Most days, waking up is easy for Twilight. Today, she is starting to wish she never had.
Equestria is dying.
There is nothing anyone can do about this.
The sun has shined too long. The Age of Sunlight must come to an end. But Celestia refuses to let it extinguish, and the land is shrouded in everlasting dusk. And now, among the living, are seen bearers of the accursed Darksign. Those doomed to die, again and again, until their minds fade away and they turn hollow, forever seeking the souls of others for nourishment, in a futile attempt to regain their lost memories and lives. But there is now only one way for their suffering to end. Celestia must be slain, so that the Age of Dark may take its natural turn.
Twilight slowly awoke, her eyelids heavy and her limbs sore from sleeping on them wrong. She yawned widely, looking around at her room. Same old bed, same old dresser, same old bookshelf, same old window, same old sunset-
Wait a second! Sunset!?
Now fully awake, she leaped out of bed and put her front hooves on the window, wondering how long she had slept. Too long. Looking out, she could see most of Ponyville, but something was terribly wrong. None of the ponies were out and about as they should have been. None of the sounds the citizens normally made could be heard. The smell of various shops cooking their dishes were gone. It was as if the whole town... was dead. And above it all, the sun hung. Dull. Browned. Static. As if it, too, had given up on the world. As if it was going out. Twilight spun back around and jumped straight from her bedroom's landing down to the ground floor.
"Spike! Spiiiike!" Nothing. Her number one assistant was nowhere to be seen or heard. Like he was never there. Her breathing quickened as fear began to set in. Her eyes darted around the room, looking for any sign of Spike, or any other living thing. Instead, she saw something else. In an alcove, the one she typically reserved for her own studies, was an eerie, disturbing sight.
A pile of bones. Pony bones. On top, sat the skull of whoever the white sticks used to belong to. Through it, a sword was driven downward at an angle, the tip wedged into the wood and impossible to remove. She approached it, horrified. There was a sense of morbid curiosity to it, though. As if the soul of the dead pony was calling to her, to save it. She reached out a hoof, slowly and frightfully.
FWOOSH
She jumped back with a yelp as the bones suddenly burst into flame. The fire licked at the surrounding wood for a moment, then, as if finding the taste unsatisfactory, receded back to the pile. She stared at the fire. It was unlike anything she had seen, magical or mundane. A fire that did not burn. Approaching it cautiously, she found it giving off a gentle, pulsing warmth, like a living thing. The light it emitted was comforting, like coming home from a torrential rainstorm. But there was something else, too. Something... powerful. Something that was begging for release, but trapped just inches out of reach. She laid down by the fire, studying it.
This fire is bizarre. It's like it wants to leave, but can't. And it almost feels... like it wants to help me, since it can't move, itself. But where did it even come from? Just how long was I asleep for, that everything can feel so... different? Her head drooped at the thought of what could have happened to her friends. From what she saw out her window, there was no damage to the town itself. Which meant that whatever happened had only affected the ponies within it. She shook her head free of nagging worries.
The only way anything will get fixed is to find out what happened to begin with! I'll need to find the girls, and Spike. Then, we can investigate the area, and send a letter to Princess Celestia. If anypony will know what's happening, it's her. With her plan set, she rose from the fire, and opened the door.
Outside, the town was deafeningly silent. As if the buildings themselves were holding their breaths, waiting for something to happen. Twilight carefully walked down the road, instinctively moving as quietly as possible, so as not to attract danger. She headed for Rarity's boutique first, since it was closest. As she walked, she scanned the other houses. Nothing moved. Nothing made a sound. Ponyville had turned into a ghost town, apparently overnight, and she had missed the memo. When she finally arrived, she reached for the door handle, then remembered the entrance bell and decided to use the back door, instead. She came into the kitchen, and as soon as the door was shut, strained her ears. Upstairs, she could hear a voice. No, two. Females. Hopeful but cautious, she made her way up the stairs and followed the voices as they became clearer.
"-and then, this other guy came rushing up, and wham! decapitates three wolves at once! It was really cool!"
"That does sound quite impressive. But I suppose you weren't able to find out their names, were you?"
That's Sweetie Belle's and Rarity's voices. But what is this about decapitations!? And why isn't Rarity bothered by this?! She moved closer, and looked around the door frame to see Rarity sewing what appeared to be chain mail, while Sweetie Belle watched from a stool. Both were dressed in armor of their own. Rarity was clothed in light mail, with short plates making up a skirt around her hind legs. Her sister, however, simply had a small shield strapped to her back, giving her the likeness of a turtle.
"No, I wasn't. He had this really heavy-looking armor, though. It was almost completely black, with these weird silver crosses all over it. I don't know what those were supposed to mean, though."
"Neither do I, dear, but it seems theories will have to wait. I don't know how long she's been standing there, but I hate to keep a guest waiting." Twilight jumped as Rarity and Sweetie Belle both turned their attention to her, and the latter waved as the former approached.
"Welcome, my dear. Please, come in, have a seat! I suppose you came in looking for some armor, yes?" She said as she trotted over, armor jingling and clanking while Twilight worked through her confusion. "Not to worry, I have almost everything kept in stock in all sizes. Now tell me, were you looking for the big, heavy armor, or were you hoping for something a little more unrestricted?" Twilight's confusion worsened as she was led through what appeared to be a fully-stocked armory, the less-important walls having been bashed down to allow movement around the entire second floor.
"I'll warn you now, the lighter stuff is more mobile, but it doesn't protect you nearly as well. Personally, I like to go with a mix. Light armor in the limbs so I can move, and heavy armor on all the important parts." Twilight suddenly broke away, shaking her head.
"Hold on a second! Why would I need armor!? This is Ponyville! We've never needed armor before, what is going on!?" She panted in exasperation as Rarity's eyes widened and she put a hoof to her mouth.
"Oh, my.... You don't remember what happened, do you?" Twilight cocked her head.
"What do you mean? What happened?" Rarity sighed, and Sweetie Belle shut the windows upstairs, before running downstairs to do the same.
"Darling, I need you to be calm for this. What I am about to tell you and what you are about to see will horrify and disturb you to your core. I need you to promise me, you won't scream."
"Why?" Twilight's fear was returning.
"Because if you do, it could cost all of us quite a lot."
Twilight swallowed a lump that had formed in her throat, and nodded.
"Say it, please." Rarity gave her a pointed stare.
"I promise I won't scream, no matter what you tell me or show me." Rarity still seemed unsure, but nodded anyway.
"Alright. Take a look at your cutie mark." A pit formed in Twilight's stomach.
"Why? What's wrong wi-!?"
What was wrong was blatantly clear. The mark itself was unchanged, but surrounding it was a black circle, like soot from a chimney, with small flames occasionally flaring out from the edges. Twilight's eyes went wide, and her body began to shake uncontrollably. She turned back to Rarity, and pointed at the circle.
"What. Is. That," she squeaked.
"It is known as the Darksign. A curse, to be reborn after every death." Twilight blinked.
"Wait. You mean, I'm dead?" Rarity tilted her head left and right a few times.
"Yes and no. You are Undead, just like us. Every time you die, the Darksign steals something from you in exchange for your resurrection. Memories, clarity, sanity. Eventually, your body will begin to decay, just like a corpse, and your mind with it. Every time you die, you come one step closer to becoming a true monster. A Hollow. A Hollow is an Undead who has succumbed entirely to the Darksign. They are mindless, and without purpose, save to consume souls." Twilight shifted in place anxiously.
"Souls?"
"Yes. Souls are contained within every living thing, sentient or not, and this is what we Undead require to survive. This is all a Hollow knows, anymore, and they follow the instinct to collect souls fervently. Just remember, not all Undead are Hollows, and although all Hollows were once Undead, the Hollowing process cannot be reversed. Only delayed. Perhaps stopped, if you're clever." Twilight sat down, mind reeling from the new information. She was an Undead, now. A creature that feeds on the souls of other creatures. A monster. Tears began to form in her eyes, and within seconds she was crying. Rarity moved forward, and wrapped her hooves around the sobbing mare.
"I know. It's terrifying. It's horrible. But unless you want to become Hollow, it's what you'll need to do to survive. I can see that you've only just gained your senses, though, so I'll help you out a bit. I'll give you your first set of armor for free. You'll need it, if you intend to make it out there." Twilight wiped her eyes with a hoof, and let out a weak, choked chuckle.
"I'm glad you haven't really changed through all this, Rarity." The other unicorn blinked.
"How did you know my name?" Twilight was dumbfounded.
"Rarity, we're friends. You, me, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy. We were all friends, remember? We met during the Summer Sun Celebration. You made me try on a whole bunch of outfits, and gave that sea serpent your tail when we went after Nightmare Moon!" Rarity tapped her chin in thought.
"Some of that does sound vaguely familiar.... I don't have any recollection of you, though. Don't forget, the Darksign takes memories when you die, too. I'm afraid I don't recall much from before. Only that I lived here, and that Sweetie Belle was someone very important to me. I don't even remember our relationship, and neither does she." Twilight's mood fell instantly.
"You're... you're sisters. You even tricked her into running a race with you instead of someone else, just to prove you cared for her." Rarity smiled sadly.
"I'm afraid I don't remember that, darling. But I'll take your word for it. You don't seem to have lost many memories, yet, so maybe you have a better chance at helping remove this curse than some of the others."
"Others?" Rarity returned to roving about the armor displays, searching for one that would work for Twilight.
"Oh, of course. You don't think you're the first pony to show up at my door, do you? There were several other ponies in this town who went wandering off in search of some kind of cure for the curse. So far, the only ones who have come back have done so with battered armor, bent shields, and broken blades. I fear the worst for the rest. But let's see if we can make you the exception, hmm? Go ahead, pick out some armor! Mix them up however you like!"
Twilight turned around, checking her new apparel in the mirror. She had decided immediately that she would be using her magic as much as possible, and Rarity had picked out clothes to support that. She now wore a dark blue robe, which Rarity had found on a permanently dead body during one of her scavenging runs, a pair of ankle-high boots on her hind legs, and thickly-wound cloth bracers on her front legs. Her head, however, was covered with a standard helmet, with a hole for her horn.
"We may be Undead," Rarity had reasoned, "but a blow to the head still hurts quite a bit."
Twilight had no problem trusting that statement, so even though it was somewhat uncomfortable, she wore it anyway. Satisfied that she was ready, she stepped out and returned to where Rarity was working on the chain mail.
"So, anything else I should know before heading out?"
Rarity tapped her chin in thought for a second.
"Hmm... Oh yes! Make sure that whenever you find a bonfire, you light it. They heal us, and act as a conduit for us to consume souls. Offer souls to a bonfire, and it can turn them into pure power boosts. Your strength, your mind, et cetera. It's difficult to describe, but you'll know how it works when you do it yourself. Oh, and one more thing." She trotted back downstairs, and Twilight followed her. In one of the back rooms, there was a large chest, which Rarity opened. After fishing around in it for a few moments, she pulled out a dull green flask and shut the chest again.
"Here. This is called an Estus Flask. If you hold it over a bonfire, it will fill with Estus, which you can then use to heal yourself later." Twilight took the rather large container with her hooves, and studied it a little more closely. There were decorative etchings covering it, but the material was unlike anything she had seen before.
"Rarity," she said after a minute, looking up at her friend, "what is this made of? I've never come across anything like this before."
The other unicorn shrugged.
"I have no idea, honestly. No one even seems to know where they came from. No one is sure how the bonfires came to be, either. All anyone seems to know is, they're comforting." Twilight returned to studying the flask, but after a few more minutes, gave up trying to recognize any of the patterns.
"Well, I'll have to figure it out later. I need to go find the others, and then find a way to fix all this." She started back towards the door, before Rarity called her back.
"Wait a moment! Don't you want to take a weapon?" Twilight looked back at her friend's worried face, then shook her head.
"Nah. I still have my magic, so I shouldn't have any trouble. I'll see you later, Rarity!" She galloped out the door, shutting it behind her, as Rarity's protest went unheard.
"But... you don't even have any scrolls...."
Twilight trotted through Ponyville, still slightly unnerved by the complete silence, but no longer terrified now that she knew more or less what was going on. She headed towards Sugarcube Corner first, since it would be easiest to get to, and quickly found herself in front of the store. Unfortunately, however, it was boarded up, apparently in an attempt to keep out Hollows. She approached the doors anyway, and knocked loudly.
"Hello?" she called up to the second story, where Pinkie lived, "Pinkie? Are you in there?" She was met with silence, so she started moving around the building, looking for the back door.
"It should be right... Ah-ha!" She pulled the handle with her hoof. Finding the door to be unlocked, she went in.
She immediately wished she hadn't.
The first thing she saw was a large ballista set up at the far wall. The second thing she saw was the rope connecting the door handle to the trigger mechanism. The last thing she saw was the bolt the ballista fired just before it went through her jaw. Then the world faded away, and she felt her body seem to blow away in the breeze as her senses failed entirely and she died.
------------------------------
"GHYYAAAAAAH!" Twilight woke up gasping, and panted hard as she tried to recall how she got on the floor. Looking around, she noticed she was back in the library, sitting next to the weird fire from before.
"Wait... weird fire.... That's right! This must be one of those bonfires Rarity was talking about! But if I'm sitting here, then that means..." She trailed off as she remembered the ballista, and frowned at having been so quickly dispatched right after getting her bearings. She huffed, got up, and stormed back outside, heading straight for the bakery's back door in the most indignant fashion she could muster. She was, after all, Twilight Sparkle! She should be harder to kill than that! All those years of being Princess Celestia's personal stu-
She froze, all other concerns forgotten, as that one thought overtook her mind.
Where is Princess Celestia?
It suddenly occurred to her that not only had she not seen her mentor, but she hadn't seen Princess Luna, Princess Cadence, Shining Armor, or even a single Royal Guard since she first awoke. She looked up over the houses at Canterlot, and although the city seemed to still be mostly intact, she could tell that there were pieces of buildings missing, and the waterfalls that always decorated the parts of Canterlot that hung off the mountain had stopped. Twilight shuddered, trying not to think of what could have happened to cause such a drastic change in what seemed like such a short amount of time. In truth, she didn't know how much time had passed, nor how many deaths she had already sustained but didn't remember. That thought alone brought back her panic, but she quickly forced herself to take deep breaths, and soon she was calm again.
She hurried back to Sugarcube Corner, not wanting to think about her situation any further until she had collected her friends and knew what to do next. She approached the back door more carefully this time, but found that it was still open, and the ballista had not been redrawn.
"Well, that's helpful," she said to herself. She carefully walked in, poking her head past every corner to check for more traps before continuing. Finally, she made it to the stairs.
"Okay, I should be fine, now. After all, who would put a trap on their own staircase? They'd never be able to leave." She put a hoof on the first step.
click
"Oh-" was all she managed before a secret panel in one of the stairs, level with her head, flipped open to reveal a crossbow. It fired, and the bolt went straight into Twilight's eye and into her brain, killing her instantly.
------------------------------
Twilight once more came to next to the bonfire, and after once more recalling her fate, jumped to her hooves.
"HORSEAPPLES!" she screamed, panting a little in frustration. She galloped out the door, tearing down the street with reckless abandon toward the booby-trapped bakery. She sprinted in the back door, deciding that it was sufficiently probable that if she just ran fast enough, she could get past all the traps before they even activated fully. She took the stairs four at a time, using her long legs to get over the trap trigger at the bottom and not waiting to find out if there were any others further up. At the top of the stairs, she crashed through the first door she saw and dropped down, sliding along her belly to prevent getting shot in the face with a bolt again. Instead, she was stopped mid-slide by a rope, which was obviously meant to be pulled by someone walking into it.
Creak...
She looked up to the left, and saw a large axe falling towards her.
"NOOOOO!"
Thunk
------------------------------
Yet again, Twilight found herself waking up next to the bonfire in the library. She growled in frustration, and was about to go rushing back when she stopped.
"Wait a second. If this keeps up, I'm not going to make out of the town. First, how much have I forgotten?" She closed her eyes and focused as she started recalling her life as far back as possible, working her way toward the present. It didn't take long for her to find missing information.
"My mother.... What was my mother's name? Oh, no. No, nonononono. I need to focus. Let's see... I know I inherited her first name, so 'Twilight' something. It was something soft. Felt? No, that's not it. Come on, come on! It was... Ve... Vel? Yes! Um, um. Vel, vel.... Vel... vet! Velvet! My mother's name is Twilight Velvet! Okay, I need to figure out how to keep that information. Um... Oh! Of course!" She ran downstairs, into her lab. She went straight for the left-most filing cabinet, and opened the bottom drawer. Inside, there were several reams of loose paper, a couple of books, and a few scrolls. She pulled out one of the books, closed the drawer, then opened the next one up. Inside that one were a number of inkpots, and some quills.
"I knew having emergency study materials would be a good idea! Thank you, Pinkie Pie!" She grabbed an inkpot and a pair of quills, took her items back upstairs, and set everything down on the main table.
"Alright," she said as she opened up the inkpot and held the quill in her magic, "let's do this."
The next two and a half hours were spent filling the book with every single piece of information she could remember about herself, her friends, her family, and every major event in her entire life, up until she had woken up to find the world changed. It occurred to her early on that she might forget faces or attributes, so she drew the symbol of the cutie mark of each pony above their name, including her own. Finally, she put the last period on the page, and closed the book.
"There. That's everything I remember, up to Trixie using the Alicorn Amulet. I just hope I didn't already forget something else and just haven't realized it yet. Now, I need a safe place to put this. Hmmm..." She looked around, deciding quickly that the best place to hide the book would be one of the shelves filled with other books, when she noticed a small empty space on one of the higher ledges.
"Ah! Perfect!" She retrieved the ladder from the other side of the room, and very carefully made her way up to the empty space, holding her new journal close with her magic. She reached the desired shelf, and peered in, finding the hidden button that Spike had discovered during the mirror pool incident. She pressed it with a hoof, and the panel flipped down to reveal a secret compartment. She placed the book inside, closed the panel, and reorganized the books to cover the hole.
"Now it should be safe. I doubt anyone would think to look that hard for something that can't even be used as a weapon." Normally, the idea that no one was interested in books anymore would send her into a state of shock, but this time, it was too much of a boon for her to get riled up about it.
"Okay, now that that's done, I need to get into Sugarcube Corner. Preferably without getting killed another five times." Calm but still cautious, she returned to the bakery. She made it up the stairs in one piece, and stuck her head around the corner to check for other traps. Looking closely at the floor, she noticed several strings along the length of the hall, and in the walls above them, small holes that would have been completely unnoticed by anyone walking in normally. Twilight grinned to herself satisfactorily.
"Not this time." She carefully stepped over each string, working her way down to the pink door at the end. The paint making up the pictures was faded, but the balloons and smiling faces were still discernible, making it obvious that this was Pinkie's room. Twilight reached for the door handle, then stopped, remembering the ballista downstairs. She repositioned herself next to the doorframe, turned the handle to undo the latch, and then kicked it open with one of her back hooves.
Shwing-Thunk
Unsurprisingly, a large axe swung down from the ceiling inside, carving through the air in front of the door before embedding itself in the opposite wall. Twilight shook her hoof at it with a victorious grin.
"Yeah! You won't get me again!" Happy that she finally managed to get rid of one of the many traps in the house, she went into Pinkie's room. Her smile vanished instantly as she came muzzle-to-point with an arrow, knocked against a bow that was drawn and ready to fire. Holding the bow, balancing on her hind legs, was Pinkie, wearing what appeared to be leather armor, and glaring at Twilight from beneath a wide-brimmed hat.
"You have ten seconds to convince me not to release."
Twilight panted as Pinkie considered what she had said.
"And how do I know you're telling the truth?"
"I can Pinkie Promise?" Twilight said hopefully. Pinkie's eyes narrowed under her hat.
"Do it."
Sitting back on her haunches, Twilight went through the motions as she made the promise.
"Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." She smiled nervously at her old friend.
Pinkie further narrowed her eyes suspiciously, and stretched her neck forward to look closely at Twilight's face. After a few tense seconds, she suddenly put the bow and arrow away on her hip, and squeezed Twilight in a bear hug.
"That's a Pinkie Promise, all right! I just had to make sure you weren't one of those mean ponies and wouldn't hurt the others before I let you in. Come on out, you two! It's safe!"
Twilight was confused for a moment, but she quickly understood who Pinkie was talking to as a small section of the floor rose up. Out of the crawl space beneath came two small ponies: a unicorn filly, with yellow fur and orange hair, and a pegasus colt, with pale white fur and brown hair. Twilight gaped.
"Pound Cake? Pumpkin Cake? Is that you?!"
The two younger ponies looked at each other, then back to Twilight, and nodded as Pinkie started bouncing.
"Ooh! Do you know them, too? That's so exciting! I knew I had seen them before when we met, but I still have no idea where! Anyway, I decided that since they probably couldn't survive on their own, I'd take care of them! So I've been having them stay here, while I go out and get food for them. They don't have the Darksign, so I've been looking for the absolute best food I can! It's not that hard, actually. None of the other ponies really eat normal stuff anymore, so there's a lot of things just laying around. And it's all still good, too! I think."
Pinkie continued rambling about all the things she had found while Twilight approached the twins.
"You haven't been affected by the curse yet.... Do you remember anything about what happened?"
They shuffled backward slightly, looking unsure of what they were supposed to do. Twilight looked back at Pinkie.
"Pinkie, they can talk, right?"
The other mare cut herself off mid-sentence and shook her head.
"Nope! I tried teaching them a little, but I don't remember the rules very well. I mostly just wave and point."
Twilight looked back at the two foals with shock and pity.
These two... They look like they're almost as old as the Cutie Mark Crusaders. But Pinkie doesn't look like she's aged at all, so that should be impossible. Not only that, but they can't even communicate?! This is just... too much. I can't take this.... I need to find the others, quickly, and figure out how we can cure all this. I just hope all the other foals are still okay. None of them deserve to go through all this.
Twilight looked back at Pinkie, who had continued rambling to herself.
Well, at least some things haven't changed.
"Pinkie."
"Yeeessss?" she asked innocently.
"How long have you been taking care of these two?"
The other mare shrugged.
"Dunno. It's been a while, but it's hard to tell, since the sun doesn't move anymore."
Twilight sighed sadly. This just kept getting better.
"Listen, would you be willing to bring them somewhere else? I'll be needing your help later, and my library has a bonfire in it, so they should be a little safer there."
Pinkie scratched her chin and hummed in thought.
"Well, I suppose I could. But you'll have to do something for me, first."
"What's that?"
"Well, if we used to be friends, you probably remember my pet alligator, Gummy, right?"
"Uh-huh..." Twilight suddenly found herself very worried as Pinkie's expression fell.
"Well, when this all started, something happened to him. He got really big, and really mean, and I don't know why. In just a few days, he went from 'lovable baby alligator' to 'super-mean mega alligator', and I haven't been able to safely get any fresh water from the lake since. He kills anything that comes too close. So, as much as I wish there was some other way, I need him to go away. Which means he has to die. There's no other way to get rid of him, and I can't do it myself. I tried, several times, but I just don't have the heart...."
Twilight approached Pinkie as she started crying, and wrapped her in a hug.
"It's okay, Pinkie. No one would expect you to do something like that. I'll take care of it. Don't worry."
Pinkie sniffled a little, and looked back up at Twilight.
"Thanks. You know, I don't think I ever even caught your name."
"Twilight Sparkle."
"Thanks, Twilight. I'll start getting everything together. Also, I should warn you; Gummy isn't like normal Undead, anymore. He's become really powerful, and the lake he's using got mostly drained into a sinkhole. Once you go into his lair, the only two ways you'll get back out are by either killing him, or getting killed by him. Don't go down there until you're sure you're ready to fight him, because the whole cave down there is flooded, which means he'll have the element of surprise, and you'll have trouble moving around properly."
Twilight nodded.
"Don't worry. I need to explore more of the town before I do anything else, anyway. Anything else I should look out for?"
"Yeah. Don't get too close to the forest. There are a lot of things in there that wouldn't mind taking a bite out of you. Oh, and before I forget, there's an extra pair of saddlebags in the room at the other end of the hall. You can take them, you'll need them more."
"Alright. Just try to make it to the library in one piece, okay? You remember where it is, right?"
Pinkie nodded.
"Good. I should get going, now. I have a lot of work to do."
"Okay. Good luck."
-----------------------------
Twilight carefully walked through the empty streets of Ponyville towards the lake. After the debacle in Sugarcube corner, she wasn't going to take any more chances that someone would be waiting for her with traps set and weapons at the ready. Obviously, she wasn't planning on taking down Gummy yet, but she needed more information on both him and his lair before trying to fight him. As she got closer to her destination, she saw something odd. There was a corpse on one side of the street, curled up on its side. What really got her attention, though, was what it was holding.
Between its hooves, there appeared to be some sort of fire, like the pony had died holding a flame. The strangest part, though, was the color. The flame was black, with white swirls appearing every so often in random places. She poked the corpse a couple of times to make sure it was actually dead. It didn't move, so she pried open one of the legs and gingerly pulled the flame out. It was soothingly warm, and pulsed slightly, like it was alive. She stared at it for some time, mesmerized by the shifting patterns. They seemed to be calling to her, like there was something the flame wanted her to see, but it was concealed by mist. After what seemed like several minutes, she finally shook herself free of her trance and held it at arm's length, trying to figure out what the flame was. She nearly fell to staring at it again, but managed to keep herself from looking too closely.
"Okay, this is too weird. I don't remember anything about anything like this, even from the library in Canterlot. It doesn't seem particularly dangerous, though, so I might as well take it with me. Maybe Pinkie or Rarity will know what it is." Deciding it wasn't hot enough to set the rest of her things on fire, she dropped it in her saddlebag, but waited a moment just to make sure it wouldn't hurt anything. Satisfied her belongings were safe, she resumed walking. Looking around the next corner, she saw something strange.
It was an earth pony, a mare, but she looked diseased. Her skin was a dark, sickly shade of green, and her eyes were little more than dark, sunken pits, with the eyeballs themselves reflecting an eerie, red shine. She was gnawing monotonously on what appeared to be a broken sword, but was otherwise perfectly still. Twilight rounded the corner fully, and called to the mare.
"H-Hello? Are you okay, over there?"
The mare suddenly stopped gnawing, and turned towards Twilight. She then got up, and started to approach, moaning incoherently as the sword she was holding clanked against the ground with every step. Twilight backed up a few steps cautiously.
"Um... Okay, you're kind of starting to freak me out, here. Could you please say something?"
"Brrlllaaaggh."
"Not what I had in mind. And seriously, please stop coming closer. You're really making me uncomfortable, here."
"Hhrrraaaarrrggh."
"Okay, really. Stop moving. I don't want to hurt you, but I will if you make me."
"Hhrrrrnnnggh."
"I warned you!" Twilight charged her horn, and fired a small bolt of magic at the mare's chest.
poff
It impacted the mare, then dissipated harmlessly, not even slowing her down.
"What!" Twilight fired a few more bolts.
poff poff poff
All of them returned the same result, as Twilight backed up right into a wall. She spun her head around in surprise, then returned her attention to the mare with the sword. The mare suddenly picked up speed, and raised the sword high in the air. Thinking quickly, Twilight ducked under the raised foreleg, and repositioned herself behind the mare, regaining her distance. The mare turned around, and continued her advance again. Twilight looked around for a weapon, suddenly very afraid and unsure of herself. On a nearby balcony, she spotted what she was looking for. A shortsword, precisely, which appeared to be embedded in another corpse. She got close and attempted to grasp it with her magic, but something was interfering with her normal telekinesis, and it wouldn't budge. She looked back at the other mare, and found her much too close for comfort. Deciding it was worth the risk, Twilight shoved open the door to the house, and sprinted up the stairs to the sword. Along the way, she noticed two more ponies in similar states to the mare currently chasing her.
I guess I'll have to take them down too, huh?
She made it to the balcony, and quickly yanked the sword from its resting place. She tried to hold it with her magic, but the sword merely slipped from her magic field, like it detested the feel of being held by anything but a hoof. Hearing the other ponies coming closer, Twilight had no problem obliging that desire. She picked it up with a hoof, and prepared herself for a fight. She didn't have to wait long, as the mare from before came through the door and onto the balcony. Not wasting any time, Twilight jabbed at her with the sword, the small space available to her making it difficult to slash with. The point dove into the mare's chest, and a dark bile seeped from the wound. Holding back her gag reflex at the sight, Twilight pulled the sword back out and stabbed the mare again, this time in the shoulder. She could feel the blade grind against the mare's collarbone, and yanked it back out as the mare stumbled back a step. Finally, Twilight stood up on her hind legs, holding the sword with both hooves, and put her full weight behind the last attack, running the entire length of the blade into the mare's eye and out the back of her head. She pulled the blade free, and the mare slumped to the ground in a heap as a white mist floated off her body. The mist coalesced, and then sped towards Twilight, startling her. It wrapped around her body, and then sank into her skin. It scared her at first, but she suddenly felt much better than before. It was as if her muscles had been cramped the entire time since she woke up, and then suddenly relaxed. She shook herself a little.
"Wow. That felt good. I wonder if that was this pony's soul? That would match with what Rarity said, at least." Any further musings were cut off as she heard hoofsteps and moaning from inside the house.
Twilight panted as the soul of the third pony left its body. The soul coalesced and wrapped around her, then sank in. She shuddered pleasantly, and sighed as the ache of wielding the sword wore off.
"That's better. Still, though... this seems wrong." She sat down, looking around at the three bodies as she hooked the sword onto one of her belt loops.
These used to be ponies. Living, breathing beings with lives and desires and hopes and dreams. And now, nothing. Nothing but mindless hunger. Is that all that's left? Death and madness? That's just... She sighed, depressed by the idea, and got up.
"No point staying here and thinking about it. I have to keep moving, otherwise I might end up like them." She went back outside, and resumed her journey to the lake.
When she got there, it was drastically different from before. What had once been a large body of crystal-clear water was now reduced to a big crater, with numerous puddles and dead sea life at the bottom. She could see what had caused it, though; a massive hole, almost dead center in the bottom of the lake. She carefully made her way down the side of the crater, and moved towards the hole. In the pools of water that remained, she could see things moving around beneath the surface. She decided it would be prudent to give them a wide berth.
When she finally neared the hole, a slight sense of dread, and a large sense of fear, crept through Twilight's body as her hooves rang out deafeningly in the eerie silence of the area. She lifted a hoof, but it refused to move forward. She put it back down, and suddenly noticed that her breathing had quickened. She stared at the hole, and froze as a loud splashing sound echoed from the cavern beneath. It was short, and Twilight's ears flattened instinctively just before the hole exploded outward in a shower of rocks and water.
"RRRRRRAAAAAAAARRRRRRRUUUUGGGHH!!!"
A huge crocodilian head burst forth from under the rocks, violently whipping back and forth and snapping at the empty air. Twilight screamed as the creature scrabbled for purchase against the side of the now much larger hole, backing away desperately as the massive alligator slipped from the rocks, and plunged back to the depths below. A huge splash sounded from below, and a small plume of mist escaped the mouth of the cavern. Twilight stared at the hole for a moment, fearing that the creature within would attempt another escape. After several agonizing seconds, nothing happened, and Twilight stood back up on shaking legs.
"W-W-W-Was that... Gummy?! That... thing is what Pinkie's pet turned into? Oh, Celestia. I'm going to need a lot of preparation before I can even attempt this." She swallowed the lump of fear that had formed in her throat, and turned around to head back home.
----------
When Twilight finally arrived back at her library, she noticed that the lights were on upstairs.
I guess that means Pinkie is here.
She went inside, and found the Cakes tumbling on the ground together in a tangle of limbs and laughter. She smiled, though somewhat sadly.
Well, at least they're having fun. That's something, anyway.
She sighed, and went to lay next to the bonfire. Immediately, she felt much better. It was as if her trip to the lake hadn't even happened, although her memories confirmed otherwise. She stared at the bonfire for a moment, then sat up suddenly.
"Oh! I almost forgot!" She pulled out the flask that Rarity had given her, and undid the cap. She looked between the fire and the flask for a few seconds, then tentatively held the flask out, into the fire. The fire was warm, but it didn't burn. Instead, the flames licked at the flask for a moment, before wrapping around it and slithering up the sides. The fire reached the top, and started pouring into the flask, giving it an internal glow. When it was full, Twilight put the cap back on, and returned the flask to her bag. She stood back up, and went upstairs to look for Pinkie, the twins still laughing as they wrestled. Upstairs, she found Pinkie going down the rows of books.
"What are you looking for?"
The pink mare glanced back at her before answering.
"Cookbooks."
"Cookbooks?"
"Uh-huh. I found a whole bunch of food in the kitchen and pantry, so I want to try making something a bit nicer than usual. I was surprised that there was so much. I figured a library wouldn't be so well-stocked."
Twilight nodded as she went over to the cooking section and got a couple books down. She decided to use her hooves, after what happened with the sword.
"Here you go. And yeah, this used to be my home, so I kept the pantry full."
Pinkie cocked her head curiously as she set the books on her back.
"It was? I don't remember anyone living here."
"No," Twilight sighed as they made their way back downstairs, "I didn't think you would. Rarity didn't remember me, either, so it's not surprising."
"Ooh! You met Rarity?"
"Yeah. She cleared up a lot after I woke up. That reminds me, though; I have a couple more questions for her."
"Okie-dokie-lokie! I'll be here if you need me."
"Thanks, Pinkie." And with that, Twilight left the library and headed towards the boutique.
When she got there, she could hear the sound of a hammer striking an anvil from outside. She went in, and followed the sounds down into the basement. She let out a small breath of awe at the sight. The whole area had been turned into a forge and storehouse, with the furnace and workspace dominating the left corner, while completed weapons and armor were stacked or bundled neatly throughtout the rest of the basement. Rarity, herself, was currently hard at work, manually swinging a hammer to shape what appeared to be a sword, while Sweetie Belle held the glowing-hot metal with a pair of tongs. Another pony was there, as well, though. One that Twilight recognized. Even with the plate armor covering her body and a large claymore sitting on her back, no other pony had a hat like that.
"Applejack!"
The orange mare turned at hearing her name, and Twilight trotted forward, smiling widely.
"Well, ya seem tah have me a disadvantage, stranger. Ah'm fairly certain Ah've never met you, but yah already know mah name. Can Ah guess mah reputation precedes me?"
Twilight's smile faltered, but didn't fall entirely.
"Not exactly. You know about the curse, right?"
Applejack scowled.
"Yeah, though Ah wish Ah could say otherwise. Darn thing has me forgettin' all kinds a stuff. Most of it is aggravatin' enough, but last time, Ah nearly forgot where Ah lived! Sooner someone finds a way to get rid of it, the better, Ah say." She sat back and crossing her forelegs, fuming at the prolems the Darksign had caused for her.
"Well," Twilight said, "I don't have a cure, but I've been trying to find all of our friends, so we can work together to find one."
"Whaddya mean, 'our' friends? You tellin' me you're one of the ponies Ah forgot?"
Twilight nodded, prompting Applejack to growl in frustration and shake her hoof at the roof, as if blaming the wood itself.
"Ah am so sick of that! Ah know Ah had friends in this town, and Ah know that there's at least a couple left, but Ah can't for the life a me remember their names! Ah just... Nngggrrr!" She ground her hooves on the floor.
"Relax, Applejack, it's alright. I still remember everything, and I wrote it all down. You still know Apple Bloom and Big Mac, though, right?"
Appllejack nodded.
"Yeah, barely. They're mah...uh...siblings, that's right. Ah can barely even remember that, though. Apple Bloom's managed to keep her memories, thankfully, so she reminds us when we need it. Ah suppose ya'll have some kind a plan, once ya find everyone else?"
"Sort of. We need to find as many ponies as possible first, though. If anyone else is still thinking straight, then they could be able to help. I'll be gathering everyone at the library, so we're all together. You know where it is, right?"
"Yeah, just down the road, ain't it?"
"Yep. Go ahead and bring Apple Bloom and Big Mac, too. There's a bonfire on the first floor, so it should be safe. I'll keep looking for the others, once I'm done here."
"Alright. Ah just need tah wait fer Rarity, here, tah finish mah other sword. Special order, so it took a while fer her tah finish it."
They both turned back to watch, and a minute later, Rarity dunked the still-hot blade into a bucket of water. She then went over to a chest, and rummaged around for a moment before pulling out the pieces for the hilt. She fished the blade back out of the water, and placed it back on the anvil. Using a smaller hammer, she flattened some of the larger bumps, then used a whetstone to sharpen the edges and remove the rest of the blemishes on the blade's surface. Finally, she grabbed a rag and dried off the blade fully, before assembling the hilt. She grabbed an empty scabbard that was leaning against the wall, sheathed the newly-made sword, and brought it over.
"Here you are, Applejack. One bastard sword for use in tight areas."
"Thanks, Rarity. Ah'll see ya around!" And with that, Applejack trotted up the stairs and left.
"So, darling," Rarity turned to Twilight, "what can I do for you?"
"Actually, I was hoping you could tell me a couple more things. First, I tried to use my magic earlier, but it didn't work properly. Do you know what's going on?"
Rarity nodded.
"I wondered what you meant. You tried to use old magic, didn't you?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Normal magic doesn't work anymore. At least, not at the same level. Something about the way it works is being interfered with by our Undead traits. The only way to use magic now is with scrolls and souls. The stronger you become through consuming souls, the stronger your magic. That's about all I know, though."
"Okay. Do you have any scrolls?"
Rarity shook her head.
"No, dear, I'm afraid not. I don't know how to make any, either, unfortunately. I'm just an armourer, now."
"Oh, well. Also, what can you tell me about this?" Twilight searched through her bag for the strange fire she had found, and pulled it out. "Do you have any idea what this is? I've never even heard of something like this."
Rarity stared at the flame for several seconds, before slowly shaking her head.
"I'm afraid not, darling." She blinked and shook her head to dispel the trance the swirling fire started to cause. "I do know, however, that as Undead, we can see things we couldn't before, like souls. This might be something similar. Try using it on yourself, see what it does."
Twilight looked at her like she had grown a second head.
"That's a horrible idea! What if it's some kind of... Soul of Hatred, or something?"
Rarity waved her idea off dismissively.
"Oh, don't be silly, darling. You'd be able to feel it if that was true."
"Are you sure? Because this really seems like a bad idea."
"Oh, go on. I promise, if it was a bad idea, you would know. See what it does!"
Twilight looked at the flame skeptically, still unsure. Rarity's expectant face was too much to bear, though, coupled with her own curiosity. She held the flame with both hooves, and squeezed. The flame burst into a black-and-white mist, and she felt it permeate her body. A sudden bout of vertigo came over her, and she closed her eyes as her mind played through all of her memories.
My memories.... I can remember almost everything now! Is that what that flame was? Some kind of memory-enhancer?
When she opened them, again, she barely restrained a gasp. Rarity was still standing there, watching her, but now she seemed.... worn down. There were bags under her eyes, and her face seemed older. Throughout what was visible of her coat, there were small patches of missing fur, covered slightly by Rarity's self-grooming. Her mane and tail, though, were in obvious disrepair. They were both incredibly frayed, and there were gaps in various places.
How did I miss all of this? Twilight wondered as she stared at her friend.
"Oh, my." Twilight was brought out of her musings by Rarity's voice. "You look much better, now. Healthier, stronger.... Whatever that was, it seems to have given you a full makeover!"
"Um, yeah," Twilight said, still shaken by her friend's current appearance, "I feel better, too. Anyway, I should get going. I need to find some scrolls if I want to make any progress."
"Of course, darling. Just remember, if you need anything, let me know."
"I will Rarity." Twilight then left her friend to continue working, and headed back outside. She stood outside the door for a moment, wondering about what the flame did.
What was that? It's like it made everything obvious to me, even my memories. How is that possible? And how could something like that even come into being? I need to find out more about what's going on around here.
As she thought about her next move, something happened to the ground in front of her. The stones making up the road began glowing in random places for a moment, before fading into recognizable letters.
Try forest, house
She stared at the message for a few seconds, confused.
Forest, house.... Wait, there's only one house next to the forest! Fluttershy's!
She immediately took off, galloping down the road toward Fluttershy's cottage.
As Fluttershy's cottage came into view, Twilight slowed down, panting heavily from running so far. She calmed down quickly enough, though, seeing that it was still fully intact. Outside, the animals were lazing about in various places, listening to the beautiful singing coming from the cottage itself. Twilight made her way over the bridge, which now seemed unnecessary, as the babbling brook it once covered was little more than a trickling creek, now. As she neared the door, the singing stopped, and she hesitated a moment. Taking a deep breath, she took the last few steps toward the door, and pushed it open. Inside, she saw Fluttershy sitting on the couch, gently petting a wolf.
"Hello, Twilight."
Twilight reared back for a moment, then smiled.
"Fluttershy! You remember me!" She ran forwards to hug her friend, but skidded to a halt when the wolf turned its attention to her and growled. Fluttershy bopped it gently on the head.
"Stop it, Gale. Twilight is a friend, she's safe." The wolf growled again, but dropped its head back on the couch. Fluttershy smiled apologetically.
"Sorry about him. I found him not long after all this started, and nursed him back to health. He's protected me from the Hollows and monsters since then, so he's cautious around new arrivals."
Twilight nodded, still glancing warily at Gale.
"It's alright. I probably shouldn't have run at you like that, anyway. But I'm so glad you remember me! I've met almost all the others, and you're the first to know who I am!" She smiled widely, and a small giggle escaped her. Fluttershy, however, looked down sadly.
"Not entirely..."
Twilight's smile faded.
"What do you mean?"
"I only remember your name, and the fact that we were friends. I can't remember any specifics."
"Oh...." Twilightt's smile faded, and she sighed. "Well, I suppose it's better than nothing. At least I have someone who remembers me, right?"
Fluttershy nodded her agreement.
"Yes, but I'm not the only one. There's someone else who remembers you, waiting for you upstairs. He said that you should see him as soon as you arrived."
Twilight cocked her head to the side curiously.
Who else could possibly be here?
"Um, okay." She turned to the stairs, and started climbing. At the top, there were three doors, but only one of them was opened enough to see light coming from inside. She pushed it open all the way, and gasped at the creature lying there.
A goat's head, a bear's paw, an eagle's talon, a hoof from a minotaur, a claw from a lizard, the body of a pony, the tail of a dragon, mismatched wings and horns, all held together in a single being, who was currently lounging in a pool chair, sipping at a margarita.
"Discord!" Twilight cried, setting herself in a combat stance and drawing her sword.
"Twilight!" Discord echoed, jumping up and spreading his arms wide, as if expecting a hug.
"What did you do, Discord?!"
Discord looked at her, surprised, then set his hands on his hips.
"Now is that any way to greet a friend?"
Twilight huffed at him.
"Friend? Last time I saw you, we had just turned you back to stone before you could turn the entire world inside-out! What could possibly make you think I would consider you a friend?" She pointed at him with her sword, just to make it clear she was not amused. Discord sighed.
"I was worried this might happen. Though, I suppose it's not entirely surprising."
"What are you talking about?"
"The fact that a good chunk of your memories have been completely erased, along with the power you had gained. Specifically, your alicorn power."
Twilight stared at him in disbelief.
"What do you mean 'alicorn power'? I'm a unicorn! I've always been a unicorn! The only alicorns in Equestria are Celestia, Luna, and Cadence! I'm certainly not one!"
Discord sighed again.
"Correction: You're not one anymore. Let me tell you a story, Twilight. Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there were six friends. One of them was the student of the ruler of Equestria, and one day, she got a package from her mentor, with an incomplete spell. She attempted to cast the spell, and woke up the next morning to find that all of her friends had switched cutie marks. After exhausting all her other options, the student finally went to each of her friends, had them each try the activity they were actually good at, and managed to complete the spell properly using the Magic of Friendship. Sound familiar?"
Twilight thought about it for a moment.
"Yeah, but I can't remember where I heard it before. I know I didn't do all that."
"Ah, but you did, my dear. What's more, this final test from Celestia proved to her something else about you."
"What?"
"That you were ready for greater things. Upon completion of the spell, she cast a spell of her own on you. A spell of Ascension, to give you the power and appearance of an alicorn, along with all the titles and privileges that come with it."
"I don't believe you." Twilight narrowed her eyes at the draconequus.
"I didn't think you would. And I know you aren't going to believe this next part, but I'm going to tell you, anyway. First, though, a question: Do you know how the balance of power works in Equestria?"
"Celestia and Luna rule and make all final decisions regarding major problems, while a council of unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies decide on smaller problems, as well as outlines for any particularly large reforms or projects, which then get sent to the Pincesses for approval."
Discord clapped a few times.
"Good, good! You know your politics! But I didn't ask how the government works. I asked how the balance of power works."
"I don't understand."
Discord snapped his fingers, and Twilight suddenly found herself sitting at a desk, looking at a chalkboard.
"The balance of power," Discord explained, now wearing a tweed jacket and glasses, "is what keeps the world from becoming unbalanced. In order for the balance to be sustained, each Primordial Being is given, well, let's call it a time slot."
Twilight raised her hoof automatically, as the desk she was sitting at stirred up old memories from being in a classroom. Discord pointed at her.
"Yes, you? With the robes and helmet?"
"What's a Primordial Being?"
"Oh, I'm so glad you asked!" Several pictures appeared on the blackboard. "There are a few different kinds. First, there are spirits, like me. We have nebulous forms, and are capable of altering our forms, at least to some extent. We typically choose a single trait, state of being, or emotion to serve as a source of power. For me, this source is Chaos. Spirits who do not choose a source typically become evil, life-sucking beings, who forfeit their time slot for the power of Lifedrain. Nasty ones, they are. Next, we have the alicorns. Alicorns were the original ponies, and all other ponies were their creations. Alicorns have phenomenal power, and most of them like to think that they are infallible. Most importantly, though, all alicorns have a connection to an emotion, force of nature, or a particular astronomical body. Without one, they begin to die, but as long as their source of power exists, they will not die from age or disease. Third, is the dragons. Dragons have the unique power to generate life itself within them. Their bodies generate so much, in fact, that it is too much for any other being to handle directly. This is what gives a dragon its breath weapon, and is what causes a dragon's body to become so resilient to damage of any kind. The sheer amount of life energy becomes tangible, and causes various kinds of reactions when exposed to air and organic material, forcing their bodies to adapt to contain it. Finally, we have the elemental trees. Elemental trees do not have time slots, like the other Primordial Beings, but they do have just as much power. Each of them is attuned to a different set of Elements, and the powers they grant to those who find them vary depending on the set. The one you're familiar with, of course, being Harmony."
Twilight raised her hoof again.
"Question?"
"Yes. What does any of this have to do with what's been going on?"
"Well I already explained the idea of a time slot, but what do you think happens when a ruler decides not to give up the throne at the end of their turn?"
Twilight thought about it. It made sense that something would happen, after all. A power-hungry ruler was never a good thing.
"I would guess that the other Primordial Beings would try to force them to give it up."
Discord clapped again, and the sound of an award bell ringing echoed in the room briefly.
"Correctamundo! Everyone else tries to get them to step down peacefully, then we all go after them together. If that doesn't work, though, what do you think happens?"
"I don't know."
"I didn't expect you to, honestly. It changes, depending on who's on the throne and who's next in line. In this case, though, the effect is the Darksign."
Twilight cocked her head to the side in confusion.
"But, why? Who's still on the throne that wouldn't give up the position?"
The blackboard, desk, and Discord's outfit disappeared as he raised an eyebrow.
"You should be able to figure that out, yourself. You probably just don't want to believe it, do you?"
Twilight reflexively took a step back, unnerved by the fact that Discord could read her so easily.
"N-No.... It... It can't be...."
Discord nodded.
"Celestia. She refused to give up the throne, and cast the rest of us out of the palace. She sent me here, and attached me to the cottage. I can't leave this house anymore. Similarly, she sent Luna to the Everfree Castle, and Cadence to the Crystal Empire. None of us can leave our locations, and we are now all but powerless to dethrone Celestia. You, however, are not bound to any single location. The spell she cast must have had a different effect on you, since you had only been an alicorn for a little while. Instead of binding you to wherever she sent you, it undid your ascension."
Twilight's back legs gave out, and she plopped down onto the wood. She didn't want to believe anything he was saying. She couldn't believe anything he was saying. Celestia would never allow something like this to happen to her ponies. But deep down, she knew he was telling the truth. Deep down, she knew that everything that was happening was a result of Celestia's actions. She didn't know how she knew, but no matter how much she tried to convince herself otherwise, she knew it was useless.
Everything that was happening was Celestia's fault.
She choked back a sob as the tears started. Discord stood a few steps away, silently allowing her to cry. There was nothing he could do to comfort her at this point. Anything he did would only make it worse. After all, what could possibly be more insulting or painful than having one of your worst enemies try to console you, after having them tell you that the one being you trusted, more than any other in the world, had betrayed you?
Discord lounged in his pool chair, frowning, as Twilight lay huddled in a ball in the corner.
Okay, seriously. When is this mare going to get back up? I do happen to have some idea of what she's going through, here, but she hasn't moved for a good twenty minutes!
Discord checked his watch, which then detached itself and flew away. He glared after it for a moment, then jumped out of his chair.
"Twenty-two and a half minutes! That's it, missy!" He roughly grabbed Twilight by the shoulders, and shook her. "You need to get up! Do you want this to be the end?!"
Twilight looked him in the eyes, her own glazed over and unfocused, and hung her head.
"What's the point? If Celestia has really gone bad... then what's left?"
Discord scowled.
"Listen up, you! You're not allowed to be crestfallen! That's some other pony's job! You're supposed to be the main character of this crossover!"
Twilight's eyes regained some of their color at the strange statement.
"Wait, what?"
"Nevermind. And besides, I never said Celestia was unstoppable."
Twilight perked back up, her eyes refocusing on the draconequus.
"What do you mean?"
He put the purple mare down, and sat back down on the edge of his pool chair.
"What I mean is, she is only exceptionally powerful, not invincible. She can be stopped, given someone powerful enough."
Twilight rolled her eyes.
"Yeah? So who did you happen to have in mind for this?" Her voice began to rise in volume from her fear at the hopelessness of the situation. "The only ones with enough power to pull that off are you, Luna, and Cadence. But all of you are stuck in place, so that's not an option. So unless you have some other Primordial Being in mind, or some secret failsafe somewhere to let you all out, I don't see any way of stopping this!" She stared at the Lord of Chaos with tears beginning to form in her eyes again.
Discord crossed his arms and grinned smugly.
"You don't, but I do. In fact, I'm looking at her right now."
Twilight looked around in confusion.
"But, there isn't anyone else here."
"Imagine that."
Twilight's eyes widened with realization, and she shook her head as she started backing up, back towards her corner.
"No, nonononono. No way. I can't beat Celestia! She's far too powerful! And besides, she's my teacher! I just... I can't do it! I won't do it! There is no way that-"
"TWILIGHTSPARKLE."
She looked up and froze. Discord had barely whispered, but the sound of her name echoed around the room and in her skull almost deafeningly. His eyes now glowed white, and she suddenly understood why so many ponies had feared him for so long. He no longer seemed to be nothing more than a mischievous spirit. She was in the presence of a Lord of Power. And she could feel how powerless she was compared to him. A wind began to swirl around them, and she squinted against the cold sting on her eyes.
"This is not a debate. This is not simply one option. It is the only option. I have used my powers to scour the entire country, and there is no other with the potential you have. If you do not do this, it is not just possible, but probable, that no one else will ever be able to. If you do not do this yourself, you doom the entire pony species to a slow, steady, painful descent into Dark, from which there is no relief. No escape. No light. No hope. You must do this, Twilight. You are the only one who can." Discord allowed his power to abate, and Twilight looked up again. He was no longer terrifying, but the serious expression he wore shook Twilight to her core.
"But, I'm still not strong enough! I would need to be an alicorn to even have a chance!"
Discord nodded.
"Indeed, under normal circumstances, you would. But these are not normal circumstances, and for all its horror, the Darksign is, in fact, your greatest asset in this endeavor."
"How?! How can it possibly be helpful in this situation!?"
"Well, for starters, you aren't done if you get killed. Which will happen. A lot. But beyond that, there is another effect. One connected to your consumption of souls."
Twilight raised an eyebrow.
"Which is?"
"Every time you consume souls, you feel better, right? But if you go to a bonfire, it is entirely possible to more thoroughly assimilate them. You see, the soul is the essence of life, and all aspects of life are part of the soul. Including memories. And therefore, abilities."
Twilight's jaw went slack at the implications.
"That's right, my little pony. You can gain anyone's strengths and skills, simply by absorbing their souls."
"But, that would mean...."
"Yes, you would have to kill them for it. But now, in this Equestria, that is what is necessary. Otherwise, you will not be strong enough for the challenges you will face. That is not to say, of course, that you will be alone. There are others who wander the countryside, and many of them will be more than happy to lend their aid. And of course, you have my aid, as well."
"How do you mean?"
"The bonfires, first of all. One of my 'failsafes' you mentioned earlier. They are the most obvious, but there are others. And, obviously, Luna and Cadence have theirs, as well. But beyond simply restoring any who rest near them, the bonfires also have another function. They are each linked to the others, and so long as it is burning, a bonfire can teleport you to any other lit bonfire. Simply touch the hilt of the sword, and you'll figure out the rest."
Twilight decided to skip the reasons for the use of pony bones in the bonfires for the moment, in favor of a much more important question.
"Why are you helping me? For that matter, why are you helping anyone? Shouldn't you be happy as can be, with how chaotic everything has become?"
Discord shook his head.
"No. My Chaos is a form of life, strange as it may be to you, a creature of logic. Were I to have free run with my powers, life would still exist. There would be casualties, no doubt, but there would be enough left for them to adapt and rebuild. This, though? This is not a survivable situation. Everything will die, if Celestia is not dethroned. And when the last light of life is extinguished, the world will fade. Perhaps, from the smallest specks of bacteria, new life will re-inhabit the planet, but not for millions, if not billions, of years. And by then, I'll be long gone. Besides, you were next in line. Might as well keep to the original plan, right?"
Twilight shook her head rapidly in surprise at the last sentence.
"What do you mean, I was next in line? And why explain all this to me yourself? Why not just give me back my memories?"
"I mean, you were going to be Celestia's replacement. But, she decided at the last minute that you weren't ready, and everything went downhill from there. But that's something best left unsaid, for the moment. As for your memories, I can't do anything about that. Celestia was still significantly more powerful than I when she blocked them off, and I don't even know where to start, since it wasn't an intentional effect. I'd rather get you on your way sooner than later, anyway. When you leave, though, check under the bridge. There should be a loose stone. I'm sure you can figure out the rest." He plopped down on his pool chair, and yawned. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to recuperate from flinging around my power after so long. I really should practice more." He quickly started snoring, and Twilight went back downstairs.
In the living room, Fluttershy was sitting at her table, sipping at a cup of tea. She looked up as soon as she heard Twilight's hoofsteps coming down the stairs, and set her cup down on its saucer. As Twilight entered the room, Fluttershy could see the stress lines and marks of worry on her face.
"Twilight," she called softly. The other mare turned to her quizzically. "How about some tea? It always helps me relax."
Twilight looked from her friend to the teapot, then back to her friend, and shrugged.
"Sure. Why not? It's worth a shot." She meandered over to the table, and sat down opposite Fluttershy, who poured another cup of tea and slid it across to her. Twilight gently grabbed the cup with both hooves, and lifted it to her lips, letting the still-hot liquid slide down her throat and warm her insides. She set the cup back down, and looked around the room.
Little knick-knacks littered the shelves, most of them made by hoof, and all of them obviously important to their owner. She recognized a few, gifts from their friends, or souvenirs from their travels. She heard the strike of a match, and turned to see Fluttershy lighting a stick of incense. At her questioning look, Fluttershy smiled.
"This should help, at least to clear up some questions you may have."
"What is it?"
"Something I discovered early on. Just breathe deeply. It will do the rest."
Twilight swallowed a nervous lump that had formed in her throat, and nodded. She closed her eyes, and focused on her breathing. The smell of the incense quickly began overpowering her nose, but she kept her pace, and soon she could feel a fog lifting from her mind.
"Celestia. It's time."
"I know."
That's Discord's voice. Is this what he was talking about?
"Now, it is time to give up the throne, Celestia."
"No."
Celestia... really did refuse?
"They're not ready!"
"It doesn't matter! Your time has already gone longer than it should have! You need to step down!"
"Please, sister! Listen to reason!"
"NO! I have ruled for over a thousand years! And if I must rule for another thousand to protect my subjects, I will! And to Tartarus with all of you!"
Twilight's mind cleared as the incense wore off, and she opened her eyes to see Fluttershy's worried face looking back at her. She blinked, and noticed she had been crying again.
"I guess... I still hoped Discord was lying. But I guess not. Fluttershy, I'm going to need your help. Would you mind coming with me back to the library for a little bit?"
Fluttershy put a hoof to her chin thoughtfully, and looked around in worry.
"Oh, um.... I guess I could, for a little while. I would need to come back soon, though, or the animals might become restless."
"It'll only be a little while, yeah. I just need to do some organizing."
Within a few minutes, Fluttershy had put away her things, and Twilight was standing outside as her friend gave a few last-minute instructions to her guard wolf.
"Now, you make sure everyone behaves while I'm gone, okay? It won't be long, but you know how some of them can get." Gale sat straight up, staring perfectly ahead. "Good boy. Ready, Twilight?"
"Just about. Only one thing left." She walked down into the creek bed, and looked around under the bridge. Sure enough, there was a single stone protruding from the support on one end. She pushed it in, and the wall slid down into the ground to reveal a secret room. Inside, she found a chest. She heaved it open, and looked inside to find two scrolls, and a longsword with a scabbard.
I guess he really does want to help.
She put the scrolls in her bag, and hooked the longsword's scabbard onto her belt as she exited the room. She walked back up to Fluttershy, who had crossed the bridge, and nodded.
Twilight and Fluttershy managed to get back to the library without incident, and went in to find it bustling with activity. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and the Cake twins were playing tag, the furniture having been moved to let them run freely. Rarity was sitting next to the bonfire, keeping an eye on the foals, and Twilight could hear Pinkie and Applejack talking in the kitchen. Fluttershy went to go sit with Rarity, and Twilight managed to make it through the living room unscathed on her way to the kitchen. There, she found Pinkie and Applejack in the middle of making what looked to be a full buffet.
"Hey girls. How's everything going?"
Pinkie bounced up to her, grinning widely. She had temporarily traded her archer hat for a baker's cap, and Twilight quickly found the pink mare's grin to be infectious.
"We're doing super! After Applejack brought Apple Bloom over, she decided it would be way better to stay here than out on the farm, so she brought all her other stuff, too, and there was a whole bunch of cooking stuff in there, so we decided to use some of it for a big ol' dinner! We're almost finished, so once Big Mac gets back, we can all eat!" She bounced back over to the stove, and crouched so she could stare into it. Twilight turned back to Applejack.
"You decided to stay here?"
Applejack nodded.
"Yup. It's a good bit safer here, especially with the bonfire. Big Mac already went back tah bring over the other two ponies who were staying there, but he shouldn't be long."
"Who are the other ponies?" Twilight looked into a large bowl filled with what appeared to be pie filling as Applejack answered, licking her lips in hope that the food was for everyone who would be present.
"A couple a swords for hire. We needed some help protectin' the farm, and they needed a place to use as a base of operations. So, we struck a deal: They get tah use one of our barns, and in return, they have tah help keep the farm safe. The way Ah figure, they're gonna get a whole bunch of the other buildin's here, and it'll be easier fer them tah keep this little library safe, than a whole farm. We'll have tah do some serious work tah get the trees over here and growin', but it'll be worth it. We'll be safer, and those other two will have less trouble keepin' out the Hollows, since there'll be more room for extra walls and traps and whatnot." She smiled proudly at her own logic, and Twilight clapped her hooves a bit.
"That's great! Although, I am curious about where you plan on putting your trees."
"Eh, we'll figure it out, don't worry." Both mares heard the door open, and two new voices could be heard. "Hey, Ah bet that's them now!" Applejack trotted out, and Twilight followed her.
Out in the living room, Twilight saw three ponies. The first was a big earth pony wearing black armor, obviously Big Macintosh. He was the only pony around who could swing a sword like the one currently on his back. The second pony was even more recognizable. Rainbow Dash's trademark mane and tail, as always, made her easy to identify. She was dressed in light leather armor, and two scimitars hung from her belt. The third pony, however, made Twilight's eyes widen. She was also a pegasus, wearing leather armor, but instead of scimitars, she had a rapier and a buckler. She had long legs, and large, powerful-looking wings. She stood a little taller than Rainbow, but the slight sheen of her orange coat and purple hair made it clear she was younger.
That... That can't be her, can it?
Any further thoughts were cut off as Rainbow spoke.
"Well, it's not as big, and definitely more crowded, but it's nice. I think I can deal with moving our stuff, although it is going to take a few hours, at least. What do you think, Scoots?"
It is Scootaloo!
"Well, we might be able to leave behind some of the defensive walls, so there's that, but yeah, it'll take a while. Maybe we should just replace most of it? We may need to go back to the farm later."
"Good point. Alright, big guy, we'll stick around for a little longer. If nothing else, we'll have more folks to talk to."
Big Mac nodded, and turned to Applejack, who stepped forward.
"Glad tah hear it, gals! And Ah suppose ya'll should meet our host while we're at it, too. This here's Twilight Sparkle. Apparently, she still has most a her memories!"
Rainbow's eyes narrowed.
"You sure she's telling the truth about that?"
"As sure as apples grow on trees! Ah can always tell when Ah'm bein' lied to, and she ain't lyin'!"
Rainbow glanced between them, and trotted up to Twilight.
"Alright, then. If that is the truth, you'll know what my best trick is. Do you?"
Twilight grinned.
"Sonic Rainboom. The first time you performed it was at a race in Cloudsdale, and you performed it again at the Best Young Fliers' Competition in order to save three falling Wonderbolts, as well as Rarity."
"It's a long story, and we have more important things to talk about. Let's get the table back upright and eat, first, though. I think we all need some semblance of normalcy right now."
Rainbow nodded, and they all helped set up the food. Once finished, everyone sat down and loaded up their plates. There was plenty for al of them, and the Cake twins tore into their dishes with gusto as the rest began their meals more reservedly. Twilight decided to go for a sandwich first, and eagerly tore a large hunk out of it. She immediately stopped chewing as her tongue practically screamed in agony, and it took all her willpower not to spit the sandwich back out. She opened up the sandwich, and inspected the contents.
Daisies, lettuce, dressing. Nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing she didn't like. So why had it tasted so atrocious? She glanced around, and noticed that while the others were also eating, the only ones who seemed to be enjoying the meal were the Cakes.
We... can't eat anymore? We can't taste anymore? Then that means... everyone is only eating so the twins aren't worried. Even Rainbow caught on. I suppose... I'll just have to bear it.
She stared at the sandwich for a moment, and took another bite. It tasted like ash.
----------------------------------------
Once the meal was over, Twilight assisted Pinkie in cleaning up the dishes, while Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo went back to the farm to retrieve their gear. Fluttershy had excused herself and returned to her cottage, while Rarity had taken Sweetie Belle back to her boutique.
"Pinkie," Twilight said as she washed one of the pots, "how long have you been doing that for them?"
Pinkie sighed, pausing in washing a plate to answer.
"A while. I've tried to explain that I can't eat, and I don't need to, but they just kept coming up to me with their plates, trying to get me to eat something. Eventually, I gave up arguing and just made my portions really small. I explained it to the others, too, and Big Mac told Rainbow, I think."
"Well, at least now I won't waste any more food that I might find." She sighed. "It seems like things just keep getting worse. I found all of you, sure, but there are still a lot of ponies out there. And there's Spike...."
"Who's Spike?"
"He's a dragon, and he was my number one assistant, something he was always proud of. I hatched him during an entrance exam, and he's been with me ever since. He's like a brother to me, and I haven't seen a single sign of him since I woke up. I just... I...." She collapsed on the ground, tears streaming from her eyes. "I don't know where he is, I don't know what happened to my older brother, I don't know if the Elements of Harmony will even work, now, and I have no idea how to fix this! I just don't know...." She broke down into sobbing, and Pinkie laid down next to her, gently stroking her back with a hoof.
"I know how you feel, Twilight. I can barely keep those two out there safe, and there are things out there that I wouldn't even be able to hurt. But I do know someone who might be able to help you."
Twilight sniffed.
"Who?"
"I don't remember his name, but he usually hangs out south of here, on the edge of Ghastly Gorge. He's kind of weird, but he's fun to talk to, and he might be able to at least point you in the right direction."
Twilight nodded.
"Okay. I guess it's worth a shot, right?"
"Just be careful on your way there. If you follow the train tracks, it's safer, but things from the Everfree have been wandering further and further out than they should. Make sure you're ready before you try to get out there."
"I will. Thanks, Pinkie." Twilight got back up, and they finished putting away all the dishes. Once they were done, Twilight went upstairs to check her room for supplies.
"Let's see... I should probably take my binoculars along, and that copy of Amazing Monsters. If nothing else, I'll be able to identify any new creatures I come across. That should keep me from getting taken by surprise quite so much." She unpacked her gear, and spread it out on the floor. "Okay, I've got a shortsword, a longsword, my armor, my binoculars, my book, and two scrolls. What are these, anyway?"
She unrolled one of them, revealing a relatively simple spell circle.
"Well, that's easy enough. Looks like... some sort of projectile? Huh. I'll probably need this. Now what about the other one?" She unrolled that as well, showing an equally simple, but wholly different, circle. "Hm. This seems like it's some kind of fire-based spell. But... it needs an ignition source? Odd. I'll have to keep an eye out for anything I can use for that. Maybe the stallion at Ghastly Gorge will have something." She packed everything back up, and hooked her swords on her belt. After making sure all her belongings were safely put away, she made her way downstairs, and bid farewell to the others. She headed outside, and turned south down Mane Street. She had only gone a couple blocks, when she saw a Hollowed pony.
Well, this looks like a perfect chance to try out my new sword. Let's see what I can do with this thing.
She drew her sword, and held it with one hoof, shaking from the effort.
Okay, maybe I need to get a bit stronger, first.
She put the longsword back, and drew her shortsword.
Might as well stick to the basics, for now.
She grabbed the hilt with her teeth, and charged the Hollow. It heard her approaching, and turned to face her. As it did, she could see that it was holding a battle axe in its mouth. As she closed in, the Hollow reared back, twisting its head to aim the blade of its weapon right at her horn. Instead of stopping, though, she quickly calculated the amount of time the Hollow would take to strike, and how long she would need to knock it off-balance. She decided she could make it, and closed the gap, aiming the point of her blade at the former pony's chest. She misjudged, though, and the Hollow's axe came down too soon. Her sword ended up going through her enemy's neck, nearly severing it, but the Hollow's axe fell into her back, cutting easily through the robes, and smashing at least a couple of ribs. She cried out in pain, dropping her sword as the other pony's body fell lifelessly, pulling the weapon with it. She collapsed, sobbing in pain for a few moments. Quickly, though, she decided she had to get the axe currently lodged in her back out of her.
She forced her breathing back to normal, and gently rolled onto her side. She slowly turned her head, every inch of motion rippling down her spine, and into the ribs that currently had an axe blade through them. Eventually, she managed to turn enough to see the weapon stuck in her back, and she bent a rear hoof backwards, attempting to catch the end of the handle and push it out. When that didn't work, she took a deep breath and started moving one of her forehooves instead. If turning her head had been agonizing, then moving her hoof was torture. The greater movement translated through her bones to her ribcage, grinding the ends against the axe. After almost a full minute of pushing, panting, and the occasional bout of renewed sobbing, she felt the axe's handle, and pushed. It hurt even more than she had thought, but she stifled her screams and put more effort into it.
Come on.... Comeoncomeoncomeoncomeon! GET OUT, DAMMIT!
Finally, she felt the blade slip past the edge of the wound, and it clattered to the cobblestones beneath. She shivered in relief, even through the relatively minor pain of her exposed skeleton.
I don't think I've ever gone through something so painful before in my life. I probably lost a lot of blood, too, didn't I?
She looked around, expecting the area to be covered in red, but instead found that both the street and her clothes were utterly clean. The only evidence that anything had happened, that she could currently detect, was the sharp, throbbing ache in her back. She started to hyperventilate, but quickly forced herself to calm down, taking deep breaths.
Okay, Twilight, relax. You already know you're Undead. This is just one more question to ask about later. For now, I should probably try that Estus Flask Rarity gave me. She said it could heal me, maybe it can fix this.
She pulled it out, and gauged its size.
Looks like there's only enough here for a mouthful. Better not let something like this happen again before I get back.
She popped the cap, and poured the contents into her mouth. Without even swallowing, they swept through her insides, filling her with a warm, not-quite-painful, sensation. She could feel the warmth move through her muscles and bones, washing over the area that had just been injured. When the feeling subsided, she felt cold, but whole. The pain in her back was gone, and she rolled her shoulders, loosening up the joints and sighing in satisfaction as her muscles stretched pleasantly.
"Oh, that's much better. Time to get moving. Hopefully, I won't make a mistake like that again."
She trotted off down the street with renewed vigor.
As Twilight walked down the road, she noticed that the further she got from the center of town, the more run-down and damaged everything looked. The houses were decayed, their roofs nearly gone, and the lawns and gardens were overgrown with weeds. Even the road itself seemed to be crumbling, becoming more uneven and filled with potholes, and mounds where tree roots or subterranean animals had pushed the ground up from below.
Eventually, the cobblestone street gave way to a packed dirt road, dotted with its own greenery in the form of crab grass and the occasional exploring vine. Further on, though, all traces of plant life was gone, marking the edge of Ghastly Gorge. As her hooves began clopping more loudly against the hard stone, Twilight began looking around more actively for the stallion Pinkie mentioned.
She saw no stallion, but she did see someone standing near the cliff edge. He was standing on two legs, easily a full head taller than her, even counting her horn, and dressed in what appeared to be chain mail, with a white tunic pulled on over the metal. He had a full-face helmet on, with only a slit to see out of, a long straight sword hooked on his belt, and a large round shield on his back, bearing a stylized image of the sun. The part about him that stuck out to Twilight, though, was the long purple tail, and the row of rounded green spines running down his back.
"Spike!" She bounded forward as he turned in surprise.
"Ah, hello! You don't look Hollow, not at all! It seems my reputation precedes me, though, as I'm fairly certain we haven't met. I am, in fact, Spike of Canterlot, warrior of sunlight. And who might you be?"
Twilight felt her spirits drop for a moment.
Even Spike doesn't remember me. But I can't give up! He's obviously managed to handle himself fairly well so far, so maybe he can tell me what's been going on around here.
"I'm Twilight Sparkle. I know you don't remember me, but I was the one who hatched you, and you've been helping me since, until this whole thing with the Darksign started, anyway."
Spike put a hand to his chin in thought, then leaned down to study her face.
"You do seem... strangely familiar, now that you say that. Hmm. I can't remember much of anything from that long ago very well, though. It's been years for me since this all started."
"What do you mean, years? It's only been a day, maybe two!"
"Did you not hear of what happened in Canterlot yet?"
Twilight shook her head.
"Well then, you'll be shocked to know that there was an explosion in the Royal Archives."
Twilight's jaw dropped.
"Specifically, in the Starswirl the Bearded wing."
Her jaw dropped further.
"It was obviously a spell of some kind, but it had a far more damaging effect than simply destroying most of the wing. The sheer amount of magic that was in the spell bled off into several scrolls. Once the magic seeped into them enough, the scrolls activated, layering on top of one another. Eventually, the strain of having so many time spells warping reality in one place permanently twisted the time stream there, and the effects have been felt all over Equestria. Now, the flow of time is convoluted, with entire centuries passing by some while mere moments go by for others. Time twists and turns, folding over on itself over and over, and each of us walks our own time stream now. Now, there is no way to tell how long the worlds will stay in contact with each other. Certain places, such as the areas around bonfires, seem to be more stable, but even there, nothing is assured."
Twilight plopped down as her back legs gave out.
"So, even after I found everyone, even after I got them all together and they moved into the library... I still might lose them?" Her eyes started to water. "I might still wind up alone?"
Spike shook his head.
"Not entirely. Here, take this." He reached into a belt pouch, and pulled out a white, softly glowing stone, wrapped with a yellow ribbon at one end. "Write your signature on the ground with this, and others will be able to summon you to their world, and it will allow you to see the signatures of others, and summon them, to engage in jolly cooperation! Obviously, there are many others who use these as well, but if you require my assistance, look for my brilliant signature, shining brightly. You shan't be able to miss it!"
Twilight took the stone, and smiled lightly at the joyful tone Spike had.
"Looks like even when you don't remember me, you're still the best assistant I could ask for."
"I do rather enjoy helping others."
"Would you like to come back with me? We should still have at least one room you could have."
"No, I shall remain behind. I wish to gaze upon the magnificent sun for a while longer, but perhaps at some point we shall meet again."
Twilight cocked her head.
"Isn't that bad for your eyes?"
"There are advantages to being a dragon."
She sighed.
"Alright. Take care of yourself, okay?"
"Of course. I am a warrior of sunlight! To go Hollow would be to deny countless others my help, and that would be unacceptable!"
Twilight smiled again.
At least he remembers his lessons.
---------------------------------------
As Twilight rounded the last corner back to the library, she stopped in her tracks. What had once been a single, mostly-hollowed-out tree was now combined with two other houses, and had a few new cloud rooms, apparently. The entire thing was surrounded by barbed wire along the ground, and there was a ballista in two of the lower windows, aimed at the main pathway to the entrance. She carefully made her way through a gap in the barbed wire, and eyed the two siege weapons warily as she approached the door. She ducked low to the ground, and pushed open the door gently, half expecting another ballista to fire a bolt at her head again. There was no ballista aimed at the door, however, and she could hear the foals playing in one of the other rooms.
"Well, at least I don't have to worry about that again," she muttered to herself as she stood up and walked in properly. Looking around, she could see that most of the surfaces in the building had been cleaned, and although the books on the shelves were still out of their proper order, there weren't any on the floor. She could also hear the sound of a hammer hitting an anvil coming from downstairs, and went down to investigate. From the small balcony at the top of the basement stairs, she could see that the space which used to belong to her lab had been refashioned into a smithy, and Rarity was currently working on what seemed to be a new breast plate. She walked down, and looked around at the racks and piles of weapons and armor that filled the basement.
"Rarity, what are you doing?"
The white unicorn jumped at the sudden sound, and nearly dropped her hammer as she whipped her head around.
"Twilight, darling! You scared me nearly half to death! You shouldn't sneak up on a mare like that, dear, especially in times like these! You're liable to get hurt!"
Twilight smiled apologetically.
"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you. But, did you move all of your stuff over here?"
"Not all of it. I brought most of my stock, as well as my anvil and materials, but I had to get Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom and Pinkie to help me make the furnace so that it wouldn't burn the place down around our ears."
"I wasn't gone for very long, though. How'd you all get it done so quickly?"
"Well, the threat of Hollows is usually a rather effective motivator, but it has been quite a while, actually. You probably just didn't noticed the time going by because you were focused on other things."
Or because the amount of time that passed for you is different from how much passed for me, Twilight thought. She didn't want to cause a panic, though, so she just waved it off.
"Anyway, where are the others? They put all this up a lot sooner than I would have thought."
"Yes, well, Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo apparently have some experience moving to new places and setting up defenses quickly. They should be in one of the side buildings right now, if you want to talk to them about it."
"I think I will." She left Rarity to her work, and headed back upstairs. In the kitchen, she could see that the door had been removed, and lined up with the kitchen door of the next building. She headed over, and looked around the ground floor a bit. The kitchen was relatively well-stocked, though that wouldn't do most of them any good, but the rest of the rooms were slightly more interesting. Apparently, Rainbow and Scootaloo had decided this would be their abode, if the Wonderbolts posters and trophy weapons on the walls were any indication. Twilight trotted up to a particularly impressive-looking axe. She leaned in to inspect the carvings on the handle more closely, when a voice caused her to jump back with a yelp.
"Pretty mean-lookin' isn't it?"
Twilight turned to the voice, and saw Rainbow leaning against the staircase railing.
"Picked that up off a Diamond Dog out west. Bastard nearly took my head off with that thing, and he managed to rip a good chunk out of my wing during the fight. Kept me on the ground for a couple of days, even with the bonfires and Estus Flask helping. Haven't been out there since, though. Maybe I should go back and see what else I can find down there...." She trailed off, and Twilight could tell she was calculating the benefits and risks of going to the Diamond Dog warren again, a rare thing to see Rainbow Dash doing. Quickly enough, however, she snapped back to the current conversation. "So what'd you need? You probably didn't come here just to listen to me, right?"
"Um, yeah. I was wondering how you managed to get all of this done so quickly."
"Oh, that? That's easy. Scoots and I have had a lot of practice moving house on a regular basis, and this time, we had Big Mac and Applejack helping out. Once we had the buildings together, setting up the defensive stuff was a cakewalk. The real trick was getting the animals to stay in the courtyard we made out back."
Twilight blanched.
"A-animals?"
"Yeah. Apparently, Fluttershy decided that she wanted to move here, but she didn't want to leave all her animals behind, so she asked if we could make a space for them somewhere. I managed to build a roof between the tree and the two buildings, so now there's a sort of courtyard out back where they can stay. And they can just go through the side alleys to get in or out, so we don't have to worry about them being in one of the buildings, and most of them are actually really well-trained, so if any Hollows try to get in, the animals should be able to take care of them."
Twilight thought about it for a few seconds.
"Yeah, I suppose that'll be okay, then. And if everyone's here, then that means we'll all be safer than if we were on our own. Just don't go too crazy with the traps, okay?"
"Don't worry, I already thought about how many folks might need to actually get in and out of here."
Twilight nodded her appreciation.
"Thanks, Rainbow. By the way, are you feeling alright? Usually, you're a lot more upbeat, and normally you wouldn't even think about passing up a chance to talk about your achievements. So what's up?"
Rainbow cringed at being read so easily, then looked around to make sure no one was listening.
"You have to promise never to tell anyone, under any circumstances." She stared hard at Twilight. "What I say doesn't leave this room."
Twilight looked back at her friend worriedly.
"Alright. Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."
Rainbow raised an eyebrow at her as she went through the motions.
"Well, if you're willing to make yourself look like that much of a fool, I suppose you're serious." She sat down, and Twilight brushed off the minor insult to listen. "Lately, I've been having doubts. Scootaloo and I have been traveling together for a long time, and we've been able to take down just about everything that's gotten in our way by ourselves, but...." She glanced off to the side, obviously uncomfortable about what she was about to say. "Lately, we've been coming up against much tougher creatures. We've been having more and more trouble winning fights. And the last time we went out, we both nearly got flattened multiple times. I don't think we'll be able to do any more good on our own. And to make matters worse, we can't even clear a path for anyone else!"
Twilight cocked her head to the side curiously.
"What do you mean?"
Rainbow snorted in frustration.
"I don't know how, but anything I kill somehow comes back to life when someone else goes through the area. I don't even know what's causing it!"
Twilight's blood ran cold. Could the damage to the time stream really be that bad?.... It's the only logical conclusion. Nothing else could cause that kind of phenomenon.
"I know how it's happening."
Rainbow looked up from grinding her hoof into the floor.
"You do? Then that means you know how we can fix it! Right?"
Twilight shook her head, and Rainbow's expression fell.
"I don't think it's something that can be fixed, honestly. Apparently, something happened in the Royal Archives in Canterlot, in the wing that housed all of the time-based spells. The spell scrolls were activated, and they did so many things that the time stream for all of Equestria was damaged beyond repair. It may be permanent."
Rainbow's jaw went slack.
"Is it really that bad?"
"You know Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle? Applejack and Rarity's sisters?"
"Yeah?"
"Scootaloo should be the same age as they are."
"You're kidding."
"I wish I was, but it's the truth. And if she can age that much faster than them, than who knows how many other ways the time stream might have been changed? For all we know, we're moving backwards in time right now."
"Well, that's unnerving."
"Yes, but we can't give up."
"Any particular reason you seem so determined about that?"
"If we don't fix whatever's truly wrong with Equestria, whatever's causing the Darksign and all these other things, it might never be fixed. And in order to do that, I'm going to need all the help I can get. So the question is; are you with me?"
She stuck her hoof out, and Rainbow looked from it to her for a moment before smirking slightly.
"Well, when you put it like that, I guess I don't really have much choice, do I?"
She lifted her own hoof, and clapped it against Twilight's
