Chapter 1
Dear Princess Celestia, my beloved mentor,
This may come as a shock to you, since I am writing a letter. You had specifically said not to send anything, whether by magic or sea. I am not one to break or bend rules. Yet, here I am, your student striding against your worded rule with this scroll. Princess Luna would surely agree with you about not reading this. If you aren’t going to unravel this, then let it remain unknown what I shall do in a short matter of time. But if you are reading this, then don’t take the time to try and stop me from my objective.
I know what I have done and why I deserve to be here. Ending the lives of my dear friends is not to be thought of lightly. My mind has slowly begun to crack, breaking up as the memories passed through. I have recalled everything. The way they looked as my magic touched them; the very sparkle in their eyes, and down to their last thoughts.
Forgive me for cutting this short, but I must ask: why did you not end me? Would it not have been easier to do so rather than send me out to an island in exile? I know there is no way of getting off of this land, but I deserve more than simply being cast out.
Do you know how badly I want to join my friends, to tell them how much I loved them? I cannot do that because of this place. I had easily found out why nothing dies here. It’s an eternal cage, keeping its prisoner steady and locked away. I can’t die, because of this. I have studied it with many tests and thought of many hypotheses. Yet it doesn’t break. There has been nothing that stirs or finds a flaw in it. The only thing that I have found are the same empty answers.
I am stuck forever in a state of madness.
But, it’s not all that bad. I’ve been given the time to work on my magic. I bet I’ll soon be on par with Luna’s or your magic if I keep this up. Earlier today, I tried to part the water around this island. It was absolutely fascinating what I found down here. Did you know that there used to be a civilization in these depths? It is amazing to look at all of the articulate architecture and masonry that had been forgotten for centuries. Once you get past the bones and skeletons of past lives, you see the beauty in this place. Massive statues made out of marble, coral, and many different types of materials decorate the courtyards of temples and shrines.
I managed to find one that was dedicated to you. The once colorful and vibrant wooden doors that existed as its entrance now lie in dirty pieces in the ocean floor. Many sea creatures had made home in and around it. Coral reefs have even become part of it. They can’t hide the wood that lay buried in the sands, sticking up in half attempt to hang back in place. Past this great doorway, I found what used to be a library in the west wing of the temple. It matches the description of the library that Star Swirl the Bearded frequented. Tapestries, statues, altars - everything was in their correct places. Many of them have become ruined over time, however. The books especially. You may or may not remember, but there is such a vast amount of knowledge contained within these walls. None of it has been preserved.
I’ve also located what seems to be the town hall of this underwater wonder. Large portions of the roofing had crumbled and fallen down, but the majority of it is somewhat intact. This structure is littered with bones. There are a massive amount of of unicorn and earth pony skeletons all over. I am assuming that there are pegasi as well, but I do not see any indication of winged appendages. The papers and books here have all become ruined as well; the wood has rotted and been bored into by creatures.
Excuse me for drifting away into rambling, I will get back to the subject.
You have put me in a locked state of madness. The years that have gone by have done nothing to prevent it. My mind has been torn into shreds over the guilt and sorrow of what I did to my friends. With your immortality, you do not see why death is such a large matter. You can never understand it. I understand it, though. I have seen the deaths, and have even crossed over into that dark realm for a short period of time. But I didn’t see them; I only saw darkness. It was the most terrible, most frightening thing I’ve ever seen.
Do you know why I didn’t see anything but the abyss? It is all because of your spell on this island. I cannot pass over and see their faces. I cannot tell them how much I loved them, and how bad I felt about ending their lives. I wish to die and join all of my dear friends.
And I have found out how. You must have forgotten, but there is something special here. Your curse of undeath affects me no more. I will be free in a short amount of time. Do not waste your time by teleporting here to remove it or me. Nothing can separate us, and I will make sure of it.
The quill stopped moving across the invisible line of the scroll. It floated away in a purplish-red glow and landed in a gray inkwell. After being dabbed in the small amount of remaining ink, it moved back to the paper and slid down a few inches.
Your beloved student and honest friend,
Twilight Sparkle
“There we go.” The unicorn pulled the quill away and rolled the scroll. While the feather was dipped in the inkwell once more, a blue ribbon wrapped itself around the parchment and tied itself in a bow. Twilight Sparkle yawned softly and got off of her haunches. Today was the day, and nothing could stop her. Not even Princess Celestia. She straightened her mass of ruffled and unkempt hair then began working on her tail. Small deposits of sea salt had stuck in her coat; she made sure to brush them out. After a few moments of checking herself over, Twilight began walking down the coral-covered steps that led into a temple’s entrance. Her soft and slow steps echoed off the gray walls as she descended. Pink and red corals branched out like trees from the sides like a small forest.
Twilight gingerly stepped around a skeleton of a unicorn, and caught something in her eyes as she avoided it. A smaller figure was held in the forelegs of the unicorn with its face in the pony’s chest. It was not a unicorn, though. It had small, needle like bones protruding from its sides. The exiled student leaned closer and shined a small candle of purplish-red light on it. They were wings. She had found a pegasus foal.
A slight shiver ran through her as moaning sounded from a sea breeze. It had been so long since these stones felt air. The lavender mare solemnly continued on past two large stone doors. They were both ajar far enough for her to slide between them and move into the courtyard. Great pillars of milky marble lined the sides with wide spaces separating each. Her glowing horn faded just barely in the light. She had to get moving or else her spell will falter.
With a faster pace the pony worked her way through the expansive temple to finally arrive at her destination. In the center of the room sat a small tablet, facing her as she entered. Inscriptions could be made out once Twilight came close enough, but they weren’t legible. The years have taken its toll on the rock slab.
“If I go by what the books say, then this is what will help me.” A hoof knocked on the side of her head in thought. “If only I can remember the exact words... Was it- no, no, that’s not it. Um...” Twilight glanced over to the scroll floating beside her and she let out a huff. Her horn glowed brighter and the letter suddenly burst into green flames. The smoke and ash swirled like a wisp and disappeared only a moment later; no sign of it was left. The reddish aura around her horn lowered back to a very faint flicker. She didn’t have much time left now. A thought suddenly popped in her mind like an explosion. The mare had not thought about this sea surrounding the island. What if the magic only affected things on the island? Could she drown herself in an attempt to join her old friends in the afterlife? She pondered it over for a few moments but whisked the thought away. No, she was going to continue this. It would be better, for her, and them.
Her magic spell grew fainter and the thunderous roar of moving water echoed through the structure, rumbling and shaking its foundations.
It was a poem. Or a song. That’s what the words were; some sort of lyrical enchantment. What were the words, though? Twilight Sparkle continued racking her brain for the memory. It was something about time. The end of days. Going back to...
“That’s it.” A large grin appeared on her face and the lavender pony cleared her throat.
“Ab aurora tempore,
Ad finem dierum
Ubi nihil superest,
Sed expectare
Ama tempus ut amat te
Dei non capiunt
Quid tu non vivis
Solum quid amas vident
Ubi mortui sunt, eris
Ab quo vixisti vis permutare.”
The floor shook and sent vibrations up the unicorn’s legs as her power finally died down. Late afternoon sun streamed in, bathing the large room and its entryway in orange. She closed her eyes and blew out a long breath. Then they opened again. Floating the quill and inkwell in front of her, she generated another parchment. They all sat down on the stone altar as the feather tip touched the dry scroll.
Dear Princess Celestia,
I will be gone now. If you are still thinking of trying to stop me, then it is too late. I have found what I needed to rid myself of this forsaken island. I will meet my friends, and I will love them more than you can imagine. Once I depart, you may find things different. That will be my doing.
I am going back to the past to change my wrong. I will not make the same mistake twice. No more will I seek the cold grasp of death. Instead, I move to the warm embracement of my friends. They won’t know what had transpired; but it will never happen again. All they will know is my eternal love and the invisible guilt I hold.
Goodbye, my mentor. You may never see me again.
The quill stopped and was removed smoothly before the scroll was rolled up and tied like the first. This time, it had a red ribbon. The same green fire burned it into nothing within a second and whipped the ash away in a swirling breeze. Twilight Sparkle cleared her throat again. Crashing and rumbling of stone in the enormous torrent of seawater plunged themselves deep into the temple’s rooms. Water began seeping down the steps and crashed against the stone walls.
“Non vivis in tempore malo
Oreris tandem.”
The exiled unicorn’s horn lit up with a flash of white light as the structure began to give way. Its walls exploded and everything darkened around her. The evening sun was no longer visible as the salty blue water rose above like a ceiling. Droplets rained on her coat while her body was encased with the same light. She felt the cold liquid touch her tail and back legs. A pang of thought shot through her mind.
Was she too late?
The mare closed her eyes and let out a low, calming breath. The chilling presence of water no longer surrounded her. It was replaced by one of cosiness; almost homely. She slowly opened her eyes and found herself in the exact place where she wanted to be. Her home.
The library treehouse was back, exactly how she remembered it. Everything was there and where they should be. Including her assistant.
“Whoa, heya Twilight. I thought you were out helping Rainbow.” The purple and green dragon held a couple books in his hands and talked over them. Twilight would normally look to see what book he was reading but she was far too anxious to worry about it. She bolted away to the door and flung it open. The town was back, and so were the ponies.
“Hey, Twilight! Where’d ya go?” called a somewhat raspy voice from above. The unicorn looked up to see the cyan pegasus floating down from a cloud. “You were supposed to help me, remember?”
She could do nothing but put on a big smile- probably the biggest she’s ever made. “Uh, Twilight? You okay?” asked Rainbow Dash as she waved a hoof in front of the distant mare.
The lavender unicorn suddenly pulled the pegasus in close and gave her a bone crushing embrace. Rainbow could hardly breathe, and let out a big gasp for air once Twilight loosened her grip.
“I’m more than okay, Rainbow.
“I’m great.”
A/N: This story is a lot different than my usual sort. I thought it up one night, wrote a couple lines down to remember the general theme/plot/setting, then began writing it a couple days later in the morning. I have to give credit to my reviewer, MadMan, for having spotted a couple parts that needed fixing and for giving encouragement to upload this.
If you rate, I'd love to receive a comment as well! Especially if it's negative; I'd like to know what you didn't like about this and what I could do in the future to help solve that problem.
For anyone who wants to know what the poem is, it's Latin. I will give you the English version here:
From the dawn of time,
To the end of days
Where there is nothing more,
Than to wait
Love the time as it loves you
For the gods do not take
What you do not sake
Only what you love do they see
After they pass will you be
From how you lived you wish to change
Going back will not be deranged
No more do you live in such terrible past
For you will rise anew at last
The bold line had to be stricken from the Latin version as there was no equivalent. Also, "sake" is translated as "wish" in the Latin version as there is also no equivalent for it, but they have about the same meaning.