.” Duskmane heard his mother's voice echo in his mind.
“Mommy, I finally found the last of those bits we need for your medicine! Now you'll be alright!” Said the young filly, tossing a small brown pouch onto the bed that gave a metal jingle.
“You're so sweet, Sapphire....” The other pony said quietly, giving a string of rasp coughs.
“Come on, let's go to the doctor, and--!”
“Sapphire...” The sickly pony interjected weakly, “I love you so much. A mother could not ask for more precious daughter.” The pony slowly raised a hoof to stroke Sapphire's mane. “There's no time. Just promise me... that...” The pony gave another loud gasp for breath, “that you will make many friends... and make them as happy as you did for me.”
“But... mommy, what do you mean?”
The pony merely smiled back at her and closed her eyes. With a last, stuttered breath, the pony's hoof dropped from it's place on Sapphire's mane.
“Mommy?” Sapphire called, stepping up and putting her face close. “But... I don't have any friends except for you....” She shook the still pony, who made not a sound. “Please wake up....” Sapphire's eyes began to shimmer in the dim light as large droplets formed in them. She stepped away from the bed, rain beginning to pat against the thin roof. Sapphire's lip began to quiver, and a moment later, she stormed out the door, leaving a trail of tears as she embraced the cold rain outside.
The vision shifted to show young Sapphire running through the dark expanses of a forest as the rain poured down upon her.
“I ran, and ran. As far as I could.” Madam Sapphire's voice rang in his mind. “I didn't know where I was going, but it did not matter. It was by chance that I ran into the side of the plateau that would soon become the Saddlestone Mines.”
The vision showed that, indeed, young Sapphire ran head first into the flat stone expanse of the towering plateau in her fleeting retreat. “No! No no no!” Sapphire cried, slamming her little hooves against the stone. “Mother, why did you leave me?!”she screamed towards the sky. “Why why why?!” With a final angered slam of her hoof, the stone began to crack. She looked up in surprise, wiping the tears and rain from her eyes. She jumped back as the stone cracked more, falling off in thin chunks.
Beneath the stone revealed a spectrum of sparkling gems and diamonds that set Sapphire's wet eyes aglow. “Wow...” She gasped in awe, “I bet with these, I could buy enough medicine for everypony, so that everypony's mommy could live forever....”
“To my luck, there was already a small village on the plateau above.” said Madam Sapphire's omniscient voice. “I sold the gems to buy my own little home and some digging equipment. Whenever I needed more, I'd sneak to that spot and dig up some more diamonds to sell. Eventually I had enough to hire other ponies to mine for me. As we discovered the endless amounts of resources we had below, Saddlestone became famous for the large mines that were expanding by the day. Many ponies flocked for a chance to work there, which began the legacy of the Saddlestone mines.”
The vision sped forward in a blur to reveal a much older Sapphire, dressed in a lavish white dress and a wedding veil. “Several years later, I met the stallion of my dreams, one that moved to town like many others in search of work. It was not long after that we married and started a cozy life together managing the mines.” A stallion with a gray coat and dark gray main stepped from beyond a large doorway, dressed in a black tuxedo. The two ponies walked down the aisle as a mass of visitors threw flowers down upon them in celebration. “But that dream... was not destined to last.”
The dream shot forward once again. This time, the vision landed him in a very familiar place. It was his room at the Saddlestone Manor, already loaded with several shelves of books for him to read as he grew. The lights were dim and the sound of rain echoed outside. At the end of the room near a crib, he could see Madam Sapphire and her husband looking down into it.
“We should at least keep him a secret until he's a colt.” Said the stallion. “Nobody's ever seen another alicorn aside from the Princesses... I'd like to think he'd be perfectly safe even if we did let the town know, but I just don't feel too sure about it.” He said with concern.
“You're right.” Madam Sapphire answered, “Duskmane's safety should be our top priority. I just hope he has a normal life once he grows older.”
Both of the ponies turned as they heard the door open. Lightning briefly illuminated the room to reveal a very tall figure at the dark doorway.
“Who's there?!” Said the stallion.
The dark figure walked closer, revealing three other shadows behind it. When within range of the dim candlelight, the face of Princess Celestia became apparent, covered with a solemn look.
“P—Princess Celestia!” Madam Sapphire sputtered, “What are you doing here?”
Two of the other shadows revealed themselves as royal guards, standing at Celestia's side. “I'm here for the child.” Lightning struck again on cue with her sinister intent.
“Huh?!” Madam Sapphire gasped.
“I... but...” the stallion started, gazing up at her, “but why?!”
“It matters not. Hand over the child, or face dire consequences.” Celestia's serious voice did little to instill a trusting atmosphere.
Madam Sapphire was shaking with fear, standing in front of the crib between Celestia and the sleeping Duskmane.
Celestia began to walk closer. “I won't let you!” called the stallion, jumping into between Madam Sapphire and Celestia. “I cannot obey that command, Princess. I'm not sure why you're here, or why you want me son, but I won't allow you to take him.”
“Then you will perish.” Celestia responded.
Both of the royal guards stepped forward, the candlelight shining off their golden armor. The stallion gritted his teeth as they approached. He jumped at one of them, only to be parried by the guard's armored hooves. The guard retaliated with a quick swipe, slamming the metal boot against the stallion's face. He stumbled backwards a bit, disoriented. The other guard seized the moment to get close and release a powerful buck that slammed menacingly against the underside of the stallion's chin. There was a loud crack as he was thrown backwards, landing limp upon the floor beside Madam Sapphire.
“No!” She cried. She dropped to the floor, hugging her love. He had already stopped breathing.
Celestia walked closer, until only the mourning Madam Sapphire laid between her and Duskmane. “Do you wish to defy me as well?” Celestia said darkly. Madam Sapphire had no choice, she stepped away from the crib and sat at its side, still crying mournful tears as she could only watch in horror as her only child was at the mercy of Princess Celestia. The Princess picked up the sleeping foal, revealing a light-gray coat with a dark blue mane with a white stripe going through it.
“Yes, this is the one!” Celestia said triumphantly as she eyed the small pair of wings and his horn. “The one from the prophecy is finally here! Zecora, I trust your methods will not kill the child?”
“Of course not, your majesty.” Said a thick, female voice from the fourth figure, still in the shadows. “Off go his wings and horn, healthy as can be.”
“Good. We mustn't let news of this get to my sister. When you're done, return the foal to his pathetic mother.”
“But... what are you doing to him?” Madam Sapphire sobbed.
“This child is a part of a prophecy that will shape the history of Equestria forever.” Celestia answered. “When the time comes, I'll call for you and he. Tell anypony about what happened tonight, and I'll kill you personally. Understood?”
Madam Sapphire could only sob in her hooves as Princess and the other ponies walked out of the room with Duskmane in tow.
“I knew that whatever she had planned was something evil and wicked.” Madam Sapphire's voice spoke to Duskmane again. “I knew whatever it was she had planned, it would lead to me losing you... just as I had lost every other precious pony in my life. Knowing that... prevented me from loving you.”
There was a white vortex as Duskmane left the world in his mother's memories, and returned to the world where he stood with his face against his mother's, who struggled harder for air from her injuries.
“That is why... I'm sorry.” Madam Sapphire whispered. “I should have... made you happier... while I had the chance.”
“Mother... I love you.” Duskmane said as her grip on his neck weakened.
“And I... love you too.” She spoke as she closed her eyes, her hoof dropped from his neck, falling against the stone beside her, giving her last breath.
Time spontaneously returned to its normal course as the mountain wind began to howl in his ears.
“Nova! Cease no longer, kill Luna!” He heard Celestia shout.
Duskmane could feel a terrible urge to follow her command, as if a mind that was not his own, one full of malice and destruction, wanting to annihilate everything around him in search for Luna. He could feel his will slipping away, and knew he did not have much time.
“No....” He said in his voice. “I'm not going to let you use me like some tool!”
Celestia was taken aback by the sudden refusal. “You cur! Bow to me! DESTROY LUNA!” Her voice boomed across the cast expanse of land around them.
He could feel the Elements of Order ripping away his will as the soul of the dark god further gripped at his thoughts. “I must do this now.” He said to himself.
He broke into a charge towards the demented Princess. “What are you doing?! Cease! Halt!” She screamed.
Twilight could only watch in pure shock as the transformed Duskmane charged horn-first towards the Princess. Right as the black alicorn passed her, time snapped to a stand-still. “Huh?!” Twilight gasped in surprise. Before she could question what was happening, she heard a voice.
“Twilight...” It was Duskmane's voice, echoing in her thoughts.
“Duskmane?” Twilight said in awe.
“Before I go... I just wanted to let you know there are no words that properly show my unending thanks. You showed me what it meant to have one you could call a friend. With that, I have discovered that every pony has a place in this world.”
“But what are you going to do now?”
“I do not have much time. I can feel the soul of Nova beginning to take control again. After that, I don't think I'll ever be in control again. My place in this world... is to right the wrongs of this terrible tale by ending the demented whims of an insane goddess.”
Twilight's eyes shimmered as tears came to her eyes, she knew the only outcome that could come from this.
“Don't worry about me...” Said Duskmane's voice sorrowfully, “I must determine my own destiny.”
Time snapped back into motion, as Nova charged into Celestia, where she met his assault head-on. They locked horns, pressing their heads against each other as huge sparks of magic shots from between them. They were so powerful that they exploded huge chunks of rock out of the mountainside, and blasted large holes into the walls of Canterlot Palace.
“How... DARE YOU!” Celestia shouted as she pressed her head against Nova's. “THIS IS NOT HOW IT ENDS!!!”
The ground began to shake as the bolts became larger and more frequent. “Twilight, run!” Nova shouted. 
Twilight made no objection, she scampered back towards the doorway into Canterlot Castle, watching as huge bolts of magic shot by her. She turned around though once she reached the doorway, not able to look away. A huge flare began to form at the point where Celestia's and Nova's horns crossed, engulfing them in a blinding white light.
“NOOOOOOO!” Celestia screamed at the flare gave out a massive explosion that shot Twilight backwards into the hall. The massive magical explosion destroyed the supports beneath the palace, causing half of the palace hanging over the cliff to crumble and fall into the forest below. When she recovered, she saw she was only a few steps away from having been dragged down the cliff with it.
Twilight stood up, gazing upon the wreckage that tumbled below. “Celestia?” She whispered. “Duskmane....” There was a sound of something colliding with the ground behind her. She turned to see a thin, white spiral pierced into the stone, the snapped remnant of Celestia's horn.
Twilight fell onto the floor, crying tears of grief as the realization hit her like an arrow. Nova and Celestia were no more, but at what price? Was it worth being alive to witness your own friend perish because of your actions? To see a teacher you once revered become a preacher of death? What does that make you? Are you destined to walk your teacher's path, if that's all you know?
Twilight did not want to know. She could only weep. The bonds of friendship are stronger than anything in the universe, yet to see them shattered... leaves the soul broken.
> Epilogue: A Stallion's Ambition 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The white unicorn held his pendant close, looking deep into the large gemstones set in it. One a clear diamond that glowed with bright yellow light, with the other gem being a deep purple, shining a blue light.	
“Hm?”
The white crystal gave out a very bright flash, before ceasing to glow at all.
“Celestia is no more.” He said, his voice typical of high nobility.
“Then that means we're leaving soon.” said a mare with a gray coat and dark gray mane, her voice smooth and serious.
“Finally! I thought that Princess would never die.” Said a rowdy pegasus with a light green coat and a very long white mane, unusual for a stallion. “I guess that means we better start packing!”
“That's right.” Said the unicorn. “Prepare the Cloudmare, we set sail towards Canterlot.”
“What do you plan to do with Luna decides to show up?” Asked the earth pony.
“We don't need to worry about her.” The unicorn responded. “I have it all planned out.”
“Our man's got everything under control!” The pegasis shouted. “So, Prince, when are we heading out?”
“As I said, soon. Very soon.” He responded. “But please...”
“Call me King Blueblood now.”

To be Continued